Patent Abstract:
A pulling head work station for attaching the lugs of pulling heads to cables, so that the cables may be pulled simultaneously through a conduit. The pulling head work station includes staggered cable receiving jigs, each jig having two clamps to hold a corresponding cable in place during attachment of a pulling lug. A chop saw to cut the cables and a crimper to secure a pulling lug to each stripped end portion of a cable may be slidably mounted to a work surface of the work station. A wire stripper may be removably attached to the work station.

Full Description:
CLAIM OF PRIORITY 
       [0001]    This application claims priority to U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 61/716,203, filed Oct. 19, 2012, the contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference. 
     
    
     FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
       [0002]    The present technology relates to work stations for use in applying pulling heads to the ends of wires that have been wound onto a single reel for installation into a conduit. 
       DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ART 
       [0003]    Pulling heads have been developed that allow multiple cables, sometimes referred to as wires or conductors, to be simultaneously pulled through a conduit. Such pulling heads include a plurality of lugs attached to lanyards of varying lengths, and the lanyards all attach to a single pulling head. A pulling rope running through the conduit is attached to a pulling head, which is in turn attached to each cable by separate pulling lugs, and the rope is pulled through the conduit, drawing the multiple conductor cabling from spools or other delivery mechanism and through the conduit. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0004]    Specific examples have been chosen for purposes of illustration and description, and are shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification. The drawings are not drawn to scale. Accordingly, the dimensions or proportions of particular elements, or the relationships between those different elements, as shown in the drawings are chosen only for convenience of description, but do not limit possible implementations of this disclosure. Like numerals represent like elements throughout the several figures. 
           [0005]      FIG. 1  is a top plan view of an embodiment a pulling head work station of the present technology. 
           [0006]      FIG. 2  is a side elevational view of a stripper that can be used with a pulling head work station of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0007]      FIG. 3  is a perspective view of a crimping head that can be used with a pulling head work station of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0008]      FIG. 4  is a perspective view of a plurality of cables placed into cable receiving jigs of the pulling head work station of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0009]      FIG. 5  is an end elevational view of a cable receiving jig of the pulling head work station of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0010]      FIG. 6  is a top plan view of a portion of a cable receiving jig of the pulling head work station of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0011]      FIG. 7  is an end elevational view of cable receiving jigs of the pulling head work station of  FIG. 1 , in an open position and in a clamped position. 
           [0012]      FIG. 8  is a top plan view of a single cable being fed to the pulling head work station of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0013]      FIGS. 9A-9C  are top plan views illustrating one of the cables of  FIG. 8  being fed into a cable receiving jig of the pulling head work station of  FIG. 1 . 
           [0014]      FIG. 10  is a top plan view of the pulling head work station of  FIG. 1 , with the chop saw in a first position. 
           [0015]      FIG. 11  is a top plan view of the pulling head work station of  FIG. 1 , with the chop saw in a second position. 
           [0016]      FIG. 12  is a top plan view of the pulling head work station of  FIG. 1 , with the chop saw in a third position. 
           [0017]      FIG. 13  is a top plan view of the pulling head work station of  FIG. 1 , with the chop saw in a fourth position. 
           [0018]      FIG. 14  is a top plan view of an embodiment of a chop saw that can be used with the pulling head work station of  FIG. 1  illustrating alternative positions. 
           [0019]      FIG. 15  is a top plan view of the chop saw of  FIG. 14  illustrating movement between the alternative positions of  FIG. 14 . 
           [0020]      FIG. 16  is a top plan view of the pulling head work station of  FIG. 1 , with the chop saw in a rest position. 
           [0021]      FIG. 17  is a top plan view of the pulling head work station of  FIG. 1 , with the stripper of  FIG. 2  in use. 
           [0022]      FIGS. 18A-18C  are side elevational views of a pulling lug that can be used with the present technology being placed onto the stripped end portion of a cable. 
           [0023]      FIGS. 19A-19C  are side elevational views of the stripper of  FIG. 2  being used to strip an end portion of a cable. 
           [0024]      FIG. 20  is a perspective view of the crimper of  FIG. 3  being positioned with respect to a pulling lug on a cable. 
           [0025]      FIG. 21  is a perspective view the crimper of  FIG. 20  in place with respect to the pulling lug on a cable. 
           [0026]      FIG. 22  is a perspective view of the crimper of  FIGS. 20 and 21  crimping the pulling lug onto the cable. 
           [0027]      FIG. 23  is a perspective view of the crimper of  FIGS. 20-22  being removed from the cable. 
           [0028]      FIG. 24  is a top plan view of the pulling head work station of  FIG. 1  with the chop saw in a retracted position and the crimper in use. 
           [0029]      FIG. 25  is a perspective view of a pulling lug crimped onto a cable after use of the present technology. 
           [0030]      FIG. 26  is a perspective view of a reel with cables having pulling lugs attached thereto after use of after use of the present technology. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0031]      FIG. 1  illustrates an embodiment of a pulling head work station  100  of the present invention. The pulling head work station  100  includes a base  102  having a work surface  104 . The work surface  104  is preferably horizontal and level. The additional components of the pulling head work station  100  are mounted on the base  102  of the pulling head work station  100 . The pulling head work station  100  can include a plurality of cable receiving jigs  106   a - 106   d  mounted to the work surface  104  of the base  102 . Each cable receiving jig can have a first end  108  and a second end  110 . A first cable clamp  112   a - 112   d  can be mounted at the first end  108  of each cable receiving jig  106   a - 106   d,  and a second cable clamp  114   a - 114   d  can be mounted at the second end  110  of each cable receiving jig  106   a  - 106   d.    
         [0032]    As illustrated in  FIG. 1 , the length of cable receiving jig  106   a  is less than the length of cable receiving jig  106   b . The length of cable receiving jig  106   b  is less than the length of cable receiving jig  106   c.  the length of cable receiving jig  106   c  is less than cable receiving jig  106   d.  As a result, while jig first ends  108  are in horizontal alignment, the jig second ends  110  are staggered (i.e. not in horizontal alignment with one another). As explained below, this permits the cables to be automatically and conveniently cut in a staggered fashion after they are clamped in the jigs  106   a - 106   d.    
         [0033]    It should be noted that while four jigs are illustrated in the figures and described below, the work station could feature an alternative number of jigs and associated components. 
         [0034]    In methods of the present technology, a reel  200  including at least one cable  202   a  can be provided, and the pulling head work station  100  can be used to attach a pulling lug  300   a - 300   c  to each cable  202   a - 202   d.  To that end, the pulling head work station  100  can include a number of tools that can be used to cut cables  202   a - 202   d , strip the end portions  204  of the cables  202   a - 202   d,  and secure pulling lugs  300   a - 300   c  to the stripped end portions  204  of the cables  202   a - 202   d.  For example, the pulling head work station  100  can include a chop saw  116  slidably mounted to the base  102  via track  103 , a stripper  118  removably mounted to the base  102 , and a crimping head  120  slidably mounted to the base, also by track  103 . The track  103  is mounted to the work surface  104  of the base  102 . 
         [0035]    The pulling head work station  100  can also include a power supply system  500  that supplies power to at least one of the chop saw  116  (via line  504 ), the stripper  118  and/or the crimping head  120  (via line  502 ). In one example, the power supply system  500  can include a self contained power source, such as a battery, that provides power to the work station tools. In another example, power supply system  500  can include a power cord that can connect to an electrical outlet to transfer power to the power supply system  500 . In a third example, a power supply system  500  could include both a self-contained power source and at least one power cord, to ensure that power can be provided to the power supply system  500  under various circumstances. 
         [0036]      FIG. 2  illustrates one example of a stripper  118  that can be used with a pulling head work station  100 . The stripper  118  can be a portable device, and can be removably mounted to the base  102  of the pulling head work station  100 . The stripper can be a cordless device, which can be electrically connected to the power supply system  500  to be recharged when it is mounted to the base  102  of the pulling head work station  100 . Alternatively, the stripper  118  can include a power cord that is connected to the power supply system  500 . 
         [0037]      FIG. 3  illustrates one example of a crimping head  120  that can be used with a pulling head work station  100 . The crimping head  120  can be slidably mounted to the base  102  of the work station  100  via track  103  and a carriage. As will be explained in greater detail below, in the illustrated embodiment, the crimping head  120  is slidable in two directions with respect to the work surface  104 , such as lengthwise and across within the plane defined by the X and Y arrows of  FIG. 1 . The crimping head  120  is also illustrated as being mounted to the base  102  of the work station in parallel with the chop saw  116 . 
         [0038]      FIGS. 4-7  illustrate a plurality of cables  202   a - 202   d  placed into cable receiving jigs  106   a - 106   d  of the pulling head work station  100  and clamped with first clamps  112   a - 112   d  ( FIG. 1 ) and second clamps  114   a - 114   d.  As illustrated, the cable receiving jigs  106   a - 106   d  can be mounted parallel to each other with the ends  110  featuring a staggered configuration due to the differing lengths of jigs  106   a - 106   d . Additionally, as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 7 , each cable receiving jig  106  can have a V-shaped cross section. 
         [0039]      FIG. 7  illustrates second clamps  114   a  and  114   b  in a clamped position and in an open position, respectively. Each of the first clamps  112   a - 112   d  and second clamps  114   a - 114   d  has an open position and a clamped position, and can function in the same manner illustrated in  FIG. 7 . 
         [0040]    A method of using a pulling head work station  100  of the present technology can include placing a portion of each cable  202   a - 202   d  onto a corresponding cable receiving jig  106   a - 106   d  mounted to the work surface  104  of to pulling head work station  100 . As discussed above, each cable receiving jig  106   a - 106   d  can have a first end  108  and a second end  110 . The method can also include clamping the placed portion of each cable  202  with a first cable clamp  112  mounted at the first end  108  of each cable receiving jig  106  and a second cable clamp  114  mounted at the second end  114  of each cable receiving jig  106 . 
         [0041]    After the cables  202   a - 202   d  are clamped into their corresponding jigs  106   a - 106   d,  the method can include cutting each cable  202   a - 202   d  to a desired length using a chop saw  116  slidably mounted to the pulling head work station  100  to produce a cut cable. 
         [0042]    The method can then include removing at least one cable layer, such as the cable jacket and/or insulation, from an end portion  204  of each cut cable with a stripper  118  removably mounted to the pulling head work station  100 . 
         [0043]    Once the end portion  204  of the cable is stripped, a pulling lug  300  can be placed onto each stripped end portion  204 . The method can then include crimping a pulling lug  300  onto each end portion  204  using a crimping head  120  slidably mounted to the base  102 . Once the pulling lugs have been secured to the cables  202  by crimping, the method can include unclamping each cable  202  from each cable receiving jig  106 . 
         [0044]      FIGS. 8 and 9  illustrate placing a portion of each cable from roll  200  into a cable receiving jig  106   a - 106   d,  and clamping the placed portion of each cable with a first cable clamp  112  mounted at the first end  108  of each cable receiving jig  106   a - 106   d  and a second cable clamp  114  mounted at the second end  110  of each cable receiving jig. Specifically, as shown in  FIGS. 9A-9C , a cable  202   a  can be fed into a cable receiving jig  106   a  of a pulling head work station  100 , in the direction of the arrows  203  and  205  of  FIG. 9B  as illustrated, and then clamped by clamping each of the first clamp  112   a  and second clamp  114   a.    
         [0045]      FIGS. 10-16  illustrate one example of use of the chop saw  116  to cut, in serial, each cable  202   a - 202   d  to a desired length. As illustrated in  FIG. 10 , the chop saw  116  can be positioned with respect to a first cable  202   a  via a track  103  and a carriage  105  to cut the cable. The carriage  105  of  FIG. 10  slides along the track  103  in the direction of arrows  207 . Furthermore, the chop saw  116  is mounted at one end of slide bar  107 . Slide bar  107  slides with respect to the carriage  105  in the directions indicated by arrows  209  of  FIG. 10 . 
         [0046]    As a result, as illustrated in  FIGS. 11-15 , the chop saw  116  can be repositioned with respect to a second cable  202   b,  a third cable  202   c,  and a fourth cable  202   d  by sliding it incrementally in a lengthwise and a crosswise direction with respect to the work surface  104  of the pulling head work station  100  via track  103 , carriage  105  and slide bar  107 . As noted previously, the cables are automatically and conveniently cut to the desired lengths in a staggered fashion due to the staggered configuration of the ends  110  of the jigs  106   a - 106   d.    
         [0047]    As illustrated in  FIG. 16 , once each cable  202   a - 202   d  has been cut to a desired length, the chop saw  116  can be returned to a rest position. 
         [0048]      FIGS. 17-19  illustrate removing at least one cable layer from cable  202   d , such as the cable jacket and/or insulation, from an end portion  204   d  of cut cable  202   d  with a stripper  118 , and placing a pulling lug  300   d  onto the stripped end  204   d  of cable  202   d.  A similar procedure is followed for cables  202   a - 202   c  (of  FIG. 17 ). 
         [0049]      FIGS. 20-25  illustrate crimping a pulling lug  300   d  onto the end portion of cut and stripped cable  202   d  using the crimping head  120 . As illustrated in  FIG. 24 , the crimping head  120  can be positioned with respect to cable  202   d  via a track  103  and a carriage  111  to cut the cable. The carriage  111  of  FIG. 24  slides along the track  103  in the direction of arrows  215 . Furthermore, the crimping head  120  is mounted at one end of slide bar  113 . The slide bar  113  slides with respect to the carriage  111  in the directions indicated by arrows  217  of  FIG. 24 . 
         [0050]    As a result, as shown in  FIGS. 20-21 , the crimping head  120  can be slidably positioned, in the direction of arrow  211  in  FIG. 20 , over a pulling lug  300   d  that has been placed over the stripped end portion of cable  202   d.  As shown in  FIG. 22 , the crimping head then is activated to crimp the pulling lug  300   d  onto the stripped end portion of cable  202   d,  preferably in two locations, such as first crimping location  304  and second crimping location  305  illustrated in  FIG. 25 . As shown in  FIG. 23 , the crimping head can be slidably removed in the direction of the arrow  219  after the crimping process. A similar procedure is followed for cables  202   a - 202   c  and pulling lugs  300   a - 300   c  (of  FIGS. 24 and 26 ). 
         [0051]      FIG. 26  illustrates a reel  200  having a plurality of cables  202   a - 202   d  after the pulling lugs  300   a - 300   d  have been attached in accordance with the above. 
         [0052]    While the preferred embodiments of the invention have been shown and described, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention, the scope of which is defined by the appended claims.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8