The present invention relates generally to a high speed winding machine with angular rotary spindle, and a method for using the same. The present invention also relates generally to winding machines for winding a cable, and more particularly winding wire at higher speeds without the use, for example, of a reciprocating traverse. The high speed winding machine, primarily comprises of four major systems, namely, a frame assembly, a rotating traverse assembly, an angular spindle assembly, and a spindle drive motor assembly, having a spindle indexing system. A method of winding a wire or cable in a figure-8 pattern upon a mandrel by rotating the mandrel and winding the wire or cable thereon is also disclosed.
High speed machines of various speeds, shapes and sizes have been known and used for many years, and for a variety of reasons.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,406,419 (Frank W. Kotzur) discloses a method and apparatus for winding lengths of flexible material, packages produced by such method and apparatus, as well as endforms forming part of the mandrels on which such windings are formed, incorporate a number of winding parameters which are related to one another by a mathematical formula. Specifically, the mathematical relationship ##EQU1## where: A=the guide stroke, Gd=the guide distance from the spindle center brie axis, G=the gain or advance of the wind, Dm=the diameter of the wind or coil, and Ym=the wind or coil width; governs the shape of the walls of the endform and such endforms are used in winding apparatus for producing wound packages of flexible material. From the above equation, the geometrical shape of the wound package can also be determined.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,523,723 (Frank W. Kotzur) discloses a universal winding consisting of a plurality of successive figure-8s spaced radially around a mandrel with the figure-8s being spaced such that the crossovers exist in all but one location to form a payout hole extending from the exterior of the winding into the interior of the axial opening therein in which the speed of the traverse or speed of the mandrel is varied with respect to one another in such a manner that a greater density winding is obtained having a more uniform density, thereby enabling the winding to be compressed more uniformly around the diameter of the coil. A variation in the speed of the traverse or the speed of the spindle with respect to one another can be defined as either a plus or a minus gain and small changes in the gain place the crossovers such that the flexible material is wound more densely. The invention has particular application to large diameter winds in which relatively large diameter flexible material is wound.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,249,726 (Frank W. Kotzur) discloses an apparatus and process for winding filamentary material in a figure 8 configuration including a rotatable spindle for retaining a mandrel upon which the filamentary material is wound; a traverse mechanism for controlling the laying of wound coils on the mandrel; and controlling the advance of the wound layers on the mandrel in accordance with the rotation of the spindle and the movement of the traverse mechanism to vary the angular displacement of the wound coil so that the number of crossovers of succeeding layers of the wound coils increases as the winding process progresses, thereby increasing the density of the wound coils.
Many types of wire and cable are sold in spool-less packages. The term “package” is a term of art which refers to the coil of wire itself that is wound in a figure 8 to hold itself together. This type of package includes a plurality of windings with each winding crossing itself to form a figure 8. The crossovers of successive windings are angularly displaced and progress around the circumference of the package. The crossovers do not progress a full 360° around the coil so that a radial opening is formed extending to the center of the package. The configuration of the package permits the wire to be extracted or paid out without kinking or twisting. The twist-less payout is due to the manner in which the wire is wound. The twist in each half of the figure 8 winding is offset by the opposite twist of the winding in the other half. Thus, there would be no substantial twisting of the wire as it is paid out.
In prior art winding machines for producing, a figure 8 package includes a spindle which is rotated to wind the wire onto a mandrel or spool, and a guide which is reciprocated back and forth parallel to the axis of the spindle to lay the wire on the spool in a series of figure 8s. The stroke of the traverse is slightly out of phase with the rotation of the spool so that the crossovers progress around the mandrel.
To form the radial opening, the motion of the traverse is alternately advanced and retarded with respect to the spindle for a predetermined number of rotations of the spindle. The number of rotations is selected so that the crossovers never advance a full 360° around the spindle. Thus, a radial hole will be formed at the point where no crossovers are made. The problem with prior art winding machines is that they cannot wind at speeds greater than 1000 feet per minute. Speeds greater than 1000 feet per minute with a conventional reciprocating traverse limit high speed winding, because of the weight of the reciprocating mechanism, and the whipping of the wire between the output of the buffer and the guide tube, which in turn causes the payout hole to collapse on itself, causing an unpayable payout. These factors make unwinding more difficult and may even cause kinking of the wire or cable.
This invention improves on the deficiencies of the prior art and provides an inventive high speed winding machine with angular rotary spindle, and a method for using the same.
The invention is a novel high speed winding machine with angular rotary spindle, and a method for using the same.
Therefore, one purpose of this invention is to provide a cost effective, and durable high speed winding machine with angular rotary spindle, and a method for using the same.
Another purpose of this invention is to provide a high speed winding machine that can wind a wire on a mandrel using an angular rotary spindle mechanism.
Yet another purpose of this invention is to provide a high speed winding machine that can wind a wire or a cable in a figure-8 pattern upon a mandrel by rotating the mandrel and winding the wire or cable thereon.
Therefore, in one aspect this invention comprises a winding, machine for winding a high speed line to form a package, comprising:
(a) a frame assembly;
(b) a spindle motor drive assembly;
(c) a rotating traverse assembly, wherein said rotating traverse assembly is in direct contact with said spindle motor drive assembly via a gearbox drive shaft;
(d) an angular spindle assembly, wherein said angular spindle assembly is in direct contact with said rotating traverse assembly via a spindle drive gear; and
(e) a removable spindle, having a mandrel and an endforms, said removable spindle is in direct contact with said angular spindle assembly via a endform spindle shaft.
In another aspect this invention comprises a winding machine for winding a high speed line to form a package, comprising:
(a) a frame assembly, and wherein said frame assembly further comprises of a frame upright to house a spindle motor drive assembly;
(b) said spindle motor drive assembly further composes a 55-degree gearbox to drive a timing chain, and wherein said 55-degree gearbox is driven via a gearbox drive shaft, and wherein said gearbox drive shaft is rotated about its vertical axis via a drive belt assembly, and which drive belt assembly is driven by a servo motor;
(c) a rotating traverse assembly, wherein said rotating traverse assembly is in direct contact with said spindle motor drive assembly via a gearbox drive shaft, and wherein said rotating traverse assembly further comprises a rotating traverse arm, a traverse motor, a traverse shaft, and wherein said rotating traverse arm is rotated about a vertical axis via said traverse shaft, and wherein said traverse shaft is rotating about said vertical axis via a belt drive, assembly, and which belt drive assembly is driven by said traverse motor;
(d) an angular spindle assembly, wherein said angular spindle assembly is in direct contact with said rotating traverse assembly via a spindle drive gear, and wherein said angular spindle assembly further comprises of a spindle shaft bearing housing to house said endform spindle shaft, and wherein said endform spindle shaft is rotated about its longitudinal axis via a timing chain assembly; and
(e) a removable, spindle, having a mandrel and an endforms, said removable spindle is in direct contact with said angular spindle assembly via a endform spindle shaft.
In yet another aspect this invention comprises a method of winding a wire in a figure-8 pattern upon a mandrel by rotating said mandrel and winding said wire thereon using an endform spindle shaft driven by a timing chain and a spindle gear drive in a direction along an axis of rotation of said mandrel and using a rotating traverse arm to move said mandrel, in a traverse direction.
Although the scope of the present invention is much broader than any particular embodiment, a detailed description of the preferred embodiment follows together with drawings. These drawings are for illustration purposes only and are not drawn to scale. Like numbers represent like features and components in the drawings. The invention may best be understood by reference to the ensuing detailed description in conjunction with the drawings in which:
The embodiments of the present invention are described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, which form a part hereof, and which show, by way of illustration, specific exemplary embodiments by which the invention may be practiced. This invention may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, the disclosed embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the scope of the invention to those skilled in the art.
Throughout the specification and claims, the following terms take the meanings explicitly associated herein, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise. The phrase “in one embodiment” as used herein does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment, though it may. Furthermore, the phrase “in another embodiment” as used herein does not necessarily refer to a different embodiment, although it may. Thus, as described below, various embodiments of the invention may be readily combined, without departing from the scope or spirit of the invention.
The winding machine is designed to wind wire or cable at higher speeds greater than 1000 feet per minute into a package having a radial hole through which the inner end of a wire or cable is paid out. The spindle having a mandrel mounted thereon is mounted on an angle and driven as the rotary traverse rotates in a clockwise direction by a first electric motor. As the rotary traverse completes one rotation the spindle is driven counter clockwise by a gearbox mounted at the center of the rotary traverse with a fixed ratio of 2:1 causing the spindle to rotate two times per revolution of the rotary traverse causing the wound material to form a figure 8 on the mandrel. The spindle then is driven by a second electric motor that allows the mandrel to advance and retard as needed to form the radial hole in the package. As each rotation of the rotary traverse the wire is laid on the spindle in a series of crossover windings in which the wire crosses over itself during each revolution. To produce a figure 8 winding with a single crossover, the rotary traverse should complete 1 revolution for every 2 revolutions of the spindle. For each rotation of the rotary traverse the spindle is advanced causing the crossover point (i.e. the point where the wire crosses itself) progresses around the mandrel. The motion of the spindle is advanced with respect to the rotation of the rotary traverse for a predetermined, number of revolutions. When the spindle is in an advance mode, the crossovers progress in a first direction around the mandrel. After the predetermined number of rotations is completed, the motion of the spindle is retarded with respect to the rotation of the rotary traverse. In the retard mode, the crossovers progress in the opposite direction around the mandrel. The number of rotations is selected so that the crossovers never advance a full 360 degrees around the mandrel. Thus, a radial hole is formed in the package through which the inner end of the wire can be paid out. The motion of the spindle is made by a programmable motion controller. A profile representing the position of the spindle with respect to the position of the rotary traverse is stored in the programmable motion controller's memory. An encoder monitors the position of the rotary traverse and generates a rotation signal that is transmitted to the programmable motion controller. The high speed inputs, monitors the position of the rotary traverse motor and transmits a position feedback signal to the controller. Each time a rotational signal from the rotary traverse is received by the programmable motion controller, the corresponding position of the spindle motor is determined based on the stored profile and a control signal is generated which causes the spindle motor to move to the commanded position. Thus, the programmable motion controller acts like an “electronic cam” to maintain the position of the spindle with respect to the position of the rotary traverse.
Referring now to the drawings, namely,
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The frame assembly 100, as shown in
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The material for the spindle or spool 50, is preferably selected from a group comprising, metal, plastic, steel, stainless steel, aluminum, copper, wood, composite material, and combinations thereof, to name a few.
The material for the wire or cable 34, is preferably selected from a group comprising: metal, steel, aluminum, copper, composite material, and combinations thereof, to name a few.
The electronic device 75, 79, could be selected from a group comprising, a computer, a tablet, a smart phone, a laptop, a programmable motion controller, and combinations thereof, to name a few.
One method of the inventive machine operation is illustrated in
Preferably, bevel gear 31, is held stationary by the servo motor 12. Thus when the rotating traverse assembly 8, is rotated by motor 14, and belt and pulleys 19, 23, 24, bevel gears 30 and 29 in the gearbox 2, are also rotated since they are carried around by the rotation of the rotating traverse assembly 8, on which it is mounted, while bevel gear 31, is held stationary, rotation of the timing belt and pulleys 5, 25, 26, acts through the gearbox bevel gears 29, 30, 31, to drive the endform spindle shaft 17. The timing belt and pulleys 5, 25, 26, are so chosen that the endform spindle shaft 17, is driven twice the speed of the rotating traverse assembly. Such operation would, if uninterrupted, form successive layers on the mandrel 3, each composed of a plurality of figure eight coils, the crossovers of successive coils stacking on top of each other instead of progressing, angularly around the package.
However, the above-stated action is interrupted in the present machine. At each successive rotation of the rotating traverse assembly 8, will occupy a different angular position around the axis of the mandrel 3, as it passes switch 10, causing, the servo motor 12, to index a predetermined number of degrees in the clockwise direction controlled by a PLC, causing the timing belt and pulleys 13, 27, 28, driveshaft 15, gearbox 2, mandrel 3 and rotating traverse assembly 8, to be out of phase. For example, the mandrel 3, may rotate 61 times for each 30 revolutions of the rotating traverse assembly 8, (advanced wind) until the desired number of coils to the hole is achieved. Then as the rotating traverse assembly 8, passes switch 10, causing the servo motor to index in the counterclockwise direction, causing the mandrel 3, to rotate out of phase in the retard mode 46. For example, the mandrel 3, may rotate 59 times for each 30 revolutions of the rotating traverse assembly 8, (retard wind) until the desired number of coils to the hole 32, is achieved. The advance mode 36, and the retard mode 46, alternate per layer throughout the wind until the desired footage of wire or cable 34, is achieved.
Anything less than 360 degrees of indexing in the advance and retard of the mandrel per layer will cause the hole to form in the package. For example, after entering the wire or cable information, such as, for example, diameter, hole size, footage, and other related information into the program, the PLC (Programmable Logic Controller or Programmable Controller) determines how many crossovers (coils) will fit on the mandrel 3, and each layer after until the set footage is reached, if the PLC is programmed to index the mandrel 300 degrees per layer the hole would be small, however, if 250 degrees were programmed per layer then the hole would be larger.
It should be appreciated that in the winding machines art the endforms 4, may be fixed to the mandrel 3, or alternatively one or both of endforms 4, may be removably attached to the mandrel 3. Both configurations are known to a person skilled in the art or is familiar with the winding art to which the present invention pertains. Furthermore, the exterior surface of the mandrel 3, may be spherical, elliptical, or any other generally curved surface, which preferably slopes downwardly from the center of the mandrel 3, to the endforms 4. Thus it is to be understood that the configuration of the mandrel 3, and the endforms 4, shown in the Figures are only illustrative for the purposes of describing the invention, and the invention is not to be construed as being limited to the mandrel 3, and endform 4, configuration as shown in the Figures. Moreover, the invention described and claimed herein has application to expandable type mandrels 3, as well as compressible mandrels 3, and endforms 4, known to the winding art.
It should also be appreciated that for some applications a winding in accordance with the invention is formed by winding figure-8s spaced radially around the mandrel 3, or the layer of material 34, beneath the one layer being wound. The figure-8s are spaced such that the crossovers exist in all but one location and the absence of crossovers generates a payout hole through which the inner end of the winding 34, may be withdrawn such that the winding 34, is paid out from the inside out through the payout hole.
The tool used in the preset invention, namely, the high speed winding machine 123, may be implemented using one or more computers executing software instructions. According to one embodiment of the present invention, the high speed winding machine 123, may communicate with server and client computer systems that transmit and receive data over a computer network or a fiber or copper-based telecommunications network 77. The steps of accessing, downloading, and manipulating the data, as well as other aspects of the present invention are implemented by central processing units (CPU) in the server and client computers executing sequences of instructions stored in a memory. The memory may be a random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a persistent store, such as a mass storage device, or any combination of these devices. Execution of the sequences of instructions causes the CPU to perform steps according to embodiments of the present invention.
The instructions may be loaded into the memory of the server or client computers from a storage device or from one or more other computer systems over a network connection. For example, a client computer may transmit a sequence of instructions to the server computer in response to a message transmitted to the client over a network by the server. As the server receives the instructions over the network connection, it stores the instructions in memory. The server may store the instructions for later execution, or it may execute the instructions as they arrive over the network connection. In some cases, the CPU may directly support the downloaded instructions. In other cases, the instructions may not be directly executable by the CPU, and may instead be executed by an interpreter that interprets the instructions. In other embodiments, hardwired circuitry may be used in place of, or in combination with, software instructions to implement the present invention. Thus tools used in the present invention are not limited to any specific combination of hardware circuitry and software, nor to any particular source for the instructions executed by the server or client computers. In some instances, the client and server functionality may be implemented on a single computer platform.
Thus, the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described herein and the constituent elements of the invention can be modified in various manners without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Various aspects of the invention can also be extracted from any appropriate combination of a plurality of constituent elements disclosed in the embodiments. Some constituent elements may be deleted in all of the constituent elements disclosed in the embodiments. The constituent elements described in different embodiments may be combined arbitrarily.
Still further, while certain embodiments of the inventions have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel methods and systems described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the methods and systems described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions.
While the present invention has been particularly described in conjunction with a specific preferred embodiment, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. It is therefore contemplated that the appended claims will embrace any such alternatives, modifications and variations as falling within the true scope and spirit of the present invention.
The instant patent application claims priority to and the benefit of pending U.S. Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 61/780,929, filed on Mar. 13, 2013, titled “HIGH SPEED WINDING MACHINE WITH ANGULAR ROTARY SPINDLE, AND A METHOD FOR USING THE SAME,” the entire disclosure of which provisional application is incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61780929 | Mar 2013 | US |