HOLDER TO MAINTAIN A CONTINUOUS ELONGATED FLEXIBLE MATERIALS IN A COILED ORIENTATION
A holder to maintain elongated flexible materials in a coiled orientation, has at least one coil support assembly. Each coil support assembly has a first support and a second support. At least one roller is supported by the first support. The second support is positioned in spaced linear relation to the first support. The first support and the second support are capable of relative linear movement toward each other and away from each other. At least one roller is supported by the second support. A linear stop limits movement of the first support and the second support away from each other. A retraction mechanism biases the first support and the second support away from each other.
There is described a holder that will hold video cable, electrical cord, air hose, Ethernet cable, multi conductor cable and the like in a continuous coiled orientation, will permit the line to be pulled out for use and will retract the line back onto the holder after use.
BACKGROUNDHolders are used to hold a line of rope, electrical cord, hose, and numerous other elongated flexible materials in a coiled orientation. A retraction mechanism is used to draw the line back onto the holder after use. The retraction mechanism, typically, consists of a rotating drum. When the drum rotates in a first direction line is fed from the drum and when the drum rotates in a second direction line is fed back onto the drum. The drum is spring biased to rotate in the second direction to feed line back onto the drum. U.S. Pat. No. 5,535,960 (Skowronski et al) entitled “Cord Reel Assembly” is an example of such a retraction mechanism.
SUMMARYThere is described a holder to maintain elongated flexible materials in a coiled orientation, which is believed to have a novel construction. The holder has at least one coil support assembly. Each coil support assembly has a first support and a second support. At least one roller is supported by the first support. The second support is positioned in spaced linear relation to the first support. The first support and the second support are capable of relative linear movement toward each other and away from each other. At least one roller is supported by the second support. A linear stop limits movement of the first support and the second support away from each other. A retraction mechanism biases the first support and the second support away from each other.
The above described holder retracts in a manner which is much different than a rotating drum. The amount of line that the holder can accommodate depends upon a distance between the first support and the second support, multiplied by the number of coils the holder is capable of supporting. It is preferred that the rollers be capable of supporting more than one coil. When a force is exerted upon the line, the first support and the second support move together and, in doing so, create slack which enables the line to feed out. Conversely, retraction is based upon travel by the first support and the second support back to their original positions away from each other taking up the slack and drawings the line back onto the holder, This will be mathematically demonstrated in examples which will be hereinafter provided.
In contrast to the drum type hose or cord reels this mechanism does not apply a torque that twists the input end of the hose or cord. In a conventional reel it is necessary to have slip rings (electrical) or o-rings (fluid) to prevent a twisting failure when the hose or cord is wound and unwound. With this mechanism there is no twisting of the flexible hose or cord.
A significant benefit of this cord reel arrangement when used with electrical cords, Audio Cable, Ethernet cable, hoses, and other multi conductor cords is that there is no cutting or rewiring required that would adversely affect existing electrical certifications and/or breech the integrity of the circuit or path. This cord reel arrangement can support any length, gauge or number of conductors continuously, An extension cord, Audio Cable, Ethernet cable, hoses, and other multi conductor cords of a desired length can be purchased and inserted into the cord reel. When that extension cord becomes damaged or worn, it can be removed from the cord reel and a new continuous elongated flexible material inserted,
If a single coil support assembly is capable of holding six or seven feet of coiled line, a greater length of line can be accommodated by merely providing more than one coil support assembly so that, in combination, the desired greater length is accommodated.
It is preferred, but not essential, that the one or more coil support assembly be encased within a housing.
There will hereafter be described a retraction mechanism that is in the form of a telescopically extendible cylinder having a retracted position and an extended position. It will be appreciated that any device capable of linear movement and having an outward bias into the extended position may be utilized. The telescopically extendible cylinder may be biased by a mechanical spring, an air spring or other biasing device that biased the telescopically extendible cylinder into the extended position.
It is preferred that the first support and the second support each have inner stops that engage the other of the first support or the second support and outer curved cod supporting surfaces with more than one roller positioned at spaced intervals along the outer curved surface. This enables each coil to be supported by rollers which define a curved surface.
These and other features will become more apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the appended drawings, the drawings are for the purpose of illustration only and are not intended to be in any way limiting, wherein:
A first embodiment of holder, generally identified by reference numeral 100, will now be described with reference to
Referring to
Referring to
Telescopically extendible cylinder 26 is responsible for the positioning of retraction mechanism 22. inner stop surfaces 30 on first support 14a, 14b and 14c and second supports 16a, 16b and 16c engage each other when retraction mechanism 22 is in the retracted position.
Referring to
Retractable portion of cord: 15 segments×17 inches=255 inches.
Unusable portion of cord: 118 inches (on rollers)+30 inches (15 inlet and 15 outlet)=148 inches
Total cord length: 255+148 403 inches.
Efficiency (useable/total): 255/403=63%
Structure and Relationship of Parts for Second Holder 10Referring to
Referring to
Holder 10 may be encased in a housing 24. Housing 24 has an inlet 36 through which flexible material 11 is inserted into housing 24 and an outlet 38 through which flexible material 11 exits housing 24. A pulley 40 is positioned near outlet 38 to control the bend of flexible material 11 and prevent it from wrapping too tightly and causing breakage,
The mechanism for movement of retraction mechanism 22 is the same as described in the above embodiment for first holder 100.
Example with Measurements Second Holder 10Retractable portion of cord: 7 segments×36 inches=252 inches,
Unusable portion of cord: 55 inches (on rollers) 51 inches (cord ends)=106 inches
Total cord length:252+106=358 inches.
Efficiency (useable/total): 252/358 70.3%
The depicted embodiments include a version with a single set of supports that move together and another version with multiple sets of supports that move together. it will he understood that the number of sets of supports and their configuration may vary while still maintaining the general design principles and the final design will depend on design preferences and constraints.
In this patent document, the word “comprising” is used in its non-limiting sense to mean that items following the word are included, but items not specifically mentioned are not excluded. A reference to an element by the indefinite article “a” does not exclude the possibility that more than one of the element is present, unless the context clearly requires that there be one and only one of the elements.
The following claims are to be understood to include what is specifically illustrated and described above, what is conceptually equivalent, and what can he obviously substituted. Those skilled in the art will appreciate that various adaptations and modifications of the described embodiments can he configured without departing from the scope of the claims. The illustrated embodiments have been set forth only as examples and should not be taken as limiting the invention. it is to be understood that, within the scope of the following claims, the invention may be practiced other than as specifically illustrated and described.
Claims
1. A holder to maintain elongated flexible materials in a coiled orientation, comprising:
- at least one coil support assembly, each coil support assembly comprising; first support; at least one roller supported by the first support; a second support in spaced linear relation to the first support, the first support and the second support being capable of relative linear movement toward each other and away from each other; at least one roller supported by the second support; a linear stop to limit movement of the first support and the second support away from each other; and a retraction mechanism biasing the first support and the second support away from each other.
2. The holder of claim 1, wherein the at least one coil support assembly is encased within a housing.
3. The holder of claim 1, wherein there is more than one coil support assembly.
4. The holder of claim 1, wherein the retraction mechanism is a telescopically extendible cylinder having a retracted position and an extended position.
5. The holder of claim 4, wherein the telescopic cylinder is biased by one of a mechanical spring or an air spring into the extended position.
6. The holder of claim 1, wherein first support and the second support each have inner stop surfaces that engage the other of the first support or the second support and outer curved coil supporting surfaces with more than one roller positioned at spaced intervals along the outer curved surface.
7. The holder of claim 1, wherein the at least one roller of the first support and the at least one roller of the second support are capable of supporting more than one coil.
8. The holder of claim 1, wherein a heat source is provided to prevent freezing of the elongated flexible material.
Type: Application
Filed: May 7, 2014
Publication Date: Jan 15, 2015
Inventors: Ronald James HOFFMAN (Iva, SC), Kenneth Scott FORSTER (Prescott, AZ)
Application Number: 14/271,855
International Classification: B65H 75/48 (20060101); B65H 75/44 (20060101);