The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Apr. 18, 2000
Filed:
Apr. 12, 1999
Stephen P Whitehead, Elgin, IL (US);
Torrence C Anderson, Aurora, IL (US);
Michael G Uffner, Naperville, IL (US);
Suncast Corporation, Batavia, IL (US);
Abstract
An enclosed hose reel for use with an associated flexible hose includes a spool carried by and enclosed within an enclosure. The spool has a hub and a pair of flanges at opposing ends of the hub and is configured for storage, take-up and pay-out of the flexible hose. The enclosure has front and rear wall panels, side wall panels extending between the front and rear wall panels, and a cover. The enclosure is configured for receiving the spool so as to rotate within the enclosure and for storing a length of flexible hose on the spool within the enclosure. A pair of hinges mounts the cover to the enclosure for movement between a closed position and an open position and for maintaining the cover in the open position. Each hinge includes a track formed in a respective side wall panel and a pair of pins associated and cooperative with each track. Each track includes a generally straight leg portion contiguous with a return portion that is non-linear with the straight leg portion. When the cover is in the open position, both pins of each pair are positioned in the straight leg portion and when the cover is rotated into the closed position, one of each pair of pins traverses the straight leg portion so as to provide a sliding pivot and the other of each pair of pins traverses from the straight leg portion into the return portion so as enable closing the cover.