Patent GB-190926225-A (GB)
Title: Improvements in Machines for Making Chain for use in the Construction of Wire Fabrics.
Inventor: GAIL JOHN FRANKLIN
IPC: B21L1/00
Filed: 1909-11-12
Granted: 1910-11-14
Abstract: 26,225. Gail, J. F. Nov. 12. Making wire chains and metal fabrics; shearing- adjuncts.-In a machine for making chains used to form wire fabrics for beds, couches, seats, chairs, &c., of the type in which each link has connecting- eyes at both ends at right-angles to each other, a length of wire is fed through a previous link, a link section is cut off, and the link is then formed in two steps, being bent at its middle to form a closed loop l, Fig. 14, and its free ends being trimmed and then bent round by a rotary former to form hooks c, d. The wire 26, Fig. 4, is fed through straightening-rollers 35 by a grip-frame G, which is reciprocated on rods 5, 6 by a crank and connecting-rod 29 from the main shaft, being fastened on the rods by bolts so as to be adjustable for wear. The rod 29 is pivoted by a ball joint 27 to a lever 16, which is pivoted to the frame and carries an adjustable tooth 17, so as to grip the wire before the frame is moved. The wire is fed through an opening 40, Fig. 8, in the head 4, through a slot 127 in a block 126, across a transverse slot 36, and along a groove in the external diameter of a sleeve 102. When half the required length has been fed, a stop on the frame engages a projection on a spring-returned rod 114 so as to retract a pin 120, used in forming the hook of the previous link, which is connected thereto by a rod 119 and clamp 115. The wire is cut off by a knife 39, which is carried by a cam-operated slide and returned by aspring. A finger-lever 54, Fig. 10, which is carried by a lever 51, and is reciprocated by a cam 49 on a shaft 44 against the action of springs, now moves forward so that its pin 58 drops over the wire, which is drawn into the slot 36 along the rounded edges of the slot 127 and groove in the sleeve 102 to the position shown in Fig. 6. The back of the pin 58 is grooved, and a projection 59 is provided to serve as a pocket for the hooks of the previous links. The finger is raised during its forward motion by a cam 76 and lever 78, and is pressed down by springs 74 through the intermediary of a pair of arms pivoted at 65, one of which carries the roller 70. Buckling is prevented by a pin 150 on the finger 54, which passes on to the wire through slots 151, 152, Fig. 6, in the clamping-plates 83, 84, or, when in its rearward position, through the channel 146 through which the finished links pass. When the link has been drawn through the slot 36, it is pressed round the pin by the plates 83, 84, which are operated by cams on the shaft 44 and levers 90, 91. The free ends are next trimmed by knives 136, 141, the latter being fixed, and the knife 136 mounted in a lever operated by a cam on the driving-shaft. The ends are then bent round the pin 120 by rotating the sleeve 102 by a pinion 103, and rack, which is reciprocated by a cam against the action springs. The part of the sleeve 113 that performs the bending is in the form of a projecting tongue. The loops pass through grooves 148 in the guides 144, 145, and the hooks pass through the channel 146 and are pressed together to correct distortion by a bar 153, which is pivoted at its bottom end and is acted on by an adjustable shoe 155 on the cam 49, being returned by a spring 153<1>. The rear portion 149 of the block 82 which forms the base of the slot 36 is tapered so as to remove scale and prevent clogging.