US1337504A - Wire-fabric machine - Google Patents

Description

H. W. BLUEMKER. WIRE FABRIC MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED ocr. I7. 1919.

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WIRE FABRIC MACHINE.

- APPLICATION FILED ocr. I7. 1919.

Patented Apr. 20, 1920.

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H. Wl BLOENIKER.

WIRE` FABRIC MACHINE.

APlfLlcATloN FILED 001217, 1919.

Patented Apr. 20,1920.

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NED STATES PATENT GFF-ICE.

HENRY W. BLOED/IEEE, GF PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA, .ASSIGNOR TO JOHN HANCOCK, OF HILADEQHIA, EENNSYLVANIA.

WIRE-FABRIC MACHINE.

@season Specification of Letters atent.

Patented Apr. 20, 19.20.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that l, HENRY W. BLOEM- nnn, a citizen of the United States, residing at Philadelphia, county of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful improvements in VVire-Fabric Machines, of which the following is a speciiication.

Some of the objects of the present invention are to provide means for forming a wire fabric the units of which have a predetermined shape successively repeated throughout the body of the fabric; to provide means for respectively feeding a strand of wire and bending it in a predetermined manner; to provide means for successively shaping a plurality of connected units from a single strand of wire; to provide means for automatically bending and shaping a strand of wire into a substantially form having a pair or offset loops therein; to provide means for automatically bending shaping a strand of wire to orin a plurality of units of predetermined shape in conjunction with means for arranging said units in interconnected relation in the sameplane and lineally alined; and to provide other improvements as will hereinafter appear.

Referring to the drawings, Figure 1 represents a plan of one form oi wire fabric forming machine embodying the present invention; Fig. 2 represents one of the complete units of the product formed by the machine; 3 represents a detail in plan ot one pair oi` the forming jaws; Fig. 4 represents a section showing a pair of the forming aws in side elevation; Fig. 5 represen' a sido elevation of the machine; l (i represents an enlarged detail in side L elevation of the holding mechanism at the delivery end 'ot the machine; F T represents an end elevation of one form of the wire feeding mechanism; Fig'. 8 represents a side elevation of the saine; Fia'. 9 represents a section on line 9 9 of Fig. 1; Fig. 10 represents a section on line 10-10 of lig. 1; Fig. 11 represents a section on me 11-11 ot Fig. 1Q: Fig. 12 represents the wire after the rst forming operation; F 13 represents the wire after the second operation; and 14 represents a detail in section on line 14--1/42 of Fig. 1.

Referring to the drawings one form of the present invention. is shown in Figs. l

and wherein the operating parts of the machine are supported upon a main trame 1Q of open construction having two, suitably spaced, side top bars 11 of suitable rigid material to support, accommodate and conveniently provide for the moving parts.

For transmitting' motion to the several mechanisms of the machine a main shaft 12 is provided which is arranged to be driven from a suitable source oi' power, in this instance a belt driven pulley 13 'l'ast to the shaft 12 and an idle pulley ll'while a well known type of belt shifter 15 provides for starting and stopping the machine. From the shaft 12 power is transmitted by a low speed gearing 16 and 17 to a counter-shaft 1S journ'aled in suitable bearings 2O in the main frame 10. This counter-shaft 1S has keyed thereon a bevel gear Z1 in mesh with a similar gear Q2 fast to an operating shaft Q3 which extends lengthwise of the frame 10 and has a second bevel gear 2-1 keyed thereon and arranged in mesh with a bevel gear fast upon a second counter-sha t 26, this last being jonrnaled in suitable bearings on the frame 10. i

For guiding and feeding thc wire 8() to themachine, a guide tube 31 is rigidly supported in Vbrackets 32 and 33, respectively carried by cross bars 34E and 35 which are tast to the main frame 10. The tube 31 is arranged substantially horizontal and in alinement with a suitable wire straightening device 36 of any well known orin. The wire is fed to the tube 31 by a step by step mechanism consisting, in one form of a block 40 mounted vfor sliding movement upon a rod 41 and having a pair of spaced ears 42 which are suitably apertured for the passage of the wire 30. Pivoted to the block fl-O at opposite sides of the wire 30 are two knife edge feed fingers 113 which are arranged to have suiiicient movement in order to slide freely along the wire 3() in one direction of movement but to bite the wire in the other direction of movement of the block 40 and thus advance a predetermined length of the wire into the machine. Two stop pins 44 are respectively located and fixed adjacent the said fingers 43 to limit the swing thereof at one side, while one of the ears L12 serves the same purpose at the opposite side. The block 40 is reciprocated intermittently by means of a lever having a pin and slot connection d6 with the block 4.0 and also a pivotal connection 17 intermediate of its length, with an arm which is ixed to the frame 10. The outer end of the lever has a lost motion connection 51 with an operating rod 52V which is actuated by a moving part hereinafter to be described.

'For bending and forming tl e wire to the particular predetermined shape two sets of dies 53 and 54 are provided, the one being a duplicate o1c the other, said dies being respectively carried by heads 55 and 56 which are slidably mounted on two parallel guide rods 57 and ils the operating parts-of the dies 53 and 54C are similar, the description will be conlined to one set. Re' terring to Fig. 4l, the complemental die parts 53 are carried respectively by jaw members 60 and 61 which are pivoted respectively at 62 and 63 to the head which is suitably cut away to accommodate the parts in a compact manner. At the die side of the fulcrum of the jaws a compression spring 64 is mounted and acts to normally held the two die parts separated. rllhe ends ot the jaw members 60 and 61 are extended to form relatively long lever arms which when spaced or forced apart will exert suilicient pressure upon the dies to shape the wire in accordance with the configuration of the dies.

For operating the jaws 60 and 61 in the required manner each pair is arranged to straddle a separate cam 65, the two cams 65 being iixed to a square rock-shaft which is mounted in a suitable manner lor rocking movement in brackets 67 extended from and fast to the iframe 10. rlo impart rocking movement to the shaft 66 an arm 70 is fixed thereto and has pivoted connection with a link 71 which in turn is pivoted to an arm 72 suspended 'trom and y movable on a pivot 73 on a cross of the frame 10. rllhis arm 72 carriesa rigid trip linger 75 located in the path et a cani roller 76 on a cani member 77 which is fixed to rotate with the shaft 23. vrl`hus when the cam roller 76 strikes the trip 75 the rock-shaft 66 will be turned in one direction. For turning the said shalt 66 in the other direction, that is, to its initial position, a second arm 80 is suspended by a pivot 81 on the cross-bar 711 and connected to the arm 72 by a link Q2 T his arm 80 Uu. carries a trip 84 also arranged in the path of the cam-roller 76. Y

As a means for reciprocating` the die head 55, a connecting rod is provided having one end pivoted in ears 66 rigid with the head 55 and its other end connected t' a lar connecting rod is provided having one end pivoted in ears 91 rigid with the head 56 and its other end connected to a crank arm 92 fast to the face of a disk 93 which is arranged to rotate with the countershaft 1S.

In connection with the operation of the heads 55 and 56 it should be noted that the shafts 18 and 26 are geared to rotate at the same speed, and the operating connections are such that the two heads 55 and 56 move in synchronism, first toward each other to a predetermined position and then from each other a predetermined distance in order that the desired forming operations may be carried out.

For the purpose of ending the wire at substantially right angles to its path of movement through the machine to 'form the side legs of the fabric unit and to also form a relatively long narrow loop a pusher or traveling bending rod 9i is mounted for reciprocating movement upon the frame 10 in a position to travel transversely of the path oi movement of the wire and in the plane thereof in order to engage the wire. Further the rod 941 is located between and substantially eqnidistant from the two jaw heads and 541- and in meeting position oiE the said heads occupies the space lbetween them, there being su'tlicient clearance to permit free movement of the bending rod 9i. rllhe space referred to is provided by adjusting the stroke of the heads a will be readily understood.

In order to reciprocate the rod it is connected by a pin and slot connection 95 with a pivoted rock-arm 96 which carries a roller 97 located in the path of movement of a cam 100 fast to the shaft 23. The contour of the cam 100 is such as to advance the bending rod 9d with an even, uniform motion during the bending operation but is sharply cut away to permit a quick return of the rod 9-l to remove it promptly so that the next wire feeding step may take place. This return movement is effected b v a weight 101 suspended on a cable 102 which passes over a pulley 103 and is made tast to the rod 9dat 101.

For holdingthe wire and keeping it in position while under the action of tne bending rod 94e, a V-shaped seat 105 formed in the end of the rod 94. to receive the wire, while at opposite sides oi' the shank of the rod 94 are two laterally disposed lingers 106, preferably having inclined end surfaces 107 which prevent the wire from riding up out of the plane or'I its lateral movement.

F or guiding the shaped wire while it is being transferred from one die to another, and Yfrom the last die to the delivery portion the machine, a receiving table 110 is pro- .fided leading from the delivery side ot the dies El and having a fixed hat strip 111 secured thereto, which has an extended and downwardly curved tongue 112 located at the receiif'ing side of the die head 56 in such a manner that the wire meets the said tongue 11.2 and is guided thereby upwardly to a position where it can be seated in the die 5e. The table 110 has a pin 113 lined in its side walls ont of the path of the wire and to which is pivot d a plate 11d provided with two upwardly and inwardly turned flanges 115 and 116 for retaining the foriied wire and guiding it across the delivery table 110 in a smooth and orderly manner. The flange 115, which is in close pro 'mity to the die is pre-i led with a linger 117 arranged to the wire and cause it to be seated in the die prior to the last forming step. rthis finger 11.7 also serres to prevent displacement of the wire when released from die 511 and to direct it beneath the flange 115 when it is ted to the delivery table.

For raisingv and lowering the plate 11d with its flanges the die head has thereto arigid bracket 120 provided with an integral member 121 to which a tumbler 122 is pivoter in such a manner as to be posiH tioned beneath the Jfree end of the plate 114; and serve as a support theretor. The tumbler 122 carries a lng 123 arranged to pro- Iiect in the path of movement of a minable trip 12e rig'd with a rod 125 having a bearin for sliding movement in the member 121. end of the rod 125 is provided with an abutment 125 arranged to be struck by the die head 55, as it advances to meet the head 56y in order to shift the rod 125 in one direction7 while the other end of the rod 125 is of suflieient length to project beyond the end of the bracket 120 and engage a fixed trip 127 mounted in an adjustable manner upon the rod 57. ln the position oi the parts shown in Fig. 6 the tumbler 122 has heen lifted by the trip 12d to raise the guide plate 115e and this latter is returned to its normal retaining position by of a weight 12S which acts when the rod 125 has been shifted to remove the trip 12e'r 'from the supporting position. From the foregoing it will be apparent that while the table 110 is stationary it carries a pivoted flanged guide structure 114, 115 and 113 having a longitudinally disposed strip 111 which projects at the receiving end in the form of a curved tongue. rlhe object of this construction is to allow the finished fabric to move freely away from the dies without becoming bent, entangled or otherwise distorted while the successive forming operations continue, Thus when the last forming step upon one et the units is completed the plate 11e raised automatically enough to ra'se the wire out of the die that the next feeding operation merely pushes the length ot cont pl ted units along the plate 114 where the are prevented from buckling upward by the flanges 115 and 116. As soon as the new unit length is in place the plate 1111 lowers and the finger 117 attends to placing the formed pin in the second die 5t.

In Figs. 7 and 8 another form of intermittent wire feeding mechanism is shown wherein the wire 3() is directed from the straightening mechanism 36 to a guide bushing 130 fixed to a trarne lol and arranged in alinement with two super-posed feed rolls 132 and 133, the former of which has a peripheral face of constant diameter and the latter a peripheral face of two diameters. The roll 132 is fixe-'l to rotate with a stud shaft 13st driven by a gear which is in mesh with a gear 136 fast to a stud haft 137 upon which thel mutilated or intermittent feed roll 133 is fixed. The gears 135 and 136 are driven from any suitable source and rotate the two rolls at the saine speed. The distance between the two shafts is adjusted. to bring the enlarged dia-meter portion 13S of the roll 133 into relatively close proximity to the peripheral face of the roll 1.32 so that the wire 30 is gripped and fed forward into th tube 31 as will be-understood.

ln the operation of the machine the wire eaves the straightening device 35 and is i forward intermittently by the feed 1 chanism, carried by the reciprocating block 40, passing through the guide tube 31 and entering the open jaws of the die 5 3.

The movement of the cam 77 is so timed as to rock the shaft 66 at the instant the wire 30 is seated in the die and consequently the cani spreads the fia* i arms G0 and 61 to bring the die parts together. The result is a bending of the wire to the shape shown in Fig. 12. ith this accomplished the shaft 66 rocks back, removing the cam 65 so that the die 53 opens, whereupon the wire 30 is again fed forward a distance suflicient to locate the termed portion in the second die 5l. Dit the time there is length of wire extending between the two dies 53 and and having its ends positioned in the respective dies. Again the shaft G6 rocks, thereby rlosing both dies and simultaneously' the dies "need town d each other by the acf' rods S5 and 90. ,ln t il be noted that the ting roe i vta ched to the head thereby actuated to shift the feeding mechanism baclr to a position for the nefrt .vire feeding step.

its the two heads and 5G move toward each other the rain 100 causes the bending rod 94 to move and carry the wire laterall)Y outw"d between the die headsn which at the end of, the stroke press the wire against the sides of the rod 94 with the result that the long loop shown in F ig. 13 is formed. one leg forming a side of one unit and the other leg formia side of the other unit. As soon as this is completed the rod 94; is

i insegno/i shot out of the way by the weight 101, the jaw arms 60 and 61, of the respective die heads 55 and 56, are released by the removal kof the rock-cam 65 and the dies open. Thile the die heads 55 and 56 are Opening the guide members 115 and 116 are supported by the tumbler 122 and a new portion of the length of wire is fed forward so that when the die head 56 reaches the end of its stroke the partially formed part of the new length is positioned above the die At this movement the rod 125 strikes the trip 127 and is shifted to the left, as seen in Fig. 6, thereby removing the trip 121 as a support for the tumbler 122 and the latter therefore drops, causing the weight 128 to lower the members 115 and 116. This results in the proper placementof the wire in the die 54 and also holds the length of formed wire in place upon the delivery table 1111. 1When the die heads 55 and 56 move forward and approach the end of the i'neeting stroke the abutment 126 is struck by the head 55 and shifts the rod 125 to the right, as seen in Fig. 6, thereby causing the trip 124: to engage the lug 123 to raise and support the tumbler 122 in a position to hold the members 115 and 116 raised so that the wire is free to unseat and be fed forward upon the succeeding feed step.

The resulting product is a succession of units, shown in Fig. 2. formed from a continuous wire and having` a length determined by the size of the desired fabric, as it will be evident that any number of units may make up a section and it is only necessary to cut the wire as required.

Thile but one form of the present invention has been illustrated and described, it will be Obvious that the invention is not limited to any specific construction but might be applied in various forms without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, I claim and desire to protect by Letters Patent of the United States:

1` A wire fabric machine comprising in combination, means for feeding length of wire intermittently, a die arranged to receive and form a portion. of said wire into a predetermined shape, means for opening and closing said die in timed relation with respect to said feeding` means, a second die arranged to receive the shaped portion of said wire, and means to form a loop in the portion of said wire between. said dies.

2. A wire fabric machine comprising in combination` means for feeding` a length of wire intermittently, a die arranged to receive and form a portion of said wire into a predetermined shape, means for opening and closing said die in timed relation with respect to said feeding means, a second die arranged t0 receive the shaped portion of said wire, means to form a loop in the portion of said wire between said dies, and means adjacent said second die for retaining and guiding said wire.

3. A wire fabric machine comprising in combination, means for feeding a length of wire intermittently, a die arranged to receive and form a portion of said wire into a predetermined shape, means for opening and closing said die in timed relation with respect to said feeding means, a second die arranged to receive the shaped portion of said wire, means to form a loop in the portion of said wire between said dies, means adjacent said second die for retaining and guiding said wire, and means for raising and lowering said guiding means in timed relation to said feeding means.

-1-. A wire fabric machine comprising in combination means for feeding` a length of wire intermittently, a plurality of dies arranged to successively receive and form a portion of said wire into a predetermined shape, means operative to respectively open and close said dies simultaneously at the beginning and end of a feeding operation, and means arranged to operate in closed position of said dies to form a loop in the portion of said wire between said dies.

5. A wire fabric machine comprising in combination means for feeding a length of wire intermittently, a plurality of dies arranged to successively receive and form a portion of said wire into a predetermined shape, means operative to respectively open and close said dies simultaneously at the beginning and end of a feeding operation, means arranged to operate in closed position of said dies to form a loop in the portion of said wire between said dies, and means adjacent said second die for retaining and guiding said wire.

6. A wire fabric machine comprising in combination means for feeding a length of wire intermittently, a plurality of dies arranged to successively receive and form a portion of said wire into a predetermined shape, means operative to respectively open and close said dies simultaneously at the beginning and end of a feeding operation, means arranged to operate in closed position of said dies to form a loop in the portion of said wire between 4said dies, means adjacent said second die for retaining and guiding said wire, and means to automatically raise and lower said guiding means.

7. A wire fabric machine, comprising in combination means for feeding a length of wire intermittently, a plurality of dies arranged to successively receive and forni a portion of said wire into a predetermined shape, means to simultaneously close said dies after a wire feeding step to shape said wire, means to move one 0f said dies to- Ward the other die, and means arranged to operatey during the movement of said die to form a loop in tne portionwot the Wire between said dies.

8. A Wire fabric machine comprising in combination means for feeding` a length of Wire intermittently, a plurality of dies arranged to successively receive and i'orm a portion or said Wire into a predetermined shape, means to simultaneously close said dies after a Wire feeding step to slape said Wire, means to open said dies simultaneously after a forming operation, and a bending device arranged to orm a loop in the portion of the Wire between said dies.

9. A Wire fabric machine comprising in combination, means for feeding a length of Wire intermittently, means including a pair of dies for successively receiving and forming a portion of said vire into predetermined shape, and means arranged to bend the portion of said Wire between said dies into a relatively long loop.

l0. A Wire a ric machine comprising in combination means for feeding a length or Wire intermittently7 means including a pair ot dies Jfor successively receiving and forming a portion orP said Wire into a predeten mined shape, means for moving said dies toward each other, and means operating simultaneously With the movement of said dies and transversely to the direction of movement thereoiLl for bending the portion of Wire between said dies into a relatively long loop.

ll. A Wire 'fabric machine comprising in combination means for feeding a length of wire intermittently, means including a pair ot for su 'cessively receiving and form 'ng a portion orn said Wire into a predeternined shape; means for moving said dies 'ovfard each other, means operating simultaneously .vitli the movement of said dies and transversely to the direction of move ment thereof tor bending the portion of Wire between said dies into arelatively long loop, and a quick return mechanism for shi said bending means ont of operative engagementvvith said Wire.

l2. fr wire fabric machine comprising in combination means Jfor feeding a length ot Wire intermittently, means ior bending said Wire to a predetermined shape, a receiving table at the delivery end of said mai' i (i185 chine a. 'aivoted device for 0uidinO the 7 l :n a

formed Wire to said table, and means for raising and lowering said device in timed relation to the movement of said Wire.

ln Witness whereof 1 have hereunto set my hand this 15th day of October, 1919.

HENRY W. BLOEMKER.

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