The present invention was developed for specific use as a bearing assembly used in a pair of spaced frame members which support a swimming pool cover reel but, in its broadest aspects, the invention is useful in a variety of applications, particularly wherever exposure to any metal corrosive or other harsh environment takes place, and in which an economically reproducible and easily assembled bearing with a minimum of parts is required.
One example of a prior art reel bearing, used in a swimming pool cover reel is disclosed in U.S. Pat. 4,407,027 issued October 4, 1983 to Colin which uses an elongated pool cover reel supportable between first and second end frames which are each of a generally triangular configuration and in which separate bearing sleeves are affixed to the ends of the pool cover reel and passed through apertures in the frame members to provide a suitable bearing surface therein. Rotatable hand wheels at either end of the assembly are affixed to the bearing sleeves and to stub shafts on the ends of the cover support tube by set screws located outside the frame supports. As shown in the patent, the bearing sleeve rotates directly inside of the apertures in the frame supports. In more recent commercial embodiments, separate cages with roller bearings therein have been interposed between the bearing sleeves and the inside of the frame apertures to provide a more smooth rolling bearing.
Triangular support frames for such reels have been used in combination with casters, mounted on a first side of the triangle, to provide a reel that is easily moved when said first side is disposed adjacent a surface upon which the support rests. The triangular support frame can be rotated so that a second side of the triangular frame, which does not have casters, rests upon the surface, providing a stable and relatively fixed support for the reel. A triangular shape is advantageous for this and other reasons, including the inherent strength arising from the shape, making support frames of plastic for example possible, and prior bearings have been used in conjunction with such triangular support frames.
It is the object of the present invention to improve upon the prior art by eliminating parts, or, in other ways, reducing the manufacturing costs in producing the reel bearing assembly in reel support frames by reducing materials costs and in reducing the labor involved in assembling the bearing assembly.