Apparatus for Forming or Building Up Wire-coils.
Year: 1895

page_text: Date of Application, 13th Mar., 1895-Accepted, 13th Apr., 1895
COMPLETE SPECIFICATION.
Apparatus for Forming or Building Up Wire-coils.
I, WILLIAM EDENBORN, Manufacturer, of 21st Street, City of St. Louis,
in the State of Missouri, United States of America, 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 :-
This invention relates to apparatus for forming red-hot wire, such as is produced
by rolling mills, into coils or rings of any desired diameter.
In the following description reference will be made to the accompanying drawing,
of which
Fig. 1 is a side elevation of a machine embodying my invention,
Fig. 2 is partly a front elevation and partly a vertical section of the same,
Fig. 3 is a vertical section of certain parts of the machine on a larger scale,
Fig. 4 is a horizontal section along line A-A of Fig. 1,
Fig. 5 shows a modification.
The machine represented by Figs. 1 to 4 comprises a hollow axle 9 adapted to
turu in a bearing 8 formed at the extremity of the overhanging arm of the machine
frame 7. This axle, shown on a larger scale by Fig. 3, has a funnel-shaped
opening and contains a tubular guide-piece 15, the bore of which coincides at the
top with the axis of the hollow axle 9, while the lower end of the same points to
oue side, in order to guide the wire into one of the inclined openings 16 hereafter
described. A conical spreader 12 is mounted axially underneath the hollow axle 9,
and has above the conical part a cylindrical socket-piece 17 adapted to receive the
lower end of the axle 9. The said socket-head 17 is wider than the top of the
conical part and contains in its base a pair of symmetrically inclined openings 16, 16.
These openings are lined with bushes and approximately parallel to the conical sides
of the spreader 12.
The guide piece 15 is adapted to turn in the hollow axle 9, its correct position
being maintained by two diametrically opposite set screws 18 inserted through the
head 17 and the axle 9, as shown. The guide-piece 15 is placed so, that the lower
end of its bore leads to one of the inclined openings 16. If one of the two
openings 16 is in need of repair (for instance if the bushing is worn out) the guide
piece 15 is turned 180°, so that the lower end of its bore now points to the other
opening 16, which change requires only a short time.
Two lugs or angle-irons 13 (one for each opening 16) are fixed to the spreader
near the base of the same, in order to guide the wire between the mouth 16 and the
base of the cone.
If the construction of the machine is so modified, that the wire passes down along
the inner surface of the conical spreader, the said guide-lugs are applied to the
inside of the latter.
The machine also contains a cylindrical core 3 situated axially under the base of
the spreader and movable in the direction of its axis by the piston rod of a
The said core is guided in
hydraulic press 4 (Fig 2), or by other suitable means.
the floor-plate 1 by means of grooves 5 and ledges 6 (Fig. 4), which prevent it
from turning, and it fits at the top into a flange 20 formed at the lower end of the
spreader.
The wire is supplied to the funnel of the axle 9 through a pipe conduit 14
composed of several sections with funnel ends, as shown by Figs. 2 and 3, to

page_text: facilitate the escape of the slag or scales which the wire may give off as it comes
from the rolling mill.
For the same purpose the parts shown in Fig. 3 are arranged or constructed in
such a manner, that the apertures 16 communicate with each other at the top, in
order that the slag, given off by the wire in passing through one of the said
apertures, may escape also through the other opening.
In the vertical type represented by Figs. 1 to 4, the hollow axle 9 which turns
the socket piece 17 and cone 12 receives its motion from a horizontal shaft 11
through the intermediary of a pair of tooth-wheels 10, and the shaft 11 is driven at
a variable speed by means of a belt cone 23 or equivalent driving gear.
The machine works as follows:-
The red-hot wire, as it comes from the rolling mill, is introduced through the
tubular conduit 14 into the funnel of the hollow shaft 9, whence it passes through
the guide-piece 15 and one of the outlets 16 to the surface of the cone 12, down to the
corresponding guide-lug 13, and then drops around the core 3 on the base plate 1.
As the spreader 12 revolves, a coil of wire is gradually built up around the core 3,
the diameter of which coil depends on the speed of revolution of the cone 12 and
is usually about 5 to 6 inches larger than that of the core 3.
When a coil has
been thus built up, the discharge valve of the hydraulic press 4 is opened, and the
piston thereby caused to descend, together with the core 3, under the floor
plate after which the coil may be drawn out horizontally from underneath the
spreader 12.
Subsequently the hydraulic piston is again caused to ascend, so as to introduce
the top of the core 3 into the flange 20 of the spreader 12, and the same cycle of
operations is repeated.
As during each operation the speed of the driving shaft 11 should have a
constant ratio to that of the rolls, both are preferably driven from the same
counter-shaft.
For increasing the diameter of the wire coil to be produced by the machine, the
driving belt is shifted towards the narrow end of the cone 23, and thereby the
velocity of the shaft 11 is increased, which in its turn increases the centrifugal
force of the wire passing down the core 12, and consequently the diameter of the
coil or ring laid on the floor plate 1.
In the horizontal type of machine represented by Fig. 5, the driving shaft 11 is
made hollow and supports the hollow axle 9, as well as the internal guide-piece (15)
and the spreading cone 12, which are similar to the correspondingly named pieces of
the vertical type, but this spreading cone 12 has attached to its surface several
guide-tubes 13 provided with gaps and funnel-ends, for the same purpose as
described in reference to Fig. 3. For each of the guide-tubes 13* the head 9 of
the spreading cone 12 has an outlet similar to the apertures (16) shown in Fig. 3,
and each tube 13ª is guided by a lug or angle-iron 13 fixed to the base of the
cone 12.
The cylindrical core 3 is mounted on a horizontal shaft 3* adapted to be shifted
by a hand lever 3. The core 3 fits into a guide ring 3d, as indicated in Fig. 5
by dotted lines, and the finished coil drops into a discharge opening A formed in
the floor-plate B.
The driving shaft 11 is set in motion at a variable speed by a belt passing over
a pair of stepped cones 21 and 21ª. 22 is the main driving pulley on the counter
shaft. If the spreading cone has an inclined axis, the construction and arrangement
of parts may be similar to that shown by Fig. 5.
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said inven-
tion, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what I
claim is :-
1. Apparatus for forming rings or building up coils from red-hot wire, comprising
in its construction a revolving conical spreader provided with means for conducting
the wire from the apex to the base of the conical surface a feed-tube coaxial with

page_text: the cone and revolving with the same, and a movable core adjoining the base of the
conical spreader and coaxial with the same, said feed tube being adapted to guide
the wire to the apex of the surface of the spreader and to deliver it on the surface
of the same, substantially as described.
2. In wire-coiling apparatus of the type specified, a tubular guide for the wire to
be coiled, said guide being composed of short sections or provided with outlets
arranged so as to facilitate the escape of slag given off by the wire, substantially
as described.
3. In wire-coiling apparatus of the type described, the method of varying the
diameter of the coils, which consists in varying the speed of the coiling head by
means of belt cones (23), stepped cones (21 and 21), or equivalent driving
mechanism, substantially as described.
4. In wire-coiling apparatus having a spreader with horizontal or inclined axis,
the combination of the cylindrical core 3, with a guide ring 3d, and lever mechanism
for withdrawing the said core from the spreader, substantially as described.
5. In wire-coiling apparatus, the construction and arrangement of parts described
with reference to Figs. 1, 2, 3, and 5.
Dated this 12th day of March 1895.
FAIRFAX & WETTER,
433, Strand, London, Agents.