The present invention relates to a cable reel holder for use with a cable reel having a hollow cable spool.
Electrical cable and the like is usually stored on a cable reel comprising a hollow metallic spindle interposed between a pair of cardboard flanges. To dispense cable the reel is typically placed on the floor and cable drawn from the reel as desired.
Safety regulations prohibit the use of cable drawn from a reel that is damaged in any way. Thus it is important to ensure that cable reels are stored and used in the correct manner to avoid damaging the reel and/or cable. Unfortunately, in order to reduce costs, the cardboard flanges provided on a reel are becoming progressively thinner and weaker resulting in an increased risk of causing damage to them and possibly the cable and/or spindle. It is also common for the cardboard flanges to be exposed to damp or wet conditions leading to water damage which can cause the reel and the associated cable to be unsuitable for use.
An object of the present invention is to obviate or mitigate the aforementioned problems.
According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a cable reel holder for use with a cable reel having a hollow cable spool, said holder comprising a head unit and a base unit which are releasably connectable via a spindle upon which, in use, said cable spool is mounted, said spindle being comprised of a first member defined by said base unit and a second member defined by said head unit, said first member being releasably connectable to said second member, wherein said first and second members define complementary first and second threaded regions respectively such that said first and second members are releasably connectable by a screw connection.
The present invention therefore provides a simple means for storing and deploying cable wound on a reel which significantly reduces the risk of damaging the various components making up a cable reel, which might otherwise render the cable unusable. Use of the holder of the present invention should therefore avoid undesirable financial losses and reduce waste.
In a preferred embodiment of this aspect of the present invention, in use, said spindle is substantially upright. The base unit is designed such that, in use, it can rest stably on a floor and the head unit is designed to be releasably connectable to the base unit by connection of the second member to the first member.
Preferably one of said first and second members defines a bore for receipt of at least a part of the other of said members.
Conveniently, said first threaded region is defined by an outer surface of said first member and said second threaded region is defined by an inner surface of said second member. Preferably said complementary threaded portions are configured such that, in use, drawing cable from said cable reel when mounted on said spindle causes said screw connection to tighten.
It is preferred that said base and head units define respective first and second generally parallel surfaces to act as protective flanges between which said cable reel is to be located. Additionally, in use, said first and second surfaces are preferably substantially horizontal. Preferably at least one of said first and second surfaces has a larger diameter than a diameter of a guide plate forming part of said cable reel. The flanges defined by the base and head units are arranged to protect the cardboard flanges of the cable reel from damage, thus, reducing waste and therefore costs.
Said base unit may have a greater mass than said head unit.
Preferably said head unit defines a formation adapted for engagement by a hand of a user, e.g. a handle or a recessed formation approximately complementary to the fingers of a user's hand. Said formation may comprise at least one annular projection and more preferably comprises a plurality of concentric annular projections. A particularly appropriate number of annular projections is two or three, although any desirable number may be used. The centre of the head unit may define a circular aperture within the centremost annular projection. The aperture may extend at least partially into the connecting member along an axis defined by the connecting member.
It is preferred that at least one of said head and base units is formed from a plastics material.
Appropriately said first member is formed integrally with said base unit. Moreover, said second member may be formed integrally with said head unit.
A second aspect of the present invention provides a kit of parts to be assembled to provide a cable reel holder for use with a cable reel having a hollow cable spool, said holder comprising a head unit and a base unit which are releasably connectable via a spindle upon which, in use, said cable spool is mounted, said spindle being comprised of a first member defined by said base unit and a second member defined by said head unit, said first member being releasably connectable to said second member, wherein said first and second members define complementary first and second threaded regions respectively such that said first and second members are releasably connectable by a screw connection.
A third aspect of the present invention provides a cable reel assembly comprising a cable reel having a hollow cable spool mounted on a cable reel holder according to the first aspect of the present invention.
A fourth aspect of the present invention provides a kit of parts to be assembled to provide a cable reel assembly comprising a cable reel having a hollow cable spool mounted on a cable reel holder according to the first aspect of the present invention.
Embodiments of the present invention will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:
In
Following use, the cable reel holder 1 can then be disassembled simply by unscrewing the head unit 3 from the base unit 2 and the used reel 13 then lifted off the supporting member 5.
The upper and lower flanges 7, 4 provided outboard of the cardboard flanges 15 of the reel 13 protect the cardboard plates 15 from damage which might reduce the structural integrity of the cardboard flanges 15 and, in turn, the reel 13 and associated cable 16. Repeated use of the holder 1 of the present invention should therefore lower costs and reduce waste caused by discarding unusable cable.
Referring now to
In
It will be understood that numerous modifications can be made to the embodiment of the invention described above without departing from the underlying inventive concept and that these modifications are intended to be included within the scope of the invention. For example, the size and shape of the base and head units can be selected to suit any particular application. It is envisaged that the upper and lower flanges forming integral parts of the head and base units may be generally circular with a diameter similar to or slightly larger than that of the cardboard flanges of a cable reel mounted on the holder. However, the upper and lower flanges may take any desirable size or shape. The upper surface of the head unit does not have to be domed but, instead, may possess any appropriate form. Moreover, grasping of the head unit by a user may be facilitated simply by the provision of a handle upstanding from the upper surface of the head unit rather than some form of moulded recessed formation. Furthermore, the head and/or base unit may be opaque or transparent any may be any desirable colour.
It is foreseen that in certain applications it would be particularly advantageous to make the base unit dimensionally larger and/or heavier than the head unit to provide a degree of stability to the holder during assembly/disassembly and deployment of cable from a reel mounted on the holder. The head and base units can be formed from the same material or different materials although it is envisaged that both units will be formed from plastics materials. The spindle formed by connection of the supporting member to connecting member can be of any appropriate length and diameter although it is preferred that the spindle will be appropriately dimensioned to accommodate all standard size cable reels so that the holder functions as a universal cable reel holder. In the foregoing example, the spindle is formed by screwing a hollow cylindrical connecting member down over an upstanding cylindrical supporting member. The two components making up the spindle may, however, take any convenient form and may connect to one another in any desirable fashion, such as a snap fit or a friction fit. In the above specific embodiment the supporting and connecting members both extend across substantially the whole distance separating the head and base units when assembled. However, one of the spindle components may extend across a majority of the distance separating the head and base units when assembled or, alternatively, each component may extend over approximately half of the assembled separation between the head and base units.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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0500908.9 | Jan 2005 | GB | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
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PCT/GB06/00154 | 1/17/2006 | WO | 00 | 7/18/2007 |