US3078055A

US3078055A - Filament accumulator

Info

Publication number: US3078055A
Application number: US20301A
Authority: US
Inventors: Edward H Harris
Original assignee: Acrometal Products Inc
Current assignee: Acrometal Products Inc
Priority date: 1960-04-06
Filing date: 1960-04-06
Publication date: 1963-02-19
Anticipated expiration: 1980-02-19

Description

E. H. HARRIS FILAMENT ACCUMULATOR Feb. 19, 1963 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 6, 1960 m? s m H m m %w H #T 4 D A n m mm a EW O m 2 law/.1 n Lvl FA m M p y 7 h H 3 i 8 5 9 T 7 6 Feb. 19, 1963 E. H. HARRIS FILAMENT ACCUMULATOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 6, 1960 IN VEN'IjORw E'awano .HIHAnn/s .AT TORNE vs Feb. 19, 1963 E. H. HARRIS FILAMENT ACCUMULATOR 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed April 6, 1960 62 FIG. 13

INVENTOR- FIG. 12

TORQUE M O TOR EDWARD HHAnn/s ATTORNEYS Feb. 19, 1963 E. H. HARRIS 3,073,055

FILAMENT ACCUMULATOR Filed April 6, 1960 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ll 4 z INVENTOR. EDWARD H. HARRIS AT TORNEYS United States PatentOfifice 3,078,055 Patented Feb. 19, 1963 3,078,655 FILAMENT ACCUMULATUR Edward H. Harris, Minneapolis, Minn, assignor to Acrometal Products, Inc, Minneapolis, Minn, a corporation of Minnesota Filed Apr. 6, 19 50, Ser. No. 20,301 3 Claims. (Cl. 242-4712) My invention relates generally to apparatus for handling elongated filaments of flexible material, such as wire and the like, and more particularly to an accumulator on which portions of such filaments can be temporarily wound during continuous treatment of the filaments.

In the treatment of filaments, such as wire, it is often desired to anneal the same by passing the wire continuously through heat treating apparatus at a predetermined speed; or, if the same is to be coated with enamel or other viscous covering material, the filament is continuously moved through the coating apparatus and from thence through a drying or curing chamber to harden the coating material. Heretofore, when a given length of the filament has become exhausted, it has been necessary to thread a new filament through the treating apparatus, or to stop the movement of the filament for the time necessary to splice on a new length of filament. In the event of suchstoppage, a portion of the filament becomes overcured, and in the case of annealing, the heat treatment is not uniform, and a defective length or portion of the filament results.

'filament accumulator comprising a pair of accumulator reels and novel means whereby a predetermined length of filament is Wound on said reels while feeding the filament simultaneously to the filament receiving apparatus at its normal speed.

Another object of my invention is the provision of an accumulator as set forth, having accumulator reels and a filament winding device rotatable about the axis of said reels, and brake means for releasably holding the Winding device against rotary movement about said axis.

Another object of my invention is the provision of an accumulator including a pair of accumulator reels having generally cylindrical filament winding portions which taper in directions to impart axial movement in a given direction to the convolutions of filament wound thereon, whereby to prevent overlapping of the convolutions on said reels.

. Still another object of my invention is the provision of novel releasable clamping means for holding one portion of filament against movement during discharge of another parts throughout the several views:

FIG. 1 is a view in side elevation of an accumulator made in accordance with my invention, some parts being broken away, and some parts being shown in section;

FIG. 2 is a view in rear elevation, as seen from the left with respect to FIG. 1, some parts being broken away;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view in top plan;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken substantially on the line 4-4 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken substantially on the irregular line 5-5 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on the line 6-6 of FIG. 5, some parts being broken away and some parts shown in section;

FIG. 7 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken on the line 7-7 of FIG. 5;

FIG. 8 is a view in top plan of a modified form of accumulator structure, some parts being broken away and some parts being shown in section;

FIG. 9 is a vertical section taken substantially on the line 9-9 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is a vertical section taken substantially on the irregular line 10-10 of FIG. 8;

FIG. 11 is a fragmentary section taken substantially on the line 11-11 of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is an enlarged fragmentary section taken substantially on the line 12-12 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary section taken substantially on the line 13-13 of FIG. 10; and

FIG. 14 is a wiring diagram related to the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 8-13.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIGS. l-7, a supporting structure, indicated in its entirety by the reference character 1, is shown as comprising a horizontally disposed base plate or member 2 and a pair of opposed channel-

shaped members

3 and 4 which extend upwardly from the base 2 in laterally spaced generally parallel relationship, the

members

3 and 4 being braced at their lower end portions by a plate-like cross member 5. A pair or" supporting wheels 6 are journalled in bearing brackets 7 bolted or otherwise rigidly secured to the cross member 5, and are adapted to engage the floor or ground rearwardly of the base 2 when the supporting structure 1 is tilted in a rearward direction, where- 'by to render the device easily movable from place to place.

A pair of arms 8 are bolted or otherwise secured to the upper end portions of the

frame members

3 and 4, and at their upper ends are provided with hand grips or the like 9 to facilitate moving the apparatus.

Suitably mounted in the

frame members

3 and 4 are

anti-friction bearings

10 and 11 respectively, which journal a rotary shaft 12, one end of which extends laterally outwardly of the frame member 4 and has keyed or otherwise rigidly secured thereto a hand wheel 13, by means of which rotation is imparted to the shaft 12. A pair of spool-

like reels

14 and 15 are journalled on the shaft 12 for independent rotation, in axially spaced relationship, by means of anti-friction bearings or the like 16, see FIG. 5. The reels 14- and 15 define generally cylindrical

filament receiving surfaces

17 and 18 respectively and radially outwardly projecting

circumferential fianges

19 and 29 respectively, said filament receiving

surfaces

17 and 18 being slightly tapered in a given direction for a purpose which will be hereinafter more fully explained.

A winding element in the nature of a grooved pulley 21 is journalled on a stub shaft 22 for rotation on an axis that extends in a direction normal to the directionof the axis of the rotary shaft 12, the shaft 22 being rigidly mounted on a wheel-like mounting member 23 that is keyed or otherwise rigidly secured to the rotary shaft 12 between the

reels

14 and 15, for common rotation with the shaft 12. Rotation imparted to the shaft 12 by the handwheel 13 causes the pulley 21 to be bodily moved circumferentially about the axis of the shaft 12 and the

reels

14 and 15.

For the purpose of retarding rotation of the rotary shaft 12, or to hold the same against rotation except when rotary force is manually applied to the handwheel 13, I provide brake means comprising a grooved pulley 24 keyed to the shaft 12, and an elongated flexible brake element 25 entrained over the pulley 24. The brake element 25 may be of any suitable material, such as leather, synthetic resin, rope or the like, and has one end adjustably received in a clamping screw-equipped mounting block 26. The opposite end of the brake element 25 is secure-d to one end of a coil tension spring 27, the opposite end of which is secured to an anchoring screw or the like 28 mounted on the frame member 4, see FIG. 1.

Means for positively limiting the number of revolutions which may be imparted to the rotary shaft 12, in either direction of rotation thereof, comprises a gear 29 and a cooperating toothed pinion 30 in meshing engagement with the gear 29. The gear 29 is journalled on a mounting shaft 31, through the medium of anti-friction bearings or the like 32, the shaft 31 being mounted in a boss 33 on the inner surface of the frame member 3, see FIG. 5. The pinion 30 is journalled on the rotary shaft 12 and is operatively coupled to the shaft 12 for common rotation therewith by a coupling collar 34 keyed to the shaft 12, a resilient coupling sleeve 35 loosely encompassing the shaft 12 intermediate the pinion 30 and the collar 34, and

coupling pins

36 and 37 rigidly mounted in the hub of the pinion 30 and in the collar 34 respectively. As shown in FIG. 5, the adjacent ends of the pinion 30 and coupling collar 34 are axially recessed to loosely contain the coupling sleeve 35. The sleeve 35 is split longitudinally to receive the inner end portions of the

coupling pins

36 and 37, said

pins

35 and 37 extending radially inwardly of their respective pinion 30 and coupling collar 34, see FIGS. 5 and 7. The gear 29 is formed to provide a radially outwardly opening circumferential groove 38, and the pinion 30 is likewise formed to provide a radially outwardly opening circumferential groove 39 that is aligned with the groove 33 in the gear 29. A stop pin is rigidly mounted in the gear 29 and projects radially outwardly into the groove 38 thereof to substantially the height of the teeth of the gear 29, the stop in 40 being preferably aligned with one of the teeth of the gear 29, see FIG. 6. The pinion 30 is likewise provided with a cooperating stop pin 41 which projects radially outwardly in the groove 39, the'stop pin 41 being preferably disposed between an adjacent pair of the teeth of the pinion 30. Preferably, either the gear 29 or pinion 3G is provided with an even number of teeth, the other thereof having an odd number of teeth. With this arrangement, the gear 29 is enabled to make a plurality of revolutions in a given direction before the stop pin 40 engages the stop pin 41 to positively limit further rotary movement of the pinion 30 and rotary shaft 12, the pinion 30 making a correspondingly greater number of revolutions. For instance, with the gear 29 having 115 teeth and the pinion 30 having 28 teeth, the rotary shaft 12 is enabled to partake of 115 revolutions between the limits of its rotary movement. The resilient coupling sleeve 35 serves as a shock absorber to the shaft 12, mounting member 23 and winding pulley 21, when rotary movement of the shaft 12 is stopped by engagement of the stop pin 41 by the stop pin 40.

For the purpose of guiding a filament toward and away from the

accumulator reels

14 and 15, I provide a pair of axially spaced

guide rollers

42 and 43 that are journalled in axially spaced relationship on a mounting shaft 44 the axis of which is preferably parallel to the axis of the rotary shaft 12. The shaft 44 is rigidly secured at its opposite end to mounting bosses 45 at the upper ends of the

frame members

3 and 4, and supports a pair of

brackets

46 and 47 that are releasably locked to the shaft 44 against rotary movement thereon, but which may be adjustably moved circumferentially thereof, by means of set screws or the like 48. The filament is further guided by pairs of closely spaced rotary elements in the nature of

rolls

49 and 50 that are journalled on generally vertically disposed shafts 51, one of which is shown in FIG. 4, by means of anti-friction bearings 52. By means of the adjustable mounting of the

brackets

46 and 47, their

respective guide elements

49 and 50 may be moved bodily about the axis of the mounting shaft 44 to properly guide a filament toward and away from respective ones of the

accumulator reels

14 and 15. With further reference to FIG. 4, it will be noted that the guide roller 42 is journalled on the shaft 44 by anti-friction bearings 53, one of which is shown. It may be assumed that the guide roller 43 is journalled on the shaft 44 in like manner.

The bosses 45 at the upper ends of the

frame members

3 and 4 are provided with axially aligned holes 54 for the selective reception of a bearing sleeve 55 that journals a shaft 56 in spaced parallel relation to the shaft 44. The inner end of the shaft 56 is provided with an eccentrically disposed clamping head 57 that is movable toward and away from clamping engagement with the adjacent one of the

guide rollers

42 or 43, whereby to releasably clamp a portion of filament against movement toward the adjacent accumulator reel. An operating handle 58 is releasably secured to the outer end of the shaft 56 by means of a set screw or the like 59.

In the coating or other treatment 'of a filament, such as a wire, the same is drawn from a supply source, such as a spool, fed through the coating apparatus and a dryer, and thereafter wound upon a receiving spool which is preferably power driven, the supply spool being suitably journalled for free rotation to release the filament as it is drawn by the power driven receivingspool. Such apparatus, not comprising the instant invention, illustration and description thereof is omitted, in the interest of brevity. When it is noticed that a given supply spool is nearing exhaustion, the operator moves the device of the present invention to a point wherein the

rotary guide elements

49 and 50 are disposed closely along the line of travel of the filament between the supply spool and the treating apparatus, the filament being indicated in the drawing by the reference character X. The operator then manually moves a portion of the filament X between the

rotary guide elements

49 and 50 of each pair thereof, as shown in FIG. 3, and entrainsthe filament over the winding pulley 21. The handwheel 13 is then rotated in a counterclockwise direction with respect to FIG. 1, causing the filament X to be drawn from the supply spool at a greater rate than it is being fed to the treating apparatus, and causing the filament to be wound on the

accumulator reels

14 and 15. Inasmuch as the

accumulator reels

14 and 15 are journalled on the shaft 12, the reel 15 is free to rotate in a direction to discharge the filament X toward the treating apparatus while the filament is being wound thereon by the winding pulley 21. Obviously, as the handwheel 13 is rotated it will cause the filament to be wound on the discharging accumulator reel 15 at a greater rate than it is being discharged therefrom; and the accumulator reel 14, while it is discharging filament to the reel 15 is rotating at a sulficiently greater speed than the reel 15 to accumulate filament thereon at the same speed as the filament is accumulated on the discharging reel 15. It will be further noted, with reference particularly to FIGS. 3 and 5, that the

rotary guide elements

49 and 50 are so disposed relative to their

respective accumulator reels

14 and 15 that the filament X is fed to the accumulator reel 14 and discharged from the accumulator reel 15 adjacent the outer ends thereof. The taper of the winding

surfaces

17 and 18 is such that the filament X is fed to each of the

accumulator reels

14 and 15 at the larger diameter portions of the

surfaces

17 and 18, and discharged from said surfaces at the smaller diameter portion thereof. With this arrangement, each convolution of the filament X on the winding

surfaces

17 and 18 slips 'wise direction with respect to FIG. 1. ,appreciated that the brake element 25 is so adjusted that rotation of the shaft 12 and parts carried thereby will axially toward the smaller diameter or output ends of the accumulator reels, thus preventing overlapping or piling up of the convolutions on either one of the

accumulator reels

14 and 15. When the operator believes that a sufiicient quantity of the filament has been accumulated on the

reels

14 and 15, or when the shaft 12 has been Wound to its limit of rotary movement, the operator releases the handwheel 13, the brake element 25 holding the shaft 12 against rotation in the opposite direction. With the guide pulley 21 thus held against bodily movement about the axis of the rotary shaft 12, the filament X is wound on the accumulator reel 14 at the same rate as it is being unwound from the accumulator reel 15, the winding pulley 21 guiding the filament X from the reel 14 to the reel 15 at the same rate. The filament X continues to thus travel through the accumulator until the supply spool is entirely exhausted and the trailing end of the filament approaches the rotary guide elements 49. At this time the operator moves the filament X axially of the guide roller 42 until the same underlies the eccentric head 57, and swings the handle 58 in a direction to cause the filament X to be clamped between the eccentric head 57 and the underlying guide roller 42. As soon as the filament is thus clamped, the feeding force applied to the filament by the receiving apparatus, not shown, will cause the guide -12 in a direction opposite to that imparted thereto by the operator in an accumulating direction, or in a clock It will here be not occur as long as the filament X is free to enter the accumulator, but 'will permit rotation of the shaft 12 .and parts carried thereby when the filament X is restricted from entering the accumulator. Thus, when the filament is clamped as above indicated, the accumulation of filament will begin to diminish. During this discharge of

reels

14 and 15 are empty. The eccentric head57 is so disposed relative to-the shaft 56 thereof that force applied to the filament, when the accumulator reels are empty, will cause the handle 58 to swing in a direction to release the filament and the same will continue to move from the guide roller 42 to the winding pulley 21 and from thence to the guide roller 43 and toward the treating apparatus.

The adjustability of the brake element 25 is utilized when operating the accumulator with filaments of various sizes and'stiifness, to insure that the filaments will be properly wound on the accumulator reels, and to prevent breakage of weaker filaments. The resilient con nection between the pinion 30 and the rotary shaft 12 reduces the shock load on the filament when the shaft 12 reaches its limit of rotary movement in the above-described filament discharging direction, and is highly effective in preventing breakage of relatively fine filaments such as small diameter wire.

The modified form of my invention illustrated in FIGS. 8-14 is similar to the form illustrated in FIGS. 1-7, except that said modified form is motor operated and electrically controlled. In this modified form of accumulator, a pair of accumulator reels 14' and 15' are journalled on a shaft 12', the shaft 12' being journalled in bearings 10' and 11' that are mounted in respective supporting legs or the like 60 of a supporting frame, indicated generally at 61. The supporting frame 61, together with the shaft 12' and parts carried thereby, is at least partially enclosed by a generally rectangular from only in the matter of control.

housing 62, one end of the shaft 12 projecting through an opening in one side of the housing 62 and having mounted thereon a handwheel or the like 63. The accumulator reels 14 and 15', together with parts associated therewith project upwardly through a generally rectangular opening 64 in the top wall 65 of the cabinet 62, the top wall 65 supporting a mounting shaft 44, by means of upstanding legs 66. Guide rollers 42' and 43' are journalled on the shaft 44', and

brackets

46 and 47, mounted on the shaft 44', support respective pairs of rotary guide elements 49' and 50'. It will be noted that the above described elements which are designated by reference numerals having prime marks added thereto, are substantially identical to corresponding parts shown in the form of the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1-7, having corresponding numerals without prime marks.

A winding pulley 21', journalled on a shaft 22' is carried by the shaft 12 for bodily movements about the axis of the shaft 12', through the medium of a wheel-like mounting member 23. Rotary movement is imparted to the shaft 12 by a variable torque motor 67, to the drive shaft 68 of which is secured a sprocket wheel 69. An end less drive chain 70 is entrained over the sprocket wheel 69 and over a second sprocket wheel 71 rigidly mounted on the shaft 12'.

With reference particularly to FIG. 11, it will'be seen that the winding pulley 21' like the winding pulley 21,

defines an annular V-groove, the apex portion'of which engages the filament X and that said apex lies in a plane substantially tangent to the filament winding surfaces 17' and 18' of the accumulator reels 14' and 15 respectively.

The winding pulley 21 is similarly disposed relative to its cooperating

accumulator reels

14 and 15. This arrangement provides for maximum smoothness of filament travel through the accumulator with a minimum of friction.

The rotary shaft 12 is releasably restrained against rotary movement by a conventional electrically operated brake 72. The brake 72 is more or less diagrammatically illustrated, the details of construction thereof not comprising the instant invention. It should sufiice to state that the brake 72 is electro-magnetically operated, the same being energized from a power line 73, through power leads 74, a two-position switch 75, leads 76, and a direct current generator or the like 77, see FIG. 14. The variable torque motor 67 is also adapted to be energized by the power source 73 through the leads 74, the two-position switch 75, and conductors 78, in one of which is interposed a rheostat 79.

Operation of the accumulator of FIGS. 8-14 is similar to that of the accumulator of FIGS. 1-7, differing there- When it is desired to put the modified form of accumulator to use, the handwheel 63 is rotated to position the winding pulley as shown in FIGS. 9 and 11, and theswitch 75 positioned to energize the DC. supply or generator 77 to set the brake 72. The filament X is then passed between the

rotary guide elements

49 and 50 of the pairs thereof and over the winding pulley 21'. The switch 75 is then moved to open the circuit to the brake 72 to release the same and to close the circuit to the torque motor 67, and the rheostat 79 operated to cause the motor 67 to rotate the shaft 12 in a clockwise direction with respect to FIGS. 9 and 11, whereby to wind a desired number of turns of the filament X on the accumulator reels 14' and 15'. The switch 75 is then utilized to open the circuit to the motor 67 and close the circuit to the brake 72 to set the same, whereupon the filament X will merely pass through the accumulator until the supply is exhausted and the end of the filament approaches the accumulator. At this point, the switch 75 is operated to open the circuit to the brake 72 and close the circuit to the variable torque motor 67, the rheostat 79 being adjusted to a point at which very low current is supplied to the motor 67. Although not shown in FIGS. 814, it may be assumed that this form of the accumulator is provided with a clamping head 57 for gripping the filament therebetween and the roller 42, as illustrated in the form of the device shown in FIGS. 1-7. The low voltage supplied to the motor 67 at this time is not sufiicient to enable the motor to turn the shaft 12' in a clockwise filament accumulating direction with respect to FIG. 9, but exerts a slight drag on the shaft 12 and winding pulley 21' against pulling force exerted on the filament by the receiving apparatus therefor, not shown. This pulling force exerted on the filament X causes the shaft 12 and parts carried thereby to rotate in a counterclockwise direction with respect to FIG. 9 to discharge the filament X from the

accumulator reels

14 and 15. With a sufficiently low voltage supplied to the variable torque motor 67, the motor 67 acts as a brake to the unwinding movement ofthe winding pulley 21' in the same manner as the brake element 25 of the structure illustrated in FIGS. l-7, the braking effort applied by the motor 67 being variable and controlled by the rheostat 79.

It will be appreciated that, while I have described the two forms of the invention illustrated as being adapted to be interposed between a supply spool and a filament treat- .ing apparatus, the device is equally adapted to be interposed between the treating apparatus and the filament receiving apparatus to maintain movement of the filament through the treating apparatus when it is desired to transfer the filament from one receiver to another. Other uses for the instant device will be easily apparent to those familiar with filament treating and handling apparatus.

My invention has been thoroughly tested and found to be completely satisfactory for the accomplishment of the objectives set forth; and, while I have shown and described a commercial embodiment of my filament accumulator and a single modification thereof, it will be understood that the same is capable of further modification without departure from the spirit and scope of the invention. as defined in the claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a filament winding accumulator adapted to be interposed between a filament supply source and power operated filament receiving apparatus exerting predetermined pulling force on a filament to be wound, a frame structure, a pair of axially spaced filament accumulator reels each journalled in said frame structure for independent rotation on a common axis, a winding pulley for receiving a filament from one of said reels and guiding said filament toward the other of said reels, means mounting said winding pulley in said frame structure for bodily movements circumfcrentially about the common axis of said reels in one direction to wind an accumulation of said filament on said reels and in the opposite direction to permit discharge of said filament from said reels, said reels each having axially spaced radial flanges and a frusto-conical spool surface extending from one of said flanges to the other thereof, a circumferential surface portion of said winding pulley being tangent to a plane extending transversely of said axis adjacent the smaller diameter end of the spool surface of one of said reels, a diametrically opposite circumferential surface portion of said winding pulley being tangent to a plane extending transversely through said axis adjacent the larger diameter end of the spool surface of the other of said reels, inlet guide means adjacent the larger spool diameter end portion of said one of the reels, outlet guide means adjacent the smaller spool diameter end portion of the other of said reels, whereby convolutions of filament wound on said accumulator reels will move axially thereof from the larger diameter portions of the spool toward the smaller diameter portions thereof during rotation of said reels to prevent overlapping of said convolutions on said reels, means for imparting said bodily movement to the winding pulley selectively in opposite directions, and, brake means for exerting retarding force against said bodily movement of said winding pulley in either direction of movement thereof during normal free passage of said filament about said accumulator reels.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 in which said means for imparting said bodily movement to the winding pulley comprises a variable torque motor operatively coupled to said winding pulley, and in further combination with control means for varying the torque of said motor between a point wherein the motor torqueis less than the pulling force applied to said filament by said receiving apparatus, whereby said filament is unwound from the accumulator reels at greater speed than the winding thereof on said reels, and a point wherein the motor torque is greater than said pulling force, whereby said filament is wound on said reels at greater speed than the unwinding thereof from said reels.

3. The structure defined in claim 2 in which said brake means comprises an energizable brake element, said control means being operatively connected to said brake element and including a switch for selectively energizing said motor and said brake element, energization of said brake element causing said winding pulley to be held against rotation, whereby said filament is delivered from said accumulator at the same speed at which said filament enters said accumulator.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 937,652 Shaw Oct. 19, 1909 1,721,077 Le Blanc July 16, 929 2,174,828 Latocha Oct. 3, 1939 2,473,107 Mendelsohn June 14, 1949 2,684,755 'McDerrnott July 27, 1954 2,755,916 Mcllvried et a1 July 24, 1956 2,902,233 McDonough Sept. 1, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 555,522 Great Britain Aug. 26, 1943

Claims

1. IN A FILAMENT WINDING ACCUMULATOR ADAPTED TO BE INTERPOSED BETWEEN A FILAMENT SUPPLY SOURCE AND POWER OPERATED FILAMENT RECEIVING APPARATUS EXERTING PREDETERMINED PULLING FORCE ON A FILAMENT TO BE WOUND, A FRAME STRUCTURE, A PAIR OF AXIALLY SPACED FILAMENT ACCUMULATOR REELS EACH JOURNALLED IN SAID FRAME STRUCTURE FOR INDEPENDENT ROTATION ON A COMMON AXIS, A WINDING PULLEY FOR RECEIVING A FILAMENT FROM ONE OF SAID REELS AND GUIDING SAID FILAMENT TOWARD THE OTHER OF SAID REELS, MEANS MOUNTING SAID WINDING PULLEY IN SAID FRAME STRUCTURE FOR BODILY MOVEMENTS CIRCUMFERENTIALLY ABOUT THE COMMON AXIS OF SAID REELS IN ONE DIRECTION TO WIND AN ACCUMULATION OF SAID FILAMENT ON SAID REELS AND IN THE OPPOSITE DIRECTION TO PERMIT DISCHARGE OF SAID FILAMENT FROM SAID REELS, SAID REELS EACH HAVING AXIALLY SPACED RADIAL FLANGES AND A FRUSTO-CONICAL SPOOL SURFACE EXTENDING FROM ONE OF SAID FLANGES TO THE OTHER THEREOF, A CIRCUMFERENTIAL SURFACE PORTION OF SAID WINDING PULLEY BEING TANGENT TO A PLANE EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY OF SAID AXIS ADJACENT THE SMALLER DIAMETER END OF THE SPOOL SURFACE OF ONE OF SAID REELS, A DIAMETRICALLY OPPOSITE CIRCUMFERENTIAL SURFACE PORTION OF SAID WINDING PULLEY BEING TANGENT TO A PLANE EXTENDING TRANSVERSELY THROUGH SAID AXIS ADJACENT THE LARGER DIAMETER END OF THE SPOOL SURFACE OF THE OTHER OF SAID REELS, INLET GUIDE MEANS ADJACENT THE LARGER SPOOL DIAMETER END PORTION OF SAID ONE OF THE REELS, OUTLET GUIDE MEANS ADJACENT THE SMALLER SPOOL DIAMETER END PORTION OF THE OTHER OF SAID REELS, WHEREBY CONVOLUTIONS OF FILAMENT WOUND ON SAID ACCUMULATOR REELS WILL MOVE AXIALLY THEREOF FROM THE LARGER DIAMETER PORTIONS OF THE SPOOL TOWARD THE SMALLER DIAMETER PORTIONS THEREOF DURING ROTATION OF SAID REELS TO PREVENT OVERLAPPING OF SAID CONVOLUTIONS ON SAID REELS, MEANS FOR IMPARTING SAID BODILY MOVEMENT TO THE WINDING PULLEY SELECTIVELY IN OPPOSITE DIRECTIONS, AND, BRAKE MEANS FOR EXERTING RETARDING FORCE AGAINST SAID BODILY MOVEMENT OF SAID WINDING PULLEY IN EITHER DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT THEREOF DURING NORMAL FREE PASSAGE OF SAID FILAMENT ABOUT SAID ACCUMULATOR REELS.