Patent Application
20060021893
The present invention relates to a drum assembly with an inner core on which a wire coil is loosely wound, and a mechanism for applying a downward force to the drum-received wire coil.
A preferred manner of packaging wire uses a paperboard cylindrical drum with a paperboard bottom heading. Inclusion of an inner core attached to the bottom of the drum and extending into the interior of the drums defines an annular space for receiving a loosely-wound wire coil. The raw-material and assembly cost of this arrangement is relatively inexpensive. Additionally, the use of paperboard materials reduces the shipping weight of the drum as well as easing the handling of the drum.
In filling the drum, wire is continuously drawn from a processing machine and is loosely fed into the drum and around the inner core as the drum is rotated. After the desired amount of wire is deposited into the drum, the drum is normally closed-off with a top heading or lid. Wire packaged in this manner is paid-off from the coil at the point of use. A wide variety of wire, including welding wire, coaxial cable, and electrical wiring, may be packaged and dispensed using this type of drum assembly.
However, certain problems arise during transport of the drum described above and containing a loosely wound wire coil. The loosely-wound wire coil will shift and settle during transport often times becoming tangled, preventing easy pay-off from the inner core at the point of use. Additionally, the shifting of the coil may cause damage to the lightweight materials used to compose the drum and inner core.
A drum assembly for transporting a drum-received wire coil comprises: a drum comprising a cylindrical drum body having an inner surface, a lower and upper end, and a drum bottom affixed to the body across the lower end; an inner core comprising a core wall having an inner and outer surface, an upper end, and a lower end mounted to the drum bottom; a wire coil receiving space defined by the inner surface of the drum body, the outer surface of the inner core and the drum bottom; and a wire coil securing assembly comprising an anchor integrally formed with the inner core and a biasing assembly removably attached to the anchor.
The biasing assembly comprises a first and second slot disposed on opposite sides of the inner core. A rod is configured to insert through and travel within the first and second slots. A biasing member has a first end removably attached to the anchor and a second end removably attached to the rod. In one embodiment of the present invention, the biasing member comprises a band composed of an elastomeric material.
In another embodiment of the present invention, the biasing assembly comprises a second anchor integrally formed with the inner core on the opposite side of the inner core from the first anchor. A first and second slot are disposed on opposite sides of the inner core above the first and second anchors, respectively. A is rod configured to insert through and travel within the first and second slots. A biasing member has a first end removably attached to the first anchor, a second end removably attached to the second anchor and a middle segment removably attached to the rod, where the attachment of the biasing member to the rod causes a downward force to be supplied to the rod. In one embodiment of the present invention, the biasing member comprises a band composed of an elastomeric material.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, the biasing assembly comprises first and second anchors integrally formed with and disposed on opposite sides of the inner core and first and second slots disposed on opposite sides of the inner core and above the first and second anchors, respectively. A rod is configured to insert through and travel within the first and second slots. A first biasing member has a first end removably attached to the first anchor and a second end removably attached to the rod. A second biasing member has a first end removably attached to the second anchor and second end removably attached to the rod. The first and second biasing members apply a downward force to the rod.
A drum according to the present invention further comprises an inner core 20 having upper and lower ends 22, 24 and inner and outer surfaces 26, 28. The inner surface 16 of the drum body, the outer surface 28 of the inner core and the drum bottom 18 define an annular receiving space 30 for receiving a loosely wound wire coil.
A disc 32 with an outer circumference dimensioned to fit snuggly into the drum 10 is affixed to the drum bottom 18 by suitable means, preferably an adhesive. The circumference of the central aperture 34 of the disc 32 is dimensioned to receive the lower end 24 of the inner core 20, and provides a guide for mounting the inner core 20 to the drum bottom 18. Preferably, the inner core 20 is bonded to the drum bottom 18 by, first, applying a layer of adhesive to the bottom edge of the lower end 24, and then setting the inner core 20 into position on the drum bottom 18. The upper end 22 of the inner core, when assembled in the drum body 12, is below the top of the drum to enable an appropriate closure means to be affixed to the top of the drum.
Each anchor 38, 40 comprises a U-shaped aperture with a wider base segment 50 and a first and second narrow branch portions 52, 54 extending from opposite sides of the base segment 50 towards the top of the drum, thereby defining a tongue segment 56. The anchors 38, 40 are positioned on the inner core wall at approximately the mid-height of the inner core 20 for easy assembly and disassembly of the securing mechanism and drum. Each elongated slots 42, 44 is in substantially vertical alignment with the corresponding anchor 38, 40. In this embodiment of the invention, the biasing member 48 comprises an elastomeric band 58 having a first and second end 60, 62, and a midpoint 64.
In operation, the ends of the band 60, 62 wrap around the tongue portions 56, 56 of the anchors 38, 40 enabling the band 58 to span the inner diameter of the inner core 20. Preferably, the anchored band 58 is sized to tightly fit onto the anchors 38, 40 and span the inner diameter of the core 20, while not approaching its maximum state of elastic deformation before failure.
The anchored band 58 is stretched upwards toward the top of the inner core by pulling upwards at the midpoint 64. The band 58 stretches upwards until it clears the top of the drum-received wire coil. The rod 46 inserts through the first slot 42, underneath the upwardly-stretched band 58, and through the second slot 44. Releasing the band 58 causes the band to contract, pulling the rod 46 downward. The constant downward force prevents the loosely wound wire coil from settling and bird nesting during transport.
The securing assembly may also include a compression disc 66 that seats between the rod 46 and top of the drum-received wire coil. In this arrangement, the downward biasing force exerted by the biasing member 48 is evenly distributed across the top of the drum-received wire coil.
A second preferred embodiment, shown in
In this embodiment the distance between the top of the first and second anchors 38, 40 and the bottom of the elongated slots 42, 44 must be greater than the length of the bands 58, 59 when the bands are pulled towards the top of the drum, but are not in a stretched, elastically deformed state. If the pulled, but not stretched, band is positioned above the bottom of the elongated slots 42, 44, the bands 58, 59 can become slacked and disengage their respective anchors 38, 40 during operation. This would enable the drum-received wire coil to freely move within the receiving space 30 and become birds nested and tangled.
In this embodiment, the anchors 38, 40 each comprise a pair of inwardly-orientated, teardrop-shaped apertures 68, 70, 72, 74 and a first and second vertical post 76, 78 separating the apertures. Referring to the first anchor 38 in
The biasing mechanism 48 comprises a first and second elastomeric band 58, 59 each having a first and second end 84, 86. The band 58 removably attaches to the first anchor 38 by inserting the first end 84 through the aperture 68 outwardly from the interior of the inner core 20. Next, the first end 84 wraps over the vertical post 76 and through the aperture 70 back into the interior of the inner core 20. The first end 84 inserts through the second end 86 and is pulled taught to remove any slack.
The same procedure is utilized to attach a second biasing member 59 to the second anchor 40. It is preferred that the biasing members 58, 59 comprise elastomeric bands, such as rubber bands. However, any other suitable elastomeric material formed into a band can be used.
The apertures 68, 70, 72, 74 are bored into the inner core wall 20 at approximately the midheight of the inner core 20. This enables easy assembly of the securing mechanism 34 and easy disassembly of the securing mechanism 34 and drum 10 for recycling after the wire coil is entirely paid out from the drum 10.
The elongated slots 42, 44 are disposed on opposite sides of the inner core 20 and are positioned in substantially vertical alignment with a corresponding pair of apertures 68, 70, 72, 74. The elongated slots are at an appropriate width to enable passage of the rod 46 through the inner core wall 20 and into the wire coil receiving space 30. The rod 46 also inserts through the first ends of the biasing members 58, 59. In this arrangement, the biasing members 58, 59, when tensioned, apply a downward biasing force on the rod 46. The user of the drum 10 may also wish to insert a compression disc 66 between the top of the drum-received wire coil and the rod 46 to enable an even distribution of the downward force to the wire coil.
Referring back to
In an alternative embodiment, the biasing members are comprised of elastomeric ribbons or strips (not shown) having first and second ends. The elastomeric ribbon is attached to the inner core by tying the first end around the appropriate anchor or attaching the first end to the inner core with another suitable means, such as an adhesive or staple. The second end of the elastomeric ribbon is formed into a loop or attached to a hook for receiving the rod and to enable the elastomeric ribbon to exert a downward force on the rod.
In operation, first the biasing members are removably attached to an anchor 38, 40. After the loosely-wound wire coil is inserted into the drum 10, the compression disc 66 is placed on top of the coil. Next, the biasing members 58, 59 are pulled towards the top of the drum 10 and the rod 46 inserts through the second ends of the biasing members 58, 59. The ends of the rod 46 extend through the inner core 20 walls and overlie the compression disc 66. Finally, the biasing members 58, 59 apply a downward force on the compression disc 66.
In all the preferred embodiments described herein, after the wire coil is secured in the drum by the securing assembly, the drum is sealed with an appropriate top heading (not shown).
It will be understood that modifications and variations may be effected without departing from the scope of the novel concepts of the present invention, but it is understood that this application is limited only by the scope of the appended claims.
