US1291141A - Feed mechanism for wire-fence machines. - Google Patents

Description

, W. V. REW.

H'E MECHMSM FR WIRE FENCE MACHINES.

Mwucfwmm ULEB Auazo, 191.1.

1 y EL @gli Patented hn. M., 19M.

entran entras Nradianti OFFICE.

WALTER V. REID, 0F RICHMOND,` INDIANA, ASSIGNOR TO PETTIS A. REID, 0F

RICHMOND, INDIANA.

FEED MECI-IANISIVI FOR WIRE-FENCE MACHINES.

l @glitt Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 14, 1919.

Application filed August 20, 1917. Serial No. 187,094.

To all whom t may concern."

Be it known that I, WALTER V. REID, a citizen of the United States, residing at Richmond, in the county of Wayne and State of Indiana, have invented certain new andn useful Improvements in Feed Mech.

anism for l/Viredfence Machines; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to mechanism for feeding wire and other flexible material longitudinally, and more particularly to wire fabric weaving machines used for making wire fences, wherein the stay wireis fed longitudinally or endwise across a series of strand wires into position for the action of a series of loop-forming and twisting devices and associated mechanisms, whereby loops are formed in the stay wire and wrapped around the strand wires at predetermined distances apart as the strand wires are drawn intermittently through the machine. y

The object of my invention is to provide a novel and ecient feed mechanism of the character referred to with means for shifting the feed-wire alternately into and out of operative relation to the feed rolls in suchmanner that the wire from which the stays are to be formed, or other flexible material, may be fed to the wire working machine automatically from the coil of wire longitudinally or endwise for feeding the same lengths successively or unequal lengths alternately to form alternately long and short stay lengths.

The invention will first be hereinafter more particularly described, with reference to the accompanying drawings, which are to be taken as a part of this specification, and then pointed out in the claims at the end of the description.

In said drawings, Figure l is a front elevation of a wire feeding mechanism embodying my invention; n

Fig. 2 is a front elevation illustrating a modification of the feed rolls and cam used for shifting the stay feedwire.

Fig. 3 is a detail perspective view of a modified form of cam used for shifting the stay feed wire guiding means, so as to adapt the mechanism to feed wire or other flexible material lengthwise alternately in long and short lengths;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of another form of cam used for shifting the stay feed wire for feeding the wire in the same or equal lengths successively.

lig. 5 is a perspective view of the segmental feed roll.

Referring to said drawings, in which the same reference letters are used to denote corresponding parts in different views, the letter A may denote the machine frame on which the feed mechanism is mounted. The letters B, C and D denote, respectively, a power shaft, the cam shaft and a countershaft journaled in said frame. `Vlhen revolved at the same speed as the cam shaft of the machine to which the material is being fed, the power shaft may be an eX tension of said shaftand journaled or not, as may be necessary, in the frame of the feed mechanism. The counter-shaft D may be journaled in suitable bearings bolted or otherwise secured to the machine frame, as shown, parallel with the power shaft. The feed roll drive shaft E extends above the machine frame in which it is journaled and carries a bevel pinion or gear wheel c which engages a similar bevel pinion or gear wheel on theshaft D, which may be driven by means of a chain b extending from a sprocket wheel B1 on the power shaft B to a similar sprocket wheel on the counter-shaft D, while the shaft C is driven by a drive chain c extending from a sprocket wheel on the power shaft B around a larger sprocket wheel C1 on the cam shaft C. Said sprocket wheels are so proportioned and the movement so timed as to impart the desired rotary movement to the feed rolls and the desired reciprocating movement to the wire guiding means for feeding the material in equal lengths successively or alternately in different lengths, as hereinafted described. H and H1 denote the co-acting feed rolls between the peripheries of which the stay feed wire is placed and gripped with sufficient force to advance the wire a given length at each revolution of the rolls.

The roll H has a part of its periphery cut away so that it will rotate a distance equal to the length of the cut away portion without gripping the wire between it and the adjacent feed roll. The peripheries of the co-acting feed rolls are normally separated sufficiently for the passage therebetween of the stay feed wire, or other flexible material, that is being fed longitudinally through the machine by means of said rolls, and the shifting of the stay feed wire sidewise, so as to bring the same into or out of operative relation to the co-acting feed rolls, for the purpose of effecting the in-feed of the wire longitudinally, or allowing the same to remain stationary during the operation of the stay attaching devices, takes place while the aforesaid cut-away portion of the larger or segmental roll H is passing the smaller or single roll H1. The feed wire may be held in t-he inactive position during one or more revolutions of the feed rolls; the period of time it is so held depending upon the amount of idle time wanted between successive feeds. On the shaft C is fixed a .cam K on which the lower end of a reciprocating bar L, or a friction roller on the lower end of said bar, may rest, to be operated thereby. Said bar L carries at its upper end a small feed wire guide or tube M which receives and guides the stay wire longitudinally through the machine, between the periphery of the segmental roll and the co-acting feed roll. The bar L may be supported and guided in its reciprocatory movements in eyes or sockets a, nl on the projecting ends of brackets N and N1, which may be bolted or otherwise secured to the machine frame, as shown. A coiled or other suitable spring O, placed on the bar L, between the bracket N and a collar o on said bar L, tends to force said bar downwardly andhold the friction device or roller on the lower end thereof in engagement with the actuating cam K. The

-Y collar 0 may be secured on the bar L by means of a set screw to adapt it to be adjusted for varying the pressure of the spring. The roller H1, or equivalent rolling means, may be mounted on a stub shaft which has its bearings in a socket formed integrally `with or secured to a lever P, which is pivotally mounted on the machine frame, conveniently by means of ears or lugs on the tubular part of -the lever P, apertured to receive a pivot bolt or pin p engaging registering apertures in similar lugs projecting from the machine frame. The tube or socket on the lever P may be formed integrally with a depending portion or eXtension p1 of the longer arm of the lever and to said longer arm is connected at its lower end 'one endof a coiled or other suitable spring Q, the other end of which may-be adjustably secured to the machine frame by means of an eye-bolt g passing through a hole in a bracket on the machine frame and having a nut screwed thereon for adjusting the tension of the spring, which serves to hold the lever P in contact with an adjusting screw a" carried by a bracket X projecting from the machine frame, as shown, whereby the working faces or peripheries of the co-acting feed rolls are prevented from comingv into contact and are kept at the desired distance apart to permit the passage of the feed wire therebetween and adapt them to grip and hold the wire with suliicient pressure to feed the required length as the rolls revolve. The cam K is constructed with` peripheral lobes or projections c and 71:2 which engage successively the lower end of the movable bar L, or the friction roller thereon, and raise said bar sufficiently to bring they stay wire centrally between the peripheries ofthe feed-rolls, that is, between the small roll H1 and the segment H, and hold the wire, through the wire guiding means carried by the bar L, in such position until a sufficient number-of revolutions of the feed rolls has been made to feed the desired length, whereupon the spring O will force the bar, L downwardly so as to bring its lower end into engagement with the arcshaped'portion or cam surface k1, of the cam K between the two diametrically opposite lobes on said cam and at the saine time bring the wire guiding means M and feed wire below the plane of the feed rolls where the wire is held and remains stationary until the loop-forming and wrapping` devices have attached the previously fed stay to the strand wires, and thereupon, the strand wires being drawn through the machine the length of a stay space, the bar L will be again raised by the lobe 7a2, to bring the wire between the peripheries of the feedrolls, and the feed wire being clamped therebetween, as the rollers are caused to revolve, another stay length will be fed, and as the rotation of-the cam is continued the bar L will be lowered by engagement with the arc-shaped portion r" of t-he cam K, thereby bringing the wire guiding means or feed wire below the feed rolls. where it will be held for a suflicient period of time to permit. the. application of a previously fed stay or stay length, and thereupon the bar L will be again raised by the boss or lobe con the cam K, so as to bring the feed wire and guiding means into operative relation to the feed rolls, and so on, so as to intermittently feed the material a stay length; the length fed depending upon the length of the contact surface of the segment with which the adjacent co-acting feed roll is engaged and the number of revolutions of the feed rolls while the feed wire is held therebetween. A gear wheel R on the shaft E in mesh with a pinion R1 on the stub shaft which carries the feed roll H:L may be used for imparting simultaneous;

rotary movement to thetwo rolls when the shaft E is revolved.

For feeding alternately long and short stay lengths, or the like, thecain K1, Fig.`

' being of greater length than the other so as Fig. l, there is a pair of segmental feed to feed alternately a comparatively long and a comparatively short length. `The length consists of multiples of whatthe rolls would feed in one revolution.v As shown in Fig. 3 the length of one lobe is of two multiples, while `the other is of three multiples;` the lobes being of sufficient length to holdthe stay wire in theplane of the rolls for two arid three revolutions, respectively, of the feed rolls. As shown inFig. l, the lobes are of the same length, for feeding the saine length successively,`and each lobe will hold the stay wire in the plane of the rolls for two revolutions. The same result may be accomplished by omitting one lobe, as illus-1 trated in Fig. 4l, which gives a greater pe-y riod of time between the successive feeds. ln the forni shown in Fig. 2 `of the drawings, instead of the rolling means shown in rolls H2 and H3 and a pairof co-acting smaller rolls H and H5, each pair of rolls being slightly separated to provide what may beterined a neutral space between the rolls, for a purpose hereinafter stated.

Fach of the two segmental rolls has a pe-4 ripheral portion thereof out away, as shown in Fig. 5, to form unequal segments or contactsurfaces of different lengths,to adapt one segment and co-aeting feed roll to feed a greater length than the other segment.`

The peripheries of the co-acting rolls of each pair are normally separated sufficiently for the passagetherebetween of the wire or other inaterialthat is being fed longitudi#4 na ly through the in achine by means of said rolls. The feed wire shifting means is of the saine construction and adapted to operate inthe saine manner as described with reference to Fig. l, though a different form of cani is employed, to adapt the feed meche.

anisin to feed eitherl vthe same lengths successively,"or unequal lengths alternately, so as to form alternately long` and short stay lengths. To this end the cam l 2 has a peripheral projection 7e the same as the cams K and K1, which engages the lower end of the movable bar L, or the friction roller thereon, and raises said bar sufficiently to bring the stay wire centrally between the peripheries of the uppermost feed rolls, that is, between the roll H4 and the segment H2, and `hold the wire, through the wire guiding means carried by the bar L, in such po sition until a suflicient number of revolu-` tions of the feed rolls has been made to feed the desired length, whereupon the spring U will force the bar L downwardly so as to bring its lower end into engagement with the arceshaped portion or cam surface k1 of the cani K2, at one side of the boss or lobe f: and at the saine time bring the wire guiding means M and feed wire into the plane of the neutral spaces between the adjacent pairs of feed rolls where the wire is held until the loop-forining and wrapping devices have attached the previously fed stay to the strand wires, and thereupon, the strand wires being drawn through the machine the length. of a stay spaee, the bar L will be further depressed by the spring O, bringing its lower end or the roller thereon into engagement with the recessed portion 702 of the cam K2, which brings the wire guiding means M centrally of the two lowermost feed rolls, H3 and` H5, and the feed wire being clamped therebetween, as the rollers are caused to revolve, another and shorter stay length will be fed, and as the -rotation of the cani is continued the bar L will be caused to engage the arc-shaped por tion 7c3 of the cam and thereby raise the rod L suciently to bring the wire guiding means M into alinement with the neutral space between the feed rolls, where it will be held for a sufficient period of time to permity the application of another previously fed stay or stay length, and thereupon the bar L will be again lraised by the boss k, so as to bring the feed wire and guiding means into operative relation to the uppermost feed rolls,`

aiidso on, so as to intermittently feed the material alternately in long and short lengths; the length fed depending upon the length of the contact surface of the segment with which the adjacent co-acting feed roll is engaged and the number of revolutions of the feed rolls while the feed wire is held therebetween. As in Fig. 1, so also in Fig. 2, theshaft E carries a gear wheel H in mesh with a pinion F21 on the stub shaft which carries the feed rolls H4 and H5 for imparting simultaneous rotary movement to the two pairs of rolls when the shaft E is revolved.

lf desired to feed stays of uniform length, a cam of the forni shown in Fig. l may be substituted for the cam shown in Fig. 21, which would prevent the feed wire from being lowered sufficiently to bring the stay feed wire into the plane of the lowerinost feed rolls, and would give a greater period of time between successive feeds; the lobe 7c being adapted to raise the lever L and bring the feed wire into operative relation to the uppermost feed rolls, for feeding a stay length, whereupon the lobe will release or disengage the lever and allow the same to drop down and move "the 'feed wire sidewise from between the feed rolls, in which position the wire will be held until again raised and moved in between. the uppermost rolls by engagement ofthe lobe la with the -shi-fting lever. The same result may be `accomplished by fixing a collar T on the lever L, at the proper distance from the bracket N1, as shown in `dotted lines in Fig. 2, so vthat it will serve as a stop to prevent the lever L from dropping down into the .recess 7a2 of the cam K2 or lower "than the neutral faces of the cam. y

Suitable guiding means for the material being -fed can `be mounted upon a bracketfor fixed partvof the machine frame, tolguide the material to feed rolls, andguiding means to receive lthe material that is being .vfed'can also be mounted upon la bracket or other fixed part of the machine frame on the 0pposite side of the ffeed Irolls, if desired. When feeding a stay-feed-wire to a fence making machine, `it may be and usually is desirable to pass the wire through a wire straightener, such as shown in Patent No. 1,160,089, granted Reid, Reid & Kelley, No-

vember 9, 1915, having two series of grooved rolls mounted in different planes so that the wire may be drawn between the two sets of rolls and straightened; and such y wire straightener may be mounted on ashelf or bracket cast integrally with :or secured to the machine `frame `in .such `manner that the straightenerso mounted may yserve as one guide for 4guiding the wire to the feed rolls. Atubular guide such as shown in-said vpatent may also be mounted upon the fence machine andfextended close up to the feed rolls to receive `the wire as fed-by the rolls.

It will be understood of course that the required movement A'may be imparted tothe feed roll Vshafts' and camshaft by other means than sprocket wheels and chains, as forinstance, .byfbevel-or spur gearing, and that if the v-machine with which 'this feeding mechanism is to be used has shafts properly7 timed, the frame design ofthe feed mechanism can .be changed to suit the positions of such shafts when extended, or the feed roll drive shaft E can be directly connected yto one of the machine shafts and motion imparted to the slever L by a cam mounted on a shaft within the machine frame, so' as to dispense with the chains and sprocket wheels and bevel gearing of the specific form shown.

While my improved feed mechanism is designed and adapted especially for use upon wire .fence making machines, it is -obviously adapted for use in feeding flexible material to othermachines, for instance, Yfor feeding strip material -to punch presses, or other machinery, in either unequal -or equal lengths, and it will `be understood that the invention is not restricted in its application to wire fence making machines.

As will be seen, I may feed alternately different lengths of wire by means of coacting pairs of feed rolls or by means of a single pair of rolls, providing the lengths to be fed are kmultiples of what the segment roll will feed during one revolution. For instance, if .one length requires one turn and the other length requires two, three or four turns, or if the first length requires two turns and the second length requires three or four turns, the working face 7c of the cam should be made the length necessary to .hold the wire in the plane of the rolls during the required number of revolutions of the rolls for the first length, while for the :second length the cam is provided with another raised portion of greater length `than but like the lpart 7c, instead of the recess 702 as provided for use with the two pairs of rolls, the longer lobe being of sufficient length to hold the wire in the plane of the krolls for the required number of turns in `excess of the number required for the shorter lobe.

Various changes may be made in the details of construction and arrangement of parts without departing from the spirit and scope-of my invention; hence I do not desire to be limited to the specific constructions illustrated and described.

' Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the .United States is:

.1. In a machine for feeding wire kor other flexible material endwise, .the lcombination with a `pair of feed rolls between which the material is placed, of means for rotating said rolls-simultaneously in opposite directions, movable wire-guiding means, and means for throwing said guiding means into and out of operative relation to said feed rolls, including interchangeable dissimilar cams ywhereby the in'feed of the material may be effected in either unequal lengths, alternately, or in equal lengths, successively.

2. In combination, a plurality of unequal segmental feed rolls, feed rolls beside said segmental rolls,.means for rotating said segmental and co-acting rolls in opposite directions, movable wire-guiding means, and means for throwing said guiding means into and out of operative relation to said feed rolls, including interchangeable dissimilar cams, whereby the material may be fed in either unequal lengths, alternately, or in equal lengths, successively.

3. In combination, pairs of-co-acting feed rolls arranged in slightly separated relation one above another to providea neutral space of rolls only to adapt the machine to feed 10 between upper and lower pairs of rolls, one the material successively in equal lengths. pair being adapted to feed a greater length In testimony whereof l affix my signature of iaterial than the otler, rovable wirein the presence of two witnesses.

gui ing means, means or t rowin said guiding means into operative relationgto the WALTER V REID different pairs of rolls, alternately, and means whereby said guiding means may be sustained in operative relation to one pair Witnesses:

Gnovnn C. Yos'r, Pn'r'rls A. REID.

@epics of this patent may be obtained for ve cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of latehta, Washington, D. C.

Images