US2834393A - Method of forming articles by bending the free end portions thereof - Google Patents

Description

y 1958 A. J. ClHLAR ET AL 2,834,393

METHOD OF FORMING ARTICLES BY'BENDING THE FREE END PORTIONS THEREOF Filed Dec. 29, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 //z/l /V Toes ARJC/A-ZHE 79. (4/955 Filed Dec. 29, 1954 May 13, 1958 J. CIHLAR ET A METHOD OF FORMING ARTICLES BY BENDING THE FREE END PORTIONS THEREOF 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 flAM.

May 13, 1958 A. J. CIHLAR ETAL METHOD OF FORMING ARTICLES BY BENDING THE FREE END PORTIONS THEREOF 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Dec. 29, 1954 5% fi i M fiTTOE/VEY May 13, 1958 A. J. CIHLAR ETAL 2,834,393

, METHOD OF FORMING ARTICLES BY BENDING THE FREE END PORTIONS THEREOF Filed Dec. 29, 1954 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 v v Wyn 702s 1 "1 I I AMC/A/AHE 412,456 K By M m United States Patent M METHOD OF FORMING ARTICLES BY BENDING THE FREE END PORTIONS THEREOF Anthony J. Cihlar, Riverside, and Frank A. Klasek, La

Grange Park, 111., assignors to Western Electric Company, Incorporated, New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application December 29, 1954, Serial No. 478,336

4 Claims. (Cl. 153-16) This invention relates to methods of forming articles, and more particularly to methods of feeding combs of wire spring relays and bending wires of wire spring relay combs.

An object of the invention is to provide new and improved methods of bending terminal portions of wire spring relay combs.

Another object of the invention is to provide methods of bending wires of a wire spring relay comb sequentially to form terminal ends.

A method illustrating certainfeatures of the invention may include bending one elongated part at an edge of a plurality of groups of such parts extending in the same plane away from the group, and then bending the next part of that group in the same direction as that of the first part.

A complete understanding of the invention may be obtained from the following detailed description of a method forming a specific embodiment thereof, when read in conjunction with the appended drawings, in which Fig. l is a top plan view of a portion of an apparatus for practicing a method forming one embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2'is a vertical section taken along line 22 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a verticalsection taken along line 33 of Fig. 1, and

Figs. 4, 5 and 6 are perspective views of a wirespring relay comb in several stages of forming.

Refem'ng now in detail to the drawings, there is shown therein an apparatus for forming ends of wires 7, 8 and 9 (Figs. 4, 5 and 6) to horizontal right angle bends 11, the wires projecting beyond molded blocks 14 of wire spring relay combs 15. The apparatus includes three forming stations 17, 18 and 19 (Fig. 1), and the right angle bends 11 in the wires 7 are formed at the station 17, the right angle bends 11 in the wires 8 are formed at the station 18 and the right angle bends 11 in the wires 9 are formed at the station 19. The bends 11 in the wires 7 are formed around pins 21 projecting from a bed or bottom platen 22 of a tool unit replaceable in a press 23. Pins 24 and 25 are similarly mounted on the bed 22 at the stations 18 and 19, respectively, for bending the wires 8 and 9, respectively. The wires are engaged and bent around the pins 21, 24 and 25 by dogs illustrated by a dog 28 (Fig. 3) mounted on shafts turned by crank arms 36. The dogs 28 and the crank arms 36 are mounted by a shaft 29 pivotally about the center of the shaft 35 on an upper platen 37 of the tool unit 20.

The combs 15 are fed from right to left, as viewed in Fig. 2, by a feed bar 60 adjustably fastened by a connector 61 to a piston rod 62 of a piston 63 mounted in a pneumatic cylinder 64 controlled by a suitable four-way valve (not shown). The cylinder 64 and the piston 63 reciprocate the rod 62, and, each time the rod 62 is reciprocated, feed pawls 65 engage and push the blocks of the combs 15 to the left a distance just sutficient to move the combs from one station to the next. 'Each time thefeed bar 60 is retracted, the pawls 65 ride over the combs 15 without moving the combs, the combs .being held against 2,834,393 Patented May 13, 1958 2 movement back with the feed bar by holding pawls 71 mounted on a resiliently mounted plate 72 and pawls 73 mounted on a fixed plate 74.

After each feeding movement and retraction of the bar 60, the press 23 is operated and an upper platen 81 thereof carrying the platen 37 is moved downwardly to move sockets 101.

the plate 72 against springs 79 through push rods 82 downwardly out of the plane of the plate 74 and a feeding station plate 75. The springs 79 are mounted on rods 83 slidable in bores 84, and are seated in counterbores 85 in a fixed base plate 86 to which the lower platen 22 is secured. The combs 15 are pressed against the plate 72 by leaf springs 91, and the wires 7, 8 and 9 of the combs 15 are moved over the pins 21, 24 and 25. Downward movement of the plate 72 is limited by a block 92 which supports tapered locating pins 93 projecting into bores 94 in the plate 72. As the plate 72 is moved downwardly from its uppermost or feed position to its lower- -most or work position, the blocks 14 of the combs 15 carried thereby are moved over the pins 93, which enter close-fitting bores 97 to precisely and firmly locate the combs 15 on the plate 72. Three sets of presser rods 98, urged downwardly in bores 99 in the platen 81 by springs 100, are mounted in alignment with the pins 93 and receive the tapered ends of the pins 93 in complementary The presser rods 98 aid the springs 91 in keeping the blocks 14 seated on the plate 72 as the plate 72 is lowered.

The feed bar 60 (Figs. 1 and 3) is supported by a fixed, rigid guide rail 111 and pairs of tapered rollers 112 mounted on bearings 113 and having tapered or frusto-conical portions 114 ro'llable along tapered upper surfaces 115 of the rail 111. The rollers 112 are mounted rotatably onplates 117 bracketing the rail 111 and fixed to the feed bar 60 to form a trolley type suspension for the bar 60. The rail 111 is rigid, and is supported at its ends by fixed brackets 121 and 122. The arcuate holddown springs 91 are carried by brackets 123 fixed to the plate 72, and leaf springs 124 fixed to the feed bar 60 press against the bottom of the rail 111'to urge the feed bar to a predetermined level limited by the rollers 112 and the rail 111. The springs 124 permit upward movement of the bar 60 by warped or'dislocated blocks 14. The upward movement of the plate 72 by the springs 79 is limited by lap joint type projections 128 and 129 on the plate 72 which engage complementary projections 130 and 131, respectively, on the fixed plates 74 and 75 forming slides for the combs at opposite ends of the plate 72.

The upper platen 37 of the press 23 carries by mounting pins or bolts (not shown) assembly plates or bars 141, 142 and 143 (Fig. 3) thereon, which are urged downwardly away from the platen 37 by compression springs- (not shown). As the platen 37 is moved downwardly, it moves the plate 72 downwardly to a stop 145 to move the wires 7, 8 and 9 to the pins 21, 24 and 25, recesses 151 being provided in a block on the platen 22 for clearance for the ends of the wires, which have 30 downwardly directed bends 152 (Fig. 4) therein so that b they may travel under adjacent groups of wires as the 90 horizontal bends are formed therein. Supports 155, 156 and 157 (Fig. 3) having sloping or relieved portions 158, 159 and 160 support the wires 7, 8 and 9 to keep the wires fromslipping downwardly out of contact with the dogs after the dogs are brought down into the plane of the wires and are actuated to bend the wires around the pins 21, 24 and 25. The sloping portionsextend on two adjacent sides of the pins 21, 24 and 25 to support the wires throughout their bending movement. The tool unit 20 (Fig. 3) includes a cam or wedge 181 carried with the platen 37 for pushing, when lowered, a cam follower (not shown) to push a horizontally movable actuating slide 184 along a guideway 185 formed in the plate 143. The slide 184 is returned on the up stroke of the platen by springs (not shown). The slide 184 turns the crank arms 36 through pins 189 during the latter portion of the downward stroke of the platen to bend the wires 7, 8 and 9 engaged by the dogs 28 90 horizontally, as described more fully and claimed in our copending application Serial No. 478,337, filed on December 29, 1954, for Apparatus for Forming Articles, The plate 143 normally is urged downwardly away from the platen 37, and as the platen 37 starts back up, the plates 141,142 and 143 remain down against the block 150 until the cam 181 has retracted and the slide 184 has returned the crank arms 36 to their normal, wire-clearing positions. Then the plates 141, 142 and 143 are lifted upwardly from the block 150, and from the plate 72 (Fig. after the plate 72 is stopped by the plates 74 and 75. The piston 63 (Fig. 2) then may be actuated to reciprocate the feed bar 60 and feed each of the combs one station to the left, as viewed in Fig. 2. On the forward stroke of the feed bar 60, the furthermost right comb at the feed position is fed under the holddown springs 91 to the station '17, and each of the combs 15 are fed one station to the left. On the retracting stroke of the feed bar 60, the pawls 71 and 73 keep the combs from being pulled back to the right.

Operation The combs 15, prior to arrival at the press 23, have spades 201 (Figs. 4, 5 and 6) formed thereon and the vertical bends 152 are made at progressively farther points from the block 14 proceeding from the wires 7 to the wires 9. The bends 152 also are provided prior to the arrival at the press that, as the bends 11 are formed, the spade portions 201 will pass under and not be obstructed by adjacent groups of wires 205 and 206. Each comb is pushed by the bar 60step-by-step from the station to the right of the station 17, as viewed in Fig. 2, from the station 17 to the station 18, from the station 18 to the station 19 and from the station 19 to the station to the left thereof. The press 23 is reciprocated between each feeding movement. On each downward movement of the platen '81, the rods 82 first push the plate 72 against the stop 145 and the plate 14.1 (Fig. 3) against the block 150. The rods 98 push the blocks 14 down on the alignment pins 93 (Fig. 2) to precisely locate the combs 15, and the wires 7, 8 and 9 rest on the supports 1'55, 156 and 157 in the recesses 151. On further downward movement of the platen 81, the cam 181 actuates the actuating slide 184 to swing the crank arms 36 to bend the wires 7, 8 and 9 to form the 90 horizontal bends 11, the spades 201 and end'portions of the wires swinging under the wires 205 and 206 as the bends are formed. The supports 155, 156 and 157 support the wires as the bends ll are formed. The bends 11 in the wires 7 are formed at the station 17, those in the wires 8 at the station 18 and those in the wires 9 at the station 19.

After the combs 15 have been moved outof the press 23, another press (not shown) forms bends corresponding to the bends 11 in the wires 205 and 206 after 30 bends corresponding to the bends 152 have been made. Another press (not shown) then bends the wires 7, 8, 9, 205 and 206 to make the bends 152 90". By first forming the 30 bends rather than the full 90 vertical bends, the wires may be bent into'the 90 horizontal bends 11 without slippage on the wires by the bending dogs, which is of particular importance in bending the wires 7 where a very short horizontal portion projects beyond the bends 11. By bending the wires 7, 8 and 9 at different stations and the wires 205 and 206 in a different press sufiicient space is provided to make the bending elements rugged and durable.

The above-described-method rapidly forms the several bends very accurately, .and feeds the combs surely and precisely.

It is to'be understood that the above-described arrangementments are simply illustrative of the application of the principles of the invention. Numerous other arrangements may be readily devised by those skilled in the art which will embody the principles of the invention and fall within the spirit and scope thereof.

1 What is claimed is:

1. The method of forming terminal end portions of wires of wire spring relay combs, which comprises bending portions of wires of a plurality of groups of parallel wires which lie in the same plane in a direction transversely of the plane, bending the edge wire of one group laterally'in said plane toward the group adjacent thereto, and then bending the wire next to the previously bent wire of that group laterally in said plane into the space left by said previously bent wire.

2. The method of forming rectilinear bends in end portions of wires extending parallelly in the same plane in groups from a block of a wire spring relay comb, which comprises bending end portions of wires of the groups of such acomb out of the plane of the wires, and bending the wires in parallel directions through substantially in said plane proceeding from one edge of the groups through the groups at points at which the end portions of the bent wires extend to positions crossing the adjacent groups of wires.

3. The method of forming rectilinear bends in end portions of ,wires extending parallelly in the same plane in groupsfrom a block of a wire spring relay comb, which comprises bending end portions of wires of the groups of such a comb out of the plane of the wires through a predetermined angle, bending the wires each in parallel directions through an angle in said plane proceeding from one edge of the groups through the groups at points at which the end portions of the bent wires cross wires of the adjacentgroups of wires, and then bending further out of said plane the portions of the wires previously bent out of said plane.

4. The method of forming rectilinear bends in end portions of wires extending parallelly in the same plane in groups from a block of a wire spring relay comb, which comprises bending end portions of wires of the groups of such a comb about 30' out of the plane of the wires, bending ,the wires in parallel directions through substantially 90 in said plane proceeding from one edge of the grm l sthrough the groups at points at which the end portion of the bent wires extend to the adjacent groups of wires, and then bending the portions of the wires bent in said first-recited step about 60 further out of said plane.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 384,345 Boulton June 12, 1888 816,221 'Dehart Mar. 27, 1906 912,601 Nilson Feb. 16, 1909 1,287,101 Reynolds Dec. 10, 1918 1,426,790 Stenson Aug. 22, 1922 1,645,865 Kondakjian Oct. 18, 1927 1,796,167 Small Mar. 10, 1931 1,828,884 Verpent Oct. 27, 1931 1,853,877 Parker Apr. 12, 1932 1,874,068 Walker Aug. 30, 1932 2,000,071 Flynn May 7, 1935 2,072,230 Weiss Mar. 2, 1937 2,297,730 Turnock Oct. 6, 1942 2,361,983 Veley Nov. 7, 1944 2,416,048 Evans Feb. 18, 1947 2,465,540 Korn Mar. 29, 1949 2,571,078 Vollmer Oct. 9, 1951 2,595,658 Hasselhorn May 6, 1952 2,696,848 McCoy Dec. 15, 1954 2,699,597 Arms Jan. 18, 1955 2,745,571 :Roy May 15, 1956

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