GB624226A - Machine for applying slotted insulating discs to a conductor - Google Patents

Abstract

624,226. Cable-making machines. STANDARD TELEPHONES & CABLES, Ltd. June 17, 1947, No. 15925. Convention date, Aug. 25, 1945. [Class 36] A machine for placing radially slotted insulating discs on a wire in the manufacture of a coaxial cable comprises a pipe carrying a supply of slotted discs and having an internal rib registering with the slots in the discs, a pulley having a grooved periphery in which the conductor runs, the periphery also being provided with notches transversely of said groove, means for pressing each disc as it is delivered from the bottom of the supply pipe on to the wire within said groove, gearing means ensuing that each disc is positioned in one of said transverse notches in the pulley, means for gripping the disc as it is pressed on to the conductor and releasing it the moment it is in position and means for drawing the wire around the pulley. The supply pipe 3 has an internal rib 4 which aligns the discs in the desired position. The bottom disc 5 rests on a tongue 6 mounted on a sliding arm 8, which has a reciprocating motion. The sliding member 8 carries a lever 13, which receives a tilting motion from a cam 16, countering a spring 18 which tends to hold the nose 15 of the lever 13 apart from tongue 6. The'nose 15 is slotted to permit passage of pipe 3 and is slidable on lever 13. As the sliding member 8 moves outward by the action of a cam 9, the disc 5 is pushed towards the wire 12 by means of a ridge 7 on the tongue 6. The lever 13 moves forward to impinge with nose 15 at a point 21, and tilts under the action of cam 16, moving the nose 15 downwards to press against disc 5 as it is being forced on the wire 12. Push-rod 17 is then freed by the cam 16, and the spring 18 causes the nose 15 to move sharply upwards, releasing disc 5. The member 8 is quickly withdrawn by means of the cam 9, to remove the nose 15 from further contact with the positioned disc. Fig. 9 shows an arrangement whereby alternate discs may be applied in opposite directions to the wire 12. Two charging devices 24, 25 are placed on either side of the wire, which passes over grooved pulleys 27, 28. Notches 29 are provided in the pulley 27 for receiving the discs from the bottom end of a pipe 3, these notches leaving room for the nose 15 and tongue 6 to open therein. The pulley 28 is provided with notches 30 for receiving the discs already positioned on the wire 12, intermediate discs being applied in notches 31, which are similar to the notches 29 in pulley 27. The pulleys 27, 28 are constructed so that they guide the wire without driving it. The pulley 27, Fig. 10 (not shown), consists of two circular discs 34, 35 mounted on a central hub and spaced apart, a third slightly smaller disc 38 lying between these two and idle on the hub. The peripheries of the discs are shaped to form a groove, and the two outer discs are notched as at 29. The pulley 28 consists of two spaced circular discs 39, 40 (Fig. 12, not shown), mounted on a central hub carrying three idle sectors located between the discs. These sectors are provided with notches 30 which are aligned with the notches 30 in the members 39, 40, the sectors being slightly displaceable in either direction by the action of a spring device 46. Slight tension in the wire causes the sector with which it is in contact to displace slightly. As soon as the wire leaves a sector, this sector returns to its normal position, so that the differences of speed between the pulley and the wire are not additive from one rotation to another.