Loading and unloading reel carrier truck

[0001] This application is based upon Provisional Application titled SELF LOADING REEL\CARRIER TRUCK, having Ser. No. 60/999,042 and filed on Oct. 15, 2007.

[0002] The present invention relates to a device for loading and unloading cable reels and the like from trucks, trailers or other supported beds. More particularly, the present invention relates to a reel handler device with a primary function of lifting and loading cable reels on to a truck bed or the like.

[0003] Reel handlers for loading and unloading reels from trucks or trailers are not new per se. Some reel handlers allow for powered payout and take-up of cable from the loaded reels by the use of friction rollers contacting the periphery of the reels. Examples are Hall, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,184,082 and 3,325,118; and Woodruff, U.S. Pat. No. 4,228,967. Skalleberg et al U.S. Pat. No. 5,123,602 discloses a drive for cable reels by the use of frictional contact of the reel periphery with a powered car tire as the roller.

[0004] McVaugh, U.S. Pat. No. 3,820,673 allows for engagement of reels of varying sizes and permits transfer of one reel to a first location and return for a second reel. The assignee of that patent has a related U.S. Pat. No. 4,591,309. An improvement on this prior art is McVaugh U.S. Pat. No. 5,897,073, which has the advantage of using rugged motors and devices of relatively few moving parts to minimize damage and breakdown of the reel handler during use.

[0005] While that latter reel handler uses a compact, high torque, low speed hydraulic motor within its supporting reel arm to rotate the reel, there are some drawbacks to that design. Specifically, the angular travel or swing of the lift arms was less than preferred, and it was not seen to be possible to increasing the swing because of space constraints. In addition, mechanical losses at either end of the cylinder stroke became a concern. This patent uses mechanical “toggle links” between the lift arms and their lift hydraulic cylinders to achieve the angular swing of the lift arms, but they have a built in mechanical disadvantage.

[0006] Accordingly, it would be an advantage in the art if a reel loader could be provided with improved angular travel or swing.

[0007] Other advantages will appear hereinafter.

[0008] It has now been discovered that the above and other objects of the present invention may be accomplished in the following manner. Specifically, the present invention provides a reel handler.

[0009] The reel loader of this invention is mounted on a truck or other vehicle such that it is at the back of the truck. A portion of the truck includes a place for placing one or two reels having cable of assorted sizes and construction that are common in the electric utility and telephone industries. The loader includes a pair of rear reel lifting arms with one on each side. The arms are fixed to one another and function to lift and load reels. The pair of arms each have a forward arm portion that is used to transfer the reel forward or back to allow a second reel to be added or to allow a forward reel to be unloaded. The bed on which the reels rest includes a pair of driving rollers that rim drive the reels rotationally to permit light winding or unwinding.

[0010] The reel carrier or loader of this invention includes hydraulic cylinders that are connected together and include lifting posts that control the angular travel of the cylinder as its ram extends and retracts.

[0011] Also included in the present invention are safety grabbing means located on the outer ends of all the lifting arms for retaining the spindle bars, which are axel shafts placed through the center of the reels, and which are grabbed as the device lifts the reels.

[0018] A reel carrier device, 10 generally, is adapted to be used with a vehicle such as a flat bed truck 11, preferably with tandem axles 13 and a bed 15 as shown in the drawings. The truck 11 is used to transport reels 17 of assorted sizes and construction that are common in the electric utility and telephone industries to carry cable material.

[0019] A first work arm pair 19 is forward of the end and a second work arm pair 21 is toward the back of the truck 11, it being understood that the pair engages both ends of reels, as described below. Hydraulic double-acting cylinders 23 and pistons 25, shown separate in FIGS. 2a and 2b, are mounted on the bed 15 and operate to move the pair of work arms 21 through an arc whereby the rear pair of arms 21 pick up a reel 17 from the ground or other place where it is at rest, such as a loading dock, warehouse or the like. Cylinder 63 and piston 65 provide impetus to move a front reel forward.

[0020] As seen in FIGS. 1 and 3, the end of work arm 21 includes a reel engaging end 27 that engages spindle bar 29. Reel engaging end 27 is shown in the position in FIG. 1 where it has deposited a first reel 17, which has been engaged by reel engaging end 31 of the first pair of work arms 19, and moved that first reel to the front of the bed 15. A standard jack stand 33, shown lifted up for travel from pickup to delivery. Driving rolls 35 in truck bed 15 can be powered to drive the reels in a rotation for light winding or unwinding.

[0021] Support structure 37 mounts the arms and cylinders. Work arm pair 21 pass through an arc Y of about 160° to an open condition with piston 25 fully extended, shown at the end in FIG. 3 in solid line 21 and in dash lines 21a, when hydraulic cylinder 23 pushes piston 25 out along the axis of piston 25, also lifting cylinder 23 to the position shown in dash lines at 23a for an angle arc X of 80° .

[0022] In FIG. 3, pivot point A is the cylinder 23 trunion mount, pivot point B is the cylinder ram to work arm location, pivot point C is the work arm 21 mount to the support structure, pin D connects the lift column 39 to cylinder 23, and pin connection E connects the lift column 39 to the work arm 21. Points B, D, and E move about points A and C, where point B moves linearly along the center line of cylinder 23, and the cylinder angular travel up to 80° is always half of work arm travel up to 160°. In FIG. 4, lift arm 39 dimension Z is fixed during the first one half of the machine's angular travel, and then is free to extend, telescopically, for the second half of machine angular travel to the open state, doing no work in this second half. The function of lift arm 39 is to bear the weight of the cylinder 23 and reel in that first half of angular travel.

[0023] In FIG. 4, the relative dimensions of the elements in FIG. 3 are shown as a diagram. The lifting column 39 is fixed in hole E of work arm 21 at one end and in hole D on the cylinder 23. Column 39 is shown as having a length z, which is, in one example, 18.6 inches. Line A-D angle αX, which is about 20°, and line C-E through angle αY, which is twice that or 40°. Both line A-D and line C-E have the same distance T, which is 5.3 inches in the example. In FIG. 2a, points A and B are shown with piston 25 extended from cylinder 25, whereas FIG. 2b shows the distance of travel of point B from B1 at cylinder 23 to full extension at B2, In FIG. 4, the distance between point A and point B is twice R or, in the example, about twice six inches. Distance S is, in the example, 18.46 inches, just a bit less than distance Z.

[0024] An improved grasping device is shown in open and closed positions in FIGS. 5a and 5b. A piston 41 and cylinder 43 operate to move arm 45 and rotate jaw 47 so that the engaging element 51 of jaw 47 holds spindle bar 29. Lever 53 moves into engagement with lower end 55 of arm 45 to lockjaw 47 on spindle bar 29, in FIG. 5a, so that if hydraulic pressure in cylinder 43 fails, the device will still hold the spindle bar 29 and, thus, a reel on spindle bar 29 will not escape to cause damage.

[0025] Although the present invention has been described with reference to preferred embodiments, workers skilled in the art will recognize that changes may be made in form and detail without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.