GB2140731A

GB2140731A - A machine for cutting cables into sections

Info

Publication number: GB2140731A
Application number: GB08409516A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Claude Fara
Original assignee: Addax SARL
Current assignee: Addax SARL
Priority date: 1983-04-12
Filing date: 1984-04-12
Publication date: 1984-12-05
Also published as: IT1176033B; ES531534A0; FR2544240A1; FR2544240B1; DE3413436A1; IT8420513A0; NL8401152A; ES8603677A1

Abstract

A cable, such as an aluminium and steel overhead cable, is introduced into the machine, inspected and fed continuously at a variable speed and guided towards a section-cutting device at the rear of the machine. Means such as a rockable ring 28, or a photocell, cause the feed drive to be cut-off if distorted cable is introduced. The cable is cut into sections by one or more fixed cutting tools 11, situated at the end of the cable guiding zone, and one or more counter cutting tools 13, rotatably mounted on shaft 15, the length of the sections depending on the speed of advance of the cable and the rate of rotation of the cutter(s) 13. The cut length, e.g. 5-15 cms, is the maximum which results in the outer stranded aluminium wires separating from the steel core. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION A machine for cutting cables into sections The invention relates to a machine for cutting cables into sections, in particular overhead cables having steel and aluminium components.

Medium or high tension overhead cables without external insulation generally comprise a steel bearer cable surrounded by an external aluminium strand. When, for various reasons, overhead lines are changed, the problem of recovering the constituent materials arises.

This recovery is carried out by magnetic or densimetric sorting of the materials, after hot degreasing, or by any other appropriate means. This requires the cables to be processed in small sections, which these days is achieved in an empirical manner using crocodile shears operating at a low speed. The separation of the steel bearer core from the stranded conductors and the casings is carried out by traction of the cable and packing of the aluminium conductors on stops. This operation is lengthy, not very practical and in no case suitable for recovery on an industrial scale.

According to the prior art, machines for breaking up cables, whether insulated or not, are known for various applications. These cables are disposed in bulk in breaking up containers, and cutting blades mounted on rotors ensure that the various materials are broken up. The breaking up technique cannot be used for processing recovered overhead cables, owing to the great expenditure for the necessary investment.

What is desired is a machine which can be used in particular for overhead cables of the steel and aluminium type operating under favourable conditions for productivity, the investment for a user being acceptable unlike in the case of a breaking apparatus. It would also be desirable to ensure reliable and continuous operation with a speed adapted to the section of the overhead cables, whilst allowing preliminary inspection of their external appearance. The machine should also facilitate the separation of the constituent materials, after passing through the machine and prior to magnetic or densimetric sorting.

The present invention provides a machine comprising means disposed at the front allowing a cable to be introduced, inspected and entrained continuously at a variable speed and to be guided towards a section-cutting device disposed at the rear of the machine, the said device comprising one or more cutting tools with a fixed position, situated at the end of the cable-guiding zone and one or more counter cutting tools rotatably mounted on an entrainment shaft, ensuring, according to a cycle, which is predetermined according to the advance speed of the cable, that it is cut into sections, causing the various components to be separated.

The invention will be described further, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:.

Figure 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view showing the external appearance of a machine for cutting cables into sections; Figure 2 is-a partial section of the machine, showing a device for advancing the cable towards a cutting device; Figure 3 is a top view corresponding to Fig.

2 with a semi-view of a tool holder assembly rotating on an entrainment shaft; Figure 4 is a partial cutaway view showing the manner of clamping the cutting tools; Figure 5 is a view with a partial section showing the particular shape of the rotationally movable tool holder; and Figure 6 is a section on line A-A in Fig. 5.

The machine for cutting overhead cables into sections, illustrated in Fig. 1, comprises a frame 1 on whose front part there are disposed a speed variator reduction-gearing assembly 2 and a programming box 3. The cable to be processed is introduced at the front of the machine, whereas the cutting device is situated at the rear and is protected by a profiled casing 4.

Furthermore, at the front of the machine, there is a support 5 fixed to the frame in a suitable manner and having an aperture in which a cable-guide sleeve 6 engages, the sleeve being connected to the support by fixing screws 7.

The cable having been previously guided by the sleeve 6, subsequently engages between two rollers 8, 9. The lower roller 8 ensures that the cable is entrained towards the cutting place, whereas the upper roller 9 bears on the cable and may be raised or lowered into position by a lever secured to a manual or controlled support device which ensures the desired pressure on the cable. The lower roller 8 is associated with the speed variator reduction-gearing assembly.

The cable is thus entrained and it is guided by a U-shaped slideway or slideways 10, which form a passage and are rigid with the frame, towards the cutting device, comprising a first cutter 11 mounted on a support 12 with a fixed position and a second cutter 13 mounted on a tool holder 14 rotating on an entrainment shaft 15, controlled in a suitable manner.

The first, fixedly supported cutter 11 and the second, movable cutter 13 are in the shape of small square or parallelipipedal plates so as to be able to use the four edges as a cutting tool. The thickness of these small plates is calculated so as to allow them to be sharpened successively a number of times.

As shown in particular in Fig. 2, the frame on which the base wall of the U-shaped slideway 10 rests has an internal receiving device 16, with a shoulder, which allows the positioning of a screw 17 which penetrates into the thickness of the cutter 11. An intermediate centering block 31, maintained in the body of the frame, is likewise traversed by this fixing screw of the tool and its purpose is to balance the stresses. The head of the connecting screw 17 is held and clamped in position by a securing device. For this purpose, as shown in Fig. 4, a blind hole 18 is provided in the body of the frame and opens partially into the aperture constituting the receiving device of the connecting screw.The blind hole 18 has a shoulder and receives in its base a spring 19 compression-stressed by a shaft 20 which comes to bear, under the action of the spring 19, against the rear face of a plug 21. The plug has a central aperture for the passage of a separate thrust element which can act against the shaft 20 and the spring so as to allow the passage and release of the screw head which is then accessible.

To change the cutting edge of the cutter 11 the screw 17 need only be unscrewed after having first been unclamped.

The cutter 13 on a profiled tool holder 14 rotatably mounted on the entrainment shaft 15. This tool holder 14 is in the form of a double lever 22, having a single cutting device, and rotates on the entrainment shaft.

The front part receives the tool and likewise has a receiving device 23 with a shoulder, in which there is disposed a connecting screw 24, which penetrates into the thickness of the cutter 13. An intermediate centering block 23 situated between the tool holder and the front face of the lever 22, is provided with an internal receiving device which receives the body of the connecting screw 24 and ensures, as previously, that the stresses are balanced.

A small adjusting and positioning plate 26 is inserted between the tool holder and the cutter 13. A clamping device 27, identical to that previously described for the fixed cutter, is provided in the body of the lever. In order to alter the cutting edge of the cutter, the clamping device need only be acted upon.

The lever forms, at the opposite end from the tool, a balancing weight when it rotates.

The helical profile of the weight (Fig. 6) is arranged to allow the cable to be processed to advance, before it is cut into sections, when the tool is disengaged and to allow the cutting thereof when the tool comes into contact with the cable, the automatic entrainment of the cable being continuous.

In Fig. 3 certain mounting arrangements of the entrainment shaft on the frame have been shown diagrammatically, with suitable sealing means, according to a current technique known by the person skilled in the art.

At the front of the machine, in front of the support 5 of the sleeve for guiding and introducing the cable, there is a device for inspecting the external structure of the cable to be processed, which serves as a safety device for the operator. To this end, as shown in particular in Fig. 2, there is provided a calibrating ring 28, ensuring the checking and safety functions, mounted on an articulated shaft 29 inserted between the limbs of a cover-forming part 30, rigid with the support 5.

The ring 28 extends at its lower part in the form of a tab 32 and comes to rest on an electromechanical contact 33 connected to the control device of the motor assembly ensuring the entrainment of the cable drive roller 8. When the cable is introduced into the ring 28 and has a noticeable deformation forming a projection, it is then understood that the latter comes to rest against the ring, and owing to its bearing on the ring 28 causes it to rock. Owing to the articulation of the ring 28, the above-mentioned movement thus causes the contact of the lower end of the ring 28 with the electromechanical contact 33 to break, which causes the motor to stop immediately.

The starting operation is only triggered when the ring is appropriately positioned, after the deformation of the cable, which caused the motor to stop, has been removed.

Other means may be provided to ensure the checking of the calibration of the cable to be cut into sections, such as photoelectric cells, sensors et al. For example, in one embodiment, checking means of the photoelectric cell type are disposed at the front of the machine and control the motor assembly driving the cable entrainment roller 8 according to the external appearance of the cable.

The machine has a number of advantages.

In particular there is a definite relationship between the advance speed of the cable and the length of the sections to be cut. By varying the speed one can select the cutting length, e.g. between 5 and 15 cm, the aim being to determine the greatest length of the section of cable compatible with the separation of the stranded wires surrounding the central core. It then only remains to separate the various constituent materials of the cable by magnetic sorting or other systems.

The machine described above ensures continuous high-speed work and allows processing of recovered cables on an industrial scale.

The invention is in no way limited to these methods of use, nor to those embodiments of those various parts which have been indicated in particular; on the contrary it includes all variants within the scope of the appended

Claims

claims. CLAIMS

1. A machine for cutting a cable into sections, comprising means disposed at the front of the machine allowing a cable to be introduced, inspected, entrained continuously at a variable speed, and guided towards a section-cutting device at the rear of the ma chine, the section-cutting device comprising one or more fixed cutting tools situated at the end of a cable guiding zone and one or more rotatable cutting tools, the fixed and rotatable cutting tools cooperating with each other to cut the cable into sections whose length depends on the speed of advance of the cable and the rate of rotation of the rotatable cutting tool(s).

2. A machine as claimed in to claim 1, including a guiding sleeve into which the cable is to be introduced, the sleeve guiding the cable to between an entrainment roller with a fixed axis and a support roller with a movable axis, pressure regulating means, acting on the support roller and the cable being guided in a passage towards the sectioncutting device.

3. A machine as claimed in claim 1 or 2, in which the cutting tools comprise plates having a plurality of selectable cutting faces.

4. A machine as claimed in any preceding claim, the rotatable cutting tool(s) being mounted on a tool holder in the form of a double lever, one end of the lever being arranged so as to receive the said cutting tool(s) and the other end being profiled in the form of a balancing weight.

5. A machine as claimed in any preceding claim, in which the cutting tools are mounted in respective receiving devices with means allowing them to be exchanged or their cutting faces to be altered, means being provided to ensure that the tools are balanced when the machine is operating and are clamped in position.

6. A machine as claimed in claim 5, including a tool holder having, at right angles to the location of the cutting tool, an aperture for positioning a connecting screw, a block for centering and balancing the stresses, and perpendicular and concurrent apertures for positioning retractable clamping means.

7. A machine as claimed in claim 4, in which the double-lever-forming tool holder has a helical shape which, during the disengagement of the cutting tools, allows the cable to advance before it is cut, and which allows the cable to be cut when the rotatable tool comes into contact with the cable.

8. A machine as claimed in any preceding claim, including, in front of a sleeve for introducing and guiding the cable towards the entrainment means, a ring through which the cable is to pass, ensuring checking of the cable and safety, the ring coopering according to its position with contact means controlling the starting or stopping of the entrainment means.

9. A machine as claimed in claim 8, in which the checking ring is mounted in an articulated manner with respect to a support of the sleeve and extends at its lower part in the form of a tab so as to cooperate with an electromechanical contact in connection with a control device of a motor assembly for driving the cable entrainment means.

10. A machine as claimed in any preceding claim, in which checking means of the photoelectric cell type are disposed at the front of the machine and control a or the motor assembly for driving the cable entrainment means according to the external appearance of the cable.

11. A machine for cutting a cable into sections, substantially as described with reference to, and as shown in, the accompanying drawings.