WO1999014150A1

WO1999014150A1 - Wire wrapping

Info

Publication number: WO1999014150A1
Application number: PCT/GB1998/002740
Authority: WO
Inventors: Keith Dixon-Roche
Original assignee: Dixon Roche Keith
Priority date: 1997-09-12
Filing date: 1998-09-10
Publication date: 1999-03-25
Also published as: AU9085398A

Abstract

A wire-wrapping machine (100) for helically wrapping flexible pipes (200) or other elongate workpieces with armouring wire (134) or other filamentary material. Wire-supplying reels (122) are rotatably mounted on the machine (100) coaxially with the longitudinal axis (124) of the machine (100). For ease of access to individual reels (122) and to allow flexibility in configuring the machine (100), the machine (100) is longitudinally sub-divided into a plurality of rotatably supported wire-supplying sections (104, 106) which can be axially separated for substitution of depleted reels with pre-wound reels, and then re-assembled ready for wire-wrapping. Compared to prior-art wrapping machines in which the wire-supplying reels orbit around the workpiece, the wire-wrapping machine of the present invention is more compact and operates at higher speeds.

Description

WIRE WRAPPING

This invention relates to wire wrapping and relates more particularly but not exclusively to apparatus for wrapping a layer of armouring wire onto a pipe or tube of indeterminate length.

In the construction of flexible pipes, hoses, cables, umbilicals, and the like, it is known to armour the pipe (etc) by providing the pipe (etc) at or near its outer surface with a layer of helically wound steel wires . While winding can be accomplished by rotating the pipe (etc) adjacent wire-supplying reels, this becomes impracticable as pipes become longer and it is then necessary for the wire-supplying reels to orbit around a non-rotating pipe (etc) . This leads to the winding machine being large, complex, and limited in its operating speed.

According to the present invention there is provided wrapping apparatus for helically wrapping an elongate workpiece with wire or other filamentary material, the wrapping apparatus comprising workpiece support and guidance means for supporting and guiding an elongate workpiece for movement along a longitudinal axis of the wrapping apparatus, wrapping means rotatably mounted for rotation around the longitudinal axis of the wrapping apparatus for helically wrapping wire or other filamentary material around and along the workpiece, wire-supplying annular reel means rotatably mounted around the longitudinal axis of the wrapping apparatus, wire take-up and guidance means for taking-up wire or other filamentary material from the annular reel means and for guiding the taken-up wire or other filamentary material to the wrapping means, and drive means to cause simultaneous relative rotation and relative longitudinal movement between the wrapping means and the workpiece whereby to cause the wire or other filamentary material to be helically wrapped around and along the workpiece.

Where a plurality of wires are simultaneously wrapped, the wire-supplying annular reel means preferably comprises a respective annular reel for each separate wire or filament of other filamentary material, each said reel preferably being mounted on the wrapping apparatus substantially coaxially with the longitudinal axis. Each said reel is preferably individually rotatably mounted on the wrapping apparatus. The annular reels are preferably longitudinally stacked along the wrapping apparatus.

The wire take-up and guidance means preferably comprises a respective hollow tube arrangement for each separate wire or filament of other filamentary material, each tube arrangement preferably having a wire inlet adjacent a respective one of the annular reels, and each tube arrangement preferably having a wire outlet adjacent the wrapping means. The tube arrangements are preferably circumferentially staggered around the wrapping apparatus. The wrapping apparatus is preferably longitudinally sub-divided into a plurality of sections each rotatably mounting a respective plurality of annular reels, each section which is not the section longitudinally most remote from the wrapping means comprising a requisite plurality of longitudinally extending tube arrangements or other wire guidance means for guiding wires or other filamentary material through that section from a section or sections more longitudinally remote from the wrapping means, the sections being individually or collectively mounted for rotation about the longitudinal axis of the wrapping apparatus, the sections being provided with mutual coupling means for ensuring conjoint rotation during wrapping operation of the wrapping apparatus . Each said section is preferably individually rotatably mounted on a respective bearing and support, at least some of the supports being individually movable on a common foundation to enable longitudinal separation and re-assembly of the sections.

Each wire or other individual item of filamentary material is preferably provided with a respective controllable wire-tensioning means.

Embodiments of the invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of a preferred embodiment of wrapping machine in accordance with the invention;

Figure 2 is an enlarged fragment of part of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a transverse section of the preferred embodiment, taken on the line III - III in Figure 2;

Figure 4 is a transverse section of the preferred embodiment, taken on the line IV - IV in Figure 2;

Figure 5 shows part of the preferred embodiment being assembled prior to use;

Figure 6 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of part of the preferred embodiment, to a somewhat larger scale than Figure 1;

Figure 7 is an end elevation of the part shown in Figure 6, as viewed from the right;

Figure 8 is a longitudinal sectional elevation of a wrapping mechanism forming part of the preferred embodiment, to an enlarged scale with respect to Figure 1;

Figure 9 is an end elevation of the wrapping mechanism shown in Figure 8, as viewed from the left;

Figure 10 is an end elevation of the wrapping mechanism shown in Figure 8, as viewed from the right; and

Figure 11 shows the preferred embodiment in operation.

It should be noted that all the drawings are schematic in nature, and that only essential components and assemblies are depicted.

Referring first to Figure 1, a wire wrapping machine 100 comprises a wrapping nose 102, a first wire- supplying section 104, a second wire-supplying section 106, and as many further wire-supplying sections (not shown) as may be required.

The generally annular wrapping nose 102 is rotatably mounted within a ring bearing 108 which is mounted on a support 110 secured to a bed plate 112 which serves as a foundation member for the entire machine 100. The generally cylindrical first wire-supplying section 104 is rotatably mounted at its front end (the left end as viewed in Figure 1) by being mechanically coupled to the wrapping nose 102. The first section 104 is rotatably mounted at its rear end (the right end as viewed in Figure 1) by means of a ring bearing 114 mounted on a support 116 detachably secured to the bed plate 112. The generally cylindrical second wire- supplying section 106 is rotatably mounted at its front end (the left end as viewed in Figure 1) within the bearing 114 and is mechanically coupled (in operation) to the rear of the first section 104. The second section 106 is rotatably mounted at its rear end (the right end as viewed in Figure 1) by means of a ring bearing 118 mounted on a support 120 detachably secured to the bed plate 112.

The first wire-supplying section 104 differs from the second wire-supplying section 106 in certain respects which will subsequently be detailed. Further wire- supplying sections (if any) are essentially the same as the second wire-supplying section 106, and are supported and coupled in the same manner as is the second section 106.

Referring to Figure 1 and to the enlarged partial view in Figure 2, the exterior of the first wire-supplying section 104 supports a plurality of annular reels 122, shown by way of example as five in number. The reels 122 are coaxial with the longitudinal axis 124 of the machine 100, and the reels 122 are made rotatable with respect to the main body of the section 104 by the interposition of eight longitudinally aligned nylon rollers 126 circumferentially distributed around the periphery of the main body, each roller 126 being set in a respective longitudinal groove. Between each adjacent pair of reels 122, and between the outer faces of end reels on the section 104 and adjacent flanges on the periphery of the section 104, are respective rows of circumferentially distributed nylon rollers 128 each of which has a respective axis of rotation which is radial with respect to the longitudinal axis 124. The rollers 128 sustain axial thrusts incurred by the reels 122 during paying-out of wire, and facilitate relative rotation of the reels with respect to each other and with respect to the main body of the section 104.

Each of the reels 128 has an associated wire take-up and guidance tube 130 (only one of which is shown in Figures 1 and 2). Each of the tubes 130 is fixed to the main body of the first section 104, with the inlet end of each of the tubes 130 adjacent a respective one of the reels 122 and the outlet ends of the tubes 130 being connected to a respective one of a circular array of wire feed holes 132 in the forward end of the section 104 (see Figure 3). Each of the tubes 130 takes up wire 134 previously wound on the respective reel 122 and guides the taken-up wire to the respective feed hole 132 for transfer to the wrapping nose 102 (as will be detailed subsequently) .

There will be a wire feed hole 132 for each of the maximum number of wires to be wrapped on any particular occasion, and this maximum number would normally be greatly in excess of the maximum number of wire- supplying reels mounted on any one section of the wrapping machine 100. Accordingly, this maximum number less the number of reels 122 and guide tubes 130 on the first section 104, is the number of feed holes 132 that are extended longitudinally through the first section 104 to the rear of the section 104 (see Figure 4) where they couple to corresponding feed tubes in the second section 106 (see Figure 1).

The second section 106 has an array of rotatably mounted reels, together with wire take-up and guidance tubes, that is basically similar to the first section 104, but which differs in certain respects now to be detailed.

Referring to Figure 5, wires 134' from the second and subsequent wire-supplying sections are led through an outer part 136 of the main body of the first section 104, and over a longitudinally grooved inner sleeve 138 forming another part of the main body of the first section 104. When the wires 134' are suitably positioned, and with adequate tension suitably maintained by any suitable means, the inner sleeve 138 is slid into the outer part 136 to complete the assembly and reeving of the first wire-supplying section 104.

Turning now to Figures 6 and 7, the second wire- supplying section 106 lacks the inner sleeve 138 of the first section 104, the wires from third and subsequent wire-supplying sections (not shown) being carried through the body of the second section 106 by means of a circumferentially distributed array of longitudinal inner guide tubes 140. Other components of the second section 106 which are identical or functionally equivalent to parts of the first section 104 are given the same reference numerals. Another and relatively minor technical distinction with respect to the first section 104 is that in the second section 106, the rollers 128 are substituted by anti-friction spacer discs 142.

Turning now to Figure 8, 9 and 10, these show essential features of the wrapping nose 102 to an enlarged scale with respect to Figure 1. Wires 134 passing out of the forward ends of the guide tubes 130 by way of the wire feed holes 132 (Figures 1, 2 and 3) are led through a circular array of circumferentially distributed discharge holes 144 (Figures 1, 2, 8 and 9) extending longitudinally through the wrapping nose 102. Immediately prior to the discharge holes 144, the wires pass over adjustable guides 146 (Figures 1, 2, 8 and 10) which serve to apply controllable tension to the wires as they pass through the wrapping nose 102. The tensioning guides 146 are adjustable (for controlled variation of wire tension) by means of adjustment screws 148 (Figures 1, 2 and 8) which are locked in place following adjustment by means of lock-nuts 150.

The wrapping nose 102 is normally permanently attached to the sleeve 138 of the first wire-supplying section 104 by means of screws 152 (Figures 1, 2, 5 and 8). Co-rotation of the wrapping nose 102 and the first section 104 during wire-wrapping operation of the machine 100 is ensured by means of drive pins 154 (Figures 1 and 2) extending axially rearwards (rightwards as viewed in Figures 1 and 2) from the sleeve 138 and into corresponding drive sockets 156 (Figures 1, 2, 3 and 5) in the forward end of the outer part 136 of the first wire-supplying section 104. Similar drive pins 158 (Figures 1, 2 and 4) axially projecting from the rear (rightwards) end of the first section 104 rotationally couple the first wire- supplying section 104 to the second wire-supplying section 106 by way of complementary drive sockets 159 (Fig. 6) in the forward (leftwards) end of the second section 106 for conjoint rotation of both sections during wire-wrapping operation of the machine 100 while allowing the section 106 to be axially separated from the section 104 (as depicted in Figure 1) when it is desired to replace depleted reels 122 on the first section 104 with wire-filled reels. Four circumferentially spaced drive pins 160 (Figures 1 and 6) axially projecting from the rear of the second section 106 either rotationally couple the second section 106 to a similar third wire-supply section (not shown) or detachably attach the rear (rightwards) end of the section 106 to a back plate 162 (Figure 1) rotatably mounted in the bearing 118 to provide rotational support for the rear end of the section 106.

When the wrapping nose 102, the first wire-supplying section 104, and the second wire-supplying section 106 together with any further wire-supplying sections are mutually rotationally coupled for wire-wrapping operation, the rotatable parts of the assembly are rotated by a suitable drive gear 164 (Figure 1) capable of starting, stopping, and providing adequate torque at a suitable speed, all in a fully controllable manner.

Not shown in the drawings are suitable means of known form for guiding, supporting, and longitudinally drawing a flexible pipe 200 through the wrapping machine 100 while preventing the pipe 200 from rotating. (For example, such means can comprise an array of motor-driven pipe-pulling caterpillar tracks (not shown) clamped against a length of the pipe 200 downstream (left) of the machine 100, together with suitably located pipe-supporting rollers (not shown)). Operation of the wrapping machine 100 to wrap the pipe 200 with a layer of helically wound armouring wires 134 is illustrated in Figure 11 (wherein only part of the machine 100 is shown) . A preferred lay angle during normal operation is 54*-°.

As shown in Figure 11, the pipe 200 is longitudinally moving from right to left (but without rotation) through the machine 100 whose rotatable parts are rotating clockwise as viewed looking onto its forward (leftmost) end ( ie as viewed from the left in Figure 11)/ the machine 100 being longitudinally stationary. (As an alternative way of presentation, the rotatable parts of the machine 100 are rotating in Figure 11 such that the upper half of the rotatable assembly is advancing out of the plane of Figure 11 while the lower half of the rotatable assembly is retreating into the plane of Figure 11).

The drive means 164 is preferably selectively reversible such that a flexible pipe could be wrapped with armouring wires in helices of a hand opposite of that shown in Figure 11 ( ie anti-clockwise instead of clockwise) . The capability of reversible rotation is particularly useful if the same wrapping machine is to be utilised for wrapping a pipe (one layer at a time) with two or more layers of armouring wire wherein successive layers have wires that cross those of the immediately underlying layer.

A fundamental advantage of the machine 100 lies in its ability to helically wrap a pipe (or any other elongate workpiece) with wire (or any other filamentary wrapping material) supplied from reels or bobbins that are substantially coaxial with the pipe or the workpiece being wrapped, rather than being in orbit around the pipe as with prior-art wrapping machines . The ability of the machine 100 to have a variable number of wire- supplying sections coupled together provides the advantage of flexibility in the number of wires selected to be wrapped simultaneously. The longitudinal division of the machine 100 into a number of sections also facilitates the replacement of any selected wire reel since only a small number of reels at most ( four at most in the preferred embodiment described with reference to Figures 1 - 11) need be removed from any separated section to reach a given reel. (If the latter advantage can be foregone, especially if the number of wires is small, the wrapping machine need not be longitudinally sub-divided into a plurality of sections).

As an alternative to wrapping armouring wire, the wrapping machine of the present invention could be employed for wrapping non-armouring sheathing wires, shielding materials, or any other selected filamentary material capable of being wrapped onto a pipe from pre- wound reels.

As well as wrapping flexible pipes, the present invention can be utilised for wrapping hoses, cables, umbilicals (assemblies of multiple hoses and/or cables), rigid pipes, and other forms of longitudinally extended articles.

The number of reels per section, and the number of sections per machine, can be different from the five reels per section/two-section machine schematically illustrated in Figs. 1-11.

Other modifications and variations can be adopted without departing from the scope of the invention as defined in the appended claims .

Claims

1 Wrapping apparatus (100) for helically wrapping an elongate workpiece (200) with wire (134) or other filamentary material, the wrapping apparatus (100) being characterised by workpiece support and guidance means for supporting and guiding an elongate workpiece (200) for movement along a longitudinal axis (124) of the wrapping apparatus (100), wrapping means (102) rotatably mounted for rotation around the longitudinal axis (124) of the wrapping apparatus (100) for helically wrapping wire (134) or other filamentary material around and along the workpiece (200), wire-supplying annular reel means (122) rotatably mounted around the longitudinal axis (124) of the wrapping apparatus (100), wire take-up and guidance means (130) for taking-up wire (134) or other filamentary material from the annular reel means (122) and for guiding the taken-up wire (134) or other filamentary material to the wrapping means (102), and drive means (164) to cause simultaneous relative rotation and relative longitudinal movement between the wrapping means (102) and the workpiece (200) whereby to cause the wire (134) or other filamentary material to be helically wrapped around and along the workpiece (200).

2 Wrapping apparatus as claimed in claim 1 wherein a plurality of wires are simultaneously wrapped, characterised in that the wire-supplying annular reel means comprises a respective annular reel (122) for each separate wire (134) or filament of other filamentary material, each said reel (122) being mounted on the wrapping apparatus (100) substantially coaxially with the longitudinal axis ( 124 ) .

Wrapping apparatus as claimed in claim 2, characterised in that each said reel (122) is individually rotatably mounted on the wrapping apparatus (100).

Wrapping apparatus as claimed in claim 2 or claim 3 characterised in that the annular reels (122) are longitudinally stacked along the wrapping apparatus (100).

Wrapping apparatus as claimed in any of claims 2-4, characterised in that the wire take-up and guidance means comprises a respective hollow tube arrangement (130, 140) for each separate wire (134) or filament of other filamentary material, each tube arrangement (130) having a wire inlet adjacent a respective one of the annular reels (122), and each tube arrangement having a wire outlet adjacent the wrapping means (102).

Wrapping apparatus as claimed in claim 5 characterised in that the tube arrangements (130, 140) are circumferentially distributed around the apparatus (100).

Wrapping apparatus as claimed in any of claims 2-6, characterised in that the wrapping apparatus (100) is longitudinally sub-divided into a plurality of sections (104, 106) each rotatably mounting a respective plurality of wire-supplying annular reels (122), each section (106) which is not the section longitudinally most remote from the wrapping means (102) comprising a requisite plurality of longitudinally extending tube arrangements (140) or other wire guidance means for guiding wires (134) or other filamentary material through that section (106) from a section or sections more longitudinally remote from the wrapping means (102), the sections (104, 106) being individually or collectively mounted for rotation about the longitudinal axis (124) of the wrapping apparatus (100), the sections (104, 106) being provided with mutual coupling means (154, 158, 160) for ensuring conjoint rotation during wrapping operation of the wrapping apparatus (100).

Wrapping apparatus as claimed in claim 7, characterised in that each said section (104, 106) is individually rotatably mounted on a respective bearing and support (108 & 110, 114 & 116, 118 & 120), at least some of the supports being individually movable on a common foundation (112) to enable longitudinal separation and re-assembly of the sections (104, 106).

Wrapping apparatus as claimed in any preceding claim, characterised in that each wire (134) or other individual item of filamentary material is provided with a respective controllable wire- tensioning means (144).