Wire bending device

[57] ABSTRACT

A device which can bend wire in any one of numerous regular patterns so that the wire can be dipped into a plastic solution to form simulated flowers, comprising a frame which can hold a spool of wire that is fed through guides that bend it in a selected pattern. The device includes a pair of wheels with contacting peripheries for feeding the wire into a pair of guides, one being a stationary guide and the other a movable guide that pivots in a regular pattern to determined the shape in which the wire will be formed. The movable guide is mounted at one end of a pivotally mounted arm whose other end is moved by a programmable cam arrangement. The programmable cam arrangement includes several holes formed in one of the wheels, pins which can be inserted into any of the holes, and a spring that urges the arm against the pins so that as the wheel rotates the pins pivot the lever to turn the movable guide.

Claims, 9 Drawing Figures

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PATENTED JUN 2 7 ig?z

3,672,408

SHEET 1 OF 3

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PATENTED JUN 2 7 1972

3,672,408

SHEET 2 OF 3

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3,672,408

WIRE BENDING DEVICE

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention:

This invention relates to wire bending apparatus.

2. Description of the Prior Art:

Attractive articles representing flowers or the like can be produced by bending wire in closed loops to form a flower outline and briefly dipping the wire outline into a liquid plastic. The plastic forms a film covering the area surrounded by the wire to produce an attractive article. One of the difficulties that children experience in making attractive articles using the dipping method, is forming the wire in a smoothly curving shape, instead of with several sharp bends. An economical and simply operable toy which allowed children to bend wire in a regular shape would not only provide entertainment by itself, but would enhance the process of producing film-covered articles.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An object of the present invention is to provide a simple and economical device for bending wire in a selected pattern.

Another object is to provide a toy which can be operated by children to form wire in smoothly curved closed loops.

In accordance with one embodiment of the present invention, a wire bending toy is provided which can be operated by a child to form wire into a selected pattern of closed loops which are suitable, after a simple twisting or other fixing operation, for dipping into a plastic solution to form an article covered by a plastic film. The device includes a housing or frame for holding a spool of wire, the frame carrying a pair of wheels with contacting peripheral portions for feeding wire between them. A fixed guide is mounted on the frame to guide wire leaving the wheels, and a movable guide is provided for bending wire that leaves the fixed guide. The movable guide is mounted at a first end of an arm that is pivotally mounted on the frame. One of the wheels has several holes in it which can receive pins that bear against a second end of the arm. As the wheel rotates, the pins pivot the arm in a predetermined manner so that the movable guide bends the wire in a corresponding manner. The other wheel has a handle which can be turned to cause both wheels to turn so that wire is fed between the wheels while the movable guide is moved in a preselected pattern.

The novel features of the invention are set forth with particularity in the appended claims. The invention will be best understood from the following description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a wire bending toy constructed in accordance with one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a view taken on the line 2—2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view taken on the line 3—3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view taken on the line 4—4 of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a partial plan view of the toy of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a reduced-size vipw similar to FIG. 5, showing a first step involved in forming a wire outline;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6, illustrating a later step in the bending of a wire outline;

FIG. 8 is a plati view of a wire outline which can be formed in the manner indicated in FIGS. 6 and 7; and

FIG 9 is a reduced-size view of the apparatus of FIG. 5, showing it set up to form a continuous circle.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

As illustrated in FIG. 1, the wire bending device includes a housing or frame 10 which has a handle portion 12 that can be held in the hand. A post 14, whose shape and manner of installation are indicated in phantom lines, can hold a spool 16 con taining wire 18 that is to be formed, so that the spool is free to rotate and feed off wire. A pair of wheels 20, 22 is rotatably mounted on the frame, with the peripheral portions 24, 26 of the wheels adjacent to each other to grip wire that lies between them. When the wheels rotate, they can pull the wire 18 from the spool 16 through a preliminary guide 28 that is fixed to the frame, and feed the wire through a first guide 30 that is also fixed to the frame, and through a second or movable guide 32. The second guide 32 is mounted at one end of an arm 34 that is pivotally mounted on the frame. The position of the arm 34, and therefore of the second guide 32, determines whether and at what angle the wire 18 will be bent.

The position of the arm 34, and therefore the angle at which wire will be bent, may be determined by the location of one or more pins 36 in apertures 38 that are formed in wheel 20. A spring in the form of a rubber band 40 extends between a post 42 on the arm and an end of the post 14 on which the wire spool is mounted. The rubber band 40 urges the arm 34 to pivot towards a stop 44 at the hub of the wheel 20, wherein the second guide 32 is oriented to direct wire in the same direction as the first guide 30, so that the wire does not bend. However, if a pin 36 has been inserted into one of the apertures 38 of the wheel, then as the wheel turns, the pin 36 will bear against the arm 34 and cause it to pivot away from the stop 44. Such a situation is shown in FIG. 6 wherein a pin 36α is shown bearing against the arm so that the arm is moved to a position 346. With a pin 36 in one of the apertures 38 of the wheel, rotation of the wheel causes the arm to pivot back and forth in a smooth fashion as wire is fed through the guides, to form a smooth change in the bending of the wire so that a smoothly curved flower frame is formed.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the arm 34 is pivotally mounted on a post 46 that extends downwardly from a bar 48 of the frame 10, the bar extending laterally across a forward portion of the frame. The axis of rotation 50 of the arm 34 passes through the wire 18 near the point where it emerges from the first guide 30. The second guide 32 which is mounted on the arm, is formed by a pair of pins 51, 52 which extend downwardly from the arm and which are intended to lie on opposite sides of the wire 18. As the arm 34 pivots about its axis 50, the second guide 32 moves primarily in a turning motion so that wire can smoothly enter between the pins 51, 52 but the wire must undergo a bend in order to do so. This bending of wire as it is continuously fed through the guides, results in the wire assuming a curve.

As the wire bends, it may tend to spiral up or down from the level of the guide 30. A lip portion 54 formed on the arm resists upward spiralling, which could cause the wire to become entangled. Accordingly, wire which has been formed tends to droop below the level of wire which is being formed. The handle 12 is formed so that the frame 10 is naturally held with the axes of rotation of the wheels 20, 22 substantially vertical. This causes the wire to be fed horizontally so that succeeding loops that are formed will tend to lie a small distance below the preceding loops. In addition, the arm 34 is pivotally mounted about a substantially vertical axis so the second guide 32 bends wire about a substantially vertical axis, and wire loops tend to lie below one another. If the wire were bent about a largely horizontal axis, then the weight of wire hanging down from the wire portion being formed would have a large effect in determining radius of curvature, and the patterns would not be as closely repetitious.

In order to operate the device, a child holds the handle 12 in one hand and must cause the wheels 20. 22 to turn. A handle 56 in the form of two projections on the wheel 22 can be grasped by a child to turn the wheel 22. A pair of gears 58,60 on the wheels 20, 22 which are engaged at a level below the path of the wire 18, assure that the two wheels will tum together. The peripheral portions 24, 26 of the wheels are constructed of soft rubber so that the wheels can bear hard against each other to assure firm gripping and therefore positive feeding of the wire. As a child turns the handle 56, the wire is simultaneously fed through the guides while the second

3,672,408 guide 32 moves in a preselected manner, so that a wire form of preselected shape is smoothly formed.

A common shape of flower outline is shown in FIG. 8, the wire forming three loops. FIG. 6 illustrates the manner in which one of the loops is formed, the wire originally being straight as indicated at 18α and then being provided with a constantly increasing curvature at 18b as the pin 36α pivots the arm 34 constantly further from its initial position. As the wheel 20 continues to rotate, further portions of wire will be bent less sharply to form an almost symmetrical lobe. If the arm 34 were of constant cross section along its length, then the end of the lobe would be oriented at an angle that would cause the next lobe to be formed, by the next pin 36c, so that it would lie largely over the first lobe. In order to have the lobes radiate in different directions from a central region of the wire outline, the toy is constructed so that near the end of the lobe formation, the second guide 32 quickly returns to a position wherein it does not bend the wire. To accomplish this, the arm is provided with a beveled portion 62, which as shown in FIG. 7, allows the arm to quickly return to its original position near the end of a lobe formation. This allows the next lobe to radiate in a different direction to form a more interesting flower shape. It may be noted that after several lobes are formed to create the outline shown in FIG. 8, and the wire is cut, the lobes may be twisted around the center of the wire outline to hold them more firmly in position. The wire frame may then be attached to a thread or stiff wire and dipped into a plastic solution.

In some situations, it is desirable to form the wire into a continuous circle. As shown in FIG. 1, a bracket portion 64 is formed in the frame which has several holes 66 for receiving pins 36. When a pin is in one of the holes 66 of the bracket 64, the arm 34 may be held in a stationary position, but with the second guide 32 oriented to bend wire feeding by it. The wire is then formed in a circle of constant diameter, or in the case of successive circles, the wire forms a helix of constant diameter. FIG. 9 illustrates the situation where a pin 36d has been inserted into one of the holes, to form the wire 18d into a continuous coil. The particular one of the holes 66 into which the pin has been inserted determines the diameter of the helix. Of course, pins can be inserted not only into one of the stationary apertures 66, but also into one of the apertures 38 on the wheel 20, so that a figure with two patterns is formed. It may be noted that the holes 38 in the wheel 20 are arranged along three concentric circles, to bend the wire at different maximum sharpnesses. A wide variety of wire bending patterns can be selected, and a child often finds it highly entertaining to discover the relationship between placement of pins in the apertures and the wire patterns that are formed. The fact that the wire patterns generally include wire bent in a smooth fashion, and that long lengths of wire are bent in a repetitious manner, makes the resulting wire patterns attractive.

Thus, the invention provides a wire bending device which is especially useful as a toy to form wire into attractive shapes, and which is especially useful for forming flower outlines that can be dipped into a plastic solution to form flower-like articles. The device utilizes a pair of wheels for feeding wire from a spool through a guide, and utilizes a guide that can be programmed in a selected manner to determine the shape of the resulting wire pattern. The programming of movements of the second guide is accomplished by merely placing or removing pins from apertures. Some of the apertures are in one of the wheels that is utilized to feed out wire, to provide a highly simplified device. A handle for turning the wheels is positioned on the other wheel so that no additional crank and gear mechanism is required, other than gears that couple the two wheels together.

Although particular embodiments of the invention have been described and illustrated herein, it is recognized that modifications and variations may readily occur to those skilled in the art and, consequently, it is intended that the claims be interpreted to cover such modifications and equivalents.