Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
1
SPOOL ASSEMBLY FOR PINTLE
Background of the invention
a) field of the invention
The present invention relates to a spool assembly for use in storing
and handling a cable-like member which is preferably but not necessarily a
pintle.
b) brief description of the i riot art
In the paper making industry, it is of common practice to use fabric
l0 belts that are made of sections connected to each other to form an endless
loop.
Such belts carry the wet fibrous sheets that are prepared from the processed
pulp.
It is also of common practice to connect the adjacent ends of the belt
sections by
means of seams made by passing a cable known in the trade as a "pintle"
through
a tubular passage formed by intermeshed loops of fabric yarns projecting at
the
ends of the adjacent sections when the same are intefitted and held together.
Usually, the pintle consists of a mono- or multi-filament yarn whose leading
end is
attached to a stiff guiding wire made of metal, which acts as a needle to
facilitate
insertion of the yarn into the passage formed by the loops.
Further details regarding the use of pintles to connect fabric belt
2 o sections, can be found to the preambles of U.S. patent Nos. 4,842,212 to
ASTEN
GROUP, INC. and 5,033,618 to ALBANY INTERNATIONAL CORP.
Of course, it is necessary that the pintle be stored and made available
in such a manner as to make its use and installation as fast and easy as
possible,
especially in the case of replacement of used or damaged sections of the
endless
belt of a paper making machine) which must be made in a very fast manner on
the
premises.
Spool assemblies for pintles have already been devised to tentatively
meet the above mentioned requirement. In this connection, reference can be
made
again to the above mentioned patents, which are both directed to such
assemblies.
OBJECT AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The object of the present invention is to provide a spool assembly for
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pintle, or other kind of cables which is as simple and efficient in use as the
existing
assemblies known to the Applicant, and is advantageously made of a very small
number of standardized elements that can be assembled in a plurality of ways
to
meet any specific requirements, such as, far example, the need for a handle,
the
need for having a pair of spools immediately available to the user, or the
need for
a "stopper" to rigidly hold the external end of the pintle.
In accordance with the invention, this object is achieved with a spool
assembly for storing and handling a cable-like member, preferably a pintle,
comprising:
1 o a) a cylindrical spool formed with a radially outwardly opening groove
in which the cable-like member may be wound, the spool having a given
outer diameter and a given thickness;
b) a cylindrical spool receiving member having a central axis and
comprising:
- a cylindrical peripheral wall having a pair of opposite edges that are
round in shape, the peripheral wall also having an outer diameter, an
inner diameter that is substantially equal to or slightly larger than the
outer diameter of the spool, and a height that is substantially equal to
or slightly larger than the thickness of the spool;
2 0 - a flange preferably in the form of a ring projecting radially inwardly
from one of the round edges of the peripheral wall to hold the spool
within the spool receiving member when the spool is coaxially inserted
therein through the other one of the round edges;
- hooking means integral to and projecting from the other edge of the
peripheral wall at given intervals along this other edge and in a
direction parallel to the direction of the central axis of the spool
receiving member; and
- an opening provided in the peripheral wall to allow the cable wound
in the groove of the spool to be pulled out; and
3 o c) a flat, preferably ring-shaped circular cover having an external
diameter sufficient for said cover to be engaged by the hooking means and held
tight
by these hooking means against the other edge of the spool receiving member)
to
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form therewith a casing in which the spool is freely
mounted.
The hooking means consist of a plurality of small,
slightly resilient hooks that are circumferentially
distributed along the other edge of the peripheral wall of
the spool receiving member, each of said hooks being sized
and positioned to engage a hook-receiving slot provided for
this purpose in said cover.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the
invention, the spool assembly may also comprise an external
locking tab integral to the spool receiving member, the tab
extending parallel to the peripheral wall of the member
close to the opening made in this wall and being devised in
such a manner as to receive and rigidly hold any portion of
the cable projecting outwardly of the opening.
Alternatively, the spool assembly may comprise:
(e) a stopper snappable onto the casing formed by
the spool receiving member and the cover to rigidly hold
any portion of the cable projecting outwardly from the
casing through the opening, the stopper being L-shaped and
sized to fit onto the peripheral wall and the flange of the
spool receiving member, the stopper having a hook at one
end that is sized and positioned to engage the inner edge
of the flange and another hook at another end that is sized
and positioned to engage the cover.
In accordance with another preferred embodiment of
the invention, the spool assembly may further comprise:
f) another cylindrical spool identical to spool
(a); and
g) another cylindrical spool receiving member
identical to member (b);
whereby, by proper insertion of the other spool (f)
into the other member (g) and hooking of this other member
(g) containing the spool (f) to the cover opposite the
spool receiving member (b), the spool (a) contained in the
a
-,,
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3a
member (b) and said spool (f) are operatively connected in
independent, parallel relationship.
Advantageously, each of the constituting elements of
the spool assembly according to the invention is preferably
made of plastic material, such as polycarbonate, Nylon ~ ,
polyester, PVC and acrylic.
Preferably also, the cable-like member is a pintle
consisting of at least one yarn connected to a stiff
guiding pin.
As can be understood, the spool assembly according
to the invention comprises a small number of basic
elements, namely one or two identical spool(s), a
corresponding number of spool receiving members, a cover,
one or two identical stoppers) and a handle that can be
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assembly according to the invention is very simple in structure and assembly
in
addition of being versatile in use.
The invention and its advantages will be better understood from the
following description of a preferred embodiment thereof, made with reference
to the
accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Fig. 1 is an exploded perspective view of a spool assembly according
to the invention, including two independent spools mounted in parallel
relationship;
Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of one side of the spool assembly
showing Fig. 1 in semi-assembled form.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a portion of a spool receiving member for use
in a spool assembly according to the invention) the member including a locking
tab
to hold the cable projecting out of the spool.
DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION
The spool assembly 1 according to the invention as shown in the
accompanying drawings is intended to be used for storing and handling at least
one
and preferably two cable-like members 3, 3' which preferably but not
necessarily
consist of pintles made of one or more yarns 5,5' connected to a stiff guiding
pin 7,
2 0 7'.
7
The spool assembly 1 comprises eight basic elements preferably made
of molded plastic material, namely:
- a pair of identical spools 11, 11';
- a pair of identical spool receiving members 21, 21';
- a flat cover 41:
- a handle 51; and
- a pair of identical stoppers 61,61'.
Each spool 11,11' is formed with a radially outwardly opening groove
12 in which the corresponding pintle 3 may be wound. The spool 11 which has a
3 o given outer diameter and a given thickness "T", preferably comprises a
central hub
13 in which is made a spindle-receiving hole 14, a peripheral ring 15 having a
square, U-shaped cross-section that opens radially outwardly and defines the
above
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mentioned groove 12, and a plurality of radial arms 16 joining the central hub
13 to
the peripheral ring 15.
Each spool receiving member 21,21' has a central axis which, when
the spool assembly is in assembled form, is coaxial with the spindle receiving
hole
5 14 of the corresponding spool 11,11', and comprises a cylindrical peripheral
wall 22
having a pair of opposite edges 23,24 that are round in shape. The peripheral
wall
22 also has an outer diameter, an inner diameter that is substantially equal
to or
slightly larger than the outer diameter of the corresponding spool, and a
height "H"
that is substantially equal to or slightly larger than the thickness "T' of
the spool.
Each spool receiving member 21,21' also comprises a flange 25 projecting
radially
inwardly from one of the round edges, say 23, of the peripheral wall 22 to
hold the
corresponding spool 11,11' when this spool is coaxially inserted therein
through the
opening defined by the other one of the round edges. Preferably, as is shown,
the
flange 25 of the spool receiving member is in the form of a flat ring that
extends in
a plane perpendicular to the central axis of the member. Such a flat ring has
an
inner edge 26.
Each spool receiving member 21,21' further comprises hooking means
integral to and projecting from the edge 24 of the peripheral wall 22 at given
intervals
along this edge and in a direction parallel to the direction of the central
axis of the
2 o spool receiving member. These hooking means preferably consist of a
plurality of
small, slightly resilient hooks 27 that are circumferentially distributed
along the edge
24 of the peripheral wall 22 of the spool receiving member, each hook 27 being
sized and positioned to engage a hook-receiving slot 43 provided for this
purpose
in the cover 41 as will be explained hereinafter.
An opening 28 is provided in the peripheral wall 22 to allow the cable
3,3' wound in the groove 12 of the corresponding spool to be pulled out, when
the
spool is inserted into the member. As is clearly shown in Fig. 1, the opening
28
extends centrally between the edges 23,24 of the peripheral wall 22 of the
spool
receiving member and is elongated in a direction perpendicular to the central
axis
3 0 of this member. The opening 28 also has a pair of opposite ends 29,30 that
taper
radially inwardly toward each other.
The flat cover 41 is circular in shape and has an external diameter
2~g3884~
6
sufficient to make it engageable by the hooks 27 and held tight by these hooks
against the edge 24 of the spool receiving member to form therewith a pair of
parallel casings in which the spools 11,11' are freely mounted. As is shown,
cover
41 is preferably in the form of a flat ring which extends in plane
perpendicular to the
central axis of each of the spool receiving members when said members are
hooked
to it. This feature combined with the ring shape of the flange 25 of each
member
makes it possible for the spindle-receiving hole 14 of the spools 11,11 ' to
remain
accessible and usable even when the spools are mounted in the casings formed
by
their corresponding spool receiving members 21,21' and their common cover 41.
1 o Preferably, the cover 41 has an external diameter that is larger than the
outer diameter of the peripheral wall 22 of each of the spool receiving
members
21,21'. As a result, a peripheral portion 42 of the cover projects radially
outwardly
from the spool receiving members 21,21' when these members are hooked to the
cover 41.
The hook receiving holes 43 mentioned hereinabove are made in this
peripheral portion 42 at such locations as to be engageable by the hooks 27
projecting from each of the spool receiving member 21,21'. Other hook-
receiving
holes 44 may be provided in the peripheral portion 42 of the cover to receive
hooks
52 projecting from both ends of the handle 51, when such a handle is wanted.
2 0 Like the handle 51, the stopper 61,61' are not compulsory and can be
used only if desired. Each stopper 61,61' is devised to be snapped onto one of
the
casings formed by the spool receiving members 21,21' and the cover 41 to
rigidly
hold any portion of the cable projecting outwardly from this casing through
the
corresponding opening 28. As is shown, each stopper is L-shaped and sized to
fit
onto the peripheral wall 22 and the flange 25 of one of the spool receiving
members.
For this purpose, each stopper has a hook 62 at one end that is sized and
positioned to engage the inner edge 26 of the flange 25 and another hook 63 at
another end that is sized and positioned to engage the outer edge of the cover
41.
Notches 31 may be provided along the inner edge 26 of the flange 25 to prevent
the
3 o stopper from inadvertently rotating about the corresponding casing. A
padding 64
may be provided on the arm of the stopper that is adjacent the peripheral wall
22 in
use, to give room and retain the cable 3.
a
~Q8388~
As can be understood, when only one cable-like member 3 is wanted,
the spool assembly can be made of one of the spools, say 11; one of the spool
receiving members, say 21, and the cover 41 exclusively, with or without the
handle
51 and/or one of the stopper.
Instead of incorporating one or two stopper 61, 61' as disclosed
hereinabove, the spool assembly 1 according to the invention may include spool
receiving members 21, 21' on which a locking tab 71 is integrally molded, as
is
shown in Fig. 3. The tab 71 extends outwardly of and parallel to the
peripheral wall
22 of the receiving member at a short distance from the opening 28 and is
1 o positioned and shaped in such a manner as to receive and rigidly hold by
pinching
the cable 3 that projects out of the opening 28.
20
30
