US1804486A - Apparatus for treating wires - Google Patents

Description

May 12, 1931. P. WRIGHT 1,804,486

' I APPARATUS FOR TREATING WIRES Filed Aug. 18, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 L'Snventor ,Parvin Wn'ghi dttorncg May 12, 1931. I wRlGHT 1,804,486

APPARATUS FOR TREATING WIRES Filed Aug. 18, 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 May 12, 1931. P. WRIGHT APPARATUS FOR TREATING WIRES 4 SheetS Sheet 3 Filed Aug. 18, 1928 Inmentor faraz'nWfy/zi Qttomcg May 12, 1931. P. WRIGHT 1,804,486

APPARATUS F OR TREATING.WIRES Filed Aug. 18. 1928 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 123 in? Z Inventor llmllllllnum HDHHIIHHHII 1 Gttorneg Patented May 1 2, 1931 PARVIN WRIGHT, OF SEATTLE, WASHINGTON APPARATUS FOR TREATING WIRES Application filed August 18, 1928. Serial No. 300,490.

This invention relates to apparatus for treating wire, and has for its object to provide' a construction more simple in parts and more efficient in use than those heretofore proposed.

With these and other objects in view the invention consists in the novel details of construction and combinations of parts as will be more fully hereinafter disclosed and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification in which like numerals designate like parts in all the views,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of a wire treating apparatus made in accordance with this invention, the cover of said apparatus being removed to more clearly show the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical sectional view taken as on the line 22-of Fig. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 3 is a top plan view of a slightly modified form of apparatus involving th principles of this invention;

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional; view of the parts shown in Fig. 3 taken as on the line 4-4 thereof and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 5 is atopplan view partly in section of a detail of the means employed to stop the functioning of the apparatus, said view being taken as on the line 5-501 Fig. 4: and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 6 is a detail view in horizontal section of the electric contact members cooperating with and forming part of'the means therewith for preventing a too rapid cooling of the heated wires; Fig. 8 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 8-8 of Fig. *4 and looking in the direction of the arrows; Fig. 9 is a vertical sectional detail illus-v trating the, support. for the axle .of the drums employed in this ap aratus;

Fig. 10 is a partial verticsil sectional view taken as on the line 10-10 of Fig. 8 and looking in the direction of the arrows;

Fig. 11 is a detail vertical sectional view taken as on the line '11-11 of Fig. 4 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and

Fig. 12 is a perspective view illustratin the details of assembly of drum parts an their associated axle.

In order that this invention may be the better understood it is said that this apparatus'is particularly adaptedto processes of annealing, tempering, galvanizing and elec tro-plating wire, an object ofthe invention being to' provide means for exposing the longest length of wire in the most confined space to the action of heat, to the action of the bath desired, and to the action of electric currents, etc. as will be readily understood by one skilled in the art.

drums so that the convolutions will lie in a single substantially cylindrical lane and said convolutions will be automaically set back during the continuousfeed of the wire toand from each drum. In order to accomplish this result the dr is formed with a plurality of rollers p aced 'circum-, ferentially thereof, each roller rovided {in its surface with a thread or he 'cal groove of the same pitch as the ooves of the other rollers, and each rol er is adapted to rotate about its own axis in time with the revolutions of the drum as a whole, with the result that each roller revolves once on its ,axis with each complete turn of the drum.- By this arrangement there will be provided an empty thread or groove at the end of each roller to receive the on-coming' wire.

In practice it is now customary to pass wires through long troughs containing molten metal which is to be used as a coating for the wire, the wire bein made to lie submerged in the metal, but ue to the long dimension of these troughs the metal is subjected to rapid cooling, oxidation, evaporation and other waste, entailing not ohly loss of metal, time, and labor but the unnecessary utilization of valuable floor area.

According to this invention the-wire is subjected to the same processes and treatments in tanks which occu y but a very small floor area as compared to the heretofore used apparatus.

A chamber is indicated by the numeral 1 while 2 indicates a tank in which a drum is mounted. The drum comprises s aced heads- 3 and 4 with a plurality of freely rotatable rollers 5 therebetween, said rollers having formed thereon a continuous thread or spiral groove 6 of the same pitch. The

rollers are placed relatively close to each other in circular formation as clearly shown in ,Fig. 2 and each may be made Qf any suitable material, cast iron for example when used in molten metal, and porcelain for example when used in electro-plating processes. 7 is a stationary ear secured to an axle 8 the ends of whic rest in brackets 9 carried by opposite walls of the tank 2. With articular reference to Figs. 1, 2, 9 and 12 1t will be seen that the stationary gear 7 is or may be rovided with a central hub extension 10 aving a pin 11 passing therethrough gas well as through the axle 8. The drum head 3 is centrally apertured to rotatably fit the hub 10 of the gear 7. The

ends of the axle 8 extend beyond the drum heads having secured thereto as by the pin 12 a squared nut 13 which is adapted to fit a rectangularly recessed supporting bracket -9 to revent rotation of theaxle, the said brac et being secured to a wall of the tank 2 as by the bolts 14.

Totwo or more of the rollers 5 is secured a spur gear which is adapted to enmesh with and walk around the stationary gear 7. In Fig. 2 there is illustrated three of these cslpur gears 20, 21 and 22 all of the same iameter and number of teeth as the stationary gear 7, so that the winding'of the wire onto and ofi of the drum, will cause said drum to rotate. Inother words, the wire wound about the rollers will act as so many belts, and inasmuch as the stationary gear 7 and each of the spur gears secured to the rollers 5 are of equal diameter and number of teeth then it will be readily seen that in one revolution of the drum each roller will be rotated once. Further, it should be stated, the rollers 5 constitute screws having the same itch and diameter, and are so mounted t at, when each arrives at the exuppermost position during the revolution of the drum, the end of the groove o will be in the same location. 'This results in the threads of each roller being advanced one-ninth of the pitch of the next following roller, when nine rollers are employed as shown, since each roller makes one complete" each roller in one of its cycles advances the Wire longitudinally of the drum a distance equal to the dimension of a thread and furthermore advances said wire with respect to the roller due to the revolving thereof whereby no portion of the wire remains in contact with any roller but, on the other hand, the wire is caused to creep or move circumferentially of the drum in a direction toward the point of take-off. I

The on-coming wire is illustrated at 25 moving in the direction of the arrows in Figs. 1 and 2. On the top of a wall of the chamber 1 there is positioned a guiding sheave 27 over which the wire passes and thence through an opening 28 in the tank 2 within which the drum roper is mounted, said tank being provide with a removable cover 30. The on-coming wire is then directed into the grooves of the plural rollers 5 so that the wire is given a helical position with respect to all of the rollers of the drum. In other words, due to the threads or grooves of each roller, the wire will be made to lie therein and passfrom one roller to the next, receding one groove after having contacted all of said rollers, as clearly indicated in Figs. 1 and 2, the on-coming wire striking the drum near one head thereof such as 4, and leaving said drum near the other head 3 and passing out of the tank 2 as through the opening 31 and thence through a device 26 which may be a wiper, or a tempering tank at the top 'of the wall of the chamber 1 as clearly indicated. The treated wire iudicated by the numeral 33' then passes to a reel 34 having associated therewith any means for rotating I gear 35 meshing wlth a pinion 36 driven by a motor 37. The tank 2 is su ported within the chamber 1 in any suitable manner to provide there below a combustion chamber 40 receiving heat from any source such as the blast nozzle 41' associated with the oil supply line 42 controlled by the valve 43.

The drums, will be made in varying lengths according to the process to which the wire is subjected. In other words, if the wire is to be treated for only a short duration of time, the drums will be of smaller dimension between the heads than if the wire is .to be subjected to a proces involving a longer period of time Stated in other words, the time necessary to treat the wire will be the governing factor together with the temperature involved and therefore the .size of the drum as well as the speed at treatment for the same or different urations reference to Figs. 3, 4

and 8 it will be seen that the tank is provided with a plurality of drums each of which has the heads 3 and 4 above described, and at each drum has associated with its head 3 the stationary gear 7 pinned to axle 8 which is-common to all of the drums, and that said common axle is supported inbrackets 9, exactly as hereinbefore described, to prevent rotation of said axle. It will also be seen that each drum has dis osed between the heads thereof a plurality 0 roll ers 5 having the grooves or threads 6 in the surface thereof, that each rollerI is free to rotate between the drum heads, and that there are provided the spur gears 20, 21 and 22 enmeshing with the stationary ear 7-, so that as the wire is wound about t e rollers of each drum, said drum will be caused to rotate "about the axle 8 as a center. If de sired a guard plate may be placed circumferentially of the drum heads to extend over theintermeshing gears 20, 21 and 22.

By the construction shown in Figs. 3 and 8 it .willthus' be seen that wires of different diameters may be subjected to treatment in the tank 2, 'or' a plurality of wires of the same size may betreated simultaneously, and it is obvious that wire may be led onto andtaken from one of the drums at a speed' different from the speed at which-wire is laid on and taken off of one-ofthe other drums.

Figs. 3,4, 8 and 11 particularly disclose a wire treatment by electric method, such for example as electroplating, It often happens that wire which is to be plated is har or irregular high-tempered product, so that softening and an even annealing is 'required before the wire is coated and in these figures of drawings an apparatus :is

' shown which combines this heat treatment cal heating unit disposed on the side of the tank 2,by means of which the wire is heated before it passes to thelaying and spacing drums, and there is employed a pair of electrodes withinthe tank in close proximity to the wire on the drums, and further there is provided a reeling device, all of which are electrically connected in such manner that the current is broken to each when the wire becomes slack.

Secured to the side of the tank. 2 is a transformer heating unit the primary coil of which is wound in sections in the usual manner so that the current and degree of heat can be controlled by means of the electrical switch 51, as well understood. The core 52 of this transformer unit has upward projecting ends 53 and 54 the extremities of which carry metallic grooved sheaves 55 and 56 respectively over which the on-coming wire '25 passes before reaching the rollers 5 of the treating drums. The on-coming wire completes the -ath for the induced or secondar circuit 0 said heating unit between said sheaves and the wires themselves form the heated element of said circuit.

It is desirable toenclose the heated oncoming wire in order to avoid oxidation and prevent too rapid cooling thereof and in connection with this it is to be understood that the distance between the heating unit and the tank will be regulated to suit the different sizes of wire to be ultimately treated.-

Figs. 4 and 7 articularly show the means for enclosing t ese wires, said means comprising a non-magnetic tube 60 supported 'at about its mid-length by outwardly exrod 63 is to be maintained against rotation but. that the sheaves 55 and 56 are loosely mounted thereon, being maintained in correct positions by spacing collars 64.

Insulatedly mounted in opposite walls of the tank 2 and extendin thereacross are rods and 71 for suita ly' supporting a plurality of electrolytic members forming electrodes such as 72 and 73 respectivel each electrode arcuately'formed to closely t aboutthe rollers 5 of'the wire laying drums,

there being a pair of electrodes for each .drum. The electrodes are connected through their supporting rods by a common wire .74 from which leads a wire 75 to one pole of a double pole main line switch 79. The

sheaves 55 and corresponding sheaves 76 on the opposite side of the tank 2 are connected throu h their supports by the common wire from which leads a wire 78 to the other pole of said switch so that itwill thus be seen that theelectric current from the electrodes will pass through the'solution within the tank, abstract a metal thereof by decomposition. and deposit said metal rollers of the drum, this being made possible loo electrically upon the wirepassing around the by the charge of electric current on the wire as received from the charged metallic sheaves and 76, and further due to the fact that the rollers 5 in electro-plating processes will be made of non-conducting material such as porcelain or the like.

After the Wire has been electrically treated for plating, it will move in the direction of the arrow from the sheaves 76 to the reels 34 which are rotated as by the gear 35 enmeshing with the pinion 36 mounted on the. axis of the motor 37 receiving electric current over the wires 80 and 81. The motors and the gears connected with the winding reels 34 will be appropriately timed in accordance with the wire being treated and the solution through which the wire is being passed.

The wire 80 above referred to is connected to the pole of the double pole main line switch 7 9 to which the wire 78 is connected whereas the wire 81 leads to a switch member 82 adapted to make and break contact with an electrical conductor 83 insulatedly mounted on the transformer heater unit above referred to, andfrom said electrical conductor 83 leads a wire 84 to the other pole of the switch 79. For convenience the bar 85 of the switch 79 is controlled by a solenoid 86 -whose winding is connected in the circuit of wire Bet, so that when the switch members 82 and 83 become disengagedthe flow of current will be broken through said solenoid permitting movement of the bar '85 to disengage the main line switch 79. In Fig. 4, one side of the transformer switch is connected as by the wire 87 to one pole of a double pole main line switch 88, while from the other pole thereof leads the wire 89 back to the other side of said transformer switch. Also it will be seen from said figure that the bar 85 of switch 79 is extended and forms the bar of switch 88, the use of the two main line switches 79Eand 88 being adopted in order to utilize both direct and alternating cur-- rents, the former necessary for the plating process and the reeling motor, and the latter used for the transformer heat unit. Thus it will be seen that the solenoid causes the opening of both main line switches 79 and 88, as a resultof which the movement of the wire over the sheaves and through the plating bath will be stopped, the preheating of the wire will be stopped, and the electricalaction of the bath solution will be stopped,

all at the same time.

The on-coming wire 25 1s tralnedover an idler sheave 90 carried at the end of an arm 91 pivotally mounted asat 92 for vertical movement within a bracket 93 carstood that there is a sheave 90 for each-of the wires leading to the plurality ofdrums.

There is formed a depending extension of the arm 91 which carries the above referred to knife blade '82, and a spring 94 is disposed between the bracket 93and the arm 91 to place the latter under a tension tending to move the idler pulley 90 into an elevated position such as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 4. The pulley 90 is however, maintained in its full line position by the on-coming wire 25 so long as said wire is maintained in substantially taut condition as it is normally in travelling from the source of the'wire through the apparatus above described. When, however, the wire becomes broken at a point between its source and the winding reel 34, there will be a slack in said wire which will be sufficient to permit the upward movement of the idler pulley 90 and when this occurs the knife blade 82 will be moved out of electrical contact with its companion switch member 83 with the result that the current will be broken as hereinbefore explained, to the electrolyte and to the particular winding reel associated with the wire which has been broken. Not only this, but the current will be broken also through the induced or secondary circuit of the heating transformer unit, since the upward movement of the pulley 90 will cause an upward movement of the'on-coming wire 25 to such a position as indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 4 and this will cause said stretch of on-coming wire to move from actual contact with the charged sheave 56.

From the foregoing it will thus be seen that by this invention there is provided an apparatus for treating wire having in combination electrical means to heat said wire, said means comprising an electrical transformer unit and'characterized by the fact that the wire itself forms a resistance element of the heating circuit together with electrical means to coat the annealed wire both of said electrical means being commonly controlled. Also, there is provided means disposed between the heating and coatingmeans to maintain the elevated temperature of said wire, as well as electrical means to reel the coated wire, said last named means being commonly controlled with the heating and coating means. Lastly there is provided automatic means controlled by the wire to simultaneously stop the heating, the coating and the reeling means, said automatic means being connected in circuit withsaid coating and reeling means.-

It will be also seen that this apparatus contemplates a means for movlng the wire through a. tank such as the motor driven reel 34, andmeans comprising a rotatable drum consisting of a. plurality of rollers which are located within the tank for receiving and supporting the moving wire in such manner that the entire surface of the wire may receive treatment from the solutions within the tank. This is an important feature of the invention in that by the planetary movement of the rollers 5 constituting the drum, each roller will berotated about its own axis while the roller as a whole is moved circularly about the shaft 8 as an axis. By this movement, the wire does not stay ,in surface contact with any roller for an appreciable length of time, but on the other hand the wire is caused to creep longitudinally while it is being moved in a circular path within the tank all to the end that the entire surface of the wire is subjected to the action of the solution within the tank.

Also it will be observed that due to the threads formed on each roller, there is a.

tendency if the rollers did not rotate for said threads to move the wire in a direction parallel to the axle 8, said direction being opposite to the intended movement of the 'wire from the point where it is laid on to the point where it is taken ofi the drum. By rotating the rollers and mounting them as hereinbefore stated, the pitch of the threads makes it possible for each roller to have a groove ready to receive the wire from the preceding roller, and each groove will cause a receding of the wirefrom the point where it is laid on the drum, with the result that.

the wire will be progressively moved from the inlet to the outlet of said tank. This might be worded differently by stating that there is provided a rotating drum for reeling the wire in a single layer across its face each coil of the wire being in spaced relation from the other coils, the drum surface comprising a plurality of independently rotating grooved rollers to automatically recede the progressive turns of the coils from the point where they are laid in the grooves of the rollers, this being done as rapidly as the wire is taken off of the drum. This is necessary in order that the successive rollers have a groove or thread to receive the wire as it leaves the precedmg roller while at the same time causing no portion of the. wire to remain in contact with any roller, and fur ther permitting the travel of the wire from the point where it is laid onto the drum to the point'where it istaken therefrom.

It-is obvious that those skilled in the art may vary the details of construction as well as arrangements of parts without departing from the spirit of the invention and it is therefore not desired to be limited to the foregoing except as may be required by the claims.

, What is claimed is 1. In an apparatus means to coat the annealed wire; means to reel the coated mm; and means to simultafor treating wire the combination of means to anneal sald wire;-

neously reelmg means.

combination of electrical means 0 one chara different character'to coat the annealed wire; electrical means connected to said second named means to reel the coated wire; and means to simultaneously stop the heating, the coating, and the reeling means.v

3. In an apparatus for treating wire the combination of alternating current actuated means including said wire to heat said wire; direct current actuated means to coat the annealed wire; means including a motor connected in parallel with said second named means to reel the coated wire; and means to simultaneously stop the heating, the coating, and the reeling means.

4. In an apparatus for treating wire the combination of electrical means to heat said wire; electrical means to coat the annealed wire; electrical means to reel the coated wire; and automatic means to simultaneously stop the heating, the coating and the reelmg means, said automatic means being connected in circuit with the second and third named means.

5. In an apparatus for treating wire the combination of means to heat said wire before it reaches the coating bath, said means comprising an electrical transformer unit including said wire as a resistance element; means to coat the annealed wire; means to reel the coated wire; and means to simultaneously stop the heating, the coating and the reelin means.

6. 1%1 an apparatus for treating wire the combination of electrical means to heat said wire; electrical means to coat the annealed stop the heating, the coating and the 2. In an apparatus for treatin wire the wire; electrical means to reel the coated wire; and means to simultaneously stop the heating, the coating and the reeling means through the actuation of a member common to-all.

7. An apparatus for treating wire comprising atank; means to move said wire throu said tank; and means within said tank or. supporting the movingwire whlle automatically causing its movement in a d1- rection transverse to the longitudinal movement thereof, and permitting the entire surface thereof to receive treatment, said means including spaced bodily movable members.

8. An apparatus for treating wire comprising a tank; means-to move said wire through said tank; and rotatable grooved means bodily movable within-said tankfor receiving and supporting the moving wire while permitting theentire surface thereof porting the moving wire while permitting the entire surface thereof to receive treatment.

10. An apparatus for treating wire comprising a tank; means to move said wire through said tank; and means comprising a plurality of rollers adapted for planetary movement within said tank for supporting the moving wire while permitting the entire surface thereof to receive treatment.

11. A drum on which wire may be simultaneously wound and unwound, said drum comprising means to receive the wire in spaced relation in a single layer, said means including spaced bodily movable members adapted to recede the wire on said drum from the point of application.

12. A rotatable drum for wire having for its face a plurality of spirally grooved rollers each adapted to be rotated by theapplied wire once in each revolution of the drum, the grooves of said rollers receding the wire rom the point of application.

13. An apparatus for treating wire comprising a tank; means to move said wire through said tank; and wire receding means comprising a plurality of rollers each having'a helical groove in its surface and each adapted for planetary movement within said tank for supporting the moving wire.

14. In an apparatus for treatin wire in combination with a tank, a rotata le drum therein for receiving and supporting the wire in a single layer of spaced turns, saiddrum including spaced bodil movable members adapted to recede all t e turns of said coils simultaneously.

15. In an apparatus for treatin wire in combination with a tank, a rotata le drum therein for receiving and sup orting said wire, said drum comprising head; and a plurality of threaded rollers supported therebetween, said 'rollers geared for planetary movement.

16. An apparatus for treating wire comprising a tank; means to move said wire through said tank; and means having planetary movement within said tank for supportin the moving wire.

17. apparatus for treating wirecomprising a tank; means to move said wire through said tank; and means comprising a plurality of wire receding rollers adapted for planetary movement within said tank for supporting the moving wire.

18. A rotatable drum for-wire having for its face a plurality of rollers adapted to be simultaneously rotated by the applied wire once in each revolution of the drum.

In testimony whereof I aflix my sig- PARVIN WRIGHT.

" nature.

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