BACKGROUND OF INVENTION

(1) Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a device and a method for straightening wire, and, more par icularly, the present invention relates to straightening of coiled wire.

(2) Description of the Prior Art

In various types of manufacturing equipment, it is necessary to supply the equipment with wire that is precisely straight. Typically, wire is manufactured and then reeled or coiled for ease of storage, shipment and handling. Coiled wires are ordinarily annealed slightly so that the wire retains its coiled shape.

One device for straightening wire is disclosed in U.S. Pat. 2,567,770 to Heller. The Heller patent dis¬ closes a wire straightener comprising a plurality of banks of wire-guiding rollers. Each bank includes at least three rollers, all alligned in a common plane. The banks of rollers are arranged in angular position to each other.

U.S. Pat. 2,517,309, also to Heller, discloses a wire straightener for straightening coiled wire, wherein a first bank of rollers is positioned in a plane perpendic¬ ular to the plane of a second bank of rollers and wherein both banks are held in stationary position with respect

to a coil of wire as it is uncoiled.

Other wire straighteners are disclosed in U.S. Pat. 2,724,422 to Siegerist; U.S. Pat. 2,984,285 to Simich et al; and U.S. Pat. 3,029,845 to Egedal. In prior art straighteners, when it is desired to straighten coiled wire, the coil is positioned for ro¬ tation adjacent to the straightening device ,and the wire from the coil .is fed into the strightener. ^" The wire be¬ ing uncoiled has what is known as ^' a "Coil set," that is, the wire has an arcuate bend that lies in a plane, which plane will hereinafter be referred to as the "arc plane." As the coil is unwound, the wire is dispensed from various tangential points along the length of the coil. More specifically, the point at which the wire is dispensed from the coil will continuously move along the length of the coil from one end of the coil to the other ends and then back again to the first end of the coil. Thus, as the wire is uncoiled, the angle of the arc plane of the wire varies with respect to the straightener as the point at which the wire is dispensed from the coil varies along the length of the coil.

It is disadvantageous to have the angle of the arc plane of the wire vary with respect to the staightener for several important reasons. Firstly, the coiled wire may not be straightened within desired tolerances along the entire length of the wire. It should be understood that the position of the rollers is set so as to straighten a wire that is fed into the staightener at a constant angle between the arc plane and the straightener. After the rollers are set, and straightening of the wire begins on a continuous basis, the angle between the arc plane and the straightener of the wire varies from the angle at which the rollers were first set. Thus, the wire leaving

- -

the straightener may be straight within certain tolerances for portions of the length of the wire while other portions of the wire may be out of tolerance.

Another disadvantage of feeding the wire into the straightener at varying arc plane angles is that the initial rollers, that is the first, second and third rol¬ lers of the straightener are worn quickly because their surfaces are forced to adapt to wires being fed into the straightener at various angles. Thus, in order to overcome the above described disadvantages, it is an object of the present invention to provide a straightener that maintains a substantially constant angle between the wire arc plane and the plane of the first set of rollers during uncoiling of the wire. A further disadvantage of the prior art straight¬ eners described in the two Heller patents is that the' mechanisms for adjusting the relative positions of the rollers are complex. Further, some of the rollers of prior art devices are stationary and cannot be adjusted. It is an object of the present invention to provide rollers that can be independently adjusted of each other.

A further disadvantage of the wire straighteners described in the Heller patents is that they cannot be readily adapted to receive wire from both a right-hand coil, which is the most prevalent type of coil, or a left-hand coil. It is an ^' object of the present invention to provide a straightener that can straighten wire form either a right-hand coil or a left-hand coil.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A straightener in accordance with the present invention is particularly suited for straightening wire from a coil. The straightener includes a first bank of rollers for guiding the wire for longitudinal movement in _a first plane. The first bank of rollers has at least

three rollers each having a surface for contacting and bending. the wire. The roller surfaces are spaced longi¬ tudinally from each other and are offset laterally within the first plane. The device also includes a second bank of rollers for guiding the wire for longitudinal movement in a second plane that is offset relative to the first plane, and, preferably, offset by an angle of about ninety degrees.

The straightener includes a mechanism for main- taining a substantially constant angle between the arc plane of the wire being dispensed from the coil and the plane of the first bank of rollers. In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the banks of rollers are mounted for pivotal movement about an axis parallel to the first roller plane. As the angle between the arc plane of the wire and the straightener device varies as the wire is being uncoiled from different points along the length of the coil, the banks of rollers freely pivot about the axis to maintain a substantially constant angle between the wire arc plane and the plane of the first bank of rollers. Most preferably, the angle between the wire arc plane and the plane of the first bank of rollers is preferably maintained at an angle of approximately zero while the angle between the wire .arc plane and the straightener device may vary as much as plus or minus »30 degrees or more.

In accordance with one aspect of the invention, the straightener includes a base for pivotally supporting a bracket upon which the banks of rollers are mounted. The bracket includes front plate on which the first bank of rollers are mounted and a rear plate on which the second bank of rollers are mounted. Preferably, the bracket is formed in a single piece wherein the front plate is posi¬ tioned transversely to the rear plate and the entire bracket is mounted by a suitable pivot mechanism for pivot- ing about ^' an axis parallel to both the first and second roller plates.

In order to provide for independent adjustment of each of the rollers each roller is mounted on a shaft having a central axis about which the roller rotates. The shaft includes an elongate hole offset from and ex- tending parallel to the central axis of the shaft. A fastener, such as, for example a bolt having a threaded end, extends through the offset hole and releasably se¬ cures the shaft in its position relative to the plate on which the roller is mounted. Thus, in order to adjust .the position of the roller so that the surface that contacts the wire is either closer or further away from the wire path, the bolt can be loosened and the shaft of' the roller rotated with respect to the shaft to a desired position. Thereafter, the bolt is tightened once again to secure the shaft in fixed .position relative to the plate. Thus, each roller may be adjusted independently of the other rollers. However, it should be understood that while it is preferred that all of the rollers be adjustable, in some instances, it may be desirable to provide the staightening device with some rollers that are fixed and others that are adjustable.

In order to provide for a device that is capable of straightening wire from either right-hand coils or left- hand coils, the front plate on which the rollers of the first bank are mounted includes holes for securing each roller on either side of the path of the wire which is fed into the rollers. _. More specifically, with respect to either a left-hand or a right-hand coil, it is desirable for the first roller which contacts the wire to be located outside the arc of the wire and it is also preferred that the rollers along the length of the wire be spaced apart from one another and alternate on opposite sides of the wire path. By providing additional holes in the plates, each of the rollers on the front plate can be switched to the opposite side of the wife path to thereby accomodate either a right-hand or a left-hand coil. Moreover, it should be understood that for certain wires having an

unusually high toughness, one or more of the rollers may have two or more positions located laterally closer to or away from the path of the wire. Thus, where the range of movement of an eccentrically mounted roller is not sufficient to position the roller to proper position, the roller may be moved closer to or farther away from the path of of the wire by changing the location at which the roller is secured to its plate.

Further details and advantages of a wire straightener in accordance with the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a wire straightener in accordance With the invention;

Fig. 2 is a top plan view of the wire straight- ener shown in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a side plan view of a wire straight¬ ener shown in Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 4 is a sectional view along the plane 4-4 of Fig. 3; Fig. 5 is a sectional view along the plane 5-5 of Fig. 2;

Figs. 6, 7 and 8 are side views of the device shown in Figs. 1 - 5 shown in different positions wherein;

Fig. 6 is a side view of the device straighten- ing wire disposed from the top of the coil;

Fig. 7 is a side view of the device straighten¬ ing disposed from the center of the coil;

Fig." 8 is a side view of the device straighten- wire disposed from the bottom of the coil; Fig. 9 is a top schematic plan view of the de¬ vice shown in Fig. 7;

Fig. 10 _~ is a front schematic view of the device in the position shown in Fig. 6;

Fig. 11 is a front schematic view of the device in the position shown in Fig. 7; and

Fig. 12 is a front schematic view of the device in the position shown in Fig. 8.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring to Figs. 1 - 3, the straightening de¬ vice 10 comprises a supporting base 12 that has a general¬ ly flat, rectangular shape having at both ends thereof vertical supports 14 and 16. The supporting base 12 may be made of any suitable material, such as, for example a cast iron alloy and can have various shapes suitable for attachment to a particular machine or piece of equipment that requires straightened wire.

The straightening device 10 further includes a bracket 18 which is pivotally mounted to supports 14 and

16 of the base 12 by pivot mechanisms 20 and 22. As shown particularly well in Figs. 2 and 3, each support 14 and 16 includes a longitudinal aperture 24 for receiving a cylin¬ drical pin 26 having on the interior end thereof a semi- spherical seat 28. The bracket 18 includes at both end portions a spherical ball 30 protruding outwardly there¬ from which is received by socket 28. For the purposes of allowing adjustment and repair of the bracket 18 or the rollers thereon, the bracket 18 may be removed from its pivotal mounting by unscrewing set screws 32 and moving pins 26 outwardly. It should be understood that the above- described mechanism for pivotally mounting bracket 18 is one that has been found to be particularly simple and ef¬ fective. However, it should be understood that various types of known mechanisms for allowing pivotal movement may be used. Referring in particular to Fig. 1, as well as

Figs. 2 through 5, the pivotal bracket 18 includes a front plate 34 on which a f rst bank, of rollers 36a, 36b, 36c

and 36d are mounted. The bracket 18 also includes a rear plate 38 on which a second bank of rollers 40a, 40b and 40c are mounted. It is preferred that bracket 18 be made in a single piece, such as, for example, from a cast iron alloy.

As shown particularly well in Figs. 1 and 2, plate 38 includes an upwardly extending recess 42 ^' that is sufficiently large to fit over support 16 without contact¬ ing it. The plate 38 includes a protrusion 44 extending outwardly from its face that provides for seating of spherical ball 30 (see Fig. 3) . It should be understood that the above-described location of the pivot provides for a compact straightener device. However, it should be understood that the bracket 18 may also be mounted for pivotal movement about its left end 46 (see Fig.- 3).

As shown particularly well in Figs. 2 and 3, the first bank of rollers 36 guide the wire 48 for longi¬ tudinal movement in a first plane 50 (see Figs. 3 and 5) . Each roller 36 includes a surface 52 that contacts and bends the wire upon longitudinal of the wire through its path. It should be understood that the first bank of rol¬ lers should include at least three and preferably four rollers wherein each roller is spaced longitudinally apart from the other rollers and each roller is offset laterally from the other rollers -within plane 50. As shown particu¬ larly well in Fig. 3, each of the rollers has an outer cylindrical surface 54 including a guide groove 56 for guiding the wire in plane 50. The guide grooves 56 pre¬ vent the wire 48 from slipping downwardly under the force of gravity out of plane 50.

The second bank of rollers 40 guide the wire for longitudinal movement in a second plane 61 (see Figs. 2 and 4). Plane 61 is angularly offset from plane 50, and, most preferably offset from plane 50 by an angle of about ninety degrees. _. Each roller 40 includes a surface

_ ₉ _

60 for contacting and bending the wire upon longitudinal movement of the wire through its path. The rollers, and thus their surfaces 60 are spaced longitudinally from each other and offset laterally from each other within the second plane 61.

The internal construction of the rollers 36 and 40 will now be described with reference to Fig. 5. Roller 36c comprises a conventional roller 64 having an outer race 66 that is rotatable with respect to a roller shaft 68 about central axis 71. The particular roller shown in Fig. 5 includes spherical ball bearings 70 to reduce fric¬ tion between the outer race 66 and shaft 68 as the outer race rotates. It should be understood, however, that various types of known rollers or other mechanisms for guiding the wire can by used in the practice of the pres¬ ent invention, and the particular roller 36b is shown by way of example only.

The roller 36c further includes an interior shaft including an elongate hole 74 that is offset from and that extends parallel to central axis 71. The interi¬ or shaft 72 is force fitted into sleeve 68 so that it is fixed with respect thereto. The device further includes a bolt 76: for securing the shaft 72 in fixed position rel¬ ative to the plate 34 on which roller 36c is mounted. ^• The bolt 76 includes threads 78 on one end thereof and the' plate 34 includes a threaded hole 80 for receiving threads 78 of the bolt. The upper end of the bolt includes a hexagonal socket for receiving a wrench that can either ^• loosen or tighten the bolt. In order to adjust the position of the surface

52c which contacts the wire, the bolt is loosened to allow the roller to be rotated in an eccentric manner about bolt 74 so that surface 52 is either closer to or farther away from the path of the wire. Thus, each ^"~ roller is ad- justable independently of the other rollers.

-1 0-

The rollers 40 as shown in Fig. 4 have internal construction identical to rollers 36 except that rollers 40, are preferably smaller in diameter than rollers 36 as can be shown in a comparison between Figs. 2 and 3. More- over, rollers 40 differ from rollers 36 in that they do not require the use of a guide groove such as guide groove 56c of roller 36c.

Referring to Figs. 6 - 12, the use of the wire staightener in- accordance with the present invention to straighten wire from a coil will now be described in de¬ tail. As shown in Figs. 6 - 12, a coil of wire 88 is positioned for rotation on spindle 90 adjacent to the staightening device 10. As shown particularly well in Fig. 7, the wire 48 being uncoiled from coil 88 has an arcuate bend 90 that lies substantially in a single plane 92, hereinafter referred to as the "arc plane." As the wire is unwound from the coil 88, the wire is dispensed from different points along the length of coil 88. More particularly, referring to Figs. 6 - 12, the wire is dispensed from the top of the coil as shown in Figs. 10 and 6. As the wire continues to unwind, the point on the length of the coil at which the wire is dispensed contin¬ uously moves downwardly. Figs. 7, 9 and 11 show the wire after it has moved to a point where it is dispensed from a central part of the coil. As the coil is unwound fur¬ ther, it is dispensed from the bottom of the coil as shown in Figs. 8 and 12. As the uncoiling process continues, the location from which the wire is dispensed from the coil 88 moves through a cyclical motion up arid down. Thus, as the wire is dispensed from different points along the length of the coil, the angle of the arc plane 92 with respect to the device varies along the length of the coil, the angle of the arc plane 92 with respect to the device varies along the length as the wire is uncoiled, -(see Figs. 10 - 12)

O PI

-11-

As best shown in Figs. 6 through 12, the pre¬ viously described mechanism for pivoting the bracket which supports the banks of rollers enables a substantial¬ ly constant angle to be maintained between the arc plane 92 and the first plane 50 of the first bank of rollers 36 during uncoiling of the wire. As shown in Figs. 6 - 12, the angle between the arc plane of the wire and the first plane 50 of the first bank of rollers 36 is preferably coincident with the plane 50 of the first bank of rollers. Because the angle at which the wire is fed into the first bank of rollers is maintained during uncoiling of the wire, the first bank of rollers effectively removes the "coil set" of the wire since the bending of the wire occurs in the same plane as the coil set of the wire. In addition to providing a continuously straight wire- within desired tolerances, the pivoting of the banks of rollers during uncoiling of the wire has the advantage that the surfaces of the roller tend to wear less thus reducing the incidence of repair and replacement of the rollers. Further, since the wire is pulled by equipment located downstream of the straightener with a relatively constant force, it is desired to have a constant amount of friction imposed on the wire that passes through the rol¬ lers. By maintaining a substantially constant angle be- tween the arc plane 92. of the wire and the plane 50 of the first bank of rollers, the friction on the wire is held substantially constant and is reduced.

The coil 88 shown in Figs. 6 - 12 is what is known as a "right-hand" coil: The straightening device of the present invention is easily adapted to straighten wire from a "left-hand" coil. With respect to either a left- hand or a right hand coil, it is desirable for the first roller 36 which contacts the wire 48 be located outside of the arc of the wire as shown particul-arly well in Figs. 1 and 9. In order to enable all of the rollers 36 on a front plate 34 to be switched from the position shown in

-1 2-

the figures to a position opposite of the wire path, for each roller on plate 34, the plate includes at least two holes located on opposite sides of the wire path. More specifically, referring to Figs. 2 and 6, roller 36a is mounted in hole 90a for a right-hand coil but for a left- hand coil would be repositioned by unscrewing the bolt fastener 76 and moving the roller 36a to hole 90b. Roller 36b would be moved from hole 92a to hole 92b; roller 36c would be moved' from hole 94a to hole 94b; and roller 36b would be moved from hole 96a to hole 96b. Thus, the position of the rollers 36 on the first plate 34 may be changed to accomodate either a left-hand or a right-hand coil.

In order to accomodate wires having different diameters, the plate may include additional holes for bearing 36b. More particularly, referring to Figs. 2 and 6, additional holes 93a and 93b are provided. For rela¬ tively small diameter wires, that is, wires in the diame¬ ter range of .030 - .093 inches, holes 93a and 93b should . be used for roller 36b. For relatively large diameter wires, that is, for example, wires having a diameter in" the range of .093 - .156 inches, holes 92a and 92b should be used.

Referring to Fig. 4, for roller 42e, the roller ^' has two holes 98a and S8b to provide for maximum adjust¬ ment for tougher materials such as stainless steels or bronze materials having a high toughness. It should be understood that although in the preferred form of the invention, only roller 40b has more than one hole to ac- co odate tough wires, it may be desired for a particular purpose for one or more of the other rollers to have more than one mounting hole to accomodate tougher wires.

With respect to the functions of each of the rollers, roller 36a~primarily functions to offset the natural curve of the wire and to locate it in a central position. Roller 40a should be positioned to keep the

- -

wire on a horizontal plane as it comes through the first bank of rollers while roller 40c should be positioned to keep the wire on a horizontal plane as it enters the equipment which processes the wire. In summary, the straightening device in accor¬ dance with the invention maintains a substantially con¬ stant angle between the arc plane of the wire being fed into the device and the plane of the first bank of the rollers to provide a wire staightened over its entire length. Moreover, since the feed angle of the wire re¬ mains substantially constant, wear on the rollers is re¬ duced and the friction on the wire is maintained at a low and constant level. The device may be adjusted to accept either left-hand or right-hand coils and each roller of the device can be adjusted independently of the other rollers to enable the device to be adjusted precisely for a given type of wire.

It should be understood that although specific embodiments of the invention have been described herein in detail, such description is for purposes of illustra- " tion only and modification may be made thereto by those skilled in the art within the scope of the .invention.