Abstract: The reciprocating and oscillating winding spindle of a stator winding machine is rotatable through 180° to enable a stator winding and lead terminating method and apparatus for automatically winding a 2-pole stator having two pole pieces each with a coil wire wound from the same, single strand of wire. A cross-over wire segment between the two stator coils extends through the bore of the stator and is trapped against an inside wall of the stator by a cross-over wire retaining member. A stator coil lead terminating apparatus is capable of complex manipulations of stator coil lead wires at a winding station. Stator coil lead wires can be looped about wire guide posts on a stator core in the course of forming coil lead terminations, and the posts can be protected against bending or breaking by looping pins that partly receive the posts.

Abstract: An armature assembly support pallet has armature assembly support surfaces which exhibit a magnetic field that magnetizes the portions of the armature shaft adjacent the support surfaces so that armature assembly is magnetically attracted to the support surfaces and thereby maintained in a precise axial position on the pallet as the pallet is conveyed between work stations. The magnetic field is preferably created by thin layers of magnetic material secured to upwardly-facing surfaces of V-shaped portions of support members or blocks affixed to the body of the pallet. The pallets may be used without changes or adjustments for supporting armature assemblies having a substantial range of various different configurations. Pallets of known construction, including those with adjustable support members, may be modified or retrofitted by providing them with magnetic support surfaces.

Abstract: A winding form assembly for a stator winding machine includes a pair of winding forms mounted on a stator pole piece and a latch assembly for latching the winding forms to one another. Two ways to support the forms on the pole piece and two latch mechanisms are disclosed.

Abstract: A stator winding machine has a turret plate mounted for rotation about a vertical axis with stator clamp mechanisms mounted at spaced locations around its periphery for clamping stators to the turret plate with the axes of the stators coplanar with the axis of reciprocation and oscillation of the winding shuttle used to wind coils on the stators. The turret plate is repeatedly indexed in one direction about its vertical center axis to repeatedly sequentially move each of the stator clamp mechanism to a load/unload station, an optional idle station, a winding station, a coil lead terminating station, and then back to the load/unload station. Parts of the machine are quickly replaceable and other parts are programmably adjustable to accommodate different stator configurations.

Abstract: An improved quick-change winding form assembly in which the support is divided into two parts, one part comprising a bearing collar, being connected to a bearing at the front of the flier assembly, and the other part comprising a mounting plate connected to the winding form or shroud. A pair of bayonet pins having enlarged heads is carried by the bearing collar and engages a pair of arcuate key slots extending through the mounting plate. The bayonet pins engage the arcuate key slots when the bearing collar is rotated relative to the mounting plate until a pair of spring biased balls mounted on the bearing collar enter recesses in the rear face of the mounting plate. Disassembly can be accomplished by simply rotating the winding form with its attached mounting plate in the opposite direction while holding the bearing collar fixed.

Abstract: A stator coil finish wire is wedged between the wound coil from which it extends and the stator core at a stator winding station. To accomplish this, a loop is formed in the finish lead and trapped between cooperating surfaces to frictionally resist the wire loop being pulled out by the wire gripper of a lead pull assembly. The wire gripper moves in directions to remove the loop and to wedge the stretch of the lead wire extending through the stator core between the coil and the core. This procedure is advantageously used when winding stators which do not have terminal boards.

Abstract: Armature support pallets are provided with support assemblies which have parts that cooperate with structural features of the armature assembly they carry to maintain the rotary orientation there

Abstract: Stator coil lead wires are coursed along complex, circuitous paths on the end of a stator core and trimmed at a precise predetermined distance from the stator core. Improved end effector wire-guiding tooling members are provided in place of conventional gripper jaws to permit the lead wires to be coursed along complex, circuitous paths. In addition, an improved lead pull assembly, improved temporary wire clamps, and a wire former assembly are provided.

Abstract: Stator coils having lead wires inserted into temporary wire clamps (36) at a winding station are electrically tested before the coil lead wires are removed from the temporary clamps. In one aspect, the clamps each include a jaw (54) formed with a wire-engaging surface (88) which scrapes the insulating coating off from a lead wire as it is inserted therein. The clamps are electrically connected to terminal members (90) which are engageable by electrical test terminal members (100). In a modification, the clamps include a wire-scraping jaw having, in addition to a body formed with a sharpened or knife edge, a shield having wire-guiding surfaces engageable by a lead wire being inserted into the clamp. The wire-guiding surfaces are located adjacent the knife edge and are so positioned that the depth of the insulated wire scraped or cut away by the knife edge is only a few thousandths of an inch.

Abstract: Armature start and finish wires are trimmed after connection to their associated commutator tang by use of a knife edge carried by an otherwise conventional lead guide mechanism. The lead guide mechanism moves the knife edge into position against the coil lead, and the coil lead is drawn across the knife edge by pivotal movement of a wire gripper holding the lead. The knife edge preferably comprises a blade removably secured to a portion of the lead guide mechanism, but the knife edge may alternatively be formed, by machining for example, on a part of the lead guide mechanism itself.

Abstract: High speed bonding of wound electric components, and particularly armatures, having coils wound from bondable wire is obtained by providing a component support table having equally-spaced component-receiving stations and repeatedly indexing the table in a predetermined direction through predetermined increments. Plural wound and unbonded electric components are loaded in plural, mutually-adjacent stations on the table. After loading a first predetermined number of wound electric components, and while continuing to index the support table, an electric current is applied to the coils thereof to cause the coils of the first set of components to be heated and bonded while a second set of components is being loaded into successive stations. The application of electric current is accomplished by the use of a bonding head plate that is movable toward and away from the support table and rotates with the support table while electric current is supplied to the coils being bonded.

Abstract: Depending on the diameter of the wire wound into coils on a stator core, it is desirable to adjust the distance that the wire exit nozzle of a stator needle tip is spaced from the longitudinal axis of the winding head. An adjustable winding head comprising a needle head and one or more needle tips pivotally mounted on the needle head. Pivotal movement of the needle tips relative to the needle head changes the distance that the wire exit nozzles thereof are spaced from the longitudinal axis of the needle head. Adjustment is carried out preferably while the winding spindle is stationary, requires only simple tools, and does not require removal of the needle tips from the needle head.

Abstract: An armature manufacturing line includes one or more manufacturing cells, each having a winder facing a fuser and a rotatable armature transfer apparatus that transfers unwound armatures to the winder and wound armatures from the winder directly to the fuser. The armature transfer apparatus has a rotatable turret upon which are mounted a pair of grippers that face in mutually opposite directions and which are movable along mutually parallel axes. Independent drive means drives the grippers along their respective paths of movement relative to the turret. The turret is rotatably driven through 180.degree. in alternately opposite directions to place one gripper in confronting relation with the winder, then in confronting relation with the fuser, and so on. An elevator at the fuser moves wound and fused armatures from the fuser to a conveyor. Different embodiments are disclosed.

Abstract: For use with a robot having an end effector for connecting stator coil lead wires to trough-shaped terminals, tamper members are slidably mounted on a terminal crimping and lead wire cutting member. Air actuators drive the tamper members toward the terminals when the end effector is manipulated to place the lead wires into the terminal troughs.

Abstract: Stator coils are wound on a stator winding station and at least some of the coil leads are aligned, at the winding station, with terminal members on the distal end of the stator (opposite the winding head). The leads are held in temporary wire clamps adjacent the proximal end of the stator (closest to the winding head), and the stator and the wire clamps are transferred together to a lead terminating station where tooling is provided to terminate coil leads to the terminal members on the distal end of the stator without reorientation of the stator's longitudinal axis. Terminations are also made to the proximal end of the stator. The coil lead termination tooling serves both to connect the coil leads to the terminal member on the distal end of the stator and to sever the leads closely adjacent their respective terminal members.

Abstract: A stator winding apparatus is disclosed for use in the manufacture of stators having radially-extending, outwardly-open, coil-receiving slots. Lead wire guide assemblies are provided for guiding lead wires into cavities in individual terminal members mounted on the stator core. In addition, a wire-retaining member is provided to confine a lead wire between the end face of the stator core and the wire retaining member to thereby prevent the lead wire from being inadvertently looped around a portion of the wire-guide tooling provided to guide wire into the stator core slots. Related methods are also disclosed.

Abstract: An improved combined winding form and lead guide mechanism assembly is provided wherein a lead guide sliding assembly is located in a cavity in the winding form.

Abstract: A multiple phase, multiple pole stator is wound using two coil winding passes per phase. The stator core is indexed in alternate directions between the winding of individual coils of one phase to the next. As a result, the coils of a particular phase are wound using a first stator index direction for the first winding pass and a second stator index direction for the second winding pass. A winding apparatus for such winding has an arbor assembly which includes a tubular shaft having an expandable mandrel at the forward end thereof which is received in the bore of a stator. The mandrel includes a fixed, radially-extending key and at least one pivotal, radially-extending key. The keys are received in slots or keyways provided in the stator bore to lock the stator to the shaft and to rotatably drive the stator during the winding process. An improved combined winding form and lead guide mechanism assembly is also illustrated wherein a lead guide sliding assembly is located in a cavity in the winding form.

Abstract: An armature shaft having an eccentric cam body extending from one end thereof is gripped by an adjustable collet mechanism and rotated by a drive motor, preferably a stepping motor, having an output shaft movable in discrete increments. This rotation continues until an imaginary reference point on the periphery of the cam body reaches first and second angular positions. The preferred reference point is the point on the periphery of the end face of the cam body that is farthest from the axis of rotation of the armature shaft. The number of steps necessary to rotate the armature shaft so that the reference point is moved from the first angular position to the second angular position is determined as the armature shaft is rotated and used to determine the position of the reference point relative to a centerline between the first and second angular positions.

Abstract: Armature start and finish wires are trimmed after connection to their associated commutator tang by use of a knife edge carried by an otherwise conventional lead guide mechanism. The lead guide mechanism moves the knife edge into position against the coil lead, and the coil lead is drawn across the knife edge by pivotal movement of a wire gripper holding the lead. The knife edge preferably comprise a blade removably secured to a portion of the lead guide mechanism, but the knife edge may alternatively be formed, by machining for example, on a part of the lead guide mechanism itself.