Leggett & Platt, Inc.

Terry L Aronson

Thomas J Wells

Henry Zapletal

Edwin B Watts

A spring assembly for mattresses, innersprings, and the like. The assembly comprises rows of coils, each row comprising a continuous length of wire formed into a plurality of coils interconnected by Z-shaped wire segments alternately disposed at the top and bottom of the coils. Adjacent rows of coils are connected by helical wire wound through overlapping sections of the Z-shaped wire segments. The overlapping connected sections are straight, flat offset sections located on opposite sides of each coil with the center of each overlapped section being located in a common diametral plane of the coil so that complete compression of the coil does not result in the coil being pulled laterally, twisted and distorted.

Offset continuous row coil spring assembly

A stop mechanism operative to stop a sprial lacing wire if the lacing wire encounters an obstacle as it is being wound in lacing fashion about juxtaposed end loops of coil springs in two adjacent coil spring rows, and after the lacing wire has completely laced together those two spring rows. A sensor functions to sense when the spiral lacing wire encounters an obstacle in its lacing path, the sensor incorporating a proximity switch that cooperates with a bowed guide element. The bowed guide element induces the lacing wire to pop out or bow away from the switch when the obstacle is encountered, activation of the switch causing the lacing wire to stop at once in its lacing path. A clamp device cooperates with a feeder switch to clamp the unlaced spiral lacing wire between its jaws when the feeder switch is activated by the lacing wire's lead end after the lacing wire has traversed the entire length of the adjacent rows.

Growing community of inventors

Pell Lake, WI, United States of America

Terry L Aronson