Improvements in and relating to Machines for Plaiting Wire.
Year: 1892

page_text: Date of Application. 13th Sept. 1892-Accented. 17th Dec. 1892
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Improvements in and relating to Machines for Plaiting Wire.
I, OTHNIEL PRESTON, a citizen of the United States of America, residing at
Hornellsville, in the County of Steuben and State of New York, one of the United
States of America, Gentleman, do hereby declare the nature of this invention and
in what manner the same is to be performed to be particularly described and
ascertained in and by the following statement :-
The invention relates to machines for the production of continuous wire cables
formed of several strands of wire plaited together, said wire cables being adapted
for all the various purposes for which said cables are commonly used, as, for instance,
electric conductors, in the construction of fences, &c., and it consists in the construc-
tion, arrangement, and combination of parts as hereinafter described, illustrated in
the accompanying drawings, and pointed out in the appended claims.
The primary object of my invention is to provide a machine of this class, in which
the carriages carrying the wire reels are caused to partake of such relative movement
that they will effect the plaiting of the wire strands into a cable as said strands are
unwound from the recls.
•
A further object of my invention, is to provide suitable tension devices and guides
between the reels and the receiving drum, whereby the strands of wire are closely
and uniformly plaited, and said strands prevented from becoming entangled with
parts of the machine.
My invention also has in view certain minor objects, as will become apparent from
the description hereinafter.
In the drawings-
Figure 1 is a top plan view of my machine with the frame in section.
Figure 2 is a front elevation thereof.
Figure 3 is a side elevation thereof.
Figure 4 is a horizontal section through the line y-y, Figure 2.
Figure 5 is a detail of one of the reel brackets partly in section showing the
friction brake.
Figure 6 is a side elevation of the lower part of one of the reel carriages, with the
reel brackets removed.
Figure 7 is a transverse section through the center of the same, on line ―x,
Figure 6.
Figure 8 represents a section of wire braid as plaited by the machine.
Referring to the drawings, wherein like letters of reference denote corresponding
parts, A, indicates a frame adapted to support the operative elements of my machine,
said frame being provided with suitable feet, a, and a bed plate or table, b, supported
upon uprights,; said bed plate or table being adapted to support the reel carriages
and reels, as hereinafter described.
At the rear of the machine is a rectangular framing, B, formed by the uprights, d,
and the cross-pieces, e, said framing supporting the main operating shaft and other
parts, as presently described.
In the formation of the cable I employ three strands of wire, and the construction,
relative arrangement, and operation of the carriages and reels supporting said strands
of wire will now be described.
C, C, C, are the reel carriages, and D, D, D, the reels.
Inasmuch as the reel carriages as well as the reels are similarly constructed, a
description of one of said carriages and reels will therefore suffice for all. The reel
carriage, C (for instance) consists of brackets, c¹, bolted or otherwise secured to a

page_text: plate, which, during the motion of the carriage, rests upon the upper face of
the bed plate or table; said plate, c³, having formed integral therewith, an
elliptical neck, c³, and a lower plate, c', which bears against the under face of said
bed plate.
In the upper ends of the brackets, c', is mounted a shaft, c³, carrying the reel, D,
for the wire, said reel being of the ordinary spool-shaped form. Straddling said
reel, and loosely mounted upon the outer ends of the shaft, c³, is a yoke, E, which
serves as a guide for the wire as it is unwound from the reel, and as a take-up for
said wire, or device for taking up the slack thereof, said yoke being provided with
an eye or opening, e, for the passage of the wire.
To limit the vertical play of the yoke upon the shaft while the wire is being
reeled off, I form recesses, e¹, in the upper ends of the brackets, c¹, which form
shoulders, e, that limit the up and down play of the yoke, E.
In the employment of wire which may have considerable "spring" it is sometimes
the case that during the reeling off of said wire the reels, being loosely mounted
upon their shafts, will be caused to rotate too freely, resulting in a loose plait, and
often in an entanglement of the wire with the parts of the machine. It is one of the
objects of my invention to obviate these difficulties, and enable me to employ wire
of any temper and spring and yet obtain a uniform and close plaiting of the several
strands into a cable, and for the accomplishment of this object I employ the following
means:
Projecting from the outer sides of the brackets, c', are bosses, f, each of which is
cored to receive a bolt, f, the inner end of each of said bolts being provided with a
bearing surface or head, f, which bears upon a flange of the reel, said bolts
serving the purpose of a brake to prevent the reel from expending the wire too
rapidly.
The outer end of each bolt is threaded for the reception of a nut, f³, and within
the hollow boss and surrounding the bolt is a coiled spring, f, one end of which
bears against the head, 5, of the bolt and its opposite end against the outer wall of
the boss.
I have hereinabove stated that the plaiting of the strands of wire is effected by the
relative movement of the reel carriages, and I will now describe the manner in
which, and the means whereby, the desired movements are imparted to said reel
carriages:
The bed plate, b, is cut away to form two circular openings, g, gx, the outer edges
of which openings converge to form a contracted space intermediate of said openings.
g', g², indicate vertical studs rigidly secured in brackets, y³, bolted to the cross
pieces, (*.
The upper end of each stud is provided with an offset or shoulder, upon
which is seated an approximately circular plate, F, which is made slightly tapering
at one side to form a nose, 16, as plainly shown. The diameter of these plates is
somewhat smaller than the diameter of the openings, g, gx, so that when placed in
position within the openings, a guide-way or channel, H, is formed, having the form
of the figure 8. The plates are placed in position with their noses, 76, opposite
each other, as shown.
Upon the stud, g, is loosely mounted a gear wheel, G, the stud, y², carrying a like
gear wheel, G', with which meshes the gear wheel, G. The gear wheel, G, is pro-
vided upon its upper face with flat plates, h, having the relative position shown.
The outer ends of said plates are slotted to form fingers, h', said fingers being of
sufficient length to project beyond the teeth of the gear wheel. The gear wheel, G¹,
is also provided with three plates, h², similar to plates, , but which, however, are
not flat, but are made angular or raised at their outer ends, so that they will pass
over the fingers, h¹, of the plates, h, when the gear wheels revolve; the outer ends
of the plates, h², being slotted to form fingers, ³, of a length to project beyond the
teeth of gear wheel, G¹.
In arranging the gear wheels they are made to mesh, so when revolved, a plate, h,
will come directly beneath a plate, h2, the fingers on the latter plate lying directly
over the fingers of plate, h.

page_text: I have above stated that the plaiting of the wire strands is effected by the relative
movements of the reel carriages. Said movements are accomplished through the
media of the plates and their fingers in the following manner :-
Projecting from the under side of each of the plates, c¹, of the reel carriages, is
an annular boss or pin, h, of sufficient length to pass down between the fingers of
the plates, h, h², when said fingers occupy the position shown in Figure 4.
We will suppose, for instance, that the carriages are in the position shown in
Figure 1. When the gear wheels are revolved and the carriage, C, arrives at the
central portion of the guide-way, H, that is to say, at the point where the
portions, H', H2 are nearest each other, the boss or pin, 4, on said carriage will be
standing between the fingers ', h³, as shown in Figure 4, and upon a continued
revolution of the gear wheels, the nose of the elliptical neck, c³, will, owing to the
nose. f, be forced to project across the portion, H³, tangentially to the outer edge
of the opening, gx, and the boss or pin, h, will be guided from the fingers, h³, to
the fingers, h¹.
Before the carriage, C¹, arrives at the position just occupied by the carriage, C,
the carriage C², will cross from the right to the left and be guided in the opposite
direction to that taken by carriage, C. When carriage, C2, has crossed, carriage, C³,
will then come in position to be guided from the left to the right, and so on, each
carriage being caused in its movements to follow the guide-way, or, in other words,
to describe the figure 8.
It will be seen that by imparting the above-described movements to the carriages,
there will be produced a plaiting of the wire strands into a cable.
For driving the gear wheels by hand or other power, I employ the following
means:-
I, indicates a vertical shaft stepped at its lower end in the lower cross-piece, e, of
the framing B, and its upper end passing through the central cross piece, e, of said
frame. Near the lower end of the shaft, I, is secured a gear wheel, I', which
meshes with a pinion, 12, on a stud, i, secured to the lower cross-piece; said
pinion, 12, meshes with the gear wheel, G. The upper end of the shaft, I,
carries a bevel wheel, 13, which meshes with a like wheel, 14, on the horizontal
shaft, I, which has its bearings in the arms of a bracket, 1°, secured to the
framing, B. The outer end of the shaft, I, carries a fixed pulley, J, and a loose
pulley, J. The inner end of the shaft, 15, carries a hand wheel J³, to adapt said
shaft to be operated by hand.
In order to provide means whereby the cable may be wound upon a receiving
drum as fast as it is formed, and thereby avoid any danger of the entanglement of
the cable, and whereby a drawing action may be exerted upon the cable to maintain
the same under sufficient tension to produce a close plait, 1 employ the following
means
Journaled in arms, j, secured to the vertical posts of framing, B, is a transverse
shaft, K, carrying at its central portion a worm wheel, K', which meshes with a
worm, k, on the shaft, I. One end of the shaft, K, carries a flanged belt
pulley, K. Rigidly mounted upon a transverse shaft, L, supported in a bracket, L',
which is secured to one of the posts of framing, B, is a reel, M, which is
designed to receive the cable as it is formed. Upon the opposite end of the shaft
is secured a belt pulley, M', over which pulley and the pulley, K', passes a crossed
belt, M². By this arrangement, when the shaft, 13, is rotated in the proper direction,
that is to say, to the right, by hand or other power, the shaft, K, will be caused to
revolve and with it the belt pulley, K2, and through the medium of the belt, M³,
the shaft, L, and reel, M, will be rotated in a direction to cause the cable to be
wound upon said reel.
To provide suitable guides for the cable, between the wire reels and the receiving
reel, I employ a guide drum, N, rigidly mounted on the shaft, K, and in an arm, N,
projecting forward of the central cross piece, e, is formed an eye, n, which serves
as a point of bearing for the strands of wire to enable them to be plaited together,
as will be readily understood.

page_text: The operation of the machine may be described as follows:-
The wire reels having been filled with wire and placed in position in the carriages,
the ends of the wire strands are passed through the openings e, in the yokes, E,
then through the eye, n, and a turn made around the drum, N, and thence backward
and secured to the receiving reel. Motion is then imparted to the shaft, 18, and
through the media of the bevel gears, I³ and I', shaft, I, gear wheel, I', and
pinion, 12; the gear wheels, G and G', are revolved in the direction indicated by
the arrows in Figure 1. The carriages, C, C', C², will thereby be caused to partake
of the relative movements hereinbefore described, causing the strands to be plaited
into a cable as they pass through the eye, n. The receiving reel will, simultaneously
with the revolution of the shaft, I, be caused to revolve in a direction to wind
the cable as fast as formed, and effect a drawing action upon the same, through
the medium of worm, k, worm-wheel, K', shaft, K, pulley, K³, belt, M², pulley, M¹
and shaft, L.
It will be seen that with my machine, wire having any desired temper and spring
can be employed; that a suitable tension is always exerted upon the cable and
strands by the drum, N, and reel, to produce a uniform and close plait, that there
is no danger of the wire strands or the completed cable becoming entangled in the
machine, and that the cable as fast as it is formed is wound upon the receiving
reel by the machine itself, thus obviating the necessity of coiling said cable upon
the reel by hand.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of my said
invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is :-
1. The combination with a reel carriage provided with vertical arms or brackets,
of a shaft having its bearings in the upper ends of said arms, a wire reel mounted
upon said shaft, a guide and bracket pivoted upon the ends of said shaft and
straddling the reel and provided with a guide-eye or slot, the upper ends of the
arms of the reel carriage being provided with recesses forming shoulders to limit
the vertical play of the tension bracket, substantially as described.
2. The combination with the bed plate provided with the guide channel as
described, of the reel carriages provided with vertical brackets supporting the reel
shaft and having at their upper ends recesses or stops to limit the motion of the
take-up yoke, and the take-up yoke pivoted to the top of the reel carriages and
straddling the same, and provided with a guide-eye, substantially as described.
3. The combination with the bed plate provided with the guide channel as
described, of the reel carriages provided with vertical brackets supporting the reel
shaft and reel and having at their upper end recesses or stops to limit the motion
of the take-up yoke; the take-up yoke provided with a guide eye and pivoted to
the top of and straddling the reel carriage, and the automatic friction brake
consisting of the spring-surrounded bolt, seated in a recess in the brackets of the
reel carriage, and adapted to bear against the flange of the reel, substantially as
specified.
4. In a wire braiding machine, the combination with the reel carriages, the
reels mounted therein, the take-up yokes, and the automatic friction brakes; of
the bed plate provided with guide channels, the intermeshing gearing by which
motion is imparted to the reels, the intermediate bracket and guide eye, the receiving
drum and the gearing by which it is caused to revolve with a speed corresponding
to the delivery from the reels, the whole arranged to give a yielding delivery to,
and produce an automatically regulated draught upon the strands during the
operation of braiding, to compensate for the "spring" of the wire, substantially as
specified.
Dated this 12th dow of Caudamba 1000