AU686798B2 - Method and device for storing rolled-up cables and the like - Google Patents

Abstract

A method for storing rolled-up cables and other windable articles such as hoses, pipes, tubes and other profile sections which are advantageously rolled up in a storage rack. A corresponding storage device (1) is also provided which includes a storage rack (10) consisting of a circular outer wall (12) engaging the rim of a base (11) for supporting the rolled-up cable, a guide assembly (4), and a stationary (20) or rotary (21) positioning member (2) for angularly feeding the article being rolled up (3) from the guide assembly (4) to the storage rack (10). The design of the device is such that no drive is required for the positioning member (2) and the cable (3) is properly arranged in the rack (10) by means of its inherent longitudinal stiffness.

Description

PROCESS AND DEVICE FOR STOCKING IN COIL FORM FOR CABLES OR OTHER ELEMENTS The present invention concerns a process for stocking in coil form advantageously used for cables, but equally for other coilable elements such as s hosepipes, pipes, tubes, or any other sections, the stocking of which advantageously takes place in coil form in a stocking basket. The invention also includes the corresponding stocking device.

This type of device is particularly advantageous for cables of all types, including optical cables, having a certain rigidity, capable of io withstanding a certain axial compressive stress, without excessive buckling.

At the time of the installation of underground cables, it frequently happens that the lengths to be installed are considerable. This is particularly common with optical-type cables since it is always sought to minimize the number of splices, these considerably affecting the quality of the signal. Thus, according to common practice, a first portion of cable is first of all installed in a first tube heading in a given direction over several tens or hundreds of meters.

When the cable has reached the end of this first section, part of the cable still remains wound about the roll on which the cable is delivered. This second portion of cable is intended to be installed in a second tube, the opening of which is near the first one, this second tube being able to be oriented in a direction appreciably different from that of the first tube. By thus installing two portions of cable, it is managed to cover greater distances without splicing. For installing this second portion of cable, the latter must first of all be unwound from the roll or carriage which bears it in order to have access to the end which will have to be inserted in the first place in the opening of the second tube.

According to common practice, for uncoiling this second portion of cable, it is necessary to carry out intermediate stocking thereof. A known method consists in uncoiling the cable on the ground, forming two juxtaposed circles. This method is often designated by the term figure 8 technique. It presents numerous drawbacks the formation of the circles necessitates a great deal of room and labor and requires a number of particular precautions, without which the cable becomes soiled. Moreover, this method presents risks for the wholeness of the cable, is slow and therefore expensive.

The Van Den Akker Reel represents an interesting alternative to this first method since the cable is no longer necessarily disposed on the ground. On the other hand, the successive stages of winding and unwinding once more require time and labor. Moreover, it is still necessary to form figure- 8 loops over a portion of the length of the cable.

Several documents present winding methods or devices usable for the stocking of cable. DE-C-22 02 177, FR-A-2 015 977, and EP-A 0 008 352 0io describe devices for winding/unwinding of a cable in a cylindrical vat, requiring means for driving the cable and/or a laying arm, involving if need be synchronization means between the means for driving the cable and those for rotating the laying arm. EP-A-0 389 303 describes a stocking system for an optical fiber, the rotating of the laying arm being brought about by a stream of gas. The American document RE 34 488 describes a device for winding about a reel having a horizontal axis. This type of device, very imposing, requires powerful drive means in order to carry out the winding. Moreover, such an installation requires numerous means intended to increase the safety of use (in particular for avoiding any contact with the rotating elements). The cost of such devices is therefore very high and their use more complicated, as compared with an installation comprising few or no rotary elements and no drive means.

The prior art closest to the invention is represented by EP-B-0 296 860, which describes a stocking device capable of being used as intermediate stocking according to a mode of laying a cable quite similar to that described previously. This device, too, comprises mechanical means for rotating a laying arm, said means consequently having to be synchronized with the means for driving the cable. In order to be able to retrieve the lower end of the cable inserted on the bottom of the stocking basket, it is necessary to effect a number of manipulations to said basket, including in particular an inversion operation. The device with the cable it contains can therefore not be too heavy nor too cumbersome and can therefore be favorably used only with low-mass optical cables.

3 It is preferably an advantage of the invention to propose a process permitting a coilable element to be wound in a basket provided for this purpose by using the mechanical properties of said element, particularly its rigidity, to produce the coil, thus avoiding the use of drive means intended to drive one or more parts rotatingly, as well as synchronization means in order to dispose said element correctly within the basket.

It is preferably another advantage of the invention to propose a device permitting the coil to be produced in the manner described above.

Preferred embodiments of the invention make it possible to avoid soiling the element to be wound since the latter is not disposed on the ground. Implementation of the process requires little labor, few manipulations, and the winding and unwinding speeds reached are very high.

In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a process for stocking of a coilable element in a stocking device, comprising a stocking basket, o 20 a guide means, and a fixed or rotary laying means, wherein, S'."after having passed through the guide means, the coilable element is then led, sliding along the laying means, toward the stocking basket, in such a way as to coil naturally in the stocking basket under the effect of its longitudinal rigidity, characterized in that the coilable element is inserted in the device and withdrawn from the device, :respectively, through lateral openings of the baskpt, of the guide means, and of the laying means in the case where said laying means is of rotary type.

Preferably, driving of the rotary laying means does not use any motorized means and is obtained by reaction to the advancing movement of the coilable element, due to the longitudinal rigidity of said element.

In accordance with a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a stocking device for coilable element including a stocking basket formed especially by an S:24680-A 4 outer wall, disposed against the edge of a bottom serving as winding base, a guide means, a fixed or rotary laying means, intended to lead angularly the element to be coiled from the guide means toward the stocking basket, characterized in that lateral openings are made in the outer wall, in the guide means, and in the tubular segment in the case where the laying means is of rotary type, for lateral insertion of the coilable element.

Preferably, the laying means is fixed and is made up of a convex cover of conical shape disposed in the prolongation of an inner wall of the basket.

Advantageously, the laying means is rotary and is made up of at least one essentially radial tubular segment extending from a location close to one end of the guide means into the stocking basket, said tubular segment being pivotal about an axis parallel to a rotational symmetry axis of the stocking basket.

Preferably, the stocking device does not comprise any motorized means for driving the laying means.

20 Further, the rotary laying means preferably includes a means for braking the tubular segment and preferably also includes a means for adjusting in height the end of the tubular segment in the basket.

Preferably, at least one of the lateral openings is blockable.

Advantageously, at least one tubtilar segment disposed essentially radially to the outsi-i; of oaid device, said tubular segment being pivotal ahou- an axis parallel to the rotational symmetry axis of the stocking basket.

In accordance with a third a-'pect of the present invention, there is providea a use a stocking device as defined above at the time of laying a cable, a first length of cable having already been laid, a free length of cable being inserted in the device through the lateral openings, the remaining length of the cablc then being coiled in the jA, basket, then being taken out of said basket again to be S:24680-A 5 laid, a last free length of the cable then being withdrawn from the device through the same lateral openings.

In accordance with a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a use of a stocking device as defined above for the transwinding of a cable.

Preferably, the cable in the uses defined above includes at least one optical fibre.

Thanks to preferred embodiments of the present process and the present device, stocking of a cable or of any other element such as hosepipes, pipes or tubes, or any other sections, the stocking of which is advantageously carried out in coil form, can be carried out anywhere, rapidly, simply, and economically. The element to be wound must simply have sufficient axial or longitudinal rigidity to wind up by itself, as described later. Moreover, an element can easily be stocked even without having access to its end, which fact is particularly advantageous for intermediate stocking at the time of the installation of cables, and especially of cables comprising one or more optical fibers.

The element is wound thanks to its mechanical properties, in particular its axial or longitudinal rigidity. Thanks to this particularly, no drive means S•specific to the winding arm is required. Depending on the design used, this very arm is itself optional. For the winding of cables, moreover, the means of advancing the "cable already used on the installation site for inserting SS the cable in the housing tubes may be used for advancing the S"cable toward the stocking device according to the invention.

S" At least one preferred embodiment of the present device is of simple concept, light, inexpensive, and reliable. The coiling of the cable is free, the latter not being guided toward a particular position at each turn. The preferred embodiment is easily transportable, all the more so as a partially or totally retractable or foldable version is easily implemented. The transportation, storage, ease of handling, and total or partial extraction of the wound S:24680-A 5a element are thus greatly facilitated.

In the preferred embodiment, it is not necessary to reconfigure the device in order to pass from the coiling operation to that of uncoiling the element.

In the description which follows, the invention is described with reference to the field of application of cables. One skilled in the art will understand, however, that for other types of use, it suffices to replace the word "cable" by "coilable element". This element may, for example, be a hosepipe, pipe, tube, or any section, the stocking of which is advantageously carried out in coil form.

The invention is set forth below in more detail, by way of example only, with the aid of the appended drawing including the following figures: Figure 1 represents a perspective view of a first embodiment of a stocking device according to the invention; and Figure 2 represents another embodiment of the stocking device, with rotary arm.

In Figure 1, the stocking device 1 is seen to include essentially a stocking basket 10, of essentially cylindrical shape, having an annular right section, made up of a bottom 11 uniting two sidewalls, an outer wall 12 and an inner wall 13. Both the bottom 11 and the walls 12 and 13 may have a solid and uniform surface, or else a lattice surface as shown in the figure. The outer wall 12 rises from the bottom 11 to which it is fixed, up to a given height permitting a lateral support to be obtained, holding the 30 cable to be wound. The inner wall 13 rises from the bottom 11 to which it is also fixed, up to a given height generally greater than that of the outer wall. In order to be able to use the device for intermediate stocking, it is necessary for the outer wall 12 to have a lateral opening 12A permitting a portion of the cable 3 to be inserted in the way which will be described later. A fixed cable-laying S: 24680-A c -n 5b means 2 is disposed in the central portion of the stocking basket 10. In the embodiment illustrated in Figure 1, the laying means 2 is shaped by the inner wall 13, which is inclined toward the inside so as to form a frustum of a cone. The top of this frustum of a cone is advantageously closed by a convex 20, the contour of the base of which corresponds to that of the free upper periphery of the inner wall 13. According to different variants, a partially conical fixed laying means 2 is provided, formed in one or several parts, the wall of which is completely solid or partially solid, as, for example, in lattice form, etc.

A guide means 4 is disposed in the prolongation of the fixed laying means 2. The guide means 4 is composed here essentially of a guide tube 40 and of a bushing 41 preferably made up pivotingly. The guide tube 40 may be metallic or of synthetic material, with a smooth inside wall, having a low coefficient of friction; the inside o diameter of said tube is obviously larger than the outside diameter of the cable of the element to be stocked. The 20 guide means 4 is supported by any appropriate means, for example, one or more rods 42 extending from the outer wall 12, as illustrated. The lower portion of the bushing 41 is fixed to said rods 42, whereas the upper portion of said bushing, preferably pivoting with respect to the lower 25 portion, receives one end of the guide tube 40. For good operation of the device, it is advantageous for the guide means 4, the bushing 41 and the end of the guide tube joined to it, the laying means 2, as well as the two walls 12 and 13, to be disposed coaxially according to an axis X-X which may be that of rotational symmetry of the stocking basket 10. In case the bushing 41 is pivotal, the guide tube 40 may pivot about the axis X-X in order to orient itself automatically in the direction of the reel (not shown in the figure) from which the cable 3 is unwound or toward the tube toward which the cable is then taken from the stocking basket again for laying. For the same reasons S:24680-A I ~Al 5c as mentioned previously relating to the opening 12A in the wall 12 of the basket, lateral openings 40A and 41A may be provided on the ea o *e S:24680-A -e 9~guide tube 40, as well as on the bushing 41, so as to be able to insert the cable laterally therein. Suitable means 40B and 41B, known to those skilled in the art, permit said openings to be reclosed in order to prevent the cable from coming out inopportunely.

A cable-driving means, not shown in the figure, may supplement the device without directly forming part of the device according to the invention, being disposed on the free portion of the cable entering or leaving the end of the guide tube 40 remote from the bushing 41. This drive means may be a known means, such as a caterpillar or grip-pulley drive, for example.

A cable-laying operation using a device according to the invention may now be described. The end of the cable coming from the top layer of turns of a reel on which the cable is wound, generally a horizontal-axis reel, has been drawn and placed in a first length of tubing according to a known technique. It is now a matter of withdrawing the remaining length of cable still wound on the reel in order to reach the other end of the cable, in order then to be able to insert it in a second tube along which the remaining length of cable will later be drawn. For this purpose, a device according to the invention is disposed on the free length of the cable 3, between the reel and the entrance of the first tube.

The cable 3 is inserted in the device 1 by causing it to pass through the opening 12A of the wall 12, as well as through the lateral openings 40A and 41A, which are then reclosed in order to hold the cable 3. As shown in Figure 1, the end 30 of the cable 3 leaving through the opening 12A is that directed toward the portion of cable already placed in the first tube, whereas the end 31 leaving the guide tube 40 is that directed toward the driving means mentioned previously, then toward the reel still containing the remaining length of cable.

By actuating the driving means, the cable 3 can be transported from the reel toward the stocking basket 10. As is seen in the figure, the cable 3 passes through the guide tube 40, which has possibly been able to orient itself in the direction of the reel if the bushing 41 is pivotal, passes through said bushing and enters along the axis X-X into the space situated above the basket 10. It first of all comes up against the convex cover 20 of the laying means 2 and therefore comes to rest on said cover, then on the inclined inner wall 13. It may be noted in the figure that by imparting a translatory movement to the cable 3, in the direction of the arrow A, this cable comes to rest along the surfaces and 13, while at the same time making a turn of about 90 degrees toward the rear and by reaction, owing to its longitudinal rigidity, then coils up on the bottom 11 of the basket 10. A number of turns are thus wound in the basket until the end of the cable 3 disposed on the bottom layer of the reel is freed and can be inserted in the second tube. It then suffices to reverse the driving direction of the driving means in order to bring the cable 3 out of the basket again and place it in the second tube. When the last turn has been unwound from the basket 10, the whole device 1 can then be easily disengaged from the cable 3 through the openings 12A, 40A, and 41A.

The device 1 may also be used for transwinding, to reverse the winding direction of a cable. In this case, the openings 12A, 40A, and 41A may be dispensed with, the end 30 of the cable being insertable through the free end of the guide tube 40, then possibly being fixed to the bottom 11. After coiling of the cable in the basket 10, the cable can be paid out in reverse direction.

It is therefore found that for carrying out all the operations described, the stocking device 1 according to this first embodiment of the invention is very simple in concept and use, not comprising any part in movement at the time of the stocking/unstocking of the cable and, consequently, no means for its own driving or synchronization and requiring few manipulations and personnel for its use, the winding of the cable being produced correctly thanks to its longitudinal rigidity.

For cables having a rigidity which would not permit correct winding as above, the second embodiment of a device according to the invention shown in Figure 2 has a laying tube 21 aiding the proper winding of the cable 3 in the basket 10. The laying tube 21 pivots about the axis X-X, supported by known rotation means 22, then either by an inside frame made up of the inner wall 13 and the convex cover 20 which here serve only as means for limiting the space allotted to the cable and as support means, or by an outside frame made up of the outer wall 12 and the rods 42. A counterweight 23 ensures the static balance of the laying tube 21. For the same reasons as mentioned previously, the laying tube 21 may have a lateral opening 21A in order to insert the cable 3 therein. The lower end of the laying tube 21 enters within the basket 10 and is directed toward the rear, and preferably in the direction of the outer wall 12, thus imparting the necessary turn to the coiling of the cable. At the time of coiling the cable, the latter, thanks to its sufficient longitudinal rigidity, pushes the laying tube 21 toward the front, causing it to pivot about the axis X-X. In this way, the cable 3 is laid correctly in the basket 10, being guided mainly by the outer wall 12. At the time of uncoiling, the laying tube 21 will pivot in the opposite direction, the inner wall 13 then serving a guide in order to limit the tightening of the turn oeing unwound. Preferably, :he winding means 22 includes a braking means 24, for example a friction means, imparting a slight braking torque to the rotation of the laying arm 21 at the time of coiling the cable in the basket in order to stabilize the distribution of the torsion torque over the length of the cable, whereas no braking is imparted at the time of unwinding of the cable. The device may also include a means for adjusting the height of the laying arm, diagrammed at 25, permitting the height of the free end of the laying arm 21 to be adjusted in the basket 10, in order to facilitate the arrangement of the cable within the latter at the time of winding of a very long cable. The height-adjustment means 25 may be controlled manually or automatically.

Like the previous one, this embodiment of the stocking device according to the invention is very simple in concept and in use; it includes only a single moving part, the laying arm 21 which does not require any means for its own driving and, consequently, for synchronization with the advance of the cable, rotation of the laying arm 21 being directly caused by the advance of the cable, in one direction or the other. Preferably, the device according to this last embodiment will also be provided with the lateral openings necessary for insertion of the cable.

Different design variants may be envisaged, in particular, the walls 12 and/or 13 may be not vertical but inclined in one direction or the other in order to facilitate the winding and unwinding, respectively, in the basket likewise, the preparation of the guide tube 40 and/or the laying tube 20, each provided with its lateral opening as well as with closing means, may prove to be 9 rather delicate. A similar result may be obtained by a succession of rings, disposed along a bar of suitable shape, each ring comprising a lateral opening, the direction of which is shifted from that of the ring which precedes it. In this way, the cable is inserted successively into each ring, the alternation of the solid portions and the openings of the rings sufficing to hold the cable. The stocking device, according to one or the other of the embodiments described, can preferably be dismantled or folded up in order to beable to be transported more easily at the laying site.

The device may also be used with the method and the means described in the document EP-A-0 292 037. Tests carried out with the aid of such a system permitted winding/unwinding speeds on the order of 1 to 5 m/s to be reached.

In the claims that follow and in the summary of the invention, except where the context requires otherwise due to express language or necessary implication, the word "comprising" is used in the sense of "including", i.e. the features specified may be associated with further features in various embodiments of the invention.

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Claims (12)

1. 2. Stocking process according to claim 1, characterized in that driving of the rotary laying means does not use any motorized means and is obtained by reaction to the advancing movement of the coilable element, due to oooee S"the longitudinal rigidity of said element.
2. 3. Stocking device for coilable element including a S 20 stocking basket formed especially by an outer wall, disposed against the edge of a bottom serving as winding base, a guide means, a fixed or rotary laying means, intended to lead angularly the element to be coiled from the guide means toward the stocking basket, characterized in that lateral 25 openings are made in the outer wall, in the guide means, and in the tubular segment in the case where the laying means is of rotary type, for lateral insertion of the coilable element.
3. 4. Stocking device according to claim 3, characterized in that the laying means is fixed and is made up of a convex cover of conical shape disposed in the prolongation of an inner wall of the basket. Stocking device according to claim 3, characterized in that the laying means is rotary and is made up of at least one essentially radial tubular segment 4extending from a location close to one end of the guide 8:24680-A 11 means into the stocking basket, said tubular segment being pivotal about an axis parallel to a rotational symmetry axis of the stocking basket.
4. 6. Stocking device according to claim characterized in that it does not comprise any motorized means for driving the laying means.
5. 7. Stocking device according to one of the claims or 6, characterized in that the rotary laying means includes a means for braking the tubular segment.
6. 8. Stocking device according to one cf the claims to 7, characterized in that the rotary laying means includes a means for adjusting in height the end of the tubular segment in the basket.
7. 9. Stocking device according to claim 3, characterized in that at least one of the lateral openings is blockable.
8. 10. Stocking device according to one of the claims 3 to 9, characterized in that the guide means comprises at least one tubular segment disposed essentially radially to 20 the outside of said device, said tubular segment being S pivotal about an axis parallel to the rotational symmetry axis of the stocking basket.
9. 11. Use of a stocking device according to one of the claims 4 to 11 at the time of laying a cable, a first length of cable having already been laid, a free length of cable 'being inserted in the device through the lateral openings, the remaining length of the cable then being coiled in the basket, then being taken out of said basket again to be laid, a last free length of the cable then being withdrawn from the device through the same lateral openings.
10. 12. Use of a stocking device according to one of the claims 3 to 10 for the transwinding of a cable.
11. 13. Use of a stocking device according to one of the modes corresponding to claims 11 or 12, wherein the cable includes at least one optical fiber. R 14. A stocking device substantially as described S:24680-A 12 herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. A process substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings.
12. 16. A use of a stocking device substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawings. Dated this llth day of November 1997 Plumettaz SA By their Patent Attorneys GRIFFITH HACK e :°ee S:24680-A ABSTRACT The present invention concerns a process for stocking in coil form advantageously used for cables, but equally for other coilable elements such as hosepipes, pipes, tubes, or any other sections, the stocking of which s advantageously takes place in coil form in a stocking basket. The invention also includes the corresponding stocking device The latter includes a stocking basket (10) formed by a circular outer wall disposed against the edge of a bottom (11) serving as winding base, a guide means a fixed or rotary (21) laying means intended to lead angularly the element to be io coiled from the guide means toward the stocking basket. By reason of the concept of the device, no means for driving the laying means is necessary, the cable disposing itself correctly in the basket thanks to its own longitudinal rigidity. (Figure 1) Y~