US1031620A - Wire-coating machine. - Google Patents

Description

Patented July 2, 1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

J. G. CALLAN.

WIRE COATING MACHINE.

APPLIOATION FILED ooT.z4,1ao7. l ,03 1 ,620.

..a IG n .n 4o d W J. G. CALLAN.

WIRE COATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 0012.24.1907.

1,031,620. Patented July 2, 1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

Fig). 2..

Wii-.nessesz Y Inventor; f'4 ohm @..Callam J. G. CALLAN.

WIRE COATING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED 00T.24,19o7.

1,031,620. Patented July 2, 1912.

5 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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Cal Ian,

J. G. GALLAN.

WIRE GOATING MACHINE.

1 G3 1 ,620. APPLICATION FILED 00T.24, 1907. Patented 2 5 SHEETS-SHEET 4.

Witnesses:

' Inventor,- Johm @el len,

J. G. GALLAN.

WIRE COMING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OGT.24, 1907.

I 031.62% Patented. July 2, 1912,

5 SHEETS-SHEET 5.

Inventor; JohmGfl/allar,

UNITED sTATEs PATENT oEEroE.'

JOHN G. CLLAN, OF NAHANT,'MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIG-NOR TO GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

WIRE-COATING MACHINE.

Specication of Letters Patent.

Patented July 2, 1912.

To all whom 'it may concern: Y

Be it known that I, JoH'N G. CALLAN, a

citizen ofthe United States, residing at Nahant; county of Essex, State of Massachusetts, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vire-Coatin Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This' invention relates to machines for continuously applying a coating to a Wire or the like, and has for its object the provision of means whereby the various steps of the coating process may be accomplished in a reliable, simple and elicient manner.

My invention relates more specifically to machines for applying a film insulation to electrical conductors. The lm insulation is applied in liquid form and subsequently solidiiied.- A single coating or a plurality of superposed coatings may be applied, as desired, depending upon the specific nature of the material.

One of the objects of my invention therefore is to rovide a machine of a compact,

well organlzed construction, which will reduce the insulation of conductors to a succefssful operatin basis,` and produce an insulated wire o a satisfactory quality at commercial s eeds. v

Various ot er objects of my invention will appear in thecourse of the following specivication, in which my invention has been reduced to .a concrete mechanism for purposes of illustration. y y In the accompanying drawings which illustrate one embodiment of my'lnvention,

Figure 1 is a sectional elevation of my complete coating machine; Fig. -2 is -a front elevation of a part of the machine; Fig. 3 is a section taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. l lookingin the direction of the arrow; Fig. 4 is a plan view of the machine; Fig. 5 is a section ofthe coating and storage tank showing the position of the .insulating fluid at the time the valve therein is first opened; Fig. 6 is a plan view of the same; Fig. 7 shows the stora e tank, in tilted position; and Figs. 8, 9 an 10 show details ofthe coating mecha- Referrin to the drawings, A is an oven ..50 through w ich the conductor travels in the.

pxrocess of insulation; vB is the Stringing ame uplon which the wire is strung; -C is the spoo 'ng mechanism; and. D is the fluid tank.

'55- The oven A is the upper part of a vertical rectangular box, the inside of' which is made accessible by means of a door 10-pivoted at 11, raised-by means of a weight 12 and normally held in closed position by means of a rope 13. Within this oven are the heating devices which are shownas heating coils 14. A driving shaft 15 is mounted in the lower part of the box and has securedthereto a wheel 16 which imparts a rotary movement to the wheel 17 and the wire carrying 65 sheaves 18. The upper sheaves 19 which carry the wire are mounted upon a shaft 20 supported by a member 21 which has a yoke at the top forming a bearing for tlie'shaft and admitting the wire carrying sheaves between the bearings. This member 21 is supported by links 22 and 23 so that the latter have a` parallel movement. The links are pivoted at their middle points to the arm 24 at 25 and 26 respectively and the outer ends 75 are pivoted at 27 and 28 to the rod 29. This rod is pivoted to a bracket secured to the frame at 30, and the arm 24 is similarly ivoted at 30. Springs 31 are arrange as shown so as to normally draw the links 22 and 23 together and tend to lhave them assume a position parallel to rod 29. The springs lend flexibility to the shaft 20 and render the wire taut on Stringing frame. When the door 10 is raised, the Stringing 85 frame may be brou ht down to the position 'shown in dotted llnes so as to lpermit of- Stringing wire over the sheaves.

- wheel 32 is mounted upon the drive shaft 15 sprocket and communicates a rotary movement to a sprocket wheel 33 on the shaft 34 by means of a sprocket chain 35. The sprocket wheel 33 is integral with a sproc et wheel 36V loosely mounted u on the shaft 34, the latter shaft being rigidly secured to the frame.

Pivoted to the shaft 34 is an upwardly eilitendin arm 37, the-upper end of which is forme into a yoke 38to which the fluid tank D is pivoted at 39. Adjustably secured by means of the slot and bolt connections l40 are arms 41, the upwardends of `which are pivoted at 42 to the outer end of the tank. By means of the bolt and slot, the tank can thus be moved on 'the pivot 39 so as to adjust the same as desired for the pur oses hereinafter set forth. l

ounted upon the tank Dy 1s a sprocket wheel 43 integral with a gear 44 meshing with a gear` 45 driving the shaft 46 -upon which the coating roller 47 is mounted. Tfhe 110 sprocket 43 is `driven from the sprocket wheel 36 by means of a chain 48 so that mo-` tion is transmitted from the drive shaft -15 to the sprocket chain 35, shaft 34 and chain 48 to the coating roller 47.

Loosely mounted upon the shaft 34is an arm49 to which is secured aI flexible bearing 50 for the intermediate driving wheel 17. A hub 52 on the arm 37 forms a bearing for the screw 53 which bears against t-hearm 49. A spring 54 normally pulls the armV 49 outward so as to disengage the intermediate drive wheel and by turning .the screw the intermediate wheel may be thrown in and out of action. The arm 49 is also connected with the treadle 55 by link 56 sothat the machine can be operated intermittently by the pressure of -the treadle. When the arm 37 is moved so as to Vmove the tank D, away from themachine, the spring 54, one end of which is connected with the arm 37, will move the arm 49 and hence the intermediate drive wheel 17 out of driving contact, and

` thus instantly stop the rotation' of the wire sheaves-and the travel of the wire. An adjustable back stop 57 is rigidly secured tothe frame so as to limitthe backward mbvement of the arm 37. When the tank D is moved backward it will assume the. position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. 'Y

The. tank D as shown is `divided into three i fluid supply compartments 59 and three coating compartments 60. The top 61 .of the supply compartments is air tight and is lprovided with tapering filling holes,- one -for each compartment, provided with plugs-62.

so that when the't-ank is tilted into the position shown in dotted lines there will be an air-tight chamber 63 above the fluid whenv the tank is filled. When the tank is moved back toits operative position shown in full lines, the space 63 will be filled with fluid, -and the airspace will be changed in the osition shown at 64. A tube 65 is threa ed through'the top of the tank as shown so that its upper end communicates with the atmosphere andthe lower end opens into the tank near the bottom thereof. -This tube may be adjusted by screwing it u and down throu 'hthe' top by meansof e slots in the top o the tube. The coating compartments of the tank connect with the filling compartment by apassage-way 66, and the holes 67 located at the undersldes of the tank con- {nect with this passage so as to drain both compartments throu h the said passagewa ,plugs 68, that have slotsjor va ves 69- which permit the-liquid to flow from one compartment to the other. By turning the yplug 68 ,communication between the tw'o com artments is cut oil". Adjacenttothe partltion 70 betweenl the two compartments are plates 71 rigidly held against the partition' by;

The top of the tank 61 is angular asshown-v hen desired, the ho es being rovided wit means of a bolt 72 and nut 73. The upper portions of the plates are'formed into' U- shaped arms 74 to sup ort ther transfer wheels 75. These transfer wheels are located so as to run in the slots of the coating roller 47 through which the wire 58 runs toA be coated. Fluid is kept at a denite level within the coating compartment so that the transfer wheel dips into it and the plugs 76 may be removed to drain off this compartment. A cover 77 is providedfor the coating compartment having a window 78 to enable the operator to note the height and con'-A l This scraper is held in the grooves by means of the spring 80 and a screw 81 is provided vwhich prevents the scraper from dropping back into the-compartment. The scraper is forced against the plate 82 by the, rotation of the coating wheels. A plate 83 is provided to protect the roll. l If for any reason the coating feeds unevenly' to one or two of the wires, and the operator considers it nec- F essary to cut out any of the transfer wheels,

lit can easily lbe done by turning the nut 73 which will dra-w t-he transfer wheell away from the coat-ing roller.

The spoolin mechanism is operated from ,the drive sha 15 by means of a sprocket chain 84 which'drives a stub shaftfmounted in'bearings on the main frame,l whichshaftdrives a vertical shaft 85 through-bevel'gears 86. At the upper end of thejshaft 85'is a bevel gear 87 driving a shaft 88"to which is secured a friction wheel 89 coperating with v a bevel friction gear 90 mounted onshaft 91. This shaft 91 has a bearing in the bracket 92 pivoted to the main frame, and at` its outer end is secured the spool 93 upon which the wire is wound after it is insulated. The

bracket 92 is pivoted on a shaft 94, and thefriction gears 89 and 90 are held in contact by means of the adjustable lweight 95. The.

wire is led across the-spool by means of a cam 103 which is caused to, rotate by mea-ns of threads on the shaft 85 and the worm gear 96. This cam 103 causes the'rock shaft 97 to be moved back and forth by means of l the arm 98J having a roller at its outer end coperating with the face'of the cam. A rod 99 is adjustably secured to the shaft 97 and bas'at its outer end a roller 100 which, as the shaft 97 rocks, leads the wire across the spool while the tension ofthe wire brings 1t back. The wire is fed from a similarlyoperated spool 101 which, however, requires no feeding mechanism so that the w1re passes off the spool 101 thence down to thev lower shea-ves 18 up through the oven and back and forth from the lower to vthe upper sheaves until it is wound on the spool 93.v i

' 85' andv likewise to` the coating ro The shaft 88 may'havefa number of' friction gears 89 and 90 attached thereto to .oper-i ate all of the spooling devices simultaneously, and the rock shaft 9T may. similarly operate a number of the guiding rollers.

The operation of my machine will be clearl understood from the foregoing de scription. The-pulleyv 102 transmits power to thefspooling mechanism throu h theshaft llers through the sprocket 33 andi, chain 48. To ll "the coating tank, the latter is movedv out from the coating rollers so that it will be in a tilted positlon shown in dotted'lines in Fig. 1. The tank is then filled with the passage 66 to the coating compartment closed. An 'air' space is thus left in the chamber 63. The tank is then moved backtoits operative osition and the s ace will be trans- ?e'rred to the position` own at 64. Communication is now opened between the coating and storage compartments by means of the valves or slots 69m the ends of the plugs 68. The fluid will then rise inthe coating compartment above thelevel of the lower extremity of the'tube 65.. After the machine has run a short time, however, the fluid is consumed until it reaches the level of the lower end of the tube which .is the` permanent working level of the luid.` The".

slight vacuum will be maintained therein.-

This vacuum is suiiicientto support the amount of iuid within the tank. 'In thefeeding operation as the iuid in the feeding compartment is reduced, the level in the coating compartment fall below the bottom of the tube 65. 'This unbalancing allows air to enter the liquid through the tube in suliicient quantity tocompensate for the increased space caused by the new supply fed into the coating compartment. In this way the iuidin the coating compartment ol. the tank is maintained at a constant level. When it is desired to clean out the coating compartment, the tankl may be tilted back and the plug 68 closed so as to keep the! fluid in the supply compartment. The tank may then be washed out and the washing fluid allowed to run out by removing the plugs 76.

The arrangement of the coating tank above described has many advantages in that the level of the fluid is always const-ant, and the iuid, which is oftentimes of a volai tile nature, is kept entirely inclosed.

Various modifications of my invention will, of course, suggest themselves to those skilled in the art without departing from age compartment communicating with each other, a coating wheel located in said coat l ing compartment, means for passing' the wire 'adjacent to said coating 'wheel, and means for automatically stopping the movement of the wire when the tank 1s moved.

3. A wire coating machine comprising a fluid tank having a coating compartment and-an air-tight storage compartment communicating with each other, a coating wheel located'in one of said compartments, means for causing the wire to travel adjacent said wheel, and a tube leading from the atmosphere to a point within said latter compartment below the fluid level.

4. A wire coating machine comprising a pivoted tank having a coatingcompartment and an air-tight filling compartment communicating wlth each other, means for carrying the wire into engagement with the insulation carrying means, and means for automatially stopping the movement of the wire.when the tank containing the insulating medium is moved on its pivot.

5. A wire coating machine comprising a pivoted tank provided with a coating compartment and an air-tight filling compartment communicating wlth each other having different positions for' operating and filling, a coating wheel located in one of said compartments, means for causing the wire to travel adjacent said wheel, means for forming an air pocket above the iiuid level, and a tube leading from the atmosphere to a point below the fluid level in the storage compartment. l

6. A wire coating machine comprising a movable fluid tank having a coating compartment and an air-tight storage compartment communicating with each other, means q or'maintaining a constant level inthe coatlng compartment irrespective of the level in thel storage compartment, means for carrying the wire into engagement with anin said latter compartment, and a tube leading from the atmosphere to a point within the air-tight compartment below the fluid level, a coating wheel located in one of said compartments, and means for causing the wire to travel adjacent said wheel.

8..`A wire coating machine comprising a pivoted fluid tank having a coating compartment and an air-tight storage compartment, said latter compartment being sup-v plied with a chamber for trapping air when the tank is lled, means whereby the tank may be moved to cause luid to flow into the coating compartment and ll said chamber,` and a tube leading from the atmosphere to a point below the level of the fluid in the storage compartment.

9. A wire coating machine comprising a pivoted uid tank having a coating compartment and an air-tight storage compartment, said latter compartment being supplied with a chamber for trapping air when the tank is full, means for carrying the Wire into engagement with an insulation distributing Wheel in the coating compartment, and means for automatically stopping thev travel of' the4 wire when the tank is ment, said latter compartment being sup-- plied with a chamber for trapping air when the tank is lled, ,means wherebythe tank may be moved to cause Huid to flow into the coating compartment and lill said chamber, a tube leading from-the atmosphere to a point below the level of the fluid in the storage compartment, means for carrying a wire into engagement with an insulation distributing means in working relation with the coating compartment, means for automatically stopping' the travel of the wire when the tank is moved, and means for moving the tank on its pivot.

In witness whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty rst day of October,

JOHN G. CALLAN. Witnesses:

JOHN A. MCMANUS, Jr., HENRY O. WESTENDARP.

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