US3631914A

US3631914A - Method for applying fittings to strand ends

Info

Publication number: US3631914A
Application number: US74572A
Authority: US
Inventors: Stephen R Baker; Harry D Kremer
Original assignee: Bethlehem Steel Corp
Current assignee: Bethlehem Steel Corp
Priority date: 1967-11-13
Filing date: 1970-09-23
Publication date: 1972-01-04
Anticipated expiration: 1989-01-04

Abstract

A hot-metal-type end fitting is precisely positioned upon the end of a wire strand without detrimental cocking of the fitting with respect to the longitudinal axis of the strand by clamping the strand end in a clamp having planar upper and lower surfaces disposed at right angles to the central clamping orifice of said clamp, positioning the lower surface of said clamp securely against a planar horizontal supporting surface, positioning an end fitting having a flat rear surface against the upper surface of said clamp, and pouring molten metal into the bowl of said positioned fitting.

Description

United States Patent Appl. No. Filed Patented Assignee METHOD FOR APPLYING FITTINGS TO STRAND ENDS 5 Claims, 6 Drawing Figs.

US. Cl 164/112, 164/100, 164/332 Int. Cl 822d 19/00 Field of Search 164/ 1 12,

Primary ExaminerJ. Spencer Overholser Attorney.loseph J. OKeefe ABSTRACT: A hot-metal-type end fitting is precisely positioned upon the end of a wire strand without detrimental cocking of the fitting with respect to the longitudinal axis of the strand by clamping the strand end in a clamp having planar upper and lower surfaces disposed at right angles to the central clamping orifice of said clamp, positioning the lower surface of said clamp securely against a planar horizontal supporting surface, positioning an end fitting having a flat rear surface against the upper surface of said clamp, and pouring molten metal into the bowl of said positioned fitting PATENTEU m 4 m2 SHEET 1 BF 2 INVENTORS Stephen R. Baker Harry D. Kremer ATTORNEY PAFENTEU m 4872 SHEET 2 OF 2 INVENTORS Stephen R. Baker Harry D. Kremer ATTORNEY 1 METHOD FOR APPLYING FITTINGS TO STRAND ENDS RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a division of US. Pat. application Ser. No. 682,465, filed Nov. 13, 1967, now Pat. No. 3,556,168 by the present inventors.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to the precise alignment of molten metal sockets on strand ends.

It has been customary in applying hot metal socket-type ten- 7 sion fittings to the end of wire strands to clamp the end of the strand vertically and then after placing the fitting in approximate position over the end of the strand to align the fitting exactly with the end of the strand with a plumb bob or similar leveling means prior to pouring hot metal into the bowl of the socket. If the socket fitting was not plumbed prior to pouring in the hot metal it would frequently become affixed to the strand end in a slightly cocked position whereby later tension on the fitting would not be evenly distributed to the wires of the strand. Plumbing the socket, however, is tedious and expensive.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a method of aligning a hot metal socket fitting on the end of a strand by first applying a clamp designed to exactly fit around the strand and having a planar face disposed at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the clamp, positioning the strand end in a vertical position, and positioning the lower edge of the socket against the face of the clamp to align the socket with the end of the strand.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a plan view of apparatus suitable for practicing the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an elevation of the apparatus of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 shows a detail of a clamp positioned on a horizontal supporting surface according to the present invention and a broomed end of a parallel wire strand inserted between the dies of the apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2.

FIG. 4 shows a detail of the die shown in FIG. 3 closed to debroom the end of the strand.

FIG. 5 shows a detail of a socket placed over the end of the strand.

FIG. 6 shows a detail of the dies open to allow the socket to be positioned for the application of hot metal.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The practice of the present invention is illustrated and described hereinafter in conjunction with the debrooming apparatus which is the subject of the invention of the parent application, Ser. No. 682,465, of which this application is a division. While the terminology wire strand or strand is used throughout this application, it will readily be understood that the present invention would be equally applicable to the mounting of fittings upon the ends of wire or other rope and the term strand is intended to refer broadly to both strand and rope.

In FIGS. 1 and 2 are shown opposed dies 11 and I3 operatively connected to

piston rods

19 and 21 extending from

pneumatic cylinders

23 and 25. Dies l I and 13 have faces Ila and 13a with arcuate impressions 15 and 17 therein. When dies 11 and 13 are brought together by pneumatic pressure applied to

cylinders

23 and 25, arcuate impressions 15 and I7 cooperate to form a cylindrical die cavity of substantially the outer dimensions of a strand the end' of which is to be debroomed. Diverging intercalated

fingers

27 and 29 extend from the faces of

dies

11 and 13 respectively. These intercalated fingers at their widest divergence are at least as far apart as the width of the debroomed ends of the strand wires and in the embodiment shown at least as wide as the outside dimensions of the socket to be applied to the end of the strand. For

convenience of

construction fingers

27 and 29 may be embedded in the faces of

dies

11 and 13 flush with the die faces 11a and 13a and forming a portion of such faces.

Cylinders

23 and 25 are supported on stationary supporting means 31 and 33 having supporting

legs

31a and 31b and 33a and 33b.

Piston rods

19 and 21 are directly connected to support bearing

pieces

35 and 37 respectively movably mounted in

slides

32 and 34 upon

stationary supporting means

31 and 33. The pistons, not shown, within

cylinders

23 and 25 are double-acting pistons adapted to be moved in either direction by any suitable manual pneumatic control system which applies air pressure through

pneumatic connections

26a and 26b to the back or front faces of both pistons simultaneously so that the

dies

11 and 13 supported by

bearing pieces

35 and 37 may be actively moved together or apart at the will of the operator. In the embodiment shown stationary supporting means 31 is slightly higher than stationary supporting means 33 to facilitate intercalation of

fingers

27 and 29. While this arrangement provides convenience in fabrication because of duplication of parts, other arrangements could also be used.

Between stationary supporting means 31 and 33 and secured to mounting legs 31b and 33a is mounted an accurately leveled alignment plate 39 having a slot 41 large enough to accommodate a strand of the diameter to be debroomed. A series of clamp positioning stops 43 are welded in a rectangular pattern on top of alignment plate 39 about slot 41. Preferably the ends of

fingers

27 and 29 extending over slot 41 are made shorter as seen at 45 than the fingers on the opposite side to allow the strand to he slipped between the two sets of intercalating fingers without opening the

dies

11 and 13 to their extreme positions.

Sheet metal shields

47 and 49 are preferably mounted over

support bearing pieces

35 and 37, and

slides

32 and 34. Small cooperating

shields

51 and 53 with adjacent arcuate cutout portions are hinged at 55a and 55b on top of

shields

47 and 49.

A pneumatic clamping means 57 is preferably mounted under alignment plate 39 to grasp the strand and prevent it from rising up as the

dies

11 and 13 close on the broomed wires at the end of the strand. Small

pneumatic cylinders

59 and 61 are mounted on supporting plates 63 and 65 attached to legs 31b and 33a by means of brackets 67 and 69. Pistons 71 and 73 are connected to V-guides 75 and 77 sliding in V-

beds

79 and 81 mounted on support plates 63 and 65. Clamping

jaws

83 and 85 are supported on the ends of V-guides 75 and 77 in position to clamp a strand in the apparatus and prevent it from moving. Other suitable clamping arrangements may, of course, also be used.

When applying molten metal sockets to the end of a parallel wire strand a clamp 57 having planar end faces 59a and 59b at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the clamp is applied to the strand with the upper or outer face 590 at a predetermined location previously marked on the strand to which position the end of the socket is to extend in the finished strand. The wires at the end of the strand having been broomed outwardly in any suitable manner, such as by inserting a small pipe over the wires and bending them outwardly, and then cleaned, the end of the strand is inserted into slot 41 from the side with the broomed end extending vertically upwardly between

fingers

27 and 29 and the clamp 57 aligned between positioning stops 43 with its lower surface 5% contacting the upper face of alignment plate 39 as seen in FIG. '3. The

jaws

83 and 85 of clamping means 57 are next closed to secure the strand in position by admitting air to

pneumatic cylinders

59 and 61. Air is then admitted through pneumatic connections 26a to the rear of

cylinders

23 and 25 to force

dies

11 and 13 towards each other. As dies 11 and 13 move towards each

other fingers

27 and 29 cooperate to progressively bundle the broomed ends of the wires together again into at least pseudo strand form as shown in FIG. 4. A hot metal socket 61 is then placed over the bundled ends of the wires as shown in FIG. 5 after which the

dies

11 and 13 are opened by the application of air pressure through pneumatic connections 26b to the forward ends of

cylinders

23 and 25 so that socket 61 may fall or be forced down over the wires of the strand until its lower end rests on top of the clamp 57 with the flat face 59a of the clamp acting as both a positioning stop and a hot metal dam as shown in FIG. 6. Since the lower face 5% of clamp 57 rests on the leveled upper surface of alignment plate 39 and faces 59a and 59b are parallel to each other and at right angles to longitudinal axis of the strand, if the lower end of the socket 61 is flat and at right angles to the longitudinal axis of the socket the longitudinal axis of the socket is automatically aligned with the longitudinal axis of the strand. The

small shields

51 and 53 are then folded down as seen in FIG. 6 over the fingers, dies and slides to protect these parts from splashing hot metal, and molten zinc metal is poured into the upper end of the socket to solidify around the broomed ends of the wires, which spring out again inside the socket 61 after dies 11 and 13 are opened and the socket is pushed down against clamp 57 preparatory to filling the socket with hot metal. After the zinc has solidified in the socket clamping means 57 is opened and the strand is removed from slot 41 whereupon it will be found that the socket is precisely aligned and positioned on the end of the strand.

We claim:

1. A method of assembling an end fitting and strand combination comprising:

a. marking said strand at a predetermined point corresponding to the desired position of the end of said fitting on said strand,

b. clamping said strand in a clamp having a planar surface on at least one side disposed at right angles to the longitudinal axis of a central clamping orifice defined by the clamping surfaces of said clamp, with said planar surface at said mark on the strand and the planar surface disposed towards the end of the strand,

c. positioning the end of said strand substantially vertically,

d. placing a socket-type end fitting over the end of said strand and positioning said socket with the end firmly against said planar clamp surface, and

e. placing molten metal in the bowl of said socket and allowing it to solidify.

2. A method of assembling an end fitting and strand combination comprising:

a. clamping said strand in a clamp means having at least a first planar surface disposed at right angles to the longitudinal axis of a central clamping orifice defined by the clamping surfaces of said clamp, with said first planar surface disposed towards the end of the strand,

b. positioning the end of said strand substantially vertically,

c. placing a socket-type end fitting having a flat rear surface disposed at a substantial right angle to the longitudinal axes of the said fitting over the end of said strand and positioning said socket with its said flat rear surface firmly against said first planar clamp surface, and

e. placing molten metal in the bowl of said socket-type end fitting and allowing it to solidify.

3. A method of assembling an end fitting and strand combination according to claim 2 wherein said clamp means has both a first and second planar surface disposed at right angles to the longitudinal axis of a central clamping orifice and the end of said strand is positioned precisely vertically prior to placing molten metal in said bowl of said fitting by positioning the second planar surface of the clamp means against the upper surface of an accurately leveled supporting means.

4. A method of assembling an end fitting and strand combination according to claim 3 wherein said accurately leveled supporting means comprises an alignment plate having an accurately leveled planar upper surface surrounding an opening through which said strand extends vertically.

5. A method of assembling an end fittingand strand combination according to claim 4 wherein said clamp is positioned upon said alignment plate between clamp positioning steps which define the correct horizontal position of said clamp upon said surface.

Claims

1. A method of assembling an end fitting and strand combination comprising: a. marking said strand at a predetermined point corresponding to the desired position of the end of said fitting on said strand, b. clamping said strand in a clamp having a planar surface on at least one side disposed at right angles to the longitudinal axis of a central clamping orifice defined by the clamping surfaces of said clamp, with said planar surface at said mark on the strand and the planar surface disposed towards the end of the strand, c. positioning the end of said strand substantially vertically, d. placing a socket-type end fitting over the end of said strand and positioning said socket with the end firmly against said planar clamp surface, and e. placing molten metal in the bowl of said socket and allowing it to solidify.

2. A method of assembling an end fitting and strand combination comprising: a. clamping said strand in a clamp means having at least a first planar surface disposed at right angles to the longitudinal axis of a central clamping orifice defined by the clamping surfaces of said clamp, with said first planar surface disposed towards the end of the strand, b. positioning the end of said strand substantially vertically, c. placing a socket-type end fitting having a flat rear surface disposed at a substantial right angle to the longitudinal axes of tHe said fitting over the end of said strand and positioning said socket with its said flat rear surface firmly against said first planar clamp surface, and e. placing molten metal in the bowl of said socket-type end fitting and allowing it to solidify.

5. A method of assembling an end fitting and strand combination according to claim 4 wherein said clamp is positioned upon said alignment plate between clamp positioning stops which define the correct horizontal position of said clamp upon said surface.