Polygonal Cable Reel Drum Support for Harsh Environment Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional cable reels are limited in their use under harsh environmental conditions, such as construction sites, as they require laying flat on the ground and lack adequate protection against damage.
Innovation Solution
A cable reel design featuring polygonal end walls that serve as a drum carrier, allowing the reel to be stood upright and providing full-surface protection, with a bearing body for rotary operation and access, and integrated electrical interfaces for enhanced functionality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional cable reels are designed without a housing structure, then they are simple in structure and easy to manufacture, but they lack protection against damage and cannot be used reliably in harsh environmental conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The cable reel is segmented into a drum support structure and a drum body that can rotate independently within the receiving space. The drum support includes front and rear end walls that form a protective housing, while the drum body is a separate rotatable component. This segmentation allows the housing to provide protection while the drum remains functional for cable winding.
Solution Approach 2:
The drum body is nested within the receiving space formed by the front and rear end walls of the drum support. The drum rotates inside this protective housing structure, allowing the cable reel to maintain protection while enabling rotational movement for cable winding and unwinding operations.
2Ease of operation
If cable reels are designed to be laid flat on the ground, then they are stable, but they require ground contact which is problematic in harsh conditions and limit operational flexibility
Solution Approach 1:
The cable reel design transitions from ground-level operation to upright standing operation by providing a polygonal cross-section with flat sides that can rest on the ground. The front and rear end walls create a vertical housing structure that allows the reel to stand on its side, elevating the drum body above ground contact and enabling operation in harsh conditions without requiring ground laying.
3Reliability
If the drum body is fully enclosed in a housing, then protection against damage is maximized, but access to the drum for cable winding becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The housing structure is segmented with opening regions in the front and rear end walls that provide access to the drum body. These openings allow cable winding operations while the rest of the housing structure remains intact to provide protection. The drum support structure separates the protective housing function from the operational access requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The front and rear end walls have localized opening regions that provide access to the drum body where needed for cable winding, while the rest of the housing structure remains enclosed to provide maximum protection. This local quality approach allows access only in specific areas rather than compromising the entire housing structure.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
A cable reel, in particular a cable drum, is proposed, comprising a first cable reel end face (15) and a second cable reel end face (16) opposite it, and a drum support (12) having a front and a rear end wall (31, 33) which are polygonally contoured and define a receiving space (34) in which a drum body (13) for winding a flexible line, in particular a cable, is received, wherein a bearing body (54) extends into the receiving space (34) on which the drum body (13) is rotatably mounted and which is attached to at least one of the end walls (31, 33), and wherein one of the two end walls (31, 33) has a wall opening (32) allowing access for rotary actuation of the drum body (13).