Spool-Free Fiber Optic Cable Bundle for Stable Powerline Wrapping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Traditional fiber optic cable installation on powerline conductors requires spools, which increase the robotic system's weight and instability, as the cable is typically carried on a mechanical arm and balanced with counterweights, making it difficult to maintain mechanical stability and efficiency during helical wrapping.
Innovation Solution
A spool-free fiber optic cable configuration is achieved by transforming a preliminary bundle into a deployable bundle that is shaped to conform closely to the powerline conductor, using pre-twisting and adhesive substances to stabilize the cable, allowing it to be wrapped helically without a spool, thus reducing mass and improving mechanical stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If traditional spool-based fiber optic cable installation is used, then the cable can be easily supplied during helical wrapping, but the robotic system's weight increases and mechanical stability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the spool from the robotic system entirely, extracting the heavy cable supply mechanism from the moving robotic platform. The fiber optic cable is instead supplied from a stationary or lighter support structure, allowing the robotic system to perform helical wrapping without carrying the spool's weight, thus resolving the contradiction between ease of cable supply and system weight.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from a three-dimensional spool-based cable supply system to a two-dimensional cable lay system where the cable is fed linearly from a support structure. This dimensional change eliminates the need for the robotic system to carry and rotate a spool, significantly reducing weight while maintaining cable supply functionality during the helical wrapping process.
2Ease of operation
If counterweights are used to balance the spool on a mechanical arm, then cable supply is maintained, but mechanical stability and efficiency deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes both the spool and the counterweight balancing mechanism from the robotic system. By extracting these heavy components, the system eliminates the need for complex balancing arrangements, thereby improving mechanical stability and efficiency while maintaining cable supply capability through alternative means such as stationary support structures or integrated feed mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable supply system is designed to serve itself without requiring heavy counterweights for balancing. The cable feed mechanism is integrated into the robotic system in a way that automatically maintains proper tension and supply during helical wrapping, eliminating the need for external counterbalancing forces and improving overall mechanical stability.
3Ease of operation
If a spool is mounted on a mechanical arm for cable installation, then cable supply is enabled, but the system becomes more complex and harder to control
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the spool-mounted-on-mechanical-arm configuration from the system. Instead, the cable is supplied from a simplified support structure or integrated feed mechanism, eliminating the complexity of mounting, rotating, and balancing a spool on a mechanical arm while maintaining the essential cable installation capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent simplifies the cable supply system by transitioning from a three-dimensional spool-mounted configuration to a more straightforward cable feed arrangement. This dimensional simplification reduces the number of moving parts and control requirements, thereby reducing system complexity while preserving cable installation functionality.
Data Source
AI summary
A method may include (1) coating a segment of fiber optic cable with an adhesive substance, (2) forming a coil of the segment of fiber optic cable, (3) deforming the coil into a noncircular shape defining a slot external to the coil while obeying a minimum bend radius requirement for the segment of fiber optic cable, and (4) activating the adhesive substance to stabilize the noncircular shape of the coil. Various other methods and apparatuses, such as those for performing the deforming operation, are also disclosed.