US2575785A - Wire handling apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 20, 1951 P. A. BEAMAN ETAL 2,575,785

WIRE HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Sept. 18, 1946 ZSIEETS-SIEET 1 x0 /4 2o 23 22 /9 Z3 0 20 Nov. 20, 1951 P. A. BEAMAN mm. 2,575,785

WIRE HANDLING APPARATUS Filed Sept 18, 1946 2 SHEETS-SHEET 2 Fig. 4

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WIRE HANDLING: APPARATUS Phineas A. Benson and John 3. North, Worcester,

Mesa, asslgnon to Morgan Construction Compony, Worcester,

chuectts Mam, a corporation Massa- Application September 18, ms, Serial N0. mass Claims. (Cl. 242-80) This invention relates to wire handling apparatus, and more particularly toapparatus for handling bundles of drawn wire which is to be subjected to further drawing or other processing operations.

In the manufacture of steel wire in comparatively small sizes it is a common practice to produce an intermediate size of wire from rolled steel rod on a continuous multiple-block wiredrawing machine. Bundles of wire are removed from the finishing block oi the machine and transferred to a second continuous multipleblock wire-drawing machine which serves to reduce the wire to the desired final size. Heretoi'ore a stripper has been used to remove the wire bundles from the finishing block, and a separate device has been provided tor supporting the bundles and paying oil wire therefrom to the sec ond wire-drawing machine. It has accordingly been necessary to transfer the wire bundles irom the stripper to the bundle supporting device. and this operation has not only involved considerable labor but it has also frequently resulted in disarranged bundles from which the wire will not pay of! properly.

It is accordingly one object of the invention to provide an improved apparatus for handling bundles of wire which is to be subjected to further operations, the apparatus being constructed and arranged to reduce the labor required and to avoid disarrangement of the bundles.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a novel device which will serve not only as a wire bundle stripper but also as a support torbundles as the wire is payed ofl therefrom.

It is a further object of the invention to provide an improved wire pay-oil! apparatus arranged to support a plurality of wire bundles from which the wire may be payed of! successively to permit welding of the wire and drawing thereof in a continuous strand.

With these and other objects in view, as will be apparent to those skilled in the art, the in, vention resides in the combination of parts set iorth in the specification and covered by the claims appended hereto.

Referring to the drawings illustrating one embodiment of the invention and in which like reference numerals indicate like parts.

Fig. i is a sectional elevation taken on the line itii 2 4-4 of Fig. 2 and showing a wire handling apparatus for paying oil wire to a wire-drawing machine;

Fig. 2 is a plan view oi the apparatus shown in Fig. i;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged section taken on the line L4 of P18. 1;

Fig. 4 is a section taken on the line H of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a section taken on the line 5-! 0K Fig. 2; and

Fig. 6 is an elevation showing a portion or the apparatus in position on the finishing block of a tyne-drawing machine.

The invention provides a combined stripper and pay ofl' device i0 comprising iour upright legs ii connected at their upper ends to a central hub in by means of radial spokes II. The legs ii are also connected at points intermediate their lengths to "a central vertical sleeve 15 by means of a horizontal web I6 which is cruciiorm in plan view, as shown in Fig. 2. At the lower end of each leg II there is provided an outwardly projecting toot it. A separate hub it is attached to the top of the hub H by means of a vertical screw eye 20. Radial spokes 2! extend outwardly from the hub It to Support a horizontal ring 23 concentric with the hub and located outwardly beyond the legs II.

in Fig. 6 there is shown a portion of a wiredrawing machine 25 having a finishing block at! which draws wire through a die 21. This block 26 is rotated about a vertical axis and in accordance with known practice it is provided with four circumferentially spaced vertical stripper slots or grooves 28. These slots 29 are arranged to receive the feet II and the lower por' tions of the legs H of the device It. The block 28 also includes a vertical axially positioned pin 30 arranged to extend through the sleeve "1 and support the same laterally.

It will be apparent that with the device II in position on the block 28, a bundle 3| of wire may be formed on the block and around the upright legs ll. When this bundle has reached a suflicient size the machine will be stopped and the wire severed, whereupon a crane or hoist will be attached to the screw eye 20 and the device It will be lifted to strip the bundle from the block. Another device It may then be placed in. the

block and another bundle started. In the meantime theiirst device II with the bundle thereon will be transferred to the apparatus shown particularly in Figs. 1 and 2.

This apparatus includes a horizontal circular plate or table 33 having a central upwardly extending hub 34 which is rotatably supported on a fixed vertical spindle 35. This spindle is mounted on a suitable foundation 31. Three equally spaced upright radial plates 33 connect the hub 34 with the table 33 and divide the space above the table into three compartments 39. Within each of these compartments there is provided an upright pin 4| with its lower end fixed to the table 33, each pin being arranged to enter the sleeve I! of one of the devices It to support the same laterally. Four openings or pockets 42 are provided in the table 33, around each of the pins ll, in position to receive the feet i3 of the device It. A U-shaped strap 43 extends across the bottom of each pocket. An L-shaped releasable latch 45 (Fig. is pivotally mounted on a. bracket 48 adjacent each of the pins ll in position to engage the web it and hold the device II in place. A spring 41 urges the latch into engagement. Two clicker bars 43 (Fig. 4) are pivotally attached at their lower ends to the table 33 on opposite sides of each pin ll, these bars being arranged to rest laterally against the upper portions of the bundles 3i and aid in ensuring the orderly uncoiling thereof. The two bars 48 are equally spaced from the axis of the table in a symmetrical and compact arrangement. I

The table 33 is located near a wire-drawing machine ll having a first block 52 which draws .fwire through a die 53. Between this machine II and the table 33 there is provided an upright frame or column 55 having on its upper end a -wi.re guide 03.- A sheave 35 and an associated wire guide 88 are mounted on the other end of the beam 53. A sheave 6B and an associated wire guide 39 are mounted on a bracket 13 carried by the column 55, beneath the sheave 65. All four of the sheaves are located in a common vertical plane, and they are all rotatable about horizontal axes.

The operation of the invention will now be apparent from the above disclosure. Several of the devices III will be provided, and they will be placed successively on the finishing block 23 (Fig. 6) of the machine 25 to receive bundles of wire. As each bundle is completed, a suitable crane will be attached to the eye 20 and the loaded device M will be lifted from the block and transferred to one of the pins 41 of the table 33, where the upper end of the wire will be welded to the lower end of the wire in the preceding bundle. One of the loaded devices I. will always be located in the pay-off position beneath I the sheave 53, and the wire will travel upwardly from the upper end of the bundle around the outside of the ring 23, which will guide the wire in a circular path about the legs ll. After passing the ring 23, the wire will travel around the sheaves 58, 62, 65 and 63 in succession and thence 7 through the die 63 to the block I2. As each convolution of wire is withdrawn from the bundle. the clicker bars 40 will lift slightly to allow the wire to pass from beneath them. This promotes orderly withdrawal of the wire and avoids kinks and snarls. The weighted carriage Ii will normally rest in its lowermost position, but will move upwardly in case a snarl forms and increases the wire tension, whereupon the machine Ii will be stopped either by the operator or automatically in known manner. Upon exhaustion of one bundle the operator will turn the table 33 one-third of a revolution to bring the next bundle into the pay-oil position, so that the wire-drawing may proceed in a continuous manner. The latches 45 will hold the devices ll firmly in place during the withdrawal of the wire, and yet they may be readily released manually to allow removal of empty devices. The pockets I! serve to receive the feet It and to prevent the wire from becoming caught bene'ath these feet as the lowermost convolutions of the bundle are withdrawn.

Since each bundle 31 is supported on its corresponding device I 0 not only during the formation of the bundle but also during its transfer to the table 33 and during its pay-oi! to the machine ii, the cost of handling the wire is greatly reduced and the possibility of entangling the convolutions of the bundles is minimized. Obviously, the wire-drawing machine II can be replaced by any machine for forming or otherwise operating upon the wire, without affecting the operation of the pay-off apparatus or requiring any modification in the structure thereof.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Wire handling apparatus comprising a device including a plurality of upright legs connected to one another and having outwardly projecting feet on their lower ends. the device being adapted to be mounted on the finishing block of a wire-drawing machine to receive a bundle of wire and to strip the bundle upwardly from the block, means at the upper end of the device to guide wire in a circular path about the legs as the wire is withdrawn upwardly from the upper portion of the bundle, a horizontal substantially circular plate mounted for rotation about a vertical axis and constructed to support the device at any one of a plurality of stations spaced about the axis of the plate, whereby the loaded device may be placed upon the plate at one of said stations and subsequently moved to a predetermined pay-off position by turning the plate, and wire withdrawing means at one side of the plate and including wire guide means projecting over the loaded device when the latter is in the pay-off position to guide thewire traveling upwardly from the device.

2. Wire handling apparatus. as set forth in claim 1, in which the plate is provided on its upper surface with a central upwardly extending hub and with upright substantially radial plates located between the stations and connecting the plate to the hub.

3. Wire handling apparatus as set forth in claim '1, in which the plate is provided at each station with a clicker bar pivotally secured at its lower end to the plate and arranged to rest laterally against the bundle to prevent sn'ar'ing of the wire.

4. Wire handling apparatus as set forth in claim 1, in which the plate is provided at each station with two clicker bars pivotally secured at their lower ends to the plate and arranged to rest laterally against diametrically opposite sides of the bundle to prevent snarling 01' the wire, the said two clicker bars being equally spaced from the axis of the table in a symmetrical arrangement.

5. Wire handling apparatus as set forth in claim 1, in which an upright pin is fixed to the plate at each station, and the device includes a central sleeve arranged to fit over the correspending pin.

PHINEAS A. BEAMAN. JOHN R. NORTH.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Morgan et al. Feb. 24, 1880 Bindeman Feb. 7, 1888 Cowles Feb. 21, 1899 Bourne June 11, 1907 Summer Mar, 15, 1910 Westphal Feb. 23, 1937 Beach Aug. 9, 1938 Symmes Oct. 17, 1944

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