Thread rolling head with energy generation apparatus

Abstract

A thread rolling head comprises at least one roller holder configured to retain rollers that are configured to form a screw thread on a workpiece. The rollers are configured to rotate in the course of the screw thread formation. The thread rolling head further comprises an energy generating apparatus integrated into the thread rolling head that is configured to generate electrical energy when the thread rolling head is operating.

1 . A thread rolling head comprising:
 at least one roller holder configured to retain rollers that are configured to rotate to form a screw thread on a workpiece; and   an energy generating apparatus integrated into the thread rolling head configured to generate electrical energy when the thread rolling head is operating.   
     
     
         2 . The thread rolling head according to  claim 1 , wherein the energy generation apparatus generates electrical energy from movement of at least one component of the thread rolling head during operation of the thread rolling head. 
     
     
         3 . The thread rolling head according to  claim 2 , wherein the energy generation apparatus generates electrical energy from the rotation of the rollers. 
     
     
         4 . The thread rolling head according to  claim 2 , wherein the energy generation apparatus generates electrical energy by means of induction. 
     
     
         5 . The thread rolling head according to  claim 4 , wherein the energy generation apparatus comprises:
 at least one electrical coil; and   at least one magnet that is configured to rotated relative to the at least one electrical coil when the at least one component of the thread rolling head is moved during operation of the thread rolling head.   
     
     
         6 . The thread rolling head according to  claim 5 , wherein the at least one component of the thread rolling head is a gear wheel configured to couple the rollers together. 
     
     
         7 . The thread rolling head according to  claim 1 , wherein the thread rolling head is a tangential thread rolling head. 
     
     
         8 . The thread rolling head according to  claim 1 , wherein the energy generation apparatus further comprises at least one of a piezo element, a thermal element and a vibration element. 
     
     
         9 . The thread rolling head according to  claim 1 , further comprising at least one battery integrated into the thread rolling head and configured to be electrically charged by the energy generation apparatus. 
     
     
         10 . The thread rolling head according to  claim 9 , further comprising at least one electrical component integrated into the thread rolling head and configured to be supplied with the electrical energy generated by the energy generation apparatus. 
     
     
         11 . The thread rolling head according to  claim 10 , wherein the electrical component is at least one of a microprocessor and a sensor configured to detect data about at least one of a thread rolling head and a machining process. 
     
     
         12 . The thread rolling head according to  claim 10 , wherein the at least one electrical component is configured to transmit data about at least one of the thread rolling head and a machining process to at least one of a machine controller and a mobile communications unit. 
     
     
         13 . The thread rolling head according to  claim 12 , wherein the at least one electrical component is configured to be wirelessly connected to at least one of the machine controller and the mobile communications unit. 
     
     
         14 . The thread rolling head according to  claim 2 , wherein the energy generation apparatus generates electrical energy from a component of the thread rolling head that is rotated with the rollers. 
     
     
         15 . A method of generating energy with a thread rolling head, the method comprising:
 providing at least one roller holder configured to retain rollers;   providing an energy generating apparatus integrated into the thread rolling head;   rotating the rollers during operation of the thread rolling head to form a screw thread on a workpiece; and   generating energy by the energy generating apparatus when the thread rolling head is in operation.