US2958178A

US2958178A - Reel supporting units for stranding cabler

Info

Publication number: US2958178A
Application number: US798175A
Authority: US
Inventors: Charles H Crosby; William T Hicks; Albert L Pizzi; Roger R Wahlberg
Original assignee: Western Electric Co Inc
Current assignee: AT&T Corp
Priority date: 1959-03-09
Filing date: 1959-03-09
Publication date: 1960-11-01
Anticipated expiration: 1977-11-01

Description

Nov. 1, 1960 C. H. CROSBY EAL REEL SUPPORTING UNITS FOR STRANDING CABLER Filed March 9, 1959 HT GR N/54 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 CIH ER USEY Lu THIS/ 5 F7. L. P/ZZ QRLL/HH HERE Nov. 1, 1960 c. H. CROSBY ETAL 2,958,173

REEL SUPPORTING UNITS FOR STRANDING CABLER Filed March 9, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 [AA/ENTER;

CH C'FFUE'E Y LLl. T H/CKE' FZL. /ZZ/ RRLUFHLEERE' Nov. 1, 1960 c. H. CROSBY EI'AL 2,958,178

REEL SUPPORTING UNITS FOR STRANDING CABLER Filed March 9, 1959 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 5% 2%5? Lu TH/C'KE H L. P/Z Z QR LL/FYHLEEFE HT 'T'URNE 1960 c. H. CROSBY EI'AL 2,958,173

REEL SUPPORTING UNITS FOR STRANDING CABLER Filed March 9, 1959 4 SheetsSheat ET TUQNEL/ REEL SUPPORTING UNITS FOR STRANDING CABLER Charles H. Crosby, Cranford, William T. Hicks, Glen Rock, Albert L. Pizzi, Union, and Roger R. Wahlberg, Bloomfield, N1, assignors to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed Mar. 9, 1959, Ser. No. 798,175

8 Claims. (Cl. 57-1275) This invention relates to supply reel stands particularly to the mountings for the reels of such stands for stranding and cabling apparatus.

In cable forming apparatus, particularly for use in the telephone industry where cables of various sizes are required, it is advantageous to equip such apparatus with means for supporting the maximum number of supply reels, a desired number of groups of which may be used depending upon the number of strands to be embodied in each cable. When the supply reels are to be mounted in supporting units which require individual attention for operation thereof to bring each reel into rotating position, considerable time is used in conditioning the apparatus for operation.

An object of the present invention is a plurality of supply reel stands with groups of mounting units which may be loaded and unloaded rapidly and efficiently.

In accordance with the object the invention comprises supply reel stands for stranding apparatus having framelike stands, a plurality of spaced-like mounting units disposed therein, each mounting unit having a drivable cone center and a piston movable cone center. Each piston is provided with a cylinder and means is provided to direct a fluid under pressure to the cylinders to cause them to move their cone centers simultaneously to mount the reels in the units.

More specifically, the units are divided into groups, each group being under the control of a solenoid operable valve and the valves being under the control of individual and a main switch, so that the groups of units may be operated individually or if desired through the actuation of the main switch to operate all of the units in all of the groups simultaneously.

Other objects and advantages will be apparent from the following detailed description when considerediin conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a plurality of frames, each frame housing four groups of the mounting units and their control means;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view of one of the units, this view being taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a schematic illustration of four of the groups of units and their control means mounted in each frame; and

Fig. 4 is a schematic wiring diagram illustrating the control valves and their switch control circuits for numerous groups of units.

All of the units are identical in structure to that shown in Fig. 2. This unit includes a fixed position cone center 10 mounted on a shaft 11 of a drive motor 12. Suitable means such as an arm 14 and a spring pressed pin 15 receivable in an aperture 16 or" the adjacent head 17 of a supply reel 18 connects the supply reel with the drive means of the motor 12. The reels for the various units are moved into positions by suitable supports 19 and are raised from the supports when mounted on their cone centers. A movable cone center 22, supported for I- tation in bearings 23 in a tubular portion 24 of a piston 25, is movable with the piston from its open solid line position to the dotted line closed position. During this movement, the cone center 22 enters the hub of its respective head of the reel 18- and cooperates with the cone center 10 in raising the supply reel from its support 19 and holding it firmly free to rotate on an axis coincident with the motor shaft 11. The piston 25 is normally urged outwardly to the left, Fig. 2, by a spring 26. The piston 25 rides in a cylinder 27 and has an annular sealing washer 28 carried thereby. The cylinder 27 is closed at one end by a head 29 which is centrally apertured f0 connection at 30 with an air line 31.

The units, identified by reference number 32 include the reel mounting and drive structures shown in Fig. 2 which are mounted respectively at 33 and 34 at suitably spaced positions in frames 35, Fig. 1. Each group of units 32, Figs. 1 and 3, has electropneumatic control means, indicated generally at 36, which is supplied with air under pressure from one of a plurality of air chambers 37. Each control means 36 includes an air line 38 extending from its air chamber 37 through a hand operable valve 39, an air regulator 40, which filters and lubricates the air, and through a connection 41 to an electromagnetic valve 42 in one direction and a pressure regulator 43 in another. A pressure gage 44 mounted on the unit 40 indicates the air pressure in the line leading to the valve 42. In the present instance the desirable pressure is 15 pounds per square inch and the unit 43 is adjusted to control this pressure. The valve 42 is of a commercially known type supplied with

air lines

46 and 47 at opposing ends thereof to cause movement of the piston-like element (not shown) within the valve to a neutral position each time the valve is deenergized. A filter 48 is provided also for the valve 42. A fluid line 50 and associate lines 51 connect the valve 42 with all of the fluid lines 31 of the group of units under its control. An electromagnetic coil or pair of coils at each end of the valve 42 of each group when energized will cause the piston-like member of each valve to move, for example, in one direction to move the piston 25 (Fig. 2) to the right to mount the supply reel in the unit or to move the piston in the opposite direction to free the empty reel from the unit. I

The electrical control switches for these windings of the electromagnetic valves 42 and their control circuits arev shown in Fig. 4. The control circuits are responsive individually to switches 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 69,

70, 71, and 72. When the switches61 to 72, inclusive, or,

any desired number of these switches are moved to close their top contacts, the units 32 of their respective groups will be operated simultaneously, for example, to close the units on their supply reels and mount their supply reels for rotation. In a similar manner, any group of units or plurality of groups of units may be operated simultaneously into open positions by moving their respective switches into engagement with their bottom contacts. A main switch serves to operate all of the groups of units into closed position by closing its top contact or move all of the units into open position by closing its bottom contact. It is also possible to condition the apparatus for operating selective numbers of the groups of units simultaneously through operation of switch 75 by closing valves 39 of the groups of units not to be included for the forming of certain types of cables.

Operation After a study of Fig. 2 of the detailed structure and function of each unit 32, it will be understood just what takes place simultaneously during the operation of the electropneumatic controls. The cone center 10 and the drive means, including the motor 12 and the driving arm 14 with its pin 15, are ready to drive each reel 18 when Patented Nov. 1, 1960 moved into the mounted position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 2. This is accomplished by operation of the cylinder 25 by air under pressure entering the cylinder 27 through the air line 31.

The operator of the apparatus knowing the number of strands or pairs of strands to be embodied in each cable, selects for the first cable the number of groups of units to support the supply reels for that particular cable. In one instance, after the supply reels have been moved to positions adjacent their units 32, the switches of the group 61 to 72 inclusive may be operated for the chosen groups of units and actuated to cause operation of their valves 42 to cause air under a predetermined pressure to be directed to all of the cylinders of the first chosen groups of units to operate the units into closed position simultaneously. While the first groups of units are loaded and in use for stranding a cable of a given size, second groups of units may be unloaded of empty reels simultaneously and loaded simultaneously with full reels for stranding a cable of another size. If all of the groups of units are to be employed at one time, the main switch 75 is operated to close its top contact to operate all of the units in all of the groups simultaneously into closed position. net, the groups may be moved into open positions by their individual switches or by the main switch 75 closing its bottom contact. Also, if it should be desirable to employ all but a small number of groups of units, the valves 39 for those units may be closed to condition the main switch 75 to cause operation of all the remaining or chosen groups simultaneously.

It is to be understood that the above described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

1. Supply reel stands for stranding apparatus comprising frame-like stands, a plurality of groups of supply reel mounting units disposed in the stands, each unit having a fixed position drivable cone center to receive its end of a supply reel, each having an axially movable cone center, a piston therefor, means normally urging the piston to move its cone center away from its reel, a cylinder for each piston, and means to direct a fluid under pressure to the cylinders to cause them to move their cone centers simultaneously to move their reels into engagement with their fixed position cone centers and hold them in supporting positions.

2. Supply reel stands for stranding apparatus according to claim 1 in which means are selectively actuable In the same man-' operable.

3. Supply reel stands for stranding apparatus according to claim 2 in which a valve for each group of units is actuable to operate all the units in its group simultaneously.

4. Supply reel stands for stranding apparatus according to claim 3 in which separate switches are actuable to selectively operate the valves of each group of units.

5. Supply reel stands for stranding apparatus according to claim 4 in which a switch is actuable to operate any number of the valves simultaneously to cause operation of their groups of units simultaneously.

6. In a supply reel stand for stranding apparatus, a unit for one of the supply reels having a driving portion and a mounting portion, the driving portion having a motor driven cone center to receive one end of a hub of a supply reel, the mounting portion having an axially movable cone center aligned axially with the driven cone center, a rotatable spindle, means to mount the movable cone center fixedly on one end of the spindle, a hollow piston open at one end, bearings disposed in the hollow piston to rotatably support the spindle in the piston, with the cone supporting end of the spindle extending through the open end of the piston, and to hold it against axial movement relative to the piston, means normally urging the piston away from the driven cone center, a cylinder for the piston, and actuable means to cause fluid under pressure to enter the cylinder to move the piston and spindle to cause closing of the unit and mounting of the supply reel between the cone centers.

7. In a supply reel stand for stranding apparatus according to claim 6 in which the actuable means includes an electromagnetic valve operable in reverse directions respectively causing closing and opening of the unit, and means operable to selectively energize the valve.

8. Supply reel stands for stranding apparatus according to claim 4 in which certain of the switches are operated at spaced intervals to load certain groups of units with supply reels and, while stranding with said group of supply reels, unload other groups of units of empty reels and load them with full supply reels.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Stutz-Benz Jan. 12, 1932 Merwin et al. Nov. 23, 1948