Coil winder with spindlehead movable in a horizontal plane

The invention concerns a coil winding machine and, more precisely, a coil winder to wind up coils for use in the electric and/or electronic field, of the type comprising a plurality of rotary spindles supporting the coil cores and a corresponding plurality of flyers feeding the wire to be wound up to the spindles. This coil winder also comprises mechanism to produce relative movements between each spindle and the respective flyer along the three cartesian axes (X, Y and Z), in order to carry out the winding of the coil and/or the twisting of the wire ends on the coil terminals. According to the invention, the spindles supporting the coil cores are mounted, rotating about their own axis (X), onto a support head which is in turn movable in a horizontal plane (axes X and Y), while the flyers are movable only along the third axis (Z).

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
There is known at present a wide variety of coil winding machines, with 
even considerably different characteristics as far as working and 
productive capacity. 
These include first of all coil winders with a revolving turret, an example 
of which is described in DE-PS-2.322.064 filed by the same Applicant. In a 
machine of this type, the coils are mounted on spindles radially 
projecting from a revolving turret and this latter has a rotary stepped 
motion, so that the single coils are moved forward through successive 
working stations, for example at least one loading station, a winding 
station and an unloading station, as well as one or more supplementary 
working or finishing stations. When the coils are unloaded, they are 
substantially finished and ready for use. 
It is important to note, in order to fully understand the present 
invention, that in machines of this type the coil core is held stationary 
and the winding is carried out by a winding unit with rotary flyer, which 
is not only adapted to rotate about the coil core, performing at the same 
time an axial movement (X axis) to distribute the wire around said core, 
but also to perform transversal (Y axis) and vertical (Z axis) movements 
in order to carry out supplementary operations, as for example the 
twisting of a wire end around a coil terminal. 
To perform the above movements, the rotary flyer is first of all mounted on 
a spindle revolving about the axis X and rotated by a motor of its own, 
the flyer unit being moreover mounted on slides adapted to perform said 
movements along the three axes X, Y, Z. Such movements are generally 
produced by numerically controlled D.C. motors, according to an 
increasingly developing technology. 
Another type of coil winding machine is the so-called "on-line machine", 
wherein the coils are supported by a plurality of spindles with parallel 
axes, mounted on a bed and performing a simple high-speed rotary motion. 
With each spindle there cooperate corresponding flyers, adapted to perform 
the main wire distributing motion during coil winding, as well as a more 
complex motion for twisting for example the wire ends on the coil 
terminals, just before winding starts and after it has ended. 
It is to be understood that, in this case, the rotary motion about the axis 
X is performed by the spindle carrying the actual coil core, while the 
flyer merely performs the movements along axes X, Y and Z, as specified 
heretofore. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
Machines of this type are widely known, for example, from DE-A-2632671 and 
DE-A-3049406, as well as from IT-B-1.196.312 filed on Oct. 26, 1984, by 
the same Applicant. These machines are planned to wind up coils in a 
relatively simple way and with a high number of turns, at high production 
speeds. 
A still further type of coil winding machine is the "bench machine", which 
can be for example of the type described in EP-A-182.177 filed by the same 
Applicant: in this machine, the coils are mounted on rotary spindles, 
while the wire is fed by flyers adapted to perform movements along the 
three axes X, Y and Z--similarly to what happens in the previously 
mentioned on-line machines--so that the operator merely has to carry out 
the loading and unloading of the coils. 
A problem which is particularly felt in the aforecited machines--for 
example of IT-A-1.196.312 or of EP-A-182.177--actually concerns the 
automatic loading and unloading of the coils on the winding spindles. The 
known devices allowing to perform these operations are quite complicated, 
oversized and costly: they must in fact generally comprise gripper means 
moving at least along two axes, that is, at least along the X axis, so as 
to draw close to and away from the spindle supporting the coil, and at 
least along another axis--for example the Z or the Y axis, or a turnover 
axis perpendicular to the X axis--so as to replace a filled and finished 
coil by an empty coil core. 
These known automatic loading and unloading devices, as well as being 
complicated and costly, are also difficult to mount--due to their large 
dimensions--onto a coil winder being used as a working station of a 
plurality of stations forming part of an automatic production line. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
A first object of the present invention is therefore to realize a coil 
winder of the aforementioned general type, having improved working 
characteristics and wider possibilities of use. 
Another object of the present invention is to realize a coil winder which 
is structurally conceived so as to make it particularly simple to 
automatically load and unload the coils. 
A still further object of the invention is to propose a coil winder 
particularly suited to be used as a winding station forming part of an 
automatic production line. 
According to the invention, these results are achieved with an automatic 
coil winder for use in the electric and/or electronic field--of the type 
comprising a plurality of rotary spindles supporting the coil cores, and a 
corresponding plurality of flyers feeding the wire to be wound on said 
spindles, means being moreover provided to produce relative movements 
between each spindle and the respective flyer along at least one axis (X) 
of the three cartesian axes (X, Y and Z), in order to carry out the 
winding of the coil and/or the twisting of the wire ends on the coil 
terminals--essentially due to the fact that the spindles supporting the 
coil cores are mounted both rotating about their own axes (X) and movable 
along said axis, and to the fact that it comprises means to control the 
rotary motion of the spindles, as well as first means to control their 
translatory motion along said axis (X).

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
As clearly shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the coil winder according to the 
invention has a structure formed of the following main elements: 
a first slide unit 10, the baseplate 11 of which supports the head 30 of 
the group of spindles 33. The slide 13 of this slide unit is movable along 
the axis Y and is moved by a respective motor 15 in the way better 
described hereinafter; 
a second slide unit 20, the baseplate 21 of which carries the guides for 
the slide 13 of the unit 10. The slide 23 of this slide unit 20 is movable 
along the axis X and is moved by a respective motor 25, also through means 
better described hereinafter; 
a head 30 to support the spindles 33, which are aligned along the axis and 
are caused to rotate by a motor 35; as shown in FIG. 2, this head 30 
supports a group of six spindles 33a to 33f, all parallel to the axis X 
and rotated by the motor 35 through a belt and chain drive 35a-35b (not 
illustrated in further detail as being of known structure). 
Means 34, supporting a respective coil 40 to be wound, are fixed onto each 
of the spindles 33 on the side facing the front F of the machine. These 
means can consist for example of a square pin or of a gripper of general 
use; since such means are anyhow of known type, they have not been 
illustrated herein in detail. 
Flyers 41a to 41f, mounted onto a common stiff bar 42, are provided in 
correspondence of and above each of the spindles 33a to 33f. The bar 42 is 
fixed by its ends on two slides 43, sliding along two respective fixed 
vertical guides 44. The motion of the flyers 41 thus takes place along the 
vertical axis Z. 
The movement of the slides 43 is obtained by means of two toothed endless 
belts 45, or like, mounted rotating on corresponding toothed pulleys 46, 
47. For this purpose, one of the branches of the belt 45, and precisely 
the branch 45a closest to the slide 43, is fixed onto the slide by means 
of an anchor plate 48; the plate is preferably provided with a toothing 
which directly engages with the toothing of the belt 45. With reference to 
FIG. 1, it can be seen how the slide 43 is fixed onto the left branch of 
the belt 45 and thus moves upward along the guide 44 when the pair of 
pulleys 46, 47 performs a clockwise rotation. 
Out of the two pairs of pulleys 46, 47, about which circulate the two belts 
45 at the two sides of the machine, only the pulleys 47 are motor-driven. 
The two pulleys 47 are in fact connected by a common driving shaft 49 
which is caused to rotate, through a pair of gears 50-51, by a motor 52. 
This system to move the slides 43--by way of a motor-driven belt, a branch 
of which is fixed to the slide--is also adopted for moving the slide units 
10 and 20. As shown in FIG. 1, the unit 20 is moved by the belt 24 which 
slides on pulleys 25a and 25b, this latter being keyed onto the shaft of 
the motor 25; the upper branch of the belt 24 is anchored to the slide 
unit 20 by means of the anchor plate 20a. Likewise, the unit 10 is moved 
by the motor 15 through a pair of pulleys 15a, 15b (of which only the 
pulley 15b can be seen in FIG. 1) onto which slides the belt 14, one 
branch of the belt being anchored to the slide unit 10 by means of the 
plate 10a. 
A system of this type has been found particularly simple, efficient and 
long lasting, as well as economical. It is however possible to adopt more 
traditional motion systems, as screw-and-nut systems, with the screw keyed 
onto the shaft of the respective driving motor and with the nut fixed onto 
the slide unit. 
From the above description it appears quite evident how the structure of 
the coil winder according to the present invention allows: 
to impart to the coil 40 a rotary winding motion around the axis 
X--normally required for coil winders of this type--by means of the motor 
35; 
to moreover perform relative movements between the coil 40 and the flyers 
41, along the three cartesian axes X, Y, Z (so as to not only distribute 
the wire turns around the coil, but also twist the wire ends on the coil 
terminals), by imparting to the flyers 41--according to the fundamental 
concept of the invention and in a substantially different way from prior 
art--only the movement along the axis Z, performed through the slides 43 
and controlled by the motor 52, while the movements along the axes X and Y 
are imparted to the spindles, or rather to the spindle-head 30, and are 
performed through the slide units 20 and 10 respectively, and controlled 
by the respective motors 25 and 15. 
Anchor pins 53a to 53f are provided on the front part of the spindlehead 30 
(only pins 53e and 53f are depicted), at the side of each spindle 33a to 
33f; each pin is mounted into a respective cylindrical seat and is movable 
between a working position, in which it projects outwardly of its seat, 
and a discharging position, in which it is withdrawn into its seat. The 
pins are provided--in known manner--for the temporary anchorage of the 
wire ends while the coil is being replaced. 
In fact, once a coil has been wound and the twisting of the wire end onto a 
coil terminal has been completed, the wire is guided up to a respective 
anchor pin, whereon it is anchored usually by simply twisting some turns 
thereof: wire cutting can then be performed along its stretch between said 
coil terminal and the anchor pin, so as to release the coil while keeping 
the wire end anchored in a safe position. 
The finished coil is then moved into the position 40', is unloaded from the 
respective spindle and is replaced by an empty coil core; the spindlehead 
30 is then moved backward, carrying the empty coil cores to the winding 
position 40. In this position, the wire--still anchored on the respective 
pin--is first of all carried back next to the first coil terminal, so as 
to be twisted thereon, and is finally cut along its stretch between said 
terminal and the anchor pin; while the coil is rotated to carry out the 
winding, the short wire length, twisted by a few turns around the anchor 
pin, can be discharged by withdrawing the pin into its cylindrical seat. 
The main considerable advantage of this machine structure lies in the fact 
that, as already pointed out, once a coil 40 is finished--that is, after 
having carried out both the winding of the wire (obtained by controlling 
the rotation of the spindles 33 about the axis X and the movement of the 
slide 23, i.e. of the actual spindles 33, along the axis X) and the 
twisting of the wire end on the coil terminals (obtained by controlling 
the movements along the three axes X, Y and Z)--it is possible to move the 
whole unit 30 along the axis X, by means of the slide unit 20, so as to 
carry the finished coil 40 out of the machine, that is beyond its front 
part F, for instance into the position 40' shown in dashed lines in FIG. 
1. The result is that, in this position: 
the coil 40 can be unloaded and replaced by an empty coil core--with the 
help of an operator--in a substantially known manner, which is a more 
immediate and rapid operation than in machines of known technique; 
the coil 40 can be unloaded and replaced by means of an automatic loading 
and unloading device which--as shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 5, 
described hereinafter--can have an extremely simplified and economical 
structure; 
the coil 40 can be loaded and unloaded from a pallet of an automatic 
production line--as shown in FIG. 4--without requiring any further 
handling means. 
FIGS. 3 and 5 show how the coil winder according to the present invention 
can work in combination with a loading and unloading device, merely 
consisting of a support bar 60 adapted to simply move up and down into 
fixed positions. The ends of the bar 60 are mounted on two brackets 61, 
each of which is carried by a vertically movable piston unit 62. 
When the coil winder is winding up the coils, the bar 60 is in a lowered 
position and the operator can load the empty coil cores onto a series of 
double-seat supports 63, provided on the bar. At the end of the winding 
operation, the spindlehead 30 is moved--the movements being imparted along 
axes X and Y--to carry the coils into the position 40'; the bar 60 is then 
moved up into the working position (shown in FIGS. 3 and 5) until the 
coils 40' are housed into the empty seat of each support 63; the 
spindlehead 30 is then moved backward (along the axis X) to withdraw the 
spindles from the cores of the wound up coils; the spindlehead 30 is 
subsequently moved to the side (along Y) and again forward (along X) to 
carry the spindles into the empty coil cores housed into the other seat of 
each support 63; finally, the bar 60 is moved down, on the one hand, to 
release the empty coil cores onto the spindles and thus allow a new 
winding operation to start and, on the other hand, to carry the wound up 
coils into the unloading position. 
The above clearly shows the great advantage of the machine according to the 
invention, which--by simply transferring the control of the motion along 
axes X and Y to the spindles (instead of the flyers, as in known 
technique)--allows to simplify the automatic loading and unloading device: 
in fact, as already mentioned, this can be provided to perform a simple 
movement along the axis Z, with only two fixed positions. A movement of 
this type can thus be realized at a cost equal to only 20% the cost of a 
known loading and unloading device, moving along two axes. On the other 
hand, the cost of the coil winder remains practically unvaried since, 
transferring the control of the motion along axes X and Y from the flyers 
to the spindles, merely involves an adjustment in the sizing of the 
machine, which means--in practice--the sizing of the slide units (10, 20). 
This fundamental advantage of the machine according to the 
invention--which, in the case of the embodiment of FIGS. 3 and 5, mainly 
lies in a considerable cost reduction--is even more apparent in the 
embodiment of FIG. 4, that is, in the case of using the machine according 
to the invention as a working station of an automatic production line. In 
this case, in fact, it is not so essential to contain costs as, above all, 
to considerably reduce the dimensions of the loading and unloading system, 
so that it may interfere only to a minimum extent with the actual 
production line. 
This additional advantage is evident from FIG. 4, in which pallets 65 are 
moved forward along a transport line--represented in FIG. 4 by the cross 
section of a longitudinal support member 66 and of a conveyor belt 
67--each carrying coil support 63' (similar to the supports 63 in FIG. 5), 
in a fully known manner. When a series of pallets 65 is stopped in front 
of the finished coil positions 40', the pallets are lifted--and the 
supports 63' are lifted therewith--by means of a piston lifting unit 68, 
fully similar to the unit 60-61-62 shown in FIG. 5. The unloading of the 
wound coils and the loading of the empty coil cores then takes place in 
the same manner as described heretofore in connection with the embodiment 
shown in FIGS. 3 and 5.