US2717743A

US2717743A - Clutch mechanism for coiling devices

Info

Publication number: US2717743A
Application number: US314086A
Authority: US
Inventors: Hugh C Eames
Original assignee: Farrel Birmingham Co Inc
Current assignee: Farrel Birmingham Co Inc
Priority date: 1952-10-10
Filing date: 1952-10-10
Publication date: 1955-09-13
Anticipated expiration: 1972-09-13

Description

Sept. 13, 1955 H. c. EAMES 2,717,743

CLUTCH MECHANISM FOR COILING DEVICES Filed Oct. 10, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 (Lo 2 M 3 $5 j ;INVENTOR A n N ATTORNEYS Sept. 13, 1955 H. c. EAMES CLUTCH MECHANISM FOR COILING DEVICES 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 10, 1952 INVENTOR ATTORN EYS Sept. 13, 1955 c, E S 2,717,743

CLUTCH MECHANISM FOR COILING DEVICES Filed Oct. 10, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 }6 w F""/ "M1 Ellllllllll DWI") INVENTOR United States Patented Sept. 13, 1955 CLUTCH MECHANISM non COILING DEVICES Hugh C. Earnes, Oxford, Conn .assignor to Farrel-Birmingham Company, Incorporated, Ansn-nia, Conm, a corporation of Connecticut Application October 10, 1952, Serial No. 314,086

13 Claims. (Cl. 242-83) This invention relates to devices for co-iling metal rods or the like, and more particularly to a clutch mechanism for a device known as a drop coiler.

When metal rods are delivered from a continuous rolling mill, they are coiled about a drum or shell for handling. A continuous rolling mill delivers these rods very rapidly, and this necessitates the use of several coilers since the rods are delivered in multiple from the finishing rolls.

From time to time it is, of course, necessary to stop the action of the coilers so that a completed coil may be removed from the machine. In order, therefore, that the coilers may keep pace With the delivery of the rods from the mill, it is necessary to provide for quick acceleration of the coiler in receiving the end of a rod from the mill, and also to provide for a rapid deceleration to bring the coiling drum to a stop in order to provide for the discharge of the completed coil before another rod arrives.

The present invention relates to a clutch mechanism for drivingly connecting the inner and outer shells of such a coiling device, the clutch being so constructed that a clutch shoe will be actuated by centrifugal force to make driving contact with the outer drum or shell of the coiler so that the latter will be driven with the inner shell to which the clutch mechanism is secured. It will be understood that the inner shell is positively driven and the clutch mechanism is supported by this inner shell and actuated by centrifugal force into driving contact with the outer shell or drum. Moreover, when the operation of the coiler is discontinued, the coiler motor may be stopped in a very short time, and it is necessary to also stop the motion of the outer drum. The clutch mechanism of my invention is so constructed that it will act as a brake upon the stopping of the motor of the coiling mechanism so that the rotation of the outer drum will be checked with the inner shell or drum and will not be permitted to continue rotating due to its inertia.

To this end a wedging mechanism is provided so that any tendency of the shell or drum to over run the inner shell will result in a camming action to cam the clutch 1 shoes into contact with the outer shell, and thus serve to check the rotation of the latter.

One object of the invention is to provide a new and improved driving mechanism for coiling machines or like devices.

Stillanother object of the invention is to provide a rodcoiling mechanism having inner and outer drums between which the rod is coiled with a clutch mechanism connecting the outer drum to the inner drum, which mechanism is actuated by centrifugal force.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a rod-coiling mechanism having a positively driven inner drum and an outer drum driven from the inner drum, the rod being coiled between the two drums or shells, with a clutch mechanism to drivingly connect the outer drum with the inner drum in a positive and efficient manner, and at the same time permit the completed coil or rod to drop freely from the space between the drums.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a rod-coiling machine of thetype described above with a clutch mechanism connecting the inner and outer-shells and drums between which the rod is coiled, which clutch mechanism will also act as a brake to check the rotation of the outer shell or drum when the innershell-or drum is stopped.

To these and other ends the invention consists in the novel features and combinations of parts to'be hereinafter described and claimed.

In the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view partlyin section of'a rod-coiling device embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a partial sectional view showing the clutch finger mechanism in a different position from that shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a sectional view through the clutch mechanism takenon line '33 of Fig. 4; r

Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a front view of the clutch mechanism and supporting fingers, some parts being-broken away for the sake of clearness;

Fig. 6 is a top plan detail View of theclutch mechanism;

Fig. 7 is a top plan view of one'of the links in the clutch mechanism; and V Fig. 8 is a perspective detail view of the wedge block employed'in the clutch mechanism.

To illustrate apreferred-erribodiment of my invention I have shown in Fig. lof the;drawings a drop coil: mechanism for coiling rods or t'he like comprising a-frame designated generally by the numeral 10 upon whichis supported a driving motor 11. Rotatably mounted in the frame 10 in a vertical position is aho'llow shaft or sleeve 12, this sleeve being mounted for rotation in "

bearings

13 and 14. At'its upper end the-sleeve is provide'dqwith a flange 15 having at its outer edge abevellgear 161neshing with a bevel pinion 1'-7on;thegshaft 18 of the motor-11.

Slidably mounted-within the sleeve 1 2i s 'a'shaft 19, which shaft, as will be explained later, rotates withthe sleeve '12 but is slidable vertically with respect to the sleeve. Attached to'the upper end-of the shaft 19 is 'a rod or stem 20 secured to the piston 21 of a hydraulic cylinder 22 by which the stem 20 may be raised and .lowered. Secured to the lower end of the shaft 19 is a flange 23, which flange is 'held upon the shaft 1bys-the nut 24.

It will be understood that'the stem 20 is not rotatable with respect to the frame of the machine but that the shaft 19 rotates'with the sleeve 12as' does 'also the flange 23.

The sleeve 12 is provided with a flange '25 having a downwardly depending skirt 26 which is the inner shell or 'drum around which the rod is coiled. Adjacent but spaged laterally from this shell is an outer shell ,or drum .27, the coils being shown in dotted 'lines at 33 between the inner and outer drums '26 and '27.

The drum 27 is generally cylindrical inshape and is provided with annular outwardly projecting flanges Y28 .and 29. Surrounding the flange 28 is .a bearing band 30, the outer surface of which bears against a plurality of rollers.31..rotatably mountedin a bracket structure 32 secured to and depending fromthe framelO-of themachine. The outer shell 27 is, therefore, rotatably-mounted with respect to the frame and, as will be noted hereinafter, is permitted limited vertical movement with:respect.to=the frame, it being supported from below, during-operationof the device, by theclutch structure whieh'will be hereinafter :described.

Secured to and extending radially inward from the inner shell 26 are a plurality of flanges 34, which flanges are spaced about the inner periphery of the shell. Pivoted at 41 to each of the flanges 34 is a link 35 which is secured at its lower end to a finger structure 36. A link 37 is pivoted to this finger structure at 38, and is also pivoted at 39 to a bracket 40 secured to the flange 23. With this construction when the flange 23 is raised from the position shown in Fig. l to that shown in Fig. 2, it will be seen that the finger structure swings about the pivot point 41 at which the member 35 is pivoted to the flange 34.

Any suitable number of the finger structures 36 may be .employed in spaced position about the shell 26, six of them being employed in the present construction, and this structure carries the clutch and brake mechanism which will now be described. It is noted that as the finger structure is connected to the inner shell 26, it is only necessary to drivingly connect it to the outer shell 27 in order to have the shells rotate together.

As shown more especially in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4, the finger structure 36 comprises a plate 43 to which is secured in spaced relation a lower plate 44 by the web 45, and between the upper and lower plates is a pocket 46 within which the clutch mechanism is mounted. This mechanism comprises a clutch shoe 47 having a liner 48 secured to its outer face. Projecting rearwardly from the shoe 47 are upper and lower spaced

webs

49 and 50 shown more especially in Fig. 5.

Rotatably mounted in and disposed between the

webs

49 and 50 is a roller 51, and secured upon the outer surfaces of these webs are

links

52 and 53, the latter being shown in detail in Fig. 7. These links are secured at one end to the webs by a pin 54 which extends only through the webs and the links thus permitting the shoe 47 and the links to move with respect to the

plates

43 and 44. At the other end of the links is provided an elongated opening 55 through which extends loosely a pin 56, this pin extending also through the upper and

lower webs

43 and 44 so as to limit movement of the shoe with respect to the fingers and also to serve as a driving member to drive the shoe when the fingers are rotated due to their connection with the flange 34.

This pin 56 which, as has been stated, passes through elongated openings 55 in the links, also passes loosely through elongated openings 57 in the

webs

49 and 50 but is fixed in the

plates

43 and 44. This not only allows the clutch shoes to move radially with respect to the inner and outer shells 26 and 27 as permitted by the elongated slot 57, but also allows the shoes to move circumferentially of the shells to a certain extent with respect to the finger mechanism 36, as permitted by the elongated slots 55 in the

links

52 and 53.

The clutch shoes are held within the pocket 46 when the fingers are in the position shown in Fig. 2 by eye bolts 58 secured between the

Webs

49 and 50, which eye bolts pass loosely through openings 59 in the web 45 and receive the nuts 60.

Secured to and depending downwardly from the flange 29 of the outer shell 27 is a clutch band 61 with which the clutch liner 48 secured to the outer face of the shoe 47 is adapted to engage when the shoe 47 is drawn outwardly by centrifugal force to drive the outer shell from the inner shell.

As has been stated, it is desirable to maintain the clutch shoe in contact with the clutch band 61 when the motor 11 is stopped so as to obtain quick deceleration of the outer shell in order to permit a finished coil to be removed from the machine. For this purpose a wedge block 62, which is provided at its front edge with a wedge 63 is secured by bolts 64 to the web 45 of the finger mechanism 36. This wedge block is disposed between the upper and

lower webs

49 and 50 of the brake shoe so that the wedge member 63 is designed to be engaged by the roller 51 whenever the clutch shoe tends to move circumferentially of the drums ahead of the drive pin 56.

The outer shell or drum rotates in the direction of the arrow 65 shown in Fig. 4, and it will be noted from this figure that movement of the clutch shoe in this direction relatively to the fingers 36 will tend to cause the roller 51 to ride outwardly on the surface of the wedge 63 and thus maintain the clutch shoe in engagement with the clutch band 61. This will check the rotation of the outer drum or shell whenever the rotation of the inner shell is stopped due to stoppage of the motor 11.

The operation of the device may be briefly summed up as follows. With the parts in position as in Fig. 1, the rod 66 to be coiled is led in through the tube 67, and the motor 11 is placed in operation and the sleeve 12 and outer shell 26 secured to this sleeve will be set into rotation. The outer shell 27 is supported from below by the finger mechanism 36. When the inner shell rotates, the clutch shoes 47 will be thrown outwardly due to centrifugal force, this outward movement being permitted by the elongated slot 57 which receives the pin 56 and also by the eye bolts 58 which are secured to the clutch shoes and are loosely mounted in the openings 59 of the web 45. This will cause the clutch liners 48 to engage the band 61 and efiect rotation of the outer shell or drum 27.

When a coil is complete, the motor 11 will be stopped which will stop the rotation of the inner shell 26. When the inner shell is decelerated, the clutch shoes due to inertia will tend to continue their rotation and hence move circumferentially relatively to the finger mechanism 36 as permitted by the elongated slot 55. Any movement of the shoes in this direction will cause the roller 51 to ride outwardly over the inclined surface of the wedge member 63 and thus maintain the clutch shoes in engagement with the band 61. Thus when the inner shell is decelerated, the outer shell will likewise be decelerated and stopped.

As soon as the drums 26 and 27 are at rest, pressure fluid may be admitted to the cylinder 22 to raise the stem 26 and the flange 23 mounted on the lower end of shaft 19. This will raise the members 40 from the position shown in Fig. l to that shown in Fig. 2, thus moving the finger mechanism 36 and the clutch mechanism carried thereby to the position shown in Fig. 2. The completed coil 33 will then be permitted to drop by gravity 0 from the space between the inner and outer drums 26 and 27.

It may be noted that when the finger mechanism is moved to the lower position shown in Fig. 2, the outer shell 27 is also allowed to drop to a slight extent until the band 30 rests on the rim 32 of the bracket structure 32. When the stem 20 is again lowered to the position shown in Fig. l and the finger mechanism 36 swung upwardly again to the position shown in Fig. 1, the latter will engage the lower surface of the flange 29 and raise the outer drum 27 to the operative position shown in Fig. 1 and support it in this position during a subsequent coiling operation.

While I have shown and described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it will be understood that it is not to be limited to all of the details shown, but is capable of modification and variation within the spirit of the invention and within the scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spaced inner and outer substantially cylindrical shells between which the material is coiled, power-operated means for rotating the inner shell, and clutch mechanism carried by the inner shell, said mechanism including a movable clutch shoe moved outwardly by the rotation of the inner shell into operative driving relation with the outer shell, and a finger element movably connected to the inner shell by which said clutch mechanism is supported, said finger element extending below the space between the shells and supporting the coil from below.

2 An apparatus for coiling'rod or ,similar material lation withthe outer shell, and afinger element movably connected to the inner shell by which said clutch mechanism is supported, said finger element extending below the space between the shells and supporting the coil from below, and means to move said finger element from its operative position to permit the coil to drop from the machine.

3. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spaced inner and outer substantially cylindrical shells between which the material is coiled, poweroperated means for rotating the inner shell, and clutch mechanism carried by the inner shell, said mechanism including a movable clutch shoe moved outwardly by the rotation of the inner shell into operative driving relation with the outer shell, and a supporting element pivoted to the inner shell by which said clutch mechanism is supported, said element extending below the space between the shells to support the coil.

4. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spaced inner and outer substantially cylindrical shells between which the material is coiled, poweroperated means for rotating the inner shell, and clutch mechanism carried bythe inner shell, said mechanism including a movable clutch shoe moved outwardly by the rotation of the inner shell into operative driving relation with the outer shell, and a finger element pivoted to the inner shell by which said clutch mechanism is supported, said element extending into the space between the shells to support the coil, and being movable downwardly about its pivot from supported position to a depending position to permit discharge of the coil.

5. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spaced inner and outer substantially cylindrical shells between which the material is coiled, means for rotating one of said shells and centrifugally operated clutch mechanism to connect said one shell to the other said shell to efiect rotation of the latter said mechanism including a supporting member secured to one shell, a clutch shoe carried by said member, and means mounting said clutch shoe on said member for movement in a direction radially of the shells to engage the other one thereof and also for movement circumferentially of the shells to be urged outwardly toward said other shell when the rotated shell is decelerated.

6. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spaced inner and outer substantially cylindrical shells between which the material is coiled, means for rotating the inner shell, a coil supporting member pivoted to the inner shell within the same and extending across said space between the shells toward the outer shell, and a clutch shoe movably mounted on said member for movement outwardly with respect thereto in response to centrifugal force into engagement with the outer shell.

7. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spaced inner and outer substantially cylindrical shells between which the material is coiled, said shells being mounted to rotate on a substantially vertical axis, means for rotating the inner shell, a coil supporting member pivoted to the inner shell and extending toward the outer shell, and a clutch shoe movably mounted on said member for movement outwardly with respect thereto in response to centrifugal force into engagement with the outer shell, said member being movable downwardly about its pivot to an out-of-the-way position, and means attaching said shoe to the supporting member to discharge the coil from between the shells.

8. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spaced inner and -.outer substantiallyr cylindrical .shells between which the .material is coiled, means for rotating the inner shell, a supporting member pivoted to the inner shell about an axis transverse to thatiof the -shell and-extending toward the outer shell, and aclutch shoe mounted on said member for movement outwardly with respect thereto into engagement withthe outershell, and means tending to cam said shoe outwardly upon relative movement of said shoe and supporting member in one direction.

9. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spaced inner and outer substantially cylindrical shells between which the material is coiled, means for rotating the inner shell, a supporting member pivoted to the inner shell about an axis transverse to that of the shell and extending toward the outer shell, and a clutch shoe mounted on said member for movement outwardly with respect thereto into engagement with the outer shell, and means on said member urging said shoe outwardly when said shoe tends to rotate ahead of said member.

10. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spaced inner and outer substantially cylindrical coaxial shells between which the material is coiled, power-operated means for rotating the inner shell, and clutch mechanism carried by the inner shell, said mechanism including a movable clutch shoe moved outwardly by the rotation of the inner shell into operative driving relation with the outer shell, and a finger element movably connected to the inner shell by which said clutch mechanism is supported, said finger element extending below the space between the shells and supporting the coil from below, and means to move said finger element from its operative position to permit the coil to drop from the machine, said means comprising a member disposed for movement axially of said shells and connected to said finger element.

11. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spaced inner and outer substantially cylindrical coaxial shells between which the material is coiled, power-operated means for rotating the inner shell, and clutch mechanism carried by the inner shell, said mechanism including a movable clutch shoe moved outwardly by the rotation of the inner shell into operative driving relation with the outer shell, and a finger element movably connected to the inner shell by which said clutch mechanism is supported, said finger element extending below the space between the shells and supporting the coil from below and means to move said finger element from its operative position to permit the coil to drop from the machine, said means comprising a member disposed for movement axially of said shells and connected to said finger element, and pressure-fluid-operated means for actuating said member.

12. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spaced inner and outer substantially cylindrical shells between which the material is coiled, poweroperated means for rotating the inner shell, and clutch mechanism carried by the inner shell, said mechanism including a movable clutch shoe moved outwardly by the rotation of the inner shell into operative driving relation with the outer shell, a stem mounted axially of said inner shell for longitudinal movement in an axial direction, a plurality of finger elements movably connected to the inner shell by which said clutch mechanism is supported, and means connecting said stem to said finger elements to move the later about their pivots to an outof-the-way position.

13. An apparatus for coiling rod or similar material comprising spaced inner and outer substantially cylindrical shells between which the material is coiled, poweroperated means for rotating the inner shell, and clutch mechanism carried by the inner shell, said mechanism including a movable clutch shoe moved outwardly by the rotation of the inner shell into operative driving relation with the outer shell, a stem mounted axially of said inner shell for longitudinal movement in an axial direction, a plurality of finger elements movably connected to the inner shell by which said clutch mechanism is supported, and means connecting said stem to said finger elements to move the latter about their pivots to an out-of-the-Way position, and pressure fluid means for moving said stem.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Moltrup et a1. Jan. 8, 1895 St. Pierre Oct. 21, 1930 Chapman Sept. 4, 1934 Adams Aug. 30, 1938 MacLeod Mar. 7, 1939