Systems and methods for hanking a cable
AssigneeApple Inc.
InventorsMichael J. Solomon, Christopher Birgers, Charles Werley
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
Systems and methods for hanking a cable are disclosed. A hanked cable may be formed by winding the cable around two or more mandrels attached to support members of a winding fixture. At least one of the mandrels can be removeably attached to the winding fixture to facilitate clamping the cable between the mandrel and the support member. The distance between mandrels may be varied by including, in the winding fixture, an adjustable stage for adjusting the relative positions of the mandrels. Once the cable is wound into a hanked configuration, it may be wrapped with a semi-rigid wrapping member to help retain the hanked shape.
Claims24
A system for hanking a cable, comprising:
- a base member;
- an adjustable stage comprising a platform moveably coupled to the base member, wherein the adjustable stage is configured to fit within a recess of the base member and the platform is co-planar with a top surface of the base member;
- a plurality of support members, wherein a first support member is physically coupled to the adjustable stage, and a second support member is physically coupled to the top surface of base member;
- and
- a plurality of mandrels, each comprising a proximal end physically coupled to a corresponding support member of the plurality of the support members and a distal end extending perpendicularly away from the top surface of the base member, wherein:
- a clamping mandrel of the plurality of mandrels is removeably coupled to the first support member;
- and
- a standing mandrel of the plurality of mandrels is fixedly coupled to the second support member.
A method for hanking a cable, comprising:
- measuring a length of cable;
- adjusting an adjustable stage of a winding fixture based on the measured cable length;
- laying a first end of the length of cable in a recess of a first support member coupled to the winding fixture;
- inserting a clamping mandrel into the first support member to clamp the first end of the length of cable into the winding fixture;
- winding the length of cable around the clamping mandrel and at least one standing mandrel to create a hanked cable;
- wrapping a semi-rigid wrapping member around the hanked cable;
- and
- ejecting the clamping mandrel from the first support member to remove the hanked cable from the winding fixture.
A hanked cable, comprising:
- a length of cable comprising a first connector coupled to a first end of the length of cable and a second connector coupled to a second end of the length of cable, wherein the length of cable is coiled into a hanked configuration comprising a first number of turns on a first side and a second number of turns on a second side;
- and
- a semi-rigid wrapping member wrapped around the cable and secured to itself with an adhesive.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.