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The subject embodiments are directed to a system to allow an uninterrupted flow of a coil welding wire from one container to another container, the coil of welding wire including a coil top and a coil bottom. Each container includes at least one vertically extending side wall, a closed bottom, a top

The subject embodiments are directed to a system to allow an uninterrupted flow of a coil welding wire from one container to another container, the coil of welding wire including a coil top and a coil bottom. Each container includes at least one vertically extending side wall, a closed bottom, a top opening for removing the welding wire and a wire coil receiving cavity within the outer packaging for receiving the wire coil, the feeding end and the trailing end being positionable near the top opening. A wire retaining ring is disposed on the coil top in the container and another said container, the wire retaining ring includes a slot that extends radially from a center of the coil to allow the trailing end of the coil to be drawn at a location away from the center of the coil.

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1. A system for packaging and unwinding a coil of welding wire to allow an uninterrupted flow of the welding wire from one container to another container, the coil of welding wire including a coil top and a coil bottom, a feeding end of the welding wire extends from the coil top and a trailing end o

1. A system for packaging and unwinding a coil of welding wire to allow an uninterrupted flow of the welding wire from one container to another container, the coil of welding wire including a coil top and a coil bottom, a feeding end of the welding wire extends from the coil top and a trailing end of the wire extends from the coil bottom, the trailing end of the one container being joinable to the feeding end of the another container, the system comprising: at least one container including at least one vertically extending side wall, a bottom, a top opening for removing the welding wire and a wire coil receiving cavity within the outer packaging for receiving the wire coil, the feeding end and the trailing end being positionable near the top opening;a wire retaining ring that is disposed on the coil top in the at least one container, the wire retaining ring including, a discontinuous inner ring that has an inner radius and an inner gap;a discontinuous outer ring that has an outer radius, which is greater than the inner radius, the outer ring is substantially concentrically disposed with regard to the inner ring;at least two spokes that each extend radially from the inner ring to the outer ring, the spokes intersect the outer ring to create a plurality of segments along a circumference of the outer ring; anda wire guide extending radially from the inner ring to the outer ring and having a first portion and a second portion, where the wire guide includes a slot having a slot width and separating the first portion of the guide from the second portion of the guide, the slot defining a discontinuity in the inner ring and a discontinuity in the outer ring and disposed in a location in place of one of the plurality of spokes,wherein the trailing end of the first coil of wire is positioned within the slot. 2. The system of claim 1, where the slot extends from the inner ring to the outer ring in an arc. 3. The system of claim 1, further comprising a discontinuous intermediate ring that has an intermediate radius and an intermediate gap corresponding to the slot, the intermediate ring is substantially concentrically disposed with regard to the inner ring and the intermediate radius is greater than the inner radius and less than the outer radius. 4. The system of claim 3, the portion of the slot extending from the inner ring to a position proximate the intermediate ring having a substantially constant width and the portion of the slot extending from the position proximate the intermediate ring to the outer ring increasing in width. 5. The system of claim 1, wherein the corner of the first portion of the wire guide adjacent the discontinuity in the inner ring is radiused. 6. The system of claim 1, wherein the trailing end of the wire is disposed at a location closer to the outer ring than the inner ring. 7. The system of claim 1, wherein the spokes bend at an angle of approximately 90 degrees in an upward direction at a location outside the outer ring. 8. The system of claim 1, the at least two containers each include a quantity of vertical walls, the number of spokes is equal to the quantity of vertical walls. 9. The system of claim 8, wherein the vertical walls are connected to one another in an end-to-end configuration around an interior portion of each container to create a quantity of corners that is equal to the quantity of walls, each spoke is placed within a corner. 10. The system of claim 1, wherein an elevation of the horizontal plane of said inner ring is greater than an elevation of the horizontal plane of the outer ring. 11. The system of claim 3, wherein an elevation of the horizontal plane of the discontinuous intermediate ring is substantially equal to an elevation of the horizontal plane of the outer ring. 12. The system of claim 8, wherein the spokes are generally angled upward from the outer ring to the inner ring. 13. The system of claim 9, wherein the upward angle of the spokes is greater from the discontinuous intermediate ring to the discontinuous inner ring than from the outer ring to the discontinuous intermediate ring. 14. The system of claim 1, wherein the trailing end of the first coil of wire is further positioned within a wire retainer formed in the at least one vertically extending side wall of one of the containers. 15. The system of claim 14, wherein the wire retainer is a tab formed in the container. 16. The system of claim 1, wherein the wire guide includes a upwardly offset lip at a radial extremity of said wire guide on either side of said slot. 17. A wire retaining ring for a coil of welding wire, the coil includes a coil top and a coil bottom, a feeding end of the welding wire extends from the coil top and a trailing end of the wire extends from the coil bottom, the trailing end of the coil of wire being joinable to the feeding end of another coil of wire, the wire retaining ring comprising: a discontinuous inner ring that has an inner radius and an inner gap;a discontinuous outer ring that has an outer radius, which is greater than the inner radius, the outer ring is substantially concentrically disposed with regard to the inner ring;at least two spokes that each extend radially from the inner ring to the outer ring, the spokes intersect the outer ring to create a plurality of segments along a circumference of the outer ring; anda wire guide extending radially from the inner ring to the outer ring and having a first portion and a second portion, where the wire guide includes a slot having a slot width and separating the first portion of the guide from the second portion of the guide, the slot defining a discontinuity in the inner ring and a discontinuity in the outer ring. 18. The wire retaining ring of claim 17, wherein said wire guide is disposed in a location in place of one of the plurality of spokes. 19. The wire retaining ring of claim 17, further comprising a shortened spoke attached to a radial extremity of said wire guide. 20. The wire retaining ring of claim 17, wherein said first portion of said wire guide includes a concave edge extending from said inner ring to said intermediate ring and said second portion has a convex edge extending from said inner ring to said intermediate, wherein said concave edge and said convex edge have the same radius of curvature. 21. The wire retaining ring of claim 20, wherein said second portion extends linearly outward from said intermediate ring along a radial line offset from a center axis, and said first portion includes an outer edge that flares outward from said concave edge and said second portion to form a wider gap within said wire guide near said outer ring. 22. The wire retaining ring of claim 17 further comprising a discontinuous intermediate ring that has an intermediate radius and an intermediate gap corresponding to the slot, the intermediate ring is substantially concentrically disposed with regard to the inner ring and the intermediate radius is greater than the inner radius and less than the outer radius. 23. The wire retaining ring of claim 22, the portion of the slot extending from the inner ring to a position proximate the intermediate ring having a substantially constant width and the portion of the slot extending from the position proximate the intermediate ring to the outer ring increasing in width from the intermediate ring to the outer ring. 24. An endless wire payoff system for coiled wire comprising: a first container that contains a first coil of wire that has a feeding end and a trailing end, the feeding end is fed through the wire feeder for a welding operation;a second container that contains a second coil of wire that has a feeding end and trailing end, the feeding end is connected to the trailing end of the first coil;a first wire retaining ring disposed on top of the first coil and a second wire retaining ring disposed on top of the second coil, where each wire retaining ring includes a discontinuous inner ring that has an inner radius and an inner gap;a discontinuous outer ring that has an outer radius, which is greater than the inner radius, the outer ring is substantially concentrically disposed with regard to the inner ring;at least two spokes that each extend radially from the inner ring to the outer ring, the spokes intersect the outer ring to create a plurality of segments along a circumference of the outer ring; anda wire guide extending radially from the inner ring to the outer ring and having a first portion and a second portion, where the wire guide includes a slot having a slot width and separating the first portion of the guide from the second portion of the guide, the slot defining a discontinuity in the inner ring and a discontinuity in the outer ring and disposed in a location in place of one of the plurality of spokes, wherein the trailing end of the first coil of wire is positioned within the slot. 25. The endless wire payoff system of claim 24, further comprising a discontinuous intermediate ring located radially between said discontinuous inner ring and said discontinuous outer ring and a having a radius greater than said discontinuous inner ring and less than said discontinuous outer ring; the portion of the slot extending from the inner ring to a position proximate the intermediate ring having a substantially constant width and the portion of the slot extending from the position proximate the intermediate ring to the outer ring increasing in width from the intermediate ring to the outer ring.