Patent Grant
10964470
The present invention relates to a coil to be used as an electronic component and a method for forming the coil and more particularly to the coil suitably used as a coil of a reactor and the method for forming the coil.
In general, a reactor has, for example, a winding and a core made of a magnetic substance and the winding is wound around the core to make up the coil of the reactor, which enables inductance to be obtained. Conventionally, the reactor is used in a voltage boosting circuit, inverter circuit, active filter circuit, or the like, and, in many cases, such the reactor has a structure in which the core and the coil wound around the core are housed, together with other insulating members or the like in a case made of metal or the like (see, for example, Patent Reference 1).
For a reactor to be used in a vehicle-mounted voltage boosting circuit, a coil is used which has a structure in which two single-coil elements each having a predetermined winding diameter and the number of windings that can provide a high inductance value in a high current region are formed in parallel to each other and are coupled (connected) to each other so that the directions of currents flowing through both the coils are reversed to one another.
The first conventional example of such the coil has a structure in which each of the two single-coil elements described above is formed by individual winding and the two single-coil elements are connected to each other by performing welding on an end portion on the coupling side of the windings via communicating terminals (see, for example, Patent Reference 2).
The second conventional example of such the coil has a structure in which two single-coil elements placed in parallel to each other and wound in the same direction are formed by edgewise winding using one piece of rectangular wire rod and the resulting coil is housed within the outside shape formed by end surfaces of both the coil elements by folding, in half, the coupling portion of the rectangular wire rod lying between the above two single-coil elements connected to each other along a width direction orthogonal to a longitudinal direction (see, above Patent Reference 2).
Patent Reference 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2003-124039
Patent Reference 2: Japanese Patent No. 3737461
However, in the first conventional coil described above, the windings to form both the coil elements are coupled via the communicating terminal and, therefore, as described in the above Patent Reference 2, the communicating terminal and the end portion on the coupling side of each of the windings protrude outside from the external shape formed by end surfaces of both the coil elements, resulting in an increase in space occupied by the coil and, when the coil is to be housed in the case described above, in particular, the case becomes the larger in size, thus causing an entire reactor to become large in size.
Moreover, in the above first conventional example of the coil, processes are further required in which coatings on each of the windings and on the end portion on the coupling side of each of the windings are peeled for the connection of both the coil elements and the communicating terminal and, after that, welding is to be performed on these portions, as a result, causing the manufacturing steps of the coil to be very complicated. Furthermore, in the above first conventional example, the two coil elements each being made up of the individual winding are connected electrically to each other by performing the welding via the communicating terminal and, therefore, it is unavoidable that reliability in the welded portions becomes a problem and still another problem arises that variations occur in electrical characteristics depending on how the welding is performed.
Incidentally, since approximately ring-like cores, for example, are inserted into the two coil elements making up a reactor, high accurate arrangement of the two coils is required. However, in the case of the first conventional example of the coil, the end portions on the coupling side of the two coil elements are coupled via the communicating terminal to each other and, therefore, variations occur readily in the arrangement of the two coil elements, which causes the insertion of the core to become impossible, in some cases.
On the other hand, in the second conventional coil described above, the two coil elements are formed by using the same winding and, therefore, the communicating terminal is not necessary, which makes it to easily house the coupling portion within the outside shape formed by end surfaces of both the coil elements. However, the coupling portion is formed on the end portion side of both the coil elements in a manner in which the coupling portions is folded in half and, as a result, the folded portion unavoidably protrudes on the end portion side of both the coil elements, thus causing an increase in space occupied by the coil in a manner to correspond to the folded portion. In this case, there is a fear that, if thickness of the folded portion is made to be reduced, electrical characteristics of the winding, that is, of the coil are affected by curvature of the folded portion being made very small. Also, it cannot be denied that there is a possibility that variations occur in electrical characteristics depending on how the coupling portion is folded. Furthermore, though the process of performing the welding between both the coil elements and the communicating terminal is made unnecessary, the above-described additional step of folding the coupling portion is required, which presents another problem that the manufacturing processes become complicated.
The first object of the present invention is to provide technology capable of reducing the space occupied by a coil serving as a component of a reactor as much as possible to achieve further miniaturization of the reactor.
The second object of the present invention is to provide technology for a coil made up of complicated coil elements which is capable of eliminating variations in characteristics of the coil and providing high reliability by negating the need for processes of performing welding and folding of coupling portions among the coil elements.
The third object of the present invention is to provide technology for a coil made up of the coil elements which is capable of simplifying processes of manufacturing the coil by negating the need for processes of performing welding and folding of coupling portions among the coil elements.
The fourth object of the present invention is to provide technology for a coil made up of the coil elements which is capable of reliably inserting a core into each of the coil elements by making the accuracy of arrangement of a plurality of coil elements be high.
The inventor of the present invention has found a coil and a method for forming the coil having a new configuration in which a plurality of coil elements is formed so that the plurality of coil elements are disposed on the same side in order to negate the need for folding-back of a coupling portion and so that directions of currents flowing through the plurality of coil elements are reversed.
That is, to achieve the above first to third objects, a coil of the present invention is formed by edgewise and rectangular winding of one piece of rectangular wire rod in a manner in which the wound rectangular wire rod is stacked rectangularly and cylindrically in a manner in which, at least, a first coil element and a second coil element are aligned in parallel to each other in a continuous state and winding directions of the rectangular wire rod are reversed to each other, which is characterized in that, at a winding terminating end point of the first coil element formed by edgewise and rectangular winding of the rectangular wire rod in a manner in which the wound rectangular wire rod is stacked rectangularly and cylindrically, the rectangular wire rod is bent approximately 90 degrees in a direction opposite to the winding direction of the first coil element so that the rectangular wire rod is stacked in a direction opposite to the stacking direction of the first coil element and is wound edgewisely and rectangularly in a direction opposite to the winding direction of the first coil element to form a second coil element and, at a winding terminating end point of the second coil element, the first coil element and second coil element are arranged in parallel to each other in a continuous state.
By configuring as above, a welding portion to couple coil elements to one another and a folding portion are not required and, therefore, space occupied by a coil as a component is reduced as much as possible, which enables further miniaturization of a reactor or the like to be realized. Also, welding to couple the coil elements to one another and/or folding-back to align the coil elements in parallel are not required and, therefore, the coil being free of variations in characteristics and having high reliability can be obtained. Further, the needs for welding work and/or folding-back are negated and, therefore, the manufacturing work can be simplified.
To achieve the above first to third objects, there is provided a coil forming method of the present invention for forming the coil constructed by edgewise and rectangular winding of one piece of rectangular wire rod in a manner in which the wound rectangular wire rod is stacked rectangularly and cylindrically and, at least, a first coil element and a second coil element are aligned in parallel to each other in a continuous state and winding directions of the rectangular wire rod are reversed to each other, and for forming first and second coil elements from one piece of rectangular wire rod using a first winding head and a second winding head mounted apart by a predetermined interval from the first winding head, the method including:
a first rectangular wire rod feeding process of preparing a rectangular wire rod having a length required for winding to form the first coil element and second coil element and feeding the rectangular wire rod from the second winding head side to the first winding head side to set the rectangular wire rod to the first winding head and to set an end portion of the rectangular wire rod to a state of protruding from the first winding head by a predetermined length;
a first coil element winding process of winding the rectangular wire rod by using the first winding head until the number of windings of the first coil element reaches a specified value to form the first coil element;
a second rectangular wire rod feeding process of feeding the rectangular wire rod at an end of which the first coil element is formed again from the second winding head side to the first winding head side;
a first coil element forming process of setting the first coil element to a state of having a specified posture by bending the entire first coil element approximately 90 degrees;
a third rectangular wire rod feeding process of feeding the rectangular wire rod from the second winding head side further to the first winding head to ensure a winding portion for the second coil element; and
a second coil element winding process of winding the rectangular wire rod by using the second winding head until the number of windings of the first coil element reaches a specified value to form the second coil element.
By configuring as above, the method for forming the coil can be obtained by which the need for the welding to couple the coil elements to each other and folding-back is negated and, therefore, the space occupied by the coil as a component can be reduced as much as possible, which enables the miniaturization of the reactor or the like and welding to couple the coil elements to one another and/or folding-back to align the coil elements in parallel are not required and, therefore, the coil forming method being free of variations in characteristics and having high reliability can be realized. Further, the needs for welding work and/or folding-back are negated and, therefore, the manufacturing work can be simplified.
Also, in the second rectangular wire rod feeding process, the rectangular wire rod is fed excessively by a coil interval length in order to ensure an interval between the first coil element and the second coil element.
By configuring as above, a predetermined coil interval length between the first coil element and second coil element can be readily ensured in advance and, therefore, variations in the coil element between the first coil element and second coil element can be eliminated, which can enhance the reliability of the formed coil. Also, the third rectangular wire rod feeding process may include a process of cutting the rectangular wire rod to push the rectangular wire rod out by a predetermined length for cutting so that an end of the rectangular wire rod formed by the cutting makes up an end portion of the second coil element.
By configuring as above, the winding of the second coil element is made easy, whereby the manufacturing work can be simplified.
On the other hand, to achieve the first to fourth objects, there is provided a coil having, at least, a first coil element formed by edgewise and rectangular winding of the rectangular wire rod in a manner in which the wound rectangular wire rod is stacked rectangularly and cylindrically and a second coil element formed by edgewise and rectangular winding of the rectangular wire rod in a direction opposite to a stacking direction of the first coil element in a manner in which the rectangular wire rod is stacked in a direction opposite to the stacking direction of the first coil element at a winding terminating end point of the first coil element, which is characterized in that the first coil element and the second coil element are formed in parallel to each other in a continuous manner at a winding terminating point of the second coil element by performing offset winding using the rectangular wire rod based on an offset amount obtained by measuring a positional relation between the second coil element and the first coil element.
By configuring as above, the accumulation of wire rod feeding errors occurring when each side of the second coil element during the winding process by offset winding can be cancelled and, therefore, the arrangement of the first and second coil elements can be made high accurate and the approximately ring-like core can be reliably inserted in each of the first and second coil elements. Moreover, a welding portion to couple coil elements to one another and a folding portion are not required and, therefore, the coil being free of variations in characteristics and having high reliability can be obtained. Further, the needs for welding work and/or folding-back are negated and, therefore, the manufacturing work can be simplified.
Also, to achieve the first to fourth objects, there is a coil forming method for forming the coil constructed by edgewise and rectangular winding of one piece of rectangular wire rod in a manner in which the wound rectangular wire rod is stacked rectangularly and cylindrically and, at least, a first coil element and a second coil element are aligned in parallel to each other in a continuous state and winding directions of the rectangular wire rod are reversed to each other and for forming first and second coil elements from the one piece of rectangular wire rod using a first winding head and a second winding head mounted apart by a predetermined interval from the first winding head, the method including:
a first rectangular wire rod feeding process of preparing a rectangular wire rod having a length required for winding to form the first coil element and second coil element and feeding the rectangular wire rod from the second winding head side to the first winding head side to set the rectangular wire rod to the first winding head and an end portion of the rectangular wire rod to a state of protruding from the first winding head by a predetermined length;
a first coil element winding process of winding the rectangular wire rod by using the first winding head until the number of windings of the first coil element reaches a specified value to form the first coil element;
a second rectangular wire rod feeding process of feeding the rectangular wire rod at an end of which the first coil element is formed again from the second winding head side to the first winding head side;
a first coil element forming process of setting the first coil element to a state of having a specified posture by bending the entire first coil element;
a third rectangular wire rod feeding process of feeding the rectangular wire rod further from the winding head side to the first winding head side in order to ensure a winding portion for the second coil element; and
a second coil element winding process of winding the rectangular wire rod until the number of windings of the second coil element reaches a predetermined value by using the second winding head and calculating an offset amount by measuring a positional relation between the second coil element and the first coil element during the winding process and forming the second coil element by performing offset winding based on the obtained offset amount.
By configuring as above, the accumulation of wire rod feeding errors occurring when each side of the second coil element during the winding process by offset winding can be cancelled and, therefore, the arrangement of the first and second coil elements can be made high accurate and the approximately ring-like core can be reliably inserted in each of the first and second coil elements. Moreover, a welding portion to couple coil elements to one another and a folding portion are not required and, therefore, the coil being free of variations in characteristics and having high reliability can be obtained. Further, the needs for welding work and/or folding-back are negated and, therefore, the manufacturing work can be simplified.
Also, in the second rectangular wire rod feeding process, the rectangular wire rod is fed excessively by a coil interval length in order to ensure an interval between the coil element and the second coil element.
By configuring as above, a predetermined coil interval length between the first coil element and second coil element can be readily ensured in advance and, therefore, variations in the coil element between the first coil element and second coil element can be eliminated, which can enhance the reliability of the formed coil.
In the coil element winding process, the offset amount is obtained to ensure a distance between an axis core of the first coil element and an axis core of the second coil element as a specified length.
By configuring as above, variations in a distance between the axis core of the first coil element and the axis core of the second coil element can be eliminated, whereby, for example, the approximately ring-like core can be reliably inserted in each of the coil elements and thus reliability can be further enhanced.
According to the present invention, no protrusion of the communicating terminal and the end portion on the coupling side of each of the windings outside from the external shape formed by end surfaces of both the coil elements occurs and no increase occurs in space occupied by the coil. Moreover, the folding-back portion for coupling is not required, which can prevent the protrusion of members or the like toward the end surface side of both the coil elements and can reduce the space occupied by the coil and, therefore, when the coil of the present invention is applied to electronic components or the like in which the coil is housed in a case, it is made possible to make the case small in size, thus achieving the miniaturization of the entire electronic component.
Further, no welding portion presents a problem in terms of reliability and there is no possibility that variations occur in electrical characteristics of a coil depending on how the coil is folded back, whereby the coil with high reliability and safety in electrical characteristics can be formed.
Also, processes of welding between both the coil elements and the communicating terminal and of folding-back are not required, thereby simplifying the manufacturing work of the coil.
Furthermore, offset winding is performed based on offset amounts calculated by measuring a positional relation between the second coil element and first coil element during the winding process and, therefore, the accumulation of wire rod feeding errors occurring while each side of the second coil element is formed during the winding process can be cancelled and the arrangement of the first coil element and second coil element can be made highly accurate. This enables, for example, the approximately ling-like core to be reliably inserted in each of the coil elements, thereby providing the coil having high reliability and safety in electrical characteristic.
A coil of the first embodiment of the present invention is described in detail by referring to drawings. According to the first embodiment, the coil of the present invention is applied to a coil of a reactor (hereinafter, referred to as a reactor coil).
Next, after the reactor coil 12 is formed in the winding portion 4b, the partitioning portion 4a is fitted from both ends of the winding frame portion 4b. Then, the reactor cores 9 are inserted into the winding frame portion 4b. The reactor core 9 is made up of a plurality of blocks 3a and 3b each made of a magnetic substance and sheet members 6 to be inserted as a magnetic gap among the blocks 3b. In the embodiment, the reactor core 9 is made up of two pieces of blocks 3a, 6 pieces of blocks 3b and 8 pieces of sheet members 6. Each of the reactor cores 9 has an approximately ring-like shape and the blocks 3b each made of the magnetic substance and the sheet members 6, all of which form a straight-line portion, is inserted into the winding frame portion 4b. The reactor core 9 have two straight-line portions and the reactor coil 12 is formed in each of the straight-line portions with the winding frame portion 4b being interposed therein to obtain a specified electrical characteristic. The blocks 3a made of the magnetic substance are connected to each of the straight-line portions, as a result, forming the reactor core 9 having the approximately ring-like shape. Moreover, after the blocks 3b made of the magnetic substance and the sheet members 4 are inserted into the winding frame portion 4b of the bobbin 4, the blocks 3a are bonded to the sheet members 6 and, therefore, the blocks 3a are so configured as not to be separated.
By the above procedures, the reactor cores 9 and reactor coils 12 are formed. After that, after the insulation/dissipation sheet 7 is placed on the bottom face of the thermal conductive case 1, the reactor core 9 and reactor coil 12 are housed in the thermal conductive case 1. Next, the filler 8 is poured into the thermal conductive case 1 to secure the reactor cores 9 and reactor coil 12 in the thermal conductive case 1. The insulation/dissipation sheet 7 is placed between the reactor coil 12 and thermal conductive case 1 to provide insulation of both. Moreover, the insulation/dissipation sheet 7 of the embodiment uses the sheet having thermal conductivity being higher than that of the surrounding filler 8 and, therefore, can transfer heat generated from the reactor coil 12 to the thermal conductive case 1 effectively. By this, the heat generated from the reactor coil 12 is dissipated efficiently from the forcedly cooled thermal conductive case 1.
As described above, the reactor coil 12 of the embodiment includes the first coil element 121 and second coil element 122 each formed by edgewise and rectangular winding of the rectangular wire 17 in a manner in which the wound rectangular wire 17 is stacked rectangularly and cylindrically. Owing to this, the first coil element 121 and second coil element 122 are so formed that the bottom faces are plane and are in contact with the thermal conductive case 1 with the insulation/dissipation sheet 7 interposed therebetween and, therefore, the reactor coil 12 is excellent in a dissipation characteristic compared with the case where coil elements are stacked in layer in a cylindrical manner. Also, similarly, when compared with the case where coil elements are stacked in layer in a cylindrical manner, dead space in the thermal conductive case 1 is reduced, thus enabling the reactor coil 12 to be housed in a case with reduced volume, which serves to make an entire of the reactor be small in size. Further, the reactor coil 12 of the embodiment has the first coil element 121 and second coil element 122 formed by winding the rectangular wire 17 edgewisely (vertically) and, therefore, a voltage among wires can be made smaller compared with the case where the rectangular wire 17 is wound in a horizontal manner. Accordingly, even in the reactor coil to which a large voltage of 1000 volts is applied, it is possible to ensure high reliability.
Incidentally, the method for forming the reactor coil 12 of the embodiment is described by referring to
Then, as shown in
After the formation of the first coil element 121, as shown in
As shown in
Then, as shown in
Next, as shown in
Thus, as shown in
Thus, as shown in
Further, as shown in
As shown in
By using the above forming method, as shown in
Thus, the reactor coil and the method for forming the reactor coil of the present embodiment is characterized by the way of coupling between both the coil elements 121 and 122. In the conventional first example of the coil, it is necessary that the member and area such as the communicating terminal and welding portion not serving as the winding portion of the coil are provided which are used only for coupling between both the coil elements. Also, in the second conventional example of the coil, it is necessary that an area for rewinding is provided which is used only for coupling between both the coil elements not serving as the winding portion. Unlike the first and second conventional examples, according to the reactor and method for forming the coil of the present embodiment, as shown in
As described above, the coil and method of forming the coil of the embodiment and the present invention is characterized in that the coupling between both the coil elements is made possible only by directly bending the rectangular wire rod 170 without using needless portions such the terminal for welding or folding-back portion for coupling. Therefore, unlike the first conventional example, the end portion on the coupling side including the communicating terminal does not protrude from the external shape formed by end surfaces of both the coil elements to the outside, which does not cause an increase in space occupied by the coil. Further, unlike the conventional second example of the coil, no folding-back portion for coupling is required and, therefore, as is apparent from
Moreover, unlike the conventional first example of the coil, in the present embodiment, no problem arises in reliability of the welding portion. Unlike the conventional second example of the coil, there is no possibility that variations occur in electric characteristics depending on how the coil is folded back. Accordingly, the coil having high reliability and stable electric characteristics can be formed. Moreover, there are large advantages in that processes of welding between both the coil elements and communicating terminal of folding-back the coil are not required, whereby simplifying the manufacturing work.
Next, the reactor coil of the second embodiment of the present invention is described in detail by referring to drawings.
Thus, the reactor coil 12 of the second embodiment is a two-gang connected coil formed by feeding, in advance, after the termination of the rectangular winding to form the first coil element 121, the rectangular wire rod 170 having a length required to perform winding to form the second coil element 122 and by winding to form the second coil element 122 rectangularly using the wire rod on the side where the first coil element 121 does not exist. As a result, there is a fear that the accumulation of wire rod feeding errors occurring when each side is formed during the process of rectangular winding to form the second coil element 122 appears as a variation in distance between the axis core of the first coil element 121 and the axis core of the second coil element 122. As described above, two straight-line portions making up the ring-like reactor core 9 are inserted into the first coil element 121 and second coil element 122 and, therefore, high dimensional accuracy is required in the distance between the axis core of the first coil element 121 and the axis core of the second coil element 122. According to the second embodiment, in order to cancel the accumulation of the wire rod feeding errors, offset winding is performed on an offset portion 123, as an excessive length portion, on the second coil element 122 existing near to the coupling portion between the first coil element 121 and second coil element 122.
Since the accumulation of wire rod feeding errors occurring when each side is formed during the process of winding to form the second coil element 122 can be cancelled by the offset winding, it is made possible to arrange the first coil element 121 and second coil elements 122 highly accurately and the two straight-portions making up the approximately ring-like reactor core 9 can be reliably inserted into each of the first and second coil elements 121 and 122. Further, welding to couple the coil elements 121 and 122 to each other and folding-back to align the first and second coil elements 121 and 122 in parallel to each other are not required and, therefore, the coil having no variations in characteristics and providing high reliability can be obtained. Moreover, the welding work and/or folding-back work are not required, thereby simplifying the manufacturing processes.
First, as shown in
Then, as shown in
After the formation of the first coil element 121, as shown in
As shown in
Then, as shown in
Next, as shown in
Thus, as shown in
Then, as shown in
Then, an offset amount F is computed based on the measured distance between both the coil elements 121 and 122 so that the distance LL between the axis core W1 of the first coil element 121 and the axis core W2 of the second coil element 122 of the reactor coil 12 having its final configuration shown in
F=(L1−a)/2+(b+r) (1)
where “L1” denotes a distance between a center of a side 121h of the first coil element 121 and a center of a side 122h of the second coil element 122 both facing each other, which are stored in the memory of the control section of the winding machine, “a” denotes a length (distance between centers of the rectangular wire rod 170) of a side 121h of the first coil element 121 stored, in advance, in the memory of the control section of the winding machine, “b” denotes a width of the rectangular wire rod 170, and “r” denotes a diameter of the winding head 200. Moreover, as shown in
Then, as shown in
Further, in the state where the winding has been completed, the end portion 121a (tip 170f of the rectangular wire rod 170) of the first coil element 121 and the end portion 122a (end 170b of the rectangular wire rod 170) of the second coil element 122 are aligned in an extended manner in the same direction as shown in
According to the above forming method, as shown in
Thus, the forming method is characterized by the way of coupling which enables the high accurate arrangement of both the coil elements 121 and 122. In the conventional first example of the coil, the member or area only for the coupling which does not serve as the winding portion of coils such as the communicating terminal and/or welding portion are required. Also, in the conventional second example of the coil, the area only for the coupling which does not serve as the winding of the coil such as the folding-back portion is required. Unlike the conventional examples, in the reactor coil and method of forming the reactor coil of the embodiment, as shown in
It is apparent that the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments but may be changed and modified without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention.
The present invention can be widely applied not only to a coil of a reactor but also to coils of other electronic components such as a transformer and the like so long as the coil is formed, at least, by performing winding using the rectangular wire rod edgewisely and rectangularly to form coil elements in a manner in which the wound rectangular wire rod is stacked and the coil elements are aligned in parallel to each other and the winding directions of the coil elements are reversed to each other.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2006-133041 | May 2006 | JP | national |
| 2007-018828 | Jan 2007 | JP | national |
The present application is a Continuation Application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/315,067, filed on Dec. 8, 2011, which is a Divisional Application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/227,181, filed on Nov. 10, 2008, now U.S. Pat. No. 8,091,211 B2, issued on Jan. 10, 2012, which is based on International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2007/000507, filed on May 11, 2007, which is based on Japanese Patent Application No. 2006-133041, filed on May 11, 2006, and Japanese Patent Application No. 2007-018828, filed on Jan. 30, 2007, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
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| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20190385784 A1 | Dec 2019 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 12227181 | US | |
| Child | 13315067 | US |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | 13315067 | Dec 2011 | US |
| Child | 16553873 | US |
