Patent Application
20200313525
The invention relates to a device and method for forming a conductor pack provided for inserting into a stator or rotor.
As they constitute important functional components of an electric motor, its stator and/or rotor are usually formed from a plurality of electric conductor elements, which are arranged around an electromagnetically excitable core. In this regard, the conductor elements are arranged such that, for example, in a stator, a plurality of windings are formed, which cause the formation of an electromagnetic field when electrical current flows through them. For this purpose, U-shaped conductor elements are often inserted into stators and electrically interconnected in accordance with a predetermined interconnection pattern. Correctly positioning the U-shaped conductor elements, which often have different lengths, in the stator pack often requires substantial manual effort or may only be accomplished by means of sophisticated equipment.
For this purpose, DE 102014226224 A1 presents a method for forming U-shaped winding elements, wherein an inner and an outer tool component of a saw set are rotated against each other and, in this process, the winding elements are each gripped by one tooth, and a rod section of the winding element is deformed.
However, it would be advantageous to arrange the U-shaped conductor elements in a predeterminable position and to combine them into a conductor pack prior to inserting them into a stator or rotor. This object is achieved by the present invention by overcoming the disadvantages of the prior art, and a device and method are disclosed by means of which a user is able to easily form a conductor pack for inserting into a rotor or stator.
The method according to the invention for forming a conductor pack for inserting into a stator or rotor comprises the following steps
By means of the method according to the invention, pre-positioning, i.e. alignment, of the U-shaped conductor elements in accordance with a predeterminable interconnection pattern is achieved in a relatively simple way. By guiding the positioning element, in accordance with the invention, in the circumferential direction and simultaneously moving it inwards in the radial direction, rotational movement of the conductor elements is carried out relatively easily. In the course of the pre-positioning, the first rod sections are, by means of the rotational movement and without a disadvantageous deformation of the conductor elements, directly adjacently arranged in the radial direction with provided second rod sections of another conductor element, thereby forming a rod section pair. Thus, a possible step of deforming the conductor element, which would usually result in a change in cross-section and thus in a change in resistance of the conductor element, is omitted. Applying or rotating the conductor elements by means of the positioning element may be carried out in one or several turns around the inner holding device.
In this regard, the first rod sections of the conductor elements are only in contact with the rod section in sections, i.e. with a longitudinal part of the rod section; this way, only small frictional forces occur at the conductor element. This is advantageous as the conductor elements are usually provided with an insulation, which should not be damaged when the rod sections are positioned for forming the rod section pairs or the conductor pack.
The described pre-positioning thus describes the formation of a conductor pack by means of which a subsequent process of gripping the conductor pack or a following process of transferring and/or inserting the conductor pack into a stator or rotor is considerably simplified.
Furthermore, it may be appropriate if during providing, receiving and pre-positioning, the conductor elements are each contacted at the first and the second rod sections by one lever, which is rotatably formed around the first rod longitudinal axis of the respective first rod sections, and the levers, during pre-positioning, guide the second rod sections in the circumferential and radial directions through an inward pivotal movement, by analogy with the pressing movement of the second rod sections by the positioning element.
By using levers, process reliability may be increased as the second rod sections are guided in the radial and/or circumferential direction. This is advantageous especially in the case of relatively long U-shaped conductor elements.
In addition, it may be provided that during providing, receiving and pre-positioning, the conductor elements are each contacted at the second rod section by one guide groove of at least one link, and, during pre-positioning of the second rod sections, the second rod sections are guided in the circumferential and radial directions by the positioning element by means of the respective guide groove.
As with the use of levers, by guiding the second rod sections within a guide groove of a link, very precise positioning of the second rod sections at the provided first rod sections may be performed.
It is conceivable to arrange several links in the axial direction one above the other and thus provide multiple contact points on the second rod sections in the axial direction, which additionally secures the conductor elements against accidental tilting. This measure is especially advantageous in the case of very long conductor elements. Similarly, it is also conceivable to use both a lever and at least one link and a plurality of levers which are arranged one above the other in the axial direction.
Moreover, it may be provided that the positioning element is formed by a roller element rotatably arranged at the positioning device, and that said roller element, during pre-positioning of the second rod sections, rolls on the second rod sections or is actively driven to roll on the second rod sections.
Pressing of the second rod sections is achieved by rolling in a non-abrasive manner, which may efficiently prevent damage to the conductor elements or their insulation. Moving the positioning element towards the inner holding device may be completed within one turn or several turns. Pressing, i.e. pre-positioning of the second rod sections, may thus be performed very precisely, which may contribute to increasing the process reliability.
What is also advantageous is a type of method according to which it may be provided that the receiving portions for the first rod sections are formed by receiving grooves which are open outwards and run in the axial direction, and that the first rod sections are received in said receiving grooves at least in sections, wherein, during receiving of the first rod sections and during pre-positioning of the second rod sections, a sleeve is arranged around the first rod sections at least in sections, which sleeve directly adjacently surrounds the first rod sections outwards in the radial direction and, during pre-positioning, secures the first rod sections against being displaced outwards in the radial direction.
The sleeve is thus temporarily provided as a limitation of the first rod sections in the radial direction, by means of which tilting or outward displacement may be prevented. In this regard, the sleeve may be arranged contiguous with the first rod sections or divided from them by a small gap in order not to impede a rotational movement of the second rod sections. In this regard, the sleeve may advantageously be arranged below the inner holding device or the receiving portions.
According to a further development, it is possible to apply the second rod sections to an outer sleeve shell surface of the sleeve for pre-positioning. This may be advantageous during pre-positioning as the second rod sections are thereby positioned in close proximity to the provided first rod sections but are not yet in contact with them. By means of this intermediate step, second conductor sections that are perhaps not yet correctly aligned may be precisely aligned with respect to the first rod sections with an additional turn of the positioning element in the circumferential direction.
Moreover, it is appropriate that, after pre-positioning of the second rod sections, the sleeve is shifted in the axial direction with respect to the inner holding device downwards into an area of the second conductor ends of the second rod sections, and that afterwards, the second conductor ends of the pre-positioned second rod sections are pressed by means of the positioning element or the gripping elements of the gripping device into positioning grooves circumferentially arranged in an upper end area at the sleeve and open upwards.
By shifting the sleeve, the second rod sections may thus be uncovered with respect to the allocated first rod sections in the radial direction and be precisely applied to said first rod sections. Consequently, the rod section pairs formed in this way are substantially evenly distributed in the circumferential direction. The grooves of the receiving portions of the inner holding device may have a sufficient groove depth in the radial direction for receiving the rod section pair, or the positioning grooves provided at the sleeve may receive at least a lower area of the second conductor ends. This way, a shifting in the axial, radial and circumferential directions of the formed conductor pairs may be efficiently prevented.
In addition, it may be provided that, during pre-positioning of the conductor elements, the first conductor ends of the first rod sections are supported in the axial direction by means of a supporting device having at least one supporting surface.
This way, the conductor elements are particularly effectively prevented from accidentally sliding down in the axial direction. This also reduces the risk of the conductor elements becoming stuck during pre-positioning.
In addition, it may be provided that, during pre-positioning of the second rod sections, a first rod section of at least one of the conductor elements is mounted by means of at least one height-adjustable supporting surface of the supporting device in a height different from other conductor elements.
The supporting device may thus form different levels of supporting surfaces for the first conductor ends in the axial direction. This is particularly advantageous in the case of conductor elements of different lengths as they may be provided for bridging different distances between the grooves. Therefore, it is necessary to rotate individual second rod sections over a larger or smaller number of conductor elements to be able to correctly position the second rod section with a first rod section of a provided conductor element. Since at least individual supporting surfaces of the supporting device are height-adjustable in the axial direction, the conductor elements may thus be prevented from becoming stuck during pre-positioning.
According to a particular embodiment, it is possible that in the area of the first conductor ends of the first rod sections, a groove ring is arranged at whose groove ring circumference securement grooves are arranged, which are open outwards and vertical, and that first conductor ends of the first rod sections are introduced into said securement grooves prior to the pre-positioning of the second rod sections.
The arrangement of the groove ring in the axial direction lies below the inner holding device; this way, an additional, second contact surface is created for the first rod sections. The first rod sections may thus be secured against tilting in the radial direction at least at two points, at least in sections. This facilitates increased process stability.
The pre-positioning device according to the invention for forming a conductor pack for inserting into a stator or rotor comprises
By means of the pre-positioning device according to the invention, the method steps described above may be performed in a relatively simple way. By means of the described construction and arrangement of the individual components or sub-devices, it is possible to position a plurality of conductor elements according to a predeterminable interconnection pattern in such a way that a conductor pack is formed. This way, it becomes possible to accomplish comparably fast and precise pre-positioning of the conductor elements at low cost, which is relevant especially in the case of high quantities.
The receiving portions have at least one longitudinal extension in the axial direction, which allows contacting of the first rod sections at least in sections; this way, tilting during pre-positioning may be reduced. The configuration of the positioning element of the positioning device, which is drivable in the circumferential direction and adjustable inwards in the radial direction, has the advantage that the second rod sections may be easily aligned with respect to the first rod sections provided for this purpose by means of one or several circumferential movements of the positioning element.
In this regard, the positioning device and/or the gripping device may be shiftable in the axial direction to ensure that the method steps are performed in sequential order. In this regard, the gripping elements may be segmented and adjustable or shiftable in the radial direction with respect to the inner holding device. This way, after pre-positioning, the conductor pack may be easily temporarily secured, and afterwards, it may be transferred to an inserting station, or possible subsequent method steps may be performed; however, this will not be discussed here in detail.
Moreover, it may be appropriate if a lever guiding device having a number of levers corresponding to the number of conductor elements is formed, wherein the levers are bow-shaped with a predeterminable lever length and two lever arms, which are horizontally extended and point in the same direction, wherein the first lever arm comprises one respective first rod section receiving portion having a shape compatible with the first rod section of the conductor element, and wherein the second lever arm comprises one respective second rod section receiving portion having a shape compatible with the second rod section of the conductor element, and the levers are each rotatably mounted around a first rod section receiving portion axis, which is aligned with a respective first rod longitudinal axis of the respective first rod sections, and wherein the levers are distributed in the circumferential direction and offset in the axial direction such that all levers are pivotable inwards in the circumferential direction.
The configuration of the lever guiding device may be carried out in different ways, wherein only the pivotal movement of the levers in the circumferential direction must be freely performable. By forming the levers with respective rod section receiving portions for the first and the second rod sections, temporary guiding of the conductor elements during pre-positioning may be ensured. This way, precise alignment of the second rod sections with respect to the first rod sections provided for this purpose is facilitated, and the conductor elements are prevented from tilting.
In addition, it may be provided that a link having a number of guide grooves corresponding to the number of conductor elements is formed, wherein the guide grooves are arcuate, starting from an inner diameter facing the inner holding device, and formed as openings penetrating the link in the axial direction as well as in the circumferential and the radial directions.
This way, guiding the second rod sections during pre-positioning may be facilitated. The link may be formed as a link plate and constitute an independent or combined guide with the lever guiding device described above for the second conductor sections. In addition, the link may be shiftable in the axial direction and/or rotatable in the circumferential direction. This may facilitate aligning the link with respect to the inner holding device and providing the conductor elements at or in the inner holding device.
Moreover, it may be provided that the positioning element is formed by a roller element rotatably arranged at the positioning device, wherein said roller element is rotatably mounted without a drive or operatively connected to a drive member for actively driven rotation.
It is conceivable that the positioning element is formed as a wedge, a roller or a comparable pressing element. In any case, pre-positioning of the second rod sections may be accomplished by rolling or pressing in the radial and the circumferential directions in a non-abrasive manner, which may efficiently prevent damage to the conductor elements or their insulation. For example, electric motors may be used as drive members.
What is also advantageous is an embodiment according to which it may be provided that the receiving portions for the first rod sections are formed by receiving grooves which are open outwards and run in the axial direction, and that a sleeve is formed, which is arranged below the receiving grooves, wherein an inner sleeve diameter of the sleeve is selected such that the sleeve forms a limitation for the first rod sections outwards in the radial direction.
In this regard, the sleeve may be shiftable in the axial direction and thus only temporarily serve as a stop for the first rod sections in the radial direction. This way, tilting of the conductor elements is prevented, which may increase process reliability. The sleeve further comprises a radial outer contact surface, which may be used for temporarily applying the second rod sections. This allows applying the second rod sections to this contact surface first during pre-positioning before the sleeve is shifted and the second rod sections may be applied to the associated first rod sections. The accuracy of the pre-positioning process may thus be increased.
Furthermore, it may be appropriate if the sleeve comprises positioning grooves arranged in an upper end area in the circumferential direction and open upwards, which positioning grooves are formed for receiving the second conductor ends of the second rod sections.
In this regard, the positioning grooves may preferably run horizontally and originate from a front end of the sleeve. The depth of the positioning grooves may be selected such that reception of the second conductor ends may be performed at least in sections. In this regard, the sleeve should be shiftable in the axial direction. Pressing the second conductor ends into the positioning grooves provided for this purpose may be carried out with an additional turn of the positioning element or by the gripping device.
In addition, it may be provided that a guiding element with positioning grooves is formed, which positioning grooves are formed for receiving the second conductor ends of the second rod sections.
This variation may be performed as an alternative to a sleeve shiftable in the axial direction to allow temporary guiding of the second conductor ends in the axial, circumferential and/or radial directions.
In addition, it may be provided that a supporting device having at least one supporting surface is formed, which supporting device is provided for axially supporting the first rod sections.
During providing, pre-positioning and/or gripping of the conductor elements, the supporting device allows correct positioning of the conductor elements in the axial direction. This way, it is efficiently prevented that individual conductor elements accidentally slide down in the axial direction.
According to a particular embodiment, the supporting device may comprise at least one height-adjustable supporting surface.
The supporting device may, for example, be constructed from several ring- or disc-shaped elements serving as a stop for the first conductor ends in the axial direction. Therefore, the supporting device may be constructed in segments, wherein it may consist of at least two rings or discs having the same radius in the radial direction. In addition, in the circumferential direction, at least one of said rings is open in the axial direction at the positions provided for this purpose, while at least one of said rings or discs may comprise extensions in the axial direction. Such a construction of the supporting device allows providing, in the axial direction, associated supporting surfaces for the conductor elements of different lengths at the positions provided for this purpose in the circumferential direction. At least individual supporting surfaces of the supporting device are thus shiftable in the axial direction; this way, only selectable conductor elements may be shifted in the axial direction. This offers the advantage that for the necessary rotation of the second rod sections for correct pre-positioning with respect to the first rod sections provided for this purpose, the rotational movement in the circumferential direction is facilitated without adjacent conductor elements colliding with each other. This is particularly useful if different numbers of distances between the grooves are present, i.e. if, according to the interconnection pattern, individual conductor elements are provided for bridging shorter or longer distances with respect to conductor elements adjacent in the circumferential direction.
According to an advantageous further development, it may be provided that a groove ring is formed at whose groove ring circumference securement grooves are arranged which are open outwards and vertical, which securement grooves are formed for receiving, at least in sections, the first conductor ends of the first rod sections.
In this regard, the groove ring may serve as a stop for the first rod sections inwards in the radial direction. The groove ring thus provides, at least in sections, a second contact surface for the first rod sections. This way, the conductor elements may be easily prevented from tilting out of their vertical alignment along the axial direction.
For better understanding of the invention, the latter is explained in detail with reference to the following figures.
The following is shown in the figures in highly simplified, schematic representation:
First of all, it should be noted that in the embodiments described in different ways, identical parts are given identical reference numbers or identical component names, and the disclosures contained in the entire description may be correspondingly applied to identical parts with identical reference numbers or identical component names. Moreover, the position indications used in the description, such as at the top, at the bottom, lateral, etc. directly refer to the figure shown and described, and, if a position changes, said position indications are to be correspondingly applied to the new position.
One embodiment of the pre-positioning device 34 according to the invention is shown in
Furthermore, in
In
For the pre-positioning process, different supporting elements may be used as a kind of alignment aid. In
The lever guiding device 35 in
The state prior to pre-positioning is symbolically shown in
By analogy with
In
Moreover, embodiments are shown by way of example in
As an alternative to a shiftable sleeve 24 in
In
According to the present invention, it is conceivable that both the positioning device 12 and the gripping device 14 may be pivotable or movable, as schematically shown in
Furthermore, an alternative arrangement of the positioning device 12 and of the gripping device 14 is conceivable, according to which the inner holding device 2 is shiftable and/or height-adjustable with respect to the stationarily arranged positioning device 12 and the gripping device 14. Such an exemplary variation is shown in
As shown in
The embodiments show possible variations; however, it should be noted at this point that the invention is not limited to its variations specifically shown; rather, various combinations of the individual variations are possible, and this variation possibility based on the technical teaching of the present invention is subject to the skills of the person skilled in the art active in this technical field.
The scope of protection is determined by the claims. However, the description and the drawings are to be used for construing the claims. The individual features or feature combinations of the different embodiments shown and described may constitute independent inventive solutions. The object underlying the independent inventive solutions may be gathered from the description.
All indications of ranges of values in the present description are to be understood such that they also include any and all sub-ranges therefrom; for example, the indication 1 to 10 is to be understood such that all sub-ranges are included, starting at the lower limit 1 up to the upper limit 10; i.e. all sub-ranges start with a lower limit of 1 or larger and end at an upper limit of 10 or less, e.g. 1 to 1.7, or 3.2 to 8.1, or 5.5 to 10.
As a matter of form, it should finally be noted that for better understanding of the structure, some of the elements have been represented unscaled and/or enlarged and/or in reduced size.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| A50903/2017 | Oct 2017 | AT | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/AT2018/060260 | 10/25/2018 | WO | 00 |
