Manufacture of Cable Bolts

Abstract

A cable bolt comprising a plurality of flexible steel filaments formed around a central member, the cable bolt having spaced bulbous portions along the length of the bolt each bulbous portion defining a cavity containing a segmented ring that surrounds the central member to engage the filaments of the bulbous portion.

1 . A cable bolt comprising a plurality of flexible steel filaments formed around a central member, the cable bolt having spaced bulbous portions along the length of the bolt each bulbous portion defining a cavity containing a segmented ring that surrounds the central member to engage the filaments of the bulbous portion. 
     
     
         2 . A cable bolt according to  claim 1 , wherein segments of the segmented ring include interfitting projections and recesses that interengage on assembly of the ring. 
     
     
         3 . An apparatus for forming bulbs in a cable having twisted flexible steel filaments over a central member, the apparatus comprising:
 a bulbing assembly releasably engagable with said cable, said assembly being operative to force the filaments apart without plastically deforming the filaments; and   an inserting device operative to insert a spacer through the parted filaments to sit between the filaments and the central member.   
     
     
         4 . The apparatus according  claim 3  wherein on releasing the parted filaments they return against the spacer to form a bulbous portion in the cable bolt. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus according to  claim 3  further comprising a securing device for holding at least a portion of a cable. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus according to  claim 3 , further comprising a frame and wherein the bulbing assembly is movable relative to the frame so that a plurality of bulbing portions are able to be formed along the cable. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus according to  claim 3 , wherein the cable is fed through the bulbing assembly so that a plurality of bulbing portions are able to be formed along the cable. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus according to  claim 3 , further comprising a cable feeding device operative to feed the cable into the bulbing assembly. 
     
     
         9 . The apparatus according to  claim 3 , further comprising a cutting device to cut cable, the cutting device being arranged to cut the cable incorporating one or more bulbing portions into discrete lengths.