Device and method for shaping wire ends in a circumferential direction

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11462976-B2
Application number	US-201916971050-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Feb 20, 2019
Priority date	Feb 21, 2018
Publication date	Oct 4, 2022
Grant date	Oct 4, 2022

Abstract

To automate a sub-process during the production of a component, which is to be equipped with coils, of an electric machine, a wire end shaping device is used, which is equipped with coils, of an electric machine, for shaping wire ends which protrude from an annular housing of the component, comprising a bending device for bending wire ends in a circumferential direction, a relative movement device for moving the housing and the bending device in a relative manner in an axial direction, and a controller. The receiving and rotating units, which receive the wire ends, of the bending device are held to be axially static relative to one another, wherein differences in length compensation and/or in a turning angle of the wire ends are handled by means of different movement profiles of the rotational movements of the receiving and rotating units.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A wire end shaping method for shaping wire ends during a course of production of a component of an electric machine, wherein the wire ends protrude from an annular housing, wherein the component is equipped with coils, the method comprising:
a) providing or using a bending device which has a first receiving and rotating unit, rotatable about an axis of rotation, for receiving first wire ends and which has a second receiving and rotating unit, rotatable about an axis of rotation, for receiving second wire ends which are radially offset with respect to the first wire ends, wherein the receiving and rotating units are rotatable relative to one another but are static or held relative to one another in an axial direction,
b) moving the housing and the bending device in an axial relative movement in order to introduce the first wire ends into the first receiving and rotating unit and the second wire ends into the second receiving and rotating unit and in order to compensate an axial change in length of wire ends during a bending operation,
c) rotating the first receiving and rotating unit relative to the housing to bend the first wire ends after end regions of the first wire ends have been introduced into the first receiving and rotating unit, and rotating the second receiving and rotating unit relative to the housing to bend the second wire ends after end regions of the second wire ends have been introduced into the second receiving and rotating unit,
wherein the rotation of the first and second receiving and rotating units is performed with different movement profiles in a manner dependent on the axial relative movement and on an axial length of the received wire ends such that further axial relative movement between the end regions of the wire ends and the respective receiving and rotating unit is prevented.

2. The wire end shaping method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein at least one of:
the axial relative movement in step b) is performed with a uniform speed and the rotation in step c) is performed in each case with a varying rotational speed;
in step a), the bending device with a third receiving and rotating unit for receiving third wire ends, which are radially offset relative to the first and second wire ends, and for turning the third wire ends for bending in the circumferential direction is provided or used, wherein the third receiving and rotating unit is rotatable relative to the first and second receiving and rotating unit about the axis of rotation but is axially static or held and, in step c), after the introduction of end regions of the third wire ends, is rotated such that a relative movement of the end regions in the third receiving and rotating unit is prevented; or
in step a), the bending device with a fourth receiving and rotating unit for receiving fourth wire ends, which are radially offset relative to the first to third wire ends, and for turning the fourth wire ends for bending in the circumferential direction is provided or used, wherein the fourth receiving and rotating unit is rotatable relative to the first to third receiving and rotating unit about the axis of rotation but is axially static or held and, in step c), after the introduction of end regions of the fourth wire ends, is rotated such that a relative movement of the end regions in the fourth receiving and rotating unit is prevented.

3. The wire end shaping method as claimed in claim 2 , wherein at least one of:
rotational movements of individual receiving and rotating units are correspondingly, in a case of different lengths of the wire ends to be bent in each case, started at correspondingly different points in time, or
the rotational movements of all receiving and rotating units and a relative movement between housing and bending device are ended at the same time.

4. The wire end shaping method as claimed in claim 1 , wherein the wire ends are fixedly clamped by means of a clamping device arranged between the housing and the bending device, during a bending process.

5. The wire end shaping method as claimed in claim 4 , further comprising at least one of the following steps:
fixing a first clamping means to the housing or in a positionally static manner, and moving a second clamping means relative to the first clamping means to clamp the wire ends between the first and the second clamping means;
jointly clamping all wire ends which protrude out of a groove of a housing;
supporting a first of multiple clamping means, which are movable relative to one another, against inner wall regions of the housing, which inner wall regions are arranged between grooves of the housing;
radially moving multiple segments of a first of multiple clamping means, which are movable relative to one another, to at least one of fix the first clamping means to the housing or for release from the housing;
driving, by means of an axially movable drive element, a radial movement of multiple segments of a first of multiple clamping means, which are movable relative to one another, in order to at least one of fix the first clamping means to the housing or for release from the housing, and jointly transmitting the axial movement to the segments by means of a control surface or a conical surface;
abutting a first clamping region, which is formed on a first of multiple clamping means, which are movable relative to one another, against radially inner sides of wire ends, arranged radially at the inside, of the wire ends protruding out of the grooves of the housing;
radially moving a number of clamping fingers, provided correspondingly to a number of at least one of groups of wire ends to be clamped together or of grooves in the housing, to clamp the wire ends or for releasing the clamping;
clamping, in each case, one group of the wire ends between a first clamping means and, in each case, one radially movable clamping finger of a second clamping means;
supporting clamping fingers, which are moving into a clamping position, against displacement in a circumferential direction or in an axial direction;
clamping fingers, which are moving into a clamping position, against displacement in a circumferential direction or in an axial direction by means of positively locking engagement of each clamping finger into one or on a complementary grasping unit;
supporting clamping fingers, which are moving into the clamping position, against displacement in a circumferential direction or in an axial direction by means of positively locking engagement of a tip of each clamping finger of a second clamping means into a corresponding tip receptacle on the first clamping means;
deforming the wire ends by abutment against bending formations or bending edges arranged on the clamping device;
at least one of jointly or synchronously driving a radial movement of clamping fingers to clamp the wire ends;
jointly guiding the radial movement of the clamping fingers on a holding ring; or
receiving the two, three, four, five, six or more wire ends, which are to be clamped and which jointly emerge from a groove of the housing, in a receiving groove which is formed by adjacent clamping fingers at free ends thereof, wherein the receiving groove is delimited, at one side running substantially in a radial direction and at one side running substantially in a circumferential direction, by one clamping finger, and at another side running substantially in a radial direction, by another clamping finger, and is open at another side running substantially in a circumferential direction.

6. The wire end shaping method as claimed in claim 1 , further comprising the following step:
radially bending one or more wire ends, which jointly protrude from a groove of the housing, to flare said wire ends prior to an introduction into the bending device.

Assignees

• Grob Gmbh & Co Kg

Inventors

• Binder Johannes
• Rauscher Ralf

Classifications

• B21F3/02

  helically · CPC title

• H02K15/0087 Primary

  Electricity · mapped topic

• H02K15/36 Primary

  Processes or apparatus for simultaneously twisting two or more open ends of hairpins after their insertion into the machine (for simultaneously twisting two or more hairpins prior to mounting into the machine H02K15/0428) · CPC title

• H02K15/35

  Form-wound windings · CPC title