US1751434A - Filament-mounting machine - Google Patents

Description

March 18, 1930. M. VVILDEBOER FILAMENT MOUNTING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 15, 1927 Inventor: arinus \A/i lclelooer.

by fi J7 His AttoT'neV March 18,1930. M. WILDE BOER 4 1,751,434

FILAMENT MOUNTING MACHINE Filed June 15, 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Inventor": I Marinqs \N'iicleboer I y M I Hi8 Attorney.

Patented Man-18,1930

mnnws wILnEBoE'n,

{UNITED srAr s -PAT NT OFFICE OF EINDHOVEN, NETHERLANDS, AssIeNo 'ro GENERAL ELECTRIC comraNY, A CORPORATION or N W YORK rrLmEN'r-uouN'rING MACHINE Application filed June 15, 1927, Serial No. "199,086, and in the Netherlands June 30, 1926.

" The invention relates to a machine for winding or mounting the filament of electric incandescent lamps or similar devices and.

more particularly to a machine by which the '5 winding or mounting of the filament is done automatically. z The m'ounts' of electric have filament supports or anchors for supportin the filament and also leading-in wires or'conducting the current to the filament. The greatest difficulty in mounting the filament automatically has been to connect the filament to theleads because itis diflicult always to position the leads accurately. with 1'5 respect to the filament being fed to the machine, and accurate positioning of the leads .is essential for connecting the filament to them; I

' In order to facilitate the-accurate positioncan then'be fed so t at the leads and the filament can be connected. Thefeedof the filament itself can be controlled much more acc'urately than the position-ofa lead in the mount, as the lead is subjected during the Y manufacture of the mount to many opera tions before the filament is mounted. The greatest uniformity of position of the leads is obtained if the successive stages of the manufacturing process, through which .the

mount has to pass before being ready to -be sealed into the bulb, takes place'in a single machine, thereby eliminating anyvhandling of the mounts, as any handling results in small although unintentionalchanges in the position of the leads. e

In accordance with the invention, the filament is first brought by means of the fila-' ment feeding device into a position where one end of it can be fastened to one of the leads, whereupon the body of the filament is wound on the anchors and then the other incandescent. lamps ing of the leads the "mount is in accordance with the invention held stationary in position to cooperate with a filament feeding device end is brought into such a osition'thatit can be fastened to the secon lead.- The fastening of the filament to the leads may be done by clamping the filament ends into the hooks or bent ends of the lead. In

' order to accomplish this result the end of the filament is placed in the hook or bent end of the lead while this lead hook or bent end is located between a pair'of clamping jaws. As the filament moves forward into the lead hook it encounters a movable stop, which is in line with the direction. of movement of the fila' ment and is mounted immediately behind the hook or bent end of the leads. This stop is moved to a position immediately against the bent end' of the lead, and thus prevents the ends of the filament from projecting through the lead hooks after the lead hooks onthe mg of the leads are clamped to the filament en s; a

In the incandescent lamp industry, a distinction can be made between two somewhat different types of lamps, the vacuum type and the gas-filled type of'which the principal characteristics are well known. As far.

asextern'al characteristics are concerned, the 1 mount of the vacuum-type lamp is distinguished by a straight wire or filament, which is wound in a zigzag manner on two sets of anchors placed in two parallel planes; The so i and form an eye open at the sidev to permit the filament to enter the eye. These anchors with eyes on the end are hereinafter called The vcoiled filament is fastened to 35 ieyes. the lead in the manner described above, and wound in the several eyes. iAS these eyes are wound with alarge pitch their sides are far enough apart to make the eyes accessible to the filament wire or coil.

In order to mount or wind the filament wire or coil in these filament supports with eyes, there is provided a filament feeding device which moves in such a way that the fila ment wire or coil follows a curved path, while the eyes are positioned in such relation to this path that the filament can enter the eye through the open side of the eye. A machine according to this principle can be constructed in several ways. In one form of machine embodying the invention, a filament feeding device is provided which has not only a bodily movement along a certain definite path, but also another double movement i. e. one movement around its own axis an another in the direction of this axis, while at a point on this device eccentric to this axis the coil or filament wire is guided or held;

In order to obtain this result the filament may be'fed through a tube mounted to rotate about the bore of the tube as an axis. This a tube may be provided with a driving pinion which rolls on a stationary ring gear, the outlet of the tube being eccentric to the axis about which the pinion and the tube rotate.- Further, the tubecan be mounted so as to be movable back and forth along the longitudinal axis about which it rotates.

When winding a filament on the anchors a coiled filament of definite length is pushed into the tube of the filament feeding device and is pulled out of the bore of the tube during the winding. As the feeding device approaches the second lead the end of the coil will slip out of the tube of the filament feeding device, and will have to be caught and brought into position where it can be clamped to the second lead. For this purpose a pin or finger can be provided which follows the movement of the rotating tube.

For purposes of illustration one form of machine constructed according to theinvention is here explained with reference to the attached drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side view in perspective and partly in section of i the principal parts of a machine constructed according to the invention; Fig. 2 is a cross section along the longitudinal axis of the filament'feeding device for feeding the filament wire or coil; Fig. 3 is a detail view of a fila-" ment feeding device; Fig. 4 is a longitudinal section showing one form of driving mechanism for'actuating the parts of the machine; Figure 5 a plan view of an eye just before the filament passes into it through the open side; Figs. 6 and 7 an end view and a side view respectively of the eye with the parts in the position of Figure 5; Fig. 8 a plan view of the eye just after the filament has'passed into it; Figure 9 a side view of the eye with the parts in the position of Figure 8; and Fig. 10 a diagram looking down on some of the eyes and showing by a broken line A the path of the'ti'p through which the filament is fed, 7

The particular machine shown in the drawings is designed to mount the coiled filaments of the gas-filled type of lamp. and comprises a filament feeding device 10 for the feeding of the filament wire, a mount support 11 forpositioning the anchors and leads, and two nular frame 15 preferably on ball bearings 13 and" 14:. A pedestal 16 mounted on the table 12 supports a rotatable filament feeding tube 17 which is journaled in the pedestal (Fig. 2). A pinion 18 splined to the tube 17 and shown somewhat out of proportion for clearness of illustration, is in mesh with a ring gear 19 on the frame 15, and as the table 12 rotates the pinion due to its meshing with the ring gear 19 rotates the tube 17. The filament feeding tube 17 has a bore 20 through which the filament passes, and is so shaped that the tip 21 of the tube which opens towards the center of the frame 15 is eccentric to the axis of the pinion. Furthermore, the filament feeding tube 17 can move back and forth in the pinion 18 and the pedestal 16 along its axis of rotation, and consequently the tip 21 of the tube 17 may have a triple movement, i. e. a bodily movement in a circular path about the center of the annular frame 15, and simultaneously a double movement around the axis of the .pin-

ion 18 and also along that axis. filament is now fed through the bore 20 of this filament feeding tube 17 while the tube is making this triple movement thiscoil as it leaves the tip 21 of the tube will describe a curved path.

The mount support the mount comprises a rod 22 and a thick fiat disc 23 over the upper end of the rod. If, by means of a stem holder not shown in Figure If a coiled 11 for the anchors 0f 1, the mount is now so placed that the anchor holding button of the glass cane or arbor 23 of the mount end rests on the disc 23 the anchors 23 are in the same plane as the filament feeding device 10 withtheir eyes 23 projecting beyond the ,rim of the disc 23. In

order to center the mount, the disc 23 may have a central depression or cup into which the upset or button-shapedend of the glass cane or arbor fits. The leads 24 and 25 may be previously bent if necessary so that thelr bent or hooked ends will be located between the edge of the disc 23 and the clamping jaws 26 and 27, which are pivoted in brackets 28 and29 on a ring 30; which is rigidly connected to the frame 15 .A lug or stop 31 connected to the rod 22 projects from the'edge of the disc through a slot in the edge of the disc and is movable toward the lead 24 to push the end of the filamentback into place in the hook on the lead.

' The clamping jaws 26 and 27 are brought 26 during the upward movement of the sleeve cam 33, and'thereby'the pinching together of the hook on the lead 24 at the time when the end of the filament, usually a coiled filament is not yet in the hook, is prevented. The

sleeve cam 33 is constructed in sucha 'way that the arm of the clamping jaw 27 will slide over the cylindrical part of the cam after the lead has been suificiently' pinched together.

The feeding of-the coiled filament into the tube 17 of the filament feeding device takes place as follows: 1

Asshown in Figure 1 a funnelshaped tube 39 is mounted in such a position with reference to the filament feeding device that itsbore 40 (see Fig. 3) is an extension of the bore 20 of the tube 17. A coiled filament 41 dropped into the funnel will slide downward under the influence of gravity and will slide into the bore 20- In case the coil does not emerge from the tip '21 of the tube 17 a flexible needle, fitting into the bore 40, can be placed above the funnel-shaped tube and moved downwards to force the coil forward through the bore 20 to the tip 21. Instead of a needle compressed air may be used to push the coil forward through the tube 17.

A finger 42 extending radially towards the 7 center "of the annular'frame 15 is mounted on the pedestal 16 to swing in substantially the plane of the disc 23. The finger is mounted on a shaft 53 Whichis journaled on the pedestal-16, and is oscillated by a cam follower 43, which rides on the rim of a fixed cam 54 projecting from the edge of the frame 15 A spring holds the finger 42 in the position shown in Fig. 1 and permits the finger to swing back far enough so that its endcan pass over the clamping jaws 27 as the table 12 rotates, the finger being swung back to its normal position by the spring after its end is clear of the clamping jaw. To move the tube 17 longitudinally during the mounting of the filament, a finger 44 equipped'with a roller 45 (Fig. 2) which follows the rim of a cam 46 fixed on the edge of the frame 15 has a projection which engages a collar 47 on the tube 17. The cam 46 is so shaped that the tube 17 is moved back and forth periodically during the travel of the table 12.

The mechanisms above described may be actuated in proper sequence by various forms of actuating mechanism, but merely for purposes of illustration there is shown in-Figure 4 one form ofactuating mechanism which may be used. The particular machine shown in Figure 4 has a stem holder for gripping the stem tube of the mount to hold the mount in the machine in position shown in Figure 1. The particular form of stem holder shown comprises a pair of spring-pressed jaws which grip the stem tube of the mount and which are pivoted on a pedestal. 56. This pedestal may also have an arm 57 for holding the funnel-shaped tube 39 in proper posi-j tion. The pedestal is mounted on a framework which has a top 58 and a shelf which supports the driving mechanism for the machine. i 1

The rotary table 12 in this particular form of machine is driven through a vertical countershaft 60 having on its upper end a pinion .in mesh with gear teeth on the rim of the table and driven through a bevel pinion on its lower end from a driving gear 61 which is both a bevel gear and a spur gear. This gear 61 is rotatably mounted-on the hub 62 of a'driving pulley 63 which rotates on a fixed axle 64. The parts are so proportioned that one revolution of the gear 61 causes one revolution'of thetable 12. v

A latching mechanism is provided between the driving pulley 63 and the gear 61 of such construction that when the driving pulley is connected to the gear 61 the gear will make one complete revolution and then automati- -cally stop: Various forms of such latching mechanism-are known, and merely forpurposes of illustration, there is shown a simple mechanism comprising a lug 65 on the hub of the driving pulley'in position to be engaged by a.catch 66 -pivoted-on the gear 61' and pressedby a spring 67 into position to engage the lug 65 and thereby connect the driving pulley to the gear 61. The catch 66 is provi ded with a tail so shaped that when it is carried by the revolution of the gear 61 into contact with a spring-pressed control rod 68 in the position shown in: the drawing it moves the catchfree from the lug and holds it so' that the gear is automatically disconnected from the driving pulley and stops, although the driving pulley continues to rotate. To start .the machine the control rod is drawn down out of range of the tail of the catch in some convenient way, as for example,

through a pedal connected to the control rod through a cable 69. The drawing down of the control rod permits the catch to swing into position to engage the lug 65 on the rotating hub of the .drive pulley, whereby the gear 61 is locked to and rotates with the driving pulley for one revolution, at the end of which the tail of the catch 66 rides up on the control rod 68 which, in the meantime,

has returned-to theposition shown in the drawing, and thereupon the gear 61 is auto? matically disconnected from the driving pulley.

The actuating mechanism for the clamping jaws of the machine is driven from the gear 61through a'n idler gear 70 which is in mesh with the spur teeth of the gear 61 and also in mesh with a gear 71 mounted to rotate on an axle 72. The gear 71 drives a clamping jaw actuating cam 73 which has an incline 74 for actuating the cam sleeve 33 to close the clamping jaws 27 and a second incline 75 to move the cam sleeve further and thereby actuate the clamping jaw 26. The sleeve cam 83 is actuated from the cam 73 through a taphen the high point on the cam 7 8 engages the cam follower 79 the rod 22 is rotated slightly and as a result the stop 31 is moved intocontact' with the hook on the lead 24.

The operation of the machine is as follows: A mount is placed in the stem holder in such position that its cane or arbor rests with the button in the central depression of the disc 23, and thereby the leads are located exactly between the edge of the disc'23 and the clamping jaws 26 and 27. If a coiled filament 41 is to be mounted in the anchors of this mount, the coil is dropped in the funnel-shaped bore of the tube 39. This coil will slide downward by gravity and push forward with a certain speed through the bore 20 of the tube 17. In case the coil does not emerge immediately from the tip 21 of j the tube 17 ,the coil can be forced forward by a flezrible needle or by compressed air as described above. The tube 17 is at this time in starting position with its tip so placed that the end of the coil as it emerges from the tip of thetube 17 will be in the hook orbent end -of the lead 25 (Fig. 1). As the coil moves out of the tube 17 its end will encounter the filament stop or finger 42, which is then pressed against the hook on the lead to hold the end of the filament in the lead hook. WVhen the coil is in the correct position with its end in the lead hook and against the finger 42 the machine is started and sleeve cam 33 is moved upward by .the incline 74 of the cam 73 just far enough to actuate the clamping jaw 27 and pinch together the hooked end of thelead 25 upon the filament end. As the table 12 rotates, the filament feed tube 17 is given the triple movement described above and the tip 21 of the filament feeding tube 17 follows a path which when projected on a horizontal plane is shown by the brokenline A in Figs. 5,8 and 10, that portion of the path which is adjacent an eye is, when projected on a vertical plane shown by the broken line B. The coil, now fastened at one end to the lead 25, is pulled out of the tube 17 through the tip 21 during this movement, and the portion emerging from the tip follows a curved path in space due to the movement of the tip. As the anchors of the mount are provided with eyes open on one side to receive the filament, the coil will be wound through these eyes during this movement. In orderto accomplish-this the tube 17 is rotated through an angle of 360 degrees.

as it moves from one anchor to the next and the tip 21 passes under each eye and then rises, as indicated by the broken line B, Fig. 6. When the ,tip 21 reaches the positionshown in Figs. 5, 6 and 7 the filament '41 is lying against the under side of the anchor 23 and adjoining the open side of the eye, and the tip 21 is so near the eye that it may be said to be in substantially a vertical plane which is parallel to the anchor 23", and passes between the convolutions of the eye, and which may be called the plane of the eye. The tip 21 is now moved radially outward by the cam 46 to the positionshown in Figs. 8

and 9, thereby drawing the filament which projectsfo'm the tip 21 in a bend somewhat asshownin Figs. 5 and 6, thru the open side of the eye and into placein the eye. The tip 21 continues on its way, following the path A of Fig. 10, until it nears the next eye, when the cam 46 permits it to move radially inward so that it will pass under and around the next eye. A coiled filament which' is to be mounted must be cut off to a very definite length, as any small variation in length causes a difference in the light intensity and power consumption. Therefore, the coil pushed into the tube 17 is of very carefully determined length, and will be pulled gradually out of the tip 21 duringthe winding process. After the coil has been wound through all of these eyes, the tip 21 will be between the. last eye and the clamping jaw 26, and the end of the coil will then slip out of the tip 21 of the tube 17. In this position of the tip 21 the coil will slip out of the tip, while the cam roller 45 on the stop 44 meets a projecting part of the cam 46 and pushes the tube 17 radially outward against the spring 48. The end of the coil will now tend to droop down,'but it is prevented from doing so by the finger or pin 42, which, due to the shape of a recess in the cam 54 on the rim of the frame 15, has been swung toward the center'of the frame into place to form a kind of bridge or guide between the last eye and the hooked end of the lead 24. At this time the rod 22 will be rotated through a small angle by' the cam 78 in such way that the stop lead. At this movement the sleeve cam 33 is moved upward by the incline 75 of the cam 73 to actuate the clamping jaw 26 and pinch together the hook on the end of the lead 24, after which the machine automatically stops. What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States, is 1. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a holder for a mount having hooked leads and hooked anchors in substantially the same plane, a filament feeding mechanism comprising a filament guide for delivering a filament lengthwise, and actuating mechanism. for moving said guide relatively to the mount in said holder to move its delivery end in substantially 'said plane and from the hook on one lead past the hooks on said anchors to the hook on the other lead to deliver the filament into the hooks on said leads and on said anchors..

2. In-a machine of the character described,

the combination of a l.older for a mount having hooked leads and hooked anchors in substantially the same plane, a filament feed;

ing mechanism comprising a tubular filament guide through which a filament may slide lengthwise, and actuating mechanism for moving said guide in said plane from an initial position'for delivering the end of a fi1a-- ment to the hook on one leadthrough succeeding positions for drawing the filament, from said guide and delivering it to each anchor in succession as said guide passes the anchor to a final position where the other end of the filament is delivered to the hook on the other lead; v

3. In a machine of the character described, the combination of a holder for a ount having hooked leads and hooked anch rs in substantially the same plane, hook clamping jaws in registry with the hooks on the'leadsof a mount in said holder, and filament feeding mechanism comprising a tubular guide through which a filament'may slide endwise to place its end in a hook while said mechanism is in operative relation to the hook, said mechanism being movable from operative relation to the hook on-one lead into operative ing the end'of a filament into the hook of one of the leads of a mount in said holderfa filament stop movable into position adjacent the hook of a lead to encounter the projecting end of a filament in said hook, and means for in se uence.

5. n a machine of the character described,

the combination ofa holder for a mount 3 having hodked leads and hooked anchors in substantially the same plane, hook clamping jaws in registry with the hooks on the leads of a mount in said holder, and filament feeding mechanism comprisinga movable filament guide for delivering a filament lengthwise, and actuating means for'moving said guide to cause its delivery end to travel in a curved path which extends slightly above and below such plane and brings said delivery end adjacent the hook of a lead of each anchor and another lead insuccession and in position to deliver into said hooks the filament fed through said guide.

6.. In a machine of the character the combination of aholder for amount having hooked leads and hooked anchors, hook clamping jaws in"registry with the described,

hooks on the leads of a mount in said holder and filament feeding mechanism comprising a tubular guide having .an outlet eccentric to its longitudinal axis, said guide being rotatable about and also movable along said axis and also bodily movable in a path adjacent the hooks of a mount in said holder, and actuating means for moving said guide bodily and on said axis to place in said hooks the filament delivered from said guide.

- 7. In a machine of the character described,

the combination of a holdersfor a mount having hooked leads and hooked anchors, hook clamping jawsin registry with the hooks on the leads'of a mount in said holder and filament feeding mechanism comprising a tubular guide having an outlet eccentric to its longitudinal axis, sai-d guide being rotatable about and alsomovable along said axis and also bodily movable about the mount holder,

a ring of gear, teeth concentric with the axis of the mount holder, a pinion on said guide in mesh with saidgear teeth, and actuating means for moving said guide bodily about the mount holder to place in the hook of the mount the filament delivered from said guide. g

8. In a machine of the character described,

the combination of a holder for a mount having hooked leads and hooked anchors, hook clamping jaws in registry with the hooks on the leads of a mount in said holder and filament feeding mechanism comprising-a tubular guide having-Ran outlet eccentric to'its longitudinal axis,said guide 'bein rotatable about and also movable along sai also bodily movable about the mount holder, a ring of gear teeth concentric with theaxis axis and of the mount holder, a pinion on said guide and in mesh with said gear teeth, and means to move said uide along its axis;

. In a machine of the charscterdescnbed,

responsive tobodily'movement of said guide the combination of a holder for a mount having hooked leads andhooked anchors,"hook clamping jaws in registry with the hooks on the leads of amount in said holder andfila- I ment feeding mechanism comprising a tubular guide having an outleteccentric to its longitudinal axis, said guide bein rotatable about and also movable along sai axis and also bodily movable in a path from one lead 1O hook-past the anchor hooks of the mount to the other. had hook, actuating means for moving said guide along said path, and a finger moved by said actuating means as said guide approaches the other'lead into position adjacent said other lead to engage the filainerdit and position it in the hook of said other ea' e v .In witness, whereof, I have hereunto set my hand this thirty-first day of May, 1927."

k MABINUS WILDEBOER. I

Images