Abstract:
A spool suitable for receiving windings of wire or the like, the spool having a center core formed of a paperboard material, first and second end flanges secured to opposite ends of the center core, the flanges being formed of a plastic material, each flange having at least one circumferentially extending solid portion and an inner portion adjacent to the inner core, the spool having a plurality of sinuous members extending between the solid portion and the outer portion. There is also disclosed an embodiment wherein the flange is substantially solid with a circumferentially extending apertures being formed in the center core.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0001]    The present invention relates to spools and more particularly, relates to improvements in spools used for receiving wire and the like. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    Electrical, communication and other industrial cable, as well as wire rope and the like are typically wound on large spools or reels for storage, delivering and dispensing of the product. Both returnable spools and non returnable spools are known in the art. 
         [0003]    Returnable spools are commonly fabricated of wood which has been treated with a preservative to resist weathering and deterioration. Reels made of metallic material such as steel are also known and these too are often painted or otherwise treated so as to provide protection against rusting. These spools suffer from several disadvantages including the fact that despite the attempts to protect them from the elements, they are still subject to deterioration and therefore require constant maintenance. Wood spools are prone to splintering and breakage, and nails and the like projecting from such reels pose a safety hazard and also risk damaging the insulation of electrical or communication cable being carried. Wood spools also tend to soak up rain water which can increase the weight by as much as 50%. The dry weight marked on the spool is then meaningless making it impossible for the user to determine how much cable remains on the spool since this determination is usually made by weight. 
         [0004]    Spools made of plastic are also known in the art and one such spool is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 3,940,085. Plastic spools are advantageous in that they are substantially impervious to the elements and require little or no maintenance and do not damage the cable being carried. However, plastic spools have been limited in size and load capacity and are subject to breakage, particularly in cold weather. 
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    It is an object of the present invention to provide a spool which is resistant to the elements and which spool can be recycled. 
         [0006]    It is a further object of the present invention to provide a spool which overcomes the deficiencies of prior art spools and which is relatively inexpensive to manufacture. 
         [0007]    According to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a spool comprising a center core, the center core being formed of a paperboard material, first and second end flanges secured to opposite ends of the center core, the flanges being formed of a plastic material, each flange having at least one circumferentially extending solid portion, an inner portion adjacent the inner core, a plurality of sinuous members extending between the solid portion and the inner portion. 
         [0008]    According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a spool comprising a center core, the center core having an inner cylindrical wall and an outer cylindrical wall, first and second flanges secured to opposite ends of the center core, and at least one row of circumferentially extending apertures formed in the outer cylindrical wall. 
         [0009]    In the first embodiment, the center core is formed as a single circumferential member of a suitable paperboard material. The paperboard material is utilized for its weight and furthermore, it can be recycled. 
         [0010]    In this embodiment, the flanges are provided with a flexing portion comprised of a plurality of sinuous ribs. This arrangement permits the minimization of damage if and when the spool is dropped. 
         [0011]    In the second embodiment, the core and flanges are made of a suitable plastic material. The center core, in this embodiment, comprises an inner cylindrical wall and an outer cylindrical wall. At least two rows of cylindrically extending slots and slits are provided to provide the flexibility. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0012]    Having thus generally described the invention, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings illustrating an embodiment thereof, in which: 
           [0013]      FIG. 1  is a side elevational view of a flange member according to the present invention; 
           [0014]      FIG. 2  is a side elevational view of the flange member from the opposite side; 
           [0015]      FIG. 3  is a side exploded view of the spool; 
           [0016]      FIG. 4  is a detailed view of the locking of the center core and flange prior to being inserted; 
           [0017]      FIG. 5  is a view similar to  FIG. 4  wherein the center core has been locked into position; 
           [0018]      FIG. 6  is a side exploded view of a further version of a spool according to the present invention; and 
           [0019]      FIG. 7  is an end view of a still further version of a spool flange according to the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 7A  is an end view of the spool flange of  FIG. 7  as seen from the opposite side thereof; 
           [0021]      FIG. 8  is a side elevational view thereof; 
           [0022]      FIG. 9  is a detailed view of a portion of the rim of the flange; 
           [0023]      FIG. 10  is a side sectional view of the spool with one of the flanges being disconnected; 
           [0024]      FIG. 11  is a side sectional view illustrating the connection of the spool and flanges; 
           [0025]      FIG. 12  is a sectional view of a pair of stacked spools according to a further embodiment of the present invention; 
           [0026]      FIG. 13  is a detailed view of a portion of the flange of the embodiment of  FIG. 12 ; 
           [0027]      FIG. 14  is a sectional view of a plurality of flanges stacked upon each other; and 
           [0028]      FIG. 15  is a detailed view of the interlocking of the stacked flanges. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0029]    Referring to the drawings in greater detail and by reference characters thereto, there is illustrated in  FIG. 3  a spool which is generally designated by reference numeral  10 . 
         [0030]    Spool  10  comprises a center core generally designated by reference numeral  12 , a first side flange  14 , and a second side flange  16 . 
         [0031]    Center core  12  is comprised of a cylindrical wall  20  having a first end  22  with apertures  24  extending circumferentially thereabout. At a second end  26 , there are also provided a plurality of circumferentially extending apertures  28 . 
         [0032]    Center core  12  is formed of a suitable paperboard or plastic material having the desired characteristics of strength and weather resistance. Any such materials are known in the art. 
         [0033]    First side flange  14  and second side flange  16  are substantially identical and thus only one will be described herein. As may be seen, first side flange  14  is circular in side configuration and includes an outer thickened rim  32 . Inwardly of rim  32  there is provided an outer portion  34  which is solid in nature with finger apertures  36  being provided therein. 
         [0034]    Inwardly of outer portion  34  is a flexing portion generally designated by reference numeral  38  and which is comprised of a plurality of sinuous ribs  40  each having a generally S-shaped configuration. Sinuous ribs  40  terminate at an inner portion  42 . 
         [0035]    As may be seen in  FIGS. 2 and 3 , on the inner side of first side flange  14 , there are provided an outer wall  44  and an inner wall  46  which therebetween define a channel  48 . Within channel  48  and extending outwardly from inner wall  46  are a plurality of protrusions  50 . As may be better seen in  FIGS. 4 and 5 , each protrusion  50  has a thinner end  52  and a thicker end  54  and terminates in a flat end wall  56 . As best seen in  FIG. 4 , outer wall  44  has a thicker portion generally designated by reference numeral  58 , to help paper or plastic core to come back under wall  56 . 
         [0036]    Referring to  FIG. 1 , first side flange  14  includes a center wall portion  59  which is provided with circular apertures  60  and rectangular apertures  62  located where protrusions  50  extend from inner wall  46 . 
         [0037]    In assembling the center core to the side flanges, cylindrical wall  20  is inserted into channel  48 . Pressure is exerted until protrusions  50  are aligned and fit within apertures  28 . The thicker portion  54  of outer wall  44  and thicker portion  58  exert pressure on cylindrical wall  20  to ensure a tighter locking of the protrusions  50  within apertures  24 . 
         [0038]    The presence of flexing portion  38  helps minimize damage to the side flange  14  as it permits a bending motion if the spool  10  is dropped. Furthermore, the flexing portion  38  permits the outward movement of outer portion  34  when a cable is being removed from center core  12  proximate the side flange. 
         [0039]    In the embodiment shown in  FIG. 6 , a center core  112  has a plurality of apertures  170  formed therein and extending through the length of the cylindrical wall  120 . These apertures permit the insertion of the spool into an autoclave. This is useful when some types of wire need a conditioning or curing at high temperature and high humidity. 
         [0040]    Turning to the embodiment of  FIGS. 7 to 13 , there is illustrated therein a spool generally designated by reference numeral  210 . 
         [0041]    Spool  210  is comprised of a center core  212  and a pair of flanges  214 ,  214 ′. As flanges  214 ,  214 ′ are substantially identical, only one will be described in detail herein. 
         [0042]    Center core  212  comprises an inner wall  220  and an outer cylindrical wall  222 . As will be noted, there is a first set of apertures  224  and a second set of apertures  226  which extend through both inner wall  220  and outer wall  222 . These apertures are provided for the purpose of receiving the leading end of a cable to be wound on spool  210 . 
         [0043]    Turning to flange  214 , there is provided an L-shaped center flange wall  228  which includes inwardly extending leg portion  230 . Leg portion  230  is designed to receive inner wall  220 . 
         [0044]    Within center flange wall  228 , there is provided a central aperture  232  as well as a plurality of smaller circumferential apertures  234 . 
         [0045]    An outer flange wall  236  likewise has circumferential apertures  238  formed therein. 
         [0046]    Extending about the periphery of center flange wall  228  are a plurality of projections  240  and corresponding recesses  242 . Projections  240  and recesses  242  are provided for purposes of nesting of adjacent flanges. Similarly, there are provided projections  244  and recesses  246  on the outer rim of outer flange wall  236 . 
         [0047]    As may be best seen in  FIG. 11 , at the point of juncture of center flange wall  228  and outer flange wall  236 , there are provided a pair sloping wall segments  248  and  250 . Formed between sloping wall segments  248  and  250  is a recess  252 . A recess opening  254  provides access thereto. 
         [0048]    Formed at the end of outer wall  222  of center core  212  is a projection  258 . Projection  258  has a step  260  formed thereon. It will also be noted that recess  252  has a retaining tab  256  extending partially over the recess. As may be seen in  FIGS. 10 and 11 , when projection  258  is inserted within recess  252 , retaining tab  256  will engage with step  260  to lock outer wall  222  in position. 
         [0049]    Outer wall  222  of center core  212  is provided with a plurality of slots  262 . In the illustrated embodiment, there are two circumferential rows of slots  262  at either end of outer wall  222 . There are also provided a plurality of C or U-shaped slits  268 . In the illustrated arrangement, slits  268  are arranged about each end of slots  266 . A combination of slots  266  and slits  268  provides a flexibility to the center core  212  to limit damage thereto when spool  210  is dropped or subjected to other physical stresses. Naturally, other shaped arrangements could be utilized. 
         [0050]    A still further embodiment of the present invention is shown in  FIGS. 12 to 15  and reference will now be had thereto. 
         [0051]    In this embodiment, the center core is identical to that of the embodiment of  FIGS. 7 to 11  and hence will not be described herein. The difference in this embodiment is that flange  314  has a plurality of tongues  370  formed therein. As may be seen, each tongue  370  is formed to extend slightly outwardly. In so doing, it will act to prevent movement of the spools when they are stacked. As shown in  FIGS. 14 and 15 , the flanges may be nested for shipping with tongues  370  providing an interlocking arrangement as well as the nesting of walls  348 ,  350  within recess entrance  354 . 
         [0052]    It will be understood that the above described embodiments are for purposes of illustration only and that changes and modifications may be made thereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.