Classifications

• • G—PHYSICS
  • G02—OPTICS
  • G02B—OPTICAL ELEMENTS, SYSTEMS OR APPARATUS
  • G02B6/00—Light guides; Structural details of arrangements comprising light guides and other optical elements, e.g. couplings
  • G02B6/46—Processes or apparatus adapted for installing or repairing optical fibres or optical cables
  • G02B6/48—Overhead installation
  • G02B6/483—Installation of aerial type
  • G02B6/486—Installation of aerial type by helical wrapping

Definitions

• the invention relates to a machine for laying cable, in particular optical cable, around a carrier cable, for example a high voltage overhead electrical cable.
• an optical cable laying machine around a carrying cable comprising a carriage consisting of a frame having a first and a second end and two wheels mounted at the ends of the frame and adapted to roll on the carrier cable ; a rotating assembly comprising a rotor rotatably mounted on the frame about an axis of rotation; means for driving the rotor in rotation about its axis of rotation.
• a machine of this type has several disadvantages. a) it is long to implement on the carrier cable especially because this operation requires disassembly of some parts of the machine and then reassemble them. Similarly, when the spiraling of the optical fiber on the cable is completed, it is long to remove the cable because it is necessary to repeat the same operations in the opposite direction. This is a significant disadvantage because the time of setting up and removal of the machine is preponderant compared to the spiraling time. In other words, it takes longer to set up the machine and remove it than to spiral the optical cable itself. The overall time of the spiraling operation is thus greatly increased and the efficiency of the machine decreased. b) this known machine does not allow to cross 80mm diameter connection sleeves.
• the cable sections are connected by sleeves whose diameter is several times greater than the diameter of the cable and can be deformed and represent a diameter equivalent to 80mm.
• the carriage does not provide sufficient space to allow the passage of these deformed sleeves. c) this known machine is driven by traction along the aerial cable. This training mode requires the installation of a complex winching installation. d) there is a risk of wheel spinning.
• the rotational movement of the rotor is derived from the movement of the bearing of the lift wheels on the carrier cable.
• the lift wheels that provide the energy needed to drive the rotor in rotation.
• the invention relates to an optical cable laying machine around a carrier cable that overcomes these disadvantages.
• the torque required to drive the rotating assembly is provided by the engine itself and not by the torque of adhesion of the wheels on the cable. Its size depends only on the power of the engine. It is therefore sufficient to choose a motor powerful enough to have a high drive torque to drive a large capacity coil to spiraling without interruption a long cable length. In addition, the risk of damage to the cable caused by wheel slip is eliminated.
• the drive unit drives one of the wheels of the carriage in rotation through the rotor acting as a transmission shaft.
• the drive unit drives a rotating wheel and this wheel in turn drives the other wheel through the rotor acting as a transmission shaft.
• the drive unit directly drives a rotating wheel and the other wheel through the rotor acting as a transmission shaft.
• the front wheel and the rear wheel of the carriage are connected to each other in rotation through the rotor. They are both motor, their driving torque being transmitted, directly or indirectly, by the training group. Since both wheels are driving, there is no risk of wheel spinning. On the other hand, it allows to start the machine on an inclined cable, especially when approaching a pylon.
• the means for rotating the rotor comprise a first ring gear integral with a first end of the rotor and two transmission gears meshing each with the first ring gear and driven simultaneously by a common drive gear driven by a wheel of the carriage;
• the drive means of the rotor comprise a first ring gear integral with a first end of the rotor and two transmission gears each meshing with the first ring gear and which are coupled by a coupling gear, one of the transmission gears. being trained by the training group;
• the rotor comprises a second ring gear integral with a second end of the rotor, the second ring gear driving two transmission gears which simultaneously drive a drive pinion which in turn drives the other wheel of the carriage;
• the drive unit is housed in a nacelle suspended in the carriage hinged along a transverse axis relative to the carrying cable; the nacelle is removably suspended from the carriage so as to allow removal of the drive unit;
• the engine is connected by a clutch transmission and a cardan shaft up to a pinion integral with a wheel of the carriage; the engine is an internal combustion engine or an electric motor; - the motor and the clutch are remotely controlled;
• the rotating assembly comprises a guide means of the optical cable to a position close to its point of removal on the carrier cable; the guide means of the optical cable comprises a curved and funnel ramp and has lateral stops; the rotating assembly comprises a pressing arm which presses the optical cable of the coil;
• the rotating assembly comprises a balancing device for balancing the mass of an optical cable coil, the device comprising two rails, a counterweight slidably mounted on the rails, a mother screw meshing with a threaded housing of the counterweight for the moving from an outer position in which it balances a full spool to an inner position in which it balances an empty spool.
• FIG. 1 is an elevational view of the optical cable laying machine of the invention and Figure 2 is a top view of the same machine;
• Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view of the machine of Figures 1 and 2;
• Figure 4 is an elevational view showing the carriage alone;
• - Figure 5 is a schematic perspective view of an essential part of the rotating assembly;
• Figure 6 is a front view of transmission gears of rotational movement to the rear wheel;
• FIG. 7 is a view of the pressure arm forming part of the rotating assembly
• FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view which illustrates the operating principle of the lifting rings of the machine
• FIG. 9 is a schematic perspective view which illustrates the transmission of the rotational movement of the front wheel to the rear wheel.
• the optical cable laying machine of the invention consists of a carriage designated by the general reference 2 and a rotating assembly designated by the general reference 4, rotatably mounted on the carriage.
• the carriage consists of a chassis 6 supporting a front wheel 8 and a rear wheel 10.
• the chassis 6 itself consists of an elongate frame 12 which is shown in section in Figure 3.
• the elongate frame is in the form of a tube of longitudinal axis XX.
• the tube comprises a slot 13 whose function is to allow the introduction of the carrier cable inside the tube. For this reason, the width of the slot 13 is at least equal to the maximum diameter that can take the carrier cable.
• the tubular frame 12 is secured, at one front end, a front console 18 and a rear end of a rear console 20.
• Two parallel front arms 18 extend perpendicular to the front console. Both arms 18 support the front wheel of the carriage 8.
• two parallel arms 20 extend perpendicular to the rear console. These two arms support the rear wheel 10 of the carriage.
• the front and rear wheels 8, 10 are preferably grooved wheels provided with a rubber tire to promote adhesion on the carrier cable without damaging it.
• the diameter of the wheels 8 and 10 is relatively large compared to the diameter of the cable.
• the front console 18 is extended downwards by an arm 24 leaving free the slot 13 of the tubular frame 12.
• the arm 24 carries a drive unit 26 installed in a nacelle 28 connected to the arm 24 by a hinge 30 of transverse axis that is to say orthogonal to the general axis XX of the machine and the carrier cable 22.
• the nacelle 28 can thus swing as schematized by the angle ⁇ , and allow the carriage 2 to take a negative slope or positive on the cable near a tower, the nacelle 28 and the drive unit 26 remaining hanging freely vertically.
• the drive unit 26 consists of a heat engine 32 and a transmission with its clutch 34 to drive the carriage. It also includes the motor control 36 and the remote control receiver 38, as well as a battery (not shown).
• the heat engine 32 has a vertical axis opening under the nacelle 28 and carrying a spur gear 40 which meshes with the impeller 42 of the clutch 34.
• a pulley and belt transmission provides the same effect.
• the output is connected to a cardan shaft 44 with a telescopic portion 46 so as to be able to lie down and follow the tilting of the nacelle 28 relative to the carriage 2.
• the drive unit also causes the rear wheel 10 of the carriage so that both wheels are driving, which is an advantageous feature of the machine of the invention because it improves its motor skills.
• the nacelle 28 can be removed. She weighs about forty kilos. On the engine side, a pin is removed from the gimbal. It is also possible to use a clutching gimbal or any other suitable means. The nacelle, for its part is suspended from a hook and held by a safety pin.
• the machine of the invention requires no traction cable installation and allows to control a regular movement of advance over the entire path of the aerial cable between two pylons and to absorb the steep slopes at the start. and on arrival on a pylon. As can be seen in Figures 1 and
• the rotating assembly 4 comprises a rotor 48 of generally elongated shape which is rotatably mounted around the tubular framework 12.
• the rotor 48 comprises three bars, namely an upper bar 50 and two lower bars 52. As can be seen more particularly in FIG. 3, these three bars are arranged at the top of an equilateral triangle. They are welded at a front end to a front flange 54 and at a rear end to a rear flange 56.
• the front flange 54 has a slot 58 whose function, as in FIG. that of the slot 13 mentioned above, is to allow the passage of the carrier cable. In this way, the width of the slot 58 must be at least equal to the largest possible diameter of the carrier cable.
• the rear flange 56 comprises a slot 60 (see FIG. 5) whose width is equal to that of the slot 58.
• the front flange 54 supports a front ring gear 62 provided with a slot 64 whose function is identical, namely to allow the passage of the carrier cable. Therefore, its width is preferably equal to the width of the slots 58 and 60.
• the front ring gear 62 is provided with rollers 65.
• the rollers 65 constitute a part of the bearings allowing the rotation of the rotating assembly 4 on the carriage. Note that two of the rollers, the rollers 65a and 65b, are spaced from each other by a distance at least equal to the width of the slot 64 so as to provide a cable passage in the rotor.
• the corresponding bearings of the bearings located on the carriage and on which the rollers roll include of course an identical free passage for the same purpose.
• the rear flange 56 carries a rear ring gear 68 provided with a slot 70 (see Figure 9).
• the rotor 48 has a fully slit structure.
• the two lower bars 52 arranged parallel to each other, are spaced from each other by a distance greater than the width of the slots, respectively, the flanges 54 and 56 and toothed rings 62 and 68.
• the cable can be introduced inside the rotor so as to occupy substantially the position of the longitudinal axis XX of the rotor.
• the carrier cable 22 can penetrate the inside the tubular framework 12.
• the rotor 48 carries a rocket 80 perpendicular to the longitudinal axis XX of the rotor.
• the fuze is intended to receive a coil 82 of optical fiber 84. It is held by a removable stop 86.
• a braking blow is exerted by a means not shown on the coil 82 for which does not unwind of itself but exerts some tension on the unwound wire for spiraling.
• the rotor 48 In a position diametrically opposed to that of the rocket 80, the rotor 48 carries a balancing device 90 of the coil 82 loaded with the wound optical cable 84.
• This balancing device 90 comprises a counterweight 92 guided by rails 94 consists of two parallel tubes directed radially on which slides the counterweight.
• the counterweight 92 is engaged on a lead screw 96 driven in rotation by a screw reducer 98.
• the reducer 98 is connected to means for guiding and measuring the optical cable cut by a pin and pinion not shown.
• the mother screw 96 meshes with a threaded housing of the counterweight and moves it by bringing it closer to the geometric axis XX of the installation as the wire of the optical cable is being unwound.
• the return of the counterweight to its position outside, when replacing an empty spool with a full spool, is done by disengaging the tapping of the counterweight to push it outwards on the rails 94 and the lead screw 96.
• the screw reducer 98 is associated with the wire feed means for moving the counterweight inwardly depending on the unwinding of the optical cable that is to say according to the reduction of the mass of the coil.
• the rotating assembly 4 further comprises a pressing arm 100 whose function is to press the optical cable 84 of the coil 82 to prevent it from relaxing and unwinding. This pressure arm is shown in detail in FIG. 7. It is articulated around an axis 102 mounted substantially perpendicular to the main direction of the rotor 48.
• the pressing arm 100 is directed downwards as far as possible. see more particularly in Figure 1 and comprises a support T 103. cheeks 104 are mounted at the ends of the bar T. The cheeks 104 have three rolls 106 whose width corresponds substantially to the width of the coil 82. Conventionally, the rollers 106 are rotatably mounted on bearings or bearings.
• the arm 100 is applied to the optical cable 84 by biasing means (not shown) such as a spring so as to follow the unwinding of the optical cable as shown schematically by the positions 100a and 100b in FIG. 1.
• the reference 100a designates the position of the arm when the coil is full while the reference 100b denotes the position of the same arm when the coil is empty or virtually empty.
• the rotating assembly 4 comprises means for guiding the optical cable towards its point of winding on the carrier cable 22.
• These means consist of a vertical mast 110 fixed on the rotor.
• the mast carries towards the front part of the machine, a front arm 112 and, towards the rear part, a rear arm 114.
• the front arm 112 carries a curved ramp 116, in the form of funnel whose width decreases towards the rear of the machine.
• the front end of the curved ramp substantially corresponds to the width of the coil 82. It has lateral stops for guiding the cable.
• the rear arm 114 comprises means for guiding the not shown optical cable to an end 116 comprising diabolos which enable the cable to be wound on the carrier cable 22.
• This rotor is rotatably mounted on the frame via two bearings. These bearings may be plain bearings but they are preferably constituted by a series of rolling members such as rollers or ball bearing for receiving a circulation path formed at each end of the rotor. The path engages these rolling members and rolls on them.
• the drive unit 26 simultaneously drives the front wheel 8 and the rear wheel 10 through the rotor 48 acting as a transmission shaft.
• This drive mechanism is shown schematically in perspective in FIG. 9.
• the front wheel 8 is rotated by means of the cardan shaft 44 driving a wheel 120 via a tangent screw 122.
• an output gear 124 is rotated through the wheel axis schematized in dashed line.
• This pinion drives a conical torque through a pinion 128.
• the conical torque drives a first transmission pinion 130 which transmits its movement to a coupling pinion 132 which meshes with a second pinion 134
• the first transmission pinion 130 and the second transmission pinion 134 both drive with the ring gear interrupted by the slot 64.
• the pinions 130 and 134 are spaced from each other by a distance greater than the width. of the slot.
• the movement is transmitted continuously from the motor to the ring gear 62.
• the first transmission pinion is opposite the slot 64 and can not, from this point of view, In fact, to drive the ring gear 62, the movement is transmitted to the second transmission pinion 132 via the coupling pinion 132. In this case, it is therefore the second intermediate pinion which drives the ring gear.
• the second transmission gear 134 which is opposite the slot 64, the transmission movement is transmitted directly by the first gear 130.
• the bevel gear 126 could drive a drive gear (not shown), this drive gear transmitting its motion to two gear gears spaced from each other and meshing with the ring gear. In other words, this solution would result in rotating the pinion 132 instead of driving the pinion 130.
• the second ring gear 68 is driven via the rotor and, more particularly, bars 50 and 52. acting as a transmission shaft. The movement is then retransmitted to the rear wheel, in the opposite direction.
• the ring gear interrupted by the slot 70 rotates either the first transmission pinion 136 or the second transmission pinion 138, or both simultaneously.
• the movement is transmitted by the other pinion, via the coupling pinion 140.
• the first transmission pinion 136 is thus permanently driven. , either directly or indirectly via the coupling pinion 140.
• This pinion 136 then drives the rear wheel 10 via the conical couple 142 which returns the movement to 90 °.
• the drive unit 26 is able to drive the front wheel 8 and the rear wheel 10 in rotation.
• both wheels are driving.
• This characteristic is an important advantage in that it allows to start on a slope up to 30 ° inclination. Due to the large diameter of the wheels, the contact surface between the carrier cable 22 and the tire of the wheels is important and the risk of slippage is eliminated.
• the drive unit has the function of both the movement of the carriage and the rotational drive of the engine. All of the energy required for the operation of the machine therefore comes from the drive unit and not as in the prior art of limited energy by the adhesion forces of the wheel on the cable. The risk of skidding and damage to the cable is thus eliminated.
• FIG 8 illustrates how the machine is placed on the cable.
• the carriage 2 comprises a lifting ring 150 fixed, for example, on the front console 14.
• the rotor 48 comprises a lifting ring 152 fixed, for example, on the bars 50 and 52.
• trolley comprises a guide bar 154 located under the bracket 14.
• Removing the machine from the carrying cable is just as easy. It is sufficient, in the same way, to pass slings 156 in the lifting rings and to pull upward on these slings so that the slots are aligned. The continuation of the vertical movement thus allows to raise the machine. The time required to set up the machine and its removal is very small compared to the spiraling machines of the prior art so that its performance is significantly improved.

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• Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
• Optics & Photonics (AREA)
• Storing, Repeated Paying-Out, And Re-Storing Of Elongated Articles (AREA)
• Unwinding Of Filamentary Materials (AREA)

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• 2005
  • 2005-09-15 FR FR0552774A patent/FR2890757B1/fr not_active Expired - Fee Related
• 2006
  • 2006-09-12 EP EP06806764A patent/EP1932043A2/de not_active Withdrawn
  • 2006-09-12 WO PCT/EP2006/066265 patent/WO2007031506A2/fr not_active Ceased

Non-Patent Citations (1)

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