Abstract:
A cable cleaning device equipped with a housing means having a through hole for a cable. The housing means is divisible in the direction of the diameter of the cable and accomodates therein a cleaning means of an elastomeric material composed of at least two segments and surrounding the peripheral surface of the cable. The segments of the cleaning means are movable in the direction of the cable diameter, and urged against the peripheral surface of the cable by a spring means within the housing means whereby the cleaning means comes into elastic engagement with the peripheral surface of the cable passing through the through hole and cleans the cable.

Description:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to a cable cleaning device, and more specifically, to a cable cleaning device for cleaning the surface of an electric cable which is secured, for example, to an electric cable winder of an electrically driven earthmoving vehicle. 
     U.S. Pat. No. 3,632,906 and U. S. patent application Ser. No. 383,884, now U.S. Patent No. 3,861,505, for example, disclose an electrically driven earthmoving vehicle equipped with a winder for winding and unwinding a cable for power supply. Such an earthmoving vehicle is frequently operated in tunnels where underground water flows, and therefore, muddy soils, sands and clays tend to adhere heavily to the cables. These muddy soils and sands adhere to the cable and are carried over the cable guiding rollers provided at the cable receiving end of the winder or into the inside of the winder when the cable is wound up by the winder. The muddy matter carried to the rollers quickens the wearing of the rollers or injures them, and on the other hand, that carried into the inside of the winder is accumulated there and may cause a malfunction of the winder. Even when this is not the case, the muddy sands and soils become hardened upon drying, and it is not easy to clean them up. It has therefore been desired to avoid all these troubles by cleaning electric cables before wind-up on winders. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     Accordingly, it is a primary object of this invention to provide a simple and effective cable-cleaning device for cleaning electric cables to be wound up on a cable winder. 
     Another object of this invention is to provide a cable cleaning device whose cleaning, repair and part exchange are easy. 
     Still another object of this invention is to provide a cable cleaning device which has a very simple structure, and is therefore cheap in the cost of production. 
     Still another object of this invention is to provide a cable cleaning device capable of cleaning the surface of an electric cable without injuring it. 
     A further object of this invention is to provide a cable cleaning device which can be easily fitted to a cable winder and does not adversely affect the function of the cable winder. 
     These and other objects are achieved by a cable cleaning device, in accordance with this invention, comprises a housing means having a hole for passing a cable therethrough, said housing means being divisible in the direction of the diameter of the cable; a cleaning means made of an elastomeric material composed of at least two segments, said cleaning means being accomodated within said housing means and encircling the periphery of said cable, said segments being movable at least in the direction of the cable diameter; and a spring means within said housing means for urging the segments of said cleaning means against the periphery of the cable. 
     According to the cable cleaning device of this invention, the cleaning means is engaged elastically with the peripheral surface of the cable when a cable to be wound up on the cable winder passes through the hole of the housing means. This results in the removal of an adhering matter such as soils and sands from the cable. The degree of engaging of the cleaning means with the peripheral surface of the cable can be determined to one suitable for cleaning the cable without injuring its peripheral surface by properly choosing the shape and material of the segments of the cleaning means and the urging force of the spring means. Since the cable cleaning device of this invention is divisible in the direction of the diameter of the cable, it can be cleaned, repaired, and exchanged very easily. 
     In order for the cable cleaning device of this invention not to affect the winding and unwinding operations of the cable winder adversely, it is preferred that one end of the cable cleaning device be connected pivotably to the cable winder, and the other end be secured to the cable winder by means of a supporting member connected pivotably to this device. 
     The cable cleaning device can also include at least two housing means each accomodating the cleaning means and the spring means therein. 
     The invention will become more apparent from the following description of some preferred embodiments of this invention taken together with the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a cable cleaning device in accordance with this invention which is secured to a cable guiding roller assembly; 
     FIG. 2 is an enlarged plan of the cable cleaning device shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 3 is an enlarged end view of the cable cleaning device shown in FIG. 1; 
     FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line IV--IV of FIG. 3; 
     FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a segment of the cleaning means; 
     FIG. 6 is a plan showing a supporting means for securing the cable cleaning device of this invention to a cable guiding roller assembly; 
     FIG. 7 is a side elevation of another embodiment of the cable cleaning device which is equipped with a cable guiding means; and 
     FIG. 8 is a sectional view of the cable guiding means taken along the line IIX--IIX of FIG. 7. 
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
     FIG. 1 illustrates a cable cleaning device 2 in accordance with this invention which includes two housing means 4 and 104. The cable cleaning device 2 is secured to a guide roller assembly 8 provided at the cable receiving end of a winder (schematically illustrated at W in FIG. 7) mounted in an electrically driven earthmoving vehicle (not shown) as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,861,505, in order to clean a power supplying cable 6 of the vehicle. 
     Referring in particular to FIGS. 2 to 4, one embodiment of the cable cleaning device will be described in detail. The two housing means 4 and 104 are linked to each other by, for example, four connecting rods or pipes 10a, 10b, 10c and 10d. The housing means 4 is made up of a pair of annular plates 12 and 14 parallel-spaced from each other by a certain distance. Each of the annular plates 12 and 14 has a hole 16 and a hole 18 respectively at its center for passing the cable 6 to be cleaned therethrough. Preferably, each of the holes 16 and 18 has a diameter greater than the outside diameter of the cable 6 to an extent sufficient to prevent the peripheral surface of the cable 6 from contacting the inner circumference of the annular plate. The annular plate 12 is of a divisible type made of a semi-annular plate 12a and a semi-annular plate 12b. Likewise, the annular plate 14 is of a divisible type made of semi-annular plates 14a and 14b. The semi-annular plate 12a and the semi-annular plate 12b are fixed respectively to connecting rods 10a and 10d extending therethrough and to connecting rods 10b and 10c extending therethrough by welding or other suitable means. Similarly, the semi-circular plate 14a and the semi-cricular plate 14b and the semi-cricular plate 14b are fixed respectively to connecting rods 10a and 10d extending therethrough and to connecting rods 10b and 10c extending therethrough by welding or other suitable means. Generally L-shaped brackets 20a (only one of them is shown in the drawings) are fixed to the semi-annular plate 14a at portions near both ends approaching the semi-circular plate 14b by welding or other suitable means. The semi-circular plate 14b also includes brackets 20b (only one of them is shown in the drawings) at positions corresponding to the brackets 20a by welding or other suitable means. The brackets 20a and 20b have formed therein a hole for inserting the bottom portion of a clamping bolt therethrough. The brackets 20a and 20b are separably connected by a bolt 22 extending therethrough and a nut 24 fitting thereon. If desired, similar brackets can be provided in the semi-annular plates 12a and 12b although this is not shown in the embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings. 
     It will be readily appreciated from the above description that the housing means 4 constructed of the annular plates 12 and 14 has a hole through which to pass the cable 6 to be cleaned, and that the housing means 4 can be easily separated into a portion consisting of the semi-annular plates 12a and 14a fixed by the connecting rods 10a and 10d and a portion consisting of the semi-annular plates 12b and 14b fixed to the connecting rods 10b and 10c. 
     Preferably, each of the annular plates 12 and 14 have formed therein a plurality of outlet holes 26 arranged, for example, in a circular form so that soils and sands that have come into the housing means can be released from these holes. 
     In the inside of the housing means 4, that is, between the annular plates 12 and 14, a cleaning means made of an elastomeric material of a low coefficient of friction, such as polyamides or polytetrafluoroethylene, is accomodated. In the embodiment shown in the drawings, the cleaning means is made of four generally fan-like segments 28. As is shown best in FIG. 5, each of the segments 28 includes an inner curved surface 28a an outer curved surface 28b, first inclined side surfaces 28c and second inclined side surfaces 28d. These segments 28, as best shown in FIG. 3, are inserted in the housing means 4 so that is surrounds the peripheral surface of the cable 6. 
     The segments 28 are disposed in the housing means 4 in such a relation that the first inclined side surfaces 28c of one segments make contact with, or approach, those of adjoining segments, and the inner curved surfaces 28a of the segments surround the peripheral surface of the cable 6. Since each of the segments 28 includes second inclined side surfaces 28d, the segments 28 can be easily inserted in the housing means without being impeded by the connecting rods 10a to 10d even after the housing means has been assembled around the cable 6. It is preferred that each of the segments 28 have a width somewhat shorter than the distance between the annular plates 12 and 14 so that within the housing means 4, it can easily move in the direction of the diameter of the cable 6, that is, in the direction in which the inside curved surfaces move to and away from the outer peripheral surface of the cable 6. Preferably, when a generally annular cleaning means is constructed of the four segments by contacting the first inclines surfaces 8c of each segment with those of the adjoining segments, the circular hole formed at its center by the inside curved surfaces of the segments has a diameter equal or nearly equal to the outside diameter of the cable 6. In the illustrated embodiment, the cleaning means is composed of four segments, but it can also be composed of two or more segments that can be accomodated within the housing means so as to surround the peripheral surface of the cable 6. 
     The housing means 4 also includes a spring means for urging the segments 28 against the inside of the cable 6 in the direction of its diameter and engaging the inside curved surfaces 28a of these segments elastically with the peripheral surface of the cable 6. In the illustrated embodiment, this spring means is an ordinary coil spring 30 having a connecting hook at both ends (FIG. 2) to connect such ends to each other. The spring 30 which surrounds the periphery or outer curved surfaces 28b of the segments 28 with its ends connected to each other urges the segments 28 to the inside of the cable in the direction of its diameter by its spring action, and engages the inner curved surfaces 28a of the segments 28 elastically to the peripheral surface of the cable 6. 
     The housing means 104 is substantially equivalent to the housing means 4 described in detail above. The housing means 104 also accomodates cleaning means and spring means therein. In the drawings, the constituent elements of the housing means 104 are designated by adding 100 to the reference numerals indicating the corresponding constituent elements of the housing means 4. 
     Now, with particular reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 6, the fitting of the cable cleaning device 2 of this invention to the cable winder will be described. 
     In the cable cleaning device 2 shown in the drawings, an angular bracket 32a is fixed to the connecting rods 10a and 10d, and an angular bracket 32b , to the connecting rods 10b and 10c, between the housing means 4 and the housing means 104 by welding or some suitable means. To the top of each of the angular brackets 32a and 32b is fixed a pin 34a or 34b respectively by welding or other suitable means. A pair of supporting rods 36a and 36b for securing the cable cleaning device 2 to the winder include a common fixing member 38 fixed to one end of each of these rods by welding or some suitable means, as best shown in FIG. 6. The other ends of the supporting rods 36a and 36b which extend in a bifurcated fashion from the fixing member 38 have fixing members 40a and 40b secured thereto respectively by welding or other suitable means. The common fixing member 38 has a hole 42 through which it is connected removably and rotatably to a hook 48. The hook 48 is fixed to a plate 46 by welding or some other suitble means by means of a bolt or the like which plate 46 is fixed to a supporting frame of the guide roller assembly 8 provided at the cable receiving end of the winder. The fixing members 40a and 40b secured to the other ends of the supporting rods 36a and 36b respectively have holes 50a and 50b, and are connected removably and rotatably to the angular brackets 32a and 32b as a result of the holes 50a and 50b receiving the pins 34a and 34b respectively. These fixing members 40a and 40b are held in predetermined positions by inserting split cotter pins 52a and 52b in holes 52a and 52b formed in the pins 34a and 34b. 
     When the supporting rods 36a and 36b are connected to the angular brackets 32a and 32b, it is preferred that the fixing members 40a and 40b be connected to the pins while increasing the distance between the fixing members 40a and 40b by bending the supporting rods 35a and 36b elastically. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, the supporting rods 36a and 36b are connected rotatably to the guide roller assembly and also to the cable cleaning device 2. This is especially preferred when the cable cleaning device is used in a winder of an electrically driven earthmoving vehicle. The reason is that when the earthmoving vehicle rotates to the right or left, the cable 6 moves relatively to the vehicle or winder in a perpendicalar direction in FIG. 1, and when the cable is wound or unwound by the forward or backward movement of the vehicle, the cable moves relative to the winder. But if the connection of the supporting rods to the guide roller assembly and the connection of the supporting rods to the cable cleaning device are such that the rods are swingable, the cable cleaning device does not at all impede the movement of the cable, and therefore, does not impede the function of the winder and the operability of the vehicle. 
     The operation of the cable cleaning device 2 illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 6 is believed to be clear on the whole from the above description. However, the description of the operation will be summarized below with particular reference to FIGS. 1, 2 and 3. 
     When the cable 6 is wound by the action of the winder W (FIG. 7), it is moved in a direction shown by arrow A, and when it is unwound, it is moved in a direction of arrow B. When the cable 6 moves in the direction of arrow B, the cleaning means engaged elastically with the peripheral surface of the cable 6 accomodated in the housing means 4 and 104 slides relative to the peripheral surface of the cable 6 to scrape off the matter adhering to the peripheral surface of the cable 6, such as soils and sands. As the diameter of the hole provided at the center of the housing means is far larger than the outside diameter of the cable 6, the peripheral surface of the cable 6 makes contact only with the cleaning means and not with the housing means. Accordingly, the sheath of the cable 6 is not impaired by contact with the housing means. Since the cleaning means is made of an elastomer with a low coefficient of friction, and is engaged elastically with the peripheral surface of the cable 6 by spring means, it does not contact the sheathing of the cable 6 excessively frictionally, but adheres to it intimately, and slides relative to the cable 6. This prevents the cleaning means from impairing the sheathing of the cable 6, and effectively scrapes off the matter adhering to the sheathing of the cable 6. Even when the outside diameter of the cable 6 increases or decreases temporarily, the cleaning means can maintain its elastic engagement with the peripheral surface of the cable 6 and clean it effectively, because it can move always in the direction of the diameter of the cable 6. Since the width of the segment 28 is smaller than the distance between the annular plates 12 and 14 constituting the housing means, the segments 28 can move in the direction of the diameter of the cable 6 without making an excessively frictional contact with the inside surface of the annular plates 12 and 14. The soils and sands adhering to the cable 6 may enter the space between the segments and the annular plates because the width of the segment 28 is smaller than the distance between the annular plates 12 and 14. However, they are effectively eliminated from the outlet holes 26 provided in the annular plates. 
     In the illustrated embodiment, two housing means 4 and 104 are provided. In this case, it is possible to render the force of the spring means within the housing means 4 (which is farther from the winder) weaker than that of the spring means in the housing means 104 (which is near to the winder), and therefore, to render the force of engagement between the cleaning means of the housing means 4 and the peripheral surface of the cable 6 weaker than that of engagement between the cleaning means of the housing means 104 and the peripheral surface of the cable 6. This enables the peripheral surface of the cable 6 to be first cleaned roughly, and then neatly, when the cable 6 is wound upon the winder. Even when there is only one housing means, the cable can be cleaned effectively to a feasible extent, and if desired, three or more housing means can be provided. The material of the cleaning means and the spring force of the spring means can be properly selected according to the material of the sheathing of the cable or the environment in which the cable is used. 
     It is very easy to repair or clean the cable cleaning device itself, and the exchange of component parts of the cleaning device is also very easy. The spring means and cleaning means can be easily taken out from the housing means without disassembling the housing means. In the illustrated embodiment, the spring means 30 can be removed merely by disengaging the connecting hooks at its both ends. It will be obvious that if the spring means 30 is removed, the segments 28 of the cleaning means can also be removed with simplicity, and so can be the housing means. In order to disassemble the housing means, the split cotter pins inserted in the holes 52a and 52b of the pins 34a and 34b are first removed to release the connection of the supporting rods 36a and 36b to the angular brackets 32a and 32b. Then, the bolt 22 and the nut 24 connecting the semi-annular plates 14a and 14b are removed. This results in the division of the housing means into two assembly units. These units can be re-assembled by performing the above disassembling operation in the reverse order. 
     FIGS. 7 and 8 show a modified embodiment of the cable cleaning device of this invention. This embodiment differs from the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 6 in that a cable guide means is provided between two housing means. Therefore, those constituent parts of the embodiment in FIGS. 7 and 8 are designated by attaching primes to the reference numerals of the corresponding parts in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 6. 
     In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, two cable guide means 56 and 58 are provided between the housing means 4&#39; and the housing means 104&#39;. Since the cable guide means 56 and 58 are substantially equivalent to each other, the cable guide means 56 will be described below. 
     As is clearly shown in FIG. 8, the cable guide means 56 includes L-shaped brackets 60a and 60b fixed respectively to connecting rods 10&#39;a and 10&#39;b by welding or some other suitable means between the housing means 4&#39; and the angular brackets. A short shaft 62a and a short shaft 62b are fixed respectively to the L-shaped bracket 60a and the L-shaped bracket 60b by welding or by some other means so that the axial lines of the short shafts 62a and 62b in the longitudinal direction extend in a straight line. A hollow guide roller 66 is rotatably provided in the short shafts 62a and 62b through bearing means 64a and 64b. The outside surface of the guide roller 66 is of an inwardly curved shape having the substantially same curvature as that of the peripheral surface of the cable. Accordingly, in spite of the fact that the guide roller 66 is so disposed that its axial line in the longitudinal direction is at right angles to the moving direction of the cable 6&#39;, the outside surface of the guide roller 66 makes a rolling linear contact with the peripheral surface of the cable. 
     The guideroller 66 can be easily removed by separating the housing means 4&#39; and 104&#39;, namely by moving the connecting rods 10&#39;a and 10&#39;b in a direction in which they become separated from each other. When reconstructing the housing 4&#39; and 104&#39;, the short shafts 62a and 62b can be easily re-mounted. 
     Accordingly to the cable cleaning device 2&#39; shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 which is provided with the cable guide means 56 and 58, when the cable 6&#39; moves by being wound or unwound upon or from the winder, the peripheral surface of the cable 6&#39; makes a linear contact with the outside surfaces of the guide rollers of the cable guide means 56 and 58 thereby to guide the cable 6&#39;. Thus, cable 6&#39; moves very smoothly without moving upwardly between the housing means 4&#39; and the housing means 104&#39;. The own weight of the cable cleaning device 2&#39; by the cable 6&#39; as a result of the cable means 56 and 58 making contact with the peripheral surface of the cable 6&#39;. This ensures a uniform elastic engagement of the cleaning means accomodated in the housing means 4&#39; and 104&#39; with the entire peripheral surface of the cable 6&#39;. 
     In the embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 7 and 8, cable guide means are provided only above the cable 6&#39; at the connecting rods 10&#39;a and 10&#39;b. Similar cable guide means can also be provided in connecting rods 10&#39;d and 10&#39;c and below the cable 6&#39; so as to guide the cable 6&#39; both from above and below. Furthermore, in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the number of cable guide means provided between the housing means 4&#39; and 104&#39; can be changed to 1 or if desired, to 3 or more. 
     Whilst the invention has been described in detail above with reference to some preferred embodiments, it is apparent that the invention is not limited to these specific embodiments, but various modifications and changes are possible without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.