US3896860A

US3896860A - Assembly for preforming wire during helical winding

Info

Publication number: US3896860A
Application number: US450930A
Authority: US
Inventors: Vincent A Iannucci
Original assignee: Rockwell International Corp
Current assignee: Boeing North American Inc
Priority date: 1974-03-13
Filing date: 1974-03-13
Publication date: 1975-07-29
Anticipated expiration: 1992-07-29
Also published as: DE2510018A1; FR2263841A1; FR2263841B1; BR7501467A; IT1029831B; CA1015243A; GB1489114A; JPS5615979B2; JPS50129676A

Abstract

A wire preforming assembly is fixedly mounted on a circular turntable having thereon a plurality of bobbins dispersed in an array to provide a plurality of wires to the assembly equally spaced around its periphery. The assembly and the turntable are coaxially aligned with and relatively rotating about a longitudinally advancing, mandrelled hose. The wires are being directed to the hose by the preforming assembly so that the hose pulls the wires with uniform equal tension and causes them to be simultaneously wrapped thereon in side-by-side parallel helical convolutions. The wire is directed in a helical path around the surface of a preforming tube of the assembly and is bent toward the hose as it is being wound thereon. The bending imparts a characteristic to the wire which causes it to naturally retain the desired helical shape around the hose.

Description

United States Patent Iannucci ASSEMBLY FOR PREFORMING WIRE DURING IIELICAL WINDING [75] Inventor: Vincent A. lannucci, West Lawn,

[73] Assignee: Rockwell International Corporation,

Pittsburgh, Pa.

[22] Filed: Mar. 13, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 450,930

[52] US. Cl. 140/149; 57/9; 72/66 [51] Int. Cl. B65H 81/08 [58] Field of Search 140/93, 149; 29/202.5, 29/452; 57/9, 55; 72/66 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,105,338 1/1938 Sunderland 57/9 3,037,343 6/1962 Haas et al 57/9 3,187,494 6/1965 Fuller r 57/9 3,234,721 2/1966 Carter r 57/9 3,478,408 11/1969 Brown 57/9 Primary ExaminerLowell A. Larson [57] ABSTRACT A wire preforming assembly is fixedly mounted on a circular turntable having thereon a plurality of bobbins dispersed in an array to provide a plurality of wires to the assembly equally spaced around its periphery. The assembly and the turntable are coaxially aligned with and relatively rotating about a longitudinally advancing, mandrelled hose. The wires are being directed to the hose by the preforming assembly so that the hose pulls the wires with uniform equal tension and causes them to be simultaneously wrapped thereon in side-by-side parallel helical convolutions. The wire is directed in a helical path around the surface of a preforming tube of the assembly and is bent toward the hose as it is being wound thereon. The bending imparts a characteristic to the wire which causes it to naturally retain the desired helical shape around the hose.

15 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures SHEET PATENTED JUL 29 I975 SHEET ASSEMBLY FOR PREFORMING WIRE DURING HELICAL WINDING BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates to an assembly for preforming a number of wires being helically wound about-a hose and, more specifically, to such an assembly that can readily accommodate a different number of wires and- /or hoses of different sizes.

2. Description of the Invention It is desirable in the production of high pressure hoses to provide armouring consisting of continuous windings of permanently deformable wires. The high pressure hose may include an inner hose, several layers of armouring which are separated by protective tape, and an outer protective covering. The several layers of armouring are usually in the form of pairs of windings in opposite directions to counter-balance any twisting or bending effect that winding in only one direction might impart to the hose.

A number of means have heretofore been employed to wind a plurality of wires on the inner hose by relative rotation of the respective sources of the wires about the hose. Longitudinally advancing the hose with respect to the sources of the wires continuously presents an unwrapped region of the hose at which the windings may be formed. It has been found that the winding can be accomplished by the described relative movement and that whether the sources of the wire or the hose should be fixed or moving is generally determined by other considerations other than the specific act of forming the windings of the hose.

However, it has long been recognized that simple relative movement of the wire sources and the hose will not insure that the wire will be satisfactorily retained on the hose. The wire which is utilized for armouring is usually relatively resislient and tends to resist the required change in shape from that related to its source to that which is desired for helical wrapping. Therefore, after simple winding, the wires retain a natural resistance to the helical shape which, if unrestricted, will result in uncontrolled separation of the wire from the hose as a different helical shape, having a different pitch and diameter, is established. If the original helical shape of the wire is maintained during the remaining formation of the high pressure hose, the natural resistance of the wire will generate undesirable internal forces within the high pressure hose that reduce its overall strength and effectiveness.

In an effort to solve this problem, a number of devices have heretofore been utilized in winding machines to preform the wire so that its natural resilience will not be in opposition to the desired helical shape. The preforming devices, such as those disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,183,583, 3,187,494, and 3,357,456, have generally included a predetermined number of wirereceiving holes and wire-guiding surfaces for reverse bending of the wire in a region of the wire remote from the point at which it is applied to the inner hose. It appears to have been considered desirable to provide a reversely bent characteristic to the wire at this remote region in anticipation of continued winding about the hose until the remote region is properly oriented with respect to the hose so that the established bend as reoriented will tend to coincide with the shape of the hose. Without having to specifically consider the merits of this reverse bending concept, it should be apparent that because of the essential re-orientation of the wire, the location and degree of the reverse bending might vary greatly with hoses having different diameters. F urther, if not properly adjusted, any preforming device that institutes a deliberate deformation of the wire at a location remote from the hose can, because of the relative rotation, result in the wire being applied to the hose at an orientation which not only fails to follow the shape of the hose but might even have added resistance to it.

The above-mentioned, wire-receiving holes of the prior preforming devices tend to provide the desirable function of properly and evenly spacing the wire about the periphery of the hose to insure side-by-side alignment during winding. However, a predetermined number of wire-receiving holes presupposes a predetermined number of wires if even spacing is to be maintained and thereby prevents a variation in the number of wires which different size hoses might require. Further, the time required for initially setting up the winding machines utilizing preforming apparatus that includes these wire-receiving holes is largely determined by the time required for each wire to be threaded through its respective wire-receiving hole.

Accordingly, the preforming devices previously employed in wire wrapping machines have not been readily adaptable to wire wrap hoses having different diameters or to allow variations in the number of wires utilized.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an assembly to preform wires so that the internal forces within the wire will be minimized so it will retain the helical shape established as it is being wound about a hose.

It is another object to provide a preforming assembly of the type described which can be readily adapted to accommodate hoses having different diameters and to vary the number of wires being wound.

It is still another object to provide a preforming assembly of the type described which requires a relatively short set-up time and is easily adjustable to insure satisfactory helical winding of the wire about the hose.

To accomplish these and other objects of the invention, a preferred preforming assembly preforms wire being wound on an elongated member. The wire is supplied from a source which is relatively rotated about and relatively displaced along the longitudinal axis of the elongated member to cause the wire to bewound on the elongated member in a helical shape. The preforming assembly includes means for guiding the wire along a substantially helical path coaxially aligned with the elongated member and having a diameter greater than the diameter of the helical shape and means for bending the wire toward the elongated member as it leaves the helical path through a curved path having a radius less than the effective radius of the helical shape.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a sectional side view of the preferred wire preforming assembly including various features of the invention.

FIG. 2 is a view like that of FIG. 1 exploded to Show the preforming region.

FIG. 3 is a view of the preforming assembly as seen along line 33 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view of the wire as seen along line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a view of the wire as seen along line 5-5 of FIG. 2.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT As seen in FIG. 1, the preferred preforming assembly is fixedly mounted on a wire supply turntable 12 which, in the preferred configuration, rotates about a hose work product 14 in a clock-wise direction when viewed from the right. The turntable 12 may be one of a number of types associated with spiral winders known to those skilled in the wire wrapping art, such as the ROCKWELL WSW-III Precision Wire Spiral Winder. The winder is oriented so that the turntable 12 is coaxially aligned with the hose work product 14 along a common central axis 16.

To provide the remaining relative motion between the wire supply and the hose work product 14 which causes the wire 18 to be wound about the hose work product 14 in a generally helical shape, the hose work product 14 is pulled, in the preferred configuration, to the left as indicated by the arrow A, without any rotation about its axis 16. Several means for longitudinally pulling of the hose work product 14 are known to those skilled in the wire wrapping art such as a caterpillar extractor like the ROCKWELL I-Ieavy-Duty Caterpillar Haul-Off or the type disclosed in US. Pat. No. 3,183,583.

Although in this preferred configuration the wire supply is rotated and the hose work product is pulled longitudinally with respect to the wire supply, it is the relative motion therebetween which is essential for the wire-wrapping. With the above-described relative motion established so that each wire source and the hose work product move in a generally helical path with respect to each other, the wire will be laid in a helical shape about the hose work product. The diameter of the helical shape is of course established by that of the hose work product and the pitch of the helical shape is determined by the length of relative longitudinal movement for each revolution about this known diameter. Therefore, it is not the purpose of this invention to establish the helical shape of the wire about the hose work product, but to preform the wire being so wound such that the internal forces within the wire established by the preforming will cause the wire to generally assume this helical shape even if it were not supported by the hose work product. If the wire is not preformed, the wire will have internal resilience which will tend to cause it to change its pitch and diameter and unwind from its contracting helical shape about the hose work product.

The preforming assembly 10 includes a forward frame and a rearward frame 22, respectively, having a

hollow hub portion

24 and 26 coaxially aligned with the axis 16. Further, each frame and 22, respectively, includes

several spokes

28 and 30 by which the preforming assembly 10 is fixedly mounted on the turntable 12 by post 31 and to which other elements of the preforming assembly 10 are secured.

Each wire 18, only one of which is shown in FIG. 1, is suplied from a bobbin 32 on the turntable 12 and is directed between the

frames

20 and 22 to the hose work product 14 with other wires 18 to be simultaneously wrapped thereon in side-by-side parallel helical convolutions as seen at 34. The typical hose work product 14 shown in FIG. 1 includes a central mandrel 36, an inner hose 38, a set of windings 40, and insulating tape 42. A mandrel 36 is often placed within the inner hose 38 because the pulling force by the work product 14 required to wind and form the wires 18 could cause it to collapse without the support of the mandrel 36. The mandrel 36 is removed from the finished hose. The set of windings 40 is formed by rotation in the opposite direction from that for forming windings 34 and the insulating tape 42 is wound therebetween for the reasons discussed hereinabove.

In the preforming apparatus 10, it is desirable to cause each wire to be guided along a generally helical path having a diameter greater than that of the hose work product 14. Although this feature and its purpose will be shown in other figures and discussed in detail hereinbelow, recognizing this feature is of an assistance when explaining the purpose of other elements of the preferred preforming assembly 10. A first gathering ring 44 is mounted on the rearward frame 22 by a bolt 46 at each spoke 30. Since the bobbins 32 are located at various radii on the turntable 12, the first gathering ring 44 includes a gradually curved surface 47 over which each wire 18 must pass so that they may all be directed toward the interior of the preforming assembly 10 at the same approach angle. A second gathering ring 48 which also has a gradually curved surface 50 is mounted on the forward frame 20 by bolts 51 and generally faces toward the surface 47 of the first gathering ring 44. The second gathering ring 48 has a smaller diameter than the first gathering ring 44 so that the wires 18 can be equally spiraled from their bobbins 32 toward the region between the

hubs

24, 26 of the forward frame 20 and rearward frame 22.

A preforming tube 52 is centrally mounted at the hub 26 of the rearward frame 22 to extend forwardly toward the frame 20 in region within its hub 24. The preforming tube 52 is intended to provide a surface about which the wire 18 can be directed in a generally helical path as discussed above. The preforming tube 52 has a rearward portion 54 slidably engaged with the center of the hub 26. Each end of the rearward portion 54 is threaded so that an adjustment nut 56 may be turned for accurate longitudinal positioning of the tube 52 with respect to the rearward frame 22 and, because the longitudinal displacement between the

frames

20 and 22 is fixed, with respect to the forward frame 20. The periphery of the adjusting nut 56 is marked for an accurate indication of the position of the preforming tube 52 and a locking nut 58 acting on the opposite side of frame 22 insures that the tube 52 will be maintained in the set position. The significance of the adjustments of the tube 52 will also be discussed in detail hereinbelow.

As the wire 18 gradually curves round the surface 50 of the second gathering ring 48, it is naturally wound about a forward portion 60 of the preforming tube 52 by the pulling effect of the hose work product 14. The wire 18 is not shown in FIG. 1 to have the generally helical path that actually exists about the tube 52 so that its total path to the hose work product 14 from the bobbin 32 may be shown.

A floating collar 62 is mounted within the hub 24 of the forward frame 20 to closely encircle the forward portion 60 of the tube 52. The thickness of a space 63 between the floating collar 62 and the forward portion '60 of the tube 52 and the thickness of the wire 18 are exaggerated in FIG. 1 for ease of demonstration. The space 63 is defined by the inside diameter of the collar 62 and the outside diameter of the forward portion 60 and is sufficiently close to the diameter of the wire 18 to insure that the wires are not doubled around the surface of the forward portion 60 and are all lying in parallel helical paths thereon. The floating feature of the collar 62 allows uniform spacing 63 between the collar 62 and the forward portion 60 to insure that the wire will be evenly pulled therethrough.

As the wire 18 is pulled from the surface of the forward portion 60, it passes over a preforming edge 64 of the tube 52 toward the hose work product 14. The hose work product 14 with the wires wrapped thereon then moves through a support bushing 66 secured at the hub 24 of the forward frame 20. The bushing 66 is selected to conform to the size of hose work product for sliding contact therebetween to insure that the hose work product is maintained centrally aligned with the preforming assembly 10. A retaining cap 68 is threadedly secured to the hub 24 of the forward frame to allow different support bushings to be easily installed to provide support for work products having different diameters.

Having provided a description of the overall relation- I ship of the preforming assembly 10 of the winding process, FIGS. 25 are presented to allow a detailed description of the preforming feature which imparts to the wire a characteristic which results in improved windings for the hose work product 14. The preferred preforming tube 52 has an outside diameter at the forward portion 60 of about 3 /2 inches. The preforming edge 64 is rounded to curve inwardly from the outside surface of the forward portion 60 with a radius of about /s of an inch. A preforming tube having these dimensions has been effectively used for winding wire with a 0.012 inch diameter or a hose work product having diameters ranging between /s of an inch and 3 inches. The hose work product 14 shown in the Figures has a diameter of about 2% inches.

As seen in FIG. 2 in an exploded view of the preforming area, the particular wire 18 shown follows a generally helical path 70 around the inside surface of the forward portion 60 of the preforming tube 52 to the preforming edge 64 at the top of the tube 52. The helical path 70 is established for each wire 18 during winding so that the only relative motion between the surface of the forward portion 60 and the wire 18 occurs as the wire 18 moves longitudinally along the established path 70.

The wire 18 is bent over the preforming edge 64 as it is pulled from the helical path 70 toward the hose work product 14. The wire 18 makes initial contact with the hose work product 14 at 72 to join the other wires to form the helical convolutions 34 with a helical shape 74 predetermined by the relative motion described hereinabove.

As the wire 18 leaves the edge 64, it passes freely by a deflecting lip 76 on the forward portion of the floating collar 62. When the hose work product 14 has a diameter relatively close to that of the preforming tube 52, the deflecting lip 76 may not be needed to insure proper bending of the wire 18 at the edge 64. Therefore, its significance will be discussed later in a discussion of preforming wire for hose work products having relatively small diameters.

When viewed from the top as in FIG. 3, it can be seen that, by following the helical path 70, the wire 18 approaches the edge 64 at an angle. Therefore, since the helical pa h aligns the wire 18 in a general direction to be helically wound on the hose product, the bending about the preforming edge 64 is not in a plane perpendicular to the preforming edge 64 but in a plane more aligned with the effective curve of the wire when in the predetermined helical shape.

In FIG. 4, it can be seen that the friction force on the wire 18 as it slides along the helical path 70 and the pulling force on the wire 18 by the winding on the hose work product 14 causes the wire 18 to be deformed at the preforming edge 64 through a curve having a radius R,. As the wire 18 lies on the hose work product 14 in the helical shape 74, and effective curve 82 of the wire 18 has an effective radius R as shown in FIG. 5. It has been found that when the preforming apparatus is properly adjusted for each hose work product according to its specific diameter and helical shape, the bending radius R will be less than the effective radius R for that specific helical shape. Further, since the helical path 70 is generated by and tends to be aligned with the helical shape according to its particular diameter and pitch, it has also been found that the curve 80 will be properly oriented with the effective curve 82 of the particular helical shape.

It is generally felt that the bending of the wire 18 at preforming edge 64 through the radius R as described above imparts to the wire 18 a memory which causes the wire 18 to relax to an effective radius R of the helical shape 74. The deformation of the wire 18 causes the internal resistance of the wire to be re-established so that it will retain the helical shape 74.

When winding about hose work products having a diameter significantly less than that of the forward portion 60 of the preformng tube 52, it is difficult to maintain the radius R smaller than the effective radius R for these smaller hose work products by pulling the wire over the preforming edge 64 alone. Therefore, to provide the desired radius R the preforming tube 52 is longitudinally adjusted toward the deflecting lip 76 of the floating collar 62. Causing wire 18 to be contacted by the deflecting lip 76 allows finer control of the bending while providing the smaller radius R The angle and extension of the deflecting lip 76 is selected to insure that it will not extend sufficiently into the path of the wire 18 to cause the wire 18 to be reversely bent around the lip 76. It should be apparent that, although in the preferred preforming assembly 10 the preforming tube 52 is mounted for longitudinal movement with respect to the deflecting lip 76, the same desired relative movement could be obtained by an alternative means which allows for movement of the collar 62 toward the preforming tube 52.

There are a number of desirable features which the preferred preforming assembly 10 provides besides that of general alignment of the helical path and deformation through the radius smaller than the predetermined effective radius of the helical shape. For example, the natural spacing of the wires about the preforming tube 52 allows the preforming assembly 10 to be set-up in a relatively short time. The preforming tube 52 is initially withdrawn from the area of the floating collar 62 as the wire ends are secured to the hose work product. Several revolutions of the wires about the hose work product cause the wire to begin spiraling from the bobbins. Having generally established the spacing in this manner, the preforming tube 52 is moved longitudinally for insertion into the floating collar 62. As this is being done, the wires are individually positioned so that they do not cross or lie on top of each other. The tube 52 may then be received within the collar 62 to maintain the wires in their relative positions. When the tube 52 is properly adjusted for preforming, the evenly spaced helical paths will be automatically established by the winding.

Even though the number of wires to be wound are considered when setting the winder and the extractor for the predetermined helical shape of each wire, it is frequently found that the spacing is insufficient to allow all of the wires to lie on the surface of the hose work product so that one wire will instead ride on the other wires. With the preferred preforming assembly, one or more wires can be simply cut and removed from the total being wound since the remaining wires will automatically be repositioned about the preforming tube to provide the desired armouring.

When discussing the preforming means hereinabove, one aspect of the wire was not mentioned. it is acknowledged that the wire is initially preformed by being wound on the bobbins. Further, the general bending about the gathering rings also affects the characteristics of the wire. However, pulling the wire through the helical path and bending the wire about the relatively small radius R has a greater overriding effect on the wire so that the above-mentioned gradual deformations have an insignificant effect on the internal force eventually established.

Another aspect of the preforming assembly eliminates an adjustment which is often required for other preforming devices. When wire is deformed, a force must be applied at opposite sides of the area of deformation. One force is provided by the pulling of the hose work product during winding but the other force is often substantially provided by a braking action on the bobbins. Individually adjusting the braking on the bobbins is critical and time consuming. As mentioned above, the second force at the preforming edge is primarily provided by the sliding friction along the helical path. The slding friction is substantially equal on all of the wires so that critical individual adjustments of the bobbins are not required.

It is felt that the invention and many of its attendant advantages will be understood from the foregoing description and it will be apparent that various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the various elements of the preforming assembly described without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention or sacrificing its material advantages, the form hereinabove described being merely a preferred embodiment thereof.

I claim:

1. A preforming assembly for preforming wire being wound on an elongated member, said wire being supplied from a source being relatively rotated about and relatively displaced along the longitudinal axis of said elongated member to cause said wire to be wound on said elongated member in a helical shape, said preforming assembly comprising:

means for guiding said wire around an outside surface of a cylindrical tube which is coaxially aligned with said elongated member and has a diameter greater than the diameter of said helical shape to cause said wire to slide along said outside surface through a substantially helical path, and

means for bending said wire toward said elongated member as it leaves said helical path and said outside surface of said cylindrical tube through a curved path having a radius less than the effective radius of said helical shape.

2. A method of preforming wire being wound on an elongated member, said wire being supplied from a source being relatively rotated about and relatively displaced along the longitudinal axis of said elongated member to cause said wire to be wound on said elongated member in a helical shape, said method comprising:

guiding said wire after leaving said source around an outside surface of a cylindrical tube to cause said wire to slide along said outside surface through a substantially helical path which said path is coaxially aligned with said elongated member and has a diameter greater than the diameter of said helical shape, and

bending said wire as it leaves said helical path and said outside surface of said cylindrical tube and is relatively pulled toward said elongated member to be wound thereon through a curved path having a radius less than the effective radius of said helical shape.

3. A method for winding wire on an elongated member comprising:

supplying said wire from a source,

relatively rotating said source about and relatively displacing said source along the longitudinal axis of said elongated member to cause said wire to be wound on said elongated member in a helical shape as said wire is being pulled from said source by said rotating and said displacing,

guiding said wire after it leaves said source along a substantially helical path by said pulling of said wire around an outside surface of a cylindrical tube which is coaxially aligned with said elongated member and has a diameter greater than the diameter of said helical shape, and

bending said wire as it leaves said helical path and said outside surface and is relatively pulled toward said elongated member through a curved path having a radius less than the effective radius of said helical shape.

4. A preforming assembly capable of preforming wire being wound on a hose work product, said wire being supplied from a source being relatively rotated about and relatively displaced along the longitudinal axis of said hose work product to cause said wire to be wound on said hose work product in a helical shape, said preforming assembly comprising:

a preforming tube mounted to extend along said longitudinal axis from said source of said wire during winding,

said preforming tube having a cylindrical outside surface portion which is coaxially aligned with said hose work product and has a diameter greater than the diameter of said helical shape,

said cylindrical outside surface portion being generally disposed between said source and said hose work product during winding so that said wire is drawn by said relative rotation and said relative displacement of said source and said hose work product along a helical path around said cylindrical outside surface portion, said cylindrical outside surface portion terminating at a preforming edge of said preforming tube.

said wire capable of being deformed about said preforming edge through a curved path as said wire is drawn toward said hose work product from said helical path, and

said curved path having a radius less than the effective radius of the effective curve of said helical shape.

5. The preforming assembly as set forth in claim 4, further including a collar which closely encircles said cylindrical outwide surface of said preforming tube with a distance therebetween which is greater than the diameter of said wire and less than twice said diameter of said wire.

6. A preforming assembly as set forth in claim 4, further including a deflecting surface facing said preforming edge and adjacent thereto, said deflecting surface having a portion adjacent said wire during winding which is generally parallel with said wire as it extends between said preforming edge and said hose work product and means for adjusting the distance between said deflecting and said preforming edge to allow said deflecting surface to be selectively contacted by said wire being deformed about said preforming edge to alter said radius of said curved path.

7. A preforming assembly capable of preforming a plurality of wires being wound in side-by-side convolutions on a hose work product, said wires being supplied from a plurality of bobbins mounted in an array about a support table as said support table is being relatively rotated about and relatively displaced along the longitudinal axis of said hose work product to cause each said wire to be wound on said hose work product in a helical shape, said preforming assembly comprising:

a support structure capable of being rigidly mounted to said table,

a preforming tube mounted at a first end on said support structure for extension away from said table in a direction for alignment with said longitudinal axis,

said preforming tube having an opening for receiving said hose work product therethrough and a cylindrical outside surface which is coaxially aligned with said hose work product received within said opening and has a diameter greater than the diameter of said helical shape, and

said preforming tube having a preforming edge at its second end which edge includes a surface extending generally inwardly from said cylindrical surface.

8. A preforming assembly as set forth in claim 7, wherein the diameter of said hose work product ranges from /s of an inch to 3 inches, said cylindrical outside surface has a diameter of about 3 /2 inches, and said preforming edge has a radius of curvature of about /8 of an inch.

9. A preforming assembly as set forth in claim 7, further comprising:

a collar mounted on said support structure to encircle said cylindrical outsi-v surface of said preforming tube with a radial spacing therebetween having a thickness which is greater than the diameter of said wire and less than two times said diameter of said wire.

10. A preforming assembly as set forth in claim 9 wherein said collar is mounted for movement within a plane which is perpendicular to said longitudinal axis to allow uniform self-alignment with said cylindrical outside surface of said preforming tube when said plurality of wires are located within said radial spacing.

11. A preforming assembly as set forth in claim 9, further comprising:

a deflecting lip mounted on said support structure to locate an inclined surface of said deflecting lip adjacent said preforming edge, said inclined surface extending inwardly of said cylindrical outside surface and terminating outwardly of said hose work product when said hose work product is received within said opening of said preforming tube.

12. A preforming assembly as set forth in claim 11, when said deflecting lip is integral with said collar and said collar is mounted for movement within a plane which is perpendicular to said longitudinal axis to allow uniform self-alignment with said cylindrical outside surface of said preforming tube when said plurality of wires are located within said radial spacing.

13. A preforming assembly as set forth in claim 11, further comprising:

means for selectively altering the distance between said preforming edge and said inclined surface in a direction parallel with said longitudinal axis.

14. A preforming assembly as set forth in claim 7,

further including:

at least one wire gathering ring secured to said support structure and having a gradually curved wire guiding surface thereon.

15. A winding machine capable of winding a plurality of wires about a hose work product comprising:

a support table capable of having a plurality of wire supply bobbins mounted in an array thereon,

means for relatively rotating said table about and relatively displacing said table along a longtudinal axis of said hose work product so that each said wire is capable of being wound on said hose work product in a helical shape,

a preforming support structure fixedly secured to said table,

a preforming tube mounted at a first end to said support structure and extending away from said table in a direction for alignment with said longitudinal axis,

Claims

1. A preforming assembly for preforming wire being wound on an elongated member, said wire being supplied from a source being relatively rotated about and relatively displaced along the longitudinal axis of said elongated member to cause said wire to be wound on said elongated member in a helical shape, said preforming assembly comprising: means for guiding said wire around an outside surface of a cylindrical tube which is coaxially aligned with said elongated member and has a diameter greater than the diameter of said helical shape to cause said wire to slide along said outside surface through a substantially helical path, and means for bending said wire toward said elongated member as it leaves said helical path and said outside surface of said cylindrical tube through a curved path having a radius less than the effective radius of said helical shape.

2. A method of preforming wire being wound on an elongated member, said wire being supplied from a source being relatively rotated about and relatively displaced along the longitudinal axis of said elongated member to cause said wire to be wound on said elongated member in a helical shape, said method comprising: guiding said wire after leaving said source around an outside surface of a cylindrical tube to cause said wire to slide along said outside surface through a substantially helical path which said path is coaxially aligned with said elongated member and has a diameter greater than the diameter of said helical shape, and bending said wire as it leaves said helical path and said outside surface of said cylindrical tube and is relatively pulled toward said elongated member to be wound thereon through a curved path having a radius less than the effective radius of said helical shape.

3. A method for winding wire on an elongated member comprising: supplying said wire from a source, relatively rotating said source about and relatively displacing said source along the longitudinal axis of said elongated member to cause said wire to be wound on said elongated member in a helical shape as said wire is being pulled from said source by said rotating and said displacing, guiding said wire after it leaves said source along a substantially helical path by said pulling of said wire around an outside surface of a cylindrical tube which is coaxially aligned with said elongated member and has a diameter greater than the diameter of said helical shape, and bending said wire as it leaves said helical path and said outside surface and is relatively pulled toward said elongated member through a curved path having a radius less than the effective radius of said helical shape.

4. A preforming assembly capable of preforming wire being wound on a hose work product, said wire being supplied from a source being relatively rotated about and relatively displaced along the longitudinal axis of said hose work product to cause said wire to be wound on said hose work product in a helical shape, said preforming assembly comprising: a preforming tube mounted to extend along said longitudinal axis from said sourCe of said wire during winding, said preforming tube having a cylindrical outside surface portion which is coaxially aligned with said hose work product and has a diameter greater than the diameter of said helical shape, said cylindrical outside surface portion being generally disposed between said source and said hose work product during winding so that said wire is drawn by said relative rotation and said relative displacement of said source and said hose work product along a helical path around said cylindrical outside surface portion, said cylindrical outside surface portion terminating at a preforming edge of said preforming tube, said wire capable of being deformed about said preforming edge through a curved path as said wire is drawn toward said hose work product from said helical path, and said curved path having a radius less than the effective radius of the effective curve of said helical shape.

7. A preforming assembly capable of preforming a plurality of wires being wound in side-by-side convolutions on a hose work product, said wires being supplied from a plurality of bobbins mounted in an array about a support table as said support table is being relatively rotated about and relatively displaced along the longitudinal axis of said hose work product to cause each said wire to be wound on said hose work product in a helical shape, said preforming assembly comprising: a support structure capable of being rigidly mounted to said table, a preforming tube mounted at a first end on said support structure for extension away from said table in a direction for alignment with said longitudinal axis, said preforming tube having an opening for receiving said hose work product therethrough and a cylindrical outside surface which is coaxially aligned with said hose work product received within said opening and has a diameter greater than the diameter of said helical shape, and said preforming tube having a preforming edge at its second end which edge includes a surface extending generally inwardly from said cylindrical surface.

8. A preforming assembly as set forth in claim 7, wherein the diameter of said hose work product ranges from 3/8 of an inch to 3 inches, said cylindrical outside surface has a diameter of about 3 1/2 inches, and said preforming edge has a radius of curvature of about 1/8 of an inch.

9. A preforming assembly as set forth in claim 7, further comprising: a collar mounted on said support structure to encircle said cylindrical outside surface of said preforming tube with a radial spacing therebetween having a thickness which is greater than the diameter of said wire and less than two times said diameter of said wire.

11. A preforming assembly as set forth in claim 9, further comprising: a deflecting lip moUnted on said support structure to locate an inclined surface of said deflecting lip adjacent said preforming edge, said inclined surface extending inwardly of said cylindrical outside surface and terminating outwardly of said hose work product when said hose work product is received within said opening of said preforming tube.

13. A preforming assembly as set forth in claim 11, further comprising: means for selectively altering the distance between said preforming edge and said inclined surface in a direction parallel with said longitudinal axis.

14. A preforming assembly as set forth in claim 7, further including: at least one wire gathering ring secured to said support structure and having a gradually curved wire guiding surface thereon.

15. A winding machine capable of winding a plurality of wires about a hose work product comprising: a support table capable of having a plurality of wire supply bobbins mounted in an array thereon, means for relatively rotating said table about and relatively displacing said table along a longtudinal axis of said hose work product so that each said wire is capable of being wound on said hose work product in a helical shape, a preforming support structure fixedly secured to said table, a preforming tube mounted at a first end to said support structure and extending away from said table in a direction for alignment with said longitudinal axis, said preforming tube having an opening for receiving said hose work product therethrough and a cylindrical outside surface which is coaxially aligned with said hose work product received within said opening and has a diameter greater than the diameter of said helical shape, and said preforming tube having a preforming edge at its second end which edge includes a surface extending generally inwardly from said cylindrical surface.