JPS6047687B2 - Method and device for filling powder into cable - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for filling electrical cables, such as telephone communication cables, with powder.

Typically, the gaps between the conductors of cables, especially telephone communication cables, are filled with a material such as grease.

The use of grease is inconvenient both in terms of manufacture and use. Particularly when cable conductors must be joined, grease is necessary to obtain a clean joint. A problem arises at this point. Removing grease is a tedious and unpleasant task. It has been proposed as an alternative to fill the gaps with powder, in one method the individual conductors are held apart, the conductors are oiled and then applied with a powder applicator.
Or).

The conductors are then closely spaced into a cable or cable unit. Since this method uses oil, it is difficult to obtain a clean joint when connecting.
There is a problem that the filling becomes uneven. Research by the inventors has shown that very effective packing is obtained when cables or cable units having closely spaced conductors are passed through a fluidized bed in vibrating conditions.

The powder flows into the gaps between the conductors and provides good filling properties. Accordingly, the present invention provides a filling method and apparatus that improves the properties of a filled cable. According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided a method for filling an electrical cable with powder by forming a fluidized bed of filling powder and passing a cable or cable unit through the fluidized bed of powder, the fluidized powder being A method is provided for passing between conductors and into a cable or cable unit and vibrating the cable or cable unit in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the cable or cable unit through a fluidized bed to distribute powder throughout the cable or cable unit. Ru.

Vibrations in the cable, such as those produced by the present invention, help maintain the fluidity of the powder, thus providing a very high degree of uniformity of filling and improving the electrical properties of the cable.

According to the invention, therefore, a method is provided which, in its broadest sense, is characterized in that the cable or cable unit is vibrated as it passes through a fluidized bed of powder.

Further according to the invention, a housing having a bottom and an inlet end and an outlet end; at least one inlet at the inlet end and at least one at the outlet end for bringing the conductors into contact with each other and allowing the cable or cable unit to pass therethrough; an electrical cable comprising: a perforated member; and means for supplying air through the perforated member to create a fluidized bed of powder in the housing for passing the cable or cable unit through the fluidized bed; In an apparatus for filling powder: at least one vibrating member installed in the housing so as to be in contact with the cable or cable unit; and the vibrating member vibrating the cable or the cable unit as it passes through the fluidized bed. Alternatively, a device is provided, characterized in that it comprises means for vibrating the cable unit, thereby passing the powder between the contacting conductors and distributing it throughout the cable or cable unit.

The present invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic cross-section through one form of the device, taken in a direction perpendicular to the cable path of the device, and a side view is shown in FIG. The configuration of the device illustrated in FIGS. 2, 3 and 4 represents an alternative device for vibrating a cable. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 5, the fluidized bed includes a housing 10 and a plate 11 located near the bottom of the housing 10. As shown in FIGS.

A large number of holes are provided in the plate 11, and an air chamber 12 is formed below the holes. The air chamber 12 has an inlet 13
Air is supplied from. A cover 14 is installed on the upper part of the housing 10, and the cover 14 is provided with an exhaust outlet 15 and an inlet 16 for supplying powder. Fifth
As illustrated in the figure, the cable or cable unit 1
The conductor 17 of No. 8 is connected to the housing 10 through the rotiss type 19.
Enter and exit through Rotais 20. Inside the housing 10, the conductor 17 of the cable or cable unit 18 is in a closed, i.e. dense, state. As air enters through the inlet 13 and passes through the plate 11 having holes 24, the powder is fluidized as indicated at 21 in FIG. It passes under the upper surface 23. The powder gets between the conductors of the cable and fills the gaps between them.
Also, a forming member 22 can be provided in front of the entrance die 19. As described above, the cable or cable unit 18 is composed of a plurality of conductors 17.

For example, the conductors 17 have a circular cross section, so when a plurality of conductors 17 are arranged closely, a space, ie, a gap exists between the conductors. According to the invention, this gap is filled with powder. The powders used are e.g.
It is a mixture of hydrophobic powder and hydrophilic powder.

In this case, the hydrophobic powder can be used, for example, by the French company Pluess-Stanf.
ferA. G. ) by trademark '4Pr0taxu1at
e'1 or 4'PrOtexE'', the hydrophilic powder was manufactured by Tau Chemical Corporation (DOwCh
Trademark 4 by emicalCOrpO-RatiOn)
゜Separan'3 or Shinamitsudo Company (C
“゜Magnif
It is a high molecular weight polyacrylamide commercially available as 1cc. As illustrated in FIG.
is a vibrating rod 2 that is moved to vibrate the cable 18.
5 (see also Figure 5).

This vibrating rod 25 constitutes a vibrating member. A special example is
The vibrating rod 25 is pivotably mounted at one end 26 and resiliently supported at the other end 27 by a spring 28 on a bracket or other rigid support member 29. The vibrator 30 is installed near the other end 27 of the vibrating rod 25. The vibrator 30 may be an electrical, mechanical or pneumatic vibrator and imparts a vertical vibrating motion to the vibrating rod 25.

The action of the vibrating bar 25 is to vibrate the cable 18, and this vibratory motion is believed to help maintain the fluidized state of the powder as it enters between the conductors of the cable. The oscillating movement of the cable does not increase the spacing between the conductors to any extent; the conductors remain in contact with or in close proximity to each other. In FIG. It is pivotably mounted about point 126.

A rotating eccentric 132 is arranged near the other end 127 of the vibrating rod 125 and is rotated about its central axis by a drive device such as an electric motor. The pin 31 is installed in the rotation eccentric device 132 offset from the rotation center, so that the pin 31 rotates around the rotation center of the rotation eccentric device 132. The pin 31 is slidably received in a longitudinally extending slot (not shown) in the end 127 of the vibrating rod 125. As the rotating eccentric device 132 rotates, the pin 3
1 rotates and slides along the slot. By this,
A vibrating rod 125 is vibrated about a pivot point 126, causing the cable 18 to vibrate. Figure 3 shows the cantilevered form of the device.

In this device, a vibrating rod 225 is rigidly attached at one end 227 to a bracket 233 attached to the housing 10, and a vibrator 230 as shown in FIG. 1 is mounted on the rod 225. Vibrator 230 may be of electrical, mechanical or pneumatic type. In this example, cable 18 is threaded within a box-shaped member 234 provided at the free end of vibrating rod 230. Box-shaped member 2 provided at the free end
34 is limited to those having a rectangular cross section as shown in the figure.
For example, one having a circular cross section can also be used.
As a modification to the horizontally disposed vibrating bar 225 shown in FIG. 3, a vertically extending member (not shown) may be used.
can be used. This vertically extending member is
Its lower end is attached to the frame and its upper end is allowed to vibrate. The vibrator is installed near the upper end of the vertically extending member, so that the box-shaped member provided at the upper end vibrates with the vibration of the vibrator. The structure of this modification is similar to that described with reference to FIG. 3, and is approximately equivalent to 900 revolutions of the illustrated vibrating bar 225. FIG. 4 illustrates the rotary rod 325.

The rotating rod 325 is mounted at one end 326 in a bearing 335 and at the other end 327 attached to a rotating mechanism 336, such as an electric or pneumatic motor. The rotary rod 325 has a rod 1 extending in the axial direction along its length.
One or more protrusions 337 are formed.
In FIG. 4, the projecting portion extends the entire length in the longitudinal direction of the rotating rod 325, but it may extend by a small width at the position where the cable unit 18 passes over the rotating rod 325. As rod 325 rotates, ledge 327 causes the cable to vibrate vertically. As mentioned above, in FIG. 4, the rotating rod 325 is shown as a generally cylindrical shaft with a ledge 337 extending along its entire length; It can also be configured as a substantially cylindrical shaft with a lobing that partially extends in the length direction. ``The rotating rod 325 may have a flat top surface or an arched top surface. Rotating rod 325 is typically metal, but other materials may be used, and the top surface is typically well polished to reduce friction and prevent damage. It is preferable to use a material that has a small friction coefficient on the contact surface and can prevent wear and tear. As previously mentioned, it is believed that vibrating the cables helps maintain a more even distribution of the fluidized powder within the interstices of the cables.

If the cable is not vibrated, the powder within the cable becomes separated from the fluidizing action of the fluidized bed and loses its flow characteristics.
This results in areas of the cable that are not properly filled with powder or are filled with too much powder. The vibration of the cable slows down the deterioration of the flow properties of the fluidized powder, or maintains or even increases the flow properties so that the powder fills all gaps. During cable design, the desired mutual capacitance should be determined theoretically.

However, it is not possible to achieve the desired theoretical value, and in reality it is above or below the desired theoretical value, resulting in a deviation.
This deviation is expressed as a percentage of the desired theoretical value. Improved deviation therefore means that the deviation of mutual capacitance within a given cable is smaller, meaning that the mutual capacitance along the length of the cable is closer to the desired value. According to the present invention, the mutual capacitance deviation is reduced compared to an apparatus using a fluidized bed without a vibrating member (ie, the deviation is improved to 50% or less of the conventional value). A conventional device that does not use a vibrating member is shown, for example, in US Pat. No. 4,273,597.
A typical example of five (7) 19 AWG gauge cables passing through a fluidized bed at 100 fpm (approximately 30.5 meters/min) is as follows.

In addition, these data are based on the above-mentioned RrOtaxulat.
The following data was obtained by a conventional method using a mixed powder of 80% e (hydrophobic powder) and 20% Separan (hydrophilic powder) (the unit of mutual capacitance is nanofarad/mile). (RPM stands for revolutions per minute.) The sudden change in deviation is approximately 1625
It can be seen that this occurs at rpm.

For example, 10,000 to 12,000 r'Pm is about 0.
A high frequency is used with an amplitude of 0.030'' (approximately 0.762T! $L). A frequency of up to approximately 2500r'Pm is used with an amplitude of approximately 1142 (approximately 6.35?), and this frequency is An amplitude of approximately 118″ (approximately 3.18?) has also been used. 4 with an amplitude of 1182 (approximately 3.18Tm!n)
Frequencies up to 000 rpm are used.

The frequency and amplitude of the vibrations depend on the configuration of the cable or cable unit and can be changed accordingly to be most efficient. 4,000 to 10,
Higher frequencies in the range of 000r''Pm have also been attempted.

At very high frequencies the mutual capacitance can be reduced. For example, cables with 22 AWG and 26 AWG conductors were filled with remarkable results at approximately the same frequency. Approximately 1600 r'Pm appears to be critical. It will be seen that the vibratory motion, especially the amplitude, is such that no damage is caused to the cable.

The frequency and amplitude are such that the cable remains in substantial contact with the vibrating member. The speed of the cable through the fluidized bed can also be varied to help maintain contact between the vibrating member and the cable. The length of the fluidized bed can also be varied. After passing through the fluidized bed, the cable or cable unit is wrapped with metal or other tape.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cable or cable unit 18 is in the illustrated example a FORMER
) 39 allows the tape 38 to be wound. The former 39 has, for example, a tapered inlet portion 39a and a parallel rear portion 39b. 6, 7 and 8 illustrate in detail an apparatus according to one embodiment of the invention.

In this example, the vibrating rod is vibrated by an eccentrically placed pin. In this example as well, the cable passes through a hole in a member installed on the vibrating rod. Figures 6, 7 and 8 are
2 shows a vibrating rod device in more detail, in which the vibrating rod is vibrated by means of an eccentric means driven by an electric motor, for example as shown in FIG. 2;

The vibrating rod 425 has several parts 425a, 425b, 42
5c and 425d. The portion 425a is one end portion and is rotatably mounted on a spigot 40 attached to the housing 10. This corresponds to pivot point 26 in FIG. The spigot 40 has a square cross section, and the end portion 425a has a square hole slightly larger than the spigot 40, in which the spacer 41 is placed. A pivot pin 42 is secured to end 425a, for example by screw 43, and pivots in a bearing 44 of spigot 40. The tubular portion 425b is the end portion 425a.
installed on. The tubular portion 425b is the portion 425a.
Consists of a thin-walled circular cross-section tube welded to the
Section 425c is a box-shaped member attached to section 425b and section 425d and is located between these two sections.

A hole member 45 having a hole 46 therein is removably attached to portion 425c. Hole 46 loosely fits a cable or cable unit. The hole member 45 has a hole 46 having a diameter that matches the diameter of various types of cables.
You can use whatever you want. Portion 425d is similar to portion 425a.

Portion 425d has a square hole 47 through which the end 48 of a pivotably connected lever 49 extends. The portion 425d is pivotally connected to the seventh end 48 of the lever 49 by a pivot 50, which is attached to the portion 425d, for example by a screw 51, and pivots in a bearing 52 of the lever 49. Spacer 53 is placed between lever 49 and portion 425d. The lever 49 is rotatably installed on a pivot pin 55 installed on a support 56 attached to a frame 57 at an intermediate position.
A pivot pin 55 is fixed to the lever 49 by a screw 58 and pivots on a bearing 59 in a support 56. There is also a pivot pin 61 at the end 60 (FIG. 7) of lever 49 remote from end 48. The end 60 of the lever 49 is bifurcated and the lower end of the connecting rod or member 62 lies between the forks and pivots on a pivot pin 61. The pivot pin 61 is fixed to the lever 49 by a screw 63, and a bearing 64 is provided on the connecting member 62. The upper end of the connecting member 62 is pivotably mounted on a pin 70 mounted eccentrically at the end of a rotating member 74 driven by an electric motor 72 .

Ball bearing 73 is between connecting member 62 and pin 70 , and pin 70 is part of rotating member 74 supported by ball bearing 75 . The ball bearing 75 is supported by a support member 76 attached to the frame 57. In FIG. 6, the front portion of the frame 57 is cut away.

The connection member 62 is caused to reciprocate up and down by the rotation of the motor shaft 71 and the rotation of the rotating member 74 and the eccentric pin 70 (see FIG. 8). As a result, the lever 49 pivots around the pivot pin 55 and reciprocates. As a result, the end portion of the vibrating rod 425 moves up and down as shown in FIG. 6, and the vibrating rod 425 pivots around the pivot pin 42 (FIG. 7). As a result, the hole member 45 reciprocates, ie vibrates up and down, and this vibration is transmitted to the cable or cable unit passing through the hole 46. A flexible sleeve 80 is provided to prevent powder from entering the ends or portions 425a and 425d of vibrating rod 425. The flange 81 at one end of the sleeve 80 is tightened. It is attached to the frame 57 or housing 10 by a ring 82 and screws 83. The other end of sleeve 80 is clamped to portions 425a and 425d by clamp ring 84. The eccentricity of pin 70 and the inside of pins 61 and 50! It will be appreciated that the relative distance between the center and the center of pin 55 determines the amount of movement in pin 50.

The relative distance between hole 46 and pin 42 and pin 50 is
6. Determine the magnitude of vibration. It is also possible to provide different amplitudes, for example by changing the rotating member 74. The rotating member 74 is fixed to the motor shaft 71 with a screw, and by removing the screw, the rotating member 74 can be removed from the support member 76, and can be replaced with another member having a different eccentricity on the pin 70. . By using a variable speed motor, changes in vibration frequency can also be achieved. Further explanation will be given with reference to FIGS. 6 to 8.

The electric motor 72 shown in FIG. 8 rotates its motor shaft 71 and an eccentrically installed pin 70. A connecting member 62 is mounted to the pin 70 by a bearing 73 and extends downwardly from the bearing (FIG. 6) to connect to the horizontal lever 49 by a pivot pin 61 and a bearing tongue 64 (FIG. 7). has been done. A lever 49 is pivotally connected to the frame 57 by a pivot pin 55 at a position between its ends (FIG. 7). Therefore, pin 7
0 rotates eccentrically, the connecting member 62 is moved up and down, thereby causing the end of the lever 49 connected to the connecting member 62 to be moved up and down. Therefore, the other end of the lever 49, ie, the pin 50, moves up and down opposite to the pin 61. The lever 49 is connected to the vibrating rod 425 by a pin 50. Therefore, the up and down movement of the lever 49 at the pin 50 causes the end of the vibrating rod 425 to move up and down, causing the spigot to move up and down. The vibrating rod 425 is vibrated around a pin 42 installed in the center portion 425. The vibrating rod 425 has a hole 46 in the central portion 425c.
A cable that is in the fluid bed passes through it. The vibrations of vibrating rod 425 are transmitted to the cable by portion 425c. The device of FIG. 9 differs from the devices of FIGS. 6 to 8 in that the lever 49 is not present. In FIG. 9, a portion 525d of vibrating rod 525 extends into frame 157 and is connected to connecting member 162 by pin 161 and bearing 164. In FIG. Portion 525d is not connected by a pin used for example for lever 149. Therefore, the vertical movement of the connecting member 162 is caused by the vibration rod 52 around the pin 142 (FIG. 7) in the structure of FIG.
It is directly converted into the vertical movement of 5. To explain further, the 9th
The figure illustrates a modification of the apparatus of FIGS. 6, 7 and 8 in which the vibrating rod 425 is activated directly by the connecting member 162.

FIG. 9 is very similar to FIG. 7, except that only end portion 525d and a portion of portion 525c are shown.
Attached to end portion 525d is an extension 190 that extends into frame 157 and has a forked end 191 similar to forked end 60 of FIG. The forked end 191 is fixed to the pin 161 by a screw 163, and the pin 161 is connected to the connecting member 162 by a bearing 164. The connection between connecting member 162 and end 191 of extension portion 190 is similar to the connection between connecting member 62 and end 60 of lever 49 in FIG. Extension part 1
90 moves within a slot 192 in the wall of frame 157. 9th
In the illustrated device, rotation of the motor shaft causes the connecting member 162 to reciprocate up and down, causing the extension portion 190 to vibrate up and down, and causing the vibrating rod 525 to vibrate.

The vibrating member herein, vibrating rod or rotating rod, can take many forms. The vibrating member may be a flat member over which the cable runs. The top surface on which the cable runs may be concave to reduce the possibility of damage. The vibration member is square,
It may also have a circular or other cross section. As long as the vibrating member is rotatable and has a protrusion or protrusion, it may be solid or tubular. As shown in the above embodiment, the cable or cable unit may pass through a hole in the rod. The main purpose is to move the cable or cable unit perpendicular to its longitudinal axis to facilitate the filling powder to enter the interstices between the conductors. Although the invention has been described as being used with a single cable or cable unit, it is also contemplated that a large cable may be attached to several units and these units may be spaced apart within a fluidized bed. Any device may be used.

In such a device, a plurality of vibrating members can be provided as necessary. If the vibrating device is suitable, one or more units can be placed on one vibrating member.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

1 to 4 are schematic vertical cross-sectional views of four types of devices according to the invention. 5 is a side view of the apparatus of FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 6 is a side view of the device according to the invention shown in more detail; FIGS. 7 and 8 are cross sections taken along lines ■--■ and ■--■ in FIG. 6, respectively. Figure 9 shows
7 is a cross-sectional view of a device similar to that of FIG. 6 according to the invention; FIG. 1
0: Housing, 11: Plate (member with holes),
17: Conductor, 18: Cable or cable unit, 25: Vibration rod (vibration member), 49: Lever, 62: Connection member, 125, 225: Vibration rod (vibration member), 325
: Rotating rod (vibrating member), 425, 525: Vibrating rod (vibrating member).

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Forming a fluidized bed of filling powder, bringing the conductors 17 of the cable or cable unit 18 into contact with each other, and passing the cable or cable unit 18 through the fluidized bed of powder. A method of filling a cable with powder in which the fluidized powder passes between contacting conductors and enters the cable or cable unit in a direction transverse to the direction of movement of the cable or cable unit through the fluidized bed. A method characterized by shaking the cable or cable unit at a frequency of 1600 rpm or more to distribute powder throughout the cable or cable unit. 2. The method of claim 1, wherein the powder is fed to the fluidized bed at a rate that maintains a substantially constant fluidized bed thickness. 3. The method according to claim 1, wherein the vibration amplitude is up to about 1/4" (about 6.35 mm). 4. The method according to claim 1, wherein the vibration amplitude is about 1/8" (about 3.18 mm). The method described in item 1. 5 The amplitude of vibration is approximately 0.030” (approximately 0.762mm)
The method according to claim 1. 6 Vibration frequency from about 4,000 rpm to about 10,00 rpm
2. A method according to claim 1, wherein the speed is in the range of 0 rpm. 7 Vibration frequency is approximately 1,600rpm to 2,000r
The method according to claim 1, wherein the amount is within the pm range. 8 a housing 10 having a bottom, an inlet end and an outlet end;
At least one inlet 19 at the inlet end and at least one outlet 2 at the outlet end for bringing the conductors 17 into contact with each other and allowing the cable or cable unit 18 to pass through.
0; a perforated member 11; and means 13 for supplying air through the perforated member to create a fluidized bed of powder in the housing for passing the cable or cable unit through the fluidized bed. In an apparatus for filling powder with powder: at least one vibrating member 25, 125, 225, 32 installed in the housing so as to be able to contact the cable or cable unit;
5, 425, 525, when the cable or cable unit passes through a fluidized bed, the cable or cable unit is vibrated by the vibrating member, thereby passing powder between the conductors in contact with the cable or cable unit; Means for distributing throughout 30, 132, 230
, 336, 62. 9. The means for vibrating the cable unit by the vibrating member is a vibrator 30, 2 that operates on the vibrating member.
9. The apparatus of claim 8, comprising: 30. 10 The means for vibrating the cable unit by the vibrating member includes a reciprocating rod 62 connected at one end to the vibrating member and means 71, 72 for reciprocating the rod attached to the other end of the rod. , 74. Apparatus according to claim 8, comprising: . 11 the vibrating member comprises a rod 325 mounted rotatably about the longitudinal axis of the rod, the longitudinal axis of the rod transverse to the direction of movement of the cable or cable unit through the housing; 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the means for vibrating the cable or cable unit by means of the vibrating member comprises at least one ledge 337 on the rod and means 336 for rotating the rod. 12. The apparatus of claim 9, wherein one end of the vibrating member is pivotally connected to the housing, and the vibrator is mounted on the vibrating member adjacent the other end of the vibrating member. . 13. Claim 9, wherein the vibrating member is supported in a cantilevered manner from one end, and the vibrator is installed on the vibrating member adjacent to the other end of the vibrating member.
Apparatus described in section. 14. Claim 10, wherein one end of the vibrating member is pivotally connected to the housing, and the reciprocating rod is pivotally attached to the other end of the vibrating member.
Apparatus described in section. 15 One end of the vibrating member is pivotally connected to the housing, a lever 49 is pivotally supported at a position intermediate the ends, and the lever is pivotally connected at one end to the other end of the vibrating member. 11. The apparatus of claim 10, wherein the reciprocating rod is pivotably mounted on the other end of the lever. 16. Apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the vibrating member comprises a flat rod 25, 125, 225. 17. The vibrating member includes a box-shaped portion 425c intermediate the ends of the vibrating member and a hole 46 in the box-shaped portion, the axis of the hole being parallel to the axis of the passage of the cable or cable unit, thereby 9. Device according to claim 8, in which the cable or cable unit passes through the hole during operation.