Dereeling Apparatus

Abstract

Dereeling apparatus including a dereeling head and a floating plate adapted to pivot in response to force exerted through a dereeling arm, the pivotal movement of the plate serving to increase or decrease the frictional force on the spool of material being dereeled.

Description

This invention relates to dereeling apparatus for dereeling filamentary material, for example, wire or cord, from a stationary drum or spool on which the material is reeled.

Dereeling apparatus according to this invention includes a dereeling head comprising a bushing having a bore adapted slidably to receive and to rotate about a shaft extending axially of a stationary drum or spool of filamentary material to be dereeled, the bushing being disposed in an aperture of a floating plate arranged to pivot with respect to the bushing on a pivot axis normal to the rotational axis of the shaft; a dereeling arm connected at one end to the floating plate and having at the other end a wheel to dereel filamentary material off the drum or spool when a pulling force tending to pivot the floating plate on its pivot axis is exerted on the filamentary material; and roller means connected to the floating plate on a side of the bushing remote from the arm and arranged to rotate about a rotational axis generally perpendicular to the pivot axis and to the rotational axis of the shaft and bear against a wall of the drum or spool or an intervening surface.

The invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a sectional view of one embodiment of dereeling apparatus according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is a partial plan view of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 3 is an elevation of the dereeling apparatus of FIG. 1 in use.

The apparatus comprises a main base 1 which stands on a column 2 disposed at or near the center of the base 1. The column 2 has a bore 3. A shaft 4 stands with a foot portion in the bore 3 of the column 2, the bore being of a diameter larger than that of the shaft 4 and the annular clearance being taken up by a bushing 5. The parts are preferably made of mild steel and are joined by welding.

The dereeling head comprises a platen 6, preferably of mild steel, formed with an aperture at which is welded one end of a sleeve 7 extending normally of the platen 6 and slidably fitting on the shaft 4. The sleeve 7 is disposed on the side of the platen 6 remote from the base 1. A bushing 8, having a bore so dimensioned that the bushing is slidable on the sleeve 7, and preferably made of phosphor bronze, is disposed in an aperture of a floating plate 9. The plate 9 is held to the bushing 8 by a pair of aligned clamping bolts 10 (FIG. 2) with the lower end of the bushing 8 lying slightly above the underside of the floating plate 9 and as shown in FIG. 1. The bushing 8 freely pivots about an axis defined by the clamping bolts 10. A collar 11 is held to the sleeve adjacent its upper end by a setscrew 25 and a clamp screw 26 diametrically opposite to the setscrew 25. An annular shoulder 12 is cut in the lower face of the collar 11 to accommodate a thrust bearing 13. An annular shoulder 14 is cut into the upper face of the bushing 8. The thrust bearing 13 and the lower bushing 8 are biased apart by a compression spring 15 surrounding the sleeve 7 in spaced relation and acting between the underside of the thrust bearing 13 and the shoulder 14 of the bushing 8.

A dereeling arm 16 is secured by clamp screws 7 at one end to the upper surface of the floating plate 9 and extends a distance beyond the floating plate 9, radially of the shaft 4. The arm 16 terminates at its free end in a downwardly directed finger 18. A pulley wheel 19 is held to the underside of the arm 16 by a clamping bolt 20 passed through the pulley wheel bore adjacent the finger 18 to leave a small clearance between the circumference of the pulley wheel 19 and the finger 18. The wheel bore is of a diameter larger than the outer diameter of the bolt 20 and the annular space is taken up by a bearing sleeve 21.

A ball race 22 is attached to the floating plate 9 on the side of the pivoting axis defined by clamp bolts 10 opposite to arm 16. The ball race 22 is held to the floating plate 9 by a clamp bolt 23 passed through the inner ring 24 of the ball race 22. The outer ring 25 rests on the upper generally face of the platen 6. The ball race 22 rotates about an axis generally perpendicular to the pivot axis defined by the clamp bolts 10 and the rotational axis of the shaft 4.

In assembling the head, the ball race 22 is fitted to the floating plate 9 by fixing clamp bolt 23 in position. The bushing 8 is held pivotally in the aperture in the floating plate 9 by fixing the clamp bolts 10 in position. The floating plate 9 is then located on the platen 6 by sliding the bushing 8 down the sleeve 7. The spring 15 is then slid down the sleeve 7 until its lower end rests on the annular shoulder 14 of the bushing 8. The thrush bearing 13 is fitted on the shoulder 12 of the collar 11 which is then slid on to the end of the sleeve 7 and fixed there by screwing setscrew 25 into position. The dereeling arm 16 is secured to the floating plate 9 by screwing clamp screws 17 into position. A drum or spool of filamentary material is then fitted to the base 1 by sliding the drum or spool onto the shaft 4. The dereeling head previously assembled is then fixed to the shaft 4 by sliding sleeve 7 on to the shaft until the underside of the platen 6 rests on the upper face of the drum or spool, and securing the dereeling head to the shaft by tightening clamp screws 26 to the shaft. The free end of the filamentary material is passed around the pulley wheel 19, and led to apparatus where it is required, for example, a lead-making machine.

In use, and as shown in FIG. 3, when an upward pull is exerted on the filamentary material, for example, wire 27 is wound on a drum 28, via the pulley wheel 19 on rotating arm 16, the floating plate 9 tends to pivot off the platen 6 along the pivoting axis defined by clamping bolts 10, leaving the outer ring 25 of the ball race 22 as the only point of contact between the floating plate 9 and the platen 6. This reduces the resistance of the apparatus to rotation because the friction to be overcome in dereeling is limited to the area of the outer ring 25 in contact with the platen 6 instead of over the entire surface of the floating plate 9 in contact with the platen 6. As the floating plate 9 rotates because of the travel of the ball race 22 during dereeling, the bushing 8 rotates about the sleeve 7 (because the floating plate 9 and the bushing 8 are interconnected by the clamping bolts 10), and so too do the spring 15 and the thrust bearing 13. The annular clearance between the floating plate 9 and the bushing 8 allows for the pivoting effect as the floating plate 9 rises above the surface of the platen 6 other than at the ball race 22.

When the dereeling action is stopped, the tension on the filamentary material eases and the floating plate 9 falls back onto the face of the platen 6 so exerting a frictional force between the entire abutting surface areas of the floating plate 9 and the platen 6. This has the effect of braking the rotary movement of the dereeling arm 16.

As modifications of the above-described embodiment, the apparatus may be mounted horizontally instead of vertically, or the ball race on alternative roller means may be located in an aperture in the floating platen instead of at its edge.

Claims

We claim:

1. Apparatus for dereeling filamentary material from a stationary drum, said apparatus comprising a shaft on which said drum is received, a bushing mounted on said shaft for sliding and rotational movement relative thereto, a floating plate having an aperture therein within which said bushing is disposed, means pivotally connecting said plate to said bushing whereby said plate is pivotal with respect to the bushing on a pivot axis normal to the rotational axis of said shaft, a dereeling arm connected at one end to said floating plate and having at the other end a reel to dereel filamentary material off said drum when a pulling force tending to pivot the floating plate on its pivot axis is exerted on the filamentary material, and roller means connected to the floating plate on a side of said bushing remote from the dereeling arm and arranged to rotate about a rotational axis generally perpendicular to the pivot axis of said floating plate and to the rotational axis of said shaft and bear against a wall of the drum.

2. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1 further including a sleeve slidably and rotationally mounted on said shaft, a platen carried at one end of said sleeve, said sleeve extending through said bushing, the floating plate being disposed adjacent the platen.

3. Apparatus as claimed in claim 1, including a collar secured to the other end of the sleeve, and a compression spring acting between the bushing and the collar to urge the floating plate against the platen.

4. Apparatus as claimed in claim 3, in which the compression spring engages the collar through a thrust race.

5. Apparatus as claimed in claim 6, in which the bushing is mounted in the aperture of the floating plate on a pair of axially aligned clamping screws defining the pivot axis of the floating plate.