US3018062A

US3018062A - Winding machine

Info

Publication number: US3018062A
Application number: US850451A
Authority: US
Inventors: Jr Roger P Rice
Original assignee: Time Inc
Current assignee: TI Gotham Inc
Priority date: 1959-11-02
Filing date: 1959-11-02
Publication date: 1962-01-23
Anticipated expiration: 1979-01-23

Description

Jan. 23, 1962 Filed Nov. 2, 1959 R. P. RICE, JR 3,018,062

WINDING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Hill!" amp 43 F/G INVENTOR.

ROGER P RICE, JR

ATTORNEYS Jan. 23, 1962 Filed Nov. 2, 1959 R. P. RICE, JR

WINDING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR. ROGER P RICE, JR.

his ATTORNEYS tat Patented Jan. 223, 196.2

York

Filed Nov. 2, 1959, Ser. No. 350,451 9 Claims. (Cl. 242-50) This invention relates to wire winding devices and, more particularly, to a new and improved machine for winding wire on a frame to provide closely spaced parallel wire strands on both sides of the frame.

in storage devices for magnetic recording systems wherein a large quantity of information is to be stored for random access, for example, the numerous strands of magnetic wire forming the storage elements of the system must be located in close proximity on a storage frame to provide maximum information storage in a small space. At the same time, these strands of magnetic wire must be held with a predetermined tension in precisely parallel relation and properly spaced so that the information on any wire can be read by a magnetic transducer movable in a straight line without interference from the adjacent wire. One such storage frame is disclosed in the copending application of Moe and Parks, Serial No. 721,124, filed March 13, 1958, and assigned to the same assignee as the present application. Although wire might be wound on a frame in this manner by a manual operation, this would be an arduous task and it would be impossible to assure proper Wire tensioning on frames wound by hand.

Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a winding machine capable of winding wire on a storage frame in a desired manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide a machine of the above character capable of winding wire to provide closely spaced parallel strands on a storage frame.

A further object of the invention is to provide a wire winding machine of the above character capable of providing uniform wire tension to all strands on a frame.

These and other objects of the invention are accomplished by providing a rotary frame support having wire guides movable along the ends of a frame mounted in the support as the support is rotated. One of these guides directs the wire around an end of the frame from one side to the other without any lateral shift in wire position along the end of the frame, while the other guide is an ranged to shift the wire laterally by a predetermined amount as it passes around the other end of the frame. Also, a wire feed device spaced from the rotary support is movable in the same direction as the guides and slightly ahead of them in response to rotation of the support. Wire is supplied to the feed device from a braked supply spool arranged to provide the desired wire tension and a wire feed compensator interposed between the feed device and the supply prevents tension variations which would otherwise be caused by the varying rates at which the wire is drawn on to the frame as the support is rotated.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from a reading of the following description in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a view in elevation partly in section illustrating a typical winding machine arranged according to the invention;

FIG. 2 is an end view of the winding device shown in FIG. 1 looking along the axis of rotation;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged partial sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of FIG. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows; and

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view taken on the line 4-4 of FIG. 1 and looking in the direction of the arrows.

In the representative embodiment of the invention i1- lustrated in the drawings, the winding machine comprises a base plate 1t) whereon a vertical support member 11 is mounted, a horizontal drive shaft 12 being mounted on the vertical support member for rotation by ball bearings 13 and 14. At one end, the drive shaft 12 carries a drive wheel 15 which, if desired, may be driven by an electric motor 16 through a drive belt 17.

At the other end of the drive shaft, a rectangular frame support plate 18, which is affixed to the shaft so that the axis of the shaft bisects the longitudinal dimension of the plate, carries two clamps 19 and 2t enabling a wire support frame 21 to be secured in coplanar relation to the frame support plate along the outer longitudinal edge of the plate. To this end, as best seen in FIG. 3, each of the clamps 19 and 2t consists of a block 22 movable toward and away from a shoulder portion 23 of the frame support plate by rotation of a clamp screw 24 to embrace a foot portion 25 of the frame member, thereby securing the frame to the plate. Preferably, a locating pin 26 is. mounted in the edge of the plate 18- to position the frame cent-rally with respect to the axis of the shaft 12 while the clamps are set.

Two wire guide support

arms

27 and 28 pivotally mounted on

blocks

29 and 30 forming lead nuts at opposite ends of the support plate 18 are urged by a spring 31 toward the

end legs

32 and 33 of the frame 21 to hold two wire guide members 34 and '35 in position against the outer edges of the two end legs, respectively. in order to move both

wire guide members

34 and 35 along the end legs as wire is wound on the frame, thus spacing the wire strands by a predetermined distance, the blocks 29 and 3b are driven by lead screws 36 and 37' mounted in

recesses

38 and 39 at opposite ends of the support plate 18. These two screws are driven by two

planetary gears

49 and 41, respectively, each meshing with a sun gear 42 which is rotatably supported on the drive shaft 12. The ratio of the planetary gears 4-6 and 41 to the sun gear 42 and the pitch of the

lead screws

36 and 37 are selected so that with the sun gear held stationary one rotation of the shaft 12 and the mounting plate 18 causes the blocks 29 and 3t and the

wire guides

34 and 35 to move longitudinally along the end legs 32 and 33 a predetermined distance equal to the desired wire strand spacing and, in the example described herein, this distance is 0.020 inch.

Wire 43 to be wound on the frame 18 is supplied from a supply spool 44 rotatably mounted on the support member 11 and geared to a conventional braking device, such as a hysteresis brake 35, which is adjustable in the usual manner to provide and maintain any desired wire tension. From this point, the wire 43 passes over a fixed pulley 46 through a pulley 47 mounted on a compensating device 43 described hereinafter and over two more pulleys 49 and So, which are in line with the pulley 46 and the supply spool to a wire feed member 51 which is positioned to hold the wire 43 against the

guide members

34 and 35 as the frame member 21 rotates. Preferably, the wire feed member 51, which has an aperture 52 to direct the Wire 43 toward the frame member 21, is movable transversely with respect to the frame member, in conjunction with the guide members 34 and .35 so that the wire need not approach the guide members at a sharp angle with respect to the mounted orientation of the wire strands but, at the same time, is always maintained against the guide members 34. and 35. Accordingly, the feed member 51 comprises a lead out mounted on a lead screw 53 which is rotatably supported on the plate 11} by two

brackets

54 and 55.

At one end, the lead screw carries two rotatably mounted

sprocket members

56 and 57 and has a conventional clutch device 58 positioned between the two sprockets and arranged to connect either one in driving engagement with the screw. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, this device comprises a collar h afiixed to the lead screw having a pin 60 movable between the two sprockets to engage an aperture in either one selectively by lateral motion of a handle 61. A chain belt 62 connects the sprocket member 57 to a like sprocket 63 affixed to the shaft 12, thus transmitting drive motion to the lead screw 53 when the clutch engages this sprocket, while another chain belt 64 connects the sprocket member 56 to a similar sprocket 65 secured to the sun gear 42, the chain belt 64 also being connected to a rewind motor 66. Consequently, when the clutch device 58 connects the sprocket member 56 to the lead screw and the shaft 12 is held stationary, the rewind motor 66 can drive the lead nuts on the three

screws

36, 37, and 53 back to their starting position without rotating the support plate 18 or operating the compensating device 43.

In accordance with another feature of the present invention, variations in the speed at which the wire 43 is drawn onto the frame member 21 resulting from the oblong shape of the frame are compensated to prevent variations in tension which would occur if the variations in speed were transmitted directly to the supply spool 44. For this purpose, the pulley 47 is mounted at one end of a block 67 slidably supported on the member by guides 68 and 69 and urged toward the drive shaft 12 by a tension spring 70. As a result, a cam follower 71 at the other end of this block is pressed against the surface of .a rotary cam member 72 afi'ixed to the drive shaft 12. The contour of the surface of the cam member 72 is derived from the varying rate of speed at which wire is drawn through the aperture 52 so that the pulley 47 moves toward the shaft 12 taking in wire when the feed rate through the aperture is low and is driven away from the shaft to let out wire when the frame draws wire more rapidly. As a result, wire is drawn from the spool 44 at a uniform rate and substantially constant tension is maintained at all times.

If desired, a counter 73 may be mounted on the support member 11 to be actuated by motion of the compensator block 67, thus indicating the number of strands of wire wound onto the frame at any given time.

As previously mentioned, the

wire guides

34 and 35 are designed to guide the wire 43 around the

end legs

32 and 33 of the frame member and position it on the legs so that parallel strands 74 are supported in laterally spaced relation in response to successive rotations of the frame member. To this end, as best seen in the enlarged illustration of the guide member 34 shown in FIG. 4, each of the guides comprises a guide cam 75 having a surface 76 contoured to hold the wire 43 in the required position as it is wound around the end leg and a pickup arm 77 arranged to intercept the wire as the frame rotates and guide it onto the contour cam surface 76. Preferably, as described in the above-mentioned application of Moe and Parks, Serial No. 721,124, the

end legs

32 and 33 of the frame member 21 are provided with two longitudinal notched ridges 78 and 7?, one on each side, each having notches at predetermined locations arranged to receive the wire 43 and hold the strands in parallel relation, the corresponding notches in all four of the ridges being located at the same distance from one long end of the frame member so that all the strands are in parallel relation with respect thereto. Each of the end legs of the frame member is also formed with two longitudinal grooves 80 in its outer periphery and these receive projecting corners 81 of the guide cam 75 to locate the guide surface 76 with respect to the end leg and permit the guide member to slide along the leg.

As described above, the

guide members

34 and 35 are driven along the

end legs

32 and 33 at a constant rate while the frame rotates providing a predetermined progression, for example, 0.020 inch during each rotation. However, in order to provide parallel strands of wire on the frame, the wire 43 must be located in four corresponding notches of the

ridges

78 and 79 on the two end legs, which are the same distance from the long side of the frame member during each rotation, and must then be shifted laterally a distance of 0.020 inch while passing around one end leg. Accordingly, the cam surface 76 of the guide member 34, shown in FIG. 4, is shaped to permit the wire to move longitudinally along the end leg 32 a selected distance as it passes from the ridge 78 on one side of the leg to the ridge 79 on the other side of the same leg. Also, the cam surface of the other guide member 35 is shaped to prevent the wire from moving longitudinally along the end leg as it passes around the leg from one side to the other.

As best seen in FIG. 2, the outer end edge of each end leg is shaped so that with the wire feed member spaced at a given distance from the axis of rotation of the frame member 21 the frame rotates approximately 120 in passing the Wire around the leg from one notched ridge '78 to the other notched ridge 7Q. During this one-third portion of a rotation, the

guide members

34 and 35 move along the end legs a distance of 0.0067 inch in the typical example described herein. Consequently, the cam surface 76 of the guide member 34- must be shaped to permit the wire to drop back 0.0133 inch during this motion, thereby providing a total displacement of the wire of 0.020 inch. At the other end of the frame, the cam surface of the guide member 35 is shaped toshift the wire forward a distance of 0.0067 inch as it passes around the end leg 33, thus preventing any difference between the location of the wire on the opposite sides of that end leg. As previously mentioned, notches are provided in the

ridges

78 and 79 to retain the wire in the desired locations once it has been positioned by the guide members.

In operation, the wire

guide support arms

27 and 28 are swung apart and a frame member 21 is mounted on the support member 18 by securing its feet in the

clamps

19 and 20. The

arms

27 and 28 are then pivoted back so that the corners 31 of the guide cams engage the grooves of the end legs. The free end of the wire 43, which has been threaded through the machine in the manner pre viously described, is secured to the outer end of one end leg of the frame member by any well known means, such as a clip (not shown). With the

guide members

34 and 35 and the wire feed member 51 at their extreme left hand positions, as viewed in FIG. 1, the clutch device 53 is set to connect the sprocket 57 to the lead screw 53.

With the machine in this condition, the drive motor 16 is energized turning the drive wheel 15, the shaft 12, and the support member 18 in the counterclockwise direction, as viewed in FIG. 2. During each rotation, the wire 43 is intercepted by the pickup arms 77 of the two

guide members

33 and 34 in succession guiding the wire on down to the corresponding cam surfaces '76. At the same time, the lead screws 36 and 37 are driven by rotation of the planetary gears 40 and 41, the sun gear 42 being held stationary, while rotary motion is transmitted to the lead screw 53 through the chain belt 62. As a result, the

guide members

34 and 35 and the feed member 51 progress to the right, as viewed in FIG. 1, by 0.020 inch during each rotation, thus spacing the wire strands 74 on the frame in the manner previously described, the cam surfaces being effective to permit the wire to shift laterally by 0.020 inch as it passes around one end leg while preventing any lateral shift as the wire passes around the other end leg.

During each half rotation, the compensating device 48, driven by the rotary cam member 72, moves away from the pulleys 4d and 49 to let out wire when the frame member draws the wire at a high rate and recedes away from the

pulleys

46 and 49 to take in wire when it is being used at a low rate. As a result, the tension applied to the era wire by the hysteresis brake 45 is maintainted substantially constant at all times. When a frame has been, wound completely in this manner, it is removed from the support plate 18 and replaced by an empty frame. The clutch device 58 is then shifted to connect the sprocket 56 with the lead screw 53 and the rewind motor 66 is energized. This turns the sprocket 56 and the sun gear 42 in the proper direction to drive the feed device 51 and the

guide members

34 and 35 back to their extreme left hand positions, as viewed in FIG. 1, the shaft 12 being held stationary. When the rewind operation is completed, the motor 66 is turned oif and the clutch 58 shifted to reconnect the sprocket 57 with the lead screw 53.

Although the invention has been described herein with reference to a specific embodiment, many modifications and variations therein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Accordingly, the invention is not intended to be restricted in scope except as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A machine for winding wire on a frame member to provide a plurality of parallel wire strands extending from one end of the frame member to the other and laterally spaced by a predetermined distance comprising frame sup port means for supporting a frame member for rotation about an axis transverse to the longitudinal direction of wire strands to be mounted thereon, wire feed means for feeding wire toward the frame member from a point spaced from the axis of rotation of the frame member, and wire guide means movable with the frame member and positioned adjacent to each end of the frame member adapted to pass the wire around both ends of the frame member with selected lateral displacements so that the wire strands on each side of the frame member are spaced by the predetermined distance.

2. A machine for winding wire on a frame member to provide a plurality of parallel wire strands extending from one end of the frame member to the other and laterally spaced by a predetermined distance comprising frame support means for supporting a frame member for rotation about an axis transverse to the longitudinal direction of wire strands to be mounted thereon, wire feed means for feeding Wire toward the frame member from a point spaced from the axis of rotation, wire guide means posi tioned adjacent to each end of the frame member and movable with the frame member adapted to pass the wire around one end of the frame member without lateral displacement and to displace the wire laterally by the predetermined distance as it passes around the opposite end of the frame member, and means for moving the guide means laterally along the ends of the frame member a distance equal to the predetermined distance during each rotation of the frame member.

3. A machine according to claim 2 wherein the means for moving the guide means laterally comprises planetary gear means mounted on axes spaced from the center of rotation of the frame member and rotatable with the frame support means, normally stationary sun gear means and lead screw means connected to each planetary gear means and arranged to move the guide means along the ends of the frame member when rotated.

4. A machine for winding wire on a frame member to provide a plurality of parallel wire strands extending from one end of the frame member to the other and laterally spaced by a predetermined distance comprising frame support means for supporting a frame member for rotation about an axis transverse to the longitudinal direction of wire strands to be mounted thereon, wire feed means for feeding wire toward the frame member from a point spaced from the axis of rotation, wire guide means positioned adjacent to each end of the frame member and moveable with the frame member adapted to pass the wire around one end of the frame member without lateral displacement and to displace the wire laterally by the predetermined distance as it passes around the opposite end if of he frame member, means for moving the guide means laterally along the ends of the frame member a distance equal to the predetermined distance during each rotation of the frame member, and means for moving the wire feed means with respect to the frame member in conjunction with the motion of the guide means.

5. A machine for winding wire on a frame member to provide a plurality of parallel wire strands extending from one end of the frame member to the other and laterally spaced by a predetermined distance comprising frame support means for supporting a frame member for rotation about an axis transverse to the longitudinal direction of wire stands to be mounted thereon, wire feed means for feeding wire toward the frame member from a point spaced from the axis of rotation, wire supply means arranged to supply a wire to the wire feed means, brake means connected to the wire supply means to maintain a predetermined tension on the wire when the wire is drawn from the supply at a substantially constant rate, compensating means interposed between the wire supply means and the wire feed means and responsive to rotation of the frame member to take in wire when the frame member draws wire at a low rate and to let out wire when the frame member draws wire at a higher rate, and wire guide means positioned adjacent to each end of the frame memher and movable with the frame member adapted to pass the wire around one end of the frame member without lateral displacement and to displace the wire laterally by the predetermined distance as it passes around the opposite end of the frame member.

6. A machine according to claim 5 wherein the compensating means comprises a pulley movable toward and away from the line of supply of the wire and rotary cam means arranged to rotate with the frame member to drive the pulley.

7. A machine for winding wire on a frame member to provide a plurality of parallel wire strands extending from one end of the frame member to the other and laterally spaced by a predetermined distance comprising frame support means for supporting a frame member for rotation about an axis transverse to the longitudinal direction of wire strands to be mounted thereon, wire feed means for feeding wire toward the frame member from a point spaced from the axis of rotation, wire guide means at each end of the frame member adapted to pass the wire around one end of the frame member without lateral displacement and to displace the wire laterally by the predetermined distance as it passes around the opposite end of the frame member, means for moving the guide means laterally along the ends of the frame member a distance equal to the predetermined distance during each rotation of the frame member, guide surface means in the wire guide means at one end of the frame member effective during a selected portion of the rotation of the frame member to shift the wire laterally on the end of the frame member with respect to the guide means by an amount equal to the lateral motion of the guide means along the end of the frame member and in the opposite direction, and guide surface means in the wire guide means at the other end of the frame member effective during a selected portion of the rotation of the frame memher to shift the wire laterally on the end of the frame member with respect to the guide means. by an amount equal to the difference between the predetermined distance and the lateral motion of the guide means along the end of the frame member and in the same direction as the lateral motion of the guide means.

8. A machine for winding wire on a frame member to provide a plurality of parallel wire strands extending from one end of the frame member to the other and laterally spaced by a predetermined distance comprising frame support means for supporting a frame member for rotation about an axis transverse to the longitudinal direction of wire strands to be mounted thereon, wire feed means for feeding wire toward the frame member from a point spaced from the axis of rotation, wire guide means at each end of the frame member adapted to pass the wire around one end of the frame member without lateral displacement and to displace the wire laterally by the predetermined distance as it passes around the opposite end of the frame member, planetary gear means mounted on axes spaced from the center of rotation of the frame member and rotatable with the frame support means, normally stationary sun gear means, lead screw means connected to each planetary gear means and arranged to move the guide means along the ends of the frame member by a distance equal to the predetermined distance during each rotation, and rewind means arranged to drive the sun gear means to move the guide means in the opposite direction while the frame support means is held stationary.

8 9. A machine according to claim 8 including additional lead screw means normally linked to the frame support means arranged to drive the wire feed means in conjunction with the guide means, and clutch means arranged to disconnect the additional lead screw means from the frame support means and to conneot it to the rewind means.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,448,980 Schmutz Mar. 20, 1923 1,944,581 Snyder Jan. 23, 1934 1,987,079 Rosenmund Jan. 8, 1937 2,554,855 Creed May 29, 1951