Traverse control system

In a wire twisting and winding apparatus having a frame, a reel shaft rotatably mounted on said frame, a reel spindle drivably coupled to said reel shaft and adapted to receive a take-up reel having left and right flanges, a flyer rotatably mounted on a flyer carriage, said flyer carriage being reciprocally mounted on said frame, means for reciprocally driving said flyer carriage between left and right reversal means movably mounted on said frame in spatial relation to said flyer carriage, said reversal means being coupled to said flyer carriage drive means and adapted to cause the reversal of the drive direction thereof, and means affixed to said flyer carriage for activating said left and right reversal means alternately as said flyer carriage traverses reciprocally, an improved control means for automatically adjusting the positions of said reversal means comprising:

• (i) left and right drive means coupled to said left and right reversal means respectively for moving the same relative to said flyer carriage;
• (ii) left and right time delay means mounted on said frame and coupled to said left and right reversal means respectively, said time delay means being adapted to provide an output for a pre-determined interval whenever said corresponding reversal means is activated by said activating means, said pre-determined time intervals defining when said flyer carriage is within left and right zones with respect to said left and right reversal means respectively;
• (iii) first means coupled to a strand of wire being drawn into said apparatus, said first means being responsive to the velocity of said wire strand and adapted to output an analogous representation of a wire velocity increase or decrease;
• (iv) logic means coupled to said left and right time delay means, said first responsive means and said left and right drive means, said logic means being adapted to activate said left drive means in first and opposite directions whenever said wire velocity increases or decreases respectively and said flyer carriage is within said right zone,
• whereby, said first direction of said left and right drive means is selected to drive said left reversal means to the right and said right reversal means to the left respectively, thereby adjusting the positions of said reversal means with respect to said flyer carriage so as to eliminate increases and decreases in said velocity of said wire strand due to accumulations and recesses respectively of said wire adjacent said flanges of said take-up reel, and each traverse of said flyer carriage substantially corresponds to the distance between said flanges of said reel.

In a wire winding apparatus having a frame, a reel shaft rotatably mounted on said frame, a reel spindle drivably coupled to said reel shaft and adapted to receive a take-up reel having left and right flanges, means for distributing wire onto said take-up reel reciprocally mounted on said frame, means for reciprocally driving said wire distributing means between left and right reversal means movably mounted on said frame, said reversal means being coupled to said wire distributing drive means and adapted to cause the reversal of the drive direction thereof, and means affixed to said wire distributing means for activating said left and right reversal means alternately as said wire distributing means traverses reciprocally, an improved control means for automatically adjusting the positions of said reversal means comprising:

• (a) left and right drive means coupled to said left and right reversal means respectively for moving the same relative to said wire distributing means;
• (b) left and right zone sense means coupled to said left and right reversal means respectively, said zone sense means being adapted to provide, when activated, an indication that said wire distributing means is within pre-determined left and right zones with respect to said left and right reversal means respectively;
• (c) first means coupled to a strand of wire being drawn into said apparatus, said first means being responsive to the velocity of said wire strand and adapted to output an analogous representation of a wire velocity increase or decrease;
• (d) logic means coupled to said left and right zone sense means, said first responsive means and said left and right drive means, said logic means being adapted to activate said left drive means in first and opposite directions whenever said wire velocity increases or decreases respectively and said wire distributing means is within said left zone, and to activate said right drive means in first and opposite directions whenever said wire velocity increases or decreases respectively and said wire distributing means is within said right zone,
• whereby, said first direction of said left and right drive means is selected to drive said left reversal means to the right and said right reversal means to the left respectively, thereby adjusting the positions of said reversal means with respect to said wire distributing means so as to eliminate increases and decreases in said velocity of said wire strand due to accumulations and recesses respectively of said wire adjacent said flanges of said take-up reel, and each traverse of said wire distributing means substantially corresponds to the distance between said flanges of said reel.