US2796662A - Wire splicer clamp - Google Patents

Description

June 25, 1957 J. A. sAUM 2,796,662

WIRE SPLICER CLAMP Filed Aug. 13, 1954 13 ..9'6. .a4 '1559' W6 285425 .J8 -Qe/W/Js/mm Cous cLasER As wmf Twlsrcn INVENTOR.

.4 7 TOR/VE V5 United States Patent WRF. SPLCER CLAW .lohn A. Saum, Adrian, Mich.

Application August 13, 1954, SerialNo. 449,759 3 Claims. (Cl. 29-286) This invention rela-tes to wire splicers and morerparticularly to a splicer clamp for wires used in wire recorders.

It is an object of this invention to provide a'wire clamp for quickly and eiciently splicing together brokenwires on a recording reel, or which may be employed to splice together the ends of wires of dierent reels so as to form one continuous reel of wire.

It is another object of this invention to provide a wire splicer clamp which is simple in construction, economical to manufacture, light in weight and readilyportable.

It is another and still further object of this invention to provide a wire splicer clamp for wire recording machines which willpermanently secure the wire ends togetherY in such manner as to practically insure the splice against further breakage and whichwill pass through the recording machine without interfering with the mechanism thereof, either in recording or reproduction.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from Ithe following detailed description, forming the specication, and taken -in conjunction with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of the wire splicer embodying this invention showing the wiresto be spliced held bythe device;

Figure 2 is a top plan view -thereof;

'Figure 3 is a vertical cross sectional view taken on line 3-3 of Figure l;

Figure 4. is a front elevational View ofthe twisting wheel element'ofV the device;

lFigure 5 is a cross sectional view taken on line' 5-5 of Figure 4;

Figure 6isa side elevational view .similar to Figure 1 but with the twisting wheel removed and showing the Wires twisted togetherat the completion of the twisting operation;

Figure 7 is'a top plan view of Figure 6;

Figure S is a top plan viewsimilar to Figure 7 but showing the free ends'of thewires removed from the'jaws;

vFigure 9 is 'a sideelevational view of a pair of wires after Vbeing splicedtoget'ner bythe wire splicer of this invention;

Figure lO'is atop plan View similar to. Figures 2, 7 `and 8 1out showing the wires to be spliced arranged in a differlent manner;

Figure 1l is atdiagrammatic view in toprplan'showing the Wires disposed as shown in Figure 10 in their spliced or twisted-together relation after. the use of the twisting Wheel;

Figure l2 is a view simil-ar to Figure .11 but showing the spliced wires after the free ends thereof have heenremoved from the jaws in which they have beenheld;

Figure 13 is a perspective View of oneofthe jaws showing the manner in which the wire may be inserted therein; and

Figure 14 is aV front'elevational view, partially'broken away,'of 'a modiiied'form of the twisting wheel.

With' continued reference to thel drawing, the wire `Ysplicer Lenihodyingfthis linvention' is generally indicated at 10 and comprises pairs of spaced jaws 12, 14 and 16,18, with the respective pairs being in divergent relation to each other and adapted Ato receive wires A and'B extending therebetween. Each pair of `spaced jaws are carried in spaced, looped legs 20 and 22 respectively of the spring frame,- generally indicated at 24, and the legs 20 and 22 are in opposed relation with respect to each other. lThe spring frame 24 is made of a flat resilient, relatively thin spring material and has 1a bight 26 extending between rand 4connect-ing lthe legs 20 and 22. The bightv 26 is .pro-

vided with a central aperture therethroughso as to receive a securing means, such as the screw 28, therethrough so as to .secure the spring frame 24upon a supporting surface, such asthe base 30. Thus, the device is readilyportable from one location to another, however, if it is so desiredythe spring frame 24 may besecured upona fixed -supporting surface such as a table top or a wall.or yany other suitable supporting surface.

Referring once more to the Wire holding jaws `12 through. 18, it will be seen that each of the jaws comprise a pair of legs 32 and 34 whichrare secured together at one endV by 4a collar 36 and extend through the associated leg of the spring frame, since the spring frame is provided with an .opening therethrough for this purpose, and the ends-ofthejaw legs 32 and 34 which are secured together by the collar 36 extend Ithrough the associated spring` frame leg adjacent the distal end 38-thereof- The legs 32and 34 may be made of a resilient metal which maybe semicylindrical ink cross section so that the-flat facesY oteach leg are in face-.to-face relation, and the legs'extend up- Wardly in abutting faceta-face relation through the loop .ofthe associated spring frame leg and extend througha suitableopening in the portion of the associated looped leg intermediate its ends, as at 46, and the legs 32 and 34 are secured in their 'face-t-o-face relation at this point by a collar 42, similar to the collar 36, which is disposedin abut-ting relation with the outer surface of the associated leg through which the jaw extends. The upperends 44 and v46 respectively of the legs 32 land-34 diverge from each other :as they recede fromrthe collar 42 and-:extend outwardly from the associated leg,withthe terminalV ends ofthe respective upper ends 44 and 46 being curved-out wardly away from each other so as to define a relatively '12, 14 and 16, 18 diverge from each other as they recede from the bight portion 26 of the spring frame 24. Also, it will be appreciated that by virtue of the jaws being operatively connected to their associated legs of the, spring fname in the manner hereinbefore indicated, that V.the 'looped portions of the legs 20 and 22 adjacenteach other and remote from the -bight 26 lwill be relatively rigid while the leg portions 21 and 23 extending from the jaw membersv to the bight 26 W-ill detine springs to yieldingly urge one of the pairs of jaws 12, 14 away Vfrom the otherpair .16,18.

Touse the device to splice together the ends ofthe Wires A and B, which may lead from spools. commonly used in wire recording machines, one manner of employing the device is shownV in Figures 2, 7,V 8 and 9. In these figures it will be seen that the wire Bisy clampingly secured in the jaw 12 and extends Ibetween the legsland V22 ofthe spring frame and engaged or clampingly secured -inthe jaw 1S adjacent its free endso thatrthe wire BeXtend-s diagonally acrossrthe-bight portion 26. of `the 'ispringirameV 24, Whilethe wire A is secured in the jaw Btented June 25,

Y 3 16 and extends diagonally across the spring frame and is clampingly secured in the jaw 14 adjacent its free end. Thus, the wires A and B cross each other at approximately the transverse center line of the bight 26 of the spring frame. With the wires A and B thu-s secured inthe pairs of jaws and extending therebetween, the wires are gripped at their point of crossing in the jaw 50 opening to Ythe periphery of la circular twisting wheel 52. YThe twisting Y wheel 52 is then rotated in one direction about an axis longitudinally of the wires A and B by the hand of the operator gripping the knurled peripheral edge 54 so as to causey the wires A and B to be twisted .together in opposite directions on either side of the twisting ,wheel 52. As the -twisting operation proceeds, the respective pairs of jaws4 will be drawn closer together, as shown in Figure 6, so that a tension is placed upon thevwires A and B -being twisted togetherrby the. resilient influence of the leg portions 21 and 23 respectively defining springs.V After a sucient number of revolutions of the twisting wheel 52, it is preferable to allow the wheel to return one or two revolutions to permit relaxing of the tension of the jaw 50 of the wheel to thus provide easy disengagement of the wheel from Vthesplice, and also results in an extra turn or two inthe spliced wires immediately beyond the free ends thereof which will be removed from the respective jaws 14 and 18 and then severed closely .adjacent the splice or twisted portions of the wires A and B. The extra turns in fthe wire provide protection from snagging in the spliced wire as it passes through the wire in the spool of a wire recording machine, or in passing fromrspool to spool.

With reference to the wire twisting wheel 52, the wheel is in the form of an annulus having a central opening 56 therethrough. The jaw 50 comprises a pair of jaw arms 58 and 60 which may be of semi-cylindrical crosssection and secured together in face-to-face relation adjacent one end thereof as by a clamping ring 62, or may be welded together at this time, the ends thus secured together being secured within the wheel 52 and extending transversely across the opening 56 thereof and divergently outwardly through an opening 64 transversely through the wheel 52 so as to form or define a wire-receiving entrance 66 through which the wires A and B to be twisted and spliced together may be' guided into the jaw 50 between the jaw arms 58 f1 and 60 thereof, so as to be clampingly secured therein.

In Figure 9, the wires A and B are shown spliced together and removed from the splicer 1d ready for use inla wire recording machine.

In Figures 10, 1v1 and 12, there is illustrated an opl' tional manner in which the wires A and B may be spliced `together by use of the splicer 10. The w-i-re A', in Figure l0, is gripped between the jaws 12 and 16 and extend therebetween with the jaw 12 gripping the wire A' adjacent its free end, while the wire B is grippedbetween the jaws 14V and 18 extending therebetween and the jaw 18 gripping therwire B adjacen-t its free end. The twisting wheel 52 is then placed over the wires A and B as they are pulled together centrally intermediate the length thereof extending between the jaws in which they are secured,

as shown in broken lines in Figure l0, so that the wires A and B' will pass through the entrance 66 to be gripped between the arms of the jaw 5l).V The wires A and B will then be twisted together by rotation of the wheel 52 in the manner hereinbefore described, the free ends thereof then removed from the jaws 12 and 18 and severed adjacent the twisted wires or splice resulting from the rotation of the wheel 52, and then the joined or spliced wires A' and B will be removed from the jaws 14 and '16 thereby forming one continuous. wire. t Y

VIn Figure 1l, there is Yshown the wiresA" and B", the freerends ofvwhich are gripped in the jaws 14 and 16 so that the spools, not shown, from which the wires Vextend will be on opposite sides of the splicer 10 and in a posi- 'tion reversed from that Vshown in Figure 10. The wire A" extends across the splicer 10 and gripped between vmaximum clamping action and yet with relative ease 4 splicer 10 and gripped in the jaws 14 and 18. The wires A" and B" are then brought together centrally intermediate their ends so that they may be received in the jaw 50 of the twisting wheel 52 and the wires then twisted together to form the splice in the same manner as the wires A' and B' of Figure 10.

`In Figure 112, the free ends of the wires A and B have been removed from the clamping engagement with the respective jaws 1.4 and 16, and the spliced or twisted wires now extend diagonally across the splicer 10 gripped between the jaws 1-2 and 18. The extending free ends of the wires A and B" may now be severed, and the spliced together A and B" removed from the jaws 12 and 1S of the splicer to be in condition for further use in a wire recording machine.

Recording wire may be spliced to a leader wire. This method would involve having the wire A, for instance, gripped in jaw 12 and passing across 1K6 to be threaded through a loop formed in the leader wire. Wire A then extends through jaw 18, wherein it is gripped, and the free end of wire A passing through the jaw 14. TheV same twistingprocedure is followed to twist opposite runs of wire A together, and there will be only one free end to be subsequently severed adjacent the splice. Y

Figure 14 shows an alternate form of a twisting wheel, generally indicated at 70, which is generally similar to the twisting wheel 62. The body 72 of the twisting wheel is in the form of an annular having a central opening 74 and having a segment cut transversely from the body to define a transverse passage 76 therethrough. The pair of jaw arms 78 and 80, similar to the jaw arms 58 and 60 of the twisting wheel 52, are secured together at one end in the body 72 and extend in divergent relation across the opening 74 through the passage 76. The ends of the respective jaw arms 78 and 80 remote from the end secured in the body 72 are then laterally directed away from each other so as to contact the opposite sides of the passage 76, the jaw arms 78 and 80 defining the jaw 82 adapted to resiliently clamp a pair of wires, such as wires A and B, therebetween 4for subsequent twisting of the wires together to form a splice. The body 72 is provided with a pair of axially aligned threaded openings 84 and 86 transversely thereto to receive therein respective set screws 88 and 90 which have Unthreaded end portions 92 and VV94 respectively extending within 'the opening 74 and bearing against the sides of the jaw arms 78 and 86 respectively so that upon threading the set screws 88 and 90 further within the threaded openings 84 and 86, the space between the arms 78 and may be selectively adjusted so as to adjust the gripping tension of the jaw 82. Thus, the set screws 88 and 90 define adjusting means whereby the arms 7S and 80 of the jaw 82 may be selectively moved toward and away from each other so as to have the twisting wheel 70 accommodate wires of varying thicknesses with a of removal from the wires after they have been twisted together by rotation of the twisting wheel.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that there has been provided in the basic concept, a wire splicer comprising divergent pairs of spaced jaws 12, 14 and 16, 18 adapted to receive wires, such as wires A and B, extending therebetween, and resilient means in the form of the spring frame 24 which is operatively connected to the pairs of jaws to yieldingly urge one of the pairs away ,from the other of the pairs of jaws, and a wire twisting means, wire twisting wheel 52 or 70, engaging the wires, A and B, extending between the jaws. More particularly, Vthere has been provided a wire splicer which comprises a spring frame 24 adapted to be mounted upon a supporting surface, such as the base 30 or a table top or a. Wall, the frame 24 having spaced looped legs 20 and 22 arranged in opposed relation, spaced jaws 12, 14 and 16, 18 carried by each of the legs 20 and 22 respectively and disposed in divergent relation diverging from each other as they recede from the frame 24, each jaw ot the spaced jaws upon each 1eg adapted to clamp a wire therein with the wire extending between a jaw on each of the legs while the other of the spaced jaws on each leg are adapted to clamp another wire therein and extending therebetween to be spliced to the lrst wire, and a wire twisting means which engages both of the wires to twist them together to dene a splice.

It is possible, as an alternative, to splice wires a and b' as they extend in spaced relation across the device as shown in Figure 10 but with the spools arranged at opposite ends of the device to that shown in Figure 10, by positioning the twisting device between jaws 12, 14 and 16, 18, under wire b and over wire a'. Twist the wires together by use of the twisting device, which may be a pin as well as a twisting wheel, for the required number of revolutions to insure a splice. If a pin is to be employed, it will be placed between wires a and b and then rotated in an arcuate path about an axis apt proximately centrally intermediate of its ends so as to engage the Wire as it is rotated.

After the required number of revolutions, the twisting device will back turn a couple of revolutions to leave va loop through which the twisting device, such as a pin can be removed. The short -ends are then severed adjacent the splice in the manner hereinbefore described.

While there are shown and described lthe preferred embodiment of the invention, it is to be understood that lthe structure is susceptible to change and modification within the practicability of the invention and therefore should be limited only by the scope of the claims appended hereto.

What is claimed is:

1. A device for clamping strands of wire to be spliced by being twisted together, comprising a spring frame adapted to be tixedly mounted upon a supporting surface, a resilient leg arranged in an upright direction positioned at opposite ends of said frame, and a pair of laterally spaced upstanding jaws carried by each leg, complementary ones of said pairs of jaws on said legs being adapted to clampingly engage a strand of wire therebetween and the complementary others of said pairs of jaws being adapted to clampiugly engage another strand of wire therebetween, said pairs of spaced jaws being movable toward each other against the resiliency of the associated legs upon aplication of a twisting force directed to the intermediate portions of said strands when supported between said pairs of jaws so as to twist the strands together -to form a splice.

2. A device for clamping strands of wire to be spliced by being twisted together, comprising a spring frame adapted to be fixedly mounted upon a supporting surface, said frame being a flat piece of spring material having a straight bight portion adapted to be ixedly secured upon the supporting surface intermediate its ends and a looped leg arranged in an upright direction formed at opposite ends of said bight and arranged in opposing relation, a `laterally spaced pair of jaws carried by each leg, each jaw comprising a pair of upstanding legs disposed in face to face relation extending through the looped portion of the associated leg with the upper portion of each of said ilegs extending beyond the associated leg, said upper leg portions being arranged in diverging relation to dene a wire strand receiving entrance therebetween, complementary ones `of said pairs of jaws being adapted to clampingly hold therebetween a strand of wire received `through the strand receiving entrances and complementary others of said pairs of jaws being adapted to clampingly hold therebetween another strand of wire received through said strand receiving entrances, said pairs of spaced jaws lbeing movable toward each other against the resiliency of the associated legs upon application of a twisting force directed to the intermediate portions of said strands when supported between said pairs of jaws to twist the strands together to form a splice.

3. A device for clamping strands of wire to be spliced by being twisted together, comprising a spring frame adapted to be xedly mounted upon a supporting surface, a resilient -leg arranged in an upright direction positioned at opposite ends of said frame, and a pair of laterally spaced upstanding jaws carried by each leg, said pairs of jaws being arranged in diverging relation to each other as they lrecede from said frame, complementary ones of said pairs of jaws on said legs being adapted to clampingly engage a strand of wire therebetween and the complementary others of said pairs of jaws being adapted to clampingly engage another strand of wire therebetween, said pairs of spaced jaws being movable toward each other against the resiliency of the associated legs upon application of a twisting force directed to the intermediate portions of said strands when supported between said pairs of jaws so as to twist the strands together to form a splice.

References Cited in the ile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 352,853 Brush Nov. 16, 1886 476,754 Mendelson June 7, 1892 851,955 Morford Apr. 30, 1907 877,808 Tower Jan. 28, 1908 902,389 Fodor Oct. 27, 1908 902,764 Rodgers Nov. 3, 1908 1,702,547 Pyle et al. Feb. 19, 1929 2,310,774 Garbe et al Feb. 9, 1943 2,688,988 Ott et al Sept. 14, 1954 2,737,917 Steele Mar. 13, 1956 2,768,428 MacGregor et al Oct. 30, 1956 FOREIGN PATENTS 16,762 Great Britain Sept. 15, 1904

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