Not Applicable.
This disclosure relates to the general area of firefighting equipment, particularly the area of fire hose reels.
a is a side view of an embodiment of the fire hose reel showing the wheel, a handle and a tensioner assembly;
a is a front view of an embodiment of the tensioner of the fire hose reel;
a is a front view of an embodiment of the wheel of the fire hose reel;
Referring to
Referring to
The tensioner is in turn comprised of a tensioner plate 303, a lower rod 308 with a lower rod cap washer 301, and an upper rod 309 with an upper rod cap washer 302. The lower rod 308 and upper rod 309 are affixed to the side plate 304 so that the lower rod 308 is positioned closer to the axis of rotation of the wheel than the upper rod 309. The lower rod 308 and upper rod 309 are affixed to the side plate 304 via pins 311 and a lower rod cap washer 301 and upper rod cap washer 302. The end of the pins distal from the cap washers is permanently affixed to the side plate 304. The tensioner plate 303 is permanently affixed to the lower rod 308. The lower rod 308 and upper rod 309 are capable of rotating or pivoting around its internal axis. When the lower rod 308 rotates the tensioner plate 303 rotates along with the lower rod 308.
The tensioner plate forms a first spring aperture 310 which permits one end of a spring 106 to be inserted through the first spring aperture 310. The side plate 304 forms a second spring aperture 311 through which the other end of the spring 106 is inserted. The fire hose 701 is inserted through the tensioner assembly 103 so that the side of the tensioner plate 303 opposite the first spring aperture 319 is pressed against the fire hose 701 which is in turn pressed against the upper rod 309. In other words the fire hose is slightly constrained between the upper rod 309 and the tensioner plate 303. This slight constraint allows the fire hose to maintain the proper tension while it is being rolled or deployed.
The handle connector 306 is affixed to the side plate 304 by passing an axle through an aperture 602 formed by the wheel, through an aperture formed by the side plate 701, through the axle bushing 305, and where the wheel 101, side plate 304 and handle connector 306 are co-joined by a axle 104 and a nut and threaded connection 105 on the end of the axle.
As shown in
In the best mode of operation of the preferred embodiment, one end of the fire hose is placed between the support spindles 601 near the radius of the support wheel 101. The hose is then threaded through the tensioner assembly 103 and the fire hose is then wound up by pushing the preferred embodiment of the invention along the length of the fire hose. As the preferred embodiment is pushed the wheel 101 turns which causes the fire hose through the tensioner assembly 103. The tensioner assembly 103 squeezes the fire hose thereby forcing water out of the fire hose and providing the proper tension for winding of the hose. Once the complete fire hose is wound onto the Fire Hose Reel, the entire assembly with the hose is laid on the ground, hose side down, and the hose slides off the Fire Hose Reel onto the ground ready for storage or transport.
This application claims priority of the provisional application with Ser. No. 61/009,506 of the same title filed on Dec. 29, 2007. The entire contents of provisional application 61/009,506 is herein incorporated by reference . . . .
Number | Date | Country | |
---|---|---|---|
61009506 | Dec 2007 | US |