Patent ID: 8510960

Claim:
An improved spool construction for carrying a length of cutting line in a trimmer head housing on a flexible line rotary trimmer wherein the spool includes a cylindrical body portion, at least one flange projecting radially therefrom and a line receptor channel that traverses the spool and defines opposed open outer ends in said flange radially alignable with opposed line openings in a housing skirt and an open channel portion in a lower spool surface to provide access to the channel intermediary of the open ends with the spool operatively connected to the housing for line loading and replacement without having to interrupt the operative connection between the spool and the housing, the improved spool construction comprising: a molded upper spool section of single piece construction defining at least an upper portion of the cylindrical body portion, the radially projecting flange, a pair of outer cavities, a pair of inner cavities, opposed radial portions of the line receptor channel extending inwardly through said flange and communicating the opposed open ends of the channel with said outer cavities at opposed inner channel openings and a pair of opposed guide surfaces extending inwardly and downwardly along opposed curvilinear paths defined by upper and inner ends of said inner cavities; a molded lower spool section of single piece construction adapted to be secured in a mating relationship to said upper spool section, said lower spool section defining the open channel portion in the lower spool surface, a pair of radially spaced apertures in said lower spool surface communicating with said open channel portion, a pair of hollow upwardly extending and laterally spaced projections configured to be received in a mating relationship within said outer cavities in said upper spool section, a pair of radially spaced webbings extend transversely between said upstanding projections, a pair of upstanding line guide members disposed proximate outer end surfaces of said webbings and adapted to be received within said radially opposed inner cavities in said upper spool section such that upon said upper and lower spool sections being pressed together, inner end surfaces of said line guide members and the outer end surfaces of said webbings cooperate with said inwardly and downwardly extending guide surfaces in said upper spool section so as to define opposed interior portions of said line receptor channel communicating with said opposed radial portions thereof along a continuously smooth interior channel surface and with said open channel portion through said apertures; and means for securing said upper spool section to said lower spool section.