US2209584A - Lay indicator for wire rope machines - Google Patents

Description

`luly 30, 1940.

W. E. SQMERVILLE LAY INDICATOR FOR WIRE ROPE MACHINES Filed April 15, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 July 30, `1940. w. E. soMERvlLLE 2,209,584

LAY INDICATOR FOR WIRE ROPE MACHINES Filed April 15. 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 .1 leg Iuly 30, 1940. w. E. soMERvlLLE LAY INDICATOR FOR WIRE ROPE MACHINES Filed April l5, 1939 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 July 30, 1940. w. E. soMERvlLLE 2,209,584-

LAY INDICATOR FOR WIRE ROPE MACHINES Filed April l5. 1939 y 4 SheetSSheet 4 W owvrey:

Patented July 30, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LAY INDICATOR FOR WIRE ROPE MACHINES William E. Somerville, Coal City, Ill.

Application April 15, 1939, Serial No. 268,140

6 claims. This invention relates in general to wire rope or cable making machines, but more specifically,

to indicating mechanism for indicating the length of the lay of thestrands in the wire rope or cable, whereby the operator may be able to readily and quickly determine whether or not the machine is operating to produce the particular lay desired.

In wire rope or cable making machines of this character it has heretofore been necessary when measuring the lay, or to start a new rope or cable, to stop the machine and to then produce the proper lay it was necessary to change the gears, with the result that close inspection was necessary in order to see that the operation of the machine continues with the proper lay.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide improved mechanism for use in conjunction with a wire rope or cable machine which will indicate to the operator at a glance whether the machine is operating properly and as he desires, as such indicator will operate automatically.

A further object is to provide an improved attachment of this character which will also indicate the diameter and size of the rope that is being formed by the machine, and further to indicate the extent of advancement of the rope.

A further object is to provide improved mechanism of this character adapted to be adjusted to accommodate ropes or cables of different sizes.

To the attainment of these ends and the accomplishment of other new and useful objects as will appear, the invention consists in the features of novelty in substantially the construction, combination and arrangement of the several parts hereinafter more fully described and claimed and shown in the accompanying drawings illustrating this invention, and in which Figure 1 is a side elevation of indicating mechanism of this character constructed in accordance with the principles of this invention and showing the same as applied to one end of a wire rope or cable machine, the head end only of the rope machine being shown.

Figure 2 is a sectional view taken on line 2 2 Figure 1.

Figure 3 is a top plan view of Figure 2 with parts omitted and with parts in section.

Figure 4 is a top plan view of the indicating mechanism shown in Figure 1, on an enlarged scale.

Figure 5 is a detail sectional view taken on u linel-IiFigure4.

Figure 6 is a detail sectional view as taken on line 6 6 Figure 4.

Figure 7 is a detail sectional view taken on line 1 1 Figure 4. A

Figure 8 is a vertical sectional view taken on line 8 8 Figure 1, on an enlarged scale.

Figure 9 is a detail sectional View taken`on line 9 9 Figure 1, on an enlarged scale. f

Referring more vparticularly to the drawings. the numeral I 0 designates generally the head end of a wire rope or cable making machine, the strands of wire II after leaving the head passing through the usual die I2 to produce the rope or cable I3.

The head of the machine embodies a rotatable member I4 which supports the head I6, and secured to the face of the member I4 is a cam I6. This head is supported in the usual manner upon rollers I6 and is engaged by another roller I1 supported by a yoke I6 that encompasses the head and which yoke is held in position by means of suitable devices I9.

A supporting structure 26 is provided for the head and the die I2 and is itself mounted upon a supporting base 2I.

The measuring and indicating mechanism consists essentially of a rotatable member 22 which may be of any desired construction here being shown in the form of a spoked wheel and if desired and in order to conceal the spokes a disc or member 23 may be anchored to the spokes.

The member 22 is secured to a shaft 24 for rotation therewith and this shaft is journaled in suitable bearings 25-26 that form a part of the arms of a yoke or bifurcated member 21, the rotatable member 22 standing within the arms 28 of the bifurcation.

A rearwardly projecting arm 29 of the yoke is secured to a shaft 36 for rotation therewith and the shaft 30 is journaled in bearings 3I of 40 the bifuroated end of an arm or bracket 32, a portion 33 of the arm or bracket being offset for a purpose to be set forth.

To this -bracket 32 and preferably adjacent one end thereof is secured a depending threaded 45 member 34 which passes through a bearing 35 in another arm or bracket 36 secured to the supporting structure 26.

The threaded member 34 also passes through and has engagement with a threaded member 31 preferably in the form of a hand wheel which A rests upon the bearing 35 so that by turning the hand wheel 31 the arm or bracket 32 will be raised or lowered with respect to the bracket 36.

A supporting roller 36 is carried by the bracket 32 and this roller 38 is secured to a shaft 38 for rotation therewith and which shaft is mounted in suitable bearings 48, preferably ball bearings. The threaded member 34 may be separate from the arm 32 and secured thereto in any suitable manner (see particularly Figure 8) by having one end thereof telescope into thev bracket 32 and being fastened in position by means of a fastening pin 4I.

In order to maintain the member 4I against rotation when the hand wheelV 31 is rotated, there may be provided a key 42 within the bearing 35 to engage the bearing and the member 34 so that by rotating the hand wheel 31 the roller 38 may be raised and lowered with respect to the bearing 35 so as to position the roller in proper alinement with the die l2 so that the rope or cable I3 as it passes from the die I2 will engage and rest upon the roller 38 and be maintained in a straight line. The cut away or deflected portion 33 of the member or bracket 32 is provided so as to accommodate the rope or cable I3 to maintain it in a substantially straight line.

Supported by the arm 28 ofthe yoke 21 is an electroresponsive device 43 the armature 44 of which has connected to it a member 45 which slides in a suitable bearing 45. Theforward end of this member 45 is shaped to form a yoke 41 having projections 48 on the arm of the yoke which enter a circumferential recess or groove 49 in a collar 58' which is slidably mounted upon a bushing or sleeve 5IA supported by arm 28 of the yoke 21, so that when the electro responsive device 43 is energized, the armature 44 will be shifted to shiftthe yoke 41 and move the sleeve or bushing 5IA in one direction against the stress of spring 5I, one end of which is anchored to the bearing 46 and the other to an anchor pin 52 carried by the yoke 41. This spring 5I tends to retract the yoke or move lt back to its normal position upon de-energization ofthe electro responsive device 43. An adjustable stop 53 may be provided to be engaged by an arm or projection 54 on the member 45 to limit the movement of the yoke 41 under the stress of thev spring 5I.

This electro responsive device 43 is controlled automatically by a. switch device designated generally by the reference numeral 55 and may be of any desired or well known construction sufce it to say that the switch is provided with an arm 5,6 connected by means of a link 51 to one end of a member 58 that is pivotally supported intermediate its ends, as at 58, and on the other end of the arm is journaied a roller 68. This arm 58 is mounted upon a fixed part of the machine which is so positioned that theroller 58 will becontacted by the cam` I5 on the rotatable member I4 of the head of the machine Vso that the arm 58 will be rocked about its pivot 59 to swing the lever 55 and thereby actuate the switch 55 to energize and de-energize the electro-responsive device 43.

Mounted upon a fixed support, such for instance as the arm or bracket 32, is a dial 5I having indications 62 thereon of any suitable designation, such as inches, and'pivotally mounted, as at 63, to co-operate with the indications 82 and to move thereover is a pointer or indicator 64, and `secured to the axis of this indicator or to the indicator itself for movement therewith is a gear 85 which meshes with a gear 68 that in turn is secured to the shaft 38 to which the arm 28 of the yoke 21 is secured.

It will therefore be seen that when the yoke wardly across the indications 62 on the dial 6I.

Arranged adjacent the rotatable member 22 and partially encompassing the 'shaft 24 is another dial 81 having indications 68 thereon for indicating the length of the lay. These indications 68 may be of any suitable type such for instance as linear indications or characters. The dial is secured to the yoke to rise and fall therewith when the yoke is rocked about its pivot and this rising andA falling movement is imparted thereto by reason of the contact of the rotatable member 22 with the rope or cable I3 as the latter rests upon the supporting roller 38 on the arm or bracket 32.

Secured to the collar 58 for rotation therewith are diametrical oppositely disposedV arms 68-18, the extremity of one of which arms is shaped to form a pointer or indicator 1Iv that is adapted to be moved over the indications 6B when the collar 58 is rotated about the shaft 24.

Carried by these arms 69-18 are friction elements 12 which are disposed adjacent the lateral face of the periphery of the rotatable element 22 (see particularly Figure 4) and are adapted, when the electro responsive 'device 43 is energized, to be shifted with the arms 69-18, so that they will engage the face of the rotatable member 22 to frictionally connect the arms 69-18 for rotation with the rotatable member 22 and thereby move the pointer or indicator 1I over the indications 68 on the dial 61.

When, as before stated, the electro responsive device is de-energized the spring 5I will retract the yoke, and with it the arms 63--18 so as to move the frictional elements 12 out of contact with the rotatable member 22 so that the arms 59-18 and the pointer 1I may be moved independently a'nd rotatively with respect to the member 22. This independent rotation of the arms 69--18 may be effected by means of a flexible member 13 Awhich is wound about the collar 58, one end thereof being anchored to the collar and to the other end of the flexible member is connected one end of a spring 14, the other end of the spring being anchored as at 15 to an arm or extension 18 secured to a fixed part 11 of the yoke 21.

When the arms 63-18 are moved in one direction by the electro responsive device the iiexible member 13 will be wound upon the collar 58 and tension will be created in the spring 14. When the electro responsive device is de-energized the energy stored inthe spring 14 will rotate the arms 69-18 in the opposite direction or back to their normal positions, a stop 18 being provided to limit this movement. Rotatably supported upon a fixed part 11 of the yoke 21 is an annular member 18 which is provided with an arm or extension 19 having a pointer 88 at the free end thereof. The annular portion 18 engages its support 11 with sufficient friction that when the arm is once moved the friction will hold it in its adjusted position with respect to the dial 81.

A pin or lug 8l extends laterally from the arm 19' (see particularly Figures 4 and 6) and projects into. the path of .movement of the arm 1,8 so that when the arm 18 is moved in the manner as before stated it will engage the pin or projection 8| and thereafter move with it the arm 19 and pointer 88.

However, when the arms 69-18 are returned to their normal positions by means of the spring 14 and the flexible member 13, the arm 13 and the pointer will remain frictionally held in their adjusted position.

Connected to the shaft 24 of the rotatable member 22 is a shaft 82 of an indicating mechanism, such as a cyclometer or the like, of any desired construction and this indicating mechanism is mounted as at 83 upon the arm 28 of the yoke 21, and embodies indicating mechanism 84 operated by the shaft 82 for totalizing or registering the length of the rope or cable which has passed through thev indicator.

It is thought that the operation of this device will be clearly understood from the foregoing but briefly stated it is as'follows.

The indicators 1| and 8|) are arranged in a zero position and the roller 38 is adjustable to be in proper position with respect to the die I2 so that the rope or cable coming from the die will engage and rest upon the roller 38. 'Ihe rotatable member 22 Will then rest upon the rope I3.

As the rope is advanced by the haul oi mechanism the rotatable member 22 will be rotated and will make a complete revolution at the same time the indicators 1| and 80 will remain at rest.

As the head |4 rotates, the cam |5 will shift the arm 58 to operate the switch 55 and thereby energize the electro responsive device 43. Upon energization thereof the yoke 41 will be shifted to bring the friction elements 12 into contact with the edge of the rotatable member 22 and this will rotate the indicator 1| moving it across the indications 68. As the indicator 1| is thus moved, tension will be created upon the spring 14 and the flexible member 13 will be Wound around the collar 50. The arm 10 will be moved into contact with the pin 8| of the arm 19 carrying the indicator 80 at a predetermined time according to the position in which the arm 19 is stationed.

Upon engagement of the pin 8| the arm 10 will be moved until the cam again actuates the switch arm 56 to de-energize the electro responsive device. Immediately upon de-energization thereof the stress of the spring 14 will through the medium of the iiexible member 13 return the arms 69-10 or indicator 1| back to the zero position or until the arm 10 engages the stop 18.

The arm 18 and indicator 80, however, will be yfrictionally held in the position to which it was adjusted by engagement of the arm 80 with the pin 8l. 'I'his will indicate the length of the lay of the rope or cable.

'Ihe diameter of the rope or cable passing between the rollers 22 and 38 will be indicated on the dial 6I by the rise and fall of the rotatable member 22 and the yoke 21 through the medium of the gear 56 which is fastened to the shaft 30 of the yoke and which gear 86 rotates the gear 5 that is secured to the indicator 64.

With this improved construction it will be manifest that the operator can at any moment by glancing. at the indicators determine the length of the lay of the rope and the diameter of the rope which is passing through the machine. At the same time the totalizer or cyclometer 84 will indicate the amount or length of the rope which has passed through the machine.

. While the preferred form of the invention has been herein shown and described, it is to be understood that various changes may be made in the details of the construction and in the combination and arrangement of the several parts, within' the scope of the claims, without departing from the spirit of this invention.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A lay indicator for use in conjunction with a rotatable strand twisting or shaping head of a wire rope or cable making machine, said indicator embodying a rotatable member adapted to be engaged and rotated by the rope as it passes from said head, an indicating element separate from said member, a friction surface on said element, means mounting said element for bodily lateral movement with respect to said rotatable member, shifting means for thus moving said element to cause said friction surface to engage said rotatable member whereby said element will be rotated thereby, means controlled by the rotation of the said head for controlling the operation of the said shifting means, and means for maintaining the said indicating element in the position to which it has been moved by said rotatable member, and when the said shifting means is inactive with respect thereto.

2. In combination with the rotatable twisting head of a wire rope machine, an element engaged and moved by the rope as it leaves said machine, a lay indicator, means shiftable to connect and disconnect said indicator and element whereby the indicator maybe driven by the rope, and means controlled by said head for controlling said shiftable means to connect said indicator and element during a predetermined angular movement only of said head.

3. In combination with the rotatable twisting head of a wire rope machine, an element engaged and moved by the rope as it leaves said machine, a lay indicator, means shiftable. to connect and disconnect said indicator and element whereby the indicator may be driven by the rope, means controlled by said head for controlling said shiftable means to connect said indicator and element during a predetermined angular movement only of said head, the last recited means embodying an electro responsive device, a circuit therefor, and a make and break device for the circuit and controlled by said head.

4. In combinationv with the rotatable twisting head of a wire rope machine, an element engaged and moved by the rope as it leaves said machine, a lay indicator, means shiftable to connect and disconnect said indicator and element whereby the indicator may be driven by the rope, means controlled by said head for controlling said shiftable means to connect said indicator and element during a predetermined angular movement only of said head, and means for returning said indicator to its normal position when it is disconnected from said element.

5. In combination with the rotatable twisting head of a wire rope machine, an element engaged and moved by the rope as it leaves said machine, a lay indicator, means shiftable to connect and disconnect said indicator and element whereby the indicator may be driven by the rope, means controlled by said head for controlling said shiftable means to connect said indicator and element during a predetermined angular movement only of said head, an additional indicator element separate from the iirst indicator element adapted to be engaged and moved by the latter when it is connected with the rst said element, means for returning the rst said indicator to normal position when it is disconnected from the first said element, and means for maintaining the said additional element in the position to which it has been moved by the first said indicator element. a

6. In combination with the rotatable twisting head of a wire rope machine, an element engaged and moved by the rope as it leaves said machine, a lay indicator, means shiftable to connect and disconnect said indicator and element whereby 10 the indicator may be driven by the rope, means controlled by said head for controlling said shiftable means to connect said indicator and element during a predetermined angular movement only o! said head, a pivotally mounted support upon which said element, said indicator and said means are mounted, and additional indicating means controlled in its operation by the movement of said pivotally mounted support about its pivot for indicating the diameter of the rope. WILLIAM E. SOMERVILLE.

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