AU2014101051A4 - Adjustable Reel - Google Patents

Abstract

A reel assembly 10 comprising a spool 20 having a riser assembly 40 and rotatably mounted on a frame 180, the spool 20 comprising a gear assembly 50 housed in the spool hub 21. The 5 frame includes a level winder 181 extending between a pair of side walls 182,182'of the frame 180, to provide a guide to the payout or retraction of a hose (not shown) that is in fluid communication to the riser assembly 40 and is wrapped around, or unwound from, the spool hub 21. The spool comprises a pair of spaced side discs 22,22', one of which side discs 22' is mounted rotatably on the side wall 182' of the frame 180. A central shaft 60 comprises a pair of 10 adjustably spaced male and female sleeve butt ends 61,62 to enable the length of the spool hub 21 to be adjustably varied. Fig. la 0-) C) C) co CoL

Description

ADJUSTABLE REEL FIELD OF INVENTION This invention relates to an adjustable reel. More particularly, this invention relates to an adjustable spool for a hose reel. 5 BACKGROUND ART The following 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. In particular, the following prior art discussion does not relate to what is commonly or well known by the person skilled in the art, but assists in the understanding of the inventive 10 step of the present invention of which the identification of pertinent prior art proposals is but one part. Hose reels are typically purpose built with specific dimensions for the required application. Depending on the length and width of a hose to be mounted on a reel, the spool is typically manufactured to accommodate large or small requirements. Smaller dimensioned spool may be 15 required to fit into restricted gaps, for example in Fire Brigade vehicles where there are tight constraints on the space available. However, a large spool may be required to accommodate large hose lengths suitable for use on large ships or factory installations. Customarily, it is found in tight installations, where space is limited, that a slight overall adjustment in the length of the spool is most advantageous, but spools are normally rigid 20 cylindrical structures with a fixed length. Length adjustment requires dismantling of the reel, inserting a new, larger spool cylinder or cutting the existing cylinder to size, and welding or otherwise securing the replacement cylinder to the side discs. This can particularly be the case in custom installs on maintenance vehicles, fire trucks and other emergency vehicles with customised bodies. In many instances it is found that a reel does not quite fit, with prior reels 25 requiring substantive and total reworking to fit, if in fact it is at all possible. In an alternative scenario, it may be found that the spool capacity is inadequate for the subject task. The required hose to be stored on a selected reel may exceed the standard capacity of the spool. New hose can initially be less flexible and this can exacerbate the problem of the selected spool being too small.

An object of the present invention is to ameliorate the aforementioned disadvantages of the prior art or to at least provide a useful alternative thereto. STATEMENT OF INVENTION The invention according to one or more aspects is as defined in the independent claims. Some 5 optional and/or preferred features of the invention are defined in the dependent claims. Accordingly, in one aspect of the invention there is provided: a hose or cable reel comprising a spool having a drum and a pair of disc side walls either end of the drum and spaced by the length of the drum that is adjustable in length to vary the spacing between the pair of discs, 10 the spool further comprising a length lock to adjustably fix the length of the drum at a selected length corresponding to any one of a number of lengths within a range of drum lengths, wherein the drum outer surface is maintained at a substantially consistent diameter throughout its length, irrespective of the selected drum length. 15 The drum preferably includes a coaxial male and a female member forming a pair of telescopically adjustable members enabling adjustment of the length of the drum, so that the fixed distance between the disc walls is adjustable. The drum may include a central drum and a drum end at one or both ends of the central portion. The drum ends may comprise two opposed outer sections spaced between the central drum 20 portion. The drum end may have a cup shape. Each drum end may have a cylindrical wall that transitions into one of the side disc walls. The transition is preferably from the rim of the cup of the drum end to the disc wall in the form of a circular donut-shaped disc wall. The disc wall preferably lies in a plane substantially normal to the drum's longitudinal axis. The central drum is preferably interposed between the drum ends and preferably spaces the 25 drum ends apart. Preferably the central drum is an adjustable drum section. The central drum may be an adjustable drum section comprising a cylinder, tube or other device. The central drum preferably comprises the coaxial male and female pair of members. The male and female pair of members preferably comprise a pair of telescopically associated cylinders.

However, the adjustable drum section may comprise other arrangements within the scope of the invention, such as an array of telescopically associated pipes and shafts circumferentially arranged to form a structure substantially shaped as a hollow cylinder with the pipes and shafts forming the cylinder that has the capacity to be adjustably lengthened or shortened. 5 Alternatively, the central drum may include a plurality of fingers made up of two sets of opposed fingers extending from either outer drum and offset so that they are interleaved to form a cylindrical wall making up the adjustable central drum, each set adapted to linearly slide relative to each other. Preferably, the central drum comprises a substantially continuous central drum surface. The 10 diameters of the male inner and female outer cylinders are preferably similar so that the inner cylinder fits snugly in the outer cylinder, with minimal play or twisting movement other than desirable coaxial movement relative to each other during length adjustment of the drum. Preferably, one or both of the male and female cylinders is or are cup-shaped. One of the male and female cylinders may have one end that is substantially open, but comprises a radially 15 inwardly extending flange on which to mount a drum end. An open end of each of the male and female cylinders may be opposed to define a central hub space. A first male section of the pair of adjustable drum sections may be attached to one of the drum ends, so that their respective cup floors are in abutting relationship. A second female section of the pair of adjustable drum sections may be attached to the other one of the drum ends, so that 20 their respective cup floors are in abutting relationship. Thus formed is a spool with a pair of spaced spool discs interposed by a pair of outer drum ends and a central telescopic drum section that is adjustable in length. The telescopic drum section is preferably generally cylindrical and defines a central hub space which is adjustable in length. Control of the length of the telescopic drum section may be 25 governed by securing means that fix the axial displacement of the male and female drum sections. The securing means may be located on the outside of the drum section. The securing means may comprise one or more pins or bolts to fix the outer rim of the female drum section to a wall of the male drum section. The pin or bolt may cooperate with pairs of apertures in each of the male and female drum sections that are moved into registration whereby to receive 30 the pin or bolt. The pin or bolt may be threaded to the male drum section wall to securely and axially fix the male and female drums sections to each other.

Control of the length of the telescopic drum section is preferably governed by at least one length adjustable shaft. The length adjustable shaft preferably comprises a pair of engageable members capable of linear movement relative to each other and in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis. The length adjustable shaft may be a telescopic shaft. The length adjustable 5 shaft may be a central length adjustable shaft located in the adjustable drum section. The length adjustable shaft may extend coaxially relative to the adjustable drum section. The length adjustable shaft is advantageously variable in length to adjustably fix the length of the adjustable drum section. The length adjustable shaft may be a central length adjustable shaft that is centrally located in the adjustable drum section. 10 Preferably the telescopic central hub assembly further includes at least one offset length adjustable shaft off set from the axis of the central length adjustable shaft. The offset length adjustable shaft may be in the form of a tie rod. The offset length adjustable shaft may extend between opposed intermediate plate members forming the respective ends of the adjustable drum section. Preferably there is a plurality of offset length adjustable shafts so placed and 15 radially spaced from the central axis of the adjustable drum section. The offset length adjustable shafts are preferably circumferentially spaced. The offset shafts are preferably diametrically opposed about the central length adjustable shaft axis if there is an even number of offset length adjustable shafts. Preferably, there are at least three offset length adjustable shafts circumferentially spaced about the central length adjustable shaft and extending 20 substantially parallel thereto. Preferably, the three offset length adjustable shafts are equi spaced about the central length adjustable shaft to provide a strong structure that resists axial compression and axial tensile forces, as well as twisting forces traversing across the drum axis. The spool is preferably comprised of a pair of spaced spool halves of a hub-type reel spool, interposed with a telescopically extendable central spool hub formed from telescopically 25 associated and opposed cups, wherein the floors of the cups are coaxially mounted to the respective central walls of the spool halves to form a length adjustable spool. The hose or cable reel preferably further includes a level-winding guide to assist in the even winding of the hose or cable onto the spool. The hose guide may be an elongate slot. The slot may be defined by a pair of parallel members, such as bars and/or tubes. The pair of elongate 30 members may be telescopically formed with a male and female member telescopically associated for each elongate member. Each end of the pair of elongate members may be received by a terminal spacer. The terminal spacer may be channel or U-shaped and each may have a pair of butt ends for engaging with the respective ends of the elongate members. Thus forced may be a guide slot that is telescopically adjustable in length. Each set of male and female members may be securable in one of a range of elongate member length positions by means, such as a spring tensioned protrusion on one male or female member or a cotter pin co 5 acting with one of a range of apertures in the other male or female member of that elongate member. Alternatively, the elongate members may be straight bars or tubes that can be cut to a required length or replaced with a bar or tube of the required length and inserted between the pair of butt ends to form the guide slot. 10 The hose or cable reel may be mounted on a frame. The reel frame may be adjustable in width (in a direction parallel with the spool longitudinal axis). The spool hub may be supported by bearings at both ends. However, preferably the reel frame includes a single side support for supporting one end of the spool. The other end, preferably the riser end of the spool, is preferably not structurally supported by a bearing arrangement. The 15 spool hub's riser end may be contained in a vibratory support to dampen vibration of the spool hub, for example during transport. The reel frame may include a base from which the frame side support and the vibratory support extends. The base may include a pair of base members adapted to move relative to each other and engage with each other to vary the spacing between the side support and the vibratory 20 support. The base may include a length adjustable slide bracket fixed to one side of the base and a corresponding rail for receiving the bracket in a range of positions. The slide bracket or the rail may include a series apertures that may be shifted into registration with an aperture on the other of the slide bracket or rail to fix the base at a certain length by inserting a bolt or pin through 25 the registered apertures and fixing same in position. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention may be better understood from the following non-limiting description of preferred embodiments in which preferred features are described with particular reference to Figures la to 7. However, it is to be understood that the features illustrated in and described with reference to the drawings are not to be construed as limiting on the scope of the invention. Figure 1 a is a side sectional view of a reel assembly according to a first embodiment; Figure lb is a perspective sectional view of the reel assembly shown in Figure 1 a; 5 Figure 2 is a side sectional view of a drive assembly according to a second embodiment; Figure 3 is a perspective sectional view of the telescopic arrangement; Figure 4 is a perspective sectional view of the telescopic arrangement shown in Figure 3 in the context of a reel assembly; Figure 5 is a perspective sectional view of the telescopic arrangement shown in Figure 3 shown 10 in a extended state; Figure 6 is a side sectional view of the reel assembly shown in Figure 1 shown in an extended state; and Figure 7 is an exploded perspective view of the telescopic arrangement according to the second embodiment. 15 DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS Turning to Figures la and Ib, there is provided a reel assembly 10 comprising a spool 20 having a riser assembly 11 and rotatably mounted on a frame 180, the spool 20 comprising a gear assembly 50 housed in the spool hub 21. The frame 180 includes a level winder 181 extending between a pair of side walls 182,182'of the frame 180. The level winder 181 20 provides a guide to the payout or rewinding of a hose (not shown) that is in fluid communication to the riser assembly 11. The hose is wrapped around, or unwound from, the spool hub 21. The spool comprises a pair of spaced side discs 22,22', one of which side discs 22' is mounted rotatably on the side wall 182' of the frame 180. With additional reference to Fig. 2, there is shown a drive assembly 40i of a second 25 embodiment having a more complex gear assembly 50i. In Fig. 2, like reference numerals are used for like components compared to the embodiment shown in Figs. l a - lb. The spool hub 20 further houses a primary stator 23 supported by structural supports 24,25 extending though a central aperture of the side disc 22' (allowing the hub to rotate around, and providing clearance for, the supports 24,25) and mounted to the side wall 182'. Extending through the primary stator 23 is a spindle 26 forming an axle about which a central shaft 27 operably connected to the hub 20 rotates. The central shaft 27 includes spigots or bolts 28' that extend parallel to the 5 rotating axis of the spindle 26 and the central shaft 27. The bolts 28' (and similar bolts 28 on a sleeve butt 62) engage with intermediate plates 29,29' formed in a centre portion of the spool hub 21. The plates 29,29' are concentrically arranged with respect to the spindle 26 and each lie in planes transverse to the spindle 26 axis. The intermediate plates 29,29' define the internal ends of the outer drums ends 31,31' of the hub 20. Interposed between the outer drum ends 10 31,31' is a telescopic central hub assembly 60. Accordingly, the central shaft 27 is well supported on the gear 50 end of the spool 20 through the structure of the bolts 28', the spindle 26, the supports 24,25 and the side wall 182'. In contrast, the riser end 86 of the shafts 26,61,72,62,84,85,86 (which can be generally referred to by numeral 72) formed in series is contained in a circular or cylindrical cavity forming a 15 vibration support 12 of a central portion of the spool disc 22 to dampen vibration and non-axial movement of the shaft 72 in transit and in use. However, the vibration support 12 does not provide a support bearing and the shaft 72 is cantilevered in its support at the gear 50 end. This has ramifications for the ease with which the riser 11 and successive components extending towards the gears 50 that may be removed without interfering with the remaining structure. In 20 particular, the riser 11 may be removed from the reel 10 by disengaging the facing plates 13,13', attaching it to a hose (not shown) and remounting the riser 11 by re-engaging the facing plates 13,13'. The facing plates 13,13' are joined by small bolts or grub screws 14 coaxially join in series the end riser shaft 86 that continues the fluid path with the riser 11. The fluid path does not extend through the facing plate 13. Facing plate 13' is oriented in a plane normal to 25 the longitudinal axis of the intermediate shaft 85. Easy access to the fastener 14 is availed by providing the facing plates with corresponding depending pendant portions 15 that are clear of other components, notably the riser 11 and the end shaft 86. The gear assembly 50i comprises a cassette 51i and is mounted concentrically on a gear shaft 52i. The concentric cassette 50i comprises a planetary gear set that performs as a multiplier of 30 the drive transferred through a drive shaft 42 from the drive motor 41. The drive and gear assemblies 40,50 are axially offset from, and aligned parallel to, the central shaft 27. Consequently, the drive assembly 40i and gear assemblies 50,50i are housed wholly or partially within one drum end 31', and preferably wholly within the side drum 31'. Furthermore, the drive assembly 40i and gear assemblies 50,50i are located wholly or partially within the confines of the frame 180, and preferably wholly within the confines of the frame 180, that is within the lines of a projected profile and the footprint of the frame 180. 5 In both of the embodiments shown in Figs. 1a - lb and 2, the telescopic central hub assembly 60 is the same. With reference to Figs. 3 - 5, the central shaft 27 comprises a pair of adjustably spaced male and female sleeve butt ends 61,62 . The male butt 61 cooperates with the gear assembly 50,50i to transfer rotation to the central shaft 27. The male butt 61 is attached by the bolts 28' to the intermediate plate 29'. The male butt 61 is an integrally fonned component that 10 comprises, in substantially coaxial series, an outer ann 64, a main core 65, a mounting plate 66 and a male aim 67. The outer arm 64 is substantially cylindrical, has an outer wall with complementary radial teeth to cooperate with the gears 50,50i and an axial bore 63 for receiving the spindle 26. The male arm 67 is received within a counter bore 68 coaxially formed in a cup 69 connected to the 15 intermediate plate 29' by suitable means, such as integral formation, or attachment by welding or bolts. The cup 69 is similarly connected to an inner plate 70' that forms part of a pair of opposed and abutting plates 70,70'. The inner plates 70,70' are preferably triangular, but could be square or circular or otherwise shaped, the triangular shape convenient to allow the plates to be bolted together through three 20 triangularly spaced apertures 71. The male arm 67 extends outwardly and normally from the right hand face (as shown in the drawings) of the inner plate 70'. Coaxially opposed and extending in the opposite direction normal to the inner plate 70 is a core shaft 72 that is telescopically received in the sleeve butt 62. The core shaft 72 is connected to the inner plate 70 by integral formation or attachment by welding. The male arm 67 extends through the inner 25 plates 70,70' into a central bore 74 formed in the hollow cylindrical core shaft 72. The core shaft 72 comprises a series of spaced pairs of pin-receiving apertures 75 along the length of the core shaft 72, each pair of apertures 75 being aligned on axes transverse to the core shaft 72 rotating axis and preferably parallel to each other. The core shaft is a rigid component, preferably made of steel, although in some applications, such as in corrosive 30 environments including wet, acidic and/or salty environments, some of the steel components of the reel 10 may be made of other corrosion resistant materials, including acetal polymers.

The sleeve butt 62 telescopically receives a free end 77 of the core shaft 72 and includes an inner collar 78 to snugly receive the core shaft free end 77 whilst permitting relative movement of the core shaft 72 compared to the sleeve butt 62 when not axially fixed. The collar 78 may be forced of a low-friction material, such as PTFE (for example Teflon (R)) or may be a metal 5 collar in which a female threaded bore 79 is formed. A cylindrical wall 80 of the sleeve butt 62 may have formed therein a bore 79' transversely aligned to the longitudinal axis of the cylindrical wall 80. In this way, a pin or bolt 81 having a hex or allen key receiving head may be inserted through registered coaxial bores 79,79' formed in the sleeve butt wall 80 and the collar 78 and be received in one of the pairs of coaxial apertures 75. In Figs. 4 - 6, remote end 10 83 of the bolt 81 is threaded 82 and may be threadably inserted in the end aperture 75a of the shaft 72 . The pin or bolt 81 may alternatively be a drop pin held in place in the coaxial bores 82 at its free end by, for example, a cotter pin (not shown). Preferably, the bolt 81 is threadably engaged at its free end 83 in the bore 79 by the threaded end 82 cooperating with complementary threads in the bore 79 to ensure a strong connection with the sleeve butt 62 and 15 the core shaft 72 to minimise play and rattle. As shown in Fig. 3, the core shaft 72 may be fully telescoped into the sleeve butt 62 so that the spool drum 32 is as shortened in length as possible. In Fig. 5, the sleeve butt 62 is shown in extended relationship to the core shaft 72 with the bolt 81 inserted through the final pair of axially aligned apertures 75a (see Fig. 3) to locate the sleeve butt 62 at the outermost extent of 20 the core shaft 72. The female sleeve butt 62 comprises an extension of the cylinder 80 to form an outwardly extending male insert 84. The male insert is counter-bored at a transition relative to the cylinder 80 through a plane corresponding to the plate 29v. The outward extension 84 is an insert that engages with an intermediate shaft section 85 that is joined at its remote end to a riser shaft 86 by a pair of coupled plates 87,87' in a similar manner to the plate assembly 70. 25 The shafts 26,61,72,62,84,85,86 are coaxial with each other. The spool drum 32 comprises a pair of telescopically associated halves 33,33' held in telescopic relationship by the telescopic central hub assembly 60 and a plurality of tie rods 34 bridging the adjustably spaced spool discs 29,29'. In these embodiments, three circumferentially spaced tie rods 34 are demonstrated, but the skilled person would appreciated 30 that a robustly engineered single tie rod or pair of ties rods, or 4 or more circumferentially spaced tie rods would achieve the reinforcement and axial alignment of the central shaft 72 that is desirable. Indeed, it is possible that the central shaft be engineered to achieve a sufficiently tight fit without reinforcement. However, for the present embodiments, radially spaced reinforcement in the form of one or tie rods is preferred. The ties rods 34 are telescoped in similar fashion to the core shaft 72 and sleeve butt 62. Each tie rod 34 has an inner shaft 35 welded to and extending normal to an internal backing plate 5 29" of the intermediate plate 29' into an inner drum space 36, and an outer sleeve 37 telescopically engaged to the inner shaft 35. The location of the outer sleeve 37 along the length of the inner shaft 35 is fixed by insertion of a pin or threaded bolt 38 into one registered set of a series of apertures 39 formed along the respective lengths of the inner shaft 35 and outer sleeve 37. io The pair of telescopically associated halves 33,33' are each respectively integrally formed with one of the intermediate plate members 29,29'. The spool drum inner half 33 is inserted partially or wholly within the spool drum sleeve 33', the former being slightly smaller in diameter than the spool drum sleeve 33', so that they are adapted to telescope with respect to each other 33,33' in relatively coaxial relationship. The inner shafts 35 and the core shaft 72 extend 15 through corresponding apertures in the wall of the intermediate plate member 29, so that the plane in which the intermediate plate member 29 lies is substantially parallel to the intermediate plate member 29'. Correspondingly, the outer sleeve 37 is welded or otherwise attached to an inner backing star plate 29v attached to the inner wall of the intermediate plate member 29. 20 The spool drum inner half 33 is preferably separable from the intermediate plate member 29 to allow operator access to the spool drum space 36. The outer drum 31 can be removed by removing the nut engaging bolts 28, like changing a wheel of an automobile to reveal the plate 29 being the floor of the spool drum inner half 33 which is in the form of a sliding cup. The spool half 33 can then also be removed from the bolt mounting studs 28 to enable adjustment 25 of the telescopic assembly 60. By this means, the spool hub 21 may be varied in length from a shortened spool hub to an elongated spool hub. This is best shown in Fig. 1 a in which the pin 81 is located in registered apertures 75 so that the sleeve butt 62 sits as close to the opposed spool side wall 29' as possible with the spool drum inner half 33 fully encased in the outer spool sleeve 33'. In an 30 elongated state, the spool hub 21 is fully extended as shown in Fig. 6 in which the sleeve butt 62, the outer tie rod sleeve 37 and the spool drum inner half 33 are spaced as far away as permitted from the spool side wall 29', whilst still in telescopic relationship with the core shaft 72, the inner shaft 35 and the outer spool sleeve 33', respectively. As best seen in Fig. 7 in which the telescopic assembly 60 is shown in exploded view, the inner backing star plate 29v is separable from the inside surface of the panel 29, so that the length of 5 the telescopically adjustable components 34,72 can be set and then the drum space 36 closed by assembly of the component parts. Initially, the plate assembly 70,70' is attached and the bolts 28 of the butt end 62 are inserted through the respective apertures 29a in the star plate 29v to mount the plate 29v to the sleeve butt 62. The backing plate 29" is also mounted inside the spool drum half 33' using studs 28'. The shaft 72 and rod 34 lengths are then set by telescoping io the corresponding female parts 80, 37 onto the corresponding male parts 72,35 and inserting the pins 81, 38 in the desired aperture or bore 39,79. The frame 180 and level winder 181 width adjustment assemblies can be similarly set at this time. To complete the telescopic assembly 60, the spool drum half 33 is mounted onto the plate 29v and butt end 62, the sleeve butt insert 84 extending coaxially and centrally through 15 corresponding large central apertures 29p, 33p in the plate 29v and spool drum half 33, respectively. The studs 28 that extend through the plate 29v, similarly extend through the panel 29 and are secured with suitable nuts, so that the drum space 36 is enclosed and the central drum 21 length fixed at a length that is defined but adjustable. The telescopically moveable members, sleeve butt 62 and outer sleeve 37, are secured to their 20 respective inner members 72, 35 by insertion of pins 81, 38, respectively, to maintain an axially strong and torsion-resistant rigid elongate spool hub 21 structure. The provision of the radially spaced telescopic rods 34 are optional and the telescopic assembly 60 may comprise the central shaft 72 and butt ends 61,62 , engineered to ensure strong coaxial alignment of respect telescopic parts. However, the embodiment including the telescopic rods 34 is preferred. 25 As shown in Fig. 6, the frame 180 and the level winder 181 are also adjustable to vaiy the distance between the side frame walls 182,182'. The adjustability of the frame 180 is achieved by means of a slide bracket 183 in the base 184. The slide bracket 183 is formed from an end section of the base 184 that that is adapted to be fixed to a foot of the base by insertion of a bolt 185 or other releasable fastening means. The bolt is inserted through one of a series of base 30 apertures 186 extending along the length of the end section of the base 184 in a range corresponding to the range of axial displacement that the telescopic drum section 33,33' is capable of. The level winder 181 includes a pair of parallel bars 187,187' at an opposed end of the side frame walls 182,182' and extending therebetween. The parallel bars are received in female U-shaped ends 188 located at each end of the level winder 181. To vary the length of the parallel bars 187,187', prepared different length bars 187,187' may be interchanged in the 5 device 10 to accommodate the frame 180 according to particular spacing between the side frames 182,182'. Throughout the specification and claims the word "comprise" and its derivatives are intended to have an inclusive rather than exclusive meaning unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise. That is, the word "comprise" and its derivatives will be taken to 10 indicate the inclusion of not only the listed components, steps or features that it directly references, but also other components, steps or features not specifically listed, unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise. In the present specification, terms such as "apparatus", "means", "device" and "member" may refer to singular or plural items and are terms intended to refer to a set of properties, functions 15 or characteristics performed by one or more items or components having one or more parts. It is envisaged that where an "apparatus", "means", "device" or "member" or similar term is described as being a unitary object, then a functionally equivalent object having multiple components is considered to fall within the scope of the term, and similarly, where an "apparatus", "assembly", "means", "device" or "member" is described as having multiple 20 components, a functionally equivalent but unitary object is also considered to fall within the scope of the term, unless the contrary is expressly stated or the context requires otherwise. Orientational terms used in the specification and claims such as vertical, horizontal, top, bottom, upper and lower are to be interpreted as relational and are based on the premise that the component, item, article, apparatus, device or instrument will usually be considered in a 25 particular orientation, typically with the base lowermost. It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that many modifications and variations may be made to the methods of the invention described herein without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Ref. No. Description Ref. No. Description 10 reel assembly 70 Left inner plate 11 Riser assembly 70' Right inner plate 12 Spool disc vibration support 13,13' Riser facing plates Ref. No. Description Ref. No. Description 14 Bolts or screws 15 Plate pendant portion 20 spool 71 apertures 21 Spoolhub 72 Core shaft 22 Side disc 74 Core shaft bore 22' Side disc mounted to side wall 75 Pin apertures 182' 23 Primary stator 75a Pin apertures at extreme end of core shaft 26 spindle 76 Core shaft axis 27 Rotating central shaft 77 Free end of core shaft 28 Spigots or bolts 78 Inner collar 29 intermediate plate member 79 coaxial bore for drop pin or bolt 29' intermediate plate member 79' Threaded bore in sleeve butt wall 29" Backing plate 80 Sleeve butt wall 31,31' outer drum ends 81 Drop pin or bolt 32 Spool drum 82 Bolt thread 33 Spool drum inner half 83 Free end of drop pin or bolt 33' Spool drum sleeve 84 Sleeve butt insert 34 Tie rods 85 Intermediate shaft 35 Inner shaft 86 End riser shaft 36 Drum space 37 Tie rod outer sleeve 29v Inner backing star plate 38 Pin or bolt 29a Panel apertures 39 apertures 40i Drive assembly 41i Motor 42 Drive shaft 180 frame 50,50i Gear assembly 181 Level winder 51,51i Gear cassette 182,182' Side walls 52,52i Gear shaft 183 Slide bracket 60 Telescopic central hub assembly 184 Frame base 61 Male butt 185 Bolt 62 Sleeve butt 186 Base apertures 63 Spindle receiving bore 187,187' Parallel level winder bars 64 Outer arm 188 U-shaped level winder ends 65 Main core 66 Mounting plate 67 Male arm 68 Cup counterbore 69 cup

Claims (5)

1. A hose or cable reel comprising: a spool having a drum and a pair of disc side walls either end of the drum and spaced by the length of the drum that is adjustable in length to vary the spacing between the pair of 5 discs, the spool further comprising a length lock to adjustably fix the length of the drum at a selected length corresponding to any one of a number of lengths within a range of drum lengths, wherein the drum outer surface is maintained at a substantially consistent diameter 10 throughout its length, irrespective of the selected drum length.

2. A hose or cable reel according to claim 1, wherein the central drum comprises a pair of coaxial male and female members telescopically adjustable relative to each other.

3. A hose or cable reel according to claim 1, wherein the central drum houses a telescopic central hub assembly comprising a central shaft on which a slidable bracket is mounted, 15 the central shaft operably fixed to a first end of the central drum and the slidable bracket operably fixed to the second of the central drum.

4. A hose or cable reel according to claim 3, wherein the slidable bracket is a telescopic sleeve.

5. A hose or cable reel according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the telescopic central hub 20 assembly includes at least one length adjustable shaft offset from the central shaft axis. I A