Yoke indexing mechanism for toroidal coil-winding machine
United States Patent Bernau Apr. 15, 1975 [54] YOKE INDEXING MECHANISM FOR 3,383,059 5/1968 Fahrback 242/4 C 3,799,462 3 1974 Fahrbach 242 4 c TOROIDAL COIL-WINDING MACHINE [75] Inventor: William Bernau, Short Hills, NJ.  
 [73] Assignee: Universal Manufacturing Co., lnc.,  
 lrvington, NJ.  
 [22] Filed: Apr. 5, 1974 [21] Appl. No.: 458,210  
 [52] U.S. Cl. 242/4 C; 74/409 [51] Int. Cl. H0lf 41/08; B65h 81/02 [58] Field of Search 242/4 B, 4 R, 4 C; 279/75; 74/409 [56] References Cited UNlTED STATES PATENTS 2,726,817 12/1955 Barrows 242/4 C Primary Examiner-Billy S. Taylor Attorney, Agent, or FirmEliot S. Gerber [57] ABSTRACT Each turn of the windings of a toroidal coil is accurately laid on the yoke (core) by the winding machine. Two spring-loaded wheels are driven and mesh with three driven gear wheels, each within a post. each of which gear wheels drives a flanged and geared roller (gear wheel) at the top of the post which rotates and accurately indexes a yoke. Two of the posts are provided with hold-down roller members which are freely rotatable and which are spring-loaded to move vertically.  
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 YOKE INDEXING MECHANISM FOR TOROIDAL COIL-WINDING MACHINE BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to coil winding machines and more particularly to coil winding machines which accurately wind a toroidal coil whose core has exterior gear teeth.  
  Toroidal coils, in which the turns are accurately laid on the yoke (core) may be wound with the turns at equal or unequal spacings in repeated patterns around the core. For example. in the deflection coil ofa color television set. the deflection coil is a toroidal coil in which the turns on the core are precisely located. It is important for the proper functioning of the television receiver that the toroidal coil be accurately produced. At the same time it is desired to reduce the costs of production of the toroidal coil by reducing the required operator time.  
  In one type of coil winding machine, shown in US. letters Pat. No. 3.559.889. an indexing wheel whose teeth correspond to the turns to be wound is utilized. The core is removably attached by a clamp and is indexed through a set of gears. In another type oftoroidal coil winding machine, shown in U.S. Pat application No. l74.l04, filed Aug. 23, 1971. now US. Pat. No. 3.799.462. rotation (indexing) of the yoke uses a stepping motor which is controlled by a punched tape. In that coil winding machine the drive system includes a worm mounted and fixed on a shaft, which shaft is connected to a stepping motor.  
  It is a feature of the present invention that the toroidal coil winding machine for laying wire on a yoke includes a base and mounted on said base a wire holding magazine. a shuttle ring, means to rotatably drive said wire holding magazine and said shuttle ring, a yoke holding and indexing means. and index drive means to drive said yoke holding and indexing means. The yoke holding and indexing means includes: a first. a second and a third hollow post mounted on said base; each of the posts has a first wheel rotatably mounted on the top thereof; and each of said first wheels has a flange por tion to support the yoke. Each of the posts has a second wheel rotatably mounted with respect thereto and connecting means within each post connecting said first wheel and said second wheel so that they rotate together. In addition. the yoke holding and indexing means includes a center gear wheel means rotatably mounted on the base and driven by said index drive means and in mesh with each of the second wheels; wherein the connecting means within the first and second posts is a hollow tubular member rotatably mounted within the first and second posts; a shaft within each of said two hollow tubular members protrudes from the top of its hollow tubular member, spring means to spring-load said shaft against movement in the direction of its axis, and yoke holding means positioned near the outer ends of each shaft, said yoke holding means having a freely rotatable portion to hold down said yoke and permit its rotation.  
  It is a further feature of the present invention that the coil winding machine center gear wheel means includes a first center gear wheel connected to the index drive means, a second center gear wheel, and spring means connecting the first and the second center gear wheel so that they are under spring tension about a common center axis, wherein the first and second center gear wheels have the same diameter and number of teeth so that their teeth may be aligned. Further. the second and third posts are fixed to the base and the third post is movably mounted on said base.  
 BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the yoke (core) driving mechanism of the present invention;  
  FIG. 2 is a top plan view, partly in cross-section, of the yoke driving mechanism of FIG. 1;  
  FIG. 3 is a side plan view, partly in cross-section, of the yoke driving mechanism of FIG. 1.  
 DETAILED DESCRIPTION The coil winding machine of the present invention is utilized to accurately lay on a plurality of windings about a yoke (core) 10 to form a toroidal coil, for example, which may be used as a deflection coil in a color television receiver. The yoke 10 is a hollow magnetic member having an internal bore 11, a top ring portion 12 whose top is flat. an outwardly flared conical portion 13, and a bottom ring portion 14. The exterior face of the bottom ring portion 14 has gear teeth 15 which are provided so that the yoke 10 may be accurately indexed, the indexing being a rotational movement around a vertical axis through its bore 11, as the yoke is being wound.  
  The yoke 10 is placed in the coil winding machine by the operator so that its gear teeth 15 mesh with the first and second yoke driving gear wheels (rollers) 20 and 21 which are at the top of the irrespective first and second support posts 22 and 23. The operator may then move the third yoke driving gear wheel 24 into mesh with the gear teeth 15 by movement of the third support post by means of the handle 25, if such adjustment is required. Generally such an adjustment of the post 70 is not required as a series of yokes of exactly the same diameter will be wound one after another. The operator will move the left hold-down member 26 and the right hold-down member 27 onto the top face of the top ring portion 12 of the yoke 10 so as to hold the yoke in position during coil winding operation.  
  The coil winding machine, as described in US. Pat. application No. l74,l04, now US. Pat. No. 3,799,462, is useable with the yoke indexing mechanism of the present invention, except for the yoke hold-down and three post mechanism of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, the coil winding machine includes a base 30 having affixed thereto a raised table portion 31. The yoke driving mechanism 32 of the present invention, described subsequently, is mounted upon the table portion 31. A gear ring and magazine driving mechanism 33 is fixed to the base 30. The driving mechanism 33 includes a housing 34, a right-hand rotatable handle 35 and a left-hand rotatable handle (not shown). A large shuttle gear ring 36 has external teeth 37 and is adapted to be rotated in a vertical plane about a horizontal axis. The shuttle gear ring 36 has an open segment, that is, it is not a complete ring. It is supported and rotated by four guide rollers 36a. A magazine 38, which is also a ring having external gear teeth 38a, has an open segment. The magazine 38 is supported by four rollers 39, only one of which is shown in FIG. 1. The rollers 39 rotate the magazine 38 in the vertical plane, first in one direction to load the magazine with wire from the wire supply and then the rollers 39 rotate the magazine in the opposite direction to wind the coil. The  
 rollers 39 are rotatably mounted on a support bracket 40 which also supports the rollers 36a. A wire cutting mechanism 42 is mounted on an upraised portion 43 attached to the base 30.  
  The mechanism within each of the fixed support posts 22 and 23 is similar. As shown in FIG. 3, a drive shaft 75 is fixedly connected to a large flat center gear wheel 76 having exterior gear teeth. A second large flat center gear wheel 77, of the same diameter and having the same number and size of gear teeth as wheel 76, is connected to the gear wheel 76 by means of two extension springs 78 and 79. As shown in FIG. 2, a post 45 attaches one end of the spring 78 to the bottom wheel 76 and a post 46 attaches the opposite end of the spring 78 to the top center wheel 77. Similarly, a post 47 attaches one end of the spring 79 to the bottom center wheel 76 and a second post 48 attaches the opposite end of spring 79 to the top center wheel 77. The two center wheels 76 and 77 are mounted on each other with the extension springs connected and then turned so as to place the spring 78 and 79 under tension. The center wheel 76, 77 are then aligned so that their gear teeth are aligned, and the set of two center wheels 76, 77 are placed into mesh with the first, second and third driven gear wheels 50, 50a and 50b. Each of the driven gear wheels 50, 50a and 50b has a thickness which is at least equal to the combined thickness of the center wheels 76 and 77 when their thicknesses are combined. This driving system provides an exact drive and eliminates back-lash, so that the rotation of the shaft 75 is accurately imparted to the driven gear wheels 50, 50a and 50b. The shaft 75 is preferably driven from, and fixed to, a worm gear which meshes with a worm. The worm is preferably connected, as shown in U.S. Pat. application No. 174,104, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,799,462, to the output shaft of a controlled step-motor.  
  As shown in FIG. 3, the first driven gear wheel 50 is an integral portion of the tubular member which is fixed, by means of key 52, to the elongated rotatable tubular member 53. The tubular member 53 is rotatably mounted within the support post 23 by means of a lower ball bearing 54 and an upper ball bearing 55. The inner races of the ball bearings 54 and 55 are fixed to the tubular member 53 and the outer races of the ball bearings 54 and 55 are fixed to the support post 23. The support post 23 is fixed to the table portion 31 by means of a plurality of screws 56. The elongated tubular member 53 at its upper end carries, i.e., has fixed thereto, a ring 57. A larger ring 58 having exterior gear teeth 21 is fixed to the ring 57 so that the larger ring 58 and its gear teeth 21 rotate along with the rotation of the elongated tubular member 53. The larger ring 58 carries a flange member 59 which flange member 59 is fixed to ring 58 by the plurality of screws 59a. The gear teeth of second yoke driving gear wheel are in mesh, as previously mentioned, with the gear teeth of the yoke 10.  
  The tubular member 53 is hollow and its bore contains an elongated shaft 60 which is not rotated by a motor but which may be turned about its axis by hand by the machine operator. The shaft 60 may also be moved vertically upwards and downwards by hand by the machine operator. The shaft 60 has fixed to it a bottom ring 61, which supports a helical compression spring 62. The bottom of shaft 60 turns and vertically slides in bearing 68 within table portion 31. The compression spring 62 normally urges, by its action on the bottom ring 61, the downward movement of the elongated shaft 60.  
  The yoke hold-down member 27 is fixed near the top of the elongated shaft 60 at a location above where the elongated shaft 60 emerges from within the bore of the elongated tubular member 53. The hold-down member 27 includes a vertically aligned cylindrical hub 65 fixed to the elongated shaft 60 by means of set screw 63. A horizontally aligned elongated cylindrical member 67 extends through a horizontal here through the cylindrical hub 65 and is fixed in that bore. The horizontally aligned cylindrical member 67, by means of internal bearings (not shown) supports a freely rotatable shaft 81. A cylindrical hold-down member 69 is fixedly mounted on the rotatable shaft 81. Consequently the cylindrical hold-down member 69 is freely rotatable about a horizontal axis which extends through the center of the shaft 81. The hold-down member 69 is placed on the flat top of the yoke by the machine operator and applies hold-down pressure to the yoke and yet permits the yoke to rotate about its vertical axis. A wire guide 41 is provided to guide the wire when the wire is wound in the magazine 38.  
  The third support post 70, as a whole, may be shifted a short distance about its vertical axis by the machine operator by means of the operators operation of the handle 25. In addition, the support post 70 may be moved a short distance toward, or away from, the vertical axis of the yoke by the same handle 25. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the support post 70 has a bottom flange portion 71 which rests on a ring 72. The ring 72 is fixed to the table portion 71 which rests on a ring 72. The ring 72 is fixed to the table portion 31 and the flange 71 ismovable in a horizontal plane relative to the ring 72 by means of operation of the handle 25. A set of three bolts 73 connect the flange 71 to the ring 72. These bolts 71 extend through elongated and curved openings 74 in the flange portion 71. Each of the elongated and curved openings 74 are arranged to permit movement of the flange 71 which is toward, or away from, the center (vertical axis) of the yoke, preferably for no more than one-ten-thousandths of an inch. The pivot point of ring 72 is off-center in regard to the center of the cylindrical bore through the support post 70. The support post 70 does not have the hold-down member described in detail in connection with support post 23, but which description also applies to the left hold-down member 26 of support post 22 and the tubular member, etc.  
  Modifications may be made in the coil winding machine of the present invention within the scope of the subjoined claims. For example, four support posts, each having a rotatable flanged and geared wheel (roller) to support and index the yoke, may be provided instead of three, as described above.  
  In the embodiment of the invention described above, the exterior gear teeth 21 of the ring 58 are in mesh with the yoke 10 having equally spaced teeth around its perimeter. This embodiment provides for only one wire size and one pitch and the ring 58 (and its three driven drive gears) is driven by a tape controlled stepping motor.  
  In an alternative embodiment, whose design has been actually reduced to practice, the ring 58, having exterior gear teeth 21, meshes with a yoke having teeth which are spaced around its perimeter for more than one wire size. For example, the teeth of the yoke provide for different pitches and fine and coarse increments. in this embodiment the ring 58 (and its three driven rollers) must be synchronized and in harmony with the yokes teeth. The ring 58, as previously, is driven by a tape controlled stepping motor. The stepping motor (controlled by the tape) delivers fine pitch increments in the fine pitch (teeth) area, and coarse pitch increments in the coarse pitch (teeth) area. The yoke may have any irregularly spaced teeth for any odd programmed coil.  
  One example of how, preferably, this may be accomplished is by an analysis of the circumference of the yoke. at a plane through its teeth, into four equal sectors each of 90 with oppositely positioned sectors having the same number and spacing of teeth. Within each sector the size and spacing of the teeth may vary and need not be constant. The yoke driving gear wheels 20, 21, 24 are then selected so that their circumferential length is exactly one-half of the circumferential length of the gear teeth of the yoke. Each one-ha|f sector (of 180) of each of the yoke driving gears corresponds to one 90 sector of the yoke and has the same number of teeth and the same spacing as the yokes 90 sector. The second driving gear wheel 21 may be adjusted, by rotation about its center, to exactly align all three driving gears with the yoke.  
 What is claimed is:  
  l. A toroidal coil winding machine for laying wire on a yoke, said machine having a base and mounted on said base a wire holding magazine, a shuttle ring, means to rotatably drive said wire holding magazine and said shuttle ring, a yoke holding and indexing means, and index drive means to drive said yoke holding and indexing means.  
 wherein said yoke holding and indexing means includes:  
 a first, a second and a third hollow post mounted on said base,  
 each of said posts having a first wheel rotatably mounted on the top thereof, each of said first wheels having a flange portion to support said yoke,  
 each of said posts having a second wheel rotatably mounted with respect thereto, connecting means within each post connecting said first wheel and said second wheel so that they rotate together,  
 a center gear wheel means rotatably mounted on said base and driven by said index drive means and in mesh with each of said second wheels;  
 said connecting means within said first and second posts being a hollow tubular member rotatably mounted within said respective post;  
 a shaft within each of said two hollow tubular members and protruding from the top of its hollow tubular member, spring means to spring-load said shaft against movement in the direction of its axis, and yoke holding means positioned near the outer ends of each shaft, said yoke holding means having a freely rotatable portion to hold down said yoke and permit its rotation.  
  2. A coil winding machine as in claim 1 wherein said center gear wheel means includes a first center gear wheel connected to said index drive means, a second center gear wheel, and spring means connecting said first and said second center gear wheel so that they are under spring tension about a common center axis, said first and second center gear wheels having the same diameter and number of. teeth so that their teeth may be aligned.  
  3. A coil winding machine as in claim 1 wherein said second andthird posts are fixed to said base and said third post is movably mounted on said base, and further including movement means to selectly move said third post on said base toward or away from said yoke.  
  4. A coil winding machine as in claim 3 wherein said movement means includes a handle and a plurality of fastening means, wherein said post has a flange having elongated openings through which said fastening means extend.  
  5. A coil winding machine as in claim 1 wherein said connecting means in said third post is a rigid shaft fixed to said first and second wheels.  
  6. A coil winding machine as in claim 1 wherein said yoke holding means includes a tubular member fixedly mounted on said shaft perpendicularly to its axis and said freely rotatable portion is a hold-down roller having a cylindrical end portion and a shaft portion, said shaft portion being freely rotatably mounted in said yoke holding means tubular member.  
  7. A toroidal coil winding machine for laying wire on a yoke, said machine including a base and mounted on said base a wire holding magazine, a shuttle ring, means to rotatably drive said wire holding magazine and said shuttle ring, a yoke holding and indexing means, and index drive means to drive said yoke holding and indexing means,  
 wherein said yoke holding and indexing means includes:  
 a first, a second and a third hollow post mounted on said base,  
 said second and third posts being fixed to said base and said third post being movably mounted on said base, movement means to selectly move said third post on said base toward or away from said yoke;  
 each of said posts having a first wheel having exterior gear teeth rotatably mounted on the top thereof, each of said first wheels having a flange portion to support said yoke,  
 each of said posts having a second wheel rotatably mounted with respect thereto, connecting means within each postconnecting said first wheel and said second wheel so that they rotate together,  
 a center gear wheel means rotatably mounted on said base and driven by said index drive means and in mesh with each of said second wheels, said center gear wheel means including a first center gear wheel connected to said index drive means, a second center gear wheel and spring means connecting said first and said second center gear wheel so that they are under spring tension about a common center axis, said first and second center gear wheels having the same diameter and number of teeth so that their teeth may be aligned;  
 said connecting means within said first and second posts being a hollow tubular member rotatably mounted within said first and second posts;  
 a shaft within each of said two hollow tubular members and protruding from the top of their hollow tubular members, spring means to spring-load said shaft against movement in the direction of its axis, and yoke holding means positioned near the outer ends of each shaft, said yoke holding means having a freely rotatable portion to hold down said yoke and permit its rotation;  
 a hold-down roller having a cylindrical end portion and a shaft portion. said shaft portion being freely rotatably mounted in said yoke holding means tubular member.