Abstract:
A rotatable vacuum has a passage through a spindle ( 32 ). The spindle protrudes through a bushing ( 30 ) and forms an annular chamber ( 46 ) therebetween that is connectable to a vacuum source through 360° of rotation.

Description:
This is a divisional application of U.S. Ser. No. 09/939,246 filed on Aug. 24, 2001 now U.S. Pat. No. 6,796,106. 

   TECHNICAL FIELD 
   The field of this invention relates to a carousel machine and more particularly to a carousel machine for assisting operators to package cable into a box. 
   BACKGROUND OF THE DISCLOSURE 
   Factories and industrial places of business are significantly becoming safer places for workers. As science and knowledge progress, it becomes known that certain repetitive motions by a human worker may cause a chronic injury and may eventually disable the worker. As such, workers must limit the particular activity during the day or the job needs to be changed in a fashion to make the operation more ergonomically friendly by reducing or eliminating the harmful motion. 
   Cable is a particularly difficult material to handle. In this application, “cable” is used in a generic sense and can range from thin wire to sheathed insulated wire, stiff rope, or wire bundles, metallic ribbon strips, flexible tubing or even elongated flexible non-circular shaped material such as flexible plastic molding trim. Cable may be bundled in large diameter windings with many coils that need to be continuously controlled to prevent the cable from undesirably uncoiling which can at the very least undesirably take up space and make a mess. On many occasions, when large bulk shipments of coil are brought in, the cable needs to be rewound and repackaged in smaller amounts. 
   The repackaging of cable has presently been manually intensive with human workers manually coiling the cable into a box or other container. This manual operation requires a repetitive circular motion of the worker&#39;s arm where it connects to the shoulder. Excessive repetitive circular motion of this nature may possibly cause a strain on the shoulder. Thus it is preferred to make this operation more ergonomically friendly by eliminating this circular motion in such a cable re-packaging operation. 
   What is needed is a rotating platform that can rotate the container and hold it in place while the cable is fed into the container. What is also needed is a rotatable connection that provides a vacuum therethrough to retain the container on a platform via vacuum suction. 
   SUMMARY OF THE DISCLOSURE 
   In accordance with one aspect of the invention, a rotatable carousel device for use in controlling the position of a container includes a carousel platform mounted on a central rotatable spindle. A plurality of suction cups extend through said carousel platform and are operably connectable to a vacuum source through the rotatable spindle. Preferably, the spindle has a central passage extending from an upper end to a side outlet. A bushing surrounds the spindle about the side outlet and forms an annular chamber between the bushing and spindle. 
   The bushing also has a side passage therethrough that is in communication with the annular chamber. The side passage is operably connectable to the vacuum source. A bearing and seal assembly is located at each end of the bushing to rotatably mount the bushing with respect to the spindle and to provide an air tight seal of the annular chamber with respect to the ambient exterior about the bushing. 
   The bushing is preferably press fitted within an outer fixed housing, i.e. the bushing has a press fit with the outer fixed housing. The outer fixed housing also has a side aperture aligned with the side passage in the bushing and is operably connectable to the vacuum source. The drive spindle preferably has a sleeve section about the side outlet which rotates with the drive spindle. The sleeve is spaced from the bushing to form the annular chamber. The annular chamber is interposed axially between the two axially spaced seal and bearing assemblies. 
   It is preferred that the opposite ends of the sleeve are flat and smooth and abut the inner race of each bearing to form a tight metal to metal flush junction resistant to air leakage. The two axially spaced apart seal and bearing assemblies also complete the air seal with the assistance of the tight and flush abutting connection of the sleeve with the inner race to provide for a leak free rotatable connection. 
   It is desirable that a manifold is mounted on the upper end of the spindle and beneath the carousel platform. The manifold has a respective passage in communication with a respective suction cup. The suction cups are mounted on pedestals that also mount onto the carousal platform. It is also preferred that air filters are mounted in line near the manifold to prevent dirt particles from passing through the drive spindle. 
   A drive motor operably connects to a lower end of the drive spindle for controllably rotating the drive spindle and carousel. 
   In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a method of repackaging cable into a container, for example a box, includes the steps of retaining a container on a rotatable carousel in proximity to its axial center. The carousel and container are rotated and cable is simultaneously wound into the container as it rotates to form coils of cable within the container. 
   Preferably, the container is retained in place on the carousel through a vacuum supply exerted onto the bottom of the box through the carousel. It is preferable that the center of the container is coaligned with the axis of rotation of the carousel. The vacuum is passed through the drive spindle that preferably rotates the carousel and through a rotatable vacuum joint to a vacuum source. The drive spindle is controllably rotated via a motor operably connected in proximity to a bottom end of the drive spindle. 
   In accordance with another aspect of the invention, a rotatable vacuum connection has a drive spindle that has a central passage extending from a distal end and a side outlet extending from the central passage to the side wall of the drive spindle. A bushing surrounds the spindle about the side outlet and forms an annular chamber between the bushing and spindle. The bushing has a side passage therethrough that is in communication with the annular chamber. The side passage is operably connectable to the vacuum source. A bearing and seal assembly is located at each end of the bushing to rotatably mount the bushing to the spindle and to provide an air tight seal of the annular chamber with respect to the ambient exterior about the bushing. The bushing is press fitted within an outer fixed housing that also has a side aperture aligned with the side passage in the bushing and is operably connectable to a vacuum source. The drive spindle has a sleeve about the side outlet and is spaced from the bushing to form the annular chamber. 
   The opposite ends of the sleeve are smooth and flat and abut the inner race of each bearing to form a tight metal to metal flush junction resistant to air leakage. The two axially spaced seal and bearing assemblies complete the air seal with the assistance of the tight and flush connection of the sleeve with the inner race to provide a leak free rotatable connection. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     Reference now is made to the accompanying drawings in which: 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view illustrating an operator feeding cable to a box mounted on a carousel in accordance with an embodiment of the invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a perspective view of the carousel shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is an exploded perspective view of the carousel shown in  FIG. 2 ; and 
       FIG. 4  is a segmented view through the carousel illustrating the vacuum passage therethrough. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
   Referring now to  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a carousel device  10  retains a box  20  and is rotatably driven by a motor  64  such that the operator guides cable  70  into the box. The motor  64  and fixed housing  50  of the device  10  may be mounted to an appropriate frame  51  as shown partially in  FIG. 4  to maintain its proper fixed position. As shown more clearly in  FIGS. 2–4 , the carousel device  10  has an upper platform  12  mounted on four pedestals  14  that are mounted on a lower platform  34 . Four suction cups  16  pass through apertures  18  in the platform and rise slightly above the upper surface  19  of the platform to operably engage a bottom  22  of a box  20  or other container. The suction cups are mounted to posts  21  that also mount onto the lower platform  34 . 
   The suction cups also are connected to a vacuum source  24  through passages  26  in the posts  21  that are connected via tubing  28  to a central manifold  30 . The central manifold  30  is mounted on top of a central rotatable drive spindle  32  which is affixed to a mounting lower platform  34  that mounts the pedestals  14  and posts  21 . 
   The central manifold has passages  36  in communication with a central passage  38  extending axially through the spindle  32 . The entire assembly rotates about the central axis  42  of the spindle. The suction cups  16  are circumferentially spaced about the spindle  32  to centrally retain the box  20  such that the center  40  of the box is approximately aligned with the rotational axis  42  of the spindle. 
   As best shown in  FIG. 4 , the central passage  38  of the spindle  32  extends to a side outlet  40  that is below a shoulder section  43  of the spindle. A top bearing  60  abuts the shoulder  43 . The spindle is in tight contact with the inner race  71  of the bearing  60  about its inner diameter. A sleeve  55  is mounted below the bearing  60  at its inner race  71  and extends to a bottom bearing  61 . The sleeve  55  has ends  59  that abut the inner races  71  and  72  of the bearings  60  and  61 . Each surface of these parts is smooth and flat within tight tolerances to form a tight junction that is resistant to air leakage into the vacuum passages  38 ,  40 , undercut  57  and outlet  48 . The sleeve has an aperture  53  aligned with the side passage  40 . The spindle also has an undercut  57  to form an annular clearance  49  of approximately 25/1000″ with the sleeve  55 . When nut  65  is tightened, the inner races  71  and  72  press against the inner sleeve  55  to provide a leak resistant junction. 
   A brass bushing  44  is pressed fit within the fixed outer housing  50 . The bushing has an outlet  48  aligned with an outlet  52  in the outer housing that is connectable to a hose  54  that leads to a vacuum source  24 . The bushing preferably made from brass also abuts the outer races of the bearings  60  and  61 . The sleeve  55  is spaced from the bushing to form an annular chamber  46 . The annular clearance  49  and annular chamber  46  assure constant communication from the vacuum source  24  to the suction cups  16  as the spindle and sleeve rotate. An annular chamber  46  with a 25/1000″ thickness has been found to produce adequate vacuum passage. 
   The bushing has two counterbore sections  63  that mount a pair of ring v-seal  62  therein that seals the chamber from the ambient exterior with the assistance of the tight junction between sleeve  55  and inner races  71  and  72 . A collar or nut  65  retains the lower bearing  61  in place on the spindle. The housing  50  has an upper flange section  67  that is fastened thereto and also fastened to the frame  51 . 
   The spindle is driven by a motor  64  that is connected to conventional controls (not shown). Likewise the vacuum source  24  is easily controlled by conventional controls and switches. These controls may be automated, optically actuated, or push operated by foot or hand. 
   In operation, an operator places the box  20  on the platform  12  and the vacuum source is turned on to hold the box down. The presence of the box may be optically sensed to automatically turn on the vacuum source. As the motor  64  turns the spindle at a desired speed, the entire platform  12  and box  20  also rotates at the desired speed. The speed may also be conventionally controlled. As the box rotates, the operator feeds and/or guides cable into the upper opening  68  in the box  20  as illustrated in  FIG. 1 . As the box rotates, the cable  70  winds up into coils in the box. It has been found that a box  20  with flat side orthogonal walls  23  also captures the cable coils and self-feeds the cable into the box as the box rotates. The operator merely guides the cable as it is pulled into the box. The procedure continues until the desired amount of cable  70  is wound and the cable is then cut and the box is then properly closed for shipment. The vacuum source is cut and the filled box is then removed and replaced with a sequential empty box. 
   The vacuum is strong enough to allow the suction cups to retain the box in place against normal forces exerted thereon during the filling of the box with cable. The operator can fill the box with cable wound into coils by merely guiding the cable into the box as the box rotates on the carousel. The operator has no need to make repetitive circular motions with his arms but instead lets the carousel device  10  rotate the box. 
   The vacuum assists in retaining the box in place on a rotating platform with a rotating vacuum connection. Thus vacuum assist and motor drives can be completely controlled during operation of the carousel and winding of the cable. 
   It is foreseen that in the future, an automatic feeder may even take the place of the operator and automatically guide the cable into the box with the carousel then rotating to wind the cable into the box. 
   In this fashion, a vacuum assisted and power motor driven carousel expedites repackaging of cable into boxes without manual circular motion of an operator&#39;s arm. 
   Variations and modifications are possible without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.