GB2034362A

GB2034362A - Cable stranding machine: reel moving

Info

Publication number: GB2034362A
Application number: GB7844549A
Authority: GB
Original assignee: Diosgyori Gepgyar
Current assignee: Diosgyori Gepgyar
Priority date: 1978-10-23
Filing date: 1978-11-15
Publication date: 1980-06-04
Also published as: FR2441247B1; FR2441247A1; DE2846016A1; GB2034362B; DE2846016C3; DE2846016B2

Abstract

In a cable stranding machine a reel lifting device (22) with a table- board (26) rotatable through at least 90 DEG is employed within a casing (28). A filled reel (18) can be removed from the stranding machine transversely of its longitudinal direction through a service door (36) in a bottom part of the casing. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Stranding machines This invention relates to stranding machines.

Such machines are widely used, for example in the cable manufacturing industry, and are also known as cable-making machines.

With such machines a material to be stranded is drawn off from reels and is supplied through a stranding die before it reaches the stranding machine. The latter comprises a rotating carrier body which is supported at both ends and houses a draw-off device in a U-shaped frame for drawing off the material to be stranded, and a take-up winding device for winding up finished product. For reasons of safety, all movable parts of a stranding machine are located in a closed casing which is opened when reels are changed. Filled reels are removed upwardly by a special reel lifting device and replaced by empty reels. During lifting, however, the reels have to be connected to the reel lifting device which is a time consuming job and one in which there is the danger of accidents.

It has been suggested to eliminate the aforesaid difficulties by a stranding machine the reel lifting device of which is located below the carrier body in the form of a vertically displaceable table-board. Such a stranding machine is described for example in United Kingdom patent specification No. 1,138,783.

In order to enable the reel lifting device to be placed below the carrier body the latter has been formed as a free-swinging structure which means that it is supported only at one of its extremities and is thus exposed to unfavourable consequences of such support.

In addition, free-swinging carrier bodies are highly dangerous and require the employment of casings. Closed casings however, have the inconvenience of cumbersome accessability, which is eliminated by an open arrangement of the carrier body.

According to the present invention there is provided a stranding machine comprising a casing, a carrier body in the casing for supporting a reel, and a reel lifting device comprising a vertically displaceable table-board, the table-board being arranged for angular displacement through at least 90 from a working position into a discharge position, and a bottom part of the casing being provided with a service door which occupies a transverse position with respect to the working position of the table-board.

The invention permits automatically removal of filled reels from stranding machines even though they are provided with protective casings.

The reel lifting device preferably comprises a contractable mechanism for lifting and lowering the table-board, contraction and expansion of the former resulting in vertical displacements of the latter. Such mechanical means are exempt from sealing difficulties experienced with pneumatic drives.

Furthermore, the table-board is preferably four-sided and has a frame on three sides while its fourth side is associated with reel discharge is provided with an abutment for withholding a reel resting on the table-board, the frame being higher than the abutment.

Such table-boards have the advantage of being very suitable for preventing a filled reel from rolling. Nevertheless, the reels can easily be made to roll in the direction of discharge, if desired.

A discharge ramp can be provided between the reel lifting device and the service door.

The discharge ramp co-operates with the table-board and forms, as it were, its continuation when the table-board occupies its lowermost position and the filled reel is ready for discharge.

The electric circuit of the stranding machine according to the invention may comprise an electric switch arranged to be operated by the service door so as to be interrupted and, thereby, to stop stranding operations whenever the service door is opened. This is especially useful for preventing accidents caused by manipulating the machine while in operation.

The invention is further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings which shows an embodiment of the stranding machine and in which: Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the embodiment, the casing being partly removed; Figure 2 shows a side elevational view similar to Fig. 1 illustrating another operational position of the stranding machine; Figure 3 is a sectional view taken along line Ill-Ill of Fig. 2; and Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along line IV-IV of Fig. 2.

The illustrated stranding machine comprises a machine stand or stationary frame 10 with a base plate 1 2. In the stationary frame 10 a carrier body 14 is rotatably supported at both ends and is provided with a carrier yoke 1 6 which serves for receiving and holding a reel 1 8. The reel is coupled with the carrier yoke 1 6 by means of tail spindles 20 (see Fig. 3).

Below the carrier yoke 1 6 there is provided a mechanical reel lifting device 22 which comprises a table-board 26 which is arranged for vertical displacement by means of a drive 24.

Both the carrier body 14 with the carrier yoke 1 6 and the reel lifting device 22 with its drive 24 are located inside a casing 28.

The table-board is arranged, by means of a rotatable support, for angular displacement in a horizontal plane which coincides with the plane of the drawing in Fig. 4. As shown in Fig. 3 there is a pivot 30 which is fixed to a support plate 32 and which permits rotation of the table-board 26 therearound as is indicated by a double arrow 34 in Fig. 4.

In the illustrated operational position of the table-board 26 the reel 1 8 is enabled to be taken over from the carrier yoke 1 6 directly on to the table-board 26.

The transverse position is associated with discharge and is assumed by an angular displacement in the clockwise direction with respect to the working position shown in Fig. 4.

In principle, it is possible to arrange the table-board 26 for free rotation around the pivot 30. Manipulating the reel lifting device 22 is, however, considerably simpler if both positions separated by a right angle are defined by abutments (not shown) between the table-board 26 and the support plate 32 which prevent excessive angular displacement.

A service door 36 is provided in the bottom part of the casing 28 at right angles to the working position of the table-board 26, through which a filled reel 1 8 can be removed from the stranding machine and an empty one introduced.

The stranding machine drive (not shown) is provided with a switch box 38. The operating circuit of the switch comprises a circuitbreaker (not shown) which is operated by the service door 36 and stops the stranding machine whenever the service door 36 is opened. Such security measures are well known in the art so that a detailed description is not given herein.

Switch gear 40 serves for switching the drive 24 which comprises an electric motor 42 and a gearing 44.

In the illustrated embodiment, the reel lifting device 22 is provided with a pair of contractable mechanisms 46 and 48 in the form of a Nuremberg scissors devices, which are engaged with and guided by rails at the top and at the bottom. The mechanism 46 cooperates with a top rail 50 and with a bottom rail 52. Corresponding rails of the mechanism 48 are designated by reference numerals 54 and 56, respectively. The mutually opposite extremities of the contracting mechanisms 46 and 48 on the right as seen in Figs. 1 and 2 are connected with each other by transverse rods 58 and 60, and guided in elongated grooves 62 and 64 in the rails 54 and 56 respectively. The bottom transverse rod 60 engages with a guide block 66 which, in turn, engaged with a spindle 68. The extremity of the spindle 68 on the right as seen in Figs. 1 and 2 is connected to the gearing 44 which serves to rotate it.

In the illustrated embodiment the tableboard 26 is four-sided. A frame 72 thereof occupies three of its sides. On the fourth side of the table-board 26 associated with reel discharge there is an abutment 74 which serves for retaining a reel 1 8 resting on the table-board. The abutment 74 is less high than the frame 72 and is just high enough to prevent the reel 1 8 rolling off but sufficiently low to be overcome by an energetic jerk on the latter (in Fig. 4 downwards as regards the drawing).

Instead of the frame 72 and the abutment 74 suitable recesses or depressions in the table-board 26 might be used to retain the reel 18 on the table-board 26 against unintentional rolling.

A discharge ramp 76 is provided at the level of the table-board in its lowermost position (Fig. 1) between the reel lifting device 22 and the service door 36. The ramp 76 helps to render the reel discharge more uniform and facilitates the introduction of empty reels.

In operation, the stranding machine according to the invention is fed with material to be stranded and the stranding itself will be carried out in known manner. During stranding, the reel lifting device 22 occupies the position illustrated in Fig. 1.

Upon an introduced reel 1 8 being filled the service door 36 is opened and the stranding machine stopped whereby the reel 1 8 in the carrier yoke 1 6 becomes accessible.

The carrier body 14 is then angularly displaced until the carrier yoke 1 6 occupies the position shown in Fig. 1 where the reel 18 is in a horizontal position and can be reached and taken over by the reel lifting device 22.

The reel lifting device 22 is then displaced from the position shown in Fig. 1 into the position shown in Fig. 2 where the tableboard 26 is directly beneath the reel 1 8. To achieve this, the electric motor 42 is started by means of the switchgear 40, and the guide block 66 is displaced to the left as seen in Fig. 4 by the gearing 44 and the threaded rod 68. The mechanisms 46 and 48 thereby gradually open so that the table-board 26 is lifted.

Upon reaching the position shown in Fig. 2 there will be a gap of about 1 to 2 millimeters between the reel 18 and the table-board 26.

Thus, when the tail spindles 20 are opened the reel 1 8 drops gently on to the table-board 26 where it is retained against rolling down by the frame 72 and the abutment 74.

By reversing the switchgear 40 the guiding block 66 is displaced to the right as seen in Fig. 4 of the drawing whereby the mechanism 46 and 48 become closed until the reel lifting device 22 resumes the position shown in Fig.

1 where the table-board 26 lies about at the level of the discharge ramp 76.

The table-board 26 with the reel 1 8 resting thereon will then be angularly displaced in the horizontal plane around pivot 30 by 90 so that its new position the side of the tableboard 26 provided with the abutment 74 faces the discharge ramp 76 and the service door 36.

By means of a gentle jerk the filled reel 1 8 is caused to tumble over the abutment 74 and to roll on to the discharge ramp 76. Finally, the reel is withdrawn from the stranding machine through the open service door 36.

Introducing a new empty reel 1 8 is carried out by reversing the above sequence of operations. The empty reel 18 is placed through the discharge ramp 76 on to the table-board 26 which is then angularly displaced by 90 about its pivot 30 into the position shown in Fig. 1. The electric motor 42 is started by means of the switchgear 40 and the reel lifting device 22 raised into its position shown in Fig. 2 where the empty reel 1 8 can easily be fixed in its stranding position to the carrier yoke 1 6 by means of the tail spindles 20.

The reel lifting device 22 will then be led back into the position shown in Fig. 1 by means of a further reversal of the switchgear 40. Thereafter, the service door 36 will be closed and the stranding machine started through switch box 38.

Claims

1. A stranding machine comprising a casing; a carrier body in the casing for supporting a reel, and a reel lifting device comprising a vertically displaceable table-board, the tableboard being arranged for angular displacement through at least 90 from a working position into a discharge position, and a bottom part of the casing being provided with a service door which occupies a transverse positon with respect to the working position of the table-board.

2. A stranding machine as claimed in Claim 1, wherein the reel lifting device comprises a contractable mechanism for raising and lowering the table-board.

3. A stranding machine as claimed in claim 1 or 2, wherein the table-board is foursided and provided on three sides with a frame, and on its fourth side, associated with reel discharge, with an abutment for retaining a reel on the table-board, the frame being higher than the abutment.

4. A stranding machine as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 3, wherein a discharge ramp is provided between the reel lifting device and the service door at the level of the lowermost position of the table-board.

5. A stranding machine as claimed in any one of Claims 1 to 4, comprising an electric operating circuit which includes an electric switch arranged to be operated by the service door so as to interrupt the electric circuit and stop stranding operations whenever the service door is opened.

6. A stranding machine substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

CLAIMS (16 Aug 1979)

1. A stranding machine comprising a casing; a carrier body in the casing for supporting a reel; and a reel lifting device comprising a vertically displaceable table-board, a discharge ramp being provided between the reel lifting device and the service door at the level of the lowermost position of the table-board, the table-board being arranged for angular displacement through at least 90 from a working position into a discharge position, and a bottom part of the casing being provided with a service door which occupies a transverse position with respect to the working position of the table-board.