PROCEDURE AND APPARATUS FOR REMOVING ONE OR MORE LAYERS OF STRANDS FROM MULTISTRAND CABLE

Abstract: Procedure for removing, from a multistrand cable, a broken or defective strand that is helically wound in the layer with other strands around a core portion of the cable, wherein the cable 10 is advanced continuously past a circular saw 18 so positioned that the teeth 20 of the saw are moving lengthwise of the cable as they intersect the cable, and penetrate the cable only to the depth of the layer containing the defective strands, thereby to cut in succession each helical turn of each strand located in and outwardly of the layer without cutting the core portion of the cable. The cutting operation can be performed in line with a stranding machine 15 for winding replacement strands on the cable core portion. Apparatus for performing the described opera­ tion includes, in combination with the saw, a guide 22 having an entry opening 34 into which the cable passes immediately beyond the saw, and a frustoconical external wall portion 32 flaring away from the opening in the direction of cable advance.

Description: Procedure and Apparatus for Removing One Qr More Layers of Strands from Multistrand Cable Background of the Invention This invention relates to procedures and apparatus for stripping one or more layers of strands from multistrand cable such as electrical conductor cable, to remove a defective strand. In the production of multistrand conductor cable, a plurality of conductive metal (e.g. aluminium or copper) wire strands are wound on a core, the strands being arranged in one or more layers and each strand extending helically around the core. It sometimes happens that one of the strands is broken or otherwise defective, rendering the cable unacceptable for use; and frequently, in such case (especially if the strands are of noncircular cross-section), the strand cannot be repaired. The layer containing the defective strand must then be removed, together with any layers of strands disposed outwardly thereof, to enable the core (and any strand layers underlying the defective strand) to be salvaged and rewound with sound outer strands, since it would be economically disadvantageous to scrap the whole cable. Heretofore, the removal of a layer or layers of strands from multistrand cable has had to be accom?lished manually, in a costly and time-consuming operation. For example, it has typically taken as much as 120 to ,40 man-hours to strip strands from a single reel of cable, i.e. occupying four or five men for 24 to 48 working hours each. It would be desirable to enable the removal of strands from cable in a rapid and continuous manner with a reduced number of personnel. It would be especially desirable to perform such stripping in line with cable stranding apparatus for immediately and continuously winding replacement strands on the sound stripped portion of the cable. Summary of the Invention The present invention broadly contemplates the provision of procedure for continuously removing, from a multistrand cable having a core portion, at least one layer of metal wire strands wound helically around the core portion. In accordance with the invention, this procedure includes the steps of continuously advancing the cable longitudinally along a path (conveniently a generally rectilinear path) while, at a locality in the path, continuously cutting the strands of the layer to be removed (and any strands disposed outwardly thereof on the cable) by continuously rotating a circular saw having peripheral strand-cutting teeth while maintaining the saw in engagement with the cable at the aforementioned locality such that the saw rotates about an axis perpendicular to a plane containing the path of cable advance and the saw teeth intersect the cable only to the depth of the layer to be removed. It will be understood that the term core portion" refers to that part of the cable disposed inwardly of the strand layer or layers to be removed, and that the term "plane containing the path of cable advanced refers to a plane containing the longitudinal geometric axis of a cable advancing in that path. With the described disposition of the saw (which is preferably rotating in a plane containing the path of cable advance, to minimize the depth of metal that must be cut to remove any given layer, and is also preferably positioned above the cable, to avoid possible fouling of the saw mechanism by strand scrap), the saw teeth are moving lengthwise of the cable as they intersect and cut the cable strands. Thus, the saw cuts into the cable (i.e. into the strand layer or layers to be removed) along a line extending parallel to the longitudinal geometric axis of the cable. Each individual -strand, being helically wound around the cable core portion, crosses this cut line repeatedly, viz. once in each helical turn of the strand, as the cable advances past the saw. Consequently, the saw severs each turn of each strand in the layer or layers to be removed, cutting the strands into short lengths which can readily be caused to fall clear of the cable core portion and are easy to handle as scrap. As a further feature of the invention, the cable is advanced in its path, beyond the aforementioned locality, through a guide positioned in surrounding relation to the cable path and having an entry opening, into which the cable passes, immediately beyond the saw, with an external wall flaring away from the opening in the direction of cable advance. This guide serves to stabilize the location of the cable relative to the saw, so that the saw penetrates fully through the strand layer or layers to be removed but does not cut into the core portion of the cable, and secondarily serves to push the cut strand scraps away from the core portion. With the described procedure, a defective or broken strand can be removed from a multistrand cable in a rapid and continuous manner requiring fewer personnel than heretofore needed for manual stripping of defecting strands from cable. The saw is positioned, in relation to the advancing cable, to intersect and remove the layer of strands including the defective strand (as well as any strand layers disposed outwardly thereof) without cutting any portion of the cable inwardly of that layer. The removal of strands in accordance with the invention can be performed in line with an operation for continuously winding new strands on the remaining core portion of the cable, i.e.. after the layer or layers including the defective strand have been removed, to replace the removed strands. Thus, the cable can be continuously advanced in its aforementioned path, beyond the locality at which it is engaged by the saw, to a second locality in the path at which a conventional stranding machine winds the replacement strands on the stripped core portion. In this way, strand removal and replacement can be accomplished in a single continuous line, with advantageous convenience and economy of operation. The invention additionally embraces apparatus for removing at least one layer of metal wire strands from multistrand cable, including the combination, with means for advancing the cable along a generally rectilinear path, of a continuously rotatable circular saw having peripheral strand-cutting teeth (i.e. teeth for cutting through the metal wire strands to be removed) disposed adjacent the cable path for rotation about an axis perpendicular to a plane containing the path, and guide structure disposed in the path immediately beyond the saw with an entry opening into which the cable passes and an external wall flaring from that opening in the direction of cable advance, for positioning the cable so as to be intersected by the saw only to a predetermined strand layer depth. Additionally the invention embraces apparatus for replacing a-defective strand on multistrand cable, comprising means for continuously advancing the cable along a predetermined path, means including a circular saw as aforementioned for removing at least one layer of strands including the defective strand at a first locality in the path, and means at a second locality in the path for winding replacement strands on the remaining core portion of the cable. Further features and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the detailed description hereinbelow set forth, together with the accompanying drawings. Brief Description of the Drawings Fig. 1 is a simple schematic side elevational view of a line for replacing strands.o multistrand cable, incorporating an illustrative embodiment of the invention; Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the embodiment of the strand-removing apparatus of the invention incorporated in'the line of Fig. 1, taken along the line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of Fig. 2, taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. II is a further enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of the apparatus of Figs.2 and 3, partly in section, illustrating the performance of the procedure of the invention with that apparatus; and Fig. 5 is a.still further enlarged sectional view taken along the line 5-5 of Fig. 4 Detailed Description Referring to the drawing, the invention will be described as embodied in procedure for stripping, from a multistrand cable having a core portion, one or plural layers of aluminium wire strands wound helically around the core portion, e.g. to remove a defective strand in the innermost of the stripped layers, and replacing the removed strands. Fig. 1 illustrates a cable-handling line through which a multistrand cable 10 as described above is continuously advanced along a rectilinear path from left to right as seen on the drawing. The means provided in the line for thus advancing the cable may be generally conventional, as heretofore used for advancing cable along a rectilinear path through a stranding line, and accordingly need not be described in detail; stated generally, such means may include devices for imparting drive and tension as well as support to the cable, which devices may be disposed within the housings 11 and 12 of the illustrated line and/or may be positioned beyond the extremities of the portion of the line shown in Fig. 1. Stated generally, the line includes a stripping unit 14, embodying particular features of the invention as described below, for removing layers of strands from the core portion 10' of the multistrand cable 10, and a stranding machine (partly enclosed within the housing unit 12, and partly indicated schematically at 15) for winding new strands 16 on the core portion 10' to replace those removed by the stripping unit 14 and thereby to produce a reconstituted multistrand cable 10". The structure and operation of the stranding machine may, again, be entirely conventional, and therefore require no description. It will be understood that the cable advances continuously and successively through the stripping unit 14 and the stranding machine 15, which are arranged in tandem to remove and replace layers of strands in an essentially unitary, continuous operation. In accordance with the invention, the stripping unit 14 (es best seen in Figs. 2 and 3) comprises a circular saw 18 bearing a continuous succession of peripheral teeth 20 capable of cutting the aluminium strands of the cable 10 (e.g. carbide steel teeth), and a guide structure 22 disposed in the path of advance of the cable immediately beyond the saw, both supported within a housing 24 having inlet and outlet apertures 26 and 28 to accommodate, with clearance, the advancing cable. The saw 18 is mounted above the path of advance of the cable, for rotation in a vertical plane containing that path (the axis of saw rotation being perpendicular to the latter plane), and is driven for continuous rotation by a motor 30 also supported within the housing 14. The guide structure 22 is a hollow, open-ended, generally cylindrical metal member, disposed in surrounding relation to the path of advance of the cable, and having an inlet extremity 32 tapering toward the saw. This inlet extremity, as shown, is of frustoconical configuration, terminating in an apical entry opening 34 into which the stripped cable core portion 10' passes just beyond the saw. Its external wall 321 flares outwardly from the opening 34 in the direction of cable advance. The guide structure is mounted in a bracket 36 and secured therein by a set screw 38; a depending yoke portion 40 of the bracket 36 overlies a fixed mount 42 and is secured thereto by bolts 44 extending through vertical slots 46 in the yoke portion 40 to enable adjustment of the vertical position of the guide structure relative to the saw 18. In the operation of the described apparatus, the saw teeth function to intersect and to cut the layer or layers of helically wound strands desired to be removed from the cable being advanced past the saw; to this end it is necessary that the saw be so positioned in relation to the cable that the teeth penetrate the cable only to the depth of such layer or layers and do not cut into the core portion which is to be recovered. The requisite relative positioning of the cable and the saw is effected, in the illustrated embodiment of the apparatus, by the guide structure 22. The entry opening 34 of the guide structure is made just slightly larger than the diameter of the core portion 10' to be recovered, preferably being between about 0.6 mm and about 2.5 mm larger than the core portion of 10'; the vertical position of the opening 34 relative to the saw is adjusted (i.e. by moving the-bracket 36 up or down relative to the bolts 44 as permitted by the slots 46) so that the guide structure surrounding opening 34, acting on the cable, establishes and maintains the proper cable positioning relative to the saw, if necessary deflecting the cable somewhat above or below a strictly horizontal rectilinear path at the point of engagement with the saw. In order to position -the cable stably and accurately for cutting of the strands by the saw teeth, the portion of the guide structure 22 surrounding the opening 34 must be located very close to the saw, being preferably disposed 0.4 mm from the locus of rotation of the tips of the saw teeth. Different guide structures 22, repsectively having entry openings 34 of different diameters, may be used interchangeably to enable the apparatus to strip cables wherein core portions of different diameters are to be recovered, it being understood that these different guide structures may be substantially identical except in repsect of the diameter of opening 34. The set screw 38 permits ready removal of the guide structure and replacement with another in the bracket 36, and also facilitates accurate longitudinal positioning of the guide structure relative to the saw teeth. The practice of the procedure of the invention with the foregoing apparatus is illustrated in Figs. 4 and 5 as employed to remove two concentric layers of helically wound aluminium wire strands 48 (each strand being of either trapezoidal or round cross-section) from a multistrand cable having a core portion 10' constituted of compacted strands. It will be understood that if the procedure were performed only to remove the outer of the-two layers of strands 48, then the inner layer of strands 48 as well as the compacted central strands would be considered to constitute the core portion within the meaning of that term as herein used. In this procedure, the saw and the advancing cable are maintained in the desired relative positions by the guide structure 22, such that the saw teeth (as best seen in Fig. 5) fully penetrate the two layers of strands 48 which are to be removed from the advancing cable but do not cut into the core portion 10. In accordance with the invention, with this relative positioning maintained by the guide structure, the saw 18 is continuously rotated counterclockwise by the motor -30, while the cable is continuously advanced past the saw (at a speed of not more than 45 metres per minute). The saw teeth, moving lengthwise of the cable so as to intersect the strands 48, cut into the cable along a continuous line parallel to the geometric axis of the cable. Since each strand 48, being wound helically around the core portion of the cable, repeatedly crosses the line cut by the saw teeth, each strand is repetitively severed by the saw teeth (i.e. once in each helical turn), with the result that the teeth chop up the strands 48 into short scrap pieces 50 (Fig. 4) each equal in length to one helical turn of the strand. The scrap pieces 50 fall readily from the cable core portion 10', being pushed away from the core portion by the nose of the guide structure 22 as the cable advances, and may be collected in a suitable receptacle (not shown) beneath the saw for remelting or other disposal. However, the core portion remains uncut and passes in sound condition through and beyond the guide structure 22, i.e. into and through the housing 12 (Fig. 1) where the stranding machine 15 winds replacement strands 16 onto the core portion, viz. to replace the removed layers of strands 48. During the operation of the saw, an oil such as -that commercially available under the trade mark "Mazola" is sprayed lightly on the saw to prevent aluminium sawdust from accumulating on the saw teeth. This oil may be applied, for example, by an oil pump (not shown) attached to the end of the motor shaft. In an example of apparatus of the type described, the saw 18 had a diameter of 30 cm, with 200 carbide steel teeth, and was driven by a 7.5 kW, 3,600-r.p.m. motor. The apparatus including this saw has been successfully used to strip one or more layers of strands from multistrand aluminium cable, e.g. wherein the strands have either trapezoidal or round crosssection. Three men working two hours each (for a total of six man hours) can strip strands from an entire reel of cable utilizing the present procedure and apparatus, whereas four or five men working 24 hours or more each would be required to accomplish the same-result by the manual operation heretofore employed.

Claims: CLAIMS 1. Procedure for removing, from a multistrand cable 10 having a core portion 10', a layer of metal wire strands wound helically around the core portion, comprising the steps of (a) continuously advancing the cable longitudin ally along a generally rectilinear path while, (b) at a locality in said path, continuously cutting the strands of said layer and any strands disposed outwardly thereof on said cable by (i) continuously rotating a circular saw 18 having peripheral strand-cutting teeth 20 while (ii) maintaining said saw in engagement with said cable at said locality such that said saw rotates about an axis perpen dicular to a plane containing said path and said teeth intersect said cable only to the depth of said layer. 2. Procedure according to claim 1, wherein said saw is rotated in a plane containing said path. 3. Procedure according to claims 1 or 2, including the step of advancing the cable in said path, beyond said locality, through a guide 22 positioned in surrounding relation to said path and having entry opening 34, into which said cable passes, immediately beyond said saw, with an external wall 32 flaring away from said opening in the direction of cable advance. 4. Procedure according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein said cable has plural layers of said strands arranged concentrically around said core portion, and wherein saw teeth intersect said cable to the depth of at least two of said layers, for removing from the cable the strands of said two layers. 5. Procedure according to claim 3, wherein said opening of said guide is between about O.6mm and 2.5mum larger than the diameter of the cable inwardly of said layer and is disposed about 0.4mm beyond the locus of rotation of said saw teeth, and wherein said cable advances in said path at a speed of not more than about 45 m/min. 6. Procedure according to claim 2, wherein said saw rotates in a vertical plane with said axis above said path. 7. Procedure for removing, from a multistrand cable 10 having a core portion and at least one layer of metal wire strands wound helically around said core portion, a defective one of said strands, comprising the steps of (a) continuously advancing the cable longitud inally along a path while (b) at a locality in said'path, continuously rotating a circular saw 18 having peripheral strand-cutting teeth 20 and while (c) maintaining said saw and said cable in such positions that the saw rotates about an axis perpendicular to a plane containing the path of advance of the cable past the saw and said teeth intersect the cable only to the depth of the layer of strands containing the defective strand, such that the saw success ivey cuts each helical turn of said defective strand and of all other strands disposed in and outwardly of the last mentioned layer. 8. Procedure according to claim 7, including the step of advancing the cable, immediately beyond the saw, through a guide 22 having an entry opening 34 into which the cable passes and an external wall 32 flaring away from said opening in the direction of cable advance. 9. Procedure for replacing, in a multistrand cable 10 having a core portion and at least one layer of metal wire strands wound helically around said core portion, a defective one of said strands, comprising the steps of (a) continuously advancing the cable longitudin ally along a path while (b) at a first locality in the said path, continuously rotating a circular saw 18 having a plurality of strand-cutting teeth 20 and while (c) maintaining said saw and said cable in such. positions that the saw rotates about an axis perpendicular to a plane containing the path of advance of the cable past the saw and said teeth intersect the cable only to the depth of the layer of strands containing the defective strand, such that the saw success ively cuts each helical turn of said defec tive strand and of all other strands disposed in and outwardly of the last-mentioned layer while leaving uncut the core portion of the cable and any strands disposed inwardly of the last-mentioned layer, and (d) at a second locality 15 in said path, continuously winding a new layer or layers of strands 16 on said cable to replace the layers cut from the cable in step (c). 10. Apparatus for removing, from a multistrand cable 10 having a core portion 10', at least one layer of metal wire strands wound helically around the core portion, said apparatus comprising the combination, with means for continuously advancing a cable along a generally rectilinear path, of (a) a continuously rotatable circular saw 18 having peripheral teeth 20 for cutting said strands, disposed adjacent said path for rotation about an axis perpendicular to a plane containing said path, and (b) guide structure 22 for positioning a cable, advancing in said path, to be intersected by said saw, but only to a preselected strand layer depth, said guide structure having an entry opening 34, into which said cable passes, disposed immediately beyond said saw on said path, and an external wall 32 flaring away from said opening in the direction of advance of the cable in said path and in surrounding relation to said path. 11. Apparatus as defined in claim 10, wherein said saw is disposed for rotation in said plane containing said path. 12. Apparatus as defined in claim 11, wherein said plane is a vertical plane and said-axis is disposed above said path. 13. Apparatus for replacing, in a multistrand cable 10 having a core portion 10' at least one layer of metal wire strands wound helically around the core portion, said apparatus comprising (a) means for continuously advancing a cable along a generally rectilinear path; (b) means for continuously cutting from the cable, at a first locality in said path, at least one layer of strands without cutting the core portion of the cable, said cutting means including a continuously rotatable circular saw 18 having peripheral teeth 20 for cutting said strands, disposed adjacent said path at said locality for rotation about an axis perpendicular to a plane containing said path and means for positioning a cable, advancing in said path, relative to said saw such that the cable is intersected by said saw only.to a predetermined strand layer depth; ; and (c) means for continuously winding new strands 16 on a cable core portion, to replace strands cut therefrom by said cutting means, at a second locality 15 in said path beyond said first locality in the direction of cable advance. 14. Apparatus as defined in claim 13, wherein said positioning means comprises guide structure 22 having an entry opening 34, into which said cable passes, disposed immediately beyond said saw at said first locality in said path, and an external wall 32 flaring away from said opening in the direction of advance of cable in said path and in surrounding relation to said path. 15. Procedure for removing, from a multistrand cable 10 having a core portion 10', at least one layer of metal wire strands wound helically around the core portion, said procedure comprising (a) continuously rotating a circular saw 18 having peripheral strand-cutting teeth 20 while (b) continuously advancing the cable longitud inally past the saw in such position that (i) the saw teeth intersect the cable but only to the depth of said one layer or layers, and (ii) the saw teeth are moving lengthwise of the cable as they intersect the strands of said one layer or layers.

Inventors: BRANCHAUD, MAURICE
Applicants: ALCAN INTERNATIONAL LIMITED
Application year: 1983
Main classification: H01B15
IPC codes: H01B13, H01B15