US3188067A

US3188067A - Wire annealing spider

Info

Publication number: US3188067A
Application number: US335104A
Authority: US
Inventors: James L Whitten
Original assignee: Alloy Engineering Co
Current assignee: Alloy Engineering Co
Priority date: 1964-01-02
Filing date: 1964-01-02
Publication date: 1965-06-08
Anticipated expiration: 1982-06-08
Also published as: GB1023166A

Description

June 8, 1965 .1. WHITTEN 3,188,067

WIRE ANNEALING SPIDER Filed Jan. 2, 1964 INVENTOR. Jam L MW rre/v United States Patent 3,188,667 WERE ANNEALING SPIDER James L. Whitten, Lakewood, @hio, assiguor to The Alloy Engineering Company Filed Jan. 2, 1964, Ser. No. 335,104 10 Claims. (Cl. 266--2) This invention relates to the metal heat treating art and is particularly concerned with a new spider for holding coils of wire while the wire is being annealed.

Various devices have been provided heretofore for holding coils of wire during annealing but none of these devices has been entirely satisfactory. Frequently, these devices oxidized during annealing with the formation of scale which scratched the wire and'certain of these devices engaged the inner sides of the coils in such a way as to change the shape of the coils. Also, these devices did not retain their shape in use but twisted and inwardly deformed, making removal of the coils extremely difficult.

The present invention aims to provide a spider for coils of wire which will not scratch the wire or deform the coils and which will expedite loading and unloading of the coils and facilitate uniformity of heating of the coils. In addition, the present spider is constructed so that it does not twist or inwardly deform so that coilsare facilely removed even after extensive use.

The present invention will be better understood by those skilled in the art from the following specification taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary, side elevational view partly in section of a preferred embodiment of the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on line 22 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a top plan view of the device of FIG- URE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a modified form of the present invention; and,

FIGURE 5 is a fragmentary, elevational view of the preferred embodiment of the present invention as viewed from a different side than is shown in FIGURE 1.

The spider of FIGURES 1 to 3 and 5 comprises a metal base plate 1 having a central aperture 2. An open-ended metal tube 5 is attached at its lower end to the base plate 1 around the aperture 2 and at its upper end, to a fitting 7 which has a central aperture 8. Preferably, the base plate 1, the tube 5, and the fitting 7 are attached to one another by weldin g.

Several tapered, somewhat parabolic-shaped staves 10, preferably three, are attached to thebase plate 1 and to the tube 5, as by welding, and extend from their lower, larger ends at the base plate to their smaller ends which are'adjacent the top end of the tube. As shown in FIG URES 2 and 3, each stave 10 has a semi-circular or curved outer portion 11 and straight side portions 12 extending in diverging straight lines from the serni-circular portions 11 so as to be somewhat parabolic shaped in cross-section. In another manner of description, the staves may be said to be somewhat U-sha-ped in cross-section with the straight sides of the U diverging from the curved portion of the U. The radius of curvature of the circular portion 11 is large so that the stave is not pointed and deformation of the coils stacked on the spider is thereby avoided.

As may be seen in FIGURE 1, the outermost longitudinal surface of the circular portion 11 of each stave tapers inwardly toward the top of the tube 5. Also, the longitudinal edges of the staves, where attached to the tube, converge inwardly toward the top of the tube 5 so as to provide an elongated, somewhat trapezoidal form of connection to the tube.

An axis 13 of each stave 10, defined for example by the focuses of successive sections or by the centers of curvature of succesive curved portions, converges with a longitudinal axis of the cylindrical tube 5 toward the top of the spider. The staves 10 are attached, as by welding, to the tube and to the base plate in circumferentially-spaced relation so as to be independent of one another.

The outermost surface of the upper ends 17 of the staves taper sharply to the tube 5. The longitudinal edges of the staves 10 converge sharply at the upper ends 17 of the staves to provide a tapered, somewhat parabolic connection to the tube 5 at the upper end of the somewhat trapezoidal connection provided by the converging edges of side portions 12.

The tube 5 is provided with openings 14, 15 through its side into the spaces within the upper and lower ends of the staves 10. The openings 14, 15 provide communication between the interior of the tube 5 and the space within the staves 10 and eliminate dead air spaces within the staves. The tube 5 is also provided with a plurality of vertically spaced openings 16 through its side between the staves.

A ring-like metal stripper plate 20 surrounds the tube 5 and the staves 10 and rests on the base 1. Preferably, this stripper plate 20 is provided with reinforcing means on its underside. The reinforcing means shown are metal bars 21 which are positioned along the outer portion of the plate 20 and outside of the base plate 1 and are at tached to the stripper plate in any suitable manner, for example, as by welding.

FIGURE 4 shows a base plate 1a which is quite like base plate 1 of FIGURE 1 but is somewhat larger in its outside diameter so as to engage and support a stack of coils of wire around the staves 10 and the tube 5 without the-use of a stripper plate.

It will be understood that the spider disclosed herein is to position a plurality of coils of wire while they are being annealed. To that end, the spider may be placed on a base in a suitable annealing furnace and the coils of wire are then stacked on the spider, as by being lowered over the tube and the staves and being supported on the stripper plate 20 or the base plate 1a, as the case may be.

When the coils have been assembled on the spider, the annealing furnace is closed and hot gases are admitted into the interior of the furnace outside of the coils. These gases flow upwardly in contact with the coils, some of it passing through top opening 8 into tube 5 and flowing longitudinally down through the tube and out through the opening 2 in the base plate, and some of it flowing Y laterally between the turns of the coils and through the openings 16 into the interior of tube 5 and thence out through the opening 2. The gases which flow in contact with the coils and through the turns of the coils tend to heat all turns of the coils. The gases which flow longitudinally through the tube impart heat to the tube. The tube portions between the side portions 12 of each stave transfers heat into the space within the stave to impart some heat to the staves and such heat is in part transmitted to the coils.

When the coils have been annealed and the furnace is cooled sufficiently to remove the coils, they may be stripped from the spider of FIGURE 1 by causing relative longitudinal movement of the base plate 10 and tube 5 and the stripper plate 20 with the coils thereon. Such movement may be caused by preventing movement of the base plate and lifting the stripper plate, or by preventing 1 movement of the stripper plate and moving the base and tube out of the coils and stripper plate. The spider of FIGURE 4 may be unloaded by lifting the coils off one or more at a time by a suitable lifting means or by dumping the spider on its side. Since the diameter of the spider decreases from the base plate to its other end, a smallamount of relative movement of the coils and staves will create a clearance between the coils and staves and minimize marking of the coils. This tapering construction of the staves together with the rounding of the upper ends of the staves facilitate loading of the coils onto the spider.

The staves it? with their spaced non-parallel connections to the tube 5 reinforce and stiffen the tube 5. The tube 5' reinforces the staves 10. Forces exerted against the semi-circular portions 11 are almost entirely transferred to the tube 5 by the straight side portions 12 so that the staves do not collapse when in use. Thus, the staves 1 and the tube together resist collapsing and inward deformation. This is especially important when the coils are removed by dumping the spider on its side, lifting the base end of the spider, and shaking the spider, since this method of coil removal stresses the spider as a beam as well as tending to collapse the spider inwardly.

The preferred three staves in their triangularly orientated, equally spaced independent positions around the tube 5 provide a maximum of strength to the spider and facilitate coil removal. When the spider is dumped and a hook engages its base end through the opening 2 and raises the base end, the spider will often rotate by force of gravity until one stave is pointing directly down. In this position especially, the coils tend to sag below the down stave and slip from the spider. Also, in this position, the staves greatly resist longitudinal bending of the spider. The use of three staves also provides a minimum of contact with the coils to lessen the chances of scratching or otherwise deforming the coils.

The staves are made preferably of a heat resisting, nonoxidizing metal. One metal found suitable for this purpose is a chromium nickel alloy often designated as A181 #304. The base plate, tube and fitting may be made of a mild steel. Since the staves resist oxidation, they will not tend to scale and will not scratch the wire coils when they are removed from the spider. Moreover, the staves retain a smooth finish and eliminate tangled wires which often occurs when the wires are caused to roll over one another as they are moved along spiders having scale surfaces. In addition, the alloy staves give the spider a great deal of strength with relatively thin stock so that less metal is required which enhances heat transfer during heating and cooling of the spider. The relatively thin staves, which may be on the order of threesixteenths inch thick act as heat exchanger fins for the tube 5, which may be on the order of one-half inch thick.

The present spider construction is also economical of manufacture. Substantially, the entire stave 10 is formed, as by pressing, from an elongated, trapezoidal shaped sheet. The uppermost ends 17 of the staves are separately pressed from a small triangular sheet and then are secured, as by welding, onto the end'of the stave formed from the elongated trapezoidal sheet. Thus, the staves are not fabricated from special shapes which are relatively expensive especially in alloy metals. In addition, no special jigs or clamps are required for assembly and all connection points are Well exposed for facile connection, as by welding.

Having thus described this invention in such full, clear, concise and exact terms as to enable any person skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, and having set forth the best mode contemplated of carrying out this invention, I state that the subject matter which I regard as being my invention is particularly pointed out and distinctly claimed in what is claimed, it being understoodthat equivalents or modifications of, or substitutions for, parts of the above specifically described embodiment of the invention may be made without departing from the scope of the invention as set forth in what is claimed.

What is claimed is:

1. A spider for holding coils of wire during annealing one end to said plate, a plurality of elongated somewhat U-shaped staves, each stave having lower edges attached to said plate and longitudinal side edges attached to the outer surface of said tube, the attached longitudinal side edges of one stave being circumferentially spaced from the adjacent attached side edges of the adjacent staves so that each stave is independent of the other staves, and a disc-like fitting attached to the other end of said tube.

2. The combination of elements set forth in claim 1 in which the base plate and fitting are provided with central apertures opening into the space within said tube.

3. The combination of elements set forth in claim 1 in which there are openings through the tube into the spaces within said staves.

4. The combination of elements set forth in claim 1 in which the tube is open ended and has vertically spaced openings through its side wall between the staves.

5. The combination of elements set forth in claim 1 in which the fitting has an opening into the upper end of the tube, the base plate has openings into the lower end of the tube, the tube has openings into the spaces within the staves, and the tube has vertically spaced openings through its sides betweensaid staves.

6. The combination of elements set forth in claim 1 in which the staves taper from the plate toward their free ends and in which a ring-like stripper plate rests on said plate in coil upporting position.

7. A spider for holding coils of wire during annealing comprising a base plate having a central opening, an openended tube secured at one end to said base plate around said central opening, a plurality of three staves disposed adjacent the tube in equally spaced, triangular relation, each of said staves having a generally curved outermost portion and a pair of elongated side portions extending in diverging planes substantially straight from said curved portion so as to be somewhat parabolic in section; said diverging side portions terminating at longitudinal side edges which are attached to the tube; and an attached longitudinal edge of one stave being circumferentially comprising a base plate, an open-ended tube attached at spaced from an attached longitudinal edge of an adjacent stave so that each stave is independent of the other staves.

8. The combination of elements set forth in claim 7 in which the staves are made of a heat resisting, non-oxidizing metal.

9. The combination of elements set forth in claim 7 in which the elongated curved surfaces of the staves converge from the base plate toward the other end of the tube, and the longitudinal edges of the side portions of each stave converge toward said other end of the tube.

10. The combination of element set forth in claim 7 in which tube portions between adjacent staves have Vertically spaced openings for the lateral circulation of air through coils stacked around the spider.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 302,591 7/84 Rivers 242 7s 415,391 11/89 Matteson 294-67 2,043,456 6/36 Watrous 263-47 2,174,642. 10/39 Toll 266-5 2,278,109 3/42 Karp 263-47 2,310,991 2/43 Pierce 263-47 2,334,439 11/43 Pierce 294-67 2,409,742 10/46 Dougherty 263-47 2,601,443 6/52 Miller 263-49 2,743,098 4/56 Berquist 266-2 2,834,589 5/58 King 263-47 FOREIGN PATENTS 469,229 11/50 Canada.

JOHN F. CAMPBELL, Primary Examiner.

Claims

1. A SPIDER FOR HOLDING COILS OF WIRE DURING ANNEALING COMPRISING A BASE PLATE, AN OPEN-ENDED TUBE ATTACHED AT ONE END TO SAID PLATE, A PLURALITY OF ELONGATED SOMEWHAT U-SHAPED STAVES, EACH STAVE HAVING LOWER EDGES ATTACHED TO SAID PLATE AND LONGITUDINAL SIDE EDGES ATTACHED TO THE OUTER SURFACE OF SAID TUBE, THE ATTACHED LONGITUDINAL SIDE EDGES OF ONE STAVE BEING CIRCUMFERENTIALLY SPACED FROM THE ADJACENT ATTACHED SIDE EDGES OF THE ADJACENT STAVES SO THAT EACH STAVE IS INDEPENDENT OF THE OTHER STAVES, AND A DISC-LIKE FITTING ATTACHED TO THE OTHER END OF SAID TUBE.