Attic Door Rope Apparatus

Abstract

An attic door rope apparatus for retractably storing an attic door rope may comprise a reel rotatably coupled with a rotation mechanism, a stored-energy mechanism having a first end coupled with the reel and a second end coupled with the rotation mechanism, wherein the stored-energy mechanism is configured to impart a torque on the reel about a rotation axis of the reel. Another attic door rope apparatus for retractably storing an attic door rope may comprise a winding mechanism configured to rotate in an unwinding direction and a winding direction, a motor coupled with the winding mechanism configured to turn the winding mechanism in at least the unwinding direction, a sensor configured to detect a user command and send a command signal to the motor, and a power source in electrical communication with the motor and the sensor.

1 . An attic door rope apparatus for retractably storing an attic door rope, the apparatus comprising:
 a reel rotatably coupled with a rotation mechanism; and   a stored-energy mechanism having a first end coupled with the reel and a second end coupled with the rotation mechanism, wherein the stored-energy mechanism is configured to impart a torque on the reel about a rotation axis of the reel.   
     
     
         2 . The attic door rope apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the stored-energy mechanism is disposed within a substantially hollow portion of the reel. 
     
     
         3 . The attic door rope apparatus of  claim 1  wherein the stored-energy mechanism comprises a torsion spring. 
     
     
         4 . The attic door rope apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a rope guide configured to guide a rope extending from the reel toward a predetermined location. 
 
     
     
         5 . The attic door rope apparatus of  claim 4  wherein the rope guide comprises one or more rollers. 
     
     
         6 . The attic door rope apparatus of  claim 1 , the rope further comprising:
 a stop between a first end and a second end of the rope, the stop configured to catch on a portion of the apparatus when the rope is extended.   
     
     
         7 . The attic door rope apparatus of  claim 6  wherein the stop is configured to catch on a rope guide. 
     
     
         8 . The attic door rope apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a housing having a rope port. 
 
     
     
         9 . The attic door rope apparatus of  claim 8 , wherein the housing comprises a substantially hollow elongated member protruding therefrom, the member in substantially concentric alignment with the rope port. 
     
     
         10 . The attic door rope apparatus of  claim 9  further comprising:
 a substantially hollow end cap configured to mate with the substantially hollow elongated member. 
 
     
     
         11 . The attic door rope apparatus of  claim 1  further comprising:
 a braking mechanism. 
 
     
     
         12 . An attic door rope apparatus for retractably storing an attic door pull rope, the apparatus comprising:
 a winding mechanism configured to rotate in an unwinding direction and a winding direction to dispense the attic door pull rope;   a motor coupled with the winding mechanism configured to turn the winding mechanism in at least the unwinding direction;   a sensor configured to detect a user command and send a command signal to the motor to turn the winding mechanism to dispense the attic door pull rope; and   a power source in electrical communication with the motor and the sensor.   
     
     
         13 . The attic door rope apparatus of  claim 12  further comprising:
 a stored-energy mechanism configured to apply a torque to the winding mechanism in the winding direction. 
 
     
     
         14 . The attic door rope apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the sensor is configured to command the motor to turn the winding mechanism in the unwinding direction in response to a first user command, and in the winding direction in response to a second user command. 
     
     
         15 . The attic door rope apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the motor is a stepper motor. 
     
     
         16 . The attic door rope apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the sensor is an optical sensor. 
     
     
         17 . The attic door rope apparatus of  claim 16 , wherein the user command comprises a hand waving motion in detectable range of the optical sensor. 
     
     
         18 . The attic door rope apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the sensor is a touch sensitive mechanism. 
     
     
         19 . The attic door rope apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the sensor is configured to command the motor to turn the winding mechanism for a duration proportional to the duration of the user command. 
     
     
         20 . The attic door rope apparatus of  claim 12 , wherein the sensor is configured to issue the command signal to the motor only after detecting the user command for a predetermined duration.