PORTABLE HOSE ROLLER CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation-in-part of U. S. provisional patent application serial No. 60/466,570, filed on April 29, 2003. The priority of these prior applications is expressly claimed and their disclosures are hereby incorporated by reference in their entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to hose handling equipment, and in particular to equipment used for rolling and re-stowing hoses.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In activities such as firefighting and construction, hoses are deployed to deliver water to a fire or other location remote from the water supply. When the job is completed, or if the hoses must be moved to a new location, it is necessary to rewind the hoses. This is a time consuming and clumsy task when done by hand, as is normally the case. In addition, the handling of hoses, especially wet hoses, is heavy work that can cause strains and sprains, and can also unnecessarily tire the firefighters or workers. In fighting forest fires, the fire crew is often working in remote locations with a limited crew, and can often find it necessary to move quickly to another location for safety or as part of a redeployment. As a result, there is a need for an apparatus that can readily rewind hoses, that is portable, and that can be easily operated by a single operator.
This invention provides such an apparatus which will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying figures.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A preferred embodiment of the invention is shown at 10 in Fig.'s 1-4, and includes a frame 12, a motor 14, a gearbox 16 having a horizontal output shaft 18, a guide roller 20, a safety frame 22, and a hitch mount 24. Safety frame 22 is provided to prevent accidental insertion of hands or equipment into the moving roller or spool. The frame is designed to be compact and partially dissembled to permit easy transport by one or two persons. The guide roller 20 is mounted on a support that is held in place on the frame by a removable pin that can be removed to detach the support and guide roller (Fig. 2). Referring again to Fig. 2, safety frame 22 is also removable by removing pin 28. Motor 14 as shown is an electric motor that is powered either by the vehicle transporting the roller or by a portable generator. The motor in the preferred embodiment is powered by a 12 volt power supply, but can also be powered by a 110 volt power supply in other embodiments. In still other embodiments motor 14 is gasoline or diesel powered.
The invention is designed to be mountable on the front or rear carrying rack of an ATV, and for this reason the guide roller 20 and the safety frame 22 are removable so that the frame 12 is supportable on an ATV carrying rack. In another embodiment of the invention best seen in Fig.'s 4 and 5, the frame 12 includes a tongue 24 that inserts into a standard square trailer hitch receiver (not shown). By mounting the frame on a hitch in this way the roller can be operated by a single operator and quickly and easily moved with the vehicle.
The frame is preferably made of aluminum to minimize the weight of the frame assembly, although any suitable material of construction will suffice.
Turning to Fig.'s 5-8, the roller is shown with a hose spool 30 mounted on the motor output shaft. Spool 30 includes a mounting hub 32 that fits onto the output shaft, a backing plate 34 that is mounted on mounting hub 32, and tines 36 around which the end of the hose is wrapped to initially attach the hose to the roller. The backing plate is provided to ensure that the hose is wound in a flat on the spool.
In addition to hoses, the invention can be used to wind wires, cables and tubing onto a spool. In some instances it might be necessary or preferable to adjust the size and spacing of the tines and or the spool for the specific application, but this can be readily achieved as necessary.
Another preferred embodiment of the invention is shown at 40 in Fig.'s 9 -. Referring to Fig. 's 9 and 10, the frame 42 includes two receiver hitches 44 and 46 that permit frame 42 to be mounted on the vehicle either horizontally or longitudinally. In addition to being mountable at two different orientations, frame 42 can be mounted in either orientation at three different heights utilizing hitch bar 48. Referring to Fig.'s 11-13, hitch bar 48 includes offset portions 50 and 52. Portion 50 is insertable into either of receiver hitches 44 or 46 at any of three different positions to position portion 52 above, below or at the same height as receiver 44 or 46. Hitch bar 48 can be mounted in three different orientations as shown in Fig.'s 11-13 to provide three different mounting heights as shown. The variable mounting heights accommodate different operators and also facilitate use of the apparatus when the vehicle is parked on slanted terrain.
In another aspect of this embodiment as best seen in Fig's 14 and 15, the apparatus is fitted with removable left and right line guide-guards 54 and 56. Each is removable mounted in receivers 55 and 57 and is retained by a removable pin 58. Each can be individually mounted and permit the operation of the apparatus to wind hoses or lines from either side of the vehicle without the need to reposition the vehicle.
In another aspect of the invention, frame 42 includes a tray portion 60 (Fig. 11) that provides a storage location for accessories such as a foot pedal assembly used to operate the motor, or for tools.
Those skilled in the art will recognize that numerous modifications in arrangement and detail are possible without departing from the scope of the invention. All such modifications comprise part of the invention as if expressly stated herein
