Transporter for box of spooled wire or cable

• US 8,136,753 B2
• Filed: 08/25/2009
• Issued: 03/20/2012
• Est. Priority Date: 08/25/2009
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Windy City Wire Cable and Technology Products LLC
• Original Assignee: Windy City Wire Cable and Technology Products LLC
• Inventors: Galgano, Richard, Winkel, Mark K., McGuire, Martin J.
• Primary Examiner(s): Dondero, William E
• Application Number:
  US12/547,216
• Publication Number:
  US 20110048992A1
• Time in Patent Office: 938 Days
• Field of Search: 242/170, 242/578, 242/578.2, 242/588, 242/588.1, 242/588.2, 242/588.3, 242/588.6, 242/596, 242/596.1, 242/596.4, 242/596.8, 242/598, 242/598.1, 242/598.3, 242/598.4, 242/598.5, 242/599, 242/599.1, 242/128, 242/129, 242/129.6, 294/16, 294/34, 294/62, 211/85.4, 211/85.17, 211/51, 211/175, 211/119.009, 211/182, 248/121
• US Class Current: 242/578.2
• CPC Class Codes: B65D 85/04 for coils of wire, rope or hose
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2402/412 details or the parts to be hold by the user, e.g. handle
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 49/38 Skips, cages, racks, or containers, adapted solely for the transport or storage of bobbins, cops, or the like

Abstract

Apparatus for manually transporting cartons or reels of goods include a support structure that includes a horizontal support member having first and second components, first and second vertical support members, and first and second bushings attached to the vertical support members for insertion into arbor holes in a reel or carton. Additionally, the apparatus includes a handle affixed to the support structure. In an alternate embodiment, one or more stabilization members prevent the carton from rotating as the contents of the carton are removed.

Claims

1. Apparatus for manually transporting a carton of goods, comprising:

a carton support structure comprising;

an elongate horizontal support member extending in a first direction and having a first component and a second component affixable to the first component at any of a plurality of positions, such that an overall length of the horizontal support member may be adjusted;

a first substantially vertical support member affixed to the first component of the horizontal support member;

a first bushing attached to the first vertical support member to be vertically spaced from the first component of the horizontal support member and extending from the first vertical support member in the first direction;

a second substantially vertical support member affixed to the second component of the horizontal support member;

a second bushing affixed to the second vertical support member to be spaced vertically from the second component of the horizontal support member and extending in a second direction opposite the first direction and toward the first bushing;

at least one stabilization member affixed to the carton support structure and adapted to abut at least one nonrotational surface of a carton to prevent the carton from rotating about a horizontal axis on which is located at least one of the first and second bushings; and

a handle affixed to the carton support structure and being spaced from the horizontal support member.

2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the handle and one of the first and second vertical support members are formed as a continuous tube.

3. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising a releasable latch for fixing in place the first component of the horizontal support member relative to the second component of the horizontal support member.

4. The apparatus of claim 3, wherein the first component of the horizontal support member comprises a hollow tube defined by a sidewall, a right end, and a left end, and having at least one opening in the sidewall at a first predetermined location;

and

a detent upstanding from an exterior sidewall of the second component of the horizontal support member at a second predetermined location as the releasable latch;

wherein the detent is sized and positioned to fit into the at least one opening in the first component of the horizontal support member when a distance between the first bushing and second bushing equals at least one predetermined length.

5. The apparatus of claim 4, wherein the first component of the horizontal support member comprises a plurality of openings spaced apart from each other in the first direction such that the distance between the first bushing and second bushing is adjustable to accommodate cartons having different lengths.

6. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the stabilization member is affixed to the first component of the horizontal support member.

7. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the stabilization member conforms to at least two nonrotational surfaces of the carton.

8. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the stabilization member has a first surface conforming to a horizontal top surface of the carton, a second surface conforming to a first vertical surface of the carton, and a third surface conforming to a second vertical surface of the carton spaced from the first vertical surface of the carton.

9. The apparatus of claim 1, further comprising an axial support member for attachment to the first bushing and the second bushing.

10. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein the axial support member is a hollow tube, the first and second bushing being hollow, the axial support member slidably received into the first and second bushings.

11. A system for manually transporting a carton of goods, comprising:

a carton comprising

a plurality of panels including a front panel having top, bottom, left and right sides, a top panel extending from the top side of the front panel, a bottom panel extending from the bottom side of the front panel, a left panel extending from the left side of the front panel so as to be orthogonal to the bottom panel, and a right panel extending from the right side of the front panel so as to be parallel and spaced from the left panel;

a left arbor hole formed in the left panel;

a right arbor hole formed in the right panel;

a carton support structure comprising

an elongate horizontal support member extending in a first direction and having a first component and a second component affixable to the first component at any of a plurality of positions, such that an overall length of the horizontal support member may be adjusted;

a first substantially vertical support member affixed to the first component of the horizontal support member;

a first bushing attached to the first vertical support member to be vertically spaced from the first component of the horizontal support member, extending from the first vertical support member in the first direction;

a second substantially vertical support member affixed to the second component of the horizontal support member;

a second bushing affixed to the second vertical support member to be vertically spaced from the second component of the horizontal support member, extending in a second direction opposite the first direction and toward the first bushing;

at least one stabilization member affixed to the carton support structure and adapted to abut at least one panel of the carton to prevent the carton from rotating about a horizontal axis, on which is located at least one of the first and second bushings; and

a handle affixed to the carton support structure and being spaced from the horizontal support member.

12. The system of claim 11, wherein the stabilization member has a first surface conforming to a horizontal first surface of the carton, a second surface conforming to a first vertical surface of the carton, and a third surface conforming to a second vertical surface of the carton spaced from the first vertical surface of the carton.

13. The system of claim 11, further comprising a releasable latch for affixing the first component of the horizontal support member relative to the second component of the horizontal support member.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the first component of the horizontal support member comprises a hollow tube defined by a sidewall, a right end, and a left end, and having at least one opening in the in the sidewall at a first predetermined location;

and

a detent upstanding from an exterior sidewall of the second component of the horizontal support member at a second predetermined location as the releasable latch;

wherein the detent is sized and positioned to fit into the at least one opening in the first component of the horizontal support member when a distance between the first bushing and second bushing equals at least one predetermined length.

15. The system of claim 11, further comprising an axial support member for attachment to the first bushing and the second bushing.

16. The system of claim 15, wherein the first component of the horizontal support member comprises a plurality of openings spaced apart from each other in the first direction such that the distance between the first bushing and the second bushing is adjustable to accommodate cartons having different lengths.

17. The system of claim 15, further comprising a plurality of cartons having top panels, front panels, left panels, right panels, left arbor holes, and right arbor holes, and being supported by the axial support member inserted into the left and right arbor holes.

18. The system of claim 11, further comprising a pass-through opening in at least one of the front, top, and bottom panels for removal of elongate, flexible goods from the carton.

19. The system of claim 11, wherein the stabilization member prevents the carton from rotating around the arbor holes as carton contents are removed through a dispensing slot.

20. The system of claim 19, wherein the carton contents are flexible, elongated material.

21. A system for transporting flexible, elongated, wound material, comprising:

at least one carton containing a reel onto which flexible, elongated material may be wound, comprising a spindle rotatable about an axis, the spindle having an exterior surface, a left spindle hole in a left end of the spindle, and a right spindle hole in a right end of the spindle, a hollow axial passage connecting the left and right spindle holes;

a reel support structure comprising

an elongate horizontal support member extending in a first direction and having a first component and a second component affixable to the first component at any of a plurality of positions, such that an overall length of the horizontal support member may be adjusted;

a first substantially vertical support member affixed to the first component of the horizontal support member;

a first bushing attached to the first vertical support member to be vertically spaced from the horizontal support member, extending from the first vertical support member in the first direction, and being sized to fit into the left spindle hole;

a second substantially vertical support member affixed to the second component of the horizontal support member;

a second bushing affixed to the second vertical support member to be vertically spaced from the horizontal support member, extending in a second direction opposite the first direction and extending toward the first bushing, together with the first bushing forming the axis, and being sized to fit into the right spindle hole;

at least one stabilization member affixed to the reel support structure and adapted to abut at least one nonrotational surface of the at least one carton to prevent the at least one carton from rotating about a horizontal axis on which is located at least one of the first and second bushing; and

a handle affixed to the reel support structure and being spaced from the horizontal support member.

22. The system of claim 21, wherein the material is selected from the group consisting of wire, rope, string, cable, textiles, paper, and plastic.

23. The system of claim 21, further comprising

the at least one carton comprising

a plurality of panels including a front panel having top, bottom, left and right sides, a top panel extending from the top side of the front panel, a bottom panel having an upper surface and extending from the bottom side of the front panel, a left panel extending from the left side of the front panel so as to be orthogonal to the bottom panel, and a right panel extending from the right side of the front panel so as to be parallel and spaced from the left panel;

a left arbor hole formed in the left panel;

a right arbor hole formed in the right panel;

a dispensing slot formed in at least one panel;

a left caddy disposed in the carton to be adjacent the left panel and to extend upwardly from the upper surface of the bottom panel, a substantially cylindrical left caddy bushing extending inwardly toward the right panel, the left caddy bushing formed around the axis at a first axial radius from the axis;

a right caddy disposed in the carton to be adjacent the right panel and to extend upwardly from the upper surface of the bottom panel, a substantially cylindrical right caddy bushing extending inwardly toward the left panel, the right caddy bushing formed substantially at the first axial radius from the axis;

wherein the left and right spindle holes are formed at a second axial radius from the axis being larger than the first axial radius, the first and second bushings affixed to the vertical support members being formed at a third axial radius smaller than the first axial radius, such that the left and right caddy bushings fit into the left and right spindle holes, and the first and second bushings affixed to the vertical support members fit through the left and right arbor holes and into the left and right caddy bushings.

24. The system of claim 23, further comprising an axial support member disposed inside the first and second bushings affixed to the vertical support members.