Automatic spring formation apparatus

A spring formation apparatus comprising:

• a base;
• a work table standing on said base in an upright manner, having a front working surface and a rear side opposite to said front working surface, said rear side being enclosed by a housing, said work table having formed thereon a wire feed passage through which a wire used to form a spring of a desired length by said apparatus is fed along a first direction from the rear side of the work table to the front working surface of said work table;
• a plurality of servo motors disposed inside said housing each having a respective driving shaft;
• a plurality of linear motion tool sets mounted on the front working surface of said work table, each having a linear motion tool slidable on said front working surface along a radial direction extending from the wire feed passage between a first position away from said wire feed passage and a second position close to said wire feed passage, said linear motion tool being engageable with the wire fed through said wire feed passage at the second position;
• a curved motion tool set mounted on the front working surface of said work table comprising:
• a curved motion tool linearly slidable on said working surface along a radial direction extending from the wire feed passage between a first position away from said wire feed passage and a second position close to said wire feed passage, said curved motion tool being engageable with the wire fed through said wire feed passage at the second position, said curved motion tool being also rotatable about a pivot normal to said front working surface between a third position and a fourth position so as to be movable in a combined motion of linear translation and angular rotation;
• a tool seat rotatably mounted on said front working surface about a circular disk member having an axis normal to said front working surface, said tool seat having a slide channel to receive therein a tool slide which is retained within said slide channel by securing plates, said tool slide being slidable within said slide channel along the radial direction thereof;
• a tool holder which is rotatably secured to said tool slide to be movable therewith and rotatable relative thereto about a pivot normal to said front working surface, said tool holder having the curved motion tool fixed thereon at a lower end thereof and a roller rotatably attached thereto at an upper end thereof;
• and
• a biasing spring being connected between said tool holder and said tool slide to bias said roller to be contactable by a side block secured to said tool seat and thus rotating said tool holder about the pivot to provide the combined motion of linear translation and angular rotation to said curved motion tool, said tool slide being mechanically connected to the driving shaft of the respective servo motor to be driven thereby for moving between the first position and the second position thereof;
• and
• a mechanical connection between said tool slide and the driving shaft of the respective servo motor for moving said tool slide between the first position and the second position, comprising a linkage having:
• a first link member constituted by a first section pivotally connected to said tool slide, and a second section in thread engagement with the first section to form a length adjustable structure therebetween;
• and
• a second link member having a first end pivoted to the second section of the first link member, and a second end pivoted to the driving shaft so that when the driving shaft is rotated by the respective servo motor, said tool slide is moved within said slide channel by the linkage, said biasing spring having one end attached to the pivotal connection between the first link member of said linkage and said tool slide so that when said tool slide is moved by said linkage, the spring biases said roller to be contactable by said side block and when said roller is contacted by said side block, said tool holder is rotated about the pivot between the third position and the fourth position thereof;
• said servo motors respectively driving said linear motion tools and said curved motion tool by the respective driving shafts thereof, said servo motors being actuatable so as to move said linear motion tools and said curved motion tool between their respective first positions and second positions thereof;
• wire feed means for feeding the wire from the rear side of the work table through said wire feed passage and to the front working surface of said work table;
• and
• a control unit for controlling the feed of the wire from the rear side of the work table to the front working surface and for controlling the movements of said linear motion tools and said curved motion tool in accordance with a preset procedure and sequence to form the spring from the wire.