US3657628A

US3657628A - Programmed coil winding machine

Info

Publication number: US3657628A
Application number: US54152A
Authority: US
Inventors: John Chesney; Vincent P Friberg; Richard B Phelps
Original assignee: Arris Technology Inc
Current assignee: Arris Technology Inc
Priority date: 1970-07-13
Filing date: 1970-07-13
Publication date: 1972-04-18
Anticipated expiration: 1989-04-18

Abstract

A coil winding machine in which the rotational position of the form on which the coil is to be wound and the translational position of the guide which leads the wire onto the form are both controlled by electrical signals of a type which may readily be recorded onto a tape or other record medium, preferably in the form of phase modulated and/or frequency modulated signals. The signals may be artificially created or created from a master winding machine the operations of which are to be duplicated by the machines controlled by the recorded signals. Thus a single standard record-controlled winding machine can be used without adaptation to form any desired number of coils of any desired characteristic within the capabilities of the machine. Separate control signals are produced for rotational positioning of the coil form and translational positioning of the wire guide, and those signals, together with a reference signal, are impressed onto the record and are then reproduced so as to control the operation of the machine.

Description

[54] PROGRAMMED COIL WINDING MACHINE [72] Inventors: John Chesney, Roselle Park; Vincent P. Friberg, Leonia; Richard B. Phelps, New Milford, all of NJ.

General Instrument Corporation, Newark NJ.

{73] Assignee:

[151 3,657,628 Apr. 18, 1972 Primary Examiner-Benjamin Dobeck Attorney-James and Franklin [5 7] ABSTRACT A coil winding machine in which the rotational position of the form on which the coil is to be wound and the translational position of the guide which leads the wire onto the form are [22 1 Filed: July 3 1970 both controlled by electrical signals of a type which may readily be recorded onto a tape or other record medium, preferably PP 54,152 in the form of phase modulated and/or frequency modulated signals. The signals may be artificially created or created from v a master winding machine the operations of which are to be 3 18/608 duplicated by the machines controlled by the recorded signals. [58] Fie'ld 'g' 606 Thus a single standard record-controlled winding machine can 2132/1516 be used without adaptation to form any desired number of coils of any desired characteristic within the capabilities of the machine. Separate control signals are produced for rotational [56] References cued positioning of the coil form and translational positioning of the UNITED STATES PATENTS wire guide, and those signals, together with a reference signal, are impressed onto the record and are then reproduced so as lg; i 322 :1222 fEg/ggg; to control the operation of the machine. 3:175:138 3/1965 Kilroy et al. ..3 18/605 X 33 Claims, 16 Drawing Figures X' Rte-00,20 x PIC/(UP PEFifiiA/LE i x 72 OSCILLATOR W m 56 l 72 i I 74 66, i 2' 66 l 67 I flMPL/F/ER l 90 ems: 3,5 7 76 8 S/l/f r 5 ///F I l s9 K'ESUZL/IK PESUZVEA f6 i :78

62 RM [70 g 70) 6; :52 /80 84 PATENTEUAPR 18 m2 3,657, 628

sum 01 or 13 BYQM ATTORN EY sum ouur 13 PATENTEUAPR 18 m2 PATENTEBAPR 18 m2 SHEET 0 5 0F 13 i/CH/IPD E. PHELPS PATENTEDAPR 18 I972 3, 657, 628

sum 06 0F 13 qu- F 4 FIG. 8

ATTORNEY PATENTEUAPR 181972 3, 657, 628

SHEET 0? [IF 13 FIG. 9

P/Cl/AFD 8- 1 /7541 5 BY)W4W{/7% ATTORNEY PATENTEBAPR 18 I972 SHEET GSUF 13 ATTORNEY PATENTEDAPR 18 m2 SHEET 10 HF 13 ATTQ R N EY a S QR PROGRAMMED con. WINDING MACHINE The present invention relates to a programmed winding machine specially designed for the windingof electrical coils.

.Electrical coils serve many purposes. They may be used as windings for electromagnets, as deflection coils, as inductances, etc. For each of these uses a difierently designed coil is required, the design of a coil being a function of the number, spacing and arrangement of the turns of the coil. Often special types of winding are required other than a conventional helical winding. For example, in some installations pancake" or waffle types of coils are required. Even when considering a single type of coil, different installations or applications may call for specifically different coils, that is to say,

one simple helical winding may require ten turns'in the space of a half an inch, whereas another coil of the same type may require a thousand turns in the space of an inch and a half, in a series of layers. When a plurality of layers areutilized, it may be required for one coil that-each layer start at the same axial end, whereas in another coil the layers may start at alternate ends. The ramifications are virtually endless, and a facility devoted to the winding of coils finds itself in a situation where it must from time to time modify its winding machines after they have produced a desired number of coils according to one specification so that they can then produce a desired number of coils according to a different specification.

In the past this modification has required that the winding machines be shut down and in effect revamped from one type of coil winding to another. Gears had to be changed, stops had to be shifted and cams had to be replaced, in some instances after being specially cut and used only for that particular run, those cams then being scrapped because there were no further requirements for coils of that particular specification. The loss in productivity and in the overall cost involved are apparent.

- It is the prime object of the present invention to devise a winding machine which in use will greatly minimize the effort and expense of changeover in shifting from production of one particular coil to another.

It is a further prime object of the present invention to devise a programmed winding machine which can be used without alteration or modification for the production of a vast number of different types of coils and, within each type, to produce coils of different specifications as required.

It is another object of the present invention to devise such a machine which can produce coils according to virtually any type of specification, which can produce general purpose coils or special design coils, and which can be used equally as well for large scale production as for short run production.

It is yet another object of the present invention to devise a machine which will wind universal windings, solenoid windings, progressive universal windings, combinations of various types of windings within a given coil, multi-section windings with different widths and patterns in each section, and so on.

It is a'still further object of the present invention to devise such a machine which can be shifted virtually instantaneously from the production of one type of coil to the production of another type of coil, without having to take the machine out of the production line to adapt it to its new task.

To these ends, the desired movement of the operative parts of the winding machine, to wit, the rotation of the spindle on which the coil form is mounted and the translation of the wire guide which leads the wire to the coil form, are both controlled by means of electrical signals of a type capable of being recorded on a tape or other record medium. The recording of these signals on the tape may be accomplished in any desired fashion, either by artificially creating the signals once their characteristics for a particular coil winding job are known or else by using a master winding machine, operating that master winding machine to form a coil of the specific type desired, and causing the spindle and wire guide of that master machine to produce the control signals required to drive the production machines. Since the creation and recording of the control signals on the tape can be carried out independently of the operation of the controlled production machines, it will be apparent that a very great saving in time is immediately achieved by means of the system here described the controlling signals for making a particular winding may be recorded on the control tape at a time while the production machines, under the control of a previously recorded tape, are gainfully working. To shift a production machine from the manufacture of a winding of one specification to the manufacture of a different winding requires only that one control tape be substituted for another in a conventional tape reproducer. Moreover, a single control tape can control the operations of a number of production machines simultaneously.

' For many applications, and particularly in the communications industry, coils must be very accurately manufactured, and hence it is necessary that a winding machine, no matter how it be controlled, function very precisely in accordance with the controls applied thereto, so that the coils which it produces are uniform one with respect to the other. Even slight variations in the number of turns in a given winding or the spacing of turns within a given winding or within a given layer of a winding may make a significant difference in the characteristics of the coil produced. Many variations generally inherent in the recording and reproduction of signals in tape recorders and the like are sufficiently great so as normally to produce in a record-controlled winding machine inaccuracies which are of greater magnitude than can be tolerated in many instances. In order greatly to improve the accuracy of the winding machine and control system here disclosed, phase modulated signals are employed, and those phase modulated signals are compared with a reference signal, the phase modulated control signals and the reference signal being recorded together on the tape or other recording medium. In order to further enhance the accuracy of the system, and in particular to eliminate that source of inaccuracy which may come from twisting, stretching or other distortion of the tape so that different channels thereon are differently affected, it has been found desirable to combine or multiplex the reference signal with at least one of the control signals, the recording of the combined signals on a single channel on the tape ensuring that those two signals will be uniformly affected by any abnormalities in the recording or reproducing operation.

The combining of signals has the further advantage that when a multiple channel tape is utilized a fewer number of channels on the tape must be employed for the rotational signals to the winding machine spindle and the translational signals to the winding machine wire guide, thus leaving other channels available for other types of control signals, such as automatic stopping and starting and providing for special movements for multiple tap points, waxing, and lead cutting. In the preferred form here specifically disclosed the signals for controlling both rotation of the coil form as mounted on the machine spindle and translation of the wire guide relative thereto are derived by shifting the phase of a high frequency control signal relative to the phase of a similar frequency reference signal, the degree of phase shifting representing a particular rotational position in the case of the machine spindle or translational position in the case of the wire guide. This may conveniently be done by utilizing position detector means with electrical outputs, such as resolvers or differential transformers, to which the reference signal and the positional requirement are fed, the latter either mechanically or electrically. When recording the control signal from the operation of a master machine the rotation of the spindle of that master machine and the translation of the wire guide thereof mechanically position appropriate parts of the resolver or differential transformer, and the output from that position detecting device will then be a signal which is phase shifted relative to the reference signal in accordance with the mechanical input to that device. At the production machine this phase shifted signal is received, detected, and compared with a similar signal emanating from the position detecting device which is connected to the production machine spindle or the production machine wire guide, as the case may be. Any error signals, representing a departure of the production machine spindle or wire guide from its desired position, will be detected and translated into a command to the motor or other driving means for the spindle or wire guide, as the case may be, thereby to cause the latter to move to its desired position.

A resolver has the advantage that its accuracy is virtually uniform throughout the entire 360 of its rotation. It has the disadvantage that it is sensitive only to 360 of rotation. This is entirely satisfactory when controlling the winding machine spindle, where only rotational position is in view, but when control of the wire guide is involved the situation is somewhat more complicated, particularly where the wire guide must translate over an appreciable distance such that its driving element, such as a ball screw, must rotate more than one complete revolution to move the wire guide from one end of its travel to the other. In these circumstances special means are provided to control the driving motor for the wire guide so as to accurately position the wire guide where it should be.

In order further to improve the accuracy of operation of the system here disclosed, artificial phase shifts are imparted to the detected signal at appropriate places in the detection system. In this way the undesirable effects of tape flutter and scrape flutter are eliminated the phase shifts produced by those irregularities in operation of the recording equipment are cancelled out by the artificial phase shifts imparted to the signals in the circuitry of the present system.

To the accomplishment of the above, and to such other objects as may hereinafter appear, the present invention relates to the structure and mode of control of a programmed coil winding machine as defined in the-appended claims and as described in this specification, taken together with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a three-quarter perspective view of a winding machine of the present invention, shown in semi-schematic form;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a recording and reproducing system which may be used to control spindle rotation;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a recording and reproducing system which may be used to control wire guide translation, that system employing a differential transformer as the position detecting means;

FIG. 4 is a second version of a recording system, shown in block diagram form, for recording wire. guide translational signals derived from a differential transformer;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the reproducing system which may be used in conjunction with the recorded signal emanating from the arrangement of FIG. 4 in order to position the wire guide of the production machine;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 but showing a recording system for wire guide control in which a resolver is utilized as the position detector;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram of the reproducing system for con trolling the position of the wire guide in conjunction with the signals emanating from the system of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is ia circuit diagram of a portion of the reproducing system for spindle rotation, which portion receives a control signal and a reference signal at the upper and lower circuits respectively and preliminarily acts upon those signals;

FIG. 9 is a circuit diagram of a portion of the rotary motion controlling circuitry which receives the output of the circuitry of FIG. 8 and produces preliminary signals representing the actual position of the spindle of the controlled machine and the desired positionthereof;

FIG. 10 is a circuit diagram of the discriminator or phase comparator circuitry for both the rotary motion of the spindle system as produced in the circuitry of FIG. 9 and the translational motion of the wire guide system as produced in the circuitry of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a circuit diagram of the amplifier circuitry used in connection with the control signal in the positioning of the wire guide;

FIG. 12 is a circuitry diagram of that portion of circuitry which demodulates the detected frequency modulated wire guide control signal;

FIG. 13 is a circuit diagram of the circuitry for shifting the phase of the reference signal in order to select the desired quadrant of resolver output;

FIG. 14 is a circuit diagram of a phase shifting network used in conjunction with the wire guide signal emanating from the circuitry of FIG. 3 in order to improve its accuracy;

FIG. 15 is a circuit diagram of a portion of the wire guide controlling circuitry which receives the output of the circuitry of FIG. 14 and produces preliminary signals representing the desired and actual positions of the wire guide; and

FIG. 16 is a circuit diagram of the amplifier circuitry used in connection with the control signal for the positioning of the wire guide.

FIG. 1 discloses in semi-idealized form a typical embodiment of a coil winding machine such as may beused in conjunction with the present invention. It comprises a spindle 2 on which a coil form 4 may be mounted so as to rotate with the spindle. The spindle is supported in brackets 6 on a base or tabletop 8 and is provided with a sprocket 10 engaged with belt 12, the belt being driven by sprocket 14 mounted on output shaft 16 of driving motor 18. Also fast on shaft 2 is sprocket 20 which acts with belt 22 to rotate sprocket 24 on input shaft 26 of rotary resolver 28, the resolver functioning as a position detecting device. Energization of the driving motor 18 will cause the shaft 2, and with it the coil fonn 4, to rotate, and the rotational position thereof will be sensed by the resolver 28 whose signal output will be a function of that rotational position.

The rotation of the coil form 4 is one factor involved in forming a coil or winding. The other factor is determined by the position of the wire axially along the coil form 4. The wire 30 comes from a suitable wire supply 32 rotatably mounted on brackets 34, and the translational position of that wire as it is wound on the coil form 4 is determined by wire guide 36. That guide is mounted on rod 38 to which collar 40 is made fast, the collar in turn being connected by rod 42 to a ball-containing collar 44 which cooperates with screw shaft 46 driven by motor 48. As the motor 48 rotates the collar 44 moves along the screw shaft 46, and this in turn imparts translational motion to the rod 38 and wire guide 36. The rod 38, as it thus moves, slides in and out of a position detector in the form of a differential transformer 49, and the electrical output from that difierential transformer 49 will be a function of the translational position of the wire guide 36 relative to the length of the coil form 4. As will be seen, a resolver may be substituted for the wire guide position sensing differential transformer 49., and it would also be possible to utilize a differential transformer in place of the resolver 28 provided that appropriate mechanical and electrical provisions were made therefor. It will further be understood that the specific forms which the driving elements (the motors l8 and 48), and the driving linkages (the elements 10, 12 and 14 for the spindle and the elements 46, 44, 42 and 38 for the wire guide) may take likewise be widely varied, all well within the skill of those versed in the art.

The support 8 may be mounted on top of a pair of housings 50 and 52 within which the various circuit elements associated with the system of the present invention may be housed. A tape recorder, generally designated 54, is shown mounted on the upper surface of the tabletop 8, but this is by way of exemplification only; it could also be mounted either remotely or within either one of the housings 50 and 52.

While the signals recorded on a suitable tape or other record medium and reproduced by the tape recorder 54 could be of many forms, in the system here disclosed phase modulated signals are employed. The use of more conventional amplitude modulated signals is thought to be inherently inaccurate because of variations in tape quality, recording heads and amplifiers as between one piece of equipment and another and also because of variations in a given apparatus which may well come to pass with time and use. Accordingly in the present system three signals are employed, one being a reference signal alternating at a predetermined frequency, such as 440 Hz another being a phase modulated 440 Hz signal detennining the rotational position of the spindle 2, and the third being 7 a 440 Hz phase modulated signal controlling the translational position of the wire guide 36. The reference signal will be generally designated X, the rotational position signal will be generally designated RM, and the translational signal for the wire guide will begenerally designated WG. The signals RM and WG will both nominally be alternating at the same frequency (440 Hz in the present example) as the reference signal X, but will be phase-displaced therefrom in accordance with the desired command relative to rotational position of the spindle 2 in the case of the RM signal and translational position of the wire guide 36 in connection with the WG signal. Thus the proper rotational position of the spindle 2 will be determined by comparing the phases of RM and X, and the proper translational position of the wire guide 36 will be determined by comparing the phases of the signals WG and X.

FIG. 2 discloses in block diagram form the system for producing the rotational signal RM and for operatively utilizing that signal'to control the rotation of the spindle 2. The signal-producing or recording system is shown in the left hand portion of FIG. 2 and the reproducing system is shown in the right hand portion of FIG. 2. For recording a master machine may rotate a spindle 2' at the speed and in the manner desired in the winding of the particular coil involved. That spindle 2 has a sprocket 56 fast thereon, that sprocket driving, via the chain 58, a sprocket 60 on the input shaft 62 to a resolver 64. An oscillator 66 produces the reference signal X. That reference signal X is fed by line 68 to the resolver 64, thus constituting an electrical input to the resolver. Another electrical input to the resolver is a signal corresponding to reference signal X but shifted 90 in phase relative thereto, as indicated by block 69 in FIG. 2. The electrical output of the resolver appears on line 70, and constitutes the reference signal X shifted in phase to a degree determined by the rotational position of the input shaft 62 for the resolver 64, and hence by the rotational position of the master spindle 2. The electrical output from the resolver (the signal RM shifted in phase relative to the reference signal X) is recorded on one channel of a tape as indicated at 65 while, as indicated at 67, there is recorded on the other channel of the tape simultaneously the reference signal X, this being done by taking an output from the oscillator 66 along the line 72. The tape will thus have thereon, in parallel channels, the reference signal X and the rotational signal RM, as indicated in the central portion of FIG. 2.

Reference has been made to the recording of the signals X and RM on a tape or other recording mechanism. This will be the usual way in which the system of the present invention is operated, but it will be understood that the signals X and RM, as they are generated, can, if desired, be transmitted directly to the controlled machine or machines, thereby to cause those machines to operate simultaneously with the master machine. However, as indicated, normally the signals X and RM (and the other signal WG hereafter to be described more in detail) will normally be recorded on a tape in order that the controlled machine or machines may be used in production to best advantage while command signals for the nest type of coil to be made thereby are being recorded on tape.

The right hand side of FIG. 2 illustrates a reproducing system which may be employed in connection with the spindle rotation control of the winding machine. The reference signal X tape-recorded at 67 is received and reproduced at line 72, is amplified at 74, and is fed by line 76 to the resolver 28, the reference signal X thus constituting one of the inputs to the resolver 28. Another electrical input to the resolver is a signal corresponding to reference signal X but shifted 90 in phase relative thereto, as indicated by block 77 in FIG. 2. Another input to the resolver 28 is the rotational position of the shaft 26, that corresponding to the rotational position of the spindle 2 of the controlled machine, as driven by the motor 18. The output from the resolver 28, represented by the line 78, is fed to a phase comparator 80, the other input to which is the reproduction of the RM signal, as indicated by the line 82. The

phase comparator will compare the signals from the

lines

78 and 82, will detect any phasedifference therebetween, and

will in accordance with that detection produce a driving signal on output line 84 which is fed to and controls the operation of the driving motor 18 for the spindle 2. The signal on the line 84 will in effect represent an error signal between the desired position of the spindle 2, as indicated by the signal RM on line 82, and its actual position as indicated by the signal on line 78 which is the output of the resolver 28. As will be recognized, this represents a standard form of servo circuit.

As a result, the position of the spindle 2 on the controlled machine will at any given moment correspond to the position of the spindle 2' of the master machine at a corresponding moment or, expressed in a more generalized form, it will at any given moment correspond to the phase difference between the reference signal X and the rotational position signal RM.

FIG. 3 discloses in block diagram form a recording and reproducing system for controlling the translational position of the wire guide 36 utilizing a differential transformer 48 rather than a resolver (such as the resolver 28) as the position detecting means. The differential transfonner, when provided with a reference signal input, will have an output in phase with the input signal (or 180 out of phase therewith) but of a magnitude dependent upon the mechanical input to the transformer. In order to produce a useful signal in the system here under discussion, that output signal is combined with the reference signal shifted in phase thereby to produce an output signal the phase of which will shift with wire guide position. Thus the reference oscillator 66 produces the reference signal X which is fed on line 68 to the differential transformer 70 controlled by the master machine. The input rod 72 of that differential transformer is connected to the wire guide 36 of the master machine, and hence the electrical output of the differential transformer 70, on line 74, will be in phase (or out of phase) with the reference signal X but, as indicated, its magnitude will vary depending upon the axial position of the input shaft 72. The reference signal X is also fed on line 76 to a 90 phase shift network 78 the output of which travels along line 80 to an adder 82, the differential transformer output on line 74 also constituting an input to the adder 82. The output of the adder 82 on line 84 constitutes the wire guide signal WG, a signal the phase of which will be shifted relative to the reference signal X in accordance with the axial position of the mechanical input shaft 72 of the differential transformer 70.

At the controlled machine, as represented at the right hand side of FIG. 3, the reference signal X is detected, fed along line 86 and line 88, and becomes an electrical input to the differential .transformer 49 connected to the wire guide 36 of the controlled machine. The electrical output of that differential transformer, on line 90, will represent the reference signal but with a magnitude dependent upon the actual position of the input shaft 38 for the differential transformer 49. The detected reference signal X is shifted in phase 90 by network 92 and the output of that network, on line 94, is fed to an adder 96, the other electrical input to which is the differential transformer output 90. The output of the adder, on line 98, represents a comparison between the signal X and the actual position of the controlled wire guide 36, that being represented by the phase relationship of the signal on line 98 to the reference signal X. This signal is fed to a phase comparator 100, the other electrical input to which is the detected WG signal on line 102. The output of the phase comparator 100, on line 104, represents a comparison between the actual position of the controlled wire guide 36, as represented by the signal on line 98, and the desired position thereof at any given instant as represented by the signal on line 102. This error signal on line 104 is amplified at 106 and fed by line 108 to the motor 48, causing that motor to assume a position such that the wire guide 36 will be positioned exactly as commanded by the signal WG.

In the system disclosed in FIG. 3 the reference signal X and the wire guide signal WG are shown recorded on the tape in separate channels 67 and 69. In some instances this can give rise to undesired inaccuracies in operation. Stretching or twisting of the tape would cause a physical shift between the positions of the signals X and WG as recorded thereon, and this would be detected by the electrical system as a phase shift, thereby producing a movement of the wire guide 36 which is not a desired movement. This problem was not found to be particularly critical in connection with spindle rotation, but was found to sometimes produce undesirable results when wire guide position was involved. Accordingly the recording and reproducing systems of FIGS. 4 and were adopted. These systems involve the combining of the reference signal X and the wire guide signal WG on a single tape channel to produce a combined signal XWG. Hence distortions in one part of the tape relative to the other will affect both signals similarly and hence no appreciable error will be introduced into the system. The combining can be accomplished in any appropriate way, e.g. by multiplexing or by producing a composite signal. The latter is here specifically illustrated.

The recording system for combined signal production disclosed in FIG. 4 is essentially the same as that disclosed in FIG. 3, except that the output 84 from the adder 82 is now utilized to frequency modulate a 56 Hz carrier frequency, as indicated by block 110. This frequency modulated output, on line 112, is fed to a mixer 114 the other electrical input to which is the output from a 50 kHz oscillator 116. The resultant signal, on line 118, is a frequency modulated 6 kHz signal, which is filtered at 120, and which is fed along line 122 to adder 124. The other electrical input to the adder 124 is the reference signal X on line 72. The output 126 from the adder 124, which is recorded on the tape, represents a composite signal XWG consisting of both the reference signal X and the 6 kHz signal controlled by the output of the differential transformer 70.

As indicated in FIG. 5, this composite or multiplex signal XWG, tape-recorded as indicated at 71, is reproduced and carried by line 128 to a low pass filter 130 and to a 6 kHz filter 132. The reference signal component X of the signal XWG, which is at 440 Hz, passes through the low pass filter 130 onto line 134. The frequency modulated 6 kHz signal passes through the filter 132 to line 136 and to an FM detector 138. The output of that detector appears on line 140 and it constitutes the effective WG signal representing the desired position of the wire guide. That signal 140 is treated in phase comparator 100 in the same fashion as is disclosed in the previously described non-combined system of FIG. 3 in order to position the wire guide 36 as desired.

The use of a differential transformer in the wire guide control system is satisfactory when the length of the coil to be wound is relatively short, but as the length of the coil to be wound increases the inherent accuracy of the position detection afforded by a differential transformer decreases. The resolution possible with a differential transformer becomes less as the extent of movement of its input shaft increases. The degree of resolution of a resolver, such as is employed in the illustrated spindle rotation system of FIG. 2, is the same no matter what the extent of total movement may be. Accordingly, the systems of FIGS. 6 and 7 disclose wire guide recording and reproducing systems respectively in which resolvers are employed as the position detecting means rather than the differential transformers of FIG. 3. The resolver in the recording system of FIG. 6, generally designated 142, has an input shaft 144 provided with a ball screw assembly 146, the ball being carried by a sleeve 148 physically connected by link 150 to the wire guide 36' of the master or recording machine. The ball screw assembly 146 is so designed that translational movement of the master wire guide 36' will impart rotational movement to the shaft 144, thus producing a mechanical input to resolver 142. The reference signal X from oscillator 66 is fed along line 68 to the resolver 142, and a second electrical input to that resolver 142 represents the reference signal X shifted in phase 90, this being accomplished by the

network comprising line

152, 90 phase shift circuitry 154 and line 156. The electrical output from the resolver 142 will travel along line 158 and will represent the reference signal X shifted in phase in one direction or the other dependent upon the direction of rotation of the input shaft 144, the magnitude of that phase shift being determined by the degree of rotation of the shaft 144. This output signal is fed, as in the system of FIG. 4, to a frequency-modulated oscillator the output of which has a basic frequency of 56 kHz, and thereafter the system is as disclosed in FIG. 4.

The use of a resolver rather than a differential transformer as the position detecting means, while advantageous in connection with affecting uniform revolution even though the wire guide may move over an appreciable distance, presents a problem of its own. For example, if the resolver shaft 144 should make one complete revolution for one half inch of travel of the wire guide 36' and if the permitted movement of the wire guide 36 should encompass a 2 inch excursion, movement of the wire guide 36' from one of its limits to the other will cause the input shaft 144 to the resolver 142 to make four revolutions. In order to position the controlled wire guide 36 in its proper place along its 4 inch excursion, it is necessary to initially locate the wire guide 36 in its proper /zinch segment of travel. Hence the resolver-type reproducing system shown in FIG. 7, to be used in conjunction with the signal XWG coming from the system of FIG. 6, is similar to the reproducing system shown in FIG. 5 except that it has, interposed between the low pass filter and the resolver 160 driven by the output screw 46 of the wire guide driving motor 48, a position resolving system generally designated 162 and comprising a 90 phase shifting network 164 and a manually controlled resolver 166. The electrical inputs to the manually controlled resolver 166 constitute the reference signal X and a signal shifted 90 therefrom, and the output from the resolver 166, on line 134a, represents the reference signal shifted in accordance with rotation of the input shaft 167 of the resolver 166. The shaft 167 is manually rotated until the wire guide 36 is properly located for the start of a winding sequence, after which the system functions automatically. The remainder of the system of FIG. 7 is similar to that of FIG. 5, except as modified to provide the proper electrical inputs (X and X 90) to the resolver 160 which was substituted for the differential transformer 48 of the system of FIGS. 3 and 5. The output of resolver 160 is fed along line 161 to phase comparator 100, where it is compared with the WG signal as described above.

In the combined signal recording and reproducing systems of FIGS. 47, it will be noted that the reference signal X remains as 440 Hz, but that the WG signal is transformed into one at 56 kHz, subsequently reduced to 6 kHz. The fact that the reference signal X is at a frequency very greatly different from the frequency of the WG signal at the time of combination is very advantageous, since it facilitates the accurate separation of the two components of the combined XWG signal at the reproducing station, as by means of the

filters

130 and 132. Because the frequencies to which those filters are sensitive are so different one from the other accurate separation of the two signals is reliably achieved. Moreover, the use of a 6 kHz signal which is frequency-modulated permits a very large index of modulation, a desirable feature for accuracy of recording and reproducing.

The nature of the specific circuitry employed to accomplish the functions disclosed in the block diagrams, FIGS. l-7, may vary widely, and is, in general, well known to those versed in the electronics arts. However, for purposes of explanation, and also in order to disclose certain specific circuitry which is believed to be exceptionally advantageous in connection with the system here disclosed, FIGS. 8-15 are detailed circuit diagrams of various portions of the reproducing circuitry shown in FIGS. 2-7, representing respectively the reproduction of the X, RM and WG signals to effect the rotational control of the spindle 2 and the translational control of the wire guide 36 through the use of resolvers.

Turning first to the circuitry of FIG. 8, the reference signal X is received at the lower left hand terminals 168. It is fed to circuitry generally designated 170 which ensures uniformity of phasing. It then goes to circuitry generally designated 172 which limits the amplitude thereof, and it then goes to clipper circuit 174, so that the amplitude of the reference signal is uniform. It then passes through a bandpass filter and amplifier generally designated 176 which takes out any extraneous signal which may be present, such as the WG signal component, ensuring that only the 440 Hz reference signal X is transmitted therethrough. The output from the circuitry disclosed in the lower part of FIG. 8, across terminals 178, is therefore an accurate representation of the reference signal X and of that signal alone with a constant amplitude output and after elimination of any amplitude variations which might have been imparted thereto by irregularity of tape movement or reproduction.

The RM signal is received at the terminals 180 in the upper portion of FIG. 8. From there those signals pass through a level adjusting circuit generally designated 182, a first filter circuit generally designated 184, and a second filter circuit generally designated 186, to terminals 188. The

filter circuits

184 and 186 may be active on different frequencies, depending upon whether special control signals are superimposed upon the rotational signal RM. For example, an 880 Hz signal may be superimposed thereon to turn on the servo amplifiers of the control system, and a 1,760 I-Iz signal may be superimposed to control the operation of the tape transport, in which case the

circuits

184 and 186 may be employed respectively to filter out the 880 Hz and 1,760 l-lz signals respectively.

' The reference signal output at terminals 178 of the lower circuit of FIG. 8 is applied to the terminals 178A at the upper left hand portion of the circuitry of FIG. 9. In the succeeding circuitry both the original reference signal X and a signal 90 phase-shifted relative thereto are produced, the amplitude level of the 90 phase-shifted signal being controlled and adjusted by circuitry generally designated 192 and the phase thereof being controlled and adjusted by circuitry generally designated 194. The level of the original reference signal is adjusted at 196. The original X signal is applied to terminal 198, while the 90 phase-shifted signal is applied to terminal 200. These two terminals 198 and 200 are connected to the resolver 28 of FIG. 2 to provide that resolver with its two electrical inputs. The output of that resolver, at line 78, is connected to terminal 202, from which line 204, carrying the resolver output, extends to the lower portion of the circuitry in FIG. 9. The resolver output level is adjusted by circuitry generally designated 206, and the output thereof is applied to terminals 208.

The RM signal at terminals 188 of FIG. 8 is connected to terminals 188A at the lower left hand portion of FIG. 9. From there that RM signal has its level adjusted by circuitry generally designated 212, it is amplified by circuitry generally designated 214, and its output is applied to terminal 216. Thus it will be seen that terminal 216 carries the RM signal, while terminals 208 carry a signal corresponding to the output of the resolver 28, these corresponding respectively to the

lines

82 and 78 of FIG. 2.

The phase comparator circuit 80 of FIG. 2, which compares the

signals

78 and 82 and produces a driving output 84 to the DC motor 18, isillustrated in the right hand portion of FIG. 10. The RM signal at terminal 216 is applied to terminal 216A of FIG. 10. The output at terminals 208 of FIG. 9 (the output on line 78) are connected to terminals 208A of FIG. 10. The thus-produced discriminator or phase comparator circuit has an output at node 222 which represents the difference in phase between the signals at terminals 208A and 216A respectively. That output is filtered by circuitry generally designated 224, thereby to remove the 440 Hz carrier component, and the thus-detected output is applied to terminal 226, which are in turn connected by line 84 to the DC motor 18 to drive the latter. The output of the phase comparator or discriminator circuit 80 shown in the right hand portion of FIG. will be zero when the signals applied to terminals 126A and 208A are 90 out of phase, and will be positive or negative depending upon the direction of the phase difference between those signals if such a phase difference exists, the magnitude of that output being determined by the magnitude of the phase difference between those signals. Thus the DC motor 18 will be in one direction or another, depending upon whether the spindle 2 either lags or leads the desired position thereof as dictated by the signal RM and the force with which it will be driven will be proportional to the degree of error between the actual and commanded positions of that spindle 2.

Usually the motor driving signal provided at terminals 226 of the right hand circuit of FIG. 10 will require amplification in order to drive the motor 18 with sufficient force. The circuitry shown on FIG. 11 represents a typical servo amplifier therefor. The output from terminals 226 of FIG. 10 is connected to the terminals 226A of FIG. 11. For anti-hunt purposes, this output The regulated reference signal X derived at the terminals 178 of FIG. 8 is applied to the terminals 1788 of FIG. 13. From there the circuit acts to produce, at

terminals

254 and 256 respectively, signals corresponding to the reference signal X and to the reference signal shifted 900, these two signals then being transferred to the manually controlled resolver 166 of FIG. 7, the input shaft 167 of which is manually positioned to determine the desired starting segment of wire guide movement. The output from the resolver 166 is fed to terminal 258 of FIG. 13, thereby producing an output at terminals 260 which constitutes the signal applied to line 134a of FIG. 7, to wit, the modified reference signal X.

The output at terminals 250 of FIG. 12, constituting the wire guide signal WG, is applied to the terminals 250A of the circuitry of FIG. 14. That circuitry provides a complete 360 phase shift for the signal, the thus-shifted signal being applied to terminals 264. The purpose of providing this 360 phase shift is to eliminate the effect of tape flutter and scrape flutter. These abnormalities in the operation of the tape produce artificial instantaneous phase changes. Each time that the phase is shifted in the circuitry of FIG. 14, and a multiplicity of individual phase shifts are there provided, additional cancelling phase shifts are produced which null out the phase shifts produced by tape flutter or scrape flutter.

The compensated and corrected WG signal as applied to terminals 264 of FIG. 14 is then applied to terminal 264A of FIG. 15, where it is amplified in the circuit generally designated 268, the amplified output being applied at terminal 270.

The resolver-modified reference signal X coming from terminals 260 of the circuitry of FIG. 13 is applied to terminals 260A in the upper left hand comer of FIG. 15. There, as in the circuitry of FIG. 9, signals are produced representing the modified reference signal X and a signal phase-shifted relative thereto, those signals being applied at

terminals

274 and 276 respectively, the phase shift being controlled by circuitry generally designated 278 and the magnitude of the phase shifted signals being adjusted by circuitry generally designated 280 and 281, so that the magnitudes of the basic signal and the phase-shifted signal will be commensurate with one another. The two signals at

terminals

274 and 276 respectively constitute the electrical inputs to the resolver 160 the mechanical input to which corresponds to the translatory position of the wire guide 36. The output from the resolver 160 is applied to terminal 278 and is fed by line 281 to the output terminals 282 via appropriate circuitry, the signal at the output terminals 282 corresponding to the signal on line 161 in FIG. 7. The signal on terminal 270 in FIG. 15 corresponds to the signal on line 140 in FIG. 7.

Referring now to the left hand side of the circuitry of FIG. 10, the signals at terminals 282 of FIG. 15 are connected to the terminals 282A of FIG. 10, while the signal at terminal 270 of FIG. 15 is connected to terminal 270A of FIG. 10. The node 288 of the circuit of FIG. 10 will therefore have a signal corresponding to the output of the phase comparator of FIG, 7, which signal will then pass through filter circuit 290 and stiffness control 292 to the output tenninals 294.

That output may be fed directly to the wire guide motor 48 but, as with the case of the rotational signal, it is usually necessary or desirable that the signal be amplified in order properly to drive the motor. Indeed, amplification is usually more necessary in connection with the wire guide control than with spindle rotation control, primarily because of the necessity for rapid movement of the wire guide, particularly where it must move very quickly from one end of its travel to the other before winding the next layer of a given coil. The amplifier circuit for the wire guide is shown in FIG. 16. It is similar to the amplifier circuit of FIG. 11, and consequently needs no special discussion, other than to point out that the signal output from the terminals 294 of FIG. are applied to the terminals 294A of FIG. 16, with the output appearing across the terminals 298. In addition, the amplifier of FIG. 16 can produce,

in addition to an 8 ampere continuous output for normal motor drive, a ZO-ampere pulse output for rapid motor drive for quick wire guide return. The box generally designated 230A represents a tachometer control for anti-hunt purposes comparable to that produced by the box 230 in FIG. 11. The points X, Y and Z on FIG. 16 play the same role as the corresponding points in FIG. 11.

The flexibility in use and operation of the systems of the present invention will be readily apparent. The nature of the coils produced is determined by the conjoint action of a pair of signals, one controlling spindle rotation and the other controlling axial wire guide position. The time relationship of these signals may vary widely so that not only the structure of the produced coil but also the speed with which it or any portion thereof can be wound is readily controlled. In accordance with this system a single master machine operating in normal fashion, as through the use of mechanical cams and the like, or having a manual input imparted thereto, can control a number of other machines in master-slave fashion, so that the setting up of a single machine in a conventional way will be sufficient to permit a battery of machines to make coils of a given type and design. Alternatively, and usually preferably, the control signals may be produced, either by a master machine or otherwise, and recorded on a tape or other recording medium, to be used when and if desired. The spindle rotation and wire guide commands for a coil of a given design, when once recorded, will remain on the tape, and the tape can then be stored so that it can be reclaimed and used whenever desired. To change a machine controlled by the system under discussion for the production of one type of coil after it has been used for the production of a coil of a different design, it is necessary only to replace the tape in a conventional tape recorder with another tape having appropriate signals thereon. This is, of course, a much simpler and more rapidly accomplished procedure than the very extensive mechanical modifications now required to adapt a winding machine to produce a coil of different specification from that which it was formerly making. Moreover, a giventape having appropriate control signals thereon may be made while the production machines are actively engaged in production, the thus-produced tape being used whenever desired. Because it is much more feasible to provide electrical signals on a tape than it is to mechanically shape cams or the like, and because the electrical signals reproduced on a tape can be created artificially, whereas the cams must be mechanically machined, the system of the present invention provides a degree of flexibility in the making of windings which has never before presented itself. Moreover, by superimposing other signals on the conventional rotational and wire guide signals, or by providing such other signals in any desired way, it is possible to make very complex types of windings, to pull taps at different points in the winding, to count rotations and fractions of rotations accurately, and, in short, to do virtually anything in the way of implementation of coil design. Accordingly, although the system is exceptionally well adapted for use in conjunction with production, and particularly those production jobs which are of relatively short-run nature, the system is also very well adapted for experimental use.

While but a limited number of embodiments of the present invention have been here specifically disclosed, it will be apparent that many variations may be made therein, all within the scope of the instant invention as defined in the following claims.

We claim:

1. In combination with a winding machine comprising a frame, a coil form holder rotatably mounted on said frame, rotating means for said holder operatively connected thereto, wire guide means mounted on said frame adjacent and translatable relative to said holder, and translating means for said guide means operatively connected thereto; the improvement which comprises means for producing a first electrical signal corresponding to the desired rotation of said holder, means for producing a second electrical signal corresponding to the desired translation of said guide means, means operatively connected to said first and second signal producing means and to said rotating and translating means respectively, and effective to actuate said rotating and translating means respectively in conformity to said first and second signals respectively.

2. The combination of claim 1, in which said signal producing means is effective to produce said first and second signals in phase-modulated form.

3. The combination of claim 1, in which said signal producing means is effective to produce a fluctuating reference signal, said first and second signals being fluctuating signals phase-modulated with respect to said reference signal, the phase-relation of said first and second signals relative to said reference signal corresponding to the desired rotation of said holder and said desired translation of said guide means respectively.

4. The combination of claim 3, in which said signal producing means comprises a record on which said reference signal and said first and second signals are recorded, and a reproducer operatively associated with said record.

5. The combination of claim 3, in which said rotating means comprises a motor operatively connected to said holder for rotating the latter, a position detector operatively connected to said motor to be positioned thereby and having a signal output corresponding to the detected position, and means for comparing said first signal with said signal output of said position detector and driving said motor in accordance with the result of said comparison.

6. The combination of claim 5, in which there is means for feeding said reference signal to said position detector as an input thereof.

7. The combination of claim 6, in which said position detector comprises a resolver, and in which there is means for also feeding to said resolver as an input thereof another signal corresponding to said reference signal but phase-shifted therefrom by a predetermined amount.

8. The combination of claim 4, in which said rotating means comprises a motor operatively connected to said holder for rotating the latter, a position detector operatively connected to said motor to be positioned thereby and having a signal output corresponding to the detected position, and means for comparing said first signal with said signal output of said position detector and driving said motor in accordance with the result of said comparison.

9. The combination of claim 8, in which there is means for feeding said reference signal to said position detector as an input thereof.

10. The combination of claim 9, in which said position detector comprises a resolver, and there is means for also feeding to said resolver as in input thereof another signal corresponding to said reference signal but phase-shifted therefrom by a predetermined amount.

11. The combination of claim 3, in which said translating means comprises a motor operatively connected to said wire guide fro translating the latter, a position detector operatively connected to said motor to be positioned thereby and having a signal output corresponding to the detected position, and means for comparing said second signal with said signal output

Claims

11. The combination of claim 3, in which said translating means comprises a motor operatively connected to said wire guide fro translating the latter, a position detector operatively connected to said motor to be positioned thereby and having a signal output corresponding to the detected position, and means for comparing said second signal with said signal output of said position detector and driving said motor in accordance with the result of said comparison.

12. The combination of claim 11, in which there is means for operatively combining said signal output of said position detector with said reference signal.

13. In the combination of claim 12, means for feeding said reference signal to said position detector as an input thereof, and means for combining the signal output of said position detector with another signal corresponding to said reference signal but shifted in phase therefrom by a predetermined amount to produce an intermediate signal, said comparing means comparing said intermediate signal with said second signal.

14. The combination of claim 4, in which said translating means comprises a motor operatively connected to said wire guide for translating the latter, a position detector operatively connected to said motor to be positioned thereby and having a signal output corresponding to the detected position, and means for comparing said second signal with said signal output of said position detector and driving said motor in accordance with the result of said comparison.

15. The combination of claim 14, in which there is means for operatively combining said signal output of said position detector with said reference signal.

16. In the combination of claim 15, means for feeding said reference signal to said position detector as an input thereof, and means for combining said signal output of said position detector with another signal corresponding to said reference signal but shifted in phase therefrom by a predetermined amount to produce an intermediate signal, said comparing means comparing said intermediate signal with said second signal.

17. The combination of claim 3, in which said translating means comprises a motor having a rotary output means, means operatively connected to said rotary output means for translating said wire guide in accordance with the rotation of said rotary output means, a position detector comprising a resolver operatively connected to said output means to be positioned thereby and having a signal output, and means for comparing said second signal with said signal output of said resolver and driving said motor in accordance with the result of said comparison.

18. The combination of claim 17, in which there is means for feeding said reference signal to said resolver as an input thereof.

19. In the combination of claim 18, means operatively connected between said resolver and said means for feeding said reference signal thereto and effective to controllably shift the phase of said reference signal.

20. The combination of claim 18, in which there is means for also feeding to said resolver an an input thereof another signal corresponding to said reference signal but phase shifted therefrom by a predetermined amount.

21. The combination of claim 4, in which said translating means comprises a motor having a rotary output means, means operatively connected to said rotary output means for translating said wire guide in accordance with the rotation of said rotary output means, a position detector comprising a resolver operatively connected to said output means to be positioned thereby and having a signal output, and means for comparing said second signal with said signal output of said resolver and driving said motor in accordance with the result of said comparison.

22. The combination of claim 21, in which said translating means comprises a motor having a rotary output means, means operatively connected to said rotary output means for translating said wire guide in accordance with the rotation of said rotary output means, a position detector comprising a resolver operatively connected to said output means to be positioned thereby and having a signal output corresponding to the detected position, and means for comparing said second signal with said signal output of said resolver and driving said motor in accordance with the result of said comparison, and in which there is means for feeding said reference signal to said resolver as an input thereof.

23. In the combination of claim 22, means operatively connected between said resolver and said means for feeding said reference signal thereto and effective to controllably shift the phase of said reference signal.

24. The combination of claim 22, in which there is means for also feeding to said resolver as an input thereof another signal corresponding to said reference signal but phase shifted therefrom by a predetermined amount.

25. The combination of claim 3, in which said signal producing means first produces phase-modulated signal corresponding to the desired translation of said wire guide and then produces from said phase modulated signal a frequency modulated signal the frequency modulation of which corresponds to the phase modulation of the first-produced signal.

26. The combination of claim 1, in which said signal producing means comprises a record on which said signals are recorded, and a reproducer operatively associated with said record.

27. The combination of claim 4, in which said second signal and said reference signal are combined into a single channel on said record.

28. The combination of claim 26, in which said signal producing means first produces a phase-modulated signal corresponding to the desired translation of said wire guide and then produces from said phase modulated signal a frequency modulated signal the frequency modulation of which corresponds to the phase modulation of the first-produced signal.

29. The combination of claim 28, in which said frequency modulated signal and said reference signal are combined into a single channel on said record.

30. In the combination of claim 17, means in advance of said resolver for shifting the phase of said second signal by an intEgral multiple of 360*.

31. In the combination of claim 22, means in advance of said resolver for shifting the phase of said second signal by an integral multiple of 360*.

32. In the combination of claim 11, means in advance of said position selector for shifting the phase of said second signal by an integral multiple of 360*.

33. In the combination of claim 14, means in advance of said position selector for shifting the phase of said second signal by an integral multiple of 360*.