US2925115A - Spring coiling machine with means permitting removal of terminal portion of wire - Google Patents

Description

2,925,115 TING E. E. FRANKS, JR SPRING COILING MACHINE WITH MEANS PERMIT Feb. 16, 1960 REMOVAL OF TERMINAL PORTION OF WIRE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Feb. 18, 1957 NVENTOR EDMRD E. FRAMrS JR.

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Feb. 16, 1960 E. E. FRANKS, JR 2,925,115

SPRING comm MACHINE WITH MEANS PERMITTING REMOVAL OF TERMINAL PORTION OF WIRE Filed Feb. 18, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR EDHMRDE FMNKS JR.

ATTORNEYS United States Patent SPRING COILING MACHINE WITH MEANS PER- IAIIIPTTING REMOVAL OF TERMINAL PORTION Edward E. Franks, Jr., Litchfield, Conn., assignor to The Torrington Manufacturing Company, Torrington, Conn., a corporation of Connecticut Application February 18, 1957, Serial No. 640,679

3 Claims. (Cl. 15365) The invention relates to a spring coiling mechanism which is preferably a portion of a complete spring coiling machine of the general type disclosed in the Bergevin and Nigro Patent No. 2,119,002 dated May 31, 1938.

In the operation of a machine of the said type, the wire is fed against a coiling abutment which serves to coil said wire around a normally fixed arbor to form a spring. After completion of the spring, feeding is interrupted and the wire is so cut that the leading end of the uncut portion thereof is bent partly around the arbor and is available to constitute the initial portion of the next following spring. When the wire supply is exhausted, there is usually a short terminal piece of wire which remains after cutting off the final spring or portion of a spring and which is bent partly around the arbor. This terminal piece of spring has been difiicult to remove, particularly for relatively large machines using heavy wire. The general object of the invention is to provide means in a wire coiling machine for facilitating the removal of said terminal piece of wire.

The drawings show a preferred embodiment of the invention and such embodiment will be described, but it will be understood that various changes may be made from the construction disclosed, and that the drawings and description are not to be construed as defining or limiting the scope of the invention, the claims forming a part of this specification being relied upon for that purpose.

Ofthe drawings:

Fig. 1 is a front view showing a portion of a spring ,coiliug machine embodying the invention.

Fig. 2 is a view similar to a portion of Fig. 1, but showing certain parts in different relative positions.

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2, but showing a spring being coiled.

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the lines 4-4 of Figs. 1 and 5.

Fig. 5 is a left end view of the parts shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a right end view taken in the direction of the arrows 6, 6 in Fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a view similar to a portion of Fig. 1, but showing certain parts in different relative positions and showing other parts in section along the line 7-7 of Fig. 5.

A mechanism embodying the present invention is or maybe a portion of a complete cyclically operable spring coiling machine, such as a machine of the type shown in the Bergevin and Nigro patent before mentioned. Reference is made to the said patent for a disclosure of the general organization of the machine and of various mechanisms other than the coiling mechanism, such as the pitch control mechanism and the diameter control mechanism.

Referring to the drawings, 10 represents the front portion of the frame of a cyclically operable spring coiling machine of the type shown in the said patent. The frame carries feed rolls for engaging the wire W and for feeding cycle to rotate the feed rolls in the directions indicated,

so as to feed a wire W to a predetermined extent toward. the left and between wire guides 18 and 20. Said feed rolls and the driving means therefor constitute means for longitudinally feeding said wire to a predetermined extent during each cycle and for then interrupting feeding near the end of the cycle.

During each operation of the feed rolls and during each feeding of the wire, said wire W is guided by said wire guides 18 and 2t and passes under or over an arbor 22 which is carried by a tool holder 26. The machine may be used for coiling either right-hand springs or left-hand springs, and for a right-hand spring it has a normal position below the line of wire feed as shown in Fig. 1. Also carried by the tool holder 26 is a guide 28 which for right-hand springs is located above the wire and serves to hold it against the arbor. The arbor is semi-cylindrical and it has a flat face that is adapted for cooperation with a cutting tool.

Coiling is effected by engagement of the advancing wire W with a coiling abutment 30 located with its right end adjacent the arbor 22, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The end face of the coiling point may have a transverse, approximately vertical, groove 32 for receiving the wire, said groove being shown in Fig. 2. As the wire is fed toward the left, it is bent downwardly by the abutment 30 and is coiled around the arbor 22, the coiled spring moving toward the front, or away from the frame plate 10, as coiling proceeds.

Carried by the tool holder 26 is a pitch tool 34 which is supported by a stem 36 transversely movable in an aperture in said holder. The pitch tool 34 is located below the guide block 28 and it engages the wire convolutions during coiling to determine the pitch of the spring. For a. uniform spring pitch, the pitch tool 34 can be set in a selected fixed position. For a variable spring pitch said tool can be moved during coiling transversely of the feeding direction, it being so moved by a cam on a transverse cam shaft. The mechanism for moving the pitch tool 34 is not shown, but said mechanism is or may be as set forth in the said Patent No. 2,119,002.

The parts are shown as arranged for coiling righthand springs. For left-hand springs the arbor 22 and the pitch tool 34 are above the wire and the guide block 28 is below the wire. The wire is bent upwardly by the coiling abutment and not downwardly.

For holding the coiling abutment 3! there is provided a bracket 38 carried by the frame and spaced in the feeding direction from said arbor 22, said bracket projecting forwardly and having its front face 39 spaced substantially forwardly from the path of wire movement. The bracket 38 may be a casting, but it is shown as comprising welded plates. The bracket 38 is supported by a slide 39 guided for longitudinal horizontal movement along a guideway 46 in the front of the frame plate It At its right end said guideway 40 terminates in an opening 41 in the frame 10. The coiling abutment Stl is connected withthe bracket 33 by means of various parts including a first slide 42 which is at the end of said bracket adjacent said arbor. Said slide 42 is adjustable transversely of the direction of wire feeding. Preferably and as shown, said first slide 42 is adjustable vertically.

The bracket 38 includes a longitudinal vertical plate Patented Feb. 16, 1960 Ordinarily there are two pairs of 44" wh'ieh is-closely adjacentthe slide 39 and closely adjacent the face of the frame10. The bracket 38 further includes a forwardly projecting block 46 secured to the plate 44. Said block. 46 has a vertical guideway 45-intheright portion thereof for said vertically movable.

Also formed as an integral part of; the

first slide'42. bracket 38 is an upper platform lfi'connected with. the

block46 by a transverse vertical. plate 50 and by longi-v tudinal vertical plates 52 and 54 which connectwith' a horizontal plate 56 secured to. said plate 44 and reinforced by a brace 58. There is preferably also. provided a transverse vertical reinforcing rib 60.

The slide 42 may be vertically movediwith respect to the block 46 by means of a rotatable threadedshaft 62- engaging a nut 64 in said slide 42;. The upper portion ofv the shaft 62 is guided in a suitable bearing in a projection 65' attached to the plate 50 and the. plate 52. Mounted on the platform 48 isan electric motor 66. and

a" gear box 63. By means of gears in the gear box 68' the motor 66 transmits power to a vertical shaft 70' aligned with the shaft 62 and connected therewith by a coupling 72. By means of a switch, not shown, the motor 66 can be operated to rotate the threaded shaft 62 and to move the slide 42 upwardly or downwardly as required. Limit switches, not shown, may be provided to stop upward and downward slide movements at predetermined upper and lower positions. Upward move ment of the slide is positively and finally limited by anadjustable stop screw 74 on the projection 65 and downward movement of the slide. is positively and finally limited by'an adjustable stop screw 76 carried by the block 46. The slide can be clamped in adjusted position by means of a screw rotatable by a knob 78 and engaging a gib 80.

The vertically movable first slide 42 preferably has a- 90 has a rear portion that is apertured to receive said abutment. Preferably said rear portion of the holder is split at 92, and a screw 94 is provided for releasably clamping the abutment. The holder 90 is connected to the slide 82 by screws 96, 96 entered in arcuate slots 98, 98 in the holder, said slots being concentric with the center of the coiling abutment 30. The holder can be angularly adjusted about the axis of the abutment so that the groove 32 in the abutment is inclined in accordance with the pitch angle of the spring to be wound. After adjustment, the abutment and the holder can be held in adjusted position by the screws 96, 96.

It will be observed that the coiling abutment 30 may be manually adjusted angularly so that the groove 32 conforms to the pitch angle of the springs and may be manually adjusted transversely so that said groove 32 is in arcuate longitudinal alignment with the wire. In addition, for reasons to be set forth, the coiling abutment may be moved vertically to and away from an active position by power derived from the motor 66. With the coiling abutment 30 in proper position as shown inv Fig. 3, the wire is fed as previously described and a spring S is coiled.

The diameter of the spring to be coiled is dependent upon the position of the coiling abutment 30. spring is to have a uniform diameter, the slide 39 and the'coiling abutment 30 are not moved during coiling.

However, as a part of the setup proceeding, the slide 39.

is moved to adjust the coiling abutment so as to provide springs of the required diameter. The slide may be, adjusted and held by a manually rotatable. screw 100.

.It is sometimesrequiredthat thediameter ofjthe. spring If the.

spasms 4 shall vary from end to end thereof. When so required,- the'slide'39 maybe moved duringcoiling tocorrespond ingly move the coiling abutment 30. The mechanism for moving the slide and the abutment include an oscillatory arm 102 connected with the slide 39 by a link 104. The last said mechanism is fully disclosed in said Patent No. 2,119,002.

In,=;a machine of the typershown in said. PatentiN'oa. 2,119,002 two cutter headsiisuch as 106. and 108. are provided which are movable about transverse axes located below and above the line of wire feed. These: heads are oscillated in opposite directions, and theyare adapted for holding cutting tools for cutting off; completed springs. Only one head is used at any one time, the lower head beingused for right-hand springs and the upper head being-used for. left-hand springs. A cutter 110 is secured to the head to be used, and as shown this is the lower head 106. The heads are timed to oscillate immediately after the completion .offeeding and. after the coiling of a spring suchas S and. the? tool 110 cooperates with the flat face of the arbor2'2. to cut off the completely coiled spring. After cutaoff the leading end portion of the wire remains partly coiled' around the arbor as shown in Fig. 7, this, constituting; the initial portion of the next following spring, After... cut-off, the cutter returns to the position shown in. Fi'g. 11 and the machine is ready for coiling the next following. spring. I

The block 46 of the bracket 38 serves todirectly support the guideway for the vertically movableslide 42,... and said block also serves in association with theplate: 50 and the several braces to support the platform.48.f and the parts thereon. For a purpose tobe fully stated,1. said block 46 is provided with a relatively large apere ture. 112 which extends entirely therethrough longitudis nally. and which is in general register with the. pathof.

wire feeding. The coiling point when in its active. position is at least partially in longitudinal register with. said; aperture. As shown, said aperture is rectangular with its. vertical depth much greater than its transverse width, In setting up the machine for the coiling of springs having any desired characteristics within the capacity, of the machine, the pitch tool 34 is adjusted transversely for the desired pitch of the spring and when required the... control mechanism for the pitch tool is adjusted to move said tool during coiling; and the coiling abutment 30 is adjusted longitudinally for the desired diameter of" the spring and when required thecontrol mechanism for the coiling point is adjusted to move said abutmentv during coiling. When necessary, the coilingabutment is adjusted transversely by means of the slide 82 so that said abutment properly registers with the feeding path of the wire. The coiling abutment may also be adjusted. angularly so that the groove therein is at an angle corresponding to the pitch angle of the spring. 7

Assuming that right-hand springs are to be coiled, are coiling point 30 is moved by means of the slide 42 and the motor 66 to an initial position above thewire path as shown in Fig. l. The wire is advanced so thatits end projects beyond. the arbor 22. In order to insure. the proper coiling of springs downwardly around. the: arbor 22, it is necessary for the projecting portion of the wire W to be bent downwardly prior to the commencement of coiling. It has been common practice to so bend the wire manually and by means ofpliers': or some other hand tool, but for heavy wire such mans. ual bending is not feasible or is at least very difficult; With the present machine downward bending of the, wire. W is effected by the movement ofjthe abutment 30" downwardly from the Fig. 1 position, the motor 66'be.-- ing utilized for this purpose. The active position of'tlie, abutment 30 is shown in. Fig. 2; audit vwill be. observed" that .the abutment in movingdownward to .said;active position has bent the wire W around the, arborZZ,

With. .the parts in the. Pig.. 2. 'positioawire madman;

started to form convolutionsfand'springs are successive ly coiled and cut off as previously described. Fig. 3' shows a coiledspring S ready to be cut'oflf. The first spring may be defective because of the excessive length of theleading end of the wire and this spring is discarded. When the supply of the wire W hasbeen substantially exhausted, the said wire is feduntil the trailing end of said wire-has passed the first feed rolls 11 and 12 and perhaps until it has passed the second feed rolls 13 and 14 and feeding thereupon ceases. Prior to the cessation of feeding, a spring has ordinarily been partially but not completelycoiled. Notwithstanding the cessa tion of feeding, theother parts of the machine continue tofunction, and the incomplete spring is cut off by the cutter 110. *This leaves a terminal piece of wire W with its trailing end at the feed rolls and with its leading portion bent partly around the arbor 22, said terminal piece of wire being shown in Fig. 7. It has heretofore been very ditficult to remove said terminal piece of wire W particularly when the wire was heavy and not readily subject to manual bending. The hooking of the terminal wire piece W around the arbor 22 prevented any rearward withdrawal and the coiling abutment and other parts prevented any forward removal.

In accordance with the present invention, the obstruction of said piece of wire W by the coiling abutment 30 is eliminated by utilizing the motor 66 to move said abutment upwardly or downwardly to a position wherein it will not obstruct movement of said wire piece W toward the left or in the feeding direction. When a right-hand spring is being coiled, the coiling abutment is preferably moved upwardly so as to be above the wire and ready for subsequent downward movement from the Fig. 1 position to the Fig. 2 position. Fig. 7 shows the coiling abutment moved upwardly as stated. For a left-hand spring the coiling abutment would be moved downwardly. However, mere upward or downward movement of the coiling abutment is not suflicient to permit removal of the terminal wire piece W as said wire piece would still be inaccessible and removal thereof in the feeding direction would be prevented by the bracket 38 and more particularly by the block 46 thereof which carries said coiling abutment. To enable said wire piece W to be removed in the feeding direction, the before-mentioned opening or aperture 112 is provided in said block 46. forming a portion of said bracket 38. The opening 112 is behind the front face 39 of the bracket and it is in longitudinal register with the initial position of said terminal wire piece w so that the latter can be easily removed longitudinally in the leading direction through said opening and without any forcing or bending. Full lines in Fig. 7 show the wire piece W in its initial position and dotted lines in said Fig. 7 show said wire piece being removed in the leading direction through said opening 112. If necessary, said wire piece W may be removed by any suitable tool such as T projected in the trailing direction through said aperture 112 and engaged with said terminal wire piece.

The invention claimed is:

1. In a cyclically operable spring coiling machine, the combination of a supporting frame, feed rolls on the frame at the front thereof for longitudinally feeding wire to a predetermined extent during each cycle and for then interrupting feeding near the end of the cycle, a coiling arbor supported on the frame at the front thereof and having a normal position adjacent the path of wire feeding, a bracket carried by the frame and spaced in the feeding direction from said arbor, said bracket projecting forwardly and having its front face spaced substantially forwardly from the path of wire movement and said bracket having an aperture extending longitudinally therethrough and at least approximately in register with said path, a slide on said bracket at the end thereof adjacent said arbor which slide is adjustable in a direction transverse of the direction of wire feeding, a coiling abutment carried by said slide" and having an active position in the path of wire movement and at least partially in longitudinal register with said bracket aperture which abutment in its said active position serves during wire feeding for coiling the fed wire around said arbor with the resultant formation of a series of spring convolutions to constitute a spring, means cooperating with said arbor for cutting said wire after completion of said spring which meansserves to so cut the wire that the leading portionof the remaining wire is bent partly around said arbor, and means-for moving said slide relatively to said bracket and in said transverse direction to move said coiling abutment out of register with said bracket aperture and out of the path ofwire movement so that a terminal wire piece which remains after wire cutting and. has its trailing end at said feed rolls and which is bent partly around said arbor may be readily removed in the leading direction through said bracket aperture.

2. In a cyclically operable spring coiling machine, the combination of a supporting frame, feed rolls on the frame at the front thereof for longitudinally feeding wire to a predetermined extent during each cycle and for then interrupting feeding near the end of the cycle, a horizontal coiling arbor supported on the frame at the front thereof and having a normal position adjacent the path of wire feeding, a bracket carried by the frame and spaced in the feeding direction from said arbor, said bracket projecting forwardly and having its front face spaced substantially forwardly from the path of wire movement and said bracket having an aperture extending longitudinally therethrough and at least approximately in register with said path, a vertically adjustable slide on said bracket at the end thereof adjacent said arbor, a coiling abutment carried by said slide and having an initial position spaced vertically from the path of wire movement and having an active position in said path and at least partially in longitudinal register with said bracket aperture which abutment in its said active position serves during wire feeding for coiling the fed wire around said horizontal arbor with the resultant formation of a series of spring convolutions to constitute a spring, means co operating with said arbor for cutting said wire after completion of said spring which means serves. to so cut the Wire that the leading portion of the wire remaining to be fed is bent partly around said arbor, and means serving for vertically moving said slide relatively to said bracket so as to move said coiling abutment vertically from its initial position to its active position so as to bend the wire partly around said arbor preparatory to coiling and said means subsequently serving to move said slide vertically so as to move said coiling abutment out of its said active position and out of register with said bracket aperture and out of the path of wire movement so that a terminal wire piece which remains after wire cutting and has its trailing end at said feed rolls and which is bent partly around said arbor may be readily removed in the leading direction through said bracket aperture.

3. In a cyclically operable spring coiling machine, the combination of a supporting frame, feed rolls on the frame at the front thereof for longitudinally feeding wire to a predetermined extent during each cycle and for then interrupting feeding near the end of the cycle, a horizontal coiling arbor supported on the frame at the front thereof and having a normal position adjacent the path of wire feeding, a bracket carried by the frame and spaced in the feeding direction fro-m said arbor, said bracket projecting forwardly and having its front face spaced substantially forwardly from the path of wire movement and said bracket having an aperture extending longitudinally therethrough and at least approximately in register with the path of wire movement, a vertically adjustable first slide on said bracket at the end thereof adjacent said arbor, a second slide on the first slide and horizontally adjustable relatively thereto,

7 4 roiling abutment carried by '=said second slide and having an initial position spaced, vertically from the path of wire movement and .having an active position in the path of wire movementiand at least partially in longitudinal register with said bracket aperture which abutment in its said active position serves during wire feeding for coiling thefed wire around said horizontal arbor with the resultant formation of a series of spring convolutions to constitute a spring, means cooperating with said arbor for cutting said wire after completion of said spring which means serves to so cut the wire that the leading portion of the wire remaining to be fedtis bent partly around said arbor, and means for moving said first slide relatively to said bracket to move said vcoiling position so as ;to bend the wire partly around-said arbor preparatory to coiling, the last said means also serving for moving 'said first slide so as to move "said coiling abutmentout of its'saidQactive position sand out of register with said bracket apertureand out of the path of-wire movement so that a terminal :wire piece which remains after wire cutting and has its ;trailingend at said feed rolls and which is bent partlyaroundnaidfarbormay be readily removed in the leading direction through 10 said bracket aperture.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS abutment vertically from its initial position to its active 15 1,676,598 Bleuel July l0. 1928

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