BACKGROUND

[0001] The subject of the invention is a technical invention of the design of complete robotic mechanical manipulation of the winding wire and the winding on the toroid, which is essentially a cylinder with rounded edges, without the need for a worker, in terms of service of well-known winding machines, which are normally intended for a service of a qualified worker.

Toroid is a geometric body, formed by the rotation of any geometric body around an axis - the centre, where the axis of rotation - the centre, lies outside the surface of the selected body.

However, in practice this term applies to types of transformers which have a core shape similar to or identical to toroid. The name toroid is a generally established naming for these types of transformers.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION AND REEATED ART

[0002] Problems of the current state of the art in this field:

The current state of the art of machines for winding thin wires as additional elements on toroids as workpieces or cores, representing toroidal transformers does not allow a fully automatic process, because the thin wire behaves, before and after the winding phase, unevenly in space or it takes random positions in space, which the robot cannot detect, and therefore a human is needed to detect the wire in each cycle, to grasp it and lead it into the next semi-automatic phase of the known process.

This part, performed by the worker, constitutes a bottleneck to the work process and therefore prevents shorter working times and consequently does not allow the price of these products to be reduced.

In addition, due to human errors, which are of the 350ppm order, it does not allow for a very high true put yields, which in practice means well-made products, produced without repairs and scraps. This term is generally applicable in technical industries, where we statistically monitor production quality factors and at the same time high process skills (Cp and Cpk), which are also established statistical tracking terms in terms of quality or capabilities of work processes in terms of statistical quantities.

Winding the wire on toroidal transformers, which is a known state of the art so far, is only semi-automatic and requires precise work of the worker regarding the manipulation or installation of the wire to the winding ring.

The wire is extremely thin and when unloaded, behaves arbitrarily in the room or is moved in any direction that is different for each cycle, so the technical solution of attaching the wire and arresting the wire to the winding ring to the presented invention was impossible or technically unsolvable, since the manipulator or robot, even if equipped with a machine vision and other sensory equipment, which would keep an eye on the position of the wire, cannot follow or determine any position of the wire in such a short time as required by the winding cycle.

Therefore, in the phase of gripping and arresting the wire on the winding ring, human work is necessary, since the human works in the sense of regulation loop and not in terms of steering, and can therefore adapt promptly to any position of the wire or can much more easily follow the different positions of the start of the winding wire in each winding cycle and much more easily arrests it on the winding ring.

It is arrested by pushing it through a thin hole on the ring (approximately 0.3mm in diameter) and then tying it with a knot.

Since the insertion of a wire of approx. 0.1mm in diameter through a hole in a ring with a diameter of approx. 0.3mm requires exceptional accuracy and is at the same time extremely burdening for the worker's eyes, this post produces, in the long run, working people with disabilities in terms of vision and, above all, joint problems due to forced position, rapid repetitive movements and monotonous work.

This was confirmed by market research of suppliers/manufacturers of toroid winding equipment

Known state of the art of winding machines in this field: [0003] There are quite a few suppliers of toroid winding equipment in Europe and the world (Sources: Internet, ETI Report: CWIEME Berlin, 2019).

In addition, different methods are used for toroid winding.

Each of these methods has certain advantages and disadvantages.

Each method is only suitable for a specific type of winding (depending on the dimensions of the core, wire, number of envelopes. .

The main producers of winding equipment are the following companies:

RUFF, CREDOTECH, Gorman, Si-Pro, Marsilli, Auman, Meteor. . .

Typically for all systems available on the market is that they allow only semi-automatic toroid winding (certain operations are performed by the operator and others by the machine).

None of the known producers offers or enables a fully automated system that does not require manual operation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION AND BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0004] Problems solved by the proposed invention

The technical invention presented below eliminates all the listed deficiencies of the currently known systems by enabling robotic or fully automated service or work with known winding machines intended for winding the wires to the toroidal core, suitable mainly for thin wires with a diameter of approx. 0.1mm, which is achieved by means or forms and functions of the grippers, the shape and dimension of the grooves on the winding ring and the introduction of all other auxiliary systems, such as wire arrest, scissors (S) for cutting the wire (Z), etc., and, of course, coordinated operation of all systems.

Searching for possible conceptual solutions, assessment of critical operations:

The analysis of the existing solutions available on the market shows that automation of the winding process is extremely demanding.

The work of operators on winding devices requires a lot of manual skill and precise coordination of hand and vision movement, because a very thin wire (0.16mm) for each individual product must be attached to the moving machine part, and after the winding, the wire remnant must be removed from the system and the wound wires properly attached to the core.

Attaching the wire to the ring magazine or winding ring in existing winding machines, for wires thinner than 0.3mm, is most often made in a way that the operator must insert the loose part of the wire through a hole with a diameter of less than 1mm, which is made for this purpose on the winding ring, and then attach the wire to the winding ring with the help of a loop.

Upon completion of the winding phase, the operator uses scissors to cut the loop and removes the wire remnant from the winding ring.

As a result, human work on such winding machines is very demanding, physically strenuous, and consequently has low productivity.

Such a way of working is only suitable in Europe for smaller batches.

At the same time, the described procedure is very unsuitable for automating the process, mainly due to the properties (thinness) of the wire.

One of the options is to, as a basis, use a winding machine with a winding ring - magazine and a drive (POG) with a toothed belt; the operator’s work is replaced with an industrial robot.

For this purpose, in addition to the rest, we would need a system with a 6-axis robot and a demanding optical system for 3D image capture and analysis.

The problem with such systems is that they are, as a rule, very expensive.

If we use a cheaper optical system, such a system can be quite unreliable or too timeconsuming.

This is due to the fact that it is necessary to accurately analyse the picture of the position of the wire, which is very thin and randomly curved in space.

Our presented invention solves the above-mentioned shortcomings of semi-automatic systems, which are known state of the art in this field, and enables faster winding cycles, since clamping the wire and removing the wire residue is no longer the so-called time bottleneck of the process. It is based on the so-called mechanical system that allows attaching the wire to the hardware part of the winding device with the help of an industrial robot and standard grippers without the use of expensive and complicated optical systems.

In order to facilitate this solution, we had to prevent random behavior (movement) of the wire or make a gripper that will always catch the wire in the room.

The requirements for mechanical design are that the wire joining with the machine part must be sufficiently solid, so that the wire does not detach or break uncontrollably during the winding process, while allowing reliable automatic release from the forming joint on the winding ring and the removal of the wire after winding.

Challenges or technical solutions for designing such a system:

- method of guiding (handling) the wire

- design and shape of the machine element, which will meet the stated requirements regarding the strength of the joint between the wire and the machine part

- ensuring precise guidance and stopping of the winding machinery

The mechanical wire fastening solution, described by our proposed invention, which enables the automation of the process, must provide the following:

1.) the wire is permanently guided in the hollow part (tube) at the place of manipulation,

2.) on the ring magazine of the winding machine, two grooves of a special shape are additionally made, which enable a self-locking connection in the tangential direction and an open (non-self locking) connection in the radial direction to the winding ring,

3.) the robot, using a simple circular motion, winds the wire on the part of the winding ring between the two grooves. The characteristics of such a joint are:

1.) in the event that the force with which the wire acts on the ring is directed tangentially to the ring (that is, during the winding phase), the joint is self-closing,

2.) in the event that the force with which the wire acts on the ring is directed radially - from the center of the winding ring to the outside (that is, during the phase of removing the wire residue after winding), the wire can be reliably removed from the ring,

3.) due to the special shape of the grooves on the winding ring, described by the proposed invention, the wire does not detach itself from the winding ring during the winding phase due to centrifugal force.

Due to the complexity and lack of knowledge of the solution, we had to confirm the abovedescribed claims by developing and testing a prototype device, otherwise the risk of investing in an automated system would be too great.

During the prototype development phase, we made appropriate shape of the notches on the winding ring, which enable self-locking of the wire in the tangential direction and an open forming connection in the direction of the force of the wire in the radial direction to the winding ring.

During the development phase of the construction, a motion simulation of the selected 6-axis robot was also made, based on the virtual 3D model using the Robotstudio software tool. With this, we got a fairly accurate estimate of the expected machine cycle time (±15%) and checked the reach of the robot to all key positions. The presented invention is described below, first with a description of the pictures:

1. Figure 1 shows the complete automated winding machine in the construction (ANS) with the robot (R) on the upper side.

2. Figure 2 shows a winding ring (NO) with grooves (U) for arresting the wire (Z) and a laser bore (IL) that determines the starting point.

3. Figure 2A shows detail A from Figure 2, where the shapes and dimensions of the grooves (U) on the winding ring (NO) are visible.

4. Figure 2B shows detail A in Figure 2, where the bore (IL) on the winding ring (NO) is visible.

5. Figure 3 shows the central part of the winding machine, where the winding ring (NO), the drive of the winding ring (PO), the toroid (T) with the arrest and turn system, the compression rubber (PG), the robotic arm (RR) with two grippers (Pl and P2), the lead- in (UV), the shears (S), the relief pulley (RS) and the wire (Z) are visible.

6. Figure 4 shows the central part of the winding machine, where the winding ring (NO), the drive (POG), the winding ring (NO), the toroid (T) with the arrest and turn system, the compression rubber (PG) and the gripper (MO) are visible.

7. Figure 5 shows the robotic arm (RR) with the gripper (1 Pl), in which the lead-in (UV) is arrested.

8. Figure 6 shows the same as Figure 5, except that the gripper (1 Pl) is open and the lead- in (UV) is loose. In addition, it shows the plug (Pl.l) and the catch channel (P1.2) into which the winding wire (Z) fits.

9. Figures 7A to 7G show the winding path of the wire (Z) between the grooves (U), which is carried out by the lead-in (UV), which is caught in the gripper (Pl) and guided by the robotic arm (RR) of the robot (R).

10. Figures 8 and 8A show the release of the wire (Z) from the catch between the grooves (U) on the winding ring (NU), where the wire (Z) slides through the gripper (Pl), which holds the wire (Z) with a certain force through the spring of the winder (Pl), and the wire (Z) slides on the plug (Pl.2).

11. Figure 9 shows the tensioned wire (Z), held by the gripper (Pl) as in Figure 8A, but with the scissors (SK2) raised to cut the wire (Z). In order to facilitate understanding and the known state of the art of semi-automatic winding of toroidal transformers, in the following we have described all the necessary phases by focusing the description of the operation and the description of the hardware only on the automated part, which is the essence of our proposed invention and which describes the shape of the gripper (Pl), which enables several functions and catching of the wire (Z), the shape of the grooves (U) in the winding ring (NO) and other key elements, and of course the synergy of the interaction of all systems with regard to the kinematics of operation, the bending characteristics of the wire, the size and number of the toroid threads etc.

Robot (R) with a robotic arm (RR) is controlled via an electronic system or controller, which is a known state of the art and is not specifically described.

The robotic arm (RR) has two grippers (Pl and P2) attached, which sequentially perform tasks or stages of the process and are described below.

Process phases:

1. Gripping the toroid (T) core, which represents the workpiece, with the gripper (P2), which is arrested on the robotic arm (RR) of the robot (R).

2. Positioning the toroid (T) core in the winding position and arresting it with the pneumatic gripper (PT), the gripper (P2) opens and withdraws. The winding ring (NO) is in the open position. We do not specifically describe this because it is a known state of the art and can be implemented via various mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic mechanisms or the like.

3. Arrest of the wire (Z), which represents an additional element, in the lead-in (UV), which is arrested at the starting position with pneumatic pliers (PK). Arrest of the wire (Z) is carried out mechanically through the pinch of the pneumatic pliers (PL). The wire (Z) sticks out from the lead-in (UV) on the lower side at a distance of approx. 5mm, which is achieved by a cut from the phase of the previous cycle, which is described below.

4. Closure of the winding ring (NO) by releasing the mechanism, which is a known state of the art and is not specifically described.

5. Grasping the lead-in (UV) with pneumatic pliers (PK) via gripper (Pl), or through its forming connection (POZ). Positioning the lead-in (UV) in front of the grooves (U) on the winding ring (NO); with this, the loose end of the wire (Z), which sticks out of the lead-in (UV), is placed in the area between the open jaws of the special holding gripper (MP). Closing the holding gripper (MP) arrests the loose end of the wire (Z). Release of the pneumatic pliers (KL) and thereby release of the wire in the lead-in (UV) to allow the wire (Z) to move freely in the lead-in (UV). At the same time, the relief pulley (RS) is released in a way that it is let down, which enables that there are no tensile forces in the wire (Z). Wrapping the lead-in (UV) around the grooves (U) in the amount of one revolution and thereby achieving self-locking of the wire (Z) in the tangential direction relative to the winding ring (NO), while such a joint is open in the radial direction and can be unlocked with a force that is less than approx. 15% of the tensile strength of the wire (Z), both of which are key to the inventiveness of the described invention and which we describe in detail later. The winding of the wire (Z) around the grooves (U) is shown in figures 7A to 7G inclusive, and takes place in such a way that the lead-in (UV) guides the wire (Z), which is arrested in a special holding gripper (MP) (arrest is shown in figure 7 A) perpendicularly to the winding ring (NO) or the groove (Ul) and then through the groove (Ul) in the direction of NW so that the lead-in (UV) is partially lowered down so that the wire (Z) is caught in the groove (Ul), which is shown in Figure 7A, and then the lead-in (UV) travels counterclockwise in the direction of NW up along the winding ring (NO), which is shown in figure 7C. Then the lead-in (UV) turns to the left and passes the wire (Z) through the groove (U2) in the direction of NW to the left, as shown in figure 7D. Then the lead-in (UV) travels down along the winding ring (NO) (parallel to it) in the direction of NW, as shown in figure 7E. Then the lead-in (UV) travels again in the direction of NW to the right and passes the wire (Z) again through the groove (Ul), as in the first phase.

The lead-in (UV) does not need to be lowered in the first phase, as the wire (Z) at its exit is curved in the arc for the right angle and is thus actually positioned lower than the bottom surface of the lead-in (UV), which travels tightly above the winding ring (NO) and thus (or due to the curvature below the lead-in (UV)) in a rectangular direction, according to the bisection of the lead-in (UV), the wire (Z) travels lower than it, in the lower part of the Ul and U2 channels. This dimension of the wire (Z) bending under the lead-in (UV) is from 0.5 to 1mm. The depth (GUI and GU2) of the grooves (U1 and U2) is GUI = GU2 = 1mm. The width (SU 1 and SU2) of the grooves (U) is SU1 = SU2 = 1 ,5mm, while the upper distance (RU) between the grooves (U), RU = 1.9mm, and the lower distance (SRU) is SRU = 1.65mm. The radii (RO) of the grooves (U) are R = 0.5mm, and the bisector angle between the grooves is KOT = 4 degrees. The width (SKNO) of the channel (KNO) is SKNO = minimum of 1.2mm, but it can be up to approx. 2mm. Dimension or the diameter of the bore (IL) is 0.8mm, and it is placed through the winding ring (NO) at an arc angle of 145 degrees from the bisector of the first groove (Ul) and at a radius (POL) of = 47.5mm.

Since the widths of SU 1 and SU2 are 1.5mm and the width (SNKO) of the channel (KNO) is at least 1.2mm or more up to 2mm, and the diameter of the lower part of the lead-in (UV) is 1mm, the lead-in (UV) does not need to be lowered and raised in the phase of winding the wire (Z) around the grooves (U), so as not to hit the winding ring (NO), as it travels through the grooves (U) and along the channel (KNO) of the winding ring (NO). Such a method is much simpler and for the process, in terms of repeatability, much better, so we use it where this condition (the diameter of the lead-in is smaller than the width (SKNO) and the SU1 and SU2 widths) is achieved. Release of the special holding gripper (MP), and at the same time a twist of the winding ring (NO) counterclockwise in the direction of SV according to Figure 2 in the prescribed number of revolutions, which is intended for winding the toroid (T).

At this stage, the wire (Z) is wound on the winding ring (NO) with a length equal to the stretched length of the winding, increased by a technological addition, which serves to fix and manipulate the wire (Z) during the winding process. The technological addition of the length of the wire (Z) is automatically cut off with the scissors (S) after the winding is finished and removed through a gripper (Pl) and transported via suction to the technological waste storage tank. After completing one revolution of the winding ring (NO), the relief pulley (RS) rises again and provides tension load to the wire (Z), so that it is wound onto the winding ring (NO) with the prescribed tension force. However, the preliminary relief was necessary in order to secure the arrest of the wire (Z) in the catch of the groove (U). So that the wire (Z) would not be unwound from the catch. When the wrapping angle of one revolution on the winding ring (NO) is reached, such a joint of wire (Z) in the winding groove or channel (KNO) is self-locking. As soon as the wire (Z) is wound on at least half of the circumference of the winding ring (NO), the relief pulley (RS) can already return to its starting position upwards and tighten the wire (Z). The relief pulley (RS) can also be suspended through a spring, which determines the tensile force in the wire (Z) when the relief pulley (RS) is in the upper or the starting position. Positioning the lead-in (UV) in the starting position (according to Figure 3) and its arrest with pneumatic pliers (PK) and then or at the same time, the release of the lead-in (UV) from the catch with the gripper (Pl), and at the same time the pneumatic pliers (KL) arrest the wire (Z), and the gripper (Pl) withdraws. Arrest of the wire (Z) with the robot (R) or the robotic arm (RR) at a distance of approx. 20mm below the lead-in (UV), which is carried out with gripper (Pl) through mechanical compression of the surfaces (PP) of gripper (Pl). At the end of this phase, the wire (Z), approximately 5mm below the lead-in (UV), is cut off by automatic shears (S), which can be implemented in several ways. The cut wire (Z) is projecting from the lead-in (UV) about 5mm and is ready for the next cycle. At the same time, or before the wire (Z) is cut off, at the beginning of the winding of the wire (Z) on the toroid (T), in the lower left part (according to Figure 2) to the winding ring (NO) in the channel (KNO) of which the wire (Z) is wound, to the wire (Z) or on the edges radially to the winding ring (NO), a compression rubber (PG) is pressed to prevent the wound wire (Z) from falling out (derailing) from the channel (KNO) in the winding ring (NO). The path of gripper (Pl) and the wire (Z) cut-off with it (the part that is wound on the winding ring (NO)) to the position to the left above the winding ring (NO) and through it to the gripper (MO), which arrests the wire (Z) with a squeeze, and the gripper (Pl) opens and thus releases the wire (Z) and immediately after that it releases and withdraws. The path of the gripper (MO) downwards and thus the tightening of the wire (Z), which is wound on the winding ring (NO), and at the same time the winding phase takes place with the rotation of the winding ring (NO) in the SV direction counterclockwise, according to Figure 2. When the number of threads is reached, the winding ring (NO) stops permanently. The winding step is achieved by rotating the arrested nucleus of toroid (T), which is a known state of the art and is not specifically described. After half to one revolution of the winding ring (NO), the compression rubber (PG) is released, as there is no longer any danger of the wire (Z) derailing from the winding ring (NO) or from its channel (KNO). The initial state (position) of the winding ring (NO) is detected via a laser pulse that shines through the bore (IL) on the winding ring (NO) and is at a precisely determined position (at an angle of 145 degrees from the middle of the groove (Ul)) and provides information about the reached starting point of the servo-drive with drive wheels (POK), which drive the toothed belt (ZJ), which through a clamp and friction angle drives the winding ring (NO), which is guided from the inside by supporting or bearing - hereinafter referred to as the inner wheels (NK). The entire drive is called the winding ring drive (POG). The path of the gripper (Pl) to the left above the winding ring (NO) and through it to the position where it catches the wire (Z) via its shape (Pl .2) and then leads it into the channel (Pl.2). The gripper (Pl), while traveling perpendicular to the winding ring (NO) towards the center of the structure (ANS), twists counterclockwise by approx. 90 degrees, thereby causing the wire (Z) to slip between the surfaces (PP) above the plug (Pl .1). Then the gripper (Pl) closes and compresses the wire (Z) through the force of the spring of the gripper (Pl). The wire (Z) was previously in a random position above the upper left part of the winding ring (NO), and the gripper (Pl), with its conical shape, specially designed channel (Pl.2) and rotation, caught the wire (Z) and introduced it into the channel (Pl .2). When the wire (Z) is caught between the surfaces (PP) of the gripper (Pl), the gripper (Pl) is compressed by the spring only using a certain force, and the wire (Z) is caught above the plug (Pl.l) and can slide past the plug (Pl.l) through the gripper (Pl) with a certain preload force and due to plastic deformation (bending) of wire (Z) after the plug (Pl. l) reaches an even higher pretension force, which is constant. The winding ring (NO) is opened as described in point 2. The gripper (Pl) travels to the left and partially down - relative to the winding ring (NO). And when it reaches a position perpendicular to the grooves (U), it travels radially from the grooves (U) and in this way unties or releases the wire (Z) from the catch in the grooves (U) on the winding ring (NO), since the connection with the shape of the grooves (U) is made in such a way that it is self-locking only in the tangential direction, which is the key to the inventiveness of the described invention. The winding ring (NO) also has a bore (IL) through which the laser shines and determines the final or starting point - the position of the winding ring (NO). 19. Then the gripper (Pl) travels up to the position under the lead-in (UV) and at the same time through the force of pretension of the wire (Z), which is determined by the spring in the gripper and the plug (P.1.1) of the gripper (Pl), continuously stretches the wire (Z) with a constant pre-tensioning force, which is achieved by sliding through the gripper (Pl) and around its plug (Pl.l).

20. Then the manipulator sticks a sticker (adhesive tape) on the winding, thereby preventing the winding from unwinding when the wire (Z) is no longer pre-tensioned by the grippers (Pl and MO).

21. The other scissors (SK2) are brought under the wire (Z) and cut it off under the gripper (Pl), while the gripper (MO) opens and releases the wire (Z) from the catch.

22. Gripper (Pl) travels with the residue of wire (Z) above the suction channel, then it opens and the remnant of the wire (Z) flies into the suction duct where it is collected as technological waste.

23. Gripper (P2) arrests the toroid (T), which is previously released by the toroid gripper, and the gripper (P2) carries it to the storage or control position via the robotic arm (RR).

24. The process is repeated in steps 1 to 24 inclusive.

Grippers (Pl and P2) are mounted at a mutual angle of 90 degrees on the robotic arm (RR), which is controlled by the robot R, which, due to rigidity and minimal space occupation and consequently accuracy, is mounted on the top of the entire machine in the construction (ANS) and works upside down.

This also enables easier and faster access to all the required positions for carrying out the above-described phases of the automatic wire winding process on toroidal transformers.

In addition to the movement in the room, the robotic arm (RR) also has movement around the axis on which the grips (Pl and P2) are attached.

Due to this movement, the grippers can be changed faster and with this the so-called process bottlenecks in terms of timing.

The wire (Z) for winding is stored in the lower part of the structure (ANS) of the entire machine and wound on a reel, and it travels via pulleys, which are not specifically described because the state of the art is known, via the relief pulley (RS), which has the task of relieving the tension force in the wire (Z) in the wire arrest phase on the winding ring (NO), as described in the previous paragraphs. Wire (Z) then travels through the lead-in (UV), which is arrested or moved in space by the gripper (Pl), as previously described in the explanation of the kinematics of individual work phases.

The inventiveness of the wire (Z) installation is also in the introduction of the relief pulley (RS), which enables the tension forces in the wire (Z) to be relieved and thus enables the wire (Z) to be automatically arrested through the grooves (U) of the winding ring (NO), as previously described in the explanation of individual phases of the work process of automatic winding of toroidal transformers.

The toroid (T) cores are supplied by the supplier and are placed in special pallets according to a certain grid to an accuracy of 1 mm, so that the robot (R) with the gripper (P2) can take them out in the order determined by the control.

Similarly, wound Toroids (T) (finished products) are, via the robot (R), which is controlled by the steering and its robotic arm (RR), which guides the gripper (P2), stacked into nests of pallets or certain final product carriers, which can be the same as for the cores of the toroids (T), and, which later in the course of the work process, according to the established know-how, which is the known state of the art, are also controlled according to the correct electrical resistance, which is determined according to the specifications of the toroid (T) and achieved with the correct and undamaged number of wire (Z) wraps around the toroid (T) core.

The winding ring (NO) is guided by the inner wheels (NK) in a counterclockwise SV direction.

It is driven via drive wheels (PK), which have built-in teeth, which drive the toothed belt (ZJ), which hugs the winding ring (NO) and drives it.

The toothed belt (ZJ) also has the function of closing the wire (Z) in the channel of the winding ring (NO) and thereby determines the winding force of winding the wire (Z) on the toroid (T), because through its elasticity and pretension it prevents the wire (Z) from flowing out too quickly (derailing) during the winding phase on the toroid (T).

The winding of the wire (Z) on the toroid (T) is conditioned by the controlled outflow of the wire (Z) from the channel (KNO) of the winding ring (NO). It is also very important that the winding ring (NO) has an internal radius (RO) of at least 0.5 mm, which prevents damage to the varnish of the wire (Z), and the roughness of its surface must be grade N5 or finer. This radius is the same as all the radii in the grooves (U1 and U2) on the winding ring (NO) and is marked the same with RO.

The relief pulley (RS) is arrested through a pneumatic cylinder, which lowers and raises it as described in previous points 8 and 9.

In the closing phase of the winding ring (NO), it is necessary, due to the safety of the joint which prevents tearing or damage to the wire (Z) when winding on the winding ring (NO), to apply slight finger pressure in the direction of closing the winding ring (NO) which is used in known semi-automatic processes.

In our presented invention, we used a pneumatic cylinder of smaller dimensions, which acts via a lever on the surface of the winding ring (NO) and thus ensures the correct position of the available part of the ring (NO) before closing. After closing the winding ring, the lever moves away from the surface of the ring to allow the ring to rotate freely.

This ensures a smooth winding and prevents damage to the wire (Z) that would occur from the transition of a not fully compressed joint of the winding ring (NO).

Winding the wire (Z) on the winding ring (NO) or between its grooves (U) with the objective that the joint is self-closing in the tangential direction and open in the radial direction (that is, the wire (Z) can be removed tangentially from the catch in the grooves (U) without the use of force) is a key condition for complete automation of the process, so we describe it in detail below.

This phase is previously described under number 9.

In order to ensure the requirements of the wire (Z) wrapping joint, which we have previously stated, we made grooves (U) of special shapes in the winding ring (NO), which are shown in Figures 7A to 7G.

For the sake of understanding, we describe in more detail the details of the previously detailed phase 9, which deals with winding the wire (Z) between the grooves (U). The robotic arm (RR), guided by the robot (R) in accordance with the program, guides the gripper (Pl) with an accuracy of 0.05mm, in which the lead-in (UV) is clamped, from which the end of the wire (Z) is visible at a distance of 5mm (the wire (Z) was cut with scissors (S) in the previous cycle so that the end of the wire (Z) is guided to the area approx. 6 mm to the right of the edge of the ring (according to Figure 7A) so that the end of the wire (Z) is placed between the open jaws of the special holding gripper (MP).

This is followed by the closing of the special holding gripper (MP) and thereby arresting the loose end of the wire (Z). Then, the relief pulley (RS) moves down and relieves the wire (Z), the pneumatic pliers (PK) on the lead-in (UV) open in such a way that the wire (Z) can slide freely over the lead-in (UV) without loads, since the relief pulley withdrew down and released the tension force in the wire (Z).

Then the robotic arm (RR), guided by the robot (R), guides the lead-in (UV) around the grooves (U) and thus the wire (Z), which is arrested in a special holding gripper (MP), turns over the groove (Ul) and the groove (U2) for one revolution in the NW direction as previously detailed in point 9.

When one thread is achieved (subject to the self-closing force of the joint that we want to achieve), the lead-in (UV) is placed in a position above the middle of the winding ring (NO) so that the subsequent phase of winding the wire (Z) into the channel (KNO) of the winding ring (NO) is carried out without the possibility of the wire (Z) being derailed from the channel (KNO) and the process continues according to the stages previously described.

Of course, several threads of the wire (Z) could also be performed, but due to the reduction of the time of this phase, which means the so-called bottleneck of the process in terms of time, which of course must be as short as possible, only one revolution that meets the conditions of self-locking in the radial direction, is performed.

The joint of the wound wire (Z) made in this way between the grooves (U) is extremely selflocking in the tangential direction and easily transfers the tensile loads of the wire that occur when winding onto the winding ring (NO), at the same time, due to the elasticity of the wire (Z), which wraps around the grooves (U) after the tension force is over, it is partially relieved and does not create a pressure force on the edges of the grooves (U), which would cause a frictional force, so such a joint is open in the radial direction or the coiled wire (Z) can be removed from the catch or the joint between the grooves (U) with minimal radially directed force. This phase is previously described under the number 18.

Figures 8 and 8A show the radial uncoupling of the wire (Z) from the catch between the grooves (U) on the winding ring (NO).

This phase occurs in such a way that the winding ring (NO) exists in a certain place, which is determined by the bore (IL) through which the laser shines and which transmits the command to the drive (POG) of the winding ring (NO) to stop it.

The robot (R) positions the robotic arm (RR) so that the gripper (Pl), which via the spring and its surfaces (PP) compresses the wire (Z), namely in such a way that the direction of the wire (Z) from the gripper (Pl) to the middle between the two grooves (U) is radial to the winding ring (NO) and in the same plain and perpendicular to the grooves (U).

The robot (R) moves the gripper (Pl) radially from the winding ring (NO) to the outside (perpendicular to the grooves (U)) and thereby takes the wire (Z) out of the catch between the grooves (U), and the remaining part of the wire (Z), which is wound on the toroid (T), is stretched with a certain pre-tensioning force that is reached by the wire (Z) sliding through the catch of the gripper (Pl), between the surfaces (PP) and when the wire (Z) slides to the plug (Pl.l), it also slides over it and causes an increase in the pre-tensioning force, because the wire (Z) has to plastically transform over the plug (PP), while it slides past it, since the gripper (Pl) is facing approximately perpendicular to the direction of tension of the wire (Z).

This phase is previously roughly described in points 18 and 19.

When the wire (Z) is taken out of the catch between the two grooves (U), the gripper (Pl) starts to rise towards the starting point of the position of the lead-in (UV) and at the same time increases the distance from the winding ring (NO), which is fixedly arrested. This achieves a uniform pretension of wire (Z) with the previously described system.

When it reaches the upper point, it stops, and the wire (Z) reaches a position parallel to the toroid (T) and is in the same plain as the rest of the wound wire on the toroid (T). If the wire (Z) were to be disconnected from the gripper (Pl), the threads of the coiled wire (Z) on the toroid (T) would become loose, so it is necessary to fix the threads of the wire (Z) on the toroid (T) before releasing the wire (Z).

We do this by pasting a self-adhesive tape over them, which connects the threads of the wire (Z) and fixes them to the toroid (T), thus preventing them from becoming loose.

This phase is previously described in point 20.

Then follows a phase in which the other scissors (SK2) are brought under the wire (Z) and cut the wire (Z) off under the gripper (Pl), while at the same time the gripper (MO) is opened and the wire (Z) is released from the catch, which was previously described in point 21.

Gripper (Pl) deposits the remnant of wire (Z) via the suction channel, which was previously described in point 21.

Stages 22 and 23 follow, which are described in points 22 and 23, but do not demonstrate excesses of inventiveness, but are indispensable for the complete automation of the described process.