US3111279A - Winding machine - Google Patents

Description

Nov. 19, 1963 H. s. DALEY ETAL WINDING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 5, 1961 2y WILLI A INVENTORS HORACE S. DALEY A} T. LEMING RNEY Nov. 19, 1963 s. DALEY ETAL 3,111,279

' WINDING MACHINE Filed May 5, 1961 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 nun INVENTOR5 HORACE S. DALEY BY WILLIAM FLEMING 1.x I 1- ORNEY United States Patent 3,111,279 WINDBNG MACHENE Horace S. Daley, Ciifton, and William T. Fleming, Boonton, NJ, assignors to Specialties Development Corporation, Believille, NJL, a corporation of New Eersey Filed May 5, 1961, Ser. No. 197,952 3 Claims. (Cl. 242F-2) The present invention relates to winding machines, and, more particularly, to a machine for winding yarn or the like on objects having either a generally spherical or oval cylindrical shape.

Heretofore, winding machines have been developed which essentially comprise a spindle for slowly rotating a form about an axis thereof, a fiyer for wrapping yarn about the form in planes intersecting a point Within the axis of rotation of the form, such as the center of a sphere, to lay the yarn in approximate great circles, and counterbalanced mechanism for slowly tilting the form from one position to another to distribute the wind.- ing about the form in a desired pattern. Such machines are generally disclosed in United States Patent Numbers 2,858,992 and 2,901,190.

While such machines are satisfactory for winding yarn onto hollow forms having a volumetric capacity up to about 3000 cubic inches to provide a receptacle having a weight of about 60 pounds, an attempt to wind much larger and heavier receptacles on such machines results in complications when the spindle carrying the form is tilted due to weight and dimensional factors.

Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to provide a machine for Winding yarn onto extremely large forms during the fabrication of receptacles or other objects having a wall composed of a resin impregnated fiber glass winding or the like.

Another object is to provide such a machine which can also be utilized in principle to wind smaller forms.

Another object is to provide such a machine which has a relatively high production rate.

Another object is to provide such a machine which can accurately produce a variety of winding patterns.

Another object is to provide such a machine which includes cooperating apparatus for applying great circle or end-over-end windings and hoop windings onto a form.

Another object is to provide such a machine for applying yarn coated or impregnated with a liquid which machine is equipped with means for receiving and collecting drippings of liquid from the yarn applied onto the form.

A further object is to provide such a machine which is relatively simple, practical and economical in construction and is reliable in operation.

Other and further objects of the invention will be obvious upon an understanding of the illustrative embodiment about to be described, or will be indicated in the appended claims, and various advantages not referred to herein will occur to one skilled in the art upon employment of the invention in practice.

A preferred embodiment of the invention has been chosen for purposes of illustration and description, and is shown in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of the specification, wherein:

FIGS. 1A and 1B taken together side by side at the lines 1'1 represent a front elevational view of a winding machine in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevational view of mechanism for operating and positioning the flyer which Wraps the yarn onto the form.

FIG. 3 is a top view of the mechanism shown in FIG. 2.

3,111,273 Patented Nov. 19, 1963 Referring to FIGS. 1A and 1B of the drawings in detail, there is shown a yarn winding machine which generally comprises a base or foundation 10, drive mechanism 11 on the base, a substantially vertical spindle 12 mounted for rotation in a fixed position on the base for supporting either a spherical form 14a or a cylindrical form 14b shown in broken lines, and a pedestal 15 on the base on which is supported mechanism 16 for operating a fiyer 17 adapted to wrap yarn about the form.

The drive mechanism 11 comprises a motor 19 on the pedestal 15, a gearbox 20 driven by the motor and having two output shafts 21 and 22, a gear 24 on the lower end of the spindle means 12 driven by a gear 25 on the out-put shaft 26 of a gearbox 27, and a gear 29 on the input shaft 30 of the gearbox 27 driven by a gear 31 on the shaft 21.

The spindle means '12 comprises a vertical-shaft 32 journalled for rotation in a support 34 on the base 10 and having the gear 24 at the lower end thereof, a fitting 35 at the upper end of the shaft 32 for removably securing a spud 36 provided on the form at its lower end, and a dished circular member 37 below the fitting 35 for collecting the drippings of resin impregnated y-arn applied to the form. The form also has a spud 36 at its other end so that the yarn can hug both the upper and lower spud to hold it on the form as the winding is started. Provision is made for positioning the fitting to enable both spherical and cylindrical forms to have yarn applied thereto by the fiyer 17. This is accomplished by vertically adjusting the fitting 35 so that vertical midpoint of the form is in alignment with the axis of rotation of the flyer.

The fiyer 17 comprises an arm 39 mounted at one end for rotation on the mechanism 16 as about to be described, an offset portion 40 at its free end extending across the axis of rotation of the form when in its upper position as shown and adapted to cross back and forth over this axis as the fiyer rotates, and a plurality of yarn guides such as rollers 41 for directing the yarn to outer end of the offset portion and onto the form.

The fiyer operating mechanism 16 includes a parallelogram assembly which generally comprises a bar 42 having the fiyer 17 mounted thereon as about to be described, and a first link 44 and a second link 45 each having its lower end pivotally mounted on shafts 46 and 47, respectively, located at spaced apart fixed points in a plane parallel to the longitudinal axis of the bar 42, and each having its upper end pivotally connected to the bar 42 at points 43 and 48 which are spaced apart the same distance as the axis of rotation of the shafts 46 and 47.

The mechanism 16 further includes a member 53 which is pivotally mounted on a horizontal shaft 69 rotatably supported on the bar 42 at its end facing the form. The member 53 has a lug or lever portion thereon to which one end of a third link 55 is pivotally connected. The other end of the link 55 is pivotally connected to an extension 56 at the upper end of the link 44 to provide an arrangement for turning the member 53 to effect tilting of the flyer as described hereinafter.

The fiyer is mounted for rotation with an elbow 49 which has a portion 38 secured to a shaft 51 This shaft is journalled for rotation in the member 53 and is perpendicularly disposed to the shaft 69. The elbow 49 has a second portion 51 to which the fiyer arm 39 is secured by a rod 52.

Rotation of the flyer about the form is effected by a sprocket 57 on the drive shaft 22 connected by a chain 59 to sprocket 6t rotatably mounted on the shaft 47, a second sprocket 61 on the shaft 47 rotated by the sprocket and connected by a chain 62 for rotating a sprocket 64 rotatedly mounted on the bar 42 near one end thereof at 48, a sprocket 65 rotated by the sprocket 64 and con nected by a chain 66 for rotating a sprocket 67 rotatably mounted by the shaft 69 on the bar 42 near its other end for in turn rotating a bevel gear 70 thereon, and a bevel gear 71 secured at the end of the elbow portion 38 and in mesh with the gear 70.

Mechanism is provided for progressively tilting the flyer 17 to apply the yarn in different planes intersecting the same point within the axis of rotation of the form which mechanism comprises a gear segment 72 secured to the link 45 at its end on the shaft 47, a worm 74 in mesh with the gear segment, a rotatably mounted shaft 75 for supporting the worm, and means for effecting rotation of the shaft 75 herein illustrated as a manually operable wheel 76 although such means could be a mechanism for automatically turning the shaft 75 through a predetermined cycle which determines the pattern of the winding produced on the form.

Such rotation of the shaft turns the link 45 clockwise or counterclockwise about the shaft 47, and, by reason of the parallelogram arrangement of the bar 42 on the links 44 and 45, the bar is lowered and moved towards the right or is raised and moved towards the left (as viewed) so that the distance between the point intersected by the planes in which the yarn is applied and the point of meshing connection of the bevel gears 70 and 71 is always the same since the latter point moves in an arc of a circle the center of which is the former point.

As shown in FIG. 2, the link 55 is mounted parallel to the bar 42 by the lug 54 and the extension 56 so that upon raising and lowering of the bar 42 the link 55 respectively moves towards the left and the right as viewed. Such movement respectively turns the member 53 and the flyer 17 in clockwise and counter-clockwise directions. Thus, when the bar 42 is in its upper position as shown in FIG. 1, the link 55 is towards the left and the flyer is positioned to wrap yarn over the ends of form near its periphery; and when the bar 42 is in its lower position, the link 55 is towards the right and the flyer is positioned to wrap yarn over the ends of the form near the spuds 36.

In operation, yarn is drawn by the flyer from a source of supply 77 which includes resin impregnated means, through a tension control device 79, over a guide roller 80 on the arm 42 at its right hand end as viewed, under, over, under and over four guide rollers 41, respectively, on the flyer 17, and through a guide or eye 81 at the free end of the flyer. The flyer is rotated at a predetermined speed about the form and the form is rotated by the spindle 32 at a much lower speed, whereby winding convolutions in planes intersecting the midpoint of the axis of rotation of the form are distributed circumferentially about the form. As the flyer is tilted, the convolutions are in planes which pass closer to or further away from the spuds 36 of the form, whereby the manner in which the flyer is tilted determines the pattern of the winding produced onthe form.

In many instances, an elongate form, such as an oval or cylindrical form 1411 is also to be provided with a spiral hoop winding on its side walls with the hoop windings and the end-over-end windings of the flyer being alternately applied. In order to enable this to be accomplished, the machine illustrated herein is also equipped with traverse apparatus 82 for applying the hoop winding. Such apparatus comprises a vertical post 83 on the base 10, a worm or screw shaft 84 rotatably mounted in vertical position on the post, a yarn guide 85 driven by the shaft 84 and guided by the post 83 for gradual upward and downward movement, and a gear 86 at the lower end of the shaft 84 driven by a gear 87 on an output shaft 89 of a gear box 90 having its input connected to the shaft 26.

The gear boxes and 90 include conventional clutch means (not shown) for disconnecting the input and output thereof to selectively connect the flyer 17 and the yarn guide 85 for operation without disconnecting the form rotating spindle means 12 for operation.

The apparatus 82 is so arranged that, when the flyer 17 is at rest in its upper position as shown, the yarn after passing through the eye 81 of the flyer passes downwardly and through an eye 91 in the guide 85, whereby the yarn for both types of windings can be conveniently supplied from the same. This arrangement also has the advantage that the flyer need not be re-threaded for use after hoop windings are applied.

The term yarn is used in its broadest sense herein and is intended to include strands, filaments, strips, ribbons, wires, threads and the like formed of any material which is sufiiciently flexible to enable the same to be wound in the manner described herein.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that the present invention provides a relatively simple, practical and efiicient machine for applying windings on a rotating form including great circle windings on a sphere and endover-end windings and hoop windings on a cylinder. The machine is particularly adapted for winding relatively large forms.

As various changes may be made in the form, construction and arrangement of the parts herein,without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention and without sacrificing any of its advantages, it is to be understood that all matter herein is to be interpreted as illustrative and not in any limiting sense.

We claim:

1. In a winding machine of the class described, the combination of a spindle mounted for rotation about a substantially vertical axis and adapted to support a form about which a winding is to be applied in a continuous path about the form in planes all of which intersect a common point within the axis of rotation of the form; and yarn applying means comprising a substantially horizontal bar disposed in a vertical plane passing through said vertical axis and having an end facing the form, first and second links each having its lower end pivotally mounted at spaced apart fixed points in a plane parallel to the bar and each having its upper end pivotally connected to said bar at fixed points spaced apart the same distance as the pivot points at the lower end of said links, a member pivotally mounted on the end of said bar facing the form and having a lug thereon, a flyer mounted for rotation on said member, drive means on said bar and said flyer for effecting rotation of said flyer, an extension on said first link, a third link parallel to said bar and pivotally connected between said lug and said extension, and means at the lower end of said second link for rocking said second link.

2. In a winding machine according to claim 1, wherein said last mentioned means include a gear segment secured to said second link for rotary movement about the pivot point of said second link, a rotatably mounted worm in mesh with said gear segment, and means for effecting rotation of said worm.

3. In a winding machine according to claim 1, wherein said drive means include a first gear on said pivotally mounted member, a second gear on said flyer in mesh with said first gear, a first sprocket mounted for rotation with said first gear, second and third sprockets mounted for rotation with each other at the pivot point between said second link and said bar, a fourth sprocket mounted for rotation at the pivot point of the lower end of said second link, a first chain providing a driving connection between said first and second sprockets, and a second chain providing a driving connection between said third and fourth sprockets.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,215,361 Miller et al Sept. 17, 1940 2,749,054 Crom June 5, 1956 2,858,992 Wentz Nov. 4, 1958 2,966,935 Wiltshire Jan. 3, 1961

Claims (1)

1. IN A WINDING MACHINE OF THE CLASS DESCRIBED, THE COMBINATION OF A SPINDLE MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ABOUT A SUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL AXIS AND ADAPTED TO SUPPORT A FORM ABOUT WHICH A WINDING IS TO BE APPLIED IN A CONTINUOUS PATH ABOUT THE FORM IN PLANES ALL OF WHICH INTERSECT A COMMON POINT WITHIN THE AXIS OF ROTATION OF THE FORM; AND YARN APPLYING MEANS COMPRISING A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTAL BAR DISPOSED IN A VERTICAL PLANE PASSING THROUGH SAID VERTICAL AXIS AND HAVING AN END FACING THE FORM, FIRST AND SECOND LINKS EACH HAVING ITS LOWER END PIVOTALLY MOUNTED AT SPACED APART FIXED POINTS IN A PLANE PARALLEL TO THE BAR AND EACH HAVING ITS UPPER END PIVOTALLY CONNECTED TO SAID BAR AT FIXED POINTS SPACED APART THE SAME DISTANCE AS THE PIVOT POINTS AT THE LOWER END OF SAID LINKS, A MEMBER PIVOTALLY MOUNTED ON THE END OF SAID BAR FACING THE FORM AND HAVING A LUG THEREON, A FLYER MOUNTED FOR ROTATION ON SAID MEMBER, DRIVE MEANS ON SAID BAR AND SAID FLYER FOR EFFECTING ROTATION OF SAID FLYER, AN EXTENSION ON SAID FIRST LINK, A THIRD LINK PARALLEL TO SAID BAR AND PIVOTALLY CONNECTED BETWEEN SAID LUG AND SAID EXTENSION, AND MEANS AT THE LOWER END OF SAID SECOND LINK FOR ROCKING SAID SECOND LINK.

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