CABLE PULLING APPARATUS FOR CABLE TRAY

Abstract

A device for pulling a cable down the length of a cable tray including a trolley with rollers which rollingly grasp the upper side portion of the cable tray and allow the trolley to roll along the tray. The trolley includes a swivel cord grip which is releasably attached to one end of the cable, thus allowing the cable puller to pull the cable along the cable tray as the cable puller is propelled along the cable tray. The trolley can be pulled along manually by using one of two pull lines or jet lines which are attached to the cable puller and lead to each end of the cable tray, or, more preferably, the trolley can be propelled up or down the cable tray by a remotely controlled motor which drives one or more of the rollers.

Claims

1. A cable pulling apparatus for cable trays, comprising an L-shaped frame on which are mounted a first axle fitted with a first elastomeric V-pulley and a second axle fitted with a second elastomeric V-pulley, said first and second V-pulleys engaging an inner edge of a top flange on an I-beam portion of a ladder tray, an outer edge of said top flange engaged by a non-driven third elastomeric V-pulley rotatably mounted on a third axle mounted on a first end of a sliding longitudinal bar which slides within a channel, said channel fixed on a bottom of said L-shaped bracket, all of said axles parallel to one another and V-notches of said V-pulleys coplanar with one another, a second end of said bar having multiple apertures formed therein for tying a jet line to be dragged down said cable tray, said channel slidably holding a middle portion of said bar, a coil spring encircles said bar and is captured between said channel and a pin placed in one of said apertures, thus, said third V-pulley is urged toward said first and second V-pulleys causing said V-pulleys to grip said top flange as said trolley moves along said cable tray, said first and second axles and said first and second V-pulleys driven by a belt which is in turn driven by a motor, said motor is driven by a remotely controlled motor drive board which is powered by a battery.

2. A cable pulling apparatus for cable trays, comprising: a trolley body having a top side, a bottom side, a left side and a right side, said four sides forming a box which is open on a front side and a back side, said top side having at least one rectangular aperture formed therein and at least one top flat roller axially mounted to an inner edge of said rectangular aperture in said top side, said at least one top roller having an axle which is perpendicular to a path passing through said front open side of said box, said at least one top roller extending outward above and below said top side, said left side of said box including at least three spaced apart arms having horizontal slots formed therein and extending outward from said left side, said top two slots each having first and second screws and wing nuts installed therein, a generally rectangular bracket having first and second vertical slots adjustably connected to said top two arms by said first and second screws passing through said horizontal slots in said top two arms and then passing through said first and second vertical slots formed in said generally rectangular bracket, said generally rectangular bracket having at least one motor rigidly fastened thereto, said at least one motor having an output shaft extending toward a center of said box and a drive roller rigidly fastened thereto, said generally rectangular bracket capable of being moved left and right, up and down for the purpose of moving said drive roller towards or away from said top roller, said right side of said trolley body comprising one solid square wall extending downward from a right edge of said side, said bottom side of said trolley body having two halves, a first half extending nearly half way toward a bottom edge of said left side from a lower edge of said right side, said first half of said bottom side including a first pair of spaced apart rollers rotatably mounted on vertical axles journalled within recesses in said first half of said bottom side with said axles being equidistant from said right side of said box, a second half of said bottom side of said box being slidably connected to bottom ones of said at least three spaced apart arms with at least one screw and wing nut combination, said second half of said bottom side including a second pair of spaced apart rollers rotatably mounted on vertical axles journalled within recesses in said second half of said bottom side, said first pair of rollers capable of rolling against said second pair of rollers and said second half of said bottom side capable of being adjusted to receive an upper portion of one side of a cable tray and being re-adjusted to cause said first pair of rollers to press firmly against an inside surface of said one side of said cable tray while said second pair of rollers is pressed firmly against an outside surface of said one side of said cable tray, thus supplying lateral support to said trolley body during movement along said cable tray, said at least one motor is powered by a control unit which is in turn controlled by a remote control unit, said trolley body includes an pulling arm extending leftwards from said left side of said box, said pulling arm having a swivel cable grip fixedly fastened thereto in any one of several selected lateral positions thereon.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0034] A better understanding of the present invention will be had upon reference to the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which like numerals refer to like parts throughout the views wherein:

[0035] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a portion of a cable tray layout showing different cable tray ladders, rails, and conduits used to support control wiring, communications wiring and power delivery wiring;

[0036] FIG. 2 is perspective view a perspective view of a ladder type cable tray showing a cable pulling unit mounted thereon and the cable tray conduit having a top and bottom leg connected by cross members wherein the trolley is mounted to a curved top leg portion;

[0037] FIG. 3 is a perspective end view of a slotted cable tray having channel formed with a flat floor or base with spaced apart opposing side walls extending upward and inwardly forming an inwardly directed flange extending along the length of the longitudinal channel;

[0038] FIG. 4 is a corner end view of a cable tray defining a longitudinal member having a flat bottom and straight side wall extending upward therefrom with the upper edge turned inward and curved downward slightly;

[0039] FIG. 5 is a corner end view of a cable tray defining a longitudinal member having a flat bottom and straight side wall extending upward therefrom with the upper edge turned inward extending over the flat bottom or floor a selected length and curved downward forming a arcuate top portion;

[0040] FIG. 6 is an end view of a section of a cable tray defining an I-beam and having a connecting member or rung extending from a side wall of the I-beam outward for cooperative engagement with another I-beam or longitudinal member;

[0041] FIG. 7 is end view of the cable puller showing the trolley body, bracket, motor, drive rollers and retaining or guide roller;

[0042] FIG. 8 shows a cable puller including and trolley body, rollers which allow the trolley body to roll down a selected side wall of a cable tray and be propelled by manually pulling a cord attached to attachment rings;

[0043] FIG. 9 is an end view of the cable puller operationally mounted on the sidewall and flange of the cable tray;

[0044] FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a cable tray corner with divider pegs;

[0045] FIG. 11 is a perspective view showing the V-type rollers for holding the trolley body to inner and outer edges of a top flange of an I-beam type rail with the spring tension means;

[0046] FIG. 12 is a perspective top view of the trolley body mounted to a cable tray rail showing the tension spring means and top rollers spaced apart and disposed on each side of the tension means mounted on the curved conduit flange showing the roller drive belt engaging the motor;

[0047] FIG. 13 is an end view showing the trolley body mounted by the rollers onto a cable tray rail with the body disposed between the rails;

[0048] FIG. 14 is a perspective side view of the trolley body showing the motor mounted to the frame in cooperative engagement with a drive spindle having a timing belt extending therefrom driving the drive rollers mounted to the frame below the guide roller or wheel which holds the frame on the rail at a selected pressure depending upon the setting of the adjustable linkage and spring mechanism;

[0049] FIG. 15 is an enlarged top perspective view of the belt and drive motor and V-type rollers holding the trolley body;

[0050] FIG. 16 is an perspective view of the trolley with the drive wheels removed to show the spring adjusted tension mechanism;

[0051] FIG. 17 is an end view showing the trolley body mounted onto a rail of a cable tray showing the guide wheel and drive roller, frame and motor assembly;

[0052] FIG. 18 is a perspective view showing the trolley body mounted onto a rail of a cable tray showing the dual drive rollers, frame and motor assembly; and

[0053] FIG. 19 is a perspective view showing the trolley body mounted on a rail of a cable tray with the body disposed between the curved rails of a ladder type tray.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0054] The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular example embodiments only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular forms a, an, and the may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms comprises, comprising, including, and having, are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. It is also to be understood that additional or alternative steps may be employed.

[0055] When an element or layer is referred to as being on, engaged to, connected to, or coupled to another element or layer, it may be directly on, engaged, connected or coupled to the other element or layer, or intervening elements or layers may be present. In contrast, when an element is referred to as being directly on, directly engaged to, directly connected to, or directly coupled to another element or layer, there may be no intervening elements or layers present. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., between versus directly between, adjacent versus directly adjacent, etc.). As used herein, the term and/or includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0056] Although the terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections, these elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as first, second, and other numerical terms when used herein do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example embodiments.

[0057] Spatially relative terms, such as inner, outer, beneath, below, lower, above, upper, and the like, may be used herein for ease of description to describe one element or feature's relationship to another element(s) or feature(s) as illustrated in the figures. Spatially relative terms may be intended to encompass different orientations of the device in use or operation in addition to the orientation depicted in the figures. For example, if the device in the figures is turned over, elements described as below or beneath other elements or features would then be oriented above the other elements or features. Thus, the example term below can encompass both an orientation of above and below. The device may be otherwise oriented (rotated 90 degrees or at other orientations) and the spatially relative descriptors used herein interpreted accordingly.

[0058] As used herein, the term about can be reasonably appreciated by a person skilled in the art to denote somewhat above or somewhat below the stated numerical value, to within a range of 10%.

[0059] The present invention now will be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the invention are shown. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout.

[0060] As shown in Figures, several types of cable tray assemblies including a ladder type cable tray, a vertical column I-beam cable tray, and a slotted conduit type cable tray. Different profiles of cable tray are shown in FIGS. 2-6. As shown in FIG. 3, the slotted tray includes a flat or arcuate upper lip 22 extending inwardly from the sidewall projecting upward from the base or floor of the tray. As shown in FIG. 5, the upper lip 32 of tray 17 is curved inwardly to extend over a portion of the floor of the tray. The trays all have sheet metal or plastic floors and some include with slotted apertures. In general, the upper lips of the trays are shaped to guide and protect the cables which are being installed. The tray 12 shown in FIG. 6 has sides made from spaced apart parallel I-beams joined by intermediate members or rungs 36 like a ladder.

[0061] A cable puller 10 includes a trolley body 40 and a plurality of rollers which allow the trolley body to roll down a selected side wall of a cable tray. The trolley can be propelled by pulling a cord 96 or 98 which may be attached to attachment rings 92 or 94 or an electric motor. Preferably, the trolley is propelled by a remote control motor which drives at least one of the rollers which support the trolley on the upper portion of the side of the cable tray. One or more cameras including a transmitter and in electrical communication with a smart computerized device such as a phone, tablet, PC, or other video device may be affixed to the trolley body frame and the cameras and/or motor can be controlled with the smart device. The motor driven roller preferably has a friction enhancing means such as rubber or elastomeric surface or coating which is held tightly against a surface of the cable tray, providing traction so that the trolley is propelled along the edge of the cable tray.

[0062] As shown in figures, the trolley is supported on the upper portion of the top side of the cable tray by holding means such as one or more rollers 74. The holding means supports the weight of the trolley and tether attached thereto. The trolley may include at least one and preferably two or more spaced apart parallel upper support rollers 74. To maintain the lateral support (for preventing lateral or side to side movement) the rollers may include central groove which travels on the raised portion of the track or a pair of adjacent rollers 60, 62 and 64,66 providing a center groove there between. The rollers 62 and 66 have axles that are journalled in the recesses of the right half of the bottom side of the trolley body 40. The right half of the bottom side of the trolley body extends from the bottom of the right side of the trolley body toward the bottom of the left side of the trolley body. The other two rollers 60 and 64 are individually supported independent of the trolley body on slidably adjustable brackets 44 and 46, respectively, which form the left half of the bottom side of the trolley body. These brackets may be adjusted to urge the rollers against one side of the cable tray, thus forcing that side of the cable tray against the other two rollers 64 and 66. In this way, the side of the cable tray is pinched by the four rollers, thus giving lateral support to the trolley 10. The slidably adjustable brackets 44 and 46 can be moved by loosening the wing nuts 56 and 58 and sliding the brackets in the slots 57 and 59 of the arms extending from the left side of the trolley body. Wing nut 58 and slot 59 are not visible in the Figures. One or more drive rollers 70 is driven by the motor 50. The motor 50 is fixedly connected to a bracket 42. The bracket 42 is adjustably connected to the trolley body 40.

[0063] Means for fastening such as bolts and nuts, or screws and wing nuts 52 and 54 hold the bracket 42 to the trolley body 40. The motor bracket 42 has vertical slots 53 and 55, and the trolley body 42 has horizontal slots 43 and 45, so that the motor can be adjusted up and down and left and right when the wing nuts 52 and 54 are loosened. In this way, the drive roller 70 can be placed in a variety of places along the width of the upper lip 22 of the cable tray 16 and can then be urged tightly against the lower side of the lip 22 of the cable tray, and then fixed in place by tightening the wing nuts 52 and 54. Another embodiment of the present invention includes a second drive roller 70 and a second top roller for improving the pulling power of the trolley.

[0064] The battery pack with remote control circuitry 90 fixedly connected to the trolley body 40 and electrically connected to the motor 50 by cables 51. The trolley body has an arm 80 extending inward over the cable tray. The arm has a plurality of holes 88 for attaching the swivel cable grip 84 in a variety of lateral positions, so that the cable may be placed in a selected lateral position in the tray.

[0065] The trolley can be preprogrammed or a remote controller can be used to move the cable puller forward and back and forth. Means for determining distance such as a wheel revolution counter or GPS can be utilized to determine where the trolley is in the conduit at any particular time.

[0066] Cable trays are often provided with dividers which help to keep different cables separate from one another. One type of divider which includes vertical pegs which keep cables 96 separate form other cables. Other dividers include parallel vertical walls which run down selected lengths of cable tray sections.

[0067] Preferred embodiment including a tension spring member to hold the to the track and allow for small variances in the tolerance of the track or rail at attachment points, curved rail sections, a belt drive means for driving all of the pulleys, and the motor mounted to the trolley body.

[0068] Another preferred embodiment of the present invention includes an L-shaped frame 101 on which are mounted two axles 105 and 107 fitted with two V-pulleys 109 and 111. The V-pulleys engage the inner edge of the top flange 34 on an I-beam portion of a ladder tray. The outer edge of the top flange is engaged by a non-driven third V-pulley whose axle 113 is mounted on one end of a sliding longitudinal bar 114 (seen in FIGS. 9 and 19) which slides within a channel 122 fixed on the bottom of the L-shaped bracket. The axles are all parallel to one another and the V-notches of the V-pulleys are coplanar with one another. The other end of the bar 114 has multiple apertures for tying a jet line to be dragged down the cable tray. The channel 122 slidably holds the middle portion of the bar 114 with the V-pulley 112 at one end and the multiple apertures at the other end. A spring 118 encircles the bar 114 and is captured between the channel 122 and a pin 115. Thus, the bar 114 is urged by the spring and the V-pulley 112 toward the other two V-pulleys 109 and 111, causing the V-pulleys to grip the top flange 34 as the trolley 100 moves along.

[0069] The axles 105 and 107 and the V-pulleys are driven by a belt 106 which is in turn driven by a motor 102. The motor is driven by a remotely controlled motor drive board 120 which is powered by a battery 116. All of the V-pulleys are elastomeric material to provide friction between the flanges and the pulleys.

[0070] To connect the trolley to the cable tray, a user aligns the V-notches of the pulleys onto the top flange of the cable tray, fastens one end of a jet line to a selected aperture on the bar 114 and then has only to operate a remote control unit to cause the trolley to pull the jet line through the cable tray to a desired position.

[0071] The foregoing detailed description is given primarily for clearness of understanding and no unnecessary limitations are to be understood therefrom, for modification will become obvious to those skilled in the art upon reading this disclosure and may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention and scope of the appended claims. Accordingly, this invention is not intended to be limited by the specific exemplification presented herein above. Rather, what is intended to be covered is within the spirit and scope of the appended claims.