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US3916204A
Expired / Lapsed
US
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Irradiating elongated material
Assignee: AT&T Inc
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Filing: 1974-05-03
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Granted: 1975-10-28
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Expires: 1994-05-03
Abstract
Abstract A plurality of conductors covered with crosslinkable insulation are advanced past an accelerator window with the stringup of each being accomplished to present a number of passes of each conductor to the accelerator beam and to cause uniform dosing of the insulation. A shutter associated with each conductor and spanning all the passes thereof is mounted for movement between the associated conductor and the accelerator to shield the conductor from the beam. When the supply of one of the conductors is about to be exhausted and requires a splice to a new supply, the line speed of that conductor is decelerated while the associated shutter is interposed between that conductor and the beam in synchronization with the line speed relative to dosimetry data to provide a constant dose exposure per pass during the splicing. The movement of the shutter is similarly coordinated with the acceleration of the conductor to line speed following the splicing operation.
Inventors
- 👤 Raymond Kenneth Swartz
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-06 10:22
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01B; H01B13/00; H01B13/003; B; B29; B29C; B29C71/00; B29C71/04; G; G21; G21K; G21K5/00; G21K5/10; B29C35/00; B29C35/02; B29C35/08; B29C35/0866; B29C2035/0877; B29C37/00; B29C2037/90; B29C2037/903; B29L; B29L2031/00; B29L2031/34; B29L2031/3462
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 21
Claim 1
Independent Claim
128 words
A method of irradiating uniformly cross-linkable covering of ones of a plurality of elongated materials, which includes the steps of: directing an electron radiation beam toward and into engagement with a plurality of elongated materials, each of which is strung up in a multi-pass path; advancing each of the plurality of elongated materials along the associated path at a line speed to expose simultaneously the plurality of elongated materials to the beam, while causing perturbation of the angle of incidence of the beam on the elongated materials to dose uniformly the covering; and regulating individually the exposure of each of the plurality of elongated materials to the beam relative to changes in the line speed to provide a constant dose rate per pass independent of line speed changes.
Claim 2
Independent Claim
128 words
A method of irradiating uniformly cross-linkable covering of ones of a plurality of elongated materials, which includes the steps of: directing an electron radiation beam toward and into engagement with a plurality of elongated materials, each of which is strung up in a multi-pass path; advancing each of the plurality of elongated materials along the associated path at a line speed to expose simultaneously the plurality of elongated materials to the beam, while causing perturbation of the angle of incidence of the beam on the elongated materials to dose uniformly the covering; and regulating individually the exposure of each of the plurality of elongated materials to the beam relative to changes in the line speed to provide a constant dose rate per pass independent of line speed changes.
Claim 3
Independent Claim
190 words
A method of irradiating uniformly cross-linkable covering of ones of a plurality of elongated materials, which includes the steps of: directing an electron radiation beam toward and into engagement with a plurality of elongated materials, each of which is strung up in a multi-pass path; advancing each of the plurality of elongated materials along the associated path at a line speed to expose the elongated materials to the beam, while causing perturbation of the angle of incidence of the beam on the elongated materials to dose uniformly the covering; decelerating the advance of a selected one of the elongated materials and subsequent to a time interval, accelerating the selected one of the elongated materials to the line speed; while shielding the selected one of the elongated materials from the radiation beam during the time interval and then re-exposing the selected one of the elongated materials to the radiation beam, the shielding and re-exposure being accomplished in synchronization with the deceleration and acceleration, respectively, to provide a constant dose rate per pass independent of line speed changes and thereby continue the uniform dosing of the covering during the deceleration and acceleration.
Claim 4
Independent Claim
190 words
A method of irradiating uniformly cross-linkable covering of ones of a plurality of elongated materials, which includes the steps of: directing an electron radiation beam toward and into engagement with a plurality of elongated materials, each of which is strung up in a multi-pass path; advancing each of the plurality of elongated materials along the associated path at a line speed to expose the elongated materials to the beam, while causing perturbation of the angle of incidence of the beam on the elongated materials to dose uniformly the covering; decelerating the advance of a selected one of the elongated materials and subsequent to a time interval, accelerating the selected one of the elongated materials to the line speed; while shielding the selected one of the elongated materials from the radiation beam during the time interval and then re-exposing the selected one of the elongated materials to the radiation beam, the shielding and re-exposure being accomplished in synchronization with the deceleration and acceleration, respectively, to provide a constant dose rate per pass independent of line speed changes and thereby continue the uniform dosing of the covering during the deceleration and acceleration.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
17 words
The method of claim 2, wherein the elongated material is dosed uniformly throughout the cross-sectional area thereof.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
74 words
The method of claim 2, wherein the advancing of the elongated material is accomplished to include a periodic reversing of the direction of travel around the path and the rotation of the elongated material about the longitudinal axes thereof as the elongated material is advanced along the path, the rotation being effective to present different rotational orientations of the elongated material to the beam as the elongated material is advanced along the associated path.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
60 words
The method of claim 2, wherein each of the elongated materials includes a twisted pair of conductors which are strung up in a path around spaced strand engagement surfaces, the engagement of the conductors with the strand engagement surfaces causing the pair to be turned about longitudinal axes thereof to cause the insulation thereof to be uniformly dosed and cross-linked.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
111 words
The method of claim 2, wherein each of the elongated materials is a strand material which is strung up in a plurality of figure-eight paths in superimposed spaced relation to each other transversely of the elongated dimension of the radiation beam, the beam being directed along the crossover points of the figure-eight paths, each plurality of figure-eight paths being discontinued intermittently to provide a pass between spaced strand engagement surfaces which is parallel to a line joininG the axes of rotation of the strand engagement surfaces to cause the direction of travel of the strand material in the figure-eight paths before and after the aforementioned pass to be in opposite directions.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
107 words
The method of claim 2, wherein each of the elongated materials is a strand material, the shielding of the selected one of the groups of strand materials is accomplished by providing an effective barrier to the radiation beam immediately adjacent to each of the conductors and which extends substantially the width of the beam in the plane of the pass, the advancing of the strand materials being accomplished at a distance from the window such that a constant velocity of the barrier during deceleration and acceleration of the strand material causes a constant dose exposure per pass and the continuation of a uniform dosing of the covering.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
107 words
The method of claim 2, wherein each of the elongated materials is a strand material, the shielding of the selected one of the strand materials is accomplished by providing an effective movably mounted barrier to the radiation beam immediately adjacent a window aligned with the selected one of the strand materials and through which the beam passes, the barrier extending essentially the width of the window, further providing fixed shielding barriers extending normally to the window and between adjacent ones of the strand materials to prevent the shielded one of the strand materials from being exposed to beam dispersion from the adjacent ones of the strand materials.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
51 words
The method of claim 8, wherein the movably mounted barrier is moved, after a preset delay, at a constant velocity during deceleration of the line speed to close the barrier, and is moved, after a preset delay, at a constant velocity, during acceleration of the line speed, to open the barrier.
Claim 12
Independent Claim
147 words
An apparatus for irradiating uniformly cross-linkable covering of ones of a plurality of elongated materials, which includes: means for stringing up each of a plurality of elongated materials in a multi-pass path; means for directing an electron radiation beam toward and into engagement with each of a plurality of elongated materials along at least a portion of the associated path; means for advancing each of the plurality of elongated materials along the associated path at a line speed to expose simultaneously the plurality of elongated materials to the beam while causing perturbation of the angle of incidence of the beam on the elongated materials to dose uniformly the covering; and means for regulating individually the exposure of each of the plurality of elongated materials to the beam relative to changes in the line speed to provide a constant dose rate per pass independent of line speed changes.
Claim 13
Independent Claim
147 words
An apparatus for irradiating uniformly cross-linkable covering of ones of a plurality of elongated materials, which includes: means for stringing up each of a plurality of elongated materials in a multi-pass path; means for directing an electron radiation beam toward and into engagement with each of a plurality of elongated materials along at least a portion of the associated path; means for advancing each of the plurality of elongated materials along the associated path at a line speed to expose simultaneously the plurality of elongated materials to the beam while causing perturbation of the angle of incidence of the beam on the elongated materials to dose uniformly the covering; and means for regulating individually the exposure of each of the plurality of elongated materials to the beam relative to changes in the line speed to provide a constant dose rate per pass independent of line speed changes.
Claim 14
Independent Claim
204 words
An apparatus for irradiating uniformly cross-linkable covering of ones of a plurality of elongated materials, which includes: means for stringing up each of a plurality of elongated materials in a multi-pass path; means, including a window, for directing an electron radiation beam toward and into engagement with the plurality of elongated materials; means for advancing each of the plurality of elongated materials along the associated path at a line speed to expose the elongated materials to the beam, while causing perturbation of the angle of incidence of the beam on the elongated materials to dose uniformly the covering; means for decelerating the advance of a selected one of the elongated materials and subsequent to a time interval, accelerating the selected one of the elongated materials to the line speed; while means for shielding the selected one of the groups of elongated materials from the radiation beam during the time interval and then re-exposing the selected one of the groups to the radiation beam, the shielding and re-exposure being accomplished in synchronization with the deceleration and acceleration, respectively, to provide a constant dose rate per pass independent of line speed changes and thereby conTinue the uniform dosing of the covering during the deceleration and acceleration.
Claim 15
Independent Claim
204 words
An apparatus for irradiating uniformly cross-linkable covering of ones of a plurality of elongated materials, which includes: means for stringing up each of a plurality of elongated materials in a multi-pass path; means, including a window, for directing an electron radiation beam toward and into engagement with the plurality of elongated materials; means for advancing each of the plurality of elongated materials along the associated path at a line speed to expose the elongated materials to the beam, while causing perturbation of the angle of incidence of the beam on the elongated materials to dose uniformly the covering; means for decelerating the advance of a selected one of the elongated materials and subsequent to a time interval, accelerating the selected one of the elongated materials to the line speed; while means for shielding the selected one of the groups of elongated materials from the radiation beam during the time interval and then re-exposing the selected one of the groups to the radiation beam, the shielding and re-exposure being accomplished in synchronization with the deceleration and acceleration, respectively, to provide a constant dose rate per pass independent of line speed changes and thereby conTinue the uniform dosing of the covering during the deceleration and acceleration.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
18 words
The apparatus of claim 11, wherein the elongated strand material is dosed uniformly throughout the cross-sectional area thereof.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
45 words
The apparatus of claim 11, wherein each of the elongated materials includes a twisted pair of conductors, the engagement of which with the means for stringing up the strand material being effective to cause the strand material to be turned about the longitudinal axes thereof.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
123 words
The apparatus of claim 11, wherein each of the elongated materials is a strand material, the shielding means including a barrier associated with each of the strand materials and adjacent the window and having a width approximately equal to the window width; the apparatus further including means for mounting movably each barrier to move the barrier transverse of the window; and a plurality of auxiliary barriers normal to the window and extending therefrom into a configuration approximately equal to that of the beam intensity pattern and extending slightly beyond the associated strand materials, there being an auxiliary barrier adjacent the first and last pass of each strand material of the plural strand materials; and means for cooling each of the movably mounted barriers.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
93 words
The apparatus of claim 11, wherein each of the elongated materials is a strand material and the shielding means includes a barrier associated with and adjacent each of the strand materials, each barrier being in the shape of a channel with legs normal to the window and extending beyond the associated strand material to shield effectively the associated strand material during the interval of time while others of the strand materials continue to be exposed; the apparatus further including means for mounting movably each barrier to move the barrier transverse of the window.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
129 words
The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the means for stringing up the strand material causes the strand material to be rotated about the longitudinal axes thereof to present the strand material in sequentially different orientations to the beam as the strand material is advanced in successive ones of the figure-eight loops past the window and for causing the periodic reversing of the direction of travel around the pattern, and wherein the shielding means causes each of the barriers to be moved after a preset delay at a constant velocity during deceleration of the line speed to interpose the barrier between the window and the associated conductor and after a preset delay to move the barrier at a constant velocity during acceleration of the line speed to open the barrier.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
192 words
The apparatus of claim 15, wherein the means for stringing up the strand material includes spaced strand engagement surfaces, each of the strand engagement surfaces including two spaced banks of sheaves with the coaxial axes of the sheaves being parallel to the longitudinal axes of the window, the strand material being a conductor strung-up around said sheaves in a plurality of superimposed generally figure-eight paths in spaced relation to each other with the elongated dimension of the window substantially normal to the plane of the figure-eight paths, the beam directed toward the crossover points of each of the figure-eight paths and the beam being oriented with respect to the superimposed adjacent layers such that each layer is exposed to substantially the same radiation dose, the stringing up of the conductors between associated ones of the sheaves in superimposed figure-eight paths including the periodic interruption of the figure-eight pattern to include a run along a path parallel to a line joining the axes of rotation of the spaced sheaves to cause the strand material to be moved in opposite directions in the figure-eight loops before and after the path parallel to the axes.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1978-10-27 | 1979-04-28 | 1979-10-28 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1982-10-27 | 1983-04-28 | 1983-10-28 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1986-10-27 | 1987-04-28 | 1987-10-28 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |