CABLE SPOOL CARRYING DEVICE
A cable spool carrying device. In one example embodiment, a cable spool carrying device includes a handle, first and second legs attached to the handle, first and second feet attached to the first and second legs, respectively, and means for biasing the first and second legs away from one another.
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A cable spool is a flanged drum around which various types of electrical and optical cable can be wound. For example, a standard cable spool may be sized to accommodate about one thousand feet of standard coaxial cable. The drum of the spool may be about one foot high and have flanges attached to the top and bottom of the drum that are about one foot in diameter. In addition, each flange generally includes a circular opening through which a mandrel can be inserted in order to allow the spool to be spun by pulling on the cable, thus unwinding the cable from the spool. A standard cable spool is thus small enough to be transported by a single cable technician during cable installation at a home or business, for example.
Unfortunately, however, the bulk and the weight of a standard cable spool that is loaded with cable generally prevent a cable technician from lifting and carrying the spool with only one hand. As the installation of coaxial cable generally requires the use of tools and other equipment, requiring the use of both hands to carry the spool necessitates that the cable technician make multiple trips between his or her vehicle and the installation site because he/she does not have a free hand to simultaneously carry tools and other equipment. Requiring multiple trips to transport the cable spool and the tools and equipment increases the time required at each cable installation site, as well as the cost of each cable installation.
Further, requiring the use of both hands to carry a cable spool can be difficult and even dangerous when a technician needs to simultaneously perform a task that requires the use of a hand, such as holding onto a hand railing while navigating stairs or gripping rungs of a ladder while climbing the ladder.
SUMMARY OF SOME EXAMPLE EMBODIMENTSIn general, example embodiments of the present invention relate to a cable spool carrying device. The example cable spool carrying device disclosed herein enables a cable technician to carry a cable spool with a single hand, thus freeing the other hand to simultaneously perform other tasks such as carrying tools and other equipment or holding onto a hand rail or a ladder.
In one example embodiment, a carrying device includes a handle, first and second legs attached to the handle, and first and second feet attached to the first and second legs, respectively. Each leg is configured to extend through a circular mandrel opening in a flange of a cable spool and each foot is configured to engage an inside surface of the flange.
In another example embodiment, a cable spool carrying device includes a handle, first and second legs attached to the handle, first and second feet attached to the first and second legs, respectively, and means for biasing the first and second legs away from one another.
In yet another example embodiment, a cable spool carrying device includes a handle, first and second legs connected to the handle, first and second feet connected to the first and second legs, respectively, and first and second leaf springs connected to the handle and configured to bias the first and second legs away from one another. Each leg is configured to extend through a circular mandrel opening in a flange of a cable spool. At least a portion of each foot includes an uneven surface that is generally perpendicular to the corresponding leg and is configured to engage an inside surface of the flange of the cable spool.
This Summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in a simplified form that are further described below in the Detailed Description. This Summary is not intended to identify key features or essential characteristics of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended to be used as an aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter. Moreover, it is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description of the present invention are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.
Aspects of example embodiments of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of example embodiments given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:
Example embodiments of the present invention relate to a cable spool carrying device. In the following detailed description of some example embodiments, reference will now be made in detail to example embodiments which are illustrated in the accompanying drawings. Wherever possible, the same reference numbers will be used throughout the drawings to refer to the same or like parts. These embodiments are described in sufficient detail to enable those skilled in the art to practice the invention. Other embodiments may be utilized and structural changes may be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Moreover, it is to be understood that the various embodiments of the invention, although different, are not necessarily mutually exclusive. For example, a particular feature, structure, or characteristic described in one embodiment may be included within other embodiments. The following detailed description is, therefore, not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of the present invention is defined only by the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.
Example Cable Spool Carrying DeviceWith reference now to
As disclosed in
As disclosed in
It is noted that a variety of means may be employed to perform the functions disclosed herein concerning the leaf-spring component 130 biasing of the first and second legs 104 and 106 away from one another. Thus, the leaf-spring component 130 comprises but one exemplary structural implementation of a means for biasing of the first and second legs 104 and 106 away from one another.
Accordingly, it should be understood that such structural implementations are disclosed herein solely by way of example and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention in any way. Rather, any other structure or combination of structures effective in implementing the functionality disclosed herein may likewise be employed. By way of example, in some example embodiments of the example device 100, the leaf-spring component 130 may be altered to include coil springs (not shown) instead of the leaf springs 132 and 134. Further, in other example embodiments the leaf-spring component 130 may be omitted altogether and the biasing functionality may be accomplished by one or more resilient portions of the first and second legs 104 and 106. In yet other example embodiments, the biasing functionality may be accomplished by some combination of the above example embodiments.
The example cable spool carrying device 100 may be integrally molded as a single piece. For example, the device 100 may be integrally molded from polypropylene, semi-rigid polyvinyl chloride (semi-rigid PVC), polyethylene, or some combination thereof.
The example cable spool carrying device 100 may further include a visible indicator (not shown) that designates the size of the circular mandrel opening for which the device 100 is configured to carry. For example, the device 100 can include a color, visible texture, visible characters, or other visibly perceptible characteristic on a surface of the device 100 to visibly specify the particular size of circular mandrel opening that the device 100 is configured to carry. As a technician may need to install cable from differently sized cable spools with differently sized circular mandrel openings, this visible indicator can enable the technician to quickly distinguish between differently sized devices 100. For example, one circular mandrel opening may be about 1 and ⅝ inches in diameter, while another circular mandrel opening may be about 2 inches in diameter.
II Example Use of the Example Cable Spool Carrying DeviceWith reference now to
With continuing reference to
The example cable spool carrying device 100 disclosed herein thus enables a cable technician to carry the cable spool 100 with only one hand, thus freeing the other hand to simultaneously perform other tasks such as carrying tools and other equipment or holding onto a hand rail or a ladder.
The example embodiments disclosed herein may be embodied in other specific forms. The example embodiments disclosed herein are to be considered in all respects only as illustrative and not restrictive.
Claims
1. A carrying device comprising:
- a handle;
- first and second legs attached to the handle; and
- first and second feet attached to the first and second legs, respectively, each foot including an engagement surface that is substantially perpendicular to at least a portion of the leg to which the foot is attached;
- wherein each leg is configured to be resiliently bent toward the other leg in order to allow the legs to extend through a circular mandrel opening in a flange of a cable spool and the engagement surface of each foot is configured to engage an inside surface of the flange.
2. The carrying device as recited in claim 1, wherein the handle includes indentations for four fingers of a human hand.
3. The carrying device as recited in claim 1, wherein each leg includes a curved outer surface having a radius of curvature that matches the radius of curvature of the circular mandrel opening in the flange of the cable spool.
4. The carrying device as recited in claim 3, wherein the distance between the two curved outer surfaces is about equal to a diameter of the circular mandrel opening.
5. The carrying device as recited in claim 4, wherein:
- the resiliency of the legs allows the feet to be inserted into the circular mandrel opening in the flange of the cable spool; and
- each leg is further configured to automatically spring back to a position where the distance between the two curved outer surfaces is about equal to a diameter of the circular mandrel opening.
6. The carrying device as recited in claim 1, wherein at least a portion of the engagement surface of each foot comprises an uneven surface.
7. The carrying device as recited in claim 6, wherein each uneven surface is substantially parallel to a top portion of the handle.
8. The carrying device as recited in claim 7, wherein the feet are configured to break away from the handle when a force greater than or equal to a predetermined force is applied to the uneven surfaces of the feet.
9. A cable spool carrying device comprising:
- a handle;
- first and second legs attached to the handle;
- first and second feet attached to the first and second legs, respectively, each foot including an engagement surface that is substantially perpendicular to at least a portion of the leg to which the foot is attached and that is configured to engage an inside surface of a flange of a cable spool; and
- means for biasing the first and second legs away from one another.
10. The cable spool carrying device as recited in claim 9, wherein the means for biasing comprises one or more leaf springs positioned between the first and second legs.
11. The cable spool carrying device as recited in claim 9, wherein the means for biasing comprises one or more resilient portions of the first and second legs.
12. The cable spool carrying device as recited in claim 9, wherein each leg is configured to extend through a circular mandrel opening in the flange of the cable spool.
13. The cable spool carrying device as recited in claim 12, wherein the legs are configured to break when a force greater than or equal to a predetermined force is applied to the feet.
14. The cable spool carrying device as recited in claim 12, wherein the feet include tapered portions, respectively, that cause the feet to slide toward one another when the feet are forced through a circular opening that is smaller in diameter than an outside distance between the first and second feet.
15. The cable spool carrying device as recited in claim 12, wherein the cable spool carrying device is configured to be manually attached and detached to the cable spool without the assistance of any tools.
16. The cable spool carrying device as recited in claim 12, wherein the cable spool carrying device includes a visible indicator that designates the size of the circular mandrel opening through which the legs of the cable spool carrying device is configured to extend.
17. A cable spool carrying device comprising:
- a handle;
- first and second legs connected to the handle, each leg configured to extend through a circular mandrel opening in a flange of a cable spool;
- first and second feet connected to the first and second legs, respectively, at least a portion of each foot including an uneven surface that is generally perpendicular to the corresponding leg and is configured to engage an inside surface of the flange of the cable spool; and
- first and second leaf springs connected to the handle and configured to bias the first and second legs away from one another.
18. The cable spool carrying device as recited in claim 17, further comprising first and second supports reinforcing the connections between the handle and the first and second legs, respectively.
19. The cable spool carrying device as recited in claim 17, wherein the handle is configured to substantially surround the four fingers of a human hand when the handle is gripped by the hand.
20. The cable spool carrying device as recited in claim 17, wherein the legs are configured to break away from the handle when the cable spool carrying device is attached to a cable spool that is heavier than or equal to a predetermined weight and a user exerts a lifting force on the handle that is equal to the predetermined weight.
Type: Application
Filed: Dec 7, 2009
Publication Date: Jun 9, 2011
Applicant: JOHN MEZZALINGUA ASSOCIATES, INC. (East Syracuse, NY)
Inventors: Alan J. Amato (Cheshire, CT), Carl L. Crossett, JR. (Elmira, NY)
Application Number: 12/632,665
International Classification: A45F 5/00 (20060101);