Patent GB-1518810-A (GB)
Title: Wire take up apparatus
IPC: B65H54/28
Filed: 1975-12-16
Abstract: 1518810 Winding turns in side-by-side relationship FURUKAWA ELECTRIC CO Ltd 16 Dec 1975 [18 Dec 1974 8 April 1975 14 Aug 1975] 51531/75 Heading D1J A wire winding apparatus of the kind in which the wound turns lie in side-by-side relationship upon a flanged take-up reel, there being means to traverse the wire back and forth along the reel, and means to electrically detect when a first turn of a new layer of said wire is being raised up on the reel adjacent either of the flanges of the reel to cause an output signal from said detecting means to reverse the direction of motion of the traverse means is characterised in that the wire raising up detecting means comprises at least two adjacent arms pivotally mounted on an axis parallel to the axis of the reel and spring-loaded to be engaged against said wire wound on said reel: and an angular electro converter to convert the angle at which said arms are pivotally moved relative to each other into an electric signal having an amplitude proportional to said angle. In a first embodiment, Figs. 2, 5 and 7, there is a reel 12 with end flanges 12a. For each end flange 12a there is a depending guide rod 88, 88' and each guide rod 88, 88' carries at its lower end a pair of arms 22, 22' pivoted relatively to each other about a horizontal axis 24, Fig. 5. The rods 88. 88' are vertically displaceable by motors 90, 90'. Since the left-hand assembly in Fig. 2 is a mirror image of the right-hand assembly, only the right-hand assembly is described hereinafter. Fig. 7 shows the arms 22, 22' for the righthand reel flange, the arm 22 having a bracket 28 rigidly secured thereto. The bracket 28 carries a stop 30 at its free end. The stop 30 can rest on the arm 22' and is arranged such that if the arm 22' is swung upwardly it abuts against the stop 30 and so swings the arm 22 up with it.  In operation when a layer of turns is being laid from left to right in Fig. 7, and such turns reach a position under the arm 22', the arm 22' is raised by the thickness of the wire being wound and due to the stop 30 and bracket 28 the arm 22 is raised by a corresponding amount. There is thus no relative rotation of the arms 22, 22' about the axis 24 and no signal is therefore produced to change the direction of traverse of the traverse means. When the last turn 14 of a layer has been wound the next turn will ride-up on the turn 14 and thus swing the arm 22 upwardly, leaving the arm 22' in the setting shown in Fig. 7. This rotational movement of the arm 22 relatively to the arm 22' is converted into an electric signal that causes the direction of traverse to be reversed. Measuring relative angular displacements of the arms 22, 22' and reversing direction of motion of traverse means. Fig. 5 shows how arm 22' carries a measuring device 42 in the form of a potentiometer, a selsyn motor or a differential transformer. A belt 48 couples a pulley 44 on the measuring device 42 with a pulley 46 on the arm 22. By this means, relative angular displacement of the arms 22, 22' about the axis 24 is converted into a signal by the measuring device 42. The device 42 includes a delay circuit to delay the changeover of the traverse motion until a complete new turn of the next layer has been wound. Pressing the arm 22, Figs. 5 and 7, against the flange 12a. In Fig. 5 the arms 22, 22' can pivot about a common axis 24 that is carried canti-lever fashion at the lower end of a rotatable and upwardly extending spindle 60a. The arms 22, 22' extend towards the viewer in Fig. 5. A spring 34 serves to bias the free end of the canti-lever axis 24 away from the viewer and thus bias the arms 22, 22' to the right in Fig. 5 and 7. The arm 22 is thus always in a pressing relationship with its associated flange 12a. Raising the arms 22, 22' jointly as each successive layer is wound. When the right-hand pair of arms 22, 22' have served their function of (a) detecting that one layer of winding has been completed; (b) that the first turn of the next layer has risen up; and (c) to thereby cause the traverse means to reverse its direction of motion; the motor 90 is actuated to raise the pair of arms 22, 22' up by the thickness of one layer of the winding so that the arms 22, 22' are ready for operation when the wire is again being traversed from left to right. The starting and stopping of the motor 90 is determined by limitswitches (72, 72') Fig. 6 (not shown) that are actuated according to the angular setting of the arm 22 relative to its shaft 24. Moving the Guide Rods 88, 88' Fig. 2, apart to match the spacing between the flanges 12a, 12a of the take-up reel. Each guide rod 88, 88' can be separately movable to and from the other guide rods by its own motor 84 and screw means 87. When a motor 84 moves its associated rod 88 towards a flange reel 12a, the motor is stopped when the arm 22 has engaged a flange and such engagement has caused the pair of arms 20, 20' to turn spindle 60a through a small angular increment to operate a microswitch (74) Fig. 8 (not shown). Modified embodiments. In a modified embodiment there is but a single pair of arms 246, 246' Fig. 16A. The arms 246, 246' are traversed back and forth with the traversing means. As shown in Fig. 16A when the traversing means is moving from left to right the leading arm 246' presses against the turn being wound on so as to compact the turns in side-by-side relationship. The trailing arm 246 rests upon the turn that has just been wound. When the leading arm 246' engages an end flange 12a, Fig. 17A a microswitch on the leading arm 246' is operated to cause both the leading arm 246' and the trailing arm 246 to be raised up as shown in Fig. 17B. As the layer being wound is completed both arms 246, 246' are lowered so as to rest upon the completed layer, Fig. 17C. Thereafter as the next turn 14d is wound upon the last turn 14c of the previous layer the arm 246' is caused to rise up relatively to the arm 246 as shown in Fig. 17D. This angular motion of the arm 246' relatively to the arm 246 causes the aforesaid means to reverse the direction of traverse of the arms 246, 246' and the next layer of turns 14d is then laid upon the previous layer of turns 14c. Further modified embodiment. Fig. 18 (not shown) shows a detecting means comprising free arms instead of the previous two. This unit of free arms traverses back and forth with the turns being wound on to the flange take-up reel and is so designed that when the free arms are moving from left to right, a central arm and righthand arm serve to measure when the wire being wound has reached the right-hand flange of the take-up reel and the wire is riding up to commence a fresh winding. Similarly, when the free arms reach the lefthand flange of the take-up reel, the central arm and the left-hand arm of this free armed member serve to measure when the wire being wound has reached the left-hand flange of the take-up reel and the wire is riding up on a completed layer to form the start of a fresh layer.