US2067973A - Strand working apparatus - Google Patents

Description

Jan. 19, 1937. E. J. MCILVRIED 2,067,973

STRAND WORKING APPARATUS Filed July 26, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 L106 21. 23 2*. gm mww 1937- E. J. MOILVRIED 2,067,973

STRAND WORKING APPARATUS Filed July 26, 19:0 4 Sheets-Sheet 2' Jan. 19, 1937. MCILVRIED 2,067,973

STRAND WORKING APPARATUS Filed July 26, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Jan, 19, 1937. E. J. M ILVRIED 2,067,973

STRAND WORKING APPARATUS Filed July 26, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Cg iii/62% 37 m-iwv w Patented Jan. 19, 1937 PATENT OFFICE 2,067,973 STRAND WORKING APPARATUS Edwin J. McIlvried, Akron, Ohio, assignor to The Vaughn Machinery Company, Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio, a corporation of. Ohio Application July 26, 1930, Serial No. 470,891

8 Claims. (01. 205-'---16) This invention relates to apparatus for working material which is supplied thereto in strand or strip form, and more particularly my invention relates to an improved form of high speed wire drawing apparatus.

My invention aims to provide improved apparatus of the type mentioned in which novel means is employed for distributing compound to the strand working means; in which means is provided for automatically'slackening the strand being worked upon the stopping of the spooling means; in which control means is provided for automatically stopping the spooling means either when the spool becomes full, or in response to a no-load condition incident to the breaking of the strand, or upon the stopping of the machine by the operator, and automatically slackening said strand substantially simultaneously with the stopping of the spooling means; in which novel means is employed for guiding the strand of material being supplied to the working means; and in which the means for guiding the strand of material being supplied to the working means includes a movable guide member and toggle linkage for actuating the same upon movement of the cover meansof the casing which houses the working means.

My invention may be further briefly summarized as consisting in certain novel combinations and arrangements of parts hereinafter described and particularly set out in the appended claims.

In the accompanying sheets of drawings Figure l'is a side elevational view of a high speed wire drawing machine embodying my invention.

Fig. 2 is an end elevational view thereof.

Fig. 3 is a sectional plan view of the machine.

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation taken on line 44-of Fig. 3 showing my arrangement of compound distributing means.

Fig. 5 is a sectional elevation taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 6 is a partial end elevational view showing the means for guiding the strand of material being supplied to the working means.

Fig. '7 is a top plan view thereof.

Fig. 8 is a sectional elevation taken on lin 8--8 of Fig. 6. I

Fig. 9 is an elevational view taken in the direction of line 9-9 of Fig. 3 and showing a portion of the spooling apparatus and also showing the control end indicating mechanism associated therewith.

Fig. 10 is an elevational view taken in the direction of line Ill-l0 of Fig. 9.

In the drawings to which detailed reference will now be made, I have shown the strand working apparatus of my invention embodied in a wire.

drawing machine suitable for high speed drawing operation, and although I show a wire drawing machine in illustrating my invention, it should be understood however, that my invention may be applied to various forms of apparatus for the working or attenuation of material in strand or strip form.

"In general the wire drawing machine which I have illustrated comprises strand working apparatus Ill arranged within the casing II and adapted to be driven by the main motor I2, and spooling apparatus l3 which is adapted to take up the strand delivered by the working apparatus and which is driven from the spooler motor H.

The working apparatus which is housed within the casing ll comprises, in general, a die supporting bracket or shelf [5, drawing capstans l6 and I1 arranged in axial alignment with each other on one side of the die shelf, and an idler capstan l8 arranged on the opposite side of the annular drum surfaces are arranged in step formation, or in other words, are arranged so that their diameters increase progressively along the axis of rotation of the capstans. As is well understood in this art, the progressively increasing diameters of the annular drum surfaces take care of the increase in length of the strand incident to its passage through the dies.

To provide for driving the drawing capstan I! at a faster rate of speed than the drawing capstan It so as to thus take care of the elongation of the strand without involving an undue increase in the proportions of the capstan I1 I mount the latter capstan upon a shaft -18 which extends through the hollow shaft l9 upon whichdirection. but at difierent speeds by the main motor H.

From the working apparatus the strand is delivered to the spooling apparatus 13 arranged near the casing H. The strand issuing from the working apparatus is indicated at 22 and passes over a suitably arranged sheave or guide 23 and thence to the spool 24 upon which the strand is wound. The spooling apparatus herein illustrated is described in detail and is claimed in a copending application Serial No. 470,890, filed July 26, 1930, in the name of myself and Jesse C. Bittman as co-inventors now Patent No, 1,981,- 563, granted November 20, 1934,-and need not be here described in detail. It is sumcient, in

. connection with the disclosure of my present invention, to point out that the spool 23 is removably mounted upon a carrier 25 which is driven from the spooler motor H by means of the belt 26. The spool is retained upon the carrier by means of a clamp 21 which is actuated by the movement of a piston reciprocably mountedwithin the cylinder 28. This cylinder is constructed as an enlargement of one end of the drive shaft for the carrier, and forms the pulley around which the belt 26 extends. As the strand is wound upon the spool it is guided or laid by means of the fingers 29 which are moved back and forth in a well known manner, in timed rela tion with the rotation of the spool.

A rubber covered pressure roll 30 is mounted adjacent the spool 24 upon a movable bracket 3| which is adapted to be actuated by the torque motor 32. When the circuit of the spooler motor is opened the torque motor is automatically energized by a suitable relay and the roller is pressed against the material which has been wound upon the spool so as to prevent unwinding of the same when the strand has been cut or broken. The construction of the spooler motor is such that as the material gradually builds up on the spool the speed of the motor gradually decreases, and for indicating the extent to which the spool has been filled, indicating means is employed which is automatically operated in response to the speed of the spooler motor. This speed responsive in-- dicating means is more fully disclosed and claimed in my Patent No. 1,990,884, issued February 19, 1935 on application Serial No. 470,889, which was copending with this application. In addition to indicating the extent to which the spool has been filled, this speed responsive mechanism embodies a control device which automatically opens the circuit of the spooler motor and brings the spool to a stop when it has been filled with material. The automatically operated pressure roll 30 and the automatically operated indicating and control means for the spool are more fully disclosed, and are claimed in my copending application Serial No. 562,642, flied September 14, 1931 now Patent No. 1,946,802, granted February 13, 1934.

In the operation of the strand working means of my high speed wire drawing machine, the strand of material being worked is looped or strung back and forth between the drawing capstans l5 and I1 and the idler capstan l8. During the drawing operation this strand is normally under tension, and when the delivery of the strand from the working means to the spooling means is stopped, as a result of the spooler motor I being stopped, it is necessary that the strand which is looped between the drawing and idler capstans be slackened immediately so as to prevent burning of the strand by the capstans l3 and II which continue to rotate after the stoppage of the spooler motor. To provide for the slackening of the strand looped over the drawing and idler capstans, I mount the sheaves of the idler capstan upon an eccentric spindle 33, and by rotation of this spindle the axis of rota tion of the sheaves can be translated toward the die shelf forslackening the strand, or away from the die shelf for tightening the strand. For rotatably actuating the eccentric spindle 33 I provide a fluid pressure cylinder 34 having a piston reciprocably mounted therein and connected to the eccentric spindle by means of the lever 35. The supply of actuating fluid, such as compressed air, to the cylinder 34 is controlled by a suitable valve 36 which is automatically operated in response to the operation of the spooler motor so that substantiallysimultaneously with the stopping of the spooler motor, fluid pressure is supplied to the cylinder for rotating the eccentric spindle to slacken the strand.

For actuating the valve 36 I provide a movable rack or sector 31 which is engaged by the pinion 38 of the torque motor 39. When the spooler motor is stopped the torque motor is deenergized and suitable means, such as the tension spring 40, tends to maintain the rack 31 in such position that fluid pressure supplied to the cylinder holds the idler capstan in the slackened position. When the wire drawing machine is put into operation the torque motor 39 is energized upon the starting of the spooler motor, and the rotation of the pinion 38 moves the rack 31 against the action of the spring and actuates the valve 33 so that fluid pressure is supplied to the cylinder to rotate the eccentric spindle and thus 3 tighten the strand.

For controlling the operation of the torque motor 39, I provide a zero speed control device 40' which controls the supply of energizing current to the torque motor. This zero speed device is of well known construction readily obtainable on the open market and therefore need not be here described in detail. For the purpose of disclosing my present invention, it is sufficient to state that this device is so constructed that when the apparatus with which it is associated ceases to rotate, the contacts of this device are opened resulting in the opening of the circuit of the electrical apparatus which this device controls. Since the slackening of the strand which passes around the capstans must take place at substantially the instant that the spool ceases to rotate, I associate the zero speed control device 40' with the spooler motor H. As shown in Figs. 9 and 10 of the drawings the zero speed control device is located ad- 'jacent the speed responsive device 4| which automatically indicates the amount of material which has been wound on the spool, and which automatically opens the circuit of the spooler motor. A coupling 42 connects the shaft of the zero speed device with the shaft of the speed responsive device ll so that both devices are driven by the pulley 43 which is rotated by the belt 44 passing around the pulley 45 of the spooler motor. During the winding operation the weights or fly balls 46 of the speed responsive device are rapidly rotated and as the spool gradually becomes fllled with material, the speed of rotation of the spooler motor and of the fly balls gradually decreases. The decrease in the speed of rotation of the fly balls 46 allows them to be .retracted causing the lever 41 to be moved downwardly about its pivot 13. The downward movementof this lever causes the rod 49 to be moveddownwardly also. When the spool becomes full iii the speed of the spooler motor is a-minimum and upon this speed being reached the sleeve 50, which is moving downwardly with rod 49,.engages the actuating member 5I extending outwardly from the switch 52 and causes the contacts of the switch to be opened resulting in the opening of the circuit and the stopping of the spooler motor. Movements of the rod 49 in upwardly and downwardly directions in response to changes in the speed of rotation of the spooler motor are transmitted to the indicating device 53 by means of the rod 54. The indicating device 53 comprises a casing 55 having one or more graduated openlugs 56 through which the sleeve 5'! may be observed. This sleeve is reciprocably mounted in the casing and is operably connected to the rod 54 so that movements of the rods 49 and 54 in response to variations in the speed of the spooler motor cause the sleeve 51 to be moved with respect to the graduated openings and thus indicate the amount of material which has been wound on the spool. It will now be readily understood that as the spool becomes filled with material visible indications are given by the indicating device 53, and when the spool becomes full the switch 52 is automatically snapped to stop the spooler motor I4. Immediately upon the stoppage of the spooler motor the zero speed device 40 causes the circuit of the torque motor 39 to be opened. The opening of this circuit deenergizes the torque motor and allows the rack 31 to be moved by the spring M.

Movement of this rack causes the valve 36 to be actuated so that fluid pressure is supplied to the cylinder 34 to actuate the piston therein and thereby'rotate the eccentric spindle 33 in a direction to produce translation of the axis of the sheaves i9 toward the die shelf and thus slacken the strand being worked.

During the operation of wire drawing machinery and the like, it is customary to supply a liquid, usually referred to as a compound, to the strand working apparatus. This compound acts as a lubricant and as a cooling medium to facilitate the working of the strand. To effectively distribute this compound to the drawing capstans l6 and I! it is desirable to have a distributing pipe extend outwardly over these capstans, however, a distributing pipe arranged in this position would interfere with the operations of stringing or removing the strands of material which pass around the capstans. To permit the use of distributing means in this advantageous position, I have devised an arrangement in which a perforated distributing pipe 58 is mounted upon the underside of the movable cover 59 in such a position as to extend over and substantially parallel to the axis of the capstans I6 and I! when the cover is closed. To provide for a supply of compound to the distributing pipe 58 I provide the latter with a fitting 60 which is also secured to the underside of the cover, and which is arranged to cooperate with the fitting M. The latter fitting is mounted at the upper end of the supply pipe 62, and is preferably secured to a wallof the casing. The fitting 5! is provided at its upper end with a suitably shaped recess within which the annular resilient gasket or packing member 63, is seated. When the cover 59 is in the position indicated in Figs. 4 and 5 to close the casing H, the fitting 60 engages the packing member 53 and establishes a fluid tight connection between the supply pipe and the distributing pipe. When the fittings 60 and (ii are in this cooperating position their fluid passages are continuous so that compound will be supplied to the distributing pipe from the supply pipe 62. When the cover is swung about the axis of its actuating shaft 64 to the open position indicated in Fig. 6, the distributing pipe 58 is carried with the cover and is thereby moved away from the capstans I6 and I1 and to an out of the way position.

The strand of material which is being supplied to the working means is represented at 65 in Fig. l, and is shown as entering the left hand end of the machine as seen in this figure, through the guide box 66. This guide box is secured to a wall of the casing I I and guides the strand of material being supplied to the working means through an opening provided in this wall of the casing. The guide box as clearly shown in Figs. 6, 7, and 8, comprises a channel shaped member 61 which is secured to the wall of the casing II, and which is provided with spaced fingers 68 arranged to extend vertically across the opening of the casing wall. The spaces between these fingers provide guide slots 69 through which the strand of material passes as it enters the casing. As shown in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings four guide slots are provided and during the operation of the ma chinery the strand supplied to the working means passes through one of the guide slots, depending upon the arrangement of die which is to be used while the other guide slots may be closed by means of suitable removable bars 10.

In addition to the guide slots provided between the fingers 58, the channel shaped member 61 is provided with two vertical pins II which assist the fingers 53 in guiding the strand of material in the lateral plane.' For guiding the strand in the vertical plane the channel shaped member is provided with a; lower guide member 12 upon which the strand may bear as it passes through the opening of the casing. This lower guide member is preferably constructed in the form of a curved and hardened plate which is removably mounted so that it may be replaced when it becomes worn. An upper guide member 13 is hinged at one end thereof to the channel shaped member 61 for swinging movement toward and away from the lower guide member 12. The upper or movable guide member 13 is provided with a hardened plate M of rounded form which holds the strand of material down in the guide slots 69 and prevents the strand from damaging or jarring the cover 59 of the casing. The movable guide member is preferably constructed with an arcuate extension I5 at its free end. This extension is shaped and arranged so that as the upper guide member moves toward the lower guide member the extension acts as a deflecting means which tends to sweep the strand into the guide slots during its movement toward the lower guide member.

During the operation of stringing the strand of material to be worked, around the capstans of the working means, the cover of the casing II is in' the open position indicated in Fig. 6. After the stringing operation has been completed and the machine is to be set in operation the cover I I is moved to the closed position. To provide for movement of the upper guide member 13 in associated relation with the cover 59 so that the strand can be inserted into the guide slot 69 during the stringing operation, and so that the strand will be retained in the guide slot when the cover has been closed, I employ toggle linkage for swinging the movable guide member away from'and toward the lower guide member. This linkage comprises a lever 11 having one end thereof mounted upon the cover actuating shaft 64 and its other end hinged to the link" which is in turn pivoted to the movable guide member. With this arrangement movement of the cover, from the dotted position indicated in Fig. 6, to the full line position shown in Fig. 4, causes the upper guide member to be swung from the dotted position indicated in Fig. 6, toward the lower guide member and to assume the full line position indicated. When the, upper guide member has been swung downwardly into cooperating spaced relation with the lower guide member it will be noted that the link 18 has assumed a substantially straight line position with respect to the lever 'I'I with the result that this linkage forms a toggle which opposes the action of the strand against the upper guide member tending to swing this member about its pivot. This toggle linkage thus tends to maintain the movable guide member in proper position and prevents the strand, which is entering the casing, from rattling or jarring the cover open.

The movement of the cover to open and closed positions may be accomplished by any suitable means, and in this instance I have shown a fluid pressure cylinder 19 which is arranged to perform this function. A piston reciprocably mounted in the cylinder is operably connected to the arm or lever 80 which is secured to the cover shaft 64. Thus, by the admission of fluid pressure through suitable valve means the cover 59 may be moved to open or closed position and at the same time the fluid distributing pipe 58 is moved away from or toward the drawing capstans I and I1, and likewise the movable guide member 13 is also moved away from or toward the lower guide member 14.

It will now be readily seen that I have provided wire drawing apparatus in which the slackening of the strand being worked takes place automatically and substantially simultaneously with the stopping of the spooling means. By this arrangement my wire drawing apparatus may be safely and economically operated at very high speeds because the spooling apparatus is automatically brought to a stop when the spool becomes full or when the strand breaks, and at the instant of the stopping of the spooling means the strand being worked is automatically slackened so that damage by burning is avoided. Since these functions are performed automatically they can be performed more quickly and more reliably than if they were performed as hand operations. It will also be seen that I have provided a novel arrangement for distributing compound to the strand working means in such a way that the distributing means assumes an out of the way position when work is to be performed on the apparatus within the casing. It will also be readily seen that I have provided novel guide means for directing the strand of material into the casing in such a' way that it does not damage or jar the cover. In addition my guide means is so arranged that it sweeps the strand of material into the guide slots as the cover is being closed and releases the strand so that the'latter may be removed from the slot when the cover is opened.

While I have illustrated and described the device of my invention in a detailed manner it should be understood however, that I do not intend to limit myself to the precise details and arrangements of parts which I have shown and described, but regard my invention as including such changes and modifications as do not involve a departure from the spirit of the invensubstantially simultaneously with the stopping of the winding means.

2. In apparatus of the character described the combination of means for working a strand of material, variable speed winding means for taking up the strand delivered by said working means, means including a control responsive to a predetermined speed of the winding means for automatically stopping said winding means, means for slackening said strand, and control means adapted to be actuated upon the stopping of said winding means for rendering said slacking means eflective.

3. In apparatus of the character described the combination of means for working a strand of material, variable speed winding means for taking up the strand delivered by said working means, means responsive to the speed of the winding means for automatically stopping said winding means, and means for automatically slackening said strand, the last mentioned means including an electromagnetic device, and means for energizing said device substantially simultaneously with the stopping of said winding means.

4. In apparatus of the character described the combination of means for working a strand-of material including a rotatable drum and an idler sheave over which said strand passes, variable speed winding means for taking up the strand delivered by said working means, means responsive to the speed of the winding means for automatically stopping said winding means, and means for automatically slackening said strand substantially simultaneously with the stopping of said winding means, said slackening means including an eccentrically mounted spindle rotatably supporting said idler sheave, and fluid pressure responsive means for rotating said spindle.

5. In apparatus of the character described the combination of means for working astrand of material including a rotatable drum and an idler sheave over which said strand passes, variable speed winding means fortaking up the strand delivered by said working means, means responsive to the speed of the winding means for automatically stopping said winding means, and means for automatically slackening said strand substantially simultaneously with the stopping of said winding means, said slackening means comprising porting said idler sheave, fluid pressure responsive means for rotating said spindle, valve means for controlling said fluid pressure responsive means, and electromagnetic means for actuating said valve means.

6. In apparatus of the character described the combination of means for working a strand of material including a rotatable drum and an idler sheave over which said strand passes, variable speed winding means for taking up the strand delivered by said working means, means responsive to the speed of the winding means for automatically stopping said winding means, and

' an eccentrically mounted spindle rotatably supmeans for automatically slackening said strand substantially simultaneously with the stopping of said winding means, said slackening means comprising an eccentrically mounted spindle rotatably supporting said idler sheave, fluid pressure responsive means for rotating said-spindle, valve means for controlling said fluid pressure responsive means, and a torque motor for actuating said valve means.

7. In apparatus of the character described the combination of means for working a strand of material including a rotatable drum and an idler sheave over which the strand passes, a spindle upon which said sheave is rotatable, movable mounting means for said spindle whereby the spacing of the axis of said spindle from the axis of said drum may be varied to thereby slacken said strand, a rotatable spool for winding the strand delivered by the working means, variable speed driving means for rotating said spool at a progressively decreasing speed as the strand builds up on the spool, speed responsive means effective for stopping said driving means when the speed of the driving means is a predetermined minimum value, actuating means for said movable spindle mounting means, and control means for said actuating means, said control means being responsive to the stopping of said driving means for rendering said actuating means effective for slackening said strand.

8. In apparatus of the character described the combination of means for working a strand of material including a rotatable drum and an idler sheave over which the strand passes, a spindle upon which said sheave is rotatable, movable mounting means for said spindle whereby the spacing of the axis of said spindle from the axis of said drum may be varied to thereby slacken said strand, a rotatable spool for winding the strand delivered by the working means, variable speed driving means for rotating said spool at a progressively decreasing speed as the strand builds up on the spool, speed responsive means effective for stopping said driving means when the speed of the driving means is a predetermined minimum value, actuating means for said movable spindle mounting means including a fluid pressure responsive device operatively connected to said mounting means, a valve for controlling the supply of motive fluid to said fluid pressure responsive device, actuating means for said valve including an electromagnetic device, and speed responsive switch means for controlling the energization of said electromagnetic device whereby said fluid pressure responsive device is rendered operative for slackening said strand upon the stopping of said driving means.

EDWIN J. MCILVRIED.

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