Shaft Rotating Mechanism

Abstract

The spindle to which an armature is chucked is driven by a drive shaft stopped at plural different predetermined positions by the engagement of stop dogs with cams mounted thereon. In one embodiment there are four cams mounted on the drive shaft for stopping the drive shaft at any one of four positions for winding armatures having two coils per slot. The angular positions of the four cams are pre-adjustable on the drive shaft whereby the predetermined stopped positions thereof can be changed to accommodate different types of armatures and different patterns of wind. Two of the cams are adjustably connected by a sleeve having gear teeth meshing with gear teeth relatively fixed to one of the cams and an eccentric connection to the other of the cams. These cams are rotatable relative to other cams and locked in adjusted positions by pins projecting through apertures therein. The apertures are appropriately marked in terms of the types of armatures and winding patterns. Two other embodiments of relatively adjustable cams are illustrated. In one embodiment, cams have radially directed slots, portions of which are aligned to obtain the desired angular relation between them. In a further embodiment cams are connected by eccentric pin means used to obtain the desired relative angular positions. In still another embodiment, only two relatively adjustable cams are used, but with four stop dogs, two of which are angularly adjustable. The operation of the armature rotating mechanism is described for the winding of both one and two coil per slot armatures. In all embodiments only two of the dogs are used for stopping the armature at predetermined positions for winding armatures having only one coil per slot.

Description

This invention relates to a shaft rotating mechanism and more particularly to a shaft rotating mechanism of an armature winding machine.

In the application of Jerry E. Miller, Ser. No. 704,342, titled Armature Winding and filed in the U.S. Pat. Office On Feb. 9, 1968, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,506,864 which application is assigned to the same owner as the instant application, a winding procedure is disclosed wherein, after pairs of coils are wound in an armature and while the fliers are at rest, the armature is rotated in one direction about its axis to loop the lead wires around the armature shaft. At some point, the armature rotation is temporarily halted and a pair of commutator tangs exposed so that the fliers may be reversed to hook a portion of the lead wires onto a pair of tangs. As discussed in the aforementioned Miller application, this winding procedure has several advantages, both in connection with the armature itself and in connection with the design of the armature winding machine. In the application of John M. Biddison and Otto F. Steinke, Ser. No. 746,863, titled Armature Winding, and filed in the U.S. Pat. Office on July 23, 1968, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,524,601 apparatus is disclosed wherein the armature is chucked to a spindle, and a detent mechanism, which can conveniently be located in one of the winding forms, coacts with the teeth of the armature so that, upon rotation of the spindle in the reverse direction, the armature is accurately stopped at a predetermined position. The spindle is positively driven in a forward direction by drive mechanism including a one-way clutch. In the reverse direction of rotation the spindle is driven through a slip clutch which slips when the detent mechanism is engaged with an armature tooth.

An object of this invention is to provide a simple, high speed shaft rotating mechanism incorporating a one-way clutch and a slip clutch for driving a spindle in a forward and a reverse direction and improved means for accurately stopping the spindle after predetermined degrees of angular rotation thereof. The invention as described herein is especially designed for use in an armature winding machine but the invention is generally useful in any application wherein a shaft is intermittently and repeatedly rotated through various different predetermined angles.

In accordance with this invention, the driven spindle is driven in unison or one-to-one relation by a drive shaft. A one-way clutch on a slip clutch are connected between the drive shaft and the driven spindle whereupon the spindle is positively driven in a "forward" direction only. The drive shaft may be rotated by a rack meshing with a pinion on the drive shaft and designed to permit total rotation of the drive shaft through an angle in excess of 360.degree.. After the spindle has been rotated in a forward direction through the total desired angular rotation thereof, the drive shaft is reversely rotated to reposition it at a start position. During the reverse rotation of the drive shaft the driven spindle is stopped, such as by the aforementioned detent mechanism.

Further in accordance with this invention, the forward rotation of the drive shaft and, therefore, the driven spindle is stopped at any one of plural stop positions by dogs which engage notches of cams mounted on the drive shaft. One of the cams is affixed to the drive shaft and the other cams are adjustably rotatable relative thereto. In one embodiment there are only two cams for stopping the rotation of the drive shaft at any one of four positions, the two cams each being engaged by a set of two dogs, one dog of each set being relatively rotatable thereto. In other embodiments there are four cams, three of the cams being adjustable relative to a cam affixed to the drive shaft and four fixed dogs, one for each cam.

Another object of this invention is to provide a simple, high speed and flexible method and apparatus for repeatedly rotating an armature during the automatic winding cycle of an armature winding machine and to insure that the armature is at all times accurately oriented with respect to the filters and winding forms. The ultimate positions of the armature being wound with respect to the winding forms is preferably determined by the aforementioned detent mechanism because the detent mechanism provides an accurate and positive stop against one of the armature teeth. When winding an armature having only one coil per slot, two of the aforementioned cams and their associated dogs are used, one cam and dog being used to stop the armature spindle at the position of the armature in which the fliers are reversed to form the commutator connections. The other cam and its associated dog are used to stop the armature substantially at the indexed position thereof wherein it is located to receive another pair of coils. The latter position is positively obtained during the reverse rotation of the armature spindle by means of the detent mechanism. When winding armatures having two coils per slot, the other two cams and their associated dogs are also used, one of them to stop the armature at the desired position for forming the lead wire connections for the first pairs of coils wound in the armature, the other being used to stop the rotation of the armature at substantially 360.degree. so that the armature can appropriately be positioned for receiving the second pair of coils to be wound in the same pair of slots. The first mentioned cams and their associated dogs are then used for stopping the armature in the described positions after the winding of the second pair of coils in each pair of slots.

Another object of this invention is to provide an improved cam mechanism having a plurality of relatively adjustable cams fixed on a shaft for controlling a sequence of events responsive to the number of degrees of rotation of the shaft. The cams in accordance with this invention are adjustably rotatable relative to cam followers while the shaft upon which they are mounted is not rotating so that the cams may be pre-adjusted. The cam followers could constitute ordinary followers which follow upon lobed cams, proximity switches or, as preferred in the armature winding machine application of this invention, the cams have stop surfaces and the cam followers or dogs engage the stop surfaces, the events controlled by the cam mechanisms of this invention being the stopping of the armature rotation. One cam is fixed on its drive shaft and the other cams are rotatable relative to the fixed cam and means are provided to lock all of the rotatable cams relative to the fixed cam. In another embodiment some of the dogs are rotated relative to the drive shaft and, hence, to the cams to obtain the pre-adjustment.

Still another object of this invention is to provide a shaft position control mechanism including a plurality of relatively adjustable cams designed to permit raid changes in the relative positions of the cams and which can be used in an armature winding machine for quickly and easily changing the setup of the machine. The shaft position control mechanism includes two sets of cams interconnected by a sleeve having a toothed connection to one of the sets of cams and an eccentric connection to the other of the sets of cams. By partially disassembling the mechanism, the relative positions of the teeth on the sleeve with respect to the toothed cam can be changed to provide a coarse adjustment of the two sets of cams. The eccentric can then be adjusted for a fine adjustment of the positions of the two sets of cams. If the two sets of cams each comprise two cams, the two cams of each set can be interconnected either by pin and slots or eccentrics. One cam of each set can conveniently be marked with indicia indicating the event to be controlled.

The shaft position control mechanism is especially useful in a double flier armature winding machine following the procedure discussed in the aforementioned Miller application, Ser. No. 704,342. Armature manufacturers frequently wish to change the operating characteristics of an armature winding machine for winding various different types of armatures with different winding patterns. The shaft position control mechanism of this invention includes relatively adjustable cams and stop dogs which are pre-adjusted for the winding of armatures having different numbers of slots and different winding patterns. Because the cam mechanism can be rapidly pre-adjusted, the setup of the armature winding machine for winding a particular type of armature with a particular winding pattern can be accomplished in a matter of moments. The indicia on the cams of each cam set corresponds to the type of armature and the winding pattern to be followed.

Other objects and advantages will become apparent from the following description and the drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a partially wound armature which can be wound using the apparatus of this invention;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view with parts broken away and shown in cross section of a portion of an armature winding machine in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 3A is a front elevational view with parts in cross section of a portion of winding forms of the machine of FIG. 2 and showing a partially wound armature engaged by a detent mechanism;

FIGS. 3B, 3C and 3D are each similar to FIG. 3A and illustrate in sequence various rotary positions of the armature between the winding of pairs of coils;

FIG. 4 is a side elevation view with parts in cross section of a form of apparatus for rotating the armature between the winding of coils in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 5 is a cross sectional view, with parts broken away, of the apparatus for rotating the armature between the winding of coils and taken along line 5--5 of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a rear elevational view of the apparatus for rotating the armature between the winding of coils;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of a cam assembly forming part of a shaft position control mechanism incorporated in the armature winding machine and taken along section line 7--7 of FIG. 6;

FIGS. 8, 9 and 10 are each elevational views of different relatively adjustable cams forming part of the shaft position control cam assembly.

FIG. 11 is a plan view of a pair of modified cams corresponding to two of the cams of the cam assembly of FIG. 7;

FIG. 12 is an elevational view of the cams of FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a plan view of another pair of cams of a different construction;

FIG. 14 is a front elevational view of the cams of FIG. 13;

FIG. 15 is a plan view with parts broken away and parts shown in cross section of another embodiment of a shaft position control mechanism in accordance with this invention;

FIG. 16 is a vertical cross sectional view of the embodiment of FIG. 15 taken along section line 16--16 thereof;

FIG. 17 is an end elevational view, with parts broken away, of the embodiment of FIG. 15 as viewed in the direction of arrows 17--17 thereof;

FIG. 18 is a side elevational view with parts omitted and parts in cross section of another and presently preferred apparatus for rotating the armature between the winding of coils; and

FIGS. 19 and 20 are cross sectional views of the modification of FIG. 18 as viewed in the direction of arrows 19--19 and 20--20, respectively.

For purposes of illustration, an armature, generally designated 10, is shown in FIG. 1 partially wound as described in the aforementioned Miller application, Ser. No. 704,342. The armature 10 includes a slotted armature core 12 mounted on an armature shaft 14 upon which a commutator 16 is also mounted. Between the armature core 12 and the commutator 16 is an insulating sleeve 18 overlying the shaft 14. Another insulating sleeve 20 projects from an insulating end lamination 22 on the end of the shaft 14 opposite from the commutator 16. The armature 10 in FIG. 1 is only partially wound with coils 24 which have sides passing through spaced armature slots 26 separated by armature teeth 28. The commutator 16 is of the type having a plurality of peripherally spaced, mutually insulated segments 30 with hooks or tangs 32 at the ends thereof adjacent the armature core 12 adapted to receive lead wires 34 which extend between adjacent coils. The armature 10 has twice as many tangs 32 as there are armature slots 26 because two coils 24 are wound in each pair of slots 26. A commutator or commutator tang connection is made by a lead wire 34 between each of the pairs of coils 24 wound in a pair of slots 26 as well as between successively wound coils 24 in different pairs of slots 26. It will be noted in FIG. 1 that the lead wires 34 are looped about the armature shaft 14 and that a portion of each lead wire 34 is also looped about a commutator tang 32. FIG. 1 shows six coils 24, two in each of three pairs of slots, and their commutator lead connections. Of course it will be appreciated that the complete winding for the armature will include a pair of coils in each of the armature slots 26.

The armature of FIG. 1 can be wound as follows. Referring to FIG. 2, an unwound armature is first located between a pair of wire guide wings or winding forms 36 of a double flier armature winding machine, generally designated 38, the armature being supported partly by the concavely curved surfaces of the wire guide wings 36 and partly by a chuck assembly 40 gripping the end of the armature shaft 14 adjacent the commutator 16. The wire guide wings 36 are mounted upon mounting plates 42 which have bearing housings 44 thereon that rotatably receive flier spindles 46 upon which are affixed fliers 48. Two wires, designated W, for winding pairs of coils 24 in the armature slots 26 are coursed through the flier spindles 46 and around wire guide pulleys 50 on the fliers 48. The free ends of the wires W are attached to a combined clamp and cutter mechanism 52. The wires W emanate from wire supplies (not shown) and are placed under tension at or near the wire supplies so that, as the fliers 48 rotate, the wires W will be drawn from the wire supplies and guided by the sloping surfaces of the wire guide wings 36 to form a pair of coils 24 into pairs of slots 26 aligned with the wire guiding surfaces of the winding forms 36.

Referring to FIG. 3A, the right hand wire guide wing or winding form 36 has a cavity 54 therein in which is located a detent mechanism comprising a pawl support block 56 and a pawl 58 pivotally mounted thereon. The pawl 58 is biased by a coil spring 60 located in the pawl support block 56 toward the armature core 12 whereby the free end of the pawl 58 projects out of the concavely curved face of the winding form 36 into a slot 26 of the armature 10. Upon rotation of the armature 10 in a counterclockwise direction, the pawl 58 is cammed out of the slots 26. On a reverse or clockwise rotation of the armature 10, the pawl 58, upon entering one of the slots 26, will engage the surface of the adjacent tooth 28 and thereby positively stop rotation of the armature 10.

For convenience, the slots 26 in FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C and 3D have been separately identified by the numbers "1" through "8." In FIG. 3A it will be noted that the first pairs of coils 24 have been wound in slots "1" and "4" and in slots "5" and "8" while the pawl 58 is engaged with the adjacent surface of the tooth 28 between the slots "1" and "2." FIG. 2 also shows parts of the machine 38 at the end of the winding of the first pair of coils 24. The fliers 48 are stopped adjacent the commutator end of the armature 10 and the lead wires 34 extend from the wound coils 24 and adjacent the commutator 16 to the flier pulleys 50. At this time and also during the winding of the coils 24, a tubular tang shield 62, which overlies the commutator 16 and abuts the free end portions of the tangs 32, prevents wire from hooking onto any of the tangs 32.

The fliers 48 temporarily remain at rest in the position shown in FIG. 2, and the armature 10 is rotated, by rotation of the chuck assembly 40, as will be described below, about its longitudinal axis through a predetermined angle in a generally counterclockwise direction. In FIG. 3B, the armature 10 is shown after being rotated in a counterclockwise direction through such a predetermined angle, at which time the rotation of the armature 10 is stopped for the purpose of hooking the lead wires 34 about preselected commutator tangs 32. The tang shield 62 is, accordingly, retracted so that the lead wires 34 will be free to engage the tangs 32. At this time the fliers 48 are rotated in a direction opposite to the direction used in winding the coils 24 through an angle sufficient to lay a portion of the lead wires 34 into the bight portions of oppositely disposed commutator tangs 32. The tang shield 62 is then moved back into a position whereat it shields the tangs 32 and is effective to confine the lead wires 34 in the bight portions of the tangs 32. The counterclockwise rotation of the armature 10 is then resumed and continued until the armature 10 is a few degrees past the desired position for aligning the pairs of armature slots 26 to receive the next pair of coils with the wire guide surfaces of the winding forms 36. Because the armature 10 illustrated herein has two coils per slot, the second pair of coils 24 to be wound will be wound in the same slots, namely slots "1" and "4" and "5" and "8" as were the first pair of coils 24. Figure FIG. 3C shows the position of the armature 10 at the end of this counterclockwise rotation which, as can be determined from a comparison with FIG. 3A, is through an angle in excess of 360.degree.. The counterclockwise rotation is not so great, however, as to permit the pawl 58 to enter the slot "3."

After reaching the position shown in FIG. 3C, the armature 10 is rotated in a reverse direction, that is a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3C, until the armature 10 reaches the position illustrated in FIG. 3D at which time the pawl 58 again enters the armature slot designated "2" and is engaged by the adjacent surface of the tooth 28 between the slots "1" and "2." The armature 10 is now in a position to receive the second pair of coils 24. It will be noted that this position of the armature 10 is predetermined quite accurately because it relies upon the fixed stop provided by the pawl 58. Further, the entire detent assembly may be accurately positioned within the right side winding form 36 by adjusting screws 64, the adjusted position of which is maintained by jamb nuts 66.

The foregoing procedure is repeated except that, after the winding of the next pair of coils 24 in the same pair of slots 26, the armature 10 will be stopped at a different position so that pairs of coils 24 will then be wound into different pairs of adjacent slots 26. Thus, the third pairs of coils wound could be located in slots "2" and "5" and slots "6" and "1" or else in slots "8" and "3" and slots "4" and "7."

Those skilled in the art will understand that the foregoing operations are continued until the armature 10 is fully wound. The armature 10 is then removed from the winding area between the winding forms 36 and an unwound armature 10 replaced thereby. It will also be realized by those skilled in the art that the loading and unloading of the armature 10 can be accomplished automatically and that, for example, the cutting of the wire from the wound armature 10 as well as the handling of the armature 10 after the winding can be accomplished in various fashions. Suitable hydraulic or electromechanical drives for synchronously rotating fliers are known and in use and, therefore, the drive mechanisms for the fliers 48 are not illustrated in detail herein. U.S. Pat. No. 3,013,737, issued to Harry W. Moore on Dec. 19, 1961, illustrates a hydraulic drive mechanism which could be used with the apparatus shown in FIG. 2. It will be appreciated that the wire guide wings or winding forms 36 must be moved slightly away from the armature core 12 when the armature 10 is rotated. The same U.S. Pat. No. 3,013,737, shows an air actuator arrangement for accomplishing this movement.

Those familiar with the armature winding art are aware that essentially the same procedure for winding armatures having even numbered slots is followed when winding an armature having an odd number of slots. However, when winding the so-called "odd-slot" armature, one flier 48 is normally not rotated while the other flier 48 is winding the first coil in a pair of slots. Thereafter the armature is indexed and both fliers then operate to wind the rest of the coils in an armature as if the armature had an even number of slots. Of course it will be appreciated that when the armature winding machine 38 is used to wind different armatures, certain tooling changes such as the shape of the wire guide wings 36 would necessarily be made.

Referring again to FIG 3A, all the teeth of an armature are normally identical. Accordingly, when the position of the pawl 58 is properly adjusted to locate pairs of slots in position for receiving coils, other pairs of slots will be similarly positioned when the pawl 58 engages any of the other armature teeth. For the eight slot armature 10, a different pair of armature slots 26 will be in a proper position to receive a pair of coils when the armature has been rotated through 45.degree. from that position illustrated in FIG. 3A. If, instead of the eight slot armature illustrated, a ten slot armature were to be wound, then it is known that, after the position of the pawl 58 is properly adjusted for the winding of coils in a first pair of slots, the armature can then be successively indexed through increments of 36.degree. for positioning different pairs of slots to receive subsequently wound coils. Generally, then, the armature is indexed through an angle equal to 360.degree. divided by N where N is the number of slots. This invention provides a shaft rotating mechanism described in connection with the armature winding machine 38 by which armatures are rotated and indexed in the manner described above and incorporates a shaft position control mechanism for accurately stopping the rotation of the armature. The setup of the shaft position control mechanism can be rapidly changed so as to accommodate armatures having various different numbers of slots.

Referring to FIG. 4, the chuck assembly 40 is shown as including a collet 68 which grips the armature shaft 14 in response to movement of a generally tubular collet actuator 70 driven by a collet operator shaft 72 that extends through a hollow main drive spindle 74. Rotatably mounted on the end of the collet operator shaft 72 remote from the collet 68 is a bearing 78 confined between spaced bearing retainer rings 80 which together form a yoke ring receiving confronting drive pins 82 of a double ended yoke 84 pivotally mounted on a bifurcated bracket 86 (FIGS. 4 and 6). The yoke 84 is driven by a linear air actuator 88 having a piston rod 90 pivotally connected to the top of the yoke 84. As apparent, movement of the collet operator shaft 72 to the left, as viewed in FIG. 4, will cause the collet actuator 70 to bear against the collet 68. The collet 68 and the collet actuator 70 are partially surrounded by a tubular collet retainer 92 which holds the collet 68 in place and against which the collet actuator 70 is urged. The collet retainer 92 is affixed to the main drive spindle 74 for rotation therewith. This can be done in any convenient fashion and the lock illustrated in FIG. 4 is in the form of a clamp ring 94. The main drive spindle 74 is journalled by a bushing 96 and a bearing 98 in a front stanchion 100 and a rear stanchion 102, respectively, mounted upon a suitable base or support plate 104. Axial movement of the spindle 74 is prevented by a collar 105 threaded thereon and cooperating with a clutch disc 122 shouldered against a larger diameter portion thereof. The aforementioned collet air actuator 88 is mounted on the rear stanchion 102.

FIG. 4 also shows the aforementioned movable shield 62 which, in the particular embodiment illustrated, surrounds an adjustably fixed inner shield 106 to which a guide rod 108 is connected that projects through an aperture in the front stanchion 100 and which is held in adjustably fixed position therein by a lock screw 110. This connection of the guide rod 108 to the front stanchion 100 prevents the inner shield 106 from rotating with the chuck assembly 40. As will be understood by those skilled in the art, the inner shield 106 has notches at its free end adjacent the commutator tangs 32 which are to be exposed when the movable shield 62 is retracted. The inner shield 106, accordingly, prevents the wires W from accidentally catching on any but the desired exposed tangs 32. The movable tang shield 62 is advanced and retracted from its tang shielding position by a shield actuator 112 mounted on the front stanchion 100 and having a piston rod 114 connected to a bracket 116 that is connected to or integral with the tang shield 62.

With continued reference to FIG. 4, a driven gear 118 coaxial with the main drive spindle 74 is loosely received thereon between the two stanchions 100 and 102. The driven gear 118 is connected to the main drive spindle 74 by a one-way or sprag clutch 120 of conventional design. The one-way clutch 120 positively drives the spindle 74 in the "forward" or first direction described above, that is, counterclockwise as viewed in FIG. 2, but the clutch 120 is free wheeling when the driven gear 118 is rotated in a reverse direction. Because, as discussed above, it is desired to rotate the armature 10 through a small angle in a reverse direction after it has been rotated slightly past its stop position, a slip clutch is provided between the driven gear 118 and the main drive spindle 74. The slip clutch includes the clutch disc 122 keyed to the spindle 74 adjacent the driven gear 118 and a friction clutch pad 124 which may comprise a leather washer or the like interposed between the rear face of the driven gear 118 and the clutch disc 122 to constantly maintain engagement of the clutch pad 124 with both the driven gear 118 and the clutch disc 122. Both the driven gear 118 and the one-way clutch 120 are slidably mounted on the spindle 74. A coil spring 126 urges the one-way clutch 120 and the driven gear 118 toward the clutch disc 122, that is, to the right as viewed in FIG. 4. For this purpose the coil spring 126 is shown with one end engaged with a collar 128 affixed to the spindle 74 and its other end engaged with a washer 130 abutted against the one-way clutch 120.

The driven gear 118 is driven by a drive gear 132 keyed to a drive shaft 134 journalled for rotation in the stanchions 100 and 102 and a support plate 136 which is also mounted upon the base plate 104. Keyed to the drive shaft 134 is a drive pinion 138 driven by suitable means such as a vertically reciprocating rack 140 (FIG. 5) powered by a double acting linear air actuator 142 mounted by a bracket 144 to a support plate 146 mounted on the stanchion 102. The piston 148 of the actuator 142 is connected by a coupling 150 to a bracket 154 connected to the rack 140. The bracket 154 has a vertically extending aperture therethrough receiving a guide sleeve 156 and a bushing 158 slidable upon a vertical guide post 160 extended between the base plate 104 and the air actuator support bracket 144. As apparent from an inspection of FIG. 5, the driven gear 118 and, accordingly, the main spindle 74 and chuck 40 will be rotated in a counterclockwise direction, that is, the "forward" direction described above, when the piston 148 of the main drive actuator 142 moves vertically downwardly. For reasons which will become apparent, the drive shaft 134 and the drive spindle 74 are driven in unison because the drive ratio between the gears 132 and 118 is one-to-one. Also, the relative dimensions of the drive pinion 138 and the drive gear 132 are so selected that the total throw of the piston 148 will cause a counterclockwise rotation of the main drive spindle 74 through an angle considerably in excess of 360.degree. .

In accordance with this invention the angular rotation of the main drive spindle 74 is stopped at predetermined positions by a shaft position control or cam assembly, generally designated 162, mounted on the drive shaft 134 and having two sets of stop cams, a first stop cam set 164 and a second stop cam set 166. The first cam set 164 constitutes a "slot selector" because these cams are used in stopping the rotation of the main drive spindle 74 in a position whereat the slots 26 of the armature 10 will be appropriately positioned with respect to the winding forms 36 for receiving pairs of coils. The second cam set 166 constitutes a "tang selector" because the second cam set is used for stopping rotation of the main drive spindle 74 with the appropriate commutator tangs in position to receive lead wires.

In the embodiment of this invention illustrated in FIGS. 4 through 10, the first cam set 164 includes a first slot selector cam 168 (FIGS. 7 and 8) affixed to the drive shaft 134 for rotation therewith. For this purpose the first slot selector cam 168 has a keyway 169 receiving a key 172. The first cam set 164 also includes a second slot selector cam 170 mounted on a forwardly extending hub portion 174 of the first cam 168. As will be described below, the first slot selector cam 168 constitutes a "second coil stop" and is used to stop the rotation of the armature after approximately 360.degree. for stopping the armature in a position to receive the second coil in a given pair of slots. The second slot selector cam 170 constitutes an index cam which stops rotation of the armature in an indexed position for receiving pairs of coils in slots adjacent to the slots receiving previously wound coils.

The second cam set 166 includes a first tang selector cam 176 and a second tang selector cam 178, both of which are rotatably mounted upon the drive shaft 134. Between the two cam sets 164 and 166 is a hollow adjusting sleeve 180 received upon the drive shaft 134. The adjusting sleeve 180 has a forward circular end plate 182, the outer periphery of which has radially outwardly extending gear teeth which mesh with radially inwardly extending gear teeth located on the inner surface of an annular flange 184 projecting from the rear face of the first slot selector cam 168. The sleeve 180 further has a circular rear plate 186 journalled in a forwardly extending annular flange 188 on the front face of the first tang selector cam 176. An eccentric adjustment is provided between the adjusting sleeve rear plate 186 and the first tang selector cam 176, the eccentric constituting a threaded shank 190 extending through and snugly received by an aperture in the sleeve rear plate 186 and having a slotted eccentric head 192 received within an oblong aperture 194 in the first tang selector cam 176. The eccentric 190, 192 can be releasably locked in position by a lock nut 196 threaded on the shank 190.

The cam assembly 162 is mounted upon a reduced diameter end portion of the drive shaft 134 and held thereon by a nut 200 bearing against a washer 202 and threaded on the rearward end of the drive shaft 134. In order to adjust the relative rotary positions of the first cam set 164 and the second cam set 166, the nut 200 is removed or loosened and the sleeve 180 is moved away from toothed engagement with the cam 168 of the first cam set 164. The second cam set 166 and the sleeve 180 can then be rotated through any desired angle and then reassembled with the teeth of the sleeve 180 again meshed with the teeth of the first slot selector cam 168. This provides a coarse adjustment. As a matter of convenience there can be 36 teeth so that adjacent teeth are separated by ten degrees. Accordingly, as a result of this coarse adjustment, the relative positions of the two cam sets 164 and 166 should be within 10.degree. of that desired. A fine adjustment can thereafter be accomplished by rotating the eccentric pin head 192. It will be observed in FIGS. 6 and 7 that the rearmost cam 178 is cut away to provide convenient access to the eccentric pin head 192.

The two cams forming each cam set are also relatively rotatable. The first cams 168 and 176 of both cam sets each have radially spaced threaded holes 204 and 206, respectively, and the second cams 170 and 178 of the two cam sets each have a plurality of apertures 208 and 210, respectively. As will be explained below, the holes 204 and 206 and the apertures 208 and 210 are so located that selected ones of the holes and apertures are pre-aligned when the machine is set up for a particular type of armature. The two slot selector cams 168 and 170 are held in the pre-aligned, adjusted rotary position by a pin 212 having a threaded shank engaged in one of the holes 204 and the two cams 176, 178 forming the second cam set 166 are similarly held in the desired adjusted rotary position by a threaded pin 214.

The stop cams have radially extending stop surfaces, designated 168a, 170a, 176a and 178a. These stop surfaces are adapted to be engaged, respectively, by cam followers comprising first, second, third and fourth stop dogs 216, 218, 220 and 222 (FIGS. 4 and 6), all of which are rotatably mounted on a pivot pin 224 supported by the support plate 136 and a rear support plate 226. FIG. 6 shows the stop surface 178a stopped against the stop dog 222. When any one of the cams is so stopped, the main drive actuator 142 stops driving the rack 140. The stop dogs 216, 218, 220 and 222 are separately driven by four air actuators 228, 230, 232 and 234, respectively, the pistons of which are connected by adapters 236 and shoulder bolts 238 to their associated stop dogs. With reference to FIGS. 4 and 6, the air actuators 228, 230, 232 and 234 are pivotally supported by a pivot pin 240 mounted above the support plate 104 by spaced stanchions 242.

The operation of the cam assembly 162 during the winding of the armature 10 is as follows. With reference to FIGS. 3A, 3B, 3C, and 3D, 5, 6 and 7, after the winding of a pair of coils is complete, as shown in FIG. 3A, the main drive cylinder 142 is energized to extend its piston 148 whereupon the armature 10 is rotated in a counterclockwise or "forward" direction. The stop dog 220 associated with the first tang selector cam 176 engages the outer periphery of the cam 176 shortly after the counterclockwise rotation of the armature commences. As soon as the cam stop surface 176a engages the stop dog it is positively stopped and the armature is properly positioned for the first pair of lead wires to be looped about the commutator tangs upon movement of the fliers 48 as described above. After the fliers have been rotated to course wires about a pair of commutator tangs, the stop dog 220 is pivoted away from its associated cam 176 permitting operation of the drive mechanism to continue. Shortly thereafter the stop dog 216 associated with the first slot selector cam 168 engages the outer periphery of that cam so that, when its stop surface 168a strikes the stop dog 216, the armature rotation is then stopped. Because the first slot selector cam 168 is keyed to the drive shaft 134, the drive shaft 134 and, accordingly, the main drive spindle 174 and the armature 10 have undergone substantially 360.degree. rotation. As discussed above, the rotation is actually slightly more than 360.degree.. As soon as the armature rotation is stopped, the cylinder 142 retracts its piston 148 whereupon the drive shaft 134 is rotated in a reverse or counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 5. At the start of the reverse rotation, the main drive spindle 74 and the armature 10 are driven through the slip clutch 122, 124 in their reverse or clockwise direction (FIGS. 3C and 5) but only until the pawl 58 engages against the armature tooth 28 between slots "1" and "2." The main drive cylinder 142 returns its piston 148 fully to its home position, which is the retracted position shown in FIG. 5. At this time the armature is properly positioned for receiving the second pair of coils in the same slots, that is, with reference to FIG. 3D, slots "1" and "4" and slots "5" and "8."

After the winding of the second pair of coils in the same pairs of slots, the main drive cylinder 142 is again energized to extend its piston 148 causing a forward rotation of the armature 10. At this time the stop dog 222 engages the second tang selector cam 178, causing it to stop when its stop surface 178a strikes the dog 222. The armature 10 is then positioned for the coursing of lead loops 34 about a pair of commutator tangs 32 which are adjacent to those tangs 32 about which the lead wires were previously looped. After the lead wires are coursed about the tangs, the stop dog 222 is retracted to permit continued rotation of the armature 10 in the forward direction and the stop dog 218 then engages the second slot selector or index cam 170. When the stop surface 170a of the latter cam engages the dog 218, the rotation of the armature is again stopped and the piston 148 of the main drive cylinder 142 retracted, driving the armature in a reverse direction as described above until the pawl 58 engages another armature tooth 26, whereupon the armature 10 is now located in a position to receive a pair of coils in slots adjacent to the slots receiving the previously wound coils. The foregoing operations of the cam assembly 162 and the main drive cylinder 142 are repeated between the winding of pairs of coils until all of the coils for the armature 10 have been wound.

In setting up the machine to wind a particular armature, the piston 148 of the main drive cylinder 142 is retracted and an armature is chucked to the main drive spindle 74, then manually rotated until its commutator tangs are in a proper position to receive lead wires. At this point the cam sets 162 and 164 are separated and the first tang selector cam 176 moved to a position whereat its stop surface 176a would stop against its associated dog 220. The adjusted position of the first tang selector cam 176 is obtained by relatively positioning the teeth on the sleeve end plate 182 relative to the teeth within the flange 184 and further adjustment of the eccentric pin head 192 as discussed above. The relative adjustment of the second slot selector cam 170 with respect to the first slot selector cam 168 and the relative adjustment of the second tang selector cam 170 relative to the first tang selector cam 176 can be made either before or after the adjustment of the first tang selector cam 176 relative to the first slot selector cam 168.

The locations of the threaded holes and apertures in the cams 168, 170, 176 and 178 are predetermined as follows. Referring to FIG. 8, there is one threaded hole 204 for each armature for which the cam 168 is designed. The cam 168 illustrated is designed for use in winding armatures having any number of eight through 15 slots. The several threaded holes 204 are located at radially different distances from the center of the cam 168. To avoid crowding of the threaded holes 204, they are also located in circumferentially spaced positions about a centerline CL which is perpendicular to the diameter of the cam 168 on which the stop surface 168a is located. In FIG. 8 the threaded holes 204 for the even slot armatures 8, 10, 12 and 14 are generally diametrically opposed from the threaded holes 204 for the odd slot armatures 9, 11, 13 and 15 and alternate threaded holes 204 are spaced by 7.5.degree. from, and on opposite sides of, the aforementioned centerline.

Referring to FIG. 10, the various apertures 210 in the cam 170 for the various types of armatures are located at the same radial distances from the center of the cam 170 as are the corresponding holes 204. Accordingly, when the pin 214 is inserted into one of the apertures 210 it can only be aligned with one of the holes 204. In the cam 170 shown in FIG. 10 there are two apertures 210 for each of the various types of armatures, there being one aperture 210 for each armature representing the "forward" pattern of wind and one for the "reverse" pattern of wind. The apertures 210 for the odd slot armatures are generally diametrically opposed from those for the even slot armatures and, as in the case of the cam 168, the apertures 210 of the cam 170 are generally clustered about a centerline CL which is perpendicular to the diameter thereof on which the stop surface 170a is located.

The proper locations of the apertures 210 are determined in the following manner. Taking the case of an 8-slot armature as an example, there are 360.degree. divided by eight, or 45.degree., between each armature slot. Accordingly, once the first pairs of slots of an 8-slot armature are accurately positioned to receive coils, such as the armature 10 is so located in FIG. 3A, it is known that the armature will have to be indexed through exactly 45.degree. to position adjacent pairs of slots for receiving subsequently wound coils. Because the stop surface 168a stops armature rotation after slightly more than 360.degree., it is also known that, for the 8-slot armature, the stop surface 170a must be located 45.degree. from the stop surface 168a. Accordingly, the apertures 210 for the 8-slot armature must be spaced by 45.degree. from the threaded hole 204 for the 8-slot armature. Since the two centerlines drawn in FIGS. 8 and 10 are aligned when the stop surfaces 168a and 170a are aligned, and the holes 204 are spaced from the aligned centerlines by 7.5.degree., the apertures 210 of the cam 178a must be spaced from the centerline of the cam 170 by 45.degree. either plus or minus 7.5.degree. depending upon whether the pattern of wind is forward or reverse. In the "forward" or progressive pattern of wind, the armature is indexed in a counterclockwise or forward direction, as viewed in FIG. 3A, for example, through an angle in excess of 360.degree.. For the retrogressive or reverse pattern of wind, each index is less than 360.degree.. Since the threaded hole 204 for the 8-slot armature is already spaced from the centerline CL by 7.5.degree. in effectively the forward direction, the aperture 210 for an 8-slot armature to be wound with a forward pattern will be located 45.degree. minus 7.5.degree. for a total of 37.5.degree. from the centerline CL. The other aperture 210 for the 8-slot reversely wound armature will correspondingly be located 52.5.degree. from the same centerline. The apertures 210 for the other types of armatures are similarly located from the centerline of the cam 170 by the appropriate number of degrees, the number of degrees being equal to the angles between slots, plus or minus 7.5.degree.. For another example, the aperture 210 for the forward wound 10-slot armature is spaced from the centerline by 43.5.degree. (i.e. 36.degree. plus 7.5.degree.) and the 10-slot "reverse" aperture 210 is spaced by 28.5.degree. (i.e. 36.degree. less 7.5.degree.) from the same centerline.

The proper locations of the threaded holes 206 and the apertures 208 in the tang selector cams 176 and 178 are determined in essentially the same way. Thus, the first tang selector cam 176 has one threaded hole for each of the 8 though 15 slot armatures. As described above, the first tang selector cam 176 is properly preadjusted at the time the armature winding machine is set up for stopping the rotation of the armature in its appropriate position for the coursing of lead wires about a pair of tangs. Its stop surface 176a, accordingly, is angularly offset from the stop surface 178a by the desired number of degrees for the armature being wound. Hence, the threaded holes 206 of the first tang selector cam 176 can be clustered about a centerline of the cam 176 in exactly the same manner as the holes 204 are clustered about the centerline CL of the cam 168. The proper locations for the apertures 208 in the second tang selector cam 178 can be computed based upon the facts that the armature tangs are equally circumferentially spaced and that there are twice as many tangs as there are armature slots for armatures wound with two coils per slot. Again taking the 8-slot armature as an example, the angle between each pair of tangs is known to be 22.5.degree.. Therefore, the stop surface 178a must be offset from the stop surface 176a by 22.5.degree.. Accordingly, the apertures 208 are spaced from the corresponding centerline of the cam 178 by 22.5.degree. plus or minus 7.5.degree., for a total of either 30.degree. or 15.degree., depending upon whether the reverse or forward pattern of wind is to be used.

The exposed faces of the cams 170 and 178 are desirably marked as illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 6 with the legends FDW. and REV. as well as the numbers representing the number of slots in the armature to be wound. Because so marked, the setup of the portion of the machine described herein for rotating the armature can be accomplished in a matter of moments. In practice, contrary to the illustrations of FIGS. 8 and 9, the faces of the cams 168 and 176 need not be marked.

Those familiar with the armature winding art will be aware that only the first tang selector cam 176 and the second slot selector or index cam 170 will be used when winding an armature having only one coil per slot. The pre-adjustment of the first tang selector cam 176 and the index cam 170 in preparation for the winding of an armature having one coil per slot is the same as that described above.

Those skilled in the art will also be aware that entirely conventional machine sequence controls may be used to control the various operations of the machine parts described above. As usual the operations of the various parts of the machine are sensed by limit or sensing switches, the operations of which control the machine's electric and pneumatic circuitry. Examples of the type of sensing switches are illustrated in FIGS. 4 and 6 wherein a sensing switch 244 having a pivotal switch arm 246 is associated with the cam set 164. The switch arm 246 is biased into the path of movement of a pair of switch engaging plates 248, there being one switch engaging plate 248 pinned to each of the stop dogs 216 and 218. Another sensing switch 250 has a pivotal switch arm 252 biased into the path of switch operating plates 254 mounted on the stop dogs 220 and 222. Both switches 244 and 250 may be fixed on a plate 256 supported on the bed of the machine or the support plate 104 in any convenient fashion. The sensing switches 244 and 250 may be used, for example, to signal the release of the associated stop dogs from their cams. It may also be noted that the main drive actuator 142 may be energized from a relieved source of air under pressure whereupon the aforementioned stop dogs can positively stop the rotation of the drive shaft 134 without damage to any of the parts of the machine. Also valve means (not shown) may be provided in the pneumatic circuitry for relieving the pressure within the actuator 142 when it is stopped.

Referring to FIGS. 11 and 12, a pair of cams 258 and 260 are shown to demonstrate an alternative method for relatively adjusting the two cams of one of the aforementioned cam sets 164 and 166. The cam 258 is provided with a radially directed slot 262 and the cam 260 is provided with a pair of parallel slots 264 and 266 that are also parallel to a diameter of the cam 260. The two cams are releasably locked together by a bolt 268 and a lock nut 268a. By loosening the lock nut 268a, the cam 260 can be rotated when the bolt 268 is located both in the slot 262 and the slot 264. This rotation would be adequate to appropriately adjust the relative positions of the two cams for all armatures wound with a forward pattern of wind. As apparent, the bolt 268 can be removed and the cam 260 rotated sufficiently far that a portion of the slot 266 is aligned with a portion of the slot 262 and the bolt 268 reinserted. As marked in FIG. 12, the slot 266, when aligned with the slot 262, could properly position the cam 260 for winding armatures to be wound with a reverse pattern of wind. Appropriate indicia (not shown) could be marked either along the slots 264 and 266 or along the outer periphery of the two cams for indicating the proper alignment therebetween.

FIGS. 13 and 14 show two other cams 270 and 272 having still another construction for relative positioning thereof. In this case, the cam 270 has a "reverse" aperture 274 and a "forward" aperture 276 whereas the cam 272 has an oblong aperture 278 which receives a slotted eccentric head 280 of an eccentric shank 282 threaded at one end for receiving a pair of lock nuts 284. As believed obvious, the lock nuts 284 can be loosened and the eccentric 280 rotated or else removed from one of the slots 274, 276 and inserted in the other of the slots. The manner of obtaining the proper relative adjustment of the cams 270 and 272 is deemed obvious from the foregoing description.

In the embodiments described above there are four relatively adjustable cams with four stop dogs, each stop dog having a predetermined fixed stop position. There may be certain advantages to a different arrangement in which the stop dogs are relatively moved with respect to relatively fixed cams. FIGS. 15, 16 and 17 illustrate a modified cam assembly, generally designated 286, having two relatively adjustable cams, a slot selector cam 288 and a tang selector cam 290. The two cams 288 and 290 are shown mounted upon a drive shaft 292, which corresponds to the drive shaft 134 above, and held thereon by a nut 294. The two cams have radially extending stop surfaces 288a and 290a, respectively. The cam 288 is keyed to the drive shaft 292 whereas the cam 290 is rotatable on the drive shaft 292. The two cams 288 and 290 are interconnected by an adjusting sleeve 296 having one end plate with outwardly projecting teeth 298 meshing with confronting radially inwardly directed teeth recessed in the cam 288. The sleeve further has another end plate 300 confronting an oblong hole 302 in the cam 290 for receiving an eccentric member 304. It is apparent from the foregoing discussion regarding the adjusting sleeve 180 that the two cams 288 and 290 are relatively adjustable in precisely the same manner as are the aforementioned first slot selector cam 168 and the first tang selector cam 176.

With continued reference to FIGS. 15 and 16, the stop surface 288a of the slot selector cam 288 is sufficiently wide that it can be engaged and stopped by either one of two slot selector stop dogs, a first slot selector dog 306 and a second slot selector or index dog 308. The stop dog 306 is mounted by a pivot pin 310 to a bracket 312 which in turn is mounted upon a horizontally oriented mounting plate 314 fixed to a support plate 316 that may be part of the machine bed. The fixedly mounted first slot selector stop dog 306 is pivotally driven by an air actuator 318 mounted by a pivot pin 320 on a support bracket 322 supported by the mounting plate 316. In contrast to the relatively fixed mounting of the stop dog 306, the second slot selector stop dog 308 is pivotally mounted by a pivot pin 324 upon a rotatable mounting ring 326 received within an annular recess in the rear face of the mounting plate 314 for rotation about the axis of the drive shaft 292. The ring 326 may be held against the mounting plate 314 by retaining plates 328. The stop dog 308 is pivotally driven by an air actuator 330 which also is mounted on the rotatable mounting ring 326.

As shown in FIG. 16, the mounting ring 326 has a plurality of circumferentially spaced apertures 332, all of which are equidistant from the center of rotation of the drive shaft 292, and a second set of apertures 334 which are also equidistant from the center of rotation of the drive shaft 292 but spaced from the apertures 332. It will be observed that the apertures 332 are marked in accordance with even numbered slot armatures for both reverse and forward patterns of wind and the apertures 334 are marked with odd numbers representing odd slot armatures. Located behind the mounting ring 326 in the mounting plate 314 are a pair of radially aligned and spaced threaded holes 336 and 338 which are at the same radial distance from the center of the drive shaft 292 as are the apertures 332 and 334, respectively. The mounting ring 326 can be rotated relative to the mounting plate 314 to effect a relative positioning of the stop dog 308 with respect to the stop dog 306. When adjusted as desired, the mounting ring 326 is locked in place by a bolt 340 having a threaded shank engaged selectively in either the aperture 336 or the aperture 338.

The apertures 332 and 334 are located in radially spaced rows to avoid overcrowding them. The location of the apertures 332, 334 along the rows is determined in essentially the same manner as that described above in connection with the relatively rotatable cams. With reference to FIG. 16, if both stop dogs 306 and 308 were aligned to stop the rotation of the slot selector cam 288 at the same point an imaginary radial line, designated x--x, on the mounting ring 326 would be aligned with the radius along which the threaded holes 336 and 338 are located. The apertures 332 and 334 in the mounting ring 326 are spaced from the imaginary line x--x by angles struck from the axis of rotation of the drive shaft 292 equal to the desired angle between the ends of the stop dogs 306 and 308. Thus the apertures 334 for the 15-slot armature are located by an angle equal to 360.degree. divided by 15, or 24.degree., from the imaginary line x--x, there being 24.degree. between each slot of a 15-slot armature. The remaining apertures are spaced from the imaginary line x--x by greater angles because, as the number of armature slots decreases, the angles between slots increase. There are two clusters of slots 332 and 334 on opposite sides of the imaginary line x--x to accommodate both the forward and the reverse patterns of wind. It will be noted in FIG. 16 that the mounting ring 326 is locked in a position for winding an 8-slot armature with a reverse pattern.

Associated with the tang selector cam 290 are a pair of stop dogs, a first tang selector dog 342 and a second tang selector dog 344. The dogs 342 and 344 are connected to air actuators 346 and 348, respectively. The first tang selector stop dog 342 is pivotally mounted upon a bracket 350 and its actuator 346 pivotally mounted on a bracket 352, both of which are fixed relative to a second fixed mounting plate 354 mounted on the support plate 316. A rotatable mounting ring 356 is held by a pair of retaining plates 358 in an annular recess in the mounting plate 354. The air actuator 348 and its associated stop dog 344 are mounted by pivot pins 360 and 362, respectively, to the mounting ring 356. Both stop dogs 342 and 344 can stop against the relatively wide stop surface 290a. Accordingly, adjustment of the stop dog 344 relative to the stop dog 342 is the same as that described above in connection with the stop dogs 306 and 308, the mounting ring 356 being held in an adjustably fixed position on the mounting plate 354 by a pin 364 which extends through a selected hole (not shown) into one of two apertures (not shown) in the mounting ring 356 and the mounting plate 354.

The positions of the holes (not shown) that receive the pin 364 are determined in the same way as the positions of the apertures 332 and 334 except that the holes for the pin 364 will be more closely spaced since there are twice as many tangs as there are slots in an armature wound with two coils per slot, these apertures being more closely spaced for the same reason that the apertures 208 of the second tang selector cam of FIG. 6 are more closely spaced than the apertures for the second slot selector or index cam 170 of FIG. 2.

The setup of the device of FIGS. 15 - 17 would proceed substantially as described above, the tang selector cam 290 being adjusted with respect to the slot selector cam 288 upon removal of the nut 294. An armature to be wound would be manually rotated as previously described to a position for receiving the first pair of commutator lead wires. With the armature held in this position the cam 290 would be adjustably moved so that its stop surface 290a would engage the first tang selector dog 342. This is the position of the cam 290 shown in FIG. 17. The stop dogs 308 and 344 can be adjusted by rotation of their mounting rings 326 and 356 either before or after adjustment of the tang selector cam 290. Of course, it will be apparent that, when the mechanism of FIGS. 15 - 17 is set up for winding an armature to have only one coil per slot, it will only be necessary to relatively adjust the positions of the two cams 288 and 290 and then to adjust the mounting ring 326 relative to the cam 288 to cause the armature to be indexed through the desired angle after each coil is wound. When winding an armature having only one coil per slot, the stop dogs 306 and 342 would not be used.

Another embodiment of a winding machine, generally designated 400, in accordance with this invention, is illustrated in FIGS. 18 - 20. The machine 400 includes a drive shaft 402 which in this case is axially aligned with a driven shaft or spindle 404. Both shafts 402 and 404 are hollow to receive a collet operator shaft 406 extending the entire combined lengths thereof. The shafts 402, 404 and 406 are mounted in axial alignment by a forward support stanchion 408, an intermediate support stanchion 410 and a rear support stanchion 412. It will be understood that the support stanchions 408, 410 and 412 are mounted in fixed relation upon the bed of the machine (not shown), and that the shafts 402, 404 and 406 are journalled in bearings (not shown) therein.

The driven shaft 404 is driven in unison with the drive shaft 402 in the aforedescribed "forward" direction by means of a coupling, generally designated 414, including a coupling sleeve 416 shown connected by screw 418 to the drive shaft 402. The coupling sleeve 416 has a hollow, enlarged forward end receiving the rearward end of the driven shaft 404 and a one-way sprag clutch 420 which causes the driven shaft 404 to be rotated in the forward direction when the sleeve 416 is rotated in the forward direction. The coupling 414 further includes a clutch plate 422 slidably but non-rotatably connected to the driven shaft 404 by a key 424 and having a rear face abutting a clutch disc 426 sandwiched between the clutch plate 422 and the forward face of the coupling sleeve 416. The clutch plate 422 is urged to the rear by a spring 428 coiled about the driven shaft 404 and located between the front stanchion 408 and the clutch plate 422. As apparent from the foregoing description, the clutch plate 422 and the clutch disc 426 provide a slip clutch causing the driven shaft 404 to be rotated in the reverse direction when the one-way clutch 420 is ineffective for this purpose. As mentioned above, the reverse drive of the driven shaft 404 is only through limited angles until the armature being wound is appropriately stopped by the pawl 58 (FIG. 3D).

The drive shaft 402 may be driven about its axis by any suitable means such as a rotary fluid motor and timing belt. In FIG. 18 the drive is shown to be a rack 430 actuated by an air drive actuator 432 engaged with teeth 434 cut along an intermediate portion of the drive shaft 402. It will be noted that the forward direction of rotation of the drive shaft 402 is the same as the forward direction of rotation of the armature. Because the drive shaft 402 and the driven shaft 404 are coupled for rotation in the same direction, the forward direction of rotation of the drive shaft 402 is opposite from the direction of rotation of the drive shaft 134 described above. Thus, in FIG. 18 the "forward direction" of rotation of the drive shaft 402 is "top-going."

Mounted on the forward end of the driven shaft 404 is a chuck assembly, generally designated 436, which is essentially the same as the chuck assembly 40 described above. Thus, the chuck assembly 436 includes a collet 438 engaged by a collet actuator 440 operating in a collet retainer 442 pinned to the driven spindle 404. Surrounding the chuck assembly 436 is a notched inner shield 444 held adjustably fixed to the forward stanchion 408 by rod 446 and an outer shield 448 driven by air actuator 450. Also shown in FIG. 18 is a switch operator 452 connected to a bracket 454 connecting the actuator 450 to the outer shield 448. The switch operator 452 cooperates with a sensing switch arm 456 for detecting movement of the outer shield 448.

The collet operator shaft 406 is shown driven by a collet air actuator 458 mounted on a stanchion 460 that is also fixed to the bed of the machine. The actuator 458 is coupled to the collet operator shaft 406 by a coupling, generally designated 462, including a coupling sleeve 464 threaded on the threaded forward end of a piston rod 466 of the actuator 458. The sleeve 464 is held in a fixed position by a lock nut 468. Confined within the coupling sleeve 464 between the forward end of the piston rod 466 and the rear end of the collet operator shaft 406 is a thrust bearing 470 which permits the collet operator shaft 406 to rotate with the armature chucked thereto. When an armature is to be chucked by the collet 438, the piston rod 466 is extended causing the thrust bearing 470 to urge the collet operator shaft 406 forwardly, i.e. to the left in FIG. 18. When it is desired to unchuck an armature, the piston rod 466 is retracted whereupon an internal shoulder portion 472 of the sleeve 464 engages a washer 474 fixed on the rear end of the collet operator shaft 406. The engagement of the shoulder 472 with the washer 474 causes the collet operator shaft 406 to be moved rearwardly.

The rotation of the drive shaft 402 and, accordingly, the driven shaft 404 in the forward direction is controlled by a cam assembly, generally designated 478. For purposes of illustration the cam assembly 478 is shown to be substantially identical to cam assembly 162 described in connection with FIGS. 4 - 10. Thus, the cam assembly 478 includes first and second slot selector cams 480 and 482, respectively, first and second tang selector cams 484 and 486, respectively, and an adjusting sleeve 488 interconnecting the first slot selector cam 480 and the first tang selector cam 484. As before, the adjusting sleeve 488 is threadedly connected internally of an annular flange 490 to the first slot selector cam 480 and connected by an eccentric 492 to the first tang selector cam 484. The first slot selector cam 480 is rotatably fixed to the drive shaft 402 by a key 494. The entire cam assembly 478 is held in axially fixed position upon the drive shaft 402 between a shoulder formed by the enlarged intermediate toothed portion 434 thereof and a nut 496 threaded on an enlarged threaded portion 498 of the drive shaft 402. Stop dogs 500, 502, 504 and 506 are illustrated in FIG. 18 associated with the cams 480, 482, 484 and 486, respectively. Because the forward direction of rotation of the cams is opposite from the cams shown in FIG. 4, the stop dogs 500, 502, 504 and 506 are located on the far side of the cams, as illustrated in FIG. 18, rather than the near side shown in FIG. 4.

Also because the drive shaft 402 rotates in the same direction as the driven shaft 404, the cams 480, 482, 484 and 486 are slightly different from those described above. Referring to FIGS. 19 and 20, cams 480, 482, 484 and 486 are shown with stop surfaces 480a, 482a, 484a and 486a, respectively, adapted to stop forward rotation thereof upon engagement with their associated stop dogs. The second slot selector cam 482 shown in FIG. 19 has a plurality of apertures 508 marked with the number of slots for various armatures to be wound as well as the forward and reverse pattern of wind. The apertures 508 are "oppositely" located with respect to the apertures 210 shown in FIG. 10 because the drive shaft 402 in FIG. 18 rotates in the same direction as the armature. For the same reason, the second tang selector cam 486 has a plurality of marked apertures 510 (FIG. 20) located oppositely to the apertures 208 of the corresponding second tang selector cam 178 shown in FIG. 6. As before, the second slot selector cam 482 is rotated to an appropriate position relative to the first slot selector cam 480 and held in the adjusted position by a pin 512 passing through the desired aperture 508 and threaded into a hole (not shown) in the first slot selector cam 480. The second tang selector cam 486 may be identically connected to the first tang selector cam 484 by a pin 514.

It is believed that the operation of the embodiment shown in FIGS. 18 - 20 is apparent from the 1 - description in connection with FIGS. 1-17. The embodiment of FIGS. 18 - 20 is preferred because of the minimal space required for the mechanism which controls the rotation of the armature being wound and because the one-to-one gears 118 and 132 described above are omitted.

As mentioned above, the drive shafts can be driven by any suitable actuator instead of the illustrated racks 140 and 430 driven by the linear air actuators 142 and 432, respectively. For purposes of this invention, the actuators need only be capable of intermittently rotating the drive shafts through angles sufficiently larger than 360.degree. for correspondingly rotating the armatures, and then rotating the drive shafts back to their start positions. When using the described linear air actuators 142 and 432, the reverse rotation thereof can conveniently be accurately stopped by the "bottoming out" of the actuator pistons at the end of each return stroke. When using, for example, an air powered rotary motor, another stop is required for accurately positioning the drive shaft at the end of its reverse rotation. Such a stop may comprise a cam fixed to the drive shaft with a stop surface oppositely directed from the illustrated stop surfaces, such as those shown in FIGS. 6, 16 and 18, and adapted to be engaged and thus stopped by an appropriate stop dog.

Although the presently preferred embodiments of the machine have been described, it will be understood that various changes may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

Having thus described my invention, I claim:

1. A spindle drive mechanism for repeatedly rotating a spindle about a predetermined axis through predetermined different angular degrees comprising a drive shaft mounted for rotation about said predetermined axis, means including a one-way clutch and a slip clutch coacting between said spindle and said drive shaft and adapted to drive said spindle upon rotation of said drive shaft, drive means for rotating said drive shaft through a predetermined angle in both a forward and a reverse direction, said spindle being driven by said one-way clutch in the forward direction and by said slip clutch in the reverse direction, cam means on said drive shaft, cam follower means following upon said cam means and selectively operable to stop the rotation of said drive shaft in the forward direction, and abutment means engageable with a part fixed in relation to said spindle for stopping rotation of said spindle in the reverse direction.

2. The apparatus of claim 1 further including a coupling sleeve connected to one end of said drive shaft and receiving the adjacent end of said spindle, said one-way clutch and said slip clutch both coacting between said coupling sleeve and said spindle.

3. A spindle drive mechanism for repeatedly rotating a spindle through predetermined different angular degrees comprising a drive shaft, means including a one-way clutch and a slip clutch coacting between said spindle and said drive shaft and adapted to drive said spindle upon rotation of said drive shaft, drive means including an air actuator drivingly engaged with said drive shaft for rotating said drive shaft through a predetermined angle in both a forward and a reverse direction, said spindle being driven by said one-way clutch in the forward direction and by said slip clutch in the reverse direction, cam means on said drive shaft, said cam means including a plurality of cams each having a stop surface, cam follower means following upon said cam means and selectively operable to stop the rotation of said drive shaft in the forward direction, said cam follower means comprising stop dogs moved into engagement with said cams whereupon rotation of said drive shaft in the forward direction is stopped by engagement of one of said stop dogs with its associated cam, and abutment means engageable with a part fixed in relation to said spindle for stopping rotation of said spindle in the reverse direction.

4. A spindle drive mechanism for repeatedly rotating a spindle through predetermined different angular degrees comprising a drive shaft, means including a one-way clutch and a slip clutch coacting between said spindle and said drive shaft and adapted to drive said spindle upon rotation of said drive shaft, drive means for rotating said drive shaft through a predetermined angle in both a forward and a reverse direction, said spindle being driven by said one-way clutch in the forward direction and by said slip clutch in the reverse direction, cam means on said drive shaft, said cam means comprising at least two cams, one of said cams being affixed to said drive shaft, the other of said cams being mounted coaxially with said first cam on said drive shaft and connected to said first cam by a sleeve affixed to one of said two cams and relatively adjustable with respect to the other of said two cams, cam follower means following upon said cam means and selectively operable to stop the rotation of said drive shaft in the forward direction, and abutment means engageable with a part fixed in relation to said spindle for stopping rotation of said spindle in the reverse direction.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said sleeve is connected to said other of said two cams by intermeshing teeth.

6. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said cam means comprises a total of four cams there being one cam connected to each of said two first mentioned cams and relatively adjustable with respect thereto.

7. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said cam follower means includes four cam followers, two adapted to be engaged with each of said two cams, and two of said cam followers, one for each of said two cams, being relatively adjustable with respect to the others of said cam followers about the axis of rotation of said cams.

8. The cam assembly of claim 4 wherein said sleeve is connected by said teeth to said first of said cams and thereby adjustably fixed relative to said shaft.

9. A cam assembly for use in controlling the angular rotation of a shaft, said cam assembly including a first cam affixed to said shaft, a second cam rotatable upon said shaft, a sleeve interconnecting said first cam and said second cam, said sleeve being rotatable upon said shaft and having a first end portion with peripheral radially outwardly projecting teeth engageable with inwardly directed teeth affixed in relation to one of said first and second cams, and said sleeve having a second end portion adjacent the other of said first and second cams and an eccentric element interconnecting said second end portion of said sleeve and said other of said cams.