US2209063A

US2209063A - Strand guiding apparatus

Info

Publication number: US2209063A
Application number: US232277A
Authority: US
Inventors: De Witt D Merrick
Original assignee: Western Electric Co Inc
Current assignee: AT&T Corp
Priority date: 1938-09-29
Filing date: 1938-09-29
Publication date: 1940-07-23
Anticipated expiration: 1957-07-23

Description

July 23, 1940;

DE WITT D. MERRICZK STRAND GUIDING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 29, 1938 INVENTOR By 0. D. RR/CK ATTORNEY I Patented July 23, 1940 STRAND GUIDING APPARATUS De Witt D. Merrick, Cranford, N. J., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application September 29, 1938, Serial No. 232,277

@ UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE iii? i 9 Claims. (01. 57-438) This invention relates to a strand guiding apguide receiving aperture, the apertures l4 and I5 paratus and more particularly to a cable unit in a like manner forming an interrupted circular guide for cable forming apparatus. guide receiving aperture concentric with and lying -'In forming cables, for example telephone between the outer apertures l2 and [3. A suit- (5? cables, of aplurality of cable units, consisting of able bracket "3 apertured at l9 has an annular 5 groups of electrical conductors with insulating e ess o rec e S pp 13 11 5 e covers of different color combinations, it is fresupport in general alignment with the axis of the quently desirable to guide the 'cableunits in completed cable. The support is removably seselected paths just prior to their being intercured in place by studs 20 carried by the bracket twisted by a cable forming apparatus so that the 18, extending through apertures (not shown) in 10 cable units may be readily distinguished one from the support and provided with wing nuts 2| on the other at either end of the completed cable. the outer ends thereof. I It has been found advantageous to guide the A p ty of guide elements 25 are provided. cable units in definite and substantially equally which elements are tubular in general contour,

ll spaced paths just prior to the twistingthereof having at the entrance ends thereof outwardly 16' to cause a uniform lay of the units in the cable. flared integral flanges 26 and at the exit ends However, cables varying in the number of selected threads for receivin s Washe s 3 are cable units require variation in the positions of positioned between the nuts 21 and the adjacent theguides for the cable units. wall of the support I I, as shown in Fig. 2.

An object of the invention is to provide a simple Diametrically opposed side walls 29 of the tubular 20 and efiicient apparatus'for selectively guiding guide elements 25. are flattened, as shown in varying numbers of strands. Fig. 1, to prevent possible rotation of the guide 'With this and other objects in View, the invenelements when they a e lockedhin p e n he tion comprises a support apertured to receive support. The flange 26 of each of the guides ex 9,5 a selective number of guide elements removably tends over the adjacent walls of the support and and adjustably positioned in the aperture and in a like manner the washer and nut engage the aided in the adjustment thereof by adjacent adjacent walls of the supports, but upon the opgraduations on the support to evenly guide positeside from the flange, ior the securing of strands therethrough. the guide elements in place.

30 Other objects and advantages will be apparent Figs. 1 and 2 illustrate an annular raised por- 30 from the following detailed description taken in tion 32 adjacent the outer periphery of the supconjunction with. the accompanying drawing, port I I having graduations 33 equally spaced in wherein radial formation therearound, dividing the sur- Fig, 1 is a front, elevational view of the apface of this projection into sections representing 35 paratus illustrating one arrangement of the guide degrees of a circle about the center line of the 35 elements; support. 7

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken along I t e p se t illustration, eight G e units the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, and 3 are being guided from supplies (not shown) to a Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the apparatus, cable forming apparatus which intertwists the a support therefor being shown in section. cable units together. In the present illustration, 40

. The embodiment of the invention shown in the six of the cable units are directed through outer drawing is adapted to guide cable units It) from guide elements and two of the cable units are diindividual supply spools (not shown) and direct rected through inner guide elements. The twist them in spaced paths to a cable forming apapplied to the group of cable units iscarried back paratus of the type shown in the copending apto the exit end of the guide elements 25 and a 45 plication of Lester O. Reichelt, Serial No. 597,947, short-distance from the support II is positioned filed March 10, 1932. a sizing polisher 35 mounted upon a suitable sup- This embodiment of the invention comprises a port and apertured to receive a group of intersupport H, circular in general contour and havtwisted cable units. Therefore, in View of the ing arcuate apertures l2, l3, I4 and I5 therein. fact that in this embodiment the cable units are 50 A central aperture [6 is also formed in the supdirected toward each other in a twisting motion port. The apertures l2 t0 l5 inclusive are arcuto pass through the polisher 35, a truncated coneate in general contour, the apertures I2 and I3 shaped guide member 38 is mounted upon the being disposed adjacent the outer periphery of support at the intermediate annular position the support and forming an interrupted circular thereof to separate the outer cable units from the 55 inner cable units and further assist in guiding them to the polisher. The guide member 38 is hollow and has disposed'in its outer or exit end an apertured portion 39 through which the inner cable units pass during their advancement.

If the cable being formed is to have eight cable units, it is important that these units be directed in predetermined spaced paths so that they will lie uniformly in the finished cable. The guide elements 25, through the aid of the graduations 33, are disposed, six in the outer apertures equally spaced from each other and two in the inner apertures equally spaced from each other and each lying in radial planes equidistant from pairs of the outer guide elements. If desired, graduations may also be disposedupon the intermediate portion of the support H adjacent the inner apertures l4 and I5.

If a cable of another type required, for exampie, twelve cable units, the apparatus may be conditioned to guide the twelve cable units at substantially equally spaced positions. This may be accomplished by loosening the nuts 21 upon the guide elements now positioned in the support and moving them so that an additional guide element maybe disposed in each of the apertures R2 to I5 inclusive, and all of the guide elements equally spaced and locked in place. When an odd number of cable units is employed, the aperture [5 may be used to guide the cable unit through and for this reason a guide element may be disposed therein.

It is apparent that the apparatus may be readily conditioned to guide in equallysp-aced positions any desired number of cable units, and to accurately position the cable units so that they will lieuniformly when twisted together.

The embodiment of the invention herein disclosed is illustrative only and may be widely modilied and departed from in many ways without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as pointed out in and limited only by the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. A strand guiding apparatus comprising a support having an elongate aperture therein, a guide element removably disposed in the aperture, and means to secure the element in any'selected position in the aperture.-

2. A strand guiding apparatus comprising a support having an elongate aperture therein, a guide element disposed in the aperture, means to secure the element in any selected position in the aperture, and graduations adjacent the aperture for the definite positioning of the element.

3. A strand guiding apparatus comprising a support having arcuate apertures disposed therein, and guide elements disposed in the apertures and adjustably secured in selective positions relative to each other.

4. A strand guiding apparatus comprising a support having arcuate apertures concentrically disposed therein, and guide elements disposed in the apertures and adjustably secured in selective positions relative to each other.

5. A strand guiding apparatus comprising a support having an arcuate aperture therein, a guide element receivable in any selected position in the aperture, and means to secure the element to the support. 6. A strand guiding apparatus comprising a support having arcuate apertures concentrically disposed therein, elements adjustably disposed in the apertures to guide strands in selectively spaced positions, and a guide member disposed adjacent the support between the apertures to space the strands passing from the elements from each other.

'Z. A strand guiding apparatus comprising a support having an elongate aperture therein, a tubular guide disposed in the aperture, and means to secure the guide to the support in any selected position in the aperture.

8. A strand guiding apparatus comprising a support having an elongate aperture therein, a tubular guide disposed in the aperture and having a fiat portion adjacent a wall of the aperture to eliminate rotation of the guide, and means to secure the guide to the support in any selected position in the aperture.

9. A strand guiding apparatus comprising a plurality of guides for strands, and asupport having a plurality of elongate apertures spaced to removably receive numbers of the guides variable with the number of strands to be guided and at variable relative positions.

DE VVITT D. MERRICK.