Coil Manufacturing apparatus

A coil winding apparatus for manufacturing a wire coil having a leg portion at each end comprising:

• a longitudinally moveable mandrel wire;
• guide means operatively associated with said mandrel wire for guiding said mandrel wire during said longitudinal movement;
• supply means for supplying filament wire to said mandrel wire and including means defining a filament wire feed path for feeding said filament wire to said mandrel wire between an initial position spaced from said mandrel wire to a final position downstream of said initial position, wherein said filament wire comes into contact with said mandrel wire at said final position;
• coiling means operatively associated with said filament wire supply means for coiling said filament wire around said mandrel wire;
• revolving means connected to said coiling means for revolving said coiling means around said mandrel wire between a coiling start time and a coiling end time;
• means operatively connected to said revolving means for stopping said revolving means at said coiling end time;
• leg forming means for forming said leg portion disposed between said initial and final positions of said filament wire feed path and reciprocably moveable between a starting position wherein said leg forming means is in a disengaged relationship with said filament wire and an end position wherein said leg forming means is in a filament wire engaging position to deflect said feed path and thus said filament wire towards said mandrel wire to lay said filament wire substantially parallel to said mandrel wire between said final position of said feed path and said end position of said leg forming means;
• and
• transfer means for longitudinally moving said mandrel wire and including first and second holding means for holding said mandrel wire, and driving means operatively connected to said first and second holding means and said leg forming means for (a) moving said first holding means into a holding relationship with said mandrel wire at said coiling start time, (b) longitudinally moving said first holding means while in said holding relationship at a predetermined rate of speed away from said guide means between a first position corresponding to said coiling start time and a second position downstream of said first position corresponding to said coiling end time, (c) stopping said longitudinal movement of said first holding means at said coiling end time, while (d) simultaneously moving said second holding means into a holding relationship with said mandrel wire upstream of said first holding means when said first holding means is at said second position, the coiled filament wire thereby being disposed between said first and second holding means, (e) releasing said first holding means from its holding relationship with said mandrel wire at said second position and moving said released first holding means in a direction towards said guide means to a third mandrel wire holding position upstream of and separated from said second holding means, (f) moving said leg forming means from said starting position to said end position when said first holding means is in said third mandrel wire holding position to form said leg portion and retaining said leg forming means in said end position until said coiling start time wherein it is moved from said end position to said starting position, and (g) releasing said second holding means from said holding relationship with said mandrel wire, whereby
• said first holding means is once again holding said mandrel wire at said coiling start time thereby permitting said transfer means to once again execute steps (a) through (g) to form a wire coil having a leg portion at each end.