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The present invention relates to a wound core manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing wound cores of thin bands of amorphous magnetic alloy.
Attention has been cast to amorphous magnetic alloys as a low-loss magnetic material. By forming cores of electric devices such as transformers or the like with the use of this material, the electric devices gain a low-loss characteristic. The amorphous magnetic alloy is offered in the shape of a thin band (thin strip) of a considerably small thickness (approximately 25^m), which is difficult to handle. Therefore, a structure of a wound core is advantageously adopted to constitute the electric device core of the thin band of amorphous magnetic alloy.
A core of a one turn type is often used as the wound core of silicon steel band. For manufacturing the wound core of the type, a steel band cut in a slightly longer length than one turn is sequentially wound around a circular coil form. Both ends of the steel band in each turn are overlapped and bonded stepwise, thereby to obtain a circular wound core which is then shaped into a
rectangular form and annealed.
However, because of the considerably small thickness of amorphous magnetic alloy as mentioned above thereby to obstruct the handling, the one turn structure is not efficient to manufacture wound cores of the thin amorphous magnetic alloy bands.
As such, several or several tens sheets of thin amorphous magnetic alloy bands are layered into a unit body to form the wound core in the currently employed method. According to the method, many unit bodies formed longer every 2ut (t is a thickness of the unit body) are layered sequentially while positionally shifted in a longitudinal direction, thereby to constitute a layered block. Alternatively, every n unit bodies (n is an integer not smaller than 2) are layered sequentially from a shorter one while shifted in position in the longitudinal direction, thereby to obtain the layered block. The thus-obtained m blocks (m is an integer not smaller than 1) are wound sequentially from a shorter one around a rectangular coil form, and both ends of each block are overlapped and bonded. A rectangular wound core is thus manufactured.
Fig. 16 shows the constitution of an example of the layered block. Specifically, a first layered block Bl when a count of unit bodies, i.e., n is 3 is indicated in Fig. 16. In the example, unit bodies U1-U3 elongated every
2nt (increasing amount of a peripheral length for each turn) are layered with a shift size AX in the longitudinal direction, to constitute the layered block Bl. Similarly, a second, a third layered blocks B2, B3 and so on are constituted of every 3 unit bodies U4, U5, .... End parts Ba of one end and end parts Bb of the other end of each layered block in the longitudinal direction are in a state overlapped stepwise. In some cases, the count of unit bodies is varied for every layered block, or a single unit body makes one layered block.
Fig. 17 shows the structure of a wound core consisting of layered blocks of the above-described constitution wound around a coil form M. In the example of Fig. 17, a count of layered blocks, namely, m is 3. The coil form M has an outline of a nearly rectangular shape in lateral cross section (cross section orthogonal to a central axis). The layered block Bl of unit bodies U1-U3, the layered block B2 of unit bodies U4-U6 and the layered block B3 of unit bodies U7-U9 are sequentially wound around the coil form M. Both end parts at one end and at the other end of each unit body are overlapped and bonded on one short side part of the rectangular coil form M in the wound core. In the Specification, a part where both end parts of each unit body are overlapped and bonded will be denoted as a lap part L.
A steel band S of stainless steel or the like is wound in the outermost periphery of the core, thereby to maintain the shape of the core. The whole body is annealed in this state. The rectangular wound core of yoke parts Yl, Y2 and leg parts CI, C2 is completed in this manner.
In the case, for instance, where a power distribution transformer is to be constituted with this wound core, the steel band S is detached, a bonded part formed in the yoke part Yl is opened, the coil form M is removed, and windings are fitted to the leg parts CI and C2. After the windings are fitted to the leg parts CI, C2, the bonded part of the yoke part Yl is closed, the steel band S is wound in the outermost periphery of the core and both ends of the steel band are welded.
Meanwhile, since the amorphous magnetic alloy is considerably fragile when annealed, the core possibly breaks on the occasion of handling the windings. Therefore, the core is coated with a cover or the like countermeasure is taken when the windings are fitted to the core.
As described hereinabove, according to the prior art, the unit body or a predetermined count of unit bodies are layered every predetermined shift size AX thereby to form the layered block, and the layered blocks are wound around the coil form M, thereby to manufacture the wound
core* The conventional method as above includes a manual process to wind the layered blocks around the wound core and bond both ends, and therefore the method is poor in efficiency and inevitably raises costs of the core.
An apparatus as shown in Fig. 18 (Examined Japanese Patent Publication No. 6-9180) is proposed for manufacturing a circular wound core, wherein a driving shaft 2 is set to be movable along a long hole la formed in a frame 1 and a coil form M' is fitted to the driving shaft 2. The driving shaft 2 has a guide flange 3 to which one end of the coil form M' butts. To the frame 1 are also mounted a pair of guide rollers 4, 5 arranged adjacent to each other at one end of the long hole la, fixed rollers 6-13 scattered in the neighborhood of the driving shaft 2, and a tension application device 17 having tension rollers 15, 16 driven by a cylinder 14. The driving shaft 2 is urged towards the one end of the long hole 1 (towards the guide rollers 4, 5) by an urging means (not shown). An endless belt 18 stretches over the coil form M', guide rollers 4, 5, fixed rollers 6-13 and tension rollers 15, 16 in the illustrated order. The endless belt is held in a strained state at all times by the action of the tension application device 17.
A conveyor belt 19 is used to feed the layered block B to the guide rollers 4, 5. The layered block B
supplied by the conveyor belt is sent between the endless belt 18 and coil form M' via a gap of the guide rollers 4 and 5.
In order to manufacture the wound core with using the apparatus of Fig. 18, while the coil form M' is rotated in a direction indicated by an arrow P and the endless belt 18 is sent in a direction of an arrow Q, the layered block B is supplied to between the endless belt 18 and coil form M' by the conveyor 19. The layered block B supplied between the endless belt 18 and coil form M' is, while restrained by the endless belt 18, wound to the coil form M' and, both ends are overlapped and bonded. In accordance with the winding of the layered block B around the coil form M', an outer diameter of the core is increased, whereby the driving shaft 2 is moved to the other end of the long hole la (toward a left end in Fig. 18). SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In the wound core manufacturing apparatus shown in Fig. 18, the wound core is formed circular. Therefore, if a wound core of a polygonal outline in cross section, e.g., a rectangular wound core as indicated in Fig, 17 is to be obtained, the wound core once formed circular should troublesomely be shaped to rectangular before annealed.
Moreover, it is preferable that the lap parts L of a series of layered blocks are orderly distributed
within an area W of a constant width as shown in Fig. 19(A).
However, when the layered block B of the thin amorphous magnetic alloy band is wound around the circular coil form M' by the manufacturing apparatus of Fig. 18, the lap part of the outer layered block is positionally shifted to the lap part of the inner layered block in the process, resulting in a state of an area w of the lap parts L spread slantwise as shown in Fig. 19(B), that is, "lap spread" is brought about in some cases. Even if the circular wound core accompanying the lap spread is shaped to rectangular, the lap parts are not distributed properly in the vicinity of a central part of one yoke part Yl as in Fig. 17.
In the case where a polygonal, e.g., rectangular coil form is used as the coil form M' in the wound core manufacturing apparatus in Fig. 18, the gap of the guide rollers 4 and 5 should be enlarged so as to allow the rectangular coil form to rotate. At the same time, a leeway structure is required for letting the guide rollers 4, 5 be separated wide up and down when short side and long side parts of the rectangular coil form pass the guide rollers 4, 5. According to the leeway structure, however, bonded end parts of the unit bodies are open outside (separated from the coil form) when the lap part passes the
gap of the guide rollers 4, 5, hitting the guide roller 4 via the belt, whereby the rotation of the coil form is obstructed.
As a result, when the rectangular or the like polygonal coil form in lateral cross section is used in the manufacturing apparatus of Fig. 18, a manual work should be added to prevent the lap part from being open in the middle of the winding of the layered block, thereby decreasing manufacturing efficiency.
The present invention accordingly has for its object to provide a wound core manufacturing apparatus adapted to manufacture wound cores efficiently without causing a lap spread.
According to the present invention, a wound core manufacturing apparatus is provided, which comprises a coil form supported at a central part thereof by a main shaft, a coil form driving device for rotating the coil form, an endless belt which is hung over in the form of a loop and driven subsequent to the rotation of the coil form while guided so that a part thereof traces a round track covering most part of the outer periphery of the coil form when the coil form is positioned outside the loop, and a layered block feeding device for supplying layered blocks one by one to the coil form when every unit body comprising a plurality of layered thin bands of amorphous magnetic alloy
or every n unit bodies (n being an integer not smaller than 1) are layered in a shifted state in a longitudinal direction, thereby constituting a layered block having one end and the other end in the longitudinal direction formed stepwise.
The round track of the endless belt is set to form, between a start point and a terminal point thereof, a layered block introduction part where end parts of one end in the longitudinal direction of the layered block supplied by the layered block feeding device are received. The layered block feeding device is located so that end parts of one end of each layered block in the longitudinal direction are supplied to a position faced to the outer periphery of the coil form when the one end is directed to the start point of the round track of the endless belt. The layered blocks sequentially supplied by the feeding device are caught to the inner side of the endless belt and wound on the coil form. End parts at the one end and at the other end of each wound layered block are overlapped on one short side part of the coil form, thereby to form a lap part in a resulting wound core.
According to the present invention, the apparatus has a lap retainer device for pressing end parts of the one end of the layered blocks supplied to the introduction part towards the coil form, and a lap clamp device adapted to
rotate along with the main shaft thereby to clamp end parts of the layered block constituting the lap part to the coil form.
As described hereinabove, when the lap clamp device arranged to rotate along with the main shaft is provided to clamp the end parts of the layered block constituting the lap part to the coil form, the end parts of the layered block are never shifted to the coil form when the layered block is caught to the inner side of the endless belt, and accordingly the lap part is prevented from being shifted in position. A lap spread is thus avoided.
Moreover, when the end parts of the layered block is clamped to the coil form, the lap part is never open even when the layered block is freed from the endless belt. The lap part is prevented from being opened when the short side parts and long side parts of the rectangular coil form pass the introduction part.
Further, when the lap retainer device for retaining end parts of one end of the layered block supplied to the introduction part to the coil form is provided, end parts of one end of a layered block newly supplied to the introduction part can be clamped without opening the lap parts of the already wound layered blocks.
According to the present invention, a series of
layered blocks can be wound without opening the lap parts of wound layered blocks at all and without causing a positional shift of the lap parts. A high-quality wound core with no lap spread is provided.
The lap retainer device may be constituted of a retainer member which is adapted to shift in a direction at right angles to an axial direction of the main shaft at the layered block introduction part between a retain position where the retainer member butts against end parts of one end of the layered block at the introduction part thereby pressing the end parts to the coil form and a retreat position where the retainer member is separated from the end parts of one end, permitting the rotation of the coil form, and a retainer member driving mechanism moving the retainer member between the retain position and retreat position.
On the other hand, the lap clamp device can be constituted of a clamp plate, a first clamp plate driving mechanism for shifting the clamp plate in a first direction in parallel to a diametrical direction of the main shaft and a second clamp plate driving mechanism for moving the clamp plate in a second direction in parallel to the axial direction of the main shaft. The clamp plate is set to be movable in the first direction and in the second direction, butting to the end parts of the layered blocks on the coil
V 5
form when shifted in the first direction towards the coil form after shifted in the second direction to the position faced to an outer peripheral face of the coil form, thereby clamping the end parts to the coil form, and releasing the clamping of the end parts when moved in the second direction away from the coil form.
In this case, the endless belt is formed to have a smaller breadth than the layered block and arranged to trace a central part in the breadthwise direction of the layered block. The clamp plate of the lap clamp device is so set as to butt, at a clamp position, against edge parts of the end parts of the layered block in the breadthwise direction thereby to clamp the end parts without interfering with the endless belt.
It is preferable in the present invention that a layered block feed-out position adjusting mechanism be provided to change a position of a feed-out part of the layered block feeding device to cope with an increase of an outer diameter of the layered blocks wound to the coil form.
When the clamp plate of the lap clamp device is adapted to be shifted in the axial direction of the main shaft (second direction) and separated from the layered block as described above, after the layered block is caught to the inner side of the endless belt and end parts of the
one and the other ends of the layered block are overlapped each other thereby to constitute the lap part, the lap part while restrained by the endless belt can be clamped again by the clamp plate by temporarily separating the clamp plate held between the end parts of the layered block constituting the lap part from the layered block. Since the lap part is clamped in this manner, the lap part is prevented from being open when freed from the endless belt.
In addition to the lap retainer device for retaining end parts of one end of the layered block supplied to the introduction part towards the coil form, when the clamp plate of the lap clamp device is adapted to be shifted in the axial direction of the main shaft (second direction) to be separated from the layered block, end parts of one end of a newly supplied layered block can be clamped by the clamp plate by separating the clamp part while the end parts of the wound layered block are pressed to the coil form by the lap retainer device. Therefore, the end parts of one end of the newly supplied layered block can be clamped by the lap clamp device without opening the lap part of the already wound layered block.
A pair of face plates are preferably arranged at both sides in the axial direction of the coil form to rotate along with the coil form, to regulate a position in the breadthwise direction of the layered blocks on the coil
rorm.
When the pair of face plates are arranged, the layered blocks are aligned in the breadthwise direction. A series of the layered blocks are wound orderly to the coil form, whereby a high-quality wound core without a positional shift of the layered blocks is obtained.
It is furthermore preferable to provide the apparatus of the present invention with a control device for controlling the frame driving device, layered block feeding device, retainer member driving mechanism of the lap retainer device, first and second clamp plate driving mechanisms of the lap clamp device and layered block feed-out position adjusting mechanism.
The control device is constituted so as to repeat a sequence of operations until a necessary count of layered blocks are wound, specifically, a layered block feed operation whereby end parts of one end of the layered block is supplied to a position facing the outer periphery of the coil form through the introduction part, a lap retain operation whereby end parts of the one end of the layered block supplied to a position of one short side part of the coil form are pressed to the coil form by the retainer member of the lap retainer device, an end part clamp operation whereby the clamp plate of the lap clamp device is butted to end parts of the one end of the layered block
pressed by the lap retainer member thereby to clamp the end parts of the one end, a retainer retreat operation whereby the retainer member is shifted to the retreat position to permit the rotation of the coil form, a layered block wind operation whereby the coil form is rotated to catch the layered block with clamped end parts of the one end to the inner side of the endless belt and overlap end parts at the other end with the end parts of the one end thereby forming the lap part, then the coil form is stopped with the lap part located between the endless belt and coil form, a clamp plate separation operation whereby the clamp plate held between the end parts of one and the other ends constituting the lap part of the layered block is shifted in the second direction away from the coil form and separated from the lap part, a lap part clamp operation whereby the clamp plate separated from the lap part is shifted to a clamp position where the clamp plate butts to the outer periphery of the lap part thereby to clamp the lap part to the coil form, a frame return operation whereby the coil form is rotated to bring the lap part to the layered block introduction part and stopped there, and a layered block feed-out position adjusting mechanism drive operation whereby the layered block feed-out position adjusting mechanism is driven to change the feed-out position for a newly supplied layered block in accordance
with an increase of the outer diameter of the layered blocks wound around the coil form.
The lap clamp device is preferably provided in pairs at both sides in the axial direction of the coil form. In this case, the lap retainer or retainer member is preferably set so as to butt against the end parts of the layered block at a position closer to the central part in the breadthwise direction of the layered block at the introduction part in order not to interfere with the clamp plate of the lap clamp device.
In the case where the lap clamp device and face plate are provided respectively in pairs, preferably, notches conforming to each other are formed in the pair of face plates where the clamp plates of the clamp devices are disposed and, each clamp plate of the lap clamp device is shifted through the corresponding notch of the face plate.
When lap clamp devices are provided in pairs as above, end parts of the layered blocks can be clamped stably at both breadthwise edges thereof. The clamping is prevented from being released when the layered block is caught to the inner side of the endless belt, thus ensuring stable operations.
It is preferred to provide a first stroke roller which comes in touch with the endless belt in the vicinity of the terminal point of the round track thereby to press
the endless belt to the coil form and a second stroke roller which comes in touch with the endless belt in the vicinity of an intermediate part between the start point and terminal point of the round track thereby to press the endless belt to the coil form.
In this case, the first and second stroke rollers are supported to be able to shift following the rotation of the coil form and urged by an urging means towards the coil form.
The first and second stroke rollers are preferably set so that the second stroke roller faces one of two diagonal corners when the first stroke roller faces the other of two diagonal corners of the coil form.
When the stroke rollers are arranged as above, the endless belt is never slackened and consequently kept in tight contact with the coil form or layered blocks already wound to the coil form. The layered blocks can be wound tightly with no gap therebetween. The obtained wound core is accordingly high quality.
A spring is preferably installed in the present invention, which comes in touch with the layered block caught to the inner side of the endless belt at the side of the start point of the round track of the endless belt thereby to press the layered block to the coil form.
With the spring, when a new layered block is to
be caught to the inner side of the endless belt, the layered block is prevented from floating and hence readily sent to the inner side.
According to the present invention, further, a friction application member is recommended for applying a tension to the layered block caught to the inner side of the endless belt through frictional touch with the layered block at the introduction part.
Although the present invention is applicable to coil forms of any lateral cross section, particularly, the invention is effective when an outline of the coil form in lateral cross section is polygonal of not smaller than four corners (rectangle in most cases). When the coil frame of the polygonal outline in lateral cross section is used, the layered blocks are wound while the lap parts are positioned on a specific side of the coil form. For instance, if the coil form of a rectangular outline in lateral cross section is employed, the wound core is manufactured while the lap parts of a series of the layered blocks are positioned on one short side part of the coil form. Therefore, in using the polygonal coil frame, the layered block feeding device feeds end parts of one end of the layered blocks to a position facing the outer periphery of a specific side of the coil form, and the lap clamp device clamps the end parts of the one end of the layered blocks to the specific
side of the coil form.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a wound core manufacturing apparatus, which comprises a coil form supported at a central part thereof by a main shaft, a form driving device for rotating the coil form, an endless belt which is formed in a loop and driven by the rotation of the coil form while guided so that a part thereof traces a round track along the outer periphery of the coil form when the coil form is positioned outside the loop, and a layered block feeding device wherein every unit body formed of a plurality of thin bands of amorphous magnetic alloy or every n unit bodies (n being an integer not smaller than 2) are layered in a shifted state in a longitudinal direction, thereby constituting a layered block having one end and the other end in the longitudinal direction formed stepwise, and the layered blocks are sent one by one from a feed-out part directed to the coil form and supplied to the coil form, said round track of the endless belt being set so as to provide a layered block introduction part between a start point and a terminal point thereof to receive end parts of the one end in the longitudinal direction of the layered block supplied by the layered block feeding device, said layered block feeding device being adapted to supply each layered block with the one end in the longitudinal direction directed to the start point of the round track of the endless belt, whereby a plurality of layered blocks supplied sequentially by the layered block feeding device are caught to the inner side of the endless belt and sequentially layered on the coil form, while the one end and the other end of each wound layered block are overlapped thereby to form a lap part in a resulting wound core, said wound core manufacturing apparatus further including: a lap retainer device for retaining end parts of the one end of the layered block supplied to the layered block introduction part to the coil form; and a lap clamp device set to rotate along with the main shaft for clamping end parts of the layered block constituting the lap part to the coil form.
With reference to the accompanying drawings, in which
These and other objects and features of the present invention will become clear from the following description taken in conjunction with the preferred embodiment thereof and the accompanying drawings throughout which like parts are designated by like reference numerals, and in which:
Fig. 1 is a front view showing the total constitution of an embodiment of the present invention.
Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of a fundamental part of Fig. 1.
Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the fundamental part of Fig. 1.
Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a state where a fresh layered block is supplied to a layered block introduction part in a wound core manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention.
Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a state where the layered block is supplied to the layered block introduction part in the wound core manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.
Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a state where the layered block supplied to the layered block introduction part is retained by a retainer member of a lap retainer
device in the wound core manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.
Fig. 7 is a perspective view of a state where end parts of the layered block supplied to the layered block introduction part are retained by the retainer member of the lap retainer device in the wound core manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.
Fig. 8 is a perspective view of a state where end parts of the layered block supplied to the layered block introduction part are clamped by a lap clamp device in the wound core manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.
Fig. 9 is a perspective view of a state where the retainer member is retreated after end parts of the layered block supplied to the layered block introduction part are clamped by the lap clamp device in the wound core manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.
Fig. 10 is a perspective view of a state where the coil form is rotated half to catch the layered block to the inner side of an endless belt after end parts of the layered block supplied to the layered block introduction part are clamped in the wound core manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.
Fig. 11 is a perspective view of a state where the coil form is rotated half thereby to wind the layered
block and overlap both ends of the layered JDIOCK aner une layered block supplied to the layered block introduction part is clamped in the wound core manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.
Fig. 12 is a perspective view of a state where a clamp plate of the lap clamp device is separated from a lap part of both ends of the wound layered block in the wound core manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.
Fig. 13 is a perspective view of a state where the lap part is clamped after the clamp plate is separated from the lap part of both ends of the wound layered block in the wound core manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.
Fig, 14 is a perspective view of a state where the coil form is rotated half and stopped after the lap part of the layered block is clamped in the wound core manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.
Fig. 15 is a flow chart of a control algorithm of a control device provided in the wound core manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.
Fig. 16 is a perspective view showing one layered block employed in the present invention.
Fig. 17 is a front view of a wound core manufactured by the wound core manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.
Fig. 18 is a front view of a conventional wound core manufacturing apparatus.
Fig. 19(A) is a front view of the wound core wherein the lap part is distributed normally; and
Fig. 19(B) is a front view of the wound core with a lap spread. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
The preferred embodiment according to the present invention will be described below in conjunction with the attached drawings.
Figs. 1-14 show a structural example of a wound core manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. Fig. 1 is a front view showing the total constitution of the apparatus, Fig. 2 is an enlarged front view of a fundamental part of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a perspective view of the fundamental part of Fig. 1 and Figs. 4-14 are perspective views in the order of operations of the wound core manufacturing apparatus of the present invention.
In Fig. 1, a plate-shaped main frame 21 of the wound core manufacturing apparatus is arranged standing vertically and fixed on a base (not shown) via leg parts 21a, 21a mounted therebelow. A main shaft 23 is rotatably supported at a position closer to the front end part 21a of the main frame 21 with a central axis thereof directed in a
horizontal direction orthogonally to a plate face of the main frame 21. A coil form M is set to the main shaft 23. The coil form M is formed in a nearly rectangular contour in lateral cross section (rounded at each corner of the rectangle), with a central axis thereof agreed with the central axis of the main shaft 23. Although not shown in the drawing, a frame driving device is set at a rear face of the main frame 21 to rotate the main shaft 23 by a motor via a reduction gear. The coil form M is rotated by the driving device.
As indicated in Fig. 4, the main shaft 23 is provided with a pair of face plates 25, 25 arranged to hold the coil form M from both sides in an axial direction. The face plate 25 at the opposite side to the main frame 21 is rendered detachable, so that the coil form M can be attached and detached while the face plate 25 is removed. The face plates 25, 25 have U-shaped notches 25a, 25a conforming to each other. Each notch 25a includes, as is clear from Fig. 7, confronting sides 25al, 25al parallel to a radial direction of the face plate 25, and a bottom side 25a2 extending perpendicularly to the radial direction of the face plate 25. The coil form M is mounted with one short side part thereof agreed with the bottom side 25a2 of the notch 25a. Lap parts of layered blocks constituting a wound core are disposed at the short side part of the coil
form M in parallel to the bottom side 25a2 of the notch 25a.
A layered block feeding device 26 is also set to the main frame 21. The layered block feeding device 26 is provided with a movable frame 27 which extends long from a rear end part 21b of the main frame 21 to the coil form M. The movable frame 27 is rotatably supported to the main frame 21 by a shaft 28 set at a rear end part thereof (end part opposite to the coil form M). A ram 29a of a jack 29 supported rotatably by the main frame 21 is coupled to a lower part of the movable frame 27. A height of a front end part of the movable frame 27 is adjusted by rotating the movable frame by the jack 29.
The movable frame 27 has a guide plate 30 extending in a longitudinal direction thereof and a layered block feed mechanism 31. The guide plate 30 carries and supports a layered block B being sent to the coil form M. The guide plate 30 is arranged so that a front end thereof reaches the vicinity of the coil form M through a gap of the face plates 25 and 25. As shown in Figs. 4-14, a slit 30a is formed at a central part in a breadthwise direction of the guide plate 30 to extend in a longitudinal direction of the guide plate.
The layered block feed mechanism 31 is provided with an upper clamp 31A fitted to a movable block 31a which
is arranged above the guide plate 30 and movably supported in the longitudinal direction of the guide plate 30, a lower clamp 31B fitted to a movable block 31b which is arranged below the guide plate 30 and supported to be able to shift in the same direction as the movable block 31a, a motor 31C, and a ball screw 31D extending in the longitudinal direction of the guide plate and screwed to a nut fixed to the movable block 31a.
The movable blocks 31a, 31b are coupled by a means (not shown) so as to shift the corresponding upper and lower clamps 31A, 31B in an interlocking way.
An output shaft of the motor 31C is coupled to the ball screw 31D via a power transmission mechanism 31E comprising a chain sprocket mechanism or the like. The ball screw 31D is rotated by the motor 31C, whereby the upper and lower clamps 31A, 31B along with the movable blocks 31a, 31b are reciprocated in the longitudinal direction of the guide plate 30.
The upper and lower clamps 31A, 31B are equipped with clamp members facing up and down via the slit 30a of the guide plate 30 and fluid pressure cylinders driving the clamp members. When the layered block B is to be transferred, the clamp member of the upper clamp 31A is brought to butt against an upper face of the layered block B fed onto the guide plate 30, and the clamp member of the
lower clamp 31B is butted to a lower face of the layered block B through the slit 30a, thereby to clamp the layered block B on the guide plate 30. In this state, the motor 31C is driven to rotate the ball screw 31D, thereby to shift the upper and lower clamps 31A, 31B. The layered blocks B are sent towards the coil form M from an end part of the guide plate 30 at the side of the coil form sequentially one by one. In the example, the end part of the guide plate 30 at the side of the coil form is a feed-out part for the layered blocks. The layered block feeding device 26 is constituted of the movable frame 27, guide plate 30 and layered block feed mechanism 31. The jack 29 constitutes a layered block feed-out position adjusting mechanism.
An arm 32 is rotatably supported at the front end part of the movable frame 27, having a friction application member 33 (referring to Fig. 2) attached rotatably at a front end part thereof. The friction application member 33 comes in frictional touch with the layered block B wound around the coil form M thereby to apply a frictional resistance to the layered block B. The friction application member 33 is formed of a plate (weight) of a predetermined mass. When a cylinder 34 for driving the arm 32 is operated, the friction application member 33 is shifted between a position where the member is in touch
with the layered block on the coil form between the face plates 25 and 25 and a retreat position separated from the layered block.
The main frame 21 further has first to seventh guide rollers mounted thereto. The first and second guide rollers 40A, 40B are arranged up and down via a space below the neighborhood of a front end part of the feeding device 26. The third guide roller 40C is symmetric to the second guide roller 4OB with respect to a vertical face including the central axis of the main shaft 23. The fourth and fifth guide rollers 40D, 40E are aligned immediately above the third guide roller 40C. The sixth guide roller 40F is placed above the fifth guide roller 40E at a higher position than the face plates 25, 25. The seventh guide roller 40G is disposed above the coil form M at the same height as the sixth guide roller 40F. The third-fifth guide rollers 40C-40E are arranged in an up-down direction via a small space. A slider 41 is positioned between a vertical face including central axes of these guide rollers and a vertical face including central axes of the first and second guide rollers 40A, 40B. The slider 41 is supported to be slidable in the horizontal direction along parallel guide rods 42, 42 fixed to the main frame 21. The slider 41 supports a first tension roller 43A which is arranged at a position corresponding to the space between the third and
fourth guide rollers 40C and 40D, and a second tension roller 43B located at a position corresponding to the space between the fourth and fifth guide rollers 40D and 40E. A piston rod of an air cylinder 44 set to the main frame 21 is coupled to the slider 41. The slider 41 is urged by the cylinder 44 in a direction away from the third-fifth guide rollers 40C-40E.
An endless belt 45 formed in a loop is hung along the first and second guide rollers 40A, 40B, third guide roller 40C and first tension roller 43A, fourth guide roller 40D, second tension roller 42B, fifth guide roller 40E, sixth and seventh guide rollers 40F, 40G and the outer periphery of the coil form M.
The endless belt 45 is adapted so that a part thereof traces most of the outer periphery of the coil form M when the coil form M is outside the loop- In the illustrated example, a tension application device (accumulator) 46 is constituted of the third-fifth guide rollers 40C-40E, slider 41, first and second tension rollers 43A, 43B and cylinder 44, A tensile force is applied to the endless belt 45 by the tension application device, so that the endless belt is held in a state in close contact with the coil form M or outer periphery of the layered block B wound around the coil form. A track R (referring to Fig. 2) of the part of the endless belt 45
tracing the outer periphery of the coil form M will be referred to as a round track in the Specification.
As shown in Figs. 4-14, the endless belt 45 is formed to be smaller in breadth than the layered block B wound around the coil form M and arranged to trace the coil form M and a central part in the breadthwise direction of the layered block B wound around the coil form M. Therefore, when the endless belt 45 is in touch with the outer periphery of the layered block B wound around the outer periphery of the coil form M, both edge parts of the layered block in the breadthwise direction remain without touch with the endless belt.
At both sides of the main shaft 23, there are arranged a first stroke roller supporting arm 51A and a second stroke roller supporting arm 51B formed in an inclined L shape. The first stroke roller supporting arm 51A is set at the side of the layered block feeding device 26 and rotatably supported by the main frame 21 via a pin 52A. On the other hand, the second stroke roller supporting arm 5IB is at the side opposite to the layered block feeding device and rotatably supported by the main frame 21 via a pin 52B.
Each front end of the first and second stroke roller supporting arms 51A, 51B is adapted to be close to or away from the coil form M via the gap of the face plates
25 and 25, thereby to bring a first, a second stroke roller 53A, 53B fitted at the respective front end into touch with the endless belt 45.
A first and a second air cylinders 54A, 54B as urging means for urging the first and second stroke roller supporting anus 51A, 51B are rotatably supported at the main frame 21. Piston rods of the air cylinders 54A and 54B are coupled to a middle part of the first stroke roller supporting arm 51A and a middle part of the second stroke roller supporting arm 51B via pins, respectively. The first and second stroke rollers 53A, 53B are urged to the coil form M by the first and second air cylinders 54A, 54B.
In the illustrated wound core manufacturing apparatus, when the layered block B is to be supplied onto the coil form M from the feeding device 26, the long side parts of the coil form M are set in the vertical direction and one short side part of the coil form M is made an upside, as is shown in Fig. 1. The coil form M is stopped here, and a stop position of the coil form M on this occasion will be referred to as a reception position of the coil form for the layered block.
According to the example, the seventh guide roller 40G is positioned so that a part of the endless belt 45 rising from the coil form M to the seventh guide roller 40G is in the vertical direction when the coil form M stops
at the reception position. Moreover, the first stroke roller 53A is set at a position to be in touch with the endless belt 45 in the vicinity of an upper end of the long side part of the coil form M at the side of the feeding device 26 when the coil form M is disposed with the long side part thereof directed in the vertical direction. Furthermore, the second stroke roller 53B is set so as to be in touch with the endless belt 45 in the vicinity of a lower end of the opposite long side part of the coil form M when the long side part of the coil form M becomes parallel to the vertical direction.
When the first stroke roller 53A faces one corner of the coil form M and comes in touch with the endless belt during the rotation of the coil form M, the second stroke roller 53B faces a different corner at a diagonal position to the corner confronting the first stroke roller and comes in touch with the endless belt. When the coil form M is present at a layered block introduction position as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the first and second stroke rollers 53A, 53B are in touch with the endless belt at positions closer to edges of different long side parts of the coil form M. The first and second stroke rollers are arranged in this posture.
The round track R of the endless belt 45 along the outer periphery of the coil form M is determined by the
seventh guide roller 40G, first stroke roller 53A and second stroke roller 53B in the embodiment. The round track R starts at a point P (with reference to Fig. 2) where the endless belt 45 moving downward from the seventh guide roller 40G to the coil form M comes in touch with the coil form M or layered block B wound around the coil form and, terminates at a point Q where the endless belt 45 is separated from a gap between the first stroke roller 53A and the coil form M or layered block B wound around the coil form M. The endless belt 45 runs while pressed towards the coil form M at all times owing to the action of the first stroke roller 53A which is urged by the cylinder 54A into touch with the endless belt in the vicinity of the terminal point Q of the round track R and the second stroke roller 53B which is urged by the cylinder 54B and comes in touch with the endless belt in the vicinity of an intermediate part of the start point P and terminal point Q of the round track R.
In accordance with the rotation of the coil form M, a distance between a contact point of the first stroke roller 53A and endless belt 45 and the main shaft 23, and a distance between a contact point of the second stroke roller 53B and endless belt 45 and the main shaft 23 are changed, whereby positions of the first and second stroke rollers 53A, 53B are consequently changed. The positional
change of the first and second stroke rollers following the rotation of the coil form M allows the coil form M to rotate smoothly.
A layered block introduction part (where the endless belt is opened) G is formed between the start point P and terminal point Q of the round track of the endless belt 45 along the coil form M. The layered block B is supplied to the coil form M from the feeding device 26 through the introduction part G.
A pair of lap clamp devices 60, 60 are provided at corresponding face plates 25, 25 at both sides of the coil form M so as to clamp end parts at one end (end parts constituting the lap part) of the layered block on the coil form M. As indicated in Figs. 2 and 3, each clamp device 60 has a rectangular movable plate 61 outside the face plate 25 which extends in parallel to the bottom side 25a2 of the notch 25a of the face plate 25 and one short side part of the coil form M. The movable plate 61 is fixed to upper ends of sliders 63, 63 supported in a movable fashion in a first direction (up-down direction in the drawings) along a diametrical direction of the main shaft 23 by a pair of guide rails 62, 62 fixed to an outer face of the face plate 25 in a vertical posture.
A clamp plate 64 is supported via a guide mechanism 6 5 at a central part of a lower face of the
movable plate 61 to be movable in a second direction along the axial direction of the main shaft 23. The guide mechanism 65 is a known one comprising a guide rail and a slider slidably held by the guide rail.
The clamp plate 64 is formed of a plate of a required minimum thickness to secure mechanical strength necessary to clamp end parts at one end of the layered block, which is tapered to reduce the thickness towards the coil form M as indicated n Figs. 4-14.
The clamp plate 64 has its face rendered in parallel to one short side part of the coil form M, moving in the first direction along the diametrical direction of the main shaft in accordance with a shift of the movable plate 61 and in the second direction along the axial direction of the main shaft 23 because of the action of the guide mechanism 65. While in a state shifted to a position opposed to an outer peripheral face of the one short side part of the coil form M in the second direction (axial direction of the main shaft), the clamp plate 64 butts against end parts of one end of the layered block B on the coil form M when moving to the coil form in the first direction (diametrical direction of the main shaft), and clamps the end parts of the one end to the coil form M. The clamping of the end parts is released when the clamp plate 64 moves away from the coil form in the second
direction (axial direuuxun uz Lne main saaitj.
In order to shift the clamp plate 64 in the first direction along the diametrical direction of the main shaft, a piston rod 66a of a first lap clamp air cylinder 66 is coupled with the movable plate 61. At the same time, a piston rod 67a of a second lap clamp air cylinder 67 is coupled to the clamp plate 64 via a coupling member 68 so as to shift the clamp plate 64 in the second direction, namely, axial direction of the main shaft (referring to Fig. 3). The movable plate 61, guide rails 62, 62, sliders 63, 63 and first lap clamp air cylinder 66 constitute a first clamp plate driving mechanism for moving the clamp plate 64 in the first direction. The guide mechanism 65 and second lap clamp air cylinder 67 constitute a second clamp plate driving mechanism for moving the clamp plate 64 in the second direction. The lap clamp device 60 is thus constituted of the clamp plate 64 and first and second clamp plate driving mechanisms. Since each lap clamp device 60 is mounted to the face plate 25, the device 60 rotates together with the coil form M when the main shaft 23 is driven, thereby clamping/unclamping the layered block on the coil form M.
A lap retainer device 70 is installed at the layered block introduction part G so as to hold the end parts of one end of the layered block at the introduction
part to the coil form. The lap retainer device 70 consists of an air cylinder 72 which is fitted to a cylinder mounting plate 71 fixed to the main frame 21 at a position corresponding to the introduction part G, with having a piston rod 7 2a directed downward, and a retainer member 7 3 fixed to a lower end of the piston rod 7 2a of the air cylinder 72. The piston rod 72a of the air cylinder 72 is directed to the central part in the breadthwise direction of the outer peripheral face of the coil form on a vertical plane including the central axis of the main shaft 23. The retainer member 7 3 is driven by the air cylinder 7 2 and shifted in a direction perpendicular to the axial direction of the main shaft 23 between a retain position where the retainer member butts to the lap part of the layered block B at the introduction part G thereby pressing the lap part to the coil form M and a retreat position where the retainer member 7 3 is separated from the lap part to allow the coil form M to rotate. In the embodiment, the air cylinder 71 constitutes a retainer member driving mechanism for shifting the retainer member 7 3 between the retain position and retreat position.
According to the example shown in the drawings, a pair of semicircular springs 80, 80 are set to a shaft supporting the seventh guide roller 40G, which come in touch with the layered block B on the coil form M at both
sides in the breadthwise direction of the endless belt 45.
The above main shaft 23, coil form M mounted to the main shaft, form driving device rotating the main shaft thereby driving, the coil form M, endless belt 45 guided by the guide rollers 40A-40G, etc., lap clamp devices 60 and lap retainer device 70 constitute a core winding device.
In order to automatically manufacture the wound core, the apparatus is preferably provided with a control device for controlling the form driving device, layered block feeding device 26, retainer member driving mechanism of the lamp retainer device 70, first and second clamp plate driving mechanisms of the lap clamp devices 60 and layered block feed-out position adjusting mechanism. The control device is constituted of a sensor for detecting a rotational angle of the coil form M, a sensor for detecting when one end of the layered block reaches a predetermined position on one short side part of the coil form M, various sensors such as a position sensor for detecting operation positions of parts, etc. and a microcomputer for sequentially controlling each part based on outputs from the sensors.
The control device is adapted to repeatedly carry out operations below until a required count of layered blocks are wound, specifically, a layered block feed operation whereby end parts Ba of one end of the layered
block B are supplied to a position of one short side part of the coil form M through the introduction part G when the one short side part of the coil form M is located at the introduction part G, a lap retain operation whereby end parts Ba of the one end of the layered block B supplied to the position of one short side part of the coil form M are pressed to the coil form by the retainer member 73 of the lap retainer device 70, an end part clamp operation whereby the clamp plate 64 of each lap clamp device 60 is butted to end parts Ba of the one end of the layered block pressed by the lap retainer member 7 3 thereby to clamp the end parts of the one end, a retainer retreat operation whereby the retainer member 73 is shifted to the retreat position to permit the rotation of the coil form M, a layered block wind operation whereby the coil form is rotated to catch the layered block B with clamped end parts to the inner side of the endless belt 45, and overlap end parts Bb of the other end with the end parts Ba of the one end thereby forming the lap part L, then the lap part L is stopped in a state located at the inner side of the endless belt 45, a clamp plate separation operation whereby the clamp plate 64 held between the end parts Ba of the one end and the other end parts Bb constituting the lap part L of the layered block B is shifted in the second direction away from the coil form and separated from the lap part L, a lap part
clamp operation whereby the clamp plate 64 separated from the lamp part is shifted to a position to butt to the outer periphery of the lap part to clamp the lap part to the coil form, a form return operation whereby the coil form M is rotated until the lap part L reaches the layered block introduction part G and stopped there, and a layered block feed-out position adjusting mechanism drive operation whereby the layered block feed-out position adjusting mechanism is driven to change the feed-out position for a newly supplied layered block in accordance with an increase of an outer diameter of the layered blocks wound around the coil form.
An example of an algorithm of a program to be executed by the microcomputer to realize the above control device is indicated in Fig. 15. A core winding operation according to the algorithm will be described hereinbelow.
When the program starts, a thin amorphous magnetic alloy band of a predetermined count of sheets is cut to a predetermined length by a shearing machine (not shown) to form unit bodies. The unit bodies are layered, whereby a layered block B constructed as shown in Fig. 16 is obtained (step 1 in Fig. 15). Thereafter, when it is detected that conditions to receive a fresh layered block at the core winding device are satisfied, the layered block B is carried to the reception position of the layered block
feeding device 26 (step 2). The layered blocks of a necessary count to constitute the wound core are manufactured one by one by repeating the steps 1, 2- The thus-formed series of layered blocks is sent to the reception position of the layered block feeding device 26.
In step 3 in Fig. 15, the layered block B is transferred to a standby position on the guide plate 30 of the feeding device 26, as in Fig. 4. Then, the upper and lower clamps 31A, 31B are moved to a position of the waiting layered block (reception position) in step 4. The vicinity of a leading end part of the layered block is clamped in step 5. When it is detected that conditions to receive a fresh layered block at the core winding device are satisfied, step 6 is carried out, in other words, the clamps 31A, 31B clamping the layered block B are moved towards the coil form M, and end parts Ba of one end of the layered block B are inserted through the layered block introduction part G onto one short side part of the coil form M stopped at the reception position, as shown in Fig. 5. In step 7, the clamping of the layered block B by the clamps 31A, 31B is freed.
After the one end of the layered block B is supplied onto one short side part of the coil form M, step 8 is started, whereby the retainer member 7 3 of the lap retainer device 70 is lowered to the retain position as
shown in Fig, 6 and, end parts Ba of one end of the layered block B are pressed to the short side part of the coil form M. In a next step 9, as shown in Fig. 7, clamp plates 64, 64 of the lap clamp devices 60, 60 are moved parallel outward in the axial direction of the main shaft 23 to be outside the coil form M. In step 10, the clamp plates 64, 64 of the lap clamp devices are shifted outward in the diametrical direction of the main shaft (moved upward) as represented by an arrow Al in Fig. 8, and then in step 11 the clamp plates 64, 64 are moved parallel inward in the axial direction of the main shaft as indicated by an arrow A2 of Fig. 8- Further, in step 12, the clamp plates 64, 64 are shifted inward in the diametrical direction of the main shaft (moved downward) as indicated by an arrow A3 in Fig. 8, to butt against the end parts Ba of one end of the layered block B. In consequence of this, the end parts Ba are clamped.
After the end faces Ba of one end of the layered block B are clamped by the clamp plates 64, 64, in step 13, the retainer member 7 3 of the lap retainer device is moved to the upper retreat position as in Fig. 9, thus freeing the lap retainer device.
In step 14, the main shaft 23 is rotated by the form driving device (not shown) in a direction of an arrow U after the lap retainer device is freed. As a result, as
shown in Fig. 10, the endless belt 45 is advanced in the U direction, catching the layered block B having end parts Ba of one end fixed to the coil form M to the inner side and winding the layered block around the coil form M. At this time, the friction application member 33 comes in touch with the layered block B and applies an appropriate tension to the layered block. Moreover, the springs 80, 80 at both sides in the breadthwise direction of the endless belt 45 come in touch with the layered block B at the introduction part G in the vicinity of the start point P and presses the layered block B to the coil form M. Accordingly, the layered block B is smoothly sent to the inside of the endless belt 45.
Fig. 10 indicates a state where the coil form M is rotated 180° (a half turn) from a state of Fig. 9. As is shown in Fig. 11, the coil form M is stopped after rotated 1+a (0
After the coil form M is rotated 1.5 turns and stopped, in step 15, the clamp plates 64, 64 are moved
outward in parallel in the axial direction of the main shaft and separated from the lap part L, as shown in Fig. 12, After step 15 wherein the clamp plates 64, 64 are separated, step 16 is executed to move the clamp plates 64, 64 outward in the diametrical direction of the main shaft as designated by an arrow Al' in Fig. 13. In the following step 17, the clamp plates 64, 64 are moved parallel inward along the axial direction of the main shaft as shown by an arrow A2' in Fig. 13. In step 18, the clamp plates 64, 64 are moved inward in the diametrical direction of the main shaft as shown by an arrow A3' of Fig. 13. The clamp plates 64, 64 eventually reach the clamp position, butting with the lap part L of the layered block B, as is clear in Fig. 13, thereby clamping the lap part L. Thereafter, in step 19, the coil form M is rotated 1-a turns (l-a=0.5 turn in the illustrated example) to return to the reception position as shown in Fig. 14. The short side part of the coil form M is hence set at the introduction part G.
During the winding of the layered block to the coil form M, the outer diameter of the wound body is increased in accordance with an increase of a count of wound layered blocks. Therefore, the feed-out position for a fresh layered block B should be changed to cope with the increase of the outer diameter. In the example shown in Fig. 1, the layered block feed-out position adjusting
mechanism consisting of the jack 29 is provided in the layered block feeding device 26. An inclination of the movable frame 27 is adjusted by the adjusting mechanism thereby to change the height of the leading end of the guide plate 30 (feed-out part for the layered block). The feed-out position for the layered block from the feeding device 26 is raised in accordance with the increase of the outer diameter of the wound body (step 20).
As described above, when the face plates 25, 25 are arranged at both sides of the coil form M to regulate a position in the breadthwise direction of the layered block to be wound to the coil form M, the layered blocks are aligned, so that the resulting wound core has a small unevenness on the surface thereof. However, the face plates may be eliminated.
If the face plates 25, 25 are eliminated, a suitable supporting means is set to the main shaft 23, via which the lap clamp device is supported.
In the embodiment, the friction application member (weight) 33 is arranged which comes in frictional touch with the layered block B. Therefore, a suitable tension is applied to the layered block B, letting the layered block wound smoothly. The friction application member may be eliminated, though.
Although the springs 80, 80 make the layered
block B trace the coil form M thereby to facilitate the winding of the layered block, the springs may also be eliminated.
Each layered block is formed of a plurality of unit bodies in the foregoing example. According to the present invention, the "layered block" denotes a layered body of thin amorphous magnetic alloy bands wound at one time to the coil form and a count of unit bodies constituting each layered block is optional. In other words, the layered block is enough to be formed of at least one unit body. The present invention is applicable to a case where one unit body is treated as one layered block and the layered blocks are wound one by one to the coil form thereby to form the wound core.
As is described above, according to the present invention, the lap clamp device is provided which rotates along with the main shaft to clamp end parts of the layered block constituting the lap part to the coil form. Since the end parts of the layered block are never moved to the coil form when caught to the inner side of the endless belt, the lap part is prevented from being shifted. A lap spread is accordingly avoided.
According to the present invention, end parts of the layered block are clamped to the coil form. Therefore, the lap part is prevented from being open when the layered
block is freed from the endless belt. In addition, owing to the lap retainer device provided to hold the end parts of one end of the layered block supplied to the introduction part to the coil form, the end parts of one end of the layered block newly supplied to the introduction part can be clamped without opening the lap parts of the layered blocks already wound around the coil form. Every layered block can be smoothly wound without opening lap parts of the wound layered blocks, so that a high quality wound core is obtained.
Although the present invention has been fully described in connection with the preferred embodiment thereof and the accompanying drawings, it is to be noted that various changes and modifications are apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications are to be understood as included within the scope of the present invention as defined by the appended claims unless they depart therefrom.
1. A wound core manuraccuring apparatus, which comprises a coil form supported at a central part thereof by a main shaft, a form driving device for rotating the coil form, an endless belt which is formed in a loop and driven by the rotation of the coil form while guided so that a part thereof traces a round track along the outer periphery of the coil form when the coil form is positioned outside the loop, and a layered block feeding device wherein every unit body formed of a plurality of thin bands of amorphous magnetic alloy or every n unit bodies (n being an integer not smaller than 2) are layered in a shifted state in a longitudinal direction, thereby constituting a layered block having one end and the other end in the longitudinal direction formed stepwise, and the layered blocks are sent one by one from a feed-out part directed to the coil form and supplied to the coil form,
said round track of the endless belt being set so as to provide a layered block introduction part between a start point and a terminal point thereof to receive end parts of the one end in the longitudinal direction of the layered block supplied by the layered block feeding device,
said layered block feeding device being adapted to supply each layered block with the one end in the longitudinal direction directed to the start point of the
round track of the endless belt,
whereby a plurality of layered blocks supplied sequentially by the layered block feeding device are caught to the inner side of the endless belt and sequentially layered on the coil form, while the one end and the other end of each wound layered block are overlapped thereby to form a lap part in a resulting wound core,
said wound core manufacturing apparatus further including:
a lap retainer device for retaining end parts of the one end of the layered block supplied to the layered block introduction part to the coil form; and
a lap clamp device set to rotate along with the main shaft for clamping end parts of the layered block constituting the lap part to the coil form. 2. A wound core manufacturing apparatus, which comprises a coil form supported at a central part thereof by a main shaft, a form driving device for rotating the coil form, an endless belt which is formed in a loop and driven by the rotation of the coil form while guided so that a part thereof traces a round track along most part of the outer periphery of the coil form when the coil form is positioned outside the loop, and a layered block feeding device wherein every unit body formed of a plurality of thin bands of amorphous magnetic alloy or every n unit
bodies (n being an integer not smaller than 2) are layered in a shifted state in a longitudinal direction, thereby constituting a layered block having one end and the other end in the longitudinal direction formed stepwise, and the layered blocks are sent one by one from a feed-out part directed to the coil form and supplied to the coil form,
said round track of the endless belt being set so as to provide a layered block introduction part between a start point and a terminal point thereof to receive end parts of the one end in the longitudinal direction of the layered block supplied by the layered block feeding device,
said layered block feeding device being adapted to supply each layered block with the one end in the longitudinal direction directed to the start point of the round track of the endless belt,
whereby a plurality of layered blocks supplied sequentially by the layered block feeding device are caught to the inner side of the endless belt and sequentially layered on the coil form, while the one end and the other end of each wound layered block are overlapped thereby to form a lap part in a resulting wound core,
said wound core manufacturing apparatus further including:
a lap retainer device provided with a retainer member which is set to be able to shift in a direction at
right angles to an axial direction of the main shaft at the layered block introduction part between a retain position where the retainer member butts against end parts of the one end of the layered block at the layered block introduction part thereby to retain the end parts of the one end to the coil form and a retreat position where the retainer member is separated from the end parts of the one end thereby to allow the coil form to rotate, and a retainer member driving mechanism for shifting the retainer member between the retain position and retreat position;
a lap clamp device arranged to rotate along with the main shaft and provided with a clamp plate which is set to be movable in a first direction in parallel to a diametrical direction of the main shaft and in a second direction in parallel to the axial direction of the main shaft, thereby butting and clamping end parts of the layered block on the coil form to the coil form when shifted in the first direction towards the coil form after shifted in the second direction to a position faced to an outer peripheral face of the coil form, and releasing the end parts of the layered block when moved in the second direction away from the coil form, a first clamp plate driving mechanism for shifting the clamp plate in the first direction and a second clamp plate driving mechanism for shifting the clamp plate in the second direction; and
a layered block feed-out position adjusting me
3. The wound core manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, further including a retainer member driving mechanism for driving the retainer of the lap retainer device, and a control device for controlling the coil form driving device, the layered block feeding device the retainer member driving mechanism, the first and second clamp plate driving mechanisms of the lap clamp device and the layered block feed-out position adjusting mechanism, said control device repeating a sequence of steps until a necessary count of the layered blocks are wound to form a wound core, said sequence of steps comprising: layered block feeding step for feeding one layered block for one end portion of the layered block to locate at a position faced to the outer periphery of the coil form through the introduction part; lap retaining step for pressing the fed one portion of the layered block to the coil form by operating the retainer member of the lap retainer device; lap clamping step for clamping the pressed one end portion with the first and second clamp plates; retainer retreating step for retreating the retainer
member to a treated position to permit rotation ot tfife coil lorm; layered block winding step for rotating the coil form to catch the clamped end portion between the coil form and the inner side of the endless belt until the other end portion of the layered block is overlapped with the one end of the layered block thereby forming a lap part and then stopping rotation of the coil form with the lap part located inside the endless belt; clamp plate separation step for separating the clamp plates from the lap part by shifting the clamp plates away from the lap part; lap part clamping step for clamping the lap part with the clamp plates having been separated from the lap part; form return step for rotating the coil form until the clamped lap part reaches the layered block introduction part to stop the clamped lap part at a position of the introduction part; and feed-out position adjusting step for adjusting a feed-out position for a newly supplied layered block in accordance an increase of an outer diameter of the layered block having been wound around the coil form.
4. The wound core manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein a pair of face plates are arranged at both sides in the axial direction of the coil form which rotate along with the coil form to regulate a position of the layered blocks in the breadthwise direction on the coil form.
5. The wound core manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 1-3, wherein the lap clamp device is provided in pairs, said pair disposed at both sides in the axial direction of the coil form, and the lap retainer device is arranged to hold the end parts of the layered block at the layered block introduction part at a position closer to the central part of the end parts of the layered block in the breadthwise direction so as not to interfere
8. The wound core manufacturing apparatus according to
any one of claims 1-7, which is further provided with a
spring which comes in touch with the layered block caught
to the inner side of the endless belt at the side of the
start point of the round track of the endless belt thereby
pressing and urging the layered block towards the coil
form.
9. The wound core manufacturing apparatus according to
any one of claims 1-8, which is still provided with a
friction application member coming in frictional touch with
the layered block at the layered block introduction part
thereby impressing a tension to the layered block caught to
the inner side of the endless belt.
10. A wound core manufacturing apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to figures 1 t© 17
of the accompanying drawings*
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