GB2267295A

GB2267295A - Dispenser for elongate material

Info

Publication number: GB2267295A
Application number: GB9211364A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Peter Wong
Original assignee: RICH CITY Ltd
Current assignee: RICH CITY Ltd
Priority date: 1992-05-29
Filing date: 1992-05-29
Publication date: 1993-12-01
Also published as: GB9211364D0

Abstract

A dispenser, for dispensing from a roll 14 of elongate material 15, e.g. wire, comprises means for rotatably supporting the roll, and spring biased, pivoted lever 22 carrying spindle 26 on which material guiding sleeve 27 is rotatable. The lever pivots with varying material tension to tighten brake band 32 onto, or release the band from, pulley 17 rotating with the roll. <IMAGE>

Description

DISPENSER FOR ELONGATE MATERIAL The present invention relates to a dispenser for dispensing a roll of elongate material.

According to the invention, there is provided a dispenser for dispensing a roll of elongate material supported thereby, which dispenser comprises supporting means for rotatably supporting a said roll of elongate material, resiliently biassed sensing means for sensing the tension of said elongate material under dispensation, and braking means for acting against the rotation of a said roll of elongate material, said braking means being associated with the sensing means such that its braking force will be strengthened or weakened in response to reduction or increase, respectively, in the dispensing tension of said elongate material sensed by the sensing means.

Preferably, the supporting means comprises a disk member arranged to rotate with a said roll of elongate material when the latter is dispensed, upon which disk member the braking means is to act.

It is preferred that the sensing means comprises a pivoted lever to which the braking means is associated.

In a preferred embodiment, the sensing means comprises a elongate member extending substantially parallel to the axis of and for substantially the same length as a said roll of elongate material so supported by the supporting means, against which elongate member said elongate material bears during dispensation.

In a specific arrangement, the elongate member is connected at one end to one end of the lever which is resiliently biased at the opposite end by a spring to pivot, counteracting the bearing force of said elongate material under dispensation upon the elongate member.

Preferably, the braking means comprises a flexible braking belt which is bent in a circular manner about the axis of a said roll of elongate material so supported by the supporting means.

It is preferred that the braking belt is disposed partially around the rim of the disk member.

In a specific construction, the lever is resiliently biassed on one side of its pivot point and the sensing means is provided on the opposite side of the pivot point, and the braking belt is fixed on said one side of the pivot point and is connected to said opposite side of the pivot point.

The dispenser may be in the form of a stand comprising a base and an upstanding post on which all the components are located.

In certain applications, the supporting means is arranged to support a said roll of elongate material with the axis thereof in a substantially horizontal manner.

The dispenser may be adapted to dispense a roll of wire.

The invention will now be more particularly described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a side view of an embodiment of a dispenser in accordance with the invention; and Figure 2 is a front view of the dispenser of Figure 1.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a dispenser 10 embodying the invention, which dispenser 10 comprises a base plate 11 and a vertical post 12 upstanding from one side of the base plate 11. Extending horizontally mid-way from the post 12 is a shaft 13 for supporting a roll 14 of elongate material such as wire 15 which is provided on a spool 16. The spool 16 is located in position on the shaft 13 by a pulley 17 on the spool inner side and a ringshaped end-piece 18 on the spool outer side. The pulley 17 and the end-piece 18 are rotatably supported on the shaft 13 by a pair of bearings 19, and have on their respective inner sides integral frusto-conical portions 20 extending into the opposite ends of the spool 16. The bearings 19 are restrained on the shaft 13 by a pair of spring circlips 21 provided at the innermost and free ends of the shaft 13, respectively.

The dispenser 10 further includes a cross lever 22 which is hinged at the top of the post 12 by means of a bearing 23 located on a stud 24 extending horizontally from the post 12 on the same side thereof as the shaft 13. On end 25 of the lever 22 supports a spindle 26 which extends generally parallel to the shaft 13 and on which a sleeve 27 is rotatably located by a pair of bearings 28 at opposite ends of the sleeve 27. As shown in Figure 2, the spindle 26 and the sleeve 27 extend slightly over the entire longitudinal extent of the roll 14 or the spool 16. An angle bracket 29 is fixed on the post 12 between the stud 24 and the spool 16. A coil spring 30 is connected between second end 31 of the lever 22 and the bracket 29 so as to resiliently bias the lever 22 in an anti-clockwise direction as shown by arrow A in Figure 1.

It is advantageous to stop rotation of the spool 16 when wire dispensation is not or no longer intended. For this purpose, the dispenser 10 has a braking arrangement provided by a leather belt 32 co-acting with the pulley 17.

The belt 32 is connected at one end 33 by a bolt-and-nut 34 to the bracket 29, bent partially round and within a peripheral groove 35 of the pulley 17, and finally fixed at the other end 36 to the lever 22 on the same side of the stud 24 (the pivot point of the lever 22) as the sleeve 27.

The two ends 33 and 36 of the belt 32 extend generally in a vertical manner. Under the action of the spring 30, the belt 32 is stretched or tensioned in order to apply friction to the pulley 17, whereby the spool 16 is maintained normally stationary.

In order to dispense wire 15 from the roll 14, the wire 15 is firstly fed from below past over the sleeve 27 and then drawn generally horizontally such that the wire 15 will bear upon the sleeve 27. When the wire 15 is drawn by a user or machine, the wire 15 at the sleeve 27 will pivot the lever 22 slightly clockwise as shown by arrow B of Figure 1, counter-acting the action of the spring 30. This slight pivotal action will slacken the belt 32, thereby reducing the braking force applied by the belt 32 on the pulley 17 and in turn on the spool 16 or the roll 14 of wire 15. The reduction in braking will permit the spool 16 to be rotated to dispense wire 15.

The wire tensioning and the braking force are acting in an opposite or compensating manner, as described herein to provide a practically uniform wire tension. Any increase in wire tension, which may be incidental or necessitated by increased wire dispensing speed, will cause further clockwise pivoting of the lever 22 and in turn further slackening of the belt 32, whereby the spool 16 is permitted to rotate relatively more freely and this as a feedback will lower the tension of the wire 15. On the other hand, when the tension of the wire 15 drops slightly, the lever 22 will pivot slightly anti-clockwise under the action of the spring 30, whereby the belt 32 will be tightened with the result that the wire tension is at least partially compensated or restored.

It is understood that the lever 22 and the spindle 26 and sleeve 27, in combination with the spring 30, constitute means for sensing the dispensing tension of the wire 15.

It will be appreciated that the dispensing tension of the wire 15 can be predetermined either by adjusting the length of the belt 32 with the use of the bolt-and-nut 34 or by adjusting the tension of the spring 30 with the use of a tensioner (not shown) or by compromising both.

At the end of wire dispensation when the wire tension practically drops to zero, the spring 30 will pivot the lever 22 anti-clockwise back to its initial position, in which the braking action of the belt 32 will automatically cause the spool 16 to stop almost immediately, thereby avoiding any further wire supply.

It will be appreciated that the dispenser according to the invention may be used to dispense any other elongate materials, including filamentary materials, such as threads, strands, ropes, fishing-lines, cables, tapes, ribbons, bands, strips, and the like, whether of metal, plastics or fabric, etc.

The invention has been given by way of example only, and various modifications of and/or alterations to the described embodiment may be made by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope of the invention as specified in the appended claims.

Claims

1. A dispenser for dispensing a roll of elongate material supported thereby, which dispenser comprises supporting means for rotatably supporting a said roll of elongate material, resiliently biassed sensing means for sensing the tension of said elongate material under dispensation, and braking means for acting against the rotation of a said roll of elongate material, said braking means being associated with the sensing means such that its braking force will be strengthened or weakened in response to reduction or increase, respectively, in the dispensing tension of said elongate material sensed by the sensing means.

2. A dispenser as claimed in claim 1, wherein the supporting means comprises a disk member arranged to rotate with a said roll of elongate material when the latter is dispensed, upon which disk member the braking means is to act.

3. A dispenser as claimed in claim 1 or claim 2, wherein the sensing means comprises a pivoted lever to which the braking means is associated.

4. A dispenser as claimed in any one of claim 1 to claim 3, wherein the sensing means comprises a elongate member extending substantially parallel to the axis of and for substantially the same length as a said roll of elongate material so supported by the supporting means, against which elongate member said elongate material bears during dispensation.

5. A dispenser as claimed in claim 4 when dependent upon claim 3, wherein the elongate member is connected at one end to one end of the lever which is resiliently biased at the opposite end by a spring to pivot, counteracting the bearing force of said elongate material under dispensation upon the elongate member.

6. A dispenser as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the braking means comprises a flexible braking belt which is bent in a circular manner about the axis of a said roll of elongate material so supported by the supporting means.

7. A dispenser as claimed in claim 6 when dependent upon claim 2, wherein the braking belt is disposed partially around the rim of the disk member.

8. A dispenser as claimed in claim 6 or claim 7 when dependent upon claim 3, wherein the lever is resiliently biassed on one side of its pivot point and the sensing means is provided on the opposite side of the pivot point, and the braking belt is fixed on said one side of the pivot point and is connected to said opposite side of the pivot point.

9. A dispenser as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, being in the form of a stand comprising a base and an upstanding post on which all the components are located.

10. A dispenser as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the supporting means is arranged to support a said roll of elongate material with the axis thereof in a substantially horizontal manner.

11. A dispenser substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.

11. A dispenser as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, being adapted to dispense a roll of wire.

12. A dispenser substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to Figures 1 and 2 of the accompanying drawings.

Amendments to the claims have been filed as follows 1. A dispenser for dispensing a roll of elongate material supported thereby, which dispenser comprises supporting means for rotatably supporting a said roll of elongate material, spring-biassed sensing means for sensing the tension of said elongate material under dispensation, and braking means for acting against the rotation of a said roll of elongate material, said braking means being associated with the sensing means such that its braking force will be strengthened or weakened in response to reduction or increase, respectively, in the dispensing tension of said elongate material sensed by the sensing means, and said sensing means comprising a elongate member extending substantially parallel to the axis of and for substantially the same length as a said roll of elongate material so supported by the supporting means, against which elongate member said elongate material bears during dispensation.

4. A dispenser as claimed in claim 3, wherein the elongate member is connected at one end to one end of the lever which is resiliently biased at the opposite end by a spring to pivot, counteracting the bearing force of said elongate material under dispensation upon the elongate member.

5. A dispenser as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the braking means comprises a flexible braking belt which is bent in a circular manner about the axis of a said roll of elongate material so supported by the supporting means.

6. A dispenser as claimed in claim 5 when dependent upon claim 2, wherein the braking belt is disposed partially around the rim of the disk member.

7. A dispenser as claimed in claim 5 or claim 6 when dependent upon claim 2, wherein the lever is resiliently biassed on one side of its pivot point and the sensing means is provided on the opposite side of the pivot point, and the braking belt is fixed on said one side of the pivot point and is connected to said opposite side of the pivot point.

8. A dispenser as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, being in the form of a stand comprising a base and an upstanding post on which all the components are located.

9. A dispenser as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, wherein the supporting means is arranged to support a said roll of elongate material with the axis thereof in a substantially horizontal manner.

10. A dispenser as claimed in any one of the preceding claims, being adapted to dispense a roll of wire.