Methods for dynamo-electric machine insulation handling
Methods and apparatus for insulating interior walls of lamination slots of dynamo-electric machine components are provided. The relative speeds and sequence of cutting, forming, and inserting a piece of insulation material into the slot of the lamination core of a dynamo-electric machine component may be determined by a central drive mechanism. The central driving mechanism may have a plurality of cams, rotating with a main shaft, to control the translations of cutting, forming and inserting members.
This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 10/050,030. application Ser. No. 10/050,030 claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/248,255, filed Nov. 14, 2000.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to methods and apparatus for insulating interior walls of lamination slots of dynamo-electric components. More particularly, the present invention relates to methods and apparatus for forming inserts of insulating material and inserting them into the slots of a lamination core of an armature in dynamo-electric components.
Various machines for insulating dynamo-electric components are known in the art. However, such machines typically have a large number of moving mechanical parts and are generally difficult to lubricate and maintain. Insulation material can become contaminated by lubricating procedures on some insulating handling machines. Other machines have enclosed insulation handling mechanisms to minimize contamination of the insulation, but such enclosures generally impede lubrication of internal mechanisms. In addition, closed configurations are cumbersome for setting up machine insulation operations or troubleshooting mechanical problems. These difficulties increase the likelihood of breakdown and lead to unsatisfactory levels of accuracy, reliability, and productivity.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide methods and apparatus for inserting insulation into dynamo-electric machine components with a minimal number of mechanical parts and subsystems. It is also desirable to provide methods and apparatus for inserting insulation into dynamo-electric machine components that yield high accuracy and reliability. Additionally, it is desirable to provide methods and apparatus that perform insulation handling operations at high rates of speed, thereby increasing productivity. Furthermore, it is desirable to ease operator accessibility to the insulation handling mechanisms and to minimize the risk of lubrication contaminating the insulation material.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONThe present invention relates to methods and apparatus for cutting a strip of insulating material into a segment of predetermined length, forming the segment into a predetermined shape correlated with the slot of the lamination core, and inserting the segment into a related slot of the lamination core. Illustrative features of some embodiments of the present invention are described, for example, in U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60/248,255, filed Nov. 14, 2000, and U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,292, issued Nov. 7, 1989, currently U.S. Reissue Pat. No. 34,195, reissued Mar. 16, 1993 which are hereby incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.
The displacement and speed profiles of the operating members (e.g., a cutting member, a forming member, an inserting member, etc.) of the armature insulation machine may be controlled by a central drive mechanism. A centrally driven insulation insertion machine may have fewer moving parts, and thus may obtain higher accuracy and reliability of the cutting, forming, and inserting operations.
The central drive mechanism may include a rotatable shaft and several subsystems for transferring the shaft rotation into translations of the cutting, forming, and inserting members. The rate of the cutting, forming, and inserting may be related to the rate of rotation of the shaft. Increasing the rate of shaft rotation may increase the rate of insulation handling operations (e.g., cutting, forming, inserting, etc.) and thereby increase productivity. Each subsystem may include a plurality of cams that may rotate with the shaft. The plurality of cams may be coupled with one of the operating members so that the movements of the coupled operating member is controlled by the plurality of rotating cams. The cutting, forming, and inserting members may each be coupled to a respective subsystem.
The central drive mechanism may be enclosed to create a barrier between the drive mechanism and the insulation handling members (e.g., the cutting member, the forming member, the inserting member, etc.). This barrier may allow insulation to be handled externally (e.g., outside of the enclosure) and may prevent the insulation from being contaminated by lubricant for the drive mechanism. Furthermore, external insulation handling members may be more accessible to an operator than the internal handling members in some machines currently known in the art. Increased operator accessability may simplify procedures such as lubrication, startup, and shutdown.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSFurther features of the invention, its nature, and various advantages will be more apparent from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference characters refer to like elements throughout, and in which:
The present invention is now described in more detail in conjunction with
During typical use of the apparatus shown in
Prior to insertion, forming member 180 may form insert 126 by translating in vertical downward direction 40 through a forming die structure (not shown). Examples of forming die structures may be illustrated and described in aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,292 and U.S. Reissue Pat. No. 34,195, which are hereby incorporated by reference herein. The forming die structure may be any suitable structure which may be used to at least partially form insert 126 for insertion into slot 162. The conclusion of the translational motion in downward vertical direction 40 may obtain alignment of insert 126 with inserting member 124 and with slot 162 of the armature 160, where insertion of member 124 into slot 162 may occur. Thereafter, forming member 180 may be returned its original position prior to insertion, by translating in upward vertical direction 20.
The armature of the insulation machine (e.g., armature 160) or any other suitable armature may be substantially cylindrical and may have a plurality of lamination slots (e.g., slot 162) penetrating the outer circumference as illustrated in
Insulating material may be any type of material having appropriate malleability and insulating properties for insertion into interior walls of dynamo-electric components. Prior to forming insert 126, a strip of insulating material 122 may be cut into a segment of predetermined length and placed beneath forming member 180. This may be achieved by feeding insulating material 122 far enough beyond cutting member 182 to have a sufficient length for insulating slot 162, and thereafter descending cutting member 182 in vertical downward direction 40 to achieve the cut. Cutting member 180 may be returned to its position prior to its downward descent by translating in upward vertical direction 20.
With reference to
Shaft 186 protrudes vertically from support block 184 on top side 190 of casing 100. Arm 188 is shown affixed to the protruding end of shaft 186. Forming member 180 may be preferably affixed to arm 188. Drive mechanism 200 may move shaft 186 in vertical directions 20 or 40. Vertical movements of shaft 186 may produce vertical movements of arm 188, which in turn may impart vertical movements upon forming member 180 for the purpose of forming and aligning insert 126, as described in the forgoing.
Similarly, shaft 142 may protrude vertically from support block 140. Drive mechanism 200 may move shaft 142 in vertical directions 20 or 40. An arm (not shown for sake of clarity) similar to arm 188 may be affixed to the protruding end of shaft 142 and may carry cutting member 182. In this manner, vertical movements of shaft 142 may produce similar vertical movements of arm 188 and cutting member 182. Vertical movements of cutting member 182 may cut insulation material 122 as described above.
Inserting member 124 may be guided with guides (not shown), placed on top side 190 of casing 100. The guides may be positioned to allow translations of inserting member 124 in directions 30 or 10 (parallel to top side 190 of casing 100). Inserting member 124, with rack 128 on its underside (shown in
In
With reference to
Rotation of cams 232 and 233 may cause movement of yoke 240 and arms 242 and 243. Yoke 240, arms 242 and 243 and their respective rollers 244 and 245, may simultaneously move in directions 55 or 75. The movements of yoke 240, arms 242 and 243, and rollers 244 and 245, may be a function of the relative profiles of cams 232 and 233, the geometry of arms 242 and 243, the position of shaft 241 with respect to shaft 230, or by any other suitable means. This may preferably impede either roller 244 or roller 245 from losing contact with its respective cam 232 or 233. The distance separating shaft 241 and shaft 230 may be adjustable so that the contact of rollers 244 and 245 with cams 232 and 233 may be set to minimize play. Such an arrangement may be referred to as an anti-jump cam drive. This anti-jump cam drive, as described in the forgoing, may translate shaft 186 in directions 20 or 40 via the movements of yoke 240. The motion may be caused by rotation of cams 232 and 233. In this manner, the appropriate displacement and speed profiles of forming member 180 (illustrated in
With reference to
The anti-jump cam drive may move gear portion 266 of yoke 260 in directions 50 or 70. The movement of yoke 260 in directions 50 or 70 may preferably be done in a manner that may accomplish appropriate motion of inserting member 124 in directions 30 or 10. Toothed wheel 252 may interact with rack 128 and may move inserting member 124 in directions 10 or 30. For example, a movement of yoke 260 in direction 50 may rotate toothed wheel 252 counter-clockwise, which may cause rack 128 and inserting member 124 to translate in direction 30. This interaction may have a balancing effect on the insulating machine. Thus, rotation of cams 234 and 235 by shaft 230 and the swinging motion of yoke 260 around shaft 261 as described in the foregoing may cause inserting member 124 to translate in directions 30 and 10. Accordingly, the desired displacement and speed profiles of inserting member 124 may be generated as a function of the rotation of shaft 230, the timing used to rotate shaft 230, or by any other suitable means.
With reference to
The cams as described in the foregoing (e.g. cams 232, 233, 234, 235, and 238) and illustrated in
Drive mechanism 200 (illustrated in
Since drive mechanism 200 may be surrounded by a casing, it may be possible to lubricate elements of a drive mechanism for an insulating apparatus, such as those shown in
Inserting member 500 may have a suitable trajectory for inserting wedge 520 into a dynamo-electric machine component. For example, inserting member 500 may first move vertically downward (displacement 620) to receive wedge 520 in recess 522. Next, inserting member 500 may have horizontal displacement 640 to insert wedge 520 into a slot of an armature while wedge 520 is in recess 522. Thereafter, inserting member 520 may a have a vertical upward displacement 660 to leave the wedge in the slot after insertion. Finally, inserting-member 500 may have horizontal backward displacement 680 to retrieve the inserting member back to the start position of these movements in preparation for another insertion operation.
Backward or forward horizontal displacements of inserting member 500, such as displacements 640 or 680, may be achieved by using drive member 546 (illustrated in an enlarged view in
Claims
1. A method for insulating interior walls of lamination slots of dynamo-electric machine components comprising:
- cutting a strip of insulation material into a segment having a predetermined length;
- forming the cut segment of insulation material into a predetermined shape;
- inserting the formed segment of insulation material into the lamination slot; and
- controlling the cutting, forming, and inserting with a central control device having a single shaft and a plurality of cams coupled to a longitudinal axis of the shaft.
2. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the cutting comprises moving a cutting member.
3. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the forming comprises moving of a forming member.
4. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the inserting comprises moving of an inserting member.
5. The method defined in claim 1, wherein: the controlling of the cutting is performed by a first plurality of cams;
- the controlling of the forming is performed by a second plurality of cams; and
- the controlling of the inserting is performed by third plurality of cams.
6. The method defined in claim 5, wherein the controlling the cutting further comprises sufficiently contacting each cam of the first plurality of cams with a roller coupled to at least one arm of a first yoke.
7. The method defined in claim 6, wherein the sufficiently contacting comprises minimizing the play between the rollers and the first plurality of cams.
8. The method defined in claim 5, wherein the controlling the forming further comprises sufficiently contacting each cam of the second plurality of cams with a roller coupled to at least one arm of a second yoke.
9. The method defined in claim 8, wherein the sufficiently contacting comprises minimizing the play between the rollers and the second plurality of cams.
10. The method defined in claim 5, wherein the controlling the inserting further comprises sufficiently contacting each cam of the third plurality of cams with a roller coupled to at least one arm of a third yoke.
11. The method defined in claim 10, wherein the sufficiently contacting comprises minimizing the play between the rollers and the third plurality of cams.
12. The method defined in claim 1, wherein the controlling is centrally driven by rotating the shaft.
13. The method defined in claim 12, further comprising transforming the rotation of the shaft to translate a cutting member to perform the cutting.
14. The method defined in claim 13, wherein the translation of the cutting member is periodic.
15. The method defined in claim 12, further comprising transforming the rotation of the shaft to translate a forming member to perform the forming.
16. The method defined in claim 15, wherein the translation of the forming member is periodic.
17. The method defined in claim 12, further comprising transforming the rotation of the main shaft to translate an inserting member to perform the inserting.
18. The method defined in claim 17, wherein the translation of the inserting member is periodic.
19. The method defined in claim 1, further comprising advancing to a state in preparation for insulating a next slot.
Type: Application
Filed: Jun 24, 2004
Publication Date: Jan 13, 2005
Inventors: Gianfranco Stratico (Siena), Antonio Lumini (Florence)
Application Number: 10/877,144