Cable gripping device

Abstract

A cable gripping device 50 according to the present disclosure, in response to the movement of a cable 30 laid between utility poles 20, restricts the movement of the cable 30 in the longitudinal direction.

Description

Cable holding device

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a method for installing a cable using an aircraft.

[0002] Conventionally, cables have been laid on supports such as utility poles and steel towers, particularly in rivers, mountainous areas, etc. In such cases, workers attach the cables to the supports at the source and destination by working at height.

[0003] For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a method of providing a cable gripping hardware device for gripping a cable at a high point on a support, and fixing the cable at the high point on the support via the cable gripping hardware device. The cable gripping hardware device is fixed to the high point on the support using bolts and nuts.

[0004] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-197666

[0005] When working at height, the cable swings due to the influence of crosswinds, etc., making the work difficult. However, Patent Document 1 does not take into consideration the difficulty of working due to the cable swinging in this way, and it has been desired to alleviate the difficulty of working at height by temporarily fixing the cable near the work location.

[0006] Therefore, an object of the present disclosure is to provide a technology that can alleviate the difficulty of working at heights by temporarily securing the cable near the work location.

[0007] To achieve the above object, the cable gripping device and method of the present disclosure employs a technique of gripping a cable by movement of the cable.

[0008] Specifically, the cable gripping device of the present disclosure restricts longitudinal movement of the cable in response to movement of the cable laid between supports.

[0009] More specifically, the cable gripping method of the present disclosure restricts longitudinal movement of the cable in response to movement of the cable laid between supports.

[0010] The cable holder may further include a cable gripper that accommodates the cable in response to lateral movement of the cable and restricts longitudinal movement of the accommodated cable.

[0011] The cable gripping portion may allow the cable to move in one direction in the longitudinal direction, and restrict the cable from moving in another direction in the longitudinal direction.

[0012] The cable may be pulled by an aircraft, the one direction may be a direction in which the cable is pulled by the aircraft, and the cable gripping portion may function in response to a change in tension in the pulling direction.

[0013] In addition, a groove may be formed in cooperation with the cable holding portion to accommodate the cable, and a retaining portion may be provided to restrict movement of the cable toward the top of the groove when the cable holding portion and the groove accommodate the cable.

[0014] The cable gripping portion may further include a guide portion for guiding the cable so that the cable is accommodated in the cable gripping portion.

[0015] The support may also include an angle adjustment unit that is placed on a mounting base provided near the fixing point of the cable on the support and adjusts the angle between the cable holding unit and the mounting base depending on the degree of slack in the cable.

[0016] The above disclosures can be combined as much as possible.

[0017] According to the present disclosure, by temporarily securing the cable near the work location, it is possible to alleviate the difficulty of working at heights.

[0018] 1 is a diagram illustrating the operation of attaching a cable to a utility pole at the installation source; FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating the operation of pulling a cable using a drone; and FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating the operation of attaching a cable to a utility pole at the installation destination in a related technology.

[0024] FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a cable installation using a cable gripping device according to an embodiment, where (A) is a diagram illustrating the installation environment, and (B) is a diagram illustrating the vicinity of the fixing belt of the utility pole at the installation destination.

[0025] FIG. 5 is a diagram illustrating the configuration of a cable gripping device according to an embodiment, where (A) is a perspective view showing the exterior, (B) is a top view, (C) is a front view, (D) is a rear view, and (E) is a side view.

[0026] FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a cable gripping unit of the cable gripping device, where (A) is a diagram illustrating the cable gripping unit in a normal state when no external force is acting on the crimping plate of the cable gripping device, (B) is a diagram illustrating the cable gripping unit during cable pulling, and (C) is a diagram illustrating the cable gripping unit after gripping the cable.

[0027] FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating the operation of a retaining plate.

[0028] FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating the operation of an angle adjustment frame. 1A and 1B are diagrams illustrating the operation of the angle adjustment frame, where (A) shows a case where the cable slack is relatively large, and (B) shows a case where the cable slack is relatively small. FIG. 1B is a diagram illustrating cable installation work using a cable gripping device according to an embodiment, where (A) shows an installation environment, and (B) shows the specifications and placement of the cable gripping device required in the installation environment.

[0019] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. Note that the present disclosure is not limited to the embodiments shown below. These implementation examples are merely illustrative, and the present disclosure can be implemented in various forms with various modifications and improvements based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art. Note that components with the same reference numerals in this specification and drawings indicate the same components.

[0020] [Cable Laying Work] Cable laying work using a drone will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 4. As shown in Figure 1, in the laying environment of this embodiment, multiple utility poles 20 are erected at predetermined intervals. In the following explanation, cable laying work in which a cable 30 is laid between multiple utility poles 20 will be described. The utility pole 20 on the left side of the figure corresponds to the support at the source of laying, and the utility pole 20 on the right side of the figure corresponds to the support at the destination of laying. Each utility pole 20 is provided with a fixing belt 21 for fixing the cable 30.

[0021] FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating the work of attaching a cable to a utility pole 20 at the source of cable laying. When attaching a cable to the utility pole 20 at the source of cable laying, one end of the cable 30 is fixed to a fixing belt 21 by working at a height using heavy machinery 40 or the like. Before and after this work, the cable 30 (the drum around which the cable 30 is wound) is fixed to a drone 10. The drone 10 is an example of an aircraft. The drone 10 is configured to be remotely controlled from the outside.

[0022] 2 is a diagram illustrating the cable pulling operation using the drone 10. First, the worker remotely controls the drone 10 to take off and ascend. Then, the worker flies the drone 10 toward the utility pole 20 where the cable is to be laid.

[0023] 3 is a diagram illustrating the work of attaching a cable to a utility pole 20 at the installation destination in the related technology. As shown in Fig. 3, in the related technology, when attaching the cable to the utility pole 20 at the installation destination, the cable 30 is fixed to the fixing belt 21 by working at a height using heavy machinery 40 or the like. Specifically, in the related technology, the drone 10 is flown, and while applying a constant tension to the cable 30, the cable 30 is fixed to the fixing belt 21 by working at a height.

[0024] However, with this method, when attaching the cable 30 to the utility pole 20 at the installation site by working at a height, the cable 30 may be swung by a crosswind or the like, which may cause a collision accident. In addition, since the work must be performed while flying the drone 10 near the utility pole 20 at the installation site, the cable 30 may be affected by the rotor wind from the drone 10, etc.

[0025] Therefore, the present embodiment aims to provide a cable gripping device and a cable gripping method using the cable gripping device that can avoid the need to perform cable installation work on the utility pole 20 at the installation destination while flying a drone when installing the cable on the utility pole 20 at the installation destination.

[0026] In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 4(A), during the cable installation work on the utility pole 20 at the installation destination, the cable 30 is temporarily fixed near the fixing belt 21 by operating the drone 10. Specifically, in this embodiment, the cable 30 is temporarily fixed using a cable gripping device 50 shown in Fig. 4(B).

[0027] The cable gripping device 50 is installed on a mounting base 22 provided near the fixing belt. The vicinity of the fixing belt is an example of the vicinity of the location where the cable is fixed. The cable gripping device 50 includes a cable gripping portion 51. As will be described in detail later, the cable gripping portion 51 is configured to be able to accommodate and grip the cable 30 in accordance with the movement of the cable 30.

[0028] Specifically, the cable gripping device 50 of the present disclosure restricts longitudinal movement of the cable 30 in response to movement of the cable 30 laid between utility poles 20 .

[0029] This method makes it possible to avoid performing cable installation work on the utility pole 20 at the installation site while flying the drone 10. Furthermore, the cable 30 can be gripped by the cable gripping device 50 by operating the drone 10, without directly operating the cable gripping device 51. Then, by temporarily fixing the cable 30 near the work location, the difficulty of working at height can be alleviated.

[0030] [Configuration of Cable Grip Device] Next, the configuration of the cable grip device 50 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. Fig. 5(A) is a perspective view showing the appearance of the cable grip device 50. The cable grip device 50 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and has a front wall 50A, a rear wall 50B, and a side wall 50C. The cable grip device 50 also includes a cable gripping portion 51, a guide pole 52, a retaining plate 53, and an angle adjustment frame 54.

[0031] FIG. 5B is a top view of the cable gripping device 50. As shown in FIG. 5B, the cable gripping unit 51 includes four crimping plates 51A sandwiched between side walls 50C in the left-right direction of the figure. The crimping plates 51A are arranged in pairs, facing each other in the left-right direction. Each of the four crimping plates 51A is connected to the side wall 50C by a shaft 51B. The shaft 51B is disposed between the crimping plate 51A and the side wall 50C at a predetermined inclination relative to the left-right direction of the figure. In this embodiment, the shaft 51B is inclined so that the end connected to the crimping plate 51A is positioned higher in the figure than the end connected to the side wall 50C. As a result, when a force acting upward in the figure acts on the crimping plate 51A, the shaft tilts, forming a predetermined gap between the opposing crimping plates 51A. In this embodiment, when no force is acting on the crimping plates 51A from outside the cable gripping device 50, a force acts on the crimping plates 51A in a direction that causes the opposing crimping plates 51A to come into contact with each other. Specifically, a force toward the center may be applied to the crimping plates 51A by a spring or the like (not shown).

[0032] Fig. 5(C) is a front view of the cable gripping device 50. As shown in Fig. 5(C), a notch is provided on the upper surface of the crimping plate 51A. This allows the cable 30 to be accommodated between the opposing crimping plates 51A when the cable 30, which is pulled by the drone 10 from above, approaches.

[0033] As shown in FIG. 5C , the front wall 50A has a groove 50a extending in the vertical direction, and a guide pole holder 52A for holding the guide pole 52 is provided. The groove 50a cooperates with the cable grip 51 to accommodate the cable 30. The guide pole 52 and the guide pole holder 52A are provided symmetrically on both sides. However, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and multiple guide poles 52 and multiple guide pole holders 52A may be provided symmetrically on both sides. In other words, at least one guide pole 52 and one guide pole holder 52A may be provided symmetrically on both sides. Furthermore, the guide pole 52 and the guide pole holder 52A do not necessarily have to be provided symmetrically on both sides, and may be provided on the right or left side of the front wall 50A. The guide pole 52 is provided at a predetermined angle (45 degrees in this embodiment) relative to the vertical direction. This allows the cable 30 pulled by the drone 10 to be properly guided to the cable grip 51. The guide pole 52 may be held by the guide pole holder 52A in any manner, such as by screwing or welding. In this manner, the guide pole 52 guides the cable 30 to be housed in the cable gripping portion 51. The guide pole 52 functions as a "guide portion."

[0034] 5(D) is a rear view of the cable gripping device 50. A groove 50b extending in the vertical direction is formed in the rear wall 50B, and a retaining plate 53 is provided therein. The groove 50b accommodates the cable 30 in cooperation with the cable gripping portion 51. The retaining plate 53 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape and is rotatable about a pin 53A. The operation of the retaining plate 53 will be described later.

[0035] Fig. 5(E) is a side view of the cable grip device 50. As shown in Fig. 5(E), an angle adjustment frame 54 is provided at the bottom of the cable grip device 50. The angle adjustment frame 54 is configured to enable adjustment of the angle of the main body of the cable grip device 50 relative to the installation base 22 (i.e., the angle relative to the ground). The operation of the angle adjustment frame 54 will be described later.

[0036] [Operation of Cable Grip] Next, the operation of the cable gripping unit 51 of the cable grip device 50 will be described with reference to Fig. 6. Fig. 6(A) shows the cable gripping unit 51 in a normal state where no force from outside the cable gripping device 50 is acting on the crimping plate 51A. Fig. 6(B) shows the cable gripping unit 51 when pulling the cable. Fig. 6(C) shows the cable gripping unit 51 after gripping the cable.

[0037] Specifically, the cable gripping portion 51 accommodates the cable 30 in response to lateral movement of the cable 30 and restricts longitudinal movement of the accommodated cable 30 .

[0038] As described above, the pressure plates 51A are paired in pairs and face each other in the left-right direction. As shown in FIG. 6A , under normal circumstances, the pressure plates 51A facing each other in the left-right direction are in contact with each other. When the cable 30 pulled by the drone 10 in the direction indicated by the white arrow in FIG. 6B enters between the opposing pressure plates 51A, the shaft 51B tilts, forming a gap between the opposing pressure plates 51A. In other words, the pressure plates 51A slide, forming a gap between the opposing pressure plates 51A. This allows the cable 30 to move in one direction along its length, i.e., in the direction in which the cable is pulled by the drone 10. However, in this embodiment, a force acting on the pressure plates 51A by a spring or the like (not shown) acts in a direction that brings the opposing pressure plates 51A into contact with each other. Therefore, when the cable 30 enters between the pressure plates 51A, the pressure plates 51A and the cable 30 come into contact and slide with each other.

[0039] When the drone 10 finishes pulling the cable, a force acts on the cable 30 in the direction of the white arrow in FIG. 6C . As the side of the cable 30 slides against the crimping plate 51A, the shaft 51B rises, and a force acts on the crimping plate 51A so as to reduce the gap between the opposing crimping plates 51A. This causes the cable 30 to be gripped and fixed between the opposing crimping plates 51A. In other words, movement of the cable 30 in the other direction along the cable's length, i.e., in the direction opposite to the cable pulling direction by the drone 10, is restricted. In this way, the cable gripping unit 51 functions in response to changes in the tension in the cable pulling direction by the drone 10. Specifically, the cable gripping unit 51 grips the cable 30 by utilizing the increased crimping force from the crimping plate 51A due to the tension on the cable 30 in the direction opposite to the pulling direction.

[0040] [Operation of the retaining plate] Next, the operation of the retaining plate 53 will be described with reference to Fig. 7. Fig. 7 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the retaining plate. The retaining plate 53 is a locking mechanism that prevents the cable 30 from slipping out upward after it has been accommodated in the cable gripping portion 51. In other words, the retaining plate 53 restricts the movement of the cable 30 upward in the grooves 50a and 50b when the cable gripping portion 51 and the grooves 50a and 50b accommodate the cable 30. In other words, the retaining plate 53 restricts the cable 30 from slipping out from the openings of the grooves 50a and 50b. The retaining plate 53 functions as a "retaining portion."

[0041] Under normal conditions when no external force is acting on the retaining plate 53, the retaining plate 53 is kept horizontal by the force of a spring (not shown). As indicated by the dotted line and arrow in Figure 7, the retaining plate 53 is configured to be rotatable only downward around the pin 53A. When the retaining plate 53 receives a downward force from the cable 30, the cable gripping portion 51 rotates downward to accommodate the cable 30. The retaining plate 53 is configured to return to a horizontal position after the cable gripping portion 51 has accommodated the cable 30.

[0042] [Operation of Angle Adjustment Frame] Next, the operation of the angle adjustment frame 54 will be described with reference to Figures 8 and 9. Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating the operation of the angle adjustment frame 54. The angle adjustment frame 54 is a mechanism for setting a predetermined angle between the installation base 22 and the main body of the cable gripping device 50 so that the cable gripping unit 51 can easily accommodate (grip) the cable 30 depending on the amount of slack in the cable 30 pulled by the drone 10. In this way, the angle adjustment frame 54 adjusts the angle between the cable gripping unit 51 and the installation base 22 depending on the amount of slack in the cable 30. The angle adjustment frame 54 functions as an "angle adjustment unit."

[0043] 8, the angle adjustment frame 54 can set the installation angle between the main body of the cable grip device 50 and the installation base 22 in the range of 0 to 30 degrees, with the lower end of the front wall 50A as the center. Note that the specific configuration for such angle adjustment is arbitrary, and for example, a spring or the like (not shown) may be used to adjust the angle between the main body of the cable grip device 50 and the installation base 22.

[0044] FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating a specific example of the operation of the angle adjustment frame 54. FIG. 9(A) illustrates a case where the slack in the cable 30 is relatively large. FIG. 9(B) illustrates a case where the slack in the cable 30 is relatively small. As shown in FIG. 9(A), when the slack in the cable 30 pulled by the drone 10 is relatively large, the angle adjustment frame 54 can be used to set a large angle between the cable gripping device 50 and the installation base 22, making it easier for the cable gripping unit 51 to grip the cable 30. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 9(B), when the slack in the cable 30 pulled by the drone 10 is relatively small, the angle adjustment frame can be used to set a small angle between the cable gripping device 50 and the installation base 22, making it easier for the cable gripping unit 51 to grip the cable 30.

[0045] [Relationship between installation environment and specifications and placement of cable gripping device] Next, with reference to Fig. 10, the relationship between the installation environment, drone performance, and the specifications and placement of the cable gripping device 50 will be described. Specifically, the specifications required for the cable gripping device 50 are calculated based on the performance of the drone 10 to be used and the installation environment. Here, the installation environment and drone performance in this embodiment are as follows: Installation environment Support: 15m utility pole Cable installation distance: 100m (see Fig. 10(A)) Drone performance Model: large drone Payload: 200kg Overall length of the aircraft: 8m Separation radius: 30m (see Fig. 10(A))

[0046] Here, the cable 30 cannot be pulled with a force greater than the payload weight of the drone. Therefore, the maximum cable tension required for a payload of 200 kg is approximately 2 kN, which is the cable gripping force required for the cable gripping device 50.

[0047] FIG. 10(B) is a diagram illustrating the installation position and specifications of the cable gripping device 50 required for the above-described cable installation environment and drone performance. When the installation base 22 and the cable gripping device 50 extend laterally from the cable attachment position (the position of the fixing belt 21), as in this embodiment, the cable tension also acts to the side of the cable attachment position, so the rotational moment of the utility pole 20, the cable gripping device 50, and the like must be taken into consideration. In this embodiment, when the cable tension is set to 2 kN as described above, the applicable installation distance (the distance between the utility pole 20 and the center of the cable gripping device 50) is 0.7 m. Furthermore, as described above, the guide pole 52 is angled approximately 45 degrees vertically. For this reason, the guide pole 52 is designed to have a length of approximately 1 m so as not to come into contact with the utility pole 20.

[0048] In conclusion, in this embodiment, the specifications and arrangement position of the cable gripping device 50 are as follows: Cable gripping force: 2 kN Installation position: 0.7 m Guide pole length: 1 m

[0049] (Other Examples) The scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Specifically, the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to cable installation work using drones. Furthermore, the cable gripping device of the present disclosure is not limited to use in cable installation work to a support at the installation destination. For example, the cable gripping device of the present disclosure may be used to temporarily fasten a cable during manual cable installation work to supports at the source and destination.

[0050] 10: Drone 20: Utility pole 21: Fixing belt 22: Installation stand 30: Cable 40: Heavy machinery 50: Cable gripping device 50A: Front wall 50B: Rear wall 50C: Side wall 51: Cable gripping part 51A: Crimping plate 51B: Shaft 52: Guide pole 52A: Guide pole holding part 53: Anti-slip plate 53A: Pin 54: Angle adjustment frame

Claims

1. A cable gripping device that restricts longitudinal movement of a cable laid between supports in response to the movement of the cable.

2. The cable gripping device according to claim 1, further comprising a cable gripping section that accommodates the cable in response to lateral movement of the cable and restricts longitudinal movement of the accommodated cable.

3. The cable gripping device according to claim 2, wherein the cable gripping portion allows movement of the cable in one direction in the longitudinal direction and restricts movement of the cable in the other direction in the longitudinal direction.

4. The cable holding device according to claim 3, wherein the cable is pulled by an aircraft, the one direction is a direction in which the cable is pulled by the aircraft, and the cable holding portion functions in response to a change in tension in the pulling direction.

5. A cable holding device as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a groove formed in cooperation with said cable holding part to accommodate said cable, and a retaining part that restricts movement of said cable in an upward direction of said groove when said cable holding part and said groove accommodate said cable.

6. The cable gripping device according to claim 2, further comprising a guide portion for guiding the cable to be accommodated in the cable gripping portion.

7. A cable gripping device as described in claim 4, which is arranged on a mounting base provided near the fixing point of the cable on the support, and which comprises an angle adjustment unit that adjusts the angle between the cable gripping unit and the mounting base depending on the degree of slack in the cable.

8. A cable holding method, which restricts longitudinal movement of a cable laid between supports in accordance with the movement of the cable.

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