EP0527497B1

EP0527497B1 - Coil bobbin handling apparatus

Info

Publication number: EP0527497B1
Application number: EP92113818A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Kenji Kanbara; Katsumi Terada
Original assignee: Toray Engineering Co Ltd
Current assignee: Toray Engineering Co Ltd
Priority date: 1991-08-13
Filing date: 1992-08-12
Publication date: 1997-07-09
Anticipated expiration: 2012-08-12
Also published as: DE69220730T2; JPH0543135A; EP0527497A1; DE69220730D1; JP2670920B2

Description

Background of the Invention

The present invention relates to a coil bobbin handling apparatus comprising: A winder in which a plurality of rotatable spindles engaged with coil bobbins are disposed on a predetermined surface in a row; a bobbin conveyance device for carrying empty coil bobbins to be supplied to said winder and for carrying full coil bobbins, doffed from each one of said spindles and on which winding is already provided; and a bobbin replacement device for exchanging said emtpy coil bobbins and said full coil bobbins to each other between said bobbin conveyance device and said winder, said bobbin conveyance device being mounted on a trolley means so as to be moved along the row of the spindles of said winder and wherein said bobbin conveyance device including a disk loader to which a disk magazine having a plurality of radially protruded pin jigs capable of being engaged with said coil bobbins is provided so that said disk magazine can be intermittently rotated at a predetermined angle.
As is well known, the bobbin replacing process is repeatedly carried out in a winder, wherein in the bobbin replacing process, a coil bobbin around which a winding has already been provided, is pulled out from a spindle, and an empty coil bobbin around which a winding is to be provided, is engaged with the unloaded spindle.
Therefore, it is necessary to provide a bobbin handling apparatus that conveys an empty coil bobbin around which a winding is to be provided, from the bobbin supply side to the bobbin replacement section, and the bobbin handling apparatus receives a coil bobbin around which a winding has already been provided and which has been pulled out from a spindle, and conveys the coil bobbin to the after-process. Typical examples are disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid Open Nos. 139906-1990 and 13575-1990. In the examples, a coil bobbin handling apparatus is provided which is structured in such a manner that: a pallet having a plurality of pin jigs to be engaged with coil bobbins is conveyed by a conveyer.
Although the aforesaid pallet type of coil bobbin handling appratus can convey coil bobbins, it cannot conduct a coil bobbin replacement on a winder. Therefore, when this coil bobbin handling apparatus is installed, a coil bobbin replacement apparatus is also needed. In general, a coil bobbin replacement apparatus that can handle one pallet of coil bobbins at one is installed. This type of coil bobbin replacement apparatus is more effective than the apparatus that handels coil bobbins individually.
However, in the case of the aforesaid package handling type of coil bobbin replacement apparatus, when the number of spindles of a winder is increased, that is, when the number of coil bobbins to be handled at once is increased, the dimensions of the apparatus are increased, so that the cost of the apparatus is increased. The more the number of spindles is increased, the more remarkable the aforesaid disadvantage becomes. Therefore, even in a multi-spindle type apparatus, the number of spindles is limited.
Furthermore, an automatic doffing apparatus is disclosed in US-A-4,534,517. Said doffing apparatus is movable along a track defined by a rail being arranged endlessly around a spinning frame comprising a plurality of individual spinning units arranged side by side. The doffing apparatus is able to stop in front of anyone of the spinning units when its coil bobbin becomes full. The known doffing apparatus comprises various component devices including a bobbin loading device for transferring empty bobbins to a bobbin holder and a bobbin feeding device in a form of a storage magazin for storing an endless numbers of bobbins and feeding one bobbin at a time to said bobbin loading device. Additionally, a bobbin holder releasing device and a bobbin holder lowering device are needed. Therefore, also this known doffing apparatus has a complicated technical structure and the number of coil bobbins in the storage magazin is also limited.
Another coil bobbin handling apparatus according to the preamble of claim 1 is known from FR-A-2,482,570. This coil bobbin handling apparatus is part of a device for the automatically coiling of rope material, particularly wire. Said coil bobbin handling apparatus comprises a winder, a bobbin conveyance device and a bobbin replacement device. Said bobbin conveyance device includes a bobbin support which rotates in a horizontal plane and which is needed for carrying empty coil bobbins to be supplied to said winder and for carrying full coil bobbins, on which winding has been provided already. The bobbin replacement device exchanges empty coil bobbins and full coil bobbins to each other between the winder and the bobbin conveyance device. Also in this known coil bobbin handling apparatus the number of spindles is limited. Both the bobbin conveyance device and the bobbin replacement device are independent units so that the operation of this known coil bobbin handling apparatus needs a great technical effort in connection with high expenditure.
It is a primary object of the present invention to solve the aforesaid problems of the prior art and provide a compact and effective coil bobbin handling apparatus at a low cost.
In order to accomplish the aforesaid object, the coil bobbin handling apparatus of the present invention is provided with the following essential technical construction. That is, the present invention is to provide a coil bobbin handling apparatus according to the preamble part of claim 1, characterized in that an axis of rotation of the disk magazine extends horizontally, so that said magazine with the radially protruded pin jigs rotates in a vertical plane, and that the bobbin replacement device is moved integrally with the bobbin conveying device in a vertical and a horizontal direction, thereby allowing said bobbin replacement device to transfer the coil bobbins between the pin jigs of the disk loader and the spindles of the winder.

Fig. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of bobbin replacement that is conducted on a winder; and
Fig. 2 is a left side view of Fig. 1.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

With reference to the drawings, an embodiment of the coil bobbin handling apparatus of the present invention will be explained in detail as follows.
Fig. 1 is a front view explaining an embodiment of the coil bobbin handling apparatus of the present invention.
The apparatus is composed as follows:

A disk magazine 35 from which a plurality of pin jigs 4 engaged with coil bobbins 60 are radially protruded, is provided to a disk loader 6 so that the disk magazine can be intermittently rotated at a predetermined angle. The disk loader 6 is provided to a bobbin conveyance device 3 so that the disk loader 6 can be moved to a position where bobbin replacement is conducted on a winder 1. Under the condition that the bobbin conveyance device 3 is moved to the position where bobbin replacement is conducted on the winder 1, a bobbin replacement device 7 moves the coil bobbin 60 engaged with a spindle 2 of the winder 1, to a pin jig 4 of the disk magazine 35, and further the bobbin replacement device 7 moves the coil bobbin 60 engaged with the pin jig 4 of the disk magazine 35, to the spindle 2 of the winder 1.

In order to solve the aforesaid conventional disadvantages, an earnest investigation was conducted by the inventors. As a result, they determined that the problems can be solved by the following construction: in the coil bobbin handling apparatus comprised of the bobbin conveyance device 3 and the bobbin replacement device 7, the bobbin conveyance device 3 is structured into a disk loader type device in which a plurality of pin jigs 4 engaged with the coil bobbins 60 radially protrude from the disk magazine 35.
Referring to the drawings, an embodiment of the present invention will be described as follows. Fig. 1 is a front view of the apparatus in which the arrangement of the spindles 2 of the winder 1 and the pin jigs 4 of the bobbin conveyance device 3 is shown. Fig. 2 is a left side view of Fig. 1. As shown in the drawings, the bobbin conveyance device 3 to which the disk loader 6 is assembled, is provided on a trolley 5.
In this embodiment, the bobbin replacement device 7 is also provided on the trolley 5. A rail holder 10 is horizontally supported by a leg 9 mounted on a frame 8 of the winder 1 as shown in Fig. 1, wherein a predetermined distance is maintained between the trolley 5 and the frame 8 in a lateral direction in Fig. 1, and circular rails 11 are fixed to the upper and lower edge surfaces of the rail holder 10. The trolley 5 includes a trolley body 13 that is provided with 4 wheels, 2 of which are provided in the upper portion and the other 2 are provided in the lower portion, so that the trolley 5 can be moved and guided by the rails 11. The trolley body 13 is engaged with a wrapping transmission device comprising a belt and pulleys, for example, (not shown) in which both ends of a belt 14 are fixed to the trolley body 13 so that the belt 14 is endless and the trolley body 13 can be moved laterally in Fig. 2.
The disk loader 6 comprises a pair of square rails 15 fixed onto the trolley body 13, a slide base 16 guided by both rails 15 so that it can be slid laterally as in Fig. 1, an air cylinder 18 that is mounted through a bracket 17 fixed to one end of the trolley body 13 so that the piston rod can move the slide base 16, a stopper 19 that is fixed to the other end of the trolley body 13, an index type of drive device 21 that is mounted on a seat 20 fixed onto the slide base 16, an attachment 22 and a bearing bracket 23 that are fixed onto the base 16, a tightener 25 that is provided to a bracket 24 fixed to the side edge of the bracket 23, a hollow shaft 29 that is rotatably provided to the bearing bracket 23 through an inner casing 26, bearing 27, collar 28 and the like, a magazine shaft 30 that is slidably inserted into a hole of the shaft 29, a coil spring 31 that is provided so that the magazine shaft 30 can be pushed to the right in Fig. 2, a pulley 32 that is fixed to the hollow shaft 29, an air cylinder 34 that is supported by a bracket 33 fixed to the bearing bracket 23, and a disk magazine 35 that is detachably provided to the magazine shaft 30 as described later.
This magazine 35 includes a disk-shaped body 37 that is fixed to a boss 36, 16 jig receivers 38 that are fixed at regular intervals on both sides of the disk-shaped body 37, and pin jigs 4, one end of which is supported by the jig receiver 38 and the other end of which is radially protruded, wherein the pin jigs 4 are disposed around the jig receiver 38 at regular angle intervals of 45° and the lengths of the protruded portions are the same. A through-hole is formed in the center of the boss 36. In the middle portion of the through-hole, a large diameter portion 39 is formed, and in both edge portions, small diameter portions 40 are formed. The magazine shaft 30 includes a tapered portion 42 connected with a large diameter portion 41, a small diameter portion 43 connected with the tapered portion 42, and a smallest diameter portion 44 connected with the small diameter portion 43.
Therefore, when a piston rod 45 of the air cylinder 34 is withdrawn as shown in Fig. 2 so that the magazine shaft 30 is in a free condition, the magazine shaft 30 is pushed to the right by the coil spring 31, so that the small diameter portion 43 is brought into contact with one end of the hollow shaft 29. In the aforesaid condition, the disk magazine 35 is provided in such a manner that a plurality of steel balls 46 are provided between the large diameter portion 39 of the through-hole and the tapered portion 42 of the magazine shaft 30. These steel balls 46 are checked so that they cannot move to a gap zone between the small diameter portion 43 connected with the tapered portion 42 of the magazine shaft 30, and the small diameter portion 40 of the through-hole of the disk magazine 35.
Since the disk magazine 35 is structured in the aforesaid manner, it is possible to simply detach it from the apparatus by a one-touch-operation when necessary. In the case of the disk magazine 35 being detached, the piston rod 45 of the air cylinder 34 is protruded so that the magazine shaft 30 is moved to the left thereby resisting the force of the coil spring 31. Then, the steel balls 46 are rolled from the tapered portion 42 of the magazine shaft 30 to the small diameter portion 43 connected with the aforesaid tapered portion 42. Therefore, the steel balls 46 are located in the maximum gap zone formed between the small diameter portion 43 of the magazine shaft 30 and the large diameter portion 39 of the disk magazine 35. As a result of the foregoing, the disk magazine 35 is set in a free condition. Accordingly, when the disk magazine 35 is moved in the axial direction under the aforesaid condition, it can be easily detached.
On the other hand, in the case where the disk magazine 35 is attached, the piston rod 45 of the air cylinder 34 protrudes so that the magazine shaft 30 is moved to the left so as to resist the force of the coil spring 31. Under the aforementioned condition, the magazine shaft 30 is inserted into the through-hole of the disk magazine 35. Next, the piston rod 45 of the air cylinder 34 is withdrawn, and the magazine shaft 30 is pushed by the coil spring 31 so that it can be moved to the right. In this manner, the disk magazine 35 can be easily attached.
While the disk magazine 35 is provided to the apparatus, the index type drive device 21 is driven, and the drive force is transmitted to the hollow shaft 29 through a belt 51 provided around a pulley 50 fixed to the output shaft of the index type drive device 21 and a pulley 32 fixed to the hollow shaft 29, wherein the belt 51 is provided with tension by the tightener 25. Accordingly, the hollow shaft 29 is rotated at a predetermined angle. At this time, the small diameter portion 43 of the magazine shaft 30 pushed to the right by the coil spring 31, and the boss 36 of the disk magazine 35 are brought into pressure contact with the hollow shaft 29, so that the disk magazine 35 is rotated together with the hollow shaft 29. As a result of the aforesaid rotation control, as shown in Fig. 1, the pin jigs 4 of the magazine 35 are successively aligned in the horizontal direction concentrically with regard to the spindles 2 of the winder 1.
In this embodiment, the disk magazine 35 is intermittently rotated clockwise by 45°. Pitch P between 8 pin jigs 4 (referred to as A-line of pin jigs), which are provided on one side of the disk 37 of the disk magazine 35, and 8 pin jigs 4 (referred to as B-line of pin jigs), which are provided on the other side of the disk 37, are the same as that of the spindles 2. Accordingly, concurrently when A-line of pin jigs 4 are concentrically aligned with regard to one of the spindles 2, B-line of pin jigs 4 can be concentrically aligned with regard to the other spindle 2 that is adjacent to the aforementioned spindle 2.
Next, the bobbin replacement device 7 includes the first air cylinder 52 that is fixed onto the slide base 16, the second air cylinder 54 that is mounted on the bracket 53 fixed to the tip of the piston rod of the cylinder 52, an arm 56, one end of which is fixed to the tip of the piston rod of the cylinder 54 and the other end of which is fixed to a slide bar 55, and a hook 57 that is vertically provided on the slide bar 55. The slide bar 55 is inserted into a channel-shaped guide 58 that is fixed to the bracket 53, and a pair of hooks 57 are provided at an interval equal to pitch P between A-line and B-line of pin jigs 4 shown in Fig. 1.
In Fig. 1, a state is shown in which the hook 57 is moved upward to an upper bobbin replacement position. However, the hook 57 is usually moved downward. That is, the piston rod of the first air cylinder 52 is withdrawn and moved downward together with the bracket 53. When the pin jig 4 is aligned with regard to the spindle 2, the piston rod of the first air cylinder 52 is protruded upward. In the case where an empty coil bobbin 60 provided to the pin jig 4 is transferred to the spindle 2, the piston rod of the second air cylinder 54 is withdrawn, so that the hook 57 is lifted while it is moved to the left as shown in the drawing. When the hook is raised to a predetermined height, the piston rod of the second air cylinder 54 is protruded. Accordingly, the upper end of the hook 57 is brought into contact with one of the surfaces of the engaging portion 61 of the empty bobbin 60, and the empty bobbin 60 is pushed and moved. After the empty bobbin 60 has been transferred to the spindle 2, the piston rod of the first air cylinder 52 is withdrawn, and then the piston rod of the second air cylinder 54 is also withdrawn.
On the contrary, in the case where a loaded coil bobbin 60 engaged with the spindle 2 is transferred to the pin jig 4, the hook 57 is moved upward when the piston rod of the first air cylinder 52 is protruded. At this time, the hook 57 is raised while the piston rod of the second air cylinder 54 is protruded and the hook 57 is moved to the right. When the hook 57 is raised to a predetermined height, the piston rod of the second air cylinder 54 is withdrawn. Consequently, the upper end of the hook 57 is brought into contact with the other surface of the engaging portion 61 of the loaded coil bobbin 60 so that the loaded coil bobbin 60 can be transferred. Since a pair of hooks 57 are provided as described before, when the bobbin transfer is carried out in the aforementioned manner, 2 empty coil bobbins or 2 loaded coil bobbins can be concurrently transferred. In order to concentrically align the pin jig 4 with regard to the spindle 2, movement of the trolley 5 is controlled and intermittent rotation of the disk magazine 35 is also controlled.
That is, the disk magazine 35 is previously provided to the magazine shaft 30, and at the same time, the distance between the pin jig 4 and the spindle 2 is adjusted when the slide base 16 is moved by the air cylinder 18. After that, the endless belt 14 is moved laterally in Fig. 2 in a predetermined direction by the wrapping transmission device not shown so that the trolley body 13 is moved to a predetermined position. Due to the foregoing, A-line and B-line of pin jigs 4 are positioned with regard to the spindles 2 as shown in Fig. 2.
Since this apparatus is provided with the slide base 16 and the air cylinder 18, disks of various diameters D within an allowable range can be utilized for the apparatus, so that coil bobbins 60 of various lengths can be transferred. For example, with regard to the winders in which the spindle positions are different, the disk magazines 35 of different diameters D, which are suitable for each winder, can be selected and used. Successively, the index type drive device 21 is driven and the disk magazine 35 is rotated clockwise together with the hollow shaft 29, and the pin jig 4 can be concentrically aligned horizontally with regard to the spindle 2.
Coil bobbins 60 are replaced between the spindles 2 of the winder 1 and the pin jigs 4 of the disk loader 6 as follows. To describe in detail, after a winding operation has been completed in the winder 1, the empty pin jig 4, which is not provided with the coil bobbin 60, is aligned in the aforesaid manner with regard to the spindle 2, which is provided with the loaded coil bobbin 60. That is, one of the pin jigs 4 of A-line and B-line of the disk magazine 35 are not provided with the coil bobbin 60 (while other 7 pin jigs 4 are provided with the coil bobbin 60 on which winding is to be conducted). The aforementioned empty pin jig 4 is first aligned with regard to the spindle 2.
Then, the bobbin replacement device 7 is driven, and while the hook 57 is moved to the right by the air cylinder 54 (the hook 57 is moved to the bobbin pulling out reference position), the hook 57 is raised from the lower waiting position, and then moved to the left. As a result of the foregoing, the upper end of the hook 57 is brought into contact with one of the surfaces of the engaging portion 61 of the loaded coil bobbin 60, and the loaded coil bobbin 60 is pushed and transferred from the spindle 2 to the empty pin jig 4. After that, the hook 57 is moved to the lower waiting position.
Next, the index type drive device 21 is driven, so that the disk magazine 35 is rotated in the same direction by 45°, and the next pin jig 4 is aligned with regard to the empty spindle 2. This pin jig 4 is provided with the empty bobbin 60 on which winding is to be conducted. In the lower bobbin replacement device 7, the hook 57 is positioned by the air cylinder 54. This positioning is carried out in such a manner that the hook 57 is moved a little to the left (the hook 57 is moved to the bobbin supply reference position). Then, the hook 57 is raised again, and moved to the right. As a result of the foregoing, the upper end of the hook 57 is brought into contact with the other surface of the engaging portion 61 of the empty coil bobbin 60, and the empty coil bobbin 60 is pushed and transferred from the pin jig 4 to the empty spindle 2. After that, the hook 57 is moved to the lower waiting position.
In the manner described above, bobbin replacement is completed with regard to 2 spindles 2, and then the trolley 5 is moved to the left in Fig. 2, so that the empty pin jigs 4 of A and B lines are aligned with regard to the spindles 2a and 2b, which are adjacent to each other. That is, the empty pin jig 4 of A-line is aligned with regard to the spindle 2a, and at the same time the empty pin jig 4 of B-line is aligned with regard to the spindle 2b. Through the same process as described before, the loaded coil bobbins 60 are pushed and transferred from the spindles 2a, 2b to the empty pin jigs 4 of A and B lines. At the same time, the empty coil bobbins 60 are pushed and transferred from the pin jigs 4 to be aligned next, to the empty spindles 2a, 2b. As explained above, bobbins can be successively replaced. After a necessary number of bobbin replacement operations have been completed, the bobbins are conveyed to a predetermined process, for example, an after-process such as a soldering process.
The pin jig 4 is provided with a lock means to prevent the loaded or empty coil bobbin 60 from sliding freely. Because of the lock means, the loaded or empty coil bobbin 60 can be prevented from coming out of the pin jig 4 during the rotation of the disk magazine 35. Although the aforesaid lock means is not shown in the drawing, it is structured in the following manner: a steel ball is pushed in the direction of the outer diameter of the pin jig 4 by a resilient member provided in the hollow portion of the pin jig 4 so that a portion of the steel ball is protruded from the outer circumferential surface of the pin jig 4; and the protruded portion of the steel ball is pushed against the inner circumferential surface of the loaded or empty coil bobbin 60 engaged with the pin jig 4 so that the coil bobbin 60 can be locked. In the aforementioned condition, the steel ball is withdrawn into the hollow portion of the pin jig, however, it protrudes after the lock has been released.
An embodiment of the present invention is explained above. In the present invention, the disk magazine is not limited to a specific type of disk magazine in which 2 rows of pin jigs are provided, and 1 row of pin jigs or not less than 2 rows of pin jigs may be adopted, and further the number of pin jigs may be selected when necessary.
For example, in the case where a disk magazine having 1 row of pin jigs is required to be used with regard to a winder having N pieces of spindles, not only a disk magazine having (N + 1) pieces of pin jigs but also a disk magazine having (N + 2) pieces of pin jigs or (N + 3) pieces of pin jigs may be selected when necessary. Pin jigs, the number of which is larger than that of the spindles, are provided to the disk magazine, because it is necessary to provide an empty pin jig in order to receive a loaded coil bobbin from the spindle in the first stage of bobbin replacement. In the same manner, in the case where a disk magazine having 2 rows of pin jigs are required to be used, a disk magazine having (N/2 + 1) pieces of pin jigs and also a disk magazine having (N/2 + 2) pieces of pin jigs may be selected when necessary. It is preferable that the disk magazine be attached to and detached from the apparatus by a one-touch-operation, however, attaching methods other than the one-touch-operation may be adopted.
Further, the bobbin replacement device is preferably provided in such a manner that it can be moved integrally with the bobbin conveyance device. However, the bobbin replacement device is not limited to tee specific embodiment. The bobbin replacement device may be moved separately from the bobbin conveyance device, that is, the bobbin replacement device may be provided independently. The pin jig lock means and the trolley are not limited to the aforementioned specific embodiment.
As described above, according to the present invention, concerning the bobbin conveyance device that conveys empty coil bobbins from the bobbin supply side to the bobbin replacement section, receives loaded bobbins pulled out from the spindles, and conveys same to the after-process, the bobbin conveyance device is structured into a disk loader type conveyance device. Accordingly, even when the number of spindles of the winder increases, an increase in the dimensions of the apparatus can be avoided. In addition, a bobbin replacement device that transfers coil bobbins between the pin jigs and the spindles, is provided so that the bobbin replacement device can be moved integrally with the disk loader. As a result of the foregoing, an increase in the dimensions of the apparatus can be avoided and therefore, the present invention can provide a small-sized coil bobbin handling apparatus composed of bobbin conveyance and replacement devices especially suitable for a large winder.

Claims

A coil bobbin handling apparatus comprising:
a winder (1) in which a plurality of rotatable spindles (2) engaged with coil bobbins (60) are disposed on a predetermined surface in a row;

a bobbin conveyance device (3) for carrying empty coil bobbins (60) to be supplied to said winder (1) and for carrying full coil bobbins (60), doffed from each one of said spindles (2) and on which winding is already provided; and

a bobbin replacement device (7) for exchanging said empty coil bobbins (60) and said full coil bobbins (60) to each other between said bobbin conveyance device (3) and said winder (1),

said bobbin conveyance device (3) being mounted on a trolley means (5) so as to be moved along the row of the spindles (2) of said winder (1) and wherein said bobbin conveyance device (3) including a disk loader (6) to which a disk magazine (35) having a plurality of radially protruded pin jigs (4) capable of being engaged with said coil bobbins (60) is provided so that said disk magazine (35) can be intermittently rotated at a predetermined angle,
characterized in that

an axis of rotation of said disk magazine (35) extends horizontally, so that said magazine (35) with the radially protruded pin jigs rotates in a vertical plane,

and that said bobbin replacement device (7) is moved integrally with said bobbin conveying device (3) in a vertical and a horizontal direction, thereby allowing said bobbin replacement device (7) to transfer the coil bobbins (60) between said pin jigs (4) of the disk loader (6) and the spindles (2) of said winder (1).
An apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said bobbin replacement device (7) includes a hook (57) capable of detachably engaging with an engaging portion (61) of a coil bobbin on the disk magazine (35).
A coil bobbin handling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said disk magazine (35) of the disk loader (6) includes plural rows of pin jigs (4).