FLAT WIRE DISTORTION REMOVAL APPARATUS

Abstract

A flat wire distortion removal apparatus capable of contributing to preventing flat wires from being defectively processed is provided. A flat wire distortion removal apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a flat wire distortion removal apparatus, including a roller leveler configured to obtain parallelism between two side surfaces of the flat wire in a width direction by making the flat wire pass between a pair of rollers. The roller leveler includes a holding part configured to prevent the flat wire from rotating around an axis extending in a length direction of the flat wire.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority from Japanese patent application No. 2022-149973, filed on Sep. 21, 2022, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference.

BACKGROUND

The present disclosure relates to a flat wire distortion removal apparatus, for example, to a flat wire distortion removal apparatus including a roller leveler configured to obtain parallelism between two side surfaces of the flat wire in the width direction by making the flat wire pass between a pair of rollers.

In general, a flat wire is delivered in a state in which it is wound around a reel. Therefore, for example, before the flat wire is bent to form an edgewise coil, a process for removing the distortion of the flat wire is performed by using a roller leveler. In this case, the distortion of the flat wire is removed by making the flat wire pass between a pair of rollers of the roller leveler as disclosed, for example, in Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-235560.

SUMMARY

The applicant has found the following problem. In order to increase the output of a motor, it is necessary to increase the number of turns of a flat wire used therein. Therefore, it is desired to reduce the thickness of the flat wire. In this case, since an R-part is formed at each of the corners of the flat wire, the flat parts on the two side surfaces of the flat wire in the width direction become smaller.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 5, when a process for obtaining parallelism between two side surfaces of a flat wire 5 in the width direction is performed by using a roller leveler, i.e., a process for remove the distortion of the flat wire 5 in the width direction is performed, in some cases, the flat wire 5 may be inclined between rollers 101 and hence the flat wire 5 may be defectively processed.

This present disclosure has been made in view of the above-described problem and provides a flat wire distortion removal apparatus capable of contributing to preventing flat wires from being defectively processed.

A flat wire distortion removal apparatus according to an aspect of the present disclosure is a flat wire distortion removal apparatus including a roller leveler configured to obtain parallelism between two side surfaces of the flat wire in a width direction by making the flat wire pass between a pair of rollers, in which the roller leveler includes a holding part configured to prevent the flat wire from rotating around an axis extending in a length direction of the flat wire.

According to this disclosure, it is possible to provide a flat wire distortion removal apparatus capable of contributing to preventing flat wires from being defectively processed.

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description given hereinbelow and the accompanying drawings which are given by way of illustration only, and thus are not to be considered as limiting the present disclosure.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows a flat wire distortion removal apparatus according to a first embodiment;

FIG. 1B shows an arrangement of rollers of a first roller leveler of the flat wire distortion removal apparatus according to the first embodiment as viewed from the X-axis positive side;

FIG. 1C shows the first roller leveler of the flat wire distortion removal apparatus according to the first embodiment as viewed from the Y-axis negative side;

FIG. 1D shows a second roller leveler of the flat wire distortion removal apparatus according to the first embodiment as viewed from the Y-axis negative side;

FIG. 2 shows a typical flat wire;

FIG. 3 shows a second roller leveler of a flat wire distortion removal apparatus according to a second embodiment as viewed from the Y-axis negative side;

FIG. 4 shows a second roller leveler of a flat wire distortion removal apparatus according to a third embodiment as viewed from the Y-axis negative side; and

FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining a problem in a typical roller leveler.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Specific embodiments to which the present disclosure is applied will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the drawings. However, the present disclosure is not limited to the below-shown embodiments. Further, the present disclosure will be explained by using a three-dimensional (XYZ) coordinate system for clarifying the explanation, and the following description and drawings are simplified as appropriate.

First Embodiment

Firstly, a configuration of a flat wire distortion removal apparatus (hereinafter also referred to simply as a distortion removal apparatus) according to an embodiment will be described. The distortion removal apparatus according to this embodiment is suitable, for example, for removing a distortion of a flat wire before the flat wire is bent to form an edgewise coil used in a motor.

FIG. 1A shows the distortion removal apparatus according to this embodiment; FIG. 1B shows an arrangement of rollers of a first roller leveler of the distortion removal apparatus according to this embodiment as viewed from the X-axis positive side; FIG. 1C shows the first roller leveler of the distortion removal apparatus according to this embodiment as viewed from the Y-axis negative side; and FIG. 1D shows a second roller leveler of the distortion removal apparatus according to this embodiment as viewed from the Y-axis negative side. FIG. 2 shows a typical flat wire. Note that FIG. 1A shows the distortion removal apparatus in a simplified manner.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the distortion removal apparatus 1 according to this embodiment includes a first roller leveler 2, a second roller leveler 3, and a feeding unit 4, and is configured so that a flat wire 5 is fed to the first roller leveler 2 and the second roller leveler 3 from a reel 6, around which the flat wire 5 is wound, by the feeding unit 4.

Note that, as shown in FIG. 2, the flat wire 5 has a structure in which a conductor 51 is covered by an insulating film 52. Further, for example, the flat wire 5 is a member having a long length and having a rectangular shape in XZ-cross section, in which an R-part (a curved-surface part) 53 is formed at each corner of the flat wire 5. Note that the distortion removal apparatus 1 according to this embodiment is particularly suitable when the so-called aspect ratio expressed as “Width in X-axis direction (width direction)/Thickness in Z-axis direction (thickness direction)” of the flat wire 5 is larger than that of a typical flat wire 5.

The first roller leveler 2 is used to obtain parallelism between the surface on the Z-axis positive side of the flat wire 5 and the surface on the Z-axis negative side thereof, i.e., to remove a distortion of the flat wire 5 in the Z-axis direction. As shown in FIG. 1A, the first roller leveler 2 is disposed on the Y-axis positive side of the reel 6. The first roller leveler 2 includes first rollers 21 and second rollers 22 as shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C.

As shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C, for example, each of the first rollers 21 is a roughly cylindrical metallic member extending in the X-axis direction, and the width of each of the first rollers 21 in the X-axis direction is equal to or larger than the width of the flat wire 5 in the X-axis direction.

As shown in FIG. 1C, each of the first rollers 21 is rotatably supported by a rotation shaft 24 with a bearing 23 interposed therebetween. The rotation shaft 24 extends in the X-axis direction, and its end on the X-axis negative side is fixed to a side-wall part 25 of the first roller leveler 2. As shown in FIG. 1B, the first rollers 21 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the Y-axis direction.

As shown in FIGS. 1B and 1C, for example, the second rollers 22 are disposed on the Z-axis positive side of the first rollers 21 as viewed in the Y-axis direction, and are disposed with a predetermined interval (e.g., a desired thickness of the flat wire 5) from the first rollers 21 in the Z-axis direction. That is, the first rollers 21 and the second rollers 22 form a pair as viewed in the Y-axis direction. Note that, as viewed in the Y-axis direction, the first rollers 21 and the second rollers 22 are arranged so that their circumferential surfaces are roughly parallel to each other and parallel to the X-axis.

Since the second rollers 22 have a configuration roughly identical to that of the first rollers 21, their detailed description is omitted. In general, each of the second rollers 22 is a roughly cylindrical metallic member extending in the X-axis direction, and as shown in FIG. 1C, is rotatably supported by a rotation shaft 27 with a bearing 26 interposed therebetween. As shown in FIG. 1B, the second rollers 22 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the Y-axis direction. Note that each of the second rollers 22 is disposed between two adjacent first rollers 21 as viewed in the Z-axis direction.

The second roller leveler 3 is used to obtain parallelism between the surface on the X-axis positive side of the flat wire 5 and the surface on the X-axis negative side thereof, i.e., to remove a distortion of the flat wire 5 in the X-axis direction. As shown in FIG. 1A, the second roller leveler 3 is disposed on the Y-axis positive side of the first roller leveler 2. As shown in FIG. 1D, the second roller leveler 3 includes first rollers 31, second rollers 32, and a holding part 33.

As shown in FIG. 1D, for example, each of the first rollers 31 is a roughly cylindrical metallic member extending in the Z-axis direction, and the height of each of the first rollers 31 in the Z-axis direction is equal to or larger than the height of the flat wire 5 in the Z-axis direction.

As shown in FIG. 1D, each of the first rollers 31 is rotatably supported by a rotation shaft 35 with a bearing 34 interposed therebetween. The rotation shaft 35 extends in the Z-axis direction, and its end on the Z-axis negative side is fixed to a bottom part 36 of the second roller leveler 3. As shown in FIG. 1A, the first rollers 31 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the Y-axis direction.

As shown in FIG. 1D, for example, the second rollers 32 are disposed on the X-axis negative side of the first rollers 31 as viewed in the Y-axis direction, and are disposed with a predetermined interval (e.g., a desired width of the flat wire 5) from the first rollers 31 in the X-axis direction. That is, as shown in FIG. 1D, the first rollers 31 and the second rollers 32 form a pair as viewed in the Y-axis direction. Note that, as viewed in the Y-axis direction, the first rollers 31 and the second rollers 32 are arranged so that their circumferential surfaces are roughly parallel to each other and parallel to the Z-axis.

Since the second rollers 32 have a configuration roughly identical to that of the first rollers 31, their detailed description is omitted. In general, as shown in FIG. 1D, each of the second rollers 32 is a roughly cylindrical metallic member extending in the Z-axis direction, and rotatably supported by a rotation shaft 38 with a bearing 37 interposed therebetween. As shown in FIG. 1A, the second rollers 32 are arranged at predetermined intervals in the Y-axis direction. Note that each of the second rollers 32 is disposed between two adjacent first rollers 31 as viewed in the X-axis direction.

The holding part 33 prevents the flat wire 5 from rotating around the Y-axis, i.e., prevents the flat wire 5 from inclining. As shown in FIG. 1D, the holding part 33 includes a first holding plate 39 and a second holding plate 40. The first holding plate 39 is, for example, a roughly rectangular plate extending in the Y-axis direction as viewed in the Z-axis direction, and has a flat surface on the Z-axis positive side thereof that is roughly parallel to the XY-plane.

As shown in FIG. 1D, the width of the first holding plate 39 in the X-axis direction is preferably roughly equal to that of the flat wire 5 in the X-axis direction. Further, as shown in FIG. 1A, the length of the first holding plate 39 in the Y-axis direction is preferably such a length that the first holding plate 39 can cover the area where the first rollers 31 and the second rollers 32 of the second roller leveler 3 are arranged as viewed in the X-axis direction.

However, the width of the first holding plate 39 in the X-axis direction and the length thereof in the Y-axis direction may be determined as appropriate so that when the flat wire 5 is about to incline, the first holding plate 39 comes into contact with the flat wire 5 and thereby can prevent the flat wire 5 from inclining.

The first holding plate 39 is preferably made of, for example, metal, but may be made of any material that is not worn out when the flat wire 5 comes into contact therewith. The first holding plate 39 is fixed to, for example, a bottom part 36 of the second roller leveler 3.

As shown in FIG. 1D, for example, the second holding plate 40 is disposed on the Z-axis positive side of the first holding plate 39 as viewed in the Y-axis direction, and is disposed with a predetermined interval (e.g., a distance by which the flat wire 5 does not come into contact therewith when the flat wire 5 moves) from the first holding plate 39 in the Z-axis direction.

Since the second holding plate 40 has such a configuration that it is line-symmetrical to the first holding plate 39 with the axis extending in the Y-axis direction being the axis of the symmetry, its detailed description is omitted. In general, the second holding plate 40 is a roughly rectangular plate extending in the Y-axis direction as viewed in the Z-axis direction, and is fixed to, for example, a ceiling part (not shown) of the second roller leveler 3.

The feeding unit 4 pulls out the flat wire 5 from the reel 6 and feeds it between the first rollers 21 and the second rollers 22 of the first roller leveler 2, and between the first rollers 31 and the second rollers 32 of the second roller leveler 3.

As shown in FIG. 1A, the feeding unit 4 is disposed on the Y-axis positive side of the second roller leveler 3. The feeding unit 4 includes a clamping mechanism for holding the flat wire 5, and as indicated by broken lines in FIG. 1A, as the feeding unit 4 itself is pulled toward the Y-axis positive side, the flat wire 5 is pulled toward the Y-axis positive side.

Next, a flow of a process for obtaining parallelism of a flat wire 5 by using the distortion removal apparatus 1 according to this embodiment will be explained. Firstly, the flat wire 5, which has been pulled toward the Y-axis positive side by the feeding unit 4, is fed between the first rollers 21 and the second rollers 22 of the first roller leveler 2.

The first rollers 21 of the first roller leveler 2 rotates while being in contact with the surface on the Z-axis negative side of the flat wire 5, and the second rollers 22 of the first roller leveler 2 rotates while being in contact with the surface on the Z-axis positive side of the flat wire 5. In this way, parallelism between the Z-axis positive-side surface and the Z-axis negative-side surface of the flat wire 5 is ensured. That is, a distortion of the flat wire 5 in the Z-axis direction is removed.

Next, the flat wire 5, which has been pulled toward the Y-axis positive side by the feeding unit 4, is fed between the first rollers 31 and the second rollers 32 of the second roller leveler 3. The first rollers 31 of the second roller leveler 3 rotates while being in contact with the surface on the X-axis positive side of the flat wire 5, and the second rollers 32 of the second roller leveler 3 rotates while being in contact with the surface on the X-axis negative side of the flat wire 5. In this way, parallelism between the X-axis positive-side surface and the X-axis negative-side surface of the flat wire 5 is ensured. That is, a distortion of the flat wire 5 in the X-axis direction is removed.

Note that since the first holding plate 39 and the second holding plate 40 of the holding part 33 are disposed with the flat wire 5 interposed therebetween in the Z-axis direction, it is possible to prevent the flat wire 5 from inclining around the Y-axis when the flat wire 5 passes between the first rollers 31 and the second rollers 32. Therefore, it is possible to satisfactorily ensure parallelism between the X-axis positive-side surface and the X-axis negative-side surface of the flat wire 5, and thereby to prevent the flat wire 5 from being defectively processed.

Further, the first roller leveler 2 is disposed on the Y-axis negative side of the second roller leveler 3, so that when the flat wire 5 is fed to the second roller leveler 3, the distortion of the flat wire 5 in the Z-axis direction is removed. Therefore, it is possible to prevent, when the flat wire 5 is fed to the second roller leveler 3, the Z-axis positive-side surface and the Z-axis negative-side surface of the flat wire 5 from being brought into contact with the first holding plate 39 or the second holding plate 40 of the holding part 33 with a large force. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the flat wire 5 from being defectively processed more reliably.

As described above, the distortion removal apparatus 1 according to this embodiment is configured so that when the flat wire 5 passes through the second roller leveler 3, the first holding plate 39 and the second holding plate 40 of the holding part 33 are positioned with the flat wire 5 interposed therebetween in the Z-axis direction.

In this way, it is possible to prevent the flat wire 5 from inclining around the Y-axis when the flat wire 5 passes between the first rollers 31 and the second rollers 32. Therefore, it is possible to satisfactorily ensure parallelism between the X-axis positive-side surface and the X-axis negative-side surface of the flat wire 5, and thereby to prevent the flat wire 5 from being defectively processed.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 3 shows a second roller leveler of a distortion removal apparatus according to this embodiment as viewed from the Y-axis negative side. The distortion removal apparatus according to this embodiment has a configuration roughly identical to that of the distortion removal apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, and therefore redundant descriptions are omitted and the same reference numerals (or symbols) are assigned to the same or corresponding components.

The configuration of the holding part of the distortion removal apparatus according to this embodiment differs from that of the holding part of the distortion removal apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment. As shown in FIG. 3, the holding part 201 includes a holding plate 202 and holding rollers 203. The holding plate 202 has a configuration roughly identical to that of the first holding plate 39 according to the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 3, the holding rollers 203 prevent the flat wire 5 from inclining around the Y-axis by holding the flat wire 5, which has been fed to the second roller leveler, between the holding plate 202 and the holding rollers 203 in the Z-axis direction. The holding rollers 203 are disposed on the Z-axis positive side of the holding plate 202 as viewed in the Y-axis direction.

As shown in FIG. 3, for example, each of the holding rollers 203 is a roughly cylindrical metallic member extending in the X-axis direction, and rotatably supported by a rotation shaft 205 with a bearing 204 interposed therebetween. The rotation shaft 205 extends in the X-axis direction, and its end on the X-axis positive side is fixed to a side-wall part of the second roller leveler.

Note that, as shown in FIG. 3, the circumferential surfaces of the holding rollers 203 are roughly parallel to the X-axis as viewed in the Y-axis direction. Further, the holding rollers 203 are arranged so that they can press roughly the center of the flat wire 5, which has been fed to the second roller leveler, in the Y-axis direction.

Note that the width of each of the holding rollers 203 in the X-axis direction may be determined as appropriate so that, by having the holding plate 202 and the holding rollers 203 hold the flat wire 5, which has been fed to the second roller leveler, therebetween in the Z-axis direction, the flat wire 5 can be prevented from inclining. Note that the holding rollers 203 are preferably arranged at predetermined intervals in the Y-axis direction.

The holding part 201, which has the above-described configuration, is configured to have the holding plate 202 and the holding rollers 203 hold the flat wire 5, which has been fed to the second roller leveler, therebetween in the Z-axis direction. In this way, it is possible to prevent the flat wire 5 from inclining around the Y-axis when the flat wire 5 passes between the first rollers 31 and the second rollers 32. Therefore, the distortion removal apparatus according to this embodiment can also satisfactorily ensure parallelism between the X-axis positive-side surface and the X-axis negative-side surface of the flat wire 5, and thereby to prevent the flat wire 5 from being defectively processed.

Note that the holding part 201 according to this embodiment includes the holding plate 202, but may include a holding roller(s) in place of the holding plate 202.

Third Embodiment

FIG. 4 shows a second roller leveler of a distortion removal apparatus according to this embodiment as viewed from the Y-axis negative side. The distortion removal apparatus according to this embodiment has a configuration roughly identical to that of the distortion removal apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, and therefore redundant descriptions are omitted and the same reference numerals (or symbols) are assigned to the same or corresponding components.

As shown in FIG. 4, as compared to the distortion removal apparatus 1 according to the first embodiment, the distortion removal apparatus according to this embodiment does not include the first holding plate 39 and the second holding plate 40, and a first groove 301 formed in the first rollers 31 and a second groove 302 formed in the second rollers 32 function as a holding part 303. That is, the holding part 303 according to this embodiment includes the first groove 301 and the second groove 302.

As shown in FIG. 4, the first groove 301 is roughly rectangular and is formed in the circumferential surface of the first rollers 31. The first groove 301 is disposed (i.e., extends) in the circumferential direction of the first rollers 31. The height of the first groove 301 in the Z-axis direction is preferably roughly equal to the thickness of the flat wire 5 in the Z-axis direction.

As shown in FIG. 4, the second groove 302 is roughly rectangular and is formed in the circumferential surface of the second rollers 32. The second groove 302 is disposed (i.e., extends) in the circumferential direction of the second rollers 32. The height of the second groove 302 in the Z-axis direction is preferably roughly equal to the thickness of the flat wire 5 in the Z-axis direction.

The first groove 301 and the second groove 302 are disposed at heights roughly equal to each other in the Z-axis direction. Further, as the flat wire 5 passes between the first rollers 31 and the second rollers 32, the X-axis positive-side side surface of the flat wire 5 comes into contact with the bottom surface (i.e., a surface extending in the Z-axis direction) of the first groove 301, and the X-axis negative-side side surface of the flat wire 5 comes into contact with the bottom surface of the second groove 302.

The holding part 303 having the above-described configuration is configured so that the end on the X-axis positive side of the flat wire 5, which has been fed to the second roller leveler, is inserted into the first groove 301, and the end on the X-axis negative side of the flat wire 5 is inserted into the second groove 302.

In this way, it is possible to prevent the flat wire 5 from inclining around the Y-axis when the flat wire 5 passes between the first rollers 31 and the second rollers 32. Therefore, the distortion removal apparatus according to this embodiment can also satisfactorily ensure parallelism between the X-axis positive-side surface and the X-axis negative-side surface of the flat wire 5, and thereby to prevent the flat wire 5 from being defectively processed.

The present disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and they may be modified as appropriate without departing from the scope and spirit of the disclosure.

For example, the configurations of the holding parts in the above-described embodiments are merely examples, and they may have any configuration as long as it is possible to prevent the flat wire 5, which has been fed to the second roller leveler, from inclining around the Y-axis.

For example, the position and the material of each of the rollers of the first roller leveler 2 of the above-described embodiments are merely examples, and they can be modified or changed as appropriate. Similarly, the position and the material of each of the rollers of the second roller leveler 3 of the above-described embodiments are merely examples, and they can be modified or changed as appropriate.

From the disclosure thus described, it will be obvious that the embodiments of the disclosure may be varied in many ways. Such variations are not to be regarded as a departure from the spirit and scope of the disclosure, and all such modifications as would be obvious to one skilled in the art are intended for inclusion within the scope of the following claims.

Claims

1. A flat wire distortion removal apparatus comprising a roller leveler configured to obtain parallelism between two side surfaces of the flat wire in a width direction by making the flat wire pass between a pair of rollers, wherein the roller leveler comprises a holding part configured to prevent the flat wire from rotating around an axis extending in a length direction of the flat wire.

2. The flat wire distortion removal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding part comprises: a first holding plate disposed to be opposed to a first surface of the flat wire, the first surface being one of two surfaces of the flat wire in a thickness direction, anda second holding plate disposed to be opposed to a second surface of the flat wire, the second surface being the other one of the two surfaces of the flat wire in the thickness direction.

3. The flat wire distortion removal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding part comprises: a holding plate disposed to be opposed to a first surface of the flat wire, the first surface being one of two surfaces of the flat wire in a thickness direction; anda holding roller configured to come into contact with a second surface of the flat wire and rotatable around an axis extending in the width direction of the flat wire, the second surface of the flat wire being the other one of the two surfaces of the flat wire in the thickness direction.

4. The flat wire distortion removal apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding part comprises a groove formed on a circumferential surface of the pair of rollers, the groove being configured so that an end of the flat wire in the width direction is inserted thereinto in a state in which the flat wire is disposed between the pair of rollers.

5. The flat wire distortion removal apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising another roller leveler different from the roller leveler, the other roller leveler being configured to obtain parallelism between two side surfaces of the flat wire in a thickness direction before the flat wire is made to pass through the roller leveler.