Winding – tensioning – or guiding – Composite article winding – On externally toothed core
Reexamination Certificate
1998-07-07
2001-04-10
Matecki, Katherine A. (Department: 3653)
Winding, tensioning, or guiding
Composite article winding
On externally toothed core
C242S439400
Reexamination Certificate
active
06213422
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to operations of a multiple dynamo-electric machine part winder of the type described in copending, commonly-assigned U.S. patent application Ser. No. 08/695,835, filed Aug. 7, 1996, now U.S. Pat. No. 5,799,896, which is hereby incorporated by reference in its entirety, which describes the simultaneous wounding of multiple armatures. In particular, this invention relates to handling wire breakage and overflow in a multiple dynamo-electric machine part winder.
There is always an interest in achieving high rates of productivity in a manufacturing line. In a manufacturing line for dynamo-electric machine parts it is customary for parts to travel along a conveyor, alongside of which are disposed various workstations for further processing. In order to increase productivity it is important to minimize the time these workstations have to wait for parts. Accordingly, it is important that the manufacturing line is not completely stalled due to wire breakage or overflow resulting from wire being wound out of the core slots at a multiple armature winder, and for it to be simpler and faster to restore a multiple armature winder to full operation after such a breakage or overflow.
Production time is lost when a wire breaks and successive rotations of the corresponding flyer causes extra wire to be dispensed in an uncontrolled manner. This uncontrolled delivery of wire results in undesired wire waste as well as potential jamming, each requiring time consuming and laborious operator intervention to restore the winder to normal operating conditions.
Similarly, an overflow caused by wire wound out of the slots can impede proper operation of the winder. When wire has been wound on the external surface of the laminations, as occurs in the case of an overflow, rotation of the armature around its longitudinal axis in order to position its slots in relation to the winding guides to receive the wire can result in jamming of the common motor which is causing the rotational movement.
Typically, in the event of such an occurrence—e.g., wire breakage or overflow—the entire machine is stopped until an operator intervenes to restore the feed of the broken wire in the flyer which was dispensing it, resulting in stalling the production line.
It would be desirable to be able to provide a method and system for allowing the winder to continue to wind armatures and therefore avoid a total loss of production which would otherwise occur during the time which passes between breakage or overflow of the wire and intervention of an operator to restore normal winding conditions.
It would also be desirable to be able to provide a method and system for maintaining the winder in a way which will allow the operator to easily restore normal winding conditions after a wire breakage or an overflow has occurred.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of this invention to provide a method and system for allowing the winder to continue to wind armatures and therefore avoid a total loss of production which would otherwise occur during the time which passes between breakage or overflow of the wire and intervention of an operator to restore normal winding conditions.
It is also an object of this invention to provide a method and system for maintaining the winder in a way which will allow the operator to easily restore normal winding conditions after a wire breakage or an overflow has occurred.
In accordance with the invention, a method and system are provided for handling incorrect feeding of wire (e.g., wire breakage, overflow, or the like) in a multiple dynamo-electric part winder in order to increase its productivity. In particular, the principles of this invention are useful for multiple armature winders which have, for example, rotation of two flyers on a same side of the multiple armature winder driven by a common motor. In such an arrangement, flyers driven by a common motor on one side of the multiple armature winder wind one-half of the coils of a corresponding armature which it is winding, while flyers on the other side driven by another common motor wind the other half of the corresponding armature which it is winding. By means of this invention, a wire breakage or overflow detected in any of the flyers is managed so as not to stall the production line.
According to the principles of this invention, upon detection of a wire breakage or an overflow in one of the flyers at a winding position, the wires from all flyers corresponding to that position are withdrawn by a withdrawing device. Such a withdrawing device is shown in previously referred to patent application. In addition to withdrawing the wires from flyers corresponding to the position where the wire breakage took place, all flyer rotations in the multiple dynamo-electric part winder are stopped.
The withdrawing device withdraws the wires from flyers in the position where the wire breakage took place in order to prevent the wires from being further dispensed by centrifugal force caused by rotation of the flyers. Withdrawing the wire causes the wire still threaded through the flyer opposite to the flyer where the breakage took place to tear, resulting in both flyers in the position where the breakage or overflow was detected in having no wire threaded through them.
Moreover, because all flyer rotations in the multiple armature winder are stopped upon detection of a breakage or an overflow, the armature in the unaffected position—i.e., the position where the breakage or overflow did not occur—may be in a partially wound state when its respective flyers are stopped. The lead grippers, cutters, and flyers of the unaffected position operate to grasp and cut the wires leading to their respective flyers in order to terminate and free the corresponding armature.
The armatures from both positions are then unloaded by a transfer device—e.g., like the one shown in the patent application cited above—and placed in a reject track. The transfer device transports armature cores that need to be wound from the conveyor to respective positions of the multiple armature winder, and also transfers cores that have been wound from the winder to the conveyor. Thereafter, a first batch of unwound armatures is delivered by the transfer device to respective positions of the multiple armature winder.
Because flyers corresponding to the position where the wire breakage or overflow was detected are un-threaded (because of the withdrawing action), only the armature delivered to the unaffected position—i.e., the position with no wire breakage or overflow—is wound. Upon completion of the winding process of the first batch of armatures, both armatures are transferred to respective grippers of the transfer device and a second batch of armatures is delivered to the winder for winding.
While the gripper holding the wound armature, received from the position with no wire breakage or overflow, deposits the wound armature on the conveyor, the gripper holding the unwound armature, received from the position where the wire breakage or overflow was detected, holds on to the unwound armature and does not deposit the armature on the conveyor. Thus, only one gripper—i.e., the one that deposited the wound armature on the conveyor—receives a new unwound armature from the conveyor.
After completing the winding process on the second batch of armatures received in the preceding step, the armatures (one wound and one unwound) are transferred by the transfer device which deposits the wound armature on the conveyor and retains the unwound armature received from the winder position with the wire breakage or overflow. In addition, the unwound armature corresponding to the first batch that was retained in the preceding step by one of the grippers of the transfer device is returned to the position where the wire breakage or overflow was detected for the winder to attempt winding the unwound armature again.
The above-described steps are repeated until the position in the winder where the breakage or overflow was initially detected has been rendered operational.
Galassi Rossano
Mugelli Maurizio
Randazzo Antonio
Axis USA Inc.
Fish & Neave
Jackson Robert R.
Matecki Katherine A.
Mohan Brajesh
LandOfFree
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