US2515486A - Assembling apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Patented July 18, 1950 ASSEMBLING `APPARATUS Edward Bertalan, Oak Park,` Ill., assgnor to `Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New

York, N. Y., a corporation ,of New York I Application March 12, 1946, Serial No. 653,884

This invention relates to assembling apparatus and more particularly to apparatus for applying insulating discs upon a conductor. i

The present invention embodies apparatus for applying relatively soft, plastic insulating discs upon the central conductor of a core unit used in the manufacture of coaxial cable units. A plurality ofV these coaxial cable units may be combined to form a coaxial cable used in telephone and television transmission networks'. A coaxial unit usually comprises a core unit made up of a central conductor having a plurality of annular insulating discs uniformly spaced thereon, an outer tubular conductor formed over the core unit, and thin steel tape spirally wound around the outer conductor.

The various (noeration'sl necessary to form these coaxial units usually are incorporated and coordinated in a single coaxial unit forming machine. Such machines are provided with means for detecting the failure of the disc applying mechanism to apply a disc to the moving conductor at' a desired point, and meansA for detecting the presence of foreign conductive matter i-n the discs. lf there is a missing disc, a disc must be manually applied at the appropriateuposition on the central conductor, essary that the old disc be removed and a new disc be applied manually to the conductor at the point where the defective disc was removed- It is obvious that the application of an insulating disc on the central conductor' at this stage` in the manufacture of a coaxial cable unit must be performed by a manually operated apparatus.y The particular functions to be performed by the manually operated apparatus are governed mainly by the kind of insulating material used in making the discs to be applied to the conductor. irrespective of the type of material used in the manufacture of the insulating discs or the type of coaxial unity form-ing machine used for applying the discs on the central conductor, it is clear that, in order to assemble annular insulating discs on the central conductor, they must be provided with a radial slit or slotcommunicating with the center aperturey thereof so that, when the discs are applied to the con-ductor, the conductor may passi therethrough into the center aperture.

It has been suggested heretofore that insulating discs used in the manufacturev of coaxial cable unitsbe made of. a suitable stiff material-,\ such asY hardl rubber, or from a plastid` such as polystyrene. However, because of the relatively'poor electrical characteristics of hard rubber and the manufacturing difficulties involved* in using polystyrene, the insulatingy discs generally usedsin the manufacture of coaxial.. cables are` made ofthe plastic known as'pol:,zeth-ylene.r

As itsI name implies,y polyethylene is obtained by polymerizing ethylene. Ther usual commer- 7 claims. (c1. 2s-2635 1 cial form ofpolyethylene is a moderately soft,

pliable material having a, high molecular weight and possessing excellent electrical insulating. characteristics. Polyethylene is suf'ciently hard to ypermit insulating discs made therefrom to maintaintheir shapes under ordinary circumstances, but it is soft enough to cause some manufacturing difficulties to arise when slotted discs are'punched from strips thereof.

, Furthermore, when slotted discs of the type formerly made of hard rubber were made of polyethylene and4 were forced upon a central conductor,.,the sides of the slots occasionally were deformed bythe passage of. the conductor therethrough. As a result, the discs would not adhere' firmlyV to the central conductor and would tend to lslide along the conductor or might.' even come off the conductor. In addition, itis relatively easy yto force such discs off the conductor by a thrust applied on the sides of the discs opposite the slots and substantially longitudinally of the conductor, because. the small amount of the material inthe Walls of the slots against whichthe conductor presses under those circumstances does not possess enough sheer strength to' -hold the discs in place. Consequently, coaxial cable units If there is a defective disc, it is neccould not be satisfactorily manufactured by using dises made of-polyethylene which had been preslotted and ,then forced on the central conductor.

v In order to overcome these manufacturing difficulties, it was necessary to provide suitable means for cutting radial, line-like slits in centrally `perforated polyethylene insulating discs, means for holding the slits open so that the central conductor may be passed therethrough into the central aperture without damaging the forward corners and sides of theslits, and means for applying the slitted discs to a central conductor with a wiping'motiom Itis evident that by cutting a line-like, radial slit from the center aperture to the periphery of. the disc, no material is removed from the disc. By virtue of this fact, the entire -Wall surface-of thecenter aperture of the disc is preserved, and when such radially slit discs are in position on a central conductor, they will readily withstand considerable thrust applied on the sides of the discs adjacent to the slit.

Furthermore, discs so applied to a central conductor adhere more forcibly thereto because the natural resiliency thereof causes the sides of the radial slit to close together, whereby the conductor is firmly gripped by the walls of the center aperture and is also engaged by a substantially solid ring of insulating material. It is obvious that the manual application of such plastic discs must be performed by a, tool which will also vslit and apply the discs to the' conductor in the' abovedescribed manner and must also have means' for spacing the manually applied discs with respect to the discs already present. on the conductor.

The present invention comprises an apparatus for radially slitting and applying plastic insulating discs upon a conductor with a wiping motion in one operation. Preferably, means are provided for gauging the position of the manually applied discs with respect to the adjacent discs Y present on the conductor. y

A n object of the invention is to provide new and improved assembling apparatus.

In one embodiment of thev invention there is provided a plier-like tool having a disc supply magazine secured to the nose portion thereof. An oscillatory disc carrier is positioned on the nose portion and aligned with the discharge end of the discy magazine. A knife is positioned on the nose of the tool so that its cutting edge is adjacent to the shoulder of the disc carrier, whereby when the` disc carrier is oscillated, a disc engaged thereby is carried past the knife, which cuts a radial slit in the disc and serves to hold the slit open so that the disc may be Iapplied to a conductor with a wiping motion..

A clear understanding of the invention may be had from the following detailed description of a specific embodiment thereof, when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is an end view of a tool, which may be used to practice the invention, having portions of the cover plate broken away;

Fig. 2 is a right hand side view ofthe tool shown in Fig. 1, in which portions thereof have been broken away;

Fig. 3 is a longitudinal, sectional view of the tool taken along line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary view of the top of the tool showing the tool in its operated position;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, left hand, side view of the upper portion of the tool; y

Fig. 6 is an enlarged, Vertical section of a por.- tion of the apparatus taken along line 6-.6 of Fig. 3;

Fig. '7 is an enlarged, isometric view of the disc slitting knife used in the apparatus, and

Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken along line -8-8 of Fig. 2.

Referring now in detail to the drawings, and more particularly to Fig. l, there is shown .a plierlike tool comprising a stationary arm I Il Iand a movable arm II. The stationary arm IU comprises a body portion I2 which is provided with a wide, longitudinal slotl I3 communicating with a transverse slot I4. The body portion I2 is provided with a bore I5 in which is rigidly positioned a post IIB. A bore 2l)V is also provided in the body portion I 2 concentric with the bore I6 rand having a portion of its periphery communicating with the slot I4 (Figs. 2 and 3), A rack 2I is slidably positioned in the slot I4 and engages a pinion 22 positioned in the bore 20 and movably mounted on the shaft I6.

An oscillatory disc carrier 25 (Figs. 1, 2, and 3) is pinned to the pinion 22 and movable therewith. The disc carrier 25 is provided with a semi-circular body portion 2S and a larger arcuate portion 21 whose periphery is provided with an arcuate groove 3U extending the full length of the arcuate portion 21. A left hand face 3| of the disc carrier 25 formed by the junction of the body portion 26 and the arcuate portion 21 abuts a projection 32 provided on a top cover plate 33 (Fig. 3). The projection 32 serves to align a shoulder 34 provided on the disc carrier 25 with a T-shaped slot 35 provided in a disc supply magazine 36.

The disc supply magazine 3B is rigidly secured to a bracket 31, which is secured to the body por- Y plastic 'discs 45-45 have been punched from strips of plastic material such as polyethylene, or the like, during which operation they are provided With a central bore 48.

The opposite side of the housing enclosing the torsion spring 4I comprises a plate 45 which is secured to the top cover plate 33 by means of a pair of screws 41-41 threaded into a ange 49 provided on the end of the plate 46. The post 42 is hexagonal in cross-section and secured to the bracket 31 by a bolt 50 so that it is aligned with a hexagonal aperture 5I provided in the plate 46. `The hexagonal aperture 5I prevents rotation of the post 42 when the end of the torsion spring 4I is secured to the slide 43 positioned in the T-shaped slot 35 (Fig. 2)

An L-shaped knife holder `52 (Fig. 7) is secured to the disc magazine 36 by a pair of screws 54-54, adjacent to the body portion I2. An irregularly shaped knife blade 55 (Fig. 6) is secured to the short leg of the L-shaped holder 53 and projects inwardly in the path of the disc carrier 25. The knife blade 55 is provided with a cutting edge 5'6, which projects in an oblique direction from the back of the knife holder 53 to the center aperture 48 of the disc 45 positioned against the shoulder 34 of the disc carrier 25 (Figs. 3 `and 6). The cutting edge 56 (Fig. 7) is sharpened in such a manner that a gradual taper is provided therefrom to a substantially thicker back edge 51 of the blade 55.

This manner of sharpening the cutting edge 55 also provides van arcuate shoulder 58 on both sides of the blade which extends from the cutting edge 56 to the back edge 51 of the blade 55. The knife holder 53 is positioned on the magazine 36 so that the blade 55 is aligned with the arcuate groove 30 of the disc carrier 25, which permits the disc carrier 25 to carry the discs i5-"l5 from the cutting edge 55 to the back edge 51 of the blade. The arcuate shoulders 58-58 provided on the blade 55 serve to engage the periphery of the disc 45 adjacent to the ends of the radial slit, whereby the disc 45 during its travel over the knife blade 55 is urged toward the body portion 25 of the disc carrier 25. The urging of discs in this direction serves to prevent an arcuate side 59 of the blade 55 from damaging or cutting into the opposite wall of the center bore 48 of the disc. An

end cover plate 60 is secured to the body portion I2 and. the top cover 33 by means of a plurality of bolts 6I-BI and 'has provided therein a slot 62 which is alignedy with a slot B3 provided in the top cover plate 33.

The stationary arm I0 of the plier-like tool is provided with a handle 65 having a groove 66 provided therein to receive a tongue 61 integral with the body portion I2. The handle 65 is secured to the tongue 61 by a plurality of bolts 68-68 (Fig. 1). The movable arm II comprises an upper arm 10 and a lower arm 1I pinned together, as shown in Fig. 1, so as to form a hub 12. The hub 12 is provided with a bore 13 whereby the arm I I may be rotatably mounted on a post 13 rigidly secured in a bore 14 provided in the body portion IZ. The bodyportiom I21 is alscprovided,

jacent to the: hub. lll."L positioned im the slot 1G.

A borell' is provid'ed in theftcngue 67|.v toa re cei've a Icompression spring M' and aplunger. v82 which engagesthe bentendll-l.' of the lower -arm and serves tofmaintairr the upper-amm 'llrof the arm ll?, substantiallyadiacent tothe rig-ht hand side of the. slot |53;V lll-lso;r the-.face 3|: ofthe disc carrier 25 is thereby maintained against theme:- jection 32 on the cover plate 33. The arm: lll) isl provided with a ball-shaped. end' 85. which engagesr la', longitudinali slots- B6. provided-i` im the.: rack 2d... When the: movable arm |1| is. actuated, the upper arm. lll; moves-L towardl thel left hand side of theslot |13 and' causes; therack" 2li to slide alpng the.` slot |54; wherebytha pinion 22 in'. engagement therewith'` is; rotated. 'Ehedisc carrier 25v secured thereto rotated until the; shoulderA 31|;y thereof is substantially adjacent tc.v a. shoulder' 8114" provided on thecpverplate33..

The slotsv 62 and provided. the end.` cover plate El) and the). top,E cover1 plate 33,v respectively, are. provided therein 'te receive a` center conductor;` 90; on. which. has, been applied'L a. plurality/1" ci insulating: discs 9|`9=| bymeans. not;slievvml A pin 92 ispositioned` in', the knife holder 5:3 so that the: upper portion .ot its periphery is.- sub;- stantially inc. line: with. the! bottom on the slots: 2 and` 63;` whereby the conductor 9U; positioned in the. slotmay' beiV aligned withy the back'. fedge '5&1 of'the knife-blade 55;

The'I operation. ci: this` embodiment of the; inventiorr is as follows:

The plier-likev tool Wig.i l) is positioned; over the conductor 90. so thata face 95: provided on the knife: hol-der" 53- is in; engagement with. .the particular disc at iwhichisadjacent, tba blank space-ton; the conductor 9dr.. With; the toolnposiationed. on@ thej conductor in this, manner; the handleY |I is squeezed toward the.- handle l0, whereby the discy carrier is oscillated and carries`r one of the discs. 45.--4.5, which has: been. fed from. the; magazine 36? tothe shoulder 34,) past the cutting, edge 56 or the imite/blades:55,` whereby the disc isslfit. radially fromthe periphery of a center hole 48 provided therein to-y the-outer periphery oi the disc. Als-'thev disc45'fcontinues to travel from the cutting edge 56 tothe'backedge 5l of the-knife bladeY 55;. the radial slit cut therein is spread open so that the radi-al slit may be engaged by the conductor 15m"l positioned adjacent to the back edge 51 of. the knife blade55. The disc 45 is further carried by the disdcarrer. 2:5, whereby the slitted portion passes by the conductor 90 until the centerhole 48 is engaged by the conductor and the disc abuts: the shoulder'dlf of the top cover plate 33. TheI `disc 45 which has been.. .appl-iedby the. tool. to, the conductor Se in this manner is now properly positioned'thereon with respect to the discs: lll-illA previously applied-.tothe conductor.v

The handle. ll may nowber released whereupon the spring-pressed plunger 82T wil'l cause thedisc carrier 25` to 1 return-'to its normal position,` whereupon the tool may be removed from the conducs against theI shoulder 34 in `which case the tool is ready to apply another of the discs 45--45 to a conductor such as: al conductor j when the occasion arises;

TheY` above-described apparatus is particularly well adapted, to. slit and apply annular plastic discs on. a central conductor of a coaxial cable core-unit with a wiping motion.

Whatiszclaimed is.:

l. Apparatus for applying centrally perforated plastic:Y discs. on :a conductor, comprising a disc carrier having a cam-shaped periphery `which serves, toI form, a single shoulder thereon to. carry an single disc. and also having an arcuate groove provided in a. portion of its. periphery and ex'- 'tending to said shoulder, means for successively feeding discs in positions to be engaged by said shoulder" of? the disc carrier, a knife blade having its,l free end positioned adjacent to said. disc carrier; said knife. blade havingV a thin cutting edge positioned adj acenttothe shoulder of andaligned the arcuategrooave in the disc carrier, a substantiall'ythicker back edge and an arcuate shoulder provided -on both sides of said knife blade and extending: in an arc, from said thin edge to said thick, edge `and spaced from said free end, and means for turning the discl carrier one-quarter turn, Wherebya disc engaged, by said shoulder is thrust against the cutting edge of said knife to cuna.` radial slit. in the disc and :as thel disc is carried acrossathe surfacec the knife blade the arcuate shoulders on said 'blade guide the disc in an arcuateY path of travel with the carrier.

2` A. plier-like tool for assembling centrally perforated discs; on a conductor, which comprises a. body member, a. discv carrier mounted on the body' memberwand arranged to. carry one disc at a. time, means for successively feeding discs` in position to'be engaged by said disc carrienmeans .pivotallymounted on said body member for turningy said disci carrier and a discv engaged thereby through apredetermined arc, means for aligning a conductor directly in the path of movement of a| discrcarried by the disc carrier, means for cutting, ay radial slit. in a disc carried by said disc carrier when said disc carrier is turned, said stitting means. being of sufficient length to hold the: s'lfitz open so that the disc slit thereby may be slid: on a conductor positioned in the aligning meanswith a-wipingmotion, and means forstopf. ping the travel of the disc carrier when the disc isxso positionedthat the conductor passes through thecentralspierforati'on of the disc.

3l, Apliereliketool for applying centrally perforated: discs to the central conductor, a preassembledf coaxial cable core unit, which comprises a. handle, an arm pivotally mounted on Saidhandla a discv carrier mounted on the end of said handle, means. actuated by said pivotally arm; for oscillating said disc carrier. means for: successively feeding discs in the path of the, dise carrier', means positioned* adjacent tothe disc: carrier for cutting a radial slit in a disc carriedby the disc; carrier during its arcuate movement in one directiom means for aligning a, o01e.unit; on which. a discy is to. be applied with the slittingy means, means for stopping the arcuate; movement of. the discV carrier after a predetermined'. travel, and means for locating the stopping means with respect to; a disc already 7l present on `said core unit, whereby when said 7 pivotallymounted arm is actuated a discengaged by said carrieris carried in an arcuate pathpast the slitting means is forced on the conductor of the core unit and accurately positioned thereon with respect to a disc already present on the core unit. Y

4.. A tool for applying centrally perforated plas i tic insulating discs to a conductor comprising la handle, a disc carrier mounted on the end of the handle, said disc carrier being provided with a single shoulder for carrying one disc at a time, and an arcuate groove cut in a portion of its periphery and extending to said shoulder, an arm pivotally mounted on the handle member, means actuated by movement of the arm foroscillating A,

edge, and means for positioning a conductor adjacentvto the back edge of said knife, whereby when the arm is actuated the disc carrier carries a disc engaged thereby past the cutting edge of the knife and the arcuate groove provided therein permits the disc carrier to carrythe disc to the back edge of the knife and thereafter force it on the conductor positioned adjacent to said back `edge of the knife.

5. A plier-like tool for manually applying centrally perforated insulating discs to a core unit having a center conductor and a plurality of insulating discs positioned thereon, which comprises a handle, an arm pivotally mounted on said handle, a disc carrier positioned on the end of said handle, means actuated by movement of the pivotally mounted arm for oscillating said disc carrier, a disc supply magazine mounted on the end of vsaid handle and having its discharge end adjacent to said disc carrier, means for urging discs positioned in said magazine into position to be engaged by the disc carrier, said disc carrier arranged to carry one disc at a time, means for aligning the disc carrier with respect to the discharge end of the disc magazine, means positioned adjacent to said disc carrier for cutting a radial slit in a disc carried by said disc carrier, means for positioning the tool over the conductor so that the disc carrier is aligned with the conductor, and means for limiting the travel of the disc lcarrier and the disc carried thereby.

6. A device for assembling plastic washers upon a core unit having a center conductorv and a -plurality of insulating discs equally spaced thereon, which comprises a handle, a disc carrier mounted on the end of said handle, said disc carrier having a single shoulder thereon for engaging one disc at a time, and an arcuate groove provided in a portion of its periphery, an arm pivotally mounted on said handle, means actuated by movement of said arm for oscillating the disc 2";

carrier, a disc supply magazine mounted on the end of the handle and having a slot formed thereon for receiving a plurality of insulating discs having holes in the center thereof, means for aligning the shoulder of the disc carrierwiththe .on the handle and having its cutting edge adjacentgtof-the shoulder, provided on the disc carrier;and=aligned with thearcuate groove provided in the, disc. carrier, said :knife being substantially thicker than the cutting edge on the edge opposite its cutting edge .s o as to hold open a slit cut by the knife in a disc carried by the disc carrier, means for positioning the device over the core unit. so that the center conductor thereof is aligned with the thick edge ofthe knife, and meansffor orientating the tool positioned on the core =unit withrespect to the adjacent insulating discs* present thereon, whereby when the movable arm is actuated the disc carrier and a disc engaged thereby are moved in' an arcuate ypath past the-knife whose cutting edge radially slits the dis'candfwhose thick edge holds said slit open so that as the disc leaves the knife it is positioned transversely on the conductor aligned therewith a predetermined distance away from the adjacent discss'f 7..A tool for applying plastic insulating discs uponf-a conductor, comprising a handle having a transverse slot provided in the end thereof and a longitudinal slot communicating therewith, a disc :carrier mounted in the end thereof, a pinion rigidly secured to said disc carrier in situ, a rack slidably'positioned in said transverse slot and having its teeth in engagement with said pinion, an arm pivotally mounted on the said handle and having an upper portion thereof positioned in said. longitudinal slot, said upper portion of the pivotally mounted arm engaging said rack, a

longitudinal slot provided in the end of the handle for. receiving a conductor, said disc carrier being provided with a shoulder and an arcuate groove `cut in aportion of its periphery and communicatingrv with said shoulder, a disc supply magazine lmounted on the end of the handle and having a a knife'positioned on the end of the handle member and having its cutting edge adjacent to the shoulder of the disc carrier and aligned with the arcuate (groove provided in the said disc carrier, whereby when the pivotally mounted arm is actuated the movement of the rack engaged thereby 'causes'the disc carrier to turn in one direction so that a discl engaged by the shoulder is moved in an arcuate path past the knife which cuts a rradial'slit therethrough and as the disc moves from the end-of said knife it is slid on the conductor positioned in the slot provided in the end of the handle. v

EDWARD BERTALAN.

REFERENCES CITED The followingreferences are of record in the file of this patent:

yUNITED STATES PA IE N IS Number` Name Date 1,588,413 Hardy June 15, 1926 1,732,328 Cox Oct. 22, 1929 1,885,684 Cole Nov. 1, 1932 2,172,847 Nydeggar et al. Sept. 12, 1939 2,192,229 Johnson et al. Mar. 5, 1940 2,355,833 Bertalan Aug. 15, 1944 2,404,782 Berggren et al July 30, 1946 2,426,623 y Larsen Sept. 2, 1947

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