Apparatus for precisely winding a coil of wire
First Claim
1. An apparatus for winding a filament into a free standing coil having an approximate desired axial length comprising:
- a shaft adapted to have one end of the filament secured thereto;
first and second flanges mounted about said shaft, said second flange being axially movable relative to said shaft and said first flange;
means for rotating said shaft so as to wind the filament thereabout;
means for guiding the filament between said first and second flanges as it si wound about said shaft;
means for generating a signal which is representative of the diameter of the filament as it wound about said shaft;
means for generating a signal which is representative of a desired axial length for the coil;
control means responsive to said filament diameter signal and said desired axial length signal for generating a signal which is representative of an approximate desired axial length for the coil which is dependent upon variations in the diameter of the filament as it is wound upon said shaft; and
means responsive to said control means signal for moving said second flange axially along said shaft so that it is separated from said first flange by the approximate desired axial length.
12 Assignments
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
An apparatus for precisely winding a coil of wire, either free standing or on a bobbin, includes a servo motor for rotating a spool and a wire feeding mechanism for guiding the wire onto the rotating spool. The wire feeding mechanism is mounted on a ball screw shaft connected to a stepper motor. Thus, rotation of the ball screw shaft by the stepper motor causes axial movement of the wire feeding mechanism. A wire feed angle sensor is provided on the wire feeding mechanism for generating a signal which is representative of the load angle at which the wire is wound upon the spool. A control system, such as a microprocessor or a programmable controller, is responsive to the load angle signal for controlling the operation of the stepper motor and, thus, the position of the wire feeding mechanism relative to the point of winding on the spool. As a result, a constant load angle is maintained throughout the winding process. A wire diameter sensor also generates signals to the control system. The control system is responsive to the wire diameter signal for determining the number of windings which can be made on each layer of the spool. In an alternate embodiment, the control system determines the position of a movable flange in accordance with the diameter of the wire to provide a predetermined number of windings per layer.
-
Citations
11 Claims
-
1. An apparatus for winding a filament into a free standing coil having an approximate desired axial length comprising:
-
a shaft adapted to have one end of the filament secured thereto; first and second flanges mounted about said shaft, said second flange being axially movable relative to said shaft and said first flange; means for rotating said shaft so as to wind the filament thereabout; means for guiding the filament between said first and second flanges as it si wound about said shaft; means for generating a signal which is representative of the diameter of the filament as it wound about said shaft; means for generating a signal which is representative of a desired axial length for the coil; control means responsive to said filament diameter signal and said desired axial length signal for generating a signal which is representative of an approximate desired axial length for the coil which is dependent upon variations in the diameter of the filament as it is wound upon said shaft; and means responsive to said control means signal for moving said second flange axially along said shaft so that it is separated from said first flange by the approximate desired axial length. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
-
Specification