US2869800A - Hose winder - Google Patents

Description

HOSE WINDER Filed Jan. 19, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet l FIGI.7.

Inventor WILLIAM P. DEN

Attorney W. P. EDEN HOSE WINDER Jan. 20, 1959 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 19, 1955 Invent or WILLIAM P. EDEN B Q Attorney United States Patent HOSE WINDER William Paul Eden, Port Arthur, Ontario, Canada Application January 19, 1955, Serial No. 482,859

9 Claims. (Cl. 242-86) This invention relates to improvements in a hose winder and appertains particularly to a device for winding lengths of new or used hose, of the kind used in forest fire fighting, in tight ribbon-pack rolls so that they may be compactly stored in a form in which they are ready for use.

Some hose winders are designed to be permanently mounted and used always with but one roll of hose that may or may not be constantly connected by one end to the fluid supply line. the holder or carrier for its single length of hose. The present winder is intended for use in tightly and neatly rolling one length of hose after another in rapid succession and to this end has a novel winding drum or mandrel on which the hose is easily applied and from which the finished ribbon-pack roll can be as easily and quickly removed, be 7 subsequently tied or preferably fitted with a combined storage tie and carrier, such as that described in my Patent No. 2,733,024, and then stored away, ready for immediate transport to a fire and already mounted on its individual hose-laying carrier.

It is an object of the invention to provide a device for winding successive lengths of forest fire hose, in tightly wound ribbon-pack rolls ready to be tied and stored, having a novel winding drum for producing an improved ribbon-pack roll, on which drum the hose may be easily mounted for'starting the roll and from which the finished roll may be easily and quickly removed.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hose winder with improved hose engaging means that may selectably secure the hose to the drum by the hose coupling at either end of the hose or by the loop bite at or near the center of a length of hose doubled on itself and that is readily releasable from hose engagement without disarranging the finished roll.

A further object of the invention is to provide a hose winder in which the roll of hose throughout the winding operation is supported on opposite sides by a pair of adjustably spaced, rotatable, independently supported disks which are laterally separable by the axial sliding of one of them for the removal of the hose roll.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a hose winder for producing finished rolls of improved quality by having a feed guide that additional tofiattening and strengthening the hose is adjustable to impart the exact tension desired to the length of hose leading to the winding drum.

A still further object of the invention is the provision of a-hose winder of the nature and for the purpose specified that is of generally improved structure, will produce rolls of better quality and because of its novel system of loading and unloading can turn out more rolls in a given time.

To the accomplishment of these and related objects as shall become apparent as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the construction, combination and arrangement of parts as shall be hereinafter more Such winders then serve also as 2,869,800 Patented Jan. 20, 1959 fully described, illustrated in the accompanying vdrawings, and pointed out in the claims hereunto appended.

The invention will be best understood and can bemore clearly described when reference is had to the drawings forming a part of this disclosure wherein like characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a preferred embodiment of this hose winder;

Figure 2 is an end elevation thereof as: seen at right angles to Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an enlarged end elevation of the adjustable tensioning device;

Figure 4 is a side elevation of the tensioning device as seen at right angles to Figure 3;

Figure 5 is an enlarged elevational detail of the winding drum;

Figure 6 is an elevation of the outer face of the right side of said drum as seen at right angles to Figure 5;

Figure 7 is an enlarged elevation of the releasable arbor keeper as seen at right angles to Figure 2; and

Figures 8 and 9 are elevation and plan view respectively of the coupling holder, shown at the top of Figures 1 and 2.

In winding lengths of hose, such as is used in forest fire fighting, it is most desirable that the finished ribbonpack rolls have the spiralling convolutions wound with uniform tightness to prevent their accidental disarrange ment, the coupling so positioned and held at the center; of a single wound hose that the coupling lugs do not project beyond the sides of the roll and the opposite, sides of the single width ribbon-pack roll be substantially smooth or straight and even. Furthermore, for modern practice in tying the rolls for storage and subsequently mounting them on hose-laying carriers, the roll of hose would have the hole or transverse passage at its center, immediately behind the coupling for the passage of the storage tie cord or reception of the axle of the carrier. All of these desirable hose roll features are obtainable with the presently disclosed hose winder,

rendering it the only winder completely acceptable for producing hose rolls suitable for fast and convenient mounting on the combined hose tie and carrier disclosed in my Patent No. 2,733,024. Briefly, in the maintenance of large stocks of forest fire fighting hose, the foregoing features of wound and tied rolls spell good and economical housekeeping, where the storage of fire hose is concerned, which ultimately and invariably reduces the time required to bring this equipment into operation in fire suppressing action.

In carrying the invention into practice, I employ a frame that is here shown as comprising a pair of inverted U-shaped members 1 and 2, whose respective crossbars 1a and 2a are hingedly connected as by the links 3. The U-shaped frame member l is wider than the member 2 so that its legs 1b, 1c are separated a greaterdistancethan the legs 2b, 2c of the latter. Each frame member has a crossbar 1d and 2d about midway of its height between which an upwardly jackknifing toggle arms brace 4 is mounted to normally hold the members of the frame angularly extended, as shown in Figure l and yet permit of the folding of the frame parts together for storage or transporting.

A pair of spaced struts 1e and 17 run from the mid height crossbar 1d to the top crossbar 1a and on the outer side of each of these struts and both legs 1b and 1c are disposed shaft bearings 5, all of which are in axial alignment. A shaft 6 is journalled in the bearings 5 on leg 10 and strut 1 and has a hand crank 7 on its outer end beyond the bearing on leg 1c and a collarS alsosecured thereon just within the last mentioned hearing, whereby the shaft is held against longitudinal .or axial movement. A second shaft 9 is journalled in the bearings on leg 1b and strut 1e. A bolt 10 carrying a jamb nut 11 is threaded in the outer end of the shaft 9 and is adjustable to vary the over-all length of the shaft. Hinged on-the leg 1b above the-bearing S and receivable in a seat 12 also on the said leg below the bearing is a flat,-swinging, knife-like abutment 13 that closes across the open outer end of the bearing 5 to normally lock the shaft 9, otherwise free to slide axially, against unauthorized outward movement. On the inner end of each of the axially aligned shafts 6 and 9 is a disk 14 herein shown as secured to theend of-the shaft by --an axial bolt 15 and being reinforcednear its center bya backing plate 16. Preferably the disks are of substantially the diameter of a fullroll of hose and their confronting faces are normally spaced a distance just'exceeding the width of the hose when pressed flat. The accurate spacing of this pair of disks, made possible by theend adjustment on the shaft 9, is essential to the winding of the hose in the tailored-like ribbon-pack rolls with straight, smooth, even sides that are so important if the rolls are subsequently to be laid with the carriers now being used.

Extending inwardly from each diskis an eccentrically disposed finger 17, circular in cross-section and tapering towards its free inner end. Furthermore, the inner end has a stepped formation 17a of semi-circular form of such proportion that when the fingers of the confronting pair of disks are in registry and the shaft 9 is moved inwards into closed position, the stepped ends of said fingers engage in over-lapped relation as seen in Figures 2 and 5 whereby rotation of the crank-operatedshaft 6 is transmitted to shaft 9 and the abutting of the end of each finger with the step of the other acts as a stop to limit the inward movement of the axially slidable shaft 9. Each disk 14 also carries a smaller pin 18, shorter than the finger ,17 and also eccentric to the axis; these pins may be located at an angle of approximately 135 to the fingers and come into alignment when the stepped fingers 17 are in aligned over-lapping engagement. They serve in conjunction with the fingers to engage opposite sides of the flattened end of the hose and anchor the coupling for the start of the roll. In inserting the hose end, it is easy to arrange the coupling so that the lugs of the coupling extend vertically rather than horizontally so that in the finished roll such coupling lugs do not projectlaterally from the sides of the flat ribbon-pack roll. If it be desired to roll the hose double, with both male and female couplings at the outside of the roll, the pins 18 engage the bight of the fold at the middle of the doubled hose.

It will thus be apparent that a length of hose may be Wound into a tight straight walled ribbon-pack roll on the mandrel structure described and released therefrom by opening the knife-like swinging abutment 13 permitting the shaft 9 to slide outwards, separating the disks 14 and withdrawing the small short fingers 18 and the tapered fingers 17 from opposite sides of hose roll in which the said fingers leave a hole or transverse passage at-the center through which a storage tie cord or the axle of ahose laying carrier may be passed.

That the hose may be rolled in a single width, ribbonpack roll with the successive spiralling convolutions of the desired and uniform tightness, a hose flattening and tension adjusting device is mounted, in alignment with the winding mandrel, on the frame member 2, through whichthe hose passes as itis being fed to the winding drum or mandrel. ,A feed guide member 20 includesa pair .of laterally spaced, inverted l.-,shape d :sides 20a with the free ends of the upper horizontal arms connectingto the crossbar 2d and the free lower ends of the vertical arms connecting to another cross rod Zx-extended between the legs 2b and 2c of the narrower frame member 2 at a point below the aforementioned crossbar 2d. In the top of the guide member 20 between the L-shaped sides 20a is a channel shaped shoe 20b over which the hose passes and in spaced relation above the shoe is a roller 21 extending transversely of the channel and carried on a shaft 22 that is connected by a vertical pivot 23 to the guide member 20 so that it may be opened first to admit the leading end of a hose just behind the loading coupling and again to release the hose just in advance of the trailing coupling. The free end of the roller shaft may close under a rigid keeper arm 24 suitably secured to the guide 20. The shoe 20b and superposing-roller 21 act on a passing length of hose to flatten it like a ribbon and take out kinks and twists. An open, horizontally disposed, substantially rectangular frame 25 is suspended by a spaced pair of straps 26 from the crossbar 2d. Toward its forward end, its opposite sides have registering pairs of notchesv 25b along the lower edge for selectively straddling the lower cross rod 2x. A roller 27, of preferably non-circular cross-section is mounted near the rear of the adjustable frame 25, extending transversely thereof.

In feeding a length of hose upwardly over the shoe 20b of the guide 24 then downwards under the roller 27 in'the adjustable frame 25 thence upwardly to the winding drum, a substantial tension is imparted to the length of hose between the guide and the drum because of the reverse or 8 curve contour of the feed. By adjusting the set of the frame 25, the acuteness of the reverse or 8 curve contour of feed is varied to impart the desired tension to the hose being Wound, thereby enabling the winding of the roll to the desired tightness. The aligning of the guide and tensioning device with the Winding drum may be done by making them slidable on the bars 24! and 2x and securing them in the desired transverse position as by the collars 28 on bar 2d.

For reconditioning the couplings on hose being re- Wound into rolls on this winder, I provide a holder 30 mounted on the crossbar 2a of frame part 2. it has a vertical opening through which the coupling may be inserted upwardly, being elongated transversely to pass the lugs of the coupling and notched on opposite sides at the top to seat the lugs when an inserted coupling is rotated Thus supported the threads of the couplings can be reamed or tapped by a conventional hose die, not shown, that is normally carried on a bracket 13 on the frame part 2.

In use, when the foldable frame has been set up with the hingedly connected frame parts spread open and rigidly braced by the toggle 4, a used length of hose to be wound is first prepared by reconditioning the male and female end couplings by successively positioning them in the holder 30 and reaming or tapping them with the usual hosedie. The male coupling end of the hose is then run over the opened guide, under the adjustable tensioning device roller and applied to the winding drum, the sliding shaft being locked in closed position and the guide shoe roller closed. Then when the hose has been tightly rolled, all but the length from the drum to the guide, the guide is opened and the female coupling allowed to pass and wind on the outside of the roll which is removed radially from the drum on release of the shaft lock and the lateral spreading of the drum disks and the accompanying withdrawal of the disk fingers and pins from the roll which can be either tied or mounted directly on the combined hose laying carrier and hose tie hereinbefore mentioned, and stored in a condition ready for immediate use. I

From the foregoing description taken in connection with :the accompanying drawings, it will be manifestthat a hosewinderis provided that will fulfill all the necessary requirements of such a device, but as many changes could be made in the above description and many apparently widely different embodiments of the invention may be constructed within the scope of the appended claims, without departing from the spirit or scope thereof, it' is intended that all matters contained in the said accompanying specification and drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limitative or restrictive sense.

Having thus described the invention, what I claim as new is:

l. in a hose winding device for winding successive lengths of hose in ribbon-pack rolls and which includes a frame, a rotatable winding drum mounted on said frame, means for rotating said drum, said winding drum comprising a pair of axially aligned shafts one of which is engaged by said rotating means, a pair of spaced confronting disks mounted rigidly one on the inner end of each of said shafts, one of said shafts being slidable axially inwardly toward and outwardly from the inner end of the other shaft whereby said disks may be separated laterally into open roll-removing position, means for preventing the outward movement of said axially slidable shaft, and hose engaging means disposed on the confronting sides of said disks, longitudinal adjustment means on said slidable shaft engageable by said means for preventing the outward movement of said shaft, thereby allowing of varying the inward or closed position of said slidable shaft and the resulting spacing between said pair of confronting disks.

2. A hose winding device for winding successive lengths of hose in ribbon-pack rolls including a frame, a winding drum rotatable on said frame and means for rotating said drum, said winding drum comprising a pair of axially aligned shafts one of which is engaged by said rotating means, a pair of spaced confronting disks mounted one at the inner end of each of said shafts, one of said shafts being slidable axially inwardly toward and outwardly from the inner end of the other shaft whereby said disks may be separated laterally into open roll-removing position, means for preventing the outward movement of said axially slidable shaft, and a finger extending inwards from each disk the inner ends of which are of oppositely I stepped semi-circular form in cross section for engagement one with the other in overlapped relation when said slidable shaft is moved inward toward the other shaft whereby the rotation of the driven disk is transmitted to the other disk.

3. A hose winding device having a winding drum as defined in claim 2, wherein the oppositely stepped inner ends of said fingers abut in overlapped relation to serve as a stop and limit the inward movement of said slidable shaft.

4. A hose winding device having a winding drum as defined in claim 2, wherein said engageable fingers are each tapered toward their inner ends to facilitate their withdrawal from a roll of hose when said slidable shaft is moved outwardly to laterally separate said disks.

5. In a hose winding drum comprising a pair of aligned shafts each having a disk on its inner end, a pair of inwardly projecting fingers mounted eccentrically one on each of said disks and having overlappingly engageable inner ends, and a pair of pins shorter than and spaced from said fingers and also mounted eccentrically one on each of said disks, said respective pairs of fingers and pins being designed to receive the flattened portion of a hose between them and being too narrowly spaced to pass the coupling on the hose and serve to anchor the same; one of said shafts being axially slidable whereby the disks and disk-carried fingers and pins are laterally separable to allow of the removal of a roll of hose radially with respect to said disks.

6. In a hose winding drum as defined in claim 5, said eccentrically disposed fingers and pins lying at an angle of approximately to one another and said pins being substantially aligned in spaced relation when the inner ends of said fingers are engaged in overlapped relation.

7. A hose winding device comprising a foldable, normally spaced, two part frame, each part in the form of an inverted U with the crossbar at the top and one of said inverted U parts being narrower than the other, a rotatable winding drum mounted on the wider of said frame parts, and a hose guide mounted on the narrower of said frame parts and transversely adjustable for align ment with said winding drum, said hose guide consisting of a channel shaped shoe over which the hose is designed to pass, a roller disposed transversely of said channel shaped shoe and spaced thereabove for flattening the hose as it passes between said shoe and roller, anda shaft on which said roller is rotatable hingedly mounted at one side of said shoe and swingable horizontally to the side of said shoe for inserting or removing a hose.

8. For a hose winding device as defined in claim 7, a hose tensioning device suspended from said hose guide and consisting of an open, horizontally disposed, longitudinally swingable frame, straps connecting said frame to said hose guide, a roller across the inner end of said frame under which a hose is designed to pass between said hose guide and said winding drum and being disposed below said guide causes a passing hose to describe an S or reverse curve path; said longitudinally swingable frame being adjustably and releasably engageable with said hose guide for holding said tensioning frame in the desired longitudinally swung position.

9. A hose winding device as set forth in claim 8 wherein the roller in the longitudinally swingable tensioning device is of non-circular cross-section.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 394,556 Coleman Dec. 18, 1888 1,467,841 Cumfer Sept. 11, 1923 FOREIGN PATENTS 532,978 Great Britain Feb. 4, 1941

Images