METHOD AND DEVICE FOR PROTECTING CORE MATERIAL WITH PROTECTIVE MATERIAL

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The invention relates to a method as defined in claim 1 and to a device as defined in the preamble of claim 8 for protecting core material with protective material.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Manufacturing industry uses ribbon-type materials as a mechanical, interference and humidity protection between core material, e.g. a cable core, and top material. Conventionally, the delivery ribbon lengths of ribbon-type protective materials are shorter than e.g. the production length of a completed cable, which is due to the manageability of protective material reels and to the logistics associated with their manufacture and transportation. Big reels are hard to handle and their storage can be cumbersome. The diameter of ribbon reels is usually no more than 1000 mm, which limits the delivery lengths of protection material to about 2000 meters. As cable cores or similar can easily be manufactured with lengths of even more than 10 km, there is a need for making sev- eral extensions between the protective material ribbons during the production time in a manufacturing process. Due to the requirements associated with the process, the production line cannot usually be stopped for the purposes of making the joints but the joints are made while the process is still going on, i.e. as an online operation, within a limited time. In that case, one cannot, and one does not have the time, to ensure the quality of a joint.

The prior-art technology has the problem of making the joint while the process is still going on.

In that case, making a joint is very risky, which will

easily result in an unsuccessful joint, in problems in the quality of a joint, or in the shutdown of the entire process as a result of an unsuccessful joint.

OBJECTIVE OF THE INVENTION

It is an objective of the present invention to eliminate the drawbacks referred to above.

One specific objective of the present invention is to disclose a new type of method and device for protecting core material, e.g. in a cable manufacturing process .

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The method and device of the invention are characterised by what has been described in the claims .

The invention is based on a method for protecting core material by means of protective material, in which method the core material is coated with pro- tective material in a manufacturing process. According to the invention, there are three steps in the method: step of un-spooling a cut-to-size protective material ribbon from a reel onto a rolling-up unit; step of transferring the rolling-up unit and step of coating the core material with a protective material ribbon. At the step of spooling the protective material ribbon, a uniform, cut-to-size protective material ribbon is un-spooled from one or more protective material ribbon reels onto the rolling-up unit. If necessary, ribbons from different reels are joined together by their ends to manufacture a desired, cut-to-size protective material ribbon so that the far end of a ribbon from a first protective material reel is joined together with the front end of a ribbon from a second protective material reel to achieve a uniform protective material ribbon. Preferably, the joint between

two ribbons is tested and its quality ensured at the step of spooling. The rolling-up unit, having a ribbon length of protective material necessary in the coating of the core material, is removed at the step of trans- ferring and is transferred to the step of coating the core material . At the step of coating the core material, the protective material ribbon is guided from the rolling-up unit simultaneously with the core material to a device in which the core material is ar~ ranged within the protective material ribbon. In one embodiment, the protective material ribbon is bent so as to enclose the core material .

Furthermore, the invention concerns an apparatus for protecting core material using protective material, the apparatus including a coating device of core material, where the core material is coated with protective material. According to the invention, the apparatus includes a spooling device for un-spooling a protective material ribbon from a reel onto a bigger unit. The spooling device includes at least one reel station for placing the protective material ribbon reel; a jointing device; and a rolling-up unit, onto which a uniform, cut-to-size protective material ribbon, un-spooled from the reel, is spooled, and which can be removed and transferred to the coating device of core material. A protective material ribbon reel in the reel station can be replaced with a new one. In the spooling device, the protective material ribbon is arranged to pass from the protective material ribbon reel via the jointing device to the rolling-up unit.

By means of the jointing device, the far end of a ribbon from the first protective material reel can be joined together with the front end of a ribbon from the second protective material reel, if necessary, to achieve a uniform ribbon.

In a preferred embodiment, exactly the necessary length of a protection material ribbon is un-

spooled from one or more reels onto the rolling-up unit for protecting the core material, that is to say, a protective material ribbon having the length of the core material is arranged in the rolling-up unit. The core material may have been arranged to have a cable-like, wire-like, ribbon-like or similar form. The core material is preferably arranged in its own reel. As the core material one can use any material selected in the manufacturing process . In this conjunction, a protective material ribbon is used to mean any ribbon-like, film-like or similar ribbon. The ribbon can have any suitable width. The ribbon may have been formed from any material suitable for the purpose, such as from metal, plastic, paper or combinations thereof, or from any other suitable material .

In this conjunction, a reel is used to mean any reel, disc, spool, and roll or similar having a material ribbon reeled or spooled thereon. In one embodiment of the invention, the spooling device is arranged to be substantially separate from the coating device of core material.

In one embodiment of the invention, the spooling device includes a tension and speed control device, which is preferably placed after the jointing device .

In one embodiment of the invention, the spooling device includes a first and a second guide surface for guiding the protective material ribbon. The protective material ribbon has been arranged to pass from the protective material ribbon reel via the first guide surface, the jointing device and the second guide surface to the rolling-up unit.

In one embodiment, the first guide surface included in the spooling device has been arranged in conjunction with the reel station of the protective material ribbon reel. In one embodiment, the second

guide surface has been arranged in conjunction with the tension and speed control device. The guide surface can be e.g. a guide roll, a guide roller or similar. In one embodiment of the invention, the spooling device includes spooling means. Using the spooling means, the protective material ribbon can be un-spooled from the protective material ribbon reel onto the rolling-up unit. The spooling means may have been placed before the rolling-up unit or in conjunction therewith. In an alternative solution, the spooling means may have been arranged in conjunction with the tension and speed control device.

In one embodiment of the invention, the roll- ing-up unit includes a supporting surface and a roll. A desired length of the protective material ribbon can be spooled onto the roll. The rolling-up unit can be removed from the spooling device. The entire rolling- up unit is transferred as one whole to the coating de- vice of core material. The roll of the rolling-up unit is preferably connected to the rolling-up unit the entire time. The rolling-up unit can be placed back into the spooling device and thus can be re-used. Into the roll of the rolling-up unit fit protective material ribbons from more than one protective material reel.

In this conjunction, a roll is used to mean any roll, spool, spooler, winder, and disc or similar, on which the material ribbon can be reeled or spooled. In one embodiment of the invention, the roll- ing-up unit includes connecting means, and the coating device of the core material includes a positioning place for the rolling-up unit and locking means for connecting the rolling-up unit as a part of the coating device of core material . In one embodiment of the invention, the supporting surface of the rolling-up unit includes inclination means for tilting the roll to a desired angle

of tilt with respect to the vertical axis to reduce the space requirement of the rolling-up unit. The inclination means can be any means, devices or units suitable for the purpose. In one preferred embodiment, the supporting surface of the rolling-up unit includes transfer means by means of which the rolling-up unit can be transferred to the step of coating the core material and back again to the step of spooling. As the transfer means one can use any suitable, previously known transfer means such as conveyor wheels; a conveyor pallet; rails or similar connected to the supporting surface. For facilitating the lifting using a fork- lift, the pallet may have been provided with a place for the forklift spikes. The conveyor pallet may also be a so-called automatic guided vehicle.

In one embodiment of the invention, in the jointing device of the spooling device, the ribbons can be joined to one another by welding. It is possi- ble to use e.g. soldering or laser welding. Preferably, the joint is formed prior to the step of coating the core material .

In one embodiment of the invention, the spooling device also includes quality checking means. In a preferred embodiment, the quality of the cut-to- size protective material ribbon to be spooled onto the rolling-up unit and the quality of the joint in the ribbon are checked before the ribbon is spooled onto the roll of the rolling-up unit. Then the possible er- rors in the ribbon and in the joint are detected. In one embodiment, the quality checking means are arranged in conjunction with the jointing device.

In one embodiment, the spooling unit can include at least two replaceable rolling-up units. In that case, whilst the first rolling-up unit is in use at the step of coating the core material, it is possi-

ble to spool protective material ribbon onto the second rolling-up unit simultaneously.

In one embodiment of the invention, the spooling unit includes more than one reel station. The reel station, jointing device, the speed and tension control device, spooling means and quality checking means of the spooling device can be devices or means known per se and suitable for the purpose . The coating device of core material can be any known manufacturing device or process.

The method and device of the invention have significant advantages compared to the prior art.

In the presented invention, the spooling of protective material ribbons onto a bigger unit and the jointing procedure of the ribbons are performed as their own separate phases. To the step of coating the core material one feeds a protective material ribbon that has already been cut to size and also quality- checked. The invention has the advantage that in forming the ribbon length of the roll of the rolling-up unit it is possible to make use of even shorter stretches of protective material ribbons to achieve the desired ribbon length, enabling one to make use of the remaining ribbons of the protective material ribbon reels. In that case, one has the advantage of smaller material losses. Thanks to the method of the invention, it is possible to make several joints because jointing in a separate phase as defined in the invention is not a risky phase in the process. Furthermore, in the method of the invention, it is possible to perform the quality checking of the joints substantially in conjunction with the jointing procedure.

Thanks to the invention, one can to feed to the coating process of core material a protective material ribbon having exactly the right length as the process is concerned. The invention enables one to

achieve a continuously operating, reliable and high- quality coating method of core material quickly, easily and with reduced cost. The rolling-up unit can be connected to the coating device of core material with just some minor changes.

The invention enables one to reduce the space requirement of the coating process of core material because the jointing process of protective material ribbons can be performed as a separate process in a suitable place. Furthermore, the rolling-up unit of protective material can be placed into any desired parallel coating line of core material . This enables one to optimise the manufacturing process.

The method and device of the invention can be used e.g. in cable manufacturing industry.

LIST OF FIGURES

In the following section, the invention will be described in more detail with reference to the ac- companying drawings, in which

Fig. 1 schematically represents one apparatus in accordance with the invention; and

Fig. 2 represents the spooling device of one apparatus in accordance with the invention in more de- tail.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

The apparatus of the invention shown in Fig. 1 includes a separate spooling device 1 of a cut-to- size protective material ribbon as well as a coating device 2 of core material. In this embodiment, as the protective material ribbon 3, 3b, an aluminium ribbon having a thickness of about 0.3 mm and a width of about 10 cm is used. As the core material 4, a cable core is used.

The spooling device 1 includes one reel station 7 for placing a known protective material ribbon reel 5; a jointing device 8 for joining the protective material ribbons 3 to one another to achieve a cut-to- size protective material ribbon 3b; a speed and tension control device 12 and a rolling-up unit 6, onto which a cut-to-size protective material ribbon 3b is spooled.

The rolling-up unit 6 can be removed from the spooling device 1 and transferred to the coating device 2 of core material. The rolling-up unit 6 is transferred to the coating device 2 of core material as one whole.

In the coating device 2 of core material, the protective material ribbon 3b from the rolling-up unit 6 is guided simultaneously with the core material 4, fed from a reel 20 of its own, to the device 23, where the core material is arranged within the protective material ribbon 3b by bending the ribbon to enclose the core material. In that case, one achieves a completed protection-coated core material product 24. As the coating device 2 of core material it is possible to use any device known per se and suitable for the purpose and it is not described in more detail in this connection.

Fig. 2 represents the spooling device 1 of Fig. 1 in more detail.

The spooling device 1 includes one reel station 7 for placing a known protective material ribbon reel 5 into the spooling device; a jointing device 8 for joining the ribbon ends to one another; and a rolling-up unit 6, onto which a cut-to-size protective material ribbon 3b is spooled. In addition, the spooling device includes a first 9 and a second 10 guide surface, as well as a speed and tension control device 12, which is preferably placed after the jointing device 8. The first guide surface 9, i.e. the guide

roll, is arranged in conjunction with the reel station 7 of the protective material ribbon reel . The second guide surface 10 includes three guide rolls 21a-c, arranged in conjunction with the tension and speed con- trol device 12.

In addition, the spooling device 1 includes spooling means 13. Using the spooling means, the protective material ribbon 3 can be un-spooled from the protective material reel 5 onto the rolling-up unit 6. The spooling means have been placed in conjunction with the tension and speed control device 12.

As the tension and speed control device 12 and as the spooling means 13, it is possible to use any devices known per se and suitable for the purpose, and these are not described in more detail herein.

The protective material reel 5 of the reel station 7 can be replaced with a new one according to need. In an alternative spooling device application, there are two reel stations for two protective mate- rial reels. In that case as the first reel runs out of ribbon, one proceeds with the ribbon of the other reel .

As the jointing device functions a welding device 8. In the jointing device, the far end of the ribbon 3 of the first protective material ribbon reel 5 is joined with the front end of the ribbon of the second reel, whereby a uniform ribbon 3b is achieved.

The jointing device 8 includes a pair of rollers or pairs of rollers, through which the protec- tive material ribbon is guided and by means of which the ribbon can be straightened prior to the welding. The jointing device also includes cutting means of the protective material ribbon for cutting the ribbon at a suitable point to achieve a cut-to-size ribbon for the rolling-up unit.

In conjunction with the jointing device 8 there are also quality checking means 11, by means of which the quality of the joint is made sure of.

The rolling-up unit 6 includes a supporting surface 14 and a roll 15. Using the spooling means 13 of the spooling device it is possible to un-spool a protective material ribbon 3 from a known ribbon reel

5 onto a roll 15 of a rolling-up unit.

In this embodiment, the roll of the rolling- up unit is a disc-type spooler 15, functioning as both a winder and an unwinder. The disc-type spooler 15 is bigger in diameter than a known protective material reel 5.

The roll 15 of the rolling-up unit is ar- ranged to be fixed to the supporting surface 14 of the rolling-up unit. The roll 15 is not released from the rolling-up unit 6, but the rolling-up unit is handled as one whole.

The supporting surface 14 of the rolling-up unit 14 is made of steel. The supporting surface 14 of the rolling-up unit comprises connecting means 17 for connecting it to the coating device 2 of core material

(Fig. 1) . Similarly, the coating device 2 includes a positioning place 18 for the rolling-up unit 6 and locking means 19 for fixedly connecting the rolling-up unit to the coating device 2 (Fig. 1) . The connecting means 17 of the rolling-up unit also include plugs for connecting electric and control devices.

The supporting surface 14 of the rolling-up unit also includes inclination means or an inclination unit 16, by means of which the roll 15, i.e. the disctype spooler, can be inclined to a desired angle with respect to the vertical axis. In that case, the rolling-up unit 6 fits better underneath or next to a known coating device 2 of core material, into a space reserved for it.

In addition, the supporting surface 14 of the rolling-up unit is provided with transfer means 22 for facilitating transfer of the rolling-up unit 6 to the step of coating 2 the core material and back to the step of spooling 1. In this embodiment, the supporting surface is a so-called conveyor pallet provided with a place 22 for the forklift spikes for facilitating the lifting.

In the spooling device, the protective mate- rial ribbon is arranged to pass from the protective material reel via the first guide surface, the jointing device and the second guide surface to the rolling-up unit.

In the spooling device of the cut-to-size protective material ribbon, the ribbon is spooled from a known, standard-sized ribbon reel, delivered by a manufacturer, the reel typically having a diameter of up to 1 m, preferably 940 mm, and typically having about 2.2 km of ribbon, onto the roll of the rolling- up unit which can accommodate a considerably bigger amount of ribbon and which has a bigger diameter. A protective material ribbon is spooled onto the roll of the rolling-up unit from several known reels so that a given amount of ribbon is obtained for the rolling-up unit for protecting the core material; i.e. the ribbon length to be arranged into the rolling-up unit is preferably equal to the length of the core material .

By means of a separate spooling device it is possible to obtain for the coating process of core ma- terial a protective material ribbon that has already been cut to size. In addition, thanks to a separate spooling device, one has the time and the possibility to make sure that a dependable joint is formed.

For the device and its applications it is possible to use a protective material ribbon with any width.

The apparatus can include a control device and control means for guiding the manufacturing process or a part thereof. The apparatus and the parts thereof are fully automatable. The invention is not limited merely to examples referred to above; instead many variations are possible within the inventive idea defined by the claims .