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US 4,021,004 AGranted
Spool assembly
AssigneeEngineered Plastics
InventorGeorge A. Poteat
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
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AssigneeEngineered Plastics
InventorGeorge A. Poteat
Estimating the term…
A spool assembly of simple, lightweight construction affording efficient, balanced, and inexpensive operation is constructed simply of a pair of end flanges secured to the ends of a hollow exterior tube on which material, such as carpet yarn, may be wound. The tube has interior, longitudinally extending, integral projections that provide longitudinal slots in which self-tapping screws are secured with the heads of the screws retained in the end flanges to secure the flanges on the tube. The slots may be formed by pairs of inwardly projecting walls with the walls retained against spreading by end reinforcing plugs disposed in the ends of the tubes and having peripheral notches that encompass and retain the projecting walls. Alternatively, an interior reinforcing core may be disposed in each end of the tube with radial arms extending partially into the slots for cooperation with the projecting walls to receive and retain the screws. In a variation of the construction, each slot-forming projection may be formed by an intermediate radially projecting wall and an end wall extending at a right angle to the intermediate wall, thereby forming a side-opening slot, and the end walls of the projections may be retained against spreading by end reinforcing plugs that support said end walls against radially inward movement. The tube may be structurally reinforced by intermediate plugs that may be mounted on a central tubular core that receives the spindle on which the spool assembly is to be mounted, or the interior of the assembly between the end flanges and between the central core and the exterior tube may be filled with expanded foam plastic for structural strength. In another embodiment one of the slot forming walls of each pair extends radially inwardly for mounting of the tube directly on a central core that has its ends flared between the extending walls or has wall engaging projections to prevent relative rotation.
A spool assembly comprising a pair of end flanges, an exterior hollow tube formed for supporting material thereon and disposed between said end flanges, said exterior tube having a plurality of interior, longitudinally extending, integral projections providing fastener-retaining slots extending from adjacent said flanges, a plurality of fasteners retained in said flanges and slots to secure said flanges to the ends of said tube, and end reinforcing plugs disposed in each end of said exterior tube in reinforcing engagement with the interior thereof, said plugs having peripheral notches aligned with and encompassing said projections adjacent said flanges to prevent spreading thereof and thereby retain said projections in fastener securing position.
A spool assembly comprising a pair of end flanges, an exterior hollow tube formed for supporting material thereon and disposed between said end flanges, said exterior tube having a plurality of interior, longitudinally extending, integral projections providing fastener-retaining slots extending from adjacent said flanges, each of said projections comprising a pair of spaced, radially inwardly projecting, walls facing each other to define said slot therebetween, a plurality of fasteners retained in said flanges and slots to secure said flanges to the ends of said tube, and an interior reinforcing core at each end of said tube, said reinforcing core having a tubular central portion for receiving a spindle and from which a plurality of arms extend radially into the slots of said tube for reinforcing support thereof, said arms extending only partially into said slots for a longitudinal extent from said flanges generally equivalent to the extent of said fasteners in said slots to provide space for retention of said fasteners in securing engagement with said walls and with the extremities of said core arms.
A spool assembly a pair of end flanges, an exterior hollow tube formed for supporting material thereon and disposed between said end flanges, said exterior tube having a plurality of interior, longitudinally extending, integral projections providing fastener-retaining slots extending from adjacent said flanges, each said projection comprising an intermediate wall projecting radially inwardly from said exterior tube and longitudinally from adjacent said end flanges, and an inner wall extending generally at a right angle from the inner end of said intermediate wall to provide said fastener-retaining slot extending longitudinally and having a sidewise opening between the end of said inner wall and said exterior tube, and a plurality of fasteners retained in said flanges and slots to secure said flanges to the ends of said tube.
A spool assembly comprising a pair of end flanges, an exterior hollow tube formed for supporting material thereon and disposed between said end flanges, said exterior tube having a plurality of interior, longitudinally extending, integral projections providing fastener-retaining slots extending from adjacent said flanges, each of said projections comprising a pair of spaced, radially inwardly projecting, walls facing each other to define said slot therebetween, at least one wall of each of said pairs of walls extending inwardly to provide support for mounting of said exterior hollow tube on a central core, and a plurality of fasteners retained in said flanges and slots to secure said flanges to the ends of said tube.
A spool assembly comprising a pair of end flanges, an exterior hollow tube formed for supporting material thereon and disposed between said end flanges, said exterior tube having a plurality of interior, longitudinally extending, integral projections providing fastener-retaining slots extending from adjacent said flanges, each of said projections comprising a pair of spaced, radially inwardly projecting, walls facing each other to define said slot therebetween, one wall of each of said pairs of walls extending radially inwardly and having a flat inner end disposed for engagement with a central core for support of said exterior hollow tube thereon, and a plurality of fasteners retained in said flanges and slots to secure said flanges to the ends of said tube.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.