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

• Current Assignee: Fujikura Rubber Limited (Fujikura Composites Inc.)
• Original Assignee: Fujikura Rubber Limited (Fujikura Composites Inc.)
• Inventors: Shuji, Hasebe, Kazuhiko, Ohashi, Seiichi, Nishikawa, Kazuyuki, Maekawa, Shigeyuki, Kobayashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Queisser, Richard C.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Gorenstein, Charles
• Application Number:
  US05/771,628
• Time in Patent Office: 509 Days
• Field of Search: 57/34 AT, 57/58.3, 57/58.32, 57/58.36, 57/58.38, 57/58.52, 57/127.5, 57/127.7, 242/128
• US Class Current: 57/294
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 13/0242 being an accumulator

Abstract

In a method and apparatus for twisting insulated conductors into quads, four insulated conductors are paid off from stationary bobbins, pretwisted alternately in the S and Z directions and thereafter twisted together into a star quad.

Claims

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.

2. An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said pretwisting apparatus includes a shift roller for dividing the wires pretwisted by said pretwisting devices into two groups, each of which constitutes a pair, and relatively shifting the reversing points of the wires of the respective groups in a direction so as not to be placed close to each other, said insulated conductors being pretwisted in S and Z directions at the reversing point.

3. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein said fore rotary member is provided with a drive pulley on its outlet side of said rear rotary member is provided with a drive pulley on its inlet side and wherein a source of drive is provided for driving said drive pulleys and for periodically reversing the directions of rotations of said drive pulleys.

4. An apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said fore rotary member includes a tubular member and first, second and fourth guide rollers and said rear rotary member includes a tubular member and third, fifth and sixth guide rollers, whereby wire paid off from said pay-off means passes successively through said inlet guide roller, the interior of said tubular fore rotary member, about said frist guide roller to the outside of said fore rotary member, about said second guide roller, the third guide roller of said rear rotary member, the interior of said rear rotary member, said groups of the insulated conductor accumulating pulleys on said floating platform, the interior of said fore rotary member, about said fourth guide roller of said fore rotary member to the outside thereof, the fifth guide roller and the sixth guide roller of said rear rotary member into the inside thereof, and said outlet guide roller.

5. An apparatus according to claim 2 wherein each pair of pay-off bobbins are so disposed that the trailing end of the wire on one bobbin can be spliced to the leading end of the insulated conductor on the other bobbin and includes a pair of inclined bases, and a pair of shafts secured to said bases for supporting said bobbins, the extensions of the axes of said shafts intersecting with each other at a point.

6. An apparatus according to claim 5 wherein the axes of said shafts are contained in a vertical plane.

7. An apparatus according to claim 1 wherein accumulating pulleys are mounted on horizontal shafts extending between side frames of said floating frame.

8. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein said guide means comprises a pair of conical shaped hoods (35, 36) over each of said bobbin holders, each of said pair of hoods having a communicating passage (37).

9. An apparatus as claimed in claim 1, said twisting means (13) receiving four insulated conductors from the pretwisting means including a face plate (170) receiving four conductors, said converging die (166) receiving said conductor from said face plate.

10. Apparatus for twisting insulated conductors for use in multiconductor communication cables into star quad, which comprises insulated conductor pay-off apparatus including four sets of stationary pay-off bobbins respectively wound with respective individual strands of insulated conductor, pretwisting apparatus for applying pretwists to the respective and individual strands of insulated conductor paid off from said pay-off bobbins alternately in S and Z directions, and twisting apparatus for twisting together into a quad the individual strands of insulated conductor pretwisted by said pretwisting apparatus, said pretwisting apparatus including four pretwisting device, each of which comprises a tubular fore rotary member and a tubular rear rotary member, means for driving said fore and rear rotary members at the same speed and for periodically reversing the direction of rotation thereof simultaneously, frame means for rotatably supporting said fore and rear rotary members in a straight line and in spaced apart relationship, a floating platform journaled between said fore and rear rotary members and floatingly fixed in space relative to said fore and rear rotary members, a plurality of groups of insulated conductor accumulating pulleys mounted on said floating platform whereby lengths of a pretwisted insulated conductor strand up to 50 meters may be accumulated, an inlet guide roller mounted on said frame means on an inlet side of said fore rotary member, an outlet guide roller mounted on said frame means on an outlet side of said rear rotary member, at least two guide members mounted on and rotatable with each of said fore and rear rotary members, whereby an individual strand of insulated conductor paid off from a respective pay-off bobbin passes successively through said inlet guide roller, one guide member of said fore rotary member, one guide member of said rear rotary member, said groups of said insulated conductor accumulateing pulleys on said floating platform, the other guide member of said fore rotary member, the other guide member of said rear rotary member and thence through said outlet guide roller to the twisting apparatus, said pretwisting apparatus being operable independently of said twisting apparatus to vary the number of pretwists provided to individual strands of insulated conductor and to vary the ratio of the number of pretwists to the pitch of twisting of the resultant star quad whereby capacitance unbalance is made more uniform and cross-talk characteristics of the star guad optimized.

11. The apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said pretwisting apparatus further includes a shift roller means for dividing the insulated conductors pretwisted by said pretwisting devices into two groups, each of which constitutes a pair, and relatively shifting the reversing points of the insulated conductors of respective groups in a direction so as not to be placed close each other, said insulated conductors being pretwisted in the directions of S and Z at the reversing point.

12. The apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said insulated conductor pay-off apparatus comprises four insulated conductor pay-off devices each including a stationary bobbin wound with an insulated conductor to be paid off.

13. The apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said driving means comprises a first pulley provided on the inlet side of said fore rotary member, a second drive pulley on the outlet side of said rear rotary member and a source of drive for driving said drive pulleys and for periodically reversing the directions of rotation of said drive pulleys.

14. The apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said plurality of insulated conductor accumulating pulleys mounted on said floating platform comprises a fore group of the insulated conductor accumulating pulleys and a rear group of the insulated conductor accumulating pulleys, and wherein deflection rollers are disposed between said groups, whereby an insulated conductor passes successively through one guide member of said rear rotary member, said fore group of the insulated conductor accumulating pulley, several times around said insulated conductor accumulating pulleys of said fore and rear groups, said deflection rollers, several times again around said insulated conductor accumulating pulleys of said fore and rear groups, and finally the other guide member of said fore rotary member.

15. The apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said fore rotary member comprises first, second an fourth guide rollers and said rear rotary member comprises third, fifth and sixth guide rollers, whereby an insulated conductor paid off from said insulated conductor pay-off apparatus passes successively through said inlet guide roller, the interior of said tubular fore rotary member, about said first guide roller to the outside of said fore rotary member, about said second guide roller, the third guide roller of said rear rotary member, the interior of said rear rotary member, said groups of the insulated conductor accumulating pulleys on said floating platform, the interior of said fore rotary member, about said fourth guide roller of said fore rotary member to the outside thereof, the fifth guide roller and the sixth guide roller of said rear rotary member into the inside thereof, and said outlet guide roller.

16. The apparatus according to claim 11 wherein said fore rotary member comprises first and third guide members and said rear rotary member comprises second and fourth guide members and wherein first and second rotary flyers are disposed between said fore and rear rotary members, whereby an insulated conductor paid off from said insulated conductor pay-off apparatus passes successively through said inlet guide roller, the interior of said tubular fore rotary member, about said first guide member of said fore rotary member to the outside thereof, said first rotary flyer, about said second guide member of said rear rotary member into the interior thereof, several times about the pulleys of said groups of insulated conductor accumulation, the interior of said fore rotary member, about said third guide member of said fore rotary guide member to the outside thereof, said second rotary flyer, about said fourth guide member of said rear rotary member into the inside thereof, and said outlet guide roller.

17. The apparatus according to claim 10 wherein each insulated conductor pay-off device comprises at least two pay-off bobbins, the trailing end of the insulated conductor or one bobbin being spliced to the leading end of the insulated conductor on the other bobbin, a pair of inclined bases, and a pair of shafts secured to said bases for supporting said bobins, the extensions of the axes of said shafts intersecting with each other at a point.

18. The apparatus according to claim 17 wherein the axes of said shafts are contained in a vertical plane.

19. The apparatus according to claim 17 wherein the axes of said shafts are contained in a horizontal plane.

20. The apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said floating platform is provided with a weight.

21. The apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said plurality of groups of insulated conductor accumulating pulleys are mounted on horizontal shafts extending between side frames of said floating platform.

22. The apparatus according to claim 10 wherein said plurality of groups of insulated conductor accumulating pulleys are mounted on vertical shafts secured on the upper surface of said floating platform.