Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
RACK FOR STORING AND DISPENSING ROLLED FLOOR COVERING
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a rack device for
storing and dispensing rolled sheet material which is
particularly but not exclusively used for floor covering
either as carpet or vinyl flooring.
Stores selling such floor coverings must in
many cases carry large quantities of the floor coverings
and be in a position both to display the floor covering
to a prospective purchaser and to dispense a measured
length of the floor covering so that the purchaser can
carry away his chosen purchase. In many cases this dis-
play and dispensing is carried out in a very haphazard
manner with the rolls being mounted merely upon an elon-
gate pin or rod and the floor covering pulled out over an
expanse of the floor and then cut to a measured length.
This is generally unsatisfactory in that it requires much
labour and floor space in rolling and unrolling the
material and in addition the floor covering material can
become soiled.
Proposals have therefore been made to provide a
rack device which comprises a pair of chains each of
which rotates around upper and lower chain wheels with
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the upper chain wheels being arranged to be coaxial and
the lower chain and the lower chain wheels to be arranged
coaxial. The chains support aligned support hooks for
grasping and carrying the elongate pins or bars on which
a roll is mounted. Thus a plurality of rolls can be
mounted upon the chains and carried around so that a
desired one of the rolls is presented forwardly to a
position at which it can be inspected and the material
withdrawn.
However these devices have generally not been
satisfactory and have not included any arrangements for
handling the floor covering so that it is handled in the
normal way of pulling out a length onto an adjacent floor
space and then rewinding the material into a roll or
package for transportation by the purchaser. In addition
the lifting of the heavy rolls onto the frame or rack has
been carried out either manually with much difficulty or
by fork-lift truck or by other labour intensive and com-
plex techniques.
SUMMARY
It is one object of the present invention,
therefore, to provide a rack of this general type which
is improved so that it can, according to one aspect,
cause the material to he properly rolled at a display
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station forwardly of the rack to avoid the material hav-
ing to be pulled from the roll over an adjacent floor
space.
According to the invention there is provided a
rack device for storing and dispensing rolled sheet
material comprising a frame structure having ground
engaging means such that the frame structure can stand on
the ground defining an upper portion and a lower portion,
two elongate flexible members each arranged adjacent a
respective end of the frame structure, a first and second
pair of wheels each pair arranged to engage and support a
respective one of said flexible members such that it
forms an endless loop with the pairs defining two upper
wheels rotatable about a common upper axis and two lower
wheels rotatable about a common lower axis, means for
driving said flexible members such that they rotate
synchronously about said upper and lower axes, each of
said members carrying a plurality of support means there-
on for rotation therewith, with the support means of one
aligned with the support means of the other, said aligned
support means being arranged to releasibly support an
elongate member extending thereacross for receiving
thereon a roll of said sheet material such that the rolls
can be supported on the members in parallel spaced rela-
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tion for rotation therewith and presentation of each in
turn at a station forwardly of the frame structure, means
mounted at said station for winding up a length of said
sheet material drawn from that roll presented at that
time at said station, and a cylindrical body for receiv-
ing said length of said material to be wound thereon,
said cylindrical body having on an outer-peripheral
surface thereof an elongate latch member mounted for
pivotal movement about an axis longitudinal of the peri-
pheral surface, said latch members having a latch portion
extending outwardly to one side of said axis and movable
between a grasping position in which it engages and
grasps an edge of said material lying against said peri-
pheral surface and a release position in which the latch
portion is spaced from the peripheral surface to release
the edge of the material, and a lift portion extending
outwardly from said axis to a side opposed to said latch
portion and arranged such that when said latch portion is
in said grasping position said lift portion is raised
relative to said peripheral surface and arranged so as to
support the length of material away from the peripheral
surface as it is rolled, and when said latch portion is
in said raised position said lift portion lies flat
against the peripheral surface so that the length of
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material is no longer supported away from the peripheral
surface and the cylindrical body can be pulled longitud-
inally out of the rolled material, and means for locking
said latch portion in said grasping position.
This enables the material to be readily wound
onto a roll or core which is then removed for re-use
while the material remains wound into the roll.
With the foregoing in view, and other advan-
tages as will become apparent to those skilled in the art
to which this invention relates as this specification
proceeds, the invention is herein described by reference
to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, which
includes a description of the best mode known to the
applicant and of the preferred typical embodiment of the
principles of the present invention, in which:
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Figure 1 is a front elevational view of a rack
according to the invention with the rolls of floor cover-
ing removed for convenience of illustration.
Figure 2 is an end elevational view of the rack
of Figure 1.
Figure 3 is a front elevational view similar to
Figure 1 on an enlarged scale of a portion only of the
rack.
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Figure 4 is an enlarged view partly in cross
section of the knife mechanism and metering roll of the
rack of Figures 1 and 2.
Figure 5 is a front elevational view of a por-
tion of one of the chains of the rack of Figure 1.
Figure 6 is a side elevational view of the
portion of Figure 5.
Figure 7 is an enlarged view of one end roller
of the wind up mechanism of the rack of Figure 3.
Figure 8 is an end elevational view of the
roller of Figure 7.
Figure 9 is a side elevational view of one part
of a support tube for rolling up the withdrawn material.
Figure 10 is a cross-sectional view along the
lines 10 - 10 of Figure 9 showing the latching device for
the material edge in release condition.
Figure 11 is a view similar to that of Figure
10 showing the latching device in grasping condition.
In the drawings like characters of reference
indicate corresponding parts in the different figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
The rack shown generally in Figures 1 and 2
comprises a pair of end plate members 10 and 11 which are
formed of suitable frame members and covering end plates
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to provide rigidity to the structure, as will be within
the skill of a competent engineer. The end plate members
10 and 11 are interconnected by transverse beams 12 and
13 which again are constructed to provide stiffness
against twisting both about vertical and horizontal axes
of the frame structure. The transverse beams 12 and
13 are interconnected by stiffening struts 14 to form a
complete rigid framework.
A lower end of the end plates 10 and 11 carries
ground engaging legs 15 so that the frame structure can
rest upon the ground and can extend therefrom upwardly to
define a lower end 16 and an upper end 17 the latter of
which may be at a height of the order of 8 to 12 feet
depending upon the available ceiling height and other
criteria of an engineering nature.
Each end plate member 10 and 11 encloses a
flexible chain loop 18 and 19 shown only schematically in
Figures 1 and 2 and carried by chain wheels 20, 21 and
22, 23. The chains thus wrap around the chain wheels to
define a closed loop which has a forward run 191 and a
rearward run 192 as shown in Figure 2.
The upper chain wheels 20 and 22 are mounted
upon stub shafts 201, 221 for rotation about an upper
horizontal axis which is common to the chain wheels and
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extends across the upper portion of the frame structure.
The lower chain wheels 21 and 23 are mounted upon a com-
mon shaft 24 which extends across the lower portion of
the frame structure. The chain wheel 22 is driven by a
motor 25 via a gear box 26 and chains 27 and 28 so that
the chains 18 and 19 rotate in synchronism around the
axes defined by the upper and lower chain wheels.
Each chain carries a plurality of support
members which are aligned transversely between the chains
for carrying rolls of the floor covering material. In
Figure 2 the support members are shown only schematically
and indicated generally at 29.
In Figures 5 and 6 one of the support members
is shown in more detail. Specifically one link of the
chain 19 is indicated at 191 and comprises a pair of
pivot pins 192 and 193 on which the next links pivot in
conventional manner. The next links are for convenience
of illustration not shown but it will be appreciated that
the chain 19 is of a conventional nature.
The pivot pin 192 is an extended pivot pin so
as to define an outwardly extending portion 194 which
projects to the inwardly facing side of the chain 19.
Upon the portion 194 is mounted a pivot coupling 195 in
the form of a bearing 196 with downwardly depending
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plates 197 and 198 to which is welded as indicated at 202
a hook member 200. The plates 197 and 198 are cranked
outwardly at 201 so as to space the hook member inwardly
from the remainder of the links of the chain. It will
be appreciated that the pivot coupling 195 is free to
pivot about the extension portion 194 so that gravity
will tend to pull the hook downwardly so as to lie
beneath the extension portion 194 regardless of the
orientation of the associated link 191 which will of
course vary as the chain extends around the chain wheels
and passes along the forward and rearward runs.
The hook 200 includes a cup portion 203 and an
upwardly projecting finger 204 which can receive and
cradle an end 206 of an elongate rod 205. The head or
end 206 acts to locate the rod so that it is prevented
from sliding axially and dropping off the hook. The rod
extends along the full length of the frame structure and
carries a similar head at the opposed end for cooperation
with a similar hook on the chain 18.
Reverting now to Figure 2, a first one of the
rods is indicated attached to the chain 19 at 205A. The
attachment linkage is shown only schematically for con-
venience of illustration but it will be appreciated that
it takes the form of the hook arrangement 200 of Figures
-- 10 --
5 and 6. A second such bar 205B is positioned at the
next ad~acent point on the chain 19 and sufficiently
spaced from the first so that a roll can be carried at
each point without the outside dimensions of the rolls of
material interfering when carried by the chain. A third
position is indicated at 205C and is at this stage free
from the intended roll of the material. The intended
roll is indicated generally at 30 and is positioned on a
floor or support level indicated at 31. The roll of the
material includes a tubular core 32 through which passes
the bar 205D which is of the same construction as the bar
205 illustrated in Figure 5.
A lifting device in the form of an elongate bar
for attaching the roll 30 to its intended location 205C
is shown generally at 33. The device comprises a first
lever portion 331 and a second lever portion 332 each of
which is pivotally coupled to a central manually actuable
lever 333. The lsver 333 includes a crank portion 334
and a manually graspable handle 335. The pivotal connec-
tion between the lever portions 331 and 332 and the cen-
tral crank 334 are spaced so that the orientation of the
central crank 334 determines the spacing between the
outer ends of the lever portions 331 and 332.
The outer end of each of the lever portions 331
34
and 332 carries a loop 336 and 337 for engaging over the
bars 205A and 205D respectively.
In use of the lifting device 33, the rotation
of the chains 18 and 19 is halted with the bar 205A at
the required position so that the upper loop 337 can just
extend over that bar while the lower loop engages over
the bar 205D. With the handle 335 released, the lever
portions 331 and 332 and the central crank 334 take up a
straight line with a maximum distance between the loops
336 and 337. The chains 18 and 19 are then moved so that
the forward run moves upwardly by actuation of the motor
25. This draws the roll 30 inwardly and upwardly so that
it lies along side the station 205C to which it is to be
attached. At that point the handle 335 is pulled down-
wardly so as to reduce the spacing between the loops 336
and 337 thus lifting the bar 205D over the front finger
204 of the respective hook 200. The handle 335 is then
released lowering the bar 205D into the cup 203. The
length of the lift mechanism 33 is arranged relative to
the spacing between the positions 205A and 205C so that
the lift mechanism can be removed when the bar 205D is
supported in its respective hooks. It will of course be
appreciated that two such lifting mechanisms 33 are
provided one for each end of the bars 205 and for the
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respective chains 18 and 19.
With the rolls of material thus loaded onto the
chains 18 and 19, the rolls can be rotated by actuation
of the motor 25 so that each in turn is presented for-
wardly at an inspection and unwind station generally
indicated at 34. A potential customer can then inspect
each of the rolls in turn or may choose one of the rolls
on the rack for particular inspection by rotating all of
the rolls past the inspection station until the required
roll reaches the station.
The inspection and unwind station 34 comprises
a transverse beam 341 which extends along the full length
of the frame and is coupled to each of the end plate
members 10 and 11. The beam 341 is formed by two chan-
nels 342 and 343 which are welded together inwardly
facing at a weld line 345 thus leaving a slot 346 in an
upper face thereof. Within each end of the beam 341 is
mounted a chain wheel 347, 348 the latter of which is
attached to a hand crank 349 which can be rotated manual-
ly to rotate the chain wheel 348. The chain wheels carry
a chain 350 which extends along the full length of the
beam 341 with an upper and a lower run. The upper run
carries a knife 35A which projects upwardly through the
slot 346 and also carries a guard 351 which is mounted at
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a slightly forwardly inclined angle and acts to pr~vent
engagement of the knife with ob;ects such as fingers
which cannot slide beneath the guard. It will be aPpre-
ciated therefore that manual operation of the hand crank
349 will cause the blade or knife mechanism 351 to run
along the length of the beam 341 to cause slitting of
floor covering material dra~ forwardly from the roll
over the beam 341. It will also be noted in this regard
that the beam 341 is supported forwardly of the forward
face of the end plate member 11 by brackets 352.
A metering roll 36 is mounted at the end adja-
cent the hand crank 349 so that it can be dropped into
engagement with the floor covering material as it is
drawn from the roll. Thus the metering roll 36 is mount-
ed upon a bracket 361 carried on a strap 362 which is
cantilevered outwardly to one side of a support mechanism
363. The support mechanism is best shown in Figure 4 and
comprises a pair of upright brackets 364 and a transverse
rod 365 supported on the upright bracket 364. The rod
365 is attached to a bistable spring mechanism 366 which
includes a central spring 367 and a pair of end engaging
members 368, 369 so that the spring tends to be bistable
so that it can flip the roller 36 upwardly from contact
with the material through a central position shown in
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Figure 4 to a lower position in which the roller is
pressed into contact with the material. The roller
includes a counter 370 on which the length of material
withdrawn from the roller is displayed so that the proper
length as ordered can be measured.
A length of the material is drawn from the roll
on the chains is withdrawn and wound up simultaneously by
a wind up mechanism. The wind up mechanism is defined by
a pair of stub rollers 370 and 371 each of which is
mounted at a respective end of the frame. The stub rol-
ler 370 simply comprises a short length of roller mounted
upon bearings Garried on a shaft 371 attached by a
bracket 372 to the end plate member 10. The diameter of
the rollers is such that it is a loose fit inside a sup-
port tube for the material. Thus the stub roller is
presented on the shaft 371 for rotation about a horizon-
tal axis common to the axis of the stub roller 371. The
stub roller 371 is shown in more detail in Figures 7 and
8. That roller is mounted upon a shaft 374 carried in
bearings 375 on the end plate member 11. The shaft 374
also carries a hand crank 376 by which the shaft can be
rotated by manual actuation of the hand crank.
The roller body 373 is formed in three separate
portions as shown in Figure 8 which can be expanded
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radially by a ramp 377 actuated by a plate 378 which
includes an internal screw thread for cooperation with a
screw thread 379 on the shaft 374. Thus rotation of the
hand crank initially acts to move the plate 378 axially
along the roller body so as to expand the roller body
into contact with a tube positioned thereon. The tube is
not shown in Figure 1 but it will be appreciated that the
tube can be moved into position initially by sliding the
tube from a position adjacent the stub rollers onto one
of the stub rollers until it can be aligned with the axis
of the stub rollers following which it can be moved
axially in the opposed direction to engage onto the other
of the stub rollers. The expansion of the stub roller
373 to engage the inner surface of the tube thus acts to
hold the tube in position to prevent its axial movement
whlle further rotation of the hand crank 376 causes rota-
tion of the tube to wind up the sheet material fed there-
to.
In operation, therefore, the chosen sheet
material is withdrawn manually to a position engaging the
tube on the stub rollers and is attached thereto by for
example adhesive tape. The measuring roller is then
dropped into engagement with the material and the hand
crank 376 actuated to roll the material onto the tube
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until the counter 370 has reached the required length of
material measured. The knife 351 is then actuated by
rotation of the hand crank 349 which is conveniently
located adjacent the hand crank 376 to move the blade
from one end of the frame to the other to sever the mate-
rial. The wound material and supporting tube can then be
removed from the stub-rollers for sale or delivery.
In an alternative arrangement (not shown) for
use with carpet rolls, the simple elongate rod or pin
which can support the interior of a roll of vinyl floor
covering is replace by a cradle which supports the exter-
ior of the heavier carpet. The cradle includes a frame
having two pins at opposed ends for engaging the links as
previously described. The cradle includes for example
three sets of rollers at spaced positions therealong.
Each set has two upper rollers at the front and rear of
the cradle and two lower guide rollers so that a belt can
pass over the rollers in a loop defining an inner run
supporting an exterior of the carpet roll.
Turning now to Figures 9, 10 and 11, a roll-up
core is shown which can be mounted upon the stub rollers
of the wind-up station as a removable and re-usable core
which will generally be used in place of the availablP
card board cores when the length of material taken is
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insufficient to warrant the use of a card board core.
The roll-up core comprises a tubular sleeve 40
defining a cylindrical body having a peripheral surface
upon which the flooring material is to be rolled. The
sleeve has open ends so it can be slipped onto the stub
shafts as previously described.
On the outer face of the sleeve is mounted a
pivot shaft 41 carried in suitable bushings 42 for
pivotal movement about an axis longitudinal of the sleeve
and at the peripheral surface of the sleeve. On one side
of the pivot shaft is mounted a plate 44 which is
arranged for grasping an edge 45 of the sheet material at
the winding station. The plate 44 extends along the
sleeve and is of narrow width merely sufficient to grasp
the edge 45 and hold it in position as the sleeve
commences in rotation so as to pull the material onto the
roll in a winding action.
On an opposed side of the shaft 41 relative to
the plate 44 is provided a support wire 46 which extends
outwardly from the shaft and then along the shaft at a
spacing from the shaft greater than the width of the
plate 44.
The angle and positioning of the support wire
and the clamping plate are shown in Figures 10 and 11 and
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it will be noted that they are movable about the pivot
shaft 41 into two different positions as shown in Figures
10 and 11 respectively. Specifically in Figure 10 the
wire 46 lies flat against the peripheral surface of the
sleeve and the plate 44 is thus raised away from the
peripheral surface into a release position. In Figure 11
the wire 46 is raised by a manual grasping of the wire to
lift it away from the peripheral surface which acts to
pivot the plate 44 into a clamping position to grasp the
end 45 of the material. In Figure 11, the sleeve 40 has
been rotated through one revolution to wind up one turn
of the material onto the sleeve. It will be noted thus
that the material is obliged to pass over the support
wire 46 so as to increase the diameter of the material
wrapped around the roll.
The latching mechanism provided by the support
wire and the plate 44 are freely pivotable on the shaft
41 but can be locked into the position shown in Figure 11
that is the grasping position by the cooperation of a
slide member 47 and a leg 48 depending downwardly from
the wire 46. In the position shown in Figure 10, the leg
48 projects into an opening 49 in the surface of the
sleeve. In the position shown in Figure 11, the leg is
prevented from entering the opening 49 by the slide
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member 47 which can be moved longitudinally of the sleeve
by a manually graspable handle 50 so as to move it from a
latching position to a release position.
In operation of the device, the sleeve as shown
in Figure 11 is rotated until the measured length of the
material is wrapped in spiral turns on the sleeve 40.
The handle 50 is then actuated to release the latching
member from its position shown in Figure 11 so that it
can collapse into the position shown in Figure 10 which
is as will be apparent of reduced diameter relative to
the inside turn of the material wrapped on the sleeve.
The sleeve and latching mechanism are therefore free to
be pulled from the interior of the formed roll. In
practice, before the sleeve is removed from the roll, the
sleeve and the roll are dropped from the stub rollers
onto a cradle 51 formed by a pair of brackets extending
outwardly from the front of the frame at a position
beneath the winding station. The roll is thus supported
upon the brackets 51 and the sleeve can be pulled manual-
ly from the end of the roll by grasping a loop type
handle 52 arranged on one end of the sleeve. In Figure
9 is shown only one-half of the wind-up core and the
second latching member can be provided on the core in the
other half operable from the opposed end of the core.
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In an alternative arrangement of the drive
mechanism shown ln Figure 1, the drive to the main drive
wheels 20 and 22 is provided by a shaft extending along
the full length of the frame with the shaft carrying at
each end a length of chain welded around the shaft so as
to cooperate with the sprocket teeth of the main drive
wheel 20 and 22 respectively. The shaft is then driven
directly by a motor.
Since various modifications can be made in my
invention as hereinabove described, and many apparently
widely different embodiments of same made within the
spirit and scope of the claims without departing from
such spirit and scope, it is intended that all matter
contained in the accompanying specification shall be
interpreted as illustrative only and not in a limiting
sense.
