TECHNICAL FIELD
The present disclosure relates generally to the field of reels or spools that support wound media.
BACKGROUND
Traditional reel cores consist of a hollow tube around which cable, wire or other flexible media is wound, and flanges that axially retain the media on the core. Various methods can be used for assembling the hollow tube cores to the flanges, including stapling, bolting, gluing, welding, or a combination of one or more methods. Reels can be made of plastic and/or paper products to reduce costs, and can have appreciable strength and robustness.
Other than materials, one of the costs associated with the use of reels arises from shipment of the empty reels, for example, from the reel manufacturer to the user of the reel, which is often a cable company or electronics company. Empty reels are bulky, and take up significant amounts of space during shipment, which affects shipping costs. Bulkiness can also add to storage costs for reels not yet being used.
One way to save on shipping costs is to ship reel components, typically two flanges and a cylindrical core, to customer sites in an unassembled state. The customer then assembles the flanges to the cores, on-site. While shipping the unassembled reel components saves shipment space and thus costs compared to shipping a fully assembled empty reel, the shipment of the cores and flanges unassembled still can be inefficient, and does not allow for optimal pack density.
Moreover, it has become desirable to provide a reels in which all of the components are plastic for, among other things, ease of recycling. Thus, providing a customer with reel components that need to be assembled using staples or bolts defeats this purpose. Furthermore, it can be inconvenient for customers to obtain the equipment necessary for other types of assembly, such as welding and gluing.
Accordingly, there is a need for a reel design that reduces shipment costs, and can be easily assembled on-site, without need for additional fastening components.
SUMMARY
At least some embodiments described herein address the above needs, as well as others, by providing a snap-together two-part core and corresponding flanges that may be shipped in an unassembled state to reduce shipment costs. The two-part core provides shipment space savings over the shipment of a single piece core.
A first embodiment is a kit for assembling an apparatus for supporting wound flexible media that includes first and second flanges, and a core. The core comprises of two or more pieces with a combination of apertures and protrusions which snap together to form a fully enclosed round core. The full core can interposed between first said flange and second said flange. The flange has at least one or more protrusions and/or apertures that engage with one or more protrusions and/or apertures in the core forming a reel. However, other methods of connecting the flanges to the two-part core may be implemented.
Another embodiment is a kit for forming a reel for supporting wound flexible media that includes a core, at least a first flange and a second flange. The core has at least a first section and a second section, the first section forming a first partial cylinder between a first edge and a second edge. The first edge includes a first lateral protrusion extending therefrom, which has a detent. The second section forms a second partial cylinder and is couplable to the first section. The second section includes a first receiver configured to receive the first lateral protrusion and engage the detent via a retention structure to at least in part couple the first section to the second section. At least one of the first lateral protrusion and the first receiver is elastically deformable to allow the first lateral protrusion to slide in an engagement direction past the retention structure, and then release from at least part of an elastic deformation after the protrusion passes the retention structure to engage the retention structure to inhibit disengagement of the first section from the second section. The first flange can be disposed at a first axial end of the core, and the second flange can be disposed at a second axial end of the core.
In some embodiments, the core engages the flanges such that the core cannot spin around independently of the flanges. In some embodiments, the core is made by injection molding the core in sections. As a result, features such as ribs can be made into the part and mated into the flange to prevent core free-spin. By this method, the reel assembly does not rely on additional components to retain the core in place.
The above-described features and advantages, as well as others, will become more readily apparent to those of ordinary skill in the art by reference to the following detailed description and accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an apparatus for supporting wound flexible media according to an embodiment;
FIG. 2 shows an exploded perspective view of the apparatus of FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the core of the apparatus of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a core section that may be used to construct the core of FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 shows a cutaway view of one of the core sections of the core in FIG. 3;
FIG. 6 shows a cutaway view of the assembled core of FIG. 3;
FIG. 7 shows a cutaway view of the reel of FIG. 1;
FIG. 8 shows an enlarged fragmentary cutaway view of the reel of FIG. 1 showing hub latches the flanges to the core of the reel of FIG. 1;
FIG. 9 shows a fragmentary cutaway view of the flange of the reel of FIG. 1;
FIG. 9A shows an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the flange of the reel of FIG. 1 showing a hub latch;
FIG. 10 shows an interior side plan view of one of the core sections of the core of FIG. 3;
FIG. 11 shows schematic drawing of a first exemplary stacking configuration of the core sections overlaying a corresponding stacking configuration of prior art full cylindrical cores;
FIG. 12 shows schematic drawing of a second exemplary stacking configuration of the core sections overlaying a corresponding stacking configuration of prior art full cylindrical cores;
FIG. 13 shows a fragmentary perspective view of an alternative core having alternative core sections;
FIG. 14 shows a fragmentary perspective view of a core section of the alternative core of FIG. 13;
FIG. 15 shows a fragmentary perspective view of a core section of a second alternative core;
FIG. 16 shows a fragmentary perspective view of another core section of the second alternative core; and
FIG. 17 shows a fragmentary view of the second alternative core.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of an apparatus 10 for supporting wound flexible media that includes a first flange 12, a second flange 14, and a core 18. FIG. 2 shows an exploded perspective view of the apparatus 10 of FIG. 1. The apparatus in this embodiment is referred to as a reel 10. The reel 10 may support wound flexible media such as electrical cable, optical fiber, and the like. The core 18 has at least a first section 30 and a second section 32. In at least some embodiments, the first section 30, the second section 32, the first flange 12 and the second flange 14 as shown in FIG. 2 are provided as an unassembled kit 5. The kit 5 may be shipped to an end-user, or at least a location proximate an end-user, for assembly into the reel 10 as shown in FIG. 1.
To this end, the first section 30 forms a first partial cylinder that extends arcuately between a first edge 30a and a second edge 30b, and extends axially between a first axial end 10a of the reel 10 and a second axial end 10b of the reel 10. The second section 32 forms a second partial cylinder that extends arcuately between a first edge 32a and a second edge 32b, and extends axially between the first axial end 10a and the second axial end 10b. In this embodiment, the first section 30 and the second section 32 are coupled to each other such that the first edge 30a of the first section 30 is adjacent to and/or abuts the second edge 32b of the second section 32, and the second edge 30b of the first section 30 is adjacent to and/or abuts the first edge 32a of the second section 32. Thus, in this embodiment, the two sections 30, 32 comprise half-cylinders that can be coupled to form a cylindrical-shaped core 18. However, it will be appreciated that the core 18 may alternatively be formed of three or more arcuate sections that are coupled together to form a cylindrical core.
In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the first edge 30a of the first section 30 includes at least a first lateral protrusion 38 extending therefrom. As will be discussed further below in connection with FIGS. 3 and 4, the first lateral protrusion 38 includes a detent. The second edge 32b of the second section 32 includes at least a first receiver 44a configured to receive the first lateral protrusion 38 and engage the detent via a retention structure to at least in part couple the first section 30 to the second section 32, wherein at least one of the first lateral protrusion 38 and the first receiver 44a is elastically deformable to allow the first lateral protrusion 38 to slide in an engagement direction past the retention structure of the receiver 44a, and then release from at least part of an elastic deformation after the first lateral protrusion 38 passes the retention structure to engage the retention structure to inhibit disengagement of the first section 30 from the second section 32.
The core 18 is configured to be interposed between first said flange 12 and second said flange 14. In the constructed reel 10, the first flange 12 is disposed at the first axial end 10a of the reel 10, and is secured to the core 18. Likewise, the second flange 14 is disposed at the second axial end 10b of the reel 10 and similarly is secured to the core 18. In this embodiment, each flange 12, 14 has at least one or more protrusions and/or receptacles that engage with one or more protrusions and/or receptacles in the core 18 to form the reel 10. In the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 2, the flanges 12, 14 have protrusions in the form of hub latches 20 that engage and interconnect with receptacles 22 in the core 18. However, it will be appreciated that in other embodiments, the flanges 12, 14 may be coupled to the core 18 using other methods, such as, for example, stapling, gluing and/or spin-welding.
FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of an exemplary embodiment of the assembled core 18, and FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of either of the first core section 30 or the second core section 32. With reference to FIGS. 3 and 4, the core 18 forms a tube which is preferably cylindrical, but could have other shapes that define a tube. The core 18 extends from a first axial end 17a (corresponding to the first axial end 10a of the reel 10) to a second axial end 17b (corresponding to the second axial end 10b of the reel 10). In this embodiment, the first core section 30 and the second core section 32 have identical structures, and each form half of the tube wall. While the use of identical structures is not required to obtain at least some of the advantages describe herein, the use of identical structures provides for ease of manufacture, inventory management and assembly. Furthermore, as discussed above, the core 18 could be divided into three or more sections having same features as the core sections 30, 32, except that they form a smaller annular fraction of the cylindrical core wall.
The core sections 30, 32 may suitably be injection molded, and are attached at least in part by a snap fit attachment. Each element of FIG. 4 is identified by its reference number of the first cores section 30, and the second core section 32, as those structures are identical. As shown in FIG. 4, the first core section 30 includes a half-cylinder wall 36, and a plurality of lateral protrusions, which in this embodiment comprises latches 38, 40, 42. The first section 30 further includes a plurality of receivers, which in this embodiment comprises mating recesses 44, 46, 48. The first core section 30 also includes two sets of receptacles 22 including apertures. The second core section 32 in this embodiment has an identical structure, and thus similarly has a corresponding half-cylinder wall 36a, a plurality of lateral protrusions or latches 38a, 40a, 42a, a second set of mating recesses or receivers 44a, 46a and 48a, and two sets of receptacles 22 including apertures. Further detail regarding the receptacles 22 is provided below in connection with FIG. 10.
It will also be appreciated that in this embodiment, the first core section 30 has at least one strengthening rib 33 that extends axially from the first axial end 17a to the second axial end 17b. In addition to strengthening, the rib 33 may engage a corresponding receptacle in the core nests 85 (discussed further below) of the flanges 12, 14 that helps prevent rotation of the core 18 with respect to the flanges 12, 14 when assembled. The second core section 32 has at least one similar rib 33a. While the ribs 33, 33a may not be strictly necessary to prevent rotation (due to the interaction of the hub latches 20 and receptacles 22, and/or other features), they provide further anti-rotational reinforcement.
In general, the latches 38a, 40a, 42a of the second core section 32 are received into and form a snap-fit in corresponding features of respective mating recesses 44, 46, 48 of the first core section 30, as shown in FIG. 3. Similarly, the latches 38, 40, and 42 of the first core section 30 are received into and form a snap-fit in corresponding features of the mating recesses 44a, 46a, and 48a of the second core section 32. Further details regarding the structure and operation of the mating recesses 44, 44a, 46, 46a, 48 and 48a, and the latches 38, 38a, 40, 40a, 42 and 42a, are provided below in connection with FIGS. 5 and 6.
In particular, FIG. 5 shows a cutaway view of the core section 32, which include a half-cylinder wall 36a. FIG. 6 shows a cutaway view of the assembled core 18 of FIG. 3. As shown in FIG. 5, the latch 40a (which is identical to latches 38, 40, 42, 38a and 42a) includes an anchor 50a, a cantilever 52a and a barb 54a. The corresponding cantilever 52 and barb 54 of the latch 38 is shown in FIG. 4. As shown in FIG. 4, the latch 38 (which is identical to latches 38a, 40, 40a, 42, and 42a) also include flank supports 66 on either axial side of the cantilever 52.
The mating recess 46a (which is identical to mating recesses 44, 46, 48, 44a, 48a) includes a pocket 56a having an outer wall 58a, an inner wall 60a, side walls 62a and an opening or at least a recess 63a formed in the outer wall 58. The wall portion 69 at the bottom edge of the opening 63a defines a retention structure 69 that is configured to retain the barb 54. The walls 58a, 60a and 62a form an interior 64a of the mating recess 46a.
The anchor 50a is a plate structure that extends along the inside of the wall 36a. The cantilever 52a is an extension of the plate structure that extends beyond the edge of the semicircular wall 36a (see also FIG. 4). The barb 54a extends radially outward from the end of the cantilever 52a and may include a chamfered distal edge 68a, and a radial first edge 70a. The radially inward distal edge of the cantilever 52a opposite to the distal edge 68a may be also be chamfered to assist in insertion into to the pocket of recess 46. To assemble the core 18, the cantilevers 52a of the latches 38a, 40a, and 42a of the second core section 32 are inserted into the interiors 64 of the respective mating recesses 44, 46, 48 of the first core section 30, and the cantilevers 52 of the latches 38, 40, and 42 of the first core section 30 are inserted into the interiors 64a of the respective mating recesses 44a, 46a, 48a of the second core section 32. The chamfered edges 68, 68a (and/or opposing chamfered edges) of the cantilever 52, 52a assist in allowing slight deformation for the barbs 54, 54a to advance pass the retention structure (e.g. structure 69) toward the respective openings 63a, 63 of the mating recesses 44a, 46a, 48a, 44, 46, 48. Once the barbs 54, 54a clear the retention structure 69 and into the openings 63a. 63, the cantilever snap back to their original (or at least toward their original) shape and extend into the openings 63a 63. In that location, the edges 70, 70a of the barbs 54, 54a are seated against the edges (retention structures 69) of the respective openings 63a, 63 to form the snap-in trap fit. It will be appreciated that each mating recesses (e.g. 44) is configured to receive the corresponding cantilevers (e.g. 52a) and the flank supports 66 of the opposing latch (e.g. 38).
It will be appreciated that other embodiments may use more or less lateral protrusions and corresponding receivers and still obtain at least some of the advantages of the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 4. For example, detents having shapes other than the barbs 54, 54a and/or retention structures other than those formed by edges of the openings 63a, 63 may be used. Moreover, it will be appreciated that although the example of FIGS. 3 and 4 shows all of the lateral protrusions or latches 38, 40, 42 on the first edge 30a of the first section 30, and the receivers or mating recesses 44, 46, 48 on the other edge 30b of the first section 30, each of the sides of the first section 30 (and correspondingly the second section) could have a mix of lateral protrusions or latches, which can be arranged in a way that still allows for a single design for each of the first section 30 and the second section 32. In some cases, the first section 30 and the second section 32 need not be identical if they otherwise have mating lateral protrusions and latches. However, it is advantageous for manufacturing, inventory management and other reasons to have a single identical design for the first section 30 and the second section 32.
As discussed above, in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the core 18 is coupled to each of the first and second flanges 12 and 14 via hub latches 20 that engage and interconnect with receptacles 22 in the core 18. Further detail regarding an embodiment of such an arrangement is discussed below in connection with FIGS. 7, 8, 9 and 9A. FIG. 7 shows a cutaway view of the reel 10, and FIG. 8 shows an enlarged fragmentary cutaway view two of the hub latches 20 that secure (at least in part) the flanges 12, 14 to the core 18. FIG. 9 shows a fragmentary top plan view of the core taken along line IX. FIG. 9A shows an enlarged fragmentary perspective view of the flange 12 showing one of the hub latches 20.
With reference to FIGS. 2, 7, 8, 9, and 9A the flange 12 includes an annulus 80 disposed about (and radially outward of) an inner hub 82. As shown in FIG. 9, the hub 82 has a disk wall 86 that defines a central arbor hole 84 on which the reel 10 may be rotatably mounted for loading and paying out wound flexible media, such as cable, wire or the like. The hub disk wall 86 extends radially to about the outer radial edge of the core 18. The hub 82 includes an inner rim 88 and an outer rim 90 that extend axially inward from the disk wall 86. See also FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 9, the outer rim 90 of the hub 82 and an inner rim 92 of the annulus 80 are disposed to form an annular channel 94 therebetween for receiving the annular edge of the core 18. As such, the annular channel 94, the outer rim 90 and the inner rim 92 are collectively referred to as a core nest 85.
The hub 82 in this embodiment includes the hub latches 20 that engage the openings 22. As shown in FIG. 8, the hub latches 20 extend axially inward from the hub disk wall 86 and may form a part of the outer rim 90. It will be appreciated that the outer rim 90 need not extend continuously around, but may be formed of an interrupted annular rim. As shown in FIG. 8, the hub latch 20 in this embodiment includes a cantilever 102, a first barb 104a extending radially outward in an intermediate axial position on the cantilever, and a second barb 106 extending radially outward from the innermost axial position on the cantilever 102. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9A, the hub latch 20 further includes a third barb 104b that is substantially identical to the first barb 104a, and is located at the same axial height and is spaced apart circumferentially from the barb 104a by a short distance.
In this embodiment, the receptacles 22 of the core include a first opening 108 for receiving the first barb 104a and the third barb 104b, and a cavity 110 for receiving the second barb 106. However, it will be appreciated that in other embodiments, the first opening may only receive a single barb if only a single barb is provided at that axial height.
Further detail regarding the structure of the receptacles 22 is provided in connection with FIG. 10. FIG. 10 shows an interior side plan view of the first section 30 apart from the second section 32. Each receptacle 22 includes, in addition to the opening 108 and the cavity 110, a raised ledge 112 and a ramp 114. See also FIG. 4. The opening 108 is an oval shaped opening having a having a first circumferential length exceeding an axial height by at least a factor of three. The opening 108 extends through the wall 36 of the first section 30. The raised ledge 112 is disposed axially outward from and forms a raised axially outward border of the opening 108. The raised ledge 112 is raised in the sense that it extends radially inward from the inner surface of the half-cylinder wall 36. The opening 108 thus has a radially extended ledge on its axially outward edge as compared to its axially inward edge (i.e. the edge of the opening closer to the axial center of the wall 36. This helps retain the barbs 104a, 104b while the barb 106 is disposed in the cavity 110. The ramp 114 is an inclined edge that provides a transition from the nominal inner surface of the wall 36 to the raised ledge 112. The ramp in this embodiment is slightly contoured at its top and bottom, forming a convex ramped surface from the surface of the wall 36 to the ledge 112. In general, the ramp 114 functions to assist the gradual deflection of the cantilever 102 (i.e. elastically deform) as each of the barbs 104a, 104b, and 106 axially traverses the raised ledge 112 during insertion.
The cavity 110 is disposed axially inward of the opening 108 and is separated by a short axial length of the wall 36. The cavity 110 in this embodiment only extends partially through the wall 36, and has a shorter circumferential length than the opening 108.
Referring again generally to FIGS. 1 through 10, the assembly of the reel 10 involves connecting the first section 30 and second section 32 to form the core 18, and then assembling the core 18 to each of the first flange 12 and the second flange 14. The assembly of the core 18 is described further above. To assemble the core 18 to the first flange 12, the receptacles 22 are aligned circumferentially with the hub latches 20. The core 18 is then axially advanced toward the core nest 85 of the flange 12. Each barb 106 of each hub latch 20 first engages a corresponding one of the ramps 114, causing elastic deformation of each cantilever 102. As the core 18 is advanced, each barb 106 traverses the raised ledge 112. At about the time the barb 106 clears the raised ledge, the barbs 104a, 104b engage (i.e. contact) the ramp 114. Continued axial advancement of the core 18 into the core nest 85 results in continued elastic deformation of each cantilever 102 due to the barbs 104a, 104b traversing the ramp 114. When the barbs 104a, 104b clear the ledge 112, the barb 106 clears the axially outer edge of the cavity 110. As a result, the elastic deformation of the cantilever 102 can release as the barb 106 enters the cavity 110 and the barbs 104a, 104b enter the opening 108. Both barbs 104, 106 thereby help prevent or inhibit separation of the flange 12 from the core 18. The core 18 may then be assembled onto the flange 14 in the same way.
It will be appreciated that other methods of attaching the core 18 to the flanges 12, 14 may be employed, including those formed completely of plastic snap-together structures, while still retaining the advantage of the reduced shipping space of the multi-part core 18. Some of the advantages of the embodiment of the multiple part core 18 are discussed below in connection with FIGS. 11 and 12.
FIGS. 11 and 12 show schematic drawings to two stacking configurations of the core sections 30, 32 as they would be for shipment, overlaying a corresponding stacking of prior art full cylindrical cores 200 of the same size. FIGS. 11 and 12 demonstrate how many more cores may be shipped in the sections 30, 32 as compared to the full cores 200. The flanges 12, 14 may suitably be shipped stacked, not shown.
FIGS. 13 and 14 show an alternative set of apertures and protrusions for connecting the core sections 30 and 32. FIG. 13 shows a fragmentary perspective view of an alternative core 18′ having alternative core sections 30′, 32′. The core section 30′ is identical to core section 30 except each of the mating recesses 44, 46, 48 has been replaced by an alternative aperture 152 and corresponding support shelf 154, and each of the latches 38, 40, 42 has been replaced by an alternative protrusion 150 and corresponding support shelf 158. Similarly, the second core section 32′ is identical to core section 30′.
FIG. 13 shows one of the protrusions 150 received through and engaging the aperture 152 in the interior of the core 18′, where the shelves 154, 158 meet. FIG. 14 shows a fragmentary perspective view of the core section 30′ apart from the core section 32′. As can be seen in FIG. 13, assembly includes beginning insertion of the protrusion 150 through the aperture at a first axially offset position. Further assembly uses action by way of an inclined edge 160 against the edge of the aperture 152 to move the sections 30′, 32′ axially to a second axial position as shown in FIG. 12, where the ledge 162 of the protrusion 150 is trap fit by the aperture 152.
FIGS. 15 to 17 show a further alternative set of apertures and protrusions for connecting the core sections 30 and 32. FIG. 15 shows a fragmentary perspective view of an alternative core section 30″, and FIG. 16 shows a fragmentary perspective view of an alternative core section 32″. FIG. 17 shows a fragmentary view of an alternative core 18″ having the alternative core sections 30″, 32″.
The core section 30″ is identical to core section 30 except each of the mating recesses 44, 46, 48 has been replaced by an alternative aperture 176 and corresponding support shelf 178 (see FIG. 15), and each of the latches 38, 40, 42 has been replaced by an alternative protrusion 172 and corresponding support shelf 174. The second core section 32″ is identical to core section 30″.
FIG. 17 shows one of the protrusions 172 received through and engaging the aperture 176 in the interior of the core 18″, where the shelves 174, 178 meet as well. As can be seen from FIG. 17, assembly includes beginning insertion of the protrusion 172 through the aperture 176 at a first axially offset position. Further assembly uses axial movement to a second position (as shown in FIG. 16) such that the ledges 182 of the protrusion 172 is trap fit by a narrow portion 184 of the aperture 176. It will be appreciated that the aperture 176 may have an increasing thickness from the first axial position to the second axial position to provide a friction axial fit between the ledges 182 and the narrow portion 184 of the aperture 176.
It will be appreciated that the above-described embodiments are merely illustrative, and that those of ordinary skill in the art may readily devise their own implementations and modifications that incorporate the principles of the present invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.
Patent Application
20240400345
