GB2347922A

GB2347922A - A cable reel

Info

Publication number: GB2347922A
Application number: GB0005941A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Stephen Anthony Cowin
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1999-03-19
Filing date: 2000-03-14
Publication date: 2000-09-20
Also published as: GB0005941D0; GB9906235D0

Abstract

In a cable reel which comprises a central core 10 and housing means 20 and 30 mounted on the core to define an annular chamber around the core, at least a portion of the housing means is freely rotatable relative to the core and features a first cable opening 26 to admit cable into the housing means, the core and/or a portion of the housing means not rotatable relative to the core has a second cable opening 14 to admit cable therethrough, and part of said housing means forms a lid 30 which is openable to provide lateral access to both of the openings and chamber for a length of cable, whereby closure of the lid will hold the cable within the chamber and allow rotation between core and housing to cause cable to be drawn into the chamber and wound around the core. The core may feature a recess or socket in which the plug may be retained. The lid may snap-engage with the drum and can feature a handle 36 to facilitate rotation of the lid and core assembly. The reel may include a locating finger and hole to align the openings.

Description

CABLE REEL The present invention relates to a cable reel, onto which the cable or flex of an appliance can be wound.

In many cases it is desirable to be able to wind up the main supply cable or flex of an appliance either for storage when the appliance is not in use or to shorten the cable, to a more convenient effective length when the appliance is in use. Many electrical appliances for the home or garden have their own supply cables of considerable length, up to 20 metres: the problems of unwinding for use and winding up for storage are well known; tangling, twisting and knotting can easily occur, making usage difficult, whilst also creating dangers of cable fatigue, untidy runs and kinked resistance. A number of forms of cable reel have been proposed in the past but are generally difficult or inconvenient to use: a common problem is that the cable of an appliance cannot be engaged to the cable reel when the electrical plug is already fitted to the end of the cable; many appliances nowadays are supplied with the plug moulded on.

It is an object of the invention to provide an improved cable reel.

According to the present invention there is provided a cable reel comprising a generally central core, housing means mounted on said core to define a generally annular cable chamber about said core, at least a portion of said housing means being freely rotatable relative to said core, said portion of said housing means having a first cable opening radially spaced from said core to admit cable into the housing means, said core and/or a portion of said housing means not rotatable relative to said core, having a second cable opening therein to admit cable therethrough, part of said housing means being openable to provide simultaneous free lateral access to both said openings and said chamber for a length of cable, whereby closure of said openable part will imprison a length of cable within the chamber following which relative rotation between core and the rotatable portion of the housing will cause the cable to be progressively drawn into the chamber through said first opening and wound around the core.

According to the present invention there is further provided a cable reel comprising a drum around which the cable is to be wound, a casing rotatably mounted to one side of the drum and a lid removably mounted to the opposite side of the drum, the casing and lid together defining an annular enclosure around the periphery of the drum, and the casing and drum having open-ended slots into which the cable can be laid when the lid is removed.

A cable reel embodying the present invention will now be described by way of example only and with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which: Figure 1 is a perspective view of a cable reel; Figure 2 is a plan view of the cable reel of Figure 1 ; Figure 3 is a side view of the cable reel of Figure 1; Figure 4 is a section through the cable reel of Figure 1; and Figure 5 is a sectional view corresponding to Figure 4, but showing the reel with a cable engaged to it.

Referring to the drawings, there is shown a cable reel which comprises a core or drum 10 which has a cylindrical peripheral surface 11. The opposite sides of the drum are recessed to leave a relatively thin and flat central web portion 12.

The reel further comprises a casing or first housing portion 20 which is fitted to one side of the drum 10 and projects radially outwardly beyond the periphery of the drum, and a removable lid or second housing portion 30 which fits onto the opposite side of the drum to complete an annular housing around the periphery of the drum and define an annular cable receiving chamber.

Thus, the casing 20 comprises a cup-shape portion 22 which fits into the recess on one side of the drum 10 and has a projecting stub shaft or stud 21 which engages in a bore through the centre of the web portion 12 of the drum, to allow relative rotation between the drum 10 and the casing 20. The casing 20 further comprises an annular portion 24 which extends radially outwardly from the rim of the cup-shaped portion 22, then curves round to terminate as a cylindrical rim 25 concentric with the drum surface 11. The rim 25 of the casing 20 is formed with a slot 26: the rim of the corresponding side of the drum 10 is formed with a slot 14, which extends in an inclined or spiralling path.

The lid 30 comprises an annular portion 34 which extends radially outwardly from a central portion 32 and then curves round to terminate as a cylindrical rim 35 concentric with the drum surface 11 and adjacent the rim 25 of the casing 20. The central portion 32 of the lid has an inner annular circumferential portion which defines a central opening. The inner annular circumferential portion engages a corresponding annular recess 39 in the adjacent axial end of the drum 10. The inner annular circumferential portion has three circumferentially spaced radially inwardly directed teeth 40 which matingly engage three corresponding circumferentially spaced slots 42 in the axial end of the drum 10 to lock the lid 30 against relative rotation to the drum 10. The lid 30 can be secured to the drum 10 either by the inner annular circumferential portion forming an interference fit (snap fit) with the recess 39 and/or by the teeth 40 latchingly engaging with the drum. The drum 10 and casing 20 may be of relatively hard or rigid plastics material while the lid at least in the area of engagement with the drum may be of relatively soft or compliant plastics material. The central portion 32 of the lid is formed with a slot 33 to register with the slot 14 of the drum 10. A handle 36 projects from the lid 30 adjacent its periphery and extends parallel to the axis of the drum 10: the handle 36 facilitates the turning of the lid and drum together relative to the casing 20. The casing is preferably formed with a finger-grip, e. g. on the inner surface of its central cup shape portion 22, so that it can be held in one hand whilst the other hand is used to turn the lid and drum together. In the example shown, the casing 20 is provided with a mount 28 for mounting the reel for example to the appliance from which the cable extends, or to a fixed structure.

Referring to Figure 5, it will be appreciated that the lid 30 may be removed from the drum, then the cable C of an appliance laid into the slots 26,14 respectively of the casing 20 and drum 10, with the plug P of the cable positioned in the central recess on the corresponding side of the drum 10: this recess may be formed with sockets into which the pins of the plug fit for storage. The lid 30 is then refitted to the drum, so holding the cable C in place. Then by turning the lid and drum relative to the casing, the cable is wound up around the drum, being drawn in through the slot 26 in the casing. Thus, the cable is wound from the plug P back towards the appliance: when an appropriate length of free cable remains, the reel can be fitted into a storage position on the appliance. When the cable is fully unwound for use of the appliance, the cable can be pulled through the slots 26,14 of the reel, to free the plug P for fitting into an electrical socket.

It will be noted that the cable reel enables easy, twist-free cable winding and provides for tidy and convenient storage of the cable on the appliance itself.

The reel unwinds from the appliance to the power point before or during use. An appropriate length of cable can be left protruding, to suite the distance from the reel to the power point. Whilst the reel has been described with a manual wind-up facility, optionally a spring recoil mechanism may be included.

In a modification instead of the whole of the lid being removable to allow a cable access to the annular chamber, a strip of the lid extending between the two slots 26 and 14 may be removable or hingedly openable to provide such access.

It will be appreciated that when the relative positions of the drum 10 and the casing 20 are such that the two slots 14 and 26 are aligned, the cable can be freely drawn through the chamber. In order to maintain the drum 10 and the casing 20 in this relative position, a locating finger (not shown) can be provided on one of the casing and the drum to engage a locating hole (not shown) on the other of the drum or casing.

Claims

CLAIMS 1. A cable reel comprising a generally central core, housing means mounted on said core to define a generally annular cable chamber about said core, at least a portion of said housing means being freely rotatable relative to said core, said portion of said housing means having a first cable opening radially spaced from said core to admit cable into the housing means, said core and/or a portion of said housing means not rotatable relative to said core, having a second cable opening therein to admit cable therethrough, part of said housing means being openable to provide simultaneous free lateral access to both said openings and said chamber for a length of cable, whereby closure of said openable part will imprison a length of cable within the chamber following which relative rotation between core and the rotatable portion of the housing will cause the cable to be progressively drawn into the chamber through said first opening and wound around the core.
2. A cable reel according to Claim 1, wherein said core is cylindrical having an axially extending cylindrical recess at each opposite axial end, which recesses define a central circular web within the core.
3. A cable reel according to Claim 2, wherein said housing means comprises first and second cup-shaped portions having circular rims which face each other in near abutting relation with each other, the first cup-shaped portion being lockable to said core on one axial side thereof, and the second cup-shaped portion being located on the other axial side of the core and being supported by a shaft which is rotatably supported by the circular web.
4. A cable reel according to Claim 3, wherein said second cup-shaped portion includes a central recessed portion which is accommodated within the recess in the adjacent axial end of the core.
5. A cable reel according to Claim 3 or to Claim 4, wherein said first cable opening comprises a slot in the rim of said first cup-shaped portion which is completed by the rim of the second cup-shaped portion.
6. A cable reel according to any one of Claims 3 to 5, wherein said second cable opening comprises a slot in the cylindrical recess in that axial end of the core which supports the second cup-shaped portion.
7. A cable reel according to any one of Claims 3 to 6, wherein the second cup-shaped portion has a central opening defined by an inner annular circumferential portion which engages a corresponding annular recess in the axial end of the core.
8. A cable reel according to Claim 7, wherein the inner annular circumferential portion forms an interference fit with the annular recess.
9. A cable reel according to Claim 7, wherein the inner annular circumferential portion has a plurality of circumferentially spaced radially inwardly directed teeth which are arrange to matingly engage corresponding circumferentially spaced slots in the axial end of the core to lock the second cupshaped portion and the core against relative rotation.
10. A cable reel according to Claim 9, wherein said teeth latchingly engage the core to allow the second cup-shaped portion to be released from the core to expose the slots defining said first and second openings.
11. A cable reel according to any one of Claims 2 to 10, wherein the central circular web has socket openings therein to receive the pins of the plug attached t ( the cable.
12. A cable reel according to any preceding claim, including a locating finger on one of the drum or the rotatable portion of the housing engagable with a locating hole on the other of the drum or rotatable portion of the housing when the relative positions of the drum and the housing are such that the two openings are in alignment.
13. A cable reel comprising a drum around which the cable is to be wound, a casing rotatably mounted to one side of the drum and a lid removably mounted to the opposite side of the drum, the casing and lid together defining an annular enclosure around the periphery of the drum, and the casing and drum having open-ended slots into which the cable can be laid when the lid is removed.
14. A cable reel according to Claim 13, wherein the drum is formed with a recess for receiving the plug of the cable.
15. A cable reel according to Claim 14, wherein said recess is formed with a socket into which the pins of the plug fit.
16. A cable reel according to any one of Claims 13 to 15, wherein the lid engages the drum for rotation with the latter relative to the casing of the reel.
17. A cable reel according to Claim 16, wherein the lid snap-engages to the drum.
18. A cable reel according to any one of Claims 13 to 17, wherein the lid has a projecting handle, to facilitate rotation of the lid and drum assembly.
19. A cable reel according to any one of Claims 13 to 18, wherein the casing is provided with a finger-grip, to facilitate holding the casing in one hand whilst the lid and drum are rotated using the other hand.
20. A cable reel according to any one of Claims 13 to 19, wherein the casing comprises a cup-shaped central portion which is received by a central recess in the one side of the drum, and an annular portion which extends radially outwardly from the rim of the cup-shaped portion.
21. A cable reel according to any one of Claims 13 to 20, wherein the casing is provided with a mount for mounting the cable reel.
22. A cable reel substantially as herein before described with reference to the accompanying drawings.