GB2156782A

GB2156782A - Cable drums

Info

Publication number: GB2156782A
Application number: GB08508523A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Raymond Bob Tonkinson; Claude Oliver Robinson
Original assignee: ASKERN SAW MILLS Ltd
Current assignee: ASKERN SAW MILLS Ltd
Priority date: 1984-04-05
Filing date: 1985-04-02
Publication date: 1985-10-16
Also published as: GB2156782B; GB8508523D0; GB8408744D0

Abstract

A cable drum has end flanges (10) and a barrel (12) on which cable can be wound. So that the cable wound on the barrel is not likely to be damaged when the drum is in use, the barrel (12) is made of helically seamed tubing, the helical seam (26) of the tubing being formed on its inside. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Cable drums The invention relates to cable drums, that is to say drums for the transport and storage of electric cables.

Conventional cable drums have end flanges and a barrel on which the cables can be wound to be contained between the flanges.

If the end flanges are made of wood, the barrel is generally constituted by a plurality of wooden segments extending axially of the drum and seated at their opposite ends on support disc elements which provide respective registers co-axially of the end flanges and standing proud of their inner surfaces. The segments may be nailed on the support disc elements, although their opposite ends may alternatively be located in annular grooves in the flanges and held tightly in position by means of bolts extending the full width of the drum within the barrel. When the segments are nailed on the support elements, although the nail heads are usually punched beneath the surfaces of the segments, the nails can sometimes work loose and damage the cable wound on the barrel.When the ends of the segments are located in annular grooves in the flanges, there is the possibility that if the wood subsequently shrinks, as it almost inevitably will, the segments may work loose.

The object of the invention is to provide a cable drum in which the drawbacks referred to above will be eliminated.

According to the invention, there is provided a cable drum having end flanges and a barrel on which cable can be wound, the barrel being made of helically seamed tubing, the helical seam of the tubing being formed on its inside. The flanges may be made of wood, in which case they may be provided on their inside surfaces with support disc elements which provide respective registers for the opposite ends of the length of helically seamed tubing constituting the barrel. The drum may be held together by a plurality of barrel bolts which extend through aligned holes in the flanges, said bolts extending the full length of the drum and within the barrel between the two flanges.Alternatively, a plurality of metal rods may be welded within the barrel for screwthreaded opposite ends of said rods to project from the opposite ends of the barrel, the arrangement being such that when the drum has ben assembled, the screwthreaded ends of the rods project through holes in the flanges for the fitment of washers and nuts thereon. As a modification of this alternative method of clamping the component parts of the drum together, short screwthreaded rod elements may be welded at each end of the barrel to project therefrom and to extend through holes in the flanges.

If made of wood the flanges will preferably be made of at least two plies of wood and these will be laminated to give, in each flange, cross-grains at suitable angles to each other. Spindle holes at the centre of the flanges will, if the flanges are made of wood or other soft sheet material, preferably be provided with respective steel liners, the liners each having swaged over ends so that when the associated flange has been assembled together with the steel liner, pressure applied to the ends of the liner causes the swaged over edges of the liner to dig into the opposite surfaces of the flange.Similarly, if the flanges are made of wood or other soft sheet material, the peripheral surfaces of the flanges may be protected against damage in use by being provided with metal rim elements, the rim elements being swaged around the peripheral edge portions of the respective flanges and the opposite edge portions of each rim element being pressed into engagement with the opposite side surfaces of the respective flanges. In this case, the rim elements will preferably be made of mild steel and their opposite edge portions will preferably be turned inwardly towards each other so that in being pressed into engagement with the opposite side surfaces of the respective flanges they bite into the timber or other soft sheet material of the flanges.

In order that the invention may be fully understood and readily carried into effect, the same will now be described, by way of example only, with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: Figure 1 is a partly cut away front view of a cable drum embodying the invention, Figure 2 is a partly cut away side view, Figure 3 is an exploded view, Figure 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 but illustrating a possible modification which will be referred to, Figure 5 is a further view similar to Fig. 3 and illustrating a further possible modification, and Figure 6 is a scrap sectional view on the line 6-6 in Fig. 5.

Referring now to Figs. 1 to 3 of the drawings, the cable drum there illustrated has end flanges generally indicated 10 and a barrel 1 2 on which a length of cable can be wound to be contained between the flanges. As shown, each of the flanges 10 are made of two plies of wood 14 and 1 6 and these are laminated in such a manner as to give, in each flange, cross-grains at 90 to each other. At the centre of each flange is a spindle hole 1 8.

Each spindle hole is provided with a cylindrical steel liner 20 with swaged over ends as shown in Fig. 1. When a flange has been assembled together with the steel liner, pressure applied to the ends of the liner causes the swaged over edges of the liner todig into the opposite surfaces of the flange, providing a very strong but extremely neat construction.

In addition, on the inner surfaces of the flanges there are secured support disc elements 22 which provide respective registers 24 co-axially of the flanges and standing proud of their inner surfaces. The registers serve to centraiise the barrel.

Referring now in particular to Fig. 3, the barrel 1 2 is shown to be made of helically seamed tubing. However unlike conventional helically seamed tubing, the seam 26 is on the inside of the tubing. The exterior surface of the barrel is therefore very smooth and the cable subsequently to be wound on the drum will not be in danger of being damaged by any kind of projection upstanding from the barrel.

As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, when the cable drum has been assembled, that is to say when the opposite ends of the barrel have been located on the registers provided by the support disc elements, the drum is held together by a plurality of barrel bolts 28 which extend through aligned holes in the flanges, the bolts extending the full length of the drum and within the barrel between the two flanges.

The barrel bolts are equaly spaced on a common pitch circle, this being the largest practicable pitch circle diameter having regard to the internal diameter of the barrel. Large metal washers 30 are positioned beneath the heads of the barrel bolts and beneath respective nuts 32 which engage screwthreaded end portions of said bolts.

Thus there is provided a construction of cable drum which can be provided at relatively low cost and which is free of the drawbacks of conventional cable drums referred to above. However, various modications made be made. For example, in Fig. 4 there is illustrated a possible modification in which a plurality of metal rods 34 have been welded within the barrel for their screwthreaded opposite ends to project therefrom as shown.

When the barrel has been assembled with the flanges, the screwthreaded ends of the rods will project through holes in said flanges for the fitment of washers and nuts thereon. It is thought that the welding of the rods within the barrel will strengthen the latter. In addition, it will be understood that the loss of a single nut will not render the entire rod inoperative but only one end of it. A further modification could be the welding of short screwthreaded rod elements at each end of the barrel, thus saving the cost of the intermediate lengths of rod. The flanges need not necessarily be made of solid timber as illustrated in the drawings. They could be made of plywood or of other soft sheet material such as chipboard.However, on the other hand, it is quite possible that the invention could be incorporated in a cable drum having steel flanges, but in this case of course the spindle holes would not require the steel liners with swaged over ends.

Referring now to Figs. 5 and 6, in a further possible modification the peripheral surfaces of the flanges are protected against damage in use by being provided with metal rim elements 36. The rim elements are swaged over around the peripheral edge portions of the respective flanges and, as shown in Fig. 6, the opposite edge portions of each rim element are turned inwardly and pressed into engagement with the opposite side surfaces of the respective flange, the opposite ends of each rim element being welded together to retain the rim element securely on the flange which it surrounds. In use of the cable drum, this possible modification will prevent the penetration of the peripheral edges of the flanges by foreign bodies such as nails and small stones and the like and will also to a very large extent prevent water penetration into the timber at the periphery of each flange and between the laminations when the flanges are of laminated construction as in the illustrated embodiments.

Claims

1. A cable drum having end flanges and a barrel on which cable can be wound, the barrel being made of helically seamed tubing, the helical seam of the tubing being formed on its inside.

2. A cable drum according to claim 1, in which the flanges are made of wood, and are provided on their inside surfaces with support disc elements which provide respective registers for the opposite ends of the length of helically seamed tubing constituting the barrel.

3. A cable drum according to either one of the preceding claims, in which the drum is held together by a plurality of barrel bolts which extend through aligned holes in the flanges, said bolts extending the full length of the drum and within the barrel between the two flanges.

4. A cable drum according to either one of claims 1 and 2, in which a plurality of metal rods are welded within the barrel for screw threaded opposite ends of said rods to project from the opposite ends of the barrel, the arangement being such that when the drum has been assembled, the screwthreaded ends of the rods project through holes in the flanges for the fitment of washers and nuts thereon.

5. A cable drum according to either one of claims 1 and 2, in which short screwthreaded rod elements are welded at each end of the barrel to project therefrom and to extend through holes in the flanges.

6. A cable drum according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the flanges are made of at least two plies of wood, and these being laminated to give, in each flange, crossgrains at suitable angles to each other.

7. A cable drum according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the flanges are made of wood or other soft sheet material and spindle holes at the centre of the flanges are provided with respective steel liners, the liners each having swaged over ends so that when the associated flange has been assembled together with the steel liner, pressure applied to the ends of the liner has caused the swaged over edges of the liner to dig into the opposite surfaces of the flange.

8. A cable drum according to any one of the preceding claims, in which the flanges are made of wood or other soft sheet material and the peripheral surfaces of the flanges are protected against damage in use by being provided with metal rim elements, the rim elements being swaged around the peripheral edge portions of the respective flanges and the opposite edge portions of each rim element being pressed into engagement with the opposite side surfaces of the respective flanges.

9. A cable drum according to claim 8, in which the rim elements are made of mild steel and their opposite edge portions are turned inwardly towards each other so that in being pressed into engagement with the opposite side surfaces of the respective flanges they bite into the timber or other soft sheet material of the flanges.

10. A cable drum constructed and arranged substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as illustrated by Figs. 1 to 3 on Fig. 4 or Figs. 5 and 6 of the accompanying drawings.