SPOOL ASSEMBLY
A spool assembly for winding of a sheet-like material thereon includes a tubular hub body and a securing member. The tubular hub body is formed with a groove, and has a radial cross-section that has grooved and non-grooved segments. The non-groove segment extends from the grooved segment, and has opposite first and second ends, and a radial thickness that increases gradually from the first end to the second end thereof. The securing member is mounted in the groove in the tubular hub body for securing a securing end of the flexible sheet-like material to the tubular hub body.
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a spool assembly, more particularly to a spool assembly on which a flexible sheet-like material can be wound smoothly and evenly.
2. Description of the Related Art
The tubular hub body 1 surrounds an axis (A), and has inner and outer surfaces 11, 12. The outer surface 12 of the tubular hub body 1 is formed with an axially extending groove 10 that is defined by a groove-defining wall 13.
With further reference to
With further reference to
The aforementioned conventional spool assembly 100 is disadvantageous in that, when the flexible sheet-like material 3 is wound on the tubular hub body 1, the securing end 31 of the flexible sheet-like material 3 bulges out from the exposed surface 21 of the double-sided adhesive tape member 2. As such, the flexible sheet-like material 3 is not wound smoothly and evenly on the tubular hub body 1 of the conventional spool assembly 100. As shown in
Therefore, the object of the present invention is to provide a spool assembly that can overcome the aforesaid drawback of the prior art.
According to the present invention, a spool assembly for winding of a sheet-like material thereon comprises a tubular hub body and a securing member. The tubular hub body surrounds an axis, and has an outer surface that is formed with an axially extending groove, and a radial cross-section that has a grooved segment and a non-grooved segment. The non-groove segment extends from the grooved segment, and has opposite first and second ends that are circumferentially spaced apart from each other by the grooved segment, and a radial thickness that increases gradually from the first end to the second end thereof. The securing member is mounted in the axially extending groove in the outer surface of the tubular hub body and is adapted to secure an end of the flexible sheet-like material to the tubular hub body.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent in the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which:
Referring to
The flexible sheet-like material 7 may be, for example, a fabric or an automobile tinted window film, and has a uniform thickness.
The tubular hub body 6 surrounds an axis (I), and has inner and outer surfaces 61, 62. The outer surface 62 of the tubular hub body 6 is formed with an axially extending groove 60 that is defined by a groove-defining wall 63. The groove-defining wall 63 of the tubular hub body 6 has opposite first and second wall portions 631, 632, and an intermediate wall portion 633 that interconnects the first and second wall portions 631, 632 thereof. In this embodiment, the second wall portion 632 is higher than the first wall portion 631 with respect to the intermediate wall portion 633.
With further reference to
Referring additionally to
As indicated in
It is noted herein that the securing member 5 has a thickness that corresponds to the height of the first wall portion 631 of the groove-defining wall 63 of the tubular hub body 6, and the flexible sheet-like material 7 has a thickness that corresponds to the height difference between the first and second wall portions 631, 632 of the groove-defining wall 63 of the tubular hub body 6. As such, the flexible sheet-like material 7 may be wound smoothly and evenly on the tubular hub body 6 of the spool assembly 4 of this invention.
While the present invention has been described in connection with what is considered the most practical and preferred embodiment, it is understood that this invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiment but is intended to cover various arrangements included within the spirit and scope of the broadest interpretation so as to encompass all such modifications and equivalent arrangements.
Claims
1. A spool assembly for winding of a sheet-like material thereon, said spool assembly comprising:
- a tubular hub body surrounding an axis, and having an outer surface that is formed with an axially extending groove, and a radial cross-section that has a grooved segment and a non-grooved segment, said non-grooved segment extending from said grooved segment, and having opposite first and second ends that are circumferentially spaced apart from each other by said grooved segment, and a radial thickness that increases gradually from said first end to said second end thereof; and
- a securing member mounted in said axially extending groove in said outer surface of said tubular hub body and adapted to secure an end of the flexible sheet-like material to said tubular hub body.
2. The spool assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said axially extending groove is defined by a groove-defining wall, said groove-defining wall having opposite first and second wall portions, and an intermediate wall portion that interconnects said first and second wall portions thereof, said second wall portion being higher than said first wall portion with respect to said intermediate wall portion.
3. The spool assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said securing member has a thickness that corresponds to the height of said first wall portion of said groove-defining wall of said tubular hub body.
4. The spool assembly as claimed in claim 1, wherein said securing member is a strip of double-sided adhesive tape.
Type: Application
Filed: Aug 22, 2007
Publication Date: Feb 26, 2009
Inventor: Hans Wu (Tainan City)
Application Number: 11/843,196
International Classification: A47G 5/02 (20060101);