GB2574056A

GB2574056A - Apparatus for dispensing electrical sleeving

Info

Publication number: GB2574056A
Application number: GB1808615.7A
Authority: GB
Inventors: James Dorey Adam; Alan Court Stuart
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 2018-05-25
Filing date: 2018-05-25
Publication date: 2019-11-27
Also published as: GB201808615D0

Abstract

Apparatus to be carried by a user for dispensing electrical sleeving in short lengths for use in an electrical installation comprises a support 100 holding a plurality of spools 200 of the sleeving differentially marked to signify its use, each spool 200 being releasably held by the support 100 and removable therefrom to be replaced by a replacement spool 200 of sleeving. The spools 200 may be differentially marked by the colour of the sleeving. The support 100 may comprise a tube open at the ends 102, 104 to receive the spools 200 and formed with an annular lip (108 fig. 4) to releasably hold the spools 200 whose flanges (204 fig. 6) are deformable to pass the annular lip (108 fig. 4). Slots 112, 114 in the support 100 allow the sleeving to protrude from the support and pinch the protruding sleeving to resist unwinding of the spools 200. Wider openings 116 in the slots 112, 114 allow the sleeving to be drawn off the spools 200. The apparatus may be carried using a lanyard clip 210.

Description

APPARATUS FOR DISPENSING ELECTRICAL SLEEVING

This invention concerns apparatus for dispensing electrical sleeving.

An electrical installation usually requires the use of electrical sleeving additional to that encasing the cores of cable in the installation. In many countries most electrical installations use flat sheathed cable containing two individually insulated current-carrying conductors (commonly known as the live and neutral wires) and a circuit protective conductor (the earth wire). Such cable is commonly called twin-and-earth or“T&E” cable and conventionally the live wire has brown insulation, the neutral wire has blue insulation and the earth wire is bare within the (electrically insulative) sheath.

At many points in an electrical installation it is necessary to add colourcoded sleeving to the cable wires, especially as identification and for safety. For instance, at termination points the bare earth wire cut out of the sheathing needs to be enclosed in a green and yellow sleeve. At switched points such as ceiling outlets using the two current-carrying conductors of T&E cable for switching, the blue insulation is replaced by a brown sleeve (see eg Shelton, Christopher; Electrical Installations; 3rd Edition, 2004; Nelson Thornes Limited; p115). And at connection points between new wiring and existing wiring using a now superseded colour coding of red for live and black for neutral it is necessary to identify the ends of the existing wires with sleeves signifying the new coding, ie brown for live and blue for neutral.

As a result, electricians must have to hand quantities of brown, blue and (in rather greater amounts) green and yellow sleeving.

Such sleeving is widely available, in sizes to accommodate conductors of various sizes, typically in coiled lengths of 100m. But this sleeving gives rise to a problem for the working electrician. Being usually made of flexible polyvinyl chloride (PVC), it has a degree of resilience that causes it to uncoil, unless tied or otherwise held together, and become entangled with other sleeving, cable or tools in the electrician’s toolbox or vehicle. The electrician can cut the sleeving into shorter lengths held together by grips such as twist ties, but this wastes time in releasing and reapplying the grips every time a piece of sleeving is needed.

It is a principal object of the present invention to provide a convenient means of dispensing electrical sleeving.

Thus according to a first aspect of the invention there is provided apparatus for dispensing sleeving in short lengths for use in an electrical installation, which apparatus is configured and arranged to be carried by a user and comprises a support holding a plurality of spools of the sleeving differentially marked to signify its use, wherein each said spool is releasably held by the support and removable therefrom to be replaced by a replacement spool of sleeving.

In a second aspect the invention extends to means for replenishing the dispensing apparatus, which means comprises a pack of replacement spools each wound with sleeving marked to signify its use and configured and arranged to be releasably held by a said support of the apparatus.

The replacement spools of the pack may each be wound with sleeving marked to signify a single particular use in an electrical installation (eg with brown sleeving to signify use on live wires) or the pack may otherwise comprise first replacement spools wound with first said sleeving marked to signify use, second replacement spools wound with second said sleeving marked to signify use differently from said first sleeving and third replacement spools wound with third said sleeving marked to signify use differently from said first sleeving and said second sleeving.

Other characteristics of the invention will be apparent from the following description, which is made by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings which are purely schematic and in which Figure 1 shows in plan view a support of apparatus for dispensing sleeving in short lengths for use in an electrical installation according to the invention;

Figure 2 shows the support of Figure 1 in front elevation;

Figure 3 shows a cross-section of the support at X-X of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is an enlarged view as at A of Figure 3;

Figure 5 shows in plan view a sleeving spool configured and arranged to be held by the support of Figures 1 to 4;

Figure 6 shows a partial cross-section of the spool of Figure 5 as at YY of Figure 5, and showing the sleeving wound thereon;

Figure 7 is a vertical cross-section through the support of Figures 1 to 4 with sleeving spools held therein;

Figure 8 is an isometric illustration of a pack of assorted replacement spools for dispensing apparatus according to the invention; and

Figure 9 is an isometric illustration of a pack of mutually similar replacement spools for dispensing apparatus according to the invention.

Referring first to Figures 1 to 4, these show a support 100 for holding a plurality of spools of electrical sleeving. (The spools are not shown in Figures 1 to 4). The support 100 comprises an axially extending tube open at each end 102 and 104 to receive a said spool, as will be described in more detail hereinafter.

The tubular support 100 extends along an axis 106 (Figure 3) and has a wall 100a of generally constant thickness except at its ends 102 and 104 and around its midpoint. At each of the ends 102 and 104 the support 100 is formed with an inwardly projecting annular lip 108 (shown enlarged in Figure 4) with an internal diameter dl slightly less than the principal internal diameter dt of the support 100. Around its midpoint the support 100 is formed with an inwardly projecting annular rib 110 of internal diameter dm less than the internal diameter dl of each lip 108.

Two slots 112 and 114 in the wall 100a extend from respective ends 102 and 104 of the support 100 towards its midpoint. Each slot 112 and 114 is of width ws and formed with two openings 116 of width wo somewhat greater than ws.

Turning now to Figures 5 and 6, these show (respectively in plan view and partial cross-section) a spool 200 wound with electrical sleeving 202. The spool 200 is generally cylindrical in form and includes a pair of annular flanges 204 that project radially outwards somewhat beyond the level of the wound sleeving 202.

The flanges 204 have a diameter slightly less than the internal diameter dt of the spool 100 and slightly more than the internal diameter dl of the lip 108. The flanges 204 are resiliently deformable so that the spool 200 can be snapped into the hollow tubular interior of the support 100, past the inwardly projecting annular lip 108. And because the flange diameter df is less than the internal diameter dt of the support 100, the spool 200 can then freely rotate and move axially within the support 100.

Figure 7 shows four sleeving spools 200 (shown ghosted) snapped into place within a support 100 thereby to provide a sleeving dispenser. Stubs 206 of PVC sleeving project from the spools 200, through the slots 112 and 114. The width ws of the slots 112 and 114 (see Figure 2) is slightly less than the diameter ds of the sleeving, so that the projecting stubs 206 are slightly pinched and therefore the sleeving does not unravel from the spools 200 held in the support 100. For ready access to sleeving 200, a user simply pushes a stub 206 to an opening 208, where the sleeving 202 is not pinched, and draws it out and cuts off a required length (eg with snips). The residual stub 206 can then be returned to be pinched in a slot.

When a spool 200 is exhausted of sleeving, a user can pull it out of the support 100 (using a finger inserted into the open centre 210 of the spool 200 - see Figure 5) and snap a similar replacement spool into its place.

Figure 7 also shows a lanyard clip 210 attached by a ring 212 to a tag 214 outwardly projecting from the support 100. This provides a convenient attachment to a belt, harness or the like worn by a user so that the sleeving dispenser can be carried by the user.

Usually, of the four spools 200, one will be wound with brown sleeving (for live wire), one with blue (neutral) and two with green and yellow (earth) recognising that most electrical installations require more earth sleeving than live or neutral. Replacement spools can be supplied in similar proportions, and a replacement pack 300 is illustrated by Figure 8. The pack 300 comprises a bundle 302 of nine spools of brown sleeving, a bundle 304 of nine spools of blue sleeving and two bundles of green and yellow sleeving. For ease of identification, the spools themselves are coloured to show the sleeving they hold, ie the spools in the bundle 302 are coloured brown, the spools in the bundle 304 are coloured blue and the spools in the bundles 306 are coloured 5 green and yellow. Each of the replacement spools is wound with 5m of sleeving.

Figure 8 shows the generally cylindrical replacement spools as though in individual rectangular boxes, for simplicity of illustration. In practice, the replacement spools can be held together directed in a shrink wrap package or 10 the like.

To allow for the possibility that a user may use sleeving in proportions different from the 1:1:2 colour split of the replacement pack 300, a (smaller) pack of a single colour (eg brown) can also be supplied, as illustrated by the pack 308 of Figure 9.

For transport and storage the sleeving on replacement spools may be held in place by tape or gum, in slits in the spools or by other means.

Claims

The invention claimed is:

1. Apparatus for dispensing sleeving in short lengths for use in an electrical installation, which apparatus is configured and arranged to be carried by a user and comprises a support holding a plurality of spools of the sleeving differentially marked to signify its use, wherein each said spool is releasably held by the support and removable therefrom to be replaced by a replacement spool of sleeving.

2. Apparatus for dispensing sleeving as claimed in Claim 1 characterised in that said plurality comprises three spools differentially marked by the colour of the sleeving wound thereon.

3. Apparatus for dispensing sleeving as claimed in Claim 2 characterised in that a first spool of said three is wound with brown sleeving to signify use on a live wire, a second spool of said three is wound with blue sleeving to signify use on a neutral wire and a third spool of said three is wound with green and yellow sleeving to signify use on an earth wire.

4. Apparatus for dispensing sleeving as claimed in Claim 2 or Claim 3 characterised in that said plurality comprises a fourth spool wound with green and yellow sleeving to signify use on an earth wire.

5. Apparatus for dispensing sleeving as claimed in any preceding claim characterised in that said support comprises an axially extending tube open at each end to receive a said spool and being formed at each end with an inwardly directed annular lip engaging a received spool to provide a detent whereby the spool is releasably held by the support.

6. Apparatus for dispensing sleeving as claimed in Claim 5

I characterised in that each spool comprises an annular flange of outer diameter greater than the inner diameter of the lip and less than the inner diameter of the tube, which flange is resiliently deformable sufficiently to pass the lip when the spool is being received in or removed from the tube.

7. Apparatus for dispensing sleeving as claimed in Claim 5 or Claim 6 characterised in that the tube is formed with two slots extending from respective ends of the tube towards its axial midpoint and allowing the sleeving wound on said spools each side of the midpoint to protrude laterally.

8. Apparatus for dispensing sleeving as claimed in Claim 7 characterised in that each said slot has a width slightly less than the diameter of the sleeving so as to pinch the protruding sleeving slightly and thereby resist unwinding thereof from its spool.

9. Apparatus for dispensing sleeving as claimed in Claim 8 characterised in that each said slot is formed with at least one opening slightly wider than the diameter of the sleeving, which in use can be manually moved by a user to the opening and drawn off therethrough without being pinched.

10. Apparatus for dispensing sleeving as claimed in Claim 7 characterised in that said apparatus includes a clip for releasably attaching said support to a belt or the like worn by a said user.

11. A pack of replacement spools for apparatus as claimed in Claim

I, said replacement spools being each wound with sleeving marked to signify its use and configured and arranged to be releasably held by a said support of the apparatus.

12. A pack of replacement spools for apparatus as claimed in Claim

II, characterised in that said pack comprises first replacement spools wound with first said sleeving marked to signify its use, second replacement spools wound with second said sleeving marked to signify its use differently from said first sleeving and third replacement spools wound with third said sleeving marked to signify its use differently from said first sleeving and said second 5 sleeving.

13. A pack of replacement spools as claimed in Claim 12 characterised in that said first sleeving is marked for use on a live wire, said second sleeving is marked for use on a neutral wire and said third sleeving is

10 marked for use on an earth wire.

14. A pack of replacement spools as claimed in Claim 13 characterised in that said first sleeving is coloured brown, said second sleeving is coloured blue and said third sleeving is coloured green and yellow.

15. A pack of replacement spools as claimed in any of Claims 11 to

14 characterised in that each replacement spool is marked similarly to the sleeving wound thereon.