Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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Kevin A. Walker
WIRE MASTER REEL
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application claims the benefit under Title 35, U.S.C. 1 l9(e) of United
States Provisional Application Serial No. 60/011,716, f1led February 15, 1996.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the invention.
The present invention generally relates to reels or spools, and more
particularly to reels used in dispensing and in~t~lling electrical wire or cable.
2. Description of the Related Prior Art
Electricians have traditionally installed wiring into homes by pulling wire
from a relatively large coil through the studs or walls of a housing structure. The
coil is typically in a cardboard box, or more recently in a shrink-wrapped plastic
container, both of which offer little resistance to movement as the electrician pulls
the wiring through the home. Therefore, as the wire is pulled through the studs, the
cardboard and/or plastic container is pulled along with it and the in~t~ tion process
is slowed considerably as a result. The situation is a particular problem as the coil
lessens in size and weight, and, therefore, offers a decreasingly small amount of
resistance to movement.
In addition to the problem of being pulled along with the wire, the cardboard
and/or plastic containers also result in twisting of the wire as it is installed. Since
the wire is not removed from the box in a uniform and orderly manner, and is
allowed to twist and rotate within the box, the wire itself becomes twisted. This
then requires that the electrician discontinue the installation process while the wire
is readjusted and straightened.
Finally, the material construction of traditional paper or plastic containers
often results in only a temporarily usable device. The in~t~ tion sites are often
subject to the natural elements, and the paper boxes therefore often get wet anddisintegrate. Moreover, the boxes are often jostled and thrown about during
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transport to the installation site and the force of such action often renders the paper
or plastic container unusable.
Therefore, what is needed is an improved al)palal~ls for storing, transporting
and dispensing wire from a large coil, especially an appalalus which can be fixedly
or rotatably attached to a support structure.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention comprises a wire reel and support member that solves
the above-identified problems by providing a rotatable unit which may be coupledto a support structure from which the wire can be smoothly, continuously, and
uniformly removed and pulled throughout an in~t~ ion site with efficiency,
durability and speed. The reel is rotatably mounted on a support bar of the support
member which can be either fixedly or rotatably attached to a support structure.The reel rotates about the axis of the support bar as the wire is pulled and installed.
The reel is comprised of first and second circular flange sections having hub
portions which functionally engage threaded portions disposed on the ends of a
cylindrical sleeve. Each hub portion includes a threaded bore which extends
through the hub and operationally engages the respective threaded portion of thesleeve. The threaded bore of the first flange section may be constructed to limit the
travel of the flange section to a predetermined depth along the axis of the sleeve.
The threaded bore of the second flange section may be constructed to permit the
travel of the flange section along the axis of the sleeve until the second flange
section comes in contact with the first flange section.
The support member comprises a plurality of support bars connected to
provide a suitable mechanism for rotatably supporting the reel assembly. One
support bar includes an ~ chment mechanism comprising a flange portion having
an opening for attaching the support member to an overhead beam, wire or the like.
Another support bar includes a clamping mechanism comprising a pair of spaced
apart plates and a fastening device for attaching the support member to an upright
beam, stud, or the like.
Before the present invention is operational, a wire coil is removed from its
original package and placed on the first flange section which has been fully engaged
onto the cylindrical sleeve. To ensure that one end of the wire coil is secured to the
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reel, one end is inserted into locking notches provided on the flange sections. The
second flange section is then placed over the first flange section with the coiltherebetween and secured with the first flange section by eng~ging the threaded bore
with the threads of the cylindrical sleeve and rotating the second flange section until
a tight fit is established between the first flange section, wire coil and second flange
section.
Once the second flange section is rotated to a sufficient depth to secure both
flange sections and securely hold the coil between the two flange sections, the reel
is mounted and secured on a support bar of the support member. The support
member is then fixedly or rotatably attached to a support structure and in~t~ tion
of the wire can begin.
An advantage of the present invention is that it provides for quick
installation of wiring without the costly down time associated with prior art designs
which are pulled along with the wire.
Another advantage of the present invention is that it provides for the
efficient installation of wiring in that the wire itself will not become twisted as it is
drawn from the coil or spool.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that it provides a durable
means for installing of wire due to its plastic construction.
Yet another advantage of the present invention is that it allows the reel to be
conveniently mounted in a number of positions onto a number of suitable support
structures.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The above-identified and other features and advantages of this invention, and the
manner of ~tt~ining them, will become more apparent and the invention will be
better understood by reference to the following description of an embodiment of the
invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Fig. 1 is an exploded view of the present invention;
Fig. 2 is a side elevational view of the present invention;
Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the present invention;
Fig. 4 is a fragmentary cross-sectional view taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 3;Fig. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4;
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Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the present invention showing the present
invention attached to a vertically disposed support structure, and
Fig. 7 is a perspective view of the present invention showing the present
invention attached to a horizontally disposed support structure.
Corresponding reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the
various views. The exemplification set out herein illustrates one embodiment of the
invention and such exemplification is not to be construed as limiting the scope of
the invention in any manner.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Referring now to the drawings, the present apparatus for storing, transporting
and dispensing a wire coil comprises reel 20 rotatably mounted on support member70. Support member 70 may be fixedly or rotatably attached to a support structure,
for example an overhead beam or a stud, while reel 20 is permitted to rotate about
an axis of support member 70 to allow the wire to be easily spooled out from reel
20.
As shown in Figs. 1-5, reel 20 comprises circular flange sections 22, 24
operatively coupled to cylindrical sleeve 62. Each flange section 22, 24 includes
annular rim 26 and hub 30 connected by spokes 28 which radiate outwardly from
hub 30 to meet annular rim 26. Spokes 28 are integral with hub 30 and provided
with support braces 46. Support braces 46 not only increase the overall strength of
reel 20, but also provide a taper which engages and securely holds a wide range of
wire coil sizes and gauges. Support braces 46 decrease in thickness from hub 30 in
the outward radial direction. Openings 50 are also provided on flange sections 22,
24 to reduce the amount of required material and permit the operator to easily
observe the amount of wire retained on reel 20.
Each hub 30 of flange sections 22, 24 comprises exterior collar portion 32 and
interior collar portion 33. Interior collar portion 33 is disposed on the respective
side of flange sections 22, 24 which contacts the wire coil during operation, while
exterior collar 32 is disposed on the side opposite interior collar 33. Each hub 30
also includes threaded bore 34 which extends through the axis of hub 30 for
eng~ging threaded ends 63 of sleeve 62. Threaded bore 34 on either flange section
22 or 24 may be configured to permit the flange section to travel a predetermined
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distance along sleeve 62 such that either flange section 22 or 24 may first be fully
and tightly engaged with sleeve 62 to form half of reel 20 before mounting the wire
coil.
Sleeve 62 is generally cylindrical in shape and includes bore 65 which extends
5 through the longitudinal axis of sleeve 62 for eng~ging a support device, such as a
mounting bar or rod. Threaded ends 63 are disposed on the outer surface of each
end of sleeve 62 between smooth portion 64 to engage threaded bores 34 of flangesections 22, 24.
As shown in Figs. 2-3, both flange sections 22, 24 are provided with beads 48
10 around their respective outer circumferences to provide a smooth surface which will
not catch or cut the hands of the operator using reel 20. To enhance the durability
of reel 20, flange sections 22, 24 are both manufactured from polypropylene, or
other suitably durable, yet flexible plastics. In the present embodiment, the flange
sections are made by an injection molding process.
Support member 70 includes a plurality of substantially straight-line support bars
joined together. As shown in Fig. 1, support member 70 comprises reel support
bar 73, center support bar 71 and upper support bar 72 integrally joined together to
form a generally C-shaped structure having an elongated leg. Support member 70 is
formed of a material with sufficient strength, such as metals or reinforced plastic, to
20 provide sufficient structural support for a fully loaded reel 20. As shown in Fig. 5,
reel support bar 73 is formed with a cross-shaped cross section with flange
portions 75 to provide structural integrity and reduce the required amount of
material. Center support bar 71 and upper support bar 72 are formed with a "T"
shaped cross section to provide structural integrity and reduce the required amount
25 of material.
As shown in Figs. 4-5, reel support bar 73 may be inserted into bore 65 of
sleeve 62 to support reel 20 and to allow reel 20 to rotate about the axis of reel
support bar 73. The relatively smooth contact between the inner surface of bore 65
and outer edge surfaces 77 of reel support bar 73 allows sleeve 62, and thus reel 20,
30 to easily rotate about the axis of reel support bar 73. Reel support bar 73 is sized
long enough for bar 73 to accommodate a variety of coil sizes.
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Reel support bar 73 includes reel stop 74 at the end adjacent center support
bar 71 to define the movement limit of reel 20 toward center support bar 71. Reel
stop 74 has a larger cross-sectional area than reel support bar 73 to prevent the
insertion of sleeve 62 past reel stop 74. Reel support bar 73 also includes bore 76
S which is disposed at the end opposite center support bar 71 and extends transversely
to the axis of reel support bar 73. Retaining pin 78 is provided to engage bore 76
and form a stop mechanism spaced apart from reel stop 74 to secure reel 20 onto
reel stop bar 73, thus preventing reel 20 from inadvertently falling off bar 73.Retaining pin 78 includes straight portion 79 which engages bore 76 and a plurality
of curved portions 80-83 to resist the outward movement of pin 78, once pin 78 has
been inserted into bore 76. It is to be understood that any suitable device for
preventing the movement of reel 20 along the axis of reel support bar 73 may be
used in place of retaining pin 78.
Center support bar 71 includes clamp 95 for fixedly attaching center support
bar 71 to a support structure, as shown in Fig. 6. Clamp 95 comprises plates 87, 88
disposed in a spaced apart relationship and transverse to the axis of center support
bar 71. Plates 87, 88 are integrally connected to center support bar 71 by
connecting pieces 85, 86, respectively. Further, each plate 87, 88 is generally
rectangular in shape and includes corrugated inner surface 89 to enhance the
20 grippage between each projection plate 87, 88 and the support structure.
Tight engagement between clamp 95 and the support structure is ensured by
using fastener member 92 with plate 87. As shown in Fig. 1, one surface of plate87 is provided with collar 93 having a threaded bore 91 which extends through
collar 93 and plate 87. Collar 93 is also integrally connected to extension 90 which
25 is integrally connected to center support bar 71. Fastener member 92 comprises
knob 94 fixedly connected to threaded shaft 96. Threaded shaft 96 fittingly engages
threaded bore 91 such that as the user turns knob 94, threaded shaft 96 travels
downwardly through the plane of plate 87 to engage the surface of the support
structure. Fastener member 92 may be tightened as desired to ensure that support30 member 70 is securely attached to the support structure.
Clamp 95 is particularly suitable for fixedly attaching the present apparatus to a
vertically disposed support structure having a substantially rectangular cross section,
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such as a stud. An example of such an arrangement using clamp 95 is shown in
Fig. 6, wherein clamp 95 has been fixedly attached to stud 106. However, it is to
be understood that clamp 95 may be used to fixedly attach the present app~L~Lus to
any support structure having a cross section suitable for engagement by a clamp
mechanism and a fastener member and is not limited to use with a stud. Also as
shown in Fig. 6, handle 68 may be attached to reel 20 to manually rotate reel 20 to
easily and efficiently dispense wire or to reel in previously dispensed wire. It is to
be understood that handle 68 may be attached to reel 20 using a number of
methods, for example, integral attachment of handle 68 to sleeve 62, to ensure that
reel 20 rotates as handle 68 is rotated.
Upper support bar 72 is also connected to center support bar 71 and provides a
second attachment mechanism for attaching the present apparatus to a support
structure, particularly horizontally disposed support structures such as overhead
beams. As shown in Fig. 1, upper support bar 72 is disposed generally parallel to
reel support bar 73, but is shorter in length than reel support bar 73. The end of
upper support bar 72, opposite center support bar 71, is provided with flange 97having opening 98. As shown in Fig. 2, flange 97 and opening 98 are aligned withan offset with respect to the middle of reel 20 to provide a counterbalance
arrangement for support member 70. As upper support bar 72 is particularly
suitable for ~ ching the present apparatus to an overhead support structure, thecounterbalance arrangement provides balance to prevent the reel and support
member from tilting when reel 20 and support member 70 are used in a h:~nging
configuration.
Such a configuration is shown in Fig. 7, wherein support member 70 and reel 20
are supported from overhead beam 101 through hook member 102, S-shaped
connector 103 and swivel connector 104. The use of swivel connector 104 allows
reel 20 and support member 70 to rotate through 360~ thereby allowing the wire to
be dispensed in all directions without entanglement and without ch~nging the
attachment of support member 70. Again, handle 68 is attached to reel 20 to allow
a user to dispense or reel in wire as desired. It is to be understood that uppersupport bar 72 may be used to attach support member 70 to any horizontally
disposed support structure, for example, a cable or wire placed between any two
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spaced apart support members, and is not limited to use with overhead support
beams.
In operation, reel 20 and support member 70 are used by separating flange
sections 22, 24, eng~ging sleeve 62 with either flange section 22 or 24 and placing
a coil of wire stock onto either flange section 22 or 24 with the center of the wire
coil substantially concentric with the hub of the flange section. The other flange
section is then placed over the wire coil such that the other flange section engages
sleeve 62, and the flange section is rotated to reduce the distance between flange
sections 22 and 24 until the wire coil is securely held between flange sections 22
and 24.
Once the wire installation on reel 20 is complete, reel 20 is then mounted on
support member 70 by slidingly eng~ging bore 65 with reel support bar 73. Reel 20
is secured on reel support bar 73 by inserting retaining pin 78 into bore 76. Reel
20 and support member 70 can then conveniently be attached to a support structure
using either clamp 95 or flange 97 and opening 98 as shown in Figs. 6-7. Once
fixedly or rotatably attached to a support structure, wire can be easily stored and
dispensed as necessary. Optionally, a handle may be attached to reel 20 to further
ease the storage and dispense of the wire.
Although in the present embodiment, the outer diarneter of flange sections 22,
24 is 14 inches, the length of extension 56 is 3.75 inches, the inner diameter of
hub 30 is 1.25 inches, the outer diameter of collars 32 and 42 is 1.75 inches, and
the thickness of spikes 28 and 38 is 0.125 inches, it is possible for these parts to be
differently sized to accommodate a wide range of coil sizes and wire gauges.
This application is intended to encompass any variations, uses, or adaptations of
the invention using its general principles and can be modified within the spirit and
scope of this disclosure. For example, any one of a number of retaining and
stopping devices may be used to secure reel 20 onto support bar 73. Also, a second
center support bar may be added opposite center support bar 71 to provide
additional structural integrity. Additionally, the clarnp surfaces may be disposed
parallel to the axis of center support bar 73. Further, locking notches 50 may be
included on the inside surface of flange sections 22, 24 to secure one end of the
wire coil to reel 20 so that as the wire is retracted from reel 20, reel 20 rotates with
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the moving wire and allows the wire to be pulled and installed efficiently without
snarls and twists. Therefore, this application is intended to encompass such
departures from the present disclosure as come within known or customary practice
in the art to which this invention pertains.
