Method and device for automatically starting and ending the winding of metallic wire onto reels.

Abstract: Automatic control system for the start-up and ending of the winding of metallic wire onto reels, the system being applicable to processes for the hot or cold drawing or rolling of metallic wire, which may have a round, oval, three-lobed, square, rectangular, hexagonal, etc. section, the system being fitted to the wire feed side of a machine (10) to wind metallic wire (25) on reels and comprising the following operational assemblies: a first assembly of automatic devices including in succession a unit (31) to position the wire, a gripper unit (39), a bending unit (45) and a shears unit (50), these units (31-39-45-50) being able to act on wire (25) wound on a reel (11), so as to obtain the step of ending the winding automatically, a second assembly of automatic devices including an inserter unit (58) and a clamp (67), these units (58-67) being suitable to act on one end of the wire (25) so as to obtain the step of start-up of the winding automatically, the first assembly (31-39-45-50) and the second assembly (58-67) of automatic devices cooperating in their respective operational steps with a wire-guide device (17) borne on a movable unit (21) and including means (27) to grip the wire.

Description: This invention concerns a method for the start-up and ending of the winding of metallic wire and a relative device. To be more exact, the invention concerns devices fitted to machines that wind metallic wire, and suitable to make fully automatic the steps of start-up and ending of the winding of the metallic wire on reels in the process. The automatic devices of the invention can advantageously cooperate directly with plants which draw or roll metallic wire with a hot or cold process. The word " wire" in this invention is to be understood as being used in its widest meaning to cover products having a round, oval, three-lobed. square, rectangular. hexagonal, etc. section. The invention can also be employed with other wire materials having suitable characteristics. The state of the art covers the problems linked to the winding of metallic wire on reels. This operation is carried out on winding machines which are usually connected to upstream machines that feed the wire. These winding machines include a wire-guide device that distributes the wire in layers on reels set in rotation on suitable headstocks. When the packaging on the reel has been completed, the reel is halted and the wire has to be sheared so that the full reel can be removed. The end of the wire wound on the reel has to be suitably positioned thereon so that it can be retained, whereas the other end of the wire has to be suitably positioned on an empty reel so that a new winding operation can be started. So far as the present applicant is aware, the operations of starting and ending the winding are carried out at the present time by hand or by using partly automatic auxiliary means. This situation entails long machine downtimes, considerable use of labour, the possibility of operational mistakes and also an interruption of working upstream during the process of producing and feeding the metallic wire. In other words, the output is unsatisfactory and leads to increases of production costs. US-A-3,994,058 discloses a device and a method according to the preambles of claims 5 and 1 respectively, which has the purpose of shaping the end of the wire so that that end can be fixed automatically to a reel. The device provides for a reel of small dimensions with a horizontal axis of the type, for instance, used for reels of copper wire or thin wire. The reel is set in rotation by lateral plates. This is a technology already known in the field of the winding of wires of small diameter and has the purpose only of operating in the initial prewinding step. Similarly, Ernst Koch GmbH & Co. Kg., some years ago, launched on the market a machine called VWS300, which embodies the features of the pre-characterizing part of Claim 5, and the use of which corresponds to the method according to the preamble of Claim 1. The present applicant has the purpose of over coming the problems of the state of the art by providing a method and a device for the start-up and ending of the winding of metallic wire, whereby the winding itself is made fully automatic. The invention is set forth in the main claims, while the dependent claims describe various features of the invention. The device according to the invention consists of a series of operational units able to cooperate with a wire-guide device according to required sequences which can be and are pre-set. For this purpose the wire-guide device is capable not only of the usual straight traversing movement to lay the wire on the reel but also of a transfer movement to be positioned in relation to the operational units with which it has to cooperate momentarily. The wire-guide device also contains means suitable to carry out the automatic operations for the start-up and ending of the winding. In the end-of-winding step the feed of metallic wire is halted automatically and, if so required, the wire-guide transfers the yarn and clamps it in a required position. A positioner unit too takes part in this operation and acts as a guide and control of the segment of wire in question, namely the segment between the reel and the wire-guide. The positioner unit brings this segment of wire to a substantially straight position so as to cooperate with the operational units arranged between the positioner unit and the wire-guide. These operational units include a gripper unit, a bending unit and a shears unit arranged cascade-wise from the positioner unit onwards towards the wire-guide. The shears unit has the task of shearing the wire, while the bending unit has the task of conforming in a required manner the sheared end of the wire belonging to the package on the reel and the gripper unit has the task of clamping the wire during the above operations. According to the invention the gripper unit is capable of a motion suitable to transfer the bent end of the wire onto a device able to retain the wire on each reel. When this latter operation has been carried out, the packaged reel is discharged automatically or is brought to a discharge position, while an empty reel is brought to the position for winding. The wire-guide device, which has retained the end of the wire arriving from the feed apparatus located upstream of the winding machine, is now brought into cooperation with a wire inserter unit that has the task of positioning the wire in a required manner on the empty reel so that a new winding operation can be started. According to a preferred embodiment of the invention the end of the wire being fed is brought to a clamping means borne on the reel actuation unit in the vicinity of the central cylindrical body of the reel and is retained in that clamping means. That end of the wire is suitably released thereafter from the clamping means when the winding operation has begun. The start-up of winding is brought about automatically when the wire-guide device, which has always kept contact with the wire being fed during the above operations, is brought back to the position arranged for the start-up of winding onto the reel. The above operational steps are obviously repeated with automatic methods whenever a packaged reel is replaced. These and other special features of the invention will be made clearer in the description that follows: The attached figures, which are given as a non-restrictive example, show the following: Fig.1 is a diagrammatic elevation of a winding machine having the automatic control system according to the invention; Fig.2 is a plan view of the winding machine of Fig.1; Fig.3 is a view along the line of the arrow "A" of Fig.1; Fig.4 is a view according to the arrow "B" of Fig.3, in which some units have been omitted for the sake of clarity; Fig.5 is a front view of a wire-guide device according to the invention; Fig.6 is a partial vertical section along the line A-A of the wire-guide device of Fig.5; Fig.7 is a side view of a wire positioner unit; Fig.8 is a front view of the wire positioner unit of Fig.7; Fig.9 shows a gripper unit from above; Fig.10 is a front view along the line of the arrow "C" of the gripper unit of Fig.9; Fig.11 is a partly cutaway side view of a bending unit; Fig.12 is a side view of a shears unit; Fig.13 is a diagrammatic side view of a wire inserter unit; Fig.14 shows a vertical section of a clamp to engage the inserted wire. In Figs.1 to 4 a winding machine 10 comprises the normal means to support and actuate a reel 11 being packaged, such as a headstock and tailstock 12, actuation motor 13, a drive plate 14 to draw the reel 11, a platform 15 which in this case has three working positions, means 16 to rotate the platform and other means which belong to the state of the art. A wire-guide device 17 can be moved vertically according to the arrows 18 by means of first sliders 19, which cooperate with vertical guides 20 borne on a movable turret 21, which is equipped with controls for the working of the wire-guide device 17. The turret 21 can be moved with a straight motion in a direction according to the arrows 22 at a right angle to the direction 18 of the wire-guide device 17 by means of second sliders 23 cooperating with horizontal guides 24. The turret 21 in its righthand position shown in Figs.1 to 3 is in the operational step corresponding to the end of winding a package of wire on the reel 11. When the turret 21 has been brought substantially to a lefthand position on the horizontal guides 24, the system begins operating in the step of start-up of winding on the reel 11. The winding position during the take-up of wire on the reel 11 can coincide with one of the intermediate positions between the righthand and lefthand positions described above, which have been indicated merely as examples and may be different according to different design parameters. In the figures a metallic wire 25 being fed is shown as cooperating with the wire-guide device 17, which comprises essentially a pair of guide rolls 26 to guide the wire 25 and a gripper device 27 to grip the wire 25. Figs.5 and 6 show an embodiment of the wire-guide device 17 wherein it is possible to see that the gripper device 27 consists of a movable gripper element 28 actuated by a jack 29 and a stationary abutment element, which may be a gripper roll 30 for instance. In Figs.5 and 6 the gripper device 27 is shown in its closed condition during clamping of the wire 25, as happens substantially during the ending of winding and the traversing of the turret 21. In Figs.1 and 2 and in a preferred embodiment shown in Figs.7 and 8 a positioner unit to position the wire 25 is referenced with 31 and is located advantageously in the vicinity of the reel 11 and, at the end of winding, has the task of bringing the wire 25 to a position suitable for cooperation with other units which will be described hereinafter. For this purpose the positioner unit 31 consists preferably of a fork 32 (shown with lines of dashes in its inactive position in Fig.7) rendered movable so that it can be positioned astride the wire and can drag the wire to a required position. In this example the motion of the fork 32 is an oscillatory motion actuated by a first jack 34 about a first pivot 33 and an oscillatory motion actuated by a second jack 37 about a second pivot 36 together with a lever 35. The positioner unit 31 is connected to a suitable support structure 38 secured to the frame of the winding machine 10. A gripper unit 39 is located in a position substantially superimposed on the positioner unit 31 and is shown only diagrammatically in Fig.1 and in detail in Figs.9 and 10 in a preferred embodiment. The fork 32 of the positioner unit 31 in its position to engage the wire 25 clasps both sides of the gripper unit 39 at the level of the grippers 40 so as to move the wire 25 between the grippers 40. During this movement of the wire 25 the gripper unit 39 is aligned with the wire-guide device 17, thus obtaining a substantially straight segment of wire 25. The grippers 40 of the gripper unit 39 consist of a stationary element 140 and a movable element 240, which can be rotated about a pivot 41 by a small piston/cylinder actuator 42. The grippers 40 are installed on a column 43 connected to a stationary support 44 borne on the frame of the winding machine 10. The column 43 can rotate in relation to the stationary support 44 in the manner and for the reasons which will be explained later. A bending unit 45, an embodiment of which is shown in Fig.11, is positioned immediately upstream of the gripper unit 39 in the direction of feed of the wire 25 and is aligned with the gripper unit 39. This bending unit 45 consists of a bending roller 46 fitted eccentrically on a rotary support 47 and of an opposed roller 48; the method of working of the unit 45 is well known in the state of the art. The rotary support 47 is rotated by a suitable motor 49, and the rotation enables the end of the wire 25, sheared beforehand as we shall explain, to be conformed in a required profile, U-shaped for instance. A shears unit 50, which in this case is of the type shown in Fig.12, is included upstream of the bending unit 45 and aligned therewith. The shears unit 50 is arranged vertically and comprises a stationary blade 51 and a movable blade 52 actuated by its own actuator means 53 so as to shear the wire 25 positioned between the blades 51-52. Introduction of the wire 25 between the blades 51-52 and between the bending roller 46 and opposed roller 48 is always carried out beforehand at the same time by the positioner unit 31. The shearing is carried out while the wire 25 is held in the gripper device 27 of the wire-guide device 17 and in the gripper unit 39. When shearing has taken place, the bending unit 45 is actuated, as we said earlier, to conform the sheared end of the wire 25 wound on the packaged reel. When bending has been carried out, the gripper unit 39 takes action once more to take the suitably conformed sheared end of the wire 25 to a pre-set position near the reel 11. This is achieved by rotation of the column 43 according to the arrows 54, the column 43 being solidly fixed to a movable element consisting of a pair of connection plates 55 coupled by a vertical segment 47; the movable element can be rotated about a pivot 57 by means of its own hub 73. Rotation according to the arrows 54 is achieved by actuation of a jack 56, which causes rotation (see the position, shown with lines of dashes, of the jack 56 in Fig.9) of the movable element about the pivot 57. The end of the wire 25 can be engaged advantageously on an appropriate support included on the reel 11 at the time when the headstock and tailstock 12 of the winding machine 10 are withdrawn from the reel 11. During this operation the reel 11 carries out a downward vertical travel so as to rest on the platform 15 and can engage the end of the wire 25 automatically in this way. The above operations complete the end of winding and the reel thus packaged can be removed. From here on we shall describe the arrival of an empty reel 11 at the winding position; the other end of the sheared wire still in the wire-guide device 17 has to be engaged on this empty reel 11. The engagement is performed by an inserter unit 58, to which the end of the wire 25 is brought by displacement of the movable turret 21 to its lefthand position in Fig.3. In this position the end of the wire 25 is borne on an insertion gripper 59 belonging to the inserter unit 58, the wire 25 remaining also within the wire-guide device 17 and in an unclamped condition in the gripper device 27. The inserter unit 58 is shown diagrammatically in Fig.4 in its inactive position (with continuous lines) and in its introduction position (with lines of dashes) while it is shown in detail in Fig.13. The inserter unit 58 comprises a stationary base 60, on which is pivoted a first lever 61 actuated by its jack 62 so as to rotate about a pivot 63. A second lever 65 is pivoted at 64 on the first lever 61 and is secured to the insertion gripper 59. The second lever 65 is rotated about the pivot 64 by a jack 66 secured to the first lever 61. Fig.13 shows with lines of dashes the position taken up by the inserter unit 58 during operations. Such operations bring the end of the wire 25 to the reel 11, for instance in a clamp 67 borne on the drive plate 14 and arranged on the upper flange 68 in correspondence with the central cylindrical body of the reel 11. The clamp 67 may be of a type shown in a vertical section in Fig.14, which shows jaws 69 that can be actuated laterally by means of rams 70 and a central return spring 71 when the jaws 69 are to be opened. The clamp 67 is actuated when the end of the wire 25 is inserted between the jaws 69 by the inserter unit 58; thereafter the clamp 67 keeps the wire 25 clamped during the first step of winding a required number of coils of wire onthe reel 11. The clamp 67 can be opened thereafter at a required time, which in any case will be earlier than the start-up of the operations to end winding of the wire 25 on the reel 11. When the step of introduction of the end of the wire 25 into the clamp 67 has ended, the movable turret 21 with the relative wire-guide device 17 is brought to the position for winding wire 25 on the reel 11. The winding machine 10 of the invention is suitably equipped with appropriate devices to actuate and control the operational steps of the automatic cycle; this equipment can be governed advantageously by a computerized system. We have described here a preferred embodiment of the invention, but it is clear that many changes and variants acn be applied and included by a person skilled in this field without thereby departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the claims.

Claims: Method for automatically starting and ending the winding of metallic wire on a reel, the axis of the reel (11) being oriented substantially vertical, said reel having a body upon which the wire is wound delimited by an upper and a lower flange, the method comprising the use of a winding machine comprising means to feed the wire to the reel (11), means to deliver the leading end of the wire (25) to be wound to the reel (11), and to attach the end of the wire (25) to the reel (11), wire guide means (17) comprising guide rolls (26) and being movable in a continuous and controlled manner to guide the wire (25) during winding, wherein, after conclusion of the winding, the wire guide means (17), in cooperation with a gripper unit (39) located between the reel (11) and the wire guide means (17), align the wire (25) and grip it at two locations, the wire (25) subsequently being sheared by a shears unit (50) between the two locations where the wire (25) is gripped, the leading end and the trailing end of the wire (25) still being gripped while the trailing end is bent in the shape of a hook by means of a bending unit (45), the method being characterised in that, when the winding of an empty reel (11) is started, the leading end of the wire (25), from the wire guide means (17), is delivered to an insertion gripper (59) of an insertion unit (58), which has a non-active position and an insertion position, the insertion unit (58) inserting the leading end of the wire (25) in a clamp (67) associated with the upper flange (68), the wire guide means (17) subsequently being brought to the position for winding wire (25) on the reel (11), the method also being characterised in that after winding is concluded the wire (25) is between the wire guide means (17) and the tangent to the wire wound onto the body of the reel (11), the wire guide device (17) is taken to a high position and the wire (25) is aligned with the gripper unit (39) by engaging it with a positioner unit (31), which drags the wire (25) into between the grippers (40) of the gripper unit (39) for gripping the wire (25) at a first of said two locations, the positioner unit (31) in this manner at the same time positioning the wire (25) in the shears unit (50) and in the bending unit (45), the gripper unit (39) positioning the hook-shaped trailing end of the wire (25) in a position allowing to hook the wire (25) onto the reel (11), and in that the wire guide means (17) comprise gripper means (27) gripping the wire (25) prior and during shearing at the second of said two locations. Method as in Claim 1, whereby the hook-shaped portion of the trailing end of the wound wire is hooked to the reel (11) by lowering the reel (11) for discharge onto a discharge platform (15). Method as in Claim 1 or 2, including the following steps additional to the step of starting the winding: an empty reel (11) is inserted into the winding machine in a lowered position, the leading end of the wire (25), the guide rolls and the gripper means (27) are displaced from the position of the end of winding to the position of the start of winding and deliver the leading end of the wire (25) to the insertion unit (58), which by means of the insertion gripper (59) delivers the leading end to the clamp (67), and the empty reel (11) is then raised to its winding position before the winding is started. Method as in any claim hereinbefore, whereby before the start of the winding step the reel is rotated in a controlled manner to wind a desired number of coils and then the leading end of the wire (25) is released by the clamp (67). Device for automatically starting and ending the winding of metallic wire, the device being comprised in a machine for the winding of metallic wire (25) on a reel (11), the machine including means to feed the wire (25) to the reel (11), a shears unit (50), means (58) to deliver the leading end of the wire (25) to be wound to the reel (11) and to attach it to the reel (11), gripper means (27) and wire guide means (17) movable in a continuous and controlled manner for guiding the wire (25) during winding, the wire guide means (17) comprising guide rolls (26), the reel (11) having a substantially vertical axis, an upper drive plate (14) and a lower tailstock (12) and being movable between a high working position and a low position in which the reel (11) can be loaded in, respectively unloaded from, the machine, the device further including: a gripper unit (39) for gripping the wire (25) when the wire guide means (17) is positioned in alignment with the gripper unit (39), and a bending unit (45) for bending the trailing end of the cut wire (25) being held by the gripper unit (39), wherein the wire guide means (17) can be moved vertically over at least the winding height and wherein the shears unit (50) is able to cut the wire (25) being simultaneously gripped by the gripper unit (39) and the gripper means (27), the device being characterised in that a positioner unit (31) is provided for introduction of wire (25) in between of the grippers (40) of the gripper unit (39), in that a clamp (67) is attached to the reel (11), the clamp (67) being adapted to allow the insertion therein of the leading end of the wire (25) to be wound, in that the gripper means (27) are comprised in an assembly with the guide rolls (26), and in that the vertical movement of the wire guide means (17) is along a movable turret (21). Device as in Claim 5, in which the insertion means (58) comprises an insertion gripper (59) able to move from an inactive position to a position in which the insertion gripper (59) can engage the wire (25) held in the wire guide means (17) and from which position the insertion gripper (59) can be moved to a position in which the wire (25) is inserted into a clamp (67). Device as in Claim 5 or 6, in which the positioner unit (31) comprises a fork (32) connected rotatably to a lever (35), which is rotatably fitted to the frame of the winding machine (10), means (34-37) to actuate oscillation being included which are able to rotate the fork (32) in relation to the lever (35) and the lever (35) in relation to the frame of the winding machine (10). Device as in any of Claims 5 to 7 inclusive, in which the gripper unit (39) consists of a stationary support (44) and of a movable column (43) on which are installed grippers (40), the movable column (43) being able to rotate (54) in relation to the stationary support (44), the grippers (40) including means (140-240) which are reciprocally movable (42). Device as in any of Claims 5 to 8 inclusive, in which the bending unit (45) consists of a bending roller (46) and an opposed roller (48), the bending roller (46) being fitted eccentrically on a rotary support (47) with its own motor (49). Device as in any of Claims 5 to 9 inclusive, in which the insertion unit (58) comprises an insertion gripper (59) together with a second lever (65) rotatably fitted to a first lever (61) rotatably installed on a stationary base (60), means (62-66) to actuate oscillation being included and being suitable to rotate the insertion gripper (59) in relation to the first lever (61) and to rotate the first lever (61) in relation to the stationary base (60). Device as in any of Claims 5 to 10 inclusive, in which the upper drive plate (14) bears a clamp (67) to retain the wire (25), this clamp (67) being able to be disactuated.

Inventors: GRAZIUTTI GIUSEPPE, PLACEREANI CARLO, SARO GIANCARLO, GRAZIUTTI, GIUSEPPE, PLACEREANI, CARLO, SARO, GIANCARLO
Applicants: IMPIANTI INDUSTRIALI SPA
Application year: 1990
Main classification: B21C47
IPC codes: B21C47