Method and apparatus for gathering a ring shaped wire rod

In a method for gathering a ring shaped wire rod, wherein the ring shaped wire rod is continuously conveyed, dropped from a conveying device onto a coil plate, for carrying said ring shaped wire rod, in a gathering tub, and gathered in the form of a coil,

• the improvement which comprises:
• (1) controlling the lowering speed of said coil plate, which is vertically displaceable in said gathering tub, by optically detecting the piling position of the ring shaped wire and thereby adjusting the coil plate in accordance with the detecting of the piling position in a manner such that the piling position of said rings of the ring shaped wire rod is always within a predetermined range, and further, (2) engaging and dropping said ring shaped wire rod, while imparting a movement having a horizontal component to said ring shaped wire rod above said piling position, by advancing and retracting a plurality of levers arranged symmetrically around a sail of the gathering tub whereby the rings of said ring shaped wire rod are radially displaced from the center of a sail in a manner such that the shape of said coil is symmetric around its center.