US3201055A

US3201055A - Filament winding apparatus

Info

Publication number: US3201055A
Application number: US246639A
Authority: US
Inventors: Guenther Carl; Donald D Argue
Original assignee: General Electric Co
Current assignee: General Electric Co
Priority date: 1962-12-21
Filing date: 1962-12-21
Publication date: 1965-08-17
Anticipated expiration: 1982-08-17

Description

Aug. 17, 1965 c. GUENTHER ETAL FILAMENT WINDING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 21, 1962 Fl .l

INVENTORS CARL GUENTHER DONALD D. ARGUE 1965. c. GUENTHER ETAL. 3,201,055

FILAMENT WINDING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 21, 1962 FIG. 7

INVENTORS CARL GUENTHER BY 2 DONALD D. ARGUE THEIR ATIORNEY Aug. 17, 1965 c. GUENTHER ETAL 3,201,055

FILAMENT WINDING APPARATUS Filed Dec. 21, 1962 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 as ao 0 INVENTORS CARL G-UENTHER DONALD D. ARG-UE THEIR A1TORNEY 1965 c, GUENTHER ETAL- 3,201,055

FILAMENT WINDING APPARATUS 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Dec. 21, 1962 we mw n N R N ENA m VE .l

U T a A l Wh R United States Patent 3,2tlL055 FELAMENT WlNDiNG AK PARATUE Carl Guenther and Donald D. Argue, Shelby ville, ind, assignors to General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Dec. 21, 1962, filer. No. 246,639 7 Claims. (Cl. 242-25) This invention relates to a filament winding apparatus and, and more particularly, to a means for accommodating a continuous supply of filament while a full storage spool is being replaced by an empty one without changing the linear speed of the filament.

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Serial No. 179,132, filed March 12, 1962, and now abandoned, assigned to the same assignee as the present application.

\ in many production schemes, a filament is wound on a storage spool as the final stage in production of the filament. Quite often, the earlier production stages require continuous operation without interruption to maintain a satisfactory filament quality. For example, in a wire enameling process it is imperative that the wire pass through the wire enameling oven at a constant speed. Should the speed vary too greatly above or below the desired speed, the quality of the enameling will be below the desired standards. Moreover, if the wire is stopped in the oven it may be damaged by the oven heat to the extent that it will have to be scrapped. The spool which receives and collects the filament as it leaves the oven has a limited capacity and must be replaced by an empty spool once it becomes full. A problem is encountered in maintaining the continunity of filament travel during the period in which the full spool is being replaced.

Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide a filament Winding apparatus which will maintain continuity of filament travel during the period when a full storage spool is being replaced by an empty one.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved means for coupling a filament storage spool to its drive shaft.

It is also an object of this invention to provide in a filament winding apparatus an improved means for maintaining proper tension on the filament during replacement of a full spool.

Briefly stated, in accordance with one aspect of the invention, a filament winding apparatus is provided with a storage spool to normally receive and collect the filament. An accumulator is provided axially adjacentthe storage spool to receive and collect the filament during the period when a full storage spool is being replaced by an empty one. The storage spool and accumulator are mounted on a common drive shaft means in such a mannor that the storage spool may be removed without disturbance of the accumulator. Clutch means are provided to selectively impart rotary motion to the storage spool or the accumulator. The clutch means can also impart rotary motion simultaneously to both the storage spool and the accumulator. A control means allows selective manual operation of the clutch means. In one embodiment, the drive shaft means is in the form of a solid shaft carrying the storage spool and a concentric hollow shaft carrying the accumulator. With the present invention, an operator may transfer the, oncoming filament to the accumulator as the storage spool becomes full. After a few turns of the filament about the accumulator, the

strand linking the storage spool to the accumulator may Patented Aug. 17, M365 'ice replaced by an empty one \m'thout changing the linear speed of the filament.

While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter which is regarded as the invention, :it is believed the invention will be better understood from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a schematic representation of a wire enameling system employing one embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of another embodiment of the invention taken along the axis thereof illustrating the spool and accumulator in the position wherein they are both rotating;

FIG. 3 is a view similar to FIG. 2 illustrating the accumulator in the non-rotating position;

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the accumulator control handle for the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a modification of the accumulator for the embodiment of FIGS. 2 and 3;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a second embodiment of the invention taken along the axis thereof on line 6-5 of FIG. 8 showing a large spool and a large accumulator;

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 6 illustrating the second embodiment of the invention employing a small spool and small accumulator;

FIG. 8 is a view of the clutch means associated with the solid shaft for the filament winding apparatus of the second embodiment as seen from line 8-8 of FIG. 6 showing the clutch means in the engaged position with the remaining elements being omitted for clarity;

FIG. 9 is a view similar to FIG. 8 showing the solid shaft clutch means in the disengaged position;

FIG. 10 is a view of the clutchmeans associated with the hollow shaft, the view being taken along line 1tl-].ll

in PEG. 6 to reveal the engaged position of the hollow shaft clutch means, with the remaining elements being omitted for clarity; and

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 10 showing the hollow shaft clutch means in the disengaged position.

Referring to the drawings and particularly to FIG. 1, a wire enameling apparatus is shown as it may be employed to apply an enamel coating to moving wire filament 5. The filament originates from a supply spool 6 and enters an enameling over 7 which heats the filament and applies the appropriate coating thereto. It should be appreciated at this point that in order to apply a satisfactory coating of enamel to the filament, the filament must remain in the oven 7 a given length of time. Since the oven 7 is of finite dimensions, the time during which a given element of filament is within the oven is controlled by the speed at which the filament passes through the oven. For these reasons, the filament mush pass through the oven without interruption to achieve a satisfactory enameling.

The filament 5, upon leaving the oven 7, advances to a capstan 8 which controls the process speed. The cap stan 8 may, or may not, have a cooperating pressure roll it) to help obviate slippage between the filament 5 and the capstan 8. As the filament 5 leaves the capstan 8, it advances to a pick-up station shown generally at 11. As the filament reaches the pick-up station 11, it passes through a tranverse sheave 12 which distributes the filament evenly on a storage spool 13. As schematically illustrated in FIG. 1, the spool 13 is carried by a rotating shaft 14 which is driven by an electric motor 15 through a belt drive as shown.

Referring now to FIG. 2, there is illustrated a fragmentary sectional view of one embodiment of the invention as may be used at the aforementioned pick-up station 11. It should be noted at this point that the shaft 14 may be either vertical as shown in FIG. 1 or horizontal as shown in FIG. 2, as will be more fully discussed hereinafter. The shaft 14 has secured thereto for rotation therewith a clutch member 13 which takes the form of a dislcnormal to the axis of the shaft 14. The clutch member 18 has two axially spaced planar friction surfaces 19 and 2t), purposes of which will hereinafter be more fully discussed. The storage spool 13 is carried by the shaft 14 as mentioned earlier; however, the spool 13 has a relatively loose fit with the shaft 14 so as to be freely removed from or mounted to the shaft 14. The free end of the shaft 14 may be threaded as shown at 21 toreceive a locking collar 22. It should be appreciated at this juncture that the threading shown at 21 could be of any conventional type to prevent axial displacement of the locking collar and, in fact, it could consist of simply an annular groove in the shaft which would receive a radially expansible locking collar adapted to cooperate with the annular groove. A spring 25 is compressed between the locking collar 22 and the end wall 26 of the storage spool 13 to thereby urge the storage spool 13 axially against the friction surface 19 of the clutch member 18. The frictional engagement between the friction surface 19 of the clutch member 18 and the storage spool 13 causes the spool to rotate with the shaft 14 As previously mentioned, the arrangement of FIG. 2 employs a horizontal shaft while the arrangement shown in the schematic representation of FIG. 1 employs a vertical shaft at the pick-up station. Also, as previously mentioned, a locking collar 22 and a spring 25 are employed on a horizontal shaft for biasing the storage spool 13 into engagement with the friction surface 19 of the clutch member 18. When a vertical shaft is employed, as illustrated in FIG. 1, the locking collar and spring are obviated in that the Weight of the storage spool 13 is sufiicient to maintain the storage spool 13 in engagement with the friction surface 19 of clutch member 13.

As the spool 13 becomes full it is necessary to remove the full spool and replace it with an empty one. However, as discussed earlier, the enameling process cannot be stopped for this purpose. Therefore, it is necessary to provide. a means for accommodating the filament arriving at the pick-up station 11 during the time that the spool is being replaced without changing the linear speed of the filament. In accordance with the invention, this problem is solved by providing an accumulator 30 which receives and collects the filament during the period when the full storage spool is being replaced. The accumulator 30 is carried by a sleeve 31 which is mounted on the shaft 14 so as to be free for axial movement relative thereto. The accumulator 30 has a hub portion 32 which is secured to the sleeve 31 and, if desired, the accumulator and sleeve could be made integral. One side of the hub portion 32 provides a planar surface which cooperates with the friction surface 20 of the clutch member 18 to transmit rotation from the shaft 14 to the accumulator 30. A spring 33 is disposed between a thrust bearing 34- and the 'end of the sleeve 31 to normally urge the hub portion 32 of the accumulator 30 into engagement with the friction surface 20 of the clutch member 18. The thrust bearing 34 allows the spring to rotate with the sleeve 31.

An accumulator control handle 37 is mounted for pivotal movement about a support means 38 which in turn is secured to a frame element 39. The control handle 37 has a forked configuration which cooperates with an annular groove in the sleeve 31. 7

Referring now to FIG. 4, a detailed illustration of the relationship between the control handle 37 and the annular groove 40 is given. As can be seen in FIG. 4, the

control handle 37 is forked so that a portion of it is dispo ed on each side of the shaft 14. A bearing support 4].

is secured to each side of the control handle 37 by welding 'or other appropriate means or, the bearing support may be formed integral with the control handle 37. The bear- 7 7 at this time.

ing support 41 has a bore therethrough perpendicular to the axis of shaft 14. Carried within this bore is a bearing element 43 which is dimensioned to be freely rotatable within the bearing support 41. The end of the bearing.

element closer to the shaft is of a greater diameter than the bearing support bore to prevent the bearing element 43 from moving away from the shaft 14. A locking ring S4 is positioned near the other end of the bearing element to prevent the bearing element 43 from moving within the bearing support 41 toward the shaft 14. In this manner then, the bearing element 43 is prevented from excessive movement along its own axis relative to the bearing support 41. The larger diameter end of the bearing element 43 extends into the annular groove ill of the sleeve 31. With this arrangement, as the control handle 3'7 is pivoted about the support means 38 against the biasing force of spring 33, the bearing element 43 will contact the surface of groove 46 As the control handle 37 is pivoted further, the sleeve 31 will slide axially along shaft 14 carrying with it the accumulator 30 thereby withdrawing the hub portion 32 of the accumulator 36 from engagement with the friction surface 2% of the clutch member 18. a

FIG. 3 illustrates the accumulator in the decoupled position, i.e. axially separated from the friction surface 19 of the clutch member 18. As will be appreciated, this is the normal position for the accumulator during the time that the storage spool 13 is being filled since there is no need for the accumulator 3%) to rotate during this period.

An explanation of the operation of the apparatus as applied to a wire enameling process may be appropriate Initially, an empty spool 13 is mounted on the shaft 14 and, if the arrangement involves a horizontal shaft, the spool is secured thereon in engagement with friction surface 19 of clutch member 18 by a spring 25 and a locking collar 22. The accumulator control handle 37 is released so that spring 33 forces the hub portion 32 of the accumulator 30 into engagement with friction surface 2% of clutch member 18. In addition to its use during the process in changing storage spools as more fully explained below, the accumulator 30 may also be used during the start-up period of the wire enameling apparatus. During start-up, a wire filament 5 is threaded through the apparatus as shown in FIG. 1, except that the filament 5 is threaded over a stationary sheave 45 which directs it toward the accumulator 30 to which the filament is secured. The electric motor 15 is then energized along with the individual components of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1. The apparatus continues to operate in this fashion until process stabilization is achieved within the oven 7. In other words, this operation is continued until the filament 5 reaching the pick-up station 11 is within acceptable standards with regard to the enamel coating thereon. I Once the filament has achieved these standards, the operator moves the filament from the stationary accumulator sheave 45 and places it on the traverse sheave 12 which guides the filament onto the storage spool 13. After the filament has made a few turns around the spool 13, the filament linking the accumulator and the spool is cut and the accumulator is withdrawn from engagement with clutch member 18 by means of the accumulator control handle 37.

This arrangement is maintained until the storage spool 13 becomes full whereupon the accumulator 3t) isagain engaged with clutch member 18 by releasing the accumulator control handle 37 to thereby allow spring 33 tourge the accumulator 30 into engagement with the clutch member 18. The operator thentransfers the filament 5 from In some circumstances it is desirable to employ a torque motor as the electric motor for driving the shaft 14. With this arrangement a specific torque is applied to the shaft 14 and the shaft speed is dependent upon the tension in the filament 5 between the spool and the capstan 8. With this in mind, it is realized that when the filament is transferred from the outside surface of the accumulator to the small diameter of an empty spool, there will be a period of time during which the shaft speed will increase to apply the proper tension on the filament 5 between the capstan and the spool. With this arrangement, during this period of time the operator holds the filament until the spool gains speed to prevent the extra length of filament between the capstan and the spool from becoming tangled.

FIG. 5 illustrates a modification of the accumulator which helps to obviate this problem of excess filament during the period of time theshaft speed is increasing to absorb the extra length of filament. The structure shown in FIG. 5 is essentially the same as that in FIG. 2 with the exception that the accumulator 47 is stepped radially inward toward the spool and the central portion of the spool has an increased diameter. With this arrangement, it is possible to transfer the filament from the full spool to the surface 49 of accumulator 47 which is essentially of the same diameter as a full spool. The operator can then gradually move the filament toward the storage spool a step at a time to thereby gradually absorb the excess filament which results from the diminishing diameters. The surface 54? of the accumulator 47 has a diameter essentially equal to the diameter of an empty spool so that the filament may be transferred from surface 50 to the empty spool with essentially no accumulation of excess filament. It should be noted that to transfer the filament from the surface 54 to empty spool 4-8 will require a slight excess length of filament so that the filament may be raised over the end wall 52.

An alternative to the modification of FIG. 5 could take the form of an accumulator essentially the same as that shown in FIG. 2 except that the diameter of the accumulator would be of some lesser diameter than the peripheral diameter of a full spool.

Thus far the accumulator 3% has been described as being normally urged toward the friction surface 29 of the clutch member 13 by spring 33. It will be appreciated that a spring could be arranged to normally urge the accumulator 30 away from the clutch member 18 with the control handle 37 being employed to overcome this spring force or the accumulator 3h could be used with no spring at all. Both of these arrangements are clearly within the scope of the present invention.

Referring now to FIG. 6, a second embodiment of the invention is shown employing a storage spool 13 identical to that employed in the aforementioned embodimerit. a disk. 56 secured thereto to rotate therewith. The disk as has a plurality of angularly spaced tapped holes each of which receives a screw 57. The plurality of screws 57 secure a larger disk 59 to the disk 56. The larger disk 59 provides a planar friction surface which cooperates with the end wall of of the storage spool 13 to impart the rotary motion of the larger disk 59 to the storage spool 13. The frictional cooperation between the larger disk 59 and the end wall of is assisted by a spring 61 which exerts an axial force on the storage spool 13 toward the disk 59. The spring 61 is secured in position by a locking collar 62 which is similar to the locking collar 22 as shown in FIG. 2.

Shaft is supported by bearings 64- and 65 and receives a friction wheel 66 at the shaft end opposite the locking collar 62. The friction wheel 66 is secured to shaft 55 by suitable means (not shown) which allow the removal of friction wheel on from shaft 55 but which insure that shaft 55 rotates with friction wheel 66 when friction wheel 66 is assembled on shaft 55'.

The spool 13 is carried by a shaft 55 which has 6 An accumulator 63 is carried by a hollow shaft 69 and is secured thereto by a plurality of screws 70. The hollow shaft 69 is supported by

bearings

71 and 72 which allow the rotary movement of the shaft 69. A friction Wheel 74 is secured to shaft 69 near the end opposite the accumulator 63, and is secured thereto in a manner simi lar to the friction wheel 455 on shaft 55. The

bearings

71 and 72 are supported by a frame member 75.

A driver motor '76 is secured to the frame '75 by means of a plurality of bolts 77. The motor shaft 79 carries a friction wheel which is secured to the shaft 79 to rotate therewith.

Referring now to FIGS. 8, 9, 10, and ll, the clutch means for selectively operating either the storage spool or the accumulator is shown. With respect to FIGS. 8 and 9, in particular, a friction idler $1 is employed to transmit the rotary motion of the friction wheel 88 to the friction wheel as when in the position shown in FIG. 8. The friction idler 81 is carried by a short shaft 82 which is supported by trunnion 33 so as to be freely rotatable relative thereto. The trunnion 83 is cantilevered from shaft and is secured thereto by any suitable means such as welding. The shaft 85 is supported by bearing as which is secured to, or may be integral with, frame 87. Shaft 35 is provided with axially-spaced notches 8? and 9% which cooperate with a spring loaded detent 91 to secure shaft 85 in either of two selected positions. Shaft 52$ may be square in cross-section or longitudinally splined to prevent rotation relative to bearing 8%. A knob 92 is provided at the end of shaft 85 to facilitate the axial movement of shaft 85 by the operator.

Pi-G. 9 shows the arrangement of FIG. 8 when the friction idler 81 is in the disengaged position, i.e., out of engagement with friction wheel 80 and friction wheel 6'5. in this position, the spring loaded detent $1 is in the notch as.

FIG. 8, as mentioned above, is a view taken along the line Ei-$ of FIG. 6. For this reason, the clutch means which interconnect friction wheel 74 with friction wheel t are hidden and are shown in FIGS. 10 and ll. The clutch means associated with the hollow shaft 6?, interconnecting friction wheels '74 and fiti, as illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11, is identical to that already described in connection with FIGS. 8 and 9. Thus, in FIGS. 10 and 11 similar parts are identified by the same numerals as employed in FIGS. 8 and 9. The operation of the illustrated clutch means associated respectively with

shafts

55 and 69 is the same and no further description of FIGS. 10 and 11 will be set out. As can be seen in FIG. 6, friction wheel 8th has an axial dimension sufficient to intercept the planes in which both friction wheel 66 and friction wheel 74 lie. It should be noted, however, that since individual clutch means are provided for each of the friction Wheels and '74, the accumulator 58 and the storage spool 13 may be individually rotated independent of the other.

FIG. 7 illustrates the adaptability of the arrangement shown in FIG. 6 to the employment of a small diameter storage spool 95. In order to accommodate the small diameter storage spool 95, it is only necessary to remove two elements from the arrangement shown in FIG. 6, viz., the larger disk 5% and the accumulator 68. As discussed earlier, the larger disk 59 is secured to disk 56 by a plurality of screws 57 which may be easily removed. The accumulator 63 is secured to the hollow shaft 69 by a plurality of screws 75 which can also be easily removed. The hollow shaft 69 has a peripheral configuration including a peripheral slot or groove 6%, at the end near the storage spool, which is similar to the peripheral configuration of the accumulator es. The peripheral configuration of the hollow shaft 6% serves the same function, when a small storage spool 95 is employed, as the accumulator 68 when a large storage spool 13 is employed. The disk Sdserves to frictionally transmit rotary motion from the shaft 55 to the small storage spool 95 in 1 a manner similar to the transmission of rotary motion between the larger disk 59 and the large storage spool 13.

As will be evident from the foregoing description, certain aspects of the invention are not limited to the particular details of the construction of the example illustrated, and it is contemplated that various and other modifications or applications will occur to those skilled in the art. It is, therefore, intended that the appended claims shall cover such modifications and applications as do not depart from the true spirit and scope of the invention. Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. Filament winding apparatus comprising:

(a) drive shaft means,

(b) a storage spool mounted on said shaft means for receiving and storing a continuously moving filament, said spool being removable from said shaft means for replacement by an empty spool,

(c) an accumulator mounted on said shaft means axially adjacent said storage spool for receiving said filament during the removal and replacement of said spool, and

(d) disengageable drive means for selectively imparting rotary motion to said accumulator or said storage spool, said disengageable drive means having first and second rotary motion transmitting means engageable with said drive shaft means for transmitting rotary motion to said drive shaft means and respectively to said storage spool and to said accumulator, said first and second rotary motion transmit ting means being individually connectahle in driving relation to said drive shaft means on the side of said accumulator disposed axially away from said storage spool, with said first and secondary rotary motion transmitting means rotating and stopping respectively said storage spool and accumulator independently of one another.

2. Filament winding apparatus comprising:

(a) drive shaft means comprising:

(1) a hollow cylindrical shaft mounted for rotary movement, and

(2) a solid cylindrical shaft mounted within said hollow shaft for free rotary movement relative thereto,

(b) a storage spool removably mounted on one of said shafts for receiving and storing a continuously moving filament,

(c) an accumulator mounted on the other of said shafts axially adjacent to said storage spool for receiving said filament during the removal and replacement of said spool, and

(d) disengageable drive means for selectively imparting rotary motion to said solid shaft or said hollow shaft, whereby said shafts may be driven independently of each other for rotating and stopping said storage spool and said accumulator.

3. Filament winding apparatus comprising:

(a) drive shaft means comprising:

(1) a hollow cylindrical shaft mounted for rotary ment, and

(b) a storage spool removably mounted on said solid shaft for receiving and storing a continuously moving filament,

(c) an accumulator mounted on said hollow shaft axially adjacent to said storage spool for receiving said filament during the removal and replacement of said spool, and

(d) disengageable drive means for selectively imparting rotary motion to said solid shaft. or said hollow shaft whereby said shafts may be driven independently of each other for rotating and stopping said storage spool and accumulator.

8 4. Filament winding apparatus comprising: (a) drive shaft means comprising: a

(1) a hollow cylindrical shaft mounted for free rotary movement and a (2) a solidcylindrical shaft mounted within said hollow shaft for free rotary movement relative thereto,

(b) a storage spool removably mountedon said solid shaft for receiving and storing a continuously moving filament,

(c) an accumulator removably mounted on said hollow shaft axially adjacent to said storage spool for receiving said filament during the removal and replacement of said spool,

(d) a drive means having a rotatable shaft,

(e) disengageable means for selectively imparting rotary motion to said solid shaft or said hollow shaft whereby said hollow shaft and said solid shaft may be driven independently of each other for rotating and stopping said storage spool and said accumulator, said disengageable means comprising:

(1) first rotary motion transmitting means to transmit rotary motion from said rotatable shaft to said hollow shaft, and

(2) second rotary motion transmitting means to transmit rotary motion from said rotatable shaft to said solid shaft. 5. Filament winding apparatus comprising: (a) drive shaft means comprising:

(1) a hollow cylindrical shaft mounted for free rotary movement, and

(d) a first friction wheel mounted on said solid shaft,

(e) a second friction wheel mounted on said hollow shaft, 7

(f) a drive means having a rotatable shaft,

(g) a third friction wheel mounted on said rotatable shaft, and l (h) disengageable means for selectively imparting ro tary motion to said solid shaft or said hollow shaft whereby said solid shaft and said hollow shaft may be rotated independently of each other for rotating and stopping said storage spool and said accumulator, said disengageable means comprising:

(1) a first friction idler movable into coincident engagement with said first friction wheel and said third friction wheel, and

(2) a second friction idler movable into coincident engageament with said second friction wheel and said third friction wheel.

6. Filament winding apparatus comprising:

(a) drive shaft means comprising:

(1) a hollow cylindrical shaft mounted for rotary movement and having a first end and a second end,

(2) a solid cylindrical shaft mounted within said hollow shaft for free rotary movement relative thereto and having a first end and a second end,

(b) a storage spool removably mounted on said solid shaft near said first end thereof for receiving and storing a continuously moving filament,

(c) an accumulator mounted on said hollow shaft near said first end thereof axially adjacent to said storage spool for receiving said filament during the removal and replacement of said spool,

(d) a first friction wheel mounted on said solid shaft near said second end thereof,

(e) a second friction wheel mounted on said hollow shaft near said second end thereof,

(f) drive means including a rotatable shaft,

(g) a third friction wheel mounted on said rotatable shaft, and i (h) disengageable means for selectively imparting rotary motion to said solid shaft or said hollow shaft whereby said solid shaft and said hollow shaft may be driven independently of each other for rotating and stopping said storage spool and said accumulator, said disengageable means comprising:

(2) a second friction idler movable into coincident engagement with said second friction wheel and said third friction wheel.

7. The invention defined in claim '1 wherein said accumulator comprises a member having a plurality of sively in diameter toward said storage spool.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS Worth 242-865 Peck 74-206 Hosford 242-25 Hargreaves et al. 242-25 Fornwald 242-25 Hogan 58-395 X Frankwich 242-25 Moomaw 74-206 Hauck et al. 242-25 Lewis 242-83 Klinksiek 242-25 Examiners.

Claims

2. FILAMENT WINDING APPARATUS COMPRISING: (A) DRIVE SHAFT MEANS COMPRISING: (1) A HOLLOW CYLINDRICAL SHAFT MOUNTED FOR ROTARY MOVEMENT, AND (2) A SOLID CYLINDRICAL SHAFT MOUNTED WITHIN SAID HOLLOW SHAFT FOR FREE ROTARY MOVEMENT RELATIVE THERETO, (B) A STORAGE SPOOL REMOVABLY MOUNTED ON ONE OF SAID SHAFTS FOR RECEIVING AND STORING A CONTINUOUSLY MOVING FILAMENT, (C) AN ACCUMULATOR MOUNTED ON THE OTHER OF SAID SHAFTS AXIALLY ADJACENT TO SAID STORAGE SPOOL FOR RECEIVING SAID FILAMENT DURING THE REMOVAL AND REPLACEMENT OF SAID SPOOL, AND (D) DISENGAGEABLE DRIVE MEANS FOR SELECTIVELY IMPARTING ROTARY MOTION TO SAID SHAFT OR SAID HOLLOW SHAFT, WHEREBY SAID SHAFTS MAY BE DRIVEN INDEPENDENTLY OF EACH OTHER FOR ROTATING AND STOPPING SAID STORAGE SPOOL AND SAID ACCUMULATOR.