Electricity: transmission to vehicles – Flexible extensions – Reels
Reexamination Certificate
1998-11-06
2001-06-05
Morano, S. Joseph (Department: 3617)
Electricity: transmission to vehicles
Flexible extensions
Reels
Reexamination Certificate
active
06241063
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention herein relates to cable reels. More particularly it relates to cable reels which experience severe service and are exposed to harsh weather conditions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
At commercial airports it is common for commercial aircraft to be manoeuvered to and/or away from passenger deplaning/boarding gates or cargo loading facilities by motorized push out/towing vehicles, which are often referred to as airport tugs. As part of such maneuvering, it is necessary for the tug driver and the airplane cockpit crew to be in verbal communication with each other. This is normally done by use of an communication cable running between the tug and the airplane. The cable is plugged into the aircraft's communication system, providing communication between the tug cab and the aircraft's cockpit, each of which includes ear phones and a microphone so that the tug driver and aircraft's pilot can talk to and hear each other.
Generally prior art tug-aircraft cables have been made of a single length of cable with plug-in connectors at each end. The cables are unwieldy for the tug driver or other ground crew members to handle and store. Since they have no permanent connections, it is common for cables which are not in use to be left lying on the tarmac or thrown across other pieces of ground equipment, resulting in frequent damage to the cables. The damage is usually severe enough to require discarding of the damaged cables. Since the cables are expensive, the cost to airlines of cable replacement are high.
There is therefore a need for a better way of handling communication cables for tug-to-airplane communication at airports. One way that such could be accomplished would be by having one end of the cable permanently connected to the tug for effective communication and the cable stowed on the tug between uses. However, in the past that has not proved feasible because stowage was difficult and time-consuming, so ground crews were often unable or unwilling to perform the stowage correctly. In addition, since the cable must be moved before and after connection to the airplane, and ground crews are frequently less than careful in their handling of the cable, it has been difficult with prior art equipment to maintain a good communication connection of the cable to the tug for any extended period of time, since rough handling has often damaged the connection equipment.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention overcomes these prior art problems and provides a system which is reliable, provides consistently good communications, is easily handled and used by ground crews, and which permits cables to be used effectively for extended periods of time before replacement is needed.
We have now invented a cable reel which has these desirable features. The reel of this invention permits rapid and simple pay out and deployment of cable, retention of cable in operating position, and rapid and controlled retraction of the cable, without overrunning or overwinding of the reel. The invention utilizes a highly functional slip ring capsule which provides positive and continual communications contact and transmission, regardless of adverse weather conditions, handling or operating stresses, or other conditions which would otherwise affect transmissions in prior art devices. It also reduces damage to cables; premature loss of cables through workers' carelessness or deliberate discard of loose cables; operational delays caused by missing cables, or by workers being required to hunt for individual lengths of cable; and delays or malfunctions resulting from having cables of the wrong size, length, weather resistance, etc.
While there are a number of different types of cable reels available in the marketplace, none has the unique and advantageous features of the present invention, especially as to the unique slip ring capsule and slip clutch overrunning and overwinding prevention member. These components have never before been used in or even recognized as applicable to cable reels. Consequently the cable reels of this invention permit airports, airlines, and other users of cable to achieve substantial savings in costs, cable inventory and operating time since appropriate cables, in highly operable condition, will be readily available right where needed, when cable reels of the present invention are mounted directly on airport tugs and similar point-of-need vehicles. Nothing in the prior art has heretofore been capable of providing such useful and functional devices.
In a broad embodiment, the present invention involves a cable reel comprising a support frame having an elongated shaft projecting therefrom, the shaft having a central axial aperture extending therethrough; a slip ring capsule disposed at an end of the shaft distal to the frame. the slip ring capsule having a rotor and a stator in mutual electrical contact, the stator being fixed to the shaft; a reel having a hub comprising a hollow drum with lateral sides projecting radially therefrom, with the hub mounted on the shaft for rotation therearound and the sides having sufficient height to contain a communication cable therebetween wound on the hub; mechanical and termination junction means for mechanical and continuity attachment of one end of the communication cable to an outer side of the hollow drum, with the termination junction means further comprising a first communication circuit from the attachment to the one end of the communication cable through a wall of the hollow drum to communication connection with the rotor of the slip ring capsule; a second communication circuit extending through the central aperture of the shaft and having terminal connection to the stator of the slip ring; driving means for alternately rotating the reel about the shaft in a first direction to pay out a cable contained thereon and attached thereto and for rotating the reel about the shaft in an opposite second direction to retrieve paid out cable for containment on the reel; and overwinding protection means for preventing the driving means from being overwound when rotating in either direction; such that the slip ring capsule maintains full continuity between the first and second communication circuits while the reel is rotating and the driving means and the clutch means cooperate during retrieval of paid out communication cable to permit rapid retrieval of the cable without overwinding of the driving means.
Also part of the invention are a strain relief element to prevent strain on the communication cable where it plugs into the connector with the aircraft's communication system, and a protective device into which the connection end of the cable retracts when not in use, to prevent damage if the end of the cable strikes the tarmac or adjacent equipment.
There are numerous specific embodiments of the invention, representative examples of which are described below. The reels of the present invention may be made of many different types of materials, may be spring- or motor-driven, may be of any appropriate reasonable size for a particular task, may be mounted on vehicles or on stationary bases, may be used indoors or outside exposed to different types of adverse weather conditions, may be used with various accessories, and so forth.
Those skilled in the art will immediate recognize the many possibilities for the embodiments and end uses of the present invention from the descriptions provided below.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3694588 (1972-09-01), Appleton
patent: 4527683 (1985-07-01), Mathews
patent: 4897512 (1990-01-01), Johnston
patent: 5330122 (1994-07-01), Wood
patent: 5498940 (1996-03-01), Kim et al.
patent: 5551545 (1996-09-01), Gelfman
Litton Poly-Scientific Product Sheet #AC4023 “Slip Ring Capsule” (2 pages; Blacksburg, VA; undated).
Sandvik Steel Co., Spring Products Division Product Information Sheets “Constant Force Springs” (6 pages; Scranton, PA; undated).
Aero-Motive Company Product Sheet “Hand Wind Reels—125 Volt Duty” (1 page, Kalamazoo, MI; undated).
Industri
Van Ess Quentin W.
Wallbaum Mark
Brown Martin Haller & McClain LLP
McCarry, Jr. Robert J.
Morano S. Joseph
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