Abstract:
A tool for aligning a plurality of flexible elongate items is disclosed. The tool has first and second frame members positioned in spaced apart relation to one another. A plurality of cross pieces extends between the frame members. The cross pieces are in spaced relation to one another and define a plurality of openings for receiving the elongate items. The frame members are angularly adjustable relative to the elongate members about an axis parallel to one of the cross pieces so as to vary the apparent size of the openings to accommodate varying thickness of the elongate members. The tool guides the elongate members as they are fed from a supply so that they lie neatly atop one another as they are drawn through the openings.

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION  
       [0001]     The invention concerns a tool for aligning flexible elongated items being drawn from a supply.  
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION  
       [0002]     In the laying of communication lines, for example, optical fiber networks or conventional copper wire lines, as well as power cables, it is often convenient to position the lines or power cables below ground within a duct that isolates and protects the lines from moisture, dirt, corrosion, rot, attack from animals and other hazards. Ducts carrying communication lines and the like may have exceedingly long runs and are accessible only at isolated points along their length, for example, at points where they are connected to components of the network, such as amplifiers or transformers or installations to which they provide a service, such as power or communications.  
         [0003]     Due to the limited accessibility to the ducts, the lines must be pulled through the ducts from one access point to another. It is advantageous to first install a plurality of flexible, protective, tubular sleeves within the ducts. The sleeves are preferably woven of polymeric material having adequate tensile strength to withstand the stresses encountered when pulled through a long duct during installation. The sleeves are also preferably abrasion resistant so as to withstand any friction generated during installation between the sleeves and the duct as well as other sleeves or lines within the duct. Each sleeve has a pre-positioned pull cord within its bore. When it is desired to install an optical fiber cable, for example, the cable is attached to one end of a pull cord and the other end of the pull cord is drawn through the sleeve within the duct. The sleeves protect the cables within the duct from abrasion when cables or lines are installed and also help organize the space within the duct.  
         [0004]     It is convenient to install three to four sleeves simultaneously in a duct. The sleeves are provided from a supply reel and are attached to one another at one end. This end is drawn through the duct. However, because the sleeves are flexible and are being drawn from a spool, they may occasionally twist, kink, tangle or become otherwise misaligned with one another. It is desirable to have multiple sleeves lie neatly atop one another during the pull through a duct, both to conserve space in what may be a crowded duct, and to keep the tension force of the pull as low as possible. Knots, twists, kinks, tangles or other irregularities which may form during the pull are to be avoided since they will occupy otherwise useable space and may cause increased drag during the pull. Increased drag may lead to over-stressing of the sleeves and their parting. This is especially inconvenient for long pulls because the sleeves must be recovered from the duct and another pull then attempted.  
         [0005]     It is desirable to prevent misalignments such as tangles, twists, kinks and other irregularities during the installation of protective sleeves in ducts.  
       SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION  
       [0006]     The invention concerns a tool for aligning a plurality of flexible elongated items being pulled from a supply. The tool comprises a body defining a plurality of openings adjacent to one another. The openings receive the elongated items drawn through the tool. The body is angularly adjustable relatively to the elongated items about an axis extending widthwise across the elongated items. Adjustment of the body&#39;s angular orientation varies the apparent size of the openings to accommodate elongated items having a varying thickness. The body guides the elongated items into alignment with one another when the elongated items are drawn through the openings.  
         [0007]     In one embodiment, the body comprises a plate having a plurality of openings arranged adjacent to one another.  
         [0008]     In another embodiment, the tool comprises first and second elongated frame members positioned in spaced apart relation to one another. A plurality of elongated cross pieces are engaged with the first and second frame members and extend between them. The cross pieces are positioned in spaced apart relation to one another and define a plurality of openings for receiving the elongated items. The frame members are angularly adjustable relatively to the elongated items about an axis parallel to one of the cross pieces so as to vary the apparent size of the openings to accommodate the elongated items having varying thickness. The cross pieces and the frame members guide the elongated items into alignment with one another when the elongated items are drawn through the openings.  
         [0009]     The invention also concerns a method of positioning a plurality of elongated items in a duct. The method comprises the steps of: 
        (A) positioning a tool proximate to an entrance of the duct, the tool defining a plurality of openings for receiving and aligning the elongated items;     (B) threading the plurality of elongated items through the openings;     (C) drawing the elongated items through the tool and the duct, the items being aligned with one another upon passage through the openings; and     (D) adjusting the orientation angle between the tool and the elongated items, thereby changing the apparent size of the openings engaged by the elongated items to accommodate items of varying thickness.       
 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0014]      FIG. 1  is a schematic representation of elongated protective sleeves being drawn into a duct;  
         [0015]      FIG. 2  is a front view of an alignment tool according to the invention;  
         [0016]      FIG. 2A  shows an alignment tool used with a cross bar;  
         [0017]      FIG. 2B  shows and alignment tool mounted on support stanchions;  
         [0018]      FIG. 3  is a front view of the alignment tool shown in  FIG. 2  in an open configuration;  
         [0019]      FIGS. 4 and 5  are side views of the alignment tool of  FIG. 1  in use; and  
         [0020]      FIGS. 6 and 7  are front views of an alternate embodiment of an alignment tool according to the invention. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS  
       [0021]      FIG. 1  illustrates an installation operation wherein multiple protective sleeves  10  are pulled from a supply, such as one or more spools  12 , and drawn through a duct  14 . Each sleeve  10  is biased into a flat, collapsed configuration so that it occupies a minimum of space within duct  14  and presents as little drag as possible. This uses the limited space within duct  14  efficiently and keeps the pulling force required to draw the sleeves through the duct as low as possible so as not to induce significant stress on the sleeves, possibly causing them to part. Each sleeve  10  has a pull cord within it to facilitate drawing optical fiber cables, copper wire telephone lines, or power cables through the sleeves once they are positioned within the duct  14 . Sleeves  10  expand flexibly to accommodate the cable or wires positioned within them.  
         [0022]     For efficiency and convenience, multiple sleeves  10  are drawn simultaneously by attaching the sleeves together at one end and drawing them together through the duct  14 . Because of the manner in which the sleeves are wound onto the spool  12 , from time to time, certain of the sleeves  10  will become slack while others remain taut. The slack sleeve or sleeves may twist, kink or tangle and thereby enter the duct  14  misaligned in relation to the taut sleeves. It is desirable to avoid misalignments between the sleeves  10  during installation in the duct  14  because it is difficult, and sometimes impossible, to draw the optical fibers, copper wires or power cables through a kinked, tangled or twisted sleeve using the pull cord. Furthermore, misaligned sleeves occupy more space than aligned sleeves and cause more drag during the pull, thereby inducing higher stresses on the sleeves. To prevent misalignment of sleeves  10  when entering duct  14 , an alignment tool  18  is used. The tool  18  is positioned between the spool  12  and the duct  14 , generally proximate to the duct. As described in detail below, the sleeves are fed continuously through the alignment tool  18  which eliminates any twists, kinks, tangles or other misalignments between the sleeves  10  before they enter the duct.  
         [0023]     An embodiment of alignment tool  18  is shown in detail in  FIG. 2 . Tool  18  has a pair of frame members  20  and  22  positioned in spaced apart relation to one another. Preferably, the frame members  20  and  22  are substantially co-planar and parallel to each other and spaced apart such that the distance  24  between them is substantially equal to the width of the widest of the items being drawn. In this example, sleeves  10 , shown in phantom line, are all of equal width, but tool  18  may also be used with items of different width. A plurality of cross pieces  26  is engaged with the frame members  20  and  22 . The cross pieces  26  extend between the two frame members  20  and  22  and define a plurality of openings  28  that receive the sleeves  10 . Preferably, at least three openings  28  are defined between the frame members  20  and  22 .  
         [0024]     When multiple sleeves are drawn simultaneously through a duct, the ends of the sleeves are joined together. Thus, to enable the sleeves  10  to be threaded into the openings  28  of tool  18  without access to the free ends of the sleeves, it is convenient to provide the capability for disengaging one of the frame members, such as  20 , from the cross pieces  26  in order to provide access to openings  28 . One method of doing this is to fixedly attach all of the cross pieces  26  to frame member  22 , and releasably attach the cross pieces to frame member  20 . This may be done in any number of ways, for example, by welding or bonding the cross pieces to frame member  22  and using threaded fasteners or quick-release detent mechanisms to attach the cross pieces to frame member  20 .  
         [0025]     While practical, the above-described configuration leads to a two-piece tool. This is disadvantageous for field use as one of the frame members  20  or  22  could become separated from the other and lost. Therefore, the tool embodiment shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3  and described below, which does not suffer from this disadvantage, is preferred.  
         [0026]     As shown in  FIG. 3 , in the presently preferred embodiment, all but one of the cross pieces  26  are fixedly attached to frame member  22 . One cross piece, denoted as  26   a , is fixedly attached to frame member  20  and releasably attached to frame member  22 . Attachment of cross piece  26   a  to frame member  22  is preferably effected by mounting a threaded shaft  30  on the end of cross piece  26   a  that engages frame member  22 . Threaded shaft  30  extends outwardly through frame member  22  and is engaged by a compatibly threaded nut  32  having a knurled knob  34  to facilitate manual turning of the nut. As shown in  FIG. 2 , nut  32  bears against frame member  22  upon tightening and, being fixedly attached to frame member  20 , draws and holds that frame member into engagement with cross pieces  26 .  
         [0027]     Conversion of the tool  18  between the closed configuration, shown in  FIG. 2 , and the open configuration of  FIG. 3 , is effected by manually loosening nut  32  using knob  34 . This will allow frame member  20  to be moved away from frame member  22  and disengaged from cross pieces  26 , except for cross piece  26   a , to which it is fixedly attached. The frame member  20  may then be rotated about cross piece  26   a  relative to frame member  22  to provide free access to openings  28 . This position of frame member  20  is shown in  FIG. 3 . Once the sleeves  10  are threaded into openings  28 , the tool  10  may be brought back to the closed configuration by rotating frame member  20  parallel with frame member  22 , engaging frame member  20  with cross pieces  26 , and tightening nut  32 . To facilitate engagement of the cross pieces  26  with frame member  20 , a plurality of holes  36  are positioned in spaced apart relation along the length of the frame member, the spacing of holes  36  corresponding to the spacing of the cross pieces  26 .  
         [0028]     As shown in  FIG. 2 , tool  18  has a pair of handles  38  and  40  to provide a gripping region allowing manual control of the tool. Preferably, handles  38  and  40  are attached to respective frame members  20  and  22  via a reverse bend portion  38   a  and  40   a  respectively. The reverse bend allows the handles  38  and  40  to be angularly oriented with respect to the frame members  20  and  22 .  
         [0029]     Preferably, tool  18  includes a pair of stabilizer bars  41  and  43 . Bar  41  extends between handle  38  and frame member  20 , and bar  43  extends between handle  40  and frame member  22 . As shown in  FIGS. 2A and 2B , the stabilizer bars facilitate mounting the tool  18  on support means such as the cross bar  45 , which passes through an aperture defined between the stabilizer bars and the reverse bends  38   a  and  40   a  of handles  38  and  40 .  FIG. 2B  shows the stabilizer bars providing a mount for attachment of the tool to stanchions  47 . Such mountings may be used to reduce operator fatigue when long pulls are necessary.  
         [0030]     Use of tool  18  to align sleeves  10  being pulled from a supply and drawn into a duct is illustrated in  FIGS. 4 and 5 . As shown in  FIG. 4 , sleeves  10  are pulled in the direction indicated by arrow  42  through openings  28  defined by cross pieces  26 . The angular orientation of tool  18 , as measured by the angle  44  between the frame members  20  or  22  and the sleeves  10 , is manually adjusted using handles  38  and  40  so as to vary the apparent size of openings  28  relative to the thickness of the sleeves  10 . Normally, with the sleeves  10  being biased into a flat configuration as noted above, the orientation angle  44  is relatively acute so as to present small apparent openings  28  to the sleeves  10 . This allows the cross pieces  26  and the frame members  20  and  22  to act as guides, engaging the sleeves  10  and straightening any twists, kinks and tangles and thus align the sleeves  10  with one another before they enter the duct. However, occasionally there will be a variation in the thickness of a sleeve  10 , as illustrated by the bulge  46 . Bulge  46  may be caused, for example, by a splice in the pull cord positioned within each sleeve  10 , the splice requiring a knot which manifests itself as a bulge in the thickness of the sleeve. To accommodate this bulge, the tool  18  is rotated in the direction indicated by arrow  48  as shown in  FIG. 5 , so that the apparent size of openings  28 , as seen by the sleeves  10 , is larger than when the orientation angle  44  is more acute. Rotating the tool  18  allows the bulge  46  to pass through the opening  28 . Once the bulge has passed, the tool  18  may be rotated back to the more acute angle  44  shown in  FIG. 4  until the next bulge  46  approaches.  
         [0031]     It is observed that if the tool  18  is positioned with the handles  38  and  40  above the sleeves  10  and the reverse bend portions  38   a  and  40   a  are tilted in the direction of motion  42  of sleeves  10  (see  FIG. 4 ), then the natural rotational motion of the tool  18 , induced when a bulge  46  encounters a cross piece  26 , will be in the direction of arrow  48  (see  FIG. 5 ) and tend to increase the orientation angle  44  and consequently increase the apparent size of openings  28  to allow the bulge  46  to pass through. Reversing either the direction of motion  42  or the orientation angle  44  will result in contact between a bulge  46  and a cross piece  26  tending to rotate the tool  18  in a direction that will decrease the apparent size of the openings  28  and thereby snag the tool on the sleeves  10 . It is desirable to avoid this situation by proper use of the tool  18  as illustrated in  FIGS. 4 and 5 .  
         [0032]      FIGS. 6 and 7  show another embodiment  50  of the alignment tool according to the invention. Tool  50  comprises a body, preferably in the form of a plate  52  having a plurality of openings  54  for receiving the sleeves  10 , shown in phantom line. The plate  52  has additional openings  56  positioned along opposite edges and sized to allow the plate to be manually held during sleeve installation. Similar to the embodiment  18  described above, the plate  52  may be angularly oriented with respect to the sleeves to vary the apparent size of the openings  54  to accommodate the thickness of sleeves  10 .  
         [0033]     As shown in  FIG. 7 , a portion  58  of the plate  52  may be attached to the plate by a hinge  60  to permit disengagement of the portion and thereby provide access to the openings  54  and allow sleeves  10  to be threaded through the openings without access to free ends of the sleeves.  
         [0034]     Alignment tools as described above facilitate the installation of protective sleeves within duct work and ensure the efficient use of space within the duct.