Portable Hose Roller
A portable, motorized apparatus for winding flexible hoses, lines, cables and the like into spools for storage. The apparatus includes a motor assembly that drives a spool. The apparatus can receive hoses from either side, and can be mounted on a vehicle hitch receiver at different heights to accommodate different operators and terrains.
This application is a continuation-in-part of U.S. provisional patent application Ser. No. 60/466,570, filed on Apr. 29, 2003. The priority of these prior applications is expressly claimed and their disclosures are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThis invention relates to hose handling equipment, and in particular to equipment used for rolling and re-stowing hoses.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIn activities such as firefighting and construction, hoses are deployed to deliver water to a fire or other location remote from the water supply. When the job is completed, or if the hoses must be moved to a new location, it is necessary to rewind the hoses. This is a time consuming and clumsy task when done by hand, as is normally the case. In addition, the handling of hoses, especially wet hoses, is heavy work that can cause strains and sprains, and can also unnecessarily tire the firefighters or workers. In fighting forest fires, the fire crew is often working in remote locations with a limited crew, and can often find it necessary to move quickly to another location for safety or as part of a redeployment. As a result, there is a need for an apparatus that can readily rewind hoses, that is portable, and that can be easily operated by a single operator.
This invention provides such an apparatus which will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTA preferred embodiment of the invention is shown at 10 in
The invention is designed to be mountable on the front or rear carrying rack of an ATV, and for this reason the guide roller 20 and the safety frame 22 are removable so that the frame 12 is supportable on an ATV carrying rack. In another embodiment of the invention best seen in
Turning to
In addition to hoses, the invention can be used to wind wires, cables and tubing onto a spool. In some instances it might be necessary or preferable to adjust the size and spacing of the tines and or the spool for the specific application, but this can be readily achieved as necessary.
Another preferred embodiment of the invention is shown at 40 in
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- Referring to
FIGS. 9 and 10 , the frame 42 includes two receiver hitches 44 and 46 that permit frame 42 to be mounted on the vehicle either horizontally or longitudinally. In addition to being mountable at two different orientations, frame 42 can be mounted in either orientation at three different heights utilizing hitch bar 48. Referring toFIGS. 11-13 , hitch bar 48 includes offset portions 50 and 52. Portion 50 is insertable into either of receiver hitches 44 or 46 at any of three different positions to position portion 52 above, below or at the same height as receiver 44 or 46. Hitch bar 48 can be mounted in three different orientations as shown inFIGS. 11-13 to provide three different mounting heights as shown. The variable mounting heights accommodate different operators and also facilitate use of the apparatus when the vehicle is parked on slanted terrain.
- Referring to
In another aspect of this embodiment as best seen in
In another aspect of the invention, frame 42 includes a tray portion 60 (
Those skilled in the art will recognize that numerous modifications in arrangement and detail are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. All such modifications comprise part of the invention as if expressly stated herein
Claims
1. A winding apparatus comprising:
- a frame including a hitch receiver, a motor mount, and a guide;
- a motor assembly mounted on the frame;
- a mandrel driven by the motor and operable to receive and wind a flexible elongate member into a spool; and, a hitch member having a first portion mountable in the hitch receiver and a second portion mountable to a vehicle hitch receiver mounted on a vehicle.
2. An apparatus according to claim I further comprising a remote controller operably connected to the motor assembly.
3. An apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising the frame comprising a rectangular frame, and including two hitch receivers on adjacent sides of the frame.
4. An apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising the first portion being offset from the second portion, and mountable in the hitch receiver in a plurality of positions to vary the height of the frame relative to the vehicle hitch receiver.
5. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the motor assembly includes a reversible drive unit for rotating the mandrel in first and second directions.
6. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the frame comprises a space frame.
7. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the frame includes a storage tray,
8. An apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a pair of guide members removeably mountable on respective first and second sides of the mandrel.
9. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the spool includes a first backing plate and a pair of tines extending from the mandrel for engaging a first end portion of an elongate flexible member.
10. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the elongate flexible member is selected from the group consisting of a hose, a rope, a cable, and an electrical cable.
11. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the apparatus is portable.
12. An apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising a protective member mounted adjacent the mandrel.
13. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein the guide includes a guide support mountable on the frame and a guide roller mounted on the guide support.
14. An apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising the hitch member being removeably mounted to the frame.
15. An apparatus according to claim 1 further comprising the guide being removeably mounted to the frame.
Type: Application
Filed: Apr 29, 2004
Publication Date: Jan 22, 2009
Inventor: David B. Johnston (Bend, OR)
Application Number: 11/921,378