The present invention relates to an apparatus for carrying cables winding drums. The invention refers to devices for carrying winding drums for signal cables in audio systems and relative sound generating equipment, including, for example, but not limited to, the equipment used by music and theatre groups.
In the field of audio equipment, in particular of the kind employed in tours and itinerant shows, there is a large need of equipment with limited dimensions, safe and easy to operate, which, at the same time, have a satisfactory degree of protection against possible mechanical damages due to bumps, entanglments, and/or cuts, deriving from repeated transportation, loading, unloding and stocking operations.
In order to meet these requirements, from FR -A -984281 is already known an apparatus for carrying a cable winding drum, where a reticular frame includes structure elements, fits in such a way, said structural elements are inter-connected to form a geometrical solid, within which the winding drum revolves around a horizontal axis, completely contained within the frame itself.
Such frames show a high degree of protection for the cables housed inside and, furthermore, are totally without parts sticking out, which may be dangerous elements even for the people assigned to their operation, also taking under consideration the fact that usually, the storage of the above equipment for example within trucks or monitor rooms takes place in narrow places.
Such frame, although granting a satisfactory solution for the above mentioned problems, is not without disadvantages.
Starting from the assumption that signal cables for audio equipment are, in most of the cases, intrinsecally heavy, the main disadvantage is represented by its own weight that, when added to the cable weight, results in a load which is in general not easy to carry by a person alone. Therefore, for the operation of winding devices of the above mentioned type, two people are generally required.
This factor, beside increasing staffing costs, lengthens and makes more difficult the operations for loading, unloading, positioning and storing in trucks, especially when we consider the narrow places where these people move.
From DE-C-918237 is already known an apparatus for carrying cables winding drums, comprising a reticular frame including structure elements fitted in such a way to define a geometrical solid supporting the winding drum revolving around a horizontal axis of rotation, within the overall own dimensions of the frame. The apparatus is provided with two wheels to permit the horizontal translation of the apparatus, which are mounted on the reticular frame in such a way to project from and outside the frame, parallel to drum axis rotation. The purpose of this invention is to provide a device for carrying cables winding drums, especially signal cables employed in sound generating equipment, which allows to eliminate the above described disadvantages.
According to the invention, such problems are solved by means of at least onewheel mounted on the reticular frame, with its rotation spin parallel to the axis of rotation of the winding drum for cables, and contained within the overall dimensions of the solid delimited by the reticular frame.
The main advantage of the invention is represented by the possibility of translation insted of picking it up, thus requiring just one person. This largely decreases physical effort, costs and oprational times of the staff assigned to the device operation. Also, the operations when working or storing in narrow places are easier and faster.
In particular, the wheel, or each one of them, is fastened to the frame in acorner formed by the intersection between a base and a lateral side of the frame.
Furthermore, the wheel is supported by two elements forming one enveloping body, that are rigidly fastened to two frame elements.
Because of the position and rigidity of the support, the wheel has the advantage of having a spin axis with a small diameter, thus allowing the wheel diamter itself to be accordingly small, without taking useful space; the wheel is on the other hand able to support large weights.
One further advantage of the invention is therefore represented by dimensional compactness, low cost and high reliability.
An extensible handle, on the side of the wheels, makes it easy to translate the device, with the advantage of reducing physical effort and helping the assigned person to position or store it for transport.
The handle too, when not needed, may be housed within the frame dimensions.
The invention, therefore, has no part sticking out of the reticular frame. Besides keeping unchanged the characteristic degree of safety and protection of the known frames, it allows the device to be piled up and gives it a pleasant aspect.
Further technical characteristics of the invention, according to the abovementioned purposes, are clearly stated in the claims below mentioned, and its advantages will be clearly outlined in the following detailed description.
This invention will be now described with reference to the attached drawings, which show. without limitation. an example of use, where:
Referring to the enclosed herewith figures, with 1 it is indicated, as a whole, an apparatus used to transport cable-winding drums 2, in particular cables for audio signal conduction in sound generation systems.
The apparatus 1 includes a reticular frame 3 constituted of structural elements 21 spatially oriented and interconnected between them to generate a geometrical solid which contains and carries the winding drum 2 enabling, at the same time, a rotation of the drum 2 around its horizontal axis.
The winding drum 2 is completely contained within the reticular frame 3 which, in this manner, acts as a mechanical shock protection for the cable in addition to its function of structural support for the winding drum 2.
The reticular frame 3 is provided, in its lower part, with two small diameter little thickness wheels 5, beared, substantially, in correspondence of a corner which is rounded in the figures defined by the ideal intersection of the base plane 9 with the lateral face plane 10 of the reticular frame 3.
Each of the two wheels 5 is beared in correspondence of the opposite ends of its spin axis 6 by the supports 12,13 realized as a whole support-body 14 that, with its shape, acts as an envelope for the wheels 5. This support-body 14 hides the wheel from the inside of the reticular frame 3 and, most importantly, has the function of a safety screen for the operators. as well as avoiding any interference of the cable with the wheels 5, preventing cable damaging.
As it can be seen from the figures 1,2 and 3, the support-body 14 is rigidly connected, through welding, with two structure elements 21 subtantially concurrent to a point corresponding to one of the corners 8 of the geometrical solid defined by the reticular frame 3.
This support-body 14 arrangement gives an elevate rigidness to the support itself, enabling the mounting of small diameter and little thickness wheels 5 supported by a very thin axle 22, although the wheel 5 has to carry the high weight of the winding drum 2 with the cable rolled up around it. This support-body 14 also gives the advantage of letting the use of the trasversal encumbrance referred to the rotation axis 4 of the winding drum 2 of the corners 8 defined by the structure elements 21 to mount the wheel 5, avoiding any withdrawing of space useful for the cable movement inside the overall volume 7 occupied by the reticular frame 3.
The apparatus 1 includes also a handle for an ease of movement of the reticular frame 3.
The slinding handle 11 is fitted on a guide bar 17, composed of a tubolar element 18 contained on a face 9 or 10 of the reticular frame 3. The abovementioned handle 11 has an 'operative' stable position where is completely extracted from the guide bar 17, outside from the reticular frame 3, and a second, 'non-operative', position where is completely contained inside the overall volume 7 of the reticular frame 3 itself.
The handle 11 is provided with a well shaped end 15 which is going to be completely contained in the lateral surface 16 of the reticular frame 3 once the handle 11 is in its non-operative position.
The apparatus 1 includes also some relevant means to allow the rigid connection of the guide 17 to the handle 11 which are activated in the operative position of the apparatus 1.
This means (Fig. 4) include, in particular, a peg 19 pushed by an elastic antagonist action from the handle 11 into a corresponding hole 20 realized on the tubolar element 18 which implements the guide bar 17. The function of this peg is to make the handle 11 and the guide bar 17 mutually solid.
To avoid the possibility of a complete extraction from the guide bar 17, it is possible to relalize a slit 23, of adequate lenght, along the tubolar element 18; this slit 20, coupled with a pin fixed on the handle 11, limits the extension of the handle 11 when pulled outwards from the reticular frame 3.
Referring to the Figure 3 it is evident that the apparatus 1, using the handle 11, can be moved and loaded with very little space needed, rapidly and easily by one single operator.
The invention described above is susceptible of many modifications without changing the original concept as claimed.