Patent Application
20110042502
Wire and cable for installation in residences and buildings typically comes on cable reels. The types of wire and cable so provided are numerous, and include 110V three-conductor wire, “Romex”, and many different kinds of low-voltage, multiconductor insulated communications cable, such as that used for setting up Ethernet networks, intercom systems, entertainment systems and the connection of security sensors and devices. A new building under construction will need many kinds of these cables, and several reels of cable will be used by an installer on-site.
One known technique is to provide coils of such cable in boxes, and to create a hole in a front or top panel of the (typically cardboard) box for pulling out a desired length of cable. This conventional method has a drawback in that the cable may kink inside of the box or otherwise resist being pulled out of the box to such an extent that a cable installer or technician finds that he or she is pulling the box across the floor. Often, the installer has to install several different lengths of cable on a single run. To do this, the installer had to identify which kinds of cable he or she needs, individually pull cable out of separate boxes and estimate as best as he or she can the amount of cable so pulled.
These boxes of cable are heavy and it takes some effort to move them around. In complex jobs, it is easy for one needed box of cable to become physically dissociated from one or more other boxes of cable that will supply lengths of different cable for the same run. As a result, boxes of cable are typically transported around the job site with carts or hand trucks to move save time and effort. Unfortunately, this increased portability, combined with the rising cost of building materials, makes these reels of cable an easy target for thieves. As a result, a need persists for securing valuable materials to a fixed anchor point while providing a convenient apparatus for moving and dispensing cable.
According to one aspect of the invention, a vehicle for the transportation of containers of reeled wire or cable comprises a frame having opposed first and second frame ends and an upstanding security locker affixed near the second frame end. The security locker has an enclosure defined by at least one wall and a plurality of vertically spaced apart first support rod holes in the wall and an access panel that affords access to the enclosure and is adaptable to being locked and unlocked. Additionally, the vehicle comprises a plurality of vertically spaced apart elongate support rods with first ends of the support rods receivable through respective ones of the first rod holes into the security locker. For each first end of the support rod, a removable primary retaining device for attachment to the first end of the support rod when the first end is in the enclosure. The primary retaining device prevents the first end from being withdrawn from the enclosure unless the primary retaining device is removed and is preferably a clevis or a cotter pin.
According to another aspect of the invention, a system for dispensing wire or cable from reels and for deterring theft of the reels comprises a vehicle for the transportation of containers of wire or cable and at least one carton. The vehicle comprises a frame having opposed first and second frame ends and an upstanding security locker affixed to the frame. The security locker has an enclosure defined by at least one wall, at least one rod hole formed in said at least one wall, and an access panel of the security locker affording access to the enclosure. Additionally, the vehicle further comprises at least one elongate support rod, a first end of the at least one support rod receivable through respective ones of the rod holes into the security locker. Further, the vehicle comprises at least one removable retaining device for attachment to the first end of a support rod. When the first end is in the enclosure, the retaining device prevents the first end from being withdrawn from the enclosure until the retaining device is removed.
Further, the at least one cable carton contains a reel of wire or cable and have a top panel, a bottom panel, a left panel, and a right panel, the bottom panel having opposed left and right sides. The left panel extends upwardly from the left side of the bottom panel, the right panel extends upwardly from the right side of the bottom panel, the top panel adjoins the left and right panels and is spaced from and parallel to the bottom panel. Arbor holes are formed in each of the left and right panels and around an axis so as to both be a first predetermined distance from an upper surface of the bottom panel and a second predetermined distance from the lower surface of the top panel and the carton includes an axial passageway between the arbor holes. The at least one elongate support rod is adapatable to be inserted through the arbor holes and the axial passageway, and at least one rod hole of the locker. Preferably, the vehicle is a cart or a hand truck.
Further aspects of the invention and their advantages can be discerned in the following detailed description, in which like characters denote like parts and in which:
Referring to
Additionally, the vehicle 100 further comprises a plurality of vertically spaced elongate support rods 112A-C having first ends 114 that are receivable through respective ones of the preferably first rod support holes 202A-C into the security locker 110A. The first end of each support rod 112 has a removable primary retaining device 206A-C for attachment to the first end of the support rod 112 when the first end 114 is in the enclosure. The primary retaining devices 206A-C prevent the first end 112 of the support rod 112 from being withdrawn from the enclosure until the primary retaining devices 206A-C are removed. Preferably, the vertical first rod support holes 202A-C are in a vertical line and are equidistantly spaced.
The security locker may take a variety of configurations, being small enough to enclose only the first ends 114 and primary retaining devices 206, as shown in
More preferably, the vehicle has at least one access panel hinge 228 affixed to the access panel 204 and a wall of the locker 110A with the access panel 204 being rotatable about an axis 230 formed by the hinge 228, as shown in
Even more preferably, the security locker 110A comprises a loop 120 for securing the locker 110A to a fixed anchor such as a truck, a piece of machinery, or a light pole. This allows the vehicle 100 to be left on the job site and ensures the locker 110A and its contents are not stolen. As used herein, the term “loop” is intended to mean any surface forming an unbroken perimeter through which a cable or a chain may be passed to connect the vehicle 100 to the anchor. Thus, the loop may be a handle attached to one or more surfaces of the locker or even a hole passing through the locker 110A. Additionally, a loop 120 may be affixed to the frame 102.
In one embodiment, the frame 102 is a cart having wheels 124 and the frame is an elongate horizontal frame and further comprises an upstanding panel 108 affixed to the first frame end 104, the upstanding panel 108 having a plurality of second rod support holes 302A-C (see
In a preferred embodiment, the cart is reconfigurable between a use configuration and a storage configuration. The locker may further comprise a security locker hinge 238 (shown in
Alternatively, the vehicle 100 may comprise a rear vertical panel 126 at the second frame end 106 having an affixation hole 127 disposed to be coaxial with and adjacent to at least one first rod support hole 202A-C such that a first end 114 of a support rod 112 is receivable through the affixation hole 127 and second rod support hole 202. The rear vertical panel 126 may also have a plurality of support rod storage holes 203. Additionally, the vehicle may comprise left and right vertical panels 128, 130 that adjoin the security locker 110B and the rear panel 126 as well as an end wall 129 at the second frame end 106. As shown in
Referring to
In an alternate embodiment, the vehicle is a hand truck, indicated generally at 500, for the transportation of containers 101A-B each container having a passageway 154 therethrough. The frame is at least one elongate vertical member 504 and the hand truck further comprises a horizontally disposed flat bottom shelf 502 for receiving containers affixed to the second end of the frame. A second end 514 of each support rod 112 is enlarged so as to affix at least one container 101 to the respective support rod.
Preferably, the hand truck 500 further comprises at least one cross member 506 disposed transversely of and affixed to the at least one vertical member 504, with each cross member 506 having a rod-receiving cross member hole 508 formed therein. Each cross member hole 508 is coaxial with and adjacent to each respective support rod hole and the security locker 520 is affixed to at least one cross member 506. Preferably, the holes 508 are vertically spaced apart from each other. As above, the plurality of elongate support rods 510 each have a first end 512 that is adapted to be inserted through at least one passageway 154 in the containers 101 and into a respective cross member hole 508. Preferably, the hand truck 500 also has a plurality of support rod storage sleeves 524 affixed to at least one cross member 506, each sleeve receiving a respective support rod for storing the support rod while not in use.
As above, the locker 520 has at least one access panel hinge 518 affixed to the access panel 521 and a wall of the security locker 520, the access panel hinge 518 being rotatable about an axis 522 formed by the access hinge 518.
As shown in
As shown in
The at least one elongate support rod 112C is inserted through the arbor holes 146 and may also go through an axial passageway 154 of each reel and the arbor holes 146 of each carton 101. Additionally, the system may comprise at least a second cable reel carton 101 positioned side by side with the first carton 101 such that the arbor holes 146 are aligned on a single axis and the at least one elongate support rod 112C extends through the arbor holes 146 of the first and second cartons
At least a third carton 101 may be positioned above the first carton and a second rod hole 202B in the at least one sidewall is vertically spaced from the first rod hole 202C by a distance equal to the spacing between the arbor holes 146 of the first and third cartons. A second elongate support rod 112B is receivable through the second rod hole.
Similarly, at least a fourth carton may be positioned above the second carton side by side with the third carton such that the arbor holes are aligned on a single axis. The second support rod is receivable through the arbor holes of the third and fourth cartons and a second rod hole in the at least one wall of the security locker 110A.
Preferably, the vehicle 100 is a cart, the frame 102 including an elongate horizontal frame and an upstanding panel 108 having at least one second rod support hole 202A-C that is affixed to the first frame end 104.
Alternatively, as shown in
In summary, the different embodiments of the present invention allow the user to move heavy cartons of cable around the work site while providing security at the same time. Since access to the support rods is restricted by a security locker, only authorized personnel can remove the cartons, thereby preventing theft and reducing material costs.
While illustrated embodiments of the present invention have been described and illustrated in the appended drawings, the present invention is not limited thereto but only by the scope and spirit of the appended claims.
