Method and apparatus for the production of welded grid bodies

Apparatus for producing a welded grid body which comprises two spaced apart parallel grid mats of longitudinal and transverse wires, and spacer wires cut to length and welded at each end to one of said grid mats, said apparatus comprising a channel for production of said grid body;

• two stock coil carriers for widths of grid matting arranged on opposite sides of said production channel;
• straightener mechanisms for straightening grid matting drawn from respective ones of said stock coil means;
• curved guide devices for leading respective ones of said straightened widths of grid matting tangentially into opposite longitudinal sides of said production channel;
• at least one group of spacer wire stock coil means positioned laterally of said production channel;
• wire feedways running from said spacer wire stock coil means transversely to said production channel, said feedways being associated with straightener mechanisms, with wire feed mechanisms adapted to work in cooperation with shears;
• first welding means, on the opposite side of said production channel to, and in alignment with, said wire feedways, for welding leading ends of said wires to one of said widths of grid matting;
• and a second welding device, on the same side of said production channel as, and downstream in the direction along said production channel of, said wire feedways, for welding trailing ends of said cut wires onto the other of said widths of grid matting, wherein, between said guide devices for said widths of grid matting, a feed channel is provided for an insulating core.

A method of producing a welded grid body comprising two parallelgrid mat portions separated by a slab of heat insulating material, and spacer wires cut to length and welded at each end to one of said grid mat portions, said method comprising the steps of

• (a) drawing off said grid mat portions from stock coils thereof;
• (b) straightening said grid mat portions and aligning said grid mat portions so that they are spaced apart by a distance corresponding to the desired thickness of said welded grid body;
• (c) introducing a slab of heat-insulating material into the space between said grid mat portions;
• (d) simultaneously drawing a plurality of spacer wires from stock coils thereof, straightening said spacer wires, and passing said spacer wires laterally through one of said grid mat portions and said slab of heat insulating material so that each of said spacer wires lies close to both of said grid mat portions;
• and
• (e) welding leading edges of said spacer wires to one of said grid mat portions at a first location along said production channel and welding trailing edges of said spacer wires to the other of said grid mat portions at a second location along said production channel.

An apparatus for producing a welded grid body;

• said apparatus comprising:
• a channel for production of a grid body;
• two stock coil carriers for widths of grid matting, arranged on opposite sides of said production channel;
• straightener mechanisms for straightening grid matting from respective ones of said stock coil means;
• curved guide devices for leading respective ones of said straightened widths of grid matting tangentially into opposite longitudinal sides of said production channel;
• feed roll means for introducing heat insulating material between said widths of grid matting material, at least one group of spacer wire stock coil means positioned laterally of said production channel;
• wire feedways running from said spacer wire stock coil means transversely to said production channel, said feedways being associated with straightener mechanisms, with wire feed mechanisms adapted to work in steps and with shears;
• first welding means, on the opposite side of said production channel to, and in alignment with, said wire feedways, for welding leading ends of said wires to one of said widths of grid matting;
• and a second welding device, on the same side of said production channel as, and downstream in the direction along said production channel of said wire feedways, for welding trailing ends of said cut wires onto the other of said widths of grid matting.