Patent ID: 9586785
Date: 2017-03-07
CPC Classifications: B65H,F16L,H02G

Claim:
1. An apparatus for unwinding flexible cables on seabeds, comprising: a reel for storing a wound flexible cable; a support structure provided with a base block and two shoulders, which rise from said base block parallel and spaced apart from each other in a main vertical extension direction; two hub-carrying groups, each of which is slidably guided along a corresponding said shoulder in said vertical extension direction, and is susceptible to be mechanically engaged with one end of said reel; a plurality of anchoring elements aligned along said vertical extension direction; at least two movable reaction bars, each of which is slidably mechanically guided on a corresponding said shoulder along said vertical extension direction; two first locking means, each mounted on a corresponding said hub-carrying group and able to be actuated to move between a first interference position, in which they intercept at least one anchoring element, constraining said hub-carrying group to said shoulder with respect to movements along said vertical extension direction, and a first non-interference position, in which they are released from the anchoring elements, freeing said hub-carrying group from said shoulder with respect to movements along said vertical extension direction; two second locking means, each mounted on a corresponding said reaction bar and able to be actuated to move between a second interference position, in which they intercept at least one anchoring element, locking said reaction bar to said shoulder with respect to movements along said vertical extension direction, and a second non-interference position, in which they are released from the anchoring elements, freeing said reaction bar from said shoulder with respect to movements along said vertical extension direction; and at least two first movement actuators, each of which is mounted between one said hub-carrying group and one said corresponding reaction bar in order to modify the distance between them with at least one of said first and second locking means in non-interference position, wherein each first movement actuator is arranged to modify the distance between the relative hub-carrying group and the corresponding reaction bar, when, selectively, a member selected from among the hub-carrying group and the reaction bar has the corresponding locking means in non-interference position, so as to allow the movement of the member under the action of the corresponding first actuator, and each first movement actuator is arranged to move the member with successive travel segments equal to the distance between two anchoring elements or for a multiple travel of such distance.