Tangential Wire Retainer for Diagonal Coil Winding

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Solution Overview

Problem

Conventional winding apparatuses for coil manufacturing face challenges in maintaining uniform wire length and efficient winding due to tapered wire retainers, which lead to manufacturing cost issues, surface roughness variations, and difficulties in adjusting the biasing force, making it hard to achieve regular winding, especially with larger wire diameters and self-fusing materials.

Innovation Solution

A winding apparatus with tangentially oriented wire material winding members that extend on either side of the core, allowing the wire to be wound diagonally, and a contact angle varying mechanism to ensure consistent wire length, using pin-shaped members with adjustable contact points to guide the wire material effectively, enabling regular winding regardless of wire diameter.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Manufacturing precision

If a tapered wire retainer is used to guide wire material to a predetermined position of the core, then the wire material can be encouraged to slide down and be wound in a predetermined position, but manufacturing costs increase and surface roughness variation occurs

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewinding position precisionVSAvoidmanufacturing cost

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

Instead of using a tapered wire retainer that requires complex sheet metal working, the invention uses a cylindrical wire retainer with a groove that extends in the tangential direction. The wire material is guided by the groove structure rather than by tapering the retainer body, inverting the conventional approach to achieve both precision and ease of manufacture

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

Solution Approach 2:

The wire guiding function is segmented from the retainer body structure. The groove is formed as a separate feature on the cylindrical retainer surface, allowing the retainer to be manufactured by simple cutting or molding while maintaining precise wire guidance through the groove geometry

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Manufacturing precision

If a tapered wire retainer is used to guide wire material, then winding position precision is improved, but surface roughness increases causing wire material damage

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewinding position precisionVSAvoidwire material surface damage

Core Design Contradiction:

Manufacturing precisionVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The invention inverts the conventional tapered structure by using a cylindrical retainer with a tangential groove. This groove structure guides the wire material smoothly without the surface roughness issues inherent in tapered sheet metal retainers, preventing wire material damage while maintaining winding precision

Inventive Principle:

Principle #13The other way round (Inversion)

3Productivity

If the contact angle of wire retainers is varied using a coil spring biasing force, then the wire material can be guided to the core, but it becomes difficult to adjust the contact angle and control winding quality

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewinding efficiencyVSAvoidcontact angle adjustability

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The invention introduces a dynamic contact angle adjustment mechanism where the wire retainer can pivot or adjust its contact angle with the core during operation. This allows the system to adapt to different wire diameters and winding requirements while maintaining efficient wire guidance, combining productivity with operational flexibility

Inventive Principle:

Principle #15Dynamics

4Productivity

If tip ends of wire retainers are disposed to sandwich the core on a plane including rotary center and center line, then the wire material can be initially wound around the retainers, but multiple wire materials may be wound simultaneously causing gaps

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvewinding speedVSAvoidwinding regularity

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The invention changes the spatial arrangement of the wire retainer tip ends from a planar sandwich configuration to a configuration where the groove extends in the tangential direction of the core. This dimensional change in the groove orientation ensures that wire material is guided sequentially along the tangential path, preventing simultaneous winding of multiple wire materials and eliminating gaps while maintaining high winding speed

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

Data Source

PatentUS9666364B2Winding apparatus and winding method

Publication Date: 2017.05.30 NITTOKU ENG CO LTD

AI summary

A winding apparatus includes a nozzle that is adapted to rotate about a core along a locus that is inclined relative to a center line of the core, wire material winding members that are adapted to guide a wire material wound via the nozzle to the core, and a core rotating mechanism that is adapted to rotate the core relative to the wire material winding members. The wire material winding members are disposed on either side of the core so as to sandwich a plane that includes both a rotary center of the nozzle and the center line of the core, whereby the wire material winding members extend in a tangential direction to the core such that respective tip ends thereof are oriented in a rotation direction of the core. The wire material is successively wound diagonally around the core.