GB2240089A - Plastics reel - Google Patents

Abstract

An integral moulded plastics reel e.g. of polypropylene has a conical tubular core 1, Fig. 1, with end flanges 2, 3 one whereof has a hub 8 formed by continuing an edge of the core inwardly into the bore thereof so that a clearance is formed between an inward core surface 11 and an outward hub surface 9. At least three radial stiffening ribs 12 extend longitudinally along the inward core surface, being rigidly linked to the hub 8 and to the end flanges, whereby rib crests 13 are fragments 14 of a surface of revolution, e.g. a cylinder or cone. The reel may be lifted as in Fig. 3. <IMAGE>

Description

PLASTIC REET :2:2 cl C::h CD a,= 3, The invention relates to the

manufacture of cable products and has specific reference to a plastic reel designed to reel on magnet wire and pay it off in the axial direation.

The disclosed plastic reel can be of utility the electrical and radio engineering be Lore all. in U inclustries in takinS up. and transportinc finished magnet wire and on mechanized lines for tne inertia- -ion of win,' - electrical machines free a..).-,lica4V Unss of and equipment and radio sets.

Reels i,.-- structural plastics which feature.ith cylin-ders i.-. the form o'. conical tubular cores u 1a- e n C'--- n-es at the lar-e an, small conical bases are in wide-spreacil use nowadays (Publication of the Inter national Electrotechnical Goomission!-.o 2-264-3. 1073, lart III "Take up conical reels for winding, wire").

Cree reelinG on of an -4nertia.L' They are employed ['or " j C wires in the a:.:ial direction -IL'ro:-. static reels via the small f lange.

-- L, To -Drornote efficienc- in oroducin- wire 1 - 121 and shi-j:)in.---. it to the consw-jer an' also in co-cinz ---ith.jiiidii.E; jobs it is -practical to ---..L. - increase the mass of the is beinG reeled.

on up to 90-120 k-, or even inore.

An increase in the mass of the maG:-.,et wire which is beir-E spoole1 Sivos rise to the probler. of in creasing the strenr Q V, th and rigidity of reels. An in crease LL- loa,,5--beari-,-S capacity must be combi- -ion of structural plastics.

neC with a mi-nimum consumpt 2oreover, provisions for manipulating the reels with -materials handling equi-pment (hoists, manipulators) riust be created in order to cope with sue'-, jobs as the reels axially durin- the manufacture of mag.netp wires, haulinG and placinG on the larje en.d flange for the ap-plication of windin,,,.,s.

The material of' t"ie iciloi,-,m reels is - polystyrene - a polymer plastic of moderate strenr-tb and thermal stability.

Polystyrene conical-core reels are as a rule of t'- %1t,,re is tle built-up construction L-nc- -.ei- manuf a- - labour for t,-,e reel co----stituent.,-, must be -- - -her.

cemenll -d tojet A switch Ito polypropyle---o - a synthesized poly- J - 11 - T.-ier whieh, compares with,-)olyst--rei-Le ill IY -ty and flexural strg2rirtb, therimal stabi.;'- C> U sti-enjtb cweates t"--..e p-rospect of i-creasinG t_he -y ayl se.,--jice life of reels.

load-bearin capacit t However. tlie is in 'u.,,e built-up reels is an in.'.---ical;,e process requi2:.-inr,- special heat, treatment. This hampers mass production of reels.

The built-up plastic reels which are assembled by cementin toSether the consituent parts are all G - Of a limitea load-bearing capacity. Thoy also lack a conve-nient and reliable way of beins attached to materials handlinS equipment for ver". jical haulage. in the art is a plastice reel the cylinder whereof is a conical -'L-IL:b-ular core with a larrre and W IC C s.-,:iall circular.L.lanrres Inavins hubs formed by flanto t.l-.o core bore (FR, t.-,e ed-es inwardl- inki U w L> 29 281, 303).

The Prior art -plastic reel comprises two mutu- ally complementinj components intoulded in plastic - toceth are mortised and ce.ue-.te &er in an a -lr-."L plane.

TT.; 11,h labour requ for the two cor. o- ts L.e-t must be noulde%.-- and eeziented to-ether i--.L the C) a---i-al pla-ie, is a disadvantaGe of the prior art reel.

its capac.1-7 is limited b.T;, its lo,,o.. ra dial s '.re.i,-,th.

i-L-.--,ce t.'-le prior art -reel is assembled bY ce..o,",'- t stren-th no plastic AtIl Li better -..

, 1 -U L# L> ani. co-,- enlurance but can be ---se' ass the material. -no reel with, better canacitv ca.,-. be -,or art reel is bein- T11-e zone where the:,. I-,) ped by a materials reinf or- cement which would---rovide for safe haulin- of the reel IGhe wire in t,"le vertlical i:)osition.

The disclosed reel is a close second of a plas '--ic reel (FIR, A; 2 160 204) cylinder whereof j 1) L/ i:I t---.0 form of a conical tubular core has a flange at cither end, whereb--- one of the flar.,7--es or both of v I.; them are:..-.ade up of two discs att-ached to - r 'Laces. T7ic con' ---of each ot--ier-, at Uisuous surf ace di,.cs are proviled wiC ribs and arc t---,e of cement. The outside cir- -4 cular flanged disc of an end f'L'an,,-e is provided with a hub which is formed by flangin.7 the edge of the conical tubular core-inwardl-T into the bore of the co- V re so that a clearance is Aet up between the inward surface of t-ae core and the outward surface of the hub serving to support t1ae reel on a shaft or other long item.

The labour-consuming process of manufacturinG h the reel - ehich involves tJLe noulaing, of the cylinder U d and t'lle discs and the cerientin- of th.e discs to each ot.-er - is a disadvanta-e and so is the built-u-D construction o the reel. As pointed out hereinabove, the built-up construction reduces the loaa-bearinC capacity of the reel owing to its inadequate aXial and radial strength and that of the zone sustaining the load imposed by a materials handling equip ent. C) -, m.

AccordinEly, it is an. object of the invention to provide a solid plastic reel which has no separate parts joined by cementin;, Another object of the invention is to simplify the process of reel manufacture and reduce the material recuirements.

A further o0ject of the invention is to produce a reel in plastics characterized by high impact strength and Good cold endurance.

Still another object o-L' the invention is to provide the reel with such means of holding it fast on LD a shaft or spind-le and with such means of accommoda- ting an(! Lixin-, the material handling equipment which r-) would increase the load-bearintz capacity and ODera- t tional reliability of the reel.

An object of the invention is to provide a solid reel with uniform axial and radial strengths.

These and other objects of the invention are realized by the fact that in a plastic reel - the c-,,1i-,ldcr whereof is a conical tubular core with two one whereof has a huD J by flanE;in end flanGe 9 an e16e o2 the conical tubular core inwardly into bore thereof so that a clearance exists between an surface of the core and! an outward sur- face of the hub there are incorporated at least three ribs which are riSidly lin ked to irab an(! _Clar-Ses and extend lon-i -,i-'acc of the core where- Gi by crests oll t';ie ribs are fra6..Lie-.i'Us of a surface of revolu.t-on.. the reel the radial lt is expeclient that iinteSrally wit -ibs are ma-st,if L'eri-..,, - Uh t.--e coni cal tubular core and the hub and th--t. an inward of the f- tile hub is moulded corLt-Jguoislj to t.-c, fra,T,,lentsc oL f sur- ace of revoluOion formed by tlúe crests o4 the fenins ribs.

ra(lial s tif This ar--c-.nje:.-ie-n'tj adds to t-,ie strength of t'-.e reel and increpses its load-bearincr capacity, ycle and provides for mc)ulding the reel in a single e.Li c-reajt-.,es the -prospect of using high-strength plastics c, the reel.

as the 3- , givinj side surface ol each radial rib a taper whJch increases in a direction opposite to 1Chat 1 in which the taper of the conical tubular core is increasing, the reel acquires a uniform radial strength which contributes to its load-bearing capacity.

It is also expedient to provide in the plastic reel a space introduced and fixed wherein can be a materials handlinS means, this space being contained between the inward surface of the conical tubular core, the side surface of two adjacent- radial stiffenin- ribs and t----,e outward surface of the hub located 10 at', the side ol a small conical base.

This ulan Drovides lol a uniforr. distribution of the load imposed by the materials handling means and increases the strength of the reel within the zone where this load is beins ap-lied.

Servin- the same pur-pose is an arran-ement accor d in. wheretto th-e radial ribs extend all th-e way doi..jn the conical tubular core, whereb those portions ol.' tl-- -e ribs which are located in the clearance between the outward surface of tlie hub and the 3 surface of the conical tubular cDre form a inwar, sincle whole i,,,ith these surfaces.

Ot-her ob-"ec4Us of the -.resent invention will be apparent from the followinG description diven by way of example and the accompanying drawi.-.,-,s, wherein:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of the plastic to th reel acco Un U 2e invention shows a radial st- rib in cross sections at varior.s. levels -1 along the axis; Fibure 2 is a plan viex,., of the plastic reel accordinto the invention, lookin- from the lar!,,e In 1:1 c) conical base of the core. which is partl,y cut awaZ7, the section being taken on line I-I of FiG. I; igure:, is a fraGmentary sectional elevation of the plastic reel according to tTe invention, sho.cin- the small conical base at the instant of an en-aGe,-ent by a materials, handlinz means.

10.I.e,L"errir.- to 1, t",-ie p' astic reel consists of a c.,ylinder i-n the form of a conical tubular core larz-c c-' at the siSe off a s:,ir-11 conicc.1 I i..,ith al, base an,- lane at sIde of a lar:e conical base of t^,,-c core 1. The 'L lari.:,.e::3 2 3 have raised ed- Lses 11.5 51 respectively, a,-,1 are Stiffened the co.-,-.ical by wi^bs 7, re.,3.,.,ecti-.;,ely. iin of 2 is tub,-lar core 1 next to an i.--- t-he -1 J ---te core so that f 'L a inwardlY --.--to t"-ie bore o_ -e and a hub L' is hav-'Li-iz ai--.a an surface II.. A clearance e..J-sts bet-ween an surface.',, of the core.; outward sur- 0-1, t'he hub 8.

-ial linked .t least three ra.- J ribs to t.Le hub & and the enL flanGes 2, extend lonsitu- J di.L-.ally down the inwc-.rUc sur-Pace 1-, of the core I a sur- Urests 1,,, of t,-e ribs loit, raj.-.onts 14 ol ---revolutio.

I ace o n ti',.ic invention shown in Fig. 1 In the embodiment o-'L the radial stiffening ribs 12 form a single whole with the conical tubular core 1 and the hub 8 the inward surface 10 x-,- hereo.L" is contiguous to the fragments 14 of the surface of revolution formed by the crests CeninG ribs 12. The surface of revolu-;'ji- 13 of the stil-L on formed in this case is a cylinder, and thhe franrents 14 o: the cylindrical surlace O-LE' revolution are Eace 10 of the contiguous to the inward cylindrical surL hub 8. i--. another embodiment o-L th-le invention t','Lie surface of revolution of- the crests 1 is a cone.

The conical tubular core 1 is oil a constant thickness 5, but each radial rib 12 is a trapezoid in sectional elevation with a height h which steadily inCrecases from h, to h 1 2 -r'orm radial stren::-th of the To -Drovide for a uni.L - reel, side surfaces 15 (Fie.. 2) of. every sriffening rib 12 are Given a taper which i-ncreases in a directi on opposite to that in i..,hi--.h the taper of the core 1 is increasing, -as this is shown in Fi,-.. 1. by symbols 411 and V and by sections 16, 17 -.r' a rib 12 at different levels alonc the a-xis. The areas of the sections U 169 17 are selected with due regard for the radial 1 pressure the tubular core 'I is exposed to, the aXial pressure cominj on tho flan-es 2. 3 in the course of L? reelin:- on the magnet wire and the ax---Jal loads set up in t_11,:e course of haulins the reel with the wire in a vertical position.

1, Apart from that. a centering chamf er 18 is provided on each radial rib 12 next to the flange 3, and a centering taper surface 19 is Drovided on the glan-ed hub 8.

For spooling the wire, the plastic reel with the conical core 1 is ii. Lstalled on a take up spindle (not shown) either vertically or horizontally, being fixed in place by inward projections of the radial ribs 1.2 in the former case or by the centering sur10 f aces 'I C- 1 '1 G in, the latter case.

For hauli..-iG the reel, use can be made of simple CJ materials handlinz, means such as hooks 21 (FiG. 3) susDen,','ed from ropes 20.

The hooks 2,1 are inse--,-tUed hel,-' f ast in th.e surf-ce II of the space contained bet,...,een t,.e iiii.-ar. core 1, t.ie side surfaces i,of ti.,.o adjacent radial the stif-fe-,-:in.z: ribs 12 and the ou-t.,.,rard SUI'lace 9 o-E tire len-th hub 8. The ribs 12 can eXtend dot.,n t"-ie env- 0 of tne conical tubular core -1 1 those portions of t^-le ribs i..,,hich are in thc clearance between 1 sur-Lace.- of th.e hub C and the in.eard the outwar..

surLace 11 of th-e core I fornii a sinle whole with t"--ese si-rfaces (Figs JI 2, 3).

These features of the desiGn u,...iforr.ly distribLite the load imposed by the hooks 21 on the reel in 25 the zone oJC their applica-L'-.ion.,..,hen the reel is being 1 hoiste,I- T-'-e portions of the ribs 12 which are loca - oilly as load distributed i.-. the clep---ance serve no'.

tors, they also prevent misplacine. of t--,--)e hooks 21.

v - 1; The disclosed plastic reel of solid design can be produced on a moulding machine in a sinGle cycle whereas that of built-up construction needs several moulding operations followed by the assembling of the parts and cementing them together.

An extra stiffness inherent in the solid con- struction provides for reducinG the thic-kness of some members and a ur., if orm load distribution in. the course o'L reeling on the wire, hendlinG the reel and sustaini-l^.,G temperature de-"ori-,iations brour:.ht abort by a dif ference between t-;-,e coefficients o-P volumetric expanJ t.ie lastic and' the enameled wi:r.-.hiCh is sion o-L p 1 - beinG spooled hott.

This all is conducive to imnrovin,., the opera41-Pi- onal reliability olL t.-ie reel and cutti-n- the requirements in plastic per unit mass o'L t'--e.-ire hauled on L,.i.e reel. The solid construction of the reel provides lor usin- high-strenSth ppolypropylene as the material and 0 U J_ - reducing the re-cuire--lcnts in DlaStiC in this way. It will be recalled that t-le fabrication of built-up polypropylene reels involves high labour requirements and difficulties in (-,uI_-entin,-, the -parts toGether.

An extra asset o7 tht:; solid construction is a I U %_1 freedo,-.;-l from closed s-oa(;es where dirt and the deterGent - use,"' to clean the vtel in the manufacture of ena-meled iire - which has an aliverse eff-Pect on the of tne plastics can acciLmulate.

s-tren2;t-h-,.

f - II - WHI-AT 1,11E CLA11.1 IS:

1. A Dlastic reel with tlio cylinder in thLe form of, a conical tubular core with two end flanses one whereof has a hub fo.-,,.ie(l, by flan6Pinrf. an e.1Age of the cj conical tubular core inwardly into the bore thereof so t.l.-'u a clearance exists bet,,;ee,-- an surface of t".ie core and an outward sur-r-ce of the hub and with at; least three ra-7,-Jal st-i.L".'LeninS ribs ifi-lic"-n- ex tend alon,," t'-,Lc:Ln,-ar.'- surface of the the end I C1 core are ritil- JiikeC, to the hub anl - f lan;es crests of the ribs are fra,,,-?-iei-ts a of revoluti; or, :. z-, ' L, -s"-ic reol as claim 11-.,=----in the ra- dial ribs;,,re ir.,te.-rall-i c core. Lth t-he h, s ur- conica-1 tubula tr- a b i,-war.

-C a L U;, -L C- ce is con'icuoas to tine of the 'oried b,-.- the creEts o-5, t'-e surCace of revolution ribs.

radial sti L reel as in claim 1 or 22, i.i",,ie- 1,0 rein si-de surfaces of e-C:0' rib --ire -von a ta7,er which in--.-eases a o-.D-.-)osite C.

to i-l--,,,hich the o- tle tub re 4. A plastic reel -,s -J--- an-y oi^ t-,e claims 1 "or ir-troI.Li- xing throuGh 3,,,jnerei-n s:.-,a-ces f -in,and f i a. riat-crials handl1-5i-- means are -nrovido.,:," bein.

contained between t-;--.e in-aard, of the conical tubular fen cz)re, the side surfaces 01 L 7 t"--ic ou inz r bs ainl surace c-- the hub loer'-er-'i i t _U 1 at the side of a small conical base.

5. A plastic reel as in clainz 4, wherein the radial stif-Penins ribs extend all the way down the conical tubular core, whereby those nortions of the.e clearance between the ribs which are located in t14 "ace outward surface oll' the hub and th-e inward sil--pi of' tue conical tubular core form a sinGle whole with. these surfaces.

A. plastic reel as in any of the above claims I0 ii.rhich is made esseirtt',iall-.,7 as described hereinabove with ro-;'e.-j-ence to the accompanyinr- drawinG L'.) s.

Publish d 1991 atIbe Patent Office. State House. 66/71 High Holborn. Londc-nWClR47P. Further copies may be obtained from ell Sales Branch, Unit 6. Nine Mile Point. Cwrnfelinfach. Cross Keys, Newport. NPI 7HZ. Printed by Multiplex techniques lid, St Mary Cray, Kent.

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