Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 28
Claim 1
Independent Claim
97 words
A process for winding and unwinding parallel wire strands which consist of a multiplicity of adjacent parallel wires which are supplied in strand shape comprising the steps of: a. fanning out said strand of wires so as to form at least one flat layer of individual wires disposed in generally parallel position, b. winding said wires in flat layer form into a winding drum after first securing the leading ends of said wires in the interior of said drum, and c. unwinding said wires from said drum and reforming said individual wires into their original cross-sectional shape.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
97 words
A process for winding and unwinding parallel wire strands which consist of a multiplicity of adjacent parallel wires which are supplied in strand shape comprising the steps of: a. fanning out said strand of wires so as to form at least one flat layer of individual wires disposed in generally parallel position, b. winding said wires in flat layer form into a winding drum after first securing the leading ends of said wires in the interior of said drum, and c. unwinding said wires from said drum and reforming said individual wires into their original cross-sectional shape.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
62 words
The process of claim 1, characterized in that the individual wires when wound on said drum by means of fanning out are bent about a zone very close to the axis of the individual wires in such cases where the winding is to be carried out in several layers, so that the winding width of the reel does not become excessively large.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
40 words
The process of claim 1, further including anchoring the opposed ends of said strand at a manufacturing site and, during the unwinding process, providing the wires with a corrosion protection material before said wires are reformed into their original shape.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
77 words
The process of claim 1, wherein the securing of said leading ends of said wires in said drum forms a wire broom, the leading end of which is anchored in the interior of said drum to permit a degree of longitudinal displacement, and said drum is internally constructed so as to accommodate the wires in such area without stresses and therefore without permanent deformations, which results from differences in length of the respective wires produced on winding.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
68 words
The process of claim 4, characterized in that the differences in the lengths of the individual wires which result from the fanning out of the wires and the winding of the same on said drum are collected in said wire broom and the wires are held at the same length and in such a manner in the fanned section that they cannnot change their mutual position during winding.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
36 words
The process of claim 1, wherein in said step of fanning-out the wires are horizontally prearranged in two parallel, vertically spaced planes, whereby the parallel position of the individual wires tightly side by side is established.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
67 words
The process of claim 1, further including the step of tightening the wires at the start of the fanning-out process in such a manner that they are subjected to an approximately uniform tension, and thereafter fixing them in a slideproof manner with respect to each othEr by clamping, in which clamping process the occurring length differences are alotted to an initial wire broom section of the strand.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
54 words
The process of claim 7, further including the step of pulling the clamped section of the parallel wire strand toward said drum until the clamping device engages the drum wall at a specifically prepared position and rotating said drum to form a wire broom without subjecting this part of the strand to longitudinal tension.
Claim 10
Dependent Claim
69 words
The process of claim 8, wherein the traction upon the advancing fanned out parallel wire strand is exerted only during said step of pulling the clamping device, whereby the wire broom remains free of tension, and further including the step of supplementing the pulling forces by means of traction device positioned exteriorly of the drum, the actuation of said traction device being coordinated with the rotation of said drum.
Claim 11
Dependent Claim
70 words
The process of claim 1, further including the step of adapting said drum to operate satisfactorily with wider cross-section shapes of wire strands and different diameter wire members by the step of inserting drum segments within the lateral confines of said drum, which drum segments establish the external winding base and bound the individual flat winding layers laterally, by which segments a universal employment of the drum is made possible.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
59 words
The process of claim 1, further including the step of rendering the winding drum gastight and moisture repellent for transportion purposes by the employment of suitable packing materials enclosing the wound wire strands, and reducing the moisture content in the interior of the drum by suitable inhibitors and a protective gas and providing primary corrosion protection of the wires.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
87 words
The process of claim 11, characterized in that, during the winding of the individual wire layers, a chemically treated web of foil selected from the group consisting of paper or plastic treated with chemical material is wound along and between the wire layers, in order to separate the individual wire layers in proper arrangement and simultaneously to produce, by means of applied chemicals, harmless to the steel wire, the inhibition effect and thereby the corresponding protection of the wires which are endangered when shipped over long distances.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
72 words
The process of claim 1, characterized in that during the unwinding process, first a certain partial section of the strand of parallel wires, whose original shape has been retained, is inserted into a molding nozzle, and further including the step of prearranging the wires fed to the molding nozzle by means which function to fan out the wires so that said wires are fed to said molding nozzle in the desired arrangement.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
95 words
The process of claim 13, characterized in that during the unwinding process, the wires are prearranged vertically and horizontally to reform the fanned out layer to the desired cross-sectional shape, and further including the steps of injecting an anti-corrosive material into the interior of the space occupied by the individual wires while the wires are still slightly spread apart, whereby the individual wires receive a protective coating, and subsequently molding the wires of the strand together in one continuous operation, the anit-corrosive material also serving as the bonding agent for the wire strands when molded.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
14 words
The process of claim 14, wherein said anti-corrosive agent comprises polyurethane containing zinc chromate.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
21 words
The process of claim 1, further including the step during the unwinding process of clamping the reformed strand at predetermined distances.
Claim 18
Dependent Claim
61 words
The process of claim 16, further including the step of mechanically protecting the parallel wire strands against corrosion by applying sheet webs which are rolled to form a tubular casing which envelops the wire strands, and seam-welding the thus formed tubular casing to tightly encase the wire strand, and thereafter welding the sheet tube to the precasing of the anchoring body.
Claim 19
Dependent Claim
36 words
The process of claim 17, chAracterized in that said sheet webs are of austenitic chromium-nickel steel, and further including the step of welding the sheet tube to the precasing of the anchored end of said wires.
Claim 20
Dependent Claim
65 words
The process of claim 16, further including the step during the unwinding process of protecting the wire stands against corrosion by applying webs of thermoplastic, stabilized plastic materials, selected from the group consisting of polyolefins and copolymers thereof, which, with applied small spacers, are placed with sufficient wall thickness about the parallel wire strand and are longitudinally welded to anchoring bodies at both strand ends.
Claim 21
Dependent Claim
31 words
The process of claim 19, further including the steps of applying about the wire strand relatively thick-walled, extruded plastic tubes which are continuously slit open, and closing said slit by welding.
Claim 22
Dependent Claim
33 words
The process of claim 19, further including the step of applying plastic materials which are slid over the anchoring bodies and thereafter are shrunk, by heat treatment, to the diameter of the strand.
Claim 23
Dependent Claim
38 words
The process of claim 19, further including the step of applying a sufficiently strong plastic material layer in a warm state around said wire strand by means of an extruder, said material layer when set encasing said strand.
Claim 24
Dependent Claim
39 words
The process of claim 17, further including the step of providing spacers on the outer surfaces of said locations of clamping, whereby an interspace is created between said strand and said tubular casing as the latter is subsequently applied.
Claim 25
Dependent Claim
31 words
The process of claim 1, wherein said individual wires are fanned out in step (a) into at least one flat layer of individual wires disposed in generally parallel, closely adjacent position.
Claim 26
Dependent Claim
66 words
The process of claim 3, further including the step during the unwinding operation of providing corrosion protection material to said wire strand in an operating environment carried out in a portable enclosure accessible at the bridge construction site, the necessary equipment for such operation including components placed upon a readily composable prefabricated girder grillage provided with the necessary holes and projections, thereby to facilitate such installation.
Claim 27
Dependent Claim
64 words
The process of claim 23, further including the step of inserting into the interspace between the parallel wire strand and said formed sheet web a corrosion-preventing pigment liquid which hardens to a rubber-elastic state and penetrates into the interior of the wire strand, closes the hollow spaces and forms at the outside between said formed web and said wire core a tight corrosion-proof casing.
Claim 28
Dependent Claim
61 words
The process of claim 23, further including the step of applying transverse recesses of predetermined depth along the tube at longitudinally spaced distances, said recesses not interferring with hose clamps provided with spacers and enhancing the flexibility of said tubular casing, whereby an interspace is provided between the interior border of the recesses and the exterior border of the wire strand.