A high speed rigid-type strander includes a main shaft or body mounted for rotation about its longitudinal axis with the core wire advanced through the strander substantially along its axis of rotation. Bobbin supporting members are fixedly mounted externally on the shaft or body for rotation therewith and for mounting the bobbins in positions displaced from the axis of rotation. The bobbins are mounted with their longitudinal axes oriented at substantial angles from the axis of rotation of the shaft or body, and preferably at an angle substantially normal thereto. The bobbins can be mounted to either fly-off the wire in a generally radially outward direction or in a generally radially inward direction with the bobbins stationary about their longitudinal axes. A strander of the above general type is also described which can be used in either a fly-off mode of operation or in a traditional pay-off mode wherein the bobbins rotate about their own axes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
The present invention generally relates to high speed cable or wire 
stranders, and more specifically to a high speed rigid-type strander in 
which the axes of the bobbins are oriented at substantial angles from the 
axis of rotation of the hollow body or main shaft to which the bobbin 
supporting members are rigidly connected. 
When manufacturing a cable from a plurality of wires, a core wire formed by 
either a single wire or a plurality of already stranded wires is usually 
passed through the machine and other wires are wrapped around the core 
wire either while the core wires move along its path or at the end of the 
machine. This function is usually carried out by high speed machines 
which, as a rule, include one or more rotatable frames or housings and a 
plurality of wire-carrying bobbins located within the frame or carried by 
supports mounted on the frames. 
The core wire is usually paid-off from a bobbin mounted outside the frame 
and passed through the frame through a path either along the axis of 
rotation of the frame or displaced from the axis of rotation of the frame. 
The way the core wire is handled characterizes the type of wire strander 
and its application. 
If the core wire is passed through the machine along its axis of rotation, 
the wire carrying bobbins rotate around it and the wires paid-off are 
wound on the core wire at several points along the machine. This system 
allows the manufacture of conductors with a high number of wires and a 
change in direction of the various layers since the machine is composed of 
many sections independent of each other. Furthermore, since the core wire 
passes substantially along the axis of the machine, a large multi-stranded 
core can be used. 
If the core wire is passed through the machine along a path significantly 
displaced from the axis of rotation of the frame, the wire carrying 
bobbins are positioned inside the frame along its axis of rotation and 
they remain stationary while the frame rotates. The cable wires are 
paid-off from the bobbins and the wires pass through a path displaced from 
the axis of rotation of the machine and are wound around the core wire at 
the end of the machine. This method allows the manufacture of conductors 
with a relatively low number of wires and the various layers of the 
stranded conductors must be wound in the same direction. 
In the manufacturing of stranded cable from a plurality of wires, three 
basic types of stranders are presently used in the industry. In one type, 
the tubular strander, the bobbins are placed in cradles which are mounted 
on bearings in a tubular rotatable frame or housing. During the operation, 
the frame rotates while the cradles and the bobbins are stationary. The 
wires are paid-out or pulled from the bobbins and are brought along the 
frame through guides until they are wound on the core wire which is 
usually taken from a bobbin mounted outside the frame and passed through 
the frame along a path that is parallel to the axis of the machine, but 
significantly displaced from the center as are the other wires paid-out 
from the bobbins loaded on the cradles inside the tubular frame. Such a 
strander is shown and described in the products catalog published by Ceeco 
Machinery Manufacturing Limited of Concord, Ontario, Canada. 
The second basic type of strander is known as a rigid strander. In this 
type of strander, the bobbins are usually mounted on a rigid rotatable 
frame and they are solidly connected to the frame itself, this machine is 
usually made in sections and follows the classic stranding formations of 
conductors made with wires of the same diameters. In the basic formation, 
each layer above the core wire has six more wires than the previous one. 
Thus, the first layer directly on the core wire has six wires, the second 
wire layer has twelve wires, the fourth wire layer has eighteen wires, the 
fifth wire layer has twenty-four wires, etc. While rigid stranders are 
generally slower than tubular stranders, they are more compact and are 
normally used to manufacture conductors of nineteen or more wires, 
especially in the non-ferrous industry. For conductors with a lower number 
of wires, tubular stranders are adopted as a rule, in view of their higher 
speeds. Rigid stranders are also shown and described in the 
above-identified Ceeco Machinery Manufacturing Limited catalog. 
The third type of strander commonly used is called a planetary strander 
and, in many respects, is similar to the rigid strander. However, in the 
planetary strander the bobbins are mounted on cradles which are kept in a 
fixed plane through mechanical means while the machine rotates. The object 
of such stranding operation is to avoid any twisting of the wire during 
the stranding operation as is done when using a rigid frame strander. 
Planetary stranders are also shown and described in the above Ceeco 
catalog. Tubular stranders and planetary stranders do not twist the base 
wire during the operation and, therefore, can be used both in the ferrous 
and non-ferrous industries. Rigid frame stranders are used as a rule only 
when the base wire can be subject to twisting. 
In the past, wire carrying bobbins mounted on the frame of the strander 
have usually been mounted so that the bobbins were required to rotate 
along their longitudinal axis in order to pay-off the wire. This 
arrangement usually requires some control of the rotation of the bobbins, 
such as a brake mechanism for each bobbin to provide the required wire 
tension and to assure that the bobbins will not continue to rotate when 
the frame of the strander has stopped its rotation. 
The braking device causes the tension of the wire paid-off from the bobbins 
to vary during the operation of the strander since the wire pulling 
tension required to make the bobbin rotate is different when the bobbin is 
full or near empty. If the initial braking force is adjusted for a full 
bobbin, the same braking force applied to a bobbin with partially depleted 
wire supply is sometimes sufficient to cause unacceptable stretch, 
especially for wires of the smaller gauge. In such a case, the cable 
produced will be malformed. Also, since the braking force is applied to 
each bobbin before the initial start of the strander, there is a tendency 
to stretch the wire before the strander reaches its normal operational 
speed. Because of frequent malfunction of the brakes, the wires from the 
bobbins within the frame of the strander occasionally continue to pay-out 
after the strander has been stopped, and because different brake forces 
are applied to different bobbins, different tensions are created in the 
wire paid-out from the bobbins. Therefore, many times the cable formed by 
traditional stranders have one or more wires loosely wrapped with the 
remaining wire more tightly wrapped. 
One attempt to overcome some of the above-mentioned problems was to fly-off 
the wires from stationary bobbins since this provided a better means of 
controlling the tension irrespective of the amount of wire remaining on 
the bobbin. A fly-off system introduced for stranders having a core wire 
path significantly displaced from the axis of rotation of the machine and 
the wire carrying bobbins positioned within the tubular frame with 
longitudinal axes both parallel and perpendicular to the axis of rotation 
of the frame. For example, in U.S. Pat. No. 3,827,225, for "High Speed 
Strander", both a tubular and a rigid strander are disclosed wherein the 
wires fly off bobbins which are mounted on shafts parallel to the axis of 
the machine rotating frame. With respect to the tubular strander disclosed 
in the above patent, the bobbins are positioned along the axis of rotation 
of the tubular, cylindrical frame and, therefore, the core wire cannot 
pass through the axis of rotation, but is displaced therefrom as in 
conventional tubular stranders. This presents a disadvantage inasmuch as 
it limits the size of the core wire which may be used. With respect to the 
rigid strander disclosed in the above patent, wherein the core wire passes 
along the axis of rotation of the frame and where the bobbins are mounted 
on the frame with their longitudinal axes approximately parallel to the 
axis of the machine, the rigid strander disclosed has several 
disadvantages because, while the wire flies off during rotation of the 
frame, it is subject to significant variations in centrifugal forces which 
tend to push the wire outwardly, thus creating oscillations of the wire 
tension. This is particularly severe when using large bobbins as is the 
case in the industry, since such tension variations may result in 
fluctuations in tightness of the finished stranded product. Another 
disadvantage of the rigid-type strander disclosed in the above patent is 
that the bobbins must be mounted on cantilevered shafts parallel to the 
axis of rotation, thus limiting the size of bobbins that can be used or 
causing a severe reduction in the speed of the machine since large bobbins 
and high speeds would subject the cantilevered shaft to excessive 
stresses. The disclosed configuration also requires that the bobbins be 
positioned far from the axis of rotation, thus increasing the centrifugal 
forces that come into play. In order to maintain the same total number of 
bobbins while decreasing the radial distances at which the shafts are 
mounted from the axis of rotation, the overall length of the machine may 
have to be increased to an undesirable or impractical length. 
Another fly-off, tubular-type strander is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 
3,902,307 for "Modified High Speed Strander". This patent discloses a 
tubular-type strander which includes a hollow cylindrical housing or tube 
inside which a plurality of bobbins are supported along the axis of 
rotation of the cylindrical housing. With this strander, the bobbins are 
situated on the axis of rotation to avoid significant centrifugal forces 
thereon. Consequently, as with stranded tubular stranders, the core wire 
cannot go through the center or axis of rotation of the frame or housing, 
but must be bent or deflected at least four times as the core wire is 
guided along the axis, and thence along the housing wall, and finally 
moved towards the housing axis. Such displacement of the core wire from 
the axis of rotation, as suggested above, limits the size of the core wire 
which can be used and, therefore, limits the size of the overall product 
which can be handled or produced by the strander. 
In the tubular-type strander disclosed in both of the above-identified 
patents, the bobbin supporting stems or shafts are pivotally connected to 
the cylindrical housings by means of pivot arrangements to permit the 
bobbins to be loaded and removed through relatively small openings in the 
tubular or cylindrical housings. Such constructions have made these 
stranders more complicated, and more inconvenient to use. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a 
high-speed strander which does not exhibit the above mentioned 
disadvantages inherent in presently known and used stranders. 
It is another object of the present invention to provide a high-speed rigid 
strander which is simple in construction and economical to manufacture. 
It is still another object of the present invention to provide a rigid-type 
strander wherein the bobbins are oriented with their longitudinal axes at 
substantial angles from the axis of rotation of the shaft or body on which 
the bobbins are mounted. 
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a high-speed 
rigid-type strander wherein the bobbins are mounted externally of a 
rotating shaft, to permit a core wire to be advanced substantially along 
the axis of rotation through the shaft, if it is hollow, or along its 
external surface, if the shaft is solid. 
It is a further object of the present invention to provide a rigid-type 
strander wherein the bobbins are mounted with their longitudinal axes 
oriented at substantial angles from the axis of rotation of the body or 
frame on which the bobbins are mounted, the bobbins being displaced from 
the axis of rotation. 
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a 
high-speed, rigid-type fly-off strander which eliminates the bending 
stresses by centrifugal forces on cantilevered supporting shafts on which 
the bobbins are mounted, so as not to limit the maximum speed of rotation 
of the bobbins due to possible damage to the supporting shafts. 
It is yet a further object of the present invention to provide a 
high-speed, rigid-type fly-off strander which can be used to fly off both 
fine as well as heavy gauge wires, and which can be used in conjunction 
with both small and large bobbins. 
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide a rigid 
strander of the fly-off type which significantly increases the maximum 
speed of operation as compared with presently used standard rigid 
stranders. 
It is still an additional object of the present invention to provide a 
high-speed strander for forming a cable with a large number of wires, and 
if necessary, with reverse lay construction for each layer of wires. 
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a strander in 
which the bobbins are placed on supports attached to the main shaft in 
such a way that their axes are approximately perpendicular to the axis of 
rotation of the frame, thus minimizing variations of centrifugal forces 
acting on the wires during the fly off and, therefore, minimizing 
variations of tension in such wires. 
It is also another object of the present invention to provide a high-speed 
strander with the core wire passing through the machine substantially 
along its axis of rotation, and where the center of gravity of the bobbins 
is as close as possible to the axis of rotation, this allowing significant 
increases in speed as compared to other types of stranders using the same 
bobbin diameters. 
It is also a further object of the present invention to provide a 
high-speed strander where the shafts supporting the bobbins or other 
bobbin supporting members are only subject to minimal stresses due to 
centrifugal forces, and, therefore, allow a simple and reliable 
construction besides having great advantages as far as loading and 
unloading is concerned. 
In order to achieve the above objects, as well as others which will become 
apparent hereafter, a strander in accordance with the present invention 
comprises at least one elongated main shaft mounted for rotation about its 
own axis and adapted to advance a core wire proximate to the axis of 
rotation of the strander. Support means are provided for securing a 
plurality of wire carrying bobbins externally of said main shaft in 
positions displaced from the axis of rotation of said main shaft and with 
the longitudinal axes of said bobbins oriented at a substantial angle from 
the axis of rotation of said main shaft. Pay-out means are provided for 
guiding wire off a respective bobbin, and thence in a direction generally 
parallel to the axis of rotation of the strander thus enabling the wires 
which are paid off from the bobbins to be brought to the end of each 
hollow shaft and wound about the core wire in successive layers 
corresponding to the number of shaft sections constituting the stranding 
machine. 
In accordance with one presently preferred embodiment, the wire flies off 
the bobbins in a generally radially outward direction under the action of 
centrifugal forces acting on the wire. In this arrangement, tensioning 
means are advantageously provided for selectively limiting the extent to 
which the wire flies off the bobbins. In accordance with another presently 
preferred embodiment, the bobbins are displaced from the axis of rotation 
of the hollow body and the wire flies off in a generally radially inward 
direction, fly-off takes place under the action of external pulling forces 
acting on the wire. 
More specifically, the present invention comprises a strander for forming 
cable at high speeds substantially without hazards of forming a cable with 
loose or drawn wire strands. The objects of the present invention are best 
achieved when the bobbins are mounted on a plurality of supports spaced 
along the axis of rotation of the shaft or body with the axes of symmetry 
of the bobbins substantially perpendicular to the axis of rotation of the 
shaft or body. The wire flies off the bobbin generally along the direction 
of the longitudinal axis thereof without allowing the bobbins to rotate 
about their individual axes. The wires drawn from the bobbins in this 
manner can be paid-off with practically the same wire tension throughout 
the entire unloading from the reel. Where it is desirable to control the 
tension of the wire, several types of tension control mechanisms can be 
adopted, and are described in the Description of the Preferred 
Embodiments. 
The present invention also contemplates a strander which can selectively be 
used either in a fly-off mode wherein the bobbins are prevented from 
rotating about their axes or in a traditional pay off mode with rotating 
bobbins.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
Referring now specifically to the drawings, in which the identical or 
similar parts are designated by the same reference numerals throughout, 
and first referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a rigid-type, fly-off strander in 
accordance with the present invention is generally designated by the 
reference numeral 10. 
The strander 10 includes an elongated body or main shaft 12 mounted for 
rotation about its longitudinal axis 14. In the presently preferred 
embodiments to be described, the shaft or body is advantageously hollow 
for reasons to be described. However, as will also be described, the shaft 
or body may be solid, in which case the core advances along its external 
surface, as shown in FIG. 3. The shaft or frame 12 is mounted for rotation 
on bearings 16 in a conventional manner. 
The shaft 12 is provided with an axial hole or bore 18, conventional 
feeding means being provided for feeding, from an outside bobbin 20, a 
core wire 22 substantially along the axis 14. 
Suitable mounting means, shown as supporting shafts 24 in FIGS. 1 and 2, 
are provided for mounting bobbins 26 on the shaft in a position displaced 
from the axis 14 of the shaft. An important feature of the present 
invention is that the bobbins 26 are mounted with their longitudinal axes 
oriented as substantial angles from the axis 14 of the tubular frame 12. 
All the embodiments to be described utilize supporting shafts as the means 
for supporting the bobbins on the tubular frame 12. This is not a critical 
feature of the present invention, and any appropriate or conventional 
manner of mounting and maintaining the bobbins in the said position around 
the shaft 12 may be employed. For example, one other possible means for 
mounting the bobbins on the shaft 12 includes the provision of hook-type 
members or devices which are themselves directly or indirectly fixedly 
mounted on the shaft 12, and which are adapted to engage the flange of the 
bobbin 32 and lock the same in position on the tubular frame in order to 
be able to use such shaftless mounting. With the embodiment of FIGS. 1 and 
2, the strength of the reel must be such as to withstand the high 
centrifugal forces generated during rotation. This is not the case with 
the embodiment shown in FIG. 5, as will be described below. Accordingly, 
the mounting means is not critical, although supporting shafts lend 
themselves very well to this application inasmuch as they result in a 
simple construction that facilitates placing and removing bobbins from the 
machine, besides providing a safe operation at high rotational speed. It 
is important, however, irrespective of the particular mounting means used, 
that the bobbins be mounted on the tubular frame 12 with the axes of 
symmetry thereof oriented at substantial angles from the axis 14 of the 
shaft, for reasons which will become apparent hereafter. 
The strander shown schematically in FIGS. 1 and 2 may be referred to as a 
rigid-type strander since the bobbin supporting means, namely the 
supporting shafts 23 are rigidly fixedly mounted on the rotating tubular 
frame 12, and accordingly share the rotational movements therewith. Since 
the wire is typically paid-off the bobbins 26 without requiring the 
bobbins to rotate about their longitudinal axes, the strander 10 may also 
be denominated a fly-off strander. 
As will be readily evident, rotation of the tubular frame 12 about the axis 
14 will result in centrifugal forces acting on the bobbin 26 which will 
tend to cause such bobbins to move radially outwardly. To prevent the 
bobbins 26 from being ejected from the mounting shafts, it is important to 
provide suitable locking means 36 which positively lock the bobbins 26 on 
their respective supporting shafts and assures that separation 
therebetween will not occur. Any appropriate or conventional locking 
mechanisms may be utilized for this purpose. Fail-safe bobbin engaging 
means, such as the type shown and described in my co-pending U.S. Patent 
Application Ser. No. 774,587 filed on 3/7/77, now U.S. Pat. No. 4,079,580, 
for FAILSAFE LOCKING DEVICE FOR REEL CARRYING SYSTEMS may also be used. 
This co-pending application is incorporated by reference herein, the 
fail-safe locking device shown and described in this application being 
particularly simple and convenient to use in the strander 10 while 
providing ample safety margins during operation. To minimize the escape 
factor, it is advantageous that the bobbins 26 be mounted as close to the 
axis 14 as is physically and structurally possible. By bringing the 
bobbins 26 close to the axis 14, the centrifugal forces acting on the 
bobbins 26 are lowered, the stresses acting on the supporting shafts 24 
and on the locking devices 36 are thereby reduced. By selecting a 
generally symmetrical configuration of bobbins or bobbin arrangements, it 
has been found that the bobbins 26 can be positioned sufficiently close to 
the axis 14 to permit the strander 10 to operate at high rotational 
speeds. With optimum design, the strander 10 can undoubtedly be designed 
to operate at substantially higher speeds. As a practical matter, however, 
the speed of rotation must also be selected as a function of the 
construction of the strand and, therefore, is also related to the linear 
take-up speed of the core wire 22. 
Suitable guide means are provided with respect to all of the embodiments of 
the present invention for flying-off the wire from the bobbins 26 in a 
direction generally parallel to the longitudinal axes of symmetry thereof, 
without requiring the bobbins to rotate, and guiding the wire first around 
one end of the bobbin fly-off position then to a point on an axis parallel 
to the longitudinal axes and as close as possible to it; from this point 
in a direction generally along the shaft 12. In this manner, the wire 34 
is paid-off the bobbins 26 and advanced to one end or take-up end of the 
shaft 12 and there, applied to the core wire 22 in a conventional way. 
In the arrangement shown in FIGS. 2-4 and 6-8, the wire payout or guiding 
means are generally adapted to fly-off the wire 34 in a generally radially 
outward direction under the action of centrifugal forces acting on the 
wire. With respect to all of these embodiments, there is advantageously 
provided tensioning means, to be more fully described hereafter, for 
selectively limiting the extent to which the wire 34 flies off the bobbins 
26. Turning specifically to FIGS. 1 and 2, the wire guide arrangement is 
shown to include an overhead or overhanging support 38 rigidly or fixedly 
mounted on the shaft 12 having a free end portion thereof substantially 
aligned with the longitudinal axis of the bobbin 26, at which end there is 
provided a wire collecting member, such as an eyelet 40 through which the 
flown-off wire 34a passes. The eyelet 40 aligns the just flown-off wire 
34a, with a pulley wheel or sheave 42 over which the wire 34a passes and 
is thereby redirected from a radially outward movement to a generally 
radially inward movement as indicated by the arrows. An overhead support 
38, which is generally positioned upstream of the bobbin with which it is 
associated, cooperates with a further pulley wheel or sheave 44 which is 
generally positioned downstream of the bobbin 26. The pulley wheel 44 is 
mounted on the shaft 12 and serves the function of redirecting the wire 
34a from a generally radially inward movement to a movement generally 
along the axis or parallel to the axes of rotation 14. The overhead 
support 38, the eyelet 40, the pulley wheel 42 and the pulley wheel 44 
forming the guide means in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 is merely 
illustrative and not limiting of the types of guide means which can be 
used to achieve the same or similar functions. It will be appreciated that 
various known mechanical variations may be employed in order to facilitate 
the loading and unloading of bobbins. For example, in the embodiments of 
FIGS. 1-4, 7 and 8, the overhead support 38 may be pivotally mounted to 
the shaft for rotation away from the bobbin shafts or affixed to a collar 
for rotation about the shaft to a position between bobbin shafts or 
constructed so as to extend sufficiently beyond the end of the bobbin 
shaft to facilitate the passing of a bobbin between the end of the bobbin 
shaft and the overhead 38. 
In FIG. 1, some of the overhead supports have only been shown partially, 
and some of the pulley wheels entirely omitted for the sake of clarity of 
illustration. However, it should be evident that each bobbin 26 is 
provided with a similar or appropriate wire guiding arrangement for 
guiding the wires from a flown-off position to one generally along the 
tubular frame 12. 
Still referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, there are shown three bobbin 
arrangements, with four bobbins being provided within each such 
arrangement. In the embodiment being described, the bobbin arrangements or 
groups are spaced from each other along the axis of the shaft 12. Within 
each group or arrangement, the bobbins are angularly spaced from each 
other about the axis 14 and disposed in a generally common plane which is 
substantially normal to the axis 14. In order to provide a generally 
symmetrical arrangement which is well balanced for high speed rotations, 
the bobbins are advantageously uniformly spaced from each other about the 
axis 14 and, in the embodiment shown, the four bobbins are spaced from 
each other by approximately 90.degree. to define an "X" formation as 
shown. The number of arrangements or groups, the number of bobbins within 
each such group and the angular spacing therebetween within each group is 
a matter of design choice and will be a function of the type of cable to 
be produced and, more specifically, how many strands or wires the strander 
10 is to apply to the core wire 22. As suggested, it is advantageous to 
balance the bobbins, such as by placing them on opposite diammetrical ends 
of the tubular frame 12 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 so that centrifugal 
forces acting upon the bobbins effectively cancel each other out. Such an 
arrangement, as well as other symmetrical arrangements provide positional 
stability of the shaft 12 along its axis of rotation 14 during high speed 
rotation. 
As suggested above, with respect to those embodiments of the present 
invention wherein the wire is flown-off in a generally outward direction 
under the action of centrifugal forces acting on the wire, the wire which 
flies-off must be maintained under appropriate tension control. As should 
be evident, external forces pulling on the wires at the take-up end of the 
shaft 12 manifest themselves in radially outward forces at the eyelet 40 
and pulley wheel 42. Accordingly, external forces act in the same general 
direction as the centrifugal forces which act upon the wire as it flies 
off the bobbins. These forces are cumulative and, unless appropriate wire 
tensioning means are provided which introduce counteracting forces on the 
wire, the wires in the arrangement shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 may 
uncontrollably fly off the bobbins even at low rotational velocities. For 
this reason, in all the embodiments described, there is provided some form 
of tensioning means for applying a retarding force or tension on the wire 
just as it leaves and moves around the flange of the bobbin. Numerous wire 
tensioning means may be utilized for this purpose and the specific method 
used is not critical. The description that follows describes some forms of 
wire tensioning means, these being merely illustrative and not intended to 
be limiting of the many types of devices and arrangements which may be 
used for tensioning the bobbin wires. 
Referring to FIG. 3, there is shown one form of presently preferred wire 
tension control means to prevent excessive and uncontrollable fly-off of 
the wire. Here, the wire guide means includes a member generally 
designated by the reference numeral 46, which includes a stationary ring 
46a which is provided with a polished smooth outer surface. The number 46 
also includes central hub member 46b which may be adapted to be fixedly 
engaged to the supporting shaft 24 to thereby lock the stationary ring 46a 
and the bobbin 26 on the supporting shaft 24. 
During rotation of the shaft 12, the free end of the wound wire 34 has a 
tendency, under the action of centrifugal forces acting thereon, to move 
radially outward and, in the process, move circularly around the 
stationary ring 46a. Such circular movement defines a predetermined path, 
namely the circular path extending about the stationary ring 46a. One wire 
tensioning means which has been found effective includes a plurality of 
resiliently deflectable members, such as whiskers 48, which are interposed 
in the predetermined path of the oscillating wire. Whiskers 48 extend from 
the hub 46b in a well known manner and resemble spokes which extend 
radially from the axis of the supporting shaft 24. Whiskers 48, which may 
be made from any suitable material such as nylon or any other resilient 
and flexible material, deflect upon being engaged by the wire when the 
tension of the wire becomes sufficiently great to deflect the whiskers 48. 
Accordingly, the wire is prevented from uncontrollable unwinding around 
the stationary ring 46a, this preventing a proper operation of the 
machine. 
The whiskers 48 are only effective up to a certain speed of rotation and, 
if higher speeds are desired, further tensioning means are provided, in 
the nature of an inverted funnel 50 coaxially arranged with the 
longitudinal axis of the bobbin 26, the flown-off wire 34a being received 
through the large diameter end of the funnel and being removed through the 
small diameter end thereof as shown in FIG. 3. It will be evident that the 
inverted funnel 50 prevents the portion of the wire between the stationary 
ring 46a and the eyelet 40 from looping out under the effect of 
centrifugal forces. Such looping out only increase the length of the wire 
on which centrifugal forces can act, thus further escalating the rate of 
unwinding and ultimate damage to the wire and impairment in the machine 
operation. The inverted funnel 50 is advantageously provided with an 
internal smooth surface which, however, nevertheless applies a frictional 
force upon the wire which counteracts the outward centrifugal forces. The 
inverted funnel 50, together with the whiskers 48, provide retarded or 
tensioning forces which are effective to control fly-off. 
It may also be mentioned with respect to FIG. 3, that whiskers 48 are 
generally considered satisfactory insofar as small gauge wires are 
concerned. However, whiskers are generally not suitable for heavy gauge 
wires since the braking forces the whiskers develop are not sufficient to 
counteract the higher centrifugal forces acting on the heavier wires. The 
embodiment shown in FIG. 3 is primarily suitable for low gauge wires 
although, with the provisions of the inverted funnel 59, the strander 
shown in FIG. 3 may also be used for heavier gauge wires. 
The core wire 22, shown in solid outline, advances through the axial hole 
or bore 18 substantially along the axis of rotation of the shaft or body 
12. With this arrangement the core wire 22 is not deflected and, 
therefore, is not subjected to damage during operation. Additionally, this 
arrangement permits the use of large core wires. However, if a solid shaft 
or body is used, the present invention can still be practiced by advancing 
the core wire 22', shown in FIG. 3 in dashed outline, along the external 
surface of the shaft or body. 
Referring to FIG. 4, there is shown a further embodiment of the present 
invention which provides a means for positively controlling tension. As 
suggested above, the fly-off mode occurs in any system where the wire is 
paid-off from a stationary bobbin, i.e., a bobbin which does not rotate 
about its own axis. While the embodiment shown in FIG. 4 may also be 
utilized for relatively low gauge wires, it is particularly suitable for 
heavier gauge wires which would normally be exposed to very high 
centrifugal forces and would, therefore, have the tendency to 
uncontrollably fly off the bobbin. In FIG. 4, there is provided a 
cylindrical frame or shell, shown as a rotating bell or cup 52 open at the 
axial end facing away from the axis of rotation 14 of the tubular frame 
12, and mounted at the opposite axial end on the supporting shaft 24 by 
means of a suitable bearing 54. An important feature of this rotating 
shell 52 is that it is as symmetrically balanced as possible so that it 
does not show preferential positional patterns when rotating around its 
own axis in the centrifugal force field created by the rotation of the 
main shaft 12 around the axis 14. 
The rotating bell or cup 52 may be permitted to freely rotate on the 
bearing 54 about the axis of the supporting shaft 24 or rotational 
movements may be dampened by means of a suitable and conventional 
adjustable braking means which is shown in FIG. 4 as a ribbon or band type 
brake mechanism 56. 
In operation, the wire paid-off from the bobbin 26 is looped about the 
pulley wheel 58 prior to entering the eyelet 40. When the adjustable brake 
mechanism totally removes the braking forces on the rotating bell or cup 
52, it rotates about the axis of the supporting shaft 24. The wire 34a is 
paid-off the bobbin 26 when external pulling forces are applied to the 
wire. There is always friction in the bearings 54 and since the rotating 
bell or cup 52 has a predetermined amount of inertia, there will always be 
applied a tension to the paid-off wire between the bobbin and the pulley 
wheel 58. Such tension is sufficient to prevent looping of the wire 
between the pulley wheel 58 and the eyelet 40 and, therefore, 
uncontrollable fly-off is prevented. With heavier gauge wires, where 
bearing friction and the inertia of the bell or cup 52 is not sufficient 
to provide suitable tensioning forces, the adjustable brake 56 may be used 
to increase the tension on the wire. To prevent hang-up or locking of the 
rotating bell or cup 52, as suggested above, the bell or cup 52 should be 
evenly balanced about its own axis of rotation. 
As suggested above, the present invention also contemplates positioning the 
bobbins on the shaft in a position displaced from the axis of rotation of 
the shaft 12 in such a manner so that fly-off of the wire is in a 
generally radially inward direction. In this case, fly-off takes place 
under the action of external pulling forces acting on the wire. Referring 
to FIG. 5, there is shown a frame member generally designated by the 
reference numeral 60 which is mounted on the shaft 12 for rotation 
therewith about the axis 14. The frame member includes, by way of 
illustration only, a pair of end plates or members 60a and a generally 
transverse or cross member 60b which is generally parallel to the axis of 
rotation as shown. The cross member 60b comprises a support portion which 
is radially spaced from the body or shaft 12. Here, hook-type members or 
devices 62 are fixedly mounted on the support portion 60b to position the 
bobbin between the shaft 12 and the support cross member. 
The embodiment shown in FIG. 5 operates in a manner generally similar to 
that described in connection with FIG. 5. Whereas a rotating cylindrical 
frame or shell 52 is used in conjunction with a stationary bobbin, the 
embodiment shown in FIG. 5 utilizes a rotating guide and tensioning system 
63 which is mounted on a bearing 54, which is itself fixedly mounted on 
the shaft 12 through the supporting housing or structure 61. 
The rotating guide and tensioning system 63 generally comprises an elongate 
arm 63a, along the length of which there are provided two or more guiding 
sheaves or pulleys 63b-63d. The free end of the arm 63a extends to a 
generally intermediate position along the longitudinal length of the 
bobbin. 
The rotating guide and tensioning system must be balanced as symmetrically 
as possible by use, for example, by use of counterweights 63e (only shown 
in FIG. 5), or any other suitable compensating method, so that it does not 
show preferential positional patterns when rotating around its own axis in 
the centrifugal force field created by the rotation of the main shaft 12 
around the axis 14. 
As with the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, a brake 56 may also be used to 
dampen the rotational movements of the rotating tensioning and guide 
system 63. 
In operation, the embodiment shown in FIG. 5 causes the wire 34a to fly-off 
or be paid-off in a generally radially inward direction under the action 
of external forces acting on the wire, as indicated by the arrow. Under 
the action of the external pulling forces acting on the wire 34a, the 
rotating guide and tensioning system begins to rotate, thus allowing the 
wire 34 to become unwound from the stationary bobbin 26 under a constant 
tension controlled by the brake 56. During such unwinding, the wire 34a is 
guided along the arc 63a by means of the pulleys 63b-63d and caused to 
enter the support structure or housing 61 through the hole or eyelet 61a. 
Inside the support structure or housing 61, there is provided a pulley 44 
which redirects the wire 34a in a direction parallel to the axis of 
rotation of the shaft 12, and the wire 34a subsequently leaves the housing 
61 through a hole or eyelet 61b as shown. 
While the arrangement shown in FIG. 5 is the presently preferred one, other 
arrangements may also be possible which mount the bobbins on a support or 
frame member 60. The specific guide and tensioning devices or arrangements 
are not critical and any conventional means for guiding and tensioning a 
wire which is unwound from a bobbin mounted as shown may be used. 
Referring to FIG. 6, there is shown a further embodiment of the present 
invention wherein the supporting shaft 24' is provided with a longitudinal 
bore therethrough, the supporting shaft 24' being fixedly mounted on the 
body or tubular frame 12 in the above-described embodiments. The 
supporting shaft 24' has an opening in the lower region thereof where it 
is connected to the hollow shaft, which opening is in communication with 
the central bore. An annular polished ring 64 operates with the supporting 
shaft 24' to cover the outer rim of the bobbin 26. In this embodiment, the 
wire which is paid-off the bobbin is drawn through the bore and lower 
opening to bring the wire to a position along the tubular frame while 
exposing only a relatively small length of the wire to centrifugal forces. 
Specifically, the length of wire exposed to centrifugal forces is that 
length which extends about the polished surface of the annular ring 64. 
Minimizing the length of the loop of wire which is exposed to centrifugal 
forces, fly-off may be controlled simply by the application of suitable 
externally applied pulling forces, as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 6. At 
higher rotational velocities of the strander, it may be advantageous to 
provide auxiliary wire tensioning means, such as the whiskers 66. While 
the whiskers have been shown to be oriented in directions parallel to the 
axis of the supporting shaft 24', the whiskers may be disposed at any 
other angle, as suggested by the dashed outlines, so long as the whiskers 
are positioned in a predetermined path which the paid-off wire traverses 
when it leaves the bobbin. 
In FIG. 7, a bobbin support arrangement and wire tensioning control means 
is shown which is very similar to the embodiment shown in FIG. 3. However, 
here means are provided for rotatably mounting the bobbin 25 on its 
supporting shaft. To do this, there is provided, for example, in addition 
to the inner stationary shaft 24a, an outer shaft 24b which is mounted for 
rotation about the inner shaft 24a by means of bearings 68, 70. An 
adjustable brake mechanism 56 similar to the one described in connection 
with FIG. 4, is provided for controlling the braking forces which are 
applied to the outer shaft 24b. 
This construction provides a double utilization machine when an auxiliary 
guide means in the nature of an optional eyelet 72 is provided as shown in 
FIG. 7, brake mechanism is adjusted to release the outer shaft 24b to 
permit the same to rotate about its axis. The machine may be operated as a 
standard, rigid-type strander wherein the wire is directly paid-off from 
the bobbin which rotates about its axis. The machine may be utilized as a 
fly-off strander as described in connection with FIG. 3, while the eyelet 
72 is not utilized, but the wire is guided radially outwardly as shown in 
FIGS. 3 and 7 and described above. In the fly-off mode, the adjustable 
braking mechanism 56 is adjusted to apply a braking force to the outer 
shaft 24b so that the bobbin does not rotate about its axis. Thus, the 
embodiment shown in FIG. 7 can be utilized to directly pay-off the wire 
off a rotating bobbin or fly-off the wire from a stationary bobbin. 
The same arrangement shown in FIG. 7 is shown in FIG. 8, except that the 
axis of symmetry of the bobbin as well as the supporting shaft is 
generally inclined at an angle .alpha. from a reference line parallel to 
the axis of rotation 14 of the tubular frame 12. As described above, one 
of the important features of the present invention is that the axis of 
symmetry of the bobbin is oriented at a substantial angle .alpha. from the 
axis 14 of the tubular frame 12. The angle .alpha. has been shown in all 
of the embodiments as being substantially equal to 90.degree.. This has 
been done so that in the fly-off mode, centrifugal forces will be 
substantially constant on the wire that unwinds about the rim of the 
bobbin. It will be evident that inclination of the axis of symmetry places 
one portion of the bobbin rim closer to the axis than the diammetrically 
opposite portion of the rim, thus resulting in tension oscillations on the 
wire. The invention is operative also at angles .alpha. less than 
90.degree., the limiting angle being a function of numerous factors, 
including the gauge of the wire, the maximum speed of rotation of the 
strander and the diameter of the bobbin rims. The presently preferred 
angle .alpha. for all of the aforementioned embodiments which operate in 
the fly-off mode is approximately 90.degree., although nominal variations 
from the substantially normal orientation with respect to the axis of 
rotation 14 should not materially adversely affect the operation of the 
strander. 
Various tensioning and pay-off means have been described which can be used 
with the strander of the present invention. In some cases such tensioning 
or pay-off means has been described in connection with only one particular 
support arrangement of a bobbin. Moreover, it will be evident to those 
skilled in the art that features described can be modified and, in most 
instances, interchangeably used on the variously described embodiments. 
For example, it is possible, with minor modifications, to utilize 
tensioning means, such as the rotating bell or cup 52 of FIG. 4 in the 
embodiment shown in FIG. 5. Similarly, it will be evident that the bobbin 
of FIG. 5 may be rotatably mounted as in FIG. 7, and the wire payed off in 
the conventional manner with the bobbin rotating by provision of suitable 
guides, such as pulleys mounted on the frame member 60. 
While this invention has been described in detail with particular reference 
to presently preferred embodiments thereof, it will be understood that 
variations and modifications can be effected within the spirit and scope 
of the invention.