Wire spool repair device and method of using same
The present invention advantageously provides a wire spool repair device for a damaged wire spool having a central cylindrical portion with an axial bore and inner cylinder surface and a pair of opposing end plates attached thereto, the repair device including: an end plate, an attachment mechanism disposed on said end plate, a plurality of gripping fingers pivotally attached to said attachment mechanism and operative between retracted and attachment positions, and wherein insertion of said attachment mechanism into the axial bore of a wire spool and pivoting of said plurality of gripping fingers to the attachment position causes said plurality of gripping fingers to move into contacting relationship with the inner cylinder surface of the wire spool thereby attaching the repair device to the wire spool.
The present invention relates to repair devices for wire spools, and more specifically, to wire spool repair devices having a replacement end plate with an integrated wire spool attachment mechanism.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe terms wire and cable are used to refer to any computer or electrical wire or cable. Wires and cables may be sold in discrete or bulk lengths. When sold in discrete lengths, an excess of wire or cable typically exists for any particular job, and this excess wire or cable can quickly become an expensive, unsightly and inconvenient mess. To remedy this problem, wire or cable is also sold in bulk, which is typically sold on a spool and can be expensive. Although expensive, wire sold on spools prevents the waste associated with discrete lengths of wire.
A typical wire spool has a central cylindrical portion, about which a length of wire is wound and carried. The cylindrical portion has an axial bore and opposing axial ends. Each axial end of the cylindrical portion is attached to opposing circular end plates. The end plates prevent the wire from unraveling over the axial ends of the central cylindrical portion. Multiple wire spools may be mounted on a spool rack. The spool rack is generally a frame having a plurality of wire spool mounting rods. A wire spool is typically situated on a mounting rod of a wire spool rack by sliding the axial bore of the wire spool central cylindrical portion onto such mounting rod. A spool rack typically carries multiple spools of wire having varying gauges in order to efficiently manage and retain multiple gauges of wire by an end user in the field, which represents a significant investment of operator funds.
In use, when an operator needs a length of wire, the operator grabs the type and gauge desired and the wire is unraveled from the wire spool. Specifically, the spool spins about the mounting rod via the central cylindrical portion as the operator dispenses wire in a radial direction. Due to the wear and tear of everyday use of wire spools on racks in the field, the spools tend to fail and become damaged and unusable. More specifically, often times one of the end plates retaining the wire on the spool will crack or break off. When this happens the spool becomes very cumbersome to work with and the wire is difficult to unload from the spool. For example, wire can get caught in a crack of an end plate or unravel axially from the spool over a broken off portion of the end plate, instead of a radial direction, and get bound up with other spools on the rack. To manage this problem, broken wire spools are typically disposed of and the remaining wire on that spool is wasted, which is a highly undesirable business expense.
It would therefore be beneficial to provide a repair device for a cracked or broken wire spool end plate that overcomes the problems in the art. It would also be beneficial to provide a repair device for a wire spool end plate that is detachable and reusable, as broken wire spools are a repeating problem in the industry. This invention addresses that need and advantageously overcomes the deficiencies of the prior art.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONIt is an object of the present invention to provide a repair device for a damaged wire spool that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art.
Accordingly, the present invention advantageously provides a wire spool repair device for a damaged wire spool having a central cylindrical portion with an axial bore and inner cylinder surface and a pair of opposing end plates attached thereto, the repair device including: an end plate, an attachment mechanism disposed on said end plate, a plurality of gripping fingers pivotally attached to said attachment mechanism and operative between retracted and attachment positions, and wherein insertion of said attachment mechanism into an axial bore of the wire spool and pivoting of said plurality of gripping fingers to the attachment position causes said plurality of gripping fingers to move into contacting relationship with the inner cylinder surface of the wire spool thereby attaching the repair device to the wire spool.
It is a feature of the present invention that the repair device includes an attachment mechanism with gripping fingers being pivotally operable between retracted and attachment positions and thereby allow for repeated use of the repair device.
It is an object of the present invention that the repair device end plate has a peripheral annular lip, which is adapted to overlap and contain a damaged end plate of a wire spool when the attachment mechanism is inserted as described above.
These and other objects, advantages, and features of the present invention will become apparent from a reading of the following detailed description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present invention discloses a wire spool repair device 18 used to repair a damaged wire spool 10. Generally referring to
Referring to
As best shown in
As generally shown in
More specifically, Referring to
Furthermore, especially with respect to
More specifically, operator manipulation of the adjustment rods 54 causes an axial force to be applied to the attachment mounts 50. The axial force of the attachment mounts 50 in contact with the drive plate 46 causes the drive plate 46 to urge the spreader drive body 40 axially toward the spreader base 28. Eventually the axial movement of the spreader drive body 40 toward the spreader base 28, will cause the conical spreader face 42 to come into sliding contacting relationship with the spreader faces 38 of the gripping fingers 36. Preferably, the conical spreader face 42 is angled substantially symmetrically opposite to the angled spreader faces 38. Continued axial movement of the spreader drive body 40 toward the spreader drive base 28 causes sliding contact between the conical spreader face 42 and the gripping finger spreader faces 38, thereby causing the gripping fingers 36 to pivot outwardly 60 and between retracted and attachment positions as shown in
Even more specifically, when in use the attachment mechanism 26 of the repair device 18 is inserted into the axial cylinder bore 58 of the damaged wire spool 10 (see
While only one embodiment has been illustrated and described in detail, it should be understood that various modifications in design and details of construction are possible without departing from the spirit of this invention or the scope of the following claims.
Claims
1. A wire spool repair device for a damaged wire spool having a central cylindrical portion with an axial bore and inner cylinder surface, and a pair of opposing end plates attached thereto, the repair device comprising:
- an end plate;
- an attachment mechanism disposed on said end plate; and
- a plurality of gripping fingers pivotally attached to said attachment mechanism and operative between retracted and attachment positions.
2. The repair device of claim 1, wherein the attachment mechanism further includes a spreader base adjacent to said end plate.
3. The repair device of claim 2, wherein said spreader base has the plurality of gripping fingers pivotally attached thereto.
4. The repair device of claim 3, wherein said plurality of gripping fingers each has an angled spreader face, said fingers operative between retracted and attachment positions.
5. The repair device of claim 4, wherein said plurality of gripping fingers each has a gripping surface adjacent to said angled spreader face.
6. The repair device of claim 5, wherein the attachment mechanism further includes a spreader drive body disposed adjacent to said spreader base.
7. The repair device of claim 6, wherein said spreader drive body has a substantially conical spreader face.
8. The repair device of claim 7, wherein axial translation of the spreader drive body toward the spreader base causes said angled spreader faces of the gripping fingers to come into sliding contact with said conical spreader face thereby causing the gripping fingers to pivot to said attachment position.
9. The repair device of claim 6, wherein the spreader base and spreader drive body each have an axial bore.
10. The repair device of claim 1, wherein when said attachment mechanism is inserted into the axial bore of a wire spool and said plurality of gripping fingers are pivoted to the attachment position, the plurality of gripping fingers are in contacting relationship with the inner cylinder surface of the wire spool.
11. The repair device of claim 1, wherein when said attachment mechanism is inserted into the axial bore of a wire spool and the gripping fingers are in the attachment position, the end plate is adjacent and abutting an end plate of a wire spool.
12. A wire spool repair device for a damaged wire spool having a central cylindrical portion with an axial bore and inner cylinder surface, and a pair of opposing end plates attached thereto, the repair device comprising:
- an end plate;
- an attachment mechanism disposed on said end plate having a spreader base and a spreader drive body with a substantially conical spreader face;
- a plurality of gripping fingers pivotally attached to said spreader base, each having an angled spreader face, said fingers operative between retracted and attachment positions; and
- wherein axial translation of said drive body brings said conical spreader face into sliding contacting relationship with said angled spreader face of said gripping fingers whereby said plurality of gripping fingers are pivoted outward to said attachment position.
13. The repair device of claim 12, wherein said plurality of gripping fingers each has a gripping surface adjacent to said angled spreader face.
14. The repair device of claim 12, wherein the spreader base and spreader drive body each have an axial bore.
15. The repair device of claim 12, wherein when said attachment mechanism is inserted into the axial bore of a wire spool and said plurality of gripping fingers are pivoted to the attachment position, the plurality of gripping fingers are in contacting relationship with the inner cylinder surface of the wire spool.
16. The repair device of claim 12, wherein when said attachment mechanism is inserted into the axial bore of a wire spool and the gripping fingers are in the attachment position, the end plate is adjacent and abutting an end plate of a wire spool.
17. A wire spool repair device for a damaged wire spool having a central cylindrical portion with an axial bore and inner cylinder surface, and a pair of opposing end plates attached thereto, the repair device comprising:
- an end plate;
- an attachment mechanism disposed on said end plate having a spreader base and a spreader drive body with a substantially conical spreader face wherein the spreader base and spreader drive body each have an axial bore;
- a plurality of gripping fingers pivotally attached to said spreader base, each having an angled spreader face and a gripping surface adjacent to said angled spreader face, said fingers operative between retracted and attachment positions; and
- wherein axial translation of said drive body brings said conical spreader face into sliding contacting relationship with said angled spreader face of said gripping fingers whereby said plurality of gripping fingers are pivoted outward to said attachment position.
18. The repair device of claim 17, wherein when said attachment mechanism is inserted into the axial bore of a wire spool and said plurality of gripping fingers are pivoted to the attachment position, the plurality of gripping fingers are in contacting relationship with the inner cylinder surface of the wire spool.
19. The repair device of claim 17, wherein when said attachment mechanism is inserted into the axial bore of a wire spool and the gripping fingers are in the attachment position, the end plate is adjacent an end plate of a wire spool.
20. The repair device of claim 17, wherein said end plate further includes an annular lip adapted to overlap and contain a wire spool end plate when the attachment mechanism is inserted into the axial bore of a wire spool and said repair device end plate is adjacent the wire spool end plate.
Type: Application
Filed: Oct 27, 2010
Publication Date: May 3, 2012
Inventor: Michael Steven Perry (Palatine, IL)
Application Number: 12/925,643
International Classification: B65H 75/18 (20060101); B65H 75/14 (20060101);