GB2273920A - Reels - Google Patents

Abstract

A reel for cables, cords, ribbons etc. is made entirely of cardboard or other stiff felted fibre sheet material to aid recycling. A pair of flanges 3, Fig. 1 are formed with tabs 11, 15, 17, Fig. 3 which are bent to enter the open ends of a tubular hub 1, which can be formed by helical wrapping. Tubular members 5 are inserted as a close fit inside the inturned tabs to reinforce the connection and resist deterioration by displacement of the tabs. Hub, tabs and tubular members are bonded together by adhesive. Some of the tabs increase in area from their fold line, others are asymmetric relative to the fold line. All the tabs may be the same size (Figs. 5 and 6, not shown). The tubular members 5 may be formed from punched washers stacked and bonded. <IMAGE>

Description

Title: Improvements in and relating to reels DESCRIPTION The present invention relates to improvements in and relating to reels. The invention is particularly applicable to reels for storage, transport and handling of electric cables (of relatively small sizes) and other long flexible materials (including cords, ribbons, and some wires). The invention includes a novel reel structure, a method of making it and electric cable packaged on it.

Reels comprising a core and two end flanges have been made from a variety of materials. One known construction of reel utilises end flanges comprises annular discs made of cardboard and a hollow cylindrical core made of metal which can be deformed to define beads between which the end flanges are trapped. Such reels are frequently use for small cables (such as "wiring" cables up to around four cores of 4mm2). Another construction utilises a flange cap pressed out of metal having a top hat shape with an annular flange part to engage an outside surface of a cardboard end flange and a cylindrical core part formed with gripping teeth to engage a cardboard cylindrical core effectively gripping each end flange between the end of the cylindrical core and the flange part of the flange cup.

Whilst the above described constructions are relatively economical to produce recycling of the reel requires it to be dismantled into its component parts.

An aim of the present invention is to provide a reel which can be readily recycled by making it completely out of cardboard.

It has been proposed to make reels entirely from cardboard but to date no-one has come up with a solution which has proved satisfactorily. One proposal was to use a hollow cylindrical cardboard core and annular end flanges comprising annular cardboard discs which are glued to the opposite ends of the cylindrical core.

However, tests have shown that such a simple construction fails in construction as it is not able to withstand the forces applied to the flanges in many practical applications with the result that the reel fails at the joint between the flanges and the core.

The present invention aims to provide a solution.

Accordingly, the present invention provides a reel comprising a tubular core or hub, and two (end) flange members which are cut through to define a plurality of tabs or petals which are foldable at a line of weakness to extend perpendicular to the plane of the flange for cooperating engagement with the hollow tubular core, and means for holding the tabs in their folded position, and wherein at least the core and flange members are made of stiff fibrous material, eg.

cardboard.

Accordingly another aspect of the invention provides a method of making a reel comprising forming from stiff fibrous material, a pair of end flanges with a plurality of tabs or petals defined by cuts and lines of weakness, folding the tabs or petals to enter the open ends of a tubular core made of stiff fibrous material and applying means to hold the tabs or petals in their folded position.

The stiff fibrous material preferably comprises a stiff felted-fibre sheet material, in particular it is preferred to use a cellulosic material of sufficient stiffness, eg. cardboard.

While cellulosic felted sheet materials such as cardboard, paperboard or millboard are preferred on account of low cost, ease of recycling with waste paper and minimal environmental damage if disposed of in landfill of by incineration, other fibrous materials can be used provided they are stiff enough to provide properties required of the reel but not too stiff for the tabs to be bent without damage.

In most cases adhesives will be needed to fix the parts together securely enough. Environmentally friendly adhesives such as cellulosic pastes or sodium silicate solutions may be preferred, but if necessary faster setting synthetic adhesives (such as the hot-melt adhesives) can be used.

Folding of the tabs is conveniently done with a folding tool which may serve to hold them folded until an adhesive has become effective. More preferably however, the means for holding the tabs in a folded position comprise a or a respective ring member particularly as a close fit inside the inturned tabs or petals. Advantageously the ring member acts as a reinforcing member. Preferably there are two of these additional ring reinforcing members, one inserted from each end of the reel. It is preferred for any such ring member to be made of cardboard whereby the entire structure is of a cellulosic material. In a preferred construction the tabs are foldable. to engage an inner surface of the hollow tubular core and the ring member fits within the tabs to define an internal bore to receive a winding mandrel.Conveniently, the parts are glued together by application of adhesive to cooperating surfaces of the core, tabs and retaining member.

Preferably, the tubular core comprises a cylinder with a circular cross-section, and preferably the end flanges comprise planar disc-like members.

Optionally, the end flanges may comprise annular flanges formed with said flaps or petals around their inner peripheries, which tabs are bent to enter the open ends of the tubular core.

A particularly advantageous construction arises where at least some of the tabs are cut in such a way that the area of contact of the tabs with the core increases in a direction away from the line of weakness at least for a proportion of their length. This contrasts with a more conventional approach in which the slits all pass through a common point which produces flaps of reducing dimension in a direction extending away from the line of weakness. In a preferred construction there are four tabs of polygonal configuration which have the increasing area feature. A plurality of smaller tabs may be disposed between the adjacent polygonal tabs. A further advantageous feature arises where the smaller tabs when folded (at least for some of the tabs) extends asymmetrically from the line of folding.

The invention also includes a package comprising a length of electric cable wound on a reel constructed as described of made by the method described.

The present invention will now be described further, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: Figure 1 is an exploded end view of the components of the reel according to the invention, Figure 2 is an end view of the flange before folding of the flap parts, Figure 3 is an enlarged view of the flaps of Figure 2 before folding, Figure 4 is a fragmentary cross sectional view of the assembled reel, Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view of a reel in the course of assembly according to another embodiment of the invention, and Figure 6 is a largely sectioned elevation of the fully assembled reel of Figure 5.

Referring to the drawings of Figures 1 to a, a reel comprises a hollow cylindrical core 1 made of cardboard, two end flanges comprising cardboard discs 3 and two ring-like cardboard members 5. The flanges are punched from flat cardboard sheet.

The flange members comprise a disc which, for a core of circular configuration has a circular line of weakness 7 (shown in dotted line) concentric with the external diameter of the disc and is cut through to define a plurality of tabs which are foldable along the line of weakness to extend perpendicular to the plane of the flange. When folded they define a surface which will cooperate with the internal diameter of the hollow core 1 and in the preferred arrangement the tabs are held in this configuration by inserting the retaining member 5.

More particularly, the tab configuration comprises four major tabs 11 which are of polygonal configuration defined in part by two diametrical cuts 10, 12 disposed a right angles to one another and two additional angled cuts 15, 16. In the illustrated embodiment the angled cuts are at 1200 (internal angle) to the adjacent diametrical cut. Additional minor flaps 15, 17 are disposed between each polygonal flap and the adjacent diametrical lines 10 and 12 as the case may be.

The tabs are a mirror image about the lines 10 and 12.

When viewed along diametrical chain dotted lines 19 it will be seen that the width of the tabs 11 from the line of weakness 7 first increases before tapering to a point. This increase in area provides a more secure construction when the tabs are glued in their folded positions.

Assembly of the reel is preferably performed mechanically in which the core is supported on conveyor apparatus and the opposite flanges 3 brought into axial alignment therewith and two bull-nosed tools T shown dotted in Figure 1 by way of example closed on the flanges to fold the tabs into the defined perpendicular orientation. Preferably the tool carries a shoulder T' which entrains the retaining member 5 and brings it within the folded tabs to hold them in position within the core 1 as illustrated in Figure 4. Glue applied to the flaps and/or core and/or retaining member acts to hold the assembly together on removal of the respective tools.

The reel shown in the drawings of Figures 5 and 6 comprises two like annular flanges 21, 22, a hub and two tubular reinforcing members 25, all formed of cardboard.

The flanges are punched from flat cardboard sheet and are formed with a plurality of tabs 6 round their respective inner peripheries. The hub 23 and the reinforcing members 24, 25 are all made by cutting appropriate lengths from conventional spirally-wound cardboard tubes. To assemble the reel, the inner and outer faces of the tabs 26 are first coated with adhesive, and the flanges are then positioned to abut the ends of the hub and the reinforcing members are pushed into place through the centres of the flanges, serving at the same time to bend the tabs 26 in to the required positions.

In a particular example, a reel of the form shown in the drawings suitable for winding lOOm lengths of a conduit-type wiring cable with a conductor cross-section of 1.5mm2 has flanges of plain cardboard 2mm thick with inner and outer diameters of 70 and 200mm respectively and with sixteen tabs with a radial dimension of 16mm around their internal peripheries made without removing any material. The core is of spirally wound paper tube (commonly called cardboard tube) and is 100mum long with an external diameter of 90mm and a wall thickness of 4mm. The reinforcing members 24 and 25 are also of spirally wound paper tube and each is 20mm long with an external diameter of 78mm and a wall thickness of 4mm.

the parts are secured using a hot-melt adhesive. It will be seen that the tubular reinforcing members extend beyond the end of the tabs 26.

Instead of forming the reinforcing members 24 and 25 from wound paper tubes, they might be formed from punched cardboard washers stacked and bonded with an adhesive..

Claims (24)

1. A reel comprising a tubular hub or core, and two (end) flange members which are cut through to define a plurality of tabs or petals which are foldable at a line of weakness to extend substantially perpendicular to the plane of the flange for cooperating engagement with the hollow tubular core, and means for holding the tabs in their folded position, and wherein at least the core and flange members are made of stiff fibrous material.

2. A reel as claimed in claims 1 in which adhesive holds the tabs in the folded position.

3. A reel as claimed in claim 1 or 2 in which the means for holding the tabs in a folded position comprises a or a respective ring member as a close fit inside the inturned tabs.

4. A reel as claimed in claim 3 in which there are two ring members, one for each flange.

5. A reel as claimed in claim 3 or 4 in which the or each ring member are made from stiff fibrous material.

6. A reel as claimed in claim 3, 4 or 5 in which an adhesive holds the or each ring member in position.

7. A reel as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the flange members are punched from flat cardboard sheet to form said plurality of tabs.

8. A reel as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which at least some of the tabs are cut in such a way that the areas of contact of the tabs with the core increases in a direction away from the line of weakness.

9. A reel as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which at least some of the tabs are cut so as to extend asymmetrically to the fold line when folded.

10. A reel as claimed in claim 8 in which there are four tabs of polygonal configuration.

11. A reel as claimed in claim 9 in which there are sixteen asymmetric tabs.

12. A reel as made entirely of stiff felted-fibre sheet material and comprising a pair of annular flanges formed with tabs around their inner peripheries, which tabs are bent to enter the open ends of a tubular hub and secured and reinforced by one or more additional tubular member inserted as a close fit inside the inturned tabs.

13. A reel as claimed in any one of the preceding claims in which the fibrous material is cellulosic felted sheet material.

14. A reel as claimed in any one of claims 1 to 12 in which the fibrous material is cardboard.

15. A method of making a reel comprising forming from stiff fibrous material, a pair of end flanges with a plurality of tabs or petals defined by cuts and lines of weakness, folding the tabs to enter the open ends of a tubular core made of stiff fibrous material and applying means to fold the tabs in their folded position.

16. A method as claimed in claim 15 comprising the step of inserting a or a respective ring member as a close fit inside the inturned tabs to hold them in the folded position.

17. A method as claimed in claim 16 further comprising securing the tabs to the core with adhesive.

18. A method as claimed in claims 15, 16 or 17 further comprising securing the tabs to the or each ring members with adhesive.

19. A method as claimed in claim 16 comprising coating the tabs with adhesive and pushing two said ring members through the centres of said flanges to bend the tabs and complete the assembly.

20. A package comprising and electric cable wound on the reel claimed in any one of claims 1-4.

21. A package comprising an electric cable wound on the reel made by the method claimed in any one of claims 15 to 19.

22. An all-cardboard reel substantially as described with reference to the drawings of Figures 1 to 4 or 5 and 6.

23. A method of making an all-cardboard reel substantially as described with reference to the drawings.

24. A wound cable package substantially as described with reference to the drawings.