US2763442A - Transfer device for continuous spoolers - Google Patents

Description

Sept. 18, 1956 c. o. BRUESTLE ;'z,76.3442v TRANSFER DEVICE FOR CONTINUOUS SPOOLEJRS Filed 001;. 8, 1954 United States Patent Otiice 2,763,442 Patented Sept. 18, 1956 TRANSFER DEVICE FOR CONTINUOUS sPOoLERs Carl 0. Bruestle, Metuchen, N. J., assignor to Syncro Machine Company, Perth Amboy, N. J., a corporation of New Jersey Application October 8, 1954, Serial No. 461,265

4 Claims. (Cl. 242-25) mechanism for use in connection with the transfer of the t wire from a full to an empty spool in a continuous spooling machine whereby the wire is clamped at its initial end with respect to the empty spool and trapped, guided or held for a predetermined length to provide a free end, and then guided onto the core of the empty spool, which is then filled.

The detailed object of the invention will be apparent from the following disclosure of the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the attached drawings.

ln these drawings,

Figure 1 is a face elevational view of one of the guiding and clamping devices forming part of this invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional View on the line 2f2 of Figure 1 through the spooler shafts showing `the association of the device of Figure 3 with the aligned adjacent ends of these shafts, and including a diagrammatic illustration of the adjacent ends of the two spools;

Figure 3 is an elevational view as it appears from the plane 3-3 of Figure 2; and

Figure 4 is a perspective view of the end of one of the spooler shafts associated with the structure of Figure 1.

This invention comprises an improvement in that portion of a continuous wire spooling machine which becomes active at the time the wire is transferred from a `full spool to an empty spool. Machines of this type are disclosed in United States Patent No. 2,424,021, issued July 15, 1947, to John Cook and in my United States Patent No. 2,600,841, granted June 17, 1952.

Machines of this type are capable of continuous operation at high speeds for the purpose of effecting rapid spooling of wire. An end object of this invention is to provide in such a machine for the formation of a free or projecting initial end of the wire for each spool. In other words a finished loaded spool. has bothends of the wire exposed. This is for purposes of convenience in connection with further processing of thewire, as those skilled in the art `will understand.

Referring to the drawings, there.has1been illustrated fin Figure 2 the manner in which the pair of spool :supporting shafts 26 and 28 which form a part of one type of continuous spooler are now Widely used in the industry. The shafts 26 and 28 are power driven and are mounted on a common axis with their free ends closely spaced. The ends of the shafts 26 and 28 are provided with a plurality of axial projections 26a and 28a. The exact formation with regard to shaft 28 is shown in Figure 4. These shafts are hollow and are provided with internal threads at their free ends which receive flanged threaded sleeves 38 and 40 on which are mounted a pair of circular plates 34 and 36. These plates are of similar construction, as illustrated in the case of the plate 36 in Figure 3, and are provided with three openings 36a, angularly displaced 120 degrees. These openings are dimensioned and spaced to receive the projecting ends 28a of the shaft 28 in that case. The construction with regard to the plate 34 and shaft 26 is the same as that illustrated in Figures 3 and 4.

Mounted on the circular plates 36 and 34 are a pair of plate supports 30 and 32 respectively which are shown in the form of discs having central apertures so that they will fit upon the discs 34 and 36 when riveted to their flanges, as clearly shown in the various figures. The plates 34 and 36 are secured on the threaded hubs 38 and 40 by means of snap rings 42 and 44, so that the hubs 38 and 40 can be rotated with respect to the plates 34 and 36 to facilitate engagement of the threads on the hub with the threads on the shafts 26 and 28, This provides for ease in mounting these assemblies on the rings.

Each of the discs 30 and 32 is of similar construction and each is provided with three clamping devices and three flanged ledge or supporting members, as clearly shown in Figure 1. The clamping devices in the case of the disc 32 consist of L- shaped plates 52, 54 and 56, riveted to the discs near their peripheries so as to project radially thereof. Associated with each of the L-shaped plates 52, 54 and S6 is a cooperating plate 60, 62 and 64, which are riveted to `the disc 32 adjacent the members 52, 54 and 56, so as to provide a tapered clamping slot at each position, as shown in Figure 1. The pairs of members 52, 60; 54, 62 and 64, 56 are preferably of hardened steel to withstand the impact forces which they must meet in operation. These clamping assemblies are arranged with equal arcuate spacing, that is they are angularly displaced degrees. The construction of the disc 31) is similar, only one of the L-shaped plates 76 appearing in Figure 2.

With respect to Figure 1, assuming that in use the disc 32 would rotate in a clockwise direction, there is associated with each clamping device in a trailing position with respect to rotation, an arcuate guide member which has an L.shaped cross-section, as is clear from Figure 2. These guide members are shown at 46, 431 and 50 and are provided with struck-out tabs 50*l in the case of the guide S0, which project radially into overlapping relation with the disc 32 so as to be Welded or riveted thereto, as clearly shown in the drawings, One of these guide members for f the disc 30 is shown at 68 in Figure 2, it being understood as suggested before that the construction for disc 30 is the same as that for disc32. The leading end for each of these guides, as shown at 50h, Figure l, in the case ,of the guide 50, converges to a blunt pointed end, the outer defining edge of Vwhich lies below the outermost edge of the associated `hardened clamping jaw member 64 so that this converging end will not interfere with the desired clamping action.

As is clear from Figure 2, the guides in the case of disc 32, for the major portion of their length are positioned so that one edge of their L-Shaped formation 'lies substantially in the plane of theouter face of the disc 32 and projects axially therefrom beyond the opposite side or" the idisc. However, at the leading pointed end Sill, adjacent the clamping slot the horizontal portion of the member 50 is cut away to iit around the associated plates 56 and 64. This construction is .the same at each of the clamping positions for each of the ` discs 36 and 32.

The adjacent ends of a pair of spools are illustrated in Figure 2, to show how the spools are associated with the mechanism described. The spools are of the built-up metal type, as illustrated, and consist of cylindrical cores 10 and 12 which are telescoped over the respective shafts 26 and 27. These cores are respectively provided with spool heads 14 and 16 which have central openings and flanges at 18 and 20 which fit within the cores it? and 12 and are secured thereto as by welding, The outer peripheries of the spool heads are beaded over and when clamped in position on the spooler shafts these beaded edges lie within and are supported by the arcuate guides of the respective discs 30 and 32. The spools, of course, are symmetrically constructed at each end, as is Well understood in the art.

In the operation of this device, and with respect to Figure 2, it will be assumed that the power driven shafts 26 and 28 are rotating in the same direction, that is so that at the top the spools and discs are rotating towards the observer. From a study of Figure 1 it will be seen that as a result the clamping devices at the top will be approaching the observer at their open ends, which means that the asociated guides will be trailing the clamping slots.

As disclosed in the patents mentioned above, and as is very well understood in vthis art, in spooling machines of this type a wire traversing guide is positioned so as to guide the wire to the spools with an axial lead such as to lay the wire in smooth layers on the spool cores in contiguous convolutions. Referring again to Figure 2, and assuming that the traversing wire guide which moves axially of the spools is in front of the spools, that is between the spools and the viewers position, the operation of this transfer mechanism will be described. We will further assume that the lefthan-d spool of Figure 2 is about full and that the outermost layer of wire is being wound on it. The wire guide is thus traversing from left to right and at is completes the last layer in moving to the right the wire will finally be brought up to spool head 14.

In machines of this type relevant driving speeds for the shafts 26 and 28 are automatically provided so that the peripherial speed of the core 12 of the righthand spool will be equal to the peripherial speed at the outer surface of the full spool. The rate of Wire feed to the spooler is constant and this means, therefore, that at the time of transfer of the wire from a full to an empty spool the empty spool must be traveling at a greater number of revolutions per minute than is the full spool. In practice this means that at the time of transfer shaft 28 will be revolving at about twice the number of revolution per minute as is shaft 26.

As is also well understood in this art, the transversing wire guide is given an accelerated lead at the instant the lefthand spool is iilled so as to guide the wire across the periphery of the full spool and to bring it somewhere in approximate alignment with the righthand faces of the clamping device of the disc 32. Since, ofcourse, the disc 32 is traveling with the spool 12, 16 at the same peripherial speed, the wire will be brought into the path of one of the clamping devices 52, 60; 54, 62 or 56, 64, whichever happens to be closest to the transfer point at the time of transfer. As a result the closest clamp forcibly strikes the wire and jams it in its slot. Since this clamping device is moving rapid-ly it moves on past the transfer point and causes the wire to be laid onto the associated guide 50 until it reaches its trailing end, whereupon it drops olf and begins to wrap up on the core 12, starting the lirst convolution adjacent the inside face of the spool head 16. This action can be assured by proper axial position of the wire guide on the transverse distributor, if this guide is moved to a position to the right of the ange on the guide, that is in a plane closely adjacent the inside face of the spool head 16.

As those in this art know, suitable wire cutting devices of which a number of forms are available, are positioned so as to sever the Wire between its point of clamping referred to above and the full spool. This cutting device forms no part of this invention. The nal result is that there is an end of wire which is the initial end of the Wire being wound on the entry spool which extends ap proximately from the bight of the clamping slot, along the trailing associated ledge, and then down radially from the trailing end of the ledge to the core. Thus, the free end of the wire will be substantially equal to the distance of the trailing edge of the ledge and the bight of the slot. This very length can be increased by making the ledges or guides 46, 48 and 50 of greater arcuate length.

It is immaterial when the traversing guide causes the wire to cross over the adjacent spool edge, because even if the wire is starting to catch in one of the clamping devices associated With the full spool the closest approaching clamping device associated with the empty spool moving so much faster will quickly pick up the Wire and jam it into the slot.

It is obvious that the reverse operations can occur when the righthand spool is full and the previously iilled spool has been removed and replaced with an empty spool. During the period while an empty spool is being filled a full spool can be removed and replaced by an empty spool.

The construction illustrated is such that various sizes of discs 30 and 32 can be mounted on the shafts 26 and 28 to adapt this mechanism for different spool sizes.

From the above description it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the subject matter of this invention is capable of modilication Without departure from the basic substance, and I prefer, therefore, to be limited as required by the claims and not by the single illustrative embodiment herein disclosed.

What is claimed is:

1. In a Wire spooling machine comprising a pair of axially aligned spool shafts, a pairs of discs attached to the respective adjacent ends of said shafts, clamping devices secured to the peripheries of said discs respectively, and wire supporting means secured to said discs respectively at their peripheries on the trailing sides of said clamping devices to provide a ledge onto which the initial length of wire being coiled on each spool is laid.

2. In the combination of claim 1, said wire supporting means each comprising an arcuate axially extending strip lhaving a radial ange.

3. In the combination of claim l, said wire supporting means each comprising an arcuate axially extending strip having a radial ange, said strip overhanging the spool side of the disc with its flange on the spool side edge.

4. In the combination of claim 1, said wire supporting means each comprising an arcuate axially extending strip having a radial flange, the end of said strip and flange adjacent the clamping device being pointed and diverging in a trailing direction, the ilange at the pointed end being offset with respect to the clamping device.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,393,286 Hosford Oct. 11, 1921 1,672,984 Marchev June l2, 1928 2,600,841 Bruestle June 17, 1952

Images