Claims

[Claim 1] Transfer device for limiting twisting of a set of at least one link (105) between a first end of the link, fixed with respect to a fixed part (102) of a rotary device, and a second end of the link, fixed with respect to a rotating part (103) of the rotating device, the rotating part (103) being capable of rotating with respect to the fixed part (102) around an axis of rotation (x), the device for transfer comprising:

- a composite drum (10) comprising a set of drums aligned along the axis of rotation (x) around which the link (105) is adapted to be wound, the set of drums comprising a fixed drum (11) intended to be integral with the fixed part (102) in rotation around the axis of rotation x, a rotating drum (15) intended to be able to rotate around the axis x with respect to the fixed part (102) and a set of at least one idler drum (12, 13, 14) interposed between the fixed drum (11) and the rotating drum (15), each idler drum being free to rotate around the axis of rotation (x) relative to the drum rotating (15) and the fixed drum (11) and having a height along the axis (x),

- transfer means comprising at least one transfer assembly, each transfer assembly being configured to transfer a link from the set of at least one link, when it is wound around the composite drum, between the fixed drum (11 ) and the rotating drum (15), towards the rotating drum (15) when the rotating drum rotates in a first direction around the axis of rotation (x), and vice versa when the rotating drum (15) rotates in the opposite direction.

[Claim 2] Transfer device according to the preceding claim, in which the transfer means are configured so as to make it possible to transmit the whole of a useful winding (U) of the set of at least one link (105) made continuously around the fixed drum (11) and each idler drum (12, 13, 14), towards the rotating drum (15) so that the useful winding (U) is carried out around the fixed drum (11) and of each idler drum (12, 13, 14) continuously, when the rotating drum (15) rotates in the first direction and vice versa when the rotating drum (15) rotates in the opposite direction.

[Claim 3] Transfer device according to any one of the preceding claims, in which each transfer set is configured to make it possible to transfer a link (105) of the set of at least one link from a first point (p1) up to a second point (p2) separated, along the axis of rotation (x), by a first predetermined distance D, greater than the height h of each idler drum.

[Claim 4] Transfer device according to any one of the preceding claims, in which at least one transfer assembly comprises an assembly of at least one deflection pulley intended to receive a transfer loop (B) of a link ( 105) of the set of at least one link extending between the fixed drum (11) and the rotating drum (15) when the link (105) is wound around the composite drum (10) to tend to transfer the link (105) between the fixed drum (11) and the rotating drum (15).

[Claim 5] Transfer device according to the preceding claim, in which the deflection pulley has a mean radial plane substantially parallel to the x axis so as to transfer the link from a first point to a second separated point, according to the axis of rotation x, by a first predetermined distance D, greater than the height h of each idler drum, the first distance D being substantially the diameter of the pulley.

[Claim 6] A transfer device according to any preceding claim, wherein at least one set of at least one deflection pulley comprises a plurality of deflection pulleys.

[Claim 7] A transfer device according to any of claims 4 to 6, wherein the transfer assembly comprises:

- a support (32) supporting the set of at least one pulley,

- a rotating guide (31) secured to the support (32) in rotation around the axis of rotation x, the support (32) being mounted to slide relative to the composite drum along an axis substantially parallel to the axis x, the support (32) being free in translation along the rotating guide (31) relative to the composite drum,

- the rotating guide (31) being coupled to the rotating drum (15) so as to rotate relative to the rotating drum (15) around the axis of rotation (x) at a defined angular speed so that when the link (105 ) is wound around the composite drum (10) and the loop is received by the set of at least one pulley, the link (105) is transferred, between the fixed drum (11) and the rotating drum (15), towards the rotating drum (15) when the rotating drum rotates in a first direction

around the axis of rotation (x), and vice versa when the drum rotatesant (15) rotates in the opposite direction.

[Claim 8] Transfer device according to the preceding claim, comprising coupling means (40) coupling the rotating guide (31) to the rotating drum (15) in rotation about the axis x, the coupling means (40 ) comprising a tie tensioning device (42) making it possible to maintain the tie (105) in tension.

[Claim 9] A transfer device according to any preceding claim, wherein the transfer means comprises a plurality of transfer assemblies.

[Claim 10] Transfer device according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising the set of at least one link, each link of the set of at least one link being wound around the composite drum.

[Claim 11] Transfer device according to the preceding claim, in which the assembly of at least one link forms a winding around the composite drum, the winding having a height greater than a height of the fixed drum and greater than a height of the rotating drum so that at least one idler drum receives part of the link winding.

[Claim 12] Rotary device comprising the transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 10, the rotary device comprising the fixed part and the rotating part, the fixed part being integral with the fixed drum in rotation around the axis ( x) and the rotating part being secured to the drum rotating in rotation around the axis (x). ]

The invention relates to transfer devices intended to maintain an electrical and/or optical connection between a fixed part of a link, such as a cable and a rotating part of the link, the rotating part being capable of rotating with respect to the fixed part around an axis of rotation x.

[0002] This type of transfer device is, for example, used in the field of winches used to deploy acoustic transmission or reception antennas in water via electro-carrying cables. These cables consist of an armor, which can be metallic or textile, and a core composed of electrical and/or optical conductive fibers. The function of the core is to transmit information and/or electrical power between a winch frame and an antenna intended to be wound around a winch drum mounted to pivot relative to the frame. In order to transmit the information and/or the electric power to the antenna via the cable, it is necessary to fix a part of the cable to the frame and to fix another part of the cable to the drum and to ensure the mechanical connection and/ or electric and/or optical between these two parts during rotation of the drum relative to the frame.

[0003] A first solution is to ensure this connection only when the drum is fixed relative to the frame, once the antenna is positioned at a desired distance in the water. This solution requires potentially dangerous manual operations with each movement of the drum.

[0004] A second solution is to use an electrical and/or optical rotary joint to permanently maintain an electrical and/or optical connection between the part of the cable fixed to the frame and the other part fixed to the drum. The rotary joint incorporates optical tracks and/or electrical tracks to ensure optical and/or electrical continuity. Continuous 360° electrical tracks can be provided on the frame and coupled to a brush on the rotating part. The disadvantage of this solution, especially for optical versions, is mainly its cost. Indeed, the cost of an optical track is very high and must be multiplied by the number of optical fibers to be connected.

[0005] A third solution consists in providing an intermediate part of the long cable. The intermediate part of the cable extends between a part of the cable

secured to the fixed part and part of the cable secured to the rotating part in rotation around the x axis. The intermediate part of the cable is optionally lightened of its armor to reduce its size. A winding transfer device makes it possible to wind the intermediate part of the cable to limit the torsion of the cable and to ensure the electrical and/or optical connection between the fixed part of the cable and the part of the cable fixed to the drum.

A solution of this type is disclosed in US 3,539,123. This solution includes two drums aligned along the axis of rotation of the winch drum, one of which is fixed in relation to the frame and one drum fixed in relation to the winch drum rotating around the axis of rotation of the winch drum. The intermediate part of the cable, located between the drum of the winch and the frame, is wound partly on the rotating drum and on the fixed drum. When the winch drum rotates in one direction, the rotating drum rotates with this drum and the intermediate part of the cable unwinds from the rotating drum and wraps around the fixed drum. When the winch drum rotates in the other direction, the intermediate part of the cable unwinds from the fixed drum and winds up on the rotating drum.

[0007] This solution has the disadvantage of being potentially very cumbersome. The size of the cable transfer device is given mainly by the dimensions of the drums necessary for storing the cable. The size of the drums is proportional to the dimensions of the intermediate part of the cable and to the maximum number of turns that the rotating drum must make during its use. This maximum number of revolutions corresponds to the finite number of revolutions that the winch drum is required to make. The intermediate part of the cable must be able to be completely transferred from the fixed drum to the rotating drum and vice versa. The greater the number of turns, the more each of the two drums (fixed and mobile) must be enlarged (along the axis of rotation) so that each can store the entire intermediate part of the cable, which can make the transfer device very bulky.

[0008] Document US 3,539,123 proposes a space-saving solution consisting in providing a rotating drum and a coaxial fixed drum, the fixed drum surrounding the rotating drum and the winding around the fixed drum being carried out on the surface of the fixed drum which faces the rotating drum. However, this

solution is less robust because the cable cannot be energized and may vibrate. In addition, it must be sufficiently rigid in relation to its mass to be able to wrap around the fixed drum without falling.

[0009] The document FR2188593 proposes a solution in which it is possible to wrap the cable around the rotating drum and the fixed drum over several layers. The major drawback of this solution is that the tensile force applied to the cable is variable due to the variation in the diameter of the winding when the layers accumulate, which leads to a variation in the tensile force for a same pair. In addition, it is necessary either to provide drums of large diameter and therefore of small width to avoid poor winding of the cable, or to provide an additional device for axially moving the pulley in order to store the cable correctly.

An object of the invention is to limit at least one of the aforementioned drawbacks.

[0011] To this end, the subject of the invention is a transfer device for limiting a torsion of a set of at least one link between one end of the fixed link with respect to a fixed part and one end of the fixed link by relative to a rotating part capable of rotating relative to the fixed part around an axis of rotation, the transfer device comprising:

- a composite drum comprising a set of drums aligned along the axis of rotation around which the link is able to be wound, the set of drums comprising a fixed drum intended to be integral with the fixed part in rotation around the axis of rotation x, a rotating drum intended to be able to rotate around the axis x with respect to the fixed part and a set of at least one idler drum interposed between the fixed drum and the rotating drum, each idler drum being free in rotation around the axis of rotation x with respect to the rotating drum and the fixed drum and having a height along the x axis,

- transfer means comprising at least one transfer assembly, each transfer assembly being configured to transfer a link from the set of at least one link, when it is wound around the composite drum, between the fixed drum and the rotating drum, towards the rotating drum when the rotating drum rotates in a first direction around the axis of rotation, and vice versa when the rotating drum rotates in the opposite direction.

[0012] Advantageously, the transfer means are configured in such a way as to make it possible to transmit the whole of a useful winding of the assembly of at least one link made continuously around the fixed drum and each idler drum, towards the rotating drum so that the useful winding is carried out around the fixed drum and each idler drum continuously, when the rotating drum rotates in the first direction and vice versa when the rotating drum rotates in the opposite direction.

[0013] Advantageously, each transfer assembly is configured to make it possible to transfer a link of the set of at least one link from a first point to a second point separated, along the axis of rotation, from a first predetermined distance D, greater than the height h of each idler drum.

[0014] Advantageously, at least one transfer assembly comprises an assembly of at least one deflection pulley intended to receive a transfer loop of a link of the assembly of at least one link extending between the fixed drum and the drum rotating when the link is wrapped around the composite drum to tend to transfer the link between the fixed drum and the rotating drum.

Advantageously, the return pulley has a mean radial plane substantially parallel to the x axis so as to transfer from a first point to a second point separated, along the axis of rotation x, by a first distance D predetermined, greater than the height h of each idler drum, the first distance D being substantially the diameter of the pulley.

[0016] At least one set of at least one deflection pulley can comprise several deflection pulleys or a single deflection pulley.

[0017] Advantageously, the transfer assembly comprises:

- a support supporting the set of at least one pulley,

- a rotating guide integral with the support in rotation around the axis of rotation x, the support being mounted to slide relative to the composite drum along an axis substantially parallel to the axis x, the support being free in translation along the rotating guide compared to the composite drum,

- the rotating guide being coupled to the rotating drum so as to rotate relative to the rotating drum around the axis of rotation at a defined angular speed so that when the link is wound around the composite drum and the loop is received by the assembly of at least one pulley, the link is transferred, between the fixed drum and the rotating drum, to the rotating drum when the rotating drum rotates in a first direction s around the axis of rotation, and vice versa when the rotating drum rotates in the opposite direction.

[0018] Advantageously, the transfer device comprises coupling means coupling the rotating guide to the drum rotating in rotation around the x axis.

[0019] Advantageously, the coupling means comprise a link tensioning device making it possible to maintain the link in tension.

[0020] In a particular embodiment, the transfer means comprise several transfer assemblies.

Advantageously, the transfer device comprises the set of at least one link, each link of the set of at least one link being wound around the composite drum.

[0022] Advantageously, the transfer device, the assembly of at least one link, forms a winding around the composite drum, the winding having a height greater than a height of the fixed drum and greater than a height of the rotating drum so that at least one idler drum receives part of the link winding.

The invention also relates to a rotary device comprising the transfer device according to the invention, the rotary device comprising the fixed part and the rotating part, the fixed part being integral with the fixed drum in rotation around the axis x and the rotating part being integral with the drum rotating in rotation around the x axis.

Other characteristics, details and advantages of the invention will become apparent on reading the description made with reference to the appended drawings given by way of example and which represent, respectively:

[0025] [Fig.1] Figure 1 schematically shows a rotary device comprising a transfer device according to an example of a first embodiment of the invention. For greater clarity, the first part and the second part of the rotary device, a shaft and the coupling means are shown in section along a plane containing the axis of rotation, the rest of the transfer device is shown in perspective.

[0026] [Fig.2] Figure 2 schematically represents the composite drum, the pulley and a link which must be transferred by the transfer device, when the useful winding is wound around the idler drums and the fixed drum,

[0027] [Fig.3] Figure 3 schematically shows the composite drum, the pulley and a link to be transferred by the transfer device, when the link being partly transferred to the drum rotating with respect to Figure 2,

[0028] [Fig.4] Figure 4 schematically shows the composite drum, the pulley and a link which must be transferred by the transfer device, when the useful winding has been completely transferred around the rotating drum and the idler drums by compared to Figure 2,

[0029] [Fig.5] Figure 5 schematically shows a variant in which the transfer assembly comprises two pulleys, only two idler drums of the composite drum are shown in this figure and the pulleys located in front of the composite drum are shown in transparency so that the composite drums located behind these pulleys are visible,

[0030] [Fig.6] Figure 6 schematically shows an example of another embodiment in which the transfer means comprise two transfer assemblies;

[0031] [Fig.7] Figure 7 schematically shows a section along the plane P of the embodiment of Figure 6.

From one figure to another, the same elements are identified by the same references.

The transfer device according to the invention is intended to be integrated into a rotary device, such as a winch 100 represented in FIG. 1, comprising a rotating part 101, for example a reel, capable of rotating relative to a fixed part 102, for example the frame of the winch, around the axis of rotation.

The transfer device according to the invention is intended to pass a flexible link 105 from the fixed part 102 to the rotating part 101 by limiting twisting of the link when the rotating part rotates relative to the fixed part around the x-axis.

The link 105 comprises a first end EX1 integral with the fixed part 102.

The transfer device is intended to limit twisting of the link between the first end EX1 of the link 105, fixed relative to a fixed part 102 of the rotary device, and a second end EX2 of the link 105, fixed relative to a rotating part 103 of the rotating device.

The link 105 is, for example, a part 105 of a cable C located in the extension of another part 106, of the cable C, intended to be wound around a drum 103 of the winch 100. This drum 103 is the drum of the reel 101. The link 105 comprises an end EX2 fixed to the drum 103 in rotation around the axis x.

The winch 100 includes an actuator 104 for driving the rotating part 103, here the winch drum, in rotation around the axis of rotation x with respect to the fixed part 102 so that the cable C, more precisely the part 106 of the cable C, wraps around the drum of the winch 103, when the drum 103 rotates in a first direction and unwinds when the drum 103 rotates in the other direction.

The link 105 is for example a mechanical, electrical and/or optical cable making it possible to transmit optical information and/or electrical information and/or electrical power to ensure an electrical supply. In general, a cable can comprise a set of several fibers possibly surrounded by a sheath. The link can comprise all the fibers or a part of the fibers and comprise the sheath or be devoid of it. The link can, for example, be a stripped part of the link 105 for reasons of space, it can only include the electrical cable(s) and/or optical cable(s) of the cable C.

As seen in Figure 1, the transfer device 1 comprises a composite drum 10 shown more specifically in Figures 2 to 4. The composite drum 10 comprises a set of drums 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, around which the link 105 is able to be rolled up.

[0041] Drums 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 of assembly 10 are aligned along the x axis. In other words, these drums are substantially cylinders of revolution around the x axis. In other words, drums 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 of set 10 are coaxial.

The drums 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 of the assembly 10 advantageously all have the same diameter but may alternatively have different diameters.

The composite drum 10 comprises a fixed drum 1 1 relative to the frame 102. The composite drum 10 also comprises a rotating drum 15 pivotally mounted about the x axis relative to the frame 102. The rotating drum 15 is secured to the drum of the winch 103, and more generally of the rotating part, in rotation around the axis x.

The drums 11, 12, 13, 14 and 15 of the assembly 10 are adjacent along the x axis.

[0045] The drums are advantageously arranged substantially contiguous to the operating clearance.

The transfer device 1 comprises transfer means comprising a transfer assembly T, comprising the pulley 20 in the example of Figures 2 to 4, configured to transfer the link 105, when it is wound around the composite drum , between the fixed drum 1 1 and the rotating drum 15, towards the rotating drum 15 when the rotating drum 15 rotates in a first direction around the axis of rotation x, and vice versa when the rotating drum 15 rotates in the opposite direction.

In other words, the transfer assembly T is configured to debit the link 105 from a first point p1 to come and wind it at the level of a second point p2 closer to the rotating drum 15 than the first point p1 when the drum rotates in one direction and closer to the fixed drum than the first point p1, when the rotating drum rotates in the opposite direction. The points p1 and p2 are the tangent points to the drum, where the link 105 leaves and, respectively, arrives on the composite drum 10.

In other words, the transfer assembly tends to debit the link on the fixed drum side 11 to wind it on the rotating drum 15 side when the rotating drum 15 rotates in the first direction and vice versa when the rotating drum 15 rotates in reverse.

The transfer is carried out via the assembly of at least one idler drum.

In the non-limiting embodiment of Figures 1 to 4, the transfer assembly T comprises a deflection pulley 20 intended to receive in its groove, when the link 105 is wrapped around the composite drum 10, a transfer loop B of the link 105 to ensure the return of the link from the first point p1 to the second point p2.