EQOS Energie registered patent for cable-stringing pulley assembly

Linz/Biberach (Germany), 13 March 2019 – EQOS Energie, a Triton Fund IV portfolio company, announced yesterday that it has registered a patent for a novel method of performing wire hoisting work in the Overhead Lines business unit: As part of a one-year testing run, EQOS Energie developed an innovative form of the cable-stringing pulley assembly, which will not only make the exchange or installation of high-voltage lines much safer in the future but will also speed up the process by up to one-third.

This way, EQOS Energie is particularly qualified for sophisticated and complex fitting projects and sets new safety-relevant benchmarks in overhead line technology. The degree of innovation of the cable-stringing pulley assembly is based on the special arrangement of four pulleys placed side-by-side within the surrounding retainer of the cable-stringing pulley assembly. Axes of rotation, circumferential directions and the corresponding broadening of the cables are taken into account by the cable-stringing pulley assembly and also contribute to securing the cables used. In addition, the cable-stringing pulley assembly is particularly resistant to thermal impacts and extremely light due to the use of aluminium and plastic materials. This is an additional advantage, because the lower weight makes the fitters’ work significantly easier.

Cable-stringing pulley assemblies are necessary for being able to install and exchange lines more safely and more efficiently between masts, which may stand up to one kilometre apart. Based on this newly developed cable-stringing pulley assembly, up to four wires can be fed in. As a result, during fitting the wires being fed in or removed have the effect of securing each other. If one wire were to tear, another three independently acting conductors could each carry the full weight of the other conductors.”

The increased safety aspect plays a significant role, because the cable work is often performed during full regular operation of a facility, e.g. in shipping ports. The risk that conductors, which can weigh up to several tons depending on their diameter or span, could sag or even fall down must therefore be excluded completely. EQOS Energie has invested an entire year in the complex development of the cable-stringing pulley assembly. A core team of site and project managers has tested the various mechanical force effects of the cable-stringing pulley assembly and closely collaborated with experts from the fields of occupational safety, steel and line planning, statics as well as structural and materials engineering in the process.