US2703592A - Machine for looping coil springs - Google Patents

Description

March 8, 1955 c. F. PENNY MACHINE FOR LOOPING con. SPRINGS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 14, 1952 ATTORNEY C. F. PENNY MACHINE FOR LOOPING COIL SPRINGS March 8, 1955 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 14, 1952 INVENTOR. CHESTER E PENN) yaujwdlzt ATTORNEY March 8, 1955 c. F. PENNY MACHINE FOR LOOPING COIL SPRINGS Filed March 14, 1952 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 HAFT/ FT 27 M 5 /0a 104 54,55 H/FT ENTOR.

FPENNV I06 a g 9 ATTORNEY United States Patent MACHINE FOR LOOPING COIL SPRINGS Chester F. Penny, Bridgeport, Conn., assignor to Underwood Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application March 14, 1952, Serial No. 276,555

11 Claims. (Cl. 140-103) This invention relates to a machine for automatically looping the ends of coil springs, more particularly to the feeding and positioning mechanism thereof.

One object of the present invention is the provision of a machine which will perform all operations involved in looping both ends of a coil spring without intervention of a skilled operator.

Another object is to provide, in conjunction with an automatically operating spring looping machine, a feeding and positioning mechanism to receive unlooped coil springs and to successively present each end of the spring to the looping mechanism.

Still a further object is the provision of a feeding mechanism to feed an unlooped coil spring into a looping mechanism and to thereafter reverse the partially formed spring to present the other end of the spring to the looping mechanism, thus permitting use of a simple and compact looping mechanism.

Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be in part apparent and in part specifically pointed out in the following description of a preferred embodiment of the invention.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a plan view of the complete spring looping mechanism,

Figure 2 is a front elevation view, partly in section, showing the feeding and gaging mechanisms,

Figure 3 is a sectional end view showing the mechanism for looping the ends of the positioned springs,

Figure 4 is an end view showing the mechanism to position the ends of the springs at the proper angular position,

Figure 5 is an exploded perspective view showing the feeding and reversing mechanism for the springs, and

Figure 6 is a timing diagram showing the time of operation of the several parts.

General description This invention is an improvement on the machine shown in the U. S. Patent No. 2,123,752, issued July 12, 1938 to Oscar W. Soderstrom. In that machine, it was necessary for an operator to insert one end of an unlooped spring into a bushing and then rotate the spring to set the end of the wire of the coil against a stop. A clutch was then released to cycle the machine and loop the end. This looping operation included the steps of operating a clamp to hold the spring in set position, withdrawing the gaging stop rod, inserting a separator to spread the end coil, operating an upper anvil to bend off the loop and then operating a lower anvil to force the upper anvil and the loop into a central position. The anvils and clamp were then withdrawn and the stop returned to its normal position. The operator then reversed the spring and performed a duplicate operation on the other end.

Substantially the same mechanism is used for looping the spring ends in the present invention but it is in part duplicated to enable looping of two springs simultaneously and in addition a feeding mechanism is used to feed a spring into position for looping one end and at the same time to reverse a previously partially looped spring and feed its other end into the duplicate end looper for completion.

Detailed description Referring to the drawings, in Figure 1, a constantly driven shaft 11,

A belt 12 engaged in a pulley 13 on shaft 11 and in a pulley 14 on a second shaft 15 drives shaft 15 at a reduced speed. Shaft 15 drives a cam shaft 17 in the direction of arrow A through a gear box 18. A plurality of cams 20, 21 and 22 are fixedly mounted on shaft 17 to operate the feeding and positioning mechanism as will be later described.

Drive shaft 11 also drives through a gear box 24, one side 25 of a normally open clutch. The other driven side 26 of the clutch is connected to a shaft 27 for the looping mechanism. This shaft 27 is substantially the same as shaft 25 of the Soderstrom patent above and performs the same functions except that the cam for withdrawing the gaging stop for the spring end is reversed to positively withdraw the stop as contrasted with a spring withdrawal and positive restoration in the patent. The operation of this shaft and its driven mechanisms will be further described under the section headed Looping mechanism.

Feeding mechanism Referring to Figure 2, a plurality of unlooped springs are contained in a hopper 30 and are stacked in a tier in the discharge tube thereof. Directly below the hopper 30 are three discs 31, 32 and 33, secured to an oscillatory shaft 34 with fixed plates 35 and 36 interspersed between the discs, see also Figure 5. Assuming the machine to be in a rest position, a slot 39 in disc 31 is under the discharge tube of hopper 30 and will receive an unlooped spring. A similar slot 40 in disc 32 is diametrically opposite slot 39 of disc 31 and will hold a spring having one end looped. Disc 33 has a section cut away under slot 39 of disc 31 to provide a discharge outlet for finished springs.

The two interspersed plates 35 and 36 are each provided with a slot 42 and 43 respectively, the lower ends of the slots being milled out to provide a feed channel for the springs.

A pair of plungers 45 and 46, resiliently mounted on a block 47, see Figures 1 and 2, slidable on a guide 48 on the main base 49 of the machine, can enter into the channels 42 and 43 in plates 35 and 36 to feed the springs therein into bushings 51 and 52. These bushings are a part of the looping mechanism and will be further described at a later point.

The springs are fed through bushings 51 and 52 by plungers 45 and 46 into contact with a pair of rotatable gager stop rods 54 and 55. These stop rods 54 and 55 are rotatably mounted in a block 56, Figures 1, 2 and 4 and are supported at their left ends by brackets 57 fixed to block 56. Each stop rod 54 and 55 is formed at supplies power to operate the machine.

its right end with a projecting part 59 end of the wire of the spring adjacent provided near its left with a pinion 60, a gear 61 connecting the two pinions 60 together for simultaneous, equal rotation. The normal, right in Figure 2, position of the stop rods54 and 55 is determined by the engagement of an adjusting screw 62 fixed in block 56 with a cover plate 121 on a stationary casting 100, the block 56 being held in that position by a lever 63 fixed on a shaft 64 and tensioned clockwise by a spring 65 secured to its lower end. i

to engage the thereto and is Operation of feeding mechanism The feeding mechanism as thus far described is driven by the cam shaft 17. This shaft carries the three cams 20, 21 and 22 for actuating the push rods 45, 46, the discs 31, 32 and 33 and for rotating the stop rods 54, 55 respectively. Starting from an assumed rest position, see also Figure 6, a lever arm 68, pivotally mounted on the base 49 and carrying a roller 69, is tensioned clockwise by a spring 70 and is rocked thereby as the cam 21 rotates to move its high portion from under roller 69. The other arm of lever 68, see also Figure 5, is con nected by a resilient link 71 to a gear sector 72 rotatable on a fixed stud 73. Sector 72 meshes with a gear 74 fixed to the shaft 34 for the discs 31, 32 and 33, the movement of lever 68 when it moves to the lower part of cam 21 thereby acting to rotate discs 31, 32 and 33, from their rest position.

It will be remembered that at the rest position, there is an unlooped spring in slot 39 of disc 31 and a partially looped spring in slot 40 of disc 32. At the end of the 180 rotation of discs 31, 32 and 33, the slots 39 and 40 are aligned with slots 42 and 43 in plates 35 and 36 and the springs drop into these slots 42 and 43 to rest on the upper faces of discs 32 and 33, the upper face of disc 31 retaining the springs in hopper 30. Both springs now present an unlooped end to the bushings 51 and 52, the previously looped end of the partially looped spring having been rotated out of looping position.

The springs are now fed from the channels 42 and 43 into the bushings and against the stop rods 54 and 55 by the two plungers 45 and 46. The plunger block 47 is normally held in its right hand, Figure 2, position by a lever 76 connected to block 47 by a link 77 and carrying at its other end a roller 78. Lever 76 is pivoted on base 49 at 80 and is urged clockwise to hold its roller 78 against cam 20 of cam shaft 17 by a spring 79. After shaft 34 has rotated to position the springs in channels 42 and 43, the high part of cam 20, see Figure 6, moves away from roller 78, permitting spring 79 to move the plunger block 47 and its plungers 45 and 46 to the left in Figure 2. The resilient connection between block 47 and plungers 45 and 46, permits the plungers to stop individually when the end of the spring pushed thereby emerges from the bushings 51 or 52 and engages the stop rods 54 or 55.

As the springs are positioned against stop rods 54 and 55, the rods 54 and 55 are given a complete revolution to pick up the free end of the spring wire and locate it in the proper position, the adjusting screw 62 being so set that one or more turns of the spring are properly positioned for subsequent looping. The stop rods 54 and 55 are rotated by a linkage operated by cam 22 of shaft 17. An arm 83, Figure 1, fixed to one end of a shaft 84 carries a roller 85 tensioned against cam 22 by a spring 86. The other end of shaft 84 has an arm 87, see also Figure 3, fixed thereto and connected at its free end with a lever 88 pivoted on a bracket 89 on base 49, to rock the lever 88 clockwise, Figure 3, as the shaft 17 rotates. Lever 88, see Figure 4, is connected by a resilient link 91 to a sector gear 92 pivoted on a fixed bracket 93. Sector gear 92 meshes with the pinion 60 for stop rod 54 and carries two stop pins 94 engageable with an car 95 of bracket 93 to limit the movement of sector 92 in both directions. The free movement of sector 92 is sufiicient to rotate the stop rods 54 and 55 a full revolution and thereby fully position the associated springs.

Lever 88 is given a movement by cam 22 more than suflicient to fully rock sector gear 92, so that after sector 92 is arrested, the resilient link 91 yields. Further movement of lever 88 causes engagement of clutch jaws 25 and 26 for a rotation of shaft 27 for looping the springs. Lever 88 of this disclosure is substantially the same for this purpose as lever 83 of the above noted Soderstrom patent and carries a clutch tripping arm 98 pivoted thereon to trip the clutch lever 99 pivoted on bracket 89 as in the patent to initiate an operation to loop the positioned springs.

Looping mechanism The mechanism to loop the ends of the springs is, except for duplication of some parts, substantially as described in the above patent and hence will be but briefly described herein. Referring to Figures 2 and 3, a main frame 100 fixed to the base 49 carries the two bushings 51 and 52 and slidably supports the other looping members.

When the springs have been positioned as above set out and shaft 27 starts its rotation, a pair of clamping jaws 103 and 104 urged toward a clamping position by their springs 105 are released to clamp the springs in bushings 51 and 52. The stop rods 54 and 55 with their block 57 are then slid away, left in Figure 2, from the springs to provide a space for the spring loops and the looping anvils by a mechanism similar to that of Figures 7 and 8 of the above patent except that the actions of the operating cam and spring 65 of this description are reversed.

Shortly after the stop rods 54 and 55 are moved to a clear position, a spreader 106 having two spring engaging blades 107 is depressed by a lever arm 108 mounted on a pivot 109 on the frame 100r The other arm of lever 108 is connected to a resilient link 110 having a cam follower roller.

Directly to the left, Figure 2, of spreader 106 and actuated immediately thereafter as shown in Figure 6, are the upper anvils 112 on a sliding plate 113. Plate 113 is slidable on the frame and is driven by a lever 114 free on pivot 109 and carrying at its other end a resilient link having cam follower rollers 116, see Figure 3.

Below the bushings 51 and 52 and slidable in the same channel in frame 100 as the upper anvil 113 and spreader 106 is the lower anvil 120 having two anvil surfaces aligned with the upper anvils 112. A cover plate 121 is secured to frame 100 to cover the channel and retain the anvils and spreader in the correct position. A pair of studs 122 on the lower anvil 120 protrudes through a slot 123 in cover plate 121 and engaged between the studs 122 is an arm of a lever 124 pivoted on a bracket 125 on frame 100. Lever 125 is tensioned clockwise by a spring 126 to hold the lower anvils 120 in a bottom position in contact with an adjustable stud 127 in base 49.

Operation of the looping mechanism The looping mechanism is actuated by the cam shaft 27 in substantially the same manner as the mechanism of the Soderstrom patent. When clutch jaws 25 and 26 are engaged at the end of the down stroke of arm 88, see Figure 6, shaft 27 is driven clockwise, Figure 3, for one revolution from drive shaft 11 through gear box 24. At the first movement of shaft 27, a lever 130, pivoted on bracket 125 and engaging the clamp 104 to hold it in the unclamping position against the action of its spring 105, is released from a high point of a cam 131 thereby freeing clamp 104. The upper clamp 103 which is held in the unclamping position by an arm 132 pivoted on a bracket 133 on frame 100 and engaged at its lower end with lever 130 is simultaneously released by lever 130.

After a slight further rotation of shaft 27, a second cam 135, see also Figure 3, thereon rocks its follower arm 136 fixed on shaft 64 to rotate lever 63 counterclockwise, Figure 2, and shift the stop rod block 56 to the left, moving the stop rods 54 and 55 out of the path of anvils 112 and 120.

As shown in Figure 6, the spreader 106 has meanwhile been shifted downwardly by a cam 137 through link and lever 108 and at about this time, the blades 107 thereof enter between the last few coils of the springs and bend them out into the path of the upper anvils 112. About the time that spreader 106 has reached its lower position, the upper anvils 112 are moved downwardly by another cam 138 on shaft 127 through link and lever 114, to engage the coils bent out from the springs by spreader blades 107 and further bend the coils to a horizontal position where they are held between the upper anvils 112 and the lower anvils 120.

In the succeeding portion of rotation of shaft 27, a still further cam 139 thereon rocks lever 124 engaged therewith to raise the lower anvils to about the center of bushings 51 and 52. The upper anvils 112 are carried upwardly by this movement of the lower anvil 120, the resilient link 115 yielding to permit such motion of anvils 112, and, the looped end of the springs being retained between them, the looped end is positioned at the center of the spring.

During the remainder of the cycle of shaft 27, the cams 138 and 139 return the upper and lower anvils 112 and 120, and spreader 106 to their normal positions free of the non-looped springs ends. At substantially the end of the cycle of shaft 27, cam 135 engages lever to withdraw the clamps 103 and 104 to their normal positions free of the springs. After the clamps 103 and 104 are restored to normal and at the very end of the cycle of shaft 27, arm 136 drops off of the high surface of cam to free the stop rod block 56 to the action of its spring 65. The restoring movement of this block 56 causes the stop rods 54 and 55 to sharply engage the looped ends of the springs and drive the springs back into the feed channels 42 and 43 of the plates 35 and 36.

Shaft 17 has not stopped its rotation during the above looping operation and has acted to restore through arm 88, as indicated in Figure 6, the stop rods to their normal rotary position and reenabled lever 88 to arrest shaft 27 at the end of one rotation, to restore the feed plungers 45 and 56 and block 47 to their Figure 2 position and to oscillate discs 31, 32 and 33 back to their original positions as set out above. When disc 31 returns to align its slot 39 with the discharge tube of hopper 30, another spring drops from the hopper into the slot 39. Release of slide 56 for the stop rods drives the looped springs back into the channels 42 and 43 and as slot 40 of disc 32 is at that time aligned with channel 42 the upper spring drops into slot 40. Disc 33 has its cut away portion below channel 43 and the lower spring which is now fully looped drops out of channel 43 through the plane of disc 33 into a receiver, not shown.

All parts are now in the previously assumed starting position with an unlooped spring in slot 39 and a half looped spring in slot 40. Continued rotation of cam shaft 17, which is not arrested, starts another cycle duplicating that above described and at each successive cycle, a fully looped spring is discharged from the machine.

The above description of a preferred embodiment of the invention is not to be taken in a limiting sense as substantial variations are possible in structure without departure from the scope of the invention as set out in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a spring looping mechanism having two spring receiving devices and operable to form a loop on one end of a spring in each of said devices, means to insert springs into said devices, means to eject springs from said devices and power means to operate said mechanism, of a spring feeding and positioning mechanism interposed between said spring looping mechanism and said inserting means, said feeding and positioning mechanism including a means to supply unlooped springs, two members to each hold a spring aligned between one of said spring receiving devices and said inserting means for insertion into said receiving devices, rotary means including a part under said supply means and under each of said two members to transfer a spring from the supply means to one member, from said one member to the other member and to permit discharge of a spring from said other member, said rotary means being arranged to reverse the springs therein end for end during at least the transfer of the springs from said one member to said other member, and drive means to rotate said rotary means fractional parts of a revolution in timed relation to the operation of said spring looping means and said spring inserting means.

2. A machine for forming loops on the ends of helical coil springs comprising a spring supplying and aligning member and first and second spring positioning members, a rotary meeding mechanism having a part between said supplying and aligning member and said first positioning member and another part between said first and second positioning members, said feeding mechanism being operable to transfer a spring from said supply and aligning member to said first positioning member and from the first to the second of said positioning members and to reverse the spring end for end during such transfers, means to rotate said feeding mechanism to transfer the springs therein, a spring inserting means, a looping mechanism aligned with said inserting means to loop the spring ends, means to operate said inserting means to feedthe springs from said spring positioning members into said looping mechanism, a pair of rotatable stop rods against which such springs are inserted, means to rotate said stop rods to position the end of the wire of the springs, means to withdraw said stop rods from the springs, to operate said looping mechanism and to release said stop rods, means to rotate said feeding mechanism to its original position wherein it is aligned to receive a spring from said supplying and aligning member and the looped spring from said first spring positioning member, and means to restore said stop rods to their spring arresting position whereby the springs are driven into the spring positioning members and into said rotary feeding means.

3. In a spring looping machine of the class described having a pair of spring looping mechanisms, a stop member for each looping mechanism, means to rotate said stop members to position the ends of the springs in said looping mechanism, means to withdraw said stop members during operation of said looping mechanisms and to thereafter release said stop members for return to the original position, and means to insert springs into said looping mechanisms, the combination of means to feed springs one at a time for looping, two positioning members to hold springs for insertion by said spring inserting means into said looping mechanisms, rotary reversing and feeding mechanism having a part between said spring feeding means and one of said two positioning members to carry an unlooped spring from the feeding means to said one positioning member, and having another part to receive a half looped spring from said one positioning member and to reverse said half looped spring during the transfer of the spring from said one positioning member to the second positioning member, means to rotate said feeding and reversing means and means operating in timed relation thereto to operate said spring inserting means and to rotate said stop members.

4. In a machine of the class described having a pair of spring looping mechanisms, stop members each operable to position a spring in one of said spring looping mechanisms both endwise and rotatively, inserting means to feed a spring into each said looping mechanism in contact with said stop members, and means to operate such mechanisms, the combination of a stationary mechanism to supply springs to be looped, a first stationary member to hold an unlooped spring in position for insertion by said inserting means into a first of said looping mechanisms, a second stationary member to similarly hold a partially looped spring for insertion into a second of said looping mechanisms, said first and second stationary members being interposed between said inserting means and said looping mechanisms, and a feeding means having a member below each said stationary mechanism or member to receive a spring from the stationary supply mechanism, from the first stationary member or to permit discharge of the spring from the second stationary member, said feeding means being rotatable to deliver the received springs in an end for end reversed position to a succeeding stationary member and means to rotate said rotary feeding means.

5. A machine of the class described having in combination, a spring looping mechanism operable to simultaneously form a loop on one end of each of two helical coil springs, means to simultaneously insert two springs into said looping mechanism, a rotatable and retractable means to limit insertion of said springs and to position the ends of the wires of said springs, a spring supplying member, two members, each to hold one spring in position for insertion into said looping mechanism by said inserting means, rotary means including a plurality of apertured discs, one disc under said supplying member and one disc under each of said two positioning members, said rotary means being positionable to receive a spring from said supplying member and from each of said two positioning members into the plane of the underlying one of said discs, and means to rotate said rotary means to transport the springs retained therein, to deliver the springs in an end for end reversed condition to the positioning members and to retain the springs in the positioning members.

6. A machine as set out in claim 5 wherein the effective positions of said spring supplying means and the second of said positioning members are vertically aligned on one side of the axis of said rotary means and the effective position of the other positioning member is diametrically opposite to the position of the supplying means and is at the same distance from said axis and wherein two of said discs are interspersed between the supplying means and the positioning means and are each slotted at diametrically opposite positions to each hold a spring for movement with said discs and another of said discs is below the second positioning member and is so shaped as to enable discharge of the spring in said positioning member in certain positions of said rotary means.

7. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a spring looping mechanism, rotatable stop members to limit insertion of springs into said looping mechanism and to position the adjacent end of the wire of the springs engaging said members, drive means to withdraw said stop members from the springs, to then operate said looping mechanism and to thereafter release said stop members for return to their original position to drive the springs out of said looping mechanism, of means to feed and hold springs in position for insertion in said looping mechanism, said means comprising two stationary members to position springs, a stationary member to feed springs one at a time and rotary feeding means having a part interspersed between each of successive pair of said stationary members to carry a spring from one stationary member to the next and to reverse the spring end for end as it is carried between at least said two spring positioning members, said rotary feeding means also including a member to control discharge of a fully looped spring from the second of said two spring positioning members, means to insert positioned springs into said looping mechanism, and power means to operate said rotary feeding means, said spring inserting means and to rotate said stop members prior to operation of said drive means and to restore said parts to their original position prior to conclusion of the operation of said drive means.

8. A machine for forming loops on the ends of helical coil springs comprising a feed chute, a plurality of oscillatory discs, stationary plates vertically interspersed between said discs, each plate and disc having a spring receiving slot therein, the slots in adjacent discs and in adjacent plates being diametrically opposed, the slots of each disc being aligned with that of the above interspersed plate and the feed chute in the normal rest position of the machine, means to oscillate said discs to shift the spring receiving slots therein from alignment with the feed chute or the plate above the disc into alignment with the slot in the plate below the disc or to close a discharge path for such spring from the lower stationary disc, feed plungers aligned with the slots in said plates, means to reciprocate said plungers to move such springs through said slots, a looping mechanism to receive the springs from said plates, stop members to limit the feed of the springs by said plungers, means to rotate said stop members to position the wire end of the springs, means operable thereafter to withdraw said stop members from the springs, to loop the spring end coils, and to release said stop members for return to their rest position whereby said stop members drive the springs back into the slots in said plates and means operable during such looping operation to return said discs and said feed plungers into their original positions wherein the slots of said discs will be positioned to receive a spring from the feed chute and the slots of said stationary discs.

9. In a machine of the class described having a spring looping mechanism, means to insert springs to be looped into said looping mechanism, and power means to operate said looping mechanism and said inserting means, a vertically spaced pair of fixed members, a rotary shaft passing through said fixed members, each of said fixed members having a slot therethrough, said slots being on opposite sides of said shaft and each being interposed between a portion of said spring inserting means and a spring receiving portion of said looping mechanism, a spring feeding mechanism to feed springs in vertical alignment With the slot in the lower of said fixed members, three discs on said shaft, one disc below said feeding mechanism and one disc beneath each of said fixed members, the upper of said discs having a slot aligned with the outlet of the feeding mechanism, the second disc having a slot aligned with the slot in the upper fixed member to receive springs therefrom and the third disc being formed to permit a spring in the slot of the lower fixed member to be discharged, means for rotating the shaft and the discs thereon, a portion of a revolution to align the slots of the two upper discs with those of the fixed members beneath the discs and to close the discharge path thus moving springs from the feeding mechanism to the upper fixed member and from the upper fixed member to the lower fixed member prior to the operation of the spring inserting means, and means operating during operation of said spring looping means to rotate said discs another portion of a revolution into position to again receive springs through their upper sides and to open said discharge aperture.

10. In a machine of the class described having a spring looping mechanism, stop members operable to position a spring both endwise and rotatively, inserting means to feed a spring into said looping mechanism in contact with said stop members, and means to operate such mechanisms, the combination of a stationary spring feeding member, a rotary shaft, a first disc thereon having a slot offset from said shaft and alignable with the outlet of said stationary spring feeding means, a first stationary member below said first disc and having a slot diametrically opposed to the outlet of said spring feeding member, a second disc on said shaft below said first stationary member, said second disc having a slot diametrically opposed to the slot of said first disc, a second stationary member below said second disc and having a slot therein in vertical alignment with the outlet of said spring feeding member, and a third disc on said shaft, said disc being below said second stationary member and having an aperture for pass ing a spring therethrough, said aperture being aligned with the slot of said first disc, all of said slots, the outlet of said spring feeding member and said aperture being at the same distance from the axis of said rotary shaft, and said stationary members being positioned between said spring looping mechanism and said inserting means, means to rotate said shaft a half revolution from said position to deliver a spring received from one of the stationary members or the spring feeding member to the succeeding member in an end for end reversed position or to close a discharge path for the spring in the lower stationary member, said shaft being given a further half revolution prior to the end of a looping operation to be positioned to receive springs into the slots or to open the discharge aperture.

11. In a machine of the class described, the combination with a spring looping means having two spring receiving devices and operable to form a loop on one end of a spring in each of said devices, means to insert springs into said devices, means to eject springs from said devices and power means to operate all said means, of a spring feeding and positioning mechanism between said spring looping means and said inserting means, said feeding and positioning mechanism including a means to supply unlooped springs one at a time, a rotary shaft, a disc having a slot therethrough on said shaft and under said supply means, said slot being offset from the diameter parallel thereto and normally aligned with said spring supplying means, a first positioning member under said disc to hold a spring for insertion into one of said spring receiving devices and having a slot offset from that of said disc by at the axis of said shaft, to receive springs carried in said slot of said disc, a second disc under said first positioning means and on said shaft, said second disc being substantially the same as said first disc but angularly offset therefrom by 180 and normally in position to receive springs from said first positioning means, a second positioning means to hold a spring for insertion into the second of said spring receiving devices, said second positioning means having a spring receiving slot diametrically opposed to the slot of said first positioning means and under said second disc to receive springs from said second disc, a third disc on said shaft, said third disc being cut to normally permit discharge of a spring in the slot of said second positioning means, and drive means to rotate said shaft and discs thereon in increments of a half revolution in timed relation to the operation of said spring looping mechanism and said spring inserting means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 311,035 Ring Jan. 20, 1885 1,051,497 Harter Jan. 28, 1913 2,123,752 Soderstrom July 12, 1938 2,238,434 OberHoffken Apr. 15, 1941

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