Wire overhead machine

Claim 2

A machine for fabricating a continuous web as set forth in claim 2 wherein guide means are mounted on said splicing table for guiding said severed section of tape into abutting relationship with said previously spliced tape.

Claim 3

A machine for fabricating a continuous web as set forth in claim 3 wherein said guide means includes an elongated clamp bar and an elongated holddown member, said holddown member being yieldably movable in a direction parallel to the movement of said carrier member and in a normal direction toward and away from said splicing table; and said clamp bar and holddown member being made of magnetizable material for attraction by said magnetized splicing table.

Claim 4

A machine for fabricating a continuous web as set forth in claim 3 wherein said guide means comprises a pair of spaced brackets spanning said splicing table, a shaft mounted on each of said brackets; a bushing mounted on each of said shafts for movement thereon; biasing means encompassing said shaft for biasing said bushing toward said carrier member; a plate member mounted on each of said bushings for integral movement therewith; and elongated holddown member extending between said plate members; biasing means connecting said holddown member for moving said holddown member upwardly into engagement with said plate members; said carrier member having a forwardly disposed blade portion that tapers downwardly toward said splicing table; said elongated holddown member having a leading forward portion; said leading forward portion having a lower tapered portion having an inclination that is parallel to the taper on said blade portion for cooperation therewith to facilitate the splicing action during movement of said carrier member toward said holddown member; said holddown member having a rearwardly disposed portion that is recessed; an elongated clamp bar located in said recess; biasing means interconnecting said holddown member and said clamp bar for moving said clamp bar upwardly into engagement with said holddown member; said means interconnecting said bar and holddown member extending through elongated slots in said holddown member to allow limited movement in said direction of movement of said carrier member; and spring means interconnecting said clamp bar and said holddown member for biasing said clamp bar and holddown member away from each other in the horizontal direction of movement of said carrier member.

Claim 5

A machine for fabricating a continuous web having angularly disposed wire strands relative to its longitudinal centerline from narrow strips cut from a continuous wire-coated narrow-width tape having wire strands that are parallel relative to the longitudinal centerline of such narrow-width tape, comprising a support; a magnetizable splicing table mounted adjacent to said support; a carrier member mounted on said splicing table; a tape-index-feeding means mounted on said support for movement thereon to feed a narrow-width tape onto said carrier member with a portion of said tape extending onto said splicing table; cutting means mounted on said support for cutting said tape fed onto said carrier member to provide a severed section of tape; power-operated means operatively connected to said carrier member for reciprocating said carrier member in a horizontal direction on said splicing table; a guide means mounted on said splicing table for limited movement in a normal direction toward and away from said splicing table; means biasing said holddown member for movement in a normal direction away from said splicing table; means for magnetizing said table operatively connected thereto for selective magnetization thereof to condition the tape for splicing action, to pull said guide means into contact with previously spliced tape; and said guide means having a typical edge portion to guide said severed section of tape into abutting engagement with the trailing edge of said previously cut tape as said carrier member is moved in a horizontal direction toward said guide means.