Automatic taping apparatus
First Claim
1. An automatic taping apparatus, comprising:
- a rotatable member movable, in operation, along the length of an object to be taped and rotatable about the object to be taped;
means mounting said rotatable member for movement along the length of an object to be taped and for rotation about the object to be taped and for rotation about two orthogonal radial axes of said rotatable member;
position sensing means for sensing the position and rotation angles of said rotatable member and for generating position and angle signals representative thereof;
tape feed means on said rotatable member for feeding a winding tape to tape an object in use as said rotatable member travels along and rotates about the object to be taped;
position control means responsive to control signals for controlling a spatial position of said rotary member, said position control means including angular control means for controlling an angle of revolution θ
of said rotary member and for controlling respective angles of rotation α and
β
about the two orthogonal radial axes of said rotary member;
a computer, said computer including memory means for preliminarily storing shape data of a body to be taped in the format of a multiplicity of sets of coordinates {X1,Y1,Z1), (X2,Y2,Z2). . . , (Xn,Yn,Zn)} referring to a three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system, means for reading successive coordinates of said stored set of coordinates and for calculating command coordinates (Xm,Ym,Zm) and command angles (.sup.α
m, .sup.β
m and .sup.θ
m) to which said rotatable member is moved during a unit of time, and comparator means receptive of the position and angle signals from said position sensing means for comparing the command coordinates and angles with the actual coordinates and angles of said rotary member and for generating control signals applied to said position control means to maintain a plane of revolution of said rotary member substantially normal to a longitudinal axis of a body to be taped as said rotatable member is moved along the length of the body to be taped.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A rotary annulus holding a tape feed reel is moved along a taped body while revolving about the body in a plane normal to its longitudinal axis to wind a tape around the body under the control of a small-scaled computer. The computer stores many coordinate points describing the longitudinal axis of the body and, assuming that the longitudinal axis approximates to a series of broken lines defined by the coordinate points, it calculates a command position of the annulus from every three selected coordinate points adjacent to its actual position, a command speed of rotation and command angles of rotation of the annulus required for keeping its plane of revolution normal to the longitudinal axis of the body at the command position of the annulus.
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Citations
9 Claims
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1. An automatic taping apparatus, comprising:
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a rotatable member movable, in operation, along the length of an object to be taped and rotatable about the object to be taped; means mounting said rotatable member for movement along the length of an object to be taped and for rotation about the object to be taped and for rotation about two orthogonal radial axes of said rotatable member; position sensing means for sensing the position and rotation angles of said rotatable member and for generating position and angle signals representative thereof; tape feed means on said rotatable member for feeding a winding tape to tape an object in use as said rotatable member travels along and rotates about the object to be taped; position control means responsive to control signals for controlling a spatial position of said rotary member, said position control means including angular control means for controlling an angle of revolution θ
of said rotary member and for controlling respective angles of rotation α and
β
about the two orthogonal radial axes of said rotary member;a computer, said computer including memory means for preliminarily storing shape data of a body to be taped in the format of a multiplicity of sets of coordinates {X1,Y1,Z1), (X2,Y2,Z2). . . , (Xn,Yn,Zn)} referring to a three-dimensional orthogonal coordinate system, means for reading successive coordinates of said stored set of coordinates and for calculating command coordinates (Xm,Ym,Zm) and command angles (.sup.α
m, .sup.β
m and .sup.θ
m) to which said rotatable member is moved during a unit of time, and comparator means receptive of the position and angle signals from said position sensing means for comparing the command coordinates and angles with the actual coordinates and angles of said rotary member and for generating control signals applied to said position control means to maintain a plane of revolution of said rotary member substantially normal to a longitudinal axis of a body to be taped as said rotatable member is moved along the length of the body to be taped. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)
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Specification