US1518869A - Wire-spoke heading and bending machine - Google Patents

Description

Dec. 9, 1924.

'A L. OLSON WIRE SPOKE HEADING AND BEND ING MACHINE Filed Feb. 20, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR.

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A. L. OLSON WIRE SPOKE HEADING AND BENDING MACHINE Filed Feb, 20. 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TOR. flzell. 0150a A TTORNEYS. .%W V M A. L. OLSON WIRE SPOKE HEADING AND BENDING MACHINE Filed Feb. 0, 1922 4 Sheets-Sheet 5 INVENTOR. .flxel Z. Olson rnlll 0 C y m grromwsys.

Dec, 9, 192 4.

\ A. L. OLSON WIRE SPOKE HEADING 'AND BENDING MACHINE 1 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Feb, 20, 1922 Y INVEN TOR. .fizeZ L. 06500 fi p ATTORNEYS.

Patented Dec. 9, 1924.

UNITED STATES H 1,518,869 PATENT OFFICE.

AXEL L. oLsoN, or nssnx, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOB TO THE NATIONAL sonnw AND TACK COMPANY, OF CLEVELAND, OHIO, A CORPORATION OF OHIO.

WIRE-SPOKE HEAIDING AND BENDING MACHINE Application filed February 20, 1922. Serial No. 537,888.

To all whom it may concern.

Be it known that AXEL L. OLSON, a citizen of the United States, and resident of Essex, in the county of Middlesex and State of Connecticut, has invented certain new and use ful Improvements in Wire-Spoke Heading and Bending Machines, of which the followin is a specification.

lily invention relates to improvements in wire forming machines and more particularly in a combined wire heading and bending machine for forming wire spokes for wheels of bicycles or other vehicles.

In the manufacture of wire spokes for wheels of this class a relative light but strong steel wire is employed, which is first taken from a roll, straightened and cut to required lengths according to the size of the wheels in which they are to be used. The wire lengths are then run through a second machine wherein one end portion of the spokes are threaded. My improved machine is designed. and employed for performing the neXt and final operations of heading and bending the spoke which completes the same.

The object of the invention therefore is to provide an automatic machine whereby the heading and bending operations'may be readily performed. The previously'jcut lengths of wire are placed in a hopper from which they are fed down into and through the machine which performs the heading and bending operations and drops the fin ished spokes therefrom in rapid succession. The machine is particularly designed so that the two operations are performed simultaneously by different sets of mechanism and so that with each rotation of the main-shaft of the machine a complete spoke is produced. This Obviously .means that if the machine is timed to make 275 revolutions a minute there will be an equal number of spokes produced.

A further object is to design the machine so as to protect the delicate, expensive form- 'ig tools of the machine against breakage or injury should it for any reason become jammed or otherwise stuck, thereby insuring a steady production from the machine hour after hour and day after day with a comparative small amount of repairs.

iVith these and other objects in view the invention resides and consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangements of parts hereinafter more fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the claims hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion, size and minor details .of construction within the scope of the claims may be resorted to without departure from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention.

Similar characters of reference denote like or corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, and upon which,

Fig. 1 shows a plan view of my improved spoke heading and bending machine;

Fig. 1 shows the side view of a wire spoke such as is headed and bent on my improved machine;

Fig. 2 is a side view of the machine seen from the near side of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a vertical cross sectional view showing the heading and forming mech anism, as seen on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is a side elevation of the machine as seen from the opposite side of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a detail central longitudinal sectional view taken on line 5-5 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrow;

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the machine as seen from the right of Fig. 1, the hand operating wheel being removed, and

Fig. 7 is a cross sectional view taken on line 7-7 of Fig. 1, through the hopper, feeding, heading and bending devices.

Referring in detail to the characters of reference marked upon the drawings, 10 represents apedestal which serves to support the main bed 11 of the machine and to which additional attached fixed parts are secured forming brackets, guide ways, bearings, etc. for movable members of the ma chine as will be again more specifically referred to.

12 represents the main driving shaft which as will be seen is mounted. in suitable bearings 13 secured to the under side of the bed 11. This driving shaft is provided upon one end with a frictionally mounted driving pulley 14 and upon the other end with a gear 15 that meshes with and drives a large gear 16 upon the Operating shaft 17 positioned immediately above it. The driving pulley is provided with opposed conical bearing faces 18,, one of which is engaged by a conical faced collar 19 secured to the driving shaft 12 while the other conical bearing similarly engages a like collar 20 also mounted upon the shaft to form a bear ing for the outer end of the wheel hub. This last named beveled face friction collar 20 is slidable on a key secured to the shaft and is held in engagement with the conical friction face of the pulley by means of spring 21 positioned between the said collar 20 and a nut 22 secured upon the outer end of the driving shaft. The purpose of this spring is to afford a frictional engagement as between the driving pulley and the shaft to insure the turning of the latter under ordinary operative conditions but it is sufiiciently yieldable to permit the drivin pulley to slip upon its bearing should the machine become jammed or locked. This obviously provides a safety friction drive for the machine as a whole and prevents serious damage in its operation, to any of the parts therein.

The operating shaft 17 is mounted in bearings 23 upon the top side of the machine bed and in addition to the gear 16 before all) mentioned carries a. bevel gear 24 upon its opposite end and a cam 25 positioned intermediate of the said bearings 23 and substantially central of the bed of the machine. The gear 16 includes an eccentric 26 having a link connection 27 with a slide 28 mounted to reciprocate in a pocket 29 of the bed of the machine said pocket being enclosed by a plate 30 (see Figs. 1, 2 and The purpose of this slide as will be later more fully described, is to actuate an oscillai'io-ry lever 81 which in turn operates the movable holding die against which the wire is headed[ The bevel gear 24 meshes with and drbzes a similar gear 31 upon an action shaft 32 journalled in bearings of brackets 83 two of which are secured to the bed of the machine and the third of which is secured to an extended frame 34 secured to the main bed of the machine. This bevel gear 31 is secured to a sleeve 35 loosely mounted upon the action shaft and has a clutch face 36 that is normally engaged by a co-acti'ng clutch face of a slidable clutch member 3? keyed to the said action shaft the movable clutch member being normallyheld. in engagement with the clutch face 36 by a spring 38 positioned upon the shaft and having one end abutted. against the end of the slidab-le clutch member and the other end against a collar 39 secured upon said action shaft. This obviously affords a positive friction drive, in relation to the timing, as between the driven operating shaft 17 and the action shaft, the clutch being so arranged and the resistance of the spring so proportioned as to cause the clutch to automatically throw out under an excessive load and to be engaged by pawl a3 and held in the disengaged position until the operator can rectify the cause of trouble.

I also provide in connection with this clutch connection a. hand operable device which as will be seen consists of a lever 40 pivoted at 41 to the bed of the machine and carrying a roll that engages the annular groove in the slidable clutch member so that the same may readily be thrown back against the action of the spring by the manipulation of the lever. In this respect it will also be observed that T have provided upon this lever l0 a. lug as to engage the pawl 43 pivotally mounted upon a. bracket a l secured to the bed of the machine. This obviously is for the purpose of holding the movable clutch member out ofengagement with the driven clutch member when the lever is thrown back to disengage the parts. This action shaft includes an eccentric 45 which actuates the feed mechanism later to be eX- plained. it also includes a cam 46 for throwing a lever which in turn operates a slide that carries a mandrel for engaging the free end of the spokes which feature will also again and more fully be referred to. Upon the end of the shafi; 82 is mounted a hand wheel 47 by means of which the machine may be operated to a limited extent by hand as when adjusting or repairing the machine.

The gear 48 positioned upon the action shaft serves to drive a gear 49 mounted upon a stud secured to the frame of the machine. This gear is secured to a gear 50 forming the driving member of a Geneva movement andof which the other member 51 is secured upon the feed shaft 52. This Geneva movement operatively connects the action shaft with the feed shaft so that the latter is intermittently operated to feed the spokes from the hopper one by one to the respective operating stations.

The hopper of the machine for containing the spokes is made in two parts, one of which I will designates as a fixed member 53 and the otheras an adjustable member 54. These two parts form the opposite side portions of the hopper and when positioned as shown in the drawing leave a space 55 therebetween, said spaces vary ing of course with the particular setting of the movable hopper member made neces sary by the particular make of the spoke to be headed. These hopper members are supported upon the frame member 3% (see Fig. 4) and each includes a bearing 56 in which the rocker shaft 57 is mounted. This rocker shaft is sufficiently long as shown in Fig. 4f to be supported by the movable member 5% of the hopper, whether in a closed position shown in full lines in said figure or if positioned out further as indicated by the dotted lines in the same figure. The

rocker shaft carries an inwardly disposed arm 58 having a pointed head positioned to engage the sides of the spoke in a, way to lift and shift the same for the purpose of agitation, so as to properly align them in the race way 59 of the throat of the hopper. This rocker shaft is provided with a short arm 60 to which the end of the linkfil forming a part of the before mentioned eccentric 45 is pivotally conn cted. Asa result of the operation of the agitator the spokes are fed from the hopper down through the race-way where they are supported upon the peripheral surface of the disks 62 and 63 mounted upon the before mentioned feed shaft 52. This pair of disks is-provided in their periphery with a series of notches spaced at an equal distance apart and the disks are positioned upon the shaft so that the notches align. one with the otherand form a holding and carrying means for theyspokes as indicated in Fig. 7. The inner disk 62 is fixed upon the shaft 52 while the associate disk (33 is made adjustableylongitudinally upon the shaft, as is the one member of the hopper to accommodate different lengths, of spokes. These disks together with their shaft are intermittent- 1y rotated one-eighth of a turn in the carrying of the spoke from the hopper to the heading die. This is a clockwise rotation and thus carries the spoke down from the hopper (see Fig. 7) and around under and up to the opposite side, it being held in the notches during said travel by the guide plate 6% until the end of the wire is brought between the heading dies 65 and 66. While in this position the before mentioned cam 46 acts to throw its lever 67, pivotally mounted at 68, in a way to move the slide 69 and its mandrel post 71 forward toengage the spoke andmove it forward sothat its end will project sufliciently beyond the face of the heading dies as to provide sufficient stock for the head. The slide 69v is mounted to reciprocate in the way70. of the machine and the est "('1 carried thereon is made adjustable lengthwise of the slide and secured in any desired position by the screw 72 by means of which the opposite sic es of the post are clamped to the rib 7 3 formed on the top side of the slide. This post is obviously made adjustable to accommodate different lengths of spokes and so as to accurately position the spoklcs asbetween the dies,

The fixed die 65 is mounted in die block 7% which is adjustably secured within the bed by means of the wedge and screw 75. This block also serves to carry the holder 76 for the fixed member of the bending die 77 which is positioned just above the heading die and in line to be operated upon at the next indexing station of the carrying disks so that the bending-operation on one spoke will be performed as the final operation at the same instant that the head ing operation is performed on another spoke at the preceding station. The movable heading die 66 is secured within a slidable die block 78 mounted in away of the bed and provided with a roll 79 that is designed to be engaged by the cam portion 80 of the oscillatory cam lever 81. A spring 82 positioned as between the bed and the slidable die block serves to normal ly hold the dies open when the cam lever 11 is positioned to permit of the said die block being thrown back by said spring. The movable bending (lie 83 is also car-- ried by the movable die block "8 and is in the nature of a male die. lit serves to engage the side of the neck portion of the spoke immediately beneath the head, and by its forward thrust shoves the neck portion of the spoke against the round face of the fixed or female die in. a way to bend the spoke and deflect the head at sub-- stantially a right angle to the length of the spoke. The spokes are thus uniformly bent one at a time, but in quick succession and are immediately released as the dies are withdrawn and each spoke of its own weight falls through the guide way designated as 84.

The heading punch 85 which aligns with the position of the closed heading dies is carried in a holder 86 adjustably supported in the forward end of the reci 'irocatory slide 87 and is backed by a block 88 and a wedge 89 both positioned in the slide and arranged to accommodate and accurately adjust different sizes and character of punches. The slide is mounted to reciprocate in the bed of the machine and is ac tuated in its forward throw'by the before mentioned cam 25 mounted upon the operating shaft and normally held in position against the cam to withdraw the punch from the headed spoke by a spring 90 as shown in Fig. 5.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a wire heading and bending ma chine, the combination with a hopper, a rotatable carrier to take spokes from the hopper, said carrier comprising a rotary annular member having peripheral notches into which the spoke blanks drop, means for intermittently rotating the carrier to feed the spokes from station to station, heading dies positioned adjacent to the carrier, means for heading one end portion of a spoke while in said dies, and bending device an ranged adjacent to the heading dies to bend the neck portion of the spoke after the head has been formed 2. In a wire heading and bending machine, the combination with a hopper, a

rotatable carrier to take spokes from the hopper, means for intermittently rotating the carrier to feed the spokes from station to station, heading dies positioned adjacent to the carrier, means for moving the spokes longitudinally in the carrier and between the heading dies, means for heading one end portion of a spoke While in said dies, and bending device arranged adjacent to the heading dies to bend the neck portion of the spoke after the head has been formed.

in a wire heading and bending machine, the combination with a hopper, a rotatable carrier to take spokes from the hopper, said carrier comprising a rotary annular member having peripheral notches into which the spoke blanks drop, means for intermittently rotating the carrier to feed the spokes, dies to engage one end of the spoke to head the same, bending device in the path of movement of said headed spoke adapted to engage and bend the end portion of the spoke neg-1t adjoining the head.

4:. In a Wire heading and bending machine, the combination with a hopper, a rotatable carrier to take spokes from the hopper, means for intermittently rotating the carrier to feed the spokes, means for moving the spokes longitudinally in the carrier, dies to engage one end of the spoke to head the same, bending device in the path of movement of said headed spoke adapted to engage and bend the end portion of the spoke next adjoining the head.

5. In a spoke heading machine, a spoke carrier, bending dies adapted to operate upon a spoke While in the carrier, and means for operating the bending dies in a Way to bend the spoke and simultaneously remove it from the carrier.

6, In a spoke heading and bending machine, a spoke carrier, heading dies adapted to operate upon a spoke While in the carrier, bending dies also adapted to operate upon a spoke While in the carrier, and means for operating the bending dies in a Way to bend the spoke and simltaneously remove it from the carrier.

7. In a spoke heading and bending machine, the combination of a hopper, a pair of rotatable disks forming a carrier having spaced around pockets to receive and carry the spokes from the hopper, means for intermittently rotating said carrier predetermined distances to operating stations, heading dies in alignment With one of said stations of the carrier, bending dies in alignment With another of said stations, and means for operating the bending mechanism in a Way to bend the spoke and simultaneously remove it from the carrier.

8. In a machine of the class described, the combination With heading dies, of a carrier for feeding the spokes in alignment therewith, means for moving the spokes longitudinallyin said carrier for positioning in the heading dies, and means for bending the spoke adjacent to the head after the head has been formed.

9. The combination with a carrier for in termittently feeding a series of-spokes predetermined distances to operating stat-ions, of heading dies positioned adjacent one'of said operation stations of the carrier, and adapted to head the successive spokes as'they are brought into position, and bending mechanism positioned adjacent the next operating station of the carrier for successively performing the bending operation on the spokes immediately following the heading operation, and during the heading operation on the next following spoke. v

10. In a spoke machine, the combination With a hopper designed to receive a series of spokes, means for adjusting the hopper in the direction of the length of the spokes to accommodate spokes of different lengths. a feeding device including spaced apart rotatable disks to receive the spokes from the hopper and to convey them to operating tools, said spaced apart disks being made adjustable to and from each other to ac commodate spokes of different. lengths, and longitudinal adjustable means adapted to feed the spokes longitudinally into relation With the operating tools.

11. In a Wire spoke machine, the combination With a hopper for containing spokes to be operated upon, a feeding device for conveying the spokes from the hopper and comprising a shaft, a pair of rotatable disks mounted thereon, said disks being adjustable upon the shaft With relation to each other to better accommodate spokes of different lengths, means for intermittently rotating the shaft and disks to feed the spokes, and longitudinally adjustable means adapted to feed the spokes longitudinally into position to be operated upon.

12. The combination of a hopper for holding Wire spokes, an operating shaft, means connected With the shaft for agitating the spokes in the hopper to feed the spokes, a second shaft'connected to be intermittently operated by the first mentioned shaft, feeding device mounted upon the second shaft to receive and convey the spokes from the hopper, means for shoving the spokes for- Ward to predetermined positions and con nections with the first mentioned shaft for operating said spoke shoving device.

13. In a machine of the character described, the combination vvith a hopper adapted to be adjusted longitudinally of the length of the spokes to be carried therein, a rotatable device to receive the spokes from the hopper and including two members adjustable With relation to each other in the direction of the length of the spoke to better lUU support the end portions of spokes of different lengths, means for moving the spokes lengthwise in the carrier, and mechanism for adjusting the said spoke moving device to accommodate spokes of different lengths.

14. In a spoke heading and bending machine, the combination with an operating shaft, a friction clutch through which the shaft is driven, a rotatable carrier operated by said shaft for intermittently feeding a series of spokes predetermined distances to operating stations. heading dies positioned in alignment with one of said operating stations and adapted to head the successive spokes as they are brought into position, bending mechanism positioned in alignment with the next operating station of the carrier for successively performing the bending operation on the spokes immediately following the heading operation and during the heading operation on the next following spoke.

15. In a spoke heading and bending machine, the combination with a rotatable carrier for intermittently feeding a series of spokes, means for rotating the carrier predetermined distances from one operating station to another, heading dies positioned in line with one of said operation stations, bending mechanism positioned in line with another of said operating stations, means for operating both said heading and bending mechanisms, a power shaft, an action shaft for operating said mechanisms and a friction clutch forming the driving connection between the two said shafts and adapted to slip and permit the machine to stop should it become jammed.

Signed at Essex, in the county of Middlesex and State of Connecticut, this 16th day of February, A. D. 1922.

AXEL L. OLSON. Witnesses:

ERICK V. GARLsoN, ALYOT E. BRANT.

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