Apparatus and method for laying a tow

Abstract

An apparatus and a method for laying a tow into a can, wherein a tow feed device advances the tow into the can, with the tow feed device being movable to oscillate in a plurality of directions of movement. To obtain the highest possible flexibility when laying the tow into the can, the invention provides for moving the tow feed device by a multiaxial robot, which mounts the tow feed device at the free end of a robot arm.

1 . An apparatus for laying an advancing tow into a can, comprising 
 a tow feed device, and    a robot which has an arm which is configured for multiaxial movement, and with the tow feed device being mounted at the free end of the arm.    
   
   
       2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the robot arm is configured to have at least three axes of movement, which permit performing and controlling the movements of the feed device for laying the tow and filling the can.  
   
   
       3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of cans associated to the feed device and which can be alternately filled, and wherein the robot arm has at least five axes of movement which permit performing and controlling the movements of the feed device for laying the tow and filling the cans.  
   
   
       4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , further comprising a deflection roll for guiding the tow arranged upstream of the tow feed device, and wherein the tow feed device and the deflection roll are mounted to a common support plate, and with the support plate being rigidly connected to the end of the robot arm.  
   
   
       5 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein while advancing and laying the tow, the movements of the robot arm are controllable by a robot controller such that the support plate performs a pivotal movement about a pivotal axis which is defined by an axle of the deflection roll.  
   
   
       6 . The apparatus of  claim 5 , wherein the movement of the robot arm is controllable by the robot controller such that the support plate performs a second pivotal movement about a second axis which is tangent to the deflection roll at the level of the tow advancing thereto.  
   
   
       7 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the tow feed device comprises two driven feed rolls.  
   
   
       8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the can is made as a rectangular can or a round can.  
   
   
       9 . A method for laying an advancing tow into a can, comprising the steps of 
 guiding the advancing tow to a tow feed device, while    oscillating the tow feed device in a plurality of directions for laying the tow into the can, and wherein the directions of movements of the tow feed device are freely selected and adjusted.    
   
   
       10 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the amplitudes of the movements of the tow feed device for laying the tow are varied and adjusted as a function of the geometry of the can.  
   
   
       11 . The method of  claim 10 , wherein the speeds of the movements of the tow feed device for laying the tow are varied and adjusted as a function of the geometry of the can.  
   
   
       12 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the movements of the tow feed device are varied and adjusted independently of one another in the direction of movement, amplitude of movement, and/or speed.  
   
   
       13 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the sequence of movements of the tow feed device is predetermined by a control algorithm of a robot, which robot guides the tow feed device by means of a robot arm.  
   
   
       14 . The method of  claim 13 , wherein for laying the tow into the can, one of a plurality of predetermined control algorithms for the robot are selected.  
   
   
       15 . The method of  claim 9 , wherein the guiding step includes guiding the advancing tow across a deflection roll which is mounted to a common support plate with said tow feed device, and wherein the oscillating step includes pivoting the support plate and thus the tow feed device about a first pivotal axis which is substantially coaxial with the axis of the deflection roll.  
   
   
       16 . The method of  claim 15  wherein the oscillating step further includes pivoting the support plate and thus the tow feed device about a second pivotal axis which is substantially tangent to the deflection roll at the level of the tow advancing thereto and perpendicular to the first pivotal axis.  
   
   
       17 . The method of  claim 16  comprising the further step of raising the support plate while laying the advancing tow into the can so as to maintain a substantially constant spacing between the tow feed device and the level of the tow in the can, and wherein the pivoting angle of the support plate and thus the tow feed device about the first and second pivotal axes remain constant during the laying operation.  
   
   
       18 . The method of  claim 16  wherein a substantially constant spacing between the tow feed device and the top of the can is maintained, and wherein the amplitude of the pivoting angle of the support plate and thus the tow feed device about the first and second pivotal axes increases during the laying operation.