EP0128451B1 - Fixed apparatus for coiling a cable - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a stationary machine for coiling a cable in successive layers in a tank which comprises a horizontal arm rotating on a bracket located in the axis of the tank; such a machine is described in document FR-E-88593.

Electric cables manufactured and delivered in very long length in one piece cannot be wound on coils because the dimensions of these would become exorbitant.

They are therefore stored in storage tanks.

During the coiling operation, a cable is twisted around its axis by one turn per turn. This twist is detrimental to the internal constitution of the cable, so that we try to reduce it by increasing the average diameter of the turns.

During the unwinding operation, the altitude of the cable guide point is raised, which is generally at the level of a pulley provided with an hawser guiding the cable in the vertical axis of the tank.

The coiling machines or devices generally used have a very high cable guide point relative to the tank to facilitate the coiling operation. They then have an oblique or possibly articulated coiling arm on a parallelogram. These machines are therefore very tall and difficult to set up in a conventional workshop or in a cable ship.

The present invention eliminates this drawback by proposing a coiling machine of reduced height while retaining a good distribution of the cable twist.

The machine according to the present invention is characterized in that the coiling cable arriving under the tank by an inlet curve provided with rollers passes through the bracket, a guide pulley directing the cable horizontally at the outlet of the bracket, and a movable pulley along the horizontal arm directing the cable vertically from one edge of the tank to the other.

Advantageously, the movable pulley is mounted on a carriage driven along the horizontal arm by a motor, and this pulley is driven in rotation by another motor.

Preferably, the movable pulley is driving and comprises two flanges forming a vee to drive the cable by jamming.

According to another embodiment, a caterpillar pulls the cable and the drive pulley stretches the cable from the caterpillar to a hawk.

Advantageously, the rollers constituting an input curve comprise two flanges forming a vee coated with an elastomer to prevent the cable twisting from going upstream of these rollers.

It is described below, by way of example with reference to the single figure of the accompanying drawing, a coiling machine according to the invention.

A tank 1, having an external circular wall 2 and an internal circular wall 3, is placed on external studs 4 and internal studs 5. The coiling machine 10 is mounted in the center of the tank and therefore has a column central 11, through which the coiling cable 8 passes, a horizontal arm 12 rotating on the column by means of a pivot 14 and supporting a counterweight 13, a fixed guide pulley 15 and a movable pulley 16. The guide pulley 15 receives the cable 8 leaving the vertical column and directs it horizontally towards the movable pulley 16. The axis of this movable pulley 16 is fixed on a carriage 18 which is guided by a rail 17. The drive of this trolley is made via a motor 19.

A motor 23 rotates the pulley 16 which then becomes a driving pulley for the cable 8. This pulley has two flanges (not shown) constituting a v-shaped groove for driving the cable by wedging, and this groove can be covered with 'an elastomer to facilitate cable training.

The cable is therefore driven, along arrow F, by the pulley 16 but also by a track 25, and in this case the traction force is mainly provided by this track, the driving pulley 16 playing a role of tensioner between the track and a hawker 24.

Get hatching 24 guides the cable to the exit of the pulley 16 to prevent it from coming out of the groove of the pulley.

The central column 11 has, at its base, a hatch 20, and between this hatch 20 and the track 25, rollers 21 constitute an input curve 22.

The rollers 21 comprise two flanges (not shown) forming a vee coated with an elastomer to prevent the twisting of the cable from going upstream, that is to say towards the track.

• Le câble 8 passant sous la cuve 1, est guidé par des rouleaux 21 de la courbe d'entrée 22 dans un écubier 20 et tranverse ensuite la colonne verticale pour passer sur la poulie de guidage, sur la poulie mobile et tomber enfir verticalement dans la cuve. Pour réaliser une spire, le bras horizontal tourne autour de l'axe de la cuve suivant la flèche R tandis que la poulie motrice 16 entraîne le câble. Dès qu'une spire est terminée, le chariot 18 se déplace le long du rail 17 sur une longueur équivalente à l'épaisseur du câble de l'extérieur de la cuve à l'intérieur de celle-ci, et de l'intérieur à l'extérieur alternativement à chaque couche 9 réalisée.

The coiling operation is therefore carried out as follows:

• The cable 8 passing under the tank 1, is guided by rollers 21 of the input curve 22 in an hatch 20 and then crosses the vertical column to pass on the guide pulley, on the movable pulley and fall vertically into the tank. To make a turn, the horizontal arm turns around the axis of the tank along the arrow R while the driving pulley 16 drives the cable. As soon as a turn is completed, the carriage 18 moves along the rail 17 over a length equivalent to the thickness of the cable from the outside of the tank to the inside thereof, and from the inside to the exterior alternately to each layer 9 produced.

An operator, placed in the tank, presses the cable against the previous turn, and pulls or pushes on the cable to rotate the horizontal arm. The rotation of this horizontal arm can of course be ensured by an assistant operator, but it can also be motorized.

When unwinding, the cable is pulled along arrow F 'by a boarding track outside the tank, but it can also be pulled by auxiliary tractors, not shown. The driving pulley 16, as well as the horizontal arm, becomes free in rotation while the operator adjusts the position of the carriage 18 from one edge of the tank to the other, and this for each layer.

Without departing from the scope of the invention, this machine can of course be fully automated.

Claims (6)

1. A stationary machine (10) for coiling a cable (8) in successive layers inside a tank (1), comprising a horizontal arm (12) pivoting on a column (11) situated in the axis of the tank, characterized in that the cable to be coiled which arrives below the tank by an inlet curve (22) supplied with rolls (21), passes through the column, a guide pulley (15) directing the cable horizontally at the outlet of the column, and a pulley (16) which is mobile along the horizontal arm directing the cable vertically from one edge of the tank to the other.

2. A coiling machine according to claim 1, characterized in that the mobile pulley (16) is mounted on a carriage (18) which is driven by a motor (19) along the horizontal arm.

3. A coiling machine according to one of claims 1 to 2, characterized in that the mobile pulley (16) is driven in rotation by a motor (23).

4. A coiling machine according to one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the mobile pulley is a drive pulley and comprises two flanges forming a V for driving the cable by pinching.

5. A coiling machine according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that a caterpillar (25) draws the cable, the drive pulley (16) then stretching the cable from the caterpillar (25) to an eyelet (24).

6. A coiling machine according to one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that the rolls (21) constituting an inlet curve (22) comprise two flanges forming a V and lined with elastomer, for preventing the twist of the cable from passing upstream from these rolls.

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