GB2148161A - Unreeling apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

Unreeling apparatus (1) for unreeling a length of elongate material e.g. wire (6), comprises gripping jaws (2) spring biassed to grip the wire (6). Support means (3) carries the gripping jaws which are rotatable relative to said support means. The unreeling apparatus (1) may be used in a machine for cutting the wire (6). The support means is reciprocated by a motor driven haulage rope between a cutting statum, where a blade (11A) cuts the wire and the jaws pick up a length leading end from a collecting cone at a coil supply, and a clamping station, where the wire length leading end is held by a fixed clamp whilst the other end is cut by the blade. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Unreeling apparatus This invention relates to unreeling apparatus.

It is common for wire to be unreeled from a supply of wire by a human operator who takes hold of one end of the supply of wire and pulls the required length of wire from the supply. As the operator performs this operation it is necessary for him or her to ensure that all twists in the wire are removed. When the desired length of wire has been unreeled the operator cuts the wire.

In many construction applications the length of wire to be cut may be of the order of 60m, and clearly it is a time consuming operation for the operator to cut such a length of wire.

Machines have been devised for automatically removing lengths of wire. These require the supply of wire to be mounted on a core and the supply must also be rotated as the wire is unreeled in order to prevent twists forming.

According to one aspect of the present invention there is provided unreeling apparatus for unreeling a length of elongate material, comprising gripping means adapted to grip the elongate material, and support means adapted to support the gripping means, said gripping means being rotatable relative to said support means.

Advantageously the gripping means is arranged within the support means.

Preferably the gripping means includes a housing which is mounted to the support means by bearings, thereby permitting the gripping means to rotate relative to the support means.

Desirably the gripping means and the support means have a common longitudinal axis, the gripping means and support means are relatively rotatable about the longitudinal axis, and the elongate material passes through the support means and gripping means colinear with the longitudinal axis.

It is preferable that the gripping means is provided with at least one gripping member for gripping the elongate material. More preferably the gripping means is provided with three gripping members which are spaced symmetrically around the elongate member and are movable within the housing substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis. It is also preferable that the three gripping members are movable between a first position in which they cooperate to grip the elongate material, and a second position in which they do not grip the member.

It is desirable that biasing means is provided which biases the or each gripping member in the first position, and conveniently the biasing means is a spring.

The elongate material may be wire, and may be wrapped on a bobbin or other core, or may be formed in a coil without being supported by the core.

According to another aspect of the invention there is provided a machine for cutting lengths of elongate material from an elongate material supply comprising a track arranged between a cutting station and a clamping station and unreeling apparatus as described above, said unreeling apparatus being mounted on the track and being movable along the track between the cutting station and the clamping station.

Advantageously the unreeling apparatus is provided with a cutting device for cutting the elongate material.

The apparatus according to the present invention enables wire to be unreeled from a supply of wire, and removes any twists in the unreeled wire. The supply of wire may or may not be wrapped around a core, and the apparatus does not require the supply to be rotated or otherwise moved as the wire is drawn off.

Reference is now made to the accompanying drawings in which: Figure 1 is a sectional plan view of one embodiment of an unreeling device according to the invention; Figures 2 and 3 are elevations respectively of a cutting station and a clamping station of a machine for cutting lengths of elongate material, incorporating an unreeling apparatus according to the invention.

Figure 4 is a sectional side elevation of an alternative embodiment of an unreeling device according to the invention; and Figure 5 is an elevation of a release member for use with the unreeling apparatus shown in Figure 4.

In Figure 1 an unreeling apparatus generally designated 1 includes gripping means 2 and support means 3. The gripping means 2 includes a housing 4 which is mounted to the support means 2 by means of bearings 5, which enable the gripping means and support means to rotate relative to one another.

An elongate material such as a cord or wire 6 passes through the housing 4 of the gripping means 2 and through the support means 3, and is colinear with a longitudinal axis A. The gripping means 2 can rotate about the axis A.

Within the housing 4 there are three gripping members 7 of which only two are shown. The gripping members 7 are arranged symmetrically about the wire 6. Each gripping member 7 has an outer surface 7a which is adapted to abut against an inner surface 4a of the housing 4.

A spring 8 is also provided within the housing and pushes the gripping members 7 against the inner surface 4a which causes them to move together thereby gripping the wire 6.

A cutting device 9 is connected to the unreeling apparatus 1 by four members 10. The members 10 are movably connected to the support means 3, and the cutting device can be pushed in the direction indicated by arrows B until surface 9a of the cutting device abuts a surface 3a of the support means. In this position the members 10 project from the opposite side of the unreeling apparatus as shown in dotted lines.

The cutting device 9 is provided with blades Ila and llb. The wire 6 may be cut by applying a force in a direction indicated by arrow C to the cutting blade Ila. At the same time it is necessary to hold the cutting device 9 in position and this can be achieved by applying an equal and opposite force to a surface 9b of the cutting device.

In Figures 2 and 3 an unreeling apparatus 1 and cutting device 9 are shown mounted onto a track 12 by means of a carriage 13.

The carriage 13 is attached to haulage rope 14 and the haulage rope is attached at one end of the machine to a haulage rope tension device 15, and at the other end to a capstan 16. The capstan 16 is connected to a drive motor 17 and can rotate the capstan thereby driving the carriage 13 along the track. The drive motor 17 is reversible so that the carriage 13 can be driven in both directions along the track.

A cutting blade actuating device 18 is provided in the cutting station and comprises a cutting blade actuating arm 19 which is attached to a piston 20.

When the cutting device is correctly located the piston 20 can cause the actuating arm 19 to push the blade Ila of the cutting device 9. The cutting blade actuating device 18 is also provided with a support plate 21 which can abut against the surface 9b of the cutting device 9.

The wire 6 is supplied to the unreeling apparatus 1 through a collecting cone 22 from a supply of wire (not shown); the supply is usually in the form of a coil, and may or may not be mounted upon a core. In the case where the coil is not mounted on a core, then the wire 6 is usually taken from the inner part, rather than the outer part, of the coil.

In the clamping station a movable clamping device 23 is provided with a clamp 25 and a piston 24 for actuating the clamp.

The machine for cutting lengths of elongate material is provided with a support frame 26 which supports the whole assembly.

The unreeling apparatus 1 and cutting device 9 are movable between two positions, one of which is in the clamping station and the other of which is in the cutting station. In one position a surface 9c of the cutting device 9 abuts the clamp 25 and the surface 9a abuts the surface 3a of the support means 3. In this position the members 10 project from the unreeling apparatus 1 as shown in dotted lines in Figure 1.

In the other position a surface 3b of the support means 3 abuts a surface 27 provided in the cutting station. In this position the cutting device 9 is fully extended from the unreeling apparatus 1 (as shown in Figure 1) and the cutting blade Ila is aligned with the cutting blade actuating device 19.

The operation of the device will now be described. The operation begins with the unreeling apparatus in the cutting station, with surface 36 of the support means 3 abutting surface 27. An end of the wire 6 is fed through unreeling apparatus 1 until it is about level with the cutting blades Ila.

The drive motor 17 is then started which begins to move the carriage towards the clamping station.

As the carriage begins to move the spring 8 exerts a force upon the gripping members 7 which causes them to be pushed against the surface 4a of the housing 4. The shape of the space formed by the surface 4a causes the gripping members to move together as they are pushed by the spring 8 thereby gripping the wire 6. Consequently the wire 6 is pulled along as the unreeling apparaus 1 moves along the track 12. As the unreeling apparatus pulls the wire 6, any twists in the wire become unreeled because of the ability of the gripping means 2 to rotate relative to the support means 3.

The motion of the carriage 13 continues into the clamping station until the surface 9c of the cutting device 1 abuts against the clamp 25. The unreeling apparatus 1 then moves relative to the cutting device 9, which is held stationary by the clamp 25, until the surface 9a of the cutting device abuts the surface 3a of the support means 3.

Simultaneously the end of the wire 6 moves into the clamp 25. The clamp piston 24 is then actuated which causes the clamp 25 to grip the end of the wire 6. The direction of motion of the carriage 13 is reversed and the unreeling apparatus 1 returns to its starting position in the cutting station. In this position the cutting blade actuating arm 19, which is aligned with the cutting blade Ila, pushes the cutting blade Ila towards the cutting blade llb thereby cutting the wire 6. The end of the wire 6 is simultaneously released from the clamp 25 and the length cut falls to the ground. The unreeling apparatus 1 can then proceed to pull another length of wire 6 to the clamping station and can then move back to cut the wire.

The length of wire 6 which is cut may be varied by altering the position of the movable clamping device 60.

It will be appreciated that once the wire 6 has initially been fed through the unreeling apparatus 1 there is no nned to manually feed any more wire until the supply of wire is exhausted. This is because the unreeling apparatus 1, which grips the wire 6, is located between the supply of wire and the cutting device 9. Consequently the process of cutting lengths of wires can easily be automated.

It is important to note that when the unreeling apparatus moves towards the cutting station the spring 8 retracts slightly causing the gripping members 7 to move into a second position in which they do not grip the wire 6. In this position the unreeling apparatus can move back along a drawn out length of wire, which extends between the clamp 25 and the supply of wire.

Figure 4 shows an alternative embodiment of un reeling apparatus which is generally designated 50.

The unreeling apparatus 50 includes gripping means 51 and support means 52. The gripping means includes a housing 53 which is mounted to the support means 52 by means of bearings 54, which enable the gripping means and support means to rotate relative to one another.

The elongate material 6 passes through the housing 53 of the gripping means 51 and through the support means 52, and is colinear with a longitudinal axis D. The gripping means 51 can rotate about the axis D.

Within the housing 53 there are three gripping members 55 of which only one is shown. The gripping members 55 are arranged symmetrically about the wire 6. Each gripping member 55 has a gripping surface 55a adapted to engage and grip the wire 6. The gripping members 55 are mounted to the housing 53 by a pivot 56 which enables the gripping members to rotate about an axis perpendicular to the longitudinal axis D.

A spring 57 is provided within the housing 53 and engages a bush 58 which is pushed against the gripping members 55. The bush 58 has a surface 58a which can engage the gripping members 55.

The unreeling apparatus 50 may be connected to the cutting device 9 by means of the four members 10, of which only two are shown. The unreeling apparatus 50 is movable along the members 10 towards and away from the cutting device 9.

A release member 60 is provided for releasing the grip of the gripping members 55 on the wire 6.

The release member 60 is provided with four apertures 61 for receiving the members 10 , and an aperture 62 through which the gripping means 51 extends (see Figure 5). When the unreeling apparatus moves relative to the members 10 a surface 62a of the aperture 62 slides over a surface 55b of the gripping members 55 and pivots the gripping members about the pivots 56. This releases the grip of the gripping surface 55a from the wire 6.

The strength of the spring 57 is not sufficient to prevent the pivotal action of the gripping members 55.

It will be appreciated that when the unreeling apparatus 50 enters the clamping station the release member 60 will slide relative to the gripping members 55 over the surface 55b causing the members to pivot and to release the wire 6. When the unreeling apparatus 50 enters the cutting station the release member 60 will slide off the surface 55b of the gripping members 55, whereupon the biassing action of the spring 57 causes the gripping members to grip the wire 6.

Claims (16)

1. Unreeling apparatus for unreeling a length of elongate material, comprising gripping means adapted to grip the elongate material, and support means adapted to support the gripping means, said gripping means being rotatable relative to said support means.

2. Unreeling apparatus according to Claim 1 in which the gripping means is arranged within the support means.

3. Unreeling apparatus according to Claim 1 or 2 in which the gripping means includes a housing which is mounted to the support means by bearings, thereby permitting the gripping means to rotate relative to the support means.

4. Unreeling apparatus according to any preceding claim in which the gripping means and the support means have a common longitudinal axis, the gripping means and support means being relatively rotatable about the longitudinal axis, and the elongate material can pass through the support means and gripping means colinear with the longitudinal axis.

5. Unreeling apparatus according to any preceding claim in which the gripping means is provided with at least one gripping member adapted to grip the elongate material.

6. Unreeling apparatus according to Claim 5 in which three gripping members are disposed such that in use they are spaced symmetrically around the elongate member.

7. Unreeling apparatus according to Claim 6 in which the or each gripping member is movable between a first position in which it grips the elongate material, and a second position in which it does not grip the elongate material.

8. Unreeling apparatus according to Claim 7 in which biasing means is provided to bias the or each gripping member in the first position.

9. Unreeling apparatus according to Claim 7 or 8 in which the or each gripping member is movable between the first and second positions about a pivotal axis.

10. Unreeling apparatus according to Claim 9 in which a release member is provided to move the or each gripping member to the second position, said release member being adapted to slide over a surface of the or each gripping member in order to pivot it about the pivotal axis.

11. A machine for cutting lengths of elongate material from an elongate material supply comprising a track arranged between a cutting station and a clamping station, and unreeling apparatus according to any preceding claim, said unreeling apparatus being mounted on the track and being movable along the track between the cutting station and the clamping station.

12. A machine according to Claim 11 in which a cutting device is providing for cutting the elongate material.

13. A machine according to Claim 12 in which the cutting device is mounted on the unreeling apparatus.

14. A machine according to Claim 12 or 13 in which the cutting device is movable relative to the unreeling apparatus.

15. Unreeling apparatus substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in the accompanying drawings.

16. A machine for cutting lengths of elongate material substantially as herein described with reference to and as shown in Figures 2 and 3.