US3038648A - kingston - Google Patents

Description

Jun 12, 1962 Filed June 29, 1961 P. E. KINGSTON CABLE-HANDLING EQUIPMENT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. 2

' INVEA/TOR. I? 6 Kl/VGSTO/V ATTORNEY June 12, 1962 P. E. KINGSTON 3,038,648

CABLE-HANDLING EQUIPMENT Filed June 29, 1961 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 7

' NVE/VTOR P E. KINGS TON 5v [I I ATTORNEY June 12, 1962 Filed June 29, 1961 FIG. 8

P. E. KINGSTON CABLE-HANDLING EQUIPMENT 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 //v l/E/V TOR R E. KINGSTON dl" lirl ATTORNEY 3,3,fi48 Patented June 12, 1962 3,038,648 CABLE-HANDLING EQUIPMENT Paul E. Kingston, New York, N.Y., assignor to Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated, New York, N.Y., a corporation of New York Filed June 29, 1961, Ser. No. 120,703 6 Claims. (Cl. 226-196) This invention relates to cable-handling equipment and, more particularly, to a method of and means for guiding the movement of a cable.

The invention is especially useful for preventing the formation of kinks during the process of straightening a length of cable having a loop or bight formed therein. The invention can also be advantageously employed for handling a moving cable without bending it into a curve of less than a preassigned minimum radius.

An important field of use to which this invention can be profitably applied is the handling of underwater communication cable that is being payed out from a cablelaying ship. Such a ship is ordinarily equipped with several large tanks wherein the cable is stowed. The cable stowed in each tank is joined to cable in adjacent tanks by loops of cable which are generally spread out on the deck of the ship. These loops must be formed with at least a preassigned minimum radius of curvature because, due to the manner in which the cable is fabricated, it will become damaged if it is bent excessively. For example, in the case of recently developed cable having it outer covering and intermediate dielectric formed of a suitable plastic substance, such as polyethylene, excessive bending might crack the plastic material, deform the cable conductors, or produce slippage between the electric conductors and the intermediate dielectric.

In addition to the above-mentioned loops or bights, a large number of other loops are formed due to the fact that underwater communication cable is usually provided with integral enlargements or lumps at spaced intervals. The spacing between these lumps varies with the particular type of cable used, and may be fifty miles in some cases and ten miles in other instances. In a recently developed cable, a spacing of twenty miles is employed. These lumps constitute housings for electric equipment, such as repeaters or equalizers. During the process of stowing the cable in the tanks, these cable equipment housings are stowed in racks on the deck of the ship thereby causing the formation of a multiplicity of loops or bights of cable extending from the tanks to each of the housings.

When these nights are subsequently payed out during the cable-laying process, considerable care must be taken to insure that they do not become tangled, kinked, or bent into curves of less than the minimum permissible degree of curvature. In exercising this care in paying out these cable bights, it is desirable that the means employed for this purpose be of such a nature as to enable the bights to be payed out along with the cable in one continuous operation without reducing the rate of speed of the overall cable-laying operations.

In the past, the methods used for paying out cable bights, such as those extending from one stowage tank to an adjacent tank or those connecting the large number of equipment housings to the cable in the stowage tanks, have necessitated interruptions and slackening of the speed of the cable-laying procedure. In view of the great expense of employing a cable-laying ship and its crew, it is evident that such delays considerably increase the cost of laying a cable. More importantly, thereis the hazard that, when a cable-laying ship is stopped or has its speed materially reduced, kinks may form in that portion of the cable which is suspended between the ship and the ocean floor. For these and other reasons, it is important that cable-handling equipment should be so designed as to enable a cable to be payed out in one continuous operation without any interruptions and at the best possible constant rate of speed, such as eight knots.

Accordingly, an object of this invention is to provide improved cable-handling equipment for straightening a length of cable having a bight formed therein.

Another object of the invention is to provide improved means for handling a moving cable without bending it into a curve of less than a preassigned minimum radius.

An additional object of the invention is to provide improved means for guiding the movement of a cable during the procedure of moving it from a stowed position.

A further object of the invention is to provide kinkpreventive means for flipping a cable bight.

These and other objects of the invention are attained by employing one or more bight flippers in combination with guiding means for controlling the movement of a cable. The guiding means comprise a long, narrow trough extending from a suitable cable-handling engine to the cable stowage tanks. The guiding means also include a cable highway adjoining the trough and having a width at least equal to the minimum permissible diameter of curvature of the cable. Located within this cable highway are one or more bight flippers. Each bight flipper comprises a longitudinal member which is aligned parallel to the principal direction of movement of the cable. One end of this longitudinal member is placed on the surface of the cable highway. The bight flipper further includes supporting means for elevating the other end of the longitudinal member above the surface of the cable highway by a distance at least equal to the above-mentioned minimum diameter. Thus, the longitudinal member, or spine, forms an incline up which a cable bight can be drawn.

These and other features of the invention are more fully discussed in connection with the following detailed description of the drawing in which:

FIGS. 1, 2, and 3 are schematic plan views of the components of the invention in position upon the deck of a cable-laying ship with the cable paying-out operations represented at various points during the process of being transferred from one stowage tank to an adjacent stowage tank;

FIGS. 4 to 7, inclusive, are similar schematic plan views of the invention with the cable-paying out operations illustrated at various steps during the procedure of paying out one of the equipment housings, such as a repeater; and

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the invention engaging a cable bight with phantom representations of various sequential positions assumed by the bight while it is in the process of being flipped or straightened.

In FIG. 1 a supply of underwater communication cable 1 is [represented as being coiled in two stowage tanks 2 and 3 situated in the hold of a cable-laying ship. It is to be understood that only two stowage tanks 2 and 3 have been shown for the purpose of simplicity and that the ship may actually be equipped with a larger number of these tanks. The tanks 2 and 3 are located beneath a deck 4 which is provided with openings 5 and 6 above the centers of the tanks 2 and 3 for the purpose of enabling the cable 1 to be drawn out of the tanks 2 and 3. These openings 5 and 6 may be constructed with sloping sides in the manner of a funnel in order to facilitate sliding movement of the cable 1.

During cable-laying operations, the cable 1 is first drawn out of the opening 5 above the left tank 2 and is payed out into a body of water, such as an ocean. The rate of speed of the cable movement is controlled by a cablehandling engine 7 mounted on the deck 4. The engine 7 may be of any convenient type, such as a caterpillar engine or an engine having one or more sheaves. After passing through the engine 7, the cable 1 slides down an appropriate overboarding chute 8, which may be suitably flared, and enters the water.

In traveling from the left tank 2 to the engine 7, the cable 1 is guided by means of a trough 9. The interior contour of the trough 9 is shaped in such a manner as to constrain sidewise motion of the cable 1 while presenting minimal interference or resistance to the longitudinal sliding motion of the cable 1. A suitable interior crosssectional shape is one having a rounded bottom with outwardly sloping sidewalls. The interior of the trough 9 should be made sufficiently wide so that it can also be used to guide the sliding movement of the cable equipment housings as is described hereinafter. A similar trough is employed for guiding the cable 1 during its passage from the engine 7 to the overboarding chute 3.

To facilitate continuous paying out of the cable 1 during the cable-laying operations, an end of the section of the cable 1 that is stowed in the left tank 2 is brought out onto the deck 4 together with an end of the portion of the cable 1 which is stowed in the right tank 3. These cable ends are spliced together so as to form a continuous length of cable 1 which can be handled by the engine 7 without interruption. When the ship is equipped with more than two stowage tanks, the cable sections in the additional tanks are spliced together and are also joined to the cable 1 in the tank 3. In order to guide these additional portions of the cable 1 to the engine 7, the trough 9 is extended toward the right along the deck 4 so as to reach all of the cable stowage tanks.

It should be noted that, when the trough 9 approaches a cable stowage tank, it is provided with a bifurcated portion having one fork aligned with the main portion of the trough 9 and having the other fork disposed at an angle thereto. Two of these angularly disposed fork portions are indicated in the drawing by the reference numerals 11 and 12. It can be seen in the drawing that the trough portion 11 extends to the edge of the left opening 5 in the deck 4 while the trough portion 12 leads to the edge of the right opening 6 in the deck 4. Thus, these trough portions 11 and 12 serve to guide the cable 1 while it travels from the deck openings 5 and 6 into the main trough 9.

As was stated above, the ends of the portions of the cable 1 extending from the stowage tanks 2 and 3 are brought out onto the deck 4 and are spliced together. Part of this spliced cable 1 is placed on the deck 4 a short distance beyond one side of the trough 9 and the remainder is formed in a loop or bight 13 on the other side of the trough 9. In forming this bight 13, care is used to insure that no part of it is bent into a curve of less than the above-mentioned minimum permissible degree of curvature. The bight 13 is confined on the deck 4 to a particular flat surface area thereof which is identified as a cable highway 14.

The flat surface of the cable highway 14 is bounded along one portion thereof by a side of the trough 9. The opposite portion of the highway 14 is bounded by a side of a long guide rail 15 which extends parallel to the trough 9 and is separated therefrom by the width of the fiat surface of the highway 14 which is a distance at least as large as the diameter of a circle defining the limit of curvature to which the cable 1 may be subjected without damage thereto. The sides of the guide rail 15 and the trough 9 are made sufficiently high to properly confine the bight 13 and to prevent it from spreading over other portions of the deck 4. Thus, during the time that this part of the cable 1 remains in the form of the bight 13, its sliding movement is guided by the sides of the trough 9 and the rail 15 so as to restrict it to the area within the highway 14.

Tn order to straighten the bight 13 during cable-laying operations, one or more bight flippers 16 are placed upon the cable highway 14 within the space enclosed by the cable bight 13. As is best shown in FIG. 8, the bight flipper 16 comprises a longitudinal member, or spine, 17 which is aligned parallel to the principal direction of movement of the cable 1. One end of this longitudinal member 17 rests upon the highway 14, while its other end is elevated above the surface of the highway 14 by a distance which is at least as large as the above-mentioned minimum permissible diameter of cable curvature. The upper end of the spine 17 is supported in its elevated position by means of two legs 18.

Thus, the spine 17 forms an incline up which the cable 1 can be drawn for the purpose of opening or straightening the bight 13. When the bight 13 reaches the top of this incline, it will be flipped over toward the highway 14. This movement of the bight 13 is facilitated due to the fact that the upper end of the spine 17 is bent so as to curve downward. In order to make certain that the bight 13 will actually flip over instead of merely dropping off the spine 17 and falling in a loop or kink on the highway 14, the bight 13 should be placed close to the legs 18. Also, the intermediate portion of the bight 13 which extends between the legs 18 should be placed under the upper end of the spine 17 so that a perpendicular line dropped from the top end of the spine 17 would fall approximately on the bight 13. Thus, the bight flipper 16 constitutes kink-preventive means for straightening cable bights, such as the bight 13.

Although the bight flipper 16 could be mounted permanently in its erect position, this would not be desirable because it is used only during cable-laying operations and it would therefore needlessly occupy valuable deck space at other times. For example, when a cable-laying ship is returning to port after having laid all the cable 1 that it was carrying, the bight flipper 16, if it were still in its erect position, would be an unnecessary encumbrance upon the deck 4. For this reason, it is preferable that the bight flipper 16 be constructed in such a manner that it can be readily moved out of its erect position when there is no occasion for using it.

One manner in which this objective can be accomplished is to provide the longitudinal member 17 with hinge means 19 at its lower end and also with hinge means 20 at the point where it is engaged by its supporting legs 18. In addition, the lower ends of the legs 18 are equipped with other hinge means 21. The hinges 19 and 2.1 are fastened to the deck at appropriate positions within the cable highway 14 by any suitable means, such as screws. The lower portions of the legs 18 are securely attached to their respectively associated hinges 21. The upper portions of both of the legs 18 are fastened to one section of the hinge 20 which has its other section aflixed to the upper part of the longitudinal member 17. The lower end of the longitudinal member 17 is attached to the hinge 19. It is to be noted that the hinge 19 is provided with a removable pin 22 so that the two parts of the hinge 19 can be readily detached or separated.

Accordingly, when it is desired to move the bight flipper 16 out of its erect position, the pin 22 is withdrawn thereby separating the two sections of the hinge 19. The longitudinal member 17 is then pushed downward toward the left in FIG. 8. This causes the hinge 20 to swing inward while the hinges 21 swing outward. During this time, the lower end of the longitudinal member 17 will move along the highway 14 in a direction toward the hinges 21, and the legs 18 will move downward toward the highway 14. This downward movement is stopped when the curved end of the longitudinal member 17 comes to rest upon the surface of the highway 14. The bight flipper 16 will then be in a recumbent position and can be covered by a platform placed upon the top edges of the guide rail 15 and the trough 9.

When it is desired to use the bight flipper 1.6, it can be readily erected by manually raising the curved portion of the longitudinal member 17 while pushing in a direction toward the right in FIG. 8. During this movement. the

legs 18 will become elevated and the lower end of the longitudinal member 17 will approach the portion of the hinge 19 which is fastened to the highway 14. When the two sections of the hinge 19 meet, they are fastened together by inserting the pin 22. This serves to hold the bight flipper 16 in its erect position and ready for use.

At the beginning of cable laying operations, cable 1 is payed out from the left stowage tank 2. After most of the cable 1 in the tank 2 has been payed out, that part of the spliced portion of the cable 1 which is on the deck 4 is manually placed in the trough 9 in readiness for being payed out. When the last portion of the cable 1 in the tank 2 is payed out, it pulls with it the spliced portion of the cable 1. Accordingly, this spliced cable portion will now slide along the trough 9 in a direction leading to the cable engine 7.

This movement of the cable 1 is rep-resented in FIG. 2 in which it can be seen that a cable reference point 23, which is shown in FIG. 1 as being approximately midway between the tanks 2 and 3, has now moved to the left along the trough 9 to a position above the left tank 2. At the same time, the portion of the cable 1 that was formerly placed toward the right end of the cable highway 14 has now been pulled into the trough 9 with the result that the trailing portion of the cable 1 has moved nearer to the opening 6 over the tank 3.

After more of the cable 1 has been payed out, the reference point 23 will have moved along the trough 9 to a point beyond the tank 2, as is illustrated in FIG. 3. At this stage of the paying-out procedure, most of that portion of the cable 1 which had previously been placed on the highway 14 will have been pulled into the trough 9. Thus, a second cable reference point 24, which is shown in FIG. 2 as being located near the guide rail 15, will now have moved across the highway 14 to the edge of the trough 9. As a result of this action, the portion of the cable bight 13 that is immediately behind the reference point 24 will have been drawn part of the way up the incline formed by the spine 17 of the bight flipper 16. The bight 13 is now in condition for being flipped or straightened by the bight flipper 16.

The manner in which the cable bight 13 is straightened by the bight flipper 16 will now be explained with reference to FIG. 8 in which various sequential positions assumed by the bight 13 during the straightening process are shown in phantom by means of broken lines. In FIG. 8, the reference numeral 25 indicates the position taken by a portion of the cable 1 as it approaches the bight flipper 16. When the cable 1 is in this position 25, it is subjected to one turn of twist. During the paying-out procedure, this part of the cable 1 becomes drawn into the trough 9. As was described above in respect to FIG. 3, this causes the immediately following portion of the cable 1 to slide upward onto the lower part of the longitudinal member 17 of the bight flipper 16 to the position identified by the reference numeral 26.

Shortly thereafter, this part of the bight 13 is drawn upward toward the top of the spine 17 of the bight flipper 16 thereby assuming the position shown in full lines and designated by the reference numeral 27. This upward movement of the bight 13 causes the twist to start to diminish, as is indicated by the curved arrow 28.

It should be noted at this point that the inherent stiffness of the cable 1 causes it to extend downward from the top of the spine 17 toward the trough 9 in the shape of a curve rather than in the form of a straight line. This inherent stiffness also produces a tendency in the cable 1 to attempt to straighten itself with a reverse twist so as to remove the above-mentioned twist that was initially imparted to the cable 1. The extent of this selfrestoring action increases when the cable 1 leaves the top of the spine 17 and moves downward toward the trough 9. Accordingly, when the cable 1 is at the point designated by the curved arrow 29, the reverse twist action of the cable 1 will have further reduced the original twist that existed when the cable 1 was at the position 25.

Since the cable 1 in the trough 9 is continuously moving in the direction of the cable engine 7 at a speed of about eight knots, this outgoing motion serves to pull the bight 13 off the top of the spine 17. In leaving the spine 17, the bight 13 does not fall directly onto the highway 14, but, instead, moves to the position identified by the reference numeral 30. This is due to the fact that the relatively rapid movement of the cable 1 together with .its above-mentioned self-restoring action cause the bight 13, when it leaves the top of the spine 17, to be both flipped over and moved outward to the position 30.

Another factor which makes this flipping action pos sible is that the bight 13, as was explained above, is initially placed close to the legs 18 and approximately directly beneath the upper end of the spine 17 Thus, this bottom portion of the bight 13 will rotate on its axis to a certain extent while its upper portion is moving outward. During this time, that portion of the bight 13 which was originally near the guide rail 15 will swing over toward the trough 9.

When the cable 1 is at the position 30, the initially imposed twist has been practically eliminated. Although the portion of the cable 1 which is at the position 38 is up in the air and is not resting on any guiding surface, the paying-out speed is sufficiently rapid to pull the cable 1 forward so as to overcome any tendency toward kinking. When the cable 1 now moves into the trough 9, the bight 13 becomes completely straightened or eliminated.

It should be noted that, during the above-described process of straightening the bight 13, the cable 1 is never bent into a curve of less than the preassigned minimum radius. This is due in part to the fact that the width of the highway 14 and the height of the spine 17 are each at least as great as the diameter of a circle defining the minimum permissible curvature of the cable 1. Thus, by means of the bight flipper 16, the bight 13 is straightened without causing any interruption or reduction in the speed at which the cable is payed out.

This method of flipping and straightening a loop or bight in a cable is not limited to use on only those occasions when the process of paying out a cable is being transferred from one stowage tank to another. It can also be used advantageously to straighten the bights associated with the cable equipment housings. In fact, this is the largest field of use for the bight flipper 16 because there may be from twenty to forty of these housings. connected integrally to the cable in each stowage tank. The application of the invention for use in straightening this type of bight will now be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7, inclusive.

In FIG. 4, a number of the elements shown therein are the same as those that were described above with respect to FIG. 1. These elements include the stowage tanks 2 and 3 located beneath the ships deck 4 which has openings 5 and 6 for enabling the cable 1 to be drawn out into the trough 9 leading to the engine 7 and overboarding chute 8. The trough 9 adjoins one side of the cable highway 14 which has a bight flipper 16 located thereon above the left side of the tank 2. A number of loops or bights 31, 32, and 33 of the cable 1 are pulled out of the opening 5 and are spread out on the deck 4 in such a manner that no portion of the cable 1 is bent into a curve of less than the above-mentioned minimum permissible degree of curvature.

Each of these cable bights 31, 32, and 33 has an equipment housing 34 connected integrally therein by any convenient method, such as by splicing. As was stated above, these housings 34 contain instrumentalities which constit-ute various kinds of electric equipment, such as repeaters or equalizers. For the purpose of simplicity, only three of these housings 34 have been shown in FIG. 4 but it is to be understood that there may actually be from twenty to forty of these housings 34 connected to individual cable loops extending from the tank 2.

The three housings 34 are represented as being mounted in a stowage rack 35 located on the deck 4 near the cable highway 14. The rack 35 may be of any suitable type designed to restrain the housings 34 from shifting their positions on the deck 4. In arranging the housing 34 in the rack 35, that one of the housings 34 which will be the last to be payed out is the first to be put in the rack 35 and it is placed furthest from the highway 14 with its cable bight 31 spread out on the deck 4. The next housing 34 is given the intermediate position in the rack 35 and its cable bight 32 is laid over the bight 31. Finally, that one of the housings 34 which will be the first to be payed out is positioned at that end of the rack 35 which is nearest to the highway 14 and its cable bight 33 is disposed over the other bights 31 and 32.

Throughout the process of overboarding the cable 1, the movement of the cable 1 from the tank 2 is observed to determine when it will be time for the bight 33 to be payed out. When this time approaches, that one of the housings 34 which is nearest to the highway 14 is taken out of the rack 34 and is placed in the trough 9. During this movement of the housing 34, its associated cable bight 33 is rearranged so that part of the leading cable portion is in the trough 9 while the immediately following part of the trailing portion is pulled into the cable highway 14.

These changes in position are illustrated in FIG. in which it can be seen that a cable reference point 36, which is shown in FIG. 4 as being located between the highway 14 and the rack 35, is now in the trough 9. In the trailing portion of the cable 1, a reference point 37, which is shown in FIG. 4 as being situated to the right of the rack 35, has now moved into the highway 14. In addition, another reference point 38, which is located further back along this trailing cable portion and which is represented in FIG. 4 as being placed on the deck 4 at some distance 1 from the highway 14, has now moved closer to the highway 14.

After the housing 34 has been put in the trough 9, the trailing portion of the bight 33 is lifted manually and is carried into the highway 14 and is disposed around the bight flipper 16 in the manner represented in FIG. 6. At this time, as can be seen in FIG. 6, a cable reference point 39, which is shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 as being located just outside the highway 14, has now been placed inside the highway 14 in a position adjacent to the wall of the trough 9. Similarly, the above-mentioned cable reference point 38 has been moved into the highway 14 from its deck location, shown in FIG. 5, and has now been placed next to the highway guide rail 15.

The above described operations place the housing 34 and its associated bight 33 in condition for being payed out. Accordingly, when the cable 1 comes out of the tank 2, it will pull the leading part of the bight 33 along the trough 9 in the direction of the cable-handling engine 7. This causes the housing 34 to be drawn along the trough 9 with the result that the major part of the trailing portion of the bight 33 is pulled into the trough 9. The various portions of the bight 33 will now be in the positions shown in FIG. 7 wherein it can be seen that the cable reference point 36 is in the left portion of the trough 9 and is followed by the housing 34 and the cable reference point 37. At this time, the cable reference point 38 will have just been pulled into the trough 9 thereby causing a part of the cable 1 that is between the reference points 38 and 39 to be drawn part of the way up the incline formed by the spine 17 of the bight flipper 16. The bight ened by the bight flipper 16 without interrupting or reducing the speed of the overall cable-laying process.

What is claimed is:

l. Cable-handling equipment adapted for straightening a bight formed in a cable having a minimum permissible diameter of curvature, said equipment comprising a cable highway having a surface adapted for supporting a cable bight, said surface having a width at least equal to said minimum diameter, a bight flipper adapted for flipping over a cable bight whereby it becomes straightened, and instrumentalities for attaching said bight flipper to said surface within an area thereof adapted to be enclosed by a cable bight.

2. Cable-handling equipment for paying out a cable having a minimum permissible diameter of curvature, said equipment comprising a surface adapted for supporting a length of cable having a bight formed therein on said surface, said bight having a diameter larger than said minimum diameter, and kink-preventive means adapted for flipping over said bight for straightening said cable, said kink-preventive means comprising a longitudinal member having one end placed on said surface and within said' bight, and said member having its other end elevated above said surface by a distance at least equal to said minimum diameter.

3. Cable-handling equipment adapted for straightening a bight formed in a cable having a minimum permissible diameter of curvature, said equipment comprising a cable highway having a surface adapted for supporting sliding movement of a cable bight, said surface having a width at least equal to said minimum diameter, a bight flipper adapted for-straightening a cable bight by flipping it over, and means for mounting said bight flipper on said surface within an area thereof adapted to be enclosed by a cable bight, said bight flipper including a member adapted for guiding sliding movement of a portion of a cable bight upward to a position that is elevated by a height at least equal to said minimum diameter above another portion of said cable bight that is on said surface.

4. Cable-handling equipment for straightening a bight formed in a cable having a minimum permissible diameter of curvature, said equipment comprising a cable highway having a surface adapted for supporting sliding movement of a cable bight, said surface having a width at least equal to said minimum diameter, a bight flipper adapted for straightening a cable bight by flipping it over, and means for mounting said bight flipper on said surface within an area thereof adapted to be enclosed by a cable bight, said bight flipper having an inclined spine member adapted for guiding sliding movement of a portion of a cable bight upward to a position that is elevated by a height at least equal to said minimum diameter above another portion of said cable bight that is on said surface, said spine member having one end on said surface and another end elevated above said surface by a distance at least equal to said height, and said spine member being so constructed and arranged that its elevated end is adapted to be perpendicularly above said portion of said cable bight on said surface.

5. Cable-handling equipment adapted for straightening a bight formed in a cable having a minimum permissible diameter of curvature, said equipment comprising a cable highway having a surface adapted for supporting a cable bight, said surface having a width at least equal to said minimum diameter, a bight flipper adapted for flipping over a cable bight whereby it becomes straightened, said bight flipper being located on said surface within an area thereof adapted to be enclosed by a cable bight, said bight flipper having a member adapted for guiding upward movement of a cable bight, and instrumentalities for attaching said bight flipper to said surface in alternative erect and recumbent positions, said instrumentalities including means for detachably securing one end of said member to said surface, and said instrumentalities further including hinge means fastened to said surface and also coupled to an intermediate portion of said member.

6. Cable-handling equipment adapted for paying out a cable having a bight formed therein with a minimum permissible diameter of curvature, said equipment comprising a cable highway having a flat surface adapted for supporting a cable bight, said surface having a width at least equal to said minimum diameter, guiding means disposed along two opposite sides of said surface and adapted for confining sliding movement of a cable bight to said surface, a bi ght flipper mounted on said surface for providing an incline up which a cable bight can be drawn for the purpose of flipping it over, said bight flipper including an inclined spine member adapted to guide a portion of a cable bight, means for securing one end of said spine member to said surface within an area thereof adapted to be enclosed by a cable bight, and instrumentalities for supporting the other end of said spine member at a height above said surface which is at least equal to said minimum diameter.

No references cited.

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