US2078226A - Wire fabric making machine - Google Patents

Description

April 1937. A. E. BLASHILL 2,078,226

\ WIRE FABRIC MAKING MACHINE Original Filed June 18, 1931 8 sh t -sh t 1 April 27, 1937. A. E. BLASHILL WIRE FABRIC MAKING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 Original Filed June 18, 1951 17-5. E/ w J I L/ 2 9 fbg April 27, 1937. A. E. BLASHILL WIRE FABRIC MAKING MACHINE Original Filed June 18, 1931 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 April 27, 1937. BLASHlLL 2,078,226

WIRE FABRIC MAKING MACHINE Original Filed June 18, 1931 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 April 27, 1937.

A. E. BLASHILL WIRE FABRIC MAKING MACHINE Original Filed June 18, 1931 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 April 1937. A. E. BLASHILL- 2,078,226

WIRE FABRIC MAKING MACHINE Originl Filed June 18, 1931 s Sheets-Sheet s April 27, 1937. A. E. BLASHILL k WIRE FABRIC MAKING MACHINE Original Filed June 18, 1931 8 SheetsSheet 7 H 2 B/QSM/ April 27, 1937.

E. BLASHILL WIRE FABRIC MAKING MACHINE Original Filed J1 me 18, 1931 8 sh t -sh et 8 a 5. E/as/z) Patented Apr. 27, 1937 UNETED STATES PATENT QFFICE WIRE FABRIC MAKING MACHINE Arthur Ernest Blashill, Withington, Manchester, England ary 14, 1935, Serial No. 1,796.

ain June 24, 1930 8 Claims.

This invention relates to a machine for producing wire fabric of the kind which is composed of separate wire lengths spaced apart so as to form a square or rectangular shaped mesh. The separate wire lengths consist of what are termed line and stay wires, the line wires being disposed substantially at right angles to the stay wires and the latter being connected to the line wires at their points of intersection with the latter by having their ends twisted around the outside line wires and by means of separate wire locks twisted around the inner line wires and the stay wires at the points of intersection of these wires with each other.

The application is a division from my copending application, Serial No. 545,321 filed June 18, 1931, and patented April 2, 1935 under Patent No. 1,996,061.

The machine to which the present invention relates employs a rotary drum for feeding the line wires through the machine for the application thereto of the stay wires, the line wires being passed over the surface of such drum, and the invention has for one of its objects to provide improvements in regard to the construction and operation of the said feeding drum.

According to the present invention the drum for feeding the line wires is continuously rotated and in order to compensate for the period during which a stay wire is being secured to the line wires this feeding drum has translational motion imparted to it during such period.

The invention also extends to a winding drum for the finished fabric which drum is composed for segments whereby the drum is capable of being reduced in diameter in order to facilitate the removal of a completed roll of fabric from the drum.

The invention also consists in the further features to be hereinafter described, illustrated and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figure 1 is a front elevation of a machine for forming wire fabric and having a feeding drum for the line wires operating in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is an end view of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a cross section through the cross frame A of Figure 1 and illustrates the construction and arrangement of the dies which operate to apply the wire looks at the points of intersection o-f the inner line wires of the fabric with the stay wires thereof;

Figure 4 is a fragmentary section of the rotary feeding drum for the line wires;

In Great Brit- Figure 5 is a fragmentary elevational view of this feeding drum;

Figures 6, 7 and 8 are views illustrating details of the gripping jaws provided on such drum;

Figure 9 is a part sectional view of the winding drum provided in accordance with this invention;

Figures 10, 11, 12 and 13 illustrate details of this winding drum;

Figure 14 is a fragmentary end view partly in section showing one of the line wires passing through the device which operates to bend the wire so as to produce a helical effect in the finished fabric;

Figures 15 to 18 are views illustrating details of this device, Figure 15 being an end elevation, Figure 16 a front view, Figure 17 a part sectional plan view on the line EE in Figure 15 and Figure 18 being a part sectional plan View on the line FF in Figure 15.

Figure 19 is an end view of a counter mechanism provided in accordance with the invention;

Figure 20 is a side view of Figure 19;

Figure 21 is a part sectional view taken on the line l\/IM in Figure 20, and

Figures 22 and 23 illustrate details of the counter mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, the line wires I, after passing between pairs of die elements 2, 2, (Figure 3) are led around a rotary feeding drum 3 and from the latter the line wires are led to a winding drum 4 (Figure 9) upon which the completed fabric is wound into the form of a roll.

The die elements operate to apply wire locks 5 at the points of intersection of the line wires with each stay wire 6 and the die elements are adapted to be opened and closed for this purpose.

The winding drum is composed of a plurality of segments 1 which are slidably supported upon tapered guides 8 carried upon a fixed shaft 9 mounted within the drum and coaxial therewith. Each drum segment on its inside carriers guides H] which are tapered to correspond with the guides 8 and with which the guides I0 engage by means of dovetails ll (Figure 12). The shaft 9 is formed wth an axial bore l2 through which a rod it! passes and is mounted for reciprocation. within the bore by being connected at one end with a lever Hi which is mounted for rocking movement about a fixed pivot l5 by the actuation of a pedal 16 and through the medium of a link ll. At its other end the rod i3 is con nected with internal projections IS on the free outer ends of the drum segments by means of a disc I9 carried at such end of the rod and engaged within open slots 20 in the said projections 18.

each other so as to reduce the diameter ofthe drum which these segments form since movement of the rod in this direction will, through the medium of the disc 19, cause the guides ill to move down the tapered surfaces of the guides 8 of the fixed shaft 9. Movement of the rod in the opposite direction by depression of the pedal will cause the guides ID to ride up the tapered surfaces of the guides 8 with the result that the drum segments are moved apart from each other and the diameter of the drum is increased, this being the condition illustrated in Figure 9. During contraction of the drum segments the projections l8 ride inwardly upon the disc and during expansion of the drum these projections ride upon the disc in the opposite direction.

The winding drum is driven by an electric motor 22 (Figure 2) which operates so that its speed decreases as the torque resistance of its load increases during the winding operation on account of the increasing size of the fabric roll.

The line wires are passed between jaws 23, 23 (Figures 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8) on the exterior surface of the feeding drum 3 and the latter is arranged to be rotated after a portion of the fabric has been completed in the dies 2, 2 so that the jaws may operate to move the fabric forward and position the line wires for the application thereto of another stay wire 6. The jaws 23, 23 are arranged in longitudinally spaced series annularly around the circumference of the drum 3 and the arrangement is such that the series of jaws are brought into operation to grip the line wires successively during rotation of the drum 3 and preferably so that more than one series of jaws on the far side of the drum relative to the feeding side of the machine are in operation at a time.

The jaws 23 are adapted for lateral movement towards or away from the jaws 23 and are actuated by radial arms 24 the inner ends of which carry rollers 25 which engage a cam 26 secured to the housing 21 at one end of a shaft 28 which carries the drum 3, the .arrangement being such that as the drum is rotated the said rollers are moved so as to engage the high and low parts of the cam. When the rollers are in engagement with the high part of the cam the jaws 23 are moved into gripping relation with the jaws 23 through the operation of links 29 and upon the rollers subsequently arriving in succession at the low part of the cam, the jaws 23 are moved out of gripping engagement with the jaws 23 and consequently with the line wires, such latter movement being arranged to take place automatically if desired as by the operation of springs 30 which are energized upon movement of the arms 24 to close the jaws.

The gripping jaws 23, 23 are preferably adapted for adjustment to meet any particular spacing apart of the line wires and this adjustment may be effected by providing spacing members which are adapted to be interposed between ad- Jacent pairs of gripping jaws and are of lengths chosen in accordance with the particular spacing required. Means may also be provided for adjusting the distance between the gripping jaws so that the allowance made for movement of the latter is only such as will ensure an efiicient gripping action of the jaws on the wires, such means preventing excessive transverse displacement of the jaws as would put them out of alignment with the line wires.

The drum 3 for feeding the line wires is arranged to be rotated continuously by means of a chain 32 (Figure 2) which passes around guide sprockets 33, 34, 35 and 36 and is driven by a sprocket wheel 3'! .and in order to compensate for the period during which a stay wire is being secured to the line wires it is arranged that the drum 3 is lowered while the dies 2, 2 are closed and is subsequently raised when the dies are opened, the drum being moved during this period through appropriate distances according to the desired spacing apart of the adjacent stay wires on the finished fabric. This raising and lowering motion of the drum may be effected by arranging for the drum 3 to be supported by a structure 38 which is adapted to be operated upon by cams 39 at appropriate moments during the operation of the machine so as to impart the necessary up-and-down motions to the drum, the sprocket wheel 33 carried by the movable structure 38 serving to take up the slack of the chain 32 resulting from the drop of the structure 33.

The cam 26 over the surface of which the rollers 25 move in order to operate the jaws 23, 23 may be secured to the supporting structure 33 so as to secure the cam against rotation.

The circumference of the drum 3 is a multiple of the unit of measurement of the fabric and serves to measure the latter and the drum may have means associated therewith adapted to record the amount of fabric fed thereby together with means adapted to cause an alarm to be sounded when a predetermined amount of the fabric has been made.

In one specific form of the invention the drum 3 falls at a uniform speed from the time the dies 2, 2 are inch from being closed until they are inch from being fully open and during the rest of the open period of the dies the drum rises at a graduated or crank motion speed.

In Figures 19 to 23 an alarm and recording means is shown operated from the chain sprocket wheel 33 through gearing 39, 49, 4|, 42, the gear wheel 42 operating to rotate a drum 43 with which the alarm mechanism is associated, while said wheel 42 is further .associated with mechanism adapted to record the total amount of wire fabric produced by the machine, said latter mechanism being operated from the gear wheel 42 through pinions 44, 45, and gear wheel 41. The recording mechanism, which is indicated generally by the reference 48 in Figures 21 to 23, comprises an outer drum 49 having numbers on its peripheral surface, as indicated in Figure 22, which numbers represent the total amount of fabric produced by the machine and which will be indicated by the pointer 50.

The face of the drum 43 is marked with radially disposed series of denominations 5| which represent a definite amount of fabric and the peripheral face of the drum is provided with laterally displaced contacts 52 arranged in line with the series of contacts representing the various denominations, said contacts being arranged so that upon movement of the drum through a certain distance one or the other thereof will engage with a fixed contact 53 whereupon an electric circuit is closed and an alarm or signal device is operated. The denominations on the drum 43 may represent the length of fabric in rods and the arrangement may be such that if, for example, the alarm is to be operated when 10 rods of the fabric have been produced, upon the contact 54 on the drum arriving against the fixed contact 53, the electric circuit will be closed and the alarm operated. The other contacts on the ,edge of the drum, and indicated by the references 55, 56 and 5?, correspond with the denominations Z0, 30, 46 respectively.

The line wires are drawn from reels, and are led from the latter through tubular guides which lead the wires beneath the base of the machine and the lengths of wire after leaving the tubular guides are l d through a series of devices which operate to impart a helical form to the wires so as to produce a helical effect in the finished fabric.

The series of coilers comprise vertically disposed series of rollers 58 (Figures 14 to 18), and the rollers 58 of each series are disposed in staggered relationship and preferably have their axes relatively inclined to each other as is illustrated in these figures.

The rollers are carried upon supports 59 which are preferably rotatably mounted so that they may turn freely during operation and remain stationary during the time the wire locks are being secured to the fabric wires. Provision is preferably made, however, for applying a tension efiect such as will take any slack out of the wires immediately prior to the clamping of the wires by the dies so as to ensure that the spacing of the portions of the line wires between adja cent stay wires is uniform.

Means may also be provided for varying the degree of staggering of the rollers 58 so that it is possible exactly to control the helical effect produced in the line wires. comprise a worm to and a toothed segment 6i engaging with the worm and associated with one or more of the rollers of the series so that by the operation of said worm and segment the angular position of the rollers with respect to one another may be varied.

I may arrange for each series of rollers to be rotated positively, as by means of a light chain drive, although normally their rotation will be effected by the pull of the line wires as they are fed through the machine.

The series of rollers between the outermost thereof may be disposed in a line displaced relatively to the line of the outermost series, preferably in a line nearest to the movable dies, so that a spring-like action is imparted to the fabric upon opening of the dies after a lock forming operation which tends to move the fabric away from the fixed dies. This arrangement of the end roller series also facilitates the threading of the stay wires across the line wires in the preferred manner according to which the stay wires are passed behind the marginal line wires l and in front of the intermediate line wires l or vice versa. Deflector plates may be provided and arranged so as to ensure this relative dispositioning of the line wires and facilitate the threading of the stay wires in the manner referred to.

Having now described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:-

1. In a machine for forming wire fabric composed of line wires and stay wires secured to the line wires transversely thereof by means of wire locks secured at the points of intersection of stay wires with the line wires, the combination therewith of a continuously rotatable drum adapt- Such means may ed to feed the line wires through the machine and means for imparting translational to and fro movements to this same drum during the rotation thereof.

2. In a machine for forming wire fabric composed of line wires and stay wires secured to the line wires transversely thereof, the combination therewith of a continuously rotatable drum, means on the drum adapted to grip the line wires so as to feed them through the machine during rotation of the drum, and means for periodically imparting translational motion to this same drum, during rotation thereof, in order to stop the feeding of the line wires during each operation of the machine to secure a stay wire across the line wires.

3. In .a machine for forming wire fabric composed of line wires and stay wires secured to the line wires transversely with respect thereto, the

combination therewith of a continuously rotatable drum adapted to feed the line wires through the machine, means for imparting translational to and fro movements to this same drum during rotation thereof, said means consisting of a continuously travelling (or driven) chain or the like, a second drum upon which the finished fabric delivered from the first drum is wound and means which always bears a fixed relation to the said first drum adapted to take up the slack of the chain during translational motion of the drum without allowing the pull of the winding operation affecting the constant rotation of the said first drum.

4. In a machine for producing wire fabric comprising line wires and stay wires secured to the line wires transversely with respect thereto, the combination therewith of a continuously rotatable drum, means on the drum adapted to feed the line wires through the machine during rotation of the drum, and means adapted to impart translational to and fro motion to this same drum during rotation thereof in a plane substantially parallel with the direction of delivery of the fabric from the machine.

5. In a machine for producing wire fabric composed of line wires and stay wires secured to the line wires transversely with respect thereto by means of wire locks secured at the points of intersection of the stay wires with the line wires, the combination therewith of a continuously rotatable overhead drum, means on the drum adapted to feed the line wires through the machine during rotation of the drum, means adapted periodically to lower the drum, without stopping its rotation, so as to produce a cessation in the feeding of the line wires through the machine during the time that a stay wire is being secured to the line wires, means for returning the drum to its original position after the stay wire has been secured to the line wires, a continuously moving chain or the like adapted to rotate the drum, and means movable with the drum and to the same extent adapted to take up the slack of the chain during the time that the drum is being lowered, said last mentioned means always bearing a fixed relation to said drum.

6. In a machine for producing wire fabric composed of line wires and stay wires secured to the line wires transversely with respect thereto, the combination therewith of a continuously rotatable drum, means on the drum adapted to feed ac line wires through the machine during rotation of the drum, and means associated with the drum adapted to record the amount of fabric produced by the machine and. to give an audible indication when a predetermined amount of fabric has been produced, said means compr'ming displac'eable contacts arranged adjacently to a series of denominations on the drum which rep- 5 resent different amounts of fabric produced by the machine, and a stationary contact arranged in an electrical circuit which is energized, upon this contact being engaged by one of the movable contacts, so as to complete the circuit to a signalling device, said stationary contact being movable into different positions where it may be engaged with the particular contact on the drum corresponding to the amount of fabric it is desired to produce.

' '7. In a machine for producing wire fabric composed of line wires and stay wires secured to the line wires transversely with respect thereto, the combination therewith of means adapted to bend the line wires as they are fed through the a machine so as to impart a helical formation to these wires, said means comprising a series 'of rollers arranged in staggered relationship, and means whereby the angular position of the roll- 5 ers with respect to one another may be varied at will said last mentioned means comprising a worm and a toothed segment in engagement with said worm and connected with certain of the rollers.

8. A drum upon which wire fabric may be Wound comprising in combination a plurality of segments which form a hollow drum, tapered guides on the interior of each said segment, a hollow shaft within the drum and coaxial therewith said shaft having an extension beyond one end of the drum, tapered guides upon the exterior of said shaft upon which the tapered guides on the interior of the drum segments are adapted for axial sliding movements, a rod which passes freely through the interior of said shaft from end to end thereof and at the end of the shaft remote from the said extended shaft end is connected with the corresponding ends of the drum segments and means connected with the other end of said rod by which the rod may be moved axially in the direction of the opposite end of the drum to cause the tapered guides on the drum segments to slide upon the tapered guides on the said shaft and thereby cause a contraction of the drum segments and consequential reduction in the diameter of the drum which facilitates the removal of the wire wound upon the drum.

ARTHUR ERNEST BLASI-IILL.

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