The present invention relates to packaging wire, such as welding wire, into a bulk storage container. Example bulk storage containers include drums, boxes and the like.
It is known to package a continuous length of welding wire in a large container. The wire is formed into a series of loops that are arranged in a circular pattern within the container to form layers of wire. Layer upon layer are added until the container is full, which can require several hundred pounds of wire. The layers of wire, each formed by a series of loops, have a cylindrical shape within the container. If the container is also cylindrical, then each individual loop and layer of wire can be laid close to the container walls. Some containers are square-shaped and have an octagonal liner. In such cases, the layers of wire, which together form a cylindrical shape, do not sit as closely to the inner walls of the container as compared to a cylindrical container. The gaps between the octagonal liner and the wire loops can lead to shifting or settling of the wire within the container during shipment. Wire settling is generally undesirable as it requires the container to be taller than necessary (due to an initial lower density packing of the wire), and can result in tangling of the wire as it is payed out from the container, such as during an automatic or semi-automatic welding operation.
The following summary presents a simplified summary in order to provide a basic understanding of some aspects of the devices, systems and/or methods discussed herein. This summary is not an extensive overview of the devices, systems and/or methods discussed herein. It is not intended to identify critical elements or to delineate the scope of such devices, systems and/or methods. Its sole purpose is to present some concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.
In accordance with one aspect of the present invention, provided is a container. The container includes an outer box, and a polygonal liner located within the outer box. The polygonal liner has a plurality of vertical walls. A continuous length of wire is located within the polygonal liner and forms a plurality of layers. Each of the layers is comprised of a series of wire loops arrayed polygonally along the vertical walls of the polygonal liner.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, provided is a container. The container includes a rectangular box, and at least one polygonal liner located within the rectangular box and forming a plurality of vertical walls arranged in a polygonal shape. A continuous length of wire is located within the box and forms a plurality of layers. Each of the layers is comprised of a series of wire loops arrayed polygonally along the vertical walls.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, provided is a wire coiling apparatus. The wire coiling apparatus includes a rotatable wire laying head for forming a series of wire loops from a continuous length of wire. An X-Y table is configured to move in linear X-Y directions beneath the rotatable wire laying head while the series of wire loops are being formed such that the series of wire loops are arrayed polygonally within a storage container supported by the X-Y table due to the linear X-Y movement of the X-Y table.
In accordance with another aspect of the present invention, provided is a method of packaging a wire coil. The method includes providing a coiling machine. The coiling machine includes a rotatable wire laying head for forming a series of wire loops from a continuous length of wire. The coiling machine also includes an X-Y positioner configured to move in linear X-Y directions while the series of wire loops are being formed. A storage box having polygonal interior walls is placed onto the coiling machine. The series of wire loops are formed within the storage box while simultaneously moving the storage box in the linear X-Y directions by the X-Y positioner such that the series of wire loops are arrayed polygonally inside of the polygonal interior walls of the storage box.
The foregoing and other aspects of the invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art to which the invention relates upon reading the following description with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:
The present invention relates to the bulk packaging of wire, such as welding wire. The present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings, wherein like reference numerals are used to refer to like elements throughout. It is to be appreciated that the various drawings are not necessarily drawn to scale from one figure to another nor inside a given figure, and in particular that the size of the components are arbitrarily drawn for facilitating the understanding of the drawings. In the following description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the present invention. It may be evident, however, that the present invention can be practiced without these specific details. Additionally, other embodiments of the invention are possible and the invention is capable of being practiced and carried out in ways other than as described. The terminology and phraseology used in describing the invention is employed for the purpose of promoting an understanding of the invention and should not be taken as limiting.
As used herein, “at least one”, “one or more”, and “and/or” are open-ended expressions that are both conjunctive and disjunctive in operation. For example, each of the expressions “at least one of A, B and C”, “at least one of A, B, or C”, “one or more of A, B, and C”, “one or more of A, B, or C” and “A, B, and/or C” means A alone, B alone, C alone, A and B together, A and C together, B and C together, or A, B and C together. Any disjunctive word or phrase presenting two or more alternative terms, whether in the description of embodiments, claims, or drawings, should be understood to contemplate the possibilities of including one of the terms, either of the terms, or both terms. For example, the phrase “A or B” should be understood to include the possibilities of “A” or “B” or “A and B.”
The coil 20 of wire has a generally polygonal (e.g., octagonal) cross-sectional shape, to match the shape of the liner 22. Conventional wire containers that utilize an octagonal liner hold a coil of wire that is cylindrically-shaped. The difference in shapes between the cylindrical coil and octagonal liner results in gaps between the coil and the walls of the liner, and can lead to wire settling during shipment. When the wire settles, the likelihood that it will tangle when payed out from the container increases. The octagonal coil 20 in
As will be explained below, the coil 20 is formed by a continuous length of wire arranged in a plurality of layers. Each of the layers is comprised of a series of circular loops of wire. The diameter of each loop is slightly smaller than the wall-to-wall width of the liner 22 (e.g., approximately 15% less than the wall-to-wall width of the liner). The center of each loop is radially offset from the axis of the box 10 and liner 22, towards the walls of the liner. The series of wire loops that form the layers of wire are arrayed polygonally (e.g., in a rectangle, octagon, dodecagon, etc.) along the vertical walls of the liner 22, to match the shape of the liner. The polygonal array of wire loops has straight sections along the center portions of the liner walls, and curved or radiused vertices. As the layers of wire formed by each series of polygonally-arrayed loops are built up, layer upon layer, the coil of wire assumes the shape of a polygonal (e.g., octagonal) prism having a central opening and radiused verticies. The loops of wire are laid in a polygonal array by moving the storage container C and/or a rotating wire laying head in linear X-Y directions while the loops are formed by the laying head of a wire coiling apparatus.
From the capstan 34, the welding wire is fed into a rotatable wire laying head 42. The laying head 42 can be a generally cylindrical tube having an opening at the bottom or along the cylinder adjacent to the bottom. The welding wire 34 passes from the capstan 36 to the interior of the laying head 42. The welding wire 34 extends through the tube and out the opening in the laying head 42, whereupon it is placed into the storage container C. The laying head 42 is suspended from an upper portion of the coiling apparatus 32 for rotation about a generally vertical axis A.
The laying head 42 extends into the storage container C and rotates about the axis A, which is generally parallel to an axis B of the storage container. The wire being fed into the laying head 42 by the capstan 34 is fed at a rotational velocity different than the rotational velocity of the laying head. The ratio between the rotational velocity of the laying head 42 and the rotational velocity of the capstan 34 determines the loop size diameter of the wire loops within the storage container C. A motor 44 drives the laying head 42, such as via a drive belt. A controller 46 controls the speed of the capstan and laying head motors 38, 44 and allows for adjustments of the ratio between the speed of the two motors, to thereby adjust the diameter of the wire loops that form the polygonal coil. Example wire loop diameters are approximately 14-17 inches, however diameters outside of this range can be provided if desired.
As the wire 34 is laid within the storage container C, sensors check the wire height and the storage container is lowered by the controller 46. As the storage container moves downward, the laying head 42 continues to rotate, thus filling storage container C to its capacity. The storage container C is supported on an L-shaped beam 47 that is vertically-movable along a guide track 48 (e.g., in the Z-direction shown by double headed arrow). A cylinder and piston assembly 50 and/or an actuator such as a ball screw actuator is attached to the L-shaped beam and a frame of the coiling apparatus 32 and allows for the controlled descent of the storage container C as it is filled with wire. It is to be appreciated that laying head 42 need not move in the vertical direction because the storage container C moves downward, away from the laying head, as it is filled.
The coiling apparatus 32 includes an X-Y table 52 or a similar X-Y positioner, to which the storage container C is mounted. The X-Y table 52 can include clips 54 or other clamping devices for attaching the storage container C securely to the X-Y table. The X-Y table 52 moves the storage container C in the X and Y directions (e.g., within a generally horizontal plane) beneath the laying head 42 while the series of wire loops are being formed. The Y-direction is shown schematically by a horizontal double headed arrow in
The controller 46 can include an electronic controller having one or more processors. For example, the controller 46 can include one or more of a microprocessor, a microcontroller, a digital signal processor (DSP), an application specific integrated circuit (ASIC), a field-programmable gate array (FPGA), discrete logic circuitry, or the like. The controller 46 can further include memory and may store program instructions that cause the controller to provide the functionality ascribed to it herein. The memory may include one or more volatile, non-volatile, magnetic, optical, or electrical media, such as read-only memory (ROM), random access memory (RAM), electrically-erasable programmable ROM (EEPROM), flash memory, or the like. The controller 46 can further include one or more analog-to-digital (ND) converters for processing various analog inputs to the controller.
As indicated by the arrows in
Comparing the circular array of wire loops shown in
It should be evident that this disclosure is by way of example and that various changes may be made by adding, modifying or eliminating details without departing from the fair scope of the teaching contained in this disclosure. The invention is therefore not limited to particular details of this disclosure except to the extent that the following claims are necessarily so limited.
The present application is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 16/364,690 filed on Mar. 26, 2019, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference.
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Number | Date | Country | |
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20210237963 A1 | Aug 2021 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 16364690 | Mar 2019 | US |
Child | 17238471 | US |