Patent Application
20090236459
The present invention is generally directed to a portable apparatus for winding flexible material onto a spool.
Flexible materials such as rope, wire, or tubing may be wound onto spools for storage or to collect the material for reuse. A spool may comprise a drum or hub having at each end a large square or circular flange. Flexible material wound around the drum is prevented from falling off the ends of the drum by the flanges. The drum may have an axial aperture through which a shaft may be inserted to facilitate rotation of the spool.
It is not unusual for almost any sort of shaft or bar to be used to support a spool while flexible material is wound onto the spool. For example, objects such as large screwdrivers, lengths of pipe, dowels, tool handles, or rebar may be used to hold a spool. However, a shaft having suitable size to fit a spool may not be available when it is needed, or an object appropriated for use as a shaft may bend or break in use.
In some situations, it is advantageous to be able to collect a large quantity of flexible material onto a spool as rapidly as possible. Collecting sensor tubing from a roadway upon which traffic is moving is an example. Another example is the collection of wire or tubing used in demolition with explosives. For example, hollow plastic tubing having an inside diameter of about 1 millimeter, an outside diameter of about 3 millimeters, and containing an explosive chemical may be deployed by military personnel in the removal of improvised explosive devices (IEDs). Pieces of such tubing, also known as shock tube, may be joined together with special connectors to create an assembly having a length of a thousand feet or more. After demolition of the IED, remaining shock tube is collected to prevent unauthorized use. It is desirable to pick up any remaining shock as quickly as possible to reduce personnel exposure to hostile activity and hazardous materials in the vicinity. Collecting a thousand feet of shock tube comprising a combination of tubing and inline connectors takes many minutes using means currently available. Personnel must leave the protection offered by armored vehicles to collect the shock tube. Furthermore, unused shock tube must be protected during respooling from ignition sources such as sparks or static discharges.
Many devices for rotating a spool to collect flexible material are known. However, some devices are too large or bulky to be easily carried by a person or to be used in confined spaces such as the interior of a vehicle or a small construction work site. Other devices are not strong enough for rough service, are not suitable for use in very dusty or muddy environments, or are unable to wind material onto a spool quickly enough to minimize operator exposure to dangerous conditions.
What is needed is a portable device for rapidly winding flexible material onto a spool. What is further needed is a device able to withstand heavy use with minimum maintenance. A device which permits an operator to collect material from a confined, protected location is also needed.
Embodiments of the invention comprise a respooling device for rapidly, securely, and removably attaching a spool to a drill, driver, or other motor. Embodiments of the invention enable flexible material to be quickly collected onto the spool by rotating the respooling device and the spool with the drill or driver. A respooling device built in accord with the present invention comprises a fixed compression nut attached to a threaded rod and an adjustable compression nut removably coupled to the threaded rod. The threaded rod and compression nuts have a thread selected for mechanical strength and for rapid advancement of the adjustable compression nut along the threaded rod. The fixed and adjustable compression nuts have conical surfaces to automatically center a spool along the rotational axis of the respooling device. Materials selected for the threaded rod and adjustable compression nut facilitate operation of the device without lubrication from grease or oil. A portion of the threaded rod is shaped for attachment to a collet, clamp, or chuck on the drill or driver, and for rotation by the drill or driver without slippage. The drill or driver may be a device having a rotating output shaft and a controllable rate of shaft rotation, for example an electrically powered corded or cordless driver, a motor, or a manually operated mechanical device. The driver may also be a wrench or other manually operated tool capable of applying torque to a shaft. Some embodiments of the invention include a driver. Some embodiments may include a spool adapted for respooling a particular material, for example shock tube.
This section summarizes some features of the present embodiment. These and other features, aspects, and advantages of the embodiments of the invention will become better understood with regard to the following description and upon reference to the following drawings, wherein:
Embodiments of the invention comprise a respooling device for rapidly and firmly attaching a spool to a driver, thereby enabling spooling of a large quantity of flexible material in a short period of time. Embodiments may be used for rapid spooling of flexible materials. As used herein, flexible material refers to, but is not limited to, light chain, cord, rope, wire, cable, optical fiber, ribbon, tubing, hose, or similar materials or objects able to be wrapped around a spool. Some embodiments further comprise a driver. As used herein, a driver refers to a mechanically operated drill, a ratcheting wrench or similar manually-operated tool capable of rapidly and repeatedly applying torque to a load, a corded electric drill or driver, a cordless (i.e., battery-powered) electric drill or driver, or a motor with an output shaft having a controllable rate of rotation, for example an electric motor or a power take-off shaft on a construction or agricultural vehicle. Embodiments of the invention operate without the need for greasy or oily lubricants and are therefore well suited for use in dusty or muddy environments. Embodiments of the invention are particularly well suited for use in confined spaces and in situations where a person operating the respooling device desires to minimize exposure to hazardous or unpleasant factors in the vicinity.
A respooling device in accord with an embodiment of the invention is illustrated in
The threaded rod 102 may alternately be formed with a square or a trapezoidal thread. The thread may optionally be a multi-start thread. For comparison purposes, an example of a single-start triangular thread is shown in
In comparison to the single-start triangular thread of
A thread having a square cross section is stronger than a thread having a triangular cross section, but a square cross section is difficult to manufacture. A thread with a trapezoidal cross section is easier to manufacture than a square cross section and stronger than a thread with a triangular cross section. Square threads and trapezoidal threads have flat thread apexes and flat valleys between threads. An example of a trapezoidal thread is known as an Acme thread, which has an angle of 29 degrees between opposing faces on the sides of adjacent threads. In comparison, a corresponding angle for a triangular thread is about 60 degrees.
In one example, the threaded rod 102 of
The adjustable compression nut 104 and fixed compression nut 106 of
The adjustable compression nut 104 of
The adjustable and fixed compression nuts of
An embodiment of a respooling device is shown attached to a driver comprising a cordless drill in
An example of a spool for use with embodiments of the invention is shown in
A spool 802 is shown in position on an embodiment of the invention in
After the spool is attached to the respooling device, flexible material is attached to the spool and the spool is turned by the driver to wind material onto the spool. The material to be wound need not be uniform, for example, the material to be wound may comprise a combination of cable or tubing and in-line connectors. The rate at which material is wound onto the spool may be varied over a range from about an inch per second to approximately 40 feet per second. As an example, an embodiment having a driver comprising a cordless drill collected 1000 feet of shock tube in about 1 minute, corresponding to a respooling rate of about 17 feet (5.1 meters) per second. One will appreciate that a respooling rate depends on factors including, but not limited to, the dimensions and material properties of the material being spooled, the dimensions of the spool, the rotation rate of the driver, an amount of battery charge or other input power available for operating the driver, and an amount of torque available from the driver for turning the spool. Total deployment and respooling time for setting up the respooling device and collecting 1000 feet of shock tube was about 2 minutes, about ten percent of the time needed for collecting a comparable length of shock tube by conventional methods.
The present disclosure is to be taken as illustrative rather than as limiting the scope, nature, or spirit of the subject matter claimed below. Numerous modifications and variations will become apparent to those skilled in the art after studying the disclosure, including use of equivalent functional and/or structural substitutes for elements described herein, use of equivalent functional couplings for couplings described herein, or use of equivalent functional steps for steps described herein. Such insubstantial variations are to be considered within the scope of what is contemplated here. Moreover, if plural examples are given for specific means, or steps, and extrapolation between or beyond such given examples is obvious in view of the present disclosure, then the disclosure is to be deemed as effectively disclosing and thus covering at least such extrapolations.
Unless expressly stated otherwise herein, ordinary terms have their corresponding ordinary meanings within the respective contexts of their presentations, and ordinary terms of art have their corresponding regular meanings.
