ELECTRIC POWERED DIVE REEL

ENROULEUR DE CABLE DE PLONGEUR ELECTRIQUE

English Abstract

The invention relates to an electically powered winding and reeling
mechanism for underwater use by divers. It consists of a drive
shaft assembly having connected to one end thereof a spool with a
cord wound thereon. The shaft assembly is sealingly pressed into
one smaller end of a main housing. A gear reduction unit with
attached motor, a 3-position switch (forward,neutral, reverse) and
batteries are positioned as a unit into a larger opposite end of
the main housing so that the drive shaft of the assembly mates with
the gear reduction unit. The larger end of the housing is sealed by
a threaded end cap and o-ring seal. The gear reduction unit is
driven by the motor, power to which is supplied by the batteries
under control of the 3-position switch ; the latter is actuated by
an outer switch lever extending from the housing and sealed
therefrom. The spool can therefor be rotated in either a forward or
reverse direction or be allowed to rotate freely depending on the
position of the outer switch lever, which controls the 3-position
switch. With the switch in the neutral position, a lock/release
lever disconnects the drive shaft from the spool to allow the
latter to rotate freely.

Claims

THE EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION IN WHICH AN EXCLUSIVE PROPERTY OR
PRIVELIGE IS CLAIMED ARE DEFINED AS FOLLOWS:
1. A powered winding and reeling mechanism for underwater use,
comprising: a main housing, a shaft assembly including a shaft
with a spool connected to one end thereof , said shaft assembly
being sealingly secured to one open end of said housing, a second
assembly sealed within said housing and consisting of a) a gear
reduction unit adapted to engage the other end of said shaft
b) motor means to drive said gear reduction unit, c) a 3-position
control switch and d) a power source for said motor , and actuating
means positioned outside said housing and in sealing connection
therewith and adapted to engage said 3-position switch, so that, in
a first position of said switch the spool is driven in one
direction, in a second neutral position of said switch the spool is
allowed to rotate freely, and in a third position of said switch
the spool is driven in the opposite direction.
2. The mechanism as defined in claim 1, including means to
disconnect said spool from said drive shaft to permit manual or
free turning of the spool when the switch is in the neutral
position.
3. The mechanism as defined in claim 1, including an external
manual means to lock the spool to the housing, when the switch is
in the neutral position, to prevent the spool from rotating.
4. The mechanism as defined in claim 1, wherein the shaft
assembly comprises the shaft, a pair of anti-friction bearings,
a spacer between the bearings and a pair of seals , the assembly
being pressed into the one open end of the housing.
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5. The mechanism as defined in claim 1, wherein the second
assembly is positioned within said housing via a second open end
in said housing and which is sealed inside the housing by means of
a threaded end cap and O-ring.
6. The mechanism as defined in claim 1, wherin the actuating
means comprises an outer lever switch which enters the housing
through a double O-ring sealed hole.
7. The mechanism as defined in claim 5, wherein said one end
of said housing is narrower than the second end.
8. The mechanism as defined in claim 1, wherein the motor is
electric and said power source consists of batteries.
9. The mechanism as defined in any one of claims 1-8 incl.
wherein the center line of the spool is in line with the center
line of the housing.
10. The mechanism as defined in any one of claims 1-8 incl.
wherein the center line of the spool is at 90 degrees to the center
line of the housing.
11. A method of constructing and assembling a powered winding
and reeling mechanism for underwater use comprising:
a) providing a main housing having first and second open ends
as well as a switch access opening,
b) pressing a shaft assembly including a shaft into sealing
contact with the first open end of said housing,
c) releasably attaching a spool to one end of the shaft,
d) providing a second assembly consisting of a gear reduction
unit, a motor attached thereto , a 3-position forward,
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neutral and reverse control switch , and a power source
e) sliding the second assembly into said housing via said
second open end so that the gear reduction unit engages the
other end of said shaft,
f) sealingly closing the second open end of said housing and
g) inserting an actuating means into said housing switch
access opening in a sealing manner therewith so as to engage
the 3-position switch to permit forward , free or reverse
rotation of the spool.
12. The method of claim 11, including disconnecting the spool
from the shaft by a lock/release lever to allow for manual
or free rotation of said spool when the switch is in the
neutral position.
13. The method of claim 11, including locking the spool to the
housing when the switch is in the neutral position to prevent
the spool from rotating.
14. The method of claim 11,in which the actuating means is an
outer switch lever which enters the housing through the
access opening using a double O-ring seal.
15. The method of claim 14, including removing an access plug
from an access hole which communicates with the access opening
and securing the outer switch lever and an inner rocker arm
together by means of a set screw.
16. The method of claim 11, in which the first open end of
the housing is made narrower than the second open end.
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17. The method as defined in claim 11,in which the second open
end of the housing is sealingly closed by means of a threaded
end cap and O-ring.
18. The method as defined in claim 11,in which the motor
provided is an electric motor and the power source provided
is batteries.
19. The method as defined in of any one claims 11 to 18 incl.
wherein the mechanism is constructed so that the center line
of the spool coincides with the center line of the housing.
20. The method as defined in any one of claims 11 to 18 incl.
wherein the mechanism is constructed so that the center line
of the spool is at 90 degrees to the center line of the
housing.
21. The winding and reeling mechanism as defined in claim 1,
including a cord guide which is mounted onto the main housing
by means of bolts.
22. The mechanism as defined in claim 21, wherein a spool
locking pin is mounted within the cord guide and which may
be manually pushed to prevent the spool from rotating when
the switch is in the neutral position.
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Description

`-- DISCLOSURE 2 1 7 2 6 3 9
The invention relates to a device and method of letting out a
cord freely, or reeling out said cord using electric power and
reeling in said cord using electric power, under water. At present,
in using a manual reel, the operator must use both hands to use
said manual reel. One hand must hold the reel handle, while turning
the spool with the other hand, thereby making any simultaneous task
such as, monitoring depth,monitoring air consumption or monitoring
dive time remaining, very difficult.
The purpose of the present invention, is to overcome the above
disadvantages and which will enable the diver to reel in or reel
out a cord with very little effort and to let the diver do so with
one hand.
A typical use or application for the invention would consist
of attaching a float to the free end of the cord ; the diver on
making his descent, presses the switch activating lever to either
let said cord out under electric power or to unlock the spool to
let said cord out freely. The reel is attached to the body of the
diver and the float would remain on the surface of the water to
allow surface personel to monitor the float during the dive.
When the dive is completed, the diver presses the switch activating
lever with one hand, to reel in said cord, while the other hand is
free to monitor the gauges for depth,air and dive time to permit a
safe and less strenuous ascent.

21 72639
~ It is therefor an object of the present invention to
develop a powered winding and reeling mechanism for underwater use,
comprising: a main housing, a shaft assembly including a shaft
with a spool connected to one end thereof , said shaft assembly
being sealingly secured to one open end of said housing, a second
assembly sealed within said housing and consisting of a) a gear
reduction unit adapted to engage the other end of said shaft
b) motor means to drive said gear reduction unit, c) a 3-position
control switch and d) a power source for said motor , actuating
means positioned outside said housing and in sealing connection
therewith and adapted to engage said 3-position switch, so that, in
a first position of said switch the spool is driven in one
direction, in a second neutral position of said switch the spool is
allowed to rotate freely, and in a third position of said switch
the spool is driven in the opposite direction.
It is a further object of the present invention to construct
and assemble a powered winding and reeling mechanism for use under
water which comprises: providing a main housing having first and
second open ends as well as a switch access opening, pressing a
shaft assembly including a shaft into sealing contact with the
first open end of said housing, releasably attaching a spool to one
end of the shaft, providing a second assembly consisting of a gear
reduction unit,a motor attached thereto, a 3-position forward,
neutral and reverse control switch, and a power source, sliding the
second assembly into said housing via said second open end so that
the gear reduction unit engages the other end of said shaft,
--2--
A

2 1 72639
sealingly closing the second open end of said housing, and inser-
ting an actuating member into said housing switch access opening
in a sealing manner therewith so as to engage the 3-position
switch to permit forward, free or reverse rotation of the spool.
The invention will now be described in more detail, with
reference to the accompanying drawings in which;
FIGURE 1 is an elevation of one embodiment of the DIVE REEL;
FIGURE 2 are front and end views of the parts for the rotatable
spool assembly;
FIGURE 3 is an exploded view of the housing assembly and its parts;
FIGURE 4 is a front view and end view of the drive shaft assembly;
FIGURE S illustrates the parts that make up the cord guide assembly
FIGURE 6 show front and end views of the gear reduction unit,motor,
switch and battery assembly.
The electric powered DIVE REEL consists of a rotatable spool 6
with a manual handle 7 that is secured with clearance to the exter-
nal end of a drive shaft 23 of a drive shaft assembly shown in
FIG. 4 , by means of a spool mounting or locking bolt 12. The
spool 6 may be tightened to the drive shaft 23 by means of a spool
release/lock lever 13 for electric operation or may be loosened or
disconnected from the drive shaft 23 to allow for either manual
operation by way of handle 7 or to allow a cord 9 wound on the
spool to be pulled out freely.
The drive shaft assembly illustrted in FIG. 4 consists of a
shaft 23, a pair of antifriction bearings 21 separated by a
spacer 22 and followed by a pair of seals 20. This assembly is

- 21 7263q
~pressed into the small diameter end of the main housing 1 shown in
FIG.3. The cord guide assembly shown in FIG. 5 includes a cord
guide 8 which is mounted onto or secured to the main housing 1 by
means of bolts 10. The cord guide 8 extends beyond the largest
diameter of the spool 6 with sufficient clearance and then turns in
a direction so as to guide the cord 9 over the entire length of the
spool 6. Mounted within said cord guide 8 is a spool locking pin
11 which may be manually pushed into one of the locking holes
provided in the spool 6 to prevent the spool from rotating but
only when the outer switch lever 4 is in the neutral position.
The outer switch lever 4 enters the main housing 1 through the
doublo O-ring 14 sealed hole shown in FIG.3.
The outer switch lever 4 and the inner rocker arm 18 can be
secured together by means of set screw 17 inside the housing 1
by removing the access hole plug 15 with O-ring 16 from access
hole 5. Once the drive shaft assembly is pressed into the small
diameter end of the main housing , a second assembly , FIG.6
consisting of a gear reduction unit 24 with attached motor 25 ,
forward-reverse-neutral switch 26 and batteries 27 , are slid into
the main housing 1 via the larger internally threaded end of said
main housing, to mate the internal hexagonal end of the drive
shaft 23 with the female hexagonal end of the gear reduction
unit 24. The gear reduction unit is driven by the electric motor 25
and the forward ,neutral and reverse switch 26 controls and directs
the power from the electric batteries 27 to the electric motor 25.
;,~ .

2 1 72639
Thus, moving the outer switch lever 4 from the neutral,re-sting
position, in the direction of "A", as shown in FIG.1 , will cause
the spool 6 to rotate in one direction ; moving said outer switch
lever 4 , in the direction of "B", will cause said spool 6 to
rotate in the opposite direction.
The larger threaded end of the housing is closed and sealed
by means of a threaded end cap 2 and O-ring seal 19. A lanyard
loop 3 is attached to the end cap which permits the entire
mechanism to be attached to the diver.
The ELECTRIC POWERED DIVE REEL illustrated in FIG. 1 is
considered to be the 180 degree model, because the center line of
the spool hub is in line with the center line of the main housing.
other models , such as the 90 degree model where the center line of
the spool is at 90 degrees to the center line of the main housing,
are also contemplated to be designed and built.
The appended claims are believed to define in clear and
distinct terms what the applicant regards as new and for which
patent protection is sought
B~

Representative Drawing