Year: 1886

page_text: I, JOSEPH LOUIS WELLS a Citizen of the United States of America residing at
No. 1819 Park Ave in the City and County of Philadelphia, State of Pennsylvania,
Manufacturer 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:-
Heretofore wire braiding has been done over a long slightly tapering core from
which the fabric braided thereon was afterwards removed, or continuously drawn
or pulled off by mechanism adapted for that purpose; braiding has also been done
over a collapsible cylindrical core several feet in length. When the length of the
core in the latter instance had been braided over, the machine was stopped, the
core collapsed, and the hollow cylinder of wire removed therefrom, the core was
then expanded to its normal diameter, and so on in continuous succession.
The
object of this improvement is to provide a self-freeing fixed or permanent core;
that is to say, a core or former from which the tubular fabric automatically and
continuously shuffles off, so to say, as the braiding proceeds.
To this end the invention consists of an improved core or former for wire
braiding machines as hereinafter described, reference being made to the accompanying
drawings which form part of this specification, and in which:-
Fig. 1 is a plan view of the core in connection with so much of a wire-braiding
machine as is necessary to show the invention.
Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the tapering core with wire braiding thereon.
The wires a, are of steel or other suitable filamentoid material, and run from
spools b, in carriages d, which travel in races in the circular framework e of a wire-
braiding machine. The general construction of braiding machines is so well
known that it is only deemed necessary to show such parts thereof as are requisite
to illustrate the present invention.
F, indicates the improved core or former which is of iron or steel firmly secured
by bolts to the floor, or otherwise in the usual position, i,e, substantially concentric
with the circular or spool frame of the braiding machine. That portion of the
core which comes about in a plane, horizontally with the series of wires, or more
specifically, that circular line upon which comes the stress of the interbraiding and
interbraided wires is made tapering as at g, Fig. 2, then cylindrical as at h, to its
free extremity.

page_text: Now, it will be seen that as the braiding proceeds, the wires in the operation of
being interlaced, draw with considerable force upon the periphery of the core, on a
line upon the said tapering portion thereof. The angle or taper is not so acute,
however, as to permit the round of wires to slide up on the core, under the stress
of the braiding, but will retain their bite or hold until the succeeding round or
rounds gradually shove the same up off the tapering portion to the cylindrical part,
and so on continuously, and thus the braided cylinders of wire can be made of
any desired length and that without stepping the machine.
The degree of taper to be given at g, depends upon the gauge and the number
of wires, the size of cylinders to be made, (i,e., the diameter of the core or former)
the smoothness of wire and core and other factors.
It is deemed important that the taper should be of a certain relative character
in order to produce entirely satisfactory results; and it requires some experience
or judgment in order to secure the best working angle or taper without experiment
in order to determine the same under each particular set of circumstances. It
usually varies very slightly, however, from the taper represented in Fig. 2. The
remainder of the core extending above what may be termed the working line of
the braiding thereon, may be of any desired length and may be somewhat tapering
or cylindrical as shown, so that it does not interfere with the free sliding off of the
braided coil. It is preferred however to extend the same some three or four inches
beyond the tapering part, or sufficiently to support that part of the braided cylinder
in the upright position and thus prevent it from drawing on one side and interfering
with the hold of the wire on the line of braiding, which it would be apt to do if
not thus supported.
יו
:
Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the said
invention, and in what manner the same is to be performed, I declare that what
I claim is
In combination with a wire-braiding machine, a tapering core or former upon
which the wires are braided, adapted to temporarily retain in place by friction, the
wires on the circumferential line of braiding and to permit the same to be forced
off automatically from said line or lines of braiding, and gradually from the core
and so on continuously, substantially in the manner and for the purposes set forth.
Dated this 10th dow of M... 1000
PHILIP M. JUSTICE,
Applicant's Agent.