US2966258A - Packaging of wire - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 27, 1960 F. B. KRAFFT ETAL 2,966,258

PACKAGING 0F WIRE Original Filed March 1, 1955 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG. I

. INVENTORS m FREDERIO a. KRAFFT TS g 9 NK K. ROBER LORENZ BY A WMJZW/ Z574 ATTORNEYS Dec. 27, 1960 F. B. KRAFFT ETAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS FREDERIC B. KRAFFT FRANK K.ROBERTS LEO LORENZ a, fi i ATTORNEYS of the container.

United States Patent PACKAGING OF WIRE Frederic B. Kratft, Hastings on Hudson, N.Y., and Frank K. Roberts and Leo Lorenz, Muskegon, Mich., assignors to Anaconda Wire and Cable Company, a corporation of Delaware Original application Mar. 1, 1955, Ser. No. 491,258. Divided and this application Feb. 3, 1958, Ser. No. 713,060

4 Claims. (Cl. 206--52) This invention relates to the packing of wire or other filamentary material. More particularly, it relates to the packaging of such material in a cylindrical container in which the material is coiled about a cylindrical core positioned in the container so as to form an annular space between the core and the walls of the container. While the present invention is applicable in general to materials in filamentary form (e.g. cordage, textile fibers). we have found it to be especially well suited to the packing of wire, and the invention is therefore particularly described in reference to the packaging of wire. This application is a division of our application Serial No. 491,258, filed March 1, 1955, now Patent No. 2,857,116, granted October 21, 1958.

Heretofore, flanged spools comprising a cylindrical core or barrel provided with end flanges have been commonly used for packaging wire and the like. The wire is wound more or less helically about the spool barrel between the end flanges, which hold the wire in place and protect it from injury. It is also known to package wire in a cylindrical container having a cylindrical core positioned therein so that an annular space is formed in the container. In such a container, the wire heretofore has been loosely and more or less randomly coiled about the core in the annular space, and has not been well distributed over the width of the annular space of the container.

The use of a cylindrical container for packaging wire offers the advantage that it is feasible to package large quantities of wire, e.g. hundreds of pounds, in a single length, whereas such large quantities cannot be conveniently packaged on a metal spool. More wire per package is a feature which is of interest to operators of automatic coil winders and similar equipment, as it results in less time being consumed in readying packages of wire for use, and it reduces the amount of time required for setting up the machines (an operation which generally must be performed each time a package is exhausted). Another advantage of such a package over the flanged spool is that less expensive materials may be used in the construction of a cylindrical container. Thus, a container suitable for shipping, storing and dispensing wire may comprise a cylindrical fibreboard barrel having a fibreboard cylinder for the core, whereas large flanged spools must be constructed wholly of heavy gauge metal, or of wood and metal, and are relatively expensive, as well as clumsy to handle, and must themselves be packaged for shipping. The container according to the present invention, although carrying much more wire, can be easily handled with a conventional hand truck. Furthermore, because of the unique manner in which the wire is laid in the container the vibration and blows incident to shipping will not entangle the turns of wire.

The present invention provides a package of filamentary material (e.g. bare, insulated or stranded wire, cordage, or the like) comprising a cylindrical container in which a cylindrical core is coaxially positioned so as to form an annular space between the core and the walls The material is coiled in open, substantially flat, spiral layers, and substantially fills this annular space. The package of the invention has the advantages that more material is contained in a cylindrical container of given size, and that, as above indicated, the likelihood of entanglement of the material when it is unwound is substantially avoided.

Heretofore, filamentary material has commonly been packaged in cylindrical containers by feeding the material at a constant linear velocity into the container while rotating the container at a constant peripheral velocity. When the material is packaged in this way, it tends to accumulate as a closely wound coil having a circumference equal to that of the circle about the axis of the container where the circumferential velocity is equal to the linear velocity at which the wire is fed into the container. In consequence the material does not distribute itself uniformly over any substantial portion of the cross-sectional area of the annular package space.

By the present invention, the filamentary material is packaged in a cylindrical container in the form of a stack of substantially flat spiral coils disposed one over the other. The method comprises feeding the material into the container, rotating the container at a peripheral velocity which at all times exceeds the linear velocity at which the material is fed into the container, and alternately increasing and decreasing the ratio of the rate at which the container is rotated and the rate at which the material is fed into the container. By this method the material is spirally coiled in the container in the form of a stack of substantially flat superposed layers. The rate at which the material is fed into the container may be varied while the rate of rotation of the container is maintained constant, or the rate at which the material is fed into the container may be maintained constant while the rate of rotation of the container is varied. Of course, both of these rates may be varied, but ordinarily there will be no advantage in operating in this manner.

According to the invention the material is fed into the container at a substantially constant linear velocity, and the container is rotated at a peripheral velocity which at all times exceeds the linear velocity at which the wire is fed into the container (i.e. the peripheral velocity of the inside surface of the cylindrical container wall at all times exceeds the linear velocity at which the wire is fed into the container) and the rate of rotation of the container is cyclically varied by alternately increasing said rate at an increasing rate of increase and decreasing said rate at a decreasing rate of decrease. Thereby, spiral coils are obtained in which the turns thereof are substantially evenly spaced.

The present invention may be better understood by reference to the following drawings in which,

Fig. 1 is an elevation view in partial section of a package of wire according to the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the package of wire shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a view on an enlarged scale taken along line 33 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 4 is a schematic drawing of apparatus for forming the package of Fig. 1.

Referring to Figs. 1, 2 and 3, there is shown a package 6 of wire comprising a cylindrical container 7 and magnet wire 8. The cylindrical container is formed of a cylindrical outer shell 9 which forms the cylindrical walls of the container, a bottom closure 11, and a cylindrical core 12. The cylindrical container may conveniently consist of a fibreboard barrel of the type which is commonly usedfor the shipment of materials in bulk. The cylindrical core is coaxially positioned in the cylindrical outer shell, and with it defines an annular space 13. A glue flap 14 may be provided to glue the cylindrical core to the bottom closure so that the core is secured in place Patented Dec. 27, 1960.

in the container. Thereby, shifting of the core is preven e The magnet wire 8 is in a single length (perhaps made up of lengths that have been joined together), and is coiled in substantially flat spiral layers 16 which substantially fill the annular space 13. The wire in each of the layers 16 is in the form of an open spiral extending between the cylindrical core and the cylindrical walls of the container and fillssubstantially the entire width of the annular space. The open spiral form of the layers 16 is best seen in Fig. 2, where the spiral form of the top layer of wire in the package 6 is shown. As the wire is wound in one direction about the spool (e.g. clockwise) the pitch direction of the spiral coils is reversed from layer to layer, i.e. one layer spirals out from the cylindrical core and the next spirals in from the walls of the cylindrical container. Thus, adjacent layer spiral in opposite directions so that the wire of one layer crosses at points of contact over the wire of the layer immediately below. This arrangement of thewire is seen in Fig. 3 where the wires of layer 1611 spiral in one direction and the wires of layer 16a spiral in the opposite direction. The crossing of the wire of adjacent layers tends to prevent wire of one layer from falling into the space between turns of lower layers, because, as shown, these spaces are likely to be wider than the diameter of the wire. This manner of crossing the wires minimizes any risk that the coils in the container may become locked together or entangled, especially as the result of vibration and rough handling of the container.

In the interest of clarity, only the top layer of magnet wire has been shown in Fig. l and only two layers have been shown in Fig. 3. Actually, other layers would be seen in each of these views through the spaces between the turnsof wire. Furthen the magnet wire 8 will usually be much smaller in proportion to the size of the container than is indicated in Figs. 1, 2, and 3. For example, in a typical case the width of the annular space is three or four inches and the magnet wire, although it may be as much as inch in diameter, is frequently considerably smaller than this.

The package of the invention is characterized in that the wire in the container is arranged in a stack of superposed substantially fiat spiral coils. As a consequence of this arrangement considerably more wire is packaged in a cylindrical container of given size than has been possible heretofore. A package of wire according to the invention comprising, for example, a cylindrieal container having an annular space 20 inches in outside diameter, 13 inches in insidediamcter, and 30 inches in height, may contain about 750 pounds of enameled or equivalent filminsulated copper magnet wire (which corresponds to a bulk density of about 240 pounds per cubic foot) whereas corresponding packages of this type of wire heretofore known contained not more than about 600 pounds of wire (which corresponds to a bulk density of about 190 pounds per cubic foot). In accordance with the invention, bulk densities of packaged film-insulated copper magnet Wire above 200 pounds per cubic foot are readily and consistently obtained, as are correspondingly high bulk densities for other materials.

Fig. 4 shows apparatus suitable for packaging wire according to the invention. A wire 21 which is to be packaged according to the invention is fed into a container 31 by passing it between a drive wheel 22 and an idler 23. The drive wheel is mounted on a shaft 24 which is driven by a motor 26 through a sprocket chain 27 and gears 28. The idler 23 presses the wire firmly into driving engagement against the drive wheel 22 so that the wire is pushed by the drive wheel through a guide conduit 29.

The cylindrical container 31, shown partially broken away, is mounted on a container carrier 36 with the axis of the cylindrical container substantially vertical. The cylindrical container comprises an outer cylindrical shell 32 and is provided with a cylindrical core 33 positioned in the cylindrical container, forming an annular space 34 therein. The container carrier 36 is mounted on a shaft 37 which is driven by a belt 38.

The wire 21 is directed by the guide conduit 29 to a fixed point 30 over the annular space 34. From the point 30, the wire falls by gravity. The container rotates with the container carrier, and as it does so that advancing wire emerging from the guide conduit 29 coils and drops. into the annular space of the container.

The belt 38, held taut by an idler 39,, is driven by a variable speed drive indicated at 40, so that the rate of rotation of the cylindrical container may be alternately increased and decreased. The variable speed drive comprises a variable diameter pulley unit 4-1 which is driven from the shaft 24 through a chain 42 connected to the pulley unit drive shaft 43; This variable diameter pulley unit in turn drives the belt 38. The output speed of the variable diameter pulley unit 41 (and hence the speed with which the carrier 36 is rotated) is cyclically increased andv decreased by alternately moving up and down the control arm 44 of the variable diameter pulley mechanism. This operation in turn is effected by rotation in alternately opposite directions of a control shaft 45. The shaft 45 is driven through a chain drive 46 and gearing 47, which in turn is connected through a variable speed drive unit 43 to a reversible electric motor 50. The motor is energized from a power line 51 through a limit switch assembly 52.v Each time the control arm 44 reaches a limit of its travel, it engages the limit switch assembly and causes the direction of the motor 50 to be reversed.

As stated above, it is preferred to cyclically increase at an increasing rate, and decrease at a decreasing rate, the rate of rotation of the carrier 36. The variable speed drive unit 48 provides for doing so. The control shaft 55 of this unit, by which the speed of its output shaft 56 may be varied, is connected by a sprocket chain drive 57 to its output shaft. Accordingly, as the output shaft 56 turns in a direction to increase the rate at which the carrier 36 is rotated through the variable diameter pulley unit 41, the control shaft 55 is rotated in a direction to increase the rate at which the shaft 56 is itself rotated. When the shaft 56 is rotated in the opposite direction, so that the variable diameter pulley assembly 41 is being actuated to decrease the rate of rotation of the carrier 36, the control shaft 55 is likewise being driven in the direction which causes the drive shaft 56 to slow down. The apparatus thus provides automatically for cyclically increasing the rate of rotation of the carrier 36 at a continuously increasing rate and decreasing its rate of rotation at a continuously decreasing rate.

According to the invention the ratio of' the rate at which the container is rotated and the rate at which the wire is fed into the container is alternately increased and decreased between maximum and minimum rates. As this ratio is increased from a minimum to a maximum rate wire fed into the container falls along a curved path of ever decreasing radius of curvature (i.e. the wire spirals in from the cylindrical walls of the container). After this ratio has reached the maximum, it is decreased, and as it decreases the wire tends to fall along a curved path of ever increasing radius ofcurvature (i.e. the wire spirals out to the cylindrical walls of the container). In order to obtain substantially fiat superposed layers of wire, the minimum ratio must always be such that the peripheral velocity of the container (i.e. the velocity of the inside surface of the cylindrical container wall) is greater than the linear velocity at which the wire is fed into the container; for, otherwise, the wire would tend to fall along a path having a radius of curvature greater than the radius of the container and, as the container wall would preclude the wire following such a path, the wire would hump up and not form a flat layer. Similarly, the maximum ratio must not exceed that at which the peripheral velocity of the outside surface of the container core is equal to the linear velocity of the wire fed into the container, otherwise the wire will be pulled tightly against the container core and damage to either the wire or its packaging is likely to result.

The rate of change from minimum to maximum of the ratio of the rate at which the container is rotated to the rate at which wire is fed into the container determines the spacing between turns of the spiral, and may be adjusted as desired. The rate at which this ratio is changed should preferably be of sufficient magnitude so that each turn of a spiral falls outside (or inside) the preceding turn, i.e., when the radius of curvature of the path which the wire tends to follow is decreasing, the magnitude of the rate at which the ratio is being increased should be sufficient so that each turn of the spiral falls inside the preceding turn; and when the radius of curvature of the path which the wire tends to follow is increasing, the magnitude of the rate at which the ratio is being decreased should be sutficient so that each turn of the spiral falls outside the preceding turn.

We claim:

1. A package of filamentary material suitable for shipping and the like, comprising a cylindrical container having a cylindrical wall and a cylindrical core coaxially positioned therein to define an annular space between said core and said Wall, at least one continuous length of flexible filamentary material coiled in a plurality of substantially flat spiral layers in said annular space, said spiral layers extending alternately substantially from said core to said wall and substantially from said wall to said core, the respective turns of each layer being spaced apart, and the lay of the turns of each layer with respect to the lay of the turns of the layer immediately beneath it being such that said turns cross each other at an angle so as to preclude the turns of any layer from falling into the spaces between adjacent turns of the layer beneath it.

2. A package of magnet wire suitable for shipping and the like, comprising a cylindrical container having a cylindrical wall and a cylindrical core coaxially positioned therein and defining an annular space between said core and said Wall, at least one continuous length of flexible wire coiled in said space in a plurality of substantially flat spiral layers, each of said layers having substantially the form of an open spiral, said spiral layers extending alternately substantially from said core to said wall and substantially from said wall to said core, the respective turns of each layer being spaced apart, the pitch direction of the spiral coils being reversed from layer to layer so that adjacent layers of the wire spiral in opposite directions and the pitch of the turns of each layer with respect to the pitch of the turns of the layer immediately beneath it being so great as to preclude the turns of any layer from falling into the spaces between adiacent turns of the layers beneath it.

3. A package of magnet wire suitable for shipping and the like, comprising a cylindrical container having a cylindrical wall and a cylindrical core coaxially positioned therein and defining an annular space between said core and said wall, at least one continuous length of flexible wire coiled in said annular space in a plurality of substantially fiat spiral layers, said layers substantially filling said annular space, each of said layers having substantially the form of an open spiral, said spiral layers extending alternately substantially from said core to said wall and substantially from said wall to said core, the respective turns of each layer being spaced apart by a distance at least equal to the diameter of the wire, the pitch direction of the spiral coils being reversed from layer to layer so that adjacent layers of the wire spiral in opposite directions and the pitch of the turns of each layer with respect to the pitch of the turns of the layer immediately beneath it being so great as to preclude the turns of any layer from falling into the spaces between the turns of the layers beneath it.

4-. A package of flexible, smooth-surfaced magnet wire suitable for shipping and the like, comprising a cylindrical container having a cylindrical wall and a cylindrical core coaxially positioned Within said wall and defining an annular space between said core and said wall, at least one continuous length of said magnet Wire coiled in a plurality of substantially fiat spiral layers substantially filling said annular space, each of said layers being laid in the form of a spiral, said spiral layers extending alternately substantially from said core to said wall and substantially from said wall to said core, the turns of each spiral being substantially evenly spaced and mutually separated by a distance greater than the diameter of said wire, the pitch direction of said spirals being reversed in consecutive layers so that adjacent layers of said wire spiral in opposite directions and contact each other at points of crossing, and the angles between the turns at the points of contact being so great that the turns of each layer are precluded from falling into the spaces between turns of the layer beneath it.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,676,606 Albright July 10, 1928 1,992,430 Johnson Feb. 26, 1935 2,849,195 Richardson Aug. 26, 1958

Images