US1117685A - Coiling-machine. - Google Patents

Description

A. MOMURTRIB. COILING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCTfl, 1910. 1,1 17,685, Patented NW1?, 1914.

lA//T/VESLES M VVE/vm@ f fw ma W narran Israiris PATENT OFFICE.

ADNAH MCMURTRIE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOB. TO THOMAS & BETTS COMPAN'.. OF NEXV YDRK, Y.. A CORPORATION OF NE'W YORK.

Specification of/retters Patent.

Patented Nov. 17,1.514.

Application sied october i, 1510. seri-a1 No. 584,924.

To all '101cm z't may concern Be it known that I, ADNAH MCMURTma, of New York, N. Y., have invented certain Improvements in CoilingLMachines, of which the following description, in connection with the accompanying drawings, is a speciiication, like references on the drawings designating like parts.

This invention relates to coiling machines, and is of particular utility when employed in apparatus for manufacture of the helically coiled metal strip used as a protective armor sheath for insulated electrical conductors, although I contemplate the use of my improvements in any field to which they object will be made the subject of a separateapplication.

Another important object of my invention is to accomplish, in a unitary operation with the aforesaid helical shaping of the tube, the lateral deformation of the strip along the axis of the helix, which is ordinarily accomplished by treatment of the strip in a separate machine preliminary to the coiling operation, in order to impart to the strip the lateral curvature which has usually constituted the preparation of the strip for its helical formation.

My inventionutilizes a straight strip in@ stead of a laterally curved strip, in the heiix ceiling machine.

Armor strips at the present time are of substantial width and thickness owing to the requirements of the fire underwriters and building authorities. and the exigencies of inode-rn building, which malte it necessary that the armor `shall so fa r as possible be capable of resisting puncture by nails and other destructive agencies, and such a substantial armor strip is ditlicult to deform laterally, especially when the strip is of a more or less acutely bent cross section for purposes of causing interlocking of the convolutions in their helical form, these dilli` culties militating strongly against a vready reduction of the strip to final spiral form during the formation of the first convolution, as has been the practice heretofore in themanufacture of such armor sheatlis.

Any suitable device may be adopted to carry my invention into etect, and as the preferred form of such device. I may employ an apparatus comprising rolls presenting working surfaces for engagement with the strip at an angle to the axis of the helix of its formation, the angular relation being secured as desired and found suitable in various situations, as for example, by using tapered rolls.

The various features of my invention will be illustrated and described fully in the accompanying drawings and specification .and pointed out'in claims.

In the drawings, Figure l is a. view in frontelevation of the preferred form of apparatus for carrying my invention into elfect, and in the construction of which my improvements have been embodied; Fig. 2 is a conventional section taken on the line .eL-m2 of Fig. l; and Fig. 3 is a fragmentary View similar to F ig. 2 of a modified form of machine; While Fig. a shows the preferred form of strip in cross-section.

In the embodiment of my invention selected for illustration and description to permit a ready and complete understanding of the preferred manner in which my invention may be carried into effect, the part designated by the reference numeral 1 is a device for deforming the strip constituting the stock under treatment, to form a flexible metallic armor tube in the instance illus trated, and the device itself may be of any suitable character and material to accomplish the desired result.

In accordance with my invention the de- Yicc acts upon the strip near its point of entry Vand a1? a suitable distance from kthe helical axis. this distance being greater than the radius of the completed sheath, and in the instance illustrated this purpose is seri-ml by utilizing. for the'deformation of the strip helically, a rollof ta ered periphery, formed. as a sleeve secured y suitable means, suchy place, Where required. The Anumber of these..

rolls may be varied as desired and found 3 5 suitable to the exi encies. of the work in: hand'xthus I have shown four rolls bearing.l `the ri - terencenumerals 1, 2, 3 anda respectivel `teach'with ian-arbor?, and I .prefer also' t /provide the apparatus with means to drive these rolls positively, for -which pur-l ose I have shown the arbors 7 as extended youd the bearing standard 9, and provided respectively with pinions 13, pinned at'14i and 142 res ctively to their arbors, and g5 meshing wit a ear lsecured by key 16 upon a hollow s aft 17, also journaled in the frame upright 9, this shaft, being provided-with suitable means such as the ear Y 18 keyed thereto at 19 to-,permit the siaft 3o to be driven from` a suitable .source of power (not shown). Suitable means may be rovided, such as the collar 20, to hold the s aft 17 in place in its bearings, and I have shown .,a' bearing standard 21 bolted at 22 to the 85 base 10 and affording a bearing at 23 to the hollow shaft, the face of the standard being counter-sunk at 240 to receive the collar 20, and this standard may alsobe utilized as an .auxiliary bearing for the arbore 7.

40 When 1t is desired to form the sheath 25 in place upon an insulated conductor, such as that shown at 26, the latter may be intro# duced to the sheath through the axial bore .of the'shaft 17 ,and the insulated conductor l will preferably, but not necessarily, be rotated with theshaft 17 and sheath 25 during ,the formation of the latter, butA inasmuch as such insulated conductors are ordinarily of non-circular contour, as illustrated, the sheath need not fit thereupon with greater closeness than will constitute an easy7 sli lit, the conductor performing no specific unction in the formation ofthe Iconvolutions of the sheath, as will be readily' understood upon reference to Fig. 2 of the drawings. The relatively large distance between the y rolls at their smaller tapered end, and the corres ondingly large diameter of the first convo ution,l renders its lateral deformation easy, so'that the helical lay 1s imparted with least resistance on the part of the strip,

, .*rst'convolution has been accomplished, the s l'ihesqiient reduction of the ,diameter of the I do not claim herein specifically certainy to the elimination of much of thev resistance to bending, and when the helix is accomplished by successive circuiti ferential bending' strains and by increasing lateral deformation.

Inthepreferred form of machine illustrated in Eig. 2, the hollow shaft'l 41'? 'zt nates outside of the regioniof operation` of the rolls, but I my provide a mandrel of suitable llen h, an substantial construcv tion and arrangement, as for example by" providing the hollow shaft 17 75 gral extension 170, which -may be formed tapered as indicated by the dotted ylines in I have shown in Fig o modified form of,

mandrel 177 constituting anl integral entenv ,l sion of the hbllow shaft 117, but of suicient'-' length to cooperate with a substantial por-4 tion of the tapered surfaces 124of'the rolls 96 101, 102, which are mounted ,in standards and 90 upon a base 110, preferably correspondin in essential respects with similar.. arts a ready described with reference to `ig. 2. -In Fig. 3 I have shown the rolls as 100 comprising sleeves 101, 102 secured by keys 106 upon arbore 70, the arbore being driven suitablyl by mechanism not shown but which may` correspond Iconveniently to that shown in ig.'2.

I have shown in Fig. 4 .in cross-section, one convenient form ofstrip 5, foruse in the manufacture of helical sheathe, but-I do not limit myself to any particular cross section of stri for this purpose. -IIav1ngillustrated and described my invention thus fully, 'and suitable means by which it may be carried into effect, I wish it to be understood that I do not limit myself to the speciiic construction and materials l shown and described by way of example; nor do I limitmyself in general'otherwise` than as set forth in 'the claims read in connection with this specification.

features of construction which are made theA f y subject matterof claims in my co-pending applications Serial Nos.' 584,923;v '584i,925;- 584,92; and 584,927; tiled on the same day as the present application. .l Jj i i,

What I claim as-new.and desi've tpecure f by Letters Patent ofthe United States of America, isz-` 1. Coiling apparatus; comprising a seriesA of rolls to be engaged With-a.` strip for the 13o saifi ioiis ine- S of iieiii;

ooves piogresheiicai eonieiion jiie ing grouped fioun the and pi'ovidefi with a siveiy nearer siiifi progressimi?` n Coiiing an* i' sing pinraiity of tapa-eo mils gionped theii tapered surfaces dieposefl anguiariy about a connnon :iiiis o forni iiepioai coni/ofi tions of progressively naf wing xi'ainetei in a strip along sumnunfilng sind exis.

3. Coiing apparatus; comprising' noiioW shaft; and. :i @infinity oi' tapeied rolls .grouped aiioii the anis of seid shaft with their tapeed surfaces disposed. angina-ily reiativeiy tiieieto o om a s'rip imo pro gressiveiy narrowing heiieai convolution@ surrounding an. insuiaei eonfiuetor led through said shaft along axis between said ioiis.

4:. Coiiing appaiatus; comprising a holion' Shaft; and a piuraity of tapered rolis grouped about he axis of said shaft with Liieir ioi'ger ends adjacent to each other to- Ward the month of said shaft to form a strip into pifogressiveiy narrowing helical como iutions suirounding an insulated conductoz ien through said shaft along said axis be- 'o'een said foils, and said ends being so spaced 'ahnt said heiicaisheath so formed snail be of substantiaiiy uniform inner diameer approximating the maximum thickness of the conciucor contained therein.

Signed at New Yoi'k in the' country and Stae of New York this 22nd day of Septeinoer, 1?;10.

ADNAH MCMURTRIE.

'Winessesr XVM. H. MCCORMICK, Ami-:ANDER C. PROUDFIT.

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