Abstract:
Apparatus and methods for unreeling wire from a wire coil are disclosed including a wire stand around which the wire coil is arranged, a wire admission point to which the wire is fed from the wire coil and a bar flexibly mounted with respect to the wire stand so that the bar can be tilted with respect to the wire admission point so that loose wire drawn from the wire coil without having entered the wire admission point is prevented from becoming entangled by tilting of the bar.

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
       [0001]    The present application is a national phase entry under 35 U.S.C. § 371 of International Application No. PCT/SE2010/051276, filed Nov. 19, 2010, published in English, which claims priority from Swedish Application No. 0901489-5, filed Nov. 25, 2009, all of which are incorporated herein by reference. 
         [0002]    The present invention relates to a wire coil arrangement and a method for the unreeling of wire from a coil, and to the use of a bar on such a wire coil arrangement. 
       BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
       [0003]    Bales of cellulose pulp intended for papermaking or the like are generally held together by a steel wire, which is unreeled from a wire coil arranged on a wire stand, and subsequently arranged around each bale. Since the bales are wrapped up in wire one by one, the wire is unreeled intermittently, and at a high speed. Therefore, when a certain quantity of wire has been unreeled from the wire stand, a little bit too much wire is sometimes unreeled, such that a loose quantity of wire is gathered above or beside the wire stand. This loose quantity of wire may get tangled up and knots may be formed on it, which will hamper the continuous unreeling or even cause the wire to break, such that an interruption is caused and such that a time consuming re-loading of the wire is necessary. The problem with loose quantities of wire may also occur during the wrapping of a individual bale, since a number of the wire rings that make up the coil may accidentally be unreeled at the same time instead of one by one as is preferred. 
         [0004]    In International Application No. WO 02/092487 this problem is addressed by arranging a ring of plastic bristles above the wire coil to provide for friction that offers a braking force on the unreeled wire, such that the loose quantity of wire that is unreeled from the coil is minimized. However, this arrangement only reduces the problems, it does not eliminate them, and further it creates new ones. One problem is that the bristles might brake the wire to the extent that it may get stuck and rupture around the coil, whereas an interruption is caused and such that a time consuming re-loading of the entire baling arrangement is necessary. Further, the bristles are exposed to wear such that they will have to be replaced every now and then. 
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 
       [0005]    In accordance with the present invention, the problems in the prior art have now been overcome by the discovery of apparatus for unreeling wire from a wire coil comprising a wire stand having an axis around which the wire coil is arranged, a wire admission point to which the wire is to be fed from the wire coil, and a bar flexibly mounted with respect to the wire stand substantially in coaxial alignment with the axis of the wire stand, the bar having a free end which extends towards the wire admission point, whereby the bar may be tilted with respect to the wire admission point such that loose wire drawn from the wire coil but not having entered the wire admission point is prevented from becoming entangled by the tilting of the bar. Preferably, the bar is mounted with respect to the wire stand at a fixation point and the bar includes a resilient portion at the fixation point. In a preferred embodiment, the resilient portion comprises a spring. 
         [0006]    In accordance with one embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention, the bar is flexible, such that the bar may be bent with respect to the wire admission point. 
         [0007]    In accordance with another embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention, the free end of the bar, when untilted, is arranged at a distance of less than 10 cm from the wire admission point. 
         [0008]    In accordance with another embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention, the apparatus includes a limiting rim coaxially arranged with respect to the wire stand, the limiting rim disposed between the wire coil and the wire admission point whereby the unreeled wire is arranged to be drawn outside the limiting rim to the wire admission point. 
         [0009]    In accordance with the present invention, a method has also been discovered for unreeling a wire from a wire coil comprising arranging the wire coil around a wire stand having an axis, feeding the wire from the wire coil to a wire admission point, flexibly mounting a bar having a free end extending towards the wire admission point with respect to the wire stand, and tilting the bar with respect to the admission point whereby as the wire is fed from the wire coil to the wire admission point loose wire drawn from the wire coil but not having entered the wire admission point is prevented from becoming entangled by the tilting of the bar. Preferably, the method includes resiliently mounting the bar with respect to the wire stand at a fixation point. In a preferred embodiment, the bar is resiliently mounted by means of a spring. 
         [0010]    In accordance with one embodiment of the method of the present invention, the method includes bending the bar with respect to the wire admission point. 
         [0011]    In accordance with another embodiment of the method of the present invention, the method includes flexibly mounting the bar such that the free end of the bar is arranged at a distance of less than 10 cm from the wire admission point when the bar is untilted. 
         [0012]    In accordance with another embodiment of the method of the present invention, the method includes arranging a limiting rim coaxially with respect to the wire stand between the wire coil and the wire admission point, and feeding the wire from the wire coil outside of the limiting rim towards the wire admission point. 
         [0013]    According to one embodiment of the present invention, it relates to a wire coil arrangement for the unreeling of wire, the arrangement comprising a wire stand, around which a wire to be un-reeled is to be arranged to form a wire coil; a wire admission point, to which the wire is fed from the coil, and a bar arranged substantially in coaxial alignment with the longitudinal axis of the wire stand, the bar having a free end which extends above the wire stand towards the wire admission point, such that loose wire that is drawn from the coil but not into the wire admission point is prevented from getting entangled. 
         [0014]    In another embodiment, the present invention relates to the use of a bar in accordance with the above aspect of the present invention, and another embodiment of the present invention relates to a method of unreeling a wire from a coil. 
         [0015]    The present invention according to all of its aspects offers a simple and easily implementable solution to the problems of wire entanglement and the like. 
     
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         [0016]    Below, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, of which: 
           [0017]      FIG. 1  is a side, elevational view of a wire coil arrangement according to the present invention; 
           [0018]      FIG. 2  is an enlarged, side, elevational view of a portion of the wire coil arrangement shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
           [0019]      FIG. 3  is a side, elevational view of a wire stand of a wire coil arrangement according to the present invention; 
           [0020]      FIG. 4  is a side, elevational, partial view of a connection point between a bar and the upper end of the wire stand shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
           [0021]      FIG. 5  is a side, elevational, partial view of one embodiment of a bar for use in a wire coil arrangement according to the present invention; 
           [0022]      FIG. 6  is a partial, side, elevational view of the top of a wire stand for use in the wire coil arrangement according to the present invention; 
           [0023]      FIG. 7  is a partial, top, elevational view of the wire stand of  FIG. 6  taken from line  7 - 7  thereof; 
           [0024]      FIG. 8  is a side, partially sectional view of an attachment body for attachment of the bar used in the wire coil arrangement of the present invention; and 
           [0025]      FIG. 9  is a side, elevational, enlarged view of a locking means for locking the bar to a wire stand used in the wire coil arrangement of the present invention. 
       
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION 
       [0026]    In  FIGS. 1 and 2 , a first embodiment of a wire coil arrangement  1  according to the present invention is shown. The wire coil arrangement is intended for the unreeling of wire from a coil and the arrangement therefore comprises a wire stand  2 , around which the wire  3  to be un-reeled may be arranged to form a wire coil  3   a.  A wire admission point  4 , to which the wire  3  is fed from the coil  3   a,  is arranged outside the wire stand  2 , preferably in line with the longitudinal axis A of the wire stand  2 . The wire stand in the shown embodiment comprises four legs  2   b,  the tops of which are bent inward towards, and connected to, a central sleeve  2   c.  A limiting rim  5 , which is coaxial with respect to the wire stand  2  and located, in the axial direction, between the coil  3   a  and the wire admission point  4  may be arranged such that when the wire is being un-reeled it is arranged to be drawn outside the limiting rim  5 . Preferably, the diameter of the limiting rim  5  is chosen to slightly exceed the diameter of the wire rings of the wire coil  3   a,  in order to prevent the rings from passing the limiting rim  5 . The limiting rim  5  is an optional detail that serves as a first limiting obstacle, which the wire must pass on its way to the wire admission point  4 . It may however be dispensed with. 
         [0027]    At the admission point  4 , the wire is drawn away from the coil, i.e. upwards in the shown embodiment. From the admission point  4  the wire  3  is conveyed to wherever the wire is used. In the shown embodiment the wire is conveyed along a semicircle  17  to the left and down along the outside of the wire coil arrangement  1  to be released to the left. The wire admission point  4  may comprise a nozzle through which the wire is inserted before being conveyed along the semicircle. The semicircle may comprise a number of bearings on which the wire is conveyed. 
         [0028]    In some applications, such as e.g. in the wrapping of bales, wire is being un-reeled from the coil intermittently and at a high rate, whereas a quantity of loose wire may be un-reeled from the coil  2  past the limiting rim  5  but not all the way to the wire admission point  4 . This causes problems as indicated above, and to address this problem a bar  6  is arranged within the radial boundaries corresponding to the radius of the limiting rim  5 , substantially in line with the longitudinal axis A of the wire stand  2 . The bar  6  could be fixed at any point inside an imaginary circle with a radius corresponding to the radius of the limiting rim  5 , and should be extended far towards the wire admission point  4  in order to avoid a too large gap between the bar and the wire admission point  4  being created. It is to be noted that the bar is to be arranged above the limiting rim, as seen in the axial direction. In an embodiment where no limiting rim  5  is used, the bar  6  should be fixed at any point inside a radius corresponding to the radius of the coil  3   a.    
         [0029]    The bar has a free end  6   a,  which extends towards the wire admission point  4 . The bar  6  ensures that any quantity of loose wire  3  is prevented from getting entangled in itself, such that no knots are formed on the wire. The free end  6   a  of the bar  6  is, when the bar is untilted, arranged at a distance of less than 10 cm from the wire admission point  4 . The smaller the gap between the free end  6   a  of the bar  6  and the wire admission point  4  , the smaller the risk for entanglement. Thus, the gap may advantageously be smaller than 5.3 or even 1 cm. The distance is chosen to be as small as possible without risking that the bar  6  comes in contact with the admission point  4 . 
         [0030]    In the illustrated embodiment the bar  6  is flexibly arranged on an upper end  2   a  of the wire stand  2  such that it may be tilted with respect to the admission point  4 . Also, the bar  6  in itself may be flexible, such that it may be bent with respect to the admission point  4 . The flexibility of the bar and/or its fixation point allows for the bar  6  to be swung back and forth as the wire is reeled past it into the wire admission point  4 . Preferably, however, it is drawn to an initial position in which it points towards the admission point  4 . For safety reasons a protective net or wire guard  13  may be arranged around the coil. 
         [0031]    In the illustrated embodiment the bar  6  includes a resilient part  10 , in the form of a rubber material, at its fixation point  8 . The resilient part  10  could also very well comprise a spring, e.g. a spiral spring. It is, however, advisable to cover such a spring in order to avoid the wire being caught inside the spring. Any other resilient material performing the same function could also be used. 
         [0032]    An advantage of the present invention is that it may be easily implemented on already existing wire coil arrangements. In order to do so a bar  6  in accordance with the present invention may be arranged on a wire coil arrangement. The bar  6  should be arranged coaxially with respect to the wire stand  2  and located between the coil  3   a  and a wire admission point  4 , to which the wire  3  is drawn. The bar  6  should be arranged such that its free end  6   a  extends towards the wire admission point  4 . An attachment arrangement  7  should be arranged on the bar  6 , in order to fix the bar to the wire stand  2  at its fixation point  8 . The form of the attachment arrangement  7  of the bar  6  may have to be adapted to the actual design of the existing wire coil arrangement. 
         [0033]    In  FIG. 4 , one embodiment of an attachment arrangement  7  for the bar  6  is shown. In this arrangement, the resilient part  10  is connected to an upper threaded part  9   a  and a lower threaded part  9   b,  at the top and the bottom, respectively, of the resilient part  10 . The upper threaded part  9   a  is connected to the bar  6  while the lower threaded end  9   b  is connected to the upper end of an attachment body  11 . Through this arrangement , the bar  6  is connected to the attachment body  11 . The body  11  is held in place by a locking means  12 , inserted into the attachment body  11  below the connection point of the four legs  2   b.    
         [0034]    In  FIGS. 6 and 7  an embodiment of the top of the wire stand  2  is shown.  FIG. 7  is a top view of the wire stand  2 , viewed from the lines  7 - 7  in  FIG. 6 . From  FIG. 7  it is clear that the connection between the four legs  2   b  of the wire stand includes a rectangular through hole  14  in which the attachment body  11  of the bar&#39;s  6  attachment arrangement  7  fits tightly. The attachment body  11  does not have to be rectangular but may instead preferably have a round shape to facilitate the insertion of the attachment body into the hole. 
         [0035]    The attachment body  11  is shown in detail in  FIG. 8  and includes a first hole  15  into which the locking means  12  is to be inserted, and a second hole  16  into which the lower threaded part  9   b  connected to the resilient part  10  is to be inserted. The locking means  12  is shown in detail in  FIG. 9  and in  FIG. 4  it is shown in its locking position, where it locks the attachment body  11  of the bar&#39;s  6  attachment arrangement  7  inside the top of the wire stand  2 . 
         [0036]    The present invention also relates to a method of unreeling a wire from a coil  3   a,  in which the wire is drawn from the coil  3   a  to a wire admission point  4 , preferably past and outside a limiting rim  5 , which is coaxial with respect to the wire stand  2  and located between the coil  3   a  and the wire admission point  4 . Sometimes a quantity of loose wire may be drawn past the limiting rim  5  but not past the wire admission point  4 , e.g. when the wire is drawn intermittently or at a varying speed. This quantity of loose wire is prevented from getting entangled by the provision of a bar  6 , which is arranged within the radial boundaries corresponding to the radius of the limiting rim  5 , coaxially with respect to the axis of the wire stand  2 , the bar  6  having a free end  6   a  that extends far towards the wire admission point  4 . 
         [0037]    Although the invention herein has been described with reference to particular embodiments, it is to be understood that these embodiments are merely illustrative of the principles and applications of the present invention. It is therefore to be understood that numerous modifications may be made to the illustrative embodiments and that other arrangements may be devised without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims.