US2739766A - Method of and apparatus for uncoiling paramagnetic filamentary material - Google Patents

Description

March 27, 1956 RAYBURN 2,739,766

- METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR UNCOILING PARAMAGNETIC FILAMENTARY MATERIAL Filed March 1, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet l III! Ill! MAG/v57 lNVENTOR L A. RA YBURN F/G4 BY Y ATTORNEY V. A. RAYBURN METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR UNC'OILING PARAMAGNETIC FILAMENTARY MATERIAL March 27, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 1, 1952 wmw oR- L A. RA YBURN FIG. 3

ATTORNEY United States Patent METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR UNCOILING PARAMAGNETEC FILAMENTARY MATERIAL Vincent A. Rayburn, Baltimore, Md., assignor to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application March 1, 1952, Serial No. 274,407

12 Claims. (Cl. 242-128) This invention relates to methods of and apparatus for uncoiling paramagnetic filamentary material, and more particularly to methods of and apparatus for uncoiling coils of steel wire.

In the manufacture of steel wire on wire drawing machines, the drawn wire is wound upon rotating draw blocks and is accumulated in coil form on spiders or stripper drums located at the top of the draw blocks and fured thereto for rotation therewith. The working face of a draw block is slightly conical and is flared at the bottom so that the oncoming wire, entering at the bottom, continuously forces previously wound convolutions of the wire off the upper part of the draw block and onto the spider or stripper drum.

The spider or stripper drum is slightly smaller in diameter than the draw block to which it is attached, so that the convolutions of wire, which are forced off the upper end of the draw block, are freed from the positive drive of the draw block. As a consequence, these released convolutions of wire commence to lag in rotary speed due to their inertia so that the diameters of the convolutions become somewhat increased. Subsequent convolutions which are forced off of the draw block find their way to the inside and bottom of the previously released convolutions.

This action continues successively until the compacting and restraining forces, created by the off-going convolutions crowding to the inside of the coil forming on the spider or stripper drum, balance or arrest the uncoiling forces caused by the inertia of the whole. When this occurs, what is sometimes referred to in the trade as a hank is fully formed and the next convolution of wire to leave the draw block, finding no free space within this portion of the coil, springs out and commences the formation of a new hank, though still a part of the entire coil.

The creation of the hanks and their size is a natural consequence of the physical proportions of the wire and the dimensional relationships between the wire diameter, draw block diameter, taper and height, and the speed of the coiling operation. These hanks, which are natural segments of the full coil, forming under no precisely controlled conditions, contain random lengths of wire varying as much as 25% either way of a mean. As the coiling operation progresses, the convolutions last to leave the draw block continuously seek positions to the inside and bottom of the coil forming on the spider or stripper drum. The individual hanks making up the complete coil are readily identified and may be separated by a skilled handl r without tangling or fouling.

When uncoiling the wire from a series of such hanks, the most satisfactory procedure is to reverse the coiling process, that is, the wire is taken off from the inside and bottom of the last hank to be formed. In the usual uncciling apparatus, the wire is placed on a rotatable arbor, or swift, from which the wire is pulled. However, due to the drag from the arbor brake, a portion of the convolutions of wire are drawn tightly against the arbor while others remain loose. The looser convolutions tend to become entangled with the tighter convolutions of the hank and frequently the result is serious damage and delays caused by kinking, fouling, breaking and other strand disorders. Various devices have been proposed to reduce the aforementioned hazards of the uncoiling operations, but the results thereof have not been entirely satisfactory.

It is an object of this invention to provide new and improved methods of and apparatus for uncoiling paramagnetic filamentary material.

Another object is to provide new and improved methods of and apparatus for uncoiling coils of steel Wire.

Other objects and features of this invention will become apparent as the specification proceeds.

An apparatus embodying certain features of the invention may include a retainer of nonmagnetic material for supporting a coil of the material. Magnetic means are provided for producing a magnetic flux Within the material whereby the individual convolutions of the coil are compacted tightly together and against the sides of the retainer by the resulting magnetic coercive forces, which restrain the convolutions of the coil and prevents fouling of the material as it is pulled from the coil.

It is believed that the invention will be clearly understood from the following detailed description, when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation, partially in section, of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a horizontal section taken along line 2-2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary section of a portion of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, and

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken along line 4-4 of Fig. 1.

Referring now to Fig. l, a continuous coiled length of steel wire 10, in the form of stacked hanks l.212, is positioned within a tapered open basket 14-. The slight taper in the basket 14 allows the individual hanks to settle downwardly during an uncoiling operation as the lower-most of the hanks 12-12 is removed. The basket 14 includes a cup 15 formed from nonmagnetic material, such as copper, brass or the like. The bottom of the cup 15 is generally convex, but the center there-v of tapers into a bell-mouthed portion extending into a frustoconical wire guide 16, made of wear-resistant, hardened steel, which is attached to the cup 15. Secured to the cup 15 and spaced evenly about the periphery thereof are a multiplicity of slats 1717 made of nonmagnetic material. These slats 17 l7 are curved at their upper ends where they blend into a loading platform 19 to which they are fixedly attached.

Four columnar members 2(i2il are secured to and support a flanged ring 22, which in turn serves as a support for the platform 19. The columnar members 2i-2) support also an electromagnet assembly designated generally as 23. The assembly 23 includes an upper annular pole piece 24 and a lower annular pole piece 25. The pole pieces 24 and 25 are made of a paramagnetic material of very high permeability, such as dynamo iron or the like, and are fastened together by bolts 2727 spaced thereabout. The pole pieces 24 and 25 have annular grooves 28 and 29 formed therein to receive and surround a multi-turn field coil 30. A ring 31 of nonmagnetic material serves to retain the coil 30 in place between the pole pieces 24 and 25, and prevents movement thereby as a result of forces created when the coil 30 is subsequently energized.

The projecting faces of the pole pieces 24 and 25 are contoured in such a manner that the nonmagnetic cup 15 is received snugly therein and is supported firmly thereby. The dimensions and shape of the pole pieces 24 are such that when the field coil 30 is energized a magnetic field is created. Due to the particular configuration of the cup 15 and the position of the field coil assembly 23, the lower-most of the hanks 1212 is included in this magnetic field.

The bell-mouthed guide 16 is designed to conduct the free end of the wire to a twist-localizing device which consists of a strand tensioner 32 and a spinner assembly shown generally at 33. The strand tensioner 32 (Fig. 3) includes a frame 34, which is generally rectangular in shape and supports several pairs of opposed slidable rods 35-35. The rods 3535 are slidably mounted within adjustable threaded bushings 36-66 which are received within threaded apertures in the vertical sides of the frame 34. The opposing ends of the rods 3535 are provided with holders 37-37 which support grooved friction elements 38-38 mounted thereon. The friction elements 38-38 are made of tungsten carbide or the like, and are urged by the resilient force of bias springs 39-39 mounted on the rods 35-35, respectively, between the bushings 36-36 and the holders 37-37, into engagement with the advancing wire 19, thereby imposing a tensioning drag upon the wire as it is advanced therebetween.

The spinner assembly 33 includes a D-shaped mounting plate 42 which supports a stub shaft 44 (Fig. 4). A

bevel gear 47 is rotatably mounted upon the stub shaft 44 and supports a sheave 49 mounted fixedly thereupon for rotation therewith. A shrouding strip 51 of sheet metal is attached to the periphery of the mounting plate 42 and serves both as a guard for the sheave 49 and as a support for the ends of a vertically positioned shaft 53. The shaft 53 is provided with a concentrically mounted bevel gear 55, which is keyed thereto and meshes with the bevel gear 47 in such a manner that any rotary movement of the sheave 49 is transmitted to the shaft 53. The lower end of the shaft 53 extends a short distance beyond its lower bearing on the shrouding strip 51 and has attached thereto, at its extremity, a spur gear 58. The gear 58 meshes with a stationary spur gear 59 which is fixedly secured to a retainer 60 supported by horizontal cross members 6262 attached to the columnar members 2il2fi.

The spinner assembly 33 is further provided with sleeve bearings 65 and 66 which are received, respectively, within the retainer 60 and a similarly mounted retainer 68 supported by horizontal cross members 6969. The bearings 65 and 66 permit the rotation of the assembly 33 about a vertical axis tangent to the winding periphery of the sheave 49. The rotation of the assembly occurs when the sheave 49 and the attached bevel gear 47 are rotated, thereby transmitting their movement via the bevel gear 55 to the shaft 53 and the attached spur gear 58, which is, in turn, driven about the periphery of the stationary gear 59 carrying with it the freely rotatable assembly 33.

A tubular guide 71, secured fixedly to the assembly 33 for rotation therewith, is mounted coaxially within the bearing 66, a small length thereof projecting above the recessed upper face of the retainer 68. The strand tensioner 32 is mounted upon this projecting portion of the tubular guide 71 and is keyed thereto for rotation therewith. The vertical axis of the tubular guide 71, the contact line of opposing friction elements 38-38 and the vertical axis of the guide 16 fall along a common vertical line, as shown in Fig. 3, the line being substantially tangent to the winding periphery of the sheave 49 and lying in the plane thereof.

A second tubular guide 73, secured fixedly to the assembly 33 and positioned coaxially within the bearing 65, projects beyond the lower face of the retainer 60 and serves as a strand guide for a guide sheave 75 mounted on the lower side of one of the cross members 62-62.

The sheave 75 is designed to introduce a change of direction in the path of an advancing strand and to direct it toward a conventional takeup capstan designated generally at 7 7.

Operation The coil of continuous steel wire 10, in the form of a series of hanks 12-12, is stacked within the basket 14 with the lower-most hank fitting snugly within the cup 15. The field coil 30 is then energized to create a magnetic field, and the resulting magnetic coercive forces cause the convolutions of the lower-most hank 12 to be pulled outwardly against the wall of the cup 15 where they are'held rigidly as if the hank were a solid mass. The free innerend from the lower-most of the hanks 12-12 is peeled manually therefrom and threaded between the friction elements 38-38 of the strand tensioner 32. The end is then passed through the tubular guide 71, where it is passed completely around the sheave 49, into the tubular guide 73 to the guide sheave 75 and thence to the takeup capstan 77.

The drive means (not shown) for the takeup capstan 77 is then energized to advance the wire 10. The tension in the wire 10 causes the free end thereof to peel away from the other convolutions of the lower-most of the hanks 12--12 against the magnetic coercive forces caused by the magnetic flux within the hank. The magnetic coercive forces tend to prevent the convolutions of the hank 12 from uncoiling at a greater rate than the wire 10 is taken up by the takeup capstan 77.

The crowned configuration of the intermediate portion of the bottom of the cup 15 imposes a frictional drag on the advancing wire 10 in such a manner as to cause it to assumea curved path similar to that shown in Fig. 2 as it peels away from the adjacent convolutions of the lower-most hank 12. The smooth and uniform curvature of this path prevents sharp bends which might cause destructive kinking in wire made of relatively soft steel.

As the wire 10 advances around the sheave 49, the sheave 49 is driven by the wire because the tensioner 32 tends to hold back the wire and to keep it in contact with the sheave. When the sheave 49 rotates, the entire spinner assembly 33 is rotated about its vertical axis of revolution, since the sheave 49 is geared to the spur gear 58 which is driven about the periphery of the stationary gear 59. The ratios of the various gears are selected so that the spinner assembly 33 makes one complete turn during the passage of one-mean convolution of the wire 10 over the sheave 49.

Since; not all of the convolutions of the wire in a particular-hank 12 are exactly the same length, rotation of the spinner assembly isrelatively slower when the convolutions are taken from the inside of the hank and somewhat faster when it is coming from the outside thereof.

The variations in length, however, have been found by experiment to be only about 3% and tend to equalize each other in every hank.z The amount of twist that may accumulate in the wire 10 above the spinner assembly 33 due to these random variations in the length of convolutions has been found to be very small and it is not troublesome.

It is manifest that the hereinabove described apparatus is merely illustrative, and that various applications and modifications may be made within the scope of the invention.

1 What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for uncoiling coils of paramagnetic filamentary material, which comprises a retainer of nonmagnetic composition for supporting a coil of such material, and magnetic means for producing a magnetic flux within the material whereby the individual convolutions of the coil are compacted tightly together and against the sides of the retainer by the resulting magnetic coercive forces, whichv tend to restrain uncoiling of the convolutions of the coil and to prevent fouling of the material as it is pulled from the coil.

2. Apparatus for uncoiling coils of paramagnetic filamentary material, which comprises a cup of nonmagnetic composition for containing and supporting a coil of paramagnetic filamentary material, said cup having a centrally located aperture in the bottom thereof, strand withdrawing means for uncoiling and withdrawing the free inner end of the filamentary material from the coil through the aperture in the cup bottom, and means for producing a relatively strong magnetic flux within the material whereby the individual convolutions of the coil are compacted tightly together and against the sides of the cup, said magnetic forces tending to resist the uncoiling force applied to the material by the withdrawing means, thereby preventing fouling of the material as it is withdrawn.

3. Apparatus for uncoiling coils of paramagnetic wire, which comprises a hollow receptacle of nonmagnetic composition designed to contain and support stacked hanks of a coil of wire, the bottom of said receptacle being closed except for an aperture through which the free inner end of the wire may be passed, and magnetic means for producing a magnetic fiux within the wire adjacent to the bottom of the receptacle whereby the individual convolutions of a hank are held tightly together and against the sides of the receptacle by the resulting magnetic coercive forces, thereby restraining the convolutions from fouling the free inner end of the material as it is pulled from the coil.

4. Apparatus for uncoiling bundles of coiled steel wire, which comprises a cylindrical holder of nonmagnetic composition for containing and supporting a bundle of hanks of steel wire, the bottom of said holder being closed and generally convex on its inner surface except for the central portion thereof which tapers into a centrally located aperture through which the free inner end of the bottommost hank may be passed, magnetic means for producing a relatively high magnetic flux within the wire adjacent to the bottom of the holder whereby the individual convolutions of a hank are held tightly together by the resulting magnetic coercive forces, said forces resisting any forces tending to uncoil the hank, and means for withdrawing the free inner end of the bottom-most hank to uncoil the wire.

5. Apparatus for uncoiling bundles of coiled wire made of paramagnetic material, which comprises a cylindrical receptacle of nonmagnetic composition designed to contain and support a bundle of hank-wound wire, the bottom of said receptacle being closed except for a centrally located aperture through which the free inner end of the wire may be passed, and an electromagnetic coil surrounding closely the periphery of the receptacle, said coil when energized being capable of producing a magnetic flux within the wire adjacent to the bottom of the receptacle whereby the individual convolutions of a hank are compacted tightly together and against the sides of the receptacle by the resulting magnetic coercive forces, said forces preventing fouling during an uncoiling operation in which the free inner end is peeled from the bottom-most hank against said magnetic coercive forces.

6. Apparatus for uncoiling bundles of coiled steel wire, which comprises a hollow nonmagnetic receptacle for containing and supporting a vertically stacked bundle of hank-wound steel wire, the bottom of said receptacle being generally convex on its inner surface except for the central portion thereof which tapers into a centrally located bell-mouthed orifice through which the free inner end of the wire may be passed, a strand withdrawing means located below the cup for advancing the free inner end of the wire through the orifice, an electromagnetic coil, an annular upper pole piece, an annular lower pole piece, the respective pole pieces being secured together on opposite sides of the coil and are so positioned as to engage and support the outer periphery of the receptacle, and means for energizing the electromagnetic coil whereby a strong magnetic flux is created within the steel wire adjacent to the bottom of the receptacle, the resulting magnetic coercive forces causing the individual convolutions of a hank to be magnetically frozen together against the walls of the receptacle, the magnetic coercive forces tending to resist somewhat the force applied by the strand withdrawing means, thereby preventing fouling of the material.

7. A device for localizing the accumulation of twists in filamentary material being uncoiled from a coil of material positioned in a material-dispensing apparatus and advanced by a strand withdrawing means, which comprises a rotatable support positioned intermediate of the dispensing apparatus and the strand withdrawing means and having its axis of rotation substantially paraliel to the advancing material, a sheave rotatably mounted on the support and designed to be engaged by a loop of the advancing material for rotation thereby, a gear train operatively connected to the sheave and designed to be driven thereby to cause the support to rotate on its axis of rotation, the train value of the gear train being such that the support rotates through 360 during the passage of a length of material equal to the length of one mean convolution of the coil, thereby transferring the accumulation of twists in the advancing material from the region between the coil and the rotatable support to the region between the support and the withdrawing means.

8. A device for localizing the accumulation of twists in filamentary material being uncoiled from a coil positioned in a material-dispensing apparatus and advanced by a strand withdrawing means, which comprises a rotatable support positioned intermediate of the dispensing apparatus and the strand withdrawing means and having its axis of rotation substantially parallel to the advancing material, a sheave rotatably mounted on the support and designed to be engaged by a loop of the advancing material for rotation thereby, a bevel gear fixedly secured to the sheave for rotation therewith, a fixedly mounted stationary gear, and a spur gear intermeshing with said stationary gear and driven by the bevel gear in such a manner as to cause the spur gear to rotate once about the stationary gear during the passage of a length of material equal to the length of one mean convolution of the coil, carrying with it the rotatable support and attached sheave, thereby transferring the accumulation of twists in the advancing material from the region between the materialdispensing apparatus and the rotatable support to the region between the support and the withdrawing means.

9. Apparatus for uncoiling bundles of coiled paramagnetic wire, which comprises a nonmagnetic receptacle for containing and supporting a vertically stacked bundle of hank-wound wire, said receptacle having a centrally located aperture in the bottom thereof, strand withdrawing means for uncoiling and withdrawing the free inner end of the wire from the bottom-most hank thereof through the aperture in the bottom of the receptacle, magnetic means for producing a strong magnetic flux within the wire adjacent to the bottom of the receptacle whereby the individual convolutions of a hank are compacted tightly together and against the sides of the receptacle, said magnetic forces tending to resist the uncoiling force applied to the wire by the withdrawing means, a rotatable support positioned intermediate of the receptacle and the withdrawing means and having its axis of rotation substantially parallel to the advancing wire, a sheave rotatably mounted on the support and engaged by a loop of the advancing wire for rotation thereby, and a gear train operatively connected to the sheave and designed to be driven thereby to cause the support to rotate on its axis of rotation, the train value of the gear train being such that the support rotates through 360 during the passage of a length of wire equal to the length of one mean convolution of a hank, thereby transferring the accumulation of twists in the advancing wire from the region between the hank and the rotatable support to the regiontbetween the support and the withdrawing means.

10. The method of uncoiling wire made of paramagnetic material, which comprises the steps of supporting a coil of said wire within a nonmagnetic retainer, passing through said coil a magnetic flux of sutficient strength to cause the convolutions of the coil to be compacted tightly together and against the sides of the retainer by the resulting magnetic coercive forces, and peeling a free end from the coil, the magnetic coercive forces tending to restrain uncoiling of the convolutions and to prevent the fouling thereof as the wire is pulled from the coil.

11. The method of uncoiling coiled hanks of steel wire, which comprises the steps of supporting such a hank within a nonmagnetic retainer, passing a magnetic flux through the convolutions of the hank, and peeling the free inner end from the hank, said magnetic flux being of suificient strength to cause said convolutions to be compacted tightly together and against the sides of the retainer, thereby tending to restrain uncoiling of the convolutions producing a magnetic flux within the material whereby.

the individual convolutions of the coil are compacted tightly together and against the sides of the retainer by the resulting magnetic coercive forces, said forces tending to restrain the uncoiling of the eonvolutions of the coil and to prevent the fouling of the material as it is pulled from the coil.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,848,982 Webb Mar. 8, 1932 1,955,785 Arkema et a1. Apr. 24, 1934 2,421,336 Kline et a1. May 21, 1947 r 2,605,982 Miller Aug. 5, 1952

Claims (1)

12. APPARATUS FOR UNCOILING COILS OF PARAMAGNETIC FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, WHICH COMPRISES A RETAINER FOR SUPPORTING A COIL OF SUCH MATERIAL, AND MAGNETIC MEANS FOR PRODUCING A MAGNETIC FLUX WITHIN THE MATERIAL WHEREBY THE INDIVIDUAL CONVOLUTIONS OF THE COIL ARE COMPACTED TIGHTLY TOGETHER AND AGAINST THE SIDES OF THE RETAINER BY THE RESULTING MAGNETIC COERCIVE FORCES, SAID FORCES TENDING TO RESTRAIN THE UNCOILING OF THE CONVOLUTIONS OF THE COIL TERSECTING SAID BORE, WEDGES SLIDABLE IN SAID SLOTS ADAPTED TO ENGAGE SAID SEGMENTS ON THE INTERIOR THEREOF, AND EX-

Images