U.S. patent application number 09/928928 was filed with the patent office on 2002-02-28 for three piece spool.
This patent application is currently assigned to J. L. Clark, Inc.. Invention is credited to Gray, Alfred L., Oppmann, Ewald A..
Application Number | 20020023984 09/928928 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 22861998 |
Filed Date | 2002-02-28 |
United States Patent
Application |
20020023984 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Oppmann, Ewald A. ; et
al. |
February 28, 2002 |
Three piece spool
Abstract
A wire spool comprising three structural components including
two end flanges and a rigid fiberboard barrel. The end flanges may
be molded plastic or stamped sheet metal. The end flanges have
central plug portions that are mechanically locked into the barrel.
The central plug portions include teeth which dig into the barrel
to substantially permanently secure the end flanges to the barrel
such that the wire spool has sufficient strength to allow
electricians to pick up a fully loaded wire spool by the end flange
and such that the end flanges cannot typically be removed by hand
except with the assistance of leverage tools. The plug portion also
may include elongate axially extending lugs that engage the barrel
and enhance torque transfer between the barrel and the end
flanges.
Inventors: |
Oppmann, Ewald A.;
(Belvidere, IL) ; Gray, Alfred L.; (Belvidere,
IL) |
Correspondence
Address: |
LEYDIG VOIT & MAYER, LTD
6815 WEAVER ROAD
ROCKFORD
IL
61114-8018
US
|
Assignee: |
J. L. Clark, Inc.
Rockford
IL
|
Family ID: |
22861998 |
Appl. No.: |
09/928928 |
Filed: |
August 13, 2001 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
|
60229618 |
Aug 31, 2000 |
|
|
|
Current U.S.
Class: |
242/580 ;
242/118.61; 242/587; 242/608 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65H 75/14 20130101;
B65H 2701/51522 20130101; B65H 75/28 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
242/580 ;
242/587; 242/608; 242/118.61 |
International
Class: |
B65H 075/14; B65H
075/28 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. A spool for supporting a strand of cordage wound about spool,
comprising: a barrel of fiber material having open ends; a pair of
end flanges, each end flanges comprising a disc portion and a plug
portion, the disc portion surrounding the plug portion, the plug
portion being inserted one of the open ends, the plug portion being
locked to the barrel in a substantially permanent manner, the disc
portion extending radially outward beyond the barrel such that the
spool is adapted to hold cordage axially between end flanges
2. The spool of claim 1 further comprising means for locking the
end flanges to the barrel.
3. The spool of claim 1 wherein said locking means locks each end
flange to the cylindrical barrel with a sufficient locking force
such that when the spool fully loaded with cordage, the spool can
be carried by lifting and supporting the spool with one end flange
only.
4. The spool of claim 2 wherein the locking means prevents relative
rotation between the barrel and the end flanges.
5. The spool of claim 1 further comprising means formed into the
end flanges for holding leading and trailing edges of cordage
material.
6. The spool of claim 1 wherein the plug portion includes a
plurality of radially outwardly projecting teeth engaging the plug
portion locking the end flanges to the barrel.
7. The spool of claim 1 further comprising means for creating
resiliency in the teeth to allow insertion of the plug portions
into the open ends of the barrel.
8. The spool of claim 6 wherein the teeth comprise chamfered
surfaces arranged to facilitate insertion of the plug portions into
the open ends.
9. The spool of claim 8 wherein the teeth includes means for
preventing removal of the end flanges.
10. The spool of claim 1 wherein the end flanges are locked to the
cylindrical barrel in a substantially permanent manner with a
sufficient locking force such that the spool fully loaded with the
cordage can be carried by lifting and supporting the spool with one
end flange only.
11. The spool of claim 1 wherein the spool is adapted to hold
cordage selected from the group consisting of metal wire and cable
containing metal.
12. A spool for supporting a strand of cordage wound about spool,
comprising: a cylindrical barrel of fiberboard material extending
between first and second open ends, the cylindrical barrel being
coaxial about a spool axis; first and second one piece end flanges,
each end flange comprising a disc portion and a plug portion, the
disc portion surrounding the plug portion, the plug portions of the
first and second end flanges being inserted into the first and
second open ends, respectively, the plug portion including a
plurality of radially outwardly projecting teeth engaging the
cylindrical barrel locking the end flanges to the cylindrical
barrel in a substantially permanent manner, the disc portions
extending radially outward beyond the barrel such that the spool is
adapted to hold cordage axially between end flanges.
13. The spool of claim 12 wherein each of the end flanges comprises
a central opening coaxial about the spool axis.
14. The spool of claim 13 wherein each of the end flanges includes
a pair of drive holes disposed radially between the central opening
and the disc portion.
15. The spool of claim 12 wherein each plug portion includes a
cylindrical portion projecting axially in one of the open ends, the
teeth being providing on the cylindrical portion.
16. The spool of claim 15 wherein the teeth have a radially
extending edge engaging the barrel, further comprising a plurality
of slots in the cylindrical portion axially between the teeth and
the end flange, the slots providing resiliency to the teeth for
facilitating assembly of the end flanges and the barrel.
17. The spool of claim 16 wherein each of the teeth has a chamfered
surface relative to the axis and a substantially perpendicular
surface relative to the axis, the chamfered surfaces of the first
and second end flanges facing axially inward toward each other for
facilitating assembly of the end flanges and the barrel, the
perpendicular surfaces being adjacent the slot and facing axially
outward for preventing removal of the end flanges from the
barrel.
18. The spool of claim 16 wherein the cylindrical portion has a
plurality of elongate lugs, each elongate lug having an axially
extending edge engaging the cylindrical barrel preventing angular
slippage between the end flanges and the cylindrical barrel.
19. The spool of claim 12 wherein the spool is adapted to hold
cordage selected from the group consisting of metal wire and metal
cable.
20. The spool of claim 12 wherein the end flanges are locked to the
cylindrical barrel with a sufficient locking force such that the
spool fully loaded with the cordage can be carried by lifting and
supporting the spool with one end flange only.
21. The spool of claim 12 wherein each of the end flanges comprise
rigid plastic material.
22. The spool of claim 12 wherein each of the end flanges comprise
metal material.
23. The spool of claim 12 wherein the cylindrical barrel has an
outer diameter of between about 2 inches and about 4 inches, and
wherein the end flanges have an outer diameter of between about 6
inches and about 10 inches.
24. The spool of claim 12 wherein each of the end flanges include a
starting hole and a finishing hole formed into the disc portion,
the finishing hole located radially outward from the starting hole,
the starting hole retaining a leading end of the cordage, the
finishing hole retaining a trailing end of the cordage.
25. A spool, comprising: a cylindrical barrel of fiberboard
material extending between first and second open ends, the
cylindrical barrel being coaxial about a spool axis; first and
second one piece end flanges, each end flange comprising a disc
portion and a plug portion, the disc portion surrounding the plug
portion, the plug portions of the first and second end flanges
being inserted into the first and second open ends, respectively,
the plug portion including a plurality of radially outwardly
projecting teeth engaging the cylindrical barrel locking the end
flanges to the cylindrical barrel in a substantially permanent
manner, wherein the teeth have a radially extending edge engaging
the barrel, each plug portion including a cylindrical portion
projecting axially in one of the open ends, the teeth being
providing on the cylindrical portion, further comprising a
plurality of slots in the cylindrical portion axially between the
teeth and the end flange, the slots providing resiliency to the
teeth for facilitating assembly of the end flanges and the barrel,
wherein each of the teeth has a chamfered surface relative to the
axis and a substantially perpendicular surface relative to the
axis, the chamfered surfaces of the first and second end flanges
facing axially inward toward each other for facilitating assembly
of the end flanges and the barrel, the perpendicular surfaces being
adjacent the slot and facing axially outward for preventing removal
of the end flanges from the barrel, wherein the cylindrical portion
has a plurality of elongate lugs, each elongate lug having an
axially extending edge engaging the cylindrical barrel preventing
angular slippage between the end flanges and the cylindrical
barrel, each of the end flanges comprising a central opening
coaxial about the spool axis and a pair of drive holes disposed
radially between the central opening and the disc portion; and a
strand of cordage wound about the barrel retained between the first
and second end flanges, each of the end flanges including a
starting hole and a finishing hole formed into the disc portion,
the finishing hole located radially outward from the starting hole,
the starting hole retaining a leading end of the cordage, the
finishing hole retaining a trailing end of the cordage.
26. The spool of claim 25 wherein the cordage is selected from the
group consisting of metal wire and metal cable.
27. The spool of claim 25 wherein the end flanges are locked to the
cylindrical barrel with a sufficient locking force such that the
spool fully loaded with the cordage can be carried by lifting and
supporting the spool with one end flange only.
28. The spool of claim 25 wherein each of the end flanges comprises
rigid plastic material.
29. The spool of claim 25 wherein each of the end flanges comprise
metal material.
30. The spool of claim 35 wherein the cylindrical barrel has an
outer diameter of between about 2 inches and about 4 inches, and
wherein the end flanges have an outer diameter of between about 6
inches and about 10 inches.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED PATENT APPLICATIONS
[0001] This patent application claims the benefit of U.S.
provisional patent application 60/229,618, filed Aug. 31, 2000.
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0002] The present invention generally relates to wire spools upon
which wire, cord, string, cable or other material can be wound and
more particularly relates to three piece wire spools comprising
three primary structural components.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] One requirement of a wire spool is that a wire manufacturer
is able to draw or wind wire onto the spool which requires torque
transfer between the barrel and the end flange. A second
requirement is that the spool must have sufficient strength to
carry the load of the wire and does not collapse or fall apart when
transported or when an electrician picks up a fully loaded spool by
the end flange.
[0004] There are about three conventional and widely used types of
wire spools including wood spools, plastic spools and metal spools.
Most wood spools are comprised of wood end flanges and a rigid
fiberboard barrel that are tied together with tie rod assemblies
that run through the barrel and axially retain the wood end flanges
of the ends of the barrel. Some wood spools are comprised of five
pieces and includes a pair of plastic or metal plugs such as those
commercially available from Badger Plug, Inc. to lock the wood end
flanges to the barrel. Metal Spools are typically comprised of
either three or five structural components and are structurally
comprised of formed sheet metal material. Plastic spools commonly
comprise of three structural components including a plastic central
barrel and a pair of plastic end flanges.
[0005] Each different type of spool has certain advantages over the
other types of wire spools. The primary advantage of plastic spools
is that they offer an inexpensive alternative to wood or metal
spools. Plastic material is typically much less expensive than
metal or wood materials. With that being said, prior art plastic
spools have had one significant problem, namely, that the current
process for assembling the plastic end flanges on the ends of the
plastic barrel requires MEK (Methyl Ethyl Keytone) which is a
hazardous and environmentally unfriendly substance. This substance
prepares or softens the plastic material and allows a strong bond
to form between the end flanges and the barrel when assembled.
However, many wire manufacturers do not want to have MEK (Methyl
Ethyl Keytone) at their workplace and therefore will not allow the
spools to be assembled at the location where the wire is wound onto
the spools. This often means that the spool is assembled at the
spool manufacturing plant which can cause environmental
difficulties for the spool manufacturer. More importantly, this is
inefficient having the undesirable result that large amounts of air
are shipped from the spool manufacturer to the wire manufacturer
because assembled spools take up much more space than unassembled
spool components. Based on the foregoing, there has been and
continues to be a desire to provide a plastic wire spool that is
not assembled with MEK (Methyl Ethyl Keytone) or any other
environmentally unfriendly or hazardous process.
[0006] Three-piece and five piece metal spools may also have
certain advantages such as superior strength and durability, the
ability to assembly the metal spool at the location of the wire
manufacturer and the fact that product information, decoration and
advertising can be easily printed on the outside faces of the
flange. However, there have also been assembly difficulties with
prior metal spools. In particular, complex stamping dies are needed
to facilitate assembly of these spools. In addition, the center
barrel is an expensive component requiring a rolling and seaming
operation.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0007] It is a primary object of the present invention to provide a
wire spool assembled from less expensive materials and that does
not require difficult assembly or environmentally unfriendly
assembly.
[0008] In that regard, according to one aspect of the invention it
is a further object of the present invention to provide a wire
spool including plastic components that can be readily assembled
without environmental concerns at the location of the wire
manufacturer to avoid the inefficiencies involved with shipping
air.
[0009] In regard again to the first object, according to another
aspect of the invention it is a further objective of the present
invention to provide a wire spool including metal components which
is less expensive and/or easier to assemble.
[0010] In keeping with the purpose of the invention in the above
objects, it is a further objective of the present invention to
provide a wire spool that has torque transfer capabilities between
the end flanges and the center barrel.
[0011] In accordance with these objectives, the present invention
is directed toward an inexpensive wire spool comprising three
structural components including two end flanges and a rigid
fiberboard barrel. The end flanges have central plug portions that
are mechanically locked into the barrel. The central plug portions
include teeth which dig into the barrel to substantially
permanently secure the end flanges to the barrel such that the wire
spool has sufficient strength to allow electricians to pick up a
fully loaded wire spool by the end flange and such that the end
flanges cannot typically be removed by hand except with the
assistance of leverage tools or damaging the spool components. The
plug portion also may include elongated axially extending lugs
which enhance torque transfer between the barrel and the end
flanges.
[0012] According to one aspect of the present invention the end
flanges are unitary components of molded plastic material (not two
separately molded pieces joined together). According to another
aspect of the present invention, the end flanges are stamped or
formed from sheet metal.
[0013] Other objectives and advantages of the invention will become
more apparent from the following detailed description when taken in
conjunction with the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part
of the specification illustrate several aspects of the present
invention, and together with the description serve to explain the
principles of the invention. In the drawings:
[0015] FIG. 1 is an isometric illustration of a wire spool
containing wire according to a preferred embodiment of the present
invention.
[0016] FIG. 2 is an exploded isometric assembly drawing for the
wire spool shown in FIG. 1.
[0017] FIG. 3 is an enlarged isometric view of one of the end
flanges shown in the wire spool of FIG. 2 without the center
barrel.
[0018] FIG. 4 is a cross section of the wire spool shown in FIG. 1,
taken about line 4-4 with the center barrel secured.
[0019] While the invention will be described in connection with
certain preferred embodiments, there is no intent to limit it to
those embodiments. On the contrary, the intent is to cover all
alternatives, modifications and equivalents as included within the
spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended
claims.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
[0020] For purposes of illustration a preferred embodiment of the
present invention has been depicted in the drawings as a wire spool
10 for holding long strands of cable or metal wire 12 thereon. The
spool 10 may also be used for other forms of cordage such as string
or cord or other material. The spool 10 includes three structural
components including a pair of end flanges 14 and a high strength,
rigid fiberboard barrel 16.
[0021] In the preferred embodiment, the end flanges 14 are molded
from relatively strong and rigid plastic material such as high
impact polystyrene, polypropylene or ABS. However, the end flanges
14 could also be metal material and of uniform thickness being
stamped and formed from sheet steel. In either event, each end
flange 14 includes a central plug portion 18 and a disc portion 20
integrally joined together such that the end flange is made as a
single component. The plug portion is closely sized to the openings
or open ends 22 of barrel 16 to allow sliding insertion of the plug
portion 18 into the open ends 22. It should be noted that wire
spools typically come in about 6 inch diameters and 10 inch
diameter sizes (the diameters of the end flanges), although other
sizes are possible. Barrels 16 having a diameter of between about 2
inches to about 4 inches are desirable, with a substantially
smaller diameter than that of the end flanges such that the end
flanges 14 provide opposed disc shaped retaining walls 24 extending
radially beyond the outer radial periphery of the barrel 16 that
serves the essential purpose of holding and axially retaining the
desired load of wire 12 therebetween.
[0022] To assembly the spool 10, the plug portions 18 are slidably
inserted into the open ends 22 with a sufficient pressing force.
The plug portions 18 include a projecting cylinder portion 26 that
contacts and engages the inner diameter surface of the barrel 16
for radial support. The cylinder portion 26 includes gripping teeth
28 that dig into the fiber material of the barrel 20 for axial
retention. Each tooth 28 has a chamfered cam surface 30 on its
inside face and a square or perpendicular face 32 on its outer
face. The cam surface 30 engages and slides against the inside
surface of the barrel 16 during assembly which in turn causes
radial expansion of the barrel 16 for clearance and/or the teeth 28
to deflect slightly for clearance radially inward. In either event,
sufficient clearance allows the plug portions 18 to be slid into
the open ends 22 of the barrel 16, until the ends of the barrel 16
abut the inside surface of the disc portions 20. Gaps or slots 36
are provided axially behind the teeth 28. Once the plug portion 18
is inserted, the connection is substantially permanent because the
perpendicular face 32 on the teeth 28 locks the end flanges 14 to
the barrel 16 to prevent removal. In particular, any attempted
removal force in the axial direction would tend to urge the teeth
28 radially outward and deeper into the fiber material of the
barrel 16.
[0023] The plug portion 18 also includes thin elongate lugs 34 at
spaced locations. The lugs 34 extend axially are collectively
positioned at a diameter just larger than the inside diameter of
the barrel 16. When the plug portion is inserted 18, the lugs 34
dig into the fiber material to engage the barrel 16 to enhance
torque transfer between the end flanges 14 and the barrel 16. The
teeth 28 also provide some torque transfer benefits. Collectively,
the teeth 28 and the lugs 34 prevent slippage between the end
flanges 14 and the barrel 16 during wire winding operations.
[0024] The end flange 14 include diametrically opposed central
openings 42 coaxial about a predetermined axis 50 of rotation for
the spool 10. The spool 10 can be supported for rotation on a
support rod (not shown) that extends through the central openings
42. The end flanges 14 also preferably include a starting hole 44
disposed radially inward in the disc portion 20 for receiving the
starting strand of wire 12 or cable and a finishing hole 46
disposed radially outward for receiving the cut or terminating
strand of wire 12 or cable. If the end flanges 14 are metal, they
may also have support ribs (not shown) for increased strength and a
safety curl (not shown) at its outer radial periphery for safety
purposes. The plug portion 18 of each end flange 14 also includes a
pair of 180.degree. degree apart drive holes 48 for receiving the
driving mechanism which rotates the spool to wind wire or cable
tightly onto the spool.
[0025] The foregoing description of various preferred embodiments
of the invention has been presented for purposes of illustration
and description. It is not intended to be exhaustive or to limit
the invention to the precise forms disclosed. Obvious modifications
or variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The
embodiments discussed were chosen and described to provide the best
illustration of the principles of the invention and its practical
application to thereby enable one of ordinary skill in the art to
utilize the invention in various embodiments and with various
modifications as are suited to the particular use contemplated. All
such modifications and variations are within the scope of the
invention as determined by the appended claims when interpreted in
accordance with the breadth to which they are fairly, legally, and
equitably entitled.
* * * * *