U.S. patent number 3,584,808 [Application Number 04/809,184] was granted by the patent office on 1971-06-15 for reel-holding device.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Staples Research Corporation. Invention is credited to William F. Hamilton, Stanley F. Staples.
United States Patent |
3,584,808 |
Staples , et al. |
June 15, 1971 |
REEL-HOLDING DEVICE
Abstract
This invention relates to reel-holding devices, and more
particularly to devices for holding large reels such as those used
for photographic films. It consists of a base with two arms movable
toward or away from each other with reel-engaging discs projecting
inwardly from the outer free ends of each of said arms. By means of
two jackscrews the arms are caused to move toward or away from each
other so that a reel may be engaged or disengaged by the said
discs. Between each disc and its complementary support, there is a
brake in the form of a washer-shaped element of compressible
material so that the rotation of the reel may be frictionally
retarded. The jackscrews cooperate with nuts which can be
cylindrical, hexagonal, or any other shape. The nuts are internally
threaded and are located in a cavity near the base ends of the
arms. The cylindrical nuts are arranged in the cavities and have a
loose fit in the direction perpendicular to the axis of the
jackscrew. This construction eliminates the precision machining and
adjustment that would be required for making a jackscrew function
properly that is restrained by more than two bearing points.
Inventors: |
Staples; Stanley F.
(Alexandria, VA), Hamilton; William F. (Alexandria, VA) |
Assignee: |
Staples Research Corporation
(Alexandria, VA)
|
Family
ID: |
25200727 |
Appl.
No.: |
04/809,184 |
Filed: |
March 21, 1969 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
242/423.2;
242/596.1 |
Current CPC
Class: |
G03B
21/43 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
G03B
21/43 (20060101); G03B 21/32 (20060101); B65h
019/02 (); B65h 075/02 (); B65h 023/06 () |
Field of
Search: |
;242/68.4,58.6,85,75.4 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Mautz; George F.
Assistant Examiner: Gerstein; Milton
Claims
We claim:
1. A reel-holding device comprising a base, first and second
movable elongated reel-supporting arms extending away from said
base, guiding means for limiting the motion of said arms to a
single plane, a shaft adjacent said base and passing through both
arms, a first jackscrew on that portion of the shaft that passes
through the first arm and a second jackscrew on that portion of the
shaft that passes through the second arm, each arm defining a
(chamber) cavity around its complementary jackscrew, and a nut in
each (chamber) cavity having internal threads engaging those of its
complementary jackscrew, each nut having (play) loose fit within
its (chamber) cavity in a direction perpendicular to the axis of
the shaft yet being restrained from substantial rotation by its
complementary arm to thereby permit easy assembly of the shaft.
2. A reel-holding device comprising a base, a pair of supporting
elements extending away from said base, each of said supporting
elements defining a cavity adjacent said base, guiding plates
movable in a plane perpendicular to said supporting elements and
attached to said supporting elements, said base defining a guiding
groove therein for guiding said guide plates, a shaft located
closely adjacent said base and extending adjacent said upright
supporting elements, a first jackscrew on said shaft adjacent the
first of said elements, a first nut free to translate in the first
of said elements, said first nut cooperating with said first
jackscrew for moving said first element when the said shaft is
rotated, a second jackscrew on said shaft adjacent the second of
said elements, a second nut free to translate in said cavity that
is in said second element, said second nut cooperating with said
second jackscrew for moving said second element when said shaft is
rotated, said first and second jackscrews and their cooperating
first and second nuts being arranged to move the elements toward
each other when the shaft is rotated, first and second reel-holding
rotatable shafts respectively supported at the free end of the
supporting elements, each of said reel-holding rotatable shaft
extending from its supporting element toward the other such
supporting element and each having a clamping disc thereon located
between the two supporting elements, driving means coupled to one
of said reel-holding rotatable shafts to thereby rotate said reel,
and brake element means between each such disc and its
complementary supporting element, each brake element means being of
material that is relatively compressible when compared to the
material of the said supporting elements.
3. The reel-holding means as defined in claim 2 wherein said first
and second nuts in said cavities have a loose fit in the direction
perpendicular to the axis of said shaft.
4. The reel-holding means as defined in claim 2 wherein said
driving means is a crank.
5. A reel-holding device comprising, a base, a pair of supporting
elements extending away from said base with each supporting element
defining a cavity near its base end, guiding means on said base for
limiting the motion of said supporting elements to a single plane,
a shaft located closely adjacent said base and extending adjacent
said upright supporting elements, a first jackscrew on said shaft
adjacent the first of said elements and arranged to pass through
the cavity associated with the first of said pair of supporting
elements, a first threaded means cooperating with said first
jackscrew and located in said first cavity for moving said first
element when said shaft is rotated, said first threaded means being
in the form of a nut which has a loose fit in a direction
perpendicular to the axis of said first jackscrew whereby to permit
easy assembly of said first jackscrew, a second jackscrew on said
shaft adjacent the second of said elements and arranged to pass
through the cavity associated with the second of said pair of
supporting elements, a second threaded means cooperating with said
second jackscrew and located in said second cavity for moving said
second element when said shaft is rotated, said second threaded
means being in the form of a nut which has a loose fit in a
direction perpendicular to the axis of said second jackscrew
whereby to permit easy assembly of said second jackscrew, the first
and second jackscrews and their cooperating first and second
threaded means being arranged to move the elements toward each
other when the shaft is rotated in one direction and away from each
other when the shaft is rotated in the other direction, first and
second reel-holding rotatable shafts respectively supported at the
free ends of the supporting elements and on a common axis, each of
said reel-holding rotatable shafts extending from its supporting
element toward the other such supporting element and each having a
clamping disc thereon located between the two supporting elements,
driving means coupled to one of said reel-holding rotatable shafts
for rotating said one of said reel-holding rotatable shafts to
thereby rotate said reel, and brake element means between each said
disc and its complementary supporting element, each brake element
means being of material that is relatively compressible when
compared to the material of the said supporting elements.
Description
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
One inventive feature involves the washer-shaped brake element
which provides frictional restraint for the reel-engaging discs
when the jackscrew is rotated to apply pressure to opposite ends of
the reel. This of course presses the reel-holding discs against the
washer-shaped brake which in turn applies pressure against the
outer end of one of said arms and thus provides the necessary
friction. The amount of frictional restraint may be varied by
turning the jackscrew to get the desired degree of pressure on the
washer-shaped brake element. Another inventive feature employs the
use of a nut on the jackscrew and fitting the support so that very
accurate alignment of the jackscrews in the direction that the nuts
slide in the cylindrical cavities is not required.
The invention always automatically centers the reel in the reel
holder since there are two jackscrews that respectively move the
two supports for the reel in opposite directions at equal rates
when the jackscrews are rotated.
In the drawings:
FIG. 1 is a front view of the reel-holding device with a portion of
the apparatus broken away.
FIG. 2 is a right end view of FIG. 1.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view along line 3-3 of FIG. 2.
FIG. 4 is a view along line 4-4 of FIG. 1.
FIG. 5 is a sectional view along line 5-5 of FIG. 4.
Referring to FIGS. 1 to 5 collectively, there are two upright
supports 10 and 11 which are moved toward or away from each other
by jackscrews 12 and 13 which are located on the surface of shaft
14. This shaft is supported horizontally in its midsection by a
stationary adjustable bearing 15. As shown in FIG. 3, the
jackscrews 12 and 13 respectively cooperate with the internal
threads of nuts 16 and 17 which are respectively located in
cavities 18 and 19 formed in the lower ends of supports 10 and 11
respectively. In a plane perpendicular to the axis of the shaft 14,
the nuts 16 and 17 are restrained from rotation in any suitable way
and are allowed to translate in the closely fitting cavities 18 and
19 in one or more directions that are perpendicular to the axis of
the shaft so as to make snug sliding fits in the cavities. The nuts
16 and 17, however, preferably fit snugly in the cavities 18 and 19
respectively, so far as endwise motion (parallel to shaft 14) is
concerned.
A crank 20 enables the shaft 14 to be rotated either clockwise or
counterclockwise. A main base 21 supports all of the parts,
including bearings 15, 22 and 23 for shaft 14. Each of these
bearings and their supports may be made of a suitable plastic.
At the outer or free ends or arms of supports 10 and 11 there are
shafts or pins 24 and 25, respectively, which are free to rotate
and which carry integrally therewith discs 26 and 27 respectively.
These discs are respectively provided with keys 28 and 29. The pins
24 and 25, the discs 26 and 27, and the keys 28 and 29, all
cooperate to engage a reel or spool 35 (FIG. 1) which may be
inserted between them. Located between the disc 26 and the arm or
support 10 is a washer-shaped brake element 30 which surrounds
shaft 24. This brake element 30 is preferably composed of leather
(such as shoe leather) and is rough on both of its faces. It is
relatively compressible as compared to the aluminum used for the
support 10 and the stainless steel used for the disc 26. The outer
end of support 10 has a round indent 32 to thus receive the brake
element 30. Between the disc 27 and the aluminum support 11 is
another brake element 31 fitting in an indent 33 and having the
same composition, construction and function as that of brake
element 30. A crank 34 is provided for rotating shaft 25.
A freely rotatable roller 36 mounted on supports 37 (FIGS. 1 and 2)
is provided so that film from the reel may pass over the same.
The arms or supports 10 and 11 are provided at their inner ends
with mounting plates 38 and 40. These plates travel in groove 39
located in base 21, to support and thus guide the arms or supports
10 and 11 accurately along the base.
The operation of the device is as follows. The crank 20 may be
rotated in one angular direction to turn the jackscrews 12 and 13
that respectively move nuts 16 and 17 (and also supports 10 and 11
toward each other. This causes pins 24 and 25 to engage holes at
opposite ends of the reel 35 and the keys 28 and 29 to enter
openings in that reel. The discs 26 and 27 move toward each other
and thus clamp the reel 35. This causes discs 26 and 27 to compress
brake elements 30 and 31 respectively. The degree of braking and
hence the degree of frictional restraint applied to the rotation of
the reel 35 may be adjusted by turning crank 20 in one angular
direction or the other to thereby move supports 10 and 11 toward or
away from each other. If it is desired to wind film on the reel 35,
the crank 34 may be turned.
One problem involved in the assembly of the device is making sure
that the jackscrews 12 and 13 are properly aligned with the
supports 10 and 11. If instead of using the nuts 16 and 17 the
upright supports 10 and 11 had threaded holes therethrough for
receiving the jackscrews, there would be serious alignment problems
during assembly. Such holes in the movable supports would
necessarily be accurately aligned with bearings 22 and 23. A device
constructed in that manner, if accurately aligned at the time of
manufacture, could easily lose its free, smooth operation and such
accurate alignment in response to continuous use and/or rough
treatment during actual usage. However, our invention employs the
nuts 16 and 17 which are snug sliding fits in cavities or chambers
18 and 19 respectively and this largely overcomes the alignment
problems, adverted to above, and insures reliability in operation
and enables easy and rapid assembly of the entire device.
* * * * *