Control apparatus and method

Abstract

A method and apparatus is disclosed for winding an advancing strand onto a spool having a barrel and a pair of end flanges utilizing a strand traverse guide reciprocated relative to the spool at a linear speed proportional to the relative rotational velocity of the spool. The spool may have flat end pieces or tapered ends. The barrel of the spool may be cylindrical or tapered. The end limits of reciprocation of the strand guide are established in relation to the spool base and are determined based on the rotational speed of the spool, the linear speed of the strand and the known geometry of the spool.

I claim: 
     
       1. A method for controlling reversal points of a traverse mechanism for guiding an advancing strand of wire or filamentary material back and forth from end flange-to-end flange of a rotating spool to form a helical winding in successive layers onto the barrel of the spool, comprising the steps of: sensing the advance in time of the advancing strand and providing an advance signal indicative of the magnitude thereof;   sensing the rotation rate of the spool and providing a spool signal indicative of the magnitude thereof;   determining, from the magnitudes of said advance signal and said spool signal, the position of a line parallel to the surface of the spool's barrel at the level of the topmost layer of the strand on the barrel;   determining the points of intersection of said line with the spool's end flanges, said points of intersection corresponding to the reversal points for the traverse mechanism; and   providing a reversal signal to the mechanism upon said topmost layer reaching each point of intersection.   
     
     
       2. The method of claim 1, wherein the spool has at least one tapered end and the layers are successively wider. 
     
     
       3. The method of claim 1, wherein the barrel is tapered. 
     
     
       4. The method of claim 1, wherein said reversal points are referenced to a single reference point. 
     
     
       5. The method of claim 1, wherein the slope of said line, with respect to a Cartesian coordinate system having its y-axis coincident with the axis of rotation of the spool, is predetermined according to the geometry of the barrel and wherein the position of said line, as expressed by a y-intercept, is determined from the magnitude of said spool signal and the magnitude of said advance signal. 
     
     
       6. Apparatus for controlling reversal points of a traverse mechanism for guiding an advancing strand of wire or filamentary material back and forth from end flange-to-end flange of a rotating spool to form a helical winding in successive layers onto the barrel of the spool, comprising: first sensor means, responsive to the advance in time of the advancing strand for providing an advance signal having a magnitude indicative of said advance in time;   second sensor means, responsive to the rotation rate or periodicity of rotation of the spool, for providing a spool signal having a magnitude indicative of said rotation rate or periodicity of rotation; and   signal processing means, responsive to said advance signal and to said spool signal for determining the position of a line parallel to the surface of the barrel at the level of the topmost layer on the barrel, and determining the points of intersection of said line with the spool's ends, said points of intersection corresponding to the reversal points for the traverse mechanism, said signal processing means providing a reversal signal upon said topmost layer reaching each point of intersection.   
     
     
       7. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the spool has at least one tapered end and the layers are successively wider. 
     
     
       8. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the spool has a tapered barrel. 
     
     
       9. The apparatus of claim 6, further comprising third sensor means for providing a reference signal indicative of the mechanism guiding the strand past a reference point in a selected one of the directions of traverse of the traverse mechanism, wherein said signal processing means initiates determining said points of intersection for each successive layer upon reception of said reference signal. 
     
     
       10. The apparatus of claim 6, wherein the slope of said line is with respect to a Cartesian coordinate system having its y-axis coincident with the axis of rotation of the spool, wherein the slope is predetermined according to the geometry of the spool's barrel and wherein the level of said line is determined, for successive layers, from the magnitude of said advance signal and the magnitude of said spool signal. .Iadd. 
     
     
       11.  A system for winding filamentary material onto a spool having a barrel said system comprising: means for advancing said filamentary material from a remote location to said spool;   means for distributing said filamentary material on said spool;   guide means, operatively positioned between said advancing means and said distributing means, for guiding said filamentary material to said distributing means;   a take up spool having means for rotating said spool about an axis operatively connected thereto;   a take up spool having means for rotating said spool about an axis operatively connected thereto;   direction change means, operatively connected to said distributing means, for reversing the direction of said filamentary material in said spool, said direction change means further comprising:   first sensor means, response to the advance in time of said advancing filamentary material, for providing a first signal having a magnitude relative to said advance in time;   second sensor means, responsive to the rotation rate of said spool, for providing a second signal having a magnitude relative to said rotation rate; and   signal processing means, responsive to said first and second signals, for determining the position of a line parallel to a surface of said barrel at the level of the topmost layer on said barrel, and for determining the intersection points of said line with said spool's ends, said points of intersection corresponding to reversal points for said direction change means, said signal processing means providing a third signal to said direction change means upon said topmost layer reaching each point of interaction so that the direction of movement of said distribution means is reversed thereby providing a spool of helically wound and uniformly distributed filamentary material in superimposed successively wider layers on said spool. .Iaddend. .Iadd.   
     
     
       12.  The system of claim 11 wherein said direction change means further comprises: a screw shaft; and   a carriage having a pulley operatively connected to said screw shaft for moving between the ends of said screw shaft. .Iaddend.