US2182936A - Reel - Google Patents

Description

Dec. l2, W. A WHITTAKER REEL Filed cm.v 26, 19:58 2 sheets-sheet 1 [Nl/ENTOR De@ 12, 1939- w.. A. WHITTAKER 2,182,936

REEL

Filed l0011. 26, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 'M 'LI 7,0 M

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4b o 9o' I e l* ATTORNEY Patented Dec. 12, 1939 UNITE` STATES# TENT REEL

Application October 26, 1938, Serial No. 237,011

6 Claims.

The present invention relates to an improved type of reel and more particularly to a reel designed for use with electric wires and cables.

It is the general practice to ship insulated wires and cables on large spools or reels so'that they may be protected against accidental blows and, to some degree, sheltered from the elements. The reel may take one of many forms but, in general, it consists of a central drum about which the cable is wrappedand which is tted with circular heads that serve to restrain the cable laterally and also act as a convenient means for rolling the reel from one position to another.

For practical considerations it is necessary to rmly anchor or secure the starting end of the cable to the reel so that the cable may be readily drawn on to the drum previous to shipment. Similarly, the finishing end is also secured by lashing to one of the heads of the reel. This is an entirely satisfactory arrangement so' long as the reel is rolled in such a manner as to prevent the cable from loosening upon the drum. It will be understood that the cable, being primarily metallic, has considerable weight and its inertia is such that there is a marked tendency for it to slip about the drum during acceleration and deceleration of rolling. If the cable is rolled in the proper direction, the tendency is to put stress upon the fastening at the starting end of the cable and no harm is done, since it is made amply strong to withstand such stresses. However, if the reel is rolled in the opposite direction, the tendency is to loosen up the windings of cable and once this has been accomplished damage will inevitably result if adjacent turns of the loosened cable rub against each other when subjected to the vibration such as is encountered in' shipment on freight cars or trucks. The primary object of this invention, therefore, is to provide a reel which Will only roll in one direction or at least may be rolled much more easily in the proper direction than in the reverse direction. Other objects of this invention and advantages of the described constructions will be apparent from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings- Figure l is a side elevation of a reel incorporating'one embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a side elevation of a reel incorporating a second embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional View of a portion of the reel shown in Figure 1 taken along plane AA.

Figure 4 is a view similar to Figure 2 taken along plane BB.

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 2 taken 5 along plane CC.

Figure 6 is-an elevation of another embodiment of the present invention.

Figure 7 illustrates partially in cross-section, still another embodiment in cross-section of this 10 invention.

Figure 8 is a side elevation of a fourth embodiment of this invention, the two reels shown being rotated in opposite directions;

Referring to Figure l of the drawings, a head of a reel is shown which is tted with a flange 2| and spider 22, for the reception of an axle. The reel is made up of a pair of similar heads with a central drum about which the cable 23 is wrapped. For clarity, the two extremities of the 20 cable are all that is shown. The starting end 2li of the cable is secured to the head by a suitable lashing 25 and a similar method is employed with the nishing end 26. It is, of course, apparent that the head 2!) is provided with slots 25 21 to permit the ends of the cable to be drawn to the exterior of the head for fastening. From the foregoing description, it will be apparent that this reel should be rolled in a counter-clockwise direction as this will tend to put stress upon the lashing 25 and prevent loosening of the cable. If the reel is rolled. in a clockwise direction, the cable will back up upon the drum and because of the loosened turns, will suffer damage during transportation.

In the past, manufacturers of cable have attempted to meet this situation by painting conspicuous arrows on the reels indicating the proper direction of rotation. However, these instructions are disregarded in sufficient instances to cause a number of complaints and failures which could have been avoided, if the reel had been rolled only in the correct manner.

One of the simplest methods of hindering rotation in a given direction is illustrated in Fig- 45.

ures 1 and 2 in which an eccentric shoe 2B is attached tangent to the lagging or flange of the head. It will be apparent that when the reel is rolled in a counter-clockwise direction, this shoe will increase the effort required only slightly,

whereas the shoe will be a serious handicap to rotation in the opposite direction. This fitting may be applied to the rim of the head as shown in Figs. l, 3 and 4 or in those cases where lagging 3U is applied to enclose the cable, as shown in 55 Cil Figure 2, it may take a slightly different form 29 when it may then be attached to these cross pieces as shown in Figure 5.

Figures 3 and 4 illustrate cross-sections of a portion of the head of the reel indicating the head 20, and the rim 2 l, which is usually necessary to withstand the wear encountered in rolling. The cross-sections through the shoe are self-explanatory and illustrate the simplicity of this fitting. The whole assembly is secured in position by bolts 3|.

In some cases, it may be desirable to fasten the wedge attachment 29 as mentioned, to the lagging 3U, which is used to protect the contents of the reel. Such a wedge is illustrated in Figure 5 and may be conveniently attached to the lagging by suitable screws, 33.

While the devices described above do tend to impede rotation in one direction as compared to another, they may be somewhat unsatisfactory in that they introduce a certain amount of bumping whenever the reel is rolled. Accordingly, the subsequent designs illustrated in the drawings are intended to provide means which will block rotation in the wrong direction without hindering movement in the correct manner. As illustrated in Figure 6, the reel Z, which is provided with lagging 3D, carries a plate 33, which is secured to the reel by appropriate fastenings 34. A portion of the plate is raised to form a stop 32, which limits the rotation of the arm 35, about the pivot 36. At the inner extremity of the arm is a weight 3'! and this is of sufficient mass to tend to rotate the arm in a clockwise or counter-clockwise direction, depending on whether or not the center of gravity of the weight lies to the right or left of a vertical line passing through the pivot 36. For example, if the surface upon which the reel is resting is indicated by the line 38 the arm will take the position shown in solid lines; whereas, if the line, 39 is the surface, the arm will rotate to the position indicated in broken lines. From this, it will be apparent that the arm 3l, is no obstacle to rotation in a clockwise direction but will prevent movement in the opposite direction. This device is free from the objection of the preceding types since the arm does not touch the surface of the earth at all when the reel is correctly handled.

In the device illustrated in Fig. 7, the retarding mechanism is made up so that it will t into space usually reserved for a lag 32 and is of the same dimensions as the cross piece which it replaces. In this embodiment, the device consists of a channel iron 40, which spans the distance between the two heads of the reel. Fitted to the channel is a cover plate 4| provided with an axle 42 and a spring 43 which tends to keep the cover in the open position indicated in broken lines. It is apparent that when rotation is in a counterclockwise direction, the cover 4l will be pressed back into the closed position by the weight of the reel but that if it is attempted to roll the reel in the opposite direction the cover 4i, will serve as an outstanding arm to hinder the rotation and act as a block.

There is still another method of accomplishing the purpose of this invention as illustrated in Figure 8 in which the head of the reel 30, is provided with one or more plates 44, of the general shape illustrated in the drawing, and hinged about the pin 45. A second pin 46 is also provided to limit the rotation of the plate 44 in either direction. The reel indicated diagrammatically at the left represents the position of the plates for various points at the surface of the reel when rotation is attempted in a counterclockwise direction, assuming that the reel should only be rotated in the opposite way. It is apparent that the movement has been effectively blocked by the position of one of the plates shown in the lower left hand corner which has become wedged between the pin 46 and the ground. The second reel 3D at the right-hand side of the sheet illustrates an exactly similar construction but shows the positions of the plates 44 when the reel is turned the correct way. It will be seen that the plate nearest the ground is now resting upon the pin 46', and in this manner is kept from interfering with the movement of the reel.

While a number of methods of carrying out my invention have been described above, it will be apparent that those skilled in the art can make many modifications in the design of the various features of this invention without departing from the invention as dened in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. A reel, a cable wound upon said reel beginning with a starting end which is secured to said reel and terminating with a finishing end which is also attached to said reel and means attached to said reel effective to block rolling of the reel in a direction which will place a tensile stress on the fastening at the finishing end while offering no resistance to rolling in a direction which will stress the fastening at they starting end.

2. A reel, a strand wound upon said reel and means effective to impede rolling of said reel in one direction, said means coming into operative position only when said reel is rolled in a direction which tends to loosen the strand upon said reel.

3. A reel, a cable wound upon said reel, the two extremities of thel cable being fastened to said reel and means actuated by the rotation of said reel which impedes rotation of said reel in a direction which will tend to loosen the cable upon the reel by coming between said reel and the supporting surface while offering no resistance to rotation in the opposite direction.

4. In combination with a reel, means effective to impede rolling in one direction while offering no resistance to rolling in an opposite direction, said means comprising a rotatable arm and a stop, said arm taking a position between said stop and the supporting surface when the reel is rolled in a direction which will tend to loosen the strand upon said reel and taking a position out of contact with the supporting surface when rolling is in an opposite direction.

5. A reel, a strand wound upon said reel and means effective to impede rolling of said reel in one direction by coming between said reel and its supporting surface, said means coming into operative position only when said reel is rolled in a direction which tends to loosen the strand.

6. A reel comprising a drum and two heads, a strand wound about said drum and means attached to at least one of said heads effective to impede rolling in oney direction while offering no resistance to rolling in an opposite direction, said means comprising a rotatable arm and a stop, said arm taking a position between said stop and the supporting surface when the reel is rolled in a direction which will tend to loosen the strand upon said drum and taking a position out of contact with the supporting surface when rolling is in an opposite direction.

WILLIAM A. WHITTAKER.

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