GB2308391A - Wire compactor - Google Patents

Abstract

Scrap welding wire is wound, to compact it, by passing it through opposite holes 3 in nested tubes, rotating rods 1 bodily within the tubes to coil the wire, and withdrawing the rods axially, against spring bias, to discard the coil from the rod ends and from the tubes. The rods may be rotated manually or by motor.

Description

A Novel Wire Compactor This invention relates to a novel wire compactor.

In welding there is a process called MIG (Metal Inert Gas) welding which uses a large reel of wire fed from the wire feed box through a conduit of 3 to 4 metres in length to a hand set. It is a very quick and easyprocess and is used extensively. A key deficiency of this process is that occasionally the wire becomes entangled inside the wire feed box. To continue welding it must be cut inside the feed box and pulled out of the end of the conduit, and disposed of.

Disposal is a time consuming and awkward task to perform because the wire is spring like in nature. It normally ends up on the factory floor and is subsequently compacted with other welding wire which has been discarded. Each discarded piece of welding wire measures 3 to 4 metres in length and can become a safety hazard if not removed from the factory floor.

A common method employed to compact the wire is to wrap it around the handle of a wire brush or a piece of wood, after which it is small enough to put into a waste bin. Overall this is a time consuming and inefficient exercise.

The present invention, the wire compactor, can be fitted to any convenient place in the workshop. Whenever a welding wire jams, the operator cuts the wire at the wire feed box, pulls out a small length of welding wire and inserts it into the wire compactor, which after compacting will eject the coiled welding wire into a bin in a matter of seconds. Each coil of wire which has been compacted is of a convenient diameter for disposal. If all of the compacted welding wire coils are deposited in a separate skip they can be sold for scrap and recycled.

A specific embodiment of the invention will now be described by a way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings: Figs 1,2, and 3 show the sections and perspective views of the compactor.

Figs 4,5,6 and 7 show the rejected welding wire being coiled and ejected from the compactor.

Referring to figures 1,2 and 3 the wire compactor comprises of two rods (1) which after inserting the wire (2) through the side holes (3) between them are turned within the inner bearings (4) and (5) so drawing wire (2) in and compacting it in to a tight coil.

To eject the bundle of compacted wire (2) the draw tube (6) is pulled back. The inner bearing (4) is fixed to the end of the draw tube (6) and by the use of a cross bar (7) or any other means, the rods (I) are locked into position when the draw tube (6) is pulled back.

The draw tube (6) and the rods (1) are thus drawn back together. The rods are drawn through holes (3) in the front fixed bearing (5) which is fixed by the means of spacers (8) to the outer tube (9). The draw tube (6) has a series of slots (10) cut around its circumference so that it can slide freely along the length of the device. The slots (10) are long enough to allow the draw tube (6) to come level with the end of the outer tube (9) and drawn back far enough so that the ends of the rods (1) come level with the end of the front fixed bearing (5).

When pulling the draw tube (6) it is possible to trap excess wire which sometimes projects through the side holes (3) of the draw tube (6). To eliminate this problem a slot (11) the same width as the side holes (3) is incorporated. When the draw tube (6) is pulled back, tension is put on a spring (12) thereby forcing it back into position after the wire (2) has been ejected.

The wire (2) is forced off the end of the rods (1) when the draw tube (6) and the rods (1) are 'pulled back. The rods (1) slide through the holes (13) in the front fixed bearing (5) which can only rotate and cannot move axially. Hence the bundle of wire (2) is forced up against the front fixed bearing (5) as the rods (1) are pulled through it. The bundle of wire (2) then rests on the inner surface of the outer tube (9) which is expelled by the draw tube (6) returning to its original position.

A coupling is also provided for attaching a handle (14) or a motor unit. The whole unit can be attached to a number of locations by the use of various types of mounting brackets (not shown) Figs 4,5,6 and 7 show the rejected welding wire (2) being ejected from the compactor.

Claims (18)

CILAIMS

1. A wire compactor comprising of an outer tube with two holes one either side to enable wire to be passed throurh the bore.

2. A wire compactor as claimed in Claim 1 where a second tube of a smaller diameter its inside the outer tube.

3. A wire compactor as claimed in Claim 2 where a third tube fits inside the second tube and is connected to the outer tube with a series of spacers.

4. A wire compactor as claimed in any preceding claim where a second tube has a series of slots so that the spacers connecting the inner tube to the outer tube pass through them enabling the second tube to slide backwards and forwards while the inner tube remains fixed.

5. A wire compactor as claimed in any preceding claim where a bearing is fitted inside of the end of the second inner tube and fitted in such a way that it can rotate axially within the bore.

6. A wire compactor as claimed in any preceding claim where a second bearing is fitted inside the third inner tube in such a manner that it can rotate axially but with no linear movement.

7. A wire compactor as claimed in any preceding claim where a minimum of two rods pass through holes in both of the bearings.

8. A wire compactor as claimed in any preceding claim where the rods are connected to a handle enabling them to be rotated axially.

9. A wire compactor as claimed in any preceding claim where the rods are connected to the bearing in the second inner tube in such a way that they can rotate a- < ially but with no linear movement.

10. A wire compactor as claimed in any preceding claim where the rods pass through the bearing in the third inner tube in such a way that they can rotate sxi411y and in a linear fashion with the bearing forming a support and a back stop.

11. A wire compactor as claimed in any preceding claim where the bearing in the second inner tube is connected to the bearing in the third inner tube by a spring in such a manner that the two bearings are being pulled towards each other.

12. A wire compactor as claimed in any preceding claim where the rods protrude through the bearing in the third inner tube in such a way that they pass between the holes in the outer tube so that a length of wire can be passed through between them.

13. A wire compactor as claimed in any preceding claim where after the wire has been threaded between the rods the rods can be rotated using the handle attached to them thereby wrapping the wire around the rods.

14. A wire compactor as claimed in any preceding claim where after the wire has been wrapped around the rods the handle can be pulled pulling the rods and the second inner tube back causing the rods to be pulled through the bearing in the third inner tube pushing the wire off the end of the rods.

15. A wire compactor as claimed in any preceding claim where the end of the second inner tube is shaped - cone shaped or slots etc - so that the wire cannot jam when the rods are pulled back.

16. A wire compactor as claimed in any preceding claim where after the wire has been forced off the end of the rods the handle can be released thereby returning the rods to their original position thereby pushing the coil of wire out.

17. A wire compactor as claimed in any preceding claim which is made from metal, plastic material or from a combination of these materials.

18. A wire compactor substantially as herein described and illustrated in the accompanying drawings.