Patent ID: 8931724
Filing Date: 2015-01-13
Classification: B65H

Abstract:
1. A device for handling a spool of windable material wherein the spool includes an elongated barrel about which the material is wound and two flanges wherein each flange is disposed at each end of the barrel and has a rim along the periphery thereof and the spool is arranged so that the rims of both flanges engage an underlying floor and the barrel of the spool is oriented substantially parallel to the floor, said device comprising: a pair of wheeled carriers wherein each carrier includes an elongated frame having two opposite end portions and floor-engaging wheels for supporting the frame above the underlying floor; four rollers for rollably engaging the rims of the flanges of the spool wherein two of the four rollers are supported for rotation on the opposite end portions of one of the pair of carriers and the other two of the four rollers are supported for rotation on the opposite end portions of the other of the pair of carriers and wherein the two rollers of each carrier are mounted for rotation about parallel axes so that each carrier can be positioned upon the floor and adjacent a corresponding flange of the two flanges of the spool so that the two rollers of each carrier are positioned on opposite sides of the corresponding flange and wherein the two rollers of each carrier are mounted for movement toward one another along a path of movement which is substantially normal to the rotational axis of each of the two rollers of the carrier; and means for moving the two rollers of each carrier toward one another along said path of movement and into engagement with the rim of the corresponding flange of the two flanges and for lifting the corresponding flange to an elevated condition above the floor as the two rollers of the carrier are moved toward one another along said path of movement and the rim of the corresponding flange is thereby squeezed between the two rollers of the carrier so that upon raising both of the two flanges of the spool to an elevated condition by squeezing each of the two flanges between the two rollers of a corresponding carrier as aforesaid, the spool can be moved across the floor as the wheels of the carriers are rolled across the floor; wherein the two opposite end portions of the frame of each carrier are adapted to be moved toward and away from one another for altering the distance between the two rollers suported by the carrier so that by moving the two opposite end portions of the frame of each carrier toward and away from one another, the distance between the two rollers supported by each carrier is altered accordingly and the length of the elongated frame is altered accordingly; and wherein the frame of each carrier includes a tube assembly having a longitudinal axis and including telescoping tube sections which are arranged for movement relative to one another along the longitudinal axis of the tube assembly so that as the opposite end portions of the frame of a carrier are moved toward or away from one another, the telescoping tube sections are moved relative to one another along the longitudinal axis of the tube assembly and guide the movements of the opposite end portions of the frame toward and away from one another.