Apparatus for collecting and dividing rod into bundles

Claim 1

FOR USE WITH A CONVEYOR CARRYING A CONTINUOUS SUCCESSION OF NON-CONCENTRIC OVERLAPING ROD RINGS, MEANS FOR COLLECTING SAID RINGS INTO COILS OF PREDETERMINED WEIGHT COMPRISING: A COIL FORMING DEVICE ADJACENT THE DELIVERY END OF SAID CONVEYOR, SAID DEVICE INCLUDING AN UNDERLYING COLLECTING TABLE ONTO WHICH SAID RINGS ARE ACCUMULATED IN COIL FORM AS THEY DROP FROM SAID CONVEYOR; A SHEAR LOCATED ADJACENT THE PATH OF SAID DESCENDING RINGS BETWEEN THE COLLECTING TABLE AND THE DELIVERY END OF SAID CONVEYOR; DIVIDING MEANS FOR TEMPORARILY INTERRUPTING THE FURTHER DESCENT OF ROD RINGS ONTO SAID COLLECTING TABLE WHEN A COMPLETED COIL HAS BEEN FORMED THEREON, WHEREBY SUBSEQUENT RINGS DROPPING FROM SAID CONVEYOR WILL BE TEMPORARILY SUPPORTED BY SAID DIVIDING MEANS ABOVE SAID COLLECTING TABLE WITH THE LOWERMOST RING ON SAID DIVIDING MEANS BEING CONNECTED TO THE LAST DEPOSITED RING OF SAID COMPLETED COIL BY A SINGLE STRAND, THE SAID DIVIDING MEANS ALSO BEING OPERATIVE TO LOCATE SAID STRAND IN AN AREA ADJACENT TO SAID SHEAR; STRAND POSITIONING MEANS FOR MECHANICALLY ENGAGING AND CARRYING SAID STRAND INTO THE OPERATIVE RANGE OF SAID SHEAR, WHEREBY SUBSEQUENT ACTUATION OF SAID SHEAR WILL CAUSE THE STRAND TO BE SEVERED, THUS SEPARATING THE RINGS TEMPORARILY BEING COLLECTED ON SAID DIVIDING MEANS FROM THE COIL ON SAID COLLECTING TABLE; AND, MEANS FOR REMOVING SAID COIL FROM SAID COLLECTING TABLE, WHEREBY THE RINGS WHICH HAD PREVIOUSLY BEEN ACCUMULATED ON SAID DIVIDING MEANS MAY THEREAFTER BE ALLOWED TO FALL TO SAID COLLECTING TABLE FOR CONTINUED ASSEMBLY OF THE NEXT COIL