US3113745A

US3113745A - Wire packaging machine

Info

Publication number: US3113745A
Application number: US164761A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jess C Bittman
Original assignee: Vaughn Machinery Co
Current assignee: Vaughn Machinery Co
Priority date: 1962-01-08
Filing date: 1962-01-08
Publication date: 1963-12-10
Anticipated expiration: 1980-12-10
Also published as: GB926262A

Description

Dec. 10, 1963 J. c. BITTMAN 3,113,745

WIRE PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Jan. 8, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIGI INVENTOR.

.ESS C. BITTMAN M, my Qmu ATTORNEYS Dec. 10,-1963 J. c. BITTMAN 3,113,745

WIRE PACKAGING MACHINE Filed Jan. 8, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 22 ///V/Al 1 1J1 llli l V I A I F'IGZ INVENTOR.

JESS C. BITTMAN om, [My M1 ATTORNEYS Patented Dec. 10, 1963 3,113,745 WIRE PACKAGING MACHINE Jess C. Bittman, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, assignor to The Vaughn Machinery Qornpany, Cuyahoga Falls, ()hio, a corporation of Ohio Filed Jan. 8, 1962, Ser. No. 164,761 8 Claims. (Cl. 242-83) The present invention relates generally as indicated to a wire packaging machine and more particularly to a machine of the stationary block type by which coils of different diameters may be formed.

In such a machine there is provided a stationary take-up block, around which wire is wrapped by a flyer, and thus drawn through a die, for example, the convolutions of the wire dropping by gravity from the block into a wire-receiving drum or the like that is supported on a turntable disposed beneath the block. In order that a machine of this type may be continuously operated there is usually provided an accumulator which is disposed between the block and the wire-receiving drum to hold an accumulation of wire convolutions coming off the block during the interval of time that the drum and the completed coil therein is removed from the turntable and the next empty drum put in its place.

It is one principal object of this invention to provide a wire packaging machine of the character described in which the turntable may be driven at different speeds in opposite directions to package the wire in coil form of desired diameter either smaller or larger than the block.

It is another object of this invention to provide a machine of the character indicated in which the speed of the turntable is continuously varied from maximum in one direction to zero and from zero to maximum in the opposite direction and vice versa to package the wire in coil form consisting of spiral layers with the convolutions alternately progressively increasing and decreasing in diameter to provide a neat and compact package from which the wire may subsequently be payed off without snarling or tangling It is another object of this invention to provide a machine of the character indicated in which the turntable is rotated in opposite directions by a simple twomotor drive and differential gearing whereby only variation in speed of one motor is required to turn the turntable at difierent speeds and in opposite directions.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will become apparent as the following description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing and related ends, the invention, then, comprises the features hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims, the following description and the annexed drawings setting forth in detail a certain illustrative embodiment of the invention, this being indicative, however, of but one of the various ways in which the principle of the invention may be employed.

In said annexed drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation view with the head partly in section showing a preferred form of wire packaging machine according to this invention;

FIG. 2 is a top plan View showing one spiral layer of a package adapted to be formed by the use of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-section view on enlarged scale taken along the line 33, FIG. 1, showing the variable speed drive means for the turntable upon which the wire-receiving drum is supported to receive the convolutions descending from the take-up block and;

FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram illustrating an automatic control circuit for uniformly changing the speed and direction of rotation of the turntable with respect to the fixed take-up block.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, and first to FIG. 1, the machine head 1 has a tubular fixed shaft 2 through which the wire W passes downwardly from a guide sheave 3 and over a swivel sheave 4 for wrapping around the take-up block 5 by rotation of flyer assembly 6 thereabout. Flyer 6 is thus driven by belt 7, gear reducer 8, and belt 9, the latter being trained over the drive pulley of motor 10. The block 5 is fixedly mounted on the lower end of shaft 2 and as the wire W, guided over sheave 11 of flyer 6, is wrapped under tension around the beveled shoulder 14 of the block, the convolutions are forced upwardly between the periphery of block 5 and the presser roll 15 mounted on the tlyer. As the convolutions move above roll 15 they are free to drop down around block 5 and through the funnel shaped guide 16 which is supported on the arms 17 into the wire-receiving drum D on the turntable is. The guide 16 carries horizontally swingaole accumulator fingers 19 which, as evident, when swung into dot-dash position, intercept the descent of the convolutions whereby the wire W therebeneath may be cut and the filled drum D removed and an empty drum D substituted therefor. In the meantime, the convolutions of wire W will build up on the accumulator fingers 19 as a hank which will drop down into the empty drum D when the fingers 19 are swung outside the guide 116. The block 5 may be inverted with beveled shoulder 14 facing downward, if desired.

As apparent, when the turntable 13 is driven at zero speed, the wire convolutions will be accumulated in the drum D to form a coil of about the same diameter as the block 5. However, if a package or coil of larger diameter is desired, the turntable 18 will be driven in the same direction as the flyer 6 and, conversely, if a package or coil of smaller diameter is desired, the turntable 18 will be driven in the opposite direction. A coil of varying diameter for neatness and compactness may be formed by driving the turntable 13 at varying speeds and in opposite directions.

As best shown in FIG. 3, the turntable 18 has a central downwardly extending shaft 20 which is journalled in suitable bearings in housing 21 in the blocks 22 mounted on the turntable base 23. The lower end of the turntable drive shaft 29 has keyed thereon the cage spider or crank 24 of dilierential gearing 25 with the bevel pinions 26 thereof meshing with the bevel gears 27 and 2d journalled on the turntable drive shaft 2% and driven in opposite directions by the respective motors 29 and 3t By way of example, one drive motor 3%} is a /2 HP. AC. motor having a constant speed of 1140 r.p.m. whereas, the other motor 29 is a /2 HP. variable speed DC. motor adapted to be varied in speed from 432 to 1725 rpm. If a 22" diameter block 5 is employed to deliver the wire at say 300' per minute, is. at fiyer speed of about 50 rpm, the turntable, when rotated at 50 rpm. in the direction of the helical convolutions, will produce a coil of about ll" diameter and when the turntable speed is 25 rpm. in the opposite direction, a 40 diameter coil will be produced. Thus, if the speed of the DC. motor 29 is alternately progressively increased and decreased, the wire W will be collected in the form of alterate spiral layers as in FIG. 2 with the diameter of the convolutions first increasing gradually from, say ll diameter to 40 diameter and then gradually decreasing fnom 40" diameter to 11'' diameter as the DC. motor speed is increased from 432 to 1725 rpm. and then decreased from 1725 to 432 r.p.m. A differential gearing mechanism 25 as herein shown, will provide turntable speeds equal to one-half the algebraic sum of the speeds of the

gears

27 and 28.

Herein the upper gear 27 is driven by the D.C. motor 29' by way of a sprocket and chain drive 31 and a belt and pulley drive v3% and, similarly, the lower gear 2% is driven by the A.C. motor 3% through a similar sprocketchain drive '36 and belt-pulley drive 34.

In the gear 27 is driven by motor 29 at speeds between 200* r.p.m. and 50- r.p.m. in the direction indicated and if the gear 28 is driven by motor 39 at a constant speed of 100 r.p.m. in the opposite direction, the turntable 18 will be driven at speeds between 50 r.p.m. in the same direction as

gear

27 and 25 r.p.m. in the opposite direction.

In FIG. 4 is shown a schematic diagram of the variable speed D.C. motor 2% including a reactor 35 which effects alternate increase and decrease of the speed of the D.C. motor 29. The D.C. motor as is represented as a shunt motor and as known in the art the speed of a shunt motor can be adjusted by changing either the field flux or the voltage applied to the armature. Herein by way of example, the field flux is changed by varying the shunt field current utilizing a tr'heostat 36 in series with the field winding 37, whereby in a shunt motor designed for variable speed operation, as much as a 6:1 variation between maximum and minimum speeds may be achieved.

For progressively increasing and decreasing the field current and thus correspondingly changing the speed of the D.C. motor 29, the contact arm 32% of the rheostat 36 is mounted on a movable cam follower 39 which engages a slowly reciprocating cam bar 43 connected, for example, to the piston d1 of a double acting cylinder 42. The cam bar 4t) is provided with a switch actuating member 43 to reverse the direction of movement of the cam bar at the ends of its strokes. The piston 41 in the cylinder 42 is moved in opposite directions by actuation of a solenoid operated four-way valve 4 which has an inlet port 4 6 conneotible with a liquid pressure source, a. pair of motor ports 47; 47 connectible with the ports of the cylinder 42, and a pair of return ports 48; 1-8 communicable with a liquid reservoir. etween the respective motor and cylinder ports are disposed air over oil units 49 and in one of them is an adjustable throttle valve 59 for restricting flow into and from the cylinder 42 to thus achieve desired speed of reciprocation of the piston ll and cam bar 40.

Thus, assuming that the four-way valve has been previously operated by energization of the left solenoid 51 by closing of the left switch 53 to cause fluid under pressure to flow through the throttle valve 5d, the piston 4 1 will move toward the right at a desired rate of speed gradually decreasing the field resistance and when the member 43 engages the right switch 52, the right solenoid 54 of the four-way valve 45 is energized to communicate the night motor port 47 with the right cylinder port to cause the piston il and cam bar 4% to move to the left to increase the field resistance until the member 42; engages and closes the left switch 53 to again energize the left solenoid 51 of the four-Way valve 4-5. As the piston 41 and cam bar 46 move to the left as aforesaid, the displacedfluid from unit 49 will pass through the throttle valve 50- to the left return port 48 and such throttling of the exhaust will control the speed of movement of the piston 4d and cam bar 40 at the desired rate of speed.

With the control circuit as depicted in FIG. 4, the convolutions as deposited on the turntable 18 will be arranged in spiral layers starting from minimum diameter and increasing to maximum diameter and thence decreasing progressively in diameter from maximum to minimum between core C to the inside of drum D, whereby a neat and compact wire package is formed. The switches 52 and 53 are mounted for adjustment on support 55 with respect to the actuating member 43 to control the range of speed adjustment through the rheostat 36 and, similarly, the throttle valve 5d may be adjusted to control the speed of reciprocation of the cam bar 46 to thus increase or decrease the space between the convolutions of the spiral layers.

In summary it can be seen that the present invention provides a simplified reversible turntable 18 utilizing small /2 HP.

non-reversingdrive motors

29 and 33 operating through the differential gearing system 25 to drive the turntable in either direction at a desired speed to produce packages of diameter smaller than or larger than the block 5. Moreover, by alternately varying the speed of the turntable 1-8 from maximum to zero in one direction and from zero to maximum in the opposite direction and vice versa neat and compact packages are produced in which the convolutions are collected in spiral layers.

Other modes of applying the principle of the invention may be employed, change being made as regards the details described, provided the features stated in any of the following claims, or the equivalent of such, be employed.

I therefore particularly point out and distinctly claim as my invention:

1. A wire packaging machine comprising a wire take-up block;

a flyer and drive means therefor operative to rotate said flyer about said block, said flyer having wire guide means to wrap wire helically around said block; and

a turntable and drive means therefor operative to rotate said turntable, said turntable being disposed below said block to collect wire convolutions descending from said block;

said drive means for said turntable comprising a pair of electric drive motors and differential gearing operatively connecting said motors to said turntable for rotation of the latter at a speed equal to one-half the algebraic sum of the speeds of said motors.

2. The machine of claim 1 wherein one of said motors has adjustable speed varying means to cause rotation of said turntable in opposite directions to vary the diameter of the wire convolutions collected thereon.

3. The machine of claim 1 wherein one of said motors has adjustable speed varying means to cause rotation of said turntable in opposite directions to vary the diameter of the wire convolutions collected thereon; and means for continuously adjusting said speed varying means to effect laying of spiral layers of wire convolutions on said turntable that change progressively from minimum diameter to maximum diameter and vice versa.

4. The machine of claim 1 wherein said differential gearing comprises coaxial drive gears rotated in opposite directions by the respective motors, and a spider keyed to said turntable having a gear in mesh with both drive gears.

5. The machine of claim 1 wherein said differential gearing comprises coaxial drive gears rotated in opposite direction by the respective motors, and a spider keyed to said turntable having a gear in mesh with both drive gears; one drive motor being of variable speed type to drive one drive gear in one direction at speeds greater than and less than that at which the other drive gear is driven in the opposite direction by the other motor whereby said turntable may be driven in opposite directions at speeds corresponding to one-half the algebraic sum of the speeds of said drive gears.

6. The machine of claim 5 wherein said one drive motor is a D.C. motor, and said other motor is a constant speed AC. motor.

7. The machine of claim 5 wherein a speed varying means is operatively associated with said one drive motor to continuously vary the speed of said one drive gear to effect laying of spiral layers of wire convolutions on said turntable.

8. A wire packaging machine for making a dense, compact package of Wire comprising a vertical stationary take-up block; a flyer and drive means therefor operative to rotate said flyer about said block at substantially a constant speed, said flyer having wire guide means to wrap wire helically around said block for descent therefrom in the form of helical convolutions; and a turntable beneath said block and drive means therefor operative to rotate 5 said turntable about the axis of said block and of the convolutions descending therefrom, said drive means for said turntable including speed and direction changing means operative to continuously vary the speed of said turntable from zero to one maximum which is substantially less than the constant speed of said flyer and which is against the direction of the descending convolutions and back from said one maximum to zero, and from zero to a greater maximum which closely approaches the constant speed of said fiyer and which is in the direction of the descending convolutions and back from said greater maximum to zero thereby to form a Wire package on said turntable comprising spiral layers of Wire alternately increasing and decreasing in diameter from. a diameter less than, to a diameter greater than, the diameter of the helical convolutions as Wrapped around said block.

References tCitesl in the file of this patent UNKTED STATES PATENTS 2,849,195 Richardson et a1 Aug. 26, 1958 2,857,116 Kralft et a1. Oct. 21, 1958 2,886,258 Haugwitz May 12, 1959 2,929,577 Henning Mar. 22, 1960 3,013,742 Bittman Dec. 19, 1961

Claims

8. A WIRE PACKAGING MACHINE FOR MAKING A DENSE, COMPACT PACKAGE OF WIRE COMPRISING A VERTICAL STATIONARY TAKE-UP BLOCK; A FLYER AND DRIVE MEANS THEREFOR OPERATIVE TO ROTATE SAID FLYER ABOUT SAID BLOCK AT SUBSTANTIALLY A CONSTANT SPEED, SAID FLYER HAVING WIRE GUIDE MEANS TO WRAP WIRE HELICALLY AROUND SAID BLOCK FOR DESCENT THEREFROM IN THE FORM OF HELICAL CONVOLUTIONS; AND A TURNTABLE BENEATH SAID BLOCK AND DRIVE MEANS THEREFOR OPERATIVE TO ROTATE SAID TURNTABLE ABOUT THE AXIS OF SAID BLOCK AND OF THE CONVOLUTIONS DESCENDING THEREFROM, SAID DRIVE MEANS FOR SAID TURNTABLE INCLUDING SPEED AND DIRECTION CHANGING MEANS OPERATIVE TO CONTINUOUSLY VARY THE SPEED OF SAID TURNTABLE FROM ZERO TO ONE MAXIMUM WHICH IS SUBSTANTIALLY LESS