AU780665B2 - Locking plate for a collapsible reel assembly - Google Patents

Description

-1-

AUSTRALIA

PATENTS ACT 1990 COMPLETE SPECIFICATION FOR A STANDARD PATENT

ORIGINAL

Name of Applicant: Viscount Plastics (NSW) Ltd Actual Inventor: Philip Duncan Loader Address for Service: BALDWIN SHELSTON WATERS MARGARET STREET SYDNEY NSW 2000 CCN: 3710000352 Invention Title: 'LOCKING PLATE FOR A COLLAPSIBLE REEL ASSEMBLY' Details of Associated Provisional Application No. PR1958 dated 07 Dec 2000 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me/us:- File: 33808AUP00 Field of the Invention The present invention relates to reels and in particular to a collapsible reel assembly.

Background of the Invention Reels are known as a means of conveniently storing and dispensing wire, rope, cord, cable, foil, tape and other flexible elongate materials. Early reel designs were typically formed as a one piece unitary structure including a spool around which the material is wound, and radially extending end flanges to retain and protect the material on the spool. The size and shape of the spool, and particularly the flanges, mean that when not in use, such reels are bulky and spatially inefficient for storage and transportation.

In an attempt to reduce the overall size when not in use, it has also been known to provide reels in three parts consisting of a generally cylindrical spool and a pair of generally planar detachable end flanges. These reels were adapted to be assembled before use, which typically involved a relatively time consuming procedure, often requiring special tools. However, even these collapsible reels continued to include a bulky spool.

In an attempt to address this problem, reels have more recently been formed with spools which are themselves collapsible into a flat or substantially flat configuration once detached from the end flanges. In one particular known form, the components of the reel are releasably secured together by means of axially extending spigots formed on the spool and adapted for engagement with corresponding key hole slots formed in the flanges. Each spigot typically includes a shank and a relatively broad head such that upon insertion of the spigots extending from each end of the spool into the corresponding keyhole slots in the respective flange, and upon subsequent relative -3rotation between the spool and the flange, these components are releasably secured together.

In order to prevent reverse rotation, and the spool consequently detaching inadvertently from the flange, locking clips are provided on the inner face of each flange.

These clips are typically recessed to remain flush with the exposed surfaces of the spool and flange. In practice, however, it is possible and indeed commonplace, for these clips to disengage unintentionally during the reel winding process and as a consequence, the spool and flange can come apart. If this occurs, due to the location of the clips beneath the material wound on to the spool, it is impossible to re-engage the clips without first unwinding the entire reel. Similarly, ifa flange is damaged when the reel has material wound on it, the damaged flange cannot be replaced without first accessing the locking i •.•clips, which again requires the entire reel to be unwound. In either case, this is a time S"consuming and expensive process with potential to cause significant downtime in a production or packaging line.

Any statements concerning the prior art are made solely for the purposes of illustrating the significance of the present invention. They are not, and should not be ooooo interpreted as an express or implied admission that the prior art referred to is widely known or forms part of common general knowledge in the field.

It is an object of the present invention to overcome or substantially ameliorate one or more of the disadvantages of the prior art, or at least to provide a useful alternative.

Disclosure of the Invention According to the invention there is provided a collapsible reel assembly including: a spool having at least one locking element extending generally axially from each end, each of said locking elements having a shank and a relatively broader head; -4a pair of flanges adapted respectively for releasable connection to opposite ends of said spool, each flange including a complementary keyhole slot formation adapted axially to receive, and upon relative rotation to captively retain, a respective one of said locking elements in engagement with said slot, thereby releasably securing said flange to said spool; and a pair of locking plates adapted respectively for releasable connection to the flanges, each locking plate having at least one blocking pin adapted for engagement with the one of the keyhole slots to prevent relative rotation and hence withdrawal of the corresponding locking element from said slot, and thereby effectively locking the respective flanges to the spool.

Preferably there are twelve keyhole slots, locking elements and blocking pins which are respectively grouped in four equally spaced sets of three on the flanges, spool S-and locating plates respectively. However, in alternative embodiments there may be a greater or lesser number of keyhole slots, locking elements and blocking pins and there need not be a one to one correlation. The plate preferably includes an axially extending •'..locking catch for releaseably securing it to the flange. Complementary locking shoulders preferably provided on the flange to engage the locking catch. The plate is preferably formed from a suitable resilient plastics material.

Brief Description of the Drawings A preferred embodiment of the invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of an assembled collapsible reel assembly according to the invention; Figure 2 is an exploded perspective view of the collapsible reel assembly of Figure 1; Figure 3 is a cut away perspective view of one of the end flanges with only one of the spool sections attached; Figure 4A is a perspective view of a flange showing the outer surface; Figure 4B is a reverse perspective view of the flange of Figure 4A showing the inner surface; Figure 5A is a perspective view of a half-spool section in the operative curved configuration, showing the inner surface; Figure 5B is a reverse perspective view of the half spool section of Figure showing the outer surface; oo oi Figure 6A is a perspective view of a locking plate showing the inwardly facing S-surface; Figure 6B is a reverse perspective view of the locking plate of Figure 6A showing the outwardly facing surface; Figure 7A is an end view of a flange showing the outwardly facing surface; and .ooo.i Figure 7B is a cross sectional view of the flange of Figure 7A taken along line A- A; and Figure 7C is an enlarged cross sectional detail of the flange of Figure 7A, taken along the line A-A and within circle B.

Preferred Embodiments of the Invention Referring to the drawings, the invention provides a collapsible reel assembly 1 including a spool 2, and a pair of end flanges 3 adapted respectively for releasable connection to opposite ends of the spool. As best seen in Figure 2, twelve locking -6elements 4 extend generally axially, from each end of the spool. Each of the locking elements comprises a mushroom formation, having a shank 5 and a relatively broader head 6. A series of locating formations 7 are disposed in an annular array on the inner face of each flange to locate and support the inner surface of the spool 2, as described in more detail below.

The spool is formed in two half cylindrical sections 8, as seen in Figure 5A. These sections include longitudinal internal ribbing 9 to enhance axial rigidity. Each spool section is flexible in the circumferential direction and can be readily rolled into a semicircular configuration. The two half cylindrical sections 8 are releasablyjoined together by mutually interengagable locking formations extending along their mating edges. In this embodiment, the formations are T-shaped protrusions 10 which engage and are captively retained by corresponding L-shaped protrusions 11 on the opposing section.

Each flange 3 includes twelve keyhole slots 12. As shown in Figure 4B, each slot includes an enlarged section 13 at one end to allow insertion of the broad head of the locking element 4, and a reduced section 14 at the other end to slip under the head 6 and provide locking engagement in the axial direction. Thus, upon relative rotation between the flange 3 and the spool 2, the narrow sections of the keyhole slots 14 captively engage the locking element 4, to sandwich the flange between the end of the spool and broad head 6. It will be appreciated, however, that these locking formations made be embodied in other forms.

A pair of locking plates 15 are then adapted for releasable connection to the respective flanges 3. Each locking plate 15 has twelve blocking elements in the form of pins 16. These pins are adapted for insertion into the enlarged section 13 of the slots 12 and prevent reverse rotation of the flange with respect to the spool by filling and -7blocking the slots. In this way, the flange is prevented from inadvertent release from the spool.

Each locking plate 15 also includes four axially extending snap-locking catches 17.

These catches are adapted for releasable engagement with corresponding locking shoulders 18 defined adjacent slots 19 in the respective flange. The catches are disengagable with the respective locking shoulders 18 by resilient deformation away from the shoulders. While the catches 17 are most conveniently located on the plates and the corresponding shoulders 18 are disposed flange, it will be appreciated that their locations may be reversed. These formations may also be embodied in other ways.

Turning now to describe briefly the procedure for assembling the spool, both of the spool sections are initially rolled into two half cylindrical sections 8 as shown in Figures 2, 5A and 5B. These half cylindrical sections 8 are then joined together by their respective T and L shaped formations 10 and 11 to form the cylindrical spool 2 as shown in Figure 1. The locking formations 4 on the spool 2 are then aligned with, and inserted into, the corresponding key hole slots 12 on the first flange. When fully inserted, the broad heads 6 of the locking elements extend through the slots to protrude axially from o.oi the outer face of the flange. The flange is then rotated with respect to the spool so that "the shanks 5 of the locking element slide into the narrow sections 14 of the respective keyhole slots and the flange is secured to the spool. Likewise the other flange is attached to the other end of the spool.

In turn, each locking plate 15 is then attached to the respective end of the reel 1.

The blocking pins 16 are inserted into the now vacant, enlarged section 13 of the keyhole slots, thus substantially preventing relative rotation between the spool and flanges.

Finally, the locking plates are releaseably secured by engaging the locking catches 17 with the corresponding shoulders 18, thereby effectively locking the flanges to the spool.

-8- This completes the assembly of the reel and disassembly is essentially the reverse of this procedure.

The invention thus provides a collapsible reel which can be assembled and disassembled quickly and easily without the use of special tools. The locking mechanism is essentially located on the outside of the reel so that a flange may be replaced if damaged, without unwinding the reel. This configuration also enables access to the locking mechanism should it become disengaged whilst the reel is being wound, while the locking plates serve to minimise the possibility of inadvertent disengagement.

Furthermore, the axial flange locking mechanism is distinct from the radial locating mechanism. This enables the respective forces to be better isolated, and internal stresses minimised. In all these respects, the invention represents practical and commercially significant improvement over the prior art.

Although the invention has been described with reference to specific examples, it will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the invention may be embodied in 15 other forms.

Claims (14)

1. A collapsible reel assembly including: a spool having at least one locking element extending generally axially from each end, each said locking element having a shank and a relatively broader head; a pair of flanges adapted respectively for releasable connection to opposite ends of said spool, each of said flanges including a complementary keyhole slot formation adapted axially to receive, and upon relative rotation to captively retain, a respective one of said locking elements in engagement with said slot, thereby releasably securing said flange to said spool; and 10 a pair of locking plates adapted respectively for releasable connection to the *0*o flanges, each locking plate having at least one blocking pin adapted for engagement with the one of the keyhole slots to prevent relative rotation and hence withdrawal of the corresponding locking element from said slot, thereby effectively locking the respective flanges to the spool.

2. A collapsible reel assembly according to claim 1 wherein each of said flanges S includes a plurality of said slots.

3. A collapsible reel assembly according to claim 2 wherein said spool includes a :..9°plurality of said locking elements.

4. A collapsible reel assembly according to claim 3 wherein said locking plate includes a plurality of said blocking pins.

A collapsible reel assembly according to any of the preceding claims wherein said slots and said locking elements are grouped in an array of equally circumferentially spaced groups.

6. A collapsible reel assembly according to claim 5 wherein said blocking pins are grouped in an array of circumferentially spaced groups.

7. A collapsible reel assembly according to claim 5 or claim 6 wherein said slots and said locking elements are arrayed as four equally circumferentially spaced groups of three slots and locking elements.

8. A collapsible reel assembly according to claim 7 wherein said blocking pins are grouped in an array of four equally circumferentially spaced groups of three pins.

9. A collapsible reel assembly according to any of the preceding claims wherein said locking plate includes attachment means adapted for releasably securing said plate to said flange.

A collapsible reel assembly according to claim 9 wherein said attachment means include an axially extending catch adapted for releasable engagement with a •complementary locating shoulder formed on said flange.

11. A collapsible reel assembly according to claim 10 wherein said locking shoulder is defined by a slot in said flange.

12. A collapsible reel assembly according to claim 10 or claim 11 wherein said catch is adapted for manual disengagement by resilient deformation away from said locking shoulder.

13. A collapsible reel assembly according to any one of the preceding claims wherein each flange includes a series of locating functions disposed in an annular array on the inner face of said flange to locate and support the inner surface of said spool.

14. A collapsible reel assembly according to any of the preceding claims wherein said locking plate is formed from a resilient plastics material. A collapsible reel assembly substantially as herein described with reference to any one of the embodiments of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawings. DATED this 6" Day of December, 2001 VISCOUNT PLASTICS (NSW) LTD Attorney: STUART M. SMITH Fellow Institute of Patent Attorneys of Australia of BALDWIN SHELSTON WATERS