Tension brush with adjustable brake

Abstract

A take-off device for unreeling wire from a spool with a minimum of looseness and kinking, comprising a support, means for mounting the support at one end of a wire-carrying spool, a take-off wheel rotatably carried for free turning by the support and disposed in a plane perpendicular to the axis of the spool, a tension brush assembly comprising a plurality of radially extending tines disposed adjacent a peripheral flange of the wheel and adapted to be engaged and flexed by a strand of wire as it unreels from the spool, and cooperable braking means on the support and wheel for imparting a drag force to the latter as it rotates under the action of the unreeling wire. The support includes a spindle, which in turn carries a ball bearing having inner and outer races. The inner race remains stationary with the spindle while the outer race is secured to the hub of the wheel to enable the latter to have rotation about the spindle axis. Part of the spindle is threaded and carries a threaded washer which bears against a second, yieldable washer. The latter in turn engages the end faces of the inner and outer races, thus tending to limit relative turning movement between the two. As a result, a small drag force is imparted to the wheel, which has the effect of slowing its speed during fast unreeling so as to effect a more rapid halting thereof when the wire is slowed or stopped. The arrangement is such that the amount of drag imparted to the wheel can be effectively adjusted in order to enable the wheel speed to be related to differing wire take-off speeds.