US2541232A - Wire coiling and sizing machine - Google Patents

Description

Feb. 13, 1951 J. o. FORSTER 3 WIRE COILING AND SIZING MACHINE Filed Feb. 7, 1948 7 Sheets-Sheet l UK A l I 1 I JNVENTORf. JOHN 0. F 0R5 TER BY WSXM A TTORNE V F IG.

Feb. 13, 1951 J. o. FORSTER WIRE COILING AND SIZING MACHINE 7 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Feb. 7, 1948 T WQN R E E M m6 m 0 T V r 4 1 Q 8 0 S 2 N 8 H A B Ne T E W Qw 9 Au Km 3 WV MN M\ Q v dul H mm mm Q 9v R Po 06 Kb Q 1|! 1 L on R \R Q 2 h 3 N K m 2 mm mm u 6i Feb. 13, 1951 J. o. FORSTER WIRE comma AND sxzmc; MACHINE '7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb. 7, 1948 R .E 3 m 8 mm k 5 Q N% un 0 QQJ k: M |m v 3 w: oi

A T TORNE).

Feb. 13, 1951 J. o. FORSTER 2,541,232

WIRE COILING AND SIZING MACHINE Filed Feb. 7, 1948 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. S, JOHN 0. FORSTER BY ma. 5%

A T TURNEK Feb. 13, 1951 J. o. FORSTER 2,541,232

WIRE COILING AND SIZING MACHINE Filed Feb. 7, 1948 '7 Sheets-Sheet 6 mmvroa JOHN 0. F 0R5 75/? A TTORNEK J. O. FORSTER WIRE COILING AND SIZING MACHINE Feb. 13, 1951 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 Filed Feb. 7, 1948 FIG.

INVENTOR. JOHN o. FORS rm BY MI M,

A 7TORNEV Patented Feb. 13, 1951 2,541,232 V WIRE comma AND SIZING MACHINE John 0. Forster, Long Island City, N. Y., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Hell-Coil Corporation, Long Island City, N. Y., a. corporation of Delaware Application February 7, 1948, Serial No. 6.902

Claims. 1

The invention relates to a machine for coiling wire and sizing it as to its cross-sectional shape in the finished coil in the production of exact screw-thread inserts or coil springs. With the aid of conventionalmachines, it is practically impossible to overcome the effects of the bending stresses which cause uncontrollable deforma tions of the wire cross-section. In consequence, wire coils produced by such conventional machines show marked dilferences in the cross-sections, not only of the wire before and after the coiling, but also of the wire in different specimens of coils of the same size and made of the same stock. The main cause of this occurrence can be traced back to differences in the structure of the material, but other influences. not readily explained, seem to contribute thereto. In fact, in order to attain a reasonably large percentage of saleable coils out of a total output of allegedly exact coils made on conventional machines, tolerances must be conceded which frequently render the product unsuited for application in high precision work.

The present invention aims to provide a machine by means of which wire coils can be turned out in an unusually high grade of perfection. The invention also aims to provide such a machine in which finished coils of desired length can be severed from the wire stock without interruption of the coiling operation.

The invention essentially comprises a mandrel rotatable between three rollers, the mandrel and two of the rollers being provided with grooves according to the desired wire cross-section and arranged in the same plane. The mandrel and two grooved rollers are positively driven, to shape wire from a stock by passing it through the grooves between the rollers and the mandrel, and means are provided to apply a pitch to the wire convolutions formed by the rotating parts.

The invention also consists in means to notch the wire at adjustably predetermined intervals before it enters between the mandrel and rollers, so that it breaks at the notched points when the wire near these points is subjected to the bending effect of the pitching means.

Further objects and details of the invention will be apparent from the following description and the accompanying drawing illustrating an embodiment thereof by way of example. In the drawing,

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a machine according to the invention:

Fig. 2 is a top plan view thereof;

Figs. 3 and 4 are cross-sections along lines 3-! and 4-l, respectively, of Fig. 1;

Fig. 5 is a cross-section along line 5-5, in Figs. 2 and 4, the gears driving the mandrel being omitted in Fig. 5;

Fig. 6 is a cross-section along line 8-6 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 is an illustration of formation of the coil;

Fig. 8 is a cross-section of the notching roller along line 8-4 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 9 illustrates, in elevation. the separation of a formed coil;

Fig. 10 is a top plan view of a solenoid-controlled and timed drive for the notching roller; and

Fig. 11 is a side elevation of the cam detent thereof.

Referring now to the drawing, the machine comprises a base plate II having feet I I to stand it on a table or other support (not shown). A front plate l2 and a rear plate l3 are secured to the base plate by means such as screw bolts I in upright position. All tools acting on the wire l5 to be coiled are arranged in front of the front plate. Only a short portion of wire i5 is shown in Fig. 1 in order to avoid overcrowding of the drawing. The driving gear of the movable tools are located between the front and rear plate and in the rear of the latter. The tools comprise a mandrel It, a coiling roller (1, a sizing roller II, a pitch member i3, and a notcher 20. Power to operate the machine is derived from the main shaft 2| which may be driven by any suitable and conventional means, either by a prime mover or a hand crank as shown at 22 in Fig. 4. The main shaft is journaled in a flanged bushing 23 secured in the rear plate I! by means such as screws 24. A gear wheel 25 keyed to the front end of the main shaft engages another gear wheel 26 to which a third wheel 21 is rigidly connected for common rotation by an intermediate piece 28 and screw bolts 29. Wheels 26 and 21 can rotate on a bushing 30 mounted on a sleeve 3! which is keyed to a counter shaft 32 journaled in bushings 33 and 34 of the front and rear plates, respectively. Wheel 21 engages a pinion 35 (Fig. 3) keyed to the mandrel shaft 35 which rotates in needle bearings 31 and 38. These bearings are parts of straps 39 and 40, respectively. which can swing on bushings ll and 42 mounted on sleeve 3| in order to maintain the correct distance of the centers of wheel 21 and pinion 35 when the mandrel shaft is to be adjusted as it will be explained hereinafter. The position of the rear mandrel end is rendered adjustable by two screws 43 and 44 bearing on the bottom and top. respectively, of that end of strap 40 which contains the needle bearing 38. Screw 43 engages an inner threading of the head 45 of a bolt 45, the shaft of which extendsthrough the rear wall I3 and is secured to it by a nut 41. A jam nut 48 on screw 43 insures the adjusted position. The arrangement of screw 44 engaging the head of a bolt 49 is similar to that of screw 43. The front portion of the mandrel shaft 36 extending close to the front wall I2 is hollow at 50 (Fig. 3) to receive therein an enlarged rear end 51 of the mandrel III. In order to render the mandrel exchangeable and alsoto make it adjustable lengthwise. it is fastened to the shaft 35 by means of a groove 52 and set screw 53 connection. The mandrel It extends forward of the front wall I3 through ahole 54 therein which is considerably larger than the diameter of the mandrel to allow for an adjustment of the latter. The mandrel front end is provided with a perpiheral groove 55 of a cross-section according to the desired shape of the inner portion of the wire in the coil to be formed.

The coiling roller II hearing from below against the mandrel or against a wire between the roller and the mandrel has a peripheral groove 56 and is so located that groove 56 and the mandrel groove 55 are in the same plane. Groove 55 may be slightly wider than the desired outer portion of the wire in the finished coil as the actual sizing will take place between the mandrel and the sizing roller I8. But the groove 56 should be narrow enough to take along the wire coming from the stock and to coil it as hereinafter explained. The roller I! has a second groove 51 which may or may not be of the same shape as groove 56 either for use if groove 56 is worn or if a differently shaped wire is to be coiled. By loosening the set screws 53 and shifting the mandrel in shaft 33, grooves 55 and 51 may be brought in registry, It is of course also possible to provide more than one peripheral groove on the mandrel for the same purpose as there are two grooves in the periphery of roller ll. Roller I1 is mounted adjustable in a vertical direction. Such adjustability is desirable on the one hand to set the desired pressure between the roller and the mandrel, on the other hand to allow for the possibility of using rollers of different sizes. For this purpose, the front wall I3, is provided with a rectangular recess 58 in which a bearing block 59 is slida'ple. The block overlaps the recess in front and, has guide rails or pieces 60 in the rear of the front wall in order to hold the block properly in relation to the wall. Underneath the block a piece GI interiorly threaded at 62 is fastened to the frame consisting of the base plate I and the front and rear walls I2 and I3. A screw 63 on which block 59 bears is screwed through the threading 62, and extends through a hole 64 in the base plate. Underneath the latter, a hand wheel 55 is fastened to screw 53 by means of a set screw 56, so that by turning the wheel, block 59 will either be shifted upward or allowed to slide downward as the case may be. In its upper part, block 59 contains two roller bearings 61 and 58 for a shaft 59 to the front end of which the ceiling roller [1 is secured by means of a key I0 and nut II. A pinion I2 is fastened by a pin 13 to the rear end of the shaft 59 and engages another pinion I4 (Figs. 1 and 4) rotatable on a bushing 15 mounted on an axle 10. This axle can be shifted for adjustment in an arcuate slot I I of the front wall I2 and clamped to that 4 wall by a spacer I8 and a nut IS on the threaded front end 80 of the axle. Pinion I4 is in mesh with a wheel 8| on a shaft 82, while another wheel 83 on that shaft is in mesh with a wheel 84 keyed to the countershaft 32. In order to insure proper meshing of the gears when shaft 89 is shifted, the aforementioned spacer I8 is in the form of a strap which can swing about shaft 82. In order to rotate the countershaft 32, there is a gear 85 keyed to the main shaft 2I and in mesh with 'a gear 96 on an intermediate shaft 94 from where rotation is imparted to the countershaft by a pair of meshing pinions 92 and 83 keyed to the countershaft 32 and shaft 94, respectively.

The sizing roller I8 is provided with a peripheral groove 00 in the same plane as groove 55 of the mandrel and groove 55 of the coiling roller.

, so, as the relative circumferential speeds of the rollers rather than their sizes have certain eflects in the coiling and sizing of the wire. Roller I8 is driven by the gears 85, 86 and 91, the latter being keyed to a shaft 95. A pinion 98 on shaft 95, finally, meshes with a pinion 99 on a shaft I00 to which the sizing roller I8 is also keyed and held in position by a not I N. All the mentioned shafts 94, and I00 are journaled in the frame front and rear walls I2 and I3.

Means are provided to counteract the pressure exerted by the coiling and sizing rollers on the mandrel. For this purpose, a clamping member I02 is secured to the front plate I2 so as to project forward thereof. A screw I03 with forked head I04 is adjustably held by member I02 and can be secured by a clamping screw I05 and two nuts I06 and I0I on the threading of screw I00. In the forked head I04 a pressure roller I08 is pivoted on a pin I09 and bears against the mandrel I6 so as to balance the resultant of the pressure of the coiling and sizing rollers.

The pitching tool I9 has an active end face IIO. This face is inclined with respect to the plane of the cooperating roller and mandrel grooves and so positioned in the path of a wire coil convolution having left the sizing roller that the face IIO deflects the convolution to provide it with the desired pitch. The shaft III of the pitchin tool is adjustably held by a two-part clamp I I2, I I3 (Fig. 4) in which it can be shifted lengthwise and also turned. Two screws I I4 furnish the clamping force and simultaneously serve to secure the clamp to the head II5 of a screw bolt II6 which is screwed into and projects forward of the front plate I2. A jam nut III secures the bolt and prevents it from undesired turning.

In order to lead the wire I5 from a stock to the mandrel in the plane of the roller grooves, a guide II8 of conventional type may be provided which has an inner cross-section II! according to the wire cross-section prior to the coiling. The guide H8 is secured to the front wall I2 by screws I20. It conducts the wire so as to be tangent with respect to the mandrel at a point slightly spaced from the point of tangency of the mandrel and the coiling roller I1.

I As the wire is pulled through the machine by the coiling and sizing rollers in co-operation with the mandrel, irregularities may occur due to more or less slack of the wire coming from the stock. In order to avoid such irregularities, it is advisable to apply means for giving the wire a certain constant adjustable tension. For this purpose a pair of tension roller I2I and I22, one

above the other and spring loaded against each other are provided, which are peripherally grooved as at I23 so that the wire from the stock can oe passed between the rollers. For the same The lower roller I2I is I22 is fixed to a shaft I26 the front portion of which is journaled in a block I21 of a structure similar to the bearing block 69 of the coiling roller I1. Block I21 is vertically slidable in a recess I28 of the front plate. A screw I29 engages an interior threading of a part I38 of the front plate bridging the recess I28, and bears on a spring I3I which in return presses on block I21. Thereby the pressure exerted by the rollers I2I and I22 on the wire and thus the friction between them can be adjusted. The rear end of shaft I26 has its bearing I32 in the rear plate I3. This bearing must have sufficient play to allow for the very slight misalignments of the shaft which may occur owing to an adjustment of the block I21. Adjacent the rear plate, shaft I26 may be provided with a brake of any suitable and conventional type, comprising, for instance, a drum I33 and brake band I34 encompassing the major portion of the drum periphery. The drum iskeyed to the shaft by a pin I35 and the one end I36 of the band I34 is secured to the rear plate by a pin I31. The other end of the band is fastened by means not shown to a screw I38 which is passed through an eye I39 projecting forward from the rear plate I3.

A nut I48 on screw I38 and bearing against the face of the eye serves to adjust the braking force applied.

To produce continuous coils of exactly sized wire cross-section, the machine so far described operates in the following manner: The free end of wire I of a cross-section more or less similar to that desired in the finished coil, but preferably slightly larger in its cross-sectional area, is passed from a stock not shown from the left hand side of Fig. 1, between the back tension rollers I2I, I22, through the guide member H8 and from there first between the mandrel I6 and coiling roller I1 and, then, between the mandrel and the sizing roller I8, and finally past the inclined face II8 of the pitching tool so that the free end of the wire is slightly bent forward in relation to the groove plane of mandrel and rollers. If, now, the main shaft 2| is rotated in the direction of the arrow a in Fig. 1, a continuous coil will be formed as indicated at 288, in Fig. 7, the diameter of which will depend on that of the mandrel and the property of the wire material and shape of the wire cross-section. The correct mandrel diameter for a given wire material and desired coil diameter and cross-section must be found by trial, i. e. by changing the mandrel in shaft 3'6. If this is done, adjustments are required, as the location of the axis of the sizing roller is fixed. Adjustments of the mandrel axis will be made by turning the screws 43 wheel 88 the axis of the coiling roller is to be raised or lowered as the case may be; simultaneously, the shaft 88 will be shifted in slot 11 in order to cause proper mesh of wheels I: and 14; and finally the pressure roller I88 will be set by correcting the position of the screw shaft I83 in clamp I84. Also the pitching tool I9 may require a readjustment in its clamp H3, and it may become necessary to alter the tension of the brake band I34 by turning the nut I48. Once,

however, the setting has been finished, the machine will turn out a continuous wire coil of excellent uniformity and accuracy of the crossseetion. It is to be noted, however, that best results will be obtained if the peripheral speed of the coiling roller is higher than that of the mandrel, and the peripheral speed of the sizing roller higher than that of the coiling roller. Such speed ratio can be obtained by a proper selection of the transmission ratios of the various gears.

Now, I have found that by a simple method and means in addition or as an attachment to the machine described, coils of desired length rather than a coil of continuous length may be produced. The principle according to which this can be done consists in that the wire coming from the stock, and before being subjected to the coiling operation, is notched in predetermined equal intervals according to the desired length of the coils. When the notches are sufficiently deep and of adequate shape, it can be attained that the eifect of the pitching, that means the bending of the coiled wire out of its original plane will cause the wire to break at the notch. This is clearly shown in Fig. 9 (see also Fig. 7) where the break occurs at the point 388 when the notched portion of the wire coming from between roller I8 and mandrel I6 engages the inclined face I) which bends the coil portion preceding the notch out of axial alignment with the subsequent portion 332. Even if the wire is relatively very deeply notched a premature break during the coiling and sizing need not occur, if, as it is the case in the described machine, the wire is taken along rather than pushed through the coiling device, due to the fact that the wire is positively fed through coiling roller and mandrel and sizing roller and mandrel. Of course, in the notched wire crosssection, the remaining material must be of sufficient strength to pull the following wire stock through the apparatus including the tension rollers, if such are present, until the wire portion following a notch is gripped between the mandrel and the coiling roller. It also should be able to withstand the tension of the wire between the coiling and sizing roller owing to their speed difference. In view of the stress distribution during the coiling, it is advisable to make the notch in that portion of the wire which becomes the inner portion in the coil.

In the illustrated embodiment, a notching device comprises a pair of rollers I58 and I5I which are located between the tension rollers I2I, I22 and the wire guide I I8. The rollers I58, I5I of the notching device may be located on the opposite side of rollers I2I, I22. However, the illustrated arrangement is preferable because there will not be any slack in the wire having passed the tension rollers. Otherwise, a slack might be the cause of irregularities in the lengths between subsequent notches. Both rollers I58 and I5I are peripherally grooved, the groove of the upper and 44 in the proper direction; by means of roller I5I being visible in Fig. 2 at I52. In the I 7 illustrated embodiment, only roller IN is provided with the notching element whereas roller I50 serves to support the wire during the notchperipherally recessed as to form the afore-men-- tionedgroove I52." Dowels 202 and screws 203 hold the parts so together that radial grooves, one of them in each of the parts 200-and 20 I complement each other .to form a radial bore 204 of square cross-section. The above-mentioned notcher 20 consists of a piece having a head portion 205 which is of square cross-section and tapers from two opposite sides so as to form a notching or cutting edge I62. The shank 201 of the notcher is externally screw-threaded and the piece 20 is so flttingly but slidingly inserted in the bore 204 that the edge I62 is transverse in relation to the peripheral groove I52 and may be adjustably projected or retracted. For this purpose an oblong slot 208 is provided in the discs in a plane at right angles tothe radial bore 204, and a nut 209 turnably inserted in the slot 208 engages the threaded shank 201 of the notcher. Hence, by turning the nut 209 the notcher 20 can be raised or lowered, that means more or less projected, as the case may be. A set screw 2I0 may be applied in one of a number of threaded holes 2| I, whichever may be suitably located, and which holes are provided in nut 209 for this purpose. More than one notcher may be provided in one notching roller, depending on whether only one or several notches are intended to be made per each revolution of the notching roller.

The second slot 2I2 visible in the roller I52 in V Fig. 1 indicates that in this particular embodiwhich also bridges recess I54, and is secured to the front plate I3 by a screw bolt I55. Screw I55 bears on block I53 so that by turning the screw the pressure exerted on the wire I5 between the rollers I50 and I5I can be adjusted. A set screw I51 may be provided to insure an adjusted position of screw I55. The notching device just described has the effect that each time the edge I02 engages a wire piece between rollers I50 and I5I, a notch will be made and the notches will be spaced from one another a distance equal to the length of the periphery of roller I5I. If, then, a wire portion sufllciently notched in this manner has passed the coiling and sizing rollers and comes with the notch in the range and under the effect of the pitching 0001 I9, the wire will break and coils of equal length will be produced. The.

same or a similar notching device can of course be used if it is the hitentlon to provide a continuous coil merely with notches without severing it into coils of a predetermined length. In

that event," the notches will be made shallower by a suitable adjustment of the notcher 20 so that the bending effect of the pitching tool is insufiicient to cause a break.

It will be noted that in the described device the notching roller IBI relies for rotation on the positive-di-i ve and the gear reductions in the machine hereinbefore described. In consequence,

if it is desired to change the coil length, it is necessary to change roller I5I and if coils of considerable length are required, it may happen that the structure cannot accommodate a roller IBI of sufficiently large diameter. These drawbacks ar avoided in the modification of Fig. 10-in whi a timing or measuring device for the notching is provided in order to operate a notching roller each timea certain length of wire has passed an organ which is responsive to the wire movement. In this device, adjustability exists within wide limits.

Fig. 10 shows merely that portion of the machine which comprises the tensioning rollers and the notching roller. The coiling and sizing apparatus with transmissions and other accessorial parts have been omitted and with respect to them reference is made-to the preceding description, Also in the illustration of the tensioning and notching rollers certain parts appearing on Figs. 1 and 2 have been omitted in order not to overcrowd Fig. 10 with repetitions. Thus, in connection with the tensioning roller, the braking mechanism, and in connection with the bearing blocks I21 and I53, the means for adjusting the pressure have not been shown again. Whereas with respect to the tensioning rollers the arrangement may be like that in Figs. 1 and 2, the notching roller I5I is power driven. For this purpose a gear wheel I10 is keyed by pin IN to the roller shaft I12. (The location of gear wheel I10 has also been indicated in Fig. 2). Wheel I10 meshes with a gear wheel I13 which is integral with a short shaft I14 journaled with its one end in a bushing I15 in the front plate I2 of the frame and, intermediate wheel I13 and its other end, in a bearing I15 erected on the base plate I0. To the rear end of shaft I14, the driven part I11 of a friction clutch is keyed, and between that part and bearing I18, a cam I18 is secured to the shaft. As clearly shown in Fig. 11, the cam is essentially circular except for a peripheral. projection I19 which forms a step I for a purpose to be explained hereinafter. A shaft I8I is journaled co-axially with shaft I14 in a bearing I82 and a bushing I83 in the rear Wall I3. The driving part I84 of the mentioned friction clutch is splined to the front end of shaft I8I and the conventional friction discs I85 are provided between parts I11 and I84. A compression spring I88 bears against part I84 and a collar I81 secured to shaft 'I8I. The rear endof shaft IBI, projecting from rear wall I3, carries a gear wheel I88 which is in mesh with a pinion I80 on the shaft I00 of a constant speed motor I9I. Any other suitable prime mover may be used to rotate the shaft I8I Thus it is also possible to drive this shaft from the same source as the main shaft 2I in Fig. 2.

The armature I92 of a solenoid I93 co-operates with cam I18 in such a manner that if the armature is projected by a compression spring I04 bearing against the solenoid and a collar I95 of the armature, it engages the step I80 and thus prevents shaft I14 from rotating. The solenoid is electrically connected by leads I95, I91 to a timing mechanism I98. The timing mechanism roper is no part of the present invention, and as various types of such mechanisms useful for the purpose are on the market it suflices to state its function rather than its structure. The timing mechanism is, generally speaking, a switch 75 closing a contact each time an organ of the mechanism has traveled a predetermined distance, as e. g. a rotatable member causing operation of the switch each time it has completed a certain number of revolutions for which the mechanism can be set by the user. In Fig. 10 the mentioned organ or rotatable member is'a shaft with a roller I99. The arrangement is such that ro ler I99 bears on wire I coming from the stock and running in between the tensioning rollers I2l, I22. Any support not shown may be used for the wire so that the friction between the wire and roller I99 will cause the latter to rotate according to the wire length passing underneath the roller I99. Each time when a desired number of roller revolutions for which the timing mechanism has been set has been com leted, the solenoid circuit from to I98, I91, I93, I96, I98 and will be closed so as to withdraw the armature from step I89. In consequence, the constant y rotating shaft |8| will take along shaft I" through the agency of the clutch I84, I85, I11 and turn the notching roller |5I. Provided the timing device opens the solenoid circuit before the shaft I14 completes two revolutions, the notching roller will be stopped by armature I92 engaging the cam step I80, exactly after one complete revolution as the ratio between wheels I13 and I'll] is 1 :2 in the illustrated example.

The machine operates in the folowing manner: The wire l5 coming from the stock is assed first, between the pairs of rollers I2I, I22 and I50, |5| and on through the wire guide I I8. The free end is, then, passed between mandrel I 6 and roller I1 and between the mandrel I8 and roller I8, and bent so that it bears on the inclined face III! of the pitching tool. If now the machine is started, that means when shaft 2| is rotated, rotation is transmitted (see Figs. 3, 4 and 6) from shaft 2| to the mandrel I6 via gear 25, the pair of wheels 26 and 21 which are in common freely rotatable on sleeve 30 as hereinbefore explained, and pinion 35 which is in mesh with wheel 21 and secured to the mandrel shaft 38.

Simultaneously, as best seen in Fig. 5, the coiling roller I secured to shaft 69 is driven by shaft 2| via gears 85, 96, shaft 94, gears 93 and 92, shaft 32, gears 84 and 83, shaft 82, and gears 8|, I4 and 12. Similarly, the sizing roller I8 on shaft I 00 is driven via gears 85, 96, 91, shaft 95 and gears 98 and 99. Owing to the rotation of the mandrel and the coiling and sizing rollers a continuous coil will be formed to be separated into sections if the notching device 20 is in operation as hereinbefore explained.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that many alterations and modifications of the structure illustrated and described may be made without departing from the essence and spirit of my invention which, for this reason, shall not be limited but by the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a rotatable mandrel, a first and a second roller having axes respectively parallel to the mandrel axis and being arranged with their peripheries in close proximity to that of the man drel, said mandrel being positively driven in one direction, each of said rollers being positively driven in the opposite direction, said mandrel and said rollers having peripheral grooves all in one plane and of cross-sections so that the grooves of the mandrel and the first roller complement each other to a cross-section substantially similar to but slightly larger than the desired cross-section of a wire convolution coiled by means of said machine, and that the grooves of the mandrel and the second roller complement each other to said desired cross-section, and a tool having a face inclined in relation to said plane of said grooves, and in the path of a convolution of a wire passed between said mandrel and said rollers to deflect said convolution from said plane.

2. A machine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising first driving means for said mandrel, second driving means to rotate said first roller at a higher peripheral speed than that of said mandrel, and third driving means to rotate said second roller at a higher peripheral speed than that of said first roller.

3. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a rotatable mandrel, a first and a second roller having axes respectively parallel to the mandrel axis and being arranged with their peripheries in close proximity to that of the mandrel, said mandrel and said rollers having perioheral grooves all in one plane and of crosssections so that the grooves of said rollers complement the groove of the mandrel substantially to the desired cross-section of a wire convolution coiled by means of said machine, first driving means for rotating said mandrel in one direction. second driving means to rotate said first roller in the opposite direction and at a higher peripheral speed than that of said mandrel, third driving means to rotate said second roller in the same direction as and at a higher peripheral speed than said first roller is driven, and a tool having a face inclined in relation to said plane of said grooves and in the path of a convolution of a wire passed between said mandrel and said ro lers to deflect said convolution from said plane.

4. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a device including positively driven elements cooperative in continuously coiling wire whereby the wire is pulled from a stock, means in the path of the wire from the stock to said device for intermittentlv notching the advancing wire, and means projecting in the path of the formed coils to sever them at the notches.

5. In a machine of the type described, the combination of a device including positively driven e ements cooperative in continuously coiling wire whereby the wire is pulled from a stock, and means in the path of the wire advancing from the stock to said device for intermittently notching it, said means including a roller having a notching edge projecting from its periphery, a first shaft in driving connection with said roller, a second shaft including means for connection to a constant speed prime mover, a friction clutch between said shafts, a springbiased detent element preventing said first shaft from rotating when in projected position, a member to withdraw said detent against the restraint of said spring, and means including an organ adapted to engage the advancing wire and responsive to lengths of wire passing it, to actuate said member each time a predetermined length of wire has passed said organ.

JOHN O. FORSTER.

(References on following P88 REFERENCES CITED The following referencs are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date Mallet Nov. 1, 1887 Hildreth Ma'r. 11,1890 Vermeulen Aug. 23, 1892 Backlin Jan. 23, 1906 Smith Oct. 11, 1910 Harter Oct. 1, 1912 Lamb Oct. 25, 1921 Blount May 1, 1923 12 Name Dlte Williams mm 11. 1925 Sleeper June 3. 1930 Pierce Nov. 24, 1931 Nigro Feb. 14, 1933 Burd May 16, 1933 Sternad Jpn. -2, 1934 Powers Jan. 17, 1939 Garrett May 30. 1939 Humphrey Nov. 26, 1940 Platt Jan. 7, 1941 Brotman 511g. 26, 1941 Balla July 23, 1946

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