Patent GB-191004554-A (GB)
Title: Machines for Manufacturing Metallic Wire Chains.
Inventor: SPEIDEL FRIEDRICH
IPC: B21L11/00
Filed: 1910-02-23
Granted: 1911-03-23
Abstract: 4554. Speidel, F. Feb. 23. Making wire chains; coiling; bending-dies; shearing-adjuncts.-In a machine for making metallic-cord chains consisting of double open links formed of two separate rings soldered together with oppositely - arranged joints, the wire for making the alternate rings is fed from separate work stations at different levels, the chain being rotated during its transference from the lower to the upper station, and receiving also, during its return, an additional angular motion to bring it into the correct angular position for the insertion of the first ring of the next link. The wire to form the two series of rings is fed by cam-and-lever operated slides 30, 60, the loose jaws 32, 61 of which are held down during feeding by cam - operated levers 35, 64; recoil of the wires is prevented on the return movement of the slides by jaws 31, 58 pressed down on the wires by cam-operated levers 34, 63. A piece of prepared chain is clamped in pincers 23, which are mounted in a sleeve 22 and are closed against the action of springs 24 by a hollow cone 25 through which the chain passes, the cone being pressed upwards by a spring and retracted when required by a band plate 27. The sleeve 22 is mounted in a sleeve 17, which has a helical slot 16 engaging a pin 15 in a carriage 9 so as to give the pincers a helical motion to facilitate interlinking and lift them into position for receiving the upper rings. The pincer jaws are helically grooved, so that when the chain is forced through them it is brought into the required angular position for inserting the first ring of the next link. The carriage 9 is reciprocated in guides 8 by a cam and bell-crank lever 10 against the action of a spring 14 and the rotation of the sleeve 17 is produced by a cam 18 on the sleeve engaging a stop 20; the spring is returned by a coiled spring 21. The wire a passes through an aperture in a threaded bushing 48, Fig. 4, and is coiled round a mandrel 49, the free end at the same time passing through the end links of the chain. A knife 51, reciprocated by a lever 55 and cam, presses the wire against a stop 56 on the bushing and cuts off a ring. The ring is flattened by a projection on the bolt 53 engaging a lever which presses on the ring. By the reciprocation of the carriage 9 and the helical motion of the pincers 23, the chain is then brought into position under the pincers 88, which carries a ring open at the bottom, made from the wire b, and which is, at the same time, reciprocated to connect the ring with the chain. The pincers 88 are reciprocated by a cam and levers 97, and are opened against the action of a spring 101 by a cam bar 103 operated by a cam and lever 107. The downward motion of the pincers, which is limited by a screw stop 98, forces the chain through the pincer jaws. The rings which are received in the pincers 88 are made by coiling the wire b, Fig. 9, on a shoulder on a longitudinally movable mandrel 76, which is provided with a groove 81 engaging a cutting-member 80 mounted in a segmental recess in the bushing 75, through which the wire passes, so that the motion of the mandrel causes a severance of the wire. The ring is centred under the pincers 88 by a spring-controlled bolt 82. The links are held temporarily by a binding-wire passing through lateral openings in the pincers into the helical convolutions of the cord. Adjacent pairs of rings are then soldered together, and the binding-wire is removed. The rings which open below may be first introduced, the other series of rings being then threaded by coiling and severing the outer convolution. The operating-shafts are driven by bevel-gear from the main shaft 1 which is rotated by an electric motor or other means.