JPH0158602B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] (Industrial application field) The present invention relates to a wire twisting device.

(Prior art) When the wires are twisted together at the same time as the wires are assembled,
It is known to have physical and electrical benefits when used in communications or other electrical equipment. For example, twisting pairs of wires, such as those used in telephone equipment, improves electrical properties such as reducing crosstalk.

In conventional methods, continuously twisting the wire in the same direction requires a heavy rotatable structure since the wire spool must be rotated about the axis of the machine to feed the wire into the device. This heavy load limits driving speed. To prevent rotation of the spool, a periodic counter-twist is imparted to the wire and preferably an accumulator is required to twist the long wire.

To overcome the problems of known torsion devices, a simple device was devised to provide periodic counter-torsion action. A simple device, such as that described in Canadian Patent No. 996,824 of applicant Northern Electric Company Limited and inventor Philip John Reed, requires the use of a tubular member;
One end is held fixed and the other end is first twisted in one direction and then the other. A divider positioned along the tube passes below the tube to form a separate passage for the wire;
Also, a twisting means at the tube outlet imparts a reverse twist to the wire.

The inventions described in the above-mentioned patents are effective in producing reverse twists. However, this invention does have drawbacks. That is, it is long. For example, it has an inner diameter of approximately 0.5 inches (approximately 1.27 cm) and a length of approximately 37 feet (approximately 11.27 m). Threading or passing the wire in the correct location under the tube is difficult and the process is tedious and time consuming. If the tube is made of clear plastic to allow the wire passages to be seen, the transparency will be lost after a short period of use due to impurities deposited on the tube surface and changes in the plastic itself. Also, the friction between the wire and the inner wall of the tube may be high enough to cause the wire to stretch a little.

(Problems to be Solved) The purpose of the present invention is to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks,
To provide a wire twisting device which has a simple structure and can easily twist wires.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the invention, a wire twisting device comprises an elongate member twistable about a longitudinal axis and holding said elongate member at an upstream end with respect to the direction of wire travel. a plurality of wire guide members spaced apart from one another along the elongate member and securely held relative to the elongate member; a twisting means for twisting the elongated member; and a rotating means for rotating the twisting means and the elongated member alternately in forward and reverse directions at a predetermined number of revolutions about the longitudinal axis of the elongated member, and the plurality of wire guides. Each of the members and the torsion means are formed with a plurality of mutually spaced holes equidistant from the center of the longitudinal axis of the elongate member, the respective holes of the plurality of guide members and The holes in the twisting means form a guide path for the wires, and when the rotating means twists the elongated member alternately in forward and reverse directions, the plurality of wires also move in the forward and reverse directions. The plurality of wire guide members are rotated so that the degree of rotation of the plurality of wire guide members gradually decreases from the downstream end toward the upstream end.

In a preferred device, each guide member is a disc through which the elongate member extends. Each disc is formed with a plurality of equidistant and mutually spaced holes about the axis of the elongated member, one hole for each guideway.

The elongated member may be a single rod or may consist of multiple rods suitably joined end to end to transmit torsional motion along the member from the downstream end. good. Alternatively, the elongated member is made of a composite structure designed to provide a slight inertial resistance to change the direction of rotational motion. An effective composite structure in this regard is made of plastic. One particular construction has a plastic rope core with a reticulated cover covered by a covering layer. This cover layer may be nylon. The low inertia provides a device that operates at higher vibration rates and requires less drive power than is possible with the device described in Canadian Patent No. 996,824.

Preferably, the downstream end of the elongate member and the means for rotating the torsion means are driveably connected directly to the torsion means. An advantageous method is that the torsion means are drivably held on the elongate member by the downstream end of the member having a mechanically secure connection to the torsion means. In order to distribute the torsional stress along the elongated member, a torsion means is retained in an axially extending motion conducting tube disposed therein, which conductive tube distributes the torsional stress along the elongated member. It is longer. The tube is securely held against rotation by the elongate member, and can be held and fixed, for example, by epoxy poured into the tube.

Next, a description will be given with reference to the drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS As shown in FIG. 1, the present invention essentially relates to a wire twisting apparatus comprising an elongate member 10 having a longitudinal axis and having a plurality of spaced apart wire guide members 12. As shown in FIG. The guide member 12 is securely held on the elongated member 10;
It may also be a disk as shown in the figure.

To guide the twisted wire as the wire 16 passes longitudinally through the elongate member 10, each guide member 12 includes a plurality of spaced holes 14 (FIG. 2) equidistant from the center and spaced apart from each other. ). In the example of FIGS. 1 and 2, four holes are provided, but the number may vary, depending on the number of wires to be twisted. Hole 14
form a guide path for the wires 16, each of which passes through a corresponding hole in the guide member 12.

Elongate member 10 is twistable about its longitudinal axis. The elongate member 10 is held in place by retaining means, which may be a wire guide block 20 held on a frame 18 (schematically shown).
Considering the direction of wire movement, frame 1 at the upstream end
8. The guide block 20 has four holes 14 corresponding to the holes in the guide member 12. The upstream end of elongated member 10 is retained within a guide block 20 to prevent relative rotation.

At the downstream end of the elongate member 10 is a guide member 12.
Twisting means are provided, which are conveniently short fixed cylinders 22 having holes 14 corresponding to the number of holes 14. The elongated member 10 is held against rotation by torsion means.

When using the device, the wire 16 is fed through the disk and cylinder 22 along the wire path. The cylinder 22 and the downstream end of the elongate member 10 are then rotated a predetermined number of revolutions from the normal untwisted position of the elongate member 10, alternately in one direction and in the other direction, where the normal In the untwisted position, the path of all wires through the holes 14 is substantially straight. The number of revolutions on each side may be, for example, 20 revolutions. Since the upstream end is fixed with the frame 18, rotation of the downstream end clearly twists the elongated member 10 in each direction. The wire passage is therefore helical and guides the wire 16 through the cylinder 22.

Wire 16 passes through hole 14 and elongated member 1
0 continuously. As the wire exits the cylinder 22, the rotation of the cylinder and its change of direction causes the wire 16 to be twisted alternately in both directions. By retaining the twisted wire by some means (not shown) after it exits the cylinder 22, the tendency of the wire to untwist can be prevented.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, similar parts as described above have the same reference numbers, and the device provides torsion of four wires 16. Four wires are shown entering guide block 20 and exiting cylinder 22, but the four wires have been omitted in the middle for clarity.

The elongate member 10 in this embodiment is a single steel rod of high strength piano wire, although other wires such as steel wire may alternatively be used. The diameter of elongate member 10 is small (about 0.06 inches, about 0.152 cm) and capable of transmitting sufficient torque so that elongate member 10 and guide member 12 rotate together. As shown in FIG. 4, the torsion means or cylinder 22 is approximately 0.625 inches in diameter and is securely attached to a concentric stainless steel transmission tube 24 that is axially longer than the cylinder 22. The tube 24 has a downstream end of the elongated member 10 extending therethrough, the downstream end filling the tube and having the elongated member 10 extending therethrough.
It is held in the tube by an epoxy resin 26 that completely embeds the tube. Due to the particularly long axial length of the tube 24 overlying the elongate member 10, torsional stresses are applied to the member 10 more than if the elongate member 10 were connected directly to the cylinder 22.
evenly distributed over the downstream end of the

The end of the elongated member 10 is rotatably inserted into the cylinder 22 by providing a radially extending element in the form of a closed hole 28 received within a diametrical slot 30 of the cylinder 22. (See Figure 5). The slot is filled with solder.

Rotating means 32, schematically shown in FIG.
Downstream end of elongate member 10 and cylinder 22
It is provided for rotating. The rotation means 32 is directly driveably connected to the cylinder 22, and the cylinder 22 is driveably secured to the downstream end of the elongate member 10. This rotating means 32
As clearly shown in FIG.
two clutches 3 mounted in axial alignment on a hollow shaft 38 held about the upstream end of the
It is equipped with 4,36. Each clutch has a short shaft 40 supported freely on the hollow shaft 38, and a pulley wheel 42 on each short shaft is driveable by a belt 44. Pulley wheel 42 is driven in both directions by a separate motor (not shown). Alternatively, the two belts 44 are replaced by a single pulley belt that passes around one pulley ring in the opposite direction to the other pulley ring. A single motor is therefore used to drive belt 44, which passes around a conveniently located idler gear (not shown). clutch 34,
36 is electromagnetically actuated via lead wire 46. Each clutch has a drivable drive connected to the clutch pulley wheel and a drive connected to the shaft 38.

The clutches 34, 36 are connected to the cylinder 2 in both directions.
It is operated intermittently to drive 2. In this device it is important that the actuation be as fast as possible and that the clutch be actuated as precisely as possible to avoid accumulation of errors. A slight error in one direction, if left uncorrected, can cause damage to the wire in the other direction.

In this particular embodiment, clutches 34, 36 are controlled by microswitches 48, 50 operated by fingers 52 held by nuts 54. The nut 54 is held in the frame so as not to rotate and to be able to slide axially in a manner not shown and is connected to the clutches 34,3.
The screw 56 provided on the shaft 38 between the
is movable axially along. While the shaft 38 and cylinder 22 are rotating in one direction, when the finger 52 reaches either the micro switch 48 or 50, the micro switch 48 or 50
energizes one clutch and energizes the other, so the rotation is instantaneously reversed. In this device, no accumulation of errors occurs. A lead wire 58 connects the microswitch to a switchbox (not shown) to which the clutch lead wire 46 is connected.

During use of the device, the wire 16 is connected to the block 20,
It is supplied from a plurality of spools 60 via the guide member 12 and the cylinder 22. block 20,
By locating the holes 14 of the guide member 12 and cylinder 22 close to their outer peripheries, it is easier and faster to thread the wire through the holes. This is especially important when the wire breaks during manufacturing. Since the wires are visible during the entire wire path, correct threading of the wires can be easily checked and the color order of the wires around the elongate member 10 can be easily adjusted.

The present structure has a lower mass than that provided by the apparatus described in the aforementioned Canadian patent, and because the lower mass acts a rotational distance away from the longitudinal axis of the elongated member 10, inertial forces are reduced. smaller. As a result, the rotating structure is capable of rotating at higher speeds than the structure described in the aforementioned Canadian patent, and requires less power to rotate and reverse its rotation. With the device of this example, it is possible to reach speeds on the order of 3800 rpm.

The twist of the wire coming out of the cylinder 22 is
It may be provided by physical retention means that act against tension in the wire. Alternatively, the wire may be tensioned immediately after twisting. One method of strain relief and torsional locking is to rapidly heat the wire as it exits the cylinder 22. When the wire has insulation, such as electrical conductors or telephone wires, it is heated for a very short time, for example 10 to 15 milliseconds. A slight melting occurs between the insulation coatings of adjacent wires. Heating and cooling are so rapid that there is no damage to the conductor of the wire and no undesirable changes to the insulation coating.

Another method of physically fixing the twist is to arrange for the twisted wire to be fed directly into the extrusion coating equipment. It is also possible to arrange the outlet of the cylinder 22 to be close to the extrusion coating device. Alternatively, a short length of flexible tube may be placed between the cylinder and the extrusion coating device. As soon as the wire enters the extrusion device, it comes into contact with the extrusion material, for example PVC (polyvinyl chloride), and is fixed in a twisted state.

The tension can be removed from the wire by passing it through the capstan. The twisted wire passes around the capstan several times, and the capstan can be slightly overdriven.
Although tension is applied to the wire as it passes through the device, the wire passes from the capstan to, for example, a take-up spool, with little or no tension. Alternatively, a caterpillar capstan can be used.

Another method is to twist or form several groups of twisted wires together into a cable. That way, even if tension is applied,
Physical contact between the wires prevents untwisting.

The piano wire of the elongate member has a useful lifespan at least as good as, and perhaps better than, that provided by the tubular member of the aforementioned Canadian patent.

In a second embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the wire twisting device includes an elongate member 62 having a plurality of wire guide members 12 in place of the elongate member 10 of the embodiment of FIGS. ing. Rotating means 32 is provided for rotating the downstream end of elongated member 62. Only the outline of the rotation means 32 is shown in FIG. 6, but it is of the same construction as the rotation means 32 described in FIG. 3 and operates in a similar manner. Four wires to be twisted are supplied from a wire payout device 64 and the wires (only one wire shown) are fed to the guide member 12 via a drive pulley wheel 66.

In the apparatus shown in FIG. 6, holding means for fixing and holding the upstream end of the elongated member 62 are shown in FIGS. 1 to 5.
This is different from the specific example device shown in the figure. In FIG. 6, the holding means is a weight 6 attached to the upstream end of the elongate member 62.
8, and the end of the elongated member 62 has a weight 68
It extends around at least one pulley wheel 70 so as to be held downwardly by the pulley wheel 70 . The use of weight 68 reduces excess tension.

FIG. 7 is a side partial view of an elongate member forming part of a third embodiment of the apparatus.

In FIG. 7, the wire twisting device is substantially
It is the same as that described in FIGS. However, the difference is that elongated member 72 is of composite construction and is constructed of plastic. The elongate member 72 is a rope core 7 formed from a plastic monofilament (KEVLAR (trademark of DuPont) or other suitable high strength material).
4, the core 74 is covered with a reticulated layer 76 of plastic wire, such as nylon. This composite is then coated with a layer of high strength plastic 78. Such a design is particularly light in weight, has low inertia, and is flexible, allowing high speeds. Elongate member 72 is retained within cylinder 22 in the same manner as described for elongate member 10 of the first embodiment. The plastic material of the elongate member 72 includes a radially extending element mounted within a slot of the cylinder in a manner similar to the cylinder of the first embodiment to assist in transmitting drive power to the elongate member 72. The ends may be formed.

In a fourth embodiment (FIG. 8), which is also basically similar to the first embodiment, the device comprises an elongate member 80 consisting of a plurality of rods 82 joined end to end. include. Each rod 82 is not individually twistable, but is connected to an adjacent rod by means capable of torsional movement along elongated member 80. In fact, each rod 82 may be substantially untwistable. The rods are joined together by interconnecting holes 84 formed in the ends of the rods. This hole 84 allows for a predetermined angle of rotation between the rods. This angle may be any desired, and may, for example, provide approximately 40 degrees of movement. Thus, by joining a sufficient number of rods end to end, multiple rotations of the downstream end of the elongated member and cylinder 22 are possible while the upstream end remains fixedly held. Next, if each rod 82 supports one guide member 12 as shown in FIG.
has limited angular movement relative to the other guide members to allow the wire to flow along the helical path and exit through the cylinder 22.
The interconnected hole coupling used in this example is
Eliminate or reduce residual strains caused by vibration.

(Effects of the Invention) The wire twisting device of the present invention has a simple and compact structure, and can easily twist wires. There is no need for a rotating spool to feed the wire, and the wire is easy to guide. Furthermore, since it is lighter in weight and has less inertia than conventional devices, high-speed operation is possible.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side perspective view showing the basic concept of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a cutaway view taken along the line - - in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a side view of the apparatus forming one embodiment. FIG. 4 is a detail and enlarged view of the first embodiment in longitudinal section. FIG. 5 is an end view of FIG. 4 when viewed from the direction of arrow V. FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of the apparatus forming the embodiment of FIG. FIG. 7 is a side partial view of an elongate member forming part of the third embodiment. FIG. 8 is a side view of an elongate member forming part of the fourth embodiment with a guide element attached thereto; 10... Elongated member, 12... Guide member, 14
... Hole, 16 ... Wire, 18 ... Frame, 2
0...Guide block, 22...Cylinder, 2
4...Transmission tube, 26...Epoxy resin, 3
0... Diameter slot, 32... Rotation means, 3
4, 36...Clutch, 38...Shaft, 68
... Weight, 70 ... Pulley, 74 ... Core, 76 ...
...Coating, 82... Rod, 84... Mutual coupling hole.

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. an elongate member twistable about a longitudinal axis; retaining means for retaining said elongate member at an upstream end with respect to the direction of wire travel; and a desired spacing from each other along said elongate member. a plurality of wire guide members provided and held securely relative to the elongate member; a twisting means provided at the downstream end with respect to the direction of wire travel for twisting the elongate member; the twisting means and the elongate member; rotating means for alternately rotating the member forward and backward at a predetermined rotational speed about the longitudinal axis of the elongated member; A plurality of holes equidistant from the center of the directional axis and spaced apart from each other are formed, each hole of the plurality of guide members and the hole of the twisting means forming a guide path for the wire. When the elongated member is alternately twisted in forward and reverse rotation by the rotating means, the plurality of wire guide members are also rotated in the forward and reverse directions, and the degree of rotation of the plurality of wire guide members is set as described above. A wire twisting device characterized in that the wire twisting device is configured to gradually decrease from the downstream end to the upstream end. 2. The device of claim 1, wherein the elongate member is a single rod 10. 3. The elongated member is comprised of a plurality of rods 82 joined end to end, with adjacent rods forming interconnecting holes 84 at their adjacent ends, which interconnecting holes are connected end-to-end. transmitting rotational motion from one rod to the other rod, thereby transmitting torsional motion along the elongated member from the downstream end to the upstream end. The device according to scope 1. 4. One said interconnection hole is freely movable with respect to the interconnection hole to which it is connected, so that each rod is capable of rotational movement through a predetermined angle relative to the adjacent rod, thereby 4. The device of claim 3, wherein the guide member of one rod is rotatable through the predetermined angle relative to the guide member of the other rod. 5. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein each guide member is a disc 12 through which an elongated member extends, each disc having the plurality of holes formed therein. 6. The device of claim 1, wherein said elongated member comprises a core of plastic rope with a reticulated covering within a jacket comprising a plastic covering layer. 7. Means for rotating the downstream end of the elongate member and the torsion means are drivingly connected to the torsion means and the downstream end of the elongate member is held against rotation by the torsion means. The device according to item 1. 8 the torsion means surrounds a transmission tube 24 carried by the torsion means, the transmission tube extending axially along the elongate member longer than the return means and around the elongate member; 8. The device of claim 7, wherein the device is held securely against rotation. 9. The apparatus of claim 8, wherein the transmission tube is held around the elongate member by an epoxy resin 26 inside the tube and a portion of the elongate member is embedded within the tube. 10. The downstream end of the elongate member is in the form of a radially extending element 28 which is held against rotation within a diametric slot 30 of the torsion means. Device. 11. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein said retaining means comprises a block 20 in which the upstream end of said elongated member is retained, said block being retained in claim 18. 12 The upstream end of the elongate member extends around the pulley 70 and depends downwardly toward the upstream end, and the retaining means includes a weight 68 held at the upstream end of the elongate member. Claim 1
Apparatus described in section.