Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
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CABLE PROT~CTION SLEEVE
This invention relates to a protection sleeve for a
cable, hawser, wire rope or the like (all hereinafter referred
to generally as "cable(s)") for an area of a cable prone to
wear - such as the area of a towing or mooring cable that
passes over, and is intended to slide, along a ships rail.
Known cable protection sleeves are of synthetic
plastics material, notably polyurethane, but inevitably the
protection sleeves themselves become worn or damaged and
eventually require replacement.
In a flrst known construction it is necessary to drop
the cable to wind it in, to remove a socket which frequently
cannot be re-used but must be scrapped, to thread a new sleeve
onto the cable, to attach a fresh socket and to wind the cable
out. At sea, and depending on weather conditions, such
operation can take up to 6 hours, while the cost of a new
socket is several hundred pounds.
With a view to obviating the above procedures, split
sleeves are known, cf GB 11434949, with the two sleeve halves
secured together by bolts. TAThilst this type of sleeve is
much quicker to attach, the inevitable fle~ing of the sleeve
which occur, in use, frequently results in deformation of the
bolts by which the two halves are secured together around the
cable, resulting in substantial difficulties in removing such
worn bolts when a worn or damaged sleeves of this kind needs
replacing.
According to the present invention there is provided a
protection sleeve for securing on a cable, the sleeve having a
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longitudinal axis and comprising a plurality of elongate parts
each having an arcuate internal profile and an arcuate
external profile, and with inter-engageable or alignable
formations provided adiacent each axially extendlng edge of
each part and, when the parts are assembled together to define
the sleeve, with a common, axially extending flexible fastener
located in the inter-engaged or aligned formations of adjacent
edges of two parts.
The sleeve in accordance with the invention, by
retaining the multi-part characteristic, enables sleeve
fitting to be effected without the need for the cable to be
wound in etc., while the use of flexible fasteners obvi.ates
the bol-t deformation problem of prior art two-part sleeves.
The arcuate internal periphery needs to be such that the
sleeve is able to rotate about the cable around which is it
located.
The formations may be axially extending holes, with or
without axially aper~ured eyes. In detail, the holes and/or
eyes are aligned and the fastener passed through. Another
formation may com~rise a slot in the edge(s) of one part, to
receive an eye~s) projecting from an adjacent edge of another
part, with axially extending holes emerging at the cheeks of
the slot, so that the eye aperture and holes are alignable co-
axially.
In one embodiment with holes but without eyes, at
least one tongue on one part may be provided, to engage a
complementary groove on the other part such that, when
engaged, the tongue(s) and groove(s) resist axial separation
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of the assembled parts. Each part of the body member may
have one tongue and one groove. Alternatively, each part may
have multlple tongues and grooves to provide a castellated
effect so that the tongues and grooves interdigitate.
~ 5 With a single tongue and a single groove, these
`~ formations may be provided at the mid-length of the parts.
- If so, they may extend axially for approximately one third of
the length of the parts.
With the single tongue and single groove embodiment,
at the side of the part provided with the groove the axial
holes would extend rom each terminal end of the part towards
. the mid-length of the part and terminate at the commencement
of the groove, while at the side of the part provided with the
tongue, the axial hole extends the length of the tongue.
In another embodiment, with both holes and eyes, the
~; eyes may be provided at opposite ends of a strap, e.g. of
carbon fibre, glass fibre etc., or a wire rope, which strap is
conveniently moulded into the sleeve part during casting of
the material e.g. polyurethane, of the sleeve part, with one
(embedded) eye co-axial with the hole of orle edge and with the
other eye projecting from that edge, so that with a slot
adjacent the embedded eye of axial length slightly exceeding
that of the proiecting eye, the latter is accommodated in the
receiving slot, when the parts forming the sleeve are
assembled, for the two adjacent eyes to be co-axial for the
passage of the common flexible fastener.
Such eyes may be provided only adjacent the ends of
the sleeve. Alternatively, they may be provided as regularly
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or irregularly spaced intervals e.g. 150 mm along a 2m long
sleeve. The pxovision of eyes, and hence a banding effect
at least adjacent the sleeve ends, resists any tendency for
the sleeve end to become opened or splayed by the action of
the cable being protected with the cable then possibly jamming
in a splayed end.
As an alternative to eyes at opposite ends of an
embedded band or rope, a band clamping effect can similarly be
attained at or adjacent the sleeve ends by applying an
external band clamp of some suitable form. Again such clamps
can consist of one, or several windings of a wire rope, with
the ends secured by a suitable tensioning connector.
Alternatively, a spring steel hoop may be provided, e.g. in
two parts with suitable fastening means. It is desirable for
any external band clamp not to stand proud, but to be housed
in a peripheral recess or groove, so as not to interfere with
the rolling action of the sleeve about the cable, or to become
worn or damaged itself by such rolling action.
The parts may be two in number, in which case each
would be hemispherical or "C"-shaped in cross-section,
extending over 180 , with flat radial end faces butted
together in a common diametral plane when the two parts are
assembled. ~lternatively, the parts may be three or four in
o
number extending over 120 or 90 , respectively.
The sleeve may be produced in any suitable wear or
abrasion resistant material, typically polyurethane. With
the latter material, the individual sleeve parts may be
produced by casting (either gravity or pressure casting) into
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''
suitably profiled moulds.
Conveniently, each flexible fastener may be
constituted by a wire rope or a polyurethane rod of external
diameter approximating to the diameter of the aligned holes
5 and the apertures of any eyes. To fit such ropes or rods a
small diameter "pull~through" tool slightly exceeding the
length of the sleeve, may be passed through the aligned holes
and any eyes and when the tool end emerges from the far end of
the sleeve, a leading end of the rope or rod may be attached
v 10 and be pulled through the allgned holes and any eyes until a
collar at the other end of the rope or rod abuts the end of
the sleeve. The tool can then be disconnected and a similar
collar applied to the exposed, leading end of the rope or rod
which has just emerged from the sleeve. The flexible
- 15 fastener could also take the form of a chain, for instance a
round link chain
The invention will now be described in greater
detail, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying
drawings, in which:-
Figure 1 is an exploded, perspective view of a first
embodiment of cable protection sleeve in accordance with the
invention, with the cable omitted for clarity;
Figure 2 is an end elevation of Figure 1;
Figure 3 is a side el0vation of a second embodiment
of sleeve;
Figure 4 is an end elevation of a third embodiment of
sleeve;
Figure 5 is an end elevation of a fourth embodiment
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of sleeve;
Figure 6 is an exploded, perspective view of a fifth
embodiment;
Figure 7 ls an end view of one half of Figure 6;
Figure 8 is an enlarged sectional view of a portion
of Figure 6;
Figures 9 to 11 are respectively an end view, a plan
view and a side view of an alternative; and
Figure 12 is an end view of a hinged sleeve
incorporating straps of Figures 9 to 11.
In all embodiments, like parts are accorded li~e
reference numerals.
A multi-part sleeve 1, for protecting a cable 2, is
formed in the embodiment of Figures 1 and Z, from two
hemispherical, "C"-section halves 3, 4 each extending over
180 of polyurethane cast to shape in a suitable mould. Each
half 3, 4 has an arcuate internal profile 5 and an arcuate
external profil0 6, and each half 3, 4 which terminate in end
faces 7 located in a common, diametral plane 8. Each half
~0 3, 4 has flat radial end faces 9 and 10. On the end face 9
is formed a tongue 11, with end walls 12 while on the end face
; 10 is formed a complementary groove 1~ with end walls 14, such
that when the two halves are assembled together around the
cable 2, the tongue of one half is a close fit within the
groove of the other half, such that the walls 12 and 14 abut,
so as to resist axial separation of the two halves. ~djacent
each end face 10, 9 is formed an a~iall~ extending hole 15,
ex~ending from the terminal end faces 7 to the groove walls
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14. At the other side, an axially extending hole 16 is
formed along the tongue 11. When the two hemispherical
halves 3, 4 are assembled together around a cable 2, the holes
15, 16 become co-axial. At this stage a simple tool,
consisting basically of an elongate rod slightly exceeding
the length of the sleeve, and with a pull handle at one end,
is threaded through the co-axial holes 15, 16, until the end
of the wire remote from its handle emerges at the far end of
the sleeve 1. To that end is attached, by any convenient
means, one end of a flexible fastener 17 which could be of
wire rope, but which preferably is synthetic plastics, e.g.
polyurethane with bonded metallic end pieces (not shown)
having tapped holes to receive securing bolts. As an
alternative to bolts, the end pieces may have screw threaded
spigots projecting beyond the end faces 7 of the sleeve 1,
onto which spigots are screwed a first stop collar 18 (Figure
3). The rod is then pulled from the sleeve, and
simultaneously the fastener 17 is pulled along the aligned
holes 15, 16, the leading end of the wire rope eventually
emerging from the sleeve and being fitted with a further
stop collar 19 before or after detachment of the fastener 17
from the pull-through tool. Obviously, this operation is
repeated at the other side of the hemispherical halves 3, 4 to
insert the second fastener 17 diametrically opposite the
first, and hence to complete the attachment of the two halves
3 and 4 and to resist radial separation.
~ t will be appreciated that the flexing of the sleeve
1 about its longitudinal axis, which invariably occure e.g.
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` during marine towing or moorlng operations, has no adverse
effect on the flexible fasteners 17 which simply flex with the
sleeve 1. Hence, when the sleeve 1 in accordance with the
invention becomes worn or damaged to an extent that it needs
replacing, the fasteners 17 present no obstruction in that
after removal e.g. by bolt clippers, of one or other collar 18
or 19, the fasteners 17 can simply and quickly be pulled out
of the sleeve. At the ends of the sleeve 1, a band clamping
effect can be attained by provlding a perlpheral groove 20 to
receive a band clamp in the form of a steel hoop 21 (or a
plurality o~ wire etc. rope windings) such that the band clamp
does not project from the arcuate surface 6, but is flush, or
below, that surface.
The embodiment of Figure 3 illustrates the
possibility of providing multiple tongues and grooves, three
tongues 11 and three grooves 13 being illustrated.
In the embodiments of Figure 4 and 5 are illustrated
the possibilities of constructing the sleeve 1 from three or
rour parts respectlvely, as may in some cases be more
convenient than two parts, but requiring the insertion of
three or four fasteners 17.
In the embodiment of Figures 6 to 8, eyes 22, 23 are
provided at opposite ends of a strap 24 e.g. a wire rope,
moulded into the sleeve halves 3, 4, during casting of the
latter, with one embedded eye 22 co-axial with a
longitudinally extendin~ hole 15, 16, adjacent each edge of
each hemispherical halves 3,4, and with each other, projecting
eye 23 projecting from its edge 3, 4 and locatable in a slot
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open to the end faces 9 and 10 and extending a short
distance therefrom, such that a projecting eye 23 of one half
can be comfortably accommodated within the slot of the other
half adjacent an embedded eye 22, so that the eyes 22, 23 and
the associated holes 10 are co-axial to receive the fasteners
17 as with the embodiment of ~igures 1 to 5.
Figures 9 to 11 show a sheet metal strap 24, e.g. of
sprlng steel, with two eyes 22 at one side and one eye 23 at
the other side.
Figure 12 indicates the possibility of hinging the
two halves 3, 4 permanently together at one side, so that, on
site, it is only necessary to fit, or remove, one flexible
fastener 17.
