US2756718A - Striping apparatus - Google Patents

Description

y 1956 J. G. STONE, JR., ETAL 2,756,718

STRIPING APPARATUS Filed April 13, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 :9, m/Zw A T TORNEY rJlu'ly 1956 J. G. STONE, JR.. ETAL 2,756,718

STRIPING APPARATUS Filed April 13, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 /7 Z If J5 J7 19m iZJLw ATTORNEY y 1956 .1. G. STONE, JR, ETAL 2,756,718

STRIPING APPARATUS Filed April 13. 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 -19 flazZ/w ATTO RNEY United States Patent 2,756,718 STRIPING APPARATUS John G. Stone, Jr., Bristol, R. L, and William S. Busch, Levitto.wn, N. Y., assignors to United States Rubber Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New Jersey Application April 13, 1953, Serial No. 348,254 '2 Claims. Cl. 113-412 This invention relates to striping apparatus for applying stripes to the insulation or jacket of electric wires, cables, or other elongated articles, such as, tubes, rods, threads, etc.

It is common practice to provide straight or spiral colored stripes on wires for decorative or identification purposes and various types of inks have been used for this. purpose. It has been proposed to use colored latex as the striping fluid for striping latex. or rubber insulated wires so that upon curing, the stripes will be chemically and physically bonded to the insulation of the wires.

In attempting to. apply latex stripes tov wires especially by conventional, spiral striping apparatus, difiiculty has been experienced due to clogging of the apparatus by coagulation of the latex. This coagulation is apparently due, to the shearing action on the latex as it is applied and/or centrifugal separation of the latex solids and water.

One object of the present invention is, therefore, to provide striping apparatus. which eliminates or materially reduces the problem. of coagulation of the latex and will uniformly and eificientl'y apply one. or more spiral or straight latex stripes to. insulated wires. or other elongated articles.

Another object is. to provide striping apparatus which will permit knots or splices in the wire or elongated article to pass. through the. apparatus without stopping the apparatus.

Another object is to provide a rotary type striping apparatus incorporating a. novel continuous feed. system for the striping fluids so that rotation of the apparatus need not. be stopped to replenish. the. striping, fluid.

A still further object is to provide striping apparatus of simple construction which may be easily operated, maintained and cleaned and which may be used to apply either a latex or conventional solvent based ink striping fluid.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a sectional, elevational view of the. striping apparatus of the invention;

Fig. 2-. is an elevational view, partly in section, taken atv right angles to the view of Fig. 1;,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig- 1;

Fig- 4 is a plan. view of the apparatus of the invention; and

Fig. 5 is a. sectional view taken on the. line. 5-5. of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings and in particular to- Fig. 1 of the drawings, the striping apparatus of the present invention includes a platform 10. The platform is threaded on the end of a hollow shaft 11 and is secured thereto by means of a set screw 12. Shaft 11, in turn, is rotatably mounted in bearings 13 and 14 carried respectively by suitable stationary supporting framework members 15 and 16.. A pulley 17 is secured, to the shaft 2,756,718 Patented July 31, 1956 11 between the bearings 13 and 14 by means of aset screw 18. The pulley 17 is adapted to be driven through a belt 19 by suitable driving means (not shown) to rotate the shaft 11 and the platform 10 secured thereto about a vertical axis.

The platform 10" is provided with an opening 20 which is concentric with the axis of rotation of the platform 10, through which a wire W to be striped may be continuously fed in the direction of the'arrow by means well known in the art (not shown).

Mounted on. the upper side of the platform 10 at spaced points around the opening. 20 are tubular shaped striping pens 21', 22 and 23 which extend, as best shown in Fig. 3, toward the wire W but do not contact the wire and by which the. stripes are applied to the insulation of the wire W. Spacing of pens around opening 20 may be equal or unequal, depending upon desired spacing of stripes. Three pens are shown but it is to be understood that a greater or less number of pens can be used as desired. A different colored striping fluid may be supplied to each pen so that three different colored stripes may be applied. to the wire W.. By rotating the platformv 1-0 and. continuously feeding the wire W inthe direction of the arrow, the wire W may be spirally striped asshown in Fig. 1.. Variation in relative speed of rotation of platform 10 and of vertical speed of wire W permits change in length of lay of stripes. If platform 10 is not rotated, straight stripes may be. applied. By reversing rotation of platform 10, direction of stripe lay may also be reversed- Each of the pens- 21, 22. and 23 and the mountings therefor are identical. and a description of pen 21 will, therefore, suffice for all.- As best shown in Fig. 1, the pen 21 is in the form of a tube having a bore 24 through which the striping fluid is allowed to pass. The pen 21 is necked down adjacent. to the. applicating end 25: thereof to thereby restrict the bore 24. at this point to give the desired rate. offlow of thestriping fluid; The remainder of the. bore. 24. may be made quite large to facilitate cleaning thereof...

The tip. 26: of the applicating end 25 is: concaved tothe approximate. cylindrical contour of. the. wire W asv best shown in Fig. 3, so. that the clearance between the. tip 26 andthe. cover of. thewireW is substantially uniform across the. full width of the: tip. The pen. 21 is slidably mounted in a sleeve 27: so. that it can be adjusted towards and away from thewire W.. A small clearance between pen. 21 andwire: W must be maintained to avoid severe shearing action: onthe latex. and resulting coagulation thereof Av screw or key 28 is threaded through. the wall of the sleeve 27 and the end thereof engages in an elongated key way 29. formed in the' exteriorsurface of: the pen 21- to. thereby permitaxial adjustment of the pen 21 but prevent rotation. of the concave tip. 26 of. the pen 21 out of proper alignment with the wire W. The pen- 21 is provided with external. threads 30 adjacent the. end thereof. remote. from the applicator end 25 and an. adjusting nut 31..is. threaded: thereon. Nut 31 is keyed. to

sleeve 27 by a. set screw 32. which engages. anannular key way 33 formed in the hub' 34 of the nut 31-. Rotation of nut,.3:1-, therefore, servesto. adjust the pen 2'1 axially: with respect-to thesleeve. 27 towards and away from thew-ire W.

The sleeve 27 isattached to the. end of a legv 35 of an L-shaped arm 36. Arm 3.6. is pivotally attached to. an L-shaped bracket. 37 by, meansof a-pivot pin. 38. Bracket 37 is positioned in a radial slot 39 in the upper surface of the platform 10 and is held in place by a stud 40 which extends through a leg v41 of bracket 37. The stud 40 is secured to the leg 41 intermediate its ends by a pin 42; The lower'threaded end 4'4'of the stud 40 extends; through an opening 43 through the platform 10.

The opening 43 is somewhat larger in diameter than the stud 40 to permit adjustment of the bracket 37 in the slot 39. A nut 45 threaded on the end 44 of the stud 40 serves to clamp the bracket 37 in the slot 39. It can be seen, therefore, that by removing the nut 45 the bracket 37, arm 36, sleeve 27, and striping pen 21 may be re- 'the upper end 46 of the stud 40 and is held partially compressed between the upper face of the leg 41 of the bracket 37 and the lower face of the leg 48 of the arm 36. The spring 51, therefore, serves to urge the arm 36 and the pen 21 secured thereto towards the wire W to the extent permitted by the nuts 50; and allows the arm 36 to pivot away from the wire W to permit a knot or splice of the wire W to pass through the apparatus without jamming and to allow the striping operation to resume after the knot has passed. Each of the other pens 22 and 23 is similarly constructed and mounted on the platform 10. It will be noted that the pens 21, 22 and 23 extend at an angle toward the wire to facilitate the pivotal movement thereof away from the wire W when the tips thereof are engaged by a knot or splice.

As best shown in Fig. 2, two freely rotatable, grooved guide rollers 51 and 52 are also mounted on the platform 10 on diametrically opposite sides thereof. The rollers 51 and 52 engage the wire just below the point of application of the stripes by the pens 21, 22 and 23 and thereby assure that the Wires are properly centered with respect to the pens. The rollers 51 and 52 are rotatably secured, respectively, to one end of each of two generally L-shaped arms 53 and 54. The arms 53 and 54 are pivotally attached to L-shaped brackets 55 and 56 which in turn are positioned in slots 57 and 58 formed in the upper surface of the platform 10. The brackets 55 and 56 are held in the slots in a manner similar to that described in conjunction with the bracket 37, by studs 59 and 60 secured thereto by pins 61 and 62. Nuts 63 and 64 threaded on the lower ends of the studs 59 and 60 serve to clamp the brackets 55 and 56 in the slots 57 and 58 and nuts 65 and 66 threaded on the upper ends of the studs 59 and 60 serve to limit the pivotal movement of the arms 53 and 54 toward the wire W. Compression springs 67 and 68 urge the arms 53 and 54 and the rollers 51 and 52 secured to the ends thereof toward the wire W and allow the arms 53 and 54 to pivot away from the wire W to allow a knot or splice in the wire W to pass through the apparatus.

As best shown in Figs. 1, 2 and 3, three posts 69, 70 and 71 are secured to and extend vertically upwardly from the platform 10 and support a reservoir member 72. The member 72 has formed in the upper face thereof three co-planar concentric, annular grooves 73, 74 and 75, providing three striping fluid reservoirs for supplying striping fluid by gravity to each of the pens 21, 22 and 23. The grooves 73, 74 and 75 are concentric with the axis of rotation of the platform 10. Separate conduits 76, 77 and 78 connect reservoir grooves 73, 74 and 75 with pens 21, 22 and 23 respectively. In this manner, a different colored striping fluid may be supplied simultaneously to each pen. The member 72 has an opening 79 in the center thereof through which the wire W may pass.

As best shown in Fig. 1, vertically extending members 80 and 81 are secured to stationary framework member 16 on each side of the platform 10. Secured to the upper ends of the members 80 and 81 is a stationary platform 82 which supports three separate supply tanks 83, 84 and 85 (Fig. 4). Supply tank 83 is provided with a nipple 86 which extends from the bottom thereof through the platform 82 and into the reservoir groove 73. The upper end of the nipple 86 is threaded and is provided with a slot 87 through the wall thereof through which the striping fluid may pass from the tank into the nipple. A threaded cap 88 is screwed onto the threaded end of the nipple 86 and serves to vary the eifective size of the slot 87 to thereby meter the flow of the striping fluid through the nipple 86 into the groove 73. Tanks 84 and are provided with similar nipples 89 and 90 which extend into the reservoir grooves 74 and 75, respectively. In this manner, up to three different colored striping fluids may be supplied continuously and simultaneously to the reservoir grooves 73, 74 and 75 by gravity from the stationary supply tanks 83, 84 and 85 while the reservoir member 72 is being rotated. Thus, it is not necessary to stop the apparatus to replenish the striping fluid, since additional fluids may readily be added to supply tanks 83, 84 and 85 as required.

In utilizing the apparatus, the pens 21, 22 and 23 are first adjusted to give the proper clearance between the tips thereof and the wire W to avoid severe shearing action and coagulation of the latex. The tanks 83, 84 and 85 are filled with the striping fluid or fluids and the caps 88 (only one shown) adjusted to give the proper flow thereof. The wire is fed in the direction of the arrow in Figs. 1 and 2 and the platform 10 is rotated. Striping fluid is thereby applied as spiral stripes to the insulation of the wire W as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Once the striping operation is started, there is no necessity of stopping the apparatus either to replenish the striping fluid or to permit splices or knots in the wire W to pass therethrough.

Because the striping fluid is applied across a small gap from the pens 21, 22 and 23 to the wire W and not by means of wheels or the like directly contacting the wire as in the case of other striping apparatus heretofore used, the apparatus of the present invention is particularly useful in applying latex stripes to the wire, as the latex is not subjected to severe shearing action and thus is not caused to coagulate as it is applied to the wire W. As most of the striping fluid is carried by the stationary supply tanks 83, 84 and 85, separation of the latex and water forming the striping fluid by centrifugal force is substantially eliminated as the striping fluid is subjected to centrifugal force only for the short time necessary for it to travel from the tanks 83, 84 and 85 to the pens 21, 22 and 23.

The simple tubular shape of the striping pens 21, 22 and 23 permits them to be easily cleaned, and the novel mounting means permits their easy removal for replacement 'or cleaning.

While the apparatus has been described as used for striping the insulation or jacket of an electric wire or cable, it is to be understood that it can be used for spirally striping various other elongated articles of circular or approximately circular cross section or straight striping elongated articles of almost any cross-sectional shape.-

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, but it is to be understood that modifications and changes may be made therein without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent is:

1. Apparatus for striping an elongated article comprising, a stationary base, a platform rotatably mounted on said base, said platform having an opening therethrough concentric with the axis "of rotation thereof to form a passage for the elongated article, a plurality of arms pivotally mounted on said platform at spaced points around said opening, a tubular striping pen adjustably mounted on each of said arms for pivotal movement therewith towards and away from said article, resilient means engageable with said arms for urging said pens towards said article, means 'engageable with said arms for limiting the extent of pivotal movement of said pens towards said article a plurality of co-planar and annular, striping fluid reservoirs secured to said platform above said pens and concentric with said axis of rotation, and separate conduits interconnecting each of said pens to each of said reservoirs.

2. Apparatus for striping an elongated article comprising, a stationary base, a platform rotatably mounted on said base, said platform having an opening therethrough concentric with the axis of rotation thereof to form a passage for the elongated article, a plurality of arms pivotally mounted on said platform at spaced points around said opening, a tubular striping pen adjustably mounted on each of said arms for pivotal movement therewith towards and away from said article, resilient means engageable with said arms for urging said pens towards said article, means engageable with said arms for limiting the extent of pivotal movement of said pens towards said article, a plurality of co-planar and annular, striping fluid reservoirs secured to said platform above said pens and concentric with said axis of rotation, separate conduits interconnecting each of said pens with each of said reservoirs, a plurality of other arms pivotally mounted on said platform at other spaced points around said opening, a guide wheel rotatably mounted on each of said other arms for pivotal movement therewith towards and away from said article, resilient means engageable with said other arms for urging said guide wheels towards and into engagement with said article, and means engageable with said other arms for limiting theextent of pivotal movement of said guide wheels towards said article.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,044,970 Candy June 23, 1936 2,218,811 Chaussabel Oct. 22, 1940 2,344,610 Hargraves et al Mar. 21, 1944 2,415,683 Folco Feb. 11, 1947 2,592,667 Donnan Apr. 15, 1952 2,592,674 Forsberg Apr. 15, 1952 2,610,607 Isenberg Sept. 16, 1952

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