Traverse device and traverse method

Abstract

The invention makes it possible to perform regular winding of a wire easily, inexpensively, and reliably. During traversing a winding position in the reel axis direction, while a guide roller 2 is held at a position where the distance (D) from the wound surface on the outer circumference of a reel body 1a is in a range of more than 0 mm to 30 mm or less, it is kept at an orientation where a roller radial center line P is perpendicular to a reel axis R at a position apart from a border with a reel flange 1b, and gradually inclined, with movement of a reel 1 in the reel axis direction, in a direction in which the roller outer edge goes away from the reel flange 1b ahead in the traverse direction on the side apart from the reel body 1a relative to a rotation center C, as a fulcrum, located near the outer edge on the side near the outer circumference of the body of the reel 1 at a position of the border of the reel flange 1b.

Claims

1. A traverse device for winding a wire onto a reel, the reel comprising a reel body extending along in a reel axis and first and second flanges, one on either end of the reel body, the device comprising: a guide roller having a guide groove on an outer circumference, the wire material being fed through the guide groove from a position on a side of the guide roller opposite to the reel body to a winding position at the reel body when the device is in use, wherein the winding position is a position along the traverse direction of the reel, and wherein the guide roller is configured and connected to be gradually inclined during traverse in which the guide roller and the reel body are moved with respect to one another when in use, a driving source configured and operably connected to move the winding position of the wire with respect to the reel in a reel axis direction by moving the guide roller and the reel body with respect to one another, wherein the guide roller is configured to be placed near an outer circumference of a body of the reel, and is configured to be kept at an orientation where a roller radial center line crossing a reel axis is perpendicular to the reel axis at a position spaced apart from a reel flange border, and inclined in a direction in which a roller outer edge faces away from a reel flange ahead in a traverse direction on the side apart from the reel body relative to a rotation center forming a fulcrum about which the guide roller inclines when in use, the rotation center being located near the outer edge on the side near the outer circumference of the reel body at a position of the reel flange border.

2. The traverse device of claim 1, wherein the distance between the roller outer edge and the outer circumference of the reel body is in a range of more than 0 mm to 30 mm or less.

3. The traverse device of claim 1, wherein the width size of the guide groove of the guide roller is the width size of the wire plus 0.1 to 0.50 mm.

4. A traverse method using the traverse device of claim 1, comprising placing the guide roller near an outer circumference of a body of the reel, and keeping the guide roller at an orientation where a roller radial center line crossing a reel axis is perpendicular to the reel axis at a position apart from a reel flange border, and inclining the guide roller in a direction in which a roller outer edge goes away from a reel flange ahead in a traverse direction on the side apart from the reel body relative to a rotation center, as a fulcrum, located near the outer edge on the side near the outer circumference of the reel body at a position of the reel flange border.

5. A traverse device for winding a wire onto a reel, the reel comprising a reel body extending along in a reel axis and first and second flanges, one on either end of the reel body, the device comprising: a guide roller having a guide groove on an outer circumference, the wire material being fed through the guide groove from a position on a side of the guide roller opposite to the reel body to a winding position at the reel body when the device is in use, wherein the winding position is a position along the traverse direction of the reel, and when in use, the guide roller is gradually inclined during traverse in which the guide roller and the reel body are moved with respect to one another, a driving source configured and operably connected to move the winding position of the wire with respect to the reel in a reel axis direction by moving the guide roller and the reel body with respect to one another, wherein the guide roller is configured to be placed near an outer circumference of a body of the reel, and is configured to be kept at an orientation where a roller radial center line crossing a reel axis is perpendicular to the reel axis at a position where the distance between a roller end face and a reel flange exceeds a first distance in the reel axis direction, and gradually inclined, with the movement in the reel axis direction, in a direction in which a roller outer edge faces away from a reel flange ahead in a traverse direction on the side apart from the reel body relative to a rotation center forming a fulcrum about which the guide roller inclines when in use, the rotation center being located near the outer edge on the side near the outer circumference of the reel body at a position where the distance between the roller end face and the reel flange does not exceed the first distance in the reel axis direction, so that the inclined angle of the roller radial center line to a direction perpendicular to the reel axis is at a maximum at a position where the distance between the roller end face and the reel flange is a second distance that is smaller than the first distance in the reel axis direction.

6. The traverse device of claim 5, wherein the first distance is 10 to 50 mm, and the second distance is 1 to 10 mm.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) FIG. 1 is a plan view showing a main part of a traverse device of an embodiment of the invention.

(2) FIG. 2 is a side view showing the main part of the traverse device of the embodiment of the invention.

(3) FIG. 3 is a schematic view explaining the operation of a guide roller in the traverse device of the embodiment of the invention.

(4) FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing in an enlarged manner a portion of a guide groove on the outer circumference of the guide roller in the traverse device of the embodiment of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

(5) FIGS. 1 and 2 show a configuration of a main part of a traverse device of an embodiment of the invention. In FIGS. 1 and 2, the reference numeral 1 denotes a reel (take-up reel), 1a denotes a reel body, 1b denotes a reel flange, 2 denotes a guide roller (traverse guide roller), 2a denotes a guide groove on the outer circumference of the guide roller, 3 denotes a support arm that supports the guide roller, and 4 denotes a support block that supports the support arm 3.

(6) The guide roller 2 is rotatably supported, via a bearing 6, by a roller shaft 5 that is supported by the support arm 3, and placed at a position where the outer edge of the roller comes close to the outer circumference of the reel body 1a in the space between the reel flanges 1b on both sides of the reel 1, entering deep inside the reel flanges 1b in the reel radial direction, and is held at a position (in the reel radial direction) of a distance (D shown in FIG. 3) from the wound surface on the outer circumference of the reel body 1a in the range of more than 0 mm to 30 mm or less.

(7) The support arm 3 is supported by the support block 4, and the support position is movable toward or away from a reel axis R with respect to the support block 4 by operating an adjusting handle 12.

(8) The support block 4 is placed on a movable mount 11 that is movable along a linear guide rail (not shown) formed on a base (not shown) in a direction perpendicular to the reel axis direction (direction forward or backward with respect to the reel body 1a) using an air cylinder (not shown) for horizontal movement as the drive source. The support block 4 is thus movable, and by the movement of the support block 4 together with the movable mount 11 in the direction forward or backward with respect to the reel body 1a, the guide roller 2 moves in a direction in which the roller outer edge comes close to or goes away from the reel body 1a in the reel radial direction on the side near the reel 1.

(9) The support block 4 is rotatable on the movable mount 11 along R guides (arc-shaped guide rails) 8 around the center of curvature of the R guides 8 as the rotation center using a servomotor 9 as the drive source. When the support block 4 rotates, the guide roller 2 inclines relative to the center of curvature of the R guides 8 as the rotation center C from the position (shown by the solid line in FIG. 1) perpendicular to the reel axis direction (up/down direction as viewed in FIG. 1) to either position (shown by the dashed-two dotted line in FIG. 1) inclined in the reel axis direction.

(10) The positional relationship between the guide roller 2 and the rotation center C (the center of curvature of the R guides 8) can be adjusted by the operation of the adjusting handle 12. By turning the adjusting handle 12 to move the support position of the support arm 3 on the support block 4, the position of the support arm 3 with respect to the center of curvature of the R guides 8 changes, and thus the position of the guide roller 2 supported by the support arm 3, i.e., the positional relationship between the guide roller 2 and the rotation center C changes.

(11) In this traverse device, while the reel 1 is moved in the reel axis direction (up/down direction in FIG. 1) thereby moving (traversing) the winding position of a wire T fed via the guide roller 2 with respect to the reel 1 in the reel axis direction at a pitch of regular winding, the reel 1 is rotated to wind the wire T onto the reel body 1a. Every time the wire T is wound by one layer, the movable mount 11 is moved to move the guide roller 2 in a direction away from the reel body 1a by the thickness of one layer of the wire T. The traverse direction is then reversed, to repeat the winding. In the course of the traverse, at a position apart from the borders with the reel flanges 1b (a position in the reel axis direction), the guide roller 2 is kept at an orientation where a roller radial center line P that crosses the reel axis R is perpendicular to the reel axis R. At a position of either of the borders with the reel flanges 1b, as the reel 1 moves in the reel axis direction, the guide roller 2 is gradually inclined in a direction in which the roller outer edge goes away from the reel flange 1b ahead in the traverse direction on the side apart from the reel body 1a relative to the rotation center C, as the fulcrum, located near the roller outer edge on the side near the outer circumference of the body of the reel 1.

(12) The rotation center C is set in the vicinity of the roller outer edge on the side near the outer circumference of the body of the reel 1, for example, using, as the reference, the center position in the width direction of the bottom surface of the guide groove 2a on the outer circumference of the guide roller 2 on the side near the reel axis R. The position of the rotation center C can be moved by the operation of the adjusting handle 12, and is adjustable according to the thickness of the wire to be wound, etc.

(13) The operation of the guide roller 2 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. 3. Note that, in this embodiment, since the reel 1 moves, the guide roller 2 relatively moves with respect to the reel 1 in the reel axis direction, not actually moving in the reel axis direction. In FIG. 3, however, for convenience of explanation, the relative movement is shown by the movement of the guide roller 2. In FIG. 3, also, C-C represents a track of the movement of the rotation center C along with the movement of the guide roller 2 in the reel axis direction, where a, b, and c indicate positions of the rotation center C when the guide roller 2 is positioned at various points in the reel axis direction.

(14) The outer edge of the guide roller 2 enters deep inside the reel flanges 1b in the reel radial direction and keeps a position (in the reel radial direction) of a distance (D shown in FIG. 3) from the wound surface on the outer circumference of the reel body 1a in the range of more than 0 mm to 30 mm or less. While keeping this distance, the guide roller 2 relatively moves with respect to the reel 1 in the reel axis direction as the reel 1 moves. At a position apart from each of the borders with the reel flanges 1b where the distance between a roller end face 2b and the reel flange 1b exceeds a given distance in the range of 10 to 50 mm (first distance) in the reel axis direction (a position inward in the reel axis direction from the position where the rotation center C is at point a in FIG. 3), the guide roller 2 keeps its orientation of the roller radial center line P being perpendicular to the reel axis R, and the wire T is wound in this state.

(15) When the guide roller 2 comes close to the reel flange 1b and reaches the position where the distance between the roller end face 2b and the reel flange 1b is the first distance in the range of 10 to 50 mm (e.g., 35 mm) (the position where the rotation center C is at point a in FIG. 3), on the side closer to the reel flange 1b than this position, the guide roller 2 is gradually inclined in a direction in which the roller outer edge goes away from the reel flange 1b ahead in the traverse direction on the side apart from the reel body 1a relative to the rotation center C on the C-C line as the fulcrum as the guide roller 2 is closer to the reel flange 1b, until the guide roller 2 reaches a position where the distance between the roller end face 2b and the reel flange 1b is a second distance in the range of 1 to 10 mm (e.g., 5 mm) that is smaller than the first direction (e.g., 35 mm) in the reel axis direction (the position where the rotation center C is at point b in FIG. 3). The wire T is wound while the guide roller 2 is inclined in this way.

(16) When the distance between the roller end face and the reel flange 1b reaches the second distance (e.g., 5 mm) described above (the position where the rotation center C is at point b in FIG. 3), the inclined angle of the roller radial center line P with respect to the direction perpendicular to the reel axis line R becomes the maximum that is in the range of 1 to 30.

(17) When the guide roller 2 passes beyond the position where the distance between the roller end face 2b and the reel flange 1b is the second distance (e.g., 5 mm) (the position where the rotation center C is at point b in FIG. 3) and reaches the traverse reversal position (the position where the rotation center C is at point c in FIG. 3), the guide roller 2 is stopped and then the movement in the reel axis direction is reversed. After the reversal, the wire T is wound in the opposite direction while the inclined angle is gradually reduced from the second position toward the first position.

(18) If the inclined angle of the guide roller 2 near the traverse reversal position (the position where the rotation center C is at point c in FIG. 3) is less than 1, winding of the wire up to both ends of the reel body 1a will be difficult, and also, if deformation of the reel 1 is large, there will be a possibility of collision. If the inclined angle of the guide roller 2 near the traverse reversal position (the position where the rotation center C is at point c in FIG. 3) exceeds 30, the wire tends to come off the guide roller 2, and also the wire shape may be worsened. Moreover, a flaw may occur on the wire due to contact with the guide groove 2a. It is therefore advisable that the inclined angle be 1 to 30.

(19) In this traverse device, by the operation described above, the distance between the wound surface on the reel 1 and the guide roller 2 can be reduced over the entire area in the reel axis direction including the borders with the reel flanges 1b, permitting accurate control of the wound surface. Also, even if there are variations in machining precision, deformation due to repeated use, deformation at the time of heat treatment of the wire, etc. in the reel flanges 1b, the guide roller 2 is kept from contact with the reel flanges 1b, and thus occurrence of entanglement and flaws due to stacking of the wire T can be prevented. Thus, regular winding can be performed easily, inexpensively, and reliably.

(20) The traverse device of this embodiment is suitable for regular winding of metal wires such as steel cords, bead wires, and wires for piston rings, coated wires such as electric cables, and other wires such as ropes. Not only round wires but also square wires and other oddly-formed wires such as I-shaped wires can be subjected to regular winding easily, inexpensively, and reliably.

(21) It is advisable that the width size (a shown in FIG. 4) of the guide groove 2a of the guide roller 2 be larger than the width size (W shown in FIG. 4) of the wire T by 0.1 to 0.50 mm. Having such a width size of the guide groove 2a, it is possible to prevent deviation of the wire T while securing leeway (t shown in FIG. 4) in the groove width direction. Thus, through accurate control of the winding position, regular winding as intended can be performed.

(22) While the case of moving the reel 1 to perform the traverse was described in the above embodiment, the reel 1 may not be moved but the guide roller 2 may be moved in the reel axis direction, or both the reel 1 and the guide roller 2 may be moved to perform the traverse.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST

(23) 1 Reel 1a Reel body 1b Reel flange 2 Guide roller 2a Guide groove 2b Roller end face C Rotation center T Wire K Roller axis P Roller radial center line R Reel axis