Abstract:
A one-piece reel arrangement formed of a substantially quadrangle planar sheet is disclosed. The arrangement comprises longitudinal fold lines (A), transverse fold lines (B) and secondary transverse fold lines (E) neighboring to each of said transverse fold lines (B). Said fold lines (A, B, E) are formed by means of weakening the planar sheet material with perforations, incisions or semi-cut lines; wherein aforementioned fold lines (A, B, E) together form periodically repeating fragments along the longitudinal direction of the sheet. These fragments are adapted to be harmonically folded so that both longitudinal ends ( 4 ) are overlapped and attached to each other, and that reel body ( 3 ) and support legs ( 1 ) are formed by such folding.

Description:
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    This is a U.S. National Phase patent application of PCT/EP2008/065333, filed Nov. 11, 2008, which claims priority to Turkish patent application Serial No. 200707733, filed Nov. 12, 2007, all of which are hereby incorporated by reference in the present disclosure in their entirety. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present invention relates to reel appliances, in particular the reels which facilitate packaging, transportation and use of elongated flexible products such as wire, cable, thread, rope, fabric, and seals and gaskets of doors and windows that are stored and supplied in strip form and wound on said reel appliances. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    The reel blanks which are used for facilitating packaging, transportation and use of strip formed products such as wire, cable, thread, rope, fabric, seals and gaskets of doors and windows are presently known in the art. For instance, German Utility Model DE 202006012556U discloses a cardboard blank for use as a cable drum structure formed by cutting of the corresponding patterns from a cardboard sheet for obtaining suitable pieces and integrating the same by gluing after folding such pieces into the desired shape of the reel. 
         [0004]    Another state of the art document disclosing mentioned type spool structures is JP 2001278549. In this document, an optical cable winding drum made of paper such as cardboard is disclosed. The drum is formed by mounting various paper pieces which are consistent to each other and having craggy pieces for interlocking corresponding parts. 
         [0005]    U.S. Pat. No. 3,838,602 discloses a one piece paperboard reel structure consisting of a number of panels which are separated by transverse scores. The structure having these panels are formed in certain shapes other than a conventional quadrangle shape, thereby they require firstly carving of commercial paperboard sheets to form unique shape of said panels. Another prior art document U.S. Pat. No. 4,019,692 of the same inventor (Hanson) discloses a paperboard reel similarly consisting of a number of panels having unique shapes. However, the reel structure disclosed in this patent disadvantageously require more processing steps (i.e. carving, cutting etc.) and labor work for obtaining the planar reel material as in the previous patent. Both patents do also require numerous interlocking and connecting means which make the reel material complicated to be prepared prior to use in the industry. 
         [0006]    In the same manner, U.S. Pat. No. 4,437,618 discloses a spool dispenser made from a one piece blank on which a number of panels are formed in unique shapes. This basic idea is also available in the reel blank disclosed in the US Patent Appl. No. 2002/0088896 A1 wherein a single piece cardboard material having a number of panels separated by transverse fold lines is presented. These documents are also bearing the disadvantages of the prior art as per mentioned in the previous paragraph. 
         [0007]    The reel arrangement of the present invention is made of a single piece planar sheet and differs from the state of the art reel arrangements which are made of more than one piece and/or made by carving of the conventional quadrangle (i.e. rectangular) planar raw material into suitable shapes. Carving of lateral regions of the planar sheet materials so that to form recessions for proper folding, particularly in the regions adjacent to the fold lines, is a requisite of the state of the art reel arrangements. This is disadvantageous in terms of labor, material, transport, production time and other related costs, and this type of reel arrangements still need to be improved for more practical and cost effective implementation. This is because the known arrangements of the type formed from planar materials require first carving of the planar materials into desired shapes, forming fold lines (i.e. perforations, incisions, knife prints etc.) on the already cut material, folding the material into corresponding shape and fixing the same for instance by gluing from numerous portions for integration. 
         [0008]    The present invention eliminates at least the step of carving material from lateral regions since the material as described in claim  1  does not require lateral recessions for providing proper folding and also does not require panels in unique shapes. The invention further eliminates the multi-pieced reel arrangements of the prior art. Reel appliance of the present invention instead provides transverse and longitudinal fold lines which are capable of facilitating the formation of a reel arrangement after suitably folding of the one piece material. This is particularly advantageous compared to the prior art reel arrangements which require integration of numerous pieces to form the resulting structure, in which case a number of interlocking and connecting means and/or attachment sectors are strictly required for obtaining a uniform structure. This obviously requires considerable labor work along with more expenditure for integrating said pieces. 
       OBJECTS OF THE INVENTION 
       [0009]    One of the objects of the present invention is to provide a reel arrangement designed to be formed by folding of a planar sheet which is advantageous in terms of production, transportation, utilization and waste management after use compared to the prior art. 
         [0010]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a light weight one piece reel wherein the planar sheet is a paperboard, more particularly corrugated or uncorrugated cardboard. 
         [0011]    Another object of the present invention is to provide a reel arrangement directly obtainable by folding of a substantially quadrangle planar sheet prepared according to the invention. 
         [0012]    A further object of the present invention is to provide reel arrangements having different configurations of fold lines depending on the mode of use and strip material to be wound. 
         [0013]    Still a further object of the present invention is to provide one piece reel arrangements having only one fixing point or fixing line due to its unique one piece structure, wherein the substantially quadrangle planar sheet is harmonically so folded in a manner reciprocal ends of the quadrangle material are overlapped, and these both ends are fixed to each other with attachment means. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0014]    The attached drawings are given solely for the illustration of different embodiments of the invention but not for limitation, wherein 
           [0015]      FIG. 1  shows an open unfolded form of a reel sheet according to an embodiment of the invention which is formed as a multi-fold one piece reel arrangement adapted to form support legs bent in the outward direction; 
           [0016]      FIG. 2  is perspective view of a semi-folded form of a reel sheet according an embodiment of the invention shown in  FIG. 1  which is formed as a multi-fold one piece reel arrangement; 
           [0017]      FIG. 3  shows one segment of a reel sheet according to the embodiment of the invention shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0018]      FIG. 4  shows an open unfolded form of a planar material so that to form the reel arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention which is formed in a manner having subsequent two folds-one plain sector structure in the longitudinal direction; 
           [0019]      FIG. 5  shows folded form of a one piece rectangular reel arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention which has a quadrangle central aperture formed by plain sectors between folding segments; 
           [0020]      FIG. 6  shows an open unfolded form of a reel sheet segment having one plain sector between two folds; 
           [0021]      FIG. 7  shows an open unfolded form of a reel blank according to an embodiment of the invention having one plain sector adjacent to two transverse folds; 
           [0022]      FIG. 8  shows an open unfolded form of a reel blank according to an embodiment of the invention having one plain sector adjacent to three transverse folds; 
           [0023]      FIG. 9  shows an open unfolded form of a reel sheet according to an embodiment of the invention having one plain sector between two segments each having six transverse folds; 
           [0024]      FIG. 10  shows folded complete form of a reel arrangement having rectangular two-sided planar structure; 
           [0025]      FIG. 11  shows an open unfolded form of a reel sheet according to an embodiment of the invention including a plain sector between two segments each having six transverse folds, thereby forming a triangular opening in the center when folded; 
           [0026]      FIG. 12  shows folded complete form of a reel arrangement having planar sheet of  FIG. 11  which has a triangular aperture in the center; 
           [0027]      FIG. 13  shows an open unfolded segment of a reel blank according to an embodiment of the invention including a plain sector between two inward transverse folds which form the planar support legs when folded; 
           [0028]      FIG. 14  shows an open unfolded form of a reel sheet according to an embodiment of the invention including a plain sector between two segments each having two inward transverse folds, thereby forming rectangular planar body when folded; 
           [0029]      FIG. 15  shows an open unfolded form of a reel blank according to an embodiment of the invention including a plain sector between two segments each having one inward transverse fold; 
           [0030]      FIG. 16  shows folded complete form of a reel arrangement formed by a planar sheet which has a plain sector between two segments each having six transverse folds; 
           [0031]      FIG. 17  shows reverse-folded complete form of a reel arrangement formed by a planar sheet having subsequent one fold-one plain sector structure in the longitudinal direction; 
           [0032]      FIG. 18  shows folded complete form of a reel arrangement of  FIG. 17  formed by a planar sheet having subsequent one fold-one plain sector structure; 
           [0033]      FIG. 19  shows a semi-folded form of a reel arrangement according to an embodiment of the invention which is formed as a multi-fold one piece reel arrangement having inclined support legs; 
           [0034]      FIG. 20  shows an open unfolded form of a reel blank according to an embodiment of the invention which is formed as a multi-fold one piece reel arrangement adapted to form support legs bent in the inward direction; 
           [0035]      FIG. 21  shows an open unfolded form of a reel sheet according to an embodiment of the invention which is formed as a multi-fold one piece reel arrangement; 
           [0036]      FIG. 22  shows an open unfolded form of a reel sheet according to an embodiment of the invention which is formed as a multi-fold one piece reel arrangement adapted to form reel support legs having curved external surface and flat internal surface when folded; 
           [0037]      FIG. 23  shows an open unfolded form of a reel sheet according to an embodiment of the invention which is formed in a manner having subsequent “one fold-one plain sector” structure adapted to form reel support legs having bent external surface and flat internal surface when folded; 
           [0038]      FIG. 24  shows one segment of the one piece reel sheet of  FIG. 23 ; and 
           [0039]      FIG. 25  shows folded complete form of a reel sheet according to an embodiment of the invention presented in  FIG. 1  which is formed as a multi-fold one piece reel arrangement adapted to form reel support legs bent in the outward direction. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0040]    The reel arrangement formed of a one piece planar sheet according to the present invention has different fold line configurations, thus the resulting reel arrangements bear various manners of folding and different types of shapes suitable for use in specific needs. 
         [0041]    Reel configurations of the invention can well be produced from any planar flexible elongated material such as metal sheet plates, planar plastic and composite sheets, paperboard derivatives such as corrugated or uncorrugated cardboards and millboards suitable to be folded. Basic idea underlying the invention is forming of longitudinal and transverse fold lines on the planar raw material so that harmonically fold the reel blank from said fold lines and readily bring this material into three dimensional form by manual human work or suitable machines. All lines formed of weak points (indicated with plain and dashed lines in the figures) to enable folding of the material hereinafter, in certain parts of the description, will be referred as “fold lines” for the sake of simplicity. 
         [0042]    As an illustration, said fold lines, open and folded forms of which are showed in  FIGS. 1 and 25  respectively, can be either formed by providing perforations and/or incisions, or by providing of semi-cut lines (i.e. knife print sectors) so that the material has tendency of being folded up along said fold lines. When metal sheet plates are used in the production of the reel arrangements of the invention, fold print lines formed by milling or other metal processing techniques can be used on the planar plate instead of the perforations and/or incisions as per mentioned in the previous embodiment. However, cardboard is the most preferred material for use in the present invention, thus further explanations given in the following description will be based on cardboard or similar paper originated materials made of cellulose. When cardboard or similar materials are taken as the basis, preferred form of the material will be the structures as shown in the attached figures wherein fold prints, and perforations and incisions are used together on the same planar sheet (In the figures, dashed lines represent perforated or weakened lines whereas plain lines represent fold lines). However, one should bear in mind that these explanations and various embodiments defined herewith are solely for the purpose of illustration but not for limitation. Due to the above reasons, all sectors having folding characteristics in the planar material will be simply called as the “fold lines”. Specific forms of these fold lines are also given different reference numbers in the figures and following description. 
         [0043]    Reel material of the invention, preferably cardboard material, may have any quadrangle or substantially quadrangle shape such as rectangle and square which forms are commercially available in the market. Therefore, the present invention eliminates the need for an additional processing of the raw material so that to bring it into suitable geometry as in the prior art. Said planar material is supplied to the ultimate consumer after forming of the above mentioned fold lines which are designed in various characteristics so that to satisfy the specific needs depending on the mode of use and strip material to be wound. Therefore, this one piece structure solves another problem of the prior art since aforesaid sheet material does not need to be produced as separate pieces having unique shapes, thus preparation of the material does not include the steps of carving the material into specific shapes. Eventually, the user may readily enfold the so prepared cardboard from the fold lines and attach both overlapping ends  4  (only indicated in  FIG. 1 ) of cardboard by any fixing means in order to bring the it into ultimate form of the reel arrangement. Said fixing means may be any commercially available material such as tape, glue, stapler, rivet and pin suitable for this purpose. Resulting reel arrangement needs only to be fixed from the longitudinal ends  4 . Therefore, the invention solves one another problem of the prior art wherein the known cardboard reel arrangements are prepared with more complicated pieces which need to be affixed from numerous sections. 
         [0044]    In the following description and attached figures;
       A represents the longitudinal wavy fold lines (i.e. zigzag lines) which may repeat continuously with or without the interruption of longitudinal plain fold lines D of the local plain sectors  2 ,   B represents primary transverse folds which again may repeat in the longitudinal direction continuously with or without the interruption of local plain sectors  2 ,   C represents secondary inclined fold lines which facilitate twisting of the reel support legs  1  when folded,     3  represents the reel body between support legs  1  which constitutes basis for winding of the strip material and bear the same in the wound form, and   E represents the secondary transverse fold lines adjacent to the primary folds B.       
 
         [0050]    In one embodiment shown in  FIGS. 23 and 24 , the secondary fold lines C indicated with small squares cause formation of the twisted sections on the reel support legs  1 , whereas the transverse folds B indicated with small circles facilitate folding of the material in transverse direction and forming of the longitudinal fold lines A. 
         [0051]    Reel arrangement of the invention is designed in various configurations for satisfying different needs. For instance, number of the repeating transverse folds B on the reel body  3  may vary in different embodiments. In the case of the one folded structures as shown in  FIGS. 18 ,  22 ,  23  and  24 , repeating fragment consists of a transverse fold B followed by a plain sector  2  on the reel body  3  and this pattern repeats continuously. In other words, longitudinal fold lines A are interrupted by longitudinal plain fold lines D of the local plain sectors  2 . 
         [0052]      FIGS. 4 and 6  show two folded embodiment of the present invention. Repeating pattern of this embodiment consists of two transverse folds B followed by a plain sector  2  and this pattern repeats continuously. Transverse fold characteristics may vary in a manner such that three folded as in  FIG. 7 , four folded as in  FIG. 8 , five folded as in  FIGS. 11 and 12  and six folded as in  FIGS. 9 and 16 . Additionally multi-folded reel arrangements as shown in  FIGS. 1 ,  2 ,  3 ,  19 ,  20  and  21  are also available which do not include the plain sectors  2  in a complete pattern. Above defined reel types have different endurance characteristics depending upon the number and configuration of transverse folds B and secondary transverse folds E which apparently enable the users to select suitable configurations for specific purposes. 
         [0053]    Apart from the above identified configurations, reel types which do not adduce transverse folds B on the external face of the body  3  are also available. The reel blanks for instance showed in  FIGS. 13 ,  14  and  15  have a plain body surface and are suitable for winding of materials, such as fabrics and textile articles, which requires not to be creased during storage and transportation. 
         [0054]      FIGS. 1 ,  2  and  3  shows different views of a reel embodiment formed by a one piece cardboard, support legs of which are bent in the outward direction due to the inclined secondary fold lines C. This arrangement provides sufficient reinforcement against the wound material load due to its multi-folded configuration. The arrangement is also advantageous with its outwardly bent support legs which provides more material to be wound onto the body  3  compared to the conventional reels. 
         [0055]    According to another embodiment of the invention shown in  FIGS. 19 and 20 , inclined secondary fold lines C are so arranged to form support legs  1  bent in the inward direction when folded, thereby the wound material is more tightly packed in between said support legs  1 , and problems related with the release of the wound material from the reel body  3  are eliminated. Bending angle of said support legs  1  may be as in  FIG. 19  or such angle may be arranged in a manner such that the support legs  1  are brought into a vis a vis position which uniformly closes the wound material. 
         [0056]    Reel arrangement of the present invention may also be provided with a central body section having such as two-faced, three-faced and four-faced geometric shapes. For instance the two-faced reel arrangement, complete folded form of which is shown in  FIG. 10  has less edges compared to the reel bodies  3  having triangular ( FIG. 12 ) and quadrangular shapes ( FIG. 5 ), thereby creasing or wrinkling of the wound material is considerably decreased. However, polygonal reel arrangements are more advantageous compared to the reel structures having less faces when the reel body is needed to be rotated along an axis during winding or unwinding of the strip material. 
         [0057]    For instance rotation of the triangular reel arrangement shown in  FIG. 12  is harder than the polygonal reel structure shown in  FIG. 18 . Thus, the user may have the opportunity of choosing suitable arrangement depending on the needs of rotation ability. 
         [0058]    In another embodiment of the present invention, reel arrangement of  FIG. 17  can be obtained upon reverse folding of the corresponding one piece planar sheet. This reel structure differs from the regularly folded reels in that a torus shaped internal space is obtained and support legs  1  do not exist. This product may constitute an internal closed space when folded as in  FIG. 17  which is quite suitable for instance for winding of textile yarns. 
         [0059]    It is apparent for those skilled in the art that extra pieces (not shown) can be mounted onto the lateral surface of the support legs  1  in order to increase the endurance thereof, which pieces may be produced similarly of cardboard, metal, composite or plastics. Also is obvious for the skilled person that longitudinal fold lines A and inclined fold lines C as in the figures may have sinusoidal repeating patterns unlike the zigzag patterns that are shown for illustration only. The invention is not limited with the geometry of the fold lines and planar materials illustrated above, but can also vary within the scope of claim  1 . 
         [0060]    The reel arrangements of the invention are having improved light weight and space saving properties compared to those known in the art thanks to its one piece and commercially available quadrangle shaped planar body which is not changed during production and during supply of the same to the customer. The only change implemented on the raw material is formation of the longitudinal, transverse and inclined fold lines which do not affect the resulting shape of the planar material. Reels of the invention may also be detached from fixed ends  4  of the same after use and brought into their initial planar form for storage or transport for subsequent uses.