METHOD FOR SHEATHING A PRODUCT IN STRAND FORM, CABLE, APPARATUS FOR THE METHOD, CONTROL METHOD FOR THE APPARATUS, AND COMPUTER PROGRAM PRODUCT

Abstract

A method produces a cable. A sheath is applied to a product in strand form and the product in strand form is supplied, for this purpose, to an apparatus which has a bath containing a curable material. A build-up zone is formed in the bath, within which build-up zone the curable material is at least partially cured by an exposure source and through which the product in strand form is conveyed lengthwise in a conveying direction, so that cured material is arranged on the product in strand form and is conveyed out of the bath together with the product in strand form as a sheath on the product in strand form.

Claims

1. A method for producing a cable, which comprises the steps of: applying a jacket to a product in strand form, by the further following steps of: feeding the product in strand form to an apparatus which has a bath of a curable material, a build-up zone being configured within the bath and the curable material of the build-up zone is cured at least partially by at least one exposure source; and conveying the product in strand form in a conveying direction through the bath such that cured material is disposed on the product in strand form and, functioning as the jacket on the product in strand form, is conveyed conjointly with the product in strand form out of the bath.

2. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises mounting the bath in a vessel which has an opening through which the product in strand form is fed to the bath.

3. The method according to claim 2, which further comprises conveying the product in strand form in the conveying direction through the opening and through the build-up zone.

4. The method according to claim 3, which further comprises disposing a guide element in the opening and via the guide element the product in strand form is conveyed into the bath and by which the vessel in a region of the opening is sealed.

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the guide element has at least one of a diaphragm, a guide sleeve, a valve or a flap.

6. The method according to claim 4, which further comprises configuring an intermediate space in which a backpressure for retaining the curable material is built up by a support medium between the product in strand form and the guide element.

7. The method according to claim 6, which further comprises streaming a gaseous or liquid support medium in the conveying direction into the intermediate space.

8. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises providing the vessel with a semi-permeable wall, and the build-up zone is configured in that an inhibitor is introduced through the semi-permeable wall into the bath.

9. The method according to claim 8, wherein the semi-permeable wall runs obliquely to the conveying direction.

10. The method according to claim 8, wherein the semi-permeable wall runs perpendicularly to the conveying direction, and in that the exposure source is disposed so as to be eccentric or oblique in relation to the product in strand form.

11. The method according to claim 8, wherein the semi-permeable wall runs in a rotationally symmetrical manner in relation to the conveying direction, and forms a tip through which the product in strand form is conveyed into the bath.

12. The method according to claim 8, which further comprises curing the curable material by means of the exposure source and is exposed through the semi-permeable wall and obliquely to the conveying direction.

13. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises exposing the curable material to a plurality of exposure sources emanating from different directions.

14. The method according to claim 1, wherein the product in strand form has a circumferential contour which is not circular, wherein an exposure pattern which is adapted to the circumferential contour is generated by means of the exposure source and/or of a slide-in mask.

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein the circumferential contour varies along the product in strand form, and the exposure pattern is adapted to a variable circumferential contour while the product in strand form is conveyed through the bath.

16. The method according to claim 14, which further comprises adapting the exposure pattern to the circumferential contour in that the exposure source is rotated relative to the product in strand form and about the conveying direction.

17. The method according to claim 1, wherein the jacket is configured as a jacket that is variable in the conveying direction in that the curable material is exposed by way of a temporally variable exposure pattern.

18. The method according to claim 1, wherein the jacket is configured as a jacket that is variable in the conveying direction in that dissimilarly curable materials are used.

19. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises treating the product in strand form in a pre-treatment before the product in strand form is conveyed into the bath.

20. The method according to claim 19, which further comprises cleaning the product in strand form in the pre-treatment.

21. The method according to claim 19, which further comprises which further comprises heating the product in strand form in the pre-treatment.

22. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises guiding the product in strand form in a pre-treatment through a pre-treatment medium or a pre-treatment bath.

23. The method according to claim 22, which further comprises applying a slide, a release, or an oil coating to the product in strand form by means of the pre-treatment medium or of the pre-treatment bath.

24. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises exposing and curing the curable material in portions to dissimilar degrees in the conveying direction and/or in a radial direction, and on account thereof a plurality of jacket portions having dissimilar properties are configured.

25. The method according to claim 1, wherein the product in strand form, having the jacket, after the bath is fed to a post-treatment which varies in portions, so as to configure a plurality of jacket portions having dissimilar properties.

26. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises composing the bath with a plurality of curable materials which are disposed so as to be layered in the conveying direction, and in that the jacket is configured in portions from dissimilar curable materials in that the build-up zone is configured in a temporally sequential manner from the dissimilar curable materials.

27. The method according to claim 1, wherein prior to an application of the jacket, attaching a holding element at a predefined longitudinal position of the product in strand form.

28. The method according to claim 1, which further comprises configuring the jacket as a structured and/or smooth sheathing.

29. A cable, comprising: a product in strand form; and a complexly-shaped jacket surrounding said product in strand form, said jacket made from an at least partially cured material and is applied to said product in strand form.

30. The cable according to claim 29, wherein said product in strand form is an electrical or optical transmission conductor being a bunched conductor.

31. An apparatus, comprising: a vessel in which a bath of a curable material is disposed; a feed having an opening formed therein for feeding a product in strand form into the bath; and at least one exposure source for curing the curable material.

32. A control method, which comprises the steps of: providing an apparatus having a vessel in which a bath of a curable material is disposed, a feed having an opening formed therein for feeding a product in strand form into the bath, and at least one exposure source for curing the curable material; and actuating the exposure source in order for a jacket to be configured so as to have a plurality of dissimilar jacket portions, and for a temporally variable exposure pattern for exposing the curable material to be generated.

33. A non-transitory computer readable medium carrying computer executable instructions when installed on a computer automatically executing a control method for actuating an exposure source in order for a jacket to be configured so as to have a plurality of dissimilar jacket portions, and for a temporally variable exposure pattern for exposing a curable material to be generated in an apparatus having a vessel in which a bath of the curable material is disposed, the vessel further having a feed having an opening formed therein for feeding a product in strand form into the bath, and the least one exposure source for curing the curable material.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWING

[0055] FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic, sectional view of an apparatus for sheathing a product in strand form according to the invention;

[0056] FIG. 2 is a sectional view of an alternative apparatus for sheathing the product in strand form;

[0057] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of a further alternative apparatus for sheathing the product in strand form; and

[0058] FIGS. 4A and 4B are sectional views in each case showing a method step for sheathing the product in strand form with dissimilar materials.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0059] Referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first, particularly to FIG. 1 thereof, there is shown an apparatus 2 for sheathing a product in strand form 4. The product in strand form 4 is an electrical conductor, for example. The apparatus has a vessel 6 in which a bath 8 of a curable material 10 is disposed, the curable material 10 being cured by an exposure source 12 and disposed as a jacket 14 on the product in strand form 4. The method applied here is distinguished in particular in that the method is continuous, that is to say that the jacket 14 is continuously configured and, proceeding from the bath 8, is successively built up in a conveying direction F in the direction of a longitudinal axis of the product in strand form 4.

[0060] In order for the jacket 14 to be configured, dissimilar zones 16, 18, 20, are configured in the bath 8, specifically a dead zone 16 or non-curable zone, a normal zone 18 or curable zone in which the curable material 10 is curable by exposure, and a build-up zone 20 which is disposed in the border region between the dead zone 16 and the normal zone 18 and in which the curable material 10 for the purpose of curing is exposed in a locationally selective manner. Despite exposure, curing does not take place in the dead zone 16 since an inhibitor 24, presently oxygen, which prevents curing is streamed into the bath 8 by way of a semi-permeable wall 22. An inhibitor gradient is configured herein in the conveying direction F, such that the concentration of the inhibitor 24, proceeding from the wall 22, decreases and curing is possible as from a specific distance. This defines the build-up zone 20. The normal zone 18 and the dead zone 16 herein are not necessarily sharply delineated from one another, but rather are defined by the non-homogenous distribution and concentration of the inhibitor 24 in the bath 8. The build-up zone 20 in this instance is significantly defined by a specific concentration of the inhibitor 24, and by the exposure by the exposure source 12. The exposure in FIG. 1 is likewise performed in the conveying direction F. The material 10 is fed to the bath 8 from containers 26. Two dissimilar materials can also be fed from the containers 26 illustrated, and be mixed with one another, for example, or be sourced for a layered construction from dissimilar materials, as this is described in the context of FIGS. 4A, 4B.

[0061] The product in strand form 4 is conveyed longitudinally in the conveying direction F through the bath 8. The exposure and, on account thereof, the build-up of the jacket 14 within the build-up zone 20 is performed simultaneously. As a starting point for growing the jacket 14, a holding element 28 which initially serves for mechanically stabilizing the jacket 14 and later in the context of a post-treatment is removed by dissolving is attached here at a fixed longitudinal position of the product in strand form 4. It can be clearly seen in FIG. 1 that the jacket 14 is made as a complex three-dimensional structure. The structuring of the jacket 14 herein is significantly determined by the exposure, more specifically by an exposure pattern which is generated by the exposure source 12. This exposure pattern is temporally and/or spatially varied, on account of which, in combination with the conveying in the conveying direction F, an almost arbitrary structure is configured as the sheathing on the product in strand form 4.

[0062] FIG. 2 shows a variant of the apparatus 2, which here has a support system 30 by which the product in strand form 4 is initially unwound and fed to the bath 8, and subsequently, after sheathing, is fed to a post-treatment, for example for cleaning, making up, or similar. The support system 30 herein has a control unit 32 for controlling the conveying speed of the product in strand form 4 through the bath 8. The control unit 32 in FIG. 2 serves in particular also for aligning the product in strand form 4 in relation to an opening 34 by way of which the product in strand form 4 is guided into the bath 8 by a distance measuring system 36. Furthermore, dissimilar materials 10 can be fed to the apparatus 2 and also be retrieved from the latter again by a material feed control 38.

[0063] The apparatus 2 in FIG. 2 moreover has a guide element 40 by which the product in strand form 4 is guided into the bath 8 through the wall 22, wherein the guide element 40 at the same time prevents the liquid, curable material 10 leaking through the opening 24. The guide element 40 in FIG. 2 is configured as a guide sleeve and sits tightly in the opening 24, and proceeding from the bottom of the bath 8, that is to say from the internal side of the wall 22, extends outward. The product in strand form 4, when exiting the guide sleeve, accordingly initially enters the dead zone 16, passes through the latter, and finally reaches the build-up zone 20.

[0064] In order for any leakage of the material 10 past the product in strand form 4 and through the guide element 40 to be prevented, a backpressure is configured in the guide element 40 in that a support medium 42 which retains the material 10 is streamed thereinto in the conveying direction F. The inhibitor 24 is used as a support medium 42 in FIG. 2. The backpressure is set by way of a gas pressure regulator 44.

[0065] FIG. 2 moreover shows an alternative to the direct illumination of FIG. 1, specifically an exposure source 12 which is a lamp 46 in combination with a mask or imaging optics 48.

[0066] FIG. 3 shows a further variant of the apparatus 2 in which the wall 22 runs obliquely in relation to the conveying direction F and to the longitudinal axis of the product in strand form 4. The wall 22 herein is disposed so as to be rotationally symmetrical in relation to the conveying direction F and forms a conical shell surface within which the bath 8 is disposed. Moreover, an exposure emanating from a plurality of directions and in each case perpendicularly to the wall 22, that is to say here likewise obliquely to the conveying direction F, is performed in this design embodiment. The inhibitor 24 is also streamed in by way of the conical shell-surface-shaped wall 22, such that overall the dead zone 16 and the build-up zone 20 are in each case also configured so as to be conical shell-surface-shaped. On account thereof, the problem of potential shading of the exposure source 12 by the product in strand form 4 and/or the guide element 40 is circumvented.

[0067] FIGS. 4A and 4B show in each case a method step in the configuration of a jacket 14 having dissimilar jacket portions 14a, 14b from dissimilar materials 10a, 10b. The two materials 10a, 10b are present in layers and conjointly form the bath 8. The build-up zone 20 is then displaced to one of the two layers by controlling the inflow of the inhibitor 24. Therefore, in FIG. 4A a first jacket portion 14a is initially made from the first material 10a, the dead zone 16 is subsequently enlarged, that is to say an enlarged dead zone 16 is configured, and on account thereof the build-up zone 20 is displaced from the second material 10b to the layer. Finally, a second jacket portion 14b is configured from the second material 10b.