U.S. patent number 3,823,590 [Application Number 05/343,617] was granted by the patent office on 1974-07-16 for helical coil forming machine.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Dayco Corporation. Invention is credited to Ernest U. Lang.
United States Patent |
3,823,590 |
Lang |
July 16, 1974 |
HELICAL COIL FORMING MACHINE
Abstract
A pair of large wire supply rolls are rotatably supported by a
cantilevered tubular shaft, and corresponding wires extend from the
rolls to a coil forming rotor which is also supported by a
cantilevered tubular shaft aligned axially with the roll support
shaft. Wire is withdrawn from the wire supply rolls by rotation of
the rotor which includes precisely driven wheels for feeding the
wires through corresponding sets of casting rollers to form a
continuous double helix nonrotating coil. A nonrotating mandrel
projects through the roll support shaft for supporting the helical
coil as it is being formed and progresses axially between a set of
endless belts which feed the continuous coil from the coil forming
rotor and control the pitch of the wire turns of the coil. A disc
brake system is mounted on the roll support shaft for braking the
rotation of the wire supply rolls to control the tension in the
wires, and the roll support shaft is pivotable in a horizontal
direction to facilitate loading of new wire supply rolls into the
machine. The machine is also adapted to be used with only one wire
supply roll when only a single helix nonrotating continuous coil is
required.
Inventors: |
Lang; Ernest U. (Niles,
MI) |
Assignee: |
Dayco Corporation (Dayton,
OH)
|
Family
ID: |
23346842 |
Appl.
No.: |
05/343,617 |
Filed: |
March 21, 1973 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
72/66; 72/134;
72/145 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B21F
3/04 (20130101); B21F 35/003 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B21F
3/04 (20060101); B21F 3/00 (20060101); B21d
011/00 () |
Field of
Search: |
;72/140,134,145,66 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Primary Examiner: Lanham; Charles W.
Assistant Examiner: Rogers; Robert M.
Claims
The invention having thus been described, the following is
claimed:
1. Apparatus for continuously producing a nonrotating coil having
helical wire turns of substantially uniform diameter, comprising a
coil forming rotor including means for receiving a wire and for
deforming the wire beyond its elastic limit into continuous wire
turns, first shaft means for supporting said rotor for rotation on
an axis, drive means for rotating said rotor, second shaft means
for supporting a supply roll of wire on an axis substantially
aligned with the axis of rotation of said rotor, means on said
rotor for directing the wire from the supply roll to said wire
deforming means, and means for guiding the coil axially from said
rotor as the coil is formed by rotation of said rotor.
2. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said second shaft means
comprises an elongated tubular shaft, and means for supporting a
mandrel for axial movement within said tubular shaft.
3. Apparatus as defined in claim 2 wherein said means for driving
said rotor include a motor, a plurality of endless feed belts
positioned to engage the helical coil at circumferentially spaced
intervals and press the coil against said mandrel, and means
connected to said motor for driving said belts in timed relation
with the rotation of said rotor to effect positive axial feeding of
the coil and said mandrel from said rotor.
4. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said second shaft means
comprises an elongated shaft, and means supporting said shaft for
lateral movement between a wire roll loading position and a coil
forming position in axial alignment with the axis of said
rotor.
5. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said rotor includes at
least one flyer arm extending generally parallel to the axis of
rotation of said rotor and located radially outboard of the supply
roll.
6. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 wherein said first shaft means
for supporting said rotor comprise a tubular shaft, and the coil is
directed axially through said shaft as the coil is formed.
7. Apparatus as defined in claim 1 including means for variably
braking the rotation of the wire supply roll as the supply roll
rotates in response to rotation of said rotor.
8. Apparatus for continuously producing a nonrotating coil having
helical wire turns of substantially uniform diameter, comprising a
coil forming rotor including means for receiving a wire and for
deforming the wire beyond its elastic limit into continuous wire
turns, a tubular shaft supporting said rotor for rotation on an
axis, drive means for rotating said rotor, means for supporting a
supply roll of wire on an axis substantially aligned with the axis
of rotation of said rotor, means on said rotor for directing the
wire from the supply roll to said wire deforming means, and means
for feeding the coil axially through said tubular shaft supporting
said rotor as the coil is formed by rotation of said rotor.
9. Apparatus as defined in claim 8 wherein said means for
supporting a supply roll of wire include a second tubular shaft,
and means on said second shaft for supporting a mandrel in a
position projecting axially into said tubular shaft supporting said
rotor.
10. Apparatus as defined in claim 9 including means supporting said
second tubular shaft for lateral movement between a wire roll
loading position and a coil forming position in axial alignment
with said shaft supporting said rotor.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
In the art of producing helical wire coils having convolutions or
turns of generally uniform diameter, it is sometimes desirable to
provide for producing the coil so that it does not rotate as it is
being formed, thereby enabling the coil to be produced in a
continuous manner and then fed directly into a secondary operation
or wound onto a spool. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 3,118,800
discloses an apparatus for continuously forming a flexible conduit
and wherein a nonrotating helical wire coil is fed directly into a
tube of foamed plastics material. Nonrotating helical wire coils
are also intended to be continuously formed by the machines
disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,953,502 and 3,541,828. A continuously
formed nonrotating helical wire coil may also be fed directly into
one or more plastic extruder heads in a manner as disclosed in U.S.
patent application Ser. No. 89,333, filed Nov. 13, 1970 and
assigned to the assignee of the present invention, for continuously
producing a reinforced flexible plastic tube.
For some applications and uses of a wire reinforced flexible
plastics tube or conduit, it is desirable to provide for a double
wire helical coil so that the wires may be used as electrical
conductors along the length of the flexible conduit. For example,
U.S. Pat. No. 3,314,039 which issued to the assignee of the present
invention, discloses the use of such a conduit in connection with a
vacuum cleaner for supplying electrical power to a motor located at
the end of a wand which is connected to the vacuum tank by the
flexible suction tube. In the production of such a flexible conduit
having multiple wire helical reinforcement, it is desirable to
provide for continuously producing the conduit to achieve maximum
manufacturing efficiency and to minimize the cost of the
conduit.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention is directed to an improved machine or
apparatus for continuously producing a nonrotating helical wire
coil and which is adapted for forming either a multiple wire
helical coil or a single wire helical coil, whichever is desired.
The apparatus of the invention also provides for producing a
precisely formed helical coil at a high speed and for conveniently
loading new relatively large supply rolls of wire into the machine.
In general, these features and advantages and other features and
advantages which will become apparent from the following detailed
description, are provided by apparatus including a cantileveredly
supported horizontal tubular shaft which is adapted to support one
or more supply rolls of wire for rotation. The shaft also
incorporates a brake system for restraining the rotation of the
wire supply rolls and is pivotable between a roll loading position
and an operating position.
The wire supply roll support shaft is axially aligned with another
tubular shaft which supports a coil forming rotor having arms
projecting axially outboard of the wire supply rolls to support
rollers for directing the wire from the supply rolls to wire
feeding and casting means carried by the rotor. As a nonrotating
helical wire coil is formed by rotation of the rotor and the wire
supply rolls, the coil is formed on and guided by a mandrel
initially supported by the supply roll support shaft. The pitch of
the wire turns on the mandrel of the continuously formed helical
coil, is controlled by a set of angularly disposed endless belts
which are driven in adjustable timed relation with the rotation of
the rotor. These belts further support the coil and the mandrel on
the center of rotation of the rotor.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a helical coil forming machine
constructed in accordance with the invention;
FIG. 2 is a fragmentary perspective view of a double wire helical
coil constructed on the machine shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a vertical section generally through the axis of the wire
supply support mechanism;
FIG. 4 is a fragmentary elevational view of the wire feed wheels
and wire casting rollers forming part of the coil forming rotor
shown in FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 is a fragmentary section of the coil forming rotor taken
generally on the line 5--5 of FIG. 4;
FIG. 6 is a fragmentary axial section of the helical coil forming
rotor shown in FIG. 1; and
FIG. 7 is an elevational view of the left end of the coil forming
machine shown in FIG. 1.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The machine of FIG. 1 is illustrated and described for continuously
producing a double wire helical coil 15 (FIG. 2) which includes a
pair of plastic coated wires 16 formed to produce helical wire
turns 18 similar to the double wire helical coil disclosed in above
mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 3,314,039. The coil forming machine
includes an elongated, fabricated steel base frame 20 on which is
mounted a generally C-shaped yoke-like pedestal 22. A block-like
support member 24 (FIGS. 1 and 3) is supported by the pedestal 22
for pivotal movement on the vertical axis of a pair of vertically
aligned trunion pins 26 (FIG. 3). The member 24 supports one end
portion of a horizontally projecting cantilevered tubular shaft 28
having opposite end portions which receive a set of fittings 29 and
31.
The shaft 28 is adapted to receive a pair of spools 32 (FIG. 3) on
which corresponding supplies of wire 16 are wound to form a pair of
wire supply rolls R (FIG. 1). Each of the spools 32 is rotatably
supported by a pair of annular cylindrical bearings 34 which
provide for slight axial movement of the spools 32 on the support
shaft 28. A set of disc brakes 35 are assembled on the shaft 28
adjacent opposite ends of each spool 32, and the brakes are
actuated or compressed axially with the spools 32 by extension of a
fluid cylinder 38 connected to a brake yoke member 39 pivotally
supported by the support member 24. The roll support shaft 28 and
the support block member 24 are adapted to be pivoted on the axis
of the pins 26 to a laterally projecting position which provides
for conveniently removing the empty spools 32 and for loading a new
set of wire supply rolls R onto the shaft 28. When the shaft 28 is
returned to its operating position shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the
shaft support member 24 is secured by a lever actuated lock pin
42.
As shown in FIG. 3, an elongated rigid cylindrical arbor or mandrel
45 extends through the roll support shaft 28 and is concentrically
supported by the end fittings 29 and 31. The mandrel 45 is extended
through the shaft 28 after the shaft is positioned and locked in
its operating position shown in FIG. 3. An opening 46 is formed
within the rear wall of the pedestal 22 to provide for inserting
the mandrel 45 into the shaft 28. The mandrel 45 has a diameter
slightly larger than the inside diameter of the helical coil 15
made of plastic coated wire 16 to provide a snug fit of the coil 15
on the mandrel 45 as the coil 15 is being formed.
A coil forming rotor 50 (FIGS. 1 and 6) is supported for rotation
by a pair of anti-friction bearings 51 which are mounted on a
stationary tubular stub shaft 52. The shaft 52 projects
cantileveredly from a housing 54 (FIG. 1) which is mounted on a
pedestal 56 secured to the base frame 20. The tubular shaft 52 is
axially aligned with the supply roll support shaft 28 in its
operating position and receives the concentrically located mandrel
45.
The rotor 50 includes a tubular hub 56 which supports a head plate
58 reinforced by a set of angular bracket members 59. A set of
flyer arms 62 project axially from the rotor head plate 58 and are
located radially outboard of the wire supply rolls R. Each of the
flyer arms 62 supports a corresponding set of guide rollers 64 to
provide for directing the wire 16 from each of the supply rolls R
to the head plate 58 of the rotor 50.
Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5, the head plate 58 of the rotor 50
supports a pair of diametrically opposed wire feed units 70 each of
which includes two sets of wire feed wheels 72 which positively
grip the wire received from the corresponding inner guide roller
64. Each of the wires 16 is fed inwardly by the corresponding wheel
72 between a pair of spaced guide shoes 74 and into a corresponding
set of casting rollers 76 rotatably supported by an annular plate
77. Each set of casting rollers 76 is arranged to curl or deform
the corresponding wire 16 beyond its elastic limit to form a turn
18 around the mandrel 45. The wire turns 18 have substantially no
stress so that upon subsequent removal from the mandrel, the coil
15 will maintain its shape.
As shown in FIG. 5, each set of wire feed wheels 72 is mounted on
corresponding spindles 78 and 79. Spindle 79 is rotatably supported
by a housing 82 forming part of the corresponding wire feed unit
70. Spindle 78 is rotatably supported by an eccentric bushing 83
which permits the use of different diameter feed wheels 72. Each of
the housings 82 also supports a gear drive train 84 and a set of
change gears 85 which are driven by a planetary gear 86 (FIGS. 5
and 6) engaging a sun gear 88 secured to the rearward or outer end
portion of the stationary rotor support shaft 52. The
interchangement of different diameter feed wheels 72 and change
gears 85, provides for precisely controlling the feed of the wires
16 and for producing coils of different diameters and pitches. The
coil forming rotor 50 is driven by a variable speed electric motor
90 (FIG. 1) which has a shaft 91 connected by a pulley 92 and an
endless flexible gear belt 93 to a pulley 94 (FIGS. 1 and 6)
secured to the cylindrical hub 57 of the rotor 50. An idler pulley
96 maintains a predetermined tension in the gear belt 93.
The double wire nonrotating helical coil 15 is continuously
produced or formed on the stationary mandrel 45 by rotation of the
rotor 50 in the direction indicated by the arrow in FIG. 1. That
is, after the supply rolls R of wire are mounted on the stationary
support shaft 28, and the mandrel 45 is extended through the shaft
28 and through the rotor support shaft 52, the wires 16 are
directed from the supply rolls R around the corresponding guide
rollers 64 to the corresponding wire feed units 70. The wires 16
are initially fed by the feed wheels 72 between the corresponding
casting rollers 76, by manually rotating or jogging the rotor
50.
After the wires 16 are started, and rotation of the rotor 50
continues, the pair of wires 16 are positively and simultaneously
fed inwardly at a rate which corresponds to the length of each turn
18 with each revolution of the rotor so that the double wire
helical coil 15 fits snugly on the mandrel 45 with substantially no
stress in the wires 16. As the rotor 50 rotates on the shaft 52,
the pull on the wires 16 causes the wire supply rolls to rotate on
the shaft 28 at a speed or rate which is slightly greater than the
rotational speed or rate of the rotor 50. This additional
rotational speed of the wire supply rolls R is due to the fact that
with each revolution of the rotor 50, a length of wire 16
corresponding to the length of a helical turn 18, is unwound or
pulled from each of the supply rolls R. The tension in the wires 16
from the supply rolls R to the wire feed wheels 72 is controlled by
actuation of the brake cylinder 38.
As the nonrotating helical coil 15 is formed on the mandrel 45 and
moves forwardly through the tubular stationary rotor support shaft
52, the nonrotating helical coil 15 is gripped by a coil feeding
mechanism 100 (FIG. 1). The coil feeding mechanism 100 includes a
series of three endless flexible V-belts 102 which are uniformly
arranged around the mandrel 45 (FIG. 7). Each of the belts 102 is
directed around a set of inner pulleys 104 and a larger outer
pulley 106. The inner pulleys 104 of each set are arranged to
provide an inner axial run of the corresponding belt 102 for
frictionally engaging the outer surface of the nonrotating helical
coil 15. Each set of pulleys 104 and 106 are supported by a
corresponding axially extending radial plate 108 which is radially
adjustable relative to a stationary frame member 110 by adjustment
of a corresponding screw 112.
Referring to FIG. 7, one of the pulleys 104 of each set of pulleys,
is mounted on a shaft which also supports a pulley 116. An endless
V-belt 118 is directed around the pulleys 116 and a set of guide
pulleys 119. Another pulley 123 is mounted on the shaft which
supports the upper pulleys 104 and 116, and an endless flexible
V-belt 124 is directed around the pulley 123 and a set of guide
rollers 126 (FIG. 1) to a pulley 127 mounted on the output shaft of
a gear reducer 128. The input shaft of the reducer 128 is connected
to the motor shaft 91 through a speed variator 132 and a set of
couplings 133.
By adusting the speed of the variable speed reducer 132, the speed
of the belts 102 is adjusted to change the pitch of the wire turns
18 of the nonrotating helical coil 15 as it is being produced by
rotation of the rotor 50. However, a change in the speed of the
motor 90 to increase or decrease the speed of forming the helical
coil 15, automatically changes the speed of the coil feed belts 102
so that the preselected pitch of the wire turns 18 remains
constant.
From the drawings and the above description, it is apparent that a
helical coil forming machine constructed in accordance with the
present invention, provides desirable features and advantages. For
example, the machine provides for continuously and rapidly
producing a multiple wire nonrotating helical coil from large
supply rolls. The machine is also adapted for producing a single
wire helical coil, simply by feeding only one wire 16 into the
rotor 50 and between one set of casting rollers 76. As a series of
mandrels 45 or discrete sections of mandrels are fed in end-to-end
abutting relation through the wire supply roll support shaft 28,
the mandrels provide for guiding the continuously formed helical
coil between the coil feed belts 102 to assure that the coil is
positively fed from the coil forming rotor 50 as the coil is
formed. In addition, the speed of the coil feed belts 102 may be
infinitely controlled relative to the speed of the rotor 50 by
adjusting the speed variator 132 so that the pitch of the helical
turns 18 may be conveniently changed and precisely set while the
nonrotating coil is being produced.
Another important feature is provided by the support of the wire
supply roll support shaft 28 for pivotal movement between its
normal operating position (FIG. 1) and a laterally projecting
loading position where empty spools 32 may be conveniently removed
and new wire supply rolls R may be conveniently mounted on the
shaft 28. Furthermore, the disc brakes 35 cooperate with the wire
supply rolls R when the brakes are energized by actuation of the
cylinder 38 to prevent overspinning of the wire supply rolls R and
to control the tension within the wire 16 extending from the supply
rolls to the coil forming rotor 50. The wire feed units 70 also
cooperate to force the corresponding wires 16 inwardly between the
corresponding set of casting rolls 76 to deform each of the wires
into the desired radius of curvature substantially conforming to
the diameter of the mandrel 45.
While the form of coil forming apparatus herein described
constitutes a preferred embodiment of the coil forming invention,
it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to this
precise form of apparatus, and that changes may be made therein
without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention. For
example, the machine could be easily modified to form a continuous
nonrotating triple wire helical coil, for example, if it were
desirable to add a ground wire within a flexible plastic conduit
requiring two electrically conducting wires.
* * * * *