Wire coiler

A wire coiling machine for winding a length of wire having a lead end onto the outer surface of a mandrel having an axis of rotation, the machine comprising:

• (a) a continuous belt;
• (b) means for moving said belt at a desired speed;
• (c) a plurality of pulleys around which said belt is disposed, said pulleys arranged to bring said moving belt into contact with said mandrel outer surface to form a nip therebetween and to rotate said mandrel such that said mandrel outer surface has a tangential speed equal to the speed of said belt;
• (d) means for directing the lead end of the wire into the nip, said pulleys being arranged to cause the wire to be wound into a coil on said rotating mandrel outer surface and to maintain said belt in non-slip contact with the coil outer surface during the winding operation, whereby the linear speed of said belt and the linear speed of the wire are maintained equal throughout the winding process;
• and
• (e) means for unwrapping said belt from a portion of the coil outer surface as the wire is wound on said mandrel, said unwrapping means including ring means surrounding and coaxial with said mandrel, wherein a first one of said plurality of pulleys is connected to said ring means, said ring means constructed and arranged for movement in a first direction around said mandrel so as to move said first pulley along a circular path concentric with the axis of rotation of said mandrel, and wherein said unwrapping means includes means for applying a moment to said ring means opposite to the direction of ring rotation to control the rate of ring rotation.