US2984266A - Lamp filament mounting apparatus - Google Patents

Description

May 16, 1961 E. J. LOHREY ETAL LAMP FILAMENT MOUNTING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 lnven tovs: Edwin JLohveg, Louis A.De) c hocl STT, Z6 W Their A i zvneg.

Filed Oct. 9, 1957 May 16, 1961 E. .1. LOHREY ETAL LAMP FILAMENT MOUNTING APPARATUS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Oct. 9, 1957 Invenfovs: Edwin J. Lo hve Louis ADamchock b zz f H Theh- Artirneg United States Patent LAMP FILAMENT MOUNTING APPARATUS Edwin J. Lohrey, Maple Heights, and Louis A. Demchock, Sr., Cleveland, Ohio, assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Oct. 9, 1957, Ser. No. 689,079

9 Claims. (Cl. 14071.6)

Our invention relates generally to apparatus for mounting or attaching the filament of an incandescent lamp or similar device on the internal supporting structure of the lamp.

The present invention is especially concerned with lamps of the so-called axial or vertical filament type wherein the coiled filament is arranged in alignment with the axis of a supporting stem and is attached to the ends of a pair of lead-in wires which extend from the stem generally longitudinally of the axis and on opposite sides thereof and for different distances beyond the stem and which have end portions bent to extend laterally toward the axis to respective ends of the filament.

It is an object of this invention to provide apparatus for mounting filaments on lamp stems of the axial filament type which will operate automatically at high rates of speed and will accurately locate the filament on the stem assembly and secure it thereto and will also assure that a predetermined uniform length of the filament is located and connected between the supporting lead wire ends regardless of unavoidable variations in length of the filament coils delivered to the mechanism.

Further features and advantages of our invention will appear from the following description of a species thereof and from the drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a lamp mount with a fragmentary showing of various filament and lead wire positioning members of the mounting apparatus;

Fig. 2 is a side elevation of the mounting apparatus as it appears at the moment of completing the attachment of the filament to the lead wires;

Fig. 3 is a front elevation of the mounting apparatus with certain portions of the upper part broken away to permit viewing the lamp mount;

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the apparatus;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail, on an enlarged scale, of one pair of clamping jaws and associated filament positioning members;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged perspective view of one filament clamping jaw and associated filament positioning members;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary perspective view of driving cam means for the apparatus;

Figs. 8 and 9 are fragmentary elevations showing different operating positions of clamping arm actuating cams; and

Fig. 10 is a fragmentary perspective view of a filament transfer arm.

Referring to Fig. 1, the stem' 1, upon which the filament 2 is to be mounted, comprises a glass stem tube 3 and a concentric glass exhaust tube 4 which are joined together at their lower ends in a fused press or seal portion 5 from which extends a glass arbor 6. The stem also includes a pair of relatively short and long lead wires 7 and 8 which have portions thereof imbedded in the press portion 5 and which extend therefrom generally downwardly and longitudinally of the axis of the stem and on opposite sides thereof. The lead wires 7 and 8 ice 2 have end portions 9 and 10 extending laterally of the axis of the stern and terminating in open hook portions 11 located at said axis and facing in opposite directions.

The mounting mechanism comprising the present invention is located at a station to which the stems 1 are brought by a plurality of holders, one of which is reppresented by the jaws 12, and which are mounted at the periphery of a conventional intermittently indexed rota'table turret (not shown).

The clamping jaws and the major part of the lead wire and filament positioning means are carried by two pairs of clamping arms or levers 14, 15 and 16, 17 (Figs. 2, 3 and 4). These arms will be referred to hereinafter as the respective back arms 14 and 16 and front arms 15 and 17 of each pair, the terms back and front being used to indicate the location of the arm when viewed from in front of the turret looking toward the center thereof as is the case in Fig. 3.

The arms 14, 15 pivot about a lower pin 18 and are used for clamping the lower end of the filament, and the arms 16, 17 pivot about an upper pin 19 to clamp the upper end of the filament. The pins 18 and 19 are each supported by two of the three sections 20, 21 and 22 of a bracket 23 (Figs. 2, 3 and 4) which is fixedly mounted on a stationary part of the machine. The lower ends of the arms 1417 are provided with rollers 24. The rollers 24 on the pair of arms 14, 15 operate on a cam 25 and are held against the cam by a spring 26 extending between the arms; similarly, the rollers 24 on arms 16, 17 operate on a cam 27 and are held against the cam by a spring 28. The cams 25 and 27 are mounted on opposite sides of a cam slide 29 which is vertically reciprocated in a slot 35 in a downward extension of the bracket section 21.

The said cams 25 and 27 are actuated by a face cam 30 (Fig. 7) through a roller 31, yoke 32 and drive rod 33 which bears against the slide 29. The rod 33 is also connected to slide 29 by a pin 34 to assure that the slide will follow the rod on the down stroke.

At the time a stem 1 is indexed into place at the station occupied by the mounting apparatus, the earns 25, 27 are at their lowest position, shown in Fig. 8, by virtue of engagement of the roller 31 (Fig. 7) with an idle portion 44) of the track in cam 30, and the pairs of clamping arms 14, 15 and 16, 17 are in an open position, the arms 14, 16 being to the rear side of the vertical plane through the stem axis and leads 7, 8, and the arms 15, 17 being to the front of the said plane.

The clamping arm earns 25 and 27 are: then moved upward to the position shown in Fig. 9 by virtue of a rise portion 4-1 which extends over an angle of 30 degrees of the cam 30. Thereby, the back arms 14 and 16 are pivoted to their final positions by virtue of passage of their rollers 24 across the inclined portions 42 and 43 of respective earns 25 and 27 and onto the vertical surfaces 44 and 45 thereof.

During this part of the cycle, and for a portion of the idle to follow, the filament 2 is transferred into position for clamping. This transfer operation is preferably performed by filament transfer mechanism located at the station occupied by the clamping mechanism and includ ing a horizontally disposed transfer arm 46, a portion of which is shown in Fig. 10 and indicated in dot-dash lines in Fig. 1. The arm 46 is of the suction-holding type and has transverse slot 47 adjacent its end to which suction is applied through the hollow interior of the arm to hold the filament by its main coiled-coil body portion with the singly coiled leg portions 48 (Fig. 6) of the filament projecting beyond opposite sides of the arm. The arm 46, holding the filament 2 in a horizontal position, is moved rectilinearly to bring the filament into the plane of the lead wires 7 and 8 and is then rotated degrees to bring the filament into the vertical position shown in Fig. 1 with its legs 48 located within the books 11 on the end portions 9 and 10 of respective lead wires 7 and 3. The filament transfer mechanism may be similar to that shown in Patent 2,781,796, Dilts et al.; however, in this case the filament gripping slot 47 is located slightly back from the end of the arm 46 rather than extending across that end as in the patent, the filament 2 being dropped into the slot 47 which is uppermost in the retracted position of the arm 46, thereby dispensing with the need for a supplemental dipping motion of the arm 46 to pick up a filament as is the case in the showing in the said patent.

During the pivoting motion of the clamping arms 14 and 16 to their upright closed position, a clamping jaw 50 on arm 14 (similar to the jaw 91 in Fig. 6) is brought into position and a V-shaped groove 51 in its working face engages the lower hook 11 on the end portion 10 of lead wire 8; and a similar jaw 52 on arm 16 is brought into the same operative relation to the upper hook 11 on the end portion 9 of lead wire 7. The jaws 50 and 52 back up the respective lead wires during the transfer of the filament 2. Also at this time the lead wires are gathered and properly placed, if they should be slightly out of position, by a finger member 53 (Figs. 1 and 3) mounted on clamping arm 14, and a similar finger member 54 mounted on arm 16. Each of the fingers 53 and 54 is provided with a V-shaped notch 55 terminating in a slot 56 which snugly receives portions of the respective lead wires 7 and 8. Also at this time lower and upper filament gauging buttons 57 and 58 are brought into position opposite the respective ends or legs 48 of the filament 2. The lower button 57 is supported by a leaf spring 59 (Fig. 3) from arm 14 at a position below, or at the outer side of, jaw 50; and the upper button 58 is supported by a leaf spring 60 fro-m arm 16 and at a position above, or at the outer side of, jaw (52.

In order further to assure proper positioning of the lead wires, there is provided a pair of horizontally extending, angularly bent, upper and lower pusher rods 65 and 6-6 (Figs. 1, 2 and 3) which are attached at one end to a post 67 which is mounted for rotation in an extension 68 on the bracket 23. The post 67 is normally held by a torsion spring 69 in a rotative position such as to hold the rods 65 and 66 away from the path of the leads 7 and 8 when the stem 1 is indexed into place. At the start of the mounting operation, the rods 65 and 66 are moved into engagement with the lead wires 7 and 8 by rotation of the post 67 counterclockwise as viewed from above. This rotation is effected by a push rod 70 which engages an arm 71 (Figs. 2 and 3) and which is actuated through a lever 72 (Fig. 7), stud 73 and take-up spring 74, and link 75 attached to drive rod 33. The rods 65 and 66 are limited in their travel by engagement of arm '71 with a stop stud 76 (Fig. 2) on bracket 68, and further motion of drive rod 3 3 is absorbed by spring 74. If the leads are originally misplaced slightly toward the rods 65 and 66, they will be moved back thereby to a position where they are properly engaged by the V-slot-ted fingers 53 and 54.

The rods 65 and 66 are also preferably provided with downwardly extending portions 77 and 78, respectively, which engage the lateral lead wire ends 9 and 10, respectively, and hold those ends against displacement sideways by the positioning cam members 79 and 80 (Fig. 1). The cam members 79 and 80 have inclined faces 83 which engage and bend the lead wire ends 9 and 10 slightly upward to the proper elevation to be engaged by the faces 51 of jaws 50, 52. The said cam members 79 and 80 are mounted on the respective clamping arms 14 and 16 and are moved into position by those arms.

In the presently preferred arrangement, as just described, the stem 1 arrives at the filament mounting station with the lateral lead wire ends 9 and 1t) purposely bent to extend slightly below the desired final horizontal position. Since the wires 7 and 8 of different stems may differ slightly in their resilience, and therefore in the amount of spring-back of the ends 9 and 10 when those ends are shaped at a preceding station, it is preferred to bend them an amount such that they will in all cases extend slightly below the horizontal and will therefore be engaged and raised by the inclined faces 83 of cam fingers 79 and 80. However, it will be apparent that, if desired, the lateral lead portions 9 and 10 might be initially bent deliberately to extend slightly above the horizontal; in that case the cam surfaces 83 would be inclined downwardly to the rear, instead of upwardly, so as to push the lead wire ends 9 and 10 downwardly to the correct elevation, or the said cam surfaces 83 might be V-shaped to correct misalignment in either direction.

Also during the first rise of cam 30 which moves clamping arm cams 25 and 27 to the position shown in Fig. 9, the front clamping arms 15 and 17 are moved slightly toward their closed position by virtue of the fact that their rollers 24 ride part way along the inclined surfaces 81 and 82 of the respective earns 25 and 27. However, this motion is insufficient to perform any act toward completion of the clamping operation.-

The completion of the transfer of filament 2, during which it is rotated to a vertical position to bring its ends or legs 48 into the lead wire hooks 11, occurs during an idle period when the cams 25 and 27 are held in the position shown in Fig. 9 by virtue of engagement of cam roller 31 (Fig. 7) with an idle portion 85 of the track in cam 30, which idle portion extends over an angle of 20 degrees.

Final positioning of the legs 48 of the filament 2, and gauging of the filament and clamping of the lead wire hooks 11 takes place when the cam roller 31 (Fig. 7) engages a second rise portion 86 of the track in a cam 30, which rise portion extends over an angle of 50 degrees. During this period the clamping arm earns 25 and 27 are moved up to the position shown in Fig. 2 so that the front clamping arms 15 and 17 are moved to their closed position. During this movement, the filament gauging buttons 57 and 58 are engaged by respective filament gauging cams 87 and 88 (Figs. 2, 3 and 6) which are mounted on respective clamping arms 15 and 17, whereby the buttons 57 and 58 are moved toward each other to a definite predetermined spacing to compress the filament coil 2. The said buttons 57 and 58 are normally held apart by their springs 59 and 60 a distance slightly greater than the free or relaxed length of the filament coil 2.

This filament gauging operation assures that each leg portion 48 extends a definite predetermined distance beyond the adjacent lead wire book 11 with the result that a definite predetermined length of the filament is located between the books 11. The filament resistance is thereby made uniform in all cases. Contraction of the coiledcoil body portion of the filament is readily permitted by the yieldable grip of the suction arm 46. This gauging operation is necessitated by the fact that although all filament coils are wound with a uniform length of wire in the coil, nevertheless the length of the coils varies somewhat as an unavoidable result of diverences in expansion of the coils after the usual coiling and heat treating operations; this may be especially so as between lots of coils made at different times and/ or from different lots of wire. In most cases the filament coil is compressed by the gauging operation to such a degree that upon withdrawal of the filament transfer arm 46 (after the clamping of hooks 11 has been completed) the filament coil bows out appreciably to a shallow Sshape. This is taken care of at a subsequent station (not shown) to which the stem or mount is indexed and where the lateral portions 9 and 10 of the lead wires are bent apart to a predetermined spacing of the hooks 11 sufficient to place the filament coil under a slightly tension.

Upon continued movement of the clamping arms 15 and 17, the legs 48 of the filament 2 are pushed sideward and back into the ends of the hooks 11 by wedging means comprising an angularly bent filament leg guide wire 90 (Figs. 1 and 6). The said guide wires 90 are mounted on and project beyond the working faces of respective lower and upper clamping jaws 91 and 92 car ried by the respective arms 15 and 17. It will be understood that the clamping jaws 50, 52, 91 and 9'2 are all of similar construction except for the addition of the guide wires 90 to the jaws 9:1 and 92 on the front arms 15 and 17. As indicated in Fig. 3, the lower jaws 50 and 91, and the upper jaws 52 and 92, extend laterally from the respective arms 14-, 16, 15 and 17 to bring the working faces 51 (Fig. 6) into opposed relationship at the axis of the stem 1 and on opposite sides of the respective lower and upper hooks 11 on lead wire portions 10 and 9. Each of the said jaws 50, 52, 91 and 92 also has an arcuate cutaway portion 93 in one corner to provide clearance for the filament transfer arm 46.

Final movement of the front clamping arms 15 and 17 to the position shown in Fig. 2 causes the lead wire hooks 11 to be clamped tightly onto the respective filament legs 48 by the V-shaped working faces 51 of the respective pairs of jaws 50, 91 for the lower hook and jaws 52, 92 for the upper hook.

The cam roller 31 (Fig. 7) is next engaged by an idle surface 94 covering 30 degrees of the track in cam 30, during which the supply of suction to the filament transfer arm 46 is shut off and the arm is retracted rectilinearly. The filament 2 has sufficient resilience to readily pass over the lip 95 at the front end of the arm 46; however, release of the filament from the arm is further assured by a puff of air under slight pressure through the arm 46 and its filament gripping slot 47.

The idle surface 94 of the track in cam 31) is followed by a drop surface 96 extending over an angle of 70 degrees to the idle surface 41); the clamping arms 14, 15 and 16, 17 being returned to open position during travel of cam roller 31 over the said drop surface. The lead wire positioning rods 65 and 66 are also swung back out of the path of the lead wires 7 and 8 at this time.

To recapitulate briefly, when the stem 1 is indexed into place before the mounting apparatus, the pairs of clamping jaws 14, 15 and 16, 17 are in an open position by virtue of the fact that the actuating earns 25 and 27 therefor are at their lowest elevation as seen in Fig. 8. In the first portion of the operating cycle, the said earns 25 and 27 are raised to the elevation shown in Fig. 9 whereby the back clamping arms 14 and 16 are moved to their full closed position shown in Fig. 2. During this time, intermediate vertical portions of the lead wires 7 and 8 are engaged from the front by portions of the horizontal rods 65 and 66 (Figs. 1, 2 and 3) when those rods are swung by rotation of their supporting post 67, and horizontal end portions 9 and 10 of the lead wires are engaged by depending portions 77 and 78 of said rods. The intermediate vertical portions of lead wires 7 and 8 are also engaged from the back in the V-shaped notches 55 of respective locating fingers 53 and 54 carried by arms 14 and 16, respectively, and the horizontal end portions 9 and 19 of the lead wires are engaged by the inclined front faces of cam members 79 and 80 also carried by the respective arms 14 and 16, whereby the lead wires are accurately positioned. The hook portions 11 of the lead wires 7 and 8 are also engaged by the V- shaped faces 51 of the jaws i) and 52 on respective arms 14 and 16. Also during this first portion of the cycle, and for a short interval during the following idle period, a filament 2 is carried in a horizontal position by transfer arm 46 into the plane of the lead wires 7 and 8 and is then rotated to the upright position shown in Fig. 1 to bring its end or leg portions 48 into the hooks 11 at the ends of the respective lead wires. The closing movement of the clamping arms 14, '16 also carries the filament gauging buttons 57 and 58 into position opposite the ends of the respective filament legs 48; the buttons 57 and 58 being carried by respective arms 14 and 16 and being spaced apart a distance slightly greater thanthe over-all length of the filament coil 2.

During the next portion of the operating cycle, the clamping arm earns 25 and 27 are raised to their highest elevation shown in Fig. 2 to effect closing motion of the front clamping arms 15 and 17. During this movement of arms 15 and 17, the filament gauging buttons 57 and 58 are pressed toward each other a short distance by cams 87 and 88 carried by respective arms 15 and 17 to thereby compress the filament coil 2 and leave a fixed predetermined length of the leg 48 at each end projecting beyond the adjacent lead wire hook 11 so that any variation in the length of the coil 2 will appear in the portion thereof between the hooks 11. Continued movement of the arms 15 and 17 causes the filament legs 48 to be pushed sidewardly into the backs of the respective hooks 11 by wedge or guide wire members 90 (Fig. 6) having end portions extending obliquely from the faces 51 of jaws 91 and 92 carried by the respective arms 15 and 17. Final movement of the clamping arms 15 and :17 causes the lead wire hooks 11 to be clamped between the working faces 51 of respective pairs of jaws 91, 50 and 92, 52, after which the filament transfer arm 46 is retracted.

While we have shown and described details of construction of a preferred embodiment of our invention, it will be understood that various changes, omissions or modifications may be made within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims.

What we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. Lamp filament mounting apparatus comprising means for holding and carrying to a clamping station a lamp stem having a pair of lead wires extending downwardly for different distances on opposite sides of the vertical stem axis and having vertically spaced end portions extending laterally toward the axis and terminating in open hook portions at said axis, lead wire positioning means at said clamping station comprising, V- notched finger members mounted to be located at one side of the vertical plane including the lead wires of the stem in said holding means and means mounting said finger members for movement into engagement with the downwardly extending portions of respective lead wires to receive them in the V-notches, and opposed pusher members at said clamping station mounted to be located at the other side of said vertical plane and means mounting said pusher members for movement into engagement with said downwardly extending portions of the respective lead wires to assure entry thereof into the notches of said finger members, and additional positioning members at said clamping station comprising cam members mounted to be located at the same side of said vertical plane as said finger members and having inclined faces engageable with the laterally extending portions of respective lead wires to urge them in an upward direction, and opposed additional pusher members at said clamping station mounted to be located at the same side of said vertical plane as the first-mentioned pusher members and movable into engagement with the said laterally extending portions of respective lead wires to resist lateral displacement thereof by said cam members, means at said clamping station for holding a coiled filament by engagement with its midportion and actuating means including means mounting-said holding means for delivering the said filament to the stem with its axis vertical and with end leg portions of the filament extending through respective hook portions of said lead wires and means for subsequently releasing the filament from the holding means, pairs of clamping jaws at said clamping station mounted for movement into engagement with the hook portions of respective lead wires, and means for actuating said lead wire positioning means and said jaws for engagement of said positioning means with the downwardly and laterally extending portions of said lead Wires just prior to delivery of the filament into the lead wire 7 hooks and followed by engagement of said jaws with said hook portions of the lead wires to close them upon the filament legs.

2. Lamp filament mounting apparatus comprising means for holding and carrying to a clamping station a lamp stern having a pair of lead wires extending downwardly for different distances on opposite sides of the vertical stern axis and having vertically spaced end portions extending laterally toward the axis and terminating in open hook portions at said axis, lead wire positioning means at said clamping station comprising members mounted to be located at opposite sides of the vertical plane including the lead wires of the stem in said holding means and means mounting said members for movement into engagement with the downwardly extending portions of said lead wires to gather said wires and accurately position them, and additional positioning members at said clamping station and means mounting said additional positioning members for movement into engagement with the lateral end portions of said lead wires to position them vertically, means at said clamping station for holding a coiled filament by engagement with its midportion and actuating means including means mounting said holding means for delivering the said filament to the stem with its axis vertical and with end leg portions of the filament extending through respective hook portions of said lead wires and means for subsequently releasing the filament from the holding means, pairs of clamping jaws at said clamping station mounted for movement into engagement with the hook portions of respective lead wires, gauging means at said clamping station mounted to be located outside of said vertical plane and including vertically spaced contact members and means mounting said contact members for movement into said plane to positions adjacent the respective end legs of the filament in said filament holding means and for further movement toward each other to a predetermined degree to engage the said end legs of the coiled filament and compress it axially to leave a predetermined length of said legs projecting beyond the lead wire hooks, and means for actuating said lead wire positioning means, said gauging means and said jaws for engagement of said positioning means with the downwardly and laterally extending portions of said lead wires just prior to delivery of the filament into the lead wire hooks and followed by actuation of said gauging means to move them as aforesaid and then by engagement of said jaws with said hook portions of the lead wires to close them upon the filament legs.

3. Lamp filament mounting apparatus comprising means for holding and carrying to a clamping station a lamp stem having a pair of lead wires extending downwardly for different distances on opposite sides of the vertical stem axis and having vertically spaced end portions extending laterally toward the axis and terminating in open hook portions at said axis, means at said clamping station for holding a coiled filament by engagement with a portion thereof intermediate its ends and actuating means including means mounting said holding means for delivering the said filament to the stem with the filament extending vertically with end legs thereof extending through said hook portions of the lead wires, and means for subsequently releasing the filament from the holding means and clamping mechanism at said clamping station including two pairs of clamping arms having contiguous working end portions provided with jaws arranged to clamp the hook portions of respective lead wires therebetween, each said pair of arms including a back arm mounted to be located behind the vertical plane through the lead wires of the stem in said stern holding means and a front arm mounted to be located at the front of said plane, a lead wire positioning finger member mounted on each back arm to be engageable with the downwardly extending portion of a respective lead wire upon closing motion of the back arms to gather the respective wires and accurately position them, pusher members mounted adjacent the said working end portions of the front arms to be at the front of said vertical plane and movable into engagement with said downwardly extending portions of respective lead wires to hold them aganst said finger members, ad ditional positioning members mounted on respective back arms and operable upon closing motion of said back arms to engage the laterally extending portions of respective lead wires and position them at a predetermined elevation, said pusher members including additional portions engageable with the said laterally extending portions of the lead wires to resist displacement thereof out of said vertical plane, and actuating means for said clamping arms and said pusher members operable to move said back clamping arms to their closed position to effect engagement of both the first-mentioned positioning finger members and the said additional positioning members with respective portions of the lead wires as aforesaid and to move said pusher member into engagement with respective portions of said lead wires prior to delivery of the filament into the lead wire hooks and to subsequently move the front clamping arms to closed position to clamp the lead wire hooks between said jaws.

4. Lamp filament mounting apparatus comprising means for holding and carrying to a clamping station a lamp stem having a pair of lead wires extending downwardly for different distances on opposite sides of the vertical stem axis and having vertically spaced end portions extending laterally toward the axis and terminating in open hook portions at said axis, means at said clamping station for holding a coiled filament by engagement with a portion thereof intermediate its ends and actuating means including means mounting said holding means for delivering the said filament to the stem with the filament extending vertically with end legs thereof extending through said hook portions of the lead wires, and means for subsequently releasing the filament from the holding means and clamping mechanism at said clamping station including two pairs of clamping arms having contiguous working end portions provided with jaws arranged to clamp the hook portions of respective lead wires there- 'between, each said pair of arms including a back arm mounted to be located behind the vertical plane through the lead wires of the stem in said stern holding means and a front arm mounted to be located at the front of said plane, a lead wire positioning finger member mounted on each back arm to be engageable wtih the downwardly extending portion of a respective lead wire upon closing motion of the back arms to gather the respective wires and accurately position them, pusher members mounted adjacent the said working end portions of the front arms to be at the front of said vertical plane and movable into engagement with said downwardly extending portions of respective lead wires to hold them against said finger members, additional positioning members mounted on respective back arms and operable upon closing motion of said back arms to engage the laterally extending portions of respective lead wires and position them at a predetermined elevation, said pusher members including additional portions engageable with the said laterally extending portions of the lead wires to resist displacement thereof out of said vertical plane, filament gauging button members carried by respective back clamping arms adjacent to the jaws thereon and at the outer sides of the working faces of said jaws so as to be located adjacent to respective end legs of the filament in said filament holding means when the said back clamping arms are in their closed positions, gauging cam means mounted on respective front clamping arms to be engageable with respective gauging buttons during closing motion of said front clamping arms to move said buttons toward each other to a predetermined degree to engage the filament end legs and compress the filament coil, and actuating means for said clamping arms and said pusher members operable to move said back clamping arms to their closed position to effect engagement of both the first-mentioned positioning finger members and the said additional positioning members with respective portions of the lead wires as aforesaid prior to delivery of the filament into the lead wire hooks, to bring said filament gauging buttons into position adjacent the end legs of the filament and to move said pusher members into engagement with respective portions of said lead wires and to subsequently move the front clamping arms to closed position to first cause said gauging cam means to move said gauging buttons toward each other as aforesaid and to then clamp the lead wire hooks between said jaws.

5. Lamp filament mounting apparatus comprising means for holding and carrying to a clamping station a lamp stem having a pair of lead wires extending downwardly for different distances on opposite sides of the vertical stem axis and having vertically spaced end portions extending laterally toward the axis and terminating in open hook portions at said axis, means at said clamp ing station for holding a coiled filament by engagement with a portion thereof intermediate its ends and actuating means including means mounting said holding means for delivering the said filament to the stem with the filament extending vertically with end legs thereof extending through said hook portions of the lead wires, and means for subsequently releasing the filament from the holding means, and clamping mechanism at said clamping station including two pairs of clamping arms having contiguous working end portions provided with jaws arranged to clamp the hook portions of respective lead wires therebetween, each said pair of arms including a back arm mounted to be located behind the vertical plane through the lead wires of the stem in said stem holding means and a front arm mounted to be located at the front of said plane, a lead wire positioning finger member mounted on each back arm to be engageable with the downwardly extending portion of a respective lead wire upon closing motion of the back arms to gather the respective wires and accurately position them, pusher members mounted adjacent the said working end portions of the front arms to be at the front of said vertical plane and movable into engagement with said downwardly extending portions of respective lead wires to hold them against said finger members, additional positioning members mounted on respective back arms and operable upon closing motion of said back arms to engage the laterally extending portions of respective lead Wires and position them at a predetermined elevation, said pusher members including additional portions engageable with the said laterally extending portions of the lead wires to resist displacement thereof out of said vertical plane, wedging means mounted on each of said front clamping arms adjacent to the jaw thereon and projecting beyond the working face of said jaw to engage a respective leg end of the filament to push it laterally into the back of the adjacent lead wire hook during closing motion of said front clamping arms, and actuating means for said clamping arms and said pusher members operable to move said back clamping arms to their closed position to effect engagement of both the first-mentioned positioning finger members and the said additional positioning members with respective portions of the lead wires as aforesaid and to move said pusher members into engagement with respective portions of said lead wires just prior to delivery of the filament into the lead Wire hooks and to subsequently move the front clamping arms to closed position to effect engagement of said wedging means with the filament end legs as aforesaid and to then clamp the lead wire hooks between said jaws.

6. Lamp filament mounting apparatus comprising means for holding and carrying to a clamping station a lamp stem having a pair of lead wires extending downwardly for different distances on opposite sides of the vertical stem axis and having vertically spaced upper and lower end portions extending laterally toward the axis and terminating in open hook portions at said axis, means at said clamping station for holding a coiled filament by engagement with a portion thereof intermediate its ends and actuating means including means mounting said holding means for delivering the said filament to the stem with the filament extending vertically with end legs thereof extending through said hook portions of the lead wires, and means for subsequently releasing the filament from the holding means and clamping mechanism at said clamping station including two pairs of substantially vertically disposed clamping arms arranged in side-by-side relation on lower and upper horizontal pivots, each said pair of arms including a back arm having its upper end located behind the vertical plane'through the lead wires of the stem in said stem holding means and a front arm located in front of said plane, lower jaws on the pair of arms having the lower pivot and arranged to close upon the hook in the lower laterally extending lead wire portion, upper jaws on the pair of arms having the upper pivot and arranged to close upon the hook in the upper laterally extending lead wire portion, lead wire positioning means comprising a finger member mounted on each back arm and having a V-notched face engageable with the downwardly extending portion of a respective lead wire upon closing motion of the back arms to gather the respective wires and accurately position them, and additional positioning members mounted on respective back arms and operable upon closing motion of said back arms to engage the laterally extending portions of re spective lead wires and position them at a predetermined elevation, and actuating means operable to first move said back clamping arms to their closed position to effect engagement of said positioning means with respective portions of the lead wires as aforesaid just prior to delivery of the filament into the lead wire hooks and to then move the front arms to closed position to clamp the lead wire hooks between said jaws.

7. Lamp filament mounting apparatus comprising means for holding and carrying to a clamping station a lamp stem having a pair of lead wires extending downwardly for different distances on opposite sides of the vertical stem axis and having vertically spaced upper and lower end portions extending laterally toward the axis and terminating in open hook portions at said axis, means at said clamping station for holding a coiled filament by engagement with a portion thereof intermediate its ends and actuating means including means mounting said holding means for delivering the said filament to the stem with the filament extending vertically with end legs thereof extending through said hook portions of the lead Wires, and means for subsequently releasing the filament from the holding means and clamping mechanism at said clamping station including two pairs of substantially vertically disposed clamping arms arranged in side-by-side relation on lower and upper horizontal pivots, each said pair of arms including a back arm having its upper end located behind the vertical plane through the lead wires of the stem in said stem holding means and a front arm located in front of said plane, lower jaws on the pair of arms having the lower pivot and arranged to close upon the hook in the lower laterally extending lead wire portion, upper jaws on the pair of arms havin the upper pivot and arranged to close upon the hook in the upper laterally extending lead wire portion, lead wire positioning means comprising a finger member mounted on each back arm and having a V-notched face engageable with the downwardly extending portion of a respective lead wire upon closing motion of the back arms to gather the respective wires and accurately position them, and additional positioning members mounted on respective back arms and operable upon closing motion of said back arms to engage the laterally extending portions of respective lead wires and position them at a predetermined elevation, pusher members mounted adjacent the upper ends of the front clamping arms and having portions thereof movable into engagement with the downwardly engaging portions and laterally extending portions of respective lead wires in opposition to respective positioning means, and actuating means for said clamping arms and said pusher members operable to first move said back clamping arms to their closed position to effect engagement of said positioning means with respective portions of the lead wires as aforesaid and to move said pusher members into engagement with said lead Wires as aforesaid just prior to delivery of the filament into the lead wire hooks and to then move the front arms to closed position to clamp the lead wire hooks between said jaws.

8. Lamp filament mounting apparatus comprising means for holding and carrying to a clamping station a lamp stern having a pair of lead wires extending downwardly for difierent distances on opposite sides of the vertical stem axis and having vertically spaced upper and lower end portions extending laterally toward the axis and terminating in open hook portions at said axis, means at said clamping station for holding a coiled filament by engagement with a portion thereof intermediate its ends and actuating means including means mounting said holding means for delivering the said filament to the stem with the filament extending vertically with end legs thereof extending through said hook portions of the lead wires, and means for subsequently releasing the filament from the holding means and clamping mechanism at said clamping station including two pairs of substantially vertically disposed clamping arms arranged in sideby-side relation on lower and upper horizontal pivots, each said pair of arms including a back arm having its upper end located behind the vertical plane through the lead wires of the stem in said stem holding means and a front arm located in front of said plane, lower jaws on the pair of arms having the lower pivot and arranged to close upon the hook in the lower laterally extending lead wire portion, upper jaws on the pair of arms having the upper pivot and arranged to close upon the hook in the upper laterally extending lead wire portion, lead wire positioning means comprising a finger member mounted on each back arm and having a V-notched face engageable with the downwardly extending portion of a respective lead wire upon closing motion of the back arms to gather the respective wires and accurately position them, and additional positioning members mounted on respective back arms and operable upon closing motion of said back arms to engage the laterally extending portions of respective lead wires and position them at a predetermined elevation, wedging means mounted on each of said front clamping arms adjacent to the jaw thereon and projecting beyond the working face of said jaw to engage a respective leg end of the filament to push it laterally into the back of the adjacent lead wire hook during closing motion of said front clamping arms, and actuating means operable to first move said back clamping arms to their closed position to effect engagement of said positioning means with respective portions of the lead wires as aforesaid just prior to delivery of the filament into the lead wire hooks and to then move the front arms to closed position to effect engagement of said wedging means with the filament end legs as aforesaid and to then clamp the lead wire hooks between said jaws.

9. Lamp filament mounting apparatus comprising means for holding and carrying to a clamping station a lamp stem having a pair of lead wires extending downwardly for different distances on opposite sides of the vertical stem axis and having vertically spaced upper and lower end portions extending laterally toward the axis and terminating in open hook portions at said axis, means at said clamping station for holding a coiled filament by engagement with a portion thereof intermediate its ends and actuating means including means mounting said holding means for delivering the said filament to the stem with the filament extending vertically with end legs thereof extending through said hook portions of the lead wires, and means for subsequently releasing the filament from the holding means and clamping mechanism at said clamping station including two pairs of substantially vertically disposed clamping arms arranged in side-by-side relation on lower and upper horizontal pivots, each said pair of arms including a back arm having its upper end located behind the vertical plane through the lead wires of the stem in said stem holding means and a front arm located in front of said plane, lower jaws on the pair of arms having the lower pivot and arranged to close upon the hook in the lower laterally extending lead wire portion, upper jaws on the pair of arms having the upper pivot and arranged to close upon the hook in the upper laterally extending lead wire portion, lead wire positioning means comprising a finger member mounted on each back arm and having a V-notched face engageable with the downwardly extending portion of a respective lead wire upon closing motion of the back arms to gather the respective wires and accurately position them, and additional positioning members mounted on respective back arms and operable upon closing motion of said back arms to engage the laterally extending portions of respective lead wires and position them at a predetermined elevation, filament gauging button members resiliently mounted on respective back clamping arms adjacent to the jaws thereon, the button member on the arm having the lower pivot being below the associated jaw thereon and the button member on the arm having the upper pivot being above the associated jaw thereon so that said buttons are located adjacent to respective end legs of the filament in said filament holding means when the said back clamping arms are in their closed position, gauging cam means mounted on respective front clamping arms to be engageable with respective gauging buttons during closing motion of said front clamping arms to move said buttons toward each other to a predetermined degree to engage the filament end legs and compress the filament coil, and actuating means operable to first move said back clamping arms to their closed position to effect engagement of said positioning means with respective portions of the lead wires as aforesaid just prior to delivery of the filament into the lead wire hooks and to bring said filament gauging buttons into position adjacent the end legs of the filament and to then move the front arms to closed position to first cause said gauging cam means to move said gauging buttons toward each other as aforesaid and to then clamp the lead wire hooks between said aws.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

Images