EP4046950B1

EP4046950B1 - Cable packaging assembly for storing and unspooling of an electric cable

Info

Publication number: EP4046950B1
Application number: EP21305202.0A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Jon Snesrud; Jan Erik NILSEN
Original assignee: Nexans SA
Current assignee: Nexans SA
Priority date: 2021-02-19
Filing date: 2021-02-19
Publication date: 2023-12-20
Anticipated expiration: 2041-02-19
Also published as: EP4046950A1; FI4046950T3

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cable packaging assembly for storing and unspooling cable.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Today's solutions for the installation of cables for general use in buildings and civil works use cables in moisture protected cardboard box (cardboard with PE foil or other added substance for moisture protection), plastic wrapped bundles (coils), or cable on drum.
US 2019023521 by Roussel describes methods of manufacture and implementations of cable storage and dispensing systems combining the advantages of reel-based systems and box-based systems. The present system may be manufactured entirely out of corrugated cardboard or similar materials, reducing expense and weight compared to systems with wood, plastic, or metal reels or flanges, and adding recyclability in a single paper-based waste stream. The system may dispense cable in the same manner as reel-based systems, reducing tangling and aiding installation and deployment compared to box-based systems that do not utilize reels or spools.
Document EP 2 497 522 B1 discloses a cable packaging assembly according to the preamble of claim 1 and describes a handling device for stubbed fiber optic hardware.
Document US 5 261 625 A discloses a device for dispensing wire, cable or the like.
Document GB2 395 939 A discloses a disposable reel for wire used to tie steel rods together.
The object of the present invention is to provide a cable packaging assembly which provides protection for the electric cable and which is easy to handle for the user.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cable packaging assembly according to claim 1.
In one aspect, the cable packaging assembly comprises a cable drum rotatably connected to the drum support, and wherein the drum support and the cable drum are provided within the compartment.
In one aspect, the frame is made of a plastic material. In one aspect, also the cable drum and/or the packaging container is made of a plastic material. Preferably, the plastic material is a recycled and/or recyclable plastic material. Preferably, the plastic material is polypropylene material.
In one aspect, when the cable drum is rotatably connected to the drum support, the drum support and the cable drum are provided within the compartment when the frame is in the second state.
In the first state, the drum support is protruding from the base plate in the same plane as the base plate. In the second state, the drum support is protruding perpendicular to the base plate.
In one aspect, the frame is provided as one single body.
In one aspect, the drum support is joined to the base plate by means of a flexible joint.
In one aspect, the flexible joint is formed by a weakened area of the material of the frame.
Alternatively, the base and the drum support are provided as separate bodies connectable to each other.
In one aspect, the base plate comprise a first set of locking elements and the drum support comprises a second set of locking elements to interlock with the first set of locking elements when the frame is in the second state.
In one aspect, the locking elements are releasable locking elements.
In one aspect, the base comprise one or more connection elements and the container comprises one or more container connection elements wherein the connection elements engaged with the container connection elements.
In one aspect, the drum support comprises a first support element joined to a first side of the base plate and a second support element joined to a second side of the base plate, wherein the cable drum is rotatably connected between the first support element and the second support element when the frame is in the second state.
In one aspect, the drum support comprises a container facing surface oriented with an angle with respect to a perpendicular axis of the base plate when the frame is in the second state, wherein the angle is between 0.5° and 5°.
In one aspect, the container comprises a container base and four sides protruding from an edge of the container base, wherein the four sides are oriented with an angle with respect to a perpendicular axis of the container base, wherein the angle is between 0.5° and 5° in the outward direction.
According to this orientation of the four sides, the container can be stacked with other containers before assembly.
In one aspect, the drum support comprises an axle section rotatably connectable to a drum bore (35) of the cable drum (30).
In one aspect, the axle section is locked to the drum bore, preventing axial movement of the axle section out of the drum bore while allowing rotation of the drum bore relative to the axle section. The axle section may be locked to the drum bore by means of a snap-on lock.
In one aspect, the base plate of the frame comprises a tapered slot for temporarily fastening of a cable end.
In one aspect, the base plate of the frame comprises an access opening in which a lid is bendably connected.
In one aspect, the base plate comprises a grip accessible through the access opening.
In one aspect, the lid comprises an inspection opening.
According to the above, it is provided a cable packaging assembly which provides protection of the electric cable against the dirt, particles and also against moisture.
According to the above, it is provided a cable packing assembly which is easy to carry and easy to unspool cable from.
According to the above, it is provided a cable packaging assembly which is easily stacked during storage, for example on pallets, on a shelf in the vehicle of the user etc. Prior art cardboard cable dispensers are vulnerable to mechanical damage when weight is stacked above the dispenser, in particular if the dispenser has been exposed to moisture.

OVERVIEW OF DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 shows a perspective view of a frame of a cable packaging assembly in the initial state.
Fig. 2 shows a perspective view of the frame in the assembled state.
Fig. 3 illustrates a side view of a cable drum.
Fig. 4 shows an elevation of the cable drum and frame of cable packaging assembly prior to assembled state
Fig. 5 shows an elevation of the cable drum and frame of cable packaging assembly in the assembled state
Fig. 6 shows a detailed view of the klick joint between the drum supports and base plate of the frame
Fig. 7 illustrates the frame in its assembled state, where it is assembled with the cable drum and the cable drum is hanging from the frame.
Fig. 8 shows a schematic view of the container;
Fig. 9 illustrates a perspective view of an assembled cable packaging assembly with cable;
Fig. 10 shows a cross-section of complete cable packaging assembly;
Fig. 11 shows a perspective view of the cable packaging assembly, where a lid in the base plate is open.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Initially, it is referred to fig. 9, which shows a cable packaging assembly 10 for storing and unspooling of an electric cable C when the assembly 10 has been assembled and is ready for use. The cable packaging assembly 10 comprises three main components a frame 20, a cable drum 30 and a container 40, where the frame 20 rotatably supports the cable drum 30 with respect to the container 40. The electric cable C protrudes up from the assembly 10, and by pulling in the cable C, the cable C may be unspooled from the cable drum 30.
In the embodiment described below, the frame 20, the cable drum 30 and the container 40 are of recycled polypropylene. After the end of life of the assembly 10, the assembly 10 may be recycled again.
Below, the frame 20, the cable drum 30 and the container 40 will be described further in detail together with the assembly procedure of the assembly 10 and the use of the assembly 10.

The frame 20

As shown in Fig 1, the frame 20 comprises a rectangular base plate 21 and a drum support 24 protruding from the base plate 21. The drum support 24 here comprises a first support element 24a joined to a first side of the base plate 21 and a second support element 24b joined to a second side of the base plate 21. In their distal ends with respect to the base plate 21, the first support element 24a and the second support element 24b comprises an axle section 25.
In the present embodiment, the frame 20 is provided as one single body, where the drum support 24 is joined to the base plate 21 by means of a flexible joint 29 as shown in Fig 4. The flexible joint 29 is here formed by a weakened area of the material of the frame 20, i.e. an area where the material has a smaller thickness than other areas of the material.
Consequently, it is achieved that the first support element 24a and the second support element 24b can be bent or pivoted from their positions in fig. 1 and fig. 4, where the support elements 24a, 24b are oriented in the same plane as the base plate 21 (hereinafter referred to as the first state) to their positions shown in fig. 3 and fig. 5, wherein the support elements 24a, 24b are oriented perpendicular to the base plate 21 (hereinafter referred to as the second state).
The base plate 21 further comprises an access opening 50 indicated in fig. 1 and 11 as a dashed rectangle. The access opening 50 can be closed by means of two lids 51 joined to the base plate 21. In fig. 1, both lids 51 are closed. In fig. 9, both lids 51 are partially opened. In fig. 11, one lid is closed, and the other one is fully open.
Each lid 51 comprises a cut-out which together are forming an inspection opening 53 when the lids are closed.
Each lid 51 further comprises a tapered slot 54 for temporarily fastening or locking of a cable end C to the base plate 21.
The inspection opening 53 and/or the tapered slot 54 may be used to open the lids 51.
It is now referred to fig. 1 and fig. 6. Here it is shown that the base plate 21 comprises a first set of locking elements 28a and the drum support 24 comprises a second set of locking elements 28b to interlock with the first set of locking elements 28a when the frame 20 is in the second state. In the present embodiment, the locking elements 28a, 28b are releasable locking elements in the form of snap-locks.
Furthermore, the base plate 21 comprises one or more connection elements 28c for connection to the container 40. This will be described further in detail below.
The base plate 21 further comprises a finger grip 23 formed as a grooved cylinder.
It is now referred to fig. 5, where it is shown that the first and second drum supporting elements 24a, 24b comprises a container facing surface 24c oriented with an angle α with respect to a perpendicular axis P21 of the base plate 21 when the frame 20 is in the second state. The same angle α is also indicated when the frame 20 is in the first state in fig. 4.

The cable drum 30

It is now referred to fig. 3 and fig. 10. Here, the cable drum 30 is shown to comprise two drum flanges 31 connected at a distance from each other by means of a drum core 34. The electric cable C is spooled around the drum core 34 between the flanges 31.
The drum core 34 comprises a drum bore 35, adapted to receive the axle sections 25 of the first and second supporting elements 24a, 24b. The axle section may be locked to the drum bore, preventing axial movement of the axle section out of the drum bore while allowing rotation of the drum bore relative to the axle section. The axle sections 25 may be locked to the drum bore 35 by means of a snap-on lock (not shown) or similar locks.

The container 40

It is now referred to fig. 8 and fig. 10, where it is shown that the container 40 comprises a base 41 and four sides 42 protruding from the edges of the base 41, thereby defining a compartment 44 within the container 40. The container 40 is comprises an opening 43 for accessing the compartment 44.
The four sides 42 are oriented with an angle β with respect to a perpendicular axis P41 of the container base 41. The angle β is between 0.5° and 5° in the outward direction. Preferably, the angle β is equal to the angle α, to achieve that the supporting elements 24a, 24b are in contact with, and hence supported by, two of the sides 42 of the container 40.
The container 40 further comprises container connection elements 48 (Fig. 9), to which the connection elements 28c of the base plate 21 are engaged with when assembled.

Assembly operation of the cable packaging assembly 10

The assembly operation of the cable packaging assembly 10 will now be described.
Initially, the frame 20, the cable drum 30 with electric cable C and the container 40 are separate parts. The frame 20 is in its first state as indicated in fig. 1 and fig. 4. The frame 20 can here easily be stacked in a space-efficient manner for storage and/or transportation to the location of the assembly operation. Due to the angled sides 42 of the container 40, a plurality of containers can be stacked above each other in a space-efficient manner for storage and/or transportation to the location of the assembly operation.
In a first step, the cable drum 30 is held on, or above, the base plate 21 as shown in fig. 4.
Then, the first supporting element 24a and the second supporting element 24b are bent or pivoted as indicated by arrows A1 to the position shown in fig. 5 and secured in this position by means of the locking elements 28a, 28b. Here, the axle sections 25 have been inserted into the respective ends of the drum bore 35 and snapped on. It should be noted that in this position, the drum flanges 31 are preferably not in contact with the base plate 21, which could prevent rotation of the cable drum with respect to the frame 20.
In a final step, the first supporting element 24a, the second supporting element 24b and the cable drum 30 connected between the supporting elements 24a, 24b are inserted through the opening 43 into the compartment 44 of the container 40, until the connection elements 28c becomes engaged with the container connection elements 48. The frame 20 is now connected to the packaging container 40. In addition, the base plate 21 is arranged in the opening 43 of the packaging container 40. Hence, as shown in fig. 11, the base plate 21 is forming a cover, which are covering the opening 43 of the container 40. Access to the interior of the container 40 is now provided by means of the access opening 50 in the base plate 21.
It should be noted that when the cable drum 30 is empty, the frame 20 can be released from the container 40 and the cable drum 30 may be replaced by a new cable drum with electric cable.

Use of the cable packaging assembly

The user of the cable packaging assembly will typically be a user of electric cables, such as an electrician, a telecommunications installer etc.
After the assembly operation, the cable packaging assembly 10 may easily be stacked above each other in stacks on a pallet etc. from the location of the assembly operation to the location of the user, either directly or via a distributor. The cable packaging assembly 10 is not vulnerable to mechanical damage in the same way as a cardboard dispenser.
It is now referred to fig. 11. Here it is shown that by opening the lid 51, the user may put is fingers into the access opening 50 and further around the grip 23 (for example shown in fig. 7). It is now easy to carry the cable packaging assembly 10 with one hand, while unspooling cable C with the other hand.
When the desired amount of cable is unspooled, the cable may be cut, and the cable end may be secured to the tapered slot 54.

Alternative embodiments

In the above embodiment, the drum support 24 is provided as two supporting elements 24a, 24b. It should be noted that it is possible to provide the drum support 24 as one supporting element.
It should further be noted that the frame 20 may be provided as separate elements, where the drum support 24 is releasably connected to the base plate 21.

LIST OF REFERENCE NUMBERS

(10) cable packaging assembly
(20) frame
(21) base plate
(23) finger grip
(24) drum support
(24a) first support element
(24b) second support element
(24c) container facing surface
(25) axle section
(28a) locking elements
(28b) locking elements
(28c) connection elements
(29) flexible joint
(30) cable drum
(31) flanges
(34) drum core
(35) drum bore
(40) container
(41) container base
(42) container sides
(43) container opening
(44) compartment
(48) container connection elements
(50) access opening
(51) lid
(53) inspection opening
(54) tapered slot
(P21) perpendicular axis
(P41) perpendicular axis
(α) angle
(β) angle

Claims

A cable packaging assembly (10) for storing and unspooling cable,
the cable packaging assembly (10) comprising:
- a frame (20) comprising a base plate (21) and a drum support (24) protruding from the base plate (21);

- a packaging container (40) comprising a compartment (44) and an opening (43) for accessing the compartment (44);

wherein the drum support (24) is provided within the compartment (44);

wherein the frame (20) is connected to the packaging container (40); and

wherein the base plate (21) is arranged in the opening (43) of the packaging container (40);

the cable packaging assembly (10) being characterized in that the frame (20) is configured to be in one of the following states:
- a first state, in which the base plate (21) and the drum support (24) are oriented in the same plane; and

- a second state, in which the drum support (24) is oriented perpendicular to the base plate (21);

wherein the frame (20) is in the second state when the drum support (24) is provided within the compartment (44).
The cable packaging assembly (10) according to claim 1, wherein the cable packaging assembly (10) comprises a cable drum (30) rotatably connected to the drum support (24), and wherein the drum support (24) and the cable drum (30) are provided within the compartment (44).
The cable packaging assembly (10) according to claim 1, wherein the frame (20) is made of a plastic material.
The cable packaging assembly (10) according to any one of the above claims, wherein the frame (20) is provided as one single body.
The cable packaging assembly (10) according to claim 4, wherein the drum support (24) is joined to the base plate (21) by means of a flexible joint (29).
The cable packaging assembly (10) according to claim 5, wherein the flexible joint (29) is formed by a weakened area of the material of the frame (20).
The cable packaging assembly (10) according to any one of the above claims, wherein the base plate (21) comprises a first set of locking elements (28a) and the drum support (24) comprises a second set of locking elements (28b) to interlock with the first set of locking elements (28a) when the frame (20) is in the second state.
The cable packaging assembly (10) according to any one of the above claims, wherein the base plate (21) comprises one or more connection elements (28c) and the container (40) comprises one or more container connection elements (48), wherein the connection elements (28c) are engaged with the container connection elements (48).
The cable packaging assembly (10) according to claim 2, wherein the drum support (24) comprises a first support element (24a) joined to a first side of the base plate (21) and a second support element (24b) joined to a second side of the base plate (21), wherein the cable drum (30) is rotatably connected between the first support element (24a) and the second support element (24b) when the frame (20) is in the second state.
The cable packaging assembly (10) according to any one of the above claims, wherein the drum support (24) comprises a container facing surface (24c) oriented with an angle (α) with respect to a perpendicular axis (P21) of the base plate (21) when the frame (20) is in the second state, wherein the angle (α) is between 0.5° and 5°.
The cable packaging assembly (10) according any one of the above claims, wherein the container (40) comprises a container base (41) and four sides (42) protruding from an edge of the container base (41), wherein the four sides (42) are oriented with an angle (β) with respect to a perpendicular axis of the container base (41), wherein the angle (β) is between 0.5° and 5° in the outward direction.
The cable packaging assembly (10) according to claim 2, wherein the drum support (24) comprises an axle section (25) rotatably connectable to a drum bore (35) of the cable drum (30).
The cable packaging assembly according to any one of the above claims, wherein the base plate (21) of the frame (20) comprises an access opening (50) to which a lid (51) is bendably connected.
The cable packaging assembly according to claim 13, wherein the base plate (21) comprises a grip (23) accessible through the access opening (50).