Patent Publication Number: US-6908060-B2

Title: Retail electrical wire reel caddy

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention relates to wire reel assemblies. More particularly, the present invention relates to a caddy having a wire reel for holding and distributing electrical wire from a wholesale supply coil. 
   2. Description of the Related Art 
   The use of insulated electrical wire is widespread and is available to construction contractors and hobbyists or homeowners at most hardware stores. The wire generally is obtained from a wholesaler or maker in standard sized coils which are wrapped and held in a coil configuration by ties for transport or handling. The retailer, such as the hardware store, must uncoil the wire to measure and sell desired lengths to a customer. Popular types of wire are generally provided in at least two widths of coil depending on the configuration and size of the electrical wire. These coils generally have the same inner diameter, but the cross section of the coil may vary, depending on the size of wire. The cross section of coils is generally one of two sizes for retail distribution. It would be desirable to provide a caddy supporting a reel which is adjustable to easily receive either size of electrical wire coils as received from a supplier and to support the wire coil for even, flat, and straight distribution of wire in a length as sold to a retail customer. It would also be desirable to provide such a caddy which is easily moved between locations along with the reel of wire supported for rotation thereon. Such a caddy and wire reel may then be easily moved to and between building sites if desired or between storage room and retail space. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 6,199,786 B1, issued Mar. 13, 2001, to Lessard et al., describes a wire reel assembly having a reel, a reel support, and a reel securing assembly. The reel includes a central body and removable sides. The central body is removably mounted to an arm of the reel support allowing one of the removable sides to be disconnected from the central body without requiring disassembly of the reel support. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 3,072,357, issued Jan. 8, 1963, to Sprague et al., describes a portable reel carrier, which includes a plurality of identical reel portions, pairs of which interlock to form wire cable supports when placed in opposed positions on a support shaft. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 3,503,569, issued Mar. 31, 1970, to Gildart, describes a collapsible reel that includes wire frame end flanges which may be manually removed from the reel to permit uncoiling. 
   U.S. Pat. No. 3,432,113, issued Mar. 11, 1968, to Freedman, describes a split reel having a central hub of two interfitting parts attached to end flanges. 
   None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed. Thus, a retail electrical wire holder solving the aforementioned problems is desired. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   The inventive retail electrical wire reel caddy has a steel frame which may be rested upright, the upper portion of the caddy serving as a handle. The caddy may also be rested in a prone position on its back for hauling, such as in a truck bed, the back having a slight angled configuration allowing the user to easily grasp the caddy frame for lifting it to the upright position. The reel is made up of identical front and rear circular members, the outer member being turned to face the rear member so as to interlock “U”-shaped wire coil supports which are integral with supporting spokes extending between an outer rims and inner reel hubs. The caddy has a shaft extending forward from a mounting plate located on the back vertical portion of the frame, the frame having a base portion extending forward beneath the shaft and supported reel so as to stand securely when a coil of wire is supported on the reel and the wire is distributed from the reel for sale. 
   Accordingly, it is a principal object of the invention to provide an electrical wire reel and caddy for retail dispensing of wire. 
   It is another object of the invention to provide a wire reel and caddy which is adjustable for different sized coils of wire. 
   It is a further object of the invention to provide a wire reel and caddy as above which is adjustable to compensate as the wire is drawn down. 
   Still another object of the invention is to provide a wire reel and caddy as above which is easily moved between locations. 
   Yet another object of the invention is to provide a wire reel and caddy as above which may be stored upright or level on its back. 
   It is an object of the invention to provide improved elements and arrangements thereof for the purposes described which is inexpensive, dependable and fully effective in accomplishing its intended purposes. 
   These and other objects of the present invention will become readily apparent upon further review of the following specification and drawings. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is an environmental, perspective view of the electrical wire reel caddy of the present invention with a large wire coil installed. 
       FIG. 2  is a view as in  FIG. 1  with the outer reel portion, washer, and lock pin exploded away. 
       FIG. 3  is a view as in  FIG. 2  with the inner reel portion exploded away and without wire coil. 
       FIG. 4  is a side elevation view of the inventive caddy and reel with a small wire coil installed. 
       FIG. 5  is a side elevation view as in  FIG. 4  showing the coil supports without the wire coil. 
       FIG. 6  is a rear elevation view of the inventive caddy and reel with the wire coil. 
       FIG. 7  is a detail view of the shaft with spaced cross bores of the caddy of  FIG. 2 . 
   

   Similar reference characters denote corresponding features consistently throughout the attached drawings. 
   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   The present invention is retail electrical wire reel caddy having a steel frame which may be rested upright, the upper portion of the caddy serving as a handle. The caddy may also be rested in a prone position on its back for hauling and has a shaft extending from the frame back for mounting a reel. The reel is made up of identical front and rear circular members, the outer member being turned to face the rear member so as to interlock “U”-shaped wire coil supports which are integral with supporting spokes extending between an outer rims and inner reel hubs. The reel is adjustable to hold different width wire coils. The frame has a base extending forward beneath the shaft and the reel mounted thereon so as to stand securely when a coil of wire is supported on the reel and the wire is distributed from the reel for sale. 
   Referring to the  FIG. 1 , there is shown an adjustable electrical wire coil retail wire dispensing caddy referred to be the reference number  10  having a support frame  14  and a reel  16  for holding and dispensing electrical wire W. Frame  14  has an upright portion  18  and a base  20 . 
   Referring to  FIGS. 2–7 , the upright portion  18  of support frame  14  has two spaced uprights  22  extending upward from base  14  connected at their upper end by upper cross member  24  which may serve as a handle for moving the caddy  10 . Reel support shaft  26  extends forward from frame upright portion  18  centrally over frame base  20  and supports the inner reel portion  28  and the outer reel portion  30  for rotation in a plane parallel to frame upright portion  22 . As shown, inner reel portion  28  and outer reel portion  30  are structurally identical, the outer reel portion being turned toward the rear and partially rotated to interfit and provide support for electrical wire coil W. 
   Reel portions  28  and  30  each have a centrally mounted, cylindrical reel hub of such inner diameter so as to slidingly fit over shaft  26  and rotate thereon. Reel hub  32  has a free end and is attached to a circular plate  34  opposite the free end. A reel rim  36  is circumferentially attached to reel hub  32  by four, equally spaced, spokes  38  affixed as by welding to hub circular plate  34 . Reel spokes  38  each form a “U”-shaped coil support  40  spaced therealong and extending axially in concert with reel hub  32 , each “U”-shaped coil support forming an outer radius bend  42  formed to fit the cross-section of wire coil W. 
   During the mounting and assembly of reel  16 , inner reel portion  28  is mounted on caddy reel support shaft  26  with reel hub  32  and “U”-shaped coil supports  40  extending outward. Then outer reel portion  30  is mounted with reel hub  32  and “U”-shaped coil supports  40  extending inward such that they interfit between those of the inner reel coil supports so as to collectively form an inner coil support reel hub of a diameter equal to that of the electrical wire coil inner diameter. Washer  44  is located between circular plate  34  and pin  46  is placed in one of cross bores  48  in the end portion of shaft  26  (see  FIG. 7 ) to secure the wire-loaded reel  16  for dispensing wire as desired. 
   As seen in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , a smaller coil of wire W is mounted for dispensing. In this case, outer reel portion  30  and washer  44  is moved inward to fit the smaller coil and pin  46  inserted into an inner cross bore  48 . The cross bores  48  are preferably axially spaced at ¼ inch intervals from the free end of shaft  26  and provide for axial adjustment of the effective width of the reel  16  to accept different widths of wire coil and to provide adjustment as a wire coil becomes reduced in sized due to the periodic removal of wire as it is removed and sold. It may be desirable to adjust the outer reel inward to better support the remaining wire after the substantial removal of the coil reel. As illustrated in  FIG. 6 , the alternating “U”-shaped coil supports  40  of inner reel portion  28  and outer reel portion  30  must extend for a length so as to overlap to form a hub for supporting the wire coil supported thereon. 
   Referring to  FIGS. 2 ,  5 , and  6 , the caddy base  14  is rectangular and has a front member  50 , a rear member  52  and opposed side members  54  and centrally supports spaced uprights  22  of upright portion  18 . The lower portion of each upright member  22  has a lateral angle brace  56  extending between the upright member  22  and end of the respective adjacent end of the rear cross member  52 . A forward brace  58  extends between the lateral angle brace and the respective adjacent base side member  12 . This bracing provides for a rugged caddy frame, allowing the caddy to carry a heavy coil of electrical wire and to be moved between locations with the electrical wire coil in place without damage to the caddy. As seen in  FIG. 5 , the lower portions uprights  22  are angled forward from vertical between the rear base member ends and the attachment points of the respective angle braces so as to provide clearance at that point from the floor when the caddy is rested on its upright portion  18  on the floor such as during storage or transport to allow easy grasping of the uprights  22  for setting the caddy upright on base  20 . 
   A shaft mount plate  60  is mounted as by welding between uprights  22  at a location about half the height of the upright portion  18 . Shaft mount plate  60  receives the inner end of centrally located reel support shaft  26  through a centrally located throughbore and shaft  22  attached as by welding at rear shaft mount  62  to the rear of mount plate  60  so as to provide a rugged mounting therefor. The mount plate  60  also acts as a stiffener for caddy upright portion  18 . 
   When the inventive caddy is loaded with an electrical wire coil and the washer and pin in place, the caddy is ready to dispense electrical wire from the free end (see  FIG. 4 ). As the electrical wire W is pulled from the reel  16 , the reel rotates with the reel hub circular plate of inner reel portion  28  turning against the inner surface of shaft mount plate  60 , and the circular plate outer reel portion  30  turns against stationary washer  44 . Since the inner portion  28  and outer portion  30  of reel  16 , are not mechanically connected, the play in the coil and its mounting arrangement allows the reel hub  32  to adjust along shaft  26  so as to allow turning relative to the mount plate  60  when pulling force is applied on wire W while dispensing while friction with the reel hub circular plates minimizes turning of the reel  16  at other times, such as during moving or transport. 
   The various parts of the inventive caddy and reel are preferably steel to provide sturdiness and ease in welding and assembly. The wire dispensing caddy is 23 inches in overall height, each outer rim is 15 inches in diameter, the caddy upright portion is 5¼ inches in width and said reel support shaft is about ¾ inch in diameter. The wire dispensing caddy front and rear cross members of the base are 18 inches in length and the opposing side members are 8 inches in length. 
   The inventive caddy holds any size electrical wire supplied in predetermined length coils. A commonly supplied length of coil is 250 feet. Other benefits of the inventive caddy are that the wire unwinds from the caddy flat and straight, which makes it easier to pull into the walls or along a floor joist, eliminating the need to be straightened for use. 
   It is to be understood that the present invention is not limited to the embodiment described above, but encompasses any and all embodiments within the scope of the following claims.