US2678782A

US2678782A - Strand dereeling device

Info

Publication number: US2678782A
Application number: US130811A
Authority: US
Inventors: David H Blair
Original assignee: Western Electric Co Inc
Current assignee: AT&T Corp
Priority date: 1949-12-02
Filing date: 1949-12-02
Publication date: 1954-05-18
Anticipated expiration: 1971-05-18

Description

May 18, 1954 D. H. BLAIR STRAND DEREELING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 2, 1949 INVEA/i'O/f 0. H BAA/R May 18, 1954 D. H. BLAIR STRAND DEREELING DEVICE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 2. 1949 I v m M TM m m8 W Z A 0 a Patented May 18, 1954 2,678,782 STRAND DEREELING- DEVICE David H. Blair, Chicag Electric Company,

4 Claims.

This invention relates to dereeling devices and more particularly to devices for supporting reels of strand material and guiding the strand as it is unwound from the reels for use in coil winding machines or the like.

In multiple coil winding machines, where the space factor is important and it is desirable to have a compact machine, it is essential that the device for supporting the reels and guiding the strands as they are being unreeled should be designed so that the reels may be grouped in a small area and that the device does not require much space endwise or axially of the reels. It is also essential that full reels may be readily and easiiy inserted in the device and empty reels removed therefrom and that the wire may be withdrawn or unwound from the reels at a high rate of speed and be free from kinks.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved device for supporting reels and for guiding strand unwound therefrom.

In one embodiment of the invention, a plurality of reels are non-rotatably supported in a row about predetermined axes on a supporting plate. A strand from each reel passes through a guide eye concentric with the axis thereof and spaced from the reel, and loops of the strand being unwound from the reel are prevented from passing transversely across the axis and forming kinks in the strand by a rod extending from the base along the axis of the reel with one end thereof projecting partly into the guide eye. A cylindrical tubular guard surrounding each reel limits the radially outward whipping movement of the unwinding strand and a guide plate having a circular aperture for each reel concentric with the o, 111., assignor to Western Incorporated, New York, N, Y., a corporation of New York Application December 2, 1949, Serial No. 130,811

axis thereof and positioned between the guide eye and the end of the reel further restricts the radial outward movement of the strand as it is being unwound from the reel and approaches the guide eye.

Other objects and features of the invention will be apparent by reference to the following description thereof when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings illustrating a preferred embodiment thereof in which Fig. l is a somewhat diagrammatic vertical sectional elevational view of a coil winding machine showing the dereeling devices in position thereon;

Fig. 2 is a top plan or face view of the dereelin devices shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an end elevational view of one of the dereeling devices shown in Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged axial cross sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of Fig. 1; and

Fig." 5 is an enlarged detailed vertical sectional view of a, portion of the strand guide.

Referring to the drawings, the dereeling device It is shown as applied to a multiple coil winding machine l2 having a rotatable mandrel IS, on which alternate layers of wire l8 and strips of paper or other insulation 21} are wound to form the coils. The strips of paper are severed from a supply and fed onto the mandrel IS in timed relation with the rotation of the mandrel and the strands of wire it from the supply reels pass downwardly from the dereeling device through individual strand tensioning and guiding devices 22 to the mandrel it. Each strand tensioning and guiding device 22 comprises an upper guide- 24, a tensioning device 25 and a lower wire guide 28 mounted on a plate 39 and all of the guiding devices are mounted on a distributing bar 32 reciprocable axially of the mandrel 16 for distributing the wires thereon during the coil winding operation.

The dereeling device 10 comprises an elongated relatively narrow base or supporting plate 35 having an arm 36 thereon forming a rectangular slot for the reception of a supporting bar 31, to which the plate 35 is secured. The supporting bar 31 is mounted on the winding machine and may be angularly adjusted to support the dereeling device in any angular position from horizontal to vertical, preferably in an inclined position, as indicated in Fig. 1.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated herein, the base plate 35 is adapted to support three reels or spools 39 in a row thereon and is provided with a fiat upper surface 40 engageable with one end or head M of each of the reels 39. Three cylindrical tubular positioning members 42-42, having one end thereof pressed into blind cylindrical recesses 43- 43 in the base plate 35, serve to telescopingly receive thereon the reels 39 having the smallest bores for positioning the reels on the base 35 in coaxial relationship with the axes i t-44 of the tubular positioning members 42. To accommodate reels having larger bores, cylindrical bushings 45-45 are provided each having a central aperture adapted to fit over the positioning member 42 and having outside cylindrical surfaces for telescopingly engaging the bores of the reels for positioning the reels coaxially with the axes id-44.

During the unwinding of the strand fromthe reels, each of the reels is stationary and the strand therefrom is unreeled by being withdrawn in an axial direction through a guide aperture or eye 46 formed in a guide member 41 and located concentric with the axis 44 and in spaced relation recesses 55 concentric with the axes 44 and sub--- stantially smaller than the diameter of the reel to limit the radial outward movement of r the strand being unwound as it approaches the guide eye 46. Hollow cylindrical or tubular guards 51,

mounted in coaxial relation to the axes and.

in radially spaced relation to the reels 39, limit the radial outward movement or whipping action of the strand as it is withdrawn from the reel. The guards 57 are supported in spaced relation to the base plate 35 by supporting strips 58 and the supporting brackets i and, at their upper ends, engage the movable guide plate 48 to support it in its normal operative position.

From the description thus far, it will be seen that each reel is non-rotatably supported on the base plate 35 along a predetermined axis and that the coaxially disposed guide eye 46 is spaced from the end of the reel a distance slightly more than the length of the reel and that the radial outward movement or whipping action of the strand, as it is rapidly withdrawn from the reel, is limited by the guard 51 and further limited by the guide aperture 55 as it approaches the eye 46; The wire, as each loop of it is unwound from the end of the reel by an axial movement thereof is under a torsional stress caused by this manner of unwinding the wire, which stress tends to reform loops in the wire after it leaves the reel and before it reaches the eye 46. a tendency to form closed loops in the strand as it advanced toward the eye 49, which. tend to twist or move laterally across the axis into various positions and to be drawn into smaller and smaller loops, which frequently iorm kinks in the wire as they pass through the guide eye 46.

In order to prevent the lateral movement of the loop past the axis of the reel andthus prevent the formation of kinks in the wire, a guide elementfifl is provided. In the embodiment shown herein, the guide element 60 for each reel comprises a rod disposed coaxially with the axis and having one end portion thereof slidably mounted within the tubular member 42 and in engagement with the bottom of the recess 43. The upper-end 62 of the rod 60 is somewhat rounded and pointed and extends partly into the eye 46 in the bracket 41 (Fig. 5) providing between the rod 60 and the bracket 41 and annular space or wire passage which permits a single wire strand to pass freely into and through the eye. Thus, each of the rods 68 prevents the open loops of strand formed from successive convolutions of strand being unwound from the reel and under torsional stress from moving across the axis 44 andforming closed loops and kinks in thestrand before it reaches the eye 46, at which time the loops which were formed in the strand are .uncoiled and the strand passes through the eye minus any kinks. In this way, each convolution of strand, as it is unwound from the reel, advances upwardly in a helical and spiral fashion about the rod 69 and is guidedinto and through the eye 46 free from any entanglement andkinkst The guide members 41 (Figs. 1 and 5) are pro- Thus there is vided with pads 68 of friction material, such as leather, over which the moving strands pass as they are being withdrawn, and friction shoes 69. pivotally supported on the guide members 41 by hinge members 70 and stressed toward the strips 68 by gravity, engage the strands and apply a light tension thereto. The several strands, as they pass through the several eyes 45, are guided toward one end of the device and pass through a plurality of spaced guide apertures or eyes 64 formed in the strand guide 65 in the form of a plate adjustably secured on a supporting bracket 65, which, in turn, is secured to the guide plate 48.

A plurality of the units of dereeling devices I0 may be assembled to form a large battery thereof with adjacent units nested together in staggered relation, as indicated in full and dotted lines in Fig. 2. With units of the dereeling device IU positioned side by side, the guide plates 58 and the guide members 41 carried thereby may be readily moved from their normal operative position, as indicated in full lines in Fig. 3, to an inoperative position to one side of the guards 51, as indicated in part in dotted lines in Fig. 3, to permit the insertion and removal of reels.

It is to be understod that the above-described arrangements are simply illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Numerous other-arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

What is claimed is:

l. A dereeling device comprising a base plate having means thereon for non-rotatably supporting a reel of wire thereon along a predetermined axis, a first'guide plate having an eye concentric with said axis and in spaced relation to a reel on said base plate for guiding the wire being unwound from said reel, a member mounted on said base and extending along said axis beyond said reel into close proximity to said eye and cooperating therewith to form an annular passage for guiding the wire around said member and into said eye, a cylindrical tubular guard, means on said base supporting said guard in concentric relation to said axis and in radially spaced relationto a reel on said base plate for limiting the outward movement of the wire as it is unwound from said reel, a second guide plate having a circular aperture forming an annular guide surface encircling said member and concentric with said axis and disposed intermediate said first guide'plate and a reel mounted on said base .plate, said annular guide surface having adiameter greater than that of said member and less than the internal diameter of said tubular guard to restrict the radial outward movement of the wire being unwound from said reel, means mounted on said base plate for pivotally supportingsaid first guide plate and said second guide plate for movement from a normal operative position in concentric relation with said axis to an inoperative position removed from said axis to permit the insertion and removal of a reel on said base plate.

2. An unreeling device for reels of wire strand comprising a base plate engageable with one end of a reel of strand for non-rotatably supporting said reel thereon, an annular member on said base plate engageable in the bore of said reel for guiding saidreelonto said base along a predetermined axis and for preventing radial movement of said reel on said base, a rod mounted on said base along said axis and extending axially a predetermined distance from a reel mounted on said base, a guide member having an eye concentric with said axis and in close proximity to the end of said rod and cooperating therewith to form an annular guideway for guiding the strand being unwound from a reel on said base plate, a cylindrical tubular guard, means on said base mounting said cylindrical guard plate in concentric relation to said axis and in radially spaced relation to a reel on said base plate for limiting the radial outward movement of said strand as it is unwound from said reel, said guard extending axially a predetermined distance beyond the end of a reel mounted on said base plate, a guide plate extending across and beyond said guard at one end thereof and disposed axially between said guide member and the end oi a reel mounted on said base plate, said guide plate having a circular aperture therein concentric with said axis and of a diameter less than the internal diameter of said tubular guard to restrict the outward movement of the strand as it is being unwound from said reel, means mounting said guide member on said guide plate, means mounting said guide plate for pivotal movement from a normal operating position with the aperture therein concentric with said axis to an inoperative position to one side of said guard member to permit the insertion reels, and a freely movable friction member pivotally supported on said guide member and stressed into engagement therewith for yieldably engaging said strand moving between said friction member and said guide member and for guiding said strand for movement in a direction transversely of said predetermined axis.

3. An unreeling device for reels of wire strand comprising a base plate engageable with one end of a reel of strand for non-rotatably supporting said reel thereon, means including a cylindrical member on said base plate engageable in the bore of said reel for guiding said reel onto said base along a predetermined axis and extending along said axis a predetermined distance from a reel on said base, a guide member having an eye concentric with said axis and in close proximity to the end of said cylindrical member and cooperating therewith to form an annular guideway for the strand being unwound from a reel on said base plate, a cylindrical tubular guard, means on said base plate supporting said guard in concentric relation to said axis in radially spaced relation to a reel on said base plate for limiting the radial outward movement of said strand as it is unwound from said reel, said guard extending axially a predetermined distance beyond the end of a reel on said base plate, a guide plate extending across said guard and removal of y at one end thereof and disposed axially between t said guide member and base plate, said guide plate having a circular the end of a reel on said u aperture therein concentric with said axis and of a diameter less than the internal diameter of said tubular guard to restrict the outward movement of the strand as it is being unwound from said reel, and means mounting said guide plate and said guide member for movement from a normal operating position to an inoperative position to one side of said guard member to permit the insertion and removal of reels.

4. An unreeling device comprising a base plate engageable with one end of a plurality of reels of wire for nonrotatably supporting said reels, a plurality of rod like elements mounted on said base along predetermined axes in spaced parallel relation to each other for guiding said reels onto said base and for preventing radial movement of said reels on said base, a plurality of cylindrical tubular guards, means on said base mounting said guards in coaxial relation to the axes of said elements and in radial spaced relation to the reels on said base for limiting the radial outward movement of the wire as it is unwound from said reels, said guards extending axially a predetermined distance beyond the ends of reels mounted on said base, a guide plate extending across the ends of said cylindrical guards and having circular apertures therein concentric with the said axes and of a diameter less than the internal diameter of said cylindrical guards to restrict the outward movement of the wire as it is being unwound from said reel, guide means mounted on said guide plate in spaced relation to the guide plate and having eyes therein concentric with said axes and disposed in close proximity to the ends of said rod like elements, the ends of said elements being round and extending partly into said apertures, means mounting said guide members and said guide means thereon for movement from a normal operating position with the apertures and eyes therein concentric with said axes to an inoperative position on one side of said guard members to permit the insertion and removal of said reels.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 269,046 Gordon Dec. 12, 1882 441,454 Vileyn Nov. 25, 1890 771,059 Gessner Sept. 27, 1904 1,048,889 Ryden Dec. 31, 1912 1,077,453 Case Nov. 4, 1913 1,168,393 Haas Jan. 18, 1916 1,456,825 Orr May 29, 1923 2,170,194 Griggs Aug. 22, 1939 2,200,140 Willeke May '7, 1940 2,242,053 Chapman May 13, 1941 2,437,630 Williams et a1. Mar. 9, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 133,163 Switzerland Aug. 1, 1929