DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a device for the quick change of the wire guiding shrouds in an armature winding machine electric

10 machines such as electric motors and generators .

It is known that a so called "winding machine" for producing rotors for electric motors and generators usually comprises a pair of rotary

15 shafts each of them bearing a corresponding winding arm. Each winding arm allows the unwinding of a wire from a feeding bobbin and its placing into the slots of the rotor of a motor or of an electric generator to be

20 produced.

A wire guiding shroud is connected at one end of each shaft such that the wire guiding shroud is fixed while the winding arm can rotate to provide for the very winding.

25 Moreover, the front profile of said wire guiding shrouds acts as a guide element for the wire during the winding phase, so as to guarantee its correct positioning into the slots of the rotor under production. It is

30 also known that said wire guiding shrouds are sized and shaped for treating rotors within a given dimensional range. Therefore, in order to be able to use the winding machine whenever the format of the rotors to be produced

35 changes, it is necessary to change the shrouds .

The main aim of the present invention is to propose a device which allows the changing of the wire guiding shrouds in winding machines in a rapid and simple manner.

These results have been achieved according to the present invention by adopting the idea of making a device having the features described in claim 1. Further features of the present invention are the subject of the dependent claims .

A device according to the present invention allows the rapid changing of the wire guiding shrouds in an extremely easy manner and without any operational difficulties. Besides, a device according to the present invention is simple from a structural and mechanical point of view, as well as economic and reliable.

Every technician who works in this field will better understand these and further advantages and features of the present invention thanks to the following description and to the enclosed drawings, given as an exemplification of the invention but not be considered in a limitative sense, wherein:

Fig 1 shows a schematic perspective exploded view of a device according to the present invention with a wire guiding shroud during its unlocking from the shaft of the winding arm;

Fig. 2 shows a side view of the device in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 shows a section view along the line D-D of Fig. 2 ; - Fig. 4 shows a view which is analogous to that of Fig. 1 in which the wire guiding shroud is not shown as it has been removed;

Fig. 5 shows the group of Fig 4 in which the front plate of the coupling body of the shroud has been removed to better highlight its inner part;

Fig. 6 shows a side view of the group shown in Fig. 4 ; - Fig. 7 shows a section view along the line E-E of Fig. 6;

Fig. 8 shows a view which is analogous to that of Fig. 1 in which the shroud bears a rotor on which it is possible to carry out an electric winding;

Fig. 9 shows a side view of the group of

Fig. 8;

Fig. 10 shows a section view along the line C-C of Fig. 9; - Fig. 11 shows a front view of the group of Fig. 8;

Fig. 12 shows a section view along the line B-Bd of Fig. 11;

Fig. 13 shows a section view along the line A-A of Fig. 11;

Fig. 14 shows a rear view of the shroud;

Fig. 15 shows a side view of the shroud;

Fig. 16 shows a schematic section view of the assembled arm -holder/ shroud- holder group.

The enclosed drawings show a winding arm (1) supported by a shaft (2) and provided with a pulley at its front end in which a wire removed from a corresponding bobbin (which has not been shown in the drawings) can slide. The drawings also show a wire guiding shroud (4) destined to be applied onto the above shaft

(2) by interposing a device (5) which allows the removal and the changing of the shroud (4) when necessary. The arm-holder shaft (2) is moved into rotation around its axis (x-x) by a corresponding motor unit (not shown in the drawings ) .

The wire guiding shroud (4) features a front side with edges (40) converging towards a central zone in which said edges feature a concavity (41) and define a concave seat for the rotor (R) on which the winding is to be carried out. Said rotor (R) is positioned into said concave seat so that the corresponding shaft (A) is oriented orthogonally to the flanks (42) of the shroud (4) jutting out from both sides and so that the corresponding tongue-shaped hooks (G) are positioned laterally to one of the two flanks (42) of the shroud. Besides, a hook (43) is applied on one flank (42) of the shroud (4), connected to a linear actuator (430) located inside the shroud (4) by means of a screw (431) which extends transversely to said flank (42) from the interior of the shroud (4) towards the exterior. Said hook (43) allows the covering and uncovering of the couplers (G) of the collector (C) in a well-known manner during all the various winding phases. The shroud (4) is fixed, while the winding arm (1) rotates so as to position the wire into the slots of the rotor (R) as in conventional systems. In fact, as foreseen by the devices well known to the technicians who work in this field and as illustrated in Fig. 16, the shroud-holder device (5) is connected to a fixed part (PF) of the winding machine by means of a toothed sprocket (RD) which, on one side, meshes with the tooth of a wheel (R5) fixed to the rear side (51) of the device (5) and, on the other side, meshes with the tooth of a wheel (RF) which is solid to said fixed part (PF) . As the bobbin is housed in an internal cavity of the arm-holder shaft (2), when said shaft rotates around axis (x.-x) indicated in Fig. 16, while the arm (1) is rotating around said axis the device (5), to which the shroud is connected, remains fixed. In practice, the toothed sprocket (RD) acts as a connecting bridge between the rear part of the device (5) and the fixed part (PF) . As illustrated in Fig, 16, the axes of said wheels (R5) and (RF) are oriented along said axis (x-x) and the sprocket (RD) is parallel to such axis.

According to the present invention, the device (5) positioned between the shroud (4) and the shaft (2) comprises a box-shaped body with a rear side (51) which, in its operating position, is turned toward the shaft (2) and with a front side (52) which, in its operating position, is turned toward the shroud (4) . The front side (52) of said body (50) consists of a quadrangular plate featuring a circular central hole (53) with two diametrically opposed lobes (54) . Said plate is fixed on the front edge of the body (50) by means of a plurality of screws (55) . On the back of the plate (52), the body (50) features a disc (56) which is oriented parallel to the plate (52) itself and is provided with two plugs (57) orthogonally jutting out toward the exterior, that is toward the plate (52), parallel to the axis of the disc (56) . The latter is free to rotate around its axis since its external edge is positioned in a corresponding circular internal indentation of the box-shaped body (50) . Moreover, said disc (56) features a rectilinear side (58): in practice, the disc (56) is a circular disc to which a segment has been removed, so its angular extension is less than 360°. The body (50) features an internal seat for a cursor (59) whose length is greater than the height of the body itself (50) and said cursor is positioned in proximity to a flank of the body (50) and is oriented parallel to said flank, thus resulting on a side of said disc (56) . On the side turned toward the disk (56), said cursor (59) features a concavity (59') whose longitudinal extension is less than the length of the rectilinear side (57) of the disc (56) . Between the disc (56) and the plate (53) there is a space whose function is described below. When the cursor (59) is in a raised position, as shown in Fig. 7, the disc (56) is free to rotate in the direction indicated by the arrow (S), that is, it is free to be positioned with its rectilinear side (58) parallel to the cursor (59), thanks to the above concavity

(59') which does not hinder said rotation.

When the rectilinear side (58) of the disc

(56) is parallel to the cursor (59) and said cursor is lowered, as shown in Fig. 10, the rotation of the disc is hindered by the cursor (59), since the concavity (59') of said cursor is in an intermediate position between the two ends of the rectilinear side (58) . A plate (44) is applied on the back of the shroud (4) and said plate features a front side which is turned toward the shroud (4) and a rear side (45) which, in its operating position, is turned toward the device (5) for connecting the shroud to the shaft (2) . The rear side of said plate (44) is provided with a raised portion having a central circular part (46) and diametrically opposed lobes (47) . Moreover, on said lobes (47) the plate features two holes (48) . Said raised portion (476, 47) is on a tubular rear extension of the plate (44) . In practice, the shape of the rear raised portion of the plate (44) corresponds to the opening (53, 54) of the plate (53) which is frontally applied on the body (50) of the device (5) and the distance between the holes (48) corresponds to the distance between the above mentioned plugs (57) . In order to apply the shroud (4) onto the body (50), the cursor (59) is raised and the disc (56) is positioned with its plugs (57) in close proximity to the lobes (54) of the plate (53) as shown in Fig. 4. Then, the raised portion (46, 47) of the plate (44) is made to pass through the opening (53,54) of the plate (52) so that the plugs (57) of the disc (56) enter the holes (48) of the plate (44) . In this way, the lobes (47) of the raised part (46,47) are positioned in the space between the disc (56) and the plate (53) . At this point, the shroud is rotated (in the anticlockwise direction with reference to the example shown in the enclosed drawings), so that the disc (56) is correspondingly rotated and the rectilinear side (58) of the disc (56) is positioned parallel to the cursor (59) . In this position, a further rotation of the disc (56) in the anti-clockwise direction is hindered by the presence of the cursor (59) . Finally, the cursor (59) is lowered so as to block the disc (56) and, therefore, to lock the shroud (4) on the body (50) so as to hinder of the shroud. To remove the shroud, it is foreseen to proceed in the reverse order with respect to that mentioned above.

When the shroud (4) is rotated around the above axis (x-x) (in the example, in the anticlockwise direction, of an angle β of 30°), the lobes (47) of the raised part (46,47) are positioned behind the plate (52) of the shroud-bearing device (5) so that, when the cursor (59) is either raised or lowered, the shroud (49) is firmly hooked to the device (5) . In other words, both when the rotation of the shroud (4) is hindered (cursor 59 lowered) and when the rotation of the shroud (4) is allowed (cursor 59 raised), the shroud (4) is joined to the device (5) and will not fall. As a result, the removal and changing of the shroud (4) can be carried out in a very safe way, even with one hand only.

In practice, the construction details may vary in any equivalent way as far as the shape, dimensions, elements disposition, nature of the used materials are concerned, without nevertheless departing from the scope of the adopted solution idea and, thereby, remaining within the limits of the protection granted to the present patent for industrial invention.