US3764082A

US3764082A - Toroidal head winding machine

Info

Publication number: US3764082A
Application number: US00131935A
Authority: US
Inventors: K Gorman
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1971-04-07
Filing date: 1971-04-07
Publication date: 1973-10-09
Anticipated expiration: 1990-10-09

Abstract

A toroidal core winding machine having an annular shuttle with a shuttle plate positioned adjacent to the shuttle and having an arcuate periphery extending radially outward of the periphery along the portion thereof. An elongated wire-engaging endless belt extends laterally on either side of the plane of the shuttle about the rear portion of the shuttle and is supported to move with the shuttle. The shuttle and belt are independently but synchronously driven.

Description

United States Patent [191 aa O Gorman 5] Oct. 9, 1973 [54] TOROIDAL HEAD WINDING MACHINE 2,894,699 7/1959 OniSkO, Jr. 242/4 B Inventor: Kenneth P. Gonna, 1645 Superior 3,400,894 9/1968 McIntosh et al. 242/4 B Q N n e s ve ewport e Cahf 92627 Przmary Examiner-Billy S. Taylor [22] Filed: Apr. 7, 1971 Att0rneyWolf, Greenfield, & Sacks [21] Appl. No.: 131,935

[57] ABSTRACT 52 us. Cl .f. 242/4 B A winding l f having. an annular [51] Int. Cl. 1101f 41/08 Shuttle wlth a shuttle plate posltloned adjacent to the [58] Field of Search 242/4 B, 4 R, 4 BE F and having an Periphely extending F dially outward of the periphery along the portion [56] References Cited thereof. An elongated wire-engaging endless belt ex- UNITED STATES PATENTS tends laterally on either side of the plane of the shuttle about the rear portion of the shuttle and is supported g m -i; 242/4 3 to move with the shuttle. The shuttle and belt are ine 1e 3,459,384 8/1969 German dependently but synchronously driven.

7/1964 Berglund 242/4 B 11 Claims, 9 Drawing Figures Pa ten ted Oct. 9, 1973 '7 Sheets-Sheet l Patented Oct. 9, 1973 '7 Sheets-Shoo L 2:

w yaks tNXyENTOR. BY 9* 0kg) Patented Get. 9, 1973 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 WW, 9mg, M 806% Patented Oct. 9, 1973 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 W 25 Wag/31mm W WQ W MM Patented Oct. 9,1973

7 Sheets-Shoot b WWW MMMa (MM Patented 0a. 9, 1973 3,764,082

7 Sheets-Sheet (3 Patented Oct. 9, 1973 3,764,082

7 Sheets-Sheet TOROIDAL HEAD WINDING MACHINE SUBJECT MATTER OF INVENTION The present invention relates to a toroidal core winding machine and, in particular, to an improved core winding head.

BACKGROUND OF INVENTION Toroidal core winding heads have been developed for a variety of purposes. A number of core winding heads have been designed for purposes of winding large diameter metal wires on comparatively small cores.-

Some of these early attempts to provide satisfactory winding machines have embodied combinations of rotatable shuttles with moving belts. Insofar as known, in each of these attempts the moving belts have been keyed in one way or another to rotate the shuttle or be rotated by the shuttle. None of the arrangements which have been attempted to date provide a satisfactory solution to a number of the problems inherent in core winding. These prior art devices, among other things, have limited speeds, have restricted versatility to size, require substantial time for preparing cores for winding or substantial time for unloading cores. The winding machines which have been developed to date are also limited in respect to the nature of elongated elements that can be wound upon cores. Generally speaking, the winding machines which have been developed to date for coil winding are limited to winding metal wires of limited size ranges on cores which are usually ferrite or powdered iron.

SUMMARY OF INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to overcome the limitations of prior art devices described above. It is also an object of the present invention to provide a toroidal core winding machine in which elongated lengths of material may be wound onto a shuttle in the same direction that the shuttle rotates in when the elongated material is dropped from the shuttle onto a core. A further object of the present invention is to provide an arrangement in which controlled deposition of an elongated length of material, such as wire, may be effected and in which the wire, or similar material, is deposited from a rotating shuttle with the wire restrained sufficiently to give it a hard tug upon each cycle of deposition for tightness of winding.'

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved means and method of dropping wire and like materials from a split ring shuttle by utilizing an independently but synchronously driven endless belt means for controlling the dropping of the wire from the shuttle.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved means and method of winding relatively heavy wire supported on a comparatively small cross section split-ring shuttle by synchronously but independently driving the shuttle and an endless belt which controls the dropping of the wire from the shuttle.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved side plate having selected periphery portions contoured and positioned to relieve split-ring shuttles from forces and impacts caused by pulling the loops or turns tightly on the core.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved means for supporting split-ring shuttles in a toroidal core winding machine.

One further object of this invention is to provide an improved means for loading wire on a split-ring shuttle by loading the wire on a shuttle moving in the same direction that it moves in when the turns are being dropped. This saves time because there is no need to reverse direction of movement of the shuttle and the entire operation is simpler. Further, the wire can be loaded and thereafter dropped without stopping the motion of the shuttle resulting in a comparatively fast cycling operation. The transition from loading to dropping is effected simply by an operator moving his hand laterally to the right to cause the wire to move from the shuttle over the side plate.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide an improved means for splitting a split-ring shuttle at its joint without removing the means, in this case an endless band, used to retain control of the wire that is dropped from the shuttle.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved means for controlling the dropping of wire from a split-ring shuttle. One more object of the present invention is to provide an improved side plate and endless band arrangement. It is also an object of the present invention to provide an improved drive means for the shuttle and endless belt. A still further object of the present invention is to provide a toroidal core winding machine in which different dimensioned shuttles may be used without major modifications and part substitutions.

One further object of the present invention is to provide a toroidal core winding machine in which flat cloth tapes or plastic tapes as well as wire may be wound on small hole cores.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS These and other objects and advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan elevational view of the left side of the toroidal core winding head embodying the invention;

FIG. 2 is a front view of the head shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an elevational view of the right side;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view;

FIG. 5 is a view of the right side without the side plate and with portions shown in fragmentary outline;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of details of certain components;

FIG. 7 is a schematic illustrating certain principles of operation;

FIG. 8 is a cross sectional detail taken on the line 8-8 of FIG. 3; and

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary top plan view similar to FIG. 4 partially cut away to show means for pulling out wire taps during the winding operation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT The invention as illustrated in the accompanying drawings is adapted to be used with and forms a portion of a core winding machine. The other portions of the machine include, principally, drive means for the present invention and support means for the toroidal core which is to be wound, as well as the desired number of accessories including, for example, a counter, a speed control for the operation of the present invention at desired speeds, as well as means for suitably rotating the toroidal core to be wound on its supporting element. Some of these features are well known in the art and are illustrated, for example, in part in US. Pat. No. 2,872,123. Exemplary art of coil winding mechanisms are U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,061,213 and 3,459,384.

For purposes of clarity and understanding of the construction and operation of the present device, the side to the right of FIG. 1 shall be considered the front, and

the side to the left of FIG. 1 shall be considered the rear of the toroidal core winding head which embodies this invention. Normally, this unit is supported on a casing or frame which forms the major support for the entire toroidal core winding machine with the surface 1 of the bottom wall of the housing block 2 being secured by suitable means, such as screws, to a horizontal portion of the casing. This housing block 2 comprises essentially a solid metal unit having

side walls

3 and 4, and rear and front walls 5 and 6, respectively.

Secured to the top of the housing 2 is an arm 8. This arm has a forward leg 8A (FIG. 4) and a transverse leg 88. The leg 8A is normally vertically aligned over the top surface of the housing block 2. The transverse leg 83 extends laterally over and beyond the right side of the housing 2 in vertical alignment with a projecting lateral support 2A, which is suitably secured to the right side of housing block 2 (FIG. 3). Leg 8B is pivotally secured to support 2A by pin 9.

Means for driving a shuttle are supported in part by the block 2 and in part by the arm 8. This means includes a pair of

shafts

6 and 7 that extend through and are suitably journalled for rotation in fixed bearings in the block 2. Leg 8A of arm 8 has journalled in it two shafts l0 and 11. The right sides of shafts l0 and 1 l and 6 and 7 have shuttle drive rollers 12A, 12B, 12C and 12D secured to them. These shuttle drive rollers support an annular split ring shuttle 13. A shuttle support roller 14 also engages the inner surface of the shuttle 13 between rollers and 7. This shuttle support roller 14 is supported eccentrically oh a shaft 15 so that the roller 14 may be adjustably tensioned against the inner surface of the shuttle 13. The end of the shaft 15 closest to the housing 2 is supported on a threaded shaft 16 (FIG. 4) so that the shuttle support roller 14 may be axially adjusted with respect to the axis of shaft 15 to accommodate different size shuttles which may vary in width or thickness.

The drive mechanism shown best in FIG. 1 includes

pulleys

10A, 11A, 6A and 7A attached, respectively, to the

shafts

10, 11, 6 and 7. The driven pulley 18 (FIG. 2) having a handle 18A is journalled on the housing to be engaged by flexible drive belts driven from a power source (not shown). The drive belts encircle the drive pulley l8 and rotate it to provide a source of power. Driven belts 19 encircle the

pulleys

10A, 11A, 6A and 7A with the pulley l8 engaging these belts 19 on their outer surface. The belts 20 which drive the driven pulley 18 are connected to a driving pulley (not shown) which also commonly drives belt 21. Belt 21 in turn engages and drives pulley 22 for purposes described later.

The arm 8 is pivotally supported for adjustable pivoting movement. In this arrangement pivot assembly 24 extends through support 2A and is secured to the housing 2. The pivot assembly 24 comprises an arrangement shown in FIG. 6. In this arrangement the pivot assembly 24 is provided with a pin 25 having a slot 31. The pin 25 is positioned in block 2. A pair of cap screws 27 and 28 (FIG. 1) extend through the block 2 into slot 31 to prevent the pin 25 from rocking forward or backwardly. The pivot assembly 24 also includes a shaft 30 which is eccentrically secured to the end of pin 25 so that rotation of pin 25 by a screwdriver inserted in slot 31A (FIG. 1) will cause a forward or rearward movement and very little vertical rise of the shaft 30. Shaft 30 extends through and supports support 2A. Adjustable movement of the shaft 30 by turning pin 25 will in turn carry the lateral support 2A in a substantial forward or rearward movement. This in turn permits fine forward and rearward adjustments of the shafts 10 and 11 relative to

shafts

6 and 7. Adjustments of shafts 10 and 11 relative to

shafts

6 and 7 are necessary since the distance between

shafts

6 and 10 on the one hand and 7 and 11 on the other must be identical in order to have proper full four-roller engagement with the inner surface of the shuttle. While these adjustments are normally made only once, they are important in assuring proper four-point contact of the four rollers with the inner surface of the shuttles.

The arm 8 is pivoted about the axis of the shaft 30 and also about the axis of shaft 9 and may be moved about these pivots by a control arm mechanism 40. Control arm mechanism 40 includes an arm 41 which is pivotally supported on leg 8A by an eccentric means 42. In this arrangement the pin 43 is a split pin having a slot 44. A threaded shaft 45 having a handle assembly 46 is threaded through the top half of the pin 43 as viewed in FIG. 1 and engages the lower half of the pin 43. The shaft 45 extends through a slot 48 (FIG. 4) in the leg 8A of the arm 8. The pin 43 may be rocked by first axially rotating shaft 45 to loosen pin 43. Shaft 45 is then pivoted to rock shaft 43. The pin 43 may be rotated over the arc of the slot 48 by the shaft 45 and ocked in any rotational position desired after such rocking by threading the shaft 45 down until the two halves of the pin 43 bind in the hole of the leg 8A in which they are located. The pin 43 has the lower end of arm 41 pivotally secured to it by means of a shoulder screw 50 (FIG. 4), with the axis of screw 50 offset from the axis of pin 43. Thus rotation of pin 43 by means of the shaft 45 permits the leg 8A to be rocked on the shaft of pin 25 (FIG. 1), that is, the shoulder bolt 50 is used as a pivot point to raise the arm 8 about the pin 30. The lower end of the arm 41 has a bearing wheel 51 rotatably supported at an angle. This bearing wheel has its surface bearing on the surface of wheel 52 which in turn is supported axially with respect to pulley shaft 18. The location of normal contact between

wheels

51 and 52 depends in part upon the setting of pin 43. This setting in turn controls the absolute spacing between rollers 10 and 11 on the one hand and

rollers

6 and 7 on the other hand. This spacing is critical in respect to proper closing of split ring shuttles supported on these rollers. Thus, by rotating and setting pin 43 the space between these

rollers

10 and 11 and 6 and 7 may be adjusted for normal operation. When the shuttle is to be opened for removal or other purposes the wheel 51 is rolled over wheel 52 by rocking the arm 41 about shoulder bolt 50. When the arm 41 is thus rocked, the arm 8 moves about pivot assembly 24 and the wheel 51 rolls over the upper portion of wheel 52. The arm 41 is then pulled to the left as viewed in FIG. 2 causing the upper part 13A of shuttle 13 to move to the left while the part 13B just below the split 13C remains aligned on pulleys 12C and 12D. This motion thus separates the split ring for removing or placing cores on the shuttle.

The endless belt 60 has a section which extends about and engages the rear of the shuttle as viewed in FIG. 5. This belt is formed with a series of teeth 61 on its inner surface. The teeth engage teeth on the drive wheel 62 which is supported on a shaft 22A that extends horizontally through housing 2 and is engaged at its opposite end by the pulley wheel 22 for direct drive by the belt 21 to the same drive source (not shown) that is common with the drive source of belt 20. This drive source may comprise a double pulley mounted on a motor shaft with each of the belts and 21 engaging the double pulley. The belt also extends about guide pulleys 64, 65 and 66 with the smooth surface of the belt 60 engaging the outer periphery of the shuttle between

pulleys

65 and 66. The

pulleys

65 and 66 are supported, respectively, on

shafts

65A and 66A in turn secured respectively in the free end of leg 8A and in the housing 2. The pulley 64 is supported on adjustable arm 70 (FIG. 5), in turn supported on the free end of leg 8B by shoulder bolt 71. The arm 70 comprises an L-shaped member. One leg 72 of the L-shaped member carries the shaft of pulley 64; the other leg 73 is used for finger adjustment. The arm 70 is provided with an arcuate slot 75 through which shoulder screw 76 extends. The threaded end of this bolt is secured in the leg SE to permit fixed adjustment of the arm 70 for tensioning of belt 60 on rocking movement of the pulley 64.

A side plate 80 (FIG. 3) is secured to the housing 2 by a bracket 82 (FIG. 5). The plate is connected to the bracket 82 by a shaft 81 (FIG. 4) which is rigidly secured at one end to the inner surface of the guide plate 80. The other end of the shaft 81 extends into a bracket 82 which is secured to the housing 2 on the other side by shoulder screws 83 (FIG. 5). The bracket 82 has a hole 84 to receive the shaft 81. Cap screw 85 secures and tightens the shaft 81 in the hole 84. The plate 80 has an arcuate rear edge that extends from point to point 91. This arcuate segment between

points

90 and 91 conforms to the arcuate curve of the shuttle and is spaced at short distance inwardly of the outer periphery 92 of the shuttle (FIG. 8). The edge of the side plate 80 between

points

90 and 91 is beveled or curved at 80A (FIG. 8) and should be spaced inwardly just sufficient to provide a curved surface that will engage the wire 13D being drawn from the shuttle 13. The space between the periphery of the plate 80 between

points

90 and 91 and the inner surface of belt 60 should be sufficient to prevent engagement of the two and permit the wire to be drawn in the fashion described.

The remaining portions of the periphery of the plate 80 include the cutaway section 95 at the forward end of the plate to permit positioning of the core 96, and a second substantially cordal cut section 97 that permits removal of the shuttle without removal of the plate.

' A conventional support arm 98 supported by conventional block beams 99, such as shown, for example, in the US. Pat. No. 3,459,384 or 3,061,213, is provided. An insulated guide plate 101 is provided for maintaining the wire close to plate 80 as it is being drawn from the shuttle to avoid kinking of the wire.

A counter means is also provided on plate 101. This counter means includes a wire contact 102 secured at one end to post 103 and extending at its other end through a small aperture 105 in plate 101. When no wire is being drawn from the shuttle contact 107 is in direct contact with metal plate 80 through aperture 105. When wire is being drawn from the shuttle, contact 102 is lifted as insulated wire 13D passes between plate 101 and plate 80 (FIG. 3) thus generating a count indication to monitoring means (not shown).

In previous designs the contact 102 was generally secured in a direction lengthwise of plate 101 and the wire was substantially parallel to contact 102 when the wire interrupted contact with plate 80. One problem that was encountered, especially when using heavy wires, was that the heavy wire would drag the contact sideways over plate 80 before the contact was passed. This dragging caused the contact to skip thereby causing erroneous counts. To alleviate this problem the contact 102 is arranged generally orthogonal to the lengthwise direction of plate 101, and the aperture 105 is provided more to the rear of side plate 80. FIG. 3 indicates the generally orthogonal relationship between wire 13D and contact 102 as the wire passes the end of the contact. With this arrangement the pull from wire 13D is primarily in a direction lengthwise of contact 102, and little or no side movement of contact 102 is realized. The other parts that comprise the counter means, such as the wire connections to contact 102 and plate 80 are considered of conventional design.

In the operation and use of this toroidal core winding machine, the adjustment of the spacing between shafts l0 and 11 on the one hand and 6 and 7 on the other is first effected by rocking shaft 45. This action raises and lowers arm 8 carrying shafts 10 and 11 until the shuttle drive rollers on the ends of these shafts and

shafts

6 and 7 contact the inner surface of the shuttle to be utilized.

Following this adjustment a core is threaded onto the shuttle 13. The core is supported by a core-holding mechanism, not shown but of the type described in US. Pat. No. 2,872,123. To properly thread the core on the shuttle the shuttle is separated at its split 13C. The operator pivots the handle and arm 41 about the pins 9 and 30 to separate the parts 13A and 1313. The operator then moves the handle or arm 41 to the left as viewed in FIG. 2 so that the upper portion, or part 13A of the shuttle, moves to the left of the lower portion 133. The core is then dropped onto the lower portion 13B and the upper portion is closed by a return movement of the arm 41. The wire is then loaded onto the shuttle by placing the free end of the wire in a small notch next to the bite of the shuttle and then causing the shuttle to rotate in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 5. When sufficient wire has been loaded onto the shuttle the operator moves his hands slightly to the right as viewed in FIG. 2 causing the wire to jump from the shuttle and move over the plate in conventional loops as illustrated in FIG. 3. The belt 60 engages the wire 13 as it is pulled from the shuttle 13 over the curved surface 80A of plate 80. The curved surface 80 A avoids kinks and minimizes unwarranted stresses on the shuttle and the wire.

FIG. 9 shows a fragmentary top plan view similar to FIG. 4 with leg 8A and other parts of the machine cut away to expose a means for pulling out wire taps from the core during the winding operation. This means for pulling out wire taps includes a holding bracket 110, an actuating arm 114, and a pivotal hook 115. The holding bracket 110 includes a securing leg 111 which is secured to support 2A by means of a pair of bolts 111A. A leg 112 is integral with and extends orthogonally from leg 111 and extends toward shuttle 13. The leg 111 of holding bracket 110 is positioned just above pin 25 (see FIG. 1).

The arm 114 is pivotally secured to the underside of leg 112 by means of pin 116 which may be a common rivet. Arm 1 14 is also provided with a circular aperture 114A. A limiting pin 1148 is secured to holding bracket 110, extends through aperture 114A, and is adapted to limit the movement of arm 1 14 between positions X and Z. Position X may be referred to as the wire engaging position, position Y the intermediate position, and position Z the rest position. The actuating arm 114 also includes an engaging circular end 117 which fits with a mating curvature 118 of hook 115. The hook 115 is also pivotally secured to the underside of leg 112 by means of a pin 119 which also may be a common rivet.

Normally, when no taps are being pulled out, the arm 114 is in rest position Z and the hook 115 is pivoted away from shuttle 13 and side plate 80. A friction means (not shown) may be employed to keep the arm 114 in position Z. When it is desired to pull out a hook of wire thereby forming a tap, the handle 114 is moved from position Z to the wire engaging position X. The hook 115 is then extending beyond the surface of the side plate and into engagement with the wire being drawn from the shuttle. As soon as the wire forms a loop around hook 115 at 115A, the tension of the wire pulls the hook behind the side plate and into position Y. At that position the wire is still looped about hook 115. After a few more turns of wire are wound on the core 96 the tap 120 may be dropped off the hook 115 by manually pulling arm 114 to position Z. It is desirable that a few turns of wire be placed on the core 96 before the loop 120 is dropped so as to assure that the loop is snugly in place. However, arm 114 should not be held in position Y with the loop attached for too long as it may retard the turning of core 96.

The means for pulling out wire taps from the core depicted in FIG. 9 operates in a self-retracting manner. This is most advantageous in that only a single tap is pulled out without the need for the operator to rapidly manually retract the mechanism to position Y before a second or third tap loop becomes snagged. Also, the pulling of the tap can be readily accomplished while the machine is operating.

What is claimed is:

1. A machine for winding toroids with an elongated length of material comprising;

a frame,

an annular shuttle for carrying the length of material,

a plurality of rollers coupled to said frame for engaging said shuttle,

means for driving at least one of said shuttle engaging rollers,

an endless toothed belt,

and means for supporting and driving said belt including a plurality of rollers one of which is toothed for positive engagement with said toothed belt,

said plurality of belt drive rollers being disposed in a manner so that a portion of said belt passes adjacent to a segment of the outer periphery of said shuttle.

2. The machine of claim 1 wherein said belt has a width greater than the width of said shuttle.

3. The machine of claim 2 wherein said belt has a relatively smooth surface engaging said shuttle.

4. The machine of claim 1 wherein said belt drive rollers are disposed so that said belt is adjacent approximately half the circumference of said annular shuttle.

5. The machine of claim 4 wherein said belt drive rollers number four.

6. The machine of claim 1 wherein one of the drive rollers of said belt is pivotally supported for adjustment of the belt tension.

7. A machine for winding toroids with an elongated length of material comprising;

a frame,

an annular split shuttle for carrying the length of material and defining a plane,

a plurality of rollers for engaging said shuttle,

means for driving at least one of said shuttle engaging rollers,

a support arm for supporting two of said shuttle engaging rollers,

means for swinging said arm and in turn the two rollers supported thereby from out of the plane defined by said shuttle thereby splitting said shuttle and permitting removal thereof,

an endless belt disposed with a portion of said belt passing adjacent to a segment of the outer periphery of said shuttle,

means for supporting said belt including a plurality of rollers,

and means for driving at least one of said belt support rollers.

8. The machine of claim 7 wherein said belt is toothed andone of said belt support rollers is toothed for positive engagement with said toothed belt.

9. The machine of claim 8 wherein said plurality of belt drive rollers are disposed with a portion of said belt passing adjacent to a segment of the outer periphery of said shuttle.

10. The machine of claim 9 wherein said segment is approximately half the circumference of said annular shuttle.

11. A machine for winding toroids with an elongated length of material comprising;

an annular shuttle for carrying said material,

roller means for supporting and rotatably driving said shuttle along an inside surface thereof,

an endless belt,

means supporting said belt including a plurality of separate belt drive rollers disposed radially outward of said shuttle with a portion thereof adjacent to a segment of the outer periphery of said shuttle for engaging said wire as it is drawn from said shuttle,

and means for separately driving at least one of said belt drive rollers.

Claims

1. A machine for winding toroids with an elongated length of material comprising; a frame, an annular shuttle for carrying the length of material, a plurality of rollers coupled to said frame for engaging said shuttle, means for driving at least one of said shuttle engaging rollers, an endless toothed belt, and means for supporting and driving said belt including a plurality of rollers one of which is toothed for positive engagement with said toothed belt, said plurality of belt drive rollers being disposed in a manner so that a portion of said belt passes adjacent to a segment of the outer periphery of said shuttle.

5. The machine of claim 4 wherein said belt drive rollers number four.

7. A machine for winding toroids with an elongated length of material comprising; a frame, an annular split shuttle for carrying the length of material and defining a plane, a plurality of rollers for engaging said shuttle, means for driving at least one of said shuttle engaging rollers, a support arm for supporting two of said shuttle engaging rollers, means for swinging said arm and in turn the two rollers supported thereby from out of the plane defined by said shuttle thereby splitting said shuttle and permitting removal thereof, an endless belt disposed with a portion of said belt passing adjacent to a segment of the outer periphery of said shuttle, means for supporting said belt including a plurality of rollers, and means for driving at least one of said belt support rollers.

11. A machine for winding toroids with an elongated length of material comprising; an annular shuttle for carrying said material, roller means for supporting and rotatably driving said shuttle along an inside surface thereof, an endless belt, means supporting said belt including a plurality of separate belt drive rollers disposed radially outward of said shuttle with a portion thereof adjacent to a segment of the outer periphery of said shuttle for engaging said wire as it is drawn from said shuttle, and means for separately driving at least one of said belt drive rollers.