INTEGRATED WIRE CABLE TWISTING, WRAPPING, AND TESTING APPARATUS AND METHOD OF OPERATING SAME
First Claim
1. An apparatus configured to manufacture a wire cable assembly including an insulated twisted wire pair having a tape spirally wrapped about said wire pair, said apparatus comprising:
- a first clamp to secure a first end of the wire pair and to rotate or maintain a fixed position;
a second clamp to secure a second end of the wire pair axially opposed to the first clamp, to rotate while the first clamp maintains the fixed position thereby twisting the wires of the wire pair one about the other, or to rotate synchronously with the rotation of the first clamp thereby rotating the wire pair without twisting; and
a first tape reel holding a first tape and configured to move generally parallel to the axis of the first and second clamps when they rotate synchronously thereby wrapping the first tape around the wire pair.
2 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
A single machine configured to manufacture a wire cable assembly including an twisted wire pair and a drain wire having a conductive tape and an insulative tape spirally wrapped about said wire pair. The machine includes a first clamp that secures an end of the wire pair and a second clamp that secures the other end of the wire pair. The second clamp rotates while the first clamp is fixed thereby twisting the wires of the wire pair one about the other. The second clamp can also rotate synchronously with the first clamp thereby rotating the wire pair without twisting. The machine also has a tape reel configured to move parallel to the clamps as they rotate, wrapping tape around the wire pair. The apparatus can be configured to apply the tapes simultaneously to electromagnetically shield and insulate the cable assembly. A method of operating the apparatus is also provided.
11 Citations
15 Claims
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1. An apparatus configured to manufacture a wire cable assembly including an insulated twisted wire pair having a tape spirally wrapped about said wire pair, said apparatus comprising:
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a first clamp to secure a first end of the wire pair and to rotate or maintain a fixed position; a second clamp to secure a second end of the wire pair axially opposed to the first clamp, to rotate while the first clamp maintains the fixed position thereby twisting the wires of the wire pair one about the other, or to rotate synchronously with the rotation of the first clamp thereby rotating the wire pair without twisting; and a first tape reel holding a first tape and configured to move generally parallel to the axis of the first and second clamps when they rotate synchronously thereby wrapping the first tape around the wire pair. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8)
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9. A method of manufacturing a wire cable assembly including an insulated twisted wire pair having a tape spirally wrapped about said wire pair, said method comprising:
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providing a first clamp configured to secure a first end of the wire pair; providing a second clamp axially opposed to the first clamp configured to secure a second end of the wire pair; providing a first tape reel holding a first tape; securing the first end in the first clamp; securing the second end in the second clamp; attaching an end of the first tape to the wire pair in a location proximate the first clamp; rotating the second clamp while fixing the position of the first clamp, thereby twisting the wires of the wire pair one about the other and securing the end of the first tape within the wire pair; rotating the first clamp; rotating the second clamp synchronously with the rotation of the first clamp thereby rotating the wire pair without twisting; and moving the first tape reel in a direction generally parallel to the axis of the first and second clamps as they rotate synchronously thereby wrapping the first tape around the wire pair. - View Dependent Claims (10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15)
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Specification