US2973154A

US2973154A - Machine for winding strand material

Info

Publication number: US2973154A
Application number: US648682A
Authority: US
Inventors: William L Blackburn
Original assignee: Burroughs Corp
Current assignee: Unisys Corp
Priority date: 1957-03-26
Filing date: 1957-03-26
Publication date: 1961-02-28
Anticipated expiration: 1978-02-28

Description

Feb. 28, 1961 w. L. BLACKBURN MACHINE FOR WINDING STRAND MATERIAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed March 26, 1957 INVENTOR.

WILLIAM L. BLACKBURN AGENT Feb. 28, 1961 w. L. BLACKBURN MACHINE FOR WINDING STRAND MATERIAL 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed March 26, 1957 F /'g. 7 20m INVENTOR.

WILLIAM L. BLACKBURN AGENT MACHINE FOR WINDING STRAND MATERIAL William L. Blackburn, Laurel Springs, N.J., assignor to Burroughs Corporation, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of Michigan Filed Mar. 26, 1957, Ser. No. 648,682

9 Claims. (Cl. 242-4) This invention relates to apparatus for winding strand material on an annular member and more particularly, although not necessarily exclusively, to a device for winding relatively fine wire on a toroidal bobbin or core to produce an electric coil.

In machines of this type it has been found both necessary and practical that the strand material or wire to be wound on the core bobbin be stored in a device which is adapted to pass through the space enclosed by the bobbin hub, i.e. the bore of the bobbin, in order that the strand may be properly wound. For bobbins of very small bore diameter which are frequently used in large scale computers and like devices, the storage device must be relatively small and at the same time have a fairly large wire storage capacity. It is also necessary that some means be provided to maintain tension at all times between the strand applied to the bobbin and that being fed from the storage device. Heretofore, many machines have been proposed for this purpose which have had varying degrees of success.

An important object of the present invention is to provide a winding machine for annular rings, which is of simple construction and inexpensive to manufacture.

Another important object of this invention is to provide a winding machine in which the strand material is maintained under substantially uniform tension during the Winding process.

Another important object of the invention is to provide a machine in which the strand storing device is sufliciently small to pass through the enclosed space of small annular rings and still have a reasonably large strand storage capacity.

A still further important object of this invention is to provide means in a toroidal core winding machine apparatus which eliminates the need for movable slides, and pulleys to maintain tension on the strand material.

Another important object of the invention is to provide means for winding strand material on a series of bobbins without the necessity of loading the machine prior to each winding operation.

It is an object of the invention to provide automatic tensioning means for winding strand material.

One embodiment of a winding mechanism to accomplish these and other objects of this invention comprises a shuttle in the form of a transversely split, hollow ring or tube which is provided with a tapered anvil or mandrel at one end and an elongated slot or aperture in the opposite end. The strand material is wound up and stored in the hollow portion of the ring in the form of a helix and is fed out over the tapered mandrel and through the slot. A spring biased brush holder affords proper positioning of the loop on the core bobbin as it is being wound.

The invention with its objects and features will be understood from the following detailed description and the attached drawing forming a part thereof.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a side elevational view of the machine;

2,973,154 Patented Feb. 28, 1961 Fig. 2 is a diagrammatic view of the step by step storage and winding loop of strand material;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary view along the radial axis of a portion of the shuttle or ring showing the tensioning slot and the mandrel, the View being taken along the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view showing the strand material being withdrawn from the Fig. 5 is a view of a fragmentary portion of the ring shown in Fig. 3 but showing the strand material being gripped between the mandrel and the lower radial portion of the slot;

Fig. 6 is a sectional view taken along line 6-6 of Fig. 4;

Fig. 7 is a fragmentary side elevational view similar I to Fig. 4 but illustrating the strand material in locked condition as shown in the diagrammatic view of Fig. 2;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view along the line 8--8 of Fig. 7; and

Fig. 9 is fragmentary view of a winding ring illustrating a modified tensioning aperture.

For the purposes of description and illustration a machine has been chosen which is adapted for winding wire about a toroidal core which may be of non-magnetic material to produce a toroidal magnetic core.

The strand winding machine is mounted on a rigid base 10 which may be of metal, wood or other suitable material. An electric motor (not shown) drives grooved pulley 12 through a series of idler pulleys or other mechanism (not shown) disposed on the opposite side of plate 14. Plate 14 also supports two additional grooved idler pulleys 16 and 18 which, together with pulley 12, support a shuttle in the form of a hollow tube or ring 20. Each of the

pulleys

12, 14 and 16 is faced in its groove with a friction material such as rubber or neoprene to aid it in driving ring 20. Also attached to plate 14 substantially centrally of ring 20 is a disk 22 of insulating material somewhat thicker and of smaller diameter than ring 20.

Spring-pressed against disk 22 is an inverted T-shaped member 24 hinged at one end and having its depending end flared outwardly to receive a brush 26. Member 24 is adjustably biased or pressed against disk 22 by means of a tensioning structure (not shown). Enclosed in a hollow handle portion 28 attached to member 24 is a spring contact 30, the bent portion of which is pressed inwardly against the disk 22. A smooth button 32, of conductive material is disposed in the disk 22 with a surface exposed and engaging the contact 30 when the T-shaped plate is spring urged thereagainst. These two contacts together form a make and break circuit for a counter mechanism (not shown) which may be attached thereto by means of wires extending therefrom.

The movable shuttle of the present invention comprises a hollow, elongated tube of suitable rigid material such as metal or plastic which has been bent or otherwise formed into an annulus or ring. The hollow ring, as shown in Figs. 3 and 4, is split transversely as indicated at 34 so as to be joinable around the object to be wound with strand material, e.g. a core bobbin. One end 20a of the ring 20 is provided with an elongated anvil or mandrel 36 having a cylindrical base portion 38 fixed or press fitted into the bore of the end 200 of the ring, as shown.

The major portion of the anvil projects from end 20a of the ring into end 20b of the opposite end of the ring. The anvil 36 comprises a cylindrical mandrel portion 37, an enlarged cylindrical base portion 38 and a flaring portion 3? joining the

portions

37 and 38. If desired, and as shown, the outer extremity of the mandrel portion may be progressively reduced in cross-section to provide a tapered end for facilitating joining of the ends of the split ring. The cylindrical base portion serves as a coupling between the ends of the ring and joins them in abutting alignment. The portion 37 of the anvil is of less diameter than the bore of the tube thus to provide thenecessary clearance between the anvil and the inner wall'of the tube so as to receive the coils of the wire to be wound on the bobbin as described below. The wall of the opposite endof the ring is provided with an aperture or slot 40 angularly disposed relative to the axis of the tube and which extends inwardly both linearly and radially from the end of the tube 20 as shown most clearly in Fig. 4.

The inward terminus of the slot extends over the flaring portion 39 of the anvil and terminates'in an are 42 slightly beyond the flaring portion. As seen in the drawings theslot 40 is located substantially-on the side of the ring as distinguished from the outer or inner periphery thereof, which permits the strand material tobe withdrawn from the tube relatively easily and without inordinate friction therebetween. The tube or ring 26 has sufiicient spring so that after the mandrel is received within the opposite end thereof the two parts are maintained in abutting condition as shown in Figs. 3 and 4.

The strand material, which in the present embodiment is a fine enamel coated wire 44, is stored in the hollow ring 20 in the form of a helix. Placing the wire in the ring may be conveniently done by winding it on a thin rod, entering the rod in the hollow portion and pushing the wire into the ring while withdrawing the rod, or the wire helix may be automatically formed and inserted into the bore of the ring by means of a machine designed for this purpose.

A core bobbin 46 to be wound is held in position by a hinged clamp 48 (Fig. 1) which is opened and closed by means of a lever 50. The clamp 48 is mounted on an L-shaped member 52 by means of bolts (not shown). The member 52 is rotatably mounted, by any suitable means, such as the bolt 54 to a bearing 56 on plate 58. The supporting structure may be moved about bolt 54 as a pivot arcuately to position bobbin 46 and thus distribute the windings thereon during the winding process or it may be held fixed by any suitable means.

To operate the machine, the empty ring 20 is removed therefrom by releasing lever 61 which in a known fashion cams the pulley 18 out of engagement with the ring and permits the ring to be withdrawn fromthe machine. The ends of the ring are separated and a wire helix is then placed in the ring, as explained above with one end extending outwardly through slot 40. The core bobbin 46 is clamped between the jaws of the chuck 48, after which one end of ring 20 is passed through the bobbin and its end again joined. The ring is then positioned on the three pulleys and the exposed end of the wire 44 is secured by the operator. As seen in Figs. 3 and 4 when the ends of the ring are snapped together the mandrel 36 enters the leading turns of the wire and the ring is moved until the slot 4% is near the core bobbin. Sutiicient wire is drawn out to make at least one turn around the bobbin and then the machine is started, moving the ring 20 in a counter-clockwise direction as indicated in- Fig. 2. The wire 44 is placed under snfficient tension during its withdrawal from the ring 20 by virtue of the contractual engagement of the winding turns, of the helix with the mandrel.

After the ring slot 40 passes through the bore of the bobbin 46 and during the first portion of ring rotation, the length of Wire 44 which was initially Withdrawn from the ring to form the first winding turn is acutely angularly bent back upon itself relative to the circumference of the ring and to the innermost end of the slot, see Fig. 7, and effectively draws the wire to the end 42 of the slot removed from the split end of the ring. In this position thewire is'in the condition relative to anvil 36 as seen in Figs. 7 and 8 placing a sulficient restraining force upon. the wire to prevent its withdrawal from the 'slot' during this period of rotation of the ring. In effect, this condition, i.e., the combination of the acute angular relation of the wire with the slot and the drag or resistance resulting from the contractual engagement of the winding turns about the mandrel, immobilizes or locks the wire between the mandrel 36 and the slot 40 thus preventing further withdrawal thereof from the shuttle ring 20. i

As the chordal angle of the wire relative to the inner circumference of the ring 20 increases due to continued rotation of the ring and at approximately of movement of the ring slot past the bobbin the loop of wire is tightly drawn around the bobbin whereupon sufiicient force is exerted to release the wire from its locked condition as shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 6.

Referring to the sectional View of Fig. 6 it is apparent that continued arcuate travel of the ring about its axis, from about 120 to the wire is freely withdrawn through the slot substantially tangentially to a portion of the mandrel on the tapering portion 37. This is dueto the frictional forces exerted on the Wire as it passes closely around the upper and lower edges of the bore of the bobbin which forces impose a drag upon the Wire helix. Since the helix is free to rotate in the bore of the ring, additional wire is thus withdrawn from the ring until the ring in its travel causes the slot and thus the wire to be perpendicular to the axial bore of the bobbin 46. At this point in the ring rotation the drag on the wire is nullified since the slot has reached its farthest point from the bobbin and the angle of the Wire relative to the bobbin bore is now 90 (Fig. 2) and therefore further withdrawal of the Wire is halted. Continued rotation of the ring 20 decreases the aforementioned angle inasmuch as the ring and thus the slot 40 is now approaching the bore of the bobbin. This action causes the wire to become slack, and, as clearly shown in broken lines in Fig. 2, a winding loop is formed which is carried through the bore of the bobbin to form a toroidal Winding therearound. It should be at once apparent vfrom the foregoing that the combination of the mandrel and the slot together form an automatic tensioning means for the wire as it is withdrawn from the ring. The need for movable slides, pulleys and such to maintain the desired tension on the strand material as it is wound on the core' bobbin is thus avoided.

The brush 26 forms a means for holding the winding fashion.

As each loop passes under the brush holder the

contacts

30 and 32 are broken, and thus by means of suitably connected counting mechanism (not shown) an accurate record can be obtained of the number of winding turns applied to the bobbin.

Movement of the core holding chuck 46 permits the applied windings to be arcuately distributed radially of the core bobbin. The internally stored wire helix permits the operator to wind multiple windings on a plurality of bobbins without the necessity of loading the ring for each bobbin as is the case with many known core winders. I

A re-entrant portion or cut out 62 is formed in the disk 22 to permit the core bobbin 46 to be advantageously mounted in the upstanding member 52.

In Fig. 9 there is illustrated an additional embodiment of a tensioning slot as indicated at 40' of slightly modified construction. In this instance although the slot is disposed in the tube at an angle as before it is somewhat shorter inlength than slot 40 and terminates a slight distance from one end of the tube 20, as shown.

An important feature in addition. to those features already set forth herein is that after the slot 40 has reached the 180 position (Fig. 2) in its initial or starting turn, the machine can be immediately-accelerated to as earlier described. Quite obviously the need for variable speed controls is completely eliminated thus making the overall cost of the machine relatively low in comparison to present core winding equipment which is rather costly.

Additionally the invention as described herein has been successfully operated without wire breakage at speeds of from 450 to 600 rpm. producing uniform toroidal windings on extremely small diameter core bobbins.

There has thus been described a novel shuttle for use with toroidal core winding machines which eliminates the undesirable tension springs, pulleys, wire straighteners and movable guides of the prior art machines.

What is claimed is:

1. A shuttle for Winding strand material upon elements, including those of toroidal shape, comprising, a transversely split ring formed of a hollow tube capable of containing a helically wound coil of strand material extending throughout a major portion of its length, an elongated mandrel having a diameter less than that of the inner diameter of said tube, means rigidly supporting one end of the mandrel within one end of the said tube so that the other end of the mandrel projects outwardly from the said one end of said tube and extends into the other end of said tube so as to be spaced from the inner wall surface thereof and positioned within at least a portion of the coiled material when the latter is housed therein, that portion of the tube surrounding said mandrel having an aperture therein, said aperture opening through the side wall of said tube and extending around the wall in a direction toward the inner periphery of the tube so that the material coiled around said mandrel is obliged to be withdrawn from said tube under tension produced by the engagement of the winding turns of the material with said mandrel during withdrawal of the material through said aperture in a direction toward the area enclosed by the tube.

2. A shuttle for winding strand material upon elements, including those of toroidal shape, comprising, a transversely split ring shaped tube for containing within a major portion of its extent a helically wound coil of strand material, means for disconnectably joining the split ends of said tube, and an elongated mandrel having a diameter less than that of the inner diameter of said tube, means supporting said mandrel in one split end of said tube so that the mandrel projects outwardly therefrom for reception in and spaced from the inner wall surfaces of the opposite split end of said tube so that at least a portion of said strand material encircles the mandrel, the wall of said tube over said mandrel having an elongated aperture therethrough, said aperture having a portion thereof located on the inner periphery of said tube opposite an intermediate portion of the mandrel and another portion thereof extending away from said periphery whereby strand material coiled around the mandrel may be withdrawn from said tube through the aperture into the area enclosed by the ring-shaped tube and when so fed therefrom is obliged to be withdrawn from around said mandrel under tension produced by engagement of the winding turns of the strand material with said mandrel.

3. A shuttle for winding strand material upon toroidal elements, comprising, a transversely split winding ring formed of tubular material adapted to house a helically wound coil of strand material, means for releasably joining the ends of said ring, said means comprising, an elongated member having end sections engaging said ring ends, one of the end sections of said member being secured to one end of said ring, and a mandrel projecting from the other end section of said member forming a permanent extension thereof and entering the other end of said ring, said mandrel being of less diameter than the inner diameter of said ring and spaced from the inner wall surface thereof for reception within a coil of material when the latter is housed said ring, said ring having an opening on the inner peripheral portion thereof adjacent to the mandrel so that the terminal end of the strand material encircling said mandrel may extend through said opening from positions between the ends thereof to permit withdrawal of said material from around said mandrel and out of said opening in a direction tangent to said mandrel, said opening restraining the withdrawal of the strand material at certain predetermined acute angular directions of the material relative to the inner peripheral portion of the ring due to the relatively acute angular engagement of the material with the edge of the opening thus to tighten each winding turn of the material upon a toroidal element during an initial partial rotation of the shuttle therethrough, and in other predetermined less acute angular directions said material being under tension produced during withdrawal from said ring by the contractual engagement of the winding turns of the material with said mandrel thus permitting withdrawal of sufficient material to form a winding turn during further partial rotation of the shut tle through the toroidal elements.

4. A shuttle for winding strand material on a toroidally shaped element comprising, a hollow transversely split ring having abutting ends forming a housing for receiving a helically wound coil of strand material, means to rotate said ring about its axis while it is interlocked with said element to cause withdrawal of strand material from the ring and winding thereof on said element, an elongated mandrel secured to one end of the ring, said mandrel projecting outwardly from said one end of the ring for reception within the other end of the ring and into and through the winding turns of a portion of said coil of material, said other end of the ring being provided with an opening through the inner peripheral portion of the ring adjacent to the mandrel, said opening extending over a portion of said mandrel and terminating inwardly from said other end of the ring, said mandrel being of less diameter than the inner diameter of said ring and being tapered longitudinally and curved on an axis substantially coinciding with the axis of said ring thereby forming a surface spaced from the inner Wall surface of the ring over which the strand material is obliged to be guidingly withdrawn through said opening under tension produced as a result of the frictional engagement of the winding turns of the strand material with the mandrel.

5. A shuttle for winding strand material on toroidal core bobbins comprising, a hollow split annulus having inner and outer peripheral portions with the abutting ends thereof forming a normally closed transverse joint, helically wound strand material stored in the annulus, means to rotate the annulus upon its axis while it is interlocked with a core bobbin to cause withdrawal of strand material from the annulus and transfer thereof to the bobbin, a mandrel projecting outwardly from one end of the annulus, the side wall of the opposite end of the annulus being provided with a slot which is slanted with respect to the peripheral portions of the annulus such that the inner end of the slot is closer to the inner peripheral portion than to the outer peripheral portion, the radius of curvature of the mandrel coinciding with the axis of the annulus and, the two ends of the annulus being joinable so that the mandrel extends into the opposite end of the annulus to thereby form a surface over which the strand material may be freely withdrawn through the slot.

6. A shuttle for winding strand material on elements, including those of toroidal shape, comprising, in combination, a transversely split ring rotatable about its axis and hollowed interiorly for at least a portion of its ciroular extent for housing a helically wound coil of strand material, a mandrel of substantially circular cross section throughout its extent predisposed wholly within the hollow interior of the'ring and having one end thereof fixedly mounted in the ring for support therefrom and the other end free, said mandrel being so dimensionally 7 proportioned with respect to the hollow interior of the ring as to provide an annular clearance therearound in order to receive over its free end coils of the strand material housed within the ring, the wall of the hollowed portion of the ring surrounding the mandrel having an elongated opening substantially opposite to the supported end of the mandrel, said opening having its longer dimension generally slanting relative to the inner and outer peripheries of the ring and located on the side thereof toward the area circumscribed by the ring whereby strand material coiled around the mandrel may be payed away therefrom through the opening and directly into said area while the ring is rotated about its axis,

7. A shuttle for winding strand material on elements,-

including those of toroidal shape, comprising, in cornbination, a transversely split ring rotatable about its axis and hollowed interiorly for at least a portion of its circular extent for housing a helically wound coil of strand material, a mandrel of substantially circular cross section throughout its extent and adapted to be wholly disposed within the hollow interior of the ring, said mandrel having one end thereof fixedly mounted in one end of the ring for support therefrom and the other end free, the free end of said mandrel being so dimensionally proportioned with respect to the hollow interior of the ring as to provide an annular clearance therearound when received within the interior of the other end of the ring in order to receive over its free end coils of the strand material housed within the ring, the Wall of the hollowed portion of the ring surrounding the mandrel hav ing an aperture opening diagonally inwardly from the other end of the ring and adjacent to the mandrel, said aperture extending angularly across the inner peripheral portion of the ring whereby strand material coiled around the mandrel is caused to be unwound from around the mandrel and payed away therefrom through the aperture and directly into the area circumscribed by the ring during a portion of its rotation.

8. A shuttle for winding strand material upon toroidal elements, comprising, in combination, a transversely split winding ring formed of tubular material and adapted to house a helically wound coil of strand material, means for releasably joining the split ends of said ring, said means comprising, a coupling member having end sections engaging said split ends, one of the end sections of said coupling member being secured to one split end of said ring and the other of said end sections having a sliding fit with the other split end of the ring, and conically shaped mandrel projecting from said other end section ofsaid member forming a permanent extension thereof and entering into the other split end of said ring, said, mandrel being of greater length than the end section from which it projects and being of less diameter than that of said other split end of said ring and forming an annular space therebetween so that a portion of the mandrel is receivable within a portion of a coil of strand material when the latter is housed within the ring, said ring having a slot on the inner peripheral portion there- 'of adjacent to the mandrel, one end of said slot terminating over the mandrel while the other end of said slot terminates adjacent to but slightly removed from said other split end of the ring into which the mandrel is received so that a terminal end of a coil of strand material encircling the mandrel may extend throughtheslot from positions between the ends of the mandrel to permit with-i drawal of the material from around the mandrel and out of the slot in a direction tangent to the mandrel, said slot restraining the withdrawal of the material at certainpredetermined acute angular directions thereof relative to the inner periphery of the ring due to the relatively acute angular engagement of the material with the said one end of the slot thus tightening each winding turn of the material upon a toroidal element during an initial partial 9. A shuttle for winding strand material upon a toroidaily shaped element comprising, in combination, a hollow transversely split ring having abutting ends and forming a housing for receiving a helically wound coil of strand material, an elongated mandrel having a conicaliy shaped tapered end section, means securing the wider end of the tapered mandrel to one split end of the ring so that it projects outwardly therefrom and is received within the other split end of the ring and into and through the winding turns of a portion of the coil of strand material within the ring, said mandrel also having a radius of curvature from one end to the other end thereof having an axis substantially coinciding with the axis of the ring and having a diameter throughout substantially its extent less than the inner diameter of the split end of the ring within which it is received to thereby form an annular space therebetween for the reception of the coils of the strand material therearound, said last mentioned split end of the ring being provided with an opening through the inner peripheral portion of the ring over the mandrel through which the strand material coiled on the mandrel may be payed out from positions between the ends of the mandrel, one edge portion of the opening serving to restrain the withdrawal of the material at certain acute angular directions with respect to the inner peripheral portion of the ring due to the relatively acute angular engagement of the strand material therewith thus tight ening each winding turn of the material upon a toroidal element during an initial partial rotation of the shuttle therethrough, and in other less acute angular directions the strand material being under tension produced during withdrawal from the ring by the contractual eugagement of the winding turns of the material with the mandrel thus permitting withdrawal of suflicient material to form a winding turn during further partial rotation of the shuttle through the toroidal element.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Great Britain Sept. 27, 1950