US2344337A - Core winding machine - Google Patents

Description

March 14, 1944. T. L wlNEsTocK CORE WINDING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet l Filed May 20, 1941 March 14, 1944. T. 1 wlNEsTocK CORE WINDING MACHINE Filed May 2o, 1941 4 sheets-sheet 2 March 14, 1944. T. L. WINESTOCK CORE wINnING MACHINE Filed May 20, 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Inventor" T l-weodore L. Winestoclf( b5 f. Hittorneg.

Mardi 14, 1944-' T. L. `wlNEs-rocK v 2,344,337

CORE WINDING'MACHINE Filed May 20. 1941 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Inventor Theodore LwineSt-,OCK by LMWLWJMM His Attorn Patented Mer. 14, 1944 `2,344,337

UNITED' sTATEs PATENT oFFlcE CORE WINDING MACHINE Thodore L. Winestock, Lenox, Mass., assignor to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Application May 20, 1941, Serial No. 394,333

13 Claims. (Cl, 242-4) My invention relates to strip coiling arrangenetic properties of the material. After the coils ments. of strip have been annealed they are applied to It is an object of my invention to provide imthe conductive winding structure. This involves proved methods and apparatus for rapidly coilunwinding the strip and rewinding it around the ing magnetic strip material tightly into non-cirwinding legs of the electrical or conductive windcular coils of a predetermined size having spacers ing structure. Duringr the unWinding step the at predetermined portions of the coil, with means spacers drop Out. Nevertheless, after the coil for feeding in spacersat the proper time and of strip has been rewound around the conductive holding them in place until wound in, carrying winding leg, it has the same size and shape as out the operation with safety to the operator l0 when annealed, the respective turns have the and requiring but negligible attention on the part same sizes and shapes as in the original coil of of the operator. strip, and the portions of strip material are in The objects of my invention include also the the saine consecutive order in the core of the provision of mechanical and pneumatic sheet completed electromagnetic induction apparatus material manipulatingv arrangements, arrangeas in the original coil of strip as annealed.

ments for reducing variations in peripheral speed One of the specific objects 0f my ntentiOn iS in non-circular coiling, arrangements for shutto provide arrangements for rapidly and ecoting down the apparatus in response to exhausn nomically, as Well as accurately, inserting the tion of material to be fed or in case of emergency, spacers in the coil of strip as it is being wound and arrangements for adjusting the apparatus 2 on an arbor preparatory t0 being annealed to accommodate strips or coils of different di- A better understanding of the invention will mensions. be afforded by the following detailed description Other and further objects and advantages will considered in connection with the accompanying becomek apparent as the description proceeds. drawings, and those features of the invention In acopending application of Jacob J. Vienwhich I believe to be novel and patentable will neau, serial No. 318,868, med February 14, 1940, `be pointed out in the claims appended hereto.

Electromagnetic induction apparatus and meth- In the drawings Fig. 1 is a perspective View.`

od of making the same, assigned to the same partially schematic, 0f apparatus fOr ccilinS assignee as the, present application, and which magnetic strip material into magnetic cores. issued as' Patent No. 2,305,649 on December 22, 3., which apparatus forms one embodiment of my 1942, there is described a transformer or reactor invention; Fig. 2 is a, fragmentary sectional view having a core composed of magnetic strip mateof a guide for the magnetic strip material shown rial spirally wound ilatwise to form a hollow nonas cut by a vertical plane, with a fragmentary circular cylinder. AThe cores specically shown side view of the strip; Fig. 3 is a fragmentary 'therein by Way of illustration are elongated, 35 sectional view of the strip guide shown as cut either substantially elliptical or oblong, having by a horizontal plane with a fragmentary top spaces `in the ends or short sides of the core, while view of the strip; Fig. 4 is a detailed side view close surface contact is maintained between ad` of a pneumatic spacer pickl1p arm constituting jacent layers of strip in the remaining portions a part of the apparatus of Fig- 1; Fig. 5 is a deof the turns of strip. The close surface contact tailed top view of the apparatus of Fig. 4 shown is desirable for the sake of giving the core low partially in section as Cut by the plane 5, 5 of magnetic reluctance in order to have low mag- Fig. 4; Fic 6 iS a View 0f a broken Section cut netizing current in the transformer. The spaces by the planes 6, 6 of Fig. 4 looking in the direcipetween layers of Strip at a certain portion of tion of the arrows; Fig. 7 is a front elevation the turn are provided to facilitate the assembly (lL-of an indexing mechanism at the front of the of the core with preformed and preinsulated apparatus of Fig. l, provided for controlling the 'form-wound conductive' winding structures. As insertion of spacers at proper intervals in the explained in the aforesaid Vienneau patent apstrip core as it is being coiled; Fig, 8 is a left plication, the spaces in the coiled core are obside elevation, partially in section, of the mechatained by winding spacers or pieces of sheet metal nisrn of Fig. 7, Seen as cut by the piane 8, 8 of into the coil of strip when itis originally formed Fig. 7 looking in the direction of the arrows; to the desired shape. Such an original coil of Fig. 9 is a fragmentary broken sectional view of strip containing spacers is annealed in order to a linkage guiding cam slot arrangement constiremove the mechanical strains introduced by the tuting a part of the mechanism of Figs. 7 and 8 coiling process, and to restore the favorable magshown as cut by the planes 9, 9 of Fig. 7, and

as seen from above; Figs. i te 13, inclusive, are explanatory diagrams showing various stages in a cycle of operation of the apparatus of Fig. 1; Fig. represents the stage of the operation with cams and other parts of the apparatus in the position illustrated in Fig. 1, at which stage a spacer is about to be placed against the strip; Fig. 11 represents the stage at which the spacer is placed against the strip; Fig. 12 represents the stage at which the spacer pick-up arm has dropped in order to pick up a spacer from a hopper containing the spacers; Fig. 13 represents the stage at which the hopper has been retracted to enable the spacer pick-up arm to pick up the top spacer in the stack contained by the hopper; Fig. 14 is a plan view of a coil of strip completely wound around a mandrel with spacers inserted at only one end or narrow side of the coil; Fig. 15 is a similar view with spacers inserted at both ends of the coil of strip; Fig. 16 is a perspective, partially exploded, view of an arrangement for quickly clamping the mandrel to the turntable of the coiling machine of Fig. 1 in an easily releasable manner: Fig. 17 is a perspective view of a xture for bending the ends of the strip to shape before cutting oil to facilitate the start of the next coil of strip, and Figs. 18 and 19 are diagrams illustrating the manner ef using the fixture of Fig. 17. Like reference characters are used throughout the drawings to designate like In the machine illustrated in Fig. 1 there is a rotatable reel II carrying a relatively large supply or feed roll I2 consisting of strip material from which the strip I3 is unwound and wrapped into a coil Il around a mandrel I5 secured to a turntable Il. A roller assembly II may be provided for rolling down any burrs which may have been caused by the slitting of wide sheet material to form the strip material contained in the roll l2. 'I'he burr-reducing roller assembly I1 is mounted between the supply reel Il and the turntable I6. In the arrangement illustrated the supply reel Il and the turntable I6 havevertical axes of rotation and are mounted above a horizontal platform or table I3 to which many of the other parte of the apparatus are secured. It will be understood, however, that my invention is not limited to the precise arrangement illustrated.

Mechanism is provided for inserting spacers at predetermined intervals between layers of the coil of strip Il as it is being formed. In the arrangement illustrated spacers such as that shown at I3 are composed of sheet material having dimensions approximating the height and width of the end of the mandrel I5. For convenience the spacers Il may consist of pieces cut from a strip of material similar to the strip I3. The spacer inserting mechanism is arranged to place the spacers, one at a time. against a portion of the inner surface of the strip I3 before that portion actually reaches the mandrel I6. The spacer-feeding mechanism includes a pick-up arm assembly 20 with a suction cup 2l for picking spacers from a stack 22 in a hopper 23. spacer I3, against the surface of the strip I3 until they are wound into the coil Il an electromagnet 2l is provided which magnetizes a length of the strip I3 between the roller assembly I1 and the mandrel I5.

For increasing the accuracy with which the spacers Il are located in relation to the peripheral length of the strip I3, a hinged gate 26 is provided which normally rests against the inner surface of For holding the spacers. such as the ascesa? the strip I3,near the mandrel Il, and which is provided with mechanism for releasing it at the proper instant to cause the spacer to be wound in accurately at the end of the coil I4. The gate 26 is controlled electrically and for opening it at the proper instant a cam switch arrangement 36. illustrated more in detail in Fig. 7, is provided. The timing of the operation of the cam switch arrangement 26 is corrected for the changing shape and angularity of the coil I4 as it builds up, by means of an indexing arrangement which will be described more in detail hereinafter.

The turntable I6, the gate timing mechanism 26, and the apparatus for-operating the spacerinserting mechanism including the pick-up arm 20 are all driven through suitable mechanical drives by a motor 2l. In order to make the peripheral speed of the strip I3 more nearly uniform as it winds on to the non-circular coil I4, a pair of elliptical gears 28 and 29 is provided in the mechanical connection between the motor 2l and the turntable Il.

For controlling the application of power to the apparatus by the motor 21, a clutch 30 is provided having an operating foot pedal 3|, to which is attached a spring 3|', tending to hold the clutch out of engagement. For holding the foot pedal 3| in the clutch-engaging position, a springbiased latch 32 is provided, having a normally open circuited solenoid 33 acting upon a plunger for releasing the clutch electrically when necessary. A source of electrical current 36 is provided for energizing the clutch releasing winding 33 when one of the switches to be described hereinafter is closed. For manually shutting down the apparatus by releasing the clutch there is a manual switch 35. For shutting down the apparatus when the coil I4 has been wound to the proper size. there is a counter 36 which closes a pair of contacts, not shown, when a predetermined number of turns for which the counter 36 is set have been wound on to the coil I4. In order to guard against producing a coil I4 having an insufficient number of spacers I9, a spacer-failure shutdown is provided including serially connected camoperated contacts 3l and vacuum-failure operawd contacts 33, which energize the clutch releasing winding 33 when both contacts 31 and 3l are closed.

To facilitate quickly securing the mandrel Il to the turntable I6 and easily releasing it, the clamping arrangement illustrated in Fig. 16 is provided; To facilitate the cutting of! of the strip after a coil has been completely formed and for suitably bending the end of the strip which will form the beginning end of the next coil, the bending fixture shown in Fig. 17 is provided.

To simplify the drawings and permit condensing the explanation, apparatus has been illustrated for winding only a single coil I4 and handling only a single strip I3. It will be understood, however, that my invention is not limited to this speciilc arrangement and that various parts, such as the reel I I, the turntable I6, and the spacer feeding mechanism, may be duplicated to provide for simultaneous coiling of identical strip cores under the control oi a single gate-controlling switch and indexing arrangement 26 and a single counting arrangement 36 driven by a single motor 3l.

The large rolls of strip material I3 are ordinarily received in that form from the mill, and it will be understood that it is advantageous to construct the reel Il in such a manner that the top flange 38 may readily be removed, in order v with the heads I8 of take the form of pneumatic or mechanical brake acting with automatically controlled shoe 48 is carried by a pivoted arm 42 which is connected to one end of a spring 43 secured at the other end to the table I8 in order to maintain a predetermined pressure between the brake shoe 48 and the roll I2.

The roller assembly I1 includes a pair of rollers 44 between which the strip I3 is drawn. The rollers 44 are mounted in a frame 45 which in turn is pivotally secured to a pivotally mounted bracket 46. The roller-carrying frame 45 includes a yoke mechanism 41 with rods bearing againstvjournals of the rollers 44 in order to maintain a predetermined provided such as nuts 48. For cleaning scale and other foreign matter from the surfaces of the rollers 44, wiping blades 48 and 58 are provided which are spring-pressed against the rollers 44.

The roller-carrying frame 45 has an extension I toward the supply reel II which has an opening shaped to receive the strip I3 and guide it between the rollers 44. The extension 5I (Figs. l, 2, and 3) serves also to align the roller-carryf ing frame 45 at such an 'angle as to maintain the sion 5I to receive the strip-guiding inserts 52. For varying the height at which the rolleri'rame 45 is supported, a. suitable screw or rack arrangement operated by a crank 54 and carrying the bracket 48,v may be provided. The bracket 46 is preferably mounted to have a horizontally pivoted axis in dom to the strip I3 inl maintaining its natural alignment in passing from the roll I2 to the coil I4.

'I'he turntable I8 is carried by a vertical shaft suitably Journaled in a bushing or bearing 55 secured to the table I8, and a bearing 56 formed in a lower horizontal plate or 'shelf 51. For reducing weight and cost the mandrels I5 are ordinarily made hollow and in order to provide a means for fastening the mandrels to the turntable I8 which means may be secured and released easily, the turntable I6 may be provided with two vertical posts 68 and 58 secured thereto to cooperate with two openings 88 and 8| in the mandrels I 8. For clamping the mandrel I5 to the turntable I8 each of the posts 58 and 58 may be provided with projecting rods with overhanging yor buttonshaped heads 62 and 63 and a notched iiat bar 64 may be provided with a threaded opening 65 to cooperate with a screw 66. The bar 64 has slots 61 and 68 adapted to fit under the heads 62 and 63 and the screw 66 has a handle 69 for rotating the screw 66 to drive the lower end 18 againstl the top of the bridging portion I5 of the mandrel I5 when the bar 64 is fitted under the screw heads 62 and 63. The apparatus is limited to handling mandrels of a particular size as the posts 58 and 59 may be provided with threaded holes 58 to facilitate bolting on llers to increase the sizes of the posts to accommodate any desired size of mandrel.

The spacer feeding arrangement includes the sliding hopper 23 and the pivoted pick-up arm assembly 28 illustrated in Figs. l and 10 to i3. The hopper 23 is in the form of an inclined box example, by means of rollers 1I rotatably secured to the hopper 23 and pairs of stationary rails 12 between which the rollers 1I and the sides oi' the hopper 23 are slidably held. The rails 12 are secured to the table I8 of the machine in a suitable manner, not illustrated. For controlling the movement of the sliding hopper 23 there is an arm 13 pivotally secured at the lower end to the hopper 23 and having a cam follower 14 at its upper end. A hopper retracting cam 15 is provided to cooperate with the cam follower 14. To hold the upper end of the arm 13 in place slidably, it may be formed with an elongated opening 16 through which a cam shaft 11 passes.

The pick-up arm'assembly 28 is represented in Figs. l and l0 to 13 and illustrated more -in detail in Figs. 4, 5, and 6. This assembly comprises an outer sleeve member 18 and a. telescoping two part inner member consisting of an inner sleeve 18 and a projecting rod 88. 88 carries the suction cup 2| and has a passage 88'- formed therein to which is secured a tubular member 8I for li'orrning a connection between a pneumatic hose 82. The suction cup 2| is composed of a suitable resilient material such as soft iently biasing the inner sleeve member toward the pivot axis 83. The inner end of the rod 88 is made hollow and contains a compression spring 88 to permit the projecting end of the rod 88 to yield when the inner sleeve member 'I8 is pushed longitudinally forward in a manner which will be explained hereinafter. For limiting relative movement of the rod 88 and the inner sleeve member 18, the latter may be provided with a. slot 'I'he end of the rod` which is closed at the forward end 30. and the rod 30 may have a transverse pin 0|, secured therein, which projects into the slot 09 of the inner sleeve member 19 but does not engage the inner surface of the outer sleeve member 10.

For giving the spacer pick-up rod 80 both angular and longitudinal movement, two different cam arrangements are provided. The angular movement is provided by a lifting cam assembly consisting of a lifting cam 92 carried Iby the main cam shaft 11, a cam ollower 93, and an arm 04 pivoted to the outer sleeve member 10. The outer-'sleeve member 10 has secured thereto a forked ear pivotally holding one end of the arm 94 and the other end of the arm 94 is provided with an elongated opening 9B through which the cam shaft 11 passes. 'Ihe cam 92 is so shaped as to lift the pick-up arm assembly including the rod 80 to the horizontal position for about 50 degrees of the angular rotation of the cam shaft 11 and to leave the pick-up arm assembly in the lower position represented by Figs. l2 and 13 during about 180 of the angular rotation of the cam shaft 11. The remainder of the angular rotation of the cam shaft 11 is consumed in the raising and lowering of pick-up arm.

The cam arrangement for producing the longitudinal motion of the rod 00 of the pick-up arm assembly consists of a cam 91 carried by the upper cam shaft 03 and a cam follower 0I in the form of a roller revolving on a pin 30 (Fig. 5)

`projecting laterally from the inner sleeve member through a slot |00 in the far side oi.' the outer tubular member 18. The transversely projecting pin 99 carries also a. second roller |0| which is adapted to cooperate with a stationary rail |02 represented by dotted lines in Fig. 5 and omitted for simplicity from Fig. l.

The rail |02 serves for limitinglthe upward movement of the pick-up arm assembly when the cam follower 58 is being pressed up by the cam 01.

The flexible hose 02 leading at one end to the suction cup 2| is connected at the other end to a T |03 (Figs. l0-l3), which has one inlet connected to a suction valve |04 and a second inlet connected to an air pressure valve |05. The valves |04 and |05 are connected to a vacuum reservoir and an air pressure reservoir through a vacuum line |00 and a pressure line |01, respectively. The valves |04 and |05 are cam controlled having valve stems :formed at their upper ends as cam followers |08 and |00 to cooperate with cams ||0 and III, respectively, carried by the main cam shaft 11. The cam I I0 is so shaped as to open the vacuum valve |04 and apply suction to the suction cup 2| from the time a spacer has been picked -up until it is in position to be placed against the strip I 3. The air pressure cam is so shaped as to apply air pressure to the suction cup 2| after the vacuum has been cut oi! in order to insure ejection of the spacer I3 from the suction cup 2|, at once.

'I'he magnet 24 for holding the spacer I0 againstthe inner surface of the strip I3, as the strip travels along to be wound upon the mandrel I5, has a pair of long pole pieces I|2 and ||3 of opposite polarity extending along the outside surfaces of the strip I3 near the upper and lower edges thereof (Fig. l). The pole pieces ||2 and ||3 are of suilicient length to magnetize all of the portion of the strip material from a point slightly in back of the spacer feeding mechanism to the mandrel I5. In order to obtain a strong magnetomotive force from the magnet 24, it may be made in the form of an electromagnet having a coil I I4 with an elongated opening surrounding a yoke 5 joining the pole pieces I I2 and ||3.Y The pole pieces II2, ||3 and the yoke ||5 are composed of relatively permeable magnetic material. In order that the pole pieces I|2 and ||3 may continue to rest against the outer surface of the strip I3 while the non-circular mandrel I5 is being rotated, the magnet 24 is pivotally supported by means of a U-shaped bracket IIB pivoted coaxially with the point of tangency of the rollers 44 by means of pins ||1 to suitable members such as the stationary bracket III supported by the table I8 of the apparatus. A spring H6 is provided for normally holding the electromagnet 24 toward the strip to supplement magnet pull. For holding the pivotal electromagnet 24 out of the way when the apparatus is being adjusted or a new coil of strip is being started, a latch ||9 may be provided pivotally supported on a post |20 secured to the table Il. The electromagnet I I5 is energized by a source of current, not shown, and normally remains energized throughout the cycle of operation oi' the apparatus.

The spacer gate 25 is pivotally secured to a bracket |2| attached to the swinging arm carrying the electromagnet 24. In the arrangement illustrated, the bracket |2| is formed to include a sleeve bearing |22 carrying a spindle |23. The lower end of the spindle |23 has an arm |24 secured thereto carrying the spacer gate 25, which extends transversely to the strip I3. The arm |24 or the spindle |23 may also carry a springpressed roller |25 adapted to bear resiliently against the strip I3 or the spacer I9 passing thereunder in order to hold the trapped spacer against the strip I3, thus preventing it from being plucked away by opening of the gate 25. To the upper end of the spindle |23 is secured a crank arm |26. For rotating the crank arm |26 to release a spacer by opening the gate 25, an electromagnetic plunger mechanism |21 is provided consisting of a solenoid coil |28, a plunger |20, and a connecting rod |30 joined by wrist pins to the ends of the plunger |20 and the crank arm |20. 'I'he electromagnetic coil |28 for opening the gate 25 is electrically connected by means of a pair of conductors |3| and contacts of the switch arrangement 26 to the current source 34.

The switch arrangement 26, as illustrated more in detail in Fig. 7, includes a rotating cam |32 carried by an extension of the main cam shaft 11. A micro-switch |33 having contacts, not shown, is operated by the cam |32l The contacts of the micro-switch |33 are connected in series with the conductors |3| to the current source 34. For varying the phase relationship between the angular position of the cam shaft 1`| and the instant of switch-closing operation, the microswitch |33 is secured to a rotatable arm |34 and the angular position of the arm |34 is controlled by an indexing arrangement. This indexing arrangement is provided for varying the relationship between the angular position of the turntable I6 and the instant of opening of the gate 25, as the coil I4 increases in size, in order to allow for the fact that the peripheral lengths of the turns of strip increase and the angle of approach of the strip changes as the size of the coil I4 increases. Since the angularity of the turns oi' strip varies from the inner layer to the outer layer of the coil i4, the indexing arrangement is so constructed as to introduce an additional. not

28 is so positioned angularly as the arm tions, or

assess? necessarily non-linear. factor in order to keep the spacers in alignment as illustrated in Figs. i4 and 15.

. I'he indexing arrangement comprises a disk |35 driven in the same direction as the cam |32 but at relatively low speed in proportion thereto and a linkage connecting the disk |35 to the switch-carrying arm |34. The disk |35 is Lonnected to the cam shaft 11 through a set of changeable speed-changing gears |36 and a. speed reduction gear box |31. A friction clutch |38 is also interposed for enabling the indexing arrangement to be reset after each coll has ben completed. In order that any necessary devia.- tion from linearity may be introduced in the speed relationship between the gear |35 and the cam shaft 11, the linkage between the disk |35 and the micro-switch carrying arm |34 is made adjustable in length. The linkage consists of a broken connecting arm constituted by two separate arms |38 and |40 Joined by a pin |4|. The arm |38 is pivotaliy connected to the disk |35 and the arm |40 is pivotally connected to a crank arm |42 secured to the micro-switch carrying arm |34. One of the connecting arms, for example the arm |39, may be formed with a blfurcated end to'receive the end of the other arm |40. The pin 4| may be secured to one of the arms such |39 and is made of sufficient length to have a projecting end |43 forming a guide pin. For guiding'the pinv |43 and thus fixing the effective length of the linkage between the disk |35 and the crank arm |42, a plate |44 is provided having a slot |45 cut therein and adapted to receive the guide pin |43. The cam-slot plate |44 is removably secured to the supporting structure of the indexing arrangement in any suitable manner as by means of bolts |46. Different plates, such as the plate |44, are provided havingl cam slots of different shapes cut therein to provide for the coiling of strip cores having different shapes with different degrees of angularity. The arrangement is such that when a coil. of strip is started on the mandrel I5, the guide pin |4| is at the upper end of the cam slot 45, as illustrated, and when the coil has been completed, the guide pin I 4| has moved toward the lower end of the cam slot |45.' In order to return the indexing arrangement to the starting position, a crank handle |41 may be provided to which it is connected by means of a spindle |48 and a pinion |43 meshing with teeth cut in a portion of the periphery of the disk |35. It Will be understood that only a fraction |35 is required.

The mechanical power for operating the apparatus is provided by the driving motor 21 which is connected to the driving side of the clutch 30 by means of a belt |50 in the apparatus illustrated in Fig. 1. The driving side of the clutch 30 is connected to a shaft I5I mounted in a gear box |52. Power is taken from the gear box |52 through an. output shaft extending in two direca pair of shafts |53 and |54 which extend'from the gear box |52. The shaft |53 supplies power to rotate the turntable I 6 and the shaft |54 indirectly drives the cam shafts.

Themechanical connection between the power shaft i53 and the turntable I6 includes the elliptical gears 28 and 29, one of which is connected to the shaft |53 and the other of which is connected to a shaft |55 which is in turn connected by pairs of bevel gears |56 and |51 to a vertical shaft I 58 carrying the turntable I6. The elliptical gear on its shaft |53 in of a revolution of the disk sprocket arrangement |58. In order to permit relation tc the angular position of the turntable I l as to reduce the angular speed of the turntable I8 relatively when the mandrel I5 is in the position withk the greatest radius perpendicular to the strip Il as illustrated in Fig. 1, and to increase the angular speed of the turntable I6 relatively when it is in the angular position perpendicular to the position shown, at which the radius is a minimum. vIn this manner the speed of travel of the strip I3 is made more nearly uniform, minimizing acceleration and deceleration of the heavy roll I2; and the tendency for the magnet 24 to slap the coil I4 as the mandrel |5 rotates from the short side to the long side, or vice versa, is minimized. I found that satisfactory results for this purpose may be obtained by utilizing gears 28 and 20 which are actually circular but which are eccentrically mounted on the shafts |53 and |55 respectively.

The power from the shaft |56 is communicated to the cam shaft 11 by means of a chain and changing the number of spacers linserted inthe strip coil I4. that is to say. to permit changing the interval at which thespacers are inserted, I may provide a set of speed-changing gears |60 and a change speed gear shift lever |8I. In the arrangement illustrated this consists of a pair of pinions |62 and |63 secured to the driving shaft |54 in auch manner as to be rotatable therewith but longitudinally movable as by means of a spline |64. Cooperating with the pinions |62 and |63 are gears |65 and |66 secured to the driven shaft connected to the chain and sprocket arrangement |53.

In the arrangement illustrated the ratio between diameters of gears |62 and |66 is 1:2, and the ratio-between the gears |63 and |66 is 1:3, so that the speed of the cam shaft 11 may be made either one-half or one-third that of the Aaverage speed of the turntable I6, since a 1:2 speed reduction is provided by the bevel gears |51. Accordingly, the arrangementyas specifically illustrated provides for placing a spacer either once in each turn of the coil of strip I4, or once for each one and one-half turns of the turntable I6.` Thusl the spacers will be placed either all at one end of the coil of strip or at both ends, according to whether the speed ratio between the shaft |54 (double the turntable speed) and the cam shaft 11 is an even integer or an odd integer. For the reasons explained in the aforesaid patent application of Jacob J. Vienneau, it is ordinarily desirable to place the spacers only lat the ends or short sides of the rectangular mandrel I5. However, my invention is not limited to the specific arrangement illustrated and is not limited to the gear ratios shown which give the frequency of insertion of spacers represented by Figs. 14 and 15.

In the arrangement illustrated, the main cam shaft 11 and the upper cam shaft 83 are mechanically connected to rotate at the same speed and in the same direction by means of gears |61 and |68 connected to the shafts 11 and 83, respectively, and meshing with an idler gear |69.

As already explained, the upper cam shaft 83 less of his position at the time.

the tending of several machines by a single oper- 11 drives the indexing arrangement through the speed changing gears |30.

As already explained, the clutch-latch `releasing solenoid Il has a manual switch 35 for energizing it to disengage the clutch III. The manual switch l is shown in conventional form for the sake of simplicity but is preferably in portable form of the type, which may be held in the hand and carried about, having flexible conductors |1| and |12 of considerable length for' electrically connecting it to the wiring of the strip coiling apparatus. This permits the operator to observe the operation of the machine from any position and to shut it down in case of necessity regard- It also facilitates ator, who carries all of the manual shut-down switches. such as the switch II, with hun as he moves about observing the operation of the various machines and starting new coils while the other machines 'are automatically .winding coils of strip which have already been started. It is not necessary for the operator to shut down the machines .when the machine in question has wound the desired number of turns on the coil of strip since this function is performed by the counter 8l. The counter It is a device of a type well known to those skilled in the art which closes an electrical circuit after a predetermined number of turns has been counted and includes an adjusting arrangement for setting it for any desired n er of turns to facilitate winding strip coils of di erent sizes.

As already explained, the apparatus includes an electrical circuit arrangement for shutting down the operation when there is a failure for any reason to pick up the spacer to be inserted in coil. As stated, this includes the contacts l1 and n which connect the solenoid coil Il to the current source 3l when both contacts I1 and Il are closed. The contacts 31 are relatively movable under the control of an arm |13 adapted to be moved by the cam which is so shaped as to close the contacts 31 while the vacuum valve operating cam Ill is in the latter part of its vacuum valve opening position and to open the contacts l1 again before the vacuum valve IM has been closed. The contacts il are part of a vacuum switch includinga bellows or diaphragm I1! which springs outwardly and closes the contacts Il whenever there is a fail- .,ure of maintenance of vacuum in the line |06 which would occur even 'though the vacuum valve IM were open, if the suction cup 2| was also open to atmosphere by reason of having failed to pick up a spacer, which might occur in t case the operator had overlooked placing a suincient supply of spacers 22 in the hopper 23.

The bending ilxture illustrated in Fig. 17 consists oi' a strip |18 having a bent end |11 conforming to the shape of the rounded corners of a nearly iinished coil of strip and a fiat end Ill, to which is secured a block |19 which may be braced if desired by means of a rib I'III secured in any suitable manner as by welding to tha strip end |18 and the block |19. If the strip |18 is not of the same width as the strip material I3, a centering piece |8| may also be secured to the strip |16. The parts |19 and IBI are of a length preferably equalling the width of the strip material Il which is formed into the coils of strip il. The block |19 has a beveled edge |82 with a sharpened corner |83 for bending the end portion of the strip material beyond the point of cut-oi! of the finished coil of strip,

assess? The i'i'rst operation of the operator after cutting the strip when a strip coil has been completed and after removing the completely wound coil of strip is to place a new mandrel over the posts 5l and 58 and to clamp it down by means of the screw I8 and its handle 63. Then the operator places the bent end Ill of the cut strip around one corner of the mandrel. The end has been bent by the fixture of Fig. 17, just before cutting the strip upon completion of the previously wound strip coil. The operator thereupon starts the apparatus by depressing the clutch pedal 43| and allows the turntable Il to take on or two turns to hold the end of the strip in place. It will be understood, of course, that the operator has placed a suillciently large stock of spacers 22 in the hopper 23 to permit winding a complete coil of strip i4. As thestrip is fed from the roll I2 and passes through the mouth of the rear extension of the roller frame 4l, it passes between the rollers Il which roll down any burrs and overcome any irregularities in the fiatness or thickness of the strip material I3. The wiping blades ll and ll keep the rollers 44 clean and thus prevent uneven stretching and extension of the steel, which would make impossible a rightly wound core. The strip then passes the pole pieces I2 and lil of the spacer-holding electromagnet 24 and coils around the mandrel I5, which is being rotated by the turntable Il. At proper intervals determined by the speed ratio between the drive shaft and the cam shafts, a spacer I9 is placed against the strip Il and held in place by the magnetization of the magnet 24. Whenever the turntable II has reached the proper angular position the gate 25 opens to permit the spacer il to continue traveling and to be wound into the coil of strip I4 at one end or the other oi.' the mandrel Ii.

The sequential operation of the cams for producing a desired manipulation of the spacers is represented in Figs. 10 to 13. The direction of rotation of the cams is indicated by arrows. In Fig. 1 and in Fig. 10 the apparatus is shown in the position after a spacer has been picked up by the suction cup 2| and the spacer pick-up arm has been elevated to the horizontal position. As indicated by the arrows in Fig. l0, it will be observed that the cams are rotating in the counterclockwise direction and that the cam l2 has just reached the position at which the spacer pick-up rod Il is lifted to its uppermost or horizontal position. The cam 82 is so shaped that the pick-up arm remains in this position for about 50 degrees of additional rotation and then drops abruptly.

The spacer placing cam 91, however, has a sharper lift and within a relatively few degrees of rotation projects the inner sleeve member 1l (Fig. 6).l to the right, pushing the rod 80 also to the right and pushing the spacer It against the inner surface of the strip I3. 'I'his is represented by Flg. 11. The compression spring 8l is in the telescoping members and permits the rod all to yield so that the spacer I9 may be placed close against the strip il without any danger of damaging the mechanism. At this instant the air pressure cam I|| has opened. the pressure valve |05 admitting air under pressure to the hose 82 and to the suction cup 2| to make sure that the spacer |9 will be ejected from the cup 2| and will remain against the strip il. under the force of the magnetization produced by the magnet 24. It will be observed that in both Fiss. and 11 the vacuum valve camlll isl in a position at which the vacuum valve is c osed.

Further rotation of the cams permits the cam follower 53 to spring back, allowing the suction cup 2| to be retracted under the force oi' the tension spring l1. It also allows the cam follower 93 to drop, which permits the piek-up lution-ofthe gate switch arm assembly to fall to the position represented i' in Fig. 12, and in which the suction cup 2| is directed toward the stack of spacers 22 in the l hopper 23. It will be seen that at this time the vacuum valve cam Hl has reached the position opening the vacuum valve |04 so as to apply suction to the suction cup 2|. Further rotation of the camsv (Fig. 13) brings the hopper retracting cam 15-to the lifting portion of its periphery so as to retract the cam follower 14 and retract the hopper 23 against the suction cup 2| so that the top spacer in the stack 22 will adhere to the suction cup 2|. As further rotation of the cams continues, the mechanism will approach the 'position represented by Fig. 10,

and Just before the position of Fig. 10 is reached,`

the vacuum is shut of! so. that the spacer I3 is held to the suction cup 2| merely by the -suction retained therein. Shortly thereafter, as already explained, the position of Fig. 11 is reached and air pressure eiects the spacer from the suction cup 2|. It is to be observed that the hopper retracted cam 'l5 has a lift of very short dura- 1 tion so that the hopper 23 falls back before the pick-up arm lifting cam 32 starts tn raise the pick-up arm and the spacer I9 to the position shown in Fig. 10. Y

The phase relationship between the operation ofthe gate 25 and the cams has not-been mentioned in connection with the operations thus far describedrepresented by Figs. 10 to 13.. Although this operation must have relationship to the angular positions of the other cams predetermined within quite wide limits, the actual angular relationship between the gate switch controlling cam |32 (Fig. 7) and the other cams depends upon the size of the mandrel l5 and the distance between 25. It will be understood, however, that the angular arrangement between the gate switch controlling cam |32 and the spacer pick-up operating cams must' be such that. the spacer Il is `placed against the strip |3 before the gate 25 is opened by the micro-switch |33 and the time interval between the placing of the spacer I3 against the strip I3 and the opening of the gate 25 must be at least as long as the time required for the strip i3 to travel from the position opposite the spacer pick-up arm to the position opposite the gate 25. This time interval may actually be considerably longer because thegate I5 holds the spacers in place until the proper time to release the spacer. This `time interval ,must in any event be great enough to allow for the slight variations in timing of the operation of the gate 25 produced by the indexing arrangement described in connection with the switch 25.

As the coiling of the strip progresses, the guide pin |4| (Fig. 7) `gradually movesdown in the cam slot |45 but when the coiling of the strip has been 'completed the guide pin |4| reaches a lower position. Before starting another coil of strip the operator manipulates the crank handle |41 to bring the guide pin |4| back to its original position. It will be observed that as the guide pin |4| moves lower in the cam slot |45,

the turntable and the gatel is progressively increased so that with each revothe switch is closed'slightly later and the gate opens slightly later with relation to the angular position of the turntable I5 to allow for increasing perimeter of` the turns of strip in the coil. 'I'he cam slot |45 serves to correct for the decreasing sharpness of the bends in the strip atthe corners of the mandrel. Lack of linearity in the required change is taken care of by the shape of the cani slot |45.

Ordinarily the switch 35 Ais set to operate slightly before the complete number of turns of strip have'been wound on the coil |4. After the operation of the apparatus has been shut I last turn of strip the operator places the bending fixture of Fig. 1.7 on the coil of strip |4 (as at Fig. 18). soon winding in the curved end |11 of the bending fixture. After the strip has been wound over the sharp edge |33 of the bending fixture to form a sharp bend |34, the operator releases` the clutch pedal 3| to stop the machine and the bending xture forms a bight |85 (Fig. 19) which enables theoperator to cut the strip at the point by means oi' a pair of shears. The flatl end of the strip on the coil is then'clamped down manually and may if de sired be tack welded to the underlying layers of strip. The mandrel is then released by loosening the clampingscrew 5l of Fig. 16 and the apparatus is ready for substitutionl of another mandrel. Before the apparatus is started again,

however, the hand crank |41 of the indexing arrangement is rotated to bring the guide pin |4| to the initial uppermost position inthe cam slot |45. i

In accordance with the provisions of the pattent statutes I vhave described theprinciple of operation of my invention, together with the apparatus which I now consider to represent the best embodiment thereof, but I desire to havev it understood that the apparatus shown is only illustrative and that the invention may be carried out by other means.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patentmof the United States, is:

1. A coil winding machinecomprising a rotatively driven turntable, a mandrel removably secured thereto, a supply roll for feeding strip material to the mandrel as it is rotated, mechanism for intermittently placing spacers against the inner surface of the strip material before it reaches the v*mandrel and an eleetromagnet having pole pieces in proximity to the strip material i'or magnetizing it and holding the spacers against the inner surface of the strip material until the spacers are wound into the coilof strip around the mandrel.

2. A coil winding machine comprising a rotatable member around whichv a coil of strip is to be wound, means for supplying strip material to A controlling cam |32,

termittently feeding spacers against the inner surface of the strip before it is wound on to the coil, means for temporarily holding such spacers to prevent their being wound into the coil, an electrically controlled means for releasing such spacers at predetermined intervals, said electrically controlled means including a switch with relatively rotatable elements one of which is driven in synchronism with the mandrel, and the other of which is carried by an arm adjustable in angular position, said arm having means for gradually changing its angular position throughout a fraction of the revolution in the course of winding a completed coil of strip.

4. Apparatus of the type set forth in claim 3 including an index plate, and a guide pin cooperating therewith connected to the mechanism for varying the angular position of the arm of the electrical spacer releasing device, said index plate being shaped for varying the proportional relationship between angular movement of said arm and rotation of the mandrel in accordance with a predetermined `curve to correct for variations in angularity of the coil of strip being wound.

5. Apparatus for winding a coil of strip comprising a member for receiving strip material to be coiled, means for rotatably driving said member, means for feeding strip material thereto and a feeding mechanism for placing spacers against the inner surface of the strip material intermittently in order to be wound into the coil of strip being formed, said spacer-feeding mechanism comprising a hopper for containing a supply of spacers, a pivoted arm with a suction cup at the end thereof, mechanism driven synchronously with the aforesaid rotatable driving mechanism for alternately deiiecting said arm toward the hopper and toward the strip of material which is passing into the coil being formed and for momentarily producing relative movement in the approaching direction between said hopper and said suction cup when the arm is in the first of said alternate deflected positions and then between said suction cup and the strip when the spacer feed arm is in the second of its alternate deflected positions, means for applying a vacuum when said suction cup is in proximity to the spacer hopper, and means for releasing said vacuum when the suction cup carrying the spacer is in proximity to the strip of material passing into the coil.

6. Apparatus for winding strip material into a coil comprising a member for receiving strip material to be formed into a coil, means for rotating said member, means for supplying strip material to said rotating member, mechanism for intermittently placing spacers against the inner surface of the strip material before it reaches the coil of strip, means for temporarily holding said spacers, and means for releasing them at predetermined intervals.

7. In a machine for assembling separate pieces with a structure being formed and intermittently feeding and placing said pieces, pneumatic piece-handling apparatus comprising a movable member including a suction cup, a hopper for containing pieces to be handled, a mechanism for intermittently bringing the suction cup and the uppermost piece in the hopper in contact for picking up one of said pieces and mechanism for moving the suction cup into position for assembling such a piece with the structure being formed, a source of driving power connected to the aforesaid mechanism with means for disconnecting said power, a suction or vacuum line.

ausser means for connecting said vacuum line to the suction cup when the suction cup and hopper are in proximity, said power disconnecting means comprising a pair oi' serially connected switches arranged to disconnect power by operation of both switches, means for temporarily operating one of said switches after the vacuum line has been connected to said suction cup for picking up a piece, the other of said switches being a vacuum switch connected to said vacuum line andv arranged to operate in response to failure of vacuum whereby failure of said suction cup to pick up a piece to be assembled results in lack of vacuum at the vacuum switch at the time when the first-mentioned switch is operated and whereby the circuit to the power disconnecting means is operated and power is shut down to prevent further operation of the apparatus until failure of the supply of pieces to be picked up is corrected. l

8. Apparatus for winding magnetic strip material into an elongated coil of strip comprising an elongated mandrel, means for rotating the mandrel to wrap strip material around it, means for supplying strip material to the coil being wrapped around the mandrel, said means for rotating the mandrel comprising a source of mechanical power having a substantially uniform speed of rotation and having a pair of elliptical gears interposed between it and the mandrel in order to vary the instantaneous speed of angular rotation of the mandrel to minimize the variations in peripheral speed of the strip being coiled on the mandrel.

9. In apparatus for assembling separate pieces with a structure being formed and placing such pieces at intervals, a movable pick-up arm carrying at the end thereof a suction cup adapted to be brought into contact with a piece to be picked up, mechanism for moving said arm back and forth between a pick-up position and an assembling position, a hopper for pieces to be picked up in proximity to said pick-up position, mechanism for applying suction to said suction cup when the cup is in the pick-up position and for cutting off said suction and applying air pressure when the cup is in the assembling position. and means for temporarily and successively holding the separate pieces in assembly with the structure at the desired intervals until the pieces are tightly bound in the structure.

10. Apparatus for winding strip material into y a coil comprising a mandrel, means for rotating it, means for supplying strip material to a coil being wrapped around the mandrel, mechanism for intermittently feeding spacers against the inner surface of the strip before it is wound on to the coil, including means for correlating the timing of the spacer feed to the angular position of the mandrel having means for progressively varying said correlation.

11. Apparatus such as set forth in claim 10 including an indexing mechanism for controlling the rate of variation in the correlation between the timing of the spacer feed and the mandrel rotation, said indexing mechanism having a cam or index surface cut with a curved shape to produce a predetermined change in the variations in spaced feeding time and coil rotation to correct for variations in angularity of the coil of strip being wound.

12. A coil winding machine comprising a rotatabJe member around which a coil of strip is to be wound, means for supplying strip material to form such a coil around the rotatable member.

a mechanism for intermittently placing spacers against the inner surface of the strip material for y causing such spacers to be wound into the coil of strip being formed. and magnetomotive force producing means for magnetically attracting said 5 spacers against the inner surface of the strip material to hold them in place until wound into the said coil of strip.

13. A coil winding machine comprising a member for receiving strip material to be coiled.

means lfor rotatably driving said member,

means for supplying strip material to form a coil around the rotatably driven member. mechanism driven synchronously with said mst-mentioned driving means for intermittently placing lo rotatable member is driven.

THEODOREL. WINISTOCK.

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