US3647153A

US3647153A - Winding of continuous strands

Info

Publication number: US3647153A
Application number: US871996A
Authority: US
Inventors: Richard Westwell Schofield
Original assignee: General Engineering Co Ltd
Current assignee: PLCV Ltd
Priority date: 1969-10-21
Filing date: 1969-10-21
Publication date: 1972-03-07
Anticipated expiration: 1989-03-07

Abstract

An apparatus for producing, by a continuous winding process, a rosette coil within a container, including a capstan device for drawing the wire continuously from a supply and feeding it to a rotary tubular flyer which depends from a position below the capstan and is downwardly, outwardly and rearwardly formed in its end region so as to eject wire to be coiled from its end in such a manner that it has a component of movement rearwardly relative to the direction of rotation of the flyer and downwardly to form convolutions arranged to fall into a container; the flyer terminating at a radial distance from the axis of rotation of the flyer smaller than the mean radius of the coil to be formed. In order to assist feeding of the wire through the flyer fluid flow means may be employed.

Description

United States Patent Schofield 51 Mar. 7, 1972 [54] WINDING 0F CONTINUOUS STRANDS 3,069,108 12/1962 Dean et al ..242/82 3,270,977 9/1966 Tillou ....242/82 [72] smile, p'estwlch 3,061,893 1 1/1962 Naegeli ..242/s2 England 731 Assignee: General Engineering Company (Radcliffe) Primary Examiner-George F. Maw

Limited Assistant Examiner-Gregory A. Walters Attorney-Harry C. Bierman, Jordan B. Bierrnan and Bierman [22] F1led: Oct. 21, 1969 & Bierman 2l A l. N 871 996 1 pp [57 ABSTRACT Application Data An apparatus for producing, by a continuous winding process, [63] Continuation-impart f S N 748,347,v J l 29 a rosette coil within a container, including a capstan device for 19 g abandone drawing the wire continuously from a supply and feeding it to a rotary tubular flyer which depends from a position below the [52] us. c1. ..242/82, 242/83 capstan and is downwardly. outwardly and rearwardly formed 5 [11L C| in its end region so as to eject wire to be coiled from its end in 581 Field of Search ..242/82, 83, 128 such a manner that it has wardly relative to the direction of rotation of the flyer and 56 R f cud downwardly to form convolutions arranged to fall into a con- 1 e erences l tainer; the flyer terminating at a radial distance from the axis UNITED STATES PATENTS of rotation of the flyer smaller than the mean radius of the coil to be formed. In order to assist feeding of the wire through the 334,453 1/1886 Morgan ..242/ 82 X flyer fluid flow means may be employed. 2,757,880 8/1956 DeLaMotte ..242/78.7 3,013,742 12/1961 Bittman ..242/83 15 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures l I I 1 I f ,18a

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WINDING OF CONTINUOUS STRANDS This application is a continuation in part of my copending application No. 748,347 filed 29th July 1968, now abandoned and entitled IMPROVEMENTS IN OR RELATING TO THE WINDING OF CONTINUOUS STRANDS.

This invention relates to the winding of continuous strands, the expression winding" being used to include coiling into a container as well as wrapping on to a core, and the expression strand" being used to define a wire, filament or thread of at least one material, for example, a bare or coated wire.

The invention is particularly, but not exclusively applicable to the manufacture of wire conductors for the electrical industry, and to the practice of rosette coiling of the wire into a pack prior to some other operation such as twinning.

Most of the present methods of, and apparatus for, rosette coiling include an internal or external coil forming device which is located with the upper end of a container of annular capacity, so that the strand is formed into coils therein with relative progression so that the coils fall in angularly spaced disposition, i.e., not immediately on top of each other, hence the expression rosette coiling. In the majority of known methods and apparatus it is required mechanically to place the strand into its convolutions through a nip" of some kind, i.e., the strand passes between a roller or belt and guide track therefor, to place it into its coiled form prior to entering as such into the container.

One problem with the known forms of apparatus referred to above is the lineal speed limitation for one reason or another as is well known to users of such apparatus, coupled with wear of parts in particular at the nip feed, and possible damage to the strand. Factors of inertia and balance also introduce problems with such known apparatus.

A further problem with known machines is to generate sufficient momentum in the strand by centrifugal force as opposed to mechanical placing of the strand to ensure that the strand, as it leaves the coil forming device is tensioned sufficiently to prevent bulking or tangling before formation into a rosette coil in a can or before winding on to a core.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved method of and means for winding a strand as above defined.

One aspect of the invention comprises the method of winding a strand as herein defined comprising the step of positively feeding the strand to a driven rotary flyer so constructed as to throw the wire centrifugally into the required coil form.

The method may be characterized further by the step of employing fluid flow means associated with the flyer and arranged so as to tension the strand as it leaves the flyer.

According to a further aspect of the invention apparatus for winding a strand as herein defined comprises a means for delivering the wire at a predetermined lineal speed, a flyer consisting of a tube arranged to receive the wire tangentially from the delivery means and having a delivery end so bent as to eject the wire centrifugally therefrom, means for driving the flyer and thus causing the strand, as it is ejected from the flyer to form into convolutions from which they may fall freely into a container.

The apparatus aforesaid may be further characterized by means for relatively moving the container in a circular path in such manner as to pack the convolutions in rosette form.

In one form the relative circular motion of the container is achieved by so mounting the container on a base member as to cause its longitudinal axis to perform a circular orbital path around the axis of rotation of the flyer; conversely the container may be mounted on the base member for rotation about its own longitudinal axis, in which case the container axis and the axis of rotation of the flyer are spaced apart and the container thus rotates eccentrically relative to the axis of rotation of the flyer.

The invention will be described further by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of an apparatus made in accordance with the invention,

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the apparatus of FIG. 1, and

FIG. 3 is a detail part sectional view of the apparatus of FIGS. 1 and 2 showing a modification to enable fluid flow means to be used.

FIG. 4 is a plan view partly in section along line 4-4 of FIG. 5, and

FIG. 5 is a side elevation along line 5-5 of FIG. 4.

As shown in the drawings the apparatus comprises a strand feeder consisting of a wheel 10 driven by an electric motor 11 and variable speed gear 12, through a first driving belt 13, a driving shaft 14, driving belt 15 and bevel gear box 16. The belt 15 also drives a pulley 17 which latter is mounted upon, and therefore drives a flyer l8 hereinafter referred to. Complementary to the wheel I0 is a belt 19 arranged over pulleys 20, 21 (see FIG. 2) so that the belt 19 embraces approximately degrees of the capstan. If desired there may be provided an additional pulley so that the belt 19 can embrace any desired angle of the wheel 10.

A strand (for example a wire) 22 fed from any suitable source such asa wire drawing machine, or extrusion line (not shown) is fed to the wheel 10 tangentially through a guide 23 mounted on the machine frame 24 and leaves it in vertical direction also tangentially of the wheel 10. The belt 19 and the wheel 10 act as a capstan and draw the wire 22 from its source and delivers it after the nip at the required linear speed.

Adjacent to the wheel 10 is a fixed guide tube 25, the mounting of which, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, may be directly onto the machine frame by means of a bracket 26. The tube 25 is arranged with its axis tangential to the wheel 10 and with its entry end 260 suitably chamfered to enable it to be located in close proximity to the point at which the belt 19 leaves the wheel 10. Below the fixed tube 25 is a tubular flyer 18, the upper end of which is located immediately adjacent to the lower end of the guide tube 25. The flyer 18 is bent through an angle of about in the vertical plane. In order to ensure that end 18b of the flyer l8 trails the tube, it is additionally bent so that end 18b is directed at an angle of about 25 to a radius extending from the axis of rotation of the flyer to the center of end 18b of the flyer. The end of the flyer tube is located approximately at half the radius of the required wire coil radius. A similarly bent balance tube 18a is provided. The flyer and balance tube are located at diametrically opposed positions on a bell-shaped member 27 hereinafter referred to. Alternatively, and as indicated in FIG. 5 counterweight 48 may be provided in place of the balance tube.

A ring 28 may be provided and supported by a part 29 of the machine frame in such position as to deflect, if necessary, the wire 22 as it emerges from the rotating flyer 18 so as to prevent it from falling outside a receiving container 30. In order to form a rosette coil assembly within the container 30 the latter may be slowly rotated bodily in such a manner that its longitudinal axis orbits about a line through the axis of rotation of the flyer 18 so as to effect angular progression of deposition of the convolutions. Alternatively, the container may be rotated about its own axis and in such a case the container axis would be noncoincident with the flyer axis and thus the container would rotate eccentrically relative to the flyer axis. Within the container 30 is a centrally disposed post 31 about which the convolutions of the rosette coil are formed. The container 30 when mounted with its axis noncoincident with the flyer axis (as shown in FIG. 1), is removably carried on a rotatable platform 32 which latter is slowly rotated via a belt drive connection 34 and reduction gear 35 from the motor 11. In this case the amount by which the axis of the container is offset is very small (for example, about 1 inch). As shown in FIG. 1 the rotatable platform 32 is shown in a retracted position and thus there is no drive to the container 30. This is the position assumed by the platform 32 when a change of container 30 is being made. When the container 30 is to be rotated during wire coiling the platform 32 is raised to carry the container 30 and thus rotate it. i

In operation, the strand, such as a wire, bare or coated, is positively fed between the wheel 10 and belt 19 to the fixed guide 25, leaving the wheel 10 tangentially and is finally ejected by the flyer 18 by centrifugal force and its generated momentum to fall into the container 30 either with or without contacting the inner wall of the impact ring 28. Due to the configuration of the flyer tube and the rotation thereof the wire falls into the container 30 in coiled form so that the coil formation is freely generated as distinct from being positively generated by the rotating guide means of the kind to which reference has been made by way of an indication of the manner in which most coiling has been carried out in the past.

It is possible to produce nontangling coils of wire using the principles of flyer tube construction set out above for any types of wire but it should be borne in mind that in view of the vast range of physical properties of wires it will be necessary in some cases to vary the actual form of the flyer tube. Having ascertained that the tube configuration is of prime importance in forming non tangling coils, it has been determined that for any specific form of tube a range of wire types can be coiled and, by way of example only, it is found that a downward inclination of the tube end of to 30' combined with a rearward inclination of 25 and a ratio of 0.4-0.6 to l of the circumference of the circle described by the tube and to the circumference of the coil gives a highly acceptable result and enables a wire of the kind referred to below to be coiled at the speeds mentioned. The most preferred downward inclination is about 30 and the most preferred ratio is about 0.57 to 1. Clearly for greatly different wires and coil sizes it may be necessary to alter the angles and the ratio set out above but the same principle of formation of the tube would still be followed.

The impact ring 28 when provided is formed with an internal taper of about 5 degrees from the vertical but this may be varied accordingly if desired. The curvature and included angle of the flyer 18 may be varied from that shown.

Other forms of wire feed than the belt and wheel arrangement described, may be used as, for example, the known fleeter capstan so arranged as to deliver the strand axially to the receiving end of the flyer 18.

It has been found experimentally that a covered electric wire of 0.020 copper covered to 0.036 with polyethylene could be coiled into a pack at a lineal speed of the order of 7,000 feet per minute as distinct from the previous maximum of the order of 4,000 feet per minute.

In some cases it may be found to be advantageous to employ fluid flow means at the wire guide so that the wire can be tensioned in the guide. To achieve this the modification shown in FIG. 3 is used, and in this case as shown the mounting boss for the tube 25 is built-up of sections. As shown the boss 36 is constructed with an outer cap 37 and an inner core 38 in which are formed three equally spaced convergent jets 39 directed into the bore 40 of the core 38 at an angle of 30 degrees to its axis and in the direction of travel of the wire. As applied to insulated electrical conductor wire such as that coated with polyethylene and which will subsequently undergo a water test for insulation, either air or water may be supplied to the jets 39. The upper end of the inner core 38 is smaller than the remaining portion thereof so that an annular chamber 41 is provided at the upper end of the jets 39 and the outer cap 37 is ported for the supply to this chamber of the fluid to be used. As can also be seen from FIG. 3 the tube 25 and its mounting boss 36 are carried on the end of an arm 42 which is pivoted intermediate its end in a bracket 43. At the free end of the arm 42 is a microswitch 44 electrically connected to the main drive for the apparatus. In the event of a wire not entering the bore of the tube 25 pressure will be exerted thereon and the arm 42 will pivot to operate the micro switch to stop the machine when faulty wire feed occurs thereby preventing damage both to the wire and the feed means.

The pulley is provided with a slot 45 through which its axle 46 passes in order that its position can be adjusted to tension or slacken the belt 19. A locknut 47 is used to retain the pulley 20 in position after adjustment.

in operation when dealing with relatively fine strands such as wire of the order of 0.020 or less the rigidity of the wire is low and bunching or tangling may occur in the tube 25, especially on starting up and before the centrifugal forces are generated in the strand by the rotation of the flyer 18. A fluid under pressure, supplied to the jets 39 generates a partial vacuum at the entry to the tube and by friction on the wire applies a tension thereto. The fluid, whether gaseous or liquid, operates as a fluid bearing to centralize the wire in the tube, or at least keep it away from actual contact with the inner wall thereof. The jet assistance may in some cases be discontinued after starting up or at least its intensity may be reduced but will preferably be restored in the event of stoppage to avoid bunching of the wire during deceleration of the flyer 18.

Obviously, the jets 39 can be employed where cooling or the application of a lubricant or other such operation is to be effected during winding.

In order to enable the container to be moved for replacement without stopping the machine, that is in the case in which the wire is not to be cut, a means is provided for storing the coiled wire while a full container is replaced by an empty one. The means is shown in FIG. 1 and consists in providing a series of arms 50 mounted on axles 51 themselves carried by the machine frame 29. The arms 50 are secured to the axles 51 and are so arranged that in an inoperative position they are directed away from the center of the coils formed by the rotation of the flyer l8 and outside the area defined by the top of the container 30, to allow the wire coils as they are formed to fall between the flyer l8 and the container 30. When, however, it is desired to remove the container 30 the arms 50 are pivoted into an operative position by means of a chain (or belt) and pulley drive referred to below, to extend towards the axis of rotation of the flyer i8 collectively to form a cradle upon which coils of wire can collect whilst the towards container 30 is being replaced by an empty container. The bell 27 serves to prevent the coils of wire from becoming entangled in the center of the stack of coils as they build up on the arms 50. To enable the arms 50 to move together the axles 51 are each provided with a chain sprocket 52 around which passes a chain (not shown). When the chain is driven in one direction it rotates the sprockets 52 to turn the axles 51 and thus pivot the arms 50 collectively to cause the arms to assume an operative position extending towards the axis of the bell 27 and when the chain is driven in the opposite direction will cause the arms 50 to return to the inoperative position. The ring 28 serves to prevent coils of wire on the arms 50 from falling therefrom as a stack is built up.

lclaim:

1. Apparatus for coiling a wire including a container, a delivery means for delivering the wire substantially vertically downwardly at a predetermined lineal speed, a tubular flyer, a means for rotating said flyer about a vertical axis below said delivery means, an upper region of said flyer being straight and having a vertically disposed axis about which it rotates, said upper region of said flyer being arranged to receive said wire, a delivery end of said flyer displaced from the axis of rotation of said flyer and spaced from said axis of rotation at a distance less than the mean radius of the coil to be formed, said distance being less than the distance between said axis and the inner wall of said container, the delivery end of said flyer having a downward inclination and being directed rearwardly relative to the direction of rotation of said flyer, and a smooth continuously curved section of said flyer being disposed between said straight substantially vertical upper re gion and said delivery end.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 including fluid flow means associated with said flyer and arranged so as to tension said wire as it leaves said flyer.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 including a guide associated with said fluid flow means to assist in feeding said wire to said flyer and to apply tension to said wire as it emerges from said flyer.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 in which said guide comprises a guide tube adjacent said flyer and between it and said delivery means for said wire, a boss on said guide tube, an

inner core in said boss, angularly positioned fluid jets in said inner core, an outer cap between which and said inner core is formed an annular chamber to receive fluid from an external source, said fluid jets communicating with a wire passage in said guide.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 including means for delivering said wire at a predetermined lineal speed substantially vertically downwardly, said upper region of said flyer being located below said means for delivering said wire to receive said wire substantially tangentially from said means for delivering said wire.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said delivery end of said flyer has a downward inclination from the horizontal of between and 30 so as positively to eject said wire with a downward component of movement relative to the horizontal.

7. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said delivery end of said flyer is at a radius of between 0.4 and 0.6 of the mean radius of the coil to be formed.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said smooth continuously curved section of said flyer is so formed as to terminate in an end section which lies at an angle of approximately 110 to said straight substantially vertically disposed upper region of said flyer.

9. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the extreme end of said delivery end of said flyer is at an angle of approximately 25 to a radial line extending from said axis of rotation towards said extreme end of said flyer, said extreme end of said flyer being directed away from the direction of rotation of said flyer.

10. Apparatus for coiling a wire including a delivery means for delivering the wire substantially vertically downwardly at a predetermined lineal speed, a tubular flyer, a means for rotating said flyer about a vertical axis below said delivery means, an upper region of said flyer being straight and having a vertically disposed axis about which it rotates, said upper region of said flyer being arranged to receive said wire, a delivery end of said flyer displaced from the axis of rotation of said flyer and spaced from said axis at a radius of between 0.4 and 0.6 of a mean radius of a coil to be formed, the delivery end of said flyer having a downward inclination of between 15 and 30 from the horizontal and having its extreme end directed away from the direction of rotation of the flyer at an angle of approximately 25 to a radial line extending from the axis of said flyer towards said extreme end of said flyer, and a smooth continuously curved section of said flyer so formed as to terminate in an end section which lies at an angle of approximately ll0 to said straight substantially vertically disposed upper region of said flyer, said smooth continuously curved section being disposed between said straight substantially vertical upper region and said delivery end.

11. Apparatus according to claim 10 including fluid flow means associated with said flyer and arranged so as to tension said wire as it leaves said flyer.

12. Apparatus according to claim 1 including a container to receive said wire, means for causing said container to move bodily in such manner that its longitudinal axis follows an orbital path about the axis of rotation of the flyer to cause convolutions of wire to become packed in rosette form.

13. Apparatus according to claim 10 including a container to receive said wire, means for causing said container to move bodily in such manner that its longitudinal axis follows an orbital path about the axis of rotation of the flyer thus to cause convolutions of wire to become packed in rosette form.

14. Apparatus according to claim 5 in which the means for delivering said wire to said flyer comprises a wheel and a belt passing over part of the periphery thereof, the wheel and belt serving to grip the wire passing therebetween, and a guide tube located tangentially of said wheel arranged to receive said wire from said wheel and belt.

15. Apparatus according to claim 10 in which the means for delivering said wire to said flyer comprises a wheel and a belt passing over part of the periphery thereof, the wheel and belt serving to grip the wire passing therebetween, and a guide tube located tangentially of said wheel arranged to receive said wire from said wheel and belt.

Claims

1. Apparatus for coiling a wire including a container, a delivery means for delivering the wire substantially vertically downwardly at a predetermined lineal speed, a tubular flyer, a means for rotating said flyer about a vertical axis below said delivery means, an upper region of said flyer being straight and having a vertically disposed axis about which it rotates, said upper region of said flyer being arranged to receive said wire, a delivery end of said flyer displaced from the axis of rotation of said flyer and spaced from said axis of rotation at a distance less than the mean radius of the coil to be formed, said distance being less than the distance between said axis and the inner wall of said container, the delivery end of said flyer having a downward inclination and being directed rearwardly relative to the direction of rotation of said flyer, and a smooth continuously curved section of said flyer being disposed between said straight substantially vertical upper region and said delivery end.

4. Apparatus according to claim 3 in which said guide comprises a guide tube adjacent said flyer and between it and said delivery means for said wire, a boss on said guide tube, an inner core in said boss, angularly positioned fluid jets in said inner core, an outer cap between which and said inner core is formed an annular chamber to receive fluid from an external source, said fluid jets communicating with a wire passage in said guide.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said delivery end of said flyer has a downward inclination from the horizontal of between 15* and 30* so as positively to eject said wire with a downward component of movement relative to the horizontal.

8. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which said smooth continuously curved section of said flyer is so formed as to termInate in an end section which lies at an angle of approximately 110* to said straight substantially vertically disposed upper region of said flyer.

9. Apparatus according to claim 1 in which the extreme end of said delivery end of said flyer is at an angle of approximately 25* to a radial line extending from said axis of rotation towards said extreme end of said flyer, said extreme end of said flyer being directed away from the direction of rotation of said flyer.

10. Apparatus for coiling a wire including a delivery means for delivering the wire substantially vertically downwardly at a predetermined lineal speed, a tubular flyer, a means for rotating said flyer about a vertical axis below said delivery means, an upper region of said flyer being straight and having a vertically disposed axis about which it rotates, said upper region of said flyer being arranged to receive said wire, a delivery end of said flyer displaced from the axis of rotation of said flyer and spaced from said axis at a radius of between 0.4 and 0.6 of a mean radius of a coil to be formed, the delivery end of said flyer having a downward inclination of between 15* and 30* from the horizontal and having its extreme end directed away from the direction of rotation of the flyer at an angle of approximately 25* to a radial line extending from the axis of said flyer towards said extreme end of said flyer, and a smooth continuously curved section of said flyer so formed as to terminate in an end section which lies at an angle of approximately 110* to said straight substantially vertically disposed upper region of said flyer, said smooth continuously curved section being disposed between said straight substantially vertical upper region and said delivery end.