Rod-intercepting means in a coil-forming chamber

Claim 2

A chamber adapted to receive a falling succession of continuous rod rings delivered thereto by a conveyor or laying head, said chamber having means intermediate its vertical dimension for arresting temporarily the descent of said rings within said chamber, said arresting means comprising a plurality of curved fingers movable in a circular path in a horizontal plane into said chamber through apertures in the chamber wall to arrest rings falling thereon and movable out of said chamber to the extent necessary to release said previously arrested rings, said fingers having extensions thereof outside said chamber wall mounted on parallel pivots to permit said circular movement of said fingers thereabout, that portion of each finger entering said chamber being curved in the form of a segment of a circle having its center at its said pivot, means for simultaneously causing movement of said fingers inwardly and outwardly of said chamber comprising a gear attached to each extension and rotatable about its pivot, all said gears being engaged by a surrounding rotatably movable element whereby movement of any of said gears or element will cause corresponding rotation of all other gears and identical movement of the related fingers.

Claim 3

The construction as set forth in claim 1, said means for rotating said one gear comprising a rotary oil hydraulic actuator.

Claim 4

The construction as set forth in claim 1, said chamber having mounted therein a vertically movable mandrel for guiding the said descending rings to form a proper rod coil, the upper end of said mandrel when in uppermost position being above the plane of said fingers for insuring positioning of said rod rings on said fingers when said fingers are in inward position within said chamber.

Claim 5

A chamber adapted to receive a falling succession of continuous rod rings delivered thereto by a conveyor or laying head, said chamber having means intermediate its vertical dimension for arresting temporarily the descent of said rings within said chamber, said arresting means comprising a plurality of curved fingers movable in a circular path in a horizontal plane into said chamber through apertures in said chamber wall to arrest rings falling thereon and movable out of said chamber to the extent necessary to release said previously arrested rings, said fingers having extensions thereof outside said chamber wall mounted on parallel pivots to permit said circular movement of said fingers thereabout, a mandrel movable from an up position above said fingers to a down position below said chamber, means causing said fingers to be moved outwardly of said chamber only when said mandrel is in up position whereby previously intercepted rod rings falling from said withdrawn fingers will be guided by said mandrel to fall freely and squarely within said chamber, and means for moving said fingers inwardly of said chamber after the last descending rod ring of a billet has passed the level of said fingers to intercept the first rod ring of the next billet.

Claim 6

A chamber adapted to receive a falling succession of continuous rod rings delivered thereto by a conveyor or laying head, said chamber having means intermediate its vertical dimension for arresting temporarily the descent of said rings within said chamber, said arresting means comprising a plurality of curved fingers movable in a circular path in a horizontal plane into said chamber through apertures in said chamber wall to arrest rings falling thereon and movable out of said chamber to the extent necessary to release said previously arrested rings, said fingers having extensions thereof outside said chamber wall mounted on parallel pivots to permit said circular movement of said fingers thereabout, a mandrel movable from an up position above said fingers to a down position below said chamber, means causing said fingers to be moved outwardly of said chamber only when said mandrel is in up position whereby previously intercepted rod rings falling from said withdrawn fingers will be guided by said mandrel to fall freely and squarely within said chamber, and means for moving said fingers inwardly of said chamber after the last descending rod ring of a billet has passed the level of said fingers to intercept the first rod ring of the next billet.

Claim 7

The construction as set forth in claim 4, said finger-moving means comprising a spur gear connected to each said finger and a ring gear engaging all of said spur gears whereby all gears and fingers move simultaneously.

Claim 8

A chamber having upper and lower parts adapted to receive a falling succession of continuous rod rings delivered thereto by a conveyor or laying head, the upper part of said chamber including a ring-containing wall, the lower part of said chamber being connected to said upper part and having an opening at one side whereby a collected coil of rod rings may be moved laterally therefrom, said upper part of said chamber having means intermediate the vertical dimension of said ring-containing wall for arresting temporarily the descent of said rings within said upper part, said arresting means comprising a plurality of fingers circularly curved along their longitudinal dimension in a horizontal plane and movable axially in a circular path in a horizontal plane into said chamber through individual apertures in the wall of said upper part to arrest rings falling thereon and movable axially out of said upper part of said chamber to the extent necessary to release said previously arrested rings, said curved fingers having radially disposed extensions thereof outside said wall mounted on parallel pivots to permit said circular movement of said fingers thereabout, and means simultaneously causing said fingers to be moved first in one direction inwardly of said chamber and thereafter in the opposite direction out of said chamber.

Claim 9

A chamber having upper and lower parts adapted to receive a falling succession of continuous rod rings delivered thereto by a conveyor or laying head, the upper part of said chamber including a ring-containing wall, the lower part of said chamber being connected to said upper part and having an opening at one side whereby a collected coil of rod rings may be moved laterally therefrom, said upper part of said chamber having means intermediate the vertical dimension of said ring-containing wall for arresting temporarily the descent of said rings within said upper part, said arresting means comprising a plurality of fingers circularly curved along their longitudinal dimension in a horizontal plane and movable axially in a circular path in a horizontal plane into said chamber through individual apertures in the wall of said upper part to arrest rings falling thereon and movable axially out of said upper part of said chamber to the extent necessary to release said previously arrested rings, said curved fingers having radially disposed extensions thereof outside said wall mounted on parallel pivots to permit said circular movement of said fingers thereabout, and means simultaneously causing said fingers to be moved first in one direction inwardly of said chamber and thereafter in the opposite direction out of said chamber.

Claim 10

The construction as set forth in claim 6, said chamber having mounted therein a vertically movable mandrel for guiding the said descending rings to form a proper rod coil, the upper end of said mandrel when in uppermost position being above the plane of said fingers for insuring positioning of said rod rings on said fingers when said fingers are in inward position within said chamber.