US1944823A

US1944823A - Method and means for coloring and coating wires and the like

Info

Publication number: US1944823A
Application number: US491706A
Authority: US
Inventors: Neil C Lament
Original assignee: National Electric Products Corp
Current assignee: National Electric Products Corp
Priority date: 1930-10-28
Filing date: 1930-10-28
Publication date: 1934-01-23
Anticipated expiration: 1951-01-23

Description

Jan. 23, 19.34. I N. c. LAMONT- v Q 4 3 METHOD AND MEANS' FOR COLORING AND COATING WIRES AND THE LIKE I INVENTOR Z6 BY ATTORNEYS Jan. 23, 1934. N. CILAMONT 4 1#944,823

METHOD AND MEANS FOR QOLORING AND COATING WIRES AND THE LIKE FiledOct. 2a, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.3. F11

- ATTORNEYS 1, fiwvflwfw Jan. 23, 1934. LAMONT 1,944,823

ma'raon AND mums FOR COLORING AND comma wnws AND THE LIKE I Filed Oct. 28, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet :5

INVENTOR BY ATTORNEYS Jan. 23, 1934. y N, c, LAMONT METHOD AND MEANS FOR C OLORING AND COATING WIRES ANDTHE LIKE Filed 001;. 28, v193.0 4 Sheets-Sheet BY fig ATTORNEY? Awf l fray/7W Patented Jan. 23, 1934 METHOD AND MEANS FOR COLORING AND COATING WIRES AND THE LIKE Neil C. Lamont,

, Pa.,.assignor to Edgeworth National Electric Products Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application mm :8, mo. Serial No. 491,196

new. (0!. 9.1-)

This invention'relates to a method and a ma-' chine for coloring insulating wire and the like and thereafter coating it with a thin coating of wax-like material such as paraflin.

The invention will be described with reference to the making of certain types (it insulated wires, although it will be understood that the machine and the stepspf the method which are employed may be used in the making of other articles where similar problems arise. 1

One desirable form of insulated wire include a braided covering which may serve as a wrapping for other interior insulation. Such braiding may be directly colored orit may be first impregl6 nated with an impregnating material such as steal-in pitch or some similar fiame retardent compound and after it is impregnated it'may be colored.

In some cases the impregnated braided covering is first dusted with mica or alike powdery material before the color is applied. Over the color coating it is'desirable to provide a thin supercoating of a wax-like material to provide a slick or non-stick outerfinish. In other cases the zo'impregnated wire is directly'covered with the wax-like super-coating, the intermediate color coat being omitted.

In the manufacture of insulated wires of the kind described above, it has been found that the wax-like material of the finish coat may tend to excessively blend or merge with the underlying coatings and with the impregnating compound. When colors are used, [this blending tends to destroy the .brilliancy of the color coating and produce a wire having a muddy or fiat appearance. This blending and'merging is extremely liable to occur if the final waxing step be carried out by dipping the previously impregnated wire in a bath of molten wax so that the heat 40 out the bath would tend to remelt the underlying material. Such undesired blending or merging also tends to occur if excessive quantities of molten wax were applied in any way to the insulated wire. The application of excessive quantities of wax over a color coating is also undesirable. Ac-

cordingly, with various kinds of insulated wires it is ade'sideratum to apply a regulated and desired minimum quantity of wax and to also apply the wax in such manner'that the wax does not successively blend of merge with underlying material and to further apply this wax-like material in such a way that the use of supplementary scrapers or. wiping dies or the like to'remove excessive wax may be dispensed with. It is further desirable that the steps of color coating of the wire and afterwardscoatingit with wax may be carried out in onecontinuous process, a color coating being first applied and the wax-like material being subsequently. applied in the proper manner to secure the desired final 6i product.

The present invention has for one. of its objects the provision of .a novel method and machine for applying one or more colorcoats to insulated wires or like articles and for thereafter applying over such coloring a thin'wax-like covering.

Another object of the'present invention resides in the provision of a novel method and machine for applying super-coats of wax-like material in such a way that the object being coated will not come in contact with an excessive quantity of heated wax-like material and also in the provision of a method in which regulated quantities of the super-coating may be applied.

A further object of the present invention resides in the provision of a method and machine for applying wax-like material to articles to be coated with a thin super-coating of wax-'-likematerlal and in which such material is applied to'the article in the form of a mist.

Further and other objects of the present invention will be hereinafter set forth in the accompanying specification and claims andshown in the drawings which by way of illustration show preferred embodimentsof the apparatus adaptable for carrying out the novel method.

In the drawings:

Figure I shows somewhat diagrammatically the steps of the method beginning with the'un- 9o colored wire, carrying the wire through the coloring step or steps, carrying it through the drying steps and thence through the waxing step;

Fig. 2 is a central sectional view of the wax applying pot and waxing apparatus. In-this embodiment the wire passes vertically through the waxing pot;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of the waxing pot, certain parts being shown is section, the view being taken substantially on lines 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. -iis a view of a differentembodiment of waxing pot wherein only two atomizing jets are provided instead of the four which are shown in the preceding Figs. 2 and 3. Also in this form of waxing'pot the wire is adapted to traverse through the pot in a horizontal direction instead oi in a vertical directionr Fig. 5 is a detail view of one of the leather washers which are used for the inlet and outlet orifices no of the waxing pot and this figure also shows the retaining means for the washer;

Fig. 6 is a modified form of Waxing pot adapted for waxing wire and traversing it horizontally through the pot and wherein any four jets may be employed instead of the two jets shown in Fi 4; and

Fig. v amore complete view of the apparatus which i's capable of carrying out'the method and shows in further detail the various driving means, pay-out and take-up reels, etc.

Referring first to Figs. 1 and 7, the part designated 10 in Fig. 7 comprises the 'payout reel. This reel has wound upon it the insulated wire after it has been braided and impregnated if 11 desig-' so as to thoroughly dry the wire traversing there through. Adjacent the top of the drying tower the wire 11 passes over aflanged pulley 12. After passing over this flanged pulley the wire llagain is directeddownwardly to a painting apparatus generally designated 13. This painting apparatus is provided with an inlet orifice 14v to permit the wire 11 to enter the paint pot and with- 'in the paint pot the wire 11 passes down below the surface of the paint and over a-free running pulley 15 which is indicated in dotted lines in Fig; 7. After passing over. the pulley the wire which has then received one coat of, paint passes upwardly out of the paint pot 13 and is drawn past a wiping nipple 16. The wire emerging from this wiping nipple 16 has the first coat of color applied'thereto and this wire will be designated 11 signifying that it has been colored with one coat of paint. Wire 11a again traverses upwardly into the drying tower where the coat of paintis thoroughly dried and in the upper part of the drying tower, wire 11a passes over a second pulley 12a thereafter returns downwardly again and enters the paint pot a second time. The wire enters through a similar aperture and passes over a similar pulley as that previously described.

111) designates the wire which has left the paint pot after it has received a second coat of paint.

It will be appreciated that any number of coats may be applied. In some cases one coating will be sufi'icient, in which case one traverse of the wire through the paint pot will be omitted. In other cases mo're than two coats may be'desirable, in which case additional traverses of the wire through the paint pot may be made. The wire 11b passes upwardly over a pulley 12b in the drying tower, being dried as before and thereafter this wire 11b again passes downwardly over a drying sheave or pulley 18 adjacent the lower part of the drying tower. After passing over this drying sheave, wire 11b again passes upwardly and over a fourth pulley 12c atthe top of the drying tower. From 12c the painted and nowthoroughly dried wire again passes downwardly over a capstan wheel 19. The wire leaving the capstan wheel will be designated 11c and such wire passes downwardly through the waxing pot generally designated 20 and out at the bottom over an idler pulley 21 (see Fig. '7), thence upwardly over another idler pulley 22 and finally downwardly to a take-up reel 23. The takeup reel and the capstan wheel are driven by any suitable driving mechanism from a main driv ing shaft 24 as indicated on Fig. 7.

The waxing pet will now be more fully described with reference to Figs. 2 and 3. The waxing pct 20 comprises a tank of any suitable construction adapted to contain a quantity of molten wax or paraffin 25. For maintaining the parafiin in heated and molten condition suitable electrical heating devices 26 may be provided. The bot tom of the tank 20 is provided with a stand pipe 27 which extends up above the level of the top of the paraffin in-jthe bath and at its top this stand pipe is provided with an apertured leather washer 28. The purpose of the washer is to partially close up the aperture in the stand pipe and prevent excessive escape of the paraflin vapors from the waxing pot. The parafiin pot at the top isprovided with a suitable cover 29 and this cover is provided with an inlet orifice for the entering wire, the orifice being partially closed. by an apertured leather washer 28.

Fig. 5 shows in more detail one of the leather washers 28 secured in position by a springclamped retainer 30. It will be understood that the leather washers 28 are removable so as to be replaced with other leather washers having different sized apertures whenv different sized wires are to be coated. In Fig. 2, 110' indicates the wire which traverses vertically through the waxing pot. v

For applying the wax to the wire there are provided within the waxing pot a number of stand pipes 31. These stand-pipes extend upwardly substantially to the point indicated and adjacent the upper ends of the standpipes are atomizing nozzles generally designated 32. Air under pressure is admitted to the atomizing nozzles 32, the air being supplied by means of pipes 33 and the volume of air being adapted to be regulated by needle valves generally designated 34. When the waxing pot is in operation the blast of air which is directed to the atomizing nozzles draws up a quantity of molten paraffin from the bath 25 through the stand pipes 31. In the atomizing nozzles thismolten paraffin is broken up into the form of a fine mist of molten paraffin and such mist is impinged by the jets upon the wire which traverses through the waxing pot. As shown in Fig. 3 there are four atomizing nozzles 32 so that the wire is acted upon by sprays of paraffin mist which impinge upon the wire in four directions, In this way the thin and uniform coating of wax is applied to the wire and excessive quantities of wax are prevented from being applied to the wire. Furthermore the arrangement is such that the wire a't-no time comes in contact with the molten paraffin in the bath nor is it subjected to excessive heat from the bath. In this waythe undesired blending and.

merging of the wax of the underlying material is prevented.

Fig. 4 shows a slightly different embodiment adapted for coating a wire when the wire is traversed horizontally through the pot. In this figure only two atomizing jets'32 are provided.

In some cases where wire is traversed through the pot in a horizontal direction, it may be de sirable to spray it from more than two sides. In such cases the arrangement shown in Fig. 6 may be provided. Here the parafiin pot 20a is of substantially hexagonal configuration to provide for the disposing of the atomizing jets 32 in the angular relation shown. This arrangement permits spraying the wire in more directions than two upon, a horizontal traverse of the wire through the waxing pot.

It will be appreciated that any numberof atomizing jets may be provided, but in practice four lll wax-like material and away from the heat of said molten material, said method including effecting the coloring step, the drying step and the wax-coating step on the same wire while the latter is continuously advanced.

A 10. A method of coloring and super-coating an insulated wire, comprising continuously advancing the wire, applying to said advancing wire a coating of coloring material susceptible of having its coloring effect impaired by blending or "merging with previously or subsequently applied coating or impregnating material, and thereafter applying to the same continuously advancing wire molten coating material to provide a super-coating on the color coating while preventing blending or merging'of the latter, by maintaining the colorcoated wire free of excess heated molten coating material and out of the zone of heat of said material when the said material is applied, so as to avoid impairing the coloring effect of the color coating by blending or merging of the latter with the said super-coating material or other material on the wire.

11. A method of coloring and coating'an insulated wire, comprising coating the wire with coloring material susceptible of vhaving its coloring effect impaired by blending or merging with previously or subsequently applied coating or impregnating material, and thereafter coating the Wire withwax-like material and avoiding blending or merging of. the coloring material on the wire and impairment of the coloring effect thereof, by bringing the wire into contact with substantially only the amount of molten wax-like material required for the coating and maintaining the wire away from the heat of any substantial mass of said molten material.

12. The method of applying a super-coating of wax-like material to an insulated wire having thereon a coating susceptible of being impaired by blending or merging with previously ortsubsequently applied coating or-impregnating material on juxtaposition with an excess of hot molten wax-like material at or above the'melting temperature of the latter, which comprises applying a wax-like super-coating to the wire carrying the coating susceptible of blending or merging with previously or subsequently applied coating or impregnating material and preventing such blending'or merging of the said coating with the wax coating, by applying the molten wax-like material in the form of a mist, and restricting the zone of misting application and maintaining the wire away from the zone of heat of any substantial mass of moltemwax-like material, both prior to and immediately following the application of said molten wax-like material in mist form, so as to prevent impairment of the underlying coating by blending or merging with said wax-like material.

NEIL C. LAMONT.