US3160180A - Keeble - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 8, 1964 D. KEEBLE 3,160,180

MACHINE FOR SECURING TOGETHER THE END TURNS 0F UPHOLSTERY SPRINGS s Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed April 21, 1959 D. KEEBLE MACHINE FOR SECURING TOGETHER THE END TURNS OF UPHOLSTERY SPRINGS Dec. 8, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 21, 1959 Dec. 8, 1964 D. KEEBLE 7 3,160,180

MACHINE FOR SECURING TOGETHER THE END TURNS OF UPHOLSTERY SPRINGS Filed April 21, 1959 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Fig? Figs- @Ww d United States Patent 3,16tl,18 MACE-ENE FGR SEQURHNG TOGETHER THE ENE TUR 61F UPHGLhTERY SPRENGS David Keeble, 39 Bridle Road, Bramcotc, England Filed Apr. 21, 1959, Ser. No. $97,347 7 Claims. (Ql. hid- 4%) This invention relates to improvements in the construction of spring assemblies for the interior of mattresses or cushions and machine for use in producing the same and its object is to provide a spring assembly which is easy to produce and which is durable in use.

According to this invention a spring assembly for the interior of a mattress or cushion comprises a plurality of spaced rows of upholstery springs, the end turns of the springs in each row overlapping the end turns of the adjacent springs in the row and the overlapping end turns being secured together by tie wires which extend across the rows and are formed with V shaped loops therein and have the arms of the V shaped loops wrapped round the end turns of two upholstery springs at the spaced points where they cross each other. The V shaped loops are oft-set from the remainder of the tie wire and the ends of the arms of the loops where they join the oil-set parts are bent to form hooks which engage with the end turn of one spring. The parts of the tie wires which extend across between the rows may be crimped to provide some resiliency in the tie wires. To wrap the loops. round the springs the end turns are centrally disposed in a rotatable member having a radial slot therein. The tie Wire is also placed in position with the loop ends hooked round one end turn and the other ends of the off-set parts resting on the other end turn and the loop disposed in the radial slot in the rotatable member. The end turns of the springs and the tie wire are held in position by suitable clamping means and the rotatable member turned the required number of times to wrap the loop round the end turns centrally disposed in the rotatable member. A number of rotatable members may be arranged side by side and operated together. They are disposed a distance apart equal to the distance between the rows of upholstery springs so that the end turns of two springs in each row are tied together at the same time.

The invention will now be more particularly described with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan and FIG. 2 a side elevation of part of a spring assembly constructed according to this invention.

FIG. 3 is a side elevation and FIG. 4 a front elevation of one of the V shaped loops formed in the tie wires.

FIG. 5 is a side elevation and FIG. 6 a plan of the mechanism for wrapping the V shaped loops of the tie wires round the end turns of two adjacent upholstery springs.

FIG. 7 is a sectional elevation on the line AA of FIG. 5.

FIG. 8 is a sectional elevation on the line BB of FIG. 5.

FIG. 9 is a side View of the wrapping wheel shown detached and drawn to a larger scale and FIG. 10 is a plan on a reduced scale showing a machine having a plurality of heads for wrapping the V shaped loops in the tie wires in a number of rows of upholstery springs at the same time.

Like numerals indicate like parts throughout the drawings.

In carrying out this invention the spring assembly is formed from a plurality of rows of upholstery springs, the rows being spaced a suitable distance apart. The

end turns 10 of the springs in each row are secured to the end turns of the springs on each side thereof and this is eifected by tie wires 11 which extend across the rows as shown in FIG..1and which not only secure the end turns of two adjacent springs in each row together but also hold the rows of springs in spaced relationship. In order to hold the end turns 10 of two adjacent springs together the tie wires are formed with V shaped loops 12 therein which are shaped as shown in FIG. 4. The distance between the loops 12 is equal to the distance between the rows of springs. The loops 1?; are off-set from the remainder of the tie wire 11 as shown in FIG. 3 and where the ends of the arms of the V shaped loops 12 join the oflf-set parts of the tie wire 11, the arms are bent to form a hook shaped part 13*(see FIG. 3) at the open end of the loops. This hooked shaped part 13 is made a suitable size to fit round the end turn of one sprang and after the end turn of the adjacent spring has been placed in position with the oil-set parts resting on the end turn the loop 12 is wrapped round both end turns to secure them together as shown in FIG. 1. The tie wires 11 extend across the rows of springs and each loop 12 secures together at spaced points the end turns of two springs in the respective rows. A cross wire to form a stuffing edge may be secured across the ends of the spring assembly in a similar manner to that described by the use of a tie wire having suitably disposed loops therein which are wrapped round the end turns of the end springs and the cross wire forming the stuiiing edge. The cross wire forming the stufiing edge lies in the hook shaped part 13 at the open end of the loops 12. The parts of the tie wires extending across between the rows of springs may be crimped to provide some resiliency in the tie wires.

The end turns 19 of the upholstery springs overlap each other slightly as shown in FIG. 1 and the V shaped loops 12 are shaped so that the arms of the loops l2 wrap round the end turns it) of the upholstery springs at the spaced points where they cross each other as shown in FIG. 1.

In order to wrap the loops 12 round the end turns It and assist in the construction of the spring assembly, loop wrapping mechanism is provided. Preferably a wrapping head shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 is provided for each row of upholstery springs in the assembly and springs in each row are placed in position in each head, together with the tie wire and all the heads operated together. Each wrapping head comprises a rotatable member 14 shown detached in FIG. 9 having a radial slot 15 therein. The rotatable member 14- is carried by hearings in plates 16, 17 mounted on a base plate 13. When the rotatable member A, is stationary the radial slot 15 is vertical as shown in FIGS. 5 to 9 and when in this position end the turns 19 of two upholstery springs are placed in the slot 15 together with the tie wire ill. The hook shaped parts 13 in the tie wire is hooked round one end turn it and the other ends of the off-set parts rest on the other end turn (see FIG. 6) and the remainder of the loop 12 lives vertically in the radial slot 15 lies vertically in the radial slot 15. The end turns ill of the two springs rest in grooves 19, 20 (see FIG. 10) provided for the purpose in the base plate 1% and when in position in the grooves the end turns are oppositely disposed and lie in a plane passing through the axis of rotation of the rotatable member. When the end turns Ill) of the springs and the tie wire 11 have been placed in position they are securely held by suitable clamping means. The clamping means may comprise a split slide on each side of the rotatable member, the slides being moved towards the springs to hold them J) in the grooves; The slides are split or made in two parts so that the tie wire can lie between the two parts and the two parts are slidingly mounted so that as they move into position to engage with the end turns of the springs they also: move towards'each other and grip the tie wire.

Preferably the clamping means comprises two slides 21, 22 mounted one' on each side of the rotatable member and held in position by guides 23, 24 mountedon the base plate 13. The slides 21, 22 are withdrawn against the action of springs 25 whilst the end turns of the upholstery springs and tie Wire are placed in position in' the rotatable manner and are then released and are advanced over the end turns of the upholstery springs and tiewire into the position shown in FIG. 6 by the springs 25 and hold the end turns and tie wire whilst the wrapping operation takes place. Whilst the end turns of the upholstery springs and the tie wire are being place din position in the slot in the rotatable member 14 the slides 21, 22 are held retracted, that is in the position shown in FIG. 10 by means of a releasable catch 26 which engages in recesses 27 provided for the purpose in the slides 21, 22. The catch 26 is moved into its operative position by a spring 28 and when the end turns of the upholstery springs and tie wire are in the correct position the slides 21, 22 are released to hold them by pressing downwards the knob 29 on the catch 26. This can readily be done by the palm of the right hand of the machine operator whilst the fingers of both hands are holding the upholstery springs and tie wire in position.

After the end turns of the springs and tire wire have been placed in position and clamped, the rotatable member 14 is turned the required number of times to wrap the loop 12 located in the radial slot 15 round the end [turns of the two springs. It will be seen that during the wrapping operation the off-set parts take the twisting strain so that the wire extending across between the rows is free from any twisting strain and a tight wrap is obtained. In order to rotate the rotatable member 14 it is formed with teeth on its periphery and is connected through a suitable gear train with a motor driven shaft. The member 14 is driven by two pinions 30', 31 which mesh with a pinion 32 on a shaft 33. The pinion 32 is driven by a pinion 34 on a motor driven shaft 35. Half the teeth on the pinion 34 are removed so that the wrapping mechanism stands during half a revolution of the shaft 35. The wrapping motion is completed during half a revolution of the shaft 35 and during the other half revolution the clamping slides are withdrawn to an inoperative position so that the springs now secured together by the tie Wire can be lifted out of the slot 15 in the rotatable member 14. In order to withdraw the slides 21, 22 they are formed with abutments 36 in their undersides which are engaged at the appropriate time by a cam 37 on a shaft 38 which is driven from the shaft 35 by a chain 39 and sprockets 4h, 41 on the respective shafts. cam 37 they are held in a retracted position by the catch 26 engaging in the recesses 27 until released as previously described. The rotatable member 14 is preferably arranged to make two complete revolutions and is stopped in its initial position. The shaft 33 makes one revolution whilst the rotatable member 14 makes two revolutions and the locating means for the member 14 comprises a disc 42 on the shaft 33, the disc 42 having a recess in its periphery which is engaged by a spring loaded detent 43 to hold the rotatable member in its correct position when stationary. The detent 43 is carried by an eccentric pin 44 which can be turned to raise or lower the detent 43 and provide an adjustment for the correct setting of the rotatable member 14 when at rest. The shaft 35 is driven through a clutch controlled by a lever which is moved to engage the clutch and held in the clutch engaging position until the rotatable member has made the required number of revolutions, that is one revolution of When the slides 21, 22 are withdrawn by the.

4 the shaft 35 when the clutch lever is released so that the rotatable member stops with the radial slot in its initial position for the removal of the end turns after being secured together. In order to lift the wrapped end turns of the upholstery springs out of the radial slot 15 in the rotatable member 14 each head is provided with a pivoted lifting plate 45 which is raised at the appropriate time by a pin 46 which engages under the plate 45 and rests on a bar 47 which extends across all the heads and is raised to raise all the lifting plates 45 so that the spring assembly can be moved back for the next wrapping operation to be carried out. The wrapping heads are arranged in front of a table 48 (see FIG. 10) which supports the spring assembly as it increases in size.

A wrapping head such as described is provided for each row of springs in the spring assembly. The heads are mounted side by side on a suitable frame and the rotatable members driven from a common shaft. A slide common to all the heads may be provided and operated by a lever arranged so that movement of the slide in one direction causes the clamping slides to exert additional pressure on the end turns during the wrapping operation whilst movement of the slide in the opposite direction holds the clamping slides retracted whilst the wrapped turns are removed.

The end turns of the springs in each row are secured together in succession to form the rows, the wrapping operation in each row being carried out at the same time and after securing together the springs in each row at one end the assembly is turned over and the springs in each row are secured together at their other ends in a similar manner.

In the apparatus described the wrapping heads tie the bottom end turns of the springs together and after tying together all the bottom end turns in each row the spring assembly is turned over so that what were previously the top end turns of the springs now become the bottom end turns and can be tied together as previously described. In order that the top and bottom turns of the springs can be tied together at the same time a second wrapping head is provided for each row. This second or upper wrapping head is similar in construction and operation to the wrapping head previously described but is inverted so that the upper end turns of two springs may be placed in position in the head together with the tie wire. Spring clips or fingers or any other convenient means are provided to hold the tie wires in position whilst the upper end turn of the second spring is placed in position in the upper head. When this has been done the clamping slides are released and the end turns and tie wire are held by the clamping slides. After the wrapping operation has taken place the pivoted plates 45 are operated to move the end turns clear of the wrapping heads so that the spring assembly can be pushed back and the end turns located in the wrapping heads ready for the next wrapping operation. Alternatively provision may be made to raise the upper wrapping head after each wrapping operation. Upper and lower wrapping heads are preferably provided for each row of springs in the spring assembly so thatthe wrapping operation is carried out at the upper and lower ends of the springs in each row at the same time".

What I claim is:

1. In a machine for securing together the end turns of upholstery springs, a rotatable member carried on bearings in side plates, a base to support the side plates, grooves in the base to receive the end turns of two upholstery springs and position them in the radial slot, clamping slides on the base to hold the end turns of the springs and a transverse tie wire placed in the radial slot, a releasable catch to hold the clamping slides in an inoperative position, springs to advance the clamping slides into operative position when the catch is released, teeth on the rotatable member, gears to drive the rotatable member from a shaft, a motor, a clutch to couple the motor to the shaft, and means to operate the clutch to turn the rotatable member and wrap an or-set loop in the tie wire round the end turns of the springs.

2. In a machine for securing together the end turns of upholstery springs according to claim 1, means to check the rotatable member in its initial position after a wrapping operation, and means to return the clamping slides to their inoperative positions.

3. In a machine for securing together the end turns of two upholstery springs, a rotatable member carried in bearings in side plates, a radial slot in the rotatable member, a bed plate, grooves in the bed plate to receive the end turns of two upholstery springs, clamping slides at the side of the side plates movable into overlying relation to said bed plate groove to hold the end turns and a transverse tie wire, means to turn the rotatable member to wrap a loop in the tie Wire round the end turns of the spring, means to automatically release the clamping slides after the wrapping operation, and means to raise the end turns out of the radial slot after the release of the clamping slides.

4. in a machine for securing together the end turns of uphol tery springs, a plurality of rotatable members carried in bearings in side plates mounted in spaced relationship on a bed, radial slots in the rotatable members disposed in line, grooves in the bed to locate the end turns of two upholstery springs in each radial slot, clamping slides on the bed at the side of each side plate movable into overlying relation to respective ones of the grooves to hold the end turns of the upholstery springs and a transverse tie wire in position in the radial grooves, means to turn all the rotatable members simultaneously to wrap loops in the tie wire aroun the end turns in each radial groove, means to stop the rotatable members in their initial position after a wrapping operation, means to automatically withdraw the clamping slides to an inoper ative position after a Wrapping operation, and means to lift the wrapped end turns out of the radial slots.

5. In a machine for securing together the end turns of upholstery springs according to claim 4, clamping slides held in an inoperative position by releasable catches, and springs to advance the slides into operative position when the catches are released.

6. In a machine for securing togetr er the end turns of upholstery springs utilizing a transverse tie Wire and of the type incorporating a slotted rotatable tie wire receiving member, a bed plate, said bed plate having a longi tudinal slot therethrough, transversely extending arcuate grooves in said base on opposite sides of said slot for receiving and positioning end turns of two upholstery springs in overlapping relation, spaced side plates carried by said bed plate on opposite sides of said bed plate slot, bearings carried by said side plates mounting said rotatable tie wire receiving member for rotation and within said bed plate slot, notches in said side plates aligned with said rotatable tie wire receiving member and said bed plate grooves for receiving end turns of two upholstery springs and a tie wire, a slide type clamp resting on said bed plate and having legs disposed alongside said plates, means engaging said legs and preventing upward movement of said legs away from said bed plate, spring means engaging said clamp and urging said legs to positions overlying the grooves to hold spring end turns and a tie wire against vertical movement during a tying operation, catch means engageable with said clamp to retain said legs in retracted positions to permit the positioning of springs and a tie wire, and automatic operating means including means for twisting an intermediate part of a tie rod a predetermined number of turns, and means for automatically retracting said clamp to a catch retained position after the termination of the tie wire twisting operation.

' 7. In a machine for securing together the end turns of upholstery springs utilizing a transverse tie Wire and of the type incorporating a slotted rotatable tie wire receiving member, a bed plate, said bed plate having a longitudinal slot therethrough, transversely extending arcuate grooves in said base on opposite sides of said slot for receiving and positioning end turns of two upholstery springs in overlapping relation, spaced side plates carried by said bed plate on opposite sides of said bed plate slot, bearings carried by said side plates mounting said rotatable tie wire receiving member for rotation and Within said bed plate slot, notches in said side plates aligned with said rotatable tie wire receiving member and said bed plate grooves for receiving end turns of two upholstery springs and a tie wire, a slide type clamp resting on said bed plate and having legs disposed alongside said side plates, means engaging said legs and preventing upward movement of said legs away from said bed plate, spring means engaging said clamp and urging said legs to positions overlying the grooves to hold spring end turns and a tie wire against vertical movement during a tying operation, a stripper plate overlying said bed plate'outwardly of and below said bed plate grooves and in position for underlying portions of end turns of springs, means pivotally mounting said stripper plate for upward swinging movement, and means for effecting the upward swinging of said stripper plate.

References fitted in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

Claims (1)

1. IN A MACHINE FOR SECURING TOGETHER THE END TURNS OF UPHOLSTERY SPRINGS, A ROTATABLE MEMBER CARRIED ON BEARINGS IN SIDE PLATES, A BASE TO SUPPORT THE SIDE PLATES, GROOVES IN THE BASE TO RECEIVE THE END TURNS OF TWO UPHOLSTERY SPRINGS AND POSITION THEM IN THE RADIAL SLOT, CLAMPING SLIDES ON THE BASE TO HOLD THE END TURNS OF THE SPRINGS AND A TRANSVERSE TIE WIRE PLACED IN THE RADIAL SLOT, A RELEASABLE CATCH TO HOLD THE CLAMPING SLIDES IN AN INOPERATIVE POSITION, SPRINGS TO ADVANCE THE CLAMPING SLIDES INTO OPERATIVE POSITION WHEN THE CATCH IS RELEASED, TEETH ON THE ROTATABLE MEMBER, GEARS TO DRIVE THE ROTATABLE MEMBER FROM A SHAFT, A MOTOR, A CLUTCH TO COUPLE THE

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