Wire coiling machine

DETAILED DESCRIPTION To accomplish the foregoing and other objects of this invention, there is provided a wire coiling machine having a work station at which a coil spring or the like is formed and after forming cut by a suitably supported cutter.
The wire coiling machine comprises a support frame which supports a number of shafts including a driveshaft, camshaft and intermediate shaft.
The intermediate shaft drives a pair of feed rollers between which the wire is fed.
The primary improvement in accordance with the present invention comprises means for driving at least one of the feed rollers at a variable drive speed to, in turn, feed the wire at a variable speed to the work station.
In accordance with the invention there is also provided means for controlling wire feed to intermittently interrupt wire feed in synchronism with the cutting of the wire subsequent to the coiling thereof.
The means for driving the feed rollers comprises means for controlling the speed of wire feed to have a maximum speed feed while coiling and decreasing to a minimum speed feed in synchronism with the intermittent interruption of wire feed.
In accordance with the mode of operation of the present invention, in the preferred version the feed rollers are operated at a variable speed which in the disclosed embodiment is at a sinusoidal rate having a maximum peak speed essentially at the midpoint of the coiling operation and decreasing in speed to a minimum speed concurrent with an intermittent interruption in wire feed.
In accordance with the preferred embodiment of the invention, the intermittent interruption of feed is accomplished by means of separating the feed rollers to intermittently stop the wire feed.
The means for separating these feedrollers preferably includes a lifting mechanism for lifting one of the rollers relative to the other feed roller which is preferably maintained stationary.
This may include cam means responsive to the camshaft for operating the lifting of one of the feed rollers.
This one feed roller is preferably biased toward the other feed roller under some predetermined adjustable tension