GB1574152A - Wire winding apparatus incorporating a wire guiding means - Google Patents

Description

(54) A WIRE WINDING APPARATUS INCORPORATING A WIRE GUIDING MEANS (71) We, THE FURUKAWA ELEcTRIC Co., LTD., of W1, 2-Chome, Marunouchi Chiyoda-Ku, Tokyo, Japan and SUMITOMO ELEcTRIC INDUSTRIES, LTD., of No. 15, 5-Chome, Kitahama, Higashi-Ku, Osaka City, Osaka, Japan, both JapaneseCompanies, do hereby declare the invention for which we pray that a patent may be granted to us, and the method by which it is to be performed, to be particularly described in and by the following statement: This invention relates to a wire winding apparatus incorporating a wire guiding means.

In particular, the invention concerns a wire winding apparatus including a guide means for distributing the wire, for example an electric cable, onto a take-up reel in an arranged manner.

The wire guide means of such a winding apparatus is arranged to traverse the takeup reel in the direction parallel to its rotary axis in order to guide each turn of the wire onto the reel, so that the wire is layered on the reel in an ordered manner.

Since at the completion of each layer of turns wound on the reel the wire is caused to engage a reel end flange and is thus raised up to form a new winding layer adjacent to the end flange, the first turn of the new winding layer has a tendencv to spring away from the corresponding reel flange due to the torsional rigidity of the wire. Advantagously the first turn of the wire should therefore be urged against the appropriate reel flange so that it is located closely thereto.

In the operation of the conventional wire winding apparatus, therefore, it is known for an operator or operators to enter between the wire guiding means and the reel and manuallv urae the wire against the reel end flange during the winding of an initial turn of a new laver of wire. This operation, is. however. extremely dangerous.

It has hitherto been pronosed to provide a wire guiding means which is arranged to urge the first turn of each of the winding lavers against the annropriate reel flange see for example British Patent Specification No.

1,439,429. However, such an arrangement requires a relatively complicated construction of the wire guiding means.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide a wire guiding means which carries out the function referred to above, whilst being of simpler construction than hitherto known devices.

In accordance with the present invention there is provided a wire winding apparatus including a wire distributor arranged to traverse a take-up reel upon which the wire is to be wound, in a direction parallel to the rotary axis of said take-up reel, in order to guide the wire during winding thereof onto the take-up reel so that the wire is layered on the reel, said distributor comprising a pair of wire guiding members spaced apart in a direction parallel to the said axis of said reel, means for advancing and retracting each of said guide members relatively to the reel independently in a direction towards and away from the axis of the reel, means for urging each of said wire guide members in a direction parallel to the rotary axis of the said reel, and means for actuating said advancing and retracting means and said urging means in accordance with the relative positions of said distributor and the wire take-up reel in a direction parallel to the rotary axis of said reel in such a manner that during winding of an initial turn of wire of a new layer adjacent an end flange of the reel, one of said guide members is located in a position advanced relatively to the other whereby the wire is guided between said one member and the end flange of the reel, and said one guide member is urged towards said end flange, and that during winding of the wire subsequently to completion of said initial turn, both of said guide members located in positions which are either advanced or retracted relative to the axis of said reel, whereby the wire is guided between the adjacent guide members.

The invention is illustrated by way of example in the accompanying drawings, in which: Fig. 1 is a top view of a wire take-up apparatus comprising a wire guiding device in accordance with a first embodiment of the present invention; fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the wire take-up apparatus taken along the line II- II of Fig. 1; Rag. 3 is a block diagram of a controller used in the device of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a top view of a modification of the wire guiding device of Fig. 1; and Fig. 5 is a side view of the device of Fig.

4.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, there is shown a first embodiment of the present invention.

A distributor 14 disposed in front of a reel 10 transversely guides a wire 16 onto a drum of the reel 10 so that the wire is wound on the reel in an arranged manner. The distributor 14 as conventional, may comprise two pairs of guide rollers 18 and 181, 20 and 201 between which the wire 16 passes. The guide rollers may be mounted on a carriage 26 which is movable along guide rods 24 and 241 in a direction parallel to the axis of the reel 10 by rotation of a feeding screw 22.

Thus, each time each turn of the wire 16 is wound on the drum 12 of the reel 10, the wire is transversely fed a distance corres ponding to the diameter of the wire by the distributor so as to be wound on the reel 10 in an arranged manner. In the illustrated embodiment, the rear pair of guide rollers 18 and 181 may be vertically disposed, while the front pair of guide rollers 20 and 201 extend in a plane perpendicular to the axis of reel 10 and may be preferably inclined in their axes so as to advance toward the top ends of the guide rollers 20 and 201.

An auxiliary carriage 30 is supported on the carriage 26 so that the auxiliary carriage 30 is movable relative to the carriage 26 along a pair of guide rods 32 and 321 à short stroke in a direction parallel to the axis of the reel 10. Guide blocks 34 and 341 which rotatably support the guide rollers 18 and 181 are so supported on the auxiliary car riagè 30 that the guide blocks are movable in a direction parallel to the axis of the reel 10 by a guide rod 36 and a screw 38 both extending through the guide blocks 34 and 341 The inclined guide rollers 20 and 2ûl are rotatably supported on supporting blocks 40 and 401 which are in turn supported on the respective guide blocks 34 and 341 through position adjustement means 42 and 42'. The position adjustment means 42 and 421 comprise guide rods 44 and 441 sli da-bly extending through the respective guide blocks 34 and 341 and having the supporting blocks 40 and 401 secured to the front rods df the guide rods 44 and 44l, and air litidrs 46 and 461 mounted on the respective guide blocks 34 and 341 and having re piston rods 46e and 461a connec w the respective guide rods 44 and 441.

The respective piston rods of the air cylinders 46 and 46t may be individually extended and retracted by means of a controller which will be described later. Thus, it will be understood that the guide rollers 20 and 201 may be individually movable between an advanced position in which the guide rollers 20 and 201 extend between the flanges 10a and lOb of the reel 10 as indicated in solid lines in Fig. 2 and a retracted position as illustrated in broken lines in which the guide rollers 20 and 201 are located out of the reel flanges 10a and lOb. As shown in Fig. 1, the screw 38 has the right and left halves reversely threaded and is connected to an electric motor 39 mounted on the auxiliary carriage 30. Thus, it will be understood that when the electric motor 39 is rotated in one direction, the guide rollers 18 and 181, 20 and 201 are spaced apart so as to allow the wire 16 to be inserted into the space between the guide rollers 18 and 18', 20 and 201 and that when the electric motor 39 is rotated in the other direction, the guide rollers 18 and 181, 20 and 201 are closed together to hold the wire 16 therebetween.

Means 48 is provided to maintain the wire guiding means in its end position adjacent to either of the reel flanges when the wire 16 begins to be wound as a first turn of a new winding layer adiacent to either of the reel flanges. In the illustrated embodiment, the means 48 comprises the auxiliary carriage 30 and two air cylinders 50 and 501 having piston rods 50a and SOla arranged in a reverse direction to each other.

The air cylinder 50 is mounted on the carriage 26, and the air cylinder 501 is supported on the piston rod 50a of the air cylinder 50 through a supporting arm 52, with the piston rod Sola connected to the auxiliary carriage 30. Thus, it will be understood that when the wire 16 is raised up as a new winding layer adjacent to the reel flange 10a, for example, the piston rod SOa of the air cylinder 50 is extended so that the guide roller 201 is moved to guide the wire 16 against the reel flange 10a, and that when the wire 16 is raised up as a further new winding layer adjacent to the reel flange lOb, the piston rod Sola of the air cylinder SO1 is extended so that the guide roller 20 is moved to guide the wire 16 against the reel flange lOb.

A controller which controls the operation of the position adjustment means 42 and 42t and the means 48 includes first position detectors 54 and 541 and second position detectors 56 and 561. The first position detectors 54 and 541 are positioned adjacent to the reel flanges IOa and lOb, respectively, so that when they are operated by respective lugs (not shown) on the carriage 26 just prior to engagement of the guide rollers 20 and 20' With the respective reel flanges lOa and lOb. The second position detectors 56 and 561 are positioned beyond the respective first position detectors, so that they are operated by the same respective lugs when the wire 16 engages the reel flanges 10a and lOb and begins to be raised up or is raised up as a new winding layer. The first and second position detectors may comprise micro-switches or proximity switches, and are preferably adjustable in position in a direction parallel to the axis of the reel 10 based on the diameter of the wire 16 to be taken up. The first position detectors 54 and 541 generate an electrical signal to operate the position adjustment means 42 and 421 so as to cause the guide rollers 20 and 201 to be retracted from the solid line position to the broken line position of Fig. 2 or advanced in a reverse manner, and the second position detectors 56 and 561 generate an electrical signal to operate the means 48 so as to cause the wire to be urged against the reel flanges l0a and lOb (see Fig. 3).

In operation, normally the inclined guide rollers 20 and 201 both have the advanced position as indicated by the solid line in Fig. 2 and the wire 16 is wound on the reel 10 while it passes between the guide rollers 18 and 181, 20 and 20t and is guided adjacent to the point where the wire is wound on the drum 12 of the reel 10. When the wire 16 nearly reaches the reel flange lOa, the electrical signal from the first position detector 54 causes the position adjustment means 42 to be operated to retract the inclined guide roller 20 adjacent the reel flange 10a to the position as indicated by the broken line in Fig. 2. Thus, it will be noted that the wire 16 further approaches the reel flange 10a by leftward movement of the carriage 26 as viewed in Fig. 1. In the position of the wire 16 adjacent to the reel flange lOa, the last turn of the present winding layer of the wire terminates at a distance equal to a half of the diameter of the wire 16 from the reel flange lOa, and a first turn of a new winding layer seats on a valley between the last turn of the underneath winding layer and the reel flange lOa.

As the new winding layer begins to be wound, the second position detector 56 generates an electrical signal, which causes the piston rod 50a of the air cylinder 50 of the means 48 to be extended to bias the auxiliary carriage 30 in a leftward direction as viewed in Fig. 1, so that the inclined guide roller 201 urges the wire 16 against the flange 10s of the reel 10 while the first turn of the new winding layer is being wound. Thus, it will be noted that the wire 16 can be prevented from movement away from the reel flange lûa which tends to occur due to its torsional rigidity, with the result that defective winding can be effectively prevented.

The electrical signal from the second position detector 56 may also instruct a reel rotating angle detector 58 (Fig. 3) such as a counter to count pulses frolic a pulse generator (not shown). The reel rotating angle detector 58 generates an electrical signal when the first turn of the new winding layer terminates being wound, namely when the reel 10 has rotated nearly one revolution.

The electrical signal causes the piston rod 50a of the air cylinder 50 to be retracted to the original position. Thus, as the first turn of the new -winding layer terminates being wound, the force by which the wire 16 is urged against the reel flange lOu is removed and another controller (not shown) causes the distributor 14 to be reversely moved in a rightward direction as viewed in Fig. 1. Thus, the carriage 26 is moved in rightward direction, and therefore, the first position detector 54 is not now operated so that the wire 16 is wound on the reel 10 while being transversely guided in the normal manner. As the wire 16 nearly reaches the outer reel flange lOb, the wire guiding device is operated by the position detectors 54 and 541 in a manner substantially identical to that of the foregoing operation. In Fig. 3, numeral 60 schematically designates a control system of an electromagnetic valve to control a pneumatic system for the air cylinders 46, 46', 50 and 501 in response to the electrical signals from the position detectors 54, 54t, 56 and 561 and the reel rotating angle detector 58.

Figs. 4 and 5 show a modification of the invention substantially identical to the embodiment of Figs. 1 to 3, except that the guide rollers 20 and 201 of the wire engaging means are normally positioned rearwards out of the -space between the flanges lOa and lOb of the reel 10, either of the guide rollers 20 and 201 being advanced when the wire is to be urged against the corresponding reel flange lOa or lOb. The same components are designated by the same numerals. In this modification, -the guide rollers 20 and 201 of the wire engaging -means are pivotally mounted at their shafts 20a and 201a on The respective guide blocks 34 and 341 and the piston rods 46s and 461a of the air cylinders 46 and 461 of the position adjustment means 42 and 421 are pivotally connected to the shafts 20a and 20a, respectively. An electrical signal from the first position detectors (not shown) corresponding to the first position detectors 54 and 541 causes the position adjustment means 42 and 421 to be operates so that the guide roller 20 or 201 of the wire engaging means is advanced to face the reel flange lOa or lOb. The full operation of the modification referred to above will not be described as it is substantially the same as the previously described embodiment. In the modification shown in Figs. 4 and 5, the guide rollers 18 and 18t are mounted directly on the carriage 26 and not on the guide blocks 34 and 341 Also, the electric motor to rotate the screw 38 is replaced by a handle 39A. Numeral 62 designates a horizontal guide roller rotatably supported on the carriage 26 by brackets 64 and 641. Features of the above described apparatus form the subject of the claims of co-pending British Patent Application number 7914985 (Serial No. 1574154).

WHAT WE CLAIM IS: 1. A wire winding apparatus including a wire distributor arranged to traverse a take-up reel upon which the wire is to be wound, in a direction parallel to the rotary axis of said take-up reel, in order to guide the wire during winding thereof onto the take-up reel so that the wire is layered on the reel, said distributor comprising a pair of wire guiding members spaced apart in a direction parallel to the said axis of said reel, means for advancing and retracting each of said guide members relatively to the reel independently in a direction towards and away from the axis of the reel, means for urging each of said wire guide members in a direction parallel to the rotary axis of the said reel, and means for actuating said advancing and retracting means and said urging means in accordance with the relative positions of said distributor and the wire take-up reel in a direction parallel to the rotary axis of said reel in such a manner that during winding of an initial turn of wire of a new layer adjacent an end flange of the reel, one of said guide members is located in a position advanced relatively to the other whereby the wire is guided between said one member and the end flange of the reel, and said one guide member is urged towards said end flange, and that during winding of the wire subsequently to completion of said initial turn, both of said guide members located in positions which are either advanced or retracted relative to the axis of said reel, whereby the wire is guided between the adjacent guide members.

2. A wire winding apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said guide means comprises a pair of guide rollers the axis of each of which extends in a plane perpendicular to the rotary axis of the take-up reel.

3. A wire winding apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the said means for urging each guide member against a reel flange comprises an auxiliary carriage mounted on a carriage of said distributor so as to move in a direction parallel to the axis of said reel and carrying said guide members thereon, and cylinder means connected to said auxiliary carriage to move the latter relatively to the carriage of the distributor and thereby to urge the advanced one of said guide members toward the corresponding one of said flanges of said reel.

4. A wire winding apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 1--3, wherein said guide members normally have the advanced position and the arrangement is such that the one of said guide members closer to a reel end flange is retracted as it approaches said end flange.

5. A wire winding apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 1-3, wherein said pair of guide members normally have the retracted position, and the arrangement is such that the one of said guide rollers more distant from a reel end flange is advanced as said guide members approach said flange.

6. A wire winding apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 1-5, wherein the means for advancing and retracting said guide members comprises two cylinder means having respective piston rods connected to lower ends of said guide members.

7. A wire winding apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 1-5, wherein said pair of guide members are pivotally mounted, and wherein the means for advancing and retracting said guide members comprises two cylinder means having respective piston rods pivotally connected to said guide members at points spaced from their mounting pivots.

8. A wire winding apparatus substantially as described herein with reference to Figs. 1-3 or Figs. 1-3 as modified by Figs.

4 and 5 of the accomDs"v;ng drawings.

**WARNING** end of DESC field may overlap start of CLMS **.

Claims (8)

**WARNING** start of CLMS field may overlap end of DESC **. not on the guide blocks 34 and 341 Also, the electric motor to rotate the screw 38 is replaced by a handle 39A. Numeral 62 designates a horizontal guide roller rotatably supported on the carriage 26 by brackets 64 and 641. Features of the above described apparatus form the subject of the claims of co-pending British Patent Application number 7914985 (Serial No. 1574154). WHAT WE CLAIM IS:

1. A wire winding apparatus including a wire distributor arranged to traverse a take-up reel upon which the wire is to be wound, in a direction parallel to the rotary axis of said take-up reel, in order to guide the wire during winding thereof onto the take-up reel so that the wire is layered on the reel, said distributor comprising a pair of wire guiding members spaced apart in a direction parallel to the said axis of said reel, means for advancing and retracting each of said guide members relatively to the reel independently in a direction towards and away from the axis of the reel, means for urging each of said wire guide members in a direction parallel to the rotary axis of the said reel, and means for actuating said advancing and retracting means and said urging means in accordance with the relative positions of said distributor and the wire take-up reel in a direction parallel to the rotary axis of said reel in such a manner that during winding of an initial turn of wire of a new layer adjacent an end flange of the reel, one of said guide members is located in a position advanced relatively to the other whereby the wire is guided between said one member and the end flange of the reel, and said one guide member is urged towards said end flange, and that during winding of the wire subsequently to completion of said initial turn, both of said guide members located in positions which are either advanced or retracted relative to the axis of said reel, whereby the wire is guided between the adjacent guide members.

2. A wire winding apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said guide means comprises a pair of guide rollers the axis of each of which extends in a plane perpendicular to the rotary axis of the take-up reel.

3. A wire winding apparatus as claimed in Claim 1 or 2, wherein the said means for urging each guide member against a reel flange comprises an auxiliary carriage mounted on a carriage of said distributor so as to move in a direction parallel to the axis of said reel and carrying said guide members thereon, and cylinder means connected to said auxiliary carriage to move the latter relatively to the carriage of the distributor and thereby to urge the advanced one of said guide members toward the corresponding one of said flanges of said reel.

4. A wire winding apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 1--3, wherein said guide members normally have the advanced position and the arrangement is such that the one of said guide members closer to a reel end flange is retracted as it approaches said end flange.

5. A wire winding apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 1-3, wherein said pair of guide members normally have the retracted position, and the arrangement is such that the one of said guide rollers more distant from a reel end flange is advanced as said guide members approach said flange.

6. A wire winding apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 1-5, wherein the means for advancing and retracting said guide members comprises two cylinder means having respective piston rods connected to lower ends of said guide members.

7. A wire winding apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 1-5, wherein said pair of guide members are pivotally mounted, and wherein the means for advancing and retracting said guide members comprises two cylinder means having respective piston rods pivotally connected to said guide members at points spaced from their mounting pivots.

8. A wire winding apparatus substantially as described herein with reference to Figs. 1-3 or Figs. 1-3 as modified by Figs.

4 and 5 of the accomDs"v;ng drawings.