Microduct Bundle Sheath Profiling to Prevent Corkscrew Twist
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing methods for producing tube assemblies from micro cable tubes often result in a 'corkscrew effect' during winding and unwinding, leading to tension and complexity in handling and installation, particularly due to helical arrangements and full-surface contact between the tubes and their casing.
Innovation Solution
The method involves extruding a tubular casing onto micro cable tubes using a suction process, with an inside profiling of longitudinal grooves of varying heights, allowing for point-like contact and relative movement between the tubes and casing, preventing the corkscrew effect by enabling transverse displacement and reducing friction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If microcable ducts are equipped with tubular sheathing and enclosed within it to create a strong multi-duct bundle, then the bundle strength is improved, but internal tensions arise during winding and unwinding that cause a corkscrew effect and displacement of individual ducts
Solution Approach 1:
The inner surface of the tubular sheath is segmented into multiple longitudinal grooves that divide the contact area between the sheath and individual microcable ducts. This segmentation allows each duct to move independently within its own groove compartment, preventing the propagation of tensions and corkscrew effects across the entire bundle while maintaining overall bundle strength through the grooved contact structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The sheath is equipped with longitudinal grooves at specific locations along its inner surface, creating localized contact zones rather than continuous full-surface contact. This local quality modification allows individual ducts to have freedom of movement in transverse directions while still being constrained axially, resolving the contradiction between bundle strength and ease of handling during winding operations.
2Ease of operation
If individual microcable ducts are arranged helically from the outset to counteract the corkscrew effect, then the corkscrew effect is reduced, but the manufacturing complexity increases due to the need for helical arrangement
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of arranging the ducts in a helical pattern to preemptively counteract the corkscrew effect, the invention inverts the approach by creating longitudinal grooves in the sheath that guide and accommodate the natural tendency of ducts to shift during winding. This inversion transforms the problem from preventing helical arrangement to accommodating linear duct placement with controlled movement freedom.
Solution Approach 2:
The longitudinal grooves in the sheath act as an intermediary structure between the individual microcable ducts and the external winding forces. These grooves mediate the interaction by providing defined pathways that allow controlled transverse movement of ducts while maintaining their longitudinal alignment, thereby eliminating the need for complex helical pre-arrangement.
3Ease of manufacture
If the sheath is applied in a shrink-wrap manner using negative pressure to combine microcable ducts into a bundle, then the bundling is achieved, but tensions develop in the finished state that can cause handling problems
Solution Approach 1:
The shrink-wrap process combined with longitudinal grooves segments the contact between sheath and ducts, allowing each duct to respond independently to shrinkage forces. This segmentation prevents the development of continuous tension patterns that would cause corkscrew effects, while still achieving effective bundling through the collective action of multiple localized contact zones along the grooved sheath surface.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach simplifies production and installation by avoiding tensions and the corkscrew effect, allowing for easier handling and branching of micro cable tubes, as the profiling allows for relative movement within the bundle, reducing friction and preventing spiral deflection during winding and unwinding.
Implementation Method 1
the tubular sheath is applied to the microcable ducts in a suction manner to produce the multiple duct bundle
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
The invention relates to a method and a device for manufacturing a tube assembly from cable conduits, in particular microducts (1), for receiving and guiding telecommunications lines (2). The individual cable conduits are provided and combined with at least one tubular covering (3) to form a multiple tube bundle (1, 3). According to the invention, the covering (3) is equipped with a profile (5) on its inner surface facing the cable conduits.