AU2011244914B2 - Adaptor - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention provides an adaptor and a method of use of an adaptor which allows mechanical winding of a line on a reel by a drill or similar tool.

Description

AUSTRALIA Patents Act 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION Adaptor The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to us: 1 Title: Adaptor Field of Invention 5 The invention relates to the building and construction field and other industries such as road making where string lines and the like are used. Background When buildings or other structures are laid out it is common to use lines to mark 10 out the placement various elements such as footings to ensure the correct dimensions and location of the building. Similarly lines are used in road construction and marking. String lines are generally pegged out and, depending on the size of the structure, considerable lengths of line can be reeled out. These lines are expensive and need to be rewound. This is a time consuming task. 15 A number of attempts have been made to address the rewinding of lines. For example US Patent No 6341743 in the name of Haas uses a paint roller to wind up string line whereas US Patent No 6036133 in the name of Milligan discloses a recoiling spring apparatus for lines. US Patent No 6276627 in the name of 20 Brodock discloses a plug-in electrical string winder which has a battery driven motor. US Patent No 6398147 in the name of Fredrikson discloses winder for a line attachable to a power drill which requires two hands to control the device. Notwithstanding the above an easy to use convenient means for mechanically 25 winding a line is yet to be put forward. The above references to and descriptions of prior proposals or products are not intended to be, and are not to be construed as, statements or admissions of common general knowledge in the art. 30 2 Summary In a first aspect the present invention provides an adaptor which allows mechanical winding of line on a reel with a hollow core such as a string line by a tool, said adaptor comprising: a) a shaft having an end which is adapted to be 5 engaged by a chuck of a suitable tool such as a drill or the like which tool is able to provide rotation about an axis, and; b) a reel engaging member which comprises core engaging portion suitable for engagement of said hollow core of a reel, wherein said portion is made of deformable material to allow a resistance fit between said core engaging portion and said core and wherein, in use, rotation 10 of the shaft about its longitudinal axis causes said member and reel to rotate thereby allowing winding of the line. In a second aspect the present invention provides an adaptor which allows mechanical winding of line on a reel with a hollow core such as a string line by a 15 tool, said adaptor comprising: a) a shaft having an end which is adapted to be engaged by a chuck of a tool such as a drill or the like which tool is able to provide rotation about an axis, and; b) a reel engaging member which comprises a tapered portion suitable for engagement of said hollow core of a reel to allow a resistance fit between said portion and said core, wherein, in use, rotation of the 20 shaft about its longitudinal axis causes said member and reel to rotate thereby causing winding of the line. In a third aspect the present invention relates to a method of mechanically winding line on a reel with a hollow core, such as a string line by providing: a) an 25 adaptor having a shaft with an end which is adapted to be engaged by a chuck of a tool such as a drill or the like which tool is able to provide rotation about an axis and a reel engaging member which comprises a tapered portion and/or a deformable material suitable for engagement of said hollow core of a reel to allow a resistance fit between said core engaging portion and said core; b) a suitable 30 tool and wherein said method comprises engaging said tool with said adaptor 3 and operating the tool to cause rotation of the shaft about its longitudinal axis causing said member and reel to rotate thereby winding the line. In a forth aspect the present invention relates to a method of manufacture of an 5 adaptor which allows mechanical winding of line on a reel with a hollow core such as a string line by a tool, said method comprising: assembling a reel engaging member onto a shaft wherein the shaft has an end which is adapted to be engaged by a chuck of a suitable tool such as a drill or the like which tool is able to provide rotation about an axis, and wherein the reel engaging member 10 comprises a core engaging portion suitable for engagement of said hollow core of a reel, wherein said portion is made of deformable material to allow a resistance fit between said core engaging portion and said core and wherein, in use, rotation of the shaft about its longitudinal axis is able to cause said member and reel to rotate thereby allowing winding of the line. 15 In a fifth aspect the present invention relates to a method of manufacture of an adaptor which allows mechanical winding of line on a reel with a hollow core such as a string line by a tool, said method comprising: assembling a reel engaging member onto a shaft said shaft having an end which is adapted to be engaged by 20 a chuck of a tool such as a drill or the like which tool is able to provide rotation about an axis, and wherein said reel engaging member which comprises a tapered portion suitable for engagement of said hollow core of a reel to allow a resistance fit between said core engaging portion and said core, wherein, in use, rotation of the shaft about its longitudinal axis is able to cause said member and 25 reel to rotate thereby allowing winding of the line. The present inventor has surprisingly found that a member which provides a resistance fit with the core of a reel, when the member is connected to a shaft, allows easy winding of a string line when the shaft at one end, is inserted into the 30 core of a reel and, at the other end, is engaged by a chuck on a drill. 4 Preferably the resilient material is a durable soft but firm natural or synthetic rubber with a spongy, deformable nature to provide a resistance fit with the core of the reel. 5 Preferably the tapered portion is made of resilient material such as durable soft natural or synthetic rubber including thermoplastic material. Preferably said core engaging portion or tapered portion comprises a single conical, frustoconical or pyramidal shape. More preferably the base of the cone, 10 frustocone or pyramid is proximal to said shaft end and the tip is distal to said shaft end. Preferably said core engaging portion or tapered portion comprises one or more radial fins. 15 Preferably said adaptor is produced by injection molding said reel engaging member around said shaft. Detailed Description of Illustrative Embodiments of the Invention 20 The invention will now be described with reference to the following non limiting illustrative drawings. Figure 1 is a side view of one embodiment of the adaptor of the present invention. 25 Figure 2 is a schematic representation of another embodiment of the present invention. Figure 3 is a schematic representation of yet another embodiment of the present 30 invention. 5 Figure 4 is a drawing of the adaptor in use. The adaptor 10 comprises a shaft 30 at one end and a reel engaging member 50 at the other end as can be seen on Figure 1. 5 Shaft 30 may be constructed of any convenient materials such as 6 to 7 mm hexagonal or round steel rod. A convenient length such as 60mm may be employed. First end 35 of shaft 30 has a tool engaging portion 36 which is hexagonal in cross-section and therefore suitable to be engaged by a drill chuck. 10 Tool engaging portion 36 may also be round in cross section. Second end 37 of shaft 30 is embedded within reel engaging member 50 as described below. A portion of second end 37 (not shown) may be knurled or flattened to facilitate the injection moulding process. 15 Reel engaging member 50 comprises core engaging portion 60 which is tapered. It has wide end 65 proximal to first end 35 of shaft 30 opposite narrow end 67. In the embodiment shown in Figure 1 core engaging portion 60 is generally conical or frustoconical shape in shape and markedly tapered. 20 In contrast the embodiments shown in Figures 2 and 3 have a core engaging portion 60 which is generally or substantially cylindrical with only a slight difference in diameter from wide end 65 to narrow end 67 (such as 34.5 mm and 33mm in diameter). Adjacent wide end 65 of core engaging portion 60 is guard 70 on reel engaging member 50. Guard 70 may be of any convenient size (such 25 as 50mm in diameter) and helps to prevent the string line from winding on to shaft 30 instead of reel 100. Although the figures show wide end 65 of core engaging portion 60 adjacent shaft 30, in practice core engaging portion 60 could be removable and narrow end 67 could be placed adjacent to shaft 30. In use, in such an embodiment, core engaging portion 60 would be removed, the string line 30 reel would be placed on core engaging portion 60 which then would be replaced on shaft 30. 6 Core engaging portion 60 may be solid or comprise one or more radial fins 69. The periphery of the fins may be tapered or straight. Where only one fin 69 is present such as in the embodiment shown in Figure 3 the periphery of the fin is 5 tapered towards narrow end 67. Radial fins 69 assist in providing a good fit with reels having varying core diameters. Fins 69 may be made of a continuous annular web of material or may comprise cut away portions, spines or fimbrae suitable for engaging the core of the reel. Preferably the core engaging portion 60 is made of resilient material thus enabling a resistance fit with the core of the 10 reel. Although adaptor 10 may be made by drilling a hole into reel engaging member 50 and inserting shaft 30, preferably adaptor 10 is made by an injection moulding process. In this process an appropriate length (such as 20mm) of second end 37 15 of shaft 30 is placed in a suitably shaped one or two cavity injection mould. A portion of the surface of second end 37 of shaft 30 is knurled or flattened (not shown) which helps to locate shaft 30 within reel engaging member 50 during the injection moulding process. Thermoplastic elastomer such as a 55-65 Shore A hardness Thermoprene is then injected into the mould and left for an appropriate 20 time to harden and then the mould is removed. During this time the plastic shrinks onto the shaft. It will be appreciated from the above that the present invention is easy and economical to manufacture because in its simplest form it comprises two 25 components avoiding the need for complex engineering and moving parts. As indicated in figure 4, in use a string line on reel 100 with a hollow core (not shown) is placed on narrow end 67 of core engaging portion 60 and pushed up reel engaging member 50 until a snug fit is achieved. First end 35 of shaft 30 is 30 inserted into the chuck of a drill and engaged (before or after the reel is fitted). The drill is then operated to rotate shaft 30 which results in winding of the line. 7 The drill is conveniently a battery powered tool and is able to be held by one hand. Optionally the string may be guided onto the reel during winding by the other hand. The advantage of the present invention in its preferred form is that it is an adaptor in one piece which is easy and convenient to use. 5 From the foregoing, it will be observed that numerous modifications and variations can be effected without departing from the true spirit and scope of the novel concept of the present invention. It is to be understood that no limitation with respect to the specific embodiment illustrated herein is intended or should be 10 inferred. The disclosure is intended to cover, by the appended claims, all such modifications as fall within the scope of the claims. Throughout this specification and the claims that follow, unless the context requires otherwise the words "comprise", "comprises", "comprising" will be 15 understood to mean the inclusion of the stated integer, step or group of integers or steps but not the exclusion of any of other integer, step or group of integers or steps. 8

Claims (11)

1. An adaptor which allows mechanical winding of a line on a reel with a hollow 5 core such as a string line by a tool, said adaptor comprising: a) a shaft having an end which is adapted to be engaged by a chuck of a suitable tool such as a drill or the like which is able to provide rotation about an axis, and; b) a reel engaging member which comprises core engaging portion suitable for engagement of said hollow core of a reel, wherein said portion is made of 10 deformable material to allow a resistance fit between said core engaging portion and said core and wherein, in use, rotation of the shaft about its longitudinal axis causes said member and reel to rotate thereby allowing winding of the line.

2. An adaptor which allows mechanical winding of line on a reel with a hollow 15 core such as a string line by a tool, said adaptor comprising: a) a shaft having an end which is adapted to be engaged by a chuck of a tool such as a drill or the like which tool is able to provide rotation about an axis, and; b) a reel engaging member which comprises a tapered portion suitable for engagement of said hollow core of a reel to allow a resistance fit between said 20 portion and said core, wherein, in use, rotation of the shaft about its longitudinal axis causes said member and reel to rotate thereby causing winding of the line.

3. A method of mechanically winding line on a reel with a hollow core, such as a string line by providing: a) an adaptor having a shaft with an end which is 25 adapted to be engaged by a chuck of a tool such as a drill or the like which tool is able to provide rotation about an axis and a reel engaging member which comprises a tapered portion and/or a deformable material suitable for engagement of said hollow core of a reel to allow a resistance fit between said core engaging portion and said core; b) a suitable tool and wherein said method 30 comprises engaging said tool with said adaptor and operating the tool to cause 9 rotation of the shaft about its longitudinal axis causing said member and reel to rotate thereby winding the line.

4. The adaptor of claim 1 or claim 2 or the method of claim 3 wherein said portion 5 comprises a single conical, frustoconical or pyramidal shape or is substantially cylindrical .

5. The adaptor of claim 2 or the method of claim 3 wherein the tapered portion comprises resilient material. 10

6. The adaptor of claim 4 wherein the base of the cone or pyramid is proximal to said shaft end and the tip is distal to said shaft end.

7. The adaptor of claim 1 or claim 2 or the method of claim 3 wherein said portion 15 comprises one or more radial fins.

8. A method of manufacture of an adaptor which allows mechanical winding of line on a reel with a hollow core such as a string line by a tool, said method comprising: assembling a reel engaging member onto a shaft wherein the shaft 20 has an end which is adapted to be engaged by a chuck of a suitable tool such as a drill or the like which tool is able to provide rotation about an axis, and wherein the reel engaging member comprises a core engaging portion suitable for engagement of said hollow core of a reel, wherein said portion is made of deformable material to allow a resistance fit between said core engaging portion 25 and said core and wherein, in use, rotation of the shaft about its longitudinal axis is able to cause said member and reel to rotate thereby allowing winding of the line

9. A method of manufacture of an adaptor which allows mechanical winding of 30 line on a reel with a hollow core such as a string line by a tool, said method comprising: assembling a reel engaging member onto a shaft said shaft having 10 an end which is adapted to be engaged by a chuck of a tool such as a drill or the like which tool is able to provide rotation about an axis, and wherein said reel engaging member which comprises a tapered portion suitable for engagement of said hollow core of a reel to allow a resistance fit between said core engaging 5 portion and said core, wherein, in use, rotation of the shaft about its longitudinal axis is able to cause said member and reel to rotate thereby allowing winding of the line.

10. The method of claim 8 or claim 9 wherein said adaptor is produced by 10 injection molding said reel engaging member around said shaft.

11. The adaptor of claim 1 or claim 2 or the method of any one of claims 3, 8 or 9 substantially as hereinbefore described in any one of the drawings. 15 LTJ Enterprises Pty Ltd This 2nd day of November 2011 By Their Attorneys 20 Tasmanian Patent Services. 11