Rack for wire dispensing spools
First Claim
1. A rack for rotatably supporting one or more spools including:
- a frame which includes at least two spaced side walls;
a pair of spaced top rollers and at least one bottom roller spaced below said top rollers, said top and bottom rollers extending between the two side walls for holding at least one spool in a storage zone located between said rollers;
spring means for biasing one of the top rollers towards the other of said top rollers; and
means mounting the said one top roller for allowing said one top roller to move with respect to said other top roller and overcome the biasing of the spring means to change the spacing between said top rollers for inserting and removing a spool into and from the storage zone.
0 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A rack for rotatably mounting one or more wire dispensing spools. A set of four rollers extend horizontally between a pair of spaced parallel side walls and are positioned in a substantially square-shaped configuration and rotatably mount and retain the spools therebetween. Each roller includes a cylindrical low friction plastic sleeve mounted on a center support rod or axle. A plurality of spacers separate the sleeve into a plurality of sleeve sections allowing the spools to rotate independently of each other without affecting the rotation of adjacent spools. A top roller of each set is spring biased and moves horizontally within a pair of aligned slots formed in the spaced side walls allowing the spring biased roller to move horizontally toward and away from the other top roller of each set enabling the spools to be easily inserted or removed from the rack. Front and rear wheels and a handle allow the rack to be used as a cart to transport the spools and other equipment and materials to and from the work site. In a second embodiment the rack may be hand carried and contain only one four roller set.
-
Citations
17 Claims
-
1. A rack for rotatably supporting one or more spools including:
-
a frame which includes at least two spaced side walls; a pair of spaced top rollers and at least one bottom roller spaced below said top rollers, said top and bottom rollers extending between the two side walls for holding at least one spool in a storage zone located between said rollers; spring means for biasing one of the top rollers towards the other of said top rollers; and means mounting the said one top roller for allowing said one top roller to move with respect to said other top roller and overcome the biasing of the spring means to change the spacing between said top rollers for inserting and removing a spool into and from the storage zone. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
-
-
15. In combination at least one spool having a pair of spaced annular flanges and an intervening hub, and a rack for rotatably mounting said spool for dispensing material wound about said hub, said rack including:
-
a frame having at least a pair of spaced side members; a plurality of rods including a pair of upper rods and at least one lower rod providing a rod set extending between the side members and forming a zone between said rods for rotatably mounting and trapping the spool therein with the lower rod engaging the spool flanges and supporting the spool within said zone and the upper two rods loosely trapping the spool in said zone as the spool is rotated for dispensing material therefrom; and means movably mounting one of the upper rods for changing the spacing between said upper two rods for inserting and removing the spool into and from the storage zone between said rods, said mounting means includes a pair of opposed slots formed in the side members for movably supporting opposed ends of said one upper rod and spring means for biasing said one upper rod towards the other of said upper rods.
-
-
16. In combination at least one spool having a pair of spaced annular flanges and an intervening hub, and a rack for rotatably mounting said spool for dispensing material wound about said hub, said rack including:
-
a frame having at least a pair of spaced side members; a plurality of rods including a pair of spaced upper rods and at least one lower rod providing a rod set extending between the side members and forming a zone between said rods for rotatably mounting and trapping the spool therein with the lower rod engaging the spool flanges and supporting the spool within said zone and the upper two rods trapping the spool in said zone as the spool is rotated for dispensing material therefrom; and mounting means movably mounting one of the upper rods for changing the spacing between said upper two rods for inserting and removing the spool into and from the storage zone between said rods, said mounting means including a pair of opposed slots formed in the side members for movably supporting opposed ends of said one upper rod, and spring means for biasing said one upper rod towards the other of said upper rods.
-
-
17. A rack for rotatably supporting at least one spool including:
-
a frame which includes spaced side members; at least three spaced rods including a pair of spaced upper rods extending between the side members and forming a zone between said rods for rotatably mounting and trapping the spool therein; mounting means for movably mounting one of said upper rods with respect to the other of said upper rods for changing the spacing between said upper rods to permit the spool to be inserted into and removed from the zone; and spring means for biasing the said one rod towards the other of said upper rods enabling the spool to be inserted into and removed from said zone.
-
Specification