Abstract:
There is a central shaft. The central shaft is attached to a hole in the center of a round plate. Attached to the round plate is a multitude of arms that are able to pivot toward and away from the central shaft. There is a cone with a hole through it that fits onto the central shaft. The cone interfaces with the pivoting arms at the end away from the pivoting action.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     This invention relates to a non-binding quick release coiling &amp; reeling machine, specifically to the wire, rope and cable industry.  
         [0002]     Heretofore, mechanical coiling devices are used in numerous types of business and industry that require the operation of looping or coiling of longitudinal material from a large supply spool of material to a smaller loop or coil that can be easily dispensed or used. The preferred method is to use equipment that wraps the material around a multitude of rotating coiling arms. The arms are mounted to and positioned around a central shaft that can be rotated. A lever is included that allows coiling arms to be moved slightly towards or away from the central shaft. For the coiling operation; the lever is moved to a position that moves the coiling arms away from the central shaft, into a locking position that insures that the coiling arms will not retract towards the central shaft during the coiling operation. Locking mechanism includes metal to metal friction or passing the coiling arms through a detent position. The longitudinal material can now be coiled onto the coiling arms by rotating the central shaft. The coiling of the material around the coiling arms results in pulling the material tight around the coiling arms. This pressure increases based on several factors.  
         [0000]     (a) Mass of the material.  
         [0000]     (b) Friction from the supply spool.  
         [0000]     (c) Length/number of loops of the new coil being made.  
         [0003]     The coiling arms operate in an expanded position and must release the coil in some manner in order for the coiled material to be removed. The standard method of release is to move the control lever to collapse the coiling arms inward toward the central shaft thereby moving the coiling arms away from the new coil. The models that use a locking mechanism relying on friction are inherently the worst as friction mechanisms easily bind and wear out thereby over time becoming increasingly difficult to engage and release.  
         [0004]     Other coiling mechanisms employ a detent locking position that relaxes the coiling arms towards the central axis thereby relying on inward force of the material being coiled to lock the coiling arms in position for coiling. The major problem with the detent mechanism is the new coil must be slightly stretched when moving the control lever to release the coil. This may damage the coiled material as well as cause wear on the locking mechanism. These coiling devices can be found in many of the home improvement stores around the United States typically in the electrical wire department. The operation of these devices is so bad that store personnel will often mark a scale on the floor and stretch wire across the scale to determine the length to sell and then coil the wire by hand. Very inefficient and a tripping hazard in some cases. Another disadvantage of existing coiling machines is that coil stop arms are raised in front of the coiling arms. These stop arms are a hazard during the coiling operation as they could easily bump an operator during the coiling operation or entangle the material being coiled.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0005]     Accordingly, several objects and advantages of my invention of a non-binding, quick release mechanism submitted here for patent protection are:  
         [0006]     (a) To provide a coiling machine in which engagement of the coiling arms into the position for coiling relies on a movable control member that has a conically shaped profile that blends into a cylindrical profile. The conically shaped profile acts as an inclined plane when the control member is moved toward the coiling arms. The coiling arms are allowed to pivot outward to form parallel coiling arms equally positioned around a rotational axis. The cylindrically shaped profile of the moveable control member then holds the position of the coiling arms during the coiling operation, no locking mechanism is required. This holding mechanism relies on the flat surface interface between the cylindrical profile and a corresponding flat surface feature on pivoting coiling. There are no friction or detent features that wear with use.  
         [0007]     (b) Disengagement of the coiling arms is accomplished with the same moveable member. When the moveable control member is moved away from the coiling arms the flat surfaces disengage and the coiling arms pivot towards the rotational axis with coiling arms forming a rhomboid shape with respect to the rotational axis. The completed coil of longitudinal material can now be easily removed by moving the coiled material toward the narrower section of the rhomboid. Again, there are no friction or detent features that wear with use.  
         [0000]     (c) The length of the coiling arms eliminates the need for coil stop arms. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0008]      FIG. 1  shows the complete coil making device mounted on the rotational drive assembly with an arrow that shows the direction of rotation.  
         [0009]      FIG. 2  shows the complete coil making device by itself, detached from the drive assembly.  
         [0010]      FIG. 3  depicts the rotational drive assembly.  
         [0011]      FIG. 4  depicts the coil maker body assembly.  
         [0012]      FIG. 5  depicts one of the coil support arms.  
         [0013]      FIG. 6  depicts the shape changing engagement cone.  
         [0014]      FIG. 7  depicts the coil maker with the shape changing engagement cone fully engaged in the direction shown by the arrow. This causes the coil support arms positioned around the rotational axis to become parallel to the rotational axis in a position suitable for turning longitudinal material into a coil.  
         [0015]      FIG. 8  depicts the coil maker with the shape changing engagement cone fully disengaged in the direction shown by the arrow. This causes the coil support arms around the rotational axis to form a rhomboid shape suitable for easy removal of a coil from the coil maker. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION  
       [0016]     The present invention relates to a non-binding quick release coiling &amp; reeling devise.  FIG. 1  is view of the complete coiling invention.  FIGS. 1 through 8  provide detail of all of the features of this invention. The coil making body assembly  40  is composed of a hollow coil maker support tube  44 , a coil maker back plate  43  and coiling arm retainer fins  41 . The coil maker support tube  44  has two ends a proximal end  47  and a distal end  48 . The proximal end  47  is attached to the center of the coil maker back plate  43 , in this case via a weld joint. The distal end  48  of the coil maker tube  44  has a motion limit slot  45  cut through the wall of the coil maker support tube  44 . The coil maker support tube  44  should turn true perpendicular to the coil maker back plate  43 . Coil arm retainer fins  41  are attached in pairs equally spaced around the hollow coil maker support tube  44 . In this illustration there are five coil arm retainer fins  41 ; however more or less may be used. There is a coil arm attachment hole  46  in each of the coil arm retainer fins  41  used to attach the coil arms  50  to the coil making body assembly  40 . The coil arms  50  have a corresponding pivot hole  56 . The coil arms  50  are attached between the pairs coil arm retainer fins  41  using a pivot arm attachment pin  22 . The coil arm attachment pin  22  can be a nut and a bolt sized to allow the coil arm  50  to freely pivot towards and away from the coil maker support tube  44  there by allowing the coil support rod  53  to become parallel to the coil maker support tube  44  or form a rhomboid shape with respect to the coil maker tube  44 .  
         [0017]     The coiling arm  50  can be fabricated in a variety of methods according to preference and material to be coiled. The chosen method for this illustration in  FIG. 5  consists of welding a circular coil support rod  53  to a flat arm  55 . The coil support rod  53  is formed at a right angle to form a support rod extension  51  to provide containment of the coiled material. The flat arm  55  has a shape changing chamfer  54  at one end. The importance of the shape changing chamfer  54  will be seen later in this patent. Alternately the pivot arm could be fabricated from a single piece of material with characteristics consistent with the weight and the size of the material to be coiled.  
         [0018]     The shape changing cone  60  for this illustration is machined of aluminum as shown in  FIG. 6 . The shape changing cone has two ends, a proximal end  68  and a distal end  69 . The proximal  68  end of the shape changing cone  60  has a cylindrical engagement portion  64  and a conically shaped portion  63 . Groves having the same profile as the cylindrical engagement portion  64  and the conically shaped portion  63  are formed equally spaced around the circumference of both in a quantity equal to the number of coiling arms  50  used and having a depth and a width slightly wider than the flat arm  55  portion of the coiling arm  50 . The distal end  69  of the shape changing cone  60  has a spacing groove  67  portion that separates the engagement flange  65  from the proximal portions of the shape changing cone  60 . The shape changing cone  60  has a bore  66  through it with a diameter slightly larger that the coil maker support tube  44 . There is a threaded stop screw hole  61  extending from the outside surface of the cylindrical engagement portion  64  through to the bore  66 .  
         [0019]     The proximal end  68  of the bore  66  of the shape changing cone  60  is now aligned with the distal end  48  of the coil maker support tuber  44 . The support beam retaining groves  62  should be aligned with the coil arm  50  engagement chamfer  54 . The coil maker support tube can now be passed through the bore  66  until the stop screws hole  61  is in alignment with the motion limit slot  45  on the coil maker support tube  44 . The stop screw  23  is now installed to the point that it fully protrudes into the motion limit slot  45 . Pivot arm retraction springs  21  are now installed between adjacent each pivot arm  55  being connected at the retraction spring attachment holes  57 . The pivot arm retraction springs  21  hold the flat arms  55  securely in the support beam retaining grooves  62 .  
         [0020]     Another embodiment of this invention is a separate drive assembly  30 . The drive assembly is composed of a solid main drive shaft  31  with a diameter that is slightly smaller than the inside diameter of the coil maker support tube  44 . The main drive shaft has two ends, a proximal end  36  for connection to a rotational driving force and a distal end  37  for mounting the coil maker body assembly  40  or a spool. The proximal end  36  of the main drive shaft  31  has drive connection  32  that in this case is composed of a flat ground into the main drive shaft  31 . Located near the proximal end  36  of the main drive shaft is a drive attachment plate  33  that has been welded to the main drive shaft  31 . Located in the drive attachment plate  33  is a spool/coil maker attachment slot  34 . The length of the main drive shaft  30  extending from the distal face  38  of drive attachment plate is slightly longer than the full length of the coil maker support tube  44 .  
       OPERATION  
     FIG.  1  Through  8   
       [0021]     In operation that proximal end  36  of the coil drive assembly  30  is securely fastened to an electro/mechanical drive unit capable of supporting the weight of the drive assembly  30 , the complete coil making assembly  20  and any material that is to be coiled. The electro/mechanical drive unit provides a rotational force. The proximal end  47  of the coil maker support tube  44  is now aligned with the distal end  37  of the main drive shaft  31 . The complete coil making assembly  20  can now be positioned so the proximal face  25  of the coil maker back plate  43  mates with the distal face  38  of the drive attachment plate. The drive attachment hole  42  should be aligned with the spool/coil maker attachment slot  34  and a drive fastener  10  installed to secure the complete coil making assembly  20  to the drive assembly  30 .  
         [0022]     The drive unit can be operated by a foot control switch and the speed of the rotation controlled by a variable speed control. The first step of the process is the operator grasps the engagement flange  65  and positions the shape changing member  60  in the direction indicated by the arrow in  FIG. 7 . This motion causes the conically shaped portion  63  of the support beam retaining groove  62  to engage the shape changing chamfer  54  on the flat arm and causes the coil arms  50  to pivot away from the coil maker support tube  44 . The stop screw  23  encounters the distal end  11  of the motion limit slot  45  which limits the motion of the shape changing member  60 . At this point the engagement surface  58  of the pivot arm  50  is in contact with the cylindrical engagement portion  64  of the support beam retaining groove  62 . This holds the pivot arms  50  parallel to the coil maker support tube  44  without creating a binding force and not relying any locking mechanism to maintain engagement.  
         [0023]     The operator then takes the lead-end of the material to be coiled, typically supplied from a larger spool of material, and makes one wrap around all of the coiling arms  50  and inserts the lead-end of the material into one of multiple coil material engagement holes  52  in of one of the flat arms  55 . The operator actuates the foot control switch applying power to the drive unit. The coil maker rotates and draws the material onto the coiling arms. When the desired length (determined by auxiliary device) is drawn onto the coiling arms  50  the operator takes his/her foot off of the foot switch which causes the coil maker to stop rotating. The operator cuts the material to separate it from the source. At this point the operator can attach one or more wire ties to the coil in the spaces between the coiling arms  50  to prevent unraveling of the newly formed coil. The operator grasps the engagement flange  65  and positions the shape changing member  60  in the direction indicate by the arrow in  FIG. 8 . This motion causes the conically shaped portion  63  of the support beam retaining groove  62  to disengage the shape changing chamfer  54  on the flat arm and allows the shape changing chamfer  54  to slide into the conically shaped portion  63  of the support beam retaining groves  62 . This action allows the coiling arms  50  to pivot towards the coil maker support tube  44  forming a rhomboid shape with respect to the coil maker support tube. The stop screw  23  encounters the proximal end  11  of the motion limit slot  45  which limits the motion of the shape changing member  60 . The coiling arms  53  are now moved away from the coiled material. The coil can now easily be removed from the coil making machine. There is no damage to the coiled material and no excessive wear on the coil making machine.  
         [0024]     Accordingly, the reader can see that the non-binding, quick release operation of this invention can be used to coil/wrap various gauges of wire or rope easily and conveniently without damage to the material being coiled.  
         [0025]     The fundamental aspect making this assembly unique is the relationship between the coiling arms and the shape changing cone. All other mechanisms doing the same function as this device rely on friction or a detent position for expansion. Friction type devices are prone to slippage which is counteracted by increasing the friction which causes difficulty to release and results in rapid wear. Detent type devices are self-trapped in the expanded position by compression from the material being coiled. Some amount of stretching or deforming of the coiled material is required to move the assembly back over center, out of the detent position. Depending on the compression force and material coiled, these type devices can be impossible to release. The device submitted here for patent protection does not require friction or detent to stay expanded. There is no slippage induced and thus virtually no wear. The mechanism does not have to move over center out of a detent position thus no stretching or deforming of material is required.