GB1366267A - Apparatus for marking the surface of extruded elongated members with coloured bands - Google Patents

Abstract

1366267 Marking cable INTERNATIONAL STANDARD ELECTRIC CORP 22 Feb 1973 [25 Feb 1972] 8634/73 Heading D1L Apparatus for marking the surface of an insulated electrical conductor with a plurality of coloured bands comprises an annular nozzle 3 through the centre of which the cable 1 is passed, a reservoir 9 for the coloured marking fluid 8 connected via conduits 7 and 4 to the nozzle 3 and maintained under superatmospheric pressure by a pressurised gas (e.g. compressed air) and a fluid proportioning device, e.g. rotary slide valve 5, which is disposed between reservoir 9 and nozzle 3 and is controlled and/or operated by means of pulley 6 in contact with the moving cable 1 to intermittently interrupt the supply of marking fluid to the nozzle and thus the feeding of the fluid onto the surface of the cable. The annular nozzle 3 is formed by a pair of plate spring- like elements 16 (Fig. 3a) enclosing a nozzle chamber 17, the aperture 18 being closed when the pressure of marking fluid in the chamber 17 is insufficient to force the elements 16 apart, i.e. when the supply of pressurised fluid from reservoir 9 is disconnected by valve 5. The mechanical forces closing the aperture 18 may be reinforced by disposing the nozzle 3 in an electromagnet [Fig. 5, not shown]. The rotary slide valve 5 which forms the proportioning device includes a housing 20 (Fig. 4) having an inlet 22 connected to the pressurised reservoir and at least one outlet 23 connected to the nozzle 3, and a prestressed sliding part 21 which is connected by a shaft to pulley 6 and rotates to intermittently open outlets 23 as the pulley is rotated by the cable 1 passing thereover. In an alternative embodiment the fluid proportioning device is formed by a solenoid valve controlled by an electrical pulse generator formed by a commutator coupled to the drive pulley 6 [Fig. 2, not shown].