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Apparatus for twisting insulated conductors for use in multiconductor communication cable into quads

  • US 4,100,721 A
  • Filed: 02/24/1977
  • Issued: 07/18/1978
  • Est. Priority Date: 06/28/1974
  • Status: Expired due to Term
First Claim
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1. A twisting apparatus for twisting insulated conductor wire used in the manufacture of cables, comprising:

  • (a) a pay-off means including four bobbin holder sets each set comprising a pair of bobbins, guide means over each of said bobbin holders so that a spool with insulated conductor wire thereon on one of said pair can be idle and replaced while a spool on the other bobbin holder of said pair is paying off insulated conductor wire and when material from said other spool is exhausted, said one spool pays-off insulated conductor wire as said other spool is idle;

    (b) pre-twisting means for providing S and Z direction twists to said insulated conductor wire comprising four pre-twisting units, each pre-twisting unit having a tubular fore rotary member and a tubular rear rotary member, means for driving said fore and rear rotary members at the same speed, means for periodically reversing the directions of rotations thereof at the same time, frame means for rotatably supporting said fore and rear rotary members on a straight line and in a spaced apart relationship, a floating platform disposed between said fore and rear rotary members to be rotatable relative thereto, said floating platform comprising two pairs of substantially rectangular plates, one of said pairs rotatably mounted to said fore rotary members, the other pair rotatably mounted to said rear rotary member, each plate of said pair of plates connected to each other by a pin member, said pin member extending substantially perpendicular to each plate, a connecting plate means for connecting the pair of plates mounted adjacent the fore rotary member to the pair of plates mounted adjacent the rear rotary members, a fore guide pulley centrally mounted between said pair of plates mounted to said fore rotary member on said pin member, a rear guide pulley centrally mounted between said pair of plates mounted to said rear rotary member on said pin member, a plurality of insulated conductor wire accumulating pulleys mounted on both sides of said fore and rear guide pulleys on both of said pin members, a pair of deflecting pulleys mounted to said connecting plate means, said deflecting pulleys having their axes of rotation perpendicular to said pin member, an inlet guide roller mounted on the inlet side of said fore rotary member, an outlet guide roller mounted on the outlet side of said rear rotary member, a plurality of guide means provided for said fore and rear rotary members and mounted thereon, means for passing an insulated conductor wire paid off from said pay-off means successively through said inlet guide roller, one guide means of said fore rotary member, one guide means of said rear rotary member, and from the rear guide means to the rear guide pulley, alternately around said front and rear accumulating pulleys on one side of said guide pulley, around said pair of deflecting pulleys, and alternately around said front and rear accumulating pulleys on the other side of said guide pulley, and then around said fore guide pulley, the other guide means of said fore rotary member, the other guide means of said rear rotary member and said outlet guide roller;

    (d) a twisting means for receiving four insulted conductor wires from the pre-twisting means and twisting them into a star quad including a converging die receiving said pre-twisted insulated conductor wires, a tubular rotary member fed by said die, a flyer and a near and far end fed by said tubular rotary member at the near end and an end guide roller at the far end, a drive wheel within said flyer adapted to receive several turns of insulated conductor wire fed by said end guide roller;

    (d) a take up bobbin in said flyer fed by said drive wheel for taking up the twisted star guad; and

    (e) said pretwisting means being operable independently of said twisting means to vary the number of pretwists provided to individual insulated conductor wires and to vary the ratio of the number of pretwists to the pitch of twisting of the resultant star quad whereby capacitance imbalance is made more uniform and cross-talk characteristics of the star quad optimized.

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