AU757670B2

AU757670B2 - Extension cable reel

Info

Publication number: AU757670B2
Application number: AU10068/00A
Authority: AU
Inventors: Elmer Jonathon Ellison
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-01-18
Filing date: 2000-01-12
Publication date: 2003-02-27
Anticipated expiration: 2020-01-12
Also published as: AU1006800A

Description

P/00/011 28/5/91 Regulation 3.2

AUSTRALIA

Patents Act 1990

ORIGINAL

COMPLETE SPECIFICATION STANDARD PATENT Name of Applicant: Actual Inventor Elmer Jonathon ELLISON Elmer Jonathon ELLISON WRAY ASSOCIATES 239 Adelaide Terrace Perth, WA 6000 Address for service is: Attorney code: WR Invention Title: "Extension Cable Reel" Details of Associated Provisional Application No(s): PP8208 filed on 18 January 1999 The following statement is a full description of this invention, including the best method of performing it known to me:- I. 1 -2- Title: "EXTENSION CABLE REEL" Field of the Invention This invention relates to a support reel for an electrical cable.

Background In the use of electrical extension cables, a difficulty is created when it becomes necessary to store the cable. It is conventional practice to wind the cable into an unsupported loop for storage and when the cable is required for use the cable is then unwound from the loop. The fact that the cable is unsupported creates difficulties when it becomes necessary to use the cable. This difficulty is at least in partly due to the circumstance that on the cable being unwound from the unsupported loop, it will often become tangled which creates an annoyance and loss of time in untangling the cable. This problem is quite apparent in the case of long cables.

In order to overcome this problem it has been proposed to wind a cable onto a 15 reel for the purposes of storage US-4,442,984, US-3,876,045, US- 3,880,378, US-4,284,180, US-4,467,979, and US-3,840,713). According to some arrangements AU-A-23166/77, US2,805,290, JP-11146549, e JP10129940) one end of the cable is electrically connected to a fixed terminal on the reel. The use of such arrangements creates a danger in the event that the cable is not fully unwound from the reel before it is utilised, since failure to unwind the reel prior to it being utilised can result in the electromagnetic forces being induced by the wound cable causing the cable to be overheated which will result in the failure of the cable and the creation of a very dangerous circumstance. As a result, while individuals may choose to wind cables upon a reel, this is not countenanced as an acceptable practice since there will always be the likelihood of the cable not being fully unwound from the reel before it is used.

Despite the dangers of storing an extension cable on a reel there is a distinct advantage so storing an extension cable. To this end there have been a variety of alternatives proposed for storing a cable on a reel US-4,656,320, EP- 0185932,) where provisions have been made to accommodate for circumstance where the cable may be used before it has been fully unwound from the reel to accommodate for the adverse conditions which will be the result of such use.

These arrangements comprise the use of circuitry which will react to an adverse condition by activating a circuit breaker or the like device. However in the event that the protective circuitry fails the reel will either be totally unserviceable or alternatively unsafe.

According to a further arrangement AU-B-85078/82 and GB-2332991) it has been proposed to provide an outlet socket on the reel which is connected to the extension cable where access to the socket by an electrical plug is restricted by the presence of a shutter means or a like device whereby the shutter means is received over at least a portion of the outlet socket while the cable is accommodated on the reel and can be disengaged or is caused to become disengaged from the socket on the cable being unwound from the reel. Each of these arrangements are unsatisfactory due to the reliance upon a movable shutter or like device in association with the socket since in the event that the shutter is damaged its protective function will be lost. In such arrangements if the use of the shutter is inconsistent or serves to inhibit use of the cable there is always the temptation to render the shutter inactive. Furthermore in the case of the device disclosed at GB-2332991 if the cable has been loosely or irregularly wound onto the reel the socket may still be accessible by a plug.

Generally reels which are used to accommodate electrical cables are use in an environment where they must be able to withstand rough handling and as a result they must be able to meet their desired operating and safety characteristics despite the rough handling that they will sustain in use. It is therefore undesirable to have the functioning of a primary safety characteristic of the device being dependant upon the integrity of a component which has the -4potential to fail or be damaged by rough handling. Furthermore if the use of the safety characteristic serves to inhibit the use of the device and it can be circumvented there is always the temptation to circumvent the device.

It is an object of this invention to provide reel support for an electrical cable which can be utilised to accommodate an electrical cable and which supports the cable such that the cable can be used to connect a mains supply to a load through the reel support when sufficient cable has been extracted from the reel to enable the cable to be used safely and where the access to the mains supply through the cable is not dependant upon the integrity of another component.

10 Disclosure of the Invention Accordingly, the invention resides in a reel support for an electrical cable •ego comprising a central hub and an end member provided at each end of the hub, a S"length of electrical cable having one end which supports an electrical plug which is adapted to be connected into a mains supply, the other end of the cable being 15 fixed to the interior of the hub, an electrical outlet socket supported on the hub between the end members and being electrically connected to the other end of .•o0 the electrical cable, said socket being located such that it will be overlaid by said length of cable as it is wound onto the reel.

According to a preferred feature, the reel is rotatably supported on a base frame.

According to one embodiment, the reel accommodates a handle to facilitate manual rotation of the reel on the base frame.

The invention will be more fully understood in the light of the following description of one specific embodiment.

Brief Description of the Drawings The description is made with reference to the accompanying drawings of which: I' Figure 1 is an isometric view of the embodiment, showing the electrical cable fully wound upon the reel; and Figure 2 is an isometric view of the reel according to the embodiment showing the electrical cable fully unwound from the reel and showing the electrical socket on the hub being connected to the cord of an electrical appliance.

Description of Specific Embodiment The embodiment is directed to an electrical reel support for an electrical extension cable.

The reel support comprises a base frame 11 having two end frames 13. Each o 10 end frame 13 comprises a substantially inverted "U-shaped" frame in which the frames are interconnected by a set of three support struts 15 where two of the struts interconnect the arms of the frames at a position adjacent the ends of the arms while the remaining strut interconnects the central portion of the frames. In .•.addition, each frame accommodates a transverse strut 17 which extends between the arms of each of the respective frame. The end frames 13 support between themselves a reel 19 which is provided with a central shaft 21 which is rotatably supported from bush elements 23 on the frames 13 which are fixed centrally to the transverse struts 17 of the frames. One end of the shaft 21 is *,:configured to provide a bell-crank handle 22.

The reel 19 further comprises a central hub 27 supported between a pair of substantially circular end plates 29. The hub 27 is of a generally square crosssection.

The hub supports a length of electrical cable 31 and one end of the electrical cable 31 is free and supports an electrical plug (33) adapted to be connected to a mains supply. The other end of the electrical cable 31 extends into the hub 27 through an aperture provided with a suitable insulating grommet 35 and is fixed by a suitable anchoring means to the interior of the hub 27. One face of the hub -6- 27 supports an electrical outlet socket 37 which is electrically connected to the other end of the electrical cable 31. The outlet socket 37 is located substantially centrally on the one face of the hub 27.

In use, the electrical cable 31 is wound onto the reel 19 and in so doing, the cable will be wound over the face of the socket 37 to prevent access to the socket. As a result, once the cable is stored on the reel in a manner as shown in Figure 1, the socket 37 cannot be accessed to provide an electrical connection to the cable. In order to use the cable 31 it is necessary to unwind it from the reel in order to provide access to the socket 37. Once access is gained to the socket 37 an electrical appliance having its own electrical cord 39 can be connected into the socket 37 and the plug 33 at the other end of the electrical cable 31 can be connected to a Mains supply. In the event that the plug 33 is connected into the Mains supply without the cable having been substantially fully unwound from the reel, the socket 37 will not be accessible for connection to an appliance which may induce a current flow through the cable 31.

oo*o ••go 00.0 In addition, it has been found that when the cable is only partially unwound to an extent such that the socket can be accessed for connection to an electrical appliance, there is insufficient cable wound on the reel 19 under those conditions to induce any destructive heating of the cable.

o o 20 The embodiment provides a means of efficiently and safely storing an electrical cable which is such that in the event that the cable is to be used, it is necessary to unwind the cable from the reel to facilitate such use.

Throughout the specification, unless the context requires otherwise, the word "comprise" or variations such as "comprises" or "comprising", will be understood to imply the inclusion of a stated integer or group of integers but not the exclusion of any other integer or group of integers.

-7- It should be appreciated that the scope of the present invention need not be limited to the particular scope of the embodiment described above in this specification.

*ee e 1*

Claims

1. A reel support for an electrical cable comprising a central hub and an end member provided at each end of the hub, a length of electrical cable having one end which supports an electrical plug which is adapted to be connected into a mains supply, the other end of the cable being fixed to the interior of the hub, an electrical outlet socket supported on the hub between the end members and being electrically connected to the other end of the electrical cable, said socket being located such that it will be overlaid by said length of cable as it is wound onto the reel.

2. A reel support as claimed at claim 1 wherein the reel is rotatably supported on a base frame. ooo•

3. A reel support as claimed at claim 2 wherein, the reel accommodates a handle to facilitate manual rotation of the reel on the base frame. oot.oi

4. A reel support substantially as herein described in relation to the accompanying drawings. Dated this TWELFTH day of JANUARY 2000. ELMER JONATHAN ELLISON Applicant Wray Associates Perth, Western Australia Patent Attorneys for the Applicant(s)