Background of the Invention In general, household electronic appliances such as television or audio apparatuses are mostly equipped with remote controllers for user's convenience.

Recently, a remote control apparatus, by which all household electronic appliances can be controlled by a single remote controller, has been developed. Such a remote controller is equipped with small batteries. Thus, the batteries are exhausted with the lapse of time, the exhausted batteries must be replaced with new ones, it means an inconvenience to users. In the case of an air conditioner or electric fan, a remote controller thereof may not be use for a long time. In such a case, strong alkaline liquid of batteries used therein may be leaked, causing corrosion of contact portions of the remote controller. Also, replacement of batteries involves economic loss, and repeated replacement of batteries may cause damages to the casing of batteries. In particular, it is necessary to keep batteries in reserve in case of unexpected exhaustion of batteries, like a discharge. Moreover,

a conventional remote controller provided with an incorporated integral circuit, light emitting diode (LED) or resistor, consumes a large amount of current.

Because of such circumstances, it has been unthinkable to insert a self-generator or condenser inside the remote controller.

Summary of the Invention The present invention is intended to overcome the above-described disadvantages of the prior art. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a ratchet gear for driving a built-in generator in a remote controller, configured such that a direct-current (DC) generator for generating power required by the remote controller, and a condenser for storing the generated power, are installed inside the remote controller, and such that the incorporated DC generator can be manually driven by user's simple manipulation, and the remote controller being capable of rotating in one direction only.

To accomplish the above object, there is provided a ratchet gear for driving a built-in generator in a remote controller, comprising a gear body having a plurality of teeth on its periphery, a rotation member fitted into the inner circumferential surface of the gear body so as to rotate coaxially with the gear body, and rotation control members installed between the gear body and the rotation member, wherein at least one rotation control groove is formed along the outer circumference of the rotation member, a coupling protrusion being connected with a handle and formed at one side of the rotation member, and the rotation control groove is formed such that its width tapers in one direction.

Brief Description of the Drawings

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ratchet gear for driving a built-in generator in a remote controller according to a first embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2A is a schematic plan view of a rotation member shown in FIG. 1 ; FIGS. 2B and 2C are enlarged views of an upper portion taken along the line I-I shown in FIG. 2A, in which the rotation member rotates counterclockwise and clockwise, respectively; FIG. 3 is a fragmentary exploded view of FIG. 1; FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing that the ratchet gear according to the first embodiment of the present invention is inserted into a remote controller; FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a ratchet gear for driving a built-in generator in a remote controller according to a second embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 6A is a schematic plan view of a rotation member shown in FIG. 5; FIGS. 6B and 6C are enlarged views of an upper portion taken along the line I-I shown in FIG. 6A, in which the rotation member rotates counterclockwise and clockwise, respectively; and FIG. 7 is a fragmentary exploded view of FIG. 5.

Description of the Preferred Embodiment The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a ratchet gear for driving a built-in generator in a remote controller according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, a ratchet gear 10 according to the present invention includes a gear body 11 having a plurality of teeth on its periphery, a rotation member 13 fitted into the inner circumferential surface of the gear body 11 so as to rotate coaxially with the gear body 11, and rotation control members 14 installed between the gear body 11 and the rotation member 13. The rotation control members 14 control the relative rotation between the gear body 10 and the rotation member 13. The gear body 11 has a plurality of teeth provided in accordance with a fabrication module as designed. Preferably, the gear body 11 is reinforced in rigidity and is less worn, by inserting a metal ring 12 into the inner circumferential surface of the gear body 11, as shown in the drawing. In the case of using the metal ring 12, the gear body 11 can be made of plastic, and it is lightweight and cost-effective. The rotation member 13 has an outer diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the ring 12, and has a coupling protrusion 17 and an insertion hole 19. The rotation member 13 also has an auxiliary gear (31 of FIG. 3) at the lower portion thereof.

The coupling protrusion 17 has a coupling groove 18 formed lengthwise at either side of its outer circumferential surface so that it is coupled with a rotary handle (not shown) of a remote controller case, which handle is configured in conformity with the shapes of the coupling protrusion 17, the coupling groove 18 and the insertion hole 19. A rotation control groove 16 whose width tapers in one direction, is formed on the outer circumferential surface 13 of the rotation member 13, which will now be described with reference to FIG. 2.

FIG. 2A is a schematic plan view of a rotation member shown in FIG. 1.

Referring to FIG. 2A, at least one rotation control groove 16 is formed along the outer circumference of the rotation member 13 at a predetermined angle, which is for making the rotation member 13 rotate in more natural and balanced manner.

Also, the rotation control groove 16 is shaped such that its width tapers from a portion A to a portion B, that is, the width of portion A is rather greater than that of portion B. Each of the rotation control members 14 slightly rotates along the imaginary outer diameter (D) of the rotation member 13 formed during rotation of the rotation member 13, that is, the inner circumference of the ring 12, as shown in FIG. 1.

FIGS. 2B and 2C are enlarged views of an upper portion taken along the line I-I shown in FIG. 2A, showing states in which the rotation member rotates counterclockwise and clockwise, respectively. The rotation shaft of the rotation control member 14 can be circular in cross section. However, from the viewpoint of rotation control, it is more preferable that the section of the rotation shaft of the rotation control member 14 is slightly elliptic, as shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C.

When the rotation member 13 rotates counterclockwise, as indicated by an arrow shown in FIG. 2B, the rotation control member 14 moves toward a relatively wide portion formed between the inner circumference (a portion D) of the ring 12 and the rotation control groove 16, that is, around a portion"A", while slightly moving clockwise. On the other hand, when the rotation member 13 rotates clockwise, as indicated by an arrow shown in FIG. 2C, the rotation control member 14 moves toward a portion"B", while slightly moving counterclockwise. In this case, the rotation control member 14 gets locked with the inner circumference of the ring 12, specifically a portion D, at a portion where the width of the rotation control groove 16 is relatively narrow, so that it cannot rotate any longer. If the section of the rotation shaft of the rotation control member 14 is slightly elliptic, as shown in FIGS. 2B and 2C, the rotation control member 14 is tightly fitted into the inner circumference of the ring 12 so as to prevent further rotation, thereby securely

controlling the relative rotation between the gear body 10 and the rotation member 13. In other words, the rotation control member 14 is fitted into a space between the inner circumference of the ring 12, that is, the portion D, and the rotation member 13 rotates simultaneously with the gear body 11 and the ring 12. Thus, in actual practice, the gear body 11 can be rotated by turning the handle clockwise on the remote controller case fitted into the coupling protrusion (17 of FIG. 1) for facilitating rotation. Meanwhile, only the rotation member 13 can be separately rotated without user's great efforts by turning the handle counterclockwise, and the user can, easily turn the handle. A sponge (35 of FIG. 3) may be inserted into a portion C. The sponge 35 always serves to push the rotation control member 14 toward a portion where the width of the rotation control groove 16 tapers, that is, the sponge 35 serves as an elastic member, thereby eliminating recess, during forward and backward rotation of the rotation control member 14, that is, while the rotation control member 14 is repeatedly locked and unlocked in the rotation control groove 16. Also, if the sponge 35 occludes lubricating oil for preventing wear due to movement of the rotation control member 14 in the rotation control groove 16, it is not necessary to separately replenish lubricating oil while the remote controller is in use.

FIG. 3 is a fragmentary exploded view of FIG. 1, in which deviation preventing members 32 connected to the rotation members 14, for preventing the rotation member 13 from deviating from the inside of the ring 12, are provided in the lower portion of the gear body 11. A seating protrusion 33 in the lower portion of the gear body 11 is fitted into a hole (not shown) formed in the center of the auxiliary gear 31 and rotatably installed on a fixing hole (not shown) formed in a lower case (41 of FIG. 4) of the remote controller, thereby supporting the ratchet

gear 10. In this embodiment of the present invention, the rotation control member 14 and the deviation preventing member 32 are configured to be coupled to each other. However, in a preferred embodiment, the rotation control member 14 and the deviation preventing member 32 may be incorporated into a single member.

Also, the sponge 35 elastically reacts according to movement of the rotation control member 14, when it is used in a connection state as shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing that the ratchet gear according to the first embodiment of the present invention is inserted into a remote controller. The ratchet gear 10 according to the present invention is inserted into the lower case 41 of the remote controller together with other gears engaged with each other, and is engaged with these gears to drive a generator 45. The generator 45 as used herein is a DC generator and must be rotated in one direction. If the generator 45 rotates in both directions, a kind of AC current is generated, which makes it impossible to obtain DC current necessary for operating the remote controller. Thus, the generator 45 must be driven in one direction only, either leftward or rightward. The current generated by the generator 45 is stored in a condenser 47 to then be supplied to a power supply (not shown) through a power supply line 49. A through hole 44 into which a handle for rotating the ratchet gear 10 is inserted, and a convex portion 46 for protecting the generator 45 having a height greater than that of the lower case 41, are provided in an upper case 43 to be connected to the lower case 41 for being mounted inside the remote controller.

The ratchet gear 10 according to the present invention has a rotation ratio different from that of each of the gears driven in engagement therewith. Thus, a slight rotation leads to several tens of rotating effect of gears connected to the motor of the generator 45. Therefore, the current corresponding to the maximum amount of

power that can be stored in the condenser 47, can be obtained without user's great efforts. The lower and upper cases 41 and 43 of the remote controller are partially shown in the drawing, and may be arranged differently from the drawing, by using the generator 45 and the condenser 47 suitably in accordance with the amount of power requested for operating the remote controller. A further detailed explanation of the driving mechanism of gears inserted into the cases of the remote controller will not be given.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a ratchet gear for driving a built-in generator in a remote controller according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Referring to FIG. 5, a ratchet gear 110 according to the second the present invention further comprises a rotation control sill 120 and a friction plate 121, compared to the ratchet gear 10 according to the first embodiment. The rotation control sill 120 is slightly raised upwardly relative to a rotation member 113. The friction plate 121 conforms to a rotation control groove 116. That is, the rotation control groove 116 further includes a long, narrow interior groove formed stepwise along its circumference, and a metal friction plate 121 formed of a shape corresponding to that of the interior groove is fitted into the rotation control groove 116. During rotation, the rotation shaft of a rotation control member 114 is brought into contact with a ring 112 and the friction plate 121. An enlarged surface is formed at the upper portion of the rotation control member 114 in touch with the rotation control sill 120. Thus, while the rotation member 113 keeps rotating, the enlarged surface of the rotation control member 114 is locked with the circumferential surface of the rotation control sill 120 to thus control rotation. In this embodiment, the enlarged surface of the rotation control member 114 is shaped of a truncated circle. The friction plate 121 is made of a rigid metal, e. g., steel, so

that it can prevent the rotation member 113 from being worn due to forward and backward rotation relative to the rotation control member 114 when the rotation member 113 is rotated by means of the handle.

FIG. 6A is a schematic plan view of a rotation member shown in FIG. 5, in which the rotation control groove 116 which is narrower in width and longer than the rotation control groove 16 according to the first embodiment, is provided along the outer circumference of the rotation member 113.

FIGS. 6B and 6C are enlarged views of an upper portion taken along the line I-I shown in FIG. 6A, showing states in which the rotation member 113 rotates counterclockwise and clockwise, respectively. In FIGS. 6B and 6C, portions covered by the rotation control member 114 are indicated by dotted lines.

Referring to FIG. 6B, when the rotation member 113 rotates counterclockwise, the rotation shaft of the rotation control member 114 rotating in a reverse direction relative to the rotation member 113, comes into contact with the ring 112 and the friction plate 121, and moves relatively toward a space where the width of the rotation control groove 116 is relatively large, that is, around a portion A. In this case, the rotation of the rotation member 113 is not transferred to gear body through the ring 112. As shown in FIG. 6C, when the rotation member 113 rotates clockwise, the rotation shaft of the rotation control member 114 moves relatively toward a space where the width of the rotation control groove 116 is relatively small, so that it is locked with the ring 112 and the friction plate 121. Also, the surface formed in the upper portion of the rotation control member 114 is locked with the rotation control sill 120 according to rotation, thereby securely controlling rotation. That is, the rotation of the rotation member 113 is transferred to gear body through the ring 112. For sake of convenient explanation, the gear body 111 is not

shown in FIGS. 6A through 6C.

FIG. 7 is a fragmentary exploded view of FIG. 5, in which the ratchet gear 110 according to the second embodiment of the present invention is the same as the ratchet gear 10 according to the first embodiment, except that the ratchet gear 110 is provided with the friction plate 121 fitted into the rotation control groove 116, and that the surface in touch with the rotation control sill 120 is formed at the upper portion of the rotation control member 114.

Although the invention has been described with a certain degree of particularity, it is understood that the present disclosure has been made only by way of example and that numerous changes in the details of construction and the combination and arrangement of parts may be resorted to without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Thus, the scope of the invention should not be limited by the foregoing specification, but rather, only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

Industrial Applicability As described above, according to the present invention, a remote controller has a built-in ratchet gear rotatable in one direction only and a condenser for storing current generated by a DC generator, so that sufficient power for driving the remote controller can be self-provided just by turning a handle mounted on the remote controller. Also, it is not necessary to separately supply lubricating oil at regular time intervals. Further, since the remote controller provided with the ratchet gear according to the present invention is configured to withstand wear due to rotation can be suppressed, it can be conveniently used semi-permanently.