US2391240A - Wire winding and unwinding reel - Google Patents

Description

13, 1945; J. w. HOUSTON 2,391,240

WIRE WINDING AND UNWINDING-REEL FiledJan. 8, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 WIRE WINDING AND UNWINDING REEL Filed Jan. 8, 1944 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 1945. Y J. w. HbusToN 2,391,240

c/oizn Wfibuaian Patented Dec. 18, 1945 WIRE WINDING AND UNWINDIN G REEL John W. Houston, Tama, Iowa Application January 8, 1944, Serial No. 517,565

6 Claims.

This invention relates generally to the class of winding and reeling and pertains particularly to an improved power operated wire reel.

A principal object of the present invention is to provide a novel power operated reel structure designed to be mounted upon 'a tractor frame to be operated from the belt pulley of the tractor whereby wire may be conveniently and evenly wound up .upon a reel or may be unwound or paid out from the reel smoothly and without difficulty as desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide a tractor carried power operated wire reel having associated therewith means for evenly feeding the wire to a reel,whereby the wire will be evenly wound up on the reel.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a power operated reel of the character described in which there is provided a novel reel unit which may be readily applied to a previously wound roll of wire whereby such roll may be conveniently mounted in the machine to be evenly unwound as desired.

.Still another object of the invention is to provide a power operated wire reeling and unreeling apparatus with means for guiding the wire .onto the reel when winding up, so that barbed wire may be handled without damaging the barbs thereof.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent as the description of the invention proceeds and the invention will be best understood from a consideration of the fellowing detailed description taken with the accom- Figure 2 is a view in top plan of the wire winding and unwinding reel, parts of the reel structure being in section.

Figure 3 is a view in elevation of the winding and unwinding reel structure, viewing the same from the rear, the view being a section transversely of the tractor supporting frame taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Figure 2.

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken substantially upon the line 4-4 of Figure 2.

, Figure 5 is a view in transverse section of the demountable spool structure.

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line 6-6 of Figure.2

Figure '7 is a sectional view taken horizontally through the wire lined guide, substantially on the line 'i'l of Figure 3. v

Figure 8 is a view in elevation of the rear axle supported line guide.

Figure 9 is a vertical section taken substantially on the line 99 Of Figure 8. v

Figure 10 is a sectional view taken substantially on the line |0--| 0 of Figure 3. v

Referring now more particularly to the drawings wherein like numerals indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views, the numeral I generally designates a tractor frame upon the side of which the winding and reeling mech: anism of the present invention is designed to be secured to be driven by the usual power take off pulley 2 which is conventionally illustrated as extending outwardly from a side' of the tractor extending forwardly therefrom. However the description will be confined to the mounting of the mechanismframe directly upon the side of the tractor frame, it being understood, however, that in giving such a description and in illustrating such mounting there is no intention to limit the invention in any respect as to the manner of supporting it upon the tractor frame.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a rectangular frame formed. of suitable material and comprising the inner and outer side bars 3 and 4 respectively and the front and rear bars 5 and 6 respectively; This frame is horizontally supported at a side of the tractor by means of the standards I which are secured against the outer side of the side beam of the chassis frame of the tractor by the clamp bolts 8 and bars 9 which extend across the chassis frame beam.

Secured to the rear bar 6 of the frame is a depending bracket arm III at the lower end of which is the rearwardly extending horizontal support I I which has secured upon the top side a shaft bear- 1 ing l2. In alinement with this bearing l2 there is secured to the adjacent rear standard 1 a bearing l3 and between these hearings is supported a pulley wheel shaft I4 upon which is mounted ported, by the inner and outer frame bars 3 and 4, the shaft'bearings l1 which support a driven shaft I8.

and the outer end of the arm 43 of the reel frame as illustrated.

At the outer end of the reel frame arm there 7 is secured to the upwardly extending portion 45 This driven shaft has mounted thereon the relativel large pulle wheel l9 which is grooved to take a V belt, together with a drive pulley for operation of the level winding mechanism and a socket gear 2| which is disposed upon the outer side of the frame bar 6.

The pulleys l5 and I9 are coupled together by the V belt 22 while the pulley I5 is designed to be coupled with the power take on pulle 2 of the tractor by the belt 23, This belt is main tained under proper tension by the tension roller 24 which is mounted upon a suitable bracket arm 25 secured to the rear side of the frame bar 6 as illustrated.

The V belt 22 is also maintained under the proper tension by a tension roller 26 carried by a suitable arm 21 secured to the frame above the bearing I3.

At the front of the frame there is supported the level winding screw shaft 28 between the bearings 29 and 30. The bearing 30 is disposed at the outer side of the frame and supports also the inner end of the double or endless screw 3| which extends horizontally outwardly from the frame.

The shaft 28 carries the driven pulley 32 which is connected by a belt 33 with the pulley 20 so that the shafts l8 and 28 rotate together, the shaft l8 driving the hereinafter described reel unit while the shaft 28 turns the endless screw 3| as stated.

Disposed beneath and in parallel relation with the screw 3| is a guide bar 34, the inner end of which is secured to the hanging bracket 35 which is attached to the outer bar 4 of the frame.

Interposed between the guide bar 34 and the screw 3| is the wire guide unit which is generally designated 36. This unit comprises a vertically disposed frame 31 within which are rotatably supported upon the verticall spaced horizontal bolts 38, the guide rollers 39 which are formed of rubber.

The lower side of the frame 36 carries a foot 40 which is recessed to engage over the guide bar '34 along which the foot slides.

Extending upwardly from the guide unit frame 31 is a slotted arm 4| in which is carried the usual mutilated nut, not shown, which cooperates with a double or endless screw such as that here illustrated whereby upon continuous rotation of the screw in one direction the nut, not shown, and the parts attached thereto, in the present case the uide unit frame and rollers, will be moved first to one end of the screw and then back to the opposite end and so on as long as the screw is turning, The construction and operation of a level winding screw and nut of this character is well known and therefore it' is believed that a further description and illustration of the same is unnecessary.

At the rear of the frame there is secured to the outer bar 4 the reel frame which is generally designated 42 and which comprises the horizontal arm 43 and the inner and outer upturned portions 44 and 45 respectively, the ortion 44 being secured to the outer side bar 4 of the main frame, at the outer end of the rear bar 6.

A suitable bracing means 46 is preferably connected between the lower end of the standard 1 an extension splice 41, against the outer side of which is disposed the vertical post 48. The post 48 is pivotally attached to the splice 41, at the lower end of the post by the bolt 49 and is constantly urged in against the splice 41 by the spring 50. Above the bolt 49 the post is detachabl coupled to the splice 41 by the removable bolt 5| whereby, upon removal, the post can be oscillated on the bolt 49 and can be shifted outwardly against the tension of the spring 50 for the purpose hereinafter described.

Upon the upper end of the post 48 there is secured, upon the inner side of the post,-a bearing cradle 52, the top of which is open but has extending thereacross the removable cotter pin 53 or other suitable means for retaining in posi tion in the bearing saddle the outer end of the reel shaft 54.

Inwardly from the bearing cradle 52 and in alinement therewith there is supported upon the main frame of the mechanism, by the adjustable bracket 55 which is secured to the main frame, a slip clutch unit 56 in which the other end of the reel shaft 54 is mounted.

The slip clutch 56 is of standard design and comprises the telescopically joined relatively movable inner and outer sleeves 51 and 58 respectively which are mounted for turning in a cylindrical housing 59 which is secured to the supporting bracket 55 as shown in Figure 6. The inner sleeve 51 has a flared end 66 which is loosely connected in a tapered central opening SI of a sprocket gear wheel 62. This gear wheel is drawn by the flared end of the inner sleeve against the adjacent end of the outer sleeve by a spring 63 whichforrns a. connection between the sleeves at the ends remote from the ear through the medium of a threaded bolt 64 and an adjustment or tension wheel 65.

The end of the inner sleeve 51 to which the sprocket gear wheel 62 is connected, is open and provided with a socket 66 of polygonal cross section to receive the tapered or reduced inner end of the shaft 54 which is of corresponding shape so that a driving connection will be formed between the sleeve and the shaft. It will be readily apparent that upon suitably turning the tension wheel 65 the sprocket gear wheel 62 can be tightly gripped between the two sleeves which rotate in the housing 59 so that rotary movement may be transmitted to this gear and to the shaft 54, from the driving gear 2| through the medium of the connecting sprocket chain 68, but if excessive drag is applied to the shaft 54 and gear wheel 62, slipping may occur to protect the parts from damage.

The real shaft has secured thereto for adjustment longitudinally thereof a driving arm 59 which extends radially from the shaft and which at its outer end has the angularly turned terminal portion 10 which is directed toward the outer end of the reel shaft. p

The numeral 1| generally designates the wire reeling spool which is provided for mounting upon the reel shaft 54. This spool is so designed that it may be readily applied to a roll of wire to be mounted upon the shaft 54 or it may be mounted empty on the shaft and wire wound up thereon, and then removed from the shaft and separated from the roll of wire for reuse.

The winding spool comprises the two end or hub discs I2 each of which has a number of radially extending arms 13 which are turned or fiaredoutwardly at their free ends as indicated at 14. The center of each hub disc is provided with-a suitable opening to receive the shaft 54 and one hub disc has secured therein aroundv the central or shaft opening, the ends of a number of tubes 15 which are equi-distantly spaced rying the tubes 15 and the other comprising the other end disc and rods 16, may be readily accomplished by extending the free ends of the rods 16 through the tubes 50 that the free ends of the rods will project beyond the outer side of the disc to which the tubes are attached, to receive the securing nuts 11. Inthis manner the two sections of the spool are rigidly joined together and the spool may be readily placed upon the shaft 54.

To place the spool upon the shaft 54 the shaft supporting post 48- is released'for turning upon the bolt 49 by removing the bolt This permits the post to .be oscillated to one side whereupon the reduced or tapered end of'the shaft 54 may be inserted into the socket of the slip clutch. The

reel or spool may then be placed upon the shaft or, if desired, the spool may be mounted upon the shaft before the shaft is coupled with the slip clutch, whereupon by pulling the post 48 outwardly against the tension of the spring 50, the post may be swung back into a position where the outer end of the shaft 54 can be readily en'- gaged in the bearing cradle 52. The post securing bolt 5| is then replaced and the reel or spool is properly supported in position to have wire wound up thereon or to pay out wire from a roll which may have been previously mounted upon the spool.

In mounting the spool upon the shaft, the angularly turned end of the arm is engaged between a pair of the arms 13 of the adjacent end of the spool. Thus the spool is properly coupled with the shaft so that upon rotation of the latter the proper turning of the spool will be accomplished. a

It will be readily apparent that where the spool is to be employed for unwinding or paying out wire the tubes of one spool section will be ex 19 between the sides of which is rotatably sup: ported the roller 80 and at each end of which roller is mounted for turning on a vertical axis, a guide roller-8|. A depending post 83 is preferably carried by the frame T9 to engage in a sleeve 82 which is secured in a suitable manner to the rear axle housing 18' so that oscillation of the frame on a vertical axismay be had or if such oscillation is not desirable the frame may be secured by the use of set screw 84 threaded into the sleeve 82 for engagement with the post 83.

When'wire is tobe wound up upon a spool mounted on the shaft 54 such wire is fed to the spool through the guide unit 36, between the rollers 39 thereof. By the useof relatively soft rubber rollers it will be readily apparent that barbed wire may be wound up without injury to the points of the barbs and since the unit 36 forms a part of the level winding means operated by the screw 3| and the nut carried by the arm 4|, it will be seen that the wire will be evenly wound on the For proper accomplishment of such windspool. ing it will be understood that the tension wheel 65 overrun the forward movement of the carrying tractor it will be seen that tension will be placed upon the wire and in this event, if the slip clutch is properly adjusted, slippage will occur between the clutch gear 62 and the inner clutch sleeve so that the wire will not be broken or other damage will not be done either to the mechanism or to whatever structure the wire might be attached to.

It will be readily seen from the foregoing that in the present invention there has been provided a relatively simple but strong, durable and reliable mechanism which can be readily mounted upon a tractor frame and operated from the belt pulley means of the tractor for effecting the level winding up on a, spool of wire or other stranded material. down reel spool which can be easily and quickly separated from a roll of wire which has been I wound up thereon or which can be just as easily tended through the core of the roll of wire and the other spool section then couples with the first section, the roll and spool then being mounted upon the shaft.

In paying out wire or unwinding from a roll the s'lip clutch tension wheel will be turned so as to release the frictional connection betweenthe clutch sprocket gear 62 and the inner sleeve .51 of the clutch. Thus the reel will be free'to which to carry the wire This wire support 18 preferably comprises an upwardly opening frame applied to an already wound roll of wire for mounting upon the mechanism.

I claim:

1. A wire winding and unwinding mechanism comprising a supporting structure, a slip clutch rotatably supported on the said structure having a socketed driven member, a frame attached to said supporting structure and having an upstanding post having an end spaced from said socketed member, a bearing carried by said upstanding post and aligned with said driven member, a reel shaft adapted to have one end operatively coupled in said socketed member and having its other end rotatably supported in said bearing, means for turning said clutch to impart turning movement to the shaft, and said post being shiftably supported by the frame for moving the bearing out of alignment with the driven member.

2. A winding and unwinding reel comprising a main supporting frame, a rotatable slip clutch supported upon said frame and including a wheel and a socketed member designed to be frictionally coupled together, the slip clutch including means for tightening and loosening the frictional connection between the socketed member and wheel, means for transmitting rotary motion to said wheel, a reel frame connected to the main frame and having a portion disposed in spaced Also there has been provided a novel knock relation with the socketed member, a bearingcarried by the said portion of the reel frame, a shaft adapted to have one end operatively coupled in said socketed member and its other end mounted in said bearing, a reel removably supported upon said shaft, and means carried by the shaft and readily detachably coupled with the reel for imparting turning movement to the reel from the shaft.

3. Awinding and unwinding means, comprising a frame, a pair of aligned bearings carried thereby, a rotary clutch unit comprising a sleeve rotatably supported in one bearing, a tubular member having one end disposed in said sleevefor axial movement therein, the other end of the member being tapered and of circular cross section, a wheel having a tapered opening therethrough in which the tapered end of said member is engaged, said wheel being of a character to have rotary power applied thereto, yieldable means coupling the tubular member and sleeve together and constantly urging movement of the tubular member in a direction to move the tapered end toward the adjacent end of the sleeve and maintaining the wheel bound between the sleeve and member, a shaft having one end formed for engagement in the tubular member and having its other end supported in the other bearing, and a, reel carried on the shaft for turning therewith.

4. A structure as set forth in claim 3, in which the said yieldable means comprises a stem connected with the tubular member and extending axially therefrom beyond the end of the sleeve remote from the wheel, a hand wheel threaded on said stem, and a spring interposed between the hand wheel and the adjacent tubular member.

5. A slip clutch structure comprising a bearing,

a sleeve rotatably supported in the bearing and having at one end thereof an internal flange, a tubular member having one end extended into the sleeve from the end remote from the flange and terminating short of said flange, the other end of the tubular member being formed to provide a tapered head of circular cross section, a wheel having a tapered opening in which said head engages, the wheel being frictionally held between the head and the adjacent end of the sleeve, said tubular member being formed for driving connection with a rotary element, a stem connected with the said one end of the tubular member and extending axially therefrom through and beyond the adjacent end of the sleeve, the stem being threaded, a hand wheel threaded on the stem, and a spring encircling the stem and bearing at One end against said internal flange and hearing at its other end against said hand Wheel.

, 6. A winding and unwinding mechanism, comprising a frame, a pair of bearings supported by the frame, a clutch unit rotatably supported by one bearing and including a, pair of coupled axially shiftable members and a spring means yieldably drawing said members one into the other, a driving wheel frictionally held between said members solely by the action of said spring means, a shaft having one end secured in one of the clutch members for turning movement therewith and having its other end rotatably supported in the other bearing, a reel supported upon the shaft and adapted to be shifted longitudinally thereon for removal therefrom, and a driving arm secured to the shaft between the reel and the clutch and extending radially of the shaft and terminating in a lateral extension having detachv, able connection with the adjacent end of the reel.

JOHN W. HOUSTON.

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