Mobile apparatus for salvaging underground and overhead cable

Claim 1

Apparatus for salvaging electrical cable from underground and/or overhead installations, said apparatus comprising, in combination; a. a mobile platform having forward and rearward ends; b. cable-guide means positioned on said platform adjacent the rearward end thereof, said guide means having an aperture in its forward portion and means for guiding said cable through said aperture; c. cable-pulling means mounted on said platform immediately forward of said cable-guide means; d. said cable-pulling means including a group of power driven assemblies each including a laterally-extending shaft having a bevel gear at the inward end thereof and a splined portion at the outward end thereof, said shafts being so positioned as to cause said bevel gears to form an aperture in line with the aperture in said cable-guide means, each of said bevel gears when rotated about the axis of its shaft causing its teeth to engage, penetrate and grip a cable in its aperture; e. means for adjusting the positions of said bevel gears relative to each other, thereby to adjust the size of the formed aperture, thereby to accomodate to cables of different diameters, said adjusting means including a non-rotatable sleeve in which each gear shaft is rotatably mounted, and power drive means, including a rotatable nut engaging said sleeve, to more said sleeve in its axial direction; f. cable-cutting means mounted on said platform forwardly of, and in alignment with, said cable-pulling means; and g. means for withdrawing said cable-cutting means from the cable path and for returning said cutting means to a rearward position.