Method and apparatus for manufacturing a stator for electric motors

Abstract

The invention relates to a method and a device for manufacturing a star yoke stator of an electric motor with distributed windings, and to a stator obtained by means of said method. A two-component stator is provided with a central star element provided with radial stator teeth and stator slots between the teeth, and a yoke in which the star element is inserted, and windings are received in the stator slots. The assembling method comprises the following steps of: positioning the star-shaped piece on the rotating main shaft; a linear portion of a coil formed of a wire pre-formed on a winding tool and preferably pressed and carburized is inserted into a stator slot to maintain an ordered arrangement of the wire. Winding is completed by alternating actions of inserting coils into stator slots and rotating stars. When the yoke is integrally formed, the yoke may be coupled to the star in a final step, or the yoke may be constructed by coupling sectors of the yoke around the star when the winding is completed. An apparatus configured for implementing the described method is also described. The invention further relates to a stator obtained directly by said method, and to an electric motor incorporating such a stator. According to the invention, a larger filling coefficient, higher efficiency, smaller leakage current and lower stator height are realized.

Description

(19) State Intellectual Property Office (12) Invention Patent Application (10) Application Publication Number (43) Application Publication Date (21) Application Number 202380095383.2 (22) Application Date 2023.12.28 (30) Priority Data 102023000003912 2023.03.03 IT (85) PCT International Application Entering National Phase Date 2025.09.03 (86) PCT International Application Application Data PCT / IB2023 / 063309 2023.12.28 (87) PCT International Application Publication Data WO2024 / 184695 EN 2024.09.12 (71) Applicant: Masli S.A. Address: 14 Via Riparta Alpina, Castelleone, Italy (72) Inventor: Gian Batista Paratti (74) Patent Agency: Shenzhen Mingyue Intellectual Property Agency Co., Ltd. 44304 Patent Attorneys: Sun Weifeng, Wu Cenfei (51) Int.Cl. H02K 15 / 047 (2025.01) H02K 15 / 065 (2025.01) (54) Invention Title: Method and Apparatus for Manufacturing an Electric Motor Stator (57) Abstract: This invention relates to a method and apparatus for manufacturing a star-shaped yoke stator of an electric motor with distributed windings, and a stator obtained by the method. The dual-component stator is provided with a central star element and a yoke, the central star element being provided with radial stator teeth and stator slots between the teeth, the star element being inserted into the yoke, and the windings being accommodated in the stator slots. The assembly method includes: positioning the star-shaped component on a rotating spindle; inserting the linear portion of a coil formed from wire pre-formed on a winding tool and preferably pressed and carburized into the stator slots to maintain the orderly arrangement of the wires. The winding is completed by alternating the actions of "inserting the coil into the stator slots" and "rotating the star-shaped component." When the yoke is integrally formed, the yoke can be coupled to the star-shaped component in the final step, or the yoke can be constructed around the star-shaped component by sectors of the coupled yoke when the winding is completed. An apparatus constructed for carrying out the described method is also described. The invention further relates to a stator directly obtained by the method, and an electric motor integrating the stator. The invention achieves a larger fill factor, higher efficiency, lower leakage current, and lower stator height. Claims 5 pages, Description 28 pages, Drawings 70 pages, CN 120958705 A 2025.11.14 CN 1 20 95 87 05 A 1. A method for manufacturing a dual-component stator (S1, S2), said dual-component stator having distributed windings, said dual-component stator being referred to as a star-yoke stator, said stator (S1, S2) comprising: - an outer body (101', 101”), referred to as a yoke, and- A body (100) located inside the yoke (101', 101"). The body (100) is referred to as a star-shaped component. The body (100) has an inner cylindrical surface (102) and a plurality of radial stator teeth (104). The inner cylindrical surface (102) defines a receiving cavity for a rotor (R) of an electric motor. The plurality of radial stator teeth (104) extend from the cylindrical surface (102) toward the yoke (101', 101"), and stator slots (106) are provided between the plurality of radial stator teeth (104). The stator slots (106) are used to receive windings (107) formed by conductors (14, 14'). The method includes: - Manufacture (A) a coil (4) formed of conductors (14, 14'), wherein one or more conductors (14, 14') are wound on a winding tool (20) to form at least one coil (4), the coil (4) comprising at least one linear portion (4a, 4b), the linear portion (4a, 4b) further comprising line segments of a plurality of individual conductors (14, 14'), and the linear portion being adapted to be inserted into one of the stator slots (106); - Support (C) the star-shaped member (100) on a rotation axis (503, 603), wherein at least one first stator slot (106) is operable by an operator (400) of the coil (4); - Insert (D) the first linear portion (4b) of the coil (4) into at least one first stator slot (106) by the operator (400), and constrain the second linear portion (4a) of the coil (4); - Rotate the star-shaped member (100) about the rotation axis (503, 603) by an angle (E) to deform the coil (4) at the portion (4c) between the linear portions (4a, 4b) and make at least one second stator slot (106) operable by the manipulator (400); - Insert (F) the second linear portion (4a) of the coil (4) into at least one second stator slot (106) by the manipulator (400); - Repeat (G) steps D, E and F until the winding of the star-shaped member (100) is completed, thereby inserting the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil (4) into each stator slot (106); - Constrain (H) the star-shaped member (100) to the yoke (101', 101"). 2. The method according to claim 1, wherein during step E, the star-shaped member (100) rotates by an angle corresponding to the angle between the first stator slot (106) and the second stator slot (106), the first stator slot and the second stator slot may be adjacent or non-adjacent, and during steps D and F, the star-shaped member (100) remains stationary, and steps E alternate with steps D and F.3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, in step E, the star-shaped member (100) rotates about the rotation axis (503, 603) by an angle corresponding to the electrical phase of the completed stator (S1, S2). 4. The method according to any of the preceding claims, comprising a pressing and / or carburizing step (B) prior to step D, wherein the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the at least one coil (4) are subjected to pressing, hot carburizing, or both in a desired order or simultaneously, to compact the respective conductor segment portions (14, 14'). 5. The method according to claim 4, wherein the pressing and / or carburizing step (B) comprises the following steps: pressing the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil (4) with one or more pressing elements (30) while the coil (4) is wound on the winding tool (20), and heating the linear portions (4a, 4b) by one or more heating devices (31) integrated into or connected to the pressing element (30). 6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein in the pressing and / or carburizing step (B), the thermal carburizing process is achieved by heating by inserting one or more heating elements (31) between the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil, thereby heating the linear portions (4a, 4b) to a predetermined carburizing temperature while the coil (4) is wound on the winding tool (20). 7. The method according to any one of claims 4-6, wherein, in the pressing and / or carburizing step (B), while the coil (4) is wound on the winding tool (20), the linear portions (4a, 4b) are pressed by a pressing device (300) inserted between the linear portions (4a, 4b). 8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, in the coil manufacturing step (A), a complementary conductor (14') having a smaller cross-section relative to the conductor (14) is added to the one or more conductors (14), such that the complementary conductor (14') occupies the gap between the conductors (14). 9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, further comprising the step of insulating the conductor (14), wherein the electrical insulation layer is: - applied to at least the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil (4) after an optionally configured pressing and / or carburizing step (B), or - applied between the stator teeth (104) before step D in which the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil (4) are inserted. 10. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, in the coil manufacturing step (A), in the sameA winding tool (20) manufactures a series of multiple coils (4) such that the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coils (4) are spaced apart from the linear portions (4a, 4b) of subsequent coils (4) by a predetermined pitch distance. 11. The method according to claim 10, wherein: - before step E and during insertion step D, the first linear portions (4b) of the series of coils (4) are simultaneously inserted into the corresponding stator slots (106) of the star member (100); - after step E, the second linear portions (4a) of the series of coils (4) are simultaneously inserted into the corresponding stator slots (106) of the star member (100), such that the corresponding windings (117) are distributed in the multiple stator slots (106). 12. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, between steps D and E, and between steps F and G, the following is provided: Step (D', F'), the stator slot (106) having corresponding linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil (4) is temporarily closed by a closing device (510) of the stator slot (106), the closing device (510) being movable between a retracted position and a forward position, wherein in the retracted position the stator slot (106) is open in the radial direction and accessible by the manipulator (400), and in the forward position the stator slot (106) is closed in the radial direction and prevents the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil (4) from dislodging. 13. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, during the insertion step D, the first linear portion (4b) of each coil (4) remains coplanar with the second linear portion (4a) of the manipulator (400). 14. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein steps C and G are performed by supporting the star-shaped member (100) within the spindle (501) and cylindrical surface (508) of the winding device (500); wherein the cylindrical surface (508) has a longitudinal opening (509) that provides a passage in the radial direction to a first stator slot (106) of the star-shaped member (100), thereby keeping only the stator slot (106) where the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coils (4) need to be inserted from time to time accessible from the outside, while the rest of the star-shaped member (100) is confined between the spindle (501) and the cylindrical surface (508). Claims 2 / 5 Page 3 CN 120958705 A 15. The method according to claim 14, wherein steps D and F are performed by bringing the stator slot (106) intended to receive the linear portions (4b, 4a) of the coil (4) to the longitudinal opening (509) by rotating the star (100) and keeping the star stationary during the insertion of the linear portions (4b, 4a).16. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the yoke (101') is made as a single piece, and step H is performed by inserting a star member (100) having windings (107) into the yoke (101'). 17. The method according to any one of the preceding claims 1-11, wherein the yoke (101") is made into a set of sectors (110), and step H is performed by constraining the sectors (110) of the yoke (101") to the star member (100) at the stator slots (106) of the linear portions (4b, 4a) of the inserted coils (4) to the outside by using an operating system (610) for sequentially operating the sectors (110) of the yoke (101") between steps E and F and between steps F and G. 18. The method of claim 17, wherein step H is performed by temporarily constraining a sector (110) of the yoke (101”) to the star member (110) and the spindle (601) supporting the star member (110) by a removable fastening element (611), and holding the completed yoke (101”) together by a gripper system (700). 19. A dual-component stator (S1, S2), the dual-component stator being referred to as a star-yoke stator, the dual-component stator being directly obtained using the method according to any one of the preceding claims. 20. An electric motor comprising a dual-component stator (S1, S2), the dual-component stator being referred to as a star-yoke stator, the dual-component stator being directly obtained using the method according to any one of the preceding claims. 21. An apparatus (500, 600) for manufacturing a star-yoke stator (S1, S2), the stator (S1, S2) comprising: - An outer body (101', 101”), referred to as a yoke, and - a body (100) located inside the yoke (101', 101”), the body (100) referred to as a star member, the body (100) having an inner cylindrical surface (102) and a plurality of radial stator teeth (104), the inner cylindrical surface (102) defining a receiving cavity for a rotor (R) of an electric motor, the plurality of radial stator teeth (104) extending from the cylindrical surface (102) toward the yoke (101', 101”), and stator slots (106) existing between the radial stator teeth (104), the stator slots (106) for receiving windings (107) of conductors (14), the device (500, 600) comprising: - At least one winding tool (20), the winding tool (20) being configured to perform step A, wherein one or more conductors (14, 14') are wound around the winding tool (20) to form a wire including at least one linear portion (4a, 4b).Circle (4), the linear portion (4a, 4b) further includes segment portions of a plurality of independent conductors (14, 14'), and the linear portion (4a, 4b) is adapted to be inserted into one of the stator slots (106); - spindle (501, 601), the spindle (501, 601) being rotatable about a rotation axis (503, 603) and lockable at a plurality of angular positions, the spindle (501, 601) being configured to: - Supporting the star-shaped member (100) such that at least one first stator slot (106) of the star-shaped member (100) can be approached and touched by the manipulator (400) of the coil (4), and - rotating the star-shaped member (100) by an angle corresponding to making at least one second stator slot (106) approachable and touched by the manipulator (400) of the coil (4), and possibly deforming the coil (4) at a portion (4c) between the linear portions (4a, 4b) during step E, - manipulator (400) of the coil (4) configured to perform step D by inserting the first linear portion (4b) of the coil (4) into the corresponding stator slot (106) and constraining the second linear portion (4a) of the same coil (4), and to perform step F by inserting the second linear portion (4a) of the coil (4) into the corresponding stator slot (106), Claims 3 / 5 Page 4 CN 120958705 A - The spindle is capable of intermittent rotation, alternating with the action of the manipulator (400) for inserting the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil (4). 22. The apparatus (500, 600) according to claim 21, wherein the winding tool (20) includes a support frame (21) supporting a series of corner elements (23), wherein each corner element (23) in the series is arranged approximately along the edge of an ideal parallelepiped, and wherein each series of corner elements (23) is spaced apart from each other to define a corresponding series of winding chambers (24) to accommodate the wires (14) forming the coil (4). 23. The device (500, 600) according to claim 21 or 22, comprising a wire guiding device (150) including an axial guide (151) and a plurality of wire guiding tubes (152) capable of sliding in a controlled manner and independently of each other along the axial guide (151), wherein each wire guiding tube (152) passes through and guides a layer formed by one or more wires (14, 14') for forming a loop. 24. The device (500, 600) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a pressing device (300) for pressing the linear portion (4a, 4b) of a coil (4), comprising a plate (301) incorporating a series of inclined planes (303), a series of inclined...The inclined plane (303) is adapted to contact the linear portions (4a, 4b) to be pressed. 25. The apparatus (500, 600) according to any one of the preceding claims includes a heating device (30') for performing hot carburizing treatment of the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil (4), comprising one or more heating elements (31), preferably induction type, the heating elements (31) being shaped and arranged to be insertable between the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil (4). 26. The apparatus (500, 600) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein the manipulator (400) of the coil (4) includes a first clamp (401) or an upper clamp, and a second clamp (402) or a lower clamp, wherein the lower clamp (402) is configured to remove a first linear portion (4b) of the coil (4) from the winding tool (20) to constrain the first linear portion (4b) and spring it into a first stator slot (106), and wherein the upper clamp (401) is configured to remove a second linear portion (4a) of the coil (4) from the winding tool (20) to constrain the second linear portion (4a) and spring it into a second stator slot (106). 27. The apparatus (500) of claim 26, wherein the upper clamp (401) and the lower clamp (402) are movable relative to each other between: - an initial coplanar position in which the coil (4) is not deformed, and - a plurality of staggered positions in which the clamps (401, 402) are in different planes and / or at different heights to allow the linear portion (4b, 4a) of the coil (4) to be inserted into the stator slot (106) at different angular positions of the star-shaped member (100) of the assembled stator (S1) each time. 28. The apparatus (500, 600) according to claim 26 or 27, wherein the gripper (401, 402) is provided with a pop-out element (407) operable to pop out a linear portion (4a, 4b) of the coil (4) from the gripper (401, 402) thereby inserting the linear portion (4a, 4b) into the stator slot (106). 29. The device (500) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a support structure (502) and a carriage (505), wherein the main shaft (501) is constrained to the support structure (502), and the carriage (505) is movable relative to the main shaft (501) and / or the support structure (502) between: - a first position, in which the carriage (505) does not obstruct the main shaft (501), and the star-shaped member (100) supported on the main shaft (501) is not restricted by the carriage (505), and- Second position, in which the carriage (505) extends about the main shaft (501) and surrounds the star member (100) supported on the main shaft (501). Claims 4 / 5 pages 5 CN 120958705 A 30. The device (500) according to claim 29, wherein the carriage (505) has an inner cylindrical surface (508) that is complementary to the star member (100) supported on the main shaft (501) and opens outward at a longitudinal opening (509) through which an operator (400) of the coil (4) is inserted to receive the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil (4) in corresponding stator slots (106) of the star member (100). 31. The apparatus (500) according to claim 30, further comprising a closing device (510) configured to temporarily and upon command close the longitudinal opening (509). 32. The device (500) of claim 31, wherein the closing device (510) is a sliding or drawer-type device mounted on the carriage (505) and is provided with a panel (511) movable between: - a retracted position, in which the panel (511) does not obstruct the longitudinal opening (509), thereby allowing the operator (400) to be inserted through the longitudinal opening (509) into the stator slot (106) of the star-shaped member (100) supported on the spindle (501), and - a forward position, in which the panel (511) obstructs the longitudinal opening (509), thereby preventing the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil (4) from dislodging from the stator slot (106). 33. The apparatus (600) according to any one of claims 21-28, comprising a system (610) for operating a sector (110) of a yoke (101”), the system (610) being provided with at least one gripper (620) having jaws (621, 622) movable to grip / release the sector (110) of the yoke (101”), wherein the gripper is movable to a position for releasing the sector (110), and in such position the sector (110) is anchored to the star (100) and closes one or more stator slots (106) provided with linear portions (4a, 4b) of coils (4). 34. The device (600) according to claim 33, comprising one or more fastening elements (611) transportable by an operating system (610) with each sector (110) of the yoke (101”), and configured to be assembled in place.When the yoke (101”) is constrained to the spindle (601) during the (S2) process, the fastening element (611) is removable after assembly. 35. The device (600) according to claim 34, wherein the fastening element (611) is fork-shaped, engaging the two longitudinal ends of the sector (110) of the yoke (101”), and is capable of being inserted into a corresponding recess (605) present on the spindle (601), thereby traversing the linear portion (4a, 4b) of the coil (4) inserted into the stator slot (106) of the star member (100). 36. The device (600) according to claim 35, wherein the fork element (611) engages a sector (110) of a corresponding yoke (101”) and has at least one tooth (611”) insertable into a recess (605) of the spindle (601), wherein the spindle (601) includes at least one lever (612), and the tooth (611”) snaps into the corresponding lever (612), and wherein the lever is movable to release the tooth (611”) and allow the corresponding fork element (611) to be released. 37. The device (600) according to claim 36, wherein the recesses (605) for inserting the fork-shaped elements (611) are circumferentially arranged on the main shaft (601) at a pitch proportional to or corresponding to the pitch between the sectors (110) of the yoke (101”), and the main shaft includes at least one lever (612) for each recess (605), the lever (612) oscillating about a pin (613) counteracted by a spring (613'), and provided with teeth (612') for engaging the teeth (611”) of the corresponding fork-shaped elements (611). 38. The device (600) according to claim 37, wherein the main shaft (601) is cylindrical, the levers (612) are radially arranged on the main shaft (601), and the pins (613') are tangentially arranged, i.e., orthogonal to the corresponding levers (612). Claims 5 / 5 Page 6 CN 120958705 A Method and Apparatus for Manufacturing Electric Motor Stator Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for manufacturing an electric motor stator, particularly a dual-component stator (also known as a star and yoke stator), and a stator manufactured by this method. Background Art

[0002] It is well known that the stator of an electric motor is generally cylindrical and includes a plurality of poles formed by stator teeth arranged along the inner circumference of the cylinder, and said stator teeth protruding toward a common central main axis. According to the configuration of the outer side being coaxial with the stator and the inner side being coaxial with the rotor, the central main axis coincides with the rotation axis of the rotor combined with the stator in the completed electric motor.

[0003] One or more conductor windings (also called coils) are placed in sectors formed by the spaces between stator teeth (more often called stator slots).

[0004] In stators, there are concentrated winding stators and distributed winding stators. In a concentrated winding stator, the conductor is wound on a single stator tooth, and in a distributed winding stator, the conductor is wound on two or more teeth. The present invention relates particularly to the manufacture of distributed winding stators.

[0005] In the known art, to manufacture a distributed winding stator, the cylinder of the stator is manufactured by first assembling one or more conductor coils on the outside of the teeth and the stator body, and then inserting these coils into the stator slots of the already formed cylinder.

[0006] The ends of the stator teeth are generally called pole shoes. In conventional stators, there is an opening called a slot opening between the pole shoes of two adjacent teeth, the size of which is sufficient to perform the insertion of the coil.

[0007] However, there are stators in which coils cannot be inserted in the manner just described because these stators do not have slot openings. An example is a stator constructed with a star yoke. These stators are two-component stators: an outer cylindrical body, usually referred to as the yoke, and an inner body, usually composed of stacked metal laminations, called a star-shaped element. The star-shaped element is named for its geometry and the stator teeth themselves, which provides an inner cylindrical surface defined by the pole shoes of all the stator teeth, from which the stator teeth extend radially outward. The inner cylindrical surface of the star-shaped element is substantially continuous, except for small windows or openings made to reduce stator weight and minimize electromagnetic short-circuiting. Therefore, coils cannot be inserted between the pole shoes of adjacent stator teeth, but are instead inserted from the outside into stator slots before the star-shaped element is inserted into the yoke.

[0008] In a two-component or star-yoke stator, the yoke is a cylinder whose inner surface is suitably machined to form a seat for receiving the stator teeth of the star-shaped element, and is locked once the connection between the yoke and the star-shaped element is completed (by interference). Therefore, in a star-yoke stator, the stator slots are limited circumferentially by two stator teeth and radially by the inner cylindrical surface of the same star element, which is defined by the pole shoes of the stator teeth and the inner surface of the yoke.

[0009] An example of a star-yoke stator is described in US2015 / 0054378, in which it is mentioned in paragraph 29 that different techniques can be used to manufacture windings on the stator teeth according to the desired fill factor. A star-yoke stator with concentrated windings is shown in this document, i.e., having coils wound on each stator tooth. In this configuration, the windings can be formed on the stator teeth by using a pin winding machine. If the windings are distributed, the coils are made on a winding tool outside the stator and later manually inserted onto two stator teeth.

[0010] Generally, as in conventional stators, it is desirable to maximize the fill factor of the sectors in a star-yoke stator as well, i.e., to achieve the desired fill factor.It is possible to insert as many wires as possible, or the same number of wires of different diameters, into the same sector, as this will translate into an improvement in motor performance. The fill factor is defined as the ratio between the cross-sectional area occupied by the wires in the stator slot and the total area available in the stator slot (always considered in terms of cross-section).

[0011] Maximizing the fill factor also allows for minimizing the stator height, all other things being equal, thus producing a more compact motor.

[0012] Another limitation is the fact that after the coils have been inserted into the stator, the individual loops that make up the coils are arranged such that some loops are always oriented toward the center of the stator, while others are always oriented toward the outside of the stator, and this involves an increase in the leakage current of the motor, and thus a decrease in the efficiency of the motor itself.

[0013] WO 2022 / 084760 under the applicant's name describes a method that allows maximizing the fill factor in different types of stators relative to a star yoke stator. This method provides for pre-forming a coil on a suitable winding tool outside the stator before inserting the coil into a stator slot. The method includes:

[0014] - a coil manufacturing step, wherein one or more wires are wound around a winding tool to form at least one coil comprising at least one linear portion, which in turn comprises a plurality of separate linear wire portions and is intended to be inserted into one sector of the stator;

[0015] a coil receiving step, wherein the linear portion of the coil is inserted into a stator component comprising a subset of the plurality of side-by-side teeth, particularly between two side-by-side stator teeth;

[0016] - a forming step, wherein the stator component receiving the linear portion of the coil is deformed to move the side-by-side stator teeth closer together, thereby achieving a complete stator portion comprising two teeth that together define a sector in which the linear portion of the coil is contained and constrained;

[0017] - an assembly step, wherein the plurality of completed stator portions achieved via the respective receiving and forming steps are assembled together to form the body of a stator with windings.

[0018] After the forming step, and therefore when the coil has been received in the stator slot, the method further provides to perform a rotational translation R1 of the first completed stator portion relative to the second completed stator portion. The first completed stator portion and the second completed stator portion engage the same coil. The rotational translation is performed until the relative position that the first completed stator portion will have in the completed body of the stator relative to the second completed stator portion is reached, and the coil is thus deformed.

[0019] As an alternative to step R1, before the forming step and therefore before inserting the coil into the stator slot, the method provides to perform a rotational translation R2 of the first stator portion relative to the second stator portion until the first stator portion is received in the stator slot.The relative position that the coil will have with respect to the second stator component in the completed body. According to the method of the invention, the coil is deformed corresponding to the arrangement of the first stator component and the second stator component by rotational translation, and then the coil receiving step is performed.

[0020] The method described in WO 2022 / 084760 is not applicable to star yoke stators because no deformation of the star-shaped part for moving the stator teeth closer and confining the coil in the slot is provided in this type of stator, and no deformable and assemblable sector is provided for making the star-shaped part deformable and assemblable: in the star-shaped part, the stator teeth extend radially to the final position of each tooth in the completed stator.

[0021] JP 2022137412A under Mitsubishi Electric Corporation describes a method for assembling a stator starting from a linear (flat) support. The coil is preventively wound on a winding tool, and the entire coil is inserted onto the linear support by a single rotation of the linear support before the linear support is wound onto the cylindrical element. Therefore, due to the winding of the linear support, the deformation of the coil occurs simultaneously for all coils.

[0022] Applicant's IT 102021000011564 describes a method for manufacturing a stator, the method comprising: Specification 2 / 28 pages 8 CN 120958705 A

[0023] - A step of manufacturing a coil on a winding tool, the step being used to form at least one coil, the at least one coil including at least one linear conductor portion intended to be inserted into a corresponding stator sector;

[0024] - A pressing and carburizing step, wherein the linear portion of at least one coil is subjected to hot carburizing and pressed to compact the linear conductor portion;

[0025] - A coil receiving step, wherein the linear portion of the coil is inserted between two side-by-side stator teeth of a stator component;

[0026] - A forming step, wherein the stator component is deformed to move the two side-by-side teeth closer together to surround the linear portion of the coil and obtain a complete stator component;

[0027] - An assembly step, wherein a plurality of completed stator components are assembled together to form the body of a stator.

[0028] The object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for manufacturing a star-shaped yoke stator for an electric motor, which overcomes the limitations of existing solutions and thereby maximizes the fill factor.

[0029] Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for manufacturing a star-shaped yoke stator, such that, under the same conditions, the stator manufactured by the method and apparatus is more compact (with smaller stacking height) compared to a stator manufactured using known solutions.

[0030] The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a star-shaped yoke stator for an electric motor according to claim 1, and particularly to...and a dual-component stator with distributed windings. The dual-component stator includes:

[0031] - an outer body, referred to as a yoke, and

[0032] - a main body located inside the yoke, the main body being referred to as a star member, the main body having an inner cylindrical surface defining a receiving cavity for a rotor of an electric motor and a plurality of radial stator teeth extending from the cylindrical surface toward the yoke, and stator slots for receiving windings formed by conductors are provided between the plurality of radial stator teeth.

[0033] The method includes:

[0034] A) manufacturing a wire-forming coil, wherein one or more wires are wound on a winding tool to form a coil comprising at least one linear portion, the linear portion further comprising segment portions of a plurality of independent wires arranged in an ordered manner, and the linear portion being adapted for insertion into a stator slot;

[0035] C) supporting a star-shaped member on a rotation axis, wherein at least one first stator slot is operable by a coil manipulator;

[0036] D) inserting a first linear portion of the coil into at least one first stator slot by the manipulator, and constraining a second linear portion of the coil to the outside of the star-shaped member;

[0037] E) rotating the star-shaped member about the rotation axis by a predetermined angle, thereby deforming the coil at a portion between the linear portions and making at least one second stator slot accessible (i.e. operable by the manipulator) by the manipulator and ready for insertion of a corresponding linear portion of the coil;

[0038] F) inserting the second linear portion of the coil into at least one second stator slot by the manipulator;

[0039] G) Repeat steps D, E, and F until the star-shaped member is wound, thereby inserting the linear portion of the coil into each stator slot;

[0040] H) Constrain the star-shaped member to the yoke according to one of the two methods described below.

[0041] Repeat step E of rotating the star-shaped member until the stator is completed, with a linear portion of the coil inserted into the corresponding stator slot each time the star-shaped member stops. Thus, the rotation step E is intermittent and ends when all stator slots are filled with the linear portion of the coil. Thus, in the claimed solution, the linear portions of the coil are inserted into the corresponding stator slots one at a time, and the precise intermittent rotation E of the star-shaped member is synchronized with the insertion actions D and F, and in particular, the rotation E of the star-shaped member alternates with the insertion actions D and F of the manipulator. Thus, the deformation of the coil also occurs intermittently, rather than all coils occurring simultaneously.

[0042] Therefore, this rotation step involves rotating the star-shaped component by an angle corresponding to the included angle between the first stator slot and the second stator slot (which are not necessarily adjacent to each other), but this angle is less than 360°, and preferably less than 180°, after which the star-shaped component is stopped and step F continues: during step F, the star-shaped component remains stationary.

[0043] Steps D, E, and F are performed sequentially, and step G specifies that these steps be repeated in the same order until the stator is completed, i.e., until the stator is equipped with all the necessary windings.

[0044] The above method can achieve various advantages.

[0045] One of the advantages that can be achieved is increasing the fill factor of the stator sector. The applicant has calculated that, all other things being equal, this method can increase the fill factor by at least 20% compared to a star-yoke stator manufactured using known techniques (i.e., inserting the windings into the stator slots in a standard manner).

[0046] The method according to the invention can also produce stators with lower winding losses, which reduce losses by about 30% at low speeds and by about 20% at high speeds compared to stators assembled by inserting the coils into the slots between the teeth in a standard manner.

[0047] In terms of efficiency, under the same conditions (same size / power, same number of poles, same slot size, same wire diameter, same rotor, and same stack height), the stator manufactured by the above method can improve the motor efficiency by about 1-1.4% at low speeds compared to a stator manufactured using standard slot filling technology.

[0048] Furthermore, under the same conditions (same size / power, same number of poles, same slot size, same wire diameter, same rotor, and same stack height), at low speeds, the power output of a motor equipped with a stator manufactured according to the method of this application is about 4-5% higher than that of a motor equipped with a standard stator; and at high speeds, the power output increase is even greater, reaching up to 20%.

[0049] The method of this application also has advantages in terms of the axial dimensions of the finished motor. When the motor size is fixed (e.g., 55kW), the stack height including the stator and corresponding windings can be significantly reduced because the method can manufacture a stator with a higher slot filling factor. Compared to a standard stator, a stator manufactured using the method of this application can reduce the stacking height by up to 35%.

[0050] Another advantage is that the individual loops (or turns) constituting the coil are arranged such that the first linear portion of the coil faces the center of the stator, and the second linear portion of the same coil faces outward; this reversed position configuration helps to minimize the leakage current of the motor.

[0051] The method of this application can also economically and easily manufacture motor stators equipped with corresponding windings, the details of which will be described in detail below.

[0052] Another advantage of the solution is that the deformation is applied to individual coils one by one (i.e., applied to individual coils each time the star member makes an angular displacement, rather than applied to all coils simultaneously), which results in higher structural accuracy and better tolerances compared to the case described, for example, in JP 2022137412 A, where one or more coils are deformed substantially simultaneously. The rotation of the star member mentioned herein refers to its rotation between two consecutive stop positions of the star support member, whichThe two stopping positions correspond precisely to the angle between the first and second slots and should not be confused with the rotation of the star-shaped support described in JP 2022137412 A.

[0053] More specifically, in step E, the star-shaped support rotates about the axis of rotation by an angle corresponding to the electrical phase of the completed stator and stops at this angular position, thereby accommodating another linear portion of the coil (or another linear portion of the coil as described in the specification 4 / 28 pages 10 CN 120958705 A) in the corresponding stator slot. Thus, the periodic rotation applied to the star-shaped support is intended to provide new stator slots for the manipulator to fill the straight portions of the coil previously formed on the winding tool.

[0054] In a preferred embodiment, the method further includes a pressing or carburizing step B (otherwise an optional step). In this step, at least one linear portion of the coil is subjected to a pressing step, hot carburizing, or both pressing and hot carburizing in the desired order or simultaneously, thereby pressing the individual line segment portions according to the ordered arrangement achieved in coil forming step A. Advantageously, the conductors of the linear portion of the coil, after pressing and carburizing, remain clustered and do not separate or shift relative to each other. This detail allows the winding to maintain the optimal geometry achievable for each stator slot size to be filled (to maximize the fill factor) and avoids unraveling during coil movement. Furthermore, the conductor segments can be shaped to be completely complementary to the shape of the stator slot to be inserted.

[0055] Preferably, step B lasts from 15 seconds to 2 minutes.

[0056] Preferably, during pressing and / or carburizing step B, the linear portion of the coil is pressed with one or more pressing elements and heated by one or more heating devices integrated into or connected to the pressing elements while the coil is wound on a winding tool, i.e., before the coil is removed from the winding tool.

[0057] In one possible method, during pressing and / or carburizing step B, thermal carburizing is performed by inserting one or more heating elements between the linear portions of the coil to heat them to a predetermined carburizing temperature, typically in the range of 170°C–210°C.

[0058] In one possible method, during the carburizing and pressing step B, the linear portion is pressed by a pressing device inserted between the linear portions of the coil after the heating element is removed, while the coil is held in place on a winding tool.

[0059] In one possible method, during the coil manufacturing step A, a complementary and finer conductor with a cross-sectional area smaller than the main conductor is added to the conductor (referred to as the main conductor); the complementary conductor occupies the free space between the side-by-side main conductors.

[0060] Preferably, the method further includes the step of insulating the conductor. Electrical insulation layer:

[0061] - Applied at least to the linear portion of the coil after the optionally configured pressing and / or carburizing step B, or

[0062] - Before coil insertion step D, an application is made between the teeth of the stator component.

[0063] Preferably, coil manufacturing step A is carried out by manufacturing a series of multiple coils on the same winding tool, specifically ensuring that a linear portion of one coil is spaced apart from the linear portions of subsequent coils by a predetermined pitch distance corresponding to the pitch between the star-shaped stator slots.

[0064] Preferably, before step E and during coil insertion step D, the first linear portions of a series of coils are simultaneously inserted into the corresponding stator slots of the star component. At a later time, subordinate to step E, the second linear portions of the same series of coils are simultaneously inserted into the corresponding stator slots of the star component, such that the corresponding windings are distributed in multiple stator slots. The nonlinear portions of the coils are deformed due to the rotation of the star component; this deformation causes the coils to take on the desired shape, thereby ensuring that the linear portions are correctly inserted into the corresponding stator slots according to the pitch defined by the electrical phase.

[0065] This method can be implemented in two modes.

[0066] In the first mode for manufacturing a stator having an integrally formed yoke, between steps D and E, and between steps F and G, the following is provided:

[0067] In steps D') and F'), the stator slots having corresponding linear portions of the coils are temporarily closed by a closing device of the stator slots, which is movable between a retracted position and a forward position. In the retracted position, the stator slots are opened in the radial direction and can be approached and accessed by an operator, thereby enabling the insertion of the linear portions of the coils. In the forward position, the stator slots are closed in the radial direction and prevent the linear portions of the coils from coming out. This detail is intended to prevent the coils from accidentally coming out of the star-shaped member while it is rotating. Specification 5 / 28 pages 11 CN 120958705 A

[0068] Initially, whenever the coil operator approaches the star-shaped member after removing a coil from the winding tool, and during step D, when the first linear portions of the coils are inserted into the corresponding stator slots of the star-shaped member, these first linear portions remain coplanar with the second linear portions of the coils. In other words, the coil retains its shape as it was when it was initially removed from the winding tool, i.e., the coil does not deform. Conversely, during step E, when the first linear portion of the coil has been inserted into the corresponding stator slot, the second linear portion remains constrained by the manipulator and the star-shaped member rotates, the coil deforms: in this case, the portion of the coil connecting the first and second linear portions deforms.

[0069] Preferably, steps C to G are implemented by supporting the star-shaped member on the main shaft (e.g., a drum) and placing it within the inner cylindrical surface of the winding device. In practice, the star-shaped member is coaxially mounted on the main shaft, with the stator teeth arranged radially and protruding toward the inner cylindrical surface of the winding device. With this design, the stator slots are precisely closed in the radial direction by the inner cylindrical surface of the winding device. This inner cylindrical surface has a longitudinal opening that provides the coil manipulator with a radially...The passage into the first stator slot of the star-shaped member. Therefore, only those stator slots that require the insertion of the linear portion of the coil from time to time are moved to the longitudinal opening and made accessible from the outside, while the remaining stator slots and the rest of the star-shaped member are confined between the main shaft and the cylindrical surface inside the winding device.

[0070] In a first embodiment of the method, steps D and F are performed by bringing the stator slots intended to accommodate the linear portion of the coil to the longitudinal opening through rotation of the star-shaped member, while keeping the star-shaped member stationary during the insertion of the linear portion.

[0071] Thus, the rotation of the star-shaped member alternates with the insertion action of the coil manipulator. The winding on the star-shaped member is completed by repeating the alternating motion of rotating the star-shaped member and inserting the linear portion of the coil through the manipulator.

[0072] In this first embodiment of the method, the yoke is made substantially cylindrical and integral, and step H is performed by pulling out the star-shaped member from the main shaft and inserting it into the yoke along with all the windings.

[0073] In a second embodiment of the method, the yoke is made into a set of sectors, and step H is performed by constraining the sectors of the yoke to the star at the stator slot of the linear portion of the inserted coil using a specific operating system for sequentially operating the sectors of the yoke between steps E and F, and between steps F and G, thereby achieving external closure of the stator slot.

[0074] Thus, in a first embodiment of the method, the stator slot is closed by a closing device, and in a second embodiment of the method, the stator slot is closed by the sectors of the yoke applied to the star.

[0075] Preferably, step H is performed by temporarily constraining the sectors of the yoke to the star and the main shaft supporting the star by removable fastening elements, and holding the completed yoke (i.e., once completed) together by a gripper system.

[0076] Another aspect of the invention relates to a dual-component or star-shaped yoke stator according to claim 18, which is obtained directly using the methods described herein. Under the same conditions, the stator directly obtained by the method described herein can be distinguished from a stator manufactured using known techniques for the following reasons:

[0077] - Considering the case of conductors with circular cross-sections, the fill factor is at least 20% greater;

[0078] - The conductors of the linear portions of the coils contained within the slots defining the stator sectors are arranged in an ordered, repeatable matrix layout, rather than in a tight but random layout as in the prior art;

[0079] - The cross-section of the stator slots is generally rectangular, unlike the trapezoidal slots of known solutions; and the cross-sectional shape of the linear portions of the coils is complementary to the cross-sectional shape of the stator slots.

[0080] The present invention also relates to an electric motor that integrates the stator described above, including a version with the yoke integrally formed and a version with the yoke formed by assembling the sectors of the yoke.

[0081] Another aspect of the invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing a stator of the above-described type of star-shaped yoke, as described in claim 20 (page 6 / 28, CN 120958705 A). The apparatus includes:

[0082] - at least one winding tool configured to perform step A, wherein one or more wires are wound around the winding tool to form a coil including at least one linear portion, the linear portion further including segment portions of a plurality of individual wires, and the linear portion being adapted to be inserted into one of the stator slots;

[0083] - a spindle rotatable about a rotation axis and lockable at a plurality of angular positions, the spindle being configured to:

[0084] - support the star-shaped member during steps C-G such that at least one first stator slot of the star-shaped member is accessible by a coil manipulator, and

[0085] - rotate the star-shaped member by an angle corresponding to making at least one second stator slot accessible by a coil manipulator, and possibly deform the coil at a portion between the linear portions during step E;

[0086] - A coil manipulator is configured to perform step D by inserting a first linear portion of the coil into a corresponding stator slot and constraining a second linear portion of the same coil, and to perform step F by inserting the second linear portion of the coil into a corresponding stator slot.

[0087] A spindle coaxially supports a star member on the axis of rotation. The rotation of the star member alternates with the insertion action of the coil manipulator, such that after inserting a linear portion of the coil into a corresponding stator slot, the star member rotates to bring another stator slot into the manipulator's trajectory for inserting another linear portion of the coil or a linear portion of the same coil.

[0088] Preferably, the winding tool includes a support frame that supports a series of corner elements, wherein each corner element in the series is arranged approximately along the edges of an ideal parallelepiped, and wherein each series of corner elements is spaced apart from each other to define a corresponding series of winding chambers to accommodate the wires or wire bundles forming the coil. The winding chambers are spaced apart by a pitch corresponding to the desired pitch to be formed between the linear portions of the coil.

[0089] Preferably, the device further includes a wire guiding device comprising an axial guide along which a plurality of wire guide tubes are capable of sliding independently of each other in a controlled manner. Each wire guide tube passes through and guides one or more layers of wires intended to form a loop (or coil). The wires may be a main conductor with a nominal cross-section and a finer complementary conductor (i.e., having a cross-section smaller than the nominal cross-section).

[0090] Preferably, the device includes a pressing device for performing step B (i.e., pressing the linear portion of the coil). The pressing device includes a plate incorporating a series of inclined planes adapted to contact the linear portion to be pressed.

[0091] Preferably, the apparatus includes a heating device for performing step B (i.e., for performing hot carburizing treatment on the linear portion of the coil). The heating device includes one or more heating elements (preferably induction type) shaped and arranged to be insertable between the linear portions of the coil.

[0092] In a preferred embodiment, the coil manipulator includes a first clamp or upper clamp and a second clamp or lower clamp. The lower clamp is configured to remove the first linear portion of the coil from the winding tool, hold them for a necessary time, and spring them into the first stator slot; the upper clamp is configured to remove the second linear portion of the coil from the winding tool, constrain them for a necessary time, and spring them into the second stator slot.

[0093] The upper gripper and the lower gripper are movable relative to each other between the following positions:

[0094] - an initial coplanar position, in which the coil is not deformed relative to its initial configuration on the winding tool, and

[0095] - multiple staggered positions, in which the grippers are in different planes and / or at different heights to allow the linear portion of the coil to be inserted into the stator slot at different angular positions of the star-shaped part of the assembled stator each time.

[0096] In other words, the grippers are movable relative to each other and relative to the spindle and the star-shaped part to allow the insertion of the linear portion of the coil and to allow deformation of the coil in the non-linear portion.

[0097] Preferably, the grippers are provided with a pop-out element operable to pop the linear portion of the coil from the gripper itself, thereby inserting them into the stator slot. In other words, the gripper is provided with jaws for restricting the linear portion of the coil during the time required for movement from the winding tool to the spindle and the star member. Furthermore, the gripper is provided with an operable ejection element for pushing the linear portion of the coil out of the gripper's jaws and into the stator slot.

[0098] In a first embodiment suitable for manufacturing a stator with an integrally formed yoke, the device includes a support structure and a carriage to which the spindle is constrained. The carriage is movable relative to the spindle and / or relative to the support structure, for example, along a track, between the following positions:

[0099] - A first position, in which the carriage does not obstruct the spindle and the star member supported on the spindle is not restricted by the carriage, i.e., the carriage does not surround the star member; and

[0100] - A second position, in which the carriage extends around the spindle and surrounds the star member supported on the spindle.

[0101] The carriage has an inner cylindrical surface that complements the star-shaped member supported on the main shaft. Specifically, the available clearance between the stator teeth and the inner cylindrical surface is minimal, sufficient to allow the star-shaped member to rotate while preventing the coils from dislodging from the stator slots.The inner cylindrical surface opens outward at a longitudinal opening through which the coil manipulator is inserted to accommodate the linear portion of the coil in the corresponding stator slot of the star. In effect, the carriage encloses the star-shaped member supported on the spindle, and the longitudinal opening allows for radial insertion of the linear portion of the coil from the outside.

[0102] In this embodiment, a closing device is provided, configured to temporarily and responsively close the longitudinal opening. In effect, the closing device intervenes to temporarily close the longitudinal opening and prevent the coil from accidentally dislodging from the stator slot before the star-shaped member rotates and the linear portion is displaced by the carriage into the confined area.

[0103] Preferably, the closing device is a sliding, drawer-type, or louver-type device mounted on a carriage, and is provided with a panel movable between two positions:

[0104] - a retracted position, in which the panel does not obstruct the longitudinal opening, thereby allowing the operator to be inserted through the longitudinal opening into the stator slot of the star-shaped member supported on the spindle, and

[0105] - a forward position, in which the panel obstructs the longitudinal opening, thereby preventing the linear portion of the coil from emerging from the stator slot.

[0106] In a second embodiment suitable for manufacturing a stator having a yoke formed by assembling sectors, the device includes a system for operating the sectors of the yoke. The operating system is provided with at least one gripper having jaws movable to grip / release the sectors of the yoke; the gripper is movable to a position for releasing the sectors, in which the sectors are anchored to the star-shaped member and close one or more stator slots already equipped with the linear portions of the coil.

[0107] In this second embodiment, the device includes one or more fastening elements that can be transported by the operating system along with each sector of the yoke. The fastening elements are configured to constrain the sectors of the yoke to the spindle during stator assembly and are removable after assembly.

[0108] Preferably, the fastening elements are fork-shaped, engaging two longitudinal ends of the sectors of the yoke and capable of being inserted into corresponding recesses present on the spindle. The fork shape causes these fastening elements to span the linear portion of the coils inserted into the stator slots of the star-shaped member.

[0109] More specifically, the fork-shaped elements engage the corresponding sectors of the yoke and have at least one tooth that can be inserted into the spindle (see page 8 / 28 of CN 120958705 A). The spindle, in turn, includes at least one lever, and the teeth of the fork-shaped elements engage with the corresponding levers. The levers are movable to release the teeth of the fork-shaped elements and allow the fork-shaped elements to be released when they are no longer useful, i.e., when the yoke has been assembled.

[0110] Preferably, the recesses for inserting the fork-shaped elements are circumferentially arranged on the spindle in proportion to or corresponding to the pitch between the sectors of the yoke. The spindle includes at least one lever for each recess, each lever oscillating about a pin and controlled by a spring.The levers are also provided with teeth designed to engage the teeth of the corresponding fork elements. By controlling the swing of all levers, all fork elements are disengaged from the main shaft and disengaged.

[0111] Preferably, the main shaft is cylindrical, and the levers are arranged radially on the main shaft; the pins are arranged tangentially, i.e., orthogonal to the corresponding lever arrangement.

[0112] In both versions, the described device is capable of assembling the stator according to the invention, thereby achieving the described advantages, and the assembly process is fast, accurate, and fully automated.

[0113] Further features and advantages will become clearer from the description of some preferred but non-exclusive embodiments of the method for manufacturing a stator, which are depicted by way of example rather than limitation with the aid of the accompanying drawings, in which:

[0114] - FIG1 is a flowchart depicting a method for manufacturing a star-shaped yoke stator according to the invention;

[0115] - FIG2 is a front and elevation view of a winding machine for manufacturing coils that can be used in the method and stator according to the invention;

[0116] - FIG3 is a detail of the machine of FIG2;

[0117] - FIG4, 5 and 6 are cross-sectional details of the machine of FIG2;

[0118] - FIG7 and 8 are exploded views of a winding tool combined with the machine of FIG2;

[0119] - FIG9 and 10 are perspective views of the winding tool of FIG7 in successive steps;

[0120] - FIG11 is a side and elevation view of the winding tool shown in FIG7;

[0121] - Figures 12, 13, and 14 are cross-sectional views of the winding tool of Figure 7 along different planes;

[0122] - Figure 15 is a perspective view of a single coil made in the machine of Figure 2 and on the winding tool of Figure 7;

[0123] - Figure 16 is a perspective view of multiple coils made in the machine of Figure 2 and on the winding tool of Figure 7;

[0124] - Figure 17 is a perspective view of an apparatus for pressing and carburizing coils;

[0125] - Figures 18 and 19 are cross-sectional views of the apparatus of Figure 17 during continuous coil pressing and carburizing time;

[0126] - Figures 20 and 21 are perspective views of alternative embodiments of the winding tool;

[0127] - Figures 22a, 22b, and 22c are cross-sectional views of rings of different possible types of windings;

[0128] - Figures 23a, 23b, and 23c are cross-sectional views of rings with different types of windings according to alternative solutions;

[0129] - Figure 24 is a perspective view of details of another embodiment of the winding tool;

[0130] - Figure 25 is a front view of the winding tool of Figure 24;

[0131] - Figure 26 is a side view of the winding tool of Figure 24;

[0132] - Figure 27 is a top view of the winding tool of Figure 24;

[0133] - Figures 28A and 29 are perspective views depicting two consecutive steps of a heat treatment process performed on a coil housed in the winding tool of Figure 24;

[0134] - Figure 30 is a cross-sectional view of an electric motor with a star-shaped yoke stator according to the prior art;

[0135] - Figure 31 is a perspective view of a star-shaped component according to the prior art; Specification 9 / 28 pages 15 CN 120958705 A

[0136] - Figure 32 is a perspective view of the star-shaped portion of the stator according to the invention;

[0137] - Figure 33 is a cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of the star-shaped yoke stator according to the invention, without windings;

[0138] - Figure 34 is an isometric view of the star-shaped yoke stator shown in Figure 33, but with windings completed;

[0139] - Figure 35 is a cross-sectional view of a second embodiment of the star-shaped yoke stator according to the invention, without windings;

[0140] - Figure 36 is an isometric view of the star-shaped yoke stator shown in Figure 35, but with the windings already completed;

[0141] - Figure 37 is a perspective view of a clamping system used in the device according to the invention for manipulating the coil to manufacture the star-shaped yoke stator of the two embodiments shown in Figures 33-34 and 35-36 respectively;

[0142] - Figure 38 is a cross-sectional view of the clamping system shown in Figure 37;

[0143] - Figures 39-61 are perspective views of different steps during the insertion of the coil into the stator slot of a first device according to the invention for manufacturing the star-shaped yoke stator according to the first embodiment shown in Figures 33 and 34;

[0144] - Figures 62-63 and 66-91 are perspective views of different steps during the insertion of the coil into the stator slot of a second device according to the invention for manufacturing the star-shaped yoke stator according to the second embodiment shown in Figures 35 and 36;

[0145] - Figure 64 is a perspective view of components of the second embodiment of the device according to the invention;

[0146] - Figure 65 is a cross-sectional (vertical) view of the component shown in Figure 65;

[0147] - Figure 92 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of a layout for winding a star-shaped yoke stator according to the known art, and a table of corresponding technical requirements for the winding;

[0148] - Figure 93 is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of five possible layouts for winding a star-shaped yoke stator according to the invention, and a table of corresponding technical requirements for the winding;

[0149] - Figure 94 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a hypothetical star-shaped yoke stator, having stator slots filled in a conventional manner compared to the same stator slots filled using the method according to the invention;

[0150] - Figure 95 is a graph showing the relationship between losses and rotational speed of an electric motor made with a star-shaped yoke stator according to the known art and an electric motor made with a star-shaped yoke stator according to the invention, all under the same conditions;

[0151] - Figure 96 is an electric motor made with a star-shaped yoke stator according to the known art, all under the same conditions.Figure 97 is a graph showing the relationship between the efficiency and rotational speed of an electric motor made with a star-shaped yoke stator according to the invention and an electric motor made with a star-shaped yoke stator according to the invention, under the same conditions. Detailed Description

[0153] In order to achieve a high fill factor, in the star-shaped yoke stator according to the invention, a winding is formed by manufacturing a coil in a suitable tool outside the stator and then inserting the coil into the stator slot, the coil being characterized by an extremely orderly distribution of wires.

[0154] Figure 1 is a flowchart outlining the main steps of a method according to the invention for manufacturing a star-shaped yoke stator with distributed windings.

[0155] Step A includes manufacturing a coil 4. The method optionally and preferably includes step B of pressing and / or carburizing the coil, wherein step B provides pressing only, or carburizing only, or pressing and carburizing in a desired order or simultaneously.

[0156] In step C, the star-shaped members 100 of stators S1 and S2 are coaxially mounted on the main shafts 501 and 601, wherein stator teeth 104 extend radially outward from the main shafts 501 and 601 and the first stator slot 106 is accessible from the outside.

[0157] Step D provides to operate the coil 4 previously made by step A and possibly also by step B to insert the first linear portion 4b of the coil 4 into the first stator slot 106 and constrain or lock the second linear portion 4a of the same coil 4.

[0158] Step E provides to rotate the main shafts 501 and 601 by an angle, thereby rotating the star-shaped member 100 by that angle, thereby causing simultaneous deformation of the coil 4, which is useful for allowing the second stator slot 106 to be accessible from the outside.

[0159] Step F provides to insert the second linear portion 4a of the coil 4 into the second stator slot 106.

[0160] Step G provides the yoke to repeat steps D, E, and F until the winding is complete, i.e., until the linear portions 4a, 4b of the coil 4 are inserted into each stator slot 106.

[0161] The yokes 101', 101" are assembled onto the star member 100 in step H, which can be performed during the previous steps.

[0162] In the first embodiment, the main shaft 501 on which the star member 100 of the stator S1 is assembled rotates within a cylindrical surface 508, and the linear portions 4a, 4b of the coil 4 are constrained in the respective stator slots 106 by the cylindrical surface 508. In the second embodiment, the yoke 101" of the stator S2 is made of sectors 110, and the linear portions 4a, 4b of the coil 4 are constrained in the respective stator slots 106 by at least one sector 110 coupled to the yoke 101" of the star member 100.

[0163] In the first embodiment, step H' provides to complete stator S1 by removing the star-shaped member along with the windings from the spindle 501 and inserting it into the corresponding yoke 101'. In the second embodiment, step H'" provides to complete stator S2 by, for example, locking all sectors 110 of yoke 101" with a claw system 700.

[0164] Referring to Figures 2-29, and as described above, the method initially includes step A of manufacturing coil 4, wherein one or more wires 14 are wound around a winding tool 20 to form at least one coil 4 comprising at least one, and preferably two, linear portions 4a, 4b, each linear portion comprising a plurality of individual wire segments 14. Each linear portion 4a, 4b of coil 4 is intended to be inserted into a stator slot defined in the star-shaped member of the stator. The coil 4 thus made is actually formed of multiple turns of wire 14.

[0165] In this step, the coil 4 is preferably made of at least one first linear portion 4a and at least one second linear portion 4b, which are parallel to each other and connected by a non-linear portion, and then the first linear portion 4a and the second linear portion 4b are each inserted into different stator slots 106.

[0166] As shown, the coil 4 is preferably made in series on the winding tool 20, such that the series includes a plurality of first linear portions 4a and corresponding second linear portions 4b, for example, three, which are appropriately spaced according to a spacing corresponding to the slot spacing between the stator slots 106 of the star member 100.

[0167] As shown in FIG. 15, depending on the design, only one coil 4 or a plurality of coils 4 in series as shown in FIG. 16 can be wound on the winding tool 20.

[0168] The winding is made of one or two or more parallel wires to realize coil 4, which includes, for example: one hundred loops made of only one wire 14, or fifty loops made of two parallel wires, or ten loops made of ten parallel wires 14, etc.

[0169] A possible embodiment of a winding machine 200 that can be used to manufacture coil 4 is depicted in FIG2.

[0170] The winding machine 200 includes a support structure 201 that supports:

[0171] - a plurality of wire tensioning devices 203 (of known type) for tensioning the wire 14 to be wound,

[0172] - a wire guide device 206 provided with a wire guide tube 204 and movable along a wire guide guide 205 (preferably composed of a rod),

[0173] - a winding spindle 244, which is rotated by a motor 214 and adapted to rotate a winding tool 20, which will be described below, and the winding spindle 244 is actually coupled to a sleeve to hook onto a spindle 25.

[0174] Such a winding machine 200 can therefore be configured to operate a winding configuration in which the wire 14 to be wound is tensioned (see page 11 / 28 of the specification).17 CN 120958705 A and towards the wire guide device 206 from the wire tensioning device 203, the wire guide device 206 again keeps the wire 14 rotating toward the winding tool 20.

[0175] Optionally, the winding machine 200 also includes a tailstock 215, which is coaxially positioned with the spindle 244 and adapted to be coupled to the removable wall 24' of the winding tool 20.

[0176] FIG3 shows in detail the wire guide device 206, which includes a base 217, wire guide elements 216 (preferably a pair of wheels) fixed on the base 217 and guide the wire 14 into the wire guide tube 204, which is positioned at the end of the base 217 facing the winding tool 20.

[0177] Figures 4 and 5 show details of a winding member 218, which is preferably present in the winding machine 200 and positioned coaxially with the spindle 244, wherein the wire 14 emerging from the wire guide tube 204 is aligned into a loop before being wound onto the winding tool 20.

[0178] Figure 6 shows a cross-section of the wire guide tube 204, which consists of multiple sections defining multiple individual conduits 251 for the wires 14, such that a layer of wires 14 intended to form a loop is secured in place in each conduit 251. In the depicted example, there are three conduits 251, and the wires are arranged in a 5-4-5 sequence on three levels (five wires on the first level, four wires on the second level, and five wires on the third level), with a total of fourteen parallel wires in each loop, each wire 14 originating from and managed by one of the fourteen wire tensioning devices 203 visible in Figure 2.

[0179] Obviously, the number of parallel wound wires 14 in each loop (and consequently the number of wire tensioning devices 203), the number of layers (and consequently the number of conduits 251 in the wire guide tube 204), and the number of wires 14 in each layer can vary and be selected according to project requirements.

[0180] A first embodiment of the winding tool 20 is shown in Figures 7 to 14; while a second embodiment is shown in Figures 20-21 and 24-29.

[0181] Referring to Figures 7 to 14, the winding tool 20 preferably includes a plurality of movable walls 22, which are included between anchor walls 23' and removable walls 24'.

[0182] The anchor walls 23' are configured to be operatively coupled to the winding spindle 244 to drive the rotation of the movable walls 22, and for this purpose, the anchor walls 23' may optionally include hooks to the spindle 25.

[0183] The removable wall 24' can be disengaged from the anchoring wall 23' to release the movable wall 22 and allow displacement of the already wound coil 4.

[0184] The movable wall 22 forms one or more winding chambers 24 in which the wire 14 is wound to form the coil 4.

[0185] More specifically, the anchoring wall 23 also includes a wire clamping element 26 configured to clamp the wire 14 entering the winding (already arranged in a suitable configuration).

[0186] Conveniently, the anchoring wall 23' is also provided with a centering pin 27 to center the movable wall 22, the centering pin projecting toward the removable wall 24' and engaging the tunnel formed by the center hole 28 obtained at the center of each movable wall 22.

[0187] A hook end 271 for hooking the anchoring wall 23' onto the removable wall 24' is present at the end of the centering pin 27.

[0188] The anchoring wall 23' is also provided with a plurality of (four in the example shown) axial positioning pins 231, the axial positioning pins 231 also projecting toward the removable wall 24', and the task of the axial positioning pins 231 is to maintain the proper axial position of the movable wall 22 during winding by occupying the corresponding positioning holes 29 obtained in the movable wall 22, thereby ensuring the proper size of the winding chamber 24.

[0189] As can be noted in the figure, the axial locating pin 231 is formed by a plurality of longitudinal portions having different diameters and decreasing toward the removable wall 24', and the locating hole 29 has a different diameter in each movable wall 22 and decreases toward the removable wall 24', such that each movable wall 22 is locked onto the corresponding longitudinal portion of the axial locating pin 231.

[0190] Thus, the movable walls 22 ensure axial dimensions (determined by the thickness of the walls 22 and the distance between the walls 22 themselves) during the step of winding (manufacturing the coil 4) the wire 14, but can approach each other under the thrust of the press during the pressing step, as will be described below. This axial dimension is conveniently ensured by mechanical reference element 291, which ensures the repeatability of the process and the consistency of the final dimensions of the pressed coil 4. In practice, the winding tool 20 is configured such that the movable walls 22 can move closer to each other under pressure until a distance is defined by the mechanical reference element 291 used as a limiting abutment.

[0191] The number of movable walls 22 in the winding tool 20 is determined by the number of coils 4 to be manufactured in series (equal to the number of coils per electrode, and thus equal to the number of coils per sector 3) + 1; therefore, by the formula Np = nm + 1, where Np is the number of movable walls 22 and nm is the number of coils. In practice, nm coils are coils 4 that will become part of a single electrode.

[0192] The movable walls 22 are generally rectangular in plan view, both in vertical and horizontal sections. Preferably, the movable walls 22 are provided with operating seats 249 on the sides extending outside the winding tool 20.

[0193] In a preferred embodiment, each movable wall 22 consists of a central support 221, two...Two winding cheek plates 222 are formed on the side, in which case the operating seat 249 is obtained in the winding cheek plates 222. In fact, in these embodiments, the winding chamber is defined between the winding cheek plates 222.

[0194] Preferably, a thermal insulator is inserted between the central support 221 and the winding cheek plates 222 to limit heat loss during the hot carburizing process, which will be described below.

[0195] The removable wall 24' is removable because it can be separated from the fixed wall to allow the movable wall 22 to be pulled out.

[0196] In a preferred embodiment, the removable wall 24 is also provided with a corresponding wire clamp element 261, which is configured to clamp the wires 14 coming out of the winding, thereby keeping them in a proper construction arrangement.

[0197] The removable wall 24' then includes a connecting device 241 for direct or indirect connection to the anchor wall 23', for example, the hook end 271 of the centering pin 27 of the anchor wall 23' is hooked in the connecting device 241.

[0198] Preferably, the removable wall 24' also includes a clamping element 242 adapted to be gripped or hooked to allow its movement.

[0199] In a preferred embodiment, the winding tool 20 includes a plurality of corner elements 245 coupled to the removable wall 24', which slide on corresponding appropriately angled guides 246. Such guides 246 extend from the removable wall toward the anchor wall 23', and preferably all the way to the anchor wall 23'. The corner elements serve as supports for the wire 14 during winding, and in particular provide support for the wire portion 14 that is not part of the straight portions 4a, 4b (i.e., the wire portion 14 forming the head of the coil 4).

[0200] In the example shown, there are at least four corner elements 245, one at each corner.

[0201] Due to sliding along the guide 246, the corner elements 245 slide toward the center of the winding tool 20 during the disengagement of the removable wall 24' from the hook wall (as shown in Figures 9 and 10), thereby eliminating stress from the wire 14 forming the coil 4 and thus allowing the coil 4 to be removed without scraping, thereby preventing damage to the wire 14.

[0202] After the coil forming step A, the method provides an optional but preferred pressing and / or carburizing step B, wherein at least one linear portion 4a, 4b of at least one coil 4 is pressed and subjected to hot carburizing to compact the respective linear wire portions 1 together.

[0203] In practice, the coil 4 already formed on the winding tool 20 is moved and positioned together with the winding tool 20 in the pressing and / or carburizing apparatus 300, as shown, for example, in FIG17.

[0204] In a preferred embodiment, the apparatus 300 performs both pressing and carburizing 300, and includes a device configured to accommodate...The winding tool 20 includes a receiving seat 301 and one or more pressing elements 30 configured to apply pressure to at least one linear portion 4a, 4b of the coil 4 wound on the winding tool 20.

[0205] Preferably, there are two pressing elements 30, which are coaxially positioned on opposite sides of the receiving seat, and one pressing element 30 applies pressure in the other direction (preferably horizontally) to press each of the two opposite linear portions 4a, 4b of each coil 4.

[0206] The pressing element 30 is provided with at least one heating device 31 (preferably including one or more inductors) configured to heat the linear portions 4a, 4b before, after, or during the pressing, so as to perform a hot carburizing process while the coil 4 is wound on the winding tool 20, and thus while the arrangement of the wires 14 is completely ordered.

[0207] The pressing element is actuated by a pressure motion system 304, which in the illustrated embodiment includes a piston and a spring coaxial therewith.

[0208] In some embodiments, a heating device 31 (clearly visible in FIG. 28) is included in or coupled to the pressing element 30, more specifically, included in or coupled to the head 32 of the pressing element 30, which constitutes the end of the pressing element 30 itself that contacts the linear portions 4a, 4b during pressing.

[0209] Conveniently, the number of heating devices 31 is equal to the number of movable walls 22.

[0210] Optionally, the pressing and / or carburizing device 300 includes a heat probe 34 and / or a pyrometer 35, which are preferably coupled to the pressing element 30 to allow feedback control of the carburizing process via a control system that controls the heating element 31.

[0211] More specifically, the pressing and / or carburizing device 300 includes a fixed support 311 at the receiving seat 301, on which the winding tool 20 rests. This fixed support 311 has a support plane made of heat-insulating material on which the winding tool 20 rests to limit heat dissipation.

[0212] Preferably, the pressing and / or carburizing device 300 also includes a pressure head 302 that moves orthogonally relative to the pressing element 30, and vertically in the illustrated example, to compress the winding tool (and thus the coil 4) in an orthogonal direction relative to the pressing element 30, thereby moving the movable wall 22 closer to further press the linear portions 4a, 4b of the coil 4 and determine their thickness with reference to the mechanical reference element 291, which serves as a limiting support. In practice, the pressure head 302 presses the winding tool 20 (and thus the coil 4) against the fixed support 311.

[0213] Therefore, the linear portions 4a and 4b of each coil 4 are preferably subjected to two pressures in mutually orthogonal directions, as shown in Figures 17-19.

[0214] Conveniently, only the linear portions 4a and 4b of coil 4 are pressed and heat-treated, while the non-linear portions (i.e., the portions of coil 4 that connect the linear portions 4a and 4b, which are primarily bent and form the heads of coil 4) are left untreated so that they can be easily shaped in successive steps.

[0215] Once the predetermined carburizing temperature is reached (which depends on the characteristics of the wire 14 used), the pressing element 30 and possibly the vertical pressing element 302 maintain pressure for the time required for cooling, assisted by a cooling device (e.g., using air, not shown) to stabilize the linear portions 4a and 4b to their final dimensions.

[0216] In the example shown in the figure, the applied pressure is in the range of 140 bar to 300 bar, and the temperature reached by the heating element 31 is in the range of 170°C to 210°C. The duration of step B is from 15 seconds to 2 minutes.

[0217] Optionally, the pressing and / or carburizing apparatus 300 includes a loading slide 330 configured to bring the winding tool 20 with coil 4 into the receiving seat 301 and place it on the fixed support 311. As can be seen in FIG. 17, pages 14 / 28 of specification 20 CN 120958705 A, the loading slide can slide along a horizontal track 331 and is provided with a platform that can move vertically and is suitable for raising the winding tool 20.

[0218] Advantageously, the pressing and / or carburizing step B conforms to the dimensions of the linear portions 4a, 4b of coil 4 and makes the dimensions of the linear portions 4a, 4b of coil 4 repeatable, and compacts them by maximizing the fill factor. Furthermore, the linear portions 4a, 4b thus treated are solidified together so that the arrangement of the wire 14 remains unchanged throughout the process; the wire 14 is arranged and held in an ordered, repeatable matrix configuration and is not grouped in a random order, but rather maintains the ordered arrangement given during the initial winding.

[0219] In the described example, the linear portions 4a, 4b of the coil 4 are first subjected to pressing and then carburizing; however, the method can generally be implemented by performing pressing or carburizing alone; or both in the described order; or both in reverse order; or even simultaneously.

[0220] After pressing and / or carburizing step B, when the coil 4 has cooled and thus solidified in the linear portions 4a, 4b, the coil itself is removed from the winding tool 20. The coupling device 241 is locked (pneumatically) by means of a sleeve and / or clamping element 242 for hooking onto the spindle 25.

[0221] The wire clamping elements 26, 261 are thus opened, for example by means of two external controls, to release the wires 14 entering and exiting the winding. At this time, the manipulator (not shown) guiding the removable wall 24' of the winding tool begins to move axially away from the anchoring wall 23'.During the first step of this movement, the corner element 245, which slides on the corresponding guide 246, begins to move toward the center of the winding tool 20, thereby relieving the stress on the wire and allowing the coil 4 to be pulled out.

[0222] Thus, the manipulator guiding the removable wall 24' continues to move axially away from the anchor wall 23', and the second manipulator, by means of the operating seat 249, drives and moves the movable walls 22 until they are pulled out from the anchor wall 23' (pulled out from the pins 27, 231).

[0223] At this point, one or more coils 4 are removed from the winding tool 20.

[0224] Figures 22a, 22b, and 22c illustrate three different examples of rings that can be made using the described winding tool 20, wherein:

[0225] - In Figure 22a, each ring S1, S2 is formed by two layers: a first layer of five wires and a second layer of four wires;

[0226] - In Figure 22b, each ring S1', S2' is formed by two layers, both of which have five wires;

[0227] - In Figure 22c, each ring S1', S2' is formed by three layers: a first layer of five wires, a second layer of four wires, and a third layer of five wires.

[0228] These examples help to understand how a star-shaped yoke stator manufactured according to the present invention can be distinguished from a star-shaped yoke stator manufactured according to known techniques by visually analyzing the arrangement and density of wires in the sectors or slots.

[0229] It can be noted that circular wires tend to leave free space; to overcome this problem, alternative solutions depicted in Figures 23a, 23b, and 23c can be employed.

[0230] According to this alternative and advantageous solution for the fill factor, during the coil manufacturing step, and more precisely, during winding, complementary conductors 14' with smaller cross-sections are added to each loop S1, S2, which occupy the space left by the tangential contact of conductors 14 with larger cross-sections (i.e., the free space between the aforementioned conductors 14 with larger cross-sections). Thus, during the winding step, each loop S1, S2 will be formed by layers of wires with different cross-sections, which alternate with each other, and once wound, allows for even larger fill factors.

[0231] Figures 20 and 21 show a variant of the winding machine 200 and a second embodiment of the winding tool 20, which can be used as an alternative to the first embodiment. Instead of the separate wire guide tube 204 of FIG. 206, the wire guide device 150 automatically allows for the management of the distance between the individual layers of the wire 14 entering through a controlled axis.

[0232] The wire guide device 150 includes an axial guide 151 along which a plurality of wire guide tubes 152 slide in a controlled manner and independently of each other, as described on page 15 / 28 of the specification, CN 120958705 A.

[0233] The axial guide 151 slides along the vertical guide 153, allowing the wire guide tubes 152 to move along at least two axes.

[0234] Each wire guide tube 152 is passed through and actually guides one layer of wire 14.

[0235] During the various winding steps, the wire guide tubes 152 can move closer to each other until the layers of wire contact, or they can move further away from each other, so that each layer of wire enters the winding independently and at a different time than other layers.

[0236] This allows each layer to be deposited on the winding tool 20 independently of other layers to prevent them from interfering with each other.

[0237] Whenever necessary, the wire guide tubes 152 move closer to each other again to facilitate operations that require bringing all the wires 14 together.

[0238] Optionally, in this embodiment, the winding tool 20 is rotated by a winding spindle 244' integrated with a motor assembly 157, which is fixed to a carriage 158 movable along a track 159 (guide or rail, etc.).

[0239] Considering the winding machine 200 and the corresponding winding tool 20 shown in Figures 20-21, after the coil forming step A, the method provides a pressing and / or carburizing step B, as previously described and now to be described with reference to Figures 24-29B.

[0240] The heating device 30' shown in Figures 28A and 28B includes one or more heating elements 31, preferably inductively. These heating elements 31 are shaped and arranged to be inserted between, in contact with, or adjacent to, the linear portions 4a, 4b of the coil. Due to the fact that the linear portions 4a, 4b remain free, this operation can be performed while the coil 4 is still housed on the winding tool 20.

[0241] Therefore, these heating elements 31 have a longitudinal range that is substantially equal to the longitudinal range of the linear portions 4a, 4b to be heated.

[0242] It should be noted that in the depicted embodiment, the heating elements 31 are substantially formed as comb-shaped elements parallel to each other.

[0243] In practice, the heating elements 31 are inserted between the linear portions 4a, 4b of the coil to heat them to the carburizing temperature, as shown in FIG28B.

[0244] Therefore, there is time to remove the heating elements 31 and insert a pressing device 300 in the position of the heating elements 31, which presses the winding by utilizing the thermal inertia of the material.

[0245] In the embodiment shown in FIG29, with respect to the winding tool 20 mounted on the winding machine 200 shown in FIG20-21, the pressing device 300 includes a plate 301 to which a series of inclined planes 303 adapted to contact the linear portions 4a, 4b to be pressed are coupled. Plate 301 is inserted into or mechanically coupled in any way to a complementary pair of plates 302' located on opposite sides of the linear portions 4a, 4b, which effectively function as support elements.

[0246] Plate 301 is pushed against complementary plate 302' by a thrust device (not shown). Inclined plane 303 is configured such that movement of plate 301 toward complementary plate 302' causes the linear portions of coils 4a, 4b to be compacted through direct mechanical interaction.

[0247] Thus, by utilizing the force of the thrust device and the suitably manufactured inclined plane 303, the linear portions 4a, 4b of the winding are compacted to the desired size.

[0248] These carburizing and pressing operations can be performed alternately or simultaneously on both sides of the winding tool 20, depending on the cycle time required by the device during production.

[0249] Conveniently, only the linear portions 4a, 4b of coil 4 are pressed and / or subjected to heat treatment, while the non-linear portions (i.e., the portions of coil 4 that connect the linear portions 4a, 4b, which are mainly bent and form the heads of coil 4) are not treated, so that they can be easily shaped in successive steps. Instruction manual, pages 16 / 28, 22 CN 120958705 A

[0250] After pressing and / or carburizing step B, when the coil 4 has cooled and thus solidified in the linear portions 4a, 4b, the coil 4 or multiple coils 4 can be removed from the winding tool 20 (any of those described herein).

[0251] Optionally, whenever a series of more coils 4 are manufactured on the same winding tool 20 in coil manufacturing step A, such that the linear portions 4a, 4b of the coil 4 are spaced apart from the linear portions of subsequent coils 4 by a predetermined pitch distance, a step of correcting the pitch between the coils 4 is performed before the coils 4 are received in the stator slots. Pitch correction is achieved by:

[0252] - taking a series of coils 4 from the winding tool 20 and bringing them onto a pitch correction device (not shown), which is configured to correct the pitch distance between the linear portions 4a, 4b of the different coils 4;

[0253] - taking the coils 4 from the pitch correction device by means of, for example, clamps shown in Figures 37 and 38, and the clamps are configured to keep the pitch distance between the linear portions 4a, 4b of the coils 4 unchanged after pitch correction has been achieved. These clamps insert the coils 4 between the stator teeth of the star-shaped member.

[0254] Optionally, during the pitch correction process, insulating paper may be introduced inside the coils 4 (preferably around the linear portions 4a, 4b) to protect the coils 4 themselves from damage inside the stator slots.

[0255] By forming the coil 4 in step A described above, a coil 4 having straight portions 4a and 4b is obtained, and the cross-section of the coil 4 has a shape complementary to the shape of the stator slot 106 into which the coil 4 must be inserted. Therefore, the entire area of ​​the stator slot 106 can be fully utilized while keeping the conductors 14 and 14' orderly and maximizing the fill factor.

[0256] Figure 30 is a schematic cross-section and plan view of an electric motor M according to known technology, which includes a star-shaped yoke stator S' and a rotor R, the rotor R being rotatably and coaxially arranged on its axis of rotation, located inside the stator S'. The stator S' is of a two-component type, consisting of an outer cylindrical body 101', a yoke, and an inner body 100' referred to as a star element, the inner body 100' being constructed of stacked metal laminations.

[0257] Figure 31 shows the star element 100' in perspective view, which extends from an inner cylindrical surface 102' defined by the pole shoes 103' of all stator teeth 104' and the stator teeth 104' themselves, the stator teeth extending radially outward from the inner cylindrical surface 102'. The inner cylindrical surface 102' of the star element 100' is substantially continuous, except for small windows or openings 105', which are made to reduce stator weight and minimize electromagnetic short circuits. The stator slot 106' for accommodating the conductor coil is defined between the stator teeth 104', the inner cylindrical surface 102', and the yoke 101'.

[0258] For the sake of simplicity, only one stator slot is shown in FIG30, in which the conductor winding 107' is present. Conventional electric motors M (e.g., the motor shown in FIG30) are characterized by a disordered distribution of conductors in their winding 107', or by the presence of room for improvement.

[0259] The object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for precisely maximizing the fill factor, which allows for the automatic assembly of stators with perfectly ordered coils 4, obtained as described above with reference to FIGS. 2-29, and better occupying stator slots with complementary shapes and an ordered arrangement.

[0260] FIG32 is a perspective view of the star-shaped member 100 of the stator S1, S2 according to the present invention, which differs from the star-shaped member 100' of the stator S' of the prior art in that the stator teeth 104 point to the end 108 opposite to the pole shoe 103. In practice, the ends 108 of the stator teeth 104 are pointed to stabilize their coupling with the yoke, as will be described below.

[0261] Another difference between the star member 100 and the star member 100' lies in the shape of the stator slots. A simple visual comparison highlights that the stator slots 106' of the stator S' according to the prior art are sliced, i.e., they are widened in the outer diameter direction, while the stator slots 106 of the stator S according to the invention are basically rectangular, and therefore have greater compatibility with the coil 4 in terms of shape.

[0262] FIG33 is a cross-sectional view of the stator S1 according to a first embodiment of the invention: for simplicity, a separate winding consisting of the linear portions 4a or 4b of the coil 4 is shown. The star member 100 is forced into the yoke 101', in which sense, the connection between these elements is achieved by an interference fit. As will be explained below, when the coil 4 is all correctly positionedSubsequently, the yoke 101' is fitted onto the star member 100 by an interference fit, such that the tips 108 of the stator teeth 104 are inserted into the corresponding longitudinal grooves 109 formed in the inner surface of the yoke 101'. The pointed shape of the stator teeth 104, together with the shape coupled to the corresponding grooves 109, ensures the mechanical seal of the stator S made in the two parts 100, 101'.

[0263] FIG34 is a perspective view of the stator S1 with all windings completed, i.e., the stator slots 106 are all joined by the linear portions 4a or 4b of the coils 4. As can be observed, the inner surface 102 of the star member 100 is continuous except for the window or opening 105. In this configuration, the stator S1 is ready to accommodate the rotor R to complete the motor.

[0264] It can be noted that the first embodiment of the stator S1 is provided with a yoke 101' integrally made of a mechanical cylinder.

[0265] FIG35 is a cross-sectional view of the stator S2 according to a second embodiment of the present invention: for simplicity, a separate winding consisting of the straight portions 4a or 4b of the coil 4 is shown. The star member 100 is forced into the yoke 101”, in which sense the connection between these elements is achieved by an interference fit. As described below, when the coil 4 is correctly inserted into the stator slot 106, the yoke 101” is configured to surround the star member 100 by fixing the sector 110 of the yoke 101”, such that the tips 108 of the stator teeth 104 are inserted into the corresponding longitudinal grooves 109 formed in the inner surface of each sector 110 of the yoke 101”. The pointed shape of the stator teeth 104, together with the shape coupled to the corresponding grooves 109, ensures the mechanical seal of the stator S manufactured in the two parts 100, 101”.

[0266] FIG36 is a perspective view of the stator S2 with all windings completed, i.e., the stator slots 106 are all joined by the linear portions 4a or 4b of the coils 4. As can be observed, the inner surface 102 of the star member 100 is continuous except for the window or opening 105. In this configuration, the stator S2 is ready to accommodate the rotor R to complete the motor.

[0267] It can be noted that the second embodiment of the stator S2 differs from the first embodiment S1 in that the yoke 101” is not made integrally, but is formed by assembling the sector 110 on the outside of the star member 100.

[0268] The methods and apparatus for manufacturing the stators S1 and S2 will now be described.

[0269] First, referring to Figures 37 and 38, a clamping system for removing coils 4 of wires 14 from the winding machine 200 or from the pressing and / or carburizing apparatus 300 and positioning them in the stator slots 106 of the star member 100 will be described.

[0270] Figure 37 shows a perspective view of a clamping system 400 comprising two clamps, namely an upper clamp 401 and a lower clamp 402, both used for handling coils 4. Figure 38 shows cross-sections (in different planes) and elevation views.The system 400 is shown in view. The coil 4 is shown arranged in a vertical plane: the linear portion 4a is constrained by the upper clamp 401, and the linear portion 4b is constrained by the lower clamp 402.

[0271] The clamps 401 and 402 are provided with jaws 403 for constraining the linear portions 4a and 4b, the middle jaw is mounted to float on a pin 404, and the first and last jaws are fixed to the pin 404; the pin 404 is connected to a pneumatic linear actuator 405, for example, operated using compressed air, such that the pin 404 can be translated in two directions along a horizontal direction 406 that is transverse to the linear portions 4a and 4b of the coil 4 to open and close the jaws 403 on the linear portions 4a and 4b of the coil 4, respectively.

[0272] With this configuration, the clamps 401, 402 maintain the pitch between the first linear portion 4a and the second linear portion 4b of the coil 4 taken from the winding tool.

[0273] The grippers 401 and 402 are also provided with a pop-out element 407, which is movable in two directions along a vertical direction 408 orthogonal to the horizontal direction 406, to pop out the linear portions 4a and 4b of the coil from the grippers 401 and 402 themselves. For this purpose, the pop-out element 407 is fixed to a plate 409, which is movable vertically in response to a thrust applied by an external actuator. The movement of the plate 409 is guided by a pin 410, visible in FIG. 38, which moves in a hole 411.

[0274] The clamping system 400 operates as follows:

[0275] - Whenever the coil 4 must be removed, clamps 401 and 402 engage the linear portions 4a and 4b of the coil 4, wherein the linear portions 4a and 4b are inserted between the jaws 403;

[0276] - The pneumatic actuator 405 is operated to clamp the linear portions 4a and 4b;

[0277] - At this time, the clamping system 400 can move together with the coil 4, and the coil 4 remains integral with the clamps 401 and 402 without the possibility of relative movement;

[0278] - Whenever the linear portion 4a or linear portion 4b of the coil 4 must be ejected, the upper clamp 401 or the lower clamp 402... The grippers 403 open respectively, and the plate 409 is pushed downward to cause the ejector element 407 to be inserted between the grippers 403, thereby ejecting the linear portion 4a or 4b.

[0279] The ejection of the linear portions 4a and 4b can occur and is expected to occur at different times: the upper gripper 401 and the lower gripper 402 are selectively operable.

[0280] The gripper system 400 just described can be used to manufacture embodiments S1 and S2 of the stator according to the invention.

[0281] FIG39 is a perspective view of a first apparatus 500 for manufacturing a stator S1 according to a first embodiment. The apparatus 500 includesA main shaft 501 is mounted on a shaft 504 extending cantilevered from a support structure 502, thereby being rotatable relative to the support structure 502 itself about a horizontal rotation axis 503, which defines a longitudinal, transverse, or radial direction. The main shaft 501 is rotatable and is rotated by a motor housed in the support structure 502, which is not visible in the drawings.

[0282] The device 500 also includes a carriage 505, which is provided with a slider 507 and mounted on a coplanar track 506 parallel to the rotation axis 503 of the main shaft 501. With this configuration, the carriage 505 can be translatably moved on the track 506 and on the slider 507 between a first position and a second position:

[0283] - In the first position, close to the support structure 502, the carriage 505 extends about the axis 504 but does not obstruct the main shaft 501, as shown in FIG39, and

[0284] - In the second position, as shown in other figures, the carriage 505 extends about the main shaft 501 but does not completely obstruct the axis 504 and only partially obstructs the axis 504.

[0285] The longitudinal displacement of the carriage 505 on the track 506 is achieved by a dedicated actuator (e.g., a linear or rack-and-pinion type actuator) mounted on the support structure 502 or directly on the carriage 505.

[0286] The carriage 505 has a longitudinal range considered along the axis of rotation 503, which is at least equal to the longitudinal range of the main shaft 501. The carriage 505 is hollow inside: it has an inner cylindrical surface 508 coaxial with the axis of rotation 503 and therefore with the shaft 504 and the main shaft 501.

[0287] The inner cylindrical surface 508 of the carriage 505 breaks at a longitudinal opening 509 (i.e., an opening parallel to the generatrix of the inner cylindrical surface 508). The longitudinal opening 509 gives the carriage 505 an almost horseshoe shape and allows the gripper system 400 to enter the interior of the carriage 505 from the outside. In particular, the longitudinal opening 509 provides the gripper system 400 with the possibility of interacting with the star member 100, provided that the star member 100 is mounted on the main shaft 501 and the carriage 505 is in the second position, as will be described below.

[0288] The longitudinal opening 509 has a width measured circumferentially relative to the inner cylindrical surface 508 of the carriage 505, which is sufficient to allow the coil 4 to be inserted from the outside of the carriage 505, specifically the linear portions 4a and 4b of the coil 4 to be inserted from the outside of the carriage 505 into the space enclosed by the inner cylindrical surface 508. In the example shown in the figure, since the coil 4 includes three linear portions 4a and three linear portions 4b, the width of the longitudinal opening 509 is at least equal to the circumferential length of the three stator slots 106 of the star member 100. When only one linear portion is present, the width of the longitudinal opening 509 will be significantly smaller, at least equal to the circumferential length of a single stator slot 106 of the star member 100.

[0289] The device 500 also includes a closing device 510 configured to temporarily and upon command close the longitudinal opening 509. In the example shown, the closing device 510 is mounted on and moves with the carriage 505. Specification 19 / 28 pages 25 CN 120958705 A

[0290] In the embodiment shown in the figures, the closing device 510 is a sliding or drawer-type device provided with a panel 511, which is mounted on a track 512 by a slider 513 acting as an actuator. The tracks 512 are arranged parallel to each other and inclined relative to the axis of rotation 503, such that the panel 511 can move between a retracted position and a forward position, and always remains tangent to the inner cylindrical surface 508 of the carriage 505. Specifically:

[0291] - In the retracted position shown in FIG39, panel 511 does not obstruct longitudinal opening 509, which is still normally used for inserting the linear portions 4a, 4b of coil 4 through clamp system 400;

[0292] - In the forward position shown in other figures, panel 511 obstructs and closes longitudinal opening 509, thereby preventing linear portions 4a, 4b from dislodging from the interior of carriage 505 through longitudinal opening 509.

[0293] As will be noted with reference to other figures, the longitudinal length of panel 511 (parallel to axis 503) corresponds to the longitudinal length of longitudinal opening 509 so as not to interfere with the head (non-linear portion) of coil 4.

[0294] Initially, as shown in FIG40, star member 100 of stator S1 is mounted on spindle 501 such that stator teeth 104 are radially outward and stator slots 106 are also radially arranged relative to axis of rotation 503. In the configuration shown in FIG40, the carriage 505 is in a first position, and the closing device 510 holds the panel 511 in the retracted position, thereby keeping the longitudinal opening 509 open.

[0295] FIG41 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG40. The carriage 505 is pushed to a second position on the track 506. The carriage 505 surrounds the spindle and the star member 100; more specifically, the star member 100 is held with minimal clearance between the outer surface of the spindle 501 and the inner cylindrical surface 508 of the carriage 505. The clearance is minimal but sufficient to allow the spindle 501 and the star member 100 integral therewith to rotate without interfering with the inner cylindrical surface 508 of the carriage 505.

[0296] The spindle 501 rotates sufficiently to bring the stator slot 106 of the star-shaped member 100 to an angle at the longitudinal opening 509, and in this position shown in FIG. 41, the spindle 501 stops: the upward-facing stator slot 106 remains accessible to the clamping system 400, and this access is achieved precisely through the longitudinal opening 509.

[0297] The rotation of the spindle 501 is intermittent and is used to rotate the star-shaped member 100 by an angle corresponding to...The angular distance between the two stator slots must accommodate the linear portions 4a, 4b of the coil. At the end of the rotation, the spindle 501 stops and remains stationary until a new rotation is required. Thus, the rotation of the spindle 501 alternates with the insertion of the linear portions 4a, 4b of the coil 4.

[0298] FIG42 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG41. The clamping system 400 is displaced at the longitudinal opening 509. Specifically, the lower clamp 402 constraining the linear portion 4b of the coil 4 is brought to or abuts against the boundary of the longitudinal opening 509. The other components of the device 500 remain stationary, just as the star member 100 remains stationary. In the example shown, the coil 4 includes three linear portions 4b (and three corresponding linear portions 4a), as shown in the configurations of FIG37 and FIG38.

[0299] FIG43 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG42. The spindle 501 remains stationary together with the star member 100. The lower gripper 402 remains stationary relative to the position shown in FIG. 42. The ejector element 407 of the lower gripper 402 is vertically lowered via plate 409 (FIG. 38) to eject the three linear portions 4b of the coil 4 from the gripper 402 and insert them into the corresponding three stator slots 106 through longitudinal openings 509. The height to which the upper gripper 401 is lowered corresponds to the travel of the ejector element 407 of the lower gripper 402 to facilitate the radial displacement of the coil 4.

[0300] FIG. 44 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG. 43. The spindle 501 remains stationary together with the star member 100. The lower gripper 402 moves away from the carriage 505 by lateral movement relative to the receiving plane of the coil 4. As the lower clamp 402 moves away, or immediately thereafter, the closing device 510 is operated, and the panel 511 is pushed and held in the corresponding forward position, where the longitudinal opening 509 is kept closed by the panel 511, which serves as an external temporary closing element for the stator slot 106. With this arrangement, the linear portion 4b of the coil 4 cannot disengage from the corresponding stator slot (see page 20 / 28 of the specification, CN 120958705 A 106).

[0301] FIG45 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG44. The stator S1 being manufactured is of the distributed winding type, the spindle 501 rotates (counterclockwise when viewed in the figure) by an angle corresponding to the phase of the stator S1, and the upper clamp 401 simultaneously lowers and reaches or abuts against the panel 511. The simultaneous rotational movement of the spindle 501 about the rotation axis 503 and the vertical translational movement of the first clamp 401 cause deformation of the coil 4.

[0302] The linear portion 4b was initially constrained in the corresponding stator slot 106 between the star-shaped member 100 and the panel 511, due toThe presence of the inner cylindrical surface 508 of the carriage 505 (which surrounds the star member 100 from the outside) allows the linear portion 4b to be properly accommodated in the stator slot 106, thereby rotating integrally with the star member 100.

[0303] Lowering the upper clamp 401 brings the linear portion 4a, still constrained in the upper clamp 401, to the panel 511, and consequently brings the linear portion over the longitudinal opening 509 aligned with the panel 511.

[0304] FIG46 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG45. The panel 511 is retracted, i.e., brought to its retracted position so that the longitudinal opening 509 can be accessed by the upper clamp 401, which is further lowered to abut against the boundary of the longitudinal opening 509. The linear portion 4a of the coil 4 remains constrained by the upper clamp 401.

[0305] FIG47 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG46. By lowering plate 409 to operate the ejector element 407 of upper clamp 401, the linear portion 4a of coil 4 is pushed into the corresponding stator slot 106, which becomes accessible due to the rearward movement of panel 511 described in the previous paragraph.

[0306] FIG48 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG47. Clamp system 400 is removed from device 500, and panel 511 is pushed to a forward position to close longitudinal opening 509 again and prevent linear portion 4a of coil 4 from coming out of stator slot 106. In this configuration, coil 4 is fully inserted into star member 100: three linear portions 4b and three linear portions 4a are angularly offset upward by an angle corresponding to a single electrical phase. Spindle 501 is stationary.

[0307] FIG49 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG48. The clamping system 400 is brought to the panel 511, where the new coil 4 is locked in the clamps 401 and 402.

[0308] FIG50 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG49. The spindle 501 is rotated by an angle corresponding to moving the stator slot 106 in the star 100 corresponding to the new electrical phase to the longitudinal opening 509. The panel 511 remains stationary in the forward position, just as the clamping system 400 remains stationary.

[0309] FIG51 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG50. The spindle 501 remains stationary in the previous configuration shown in FIG50. The panel 511 is brought to the retracted position, and the longitudinal opening 509 is opened and accessible by the lower clamp 402, thereby keeping the three stator slots 106 in the star structure 100 into which the linear portion 4b of the new coil 4 is inserted accessible.

[0310] The steps described with reference to Figures 44-50 are repeated to arrange two coils 4 on the star-shaped member 100.

[0311] Figure 52 shows a successive configuration of the housing of the first and second coils 4 over time, and the third coil 4 is ready to be operated.

[0312] Figure 53 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in Figure 52. Three coils 4 have been housed on the star member 100, and the fourth coil 4 is about to be moved.

[0313] Figure 54 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in Figure 53. Four coils 4 have been housed on the star member 100, and the fifth coil 4 is about to be operated to insert the linear portions 4a and 4b into the stator slot 106.

[0314] Figure 55 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in Figure 54. Five coils 4 have been housed on the star member 100, and the sixth coil 4 is about to be operated to insert the linear portions 4a and 4b into the stator slot 106.

[0315] FIG56 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG55. Six coils 4 have been accommodated on the star member 100, and a seventh coil 4 is about to be operated to insert the linear portions 4a and 4b into the stator slot 106.

[0316] FIG57 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG56. Eight coils 4 have been accommodated on the star member 100, and a ninth coil 4 is about to be operated to insert the linear portions 4a and 4b into the stator slot 106.

[0317] FIG58-FIG.61 show the final steps of the method for manufacturing the stator S1.

[0318] In particular, FIG58 shows an apparatus 500 with the windings on the star member 100 already configured. Nine coils 4 are constrained to the star member 100. Panel 511 is brought to a forward position for closing the longitudinal opening 509.

[0319] The integrally formed yoke 101' moves closer to the carriage 505. The yoke 101' is cylindrical: a longitudinal groove 109 is formed on its inner surface, into which the tips 108 of the stator teeth 104 of the star member 100 will be inserted.

[0320] The yoke 101' is shown in FIG. 59 as abutting against the carriage 505. The yoke 101' is coaxially supported with the axis of rotation 503 of the main shaft 501 by a suitable means (not shown). In this step, the main shaft 501 remains stationary, just as panel 511 remains stationary in the forward position. The yoke 101' and the star member 100 are angularly aligned in the sense that the tips 108 of the stator teeth 104 are aligned with the longitudinal groove 109 of the yoke 101'.

[0321] Figure 60 shows a continuous time sequence in which the carriage 505 moves backward, i.e., from the second position to the first position. At the second position, the carriage 505 remains stationary, and at the first position, the carriage 505 does not obstruct the star-shaped member 100 whose winding has been completed.The semi-finished product is constructed. As the carriage 505 moves on the track 506, the yoke 101' moves forward and follows the carriage 505 by being fitted onto the semi-finished product, i.e., onto the star member 100 with windings. The yoke 101' is pressed into the star member 100, in this sense, the connection employs an interference fit.

[0322] Figure 61 shows the final step: the stator S1 has been completed and pulled out from the spindle 501. The panel 511 of the closing device 510 moves backward to release the longitudinal opening 509; the device 500 is now ready to begin a new work cycle to manufacture another stator S1.

[0323] The spindle 501 is preferably a variable geometry spindle that can change its diameter, thereby enabling the star member 100 to be locked and also allowing the stator S1 to be pulled out.

[0324] In summary, the star-shaped member 100 is thus assembled onto the main shaft 501, and the carriage 505 is brought to a second position in which the carriage 505 surrounds the star-shaped member 100, but one or more stator slots 106 remain accessible. The closing device 510 is operable to close the accessible stator slots left by the carriage 505. According to the desired electrical layout, the insertion of the linear portions 4a, 4b of the coils 4 is achieved by synchronizing the movement of the clamping system 400 with the rotation of the main shaft 501 and the movement of the closing device 510. Once all the coils 4 are accommodated, the yoke 101' is assembled onto the star-shaped member 100, and the stator S1 is manufactured.

[0325] Referring now to Figures 62-91, a method and apparatus 600 for implementing a second embodiment of the stator S2 will be described. The clamping system 400 is the same as the clamping system described above with reference to the first embodiment S1.

[0326] FIG. 62 is a perspective view of device 600, which includes a support structure 602 that cantileverly supports a main shaft 601 on a shaft 604. The shaft 604 and the main shaft 601 are rotatable about a rotation axis 603, the direction of which is defined as longitudinal, transverse, or radial relative to the rotation axis 603. Rotation is provided by an actuator (not shown) within the support structure 602. The function of rotating the main shaft 601 is to support the star member 100 during the insertion of the straight portions 4a and 4b of the coil 4 into the stator slot 106.

[0327] The device 600 also includes a system 610 for operating the sector 110 of the yoke 101” (shown in Figures 35, 36, 63, and 75), and its operation utilizes a plurality of fork elements 611. All the fork elements 611 in the corresponding radial seats 605 inserted into the spindle 601 (Figure 66) are shown in Figure 62, but this is only a preview of a temporary configuration, which will be better explained below.

[0328] The device 600 also includes a system 700 consisting of grippers 701, which can move toward and away from the spindle 601 to constrain the sector 110 of the yoke 101” and allow unloading of the completed stator S2. Specification 22 / 28 pages 28 CN120958705 A

[0329] Figure 63 is a perspective view of a partial axisymmetric section of the device 600 and the main shaft 601, with the stator S2 already completed on the main shaft 601. This figure helps to understand the operation of the fork-shaped elements 611. For each sector 110 of the yoke 101', two fork-shaped elements 611 are provided at each of its axial ends. The radially outer end 611' of each fork-shaped element 611 has a tooth that, together with the edge 110' (Figure 65) of the corresponding sector 110 of the yoke 101", forms a notch for constraining the sector 110 to the main shaft 601 during the assembly of the stator S2. Above. The opposite end of the fork-shaped element 611 also has teeth 611”, which are designed to engage the corresponding teeth of levers 612 present on the main shaft 601. In fact, the main shaft 601 is provided with as many levers 612 as there are fork-shaped elements 611 to be engaged. The levers 612 extend radially from the hub of the main shaft 601 and are hinged to pins 613 arranged circumferentially along the main shaft 601. The levers 612 are subjected to the opposite action of springs 613': when they are engaged by the ends 611” of the fork-shaped elements 611, they initially move backward and then engage in a restrained position, in which the teeth 612' of the levers 612 engage the teeth 611” of the fork-shaped elements 611. To achieve the opposite effect, i.e., to disengage the fork-shaped elements 611, it is only necessary to apply a thrust to the levers 612 from the outside along the axis of rotation 603, driving the levers 612 to rotate, which will disengage the teeth 611”.

[0330] Element 611 is fork-shaped because whenever the linear portions 4a, 4b of coil 4 are inserted into the stator slot 106, fork teeth 614 extend from opposite sides of the linear portions 4a, 4b of coil 4; in other words, the fork-shaped element 611 straddles the linear portions 4a, 4b of coil 4 to engage the lever 612 of the spindle 601.

[0331] FIG64 is a perspective view of system 610 for operating sector 110 of yoke 101”, and FIG65 is a longitudinal section and elevation view of system 610 itself. In both figures, the operating system 610 is shown while constraining sector 110 of yoke 101”. In practice, the operating system 610 includes a gripper 620 with two grippers 621 and 622 that can move closer to and further away from each other to restrain and release individual sectors 110 of the yoke 101”, respectively. The grippers 621 and 622 can be operated electrically or pneumatically.

[0332] As can be seen in Figures 64 and 65, each sector 110 of the yoke 101” is moved by the system 610 at this time, with the fork element 611 already in a coupled state (i.e., pre-installed in place). This pre-installation causes the upper teeth 611' of the fork element 611 to engage the upper edge 110' of the sector 110 of the yoke 101”, and the fork teeth 614 of each fork element 611 extend downwards cantilevered, with their teeth 611” remaining exposed and accessible.

[0333] Initially, as shown in Figure 66, the star-shaped member 100 of the stator S2 moves closer to the main shaft 601 along the rotation axis 603, causing the stator teeth 104 to point radially outward, and the stator slots 106 to be arranged radially relative to the rotation axis 603. The main shaft 601 is stationary, and the radial seat 605 is visible thereon, with the fork-shaped element 611 precisely inserted radially into the radial seat 605. The clamping system 400 prepares the coil 4. The operating system 610 is also ready and equipped with sector 110 of yoke 101” and two corresponding fork-shaped elements 611 pre-positioned on sector 110.

[0334] FIG67 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG66. Star 100 is mounted on spindle 601. It should be noted that radial opening 605 remains at least partially uncovered, i.e., not blocked by star 100, so as to allow insertion of fork-shaped elements 611.

[0335] FIG68 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG67. Clamping system 400 is held stationary by spindle 601 next to star 100. Lower clamp 402 has been lowered to the height of tip 108 of stator tooth 104 (FIG. 32), possibly in contact with it. In this position, linear portion 4b of coil 4 is ready to be inserted into radially arranged stator slot 106.

[0336] Figure 69 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in Figure 68. The lower gripper 402 is operated to push the linear portion 4b of the coil 4 into the corresponding stator slot 106 of the star member 100. Specifically, the vertically movable plate 409 is lowered, thereby lowering the ejector element 407. Simultaneously, the upper gripper 401 is lowered by a length corresponding to the stroke of the ejector element 407 to prevent deformation of the coil 4. The spindle 601 and the star member 100 remain stationary.

[0337] Specification 23 / 28 pages 29 CN 120958705 A Figure 70 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in Figure 69. The spindle 601 and star member 100 remain stationary. The upper gripper 401 moves backward, still at the same height, to make room for the operating system 610, which must move above the lower gripper 402. The displacement of the upper gripper causes the coil 4 to deform at the head (i.e., at the nonlinear portion 4c), while the linear portions 4b remain unchanged within the stator slots 106 into which they are inserted, and the linear portions 4a remain unchanged between the jaws of the upper gripper 401. The linear portions 4b of the coil 4 are prevented from dislodging from the stator slots 106 by temporarily closing the same lower gripper 402.

[0338] Figure 71 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in Figure 70. The spindle 601 and star member 100 remain stationary. The upper gripper 401 remains stationary relative to the retracted position described with reference to Figure 70. The lower gripper 402It also retracts and moves outward through coil 4, passing under the upper clamp 401. In this configuration, there is no risk that the linear portion 4b of coil 4 might come out of the stator slot 106, because coil 4 has already deformed at the nonlinear portion 4c and is not subjected to stress that could cause the linear portion 4b to return toward the linear portion 4a.

[0339] FIG72 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG71. The spindle 601 and star member 100 remain stationary; clamps 401 and 402 also remain stationary relative to the position shown in FIG71. At this time, the operating system 610 moves above the stator slot 106 of the star member 100 that accommodates the linear portion 4b of coil 4.

[0340] FIG73 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG72. The spindle 601 and star member 100 remain stationary. The operating system 610, previously aligned with the stator slot 106 into which the linear portion 4b of coil 4 is inserted, is lowered until the sector 110 of the yoke 101” abuts against the tips 108 of the stator teeth 104 of those stator slots 106. Simultaneously, the fork element 611 is inserted into the radial seat 605 (Figs. 62-65), thereby engaging the lever 612. More specifically, the fork teeth 614 of the fork element 611 are inserted into the corresponding radial seat 605 present in the spindle 601, and the lower teeth 611” engage with the teeth 612' of the lever 612 present on the spindle 601 (Fig. 63), thereby causing the lever 612 to swing about the corresponding pin 613.

[0341] FIG. 74 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG. 73. The spindle 601 and the star element 100 remain stationary. Previously lowered until the sector 110 of the yoke 101” abutted against the tip 108 of the stator tooth 104 of the stator slot 106 accommodating the linear portion 4b of the coil 4 remained stationary. The sector 110 of the yoke 101” was constrained to the spindle 601 by the fork element 611. The grippers 621 and 622 of the operating system 610 opened to release the sector 110 of the yoke 101”, at which point the sector 110 of the yoke 101” was no longer constrained to the system 610, but remained hooked to the star member 100 by the fork element 611.

[0342] FIG75 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG74. The spindle 601 and the star member 100 remain stationary. Previously unconstrained by sector 110 of yoke 101", the operating system 610 moves away from the gripper system 400 and the spindle 601. The upper gripper 401 of the gripper system 400 still holds the linear portion 4a of the coil 4, while the linear portion 4b is finally enclosed in the stator slot 106, which is now closed by sector 110 of yoke 101".

[0343] FIG76 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG75. The spindle 601 rotates (in the figure)(It rotates counterclockwise), thereby dragging the star-shaped component 100 by an angle corresponding to the electrical phase of the stator S2. Simultaneously, the upper clamp 401 is lowered to facilitate deformation of the nonlinear portion 4c of the coil 4, and the operating system 610 acquires a new sector 110 of the yoke 101” via the corresponding pre-arranged fork element 611. Specifically, the upper clamp 401 reaches or abuts the tip 108 of the stator tooth 104, preparing to release the linear portion 4a of the coil 4.

[0344] Therefore, the rotation of the spindle 601 is intermittent and alternates with the insertion movement of the clamp 401.

[0345] FIG77 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG76. The spindle 601 and the star member 100 remain stationary relative to their previous positions (FIG76). The plate 409 of the upper clamp 401 is lowered, thereby lowering the ejector element 407, and the linear portion 4a of the coil is inserted into the corresponding stator slot 106.

[0346] Figure 78 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in Figure 77. The spindle 601 and star member 100 remain stationary relative to their previous position (Figure 76). The clamping system 400 moves away from the spindle 601, and the upper clamp 401 and lower clamp 402 open and prepare to take a new coil from the winding tool 20. The operating system 610 brings the new sector 110 of the yoke 101” above the stator slot 106 that accommodates the linear portion 4a of the coil 4.

[0347] Figure 79 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in Figure 78. The spindle 601 and star member 100 remain stationary relative to their previous position (Figure 77). Operating system 610 places the new sector 110 of yoke 101” on the stator slot 106 that accommodates the linear portion 4a of coil 4 and pushes the fork element 611 to engage with the lever 612 of spindle 601 to confine sector 110 to star 100.

[0348] FIG80 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG79. Spindle 601 and star 100 remain stationary relative to their previous positions (FIG79). Operating system 610 releases the new sector 110 of yoke 101” and moves away to take another sector 110 of the same yoke 101”. Now, coil 4 is correctly inserted into star 100: linear portions 4a and 4b are confined in the corresponding stator slots 106 by the two sectors 110 of yoke 101” and by the four fork elements 611 engaging the corresponding levers 612.

[0349] Figure 81 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in Figure 80. The spindle 601 and the star member 100 are rotated (counterclockwise) by an angle sufficient to provide additional linear portions to the clamping system 400 to be fed by the new coil 4.After the stator slot 106 is filled with 4b, the spindle 601 and star member 100 stop again and remain stationary.

[0350] At this time, the steps described in the previous figures are repeated to complete the winding of the star member 100.

[0351] FIG82 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG81, wherein two coils 4 are positioned on the star member 100, and the four sectors 110 of the yoke 101” are anchored to the spindle 601 by lever 612.

[0352] FIG83 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in FIG82, wherein three coils 4 are positioned on the star member 100, and the six sectors 110 of the yoke 101” are anchored to the spindle 601 by lever 612.

[0353] Figure 84 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in Figure 83, wherein four coils 4 are positioned on the star member 100, and the eight sectors 110 of the yoke 101” are anchored to the main shaft 601 by levers 612.

[0354] The insertion of each new coil is performed according to the electrical layout to fit the assembly steps of the stator S2; angular deviations between the linear portions 4a, 4b of all coils are corrected electrically.

[0355] Figure 86 shows a successive configuration over time relative to the configuration shown in Figure 85, wherein five coils 4 are positioned on the star member 100, and the ten sectors 110 of the yoke 101” are anchored to the main shaft 601.

[0356] Figure 87 shows the stator S2 with all windings completed. In the example shown in the figure, eighteen sectors 110 with nine coils 4 and a yoke 101” are used, each coil having three linear portions 4a and three linear portions 4b. Clearly, each sector 110 has a 20° angle cut off at its center. All sectors 110 are anchored to the spindle 601 via fork-shaped elements 611, and the yoke 101” is now assembled. Now, simply pull the stator S2 out of the spindle 601.

[0357] Figure 88 shows the start of removal. The spindle 601 and stator S2 are stationary. The gripper system 700 is operated such that the grippers 701 move closer to grip the stator S2.

[0358] FIG89 shows the gripper 701 closed on the yoke 101” of the stator S2, with the main shaft 601 at rest.

[0359] At this point, as shown in FIG90, the fork-shaped element 611, which had previously been restricted by sector 110 to the main shaft 601, is removed. The removal operation is achieved by applying a thrust in the axial direction to lever 612 by a suitable device (not shown) to counteract the thrust of spring 613' shown in FIG63.

[0360] FIG91 shows the final step of pulling the stator S2 out of the main shaft 601, at which point the main shaft 60 is ready to start a new cycle to manufacture a new stator S2. The yoke 101” remains closed in the gripper 701 until the yoke 101” is stopped by a suitable device (e.g., metal).Wrapped with a band; then, claw 701 opens to release stator S2. Specification 25 / 28 pages 31 CN 120958705 A

[0361] FIG92 is a schematic diagram (a cross-sectional portion of the stator) of a wound star yoke stator according to known technology, the structural layout of which is similar to the structural layout of the stator of motor M shown in FIG30. It can be noted that the windings 107' inserted into the stator slots 106' are not ordered: the wires 14 are randomly arranged. The table in FIG92 details the technical features of the winding, such as: the diameter of the wires 14 is 9.9 mm, the number of parallel lines arranged, the number of loops, the area, the thickness of the insulating paper, and the area of ​​the stator slots 106' is 117.340 mm2.

[0362] This configuration (one of the most popular configurations at present) achieves a fill factor of approximately 39% (bare wire / slot).

[0363] FIG93 is a view of five possible layouts of the wound star-shaped yoke stator S1 according to the invention (shown in cross-sectional view of the stator slots), and also includes a table of technical requirements for the windings of each layout.

[0364] The construction difference from the known technology shown in FIG92 is immediately apparent: the method and apparatus according to the invention allow the formation of the winding 107, wherein the conductors (dominant conductors) 14 and possibly smaller diameter conductors (complementary conductors) 14' are arranged in an orderly manner according to the desired layout, and become immutable by the carburizing and pressing treatment of the coil 4 described previously.

[0365] In the table, the diameters and other parameters of the conductors 14, 14' are described for each of the five layouts. The conductors 14, 14' are pressed and carburized according to the description with reference to FIGS. 1-29. A thickness of 0.2 mm is considered for the insulating paper disposed between the winding 107 and the stator slot 106.

[0366] It can be noted by reading the last row below the table that for all layouts, the fill factor is always higher than 64%, and almost reaches 71% in the third winding layout, in which eight to seven conductors 14 are provided for each layer, with a conductor diameter of 0.9 mm, for a total of eight loops, and two complementary conductors 14' with a diameter of 0.45 mm.

[0367] Rectangular stator slots 106 are considered in the example shown. The dimensions of each stator slot 106 for different layouts are described.

[0368] FIG94 is a cross-sectional view of a portion of a hypothetical star-yoke stator, with stator slot 106' (left side) filled in a conventional manner compared to the same stator slot 106 (right side) filled with the method according to the invention. Slots 106' and 106 are identical and are defined by the same star element and the same yoke. Although hypothetical, the image clearly shows the difference between known schemes and the present invention regarding the arrangement of conductors 14, and clearly demonstrates the stator manufactured according to the claimed method.Subsidiaries S1 and S2 are practically identifiable and distinguishable from stators manufactured according to known techniques. The slots, with an area (cross-section) of 117.34 mm², contain the following:

[0369] - In the left slot 106', eight loops of windings formed by nine parallel copper wires 14 with a diameter of 0.9 mm (the outer diameter of the resin-coated wire is 0.987 mm), totaling seventy-two wires per slot 106'. This configuration achieves a fill factor of approximately 39%;

[0370] - In the right slot 106, eight loops of windings formed by seven to eight parallel copper wires 14 with a diameter of 0.9 mm (the outer diameter of the resin-coated wire is 0.987 mm), totaling one hundred and twenty wires per slot 106. This configuration achieves a fill factor of approximately 68.6%.

[0371] In the slot 106' on the left, the wires 14 are grouped, but in a disordered arrangement, not in an orderly manner; conversely, in the slot 106 on the right, the wires 14 are grouped in an orderly arrangement, and the same arrangement is achieved and maintained in the linear portions 4a and 4b of the coil 4 used to manufacture the winding object of the present invention. The orderly arrangement of the wires 14 in the slot 106 on the right is equivalent to the arrangement seen in FIG. 93. The diameter of the wires 14 and the geometry of the stator slots are equal, and the fill factor is approximately 39% in the slot 106' on the left, while it is approximately 68.6% in the slot 106 on the right, which is significantly larger (greater than 20%).

[0372] This specification provides sufficient information to distinguish between a stator formed directly by the method of the present invention and a stator formed by known techniques. It is clear, in fact, that the fill factor is certainly larger, and particularly in the stators S1 and S2 according to the present invention, the arrangement of the wires 14 in the slots 106 between the teeth 104 is orderly in a manner not found in the prior art. Specifically, on pages 26 / 28 of the specification, CN 120958705 A, by observing Figures 93-94, it can be noticed that the conductors 14 are arranged in multiple loops, each loop consisting of a certain number of wires (6, 7, 8, etc.), which have an unchangeable ordered matrix layout. Therefore, stators S1 and S2 are identifiable relative to other known stators simply by observing the number and arrangement of the wires in the slots between the stator teeth.

[0373] Figure 95 is a graph showing the relationship between leakage current (vertical axis) and rotational speed (horizontal axis) in the stator windings, comparing a motor made using a star-shaped yoke stator S' according to known technology and a motor made using a star-shaped yoke stator S1 according to the present invention (other technical features are the same).

[0374] The comparison was made under the same conditions: the same motor power / size, the same standard rotor, the same winding stack height, etc.

[0375] At 3400 rpm, considering the rated speed (speed), a conventional motor is subject to the leakage current in the stator windings.The leakage current is 4270.205 W, while the motor with stator S1 according to the invention is affected by a leakage current of 3016.136 W; this is a better value of about 29.7%.

[0376] At 10,000 rpm, taking the maximum speed (speed) into consideration, the conventional motor is affected by a leakage current of 7155.682 W in the stator windings, while the motor with stator S1 according to the invention is affected by a leakage current of 5716.293 W; this is a better value of about 20.1%.

[0377] Figure 96 is a graph showing the efficiency (vertical axis) versus revolutions (horizontal axis) of a motor made with a star-yoke stator according to the known art and a motor made with a star-yoke stator according to the invention, all under the same conditions.

[0378] The comparison was made under the same conditions: the same motor power / size, the same slot area, the same standard rotor, the same winding stack height, etc.

[0379] At 3250 rpm (representing the rated speed), the conventional motor has an efficiency of 95.3%, while the motor with the stator S1 according to the invention has an efficiency of 96.4%; this is a more preferred value of about 1.1%.

[0380] At 7000 rpm (representing the maximum speed), the conventional motor has an efficiency of 94.2%, while the motor with the stator S1 according to the invention has an efficiency of 95.2%; this is a more preferred value of about 1.1%.

[0381] At 10,000 rpm (representing the maximum speed), the conventional motor has an efficiency of 92.5%, while the motor with the stator S1 has an efficiency of 93.9%; this is a more preferred value of about 1.45%.

[0382] Figure 97 is a graph showing the relationship between the output power (vertical axis) and the rotational speed (horizontal axis) of a motor made with a star-shaped yoke stator according to known technology and a motor made with a star-shaped yoke stator according to the present invention, under the same conditions.

[0383] The comparison was made under the same conditions: the same motor power / size, the same slot area, the same standard rotor, the same winding stack height, etc.

[0384] It can be noted that the motor of the present invention made with stator S1 can produce greater power than the motor using the conventional winding insertion method. As can be seen from Figure 97, the difference is already apparent at 1750 rpm, and becomes more obvious above 3400 rpm. The following comparison table provides a quantitative comparison: Specification 27 / 28 pages 33 CN 120958705 A

[0385]

[0386] Therefore, ultimately, the apparatus and method according to the present invention can manufacture a stator, thereby enabling the manufacture of a motor; in the givenGiven a fixed size and basic geometry, these motors significantly outperform solutions obtained using conventional winding techniques. Instruction manual page 28 / 28, page 34, CN 120958705 A, Figure 1; Instruction manual figure 1 / 70, page 35, CN 120958705 A, Figure 2; Instruction manual figure 2 / 70, page 36, CN 120958705 A, Figure 3; Instruction manual figure 3 / 70, page 37, CN 120958705 A, Figure 4; Instruction manual figure 4 / 70, page 38, CN 120958705 A, Figure 5; Instruction manual figure 5 / 70, page 39, CN 120958705 A, Figure 7; Instruction manual figure 6 / 70, page 40, CN 120958705 A, Figure 8; Instruction manual figure 7 / 70, page 41, CN 120958705 A, Figure 9; Instruction manual figure 8 / 70, page 42, CN 120958705 A, Figure 10; Instruction manual figure 9 / 70, page 43, CN 120958705 A, Figure 11. Figure 12 of the instruction manual, page 44 of 12 / 70, CN 120958705 A; Figure 13 of the instruction manual, page 45 of 12 / 70, CN 120958705 A; Figure 14 of the instruction manual, page 46 of 12 / 70, CN 120958705 A; Figure 15 of the instruction manual, page 47 of 13 / 70, CN 120958705 A; Figure 16 of the instruction manual, page 48 of 14 / 70, CN 120958705 A; Figure 17 of the instruction manual, page 49 of 15 / 70, CN 120958705 A; Figure 18 of the instruction manual, page 50 of 16 / 70, CN 120958705 A; Figure 20 of the instruction manual, page 51 of 17 / 70, CN 120958705 A; Figure 21 of the instruction manual, page 52 of 18 / 70, CN 120958705 A; Figure 21 of the instruction manual, page 19 / 70. Page 53 CN 120958705 A, Instruction Manual Drawings 20 / 70; Page 54 CN 120958705 A, Figure 22C, Instruction Manual Drawings 21 / 70; Page 55 CN 120958705 A, Figure 23A, Instruction Manual Drawings 22 / 70; Page 56 CN 120958705 A, Instruction Manual Drawings 23 / 70; Page 57 CN 120958705 A, Figure 24, Instruction Manual Drawings 24 / 70; Page 58CN 120958705 A Figure 25, Instruction Manual Appendix 25 / 70, Page 59; CN 120958705 A Figure 26, Instruction Manual Appendix 26 / 70, Page 60; CN 120958705 A Figure 27, Instruction Manual Appendix 27 / 70, Page 61; CN 120958705 A Figure 28A, Instruction Manual Appendix 28 / 70, Page 62; CN 120958705 A, Instruction Manual Appendix 29 / 70, Page 63; CN 120958705 A, Instruction Manual Appendix 30 / 70, Page 64; CN 120958705 A Figure 32, Figure 33, Instruction Manual Appendix 31 / 70, Page 65; CN 120958705 A Figure 34, Instruction Manual Appendix 32 / 70, Page 66; CN 120958705 A Figure 35, Figure 36, Instruction Manual Appendix 33 / 70, Page 67; CN 120958705 Figure 37, Appendix to the Instruction Manual, Page 34 / 70, 68 CN 120958705; Figure 38, Appendix to the Instruction Manual, Page 35 / 70, 69 CN 120958705; Figure 39, Appendix to the Instruction Manual, Page 36 / 70, 70 CN 120958705; Figure 40, Appendix to the Instruction Manual, Page 37 / 70, 71 CN 120958705; Figure 41, Appendix to the Instruction Manual, Page 38 / 70, 72 CN 120958705; Figure 42, Figure 43, Appendix to the Instruction Manual, Page 39 / 70, 73 CN 120958705; Figure 44, Figure 45, Appendix to the Instruction Manual, Page 40 / 70, 74 CN 120958705; Figure 46, Figure 47, Appendix to the Instruction Manual, Page 41 / 70, 75 CN 120958705; Figure 48, Figure 49, Appendix to the Instruction Manual, Page 42 / 70, 76 CN 120958705 Figure 50 Figure 51 Appendix to the Instruction Manual, Page 43 / 70, CN 120958705 Figure 52 Figure 53 Appendix to the Instruction Manual, Page 44 / 70, CN 120958705 Figure 54 Figure 55 Appendix to the Instruction Manual, Page 45 / 70, CN 120958705 Figure 56 Figure 57 Appendix to the Instruction Manual, Page 46 / 70, CN 120958705 Figure 58 Figure 59 Appendix to the Instruction Manual, Page 47 / 70, CN 120958705 Figure 60 Figure 61 Appendix to the Instruction Manual, Page 48 / 70, CN 120958705CN 120958705 A Figure 62, Instruction Manual Drawings, Pages 49 / 70, 83; CN 120958705 A Figure 63, Instruction Manual Drawings, Pages 50 / 70, 84; CN 120958705 A Figure 64, Figure 65, Instruction Manual Drawings, Pages 51 / 70, 85; CN 120958705 A Figure 66, Instruction Manual Drawings, Pages 52 / 70, 86; CN 120958705 A Figure 67, Instruction Manual Drawings, Pages 53 / 70, 87; CN 120958705 A Figure 68, Figure 69, Instruction Manual Drawings, Pages 54 / 70, 88; CN 120958705 A Figure 70, Instruction Manual Drawings, Pages 55 / 70, 89; CN 120958705 A Figure 71, Figure 72, Instruction Manual Drawings, Pages 56 / 70, 90; CN 120958705 A Figure 73, Figure 74, Instruction Manual Drawings, Pages 57 / 70, 91 CN 120958705 A Figure 75 Figure 76 Instruction Manual Drawings 58 / 70 Page 92 CN 120958705 A Figure 77 Figure 78 Instruction Manual Drawings 59 / 70 Page 93 CN 120958705 A Figure 79 Figure 80 Instruction Manual Drawings 60 / 70 Page 94 CN 120958705 A Figure 81 Figure 82 Instruction Manual Drawings 61 / 70 Page 95 CN 120958705 A Figure 83 Figure 84 Instruction Manual Drawings 62 / 70 Page 96 CN 120958705 A Figure 85 Figure 86 Instruction Manual Drawings 63 / 70 Page 97 CN 120958705 A Figure 87 Figure 88 Instruction Manual Drawings 64 / 70 Page 98 CN 120958705 A Figure 89 Figure 90 Instruction Manual Drawings 65 / 70 Page 99 CN 120958705 A Figure 91 Appendix to the Instruction Manual, Pages 66 / 70, 100 CN 120958705 A Figure 92 Appendix to the Instruction Manual, Pages 67 / 70, 101 CN 120958705 A Figure 93 Appendix to the Instruction Manual, Pages 68 / 70, 102 CN 120958705 A Figure 94 Figure 95 Appendix to the Instruction Manual, Pages 69 / 70, 103 CN 120958705 A Figure 96 Figure 97 Appendix to the Instruction Manual, Pages 70 / 70, 104 CN 120958705 A

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing a dual-component stator (S1, S2), said dual-component stator having distributed windings, said dual-component stator being referred to as a star-yoke stator. The stator (S1, S2) includes: - The outer body (101', 101") is called the yoke, and - A main body (100), located inside the yoke (101', 101"), the main body (100) being referred to as a star-shaped component, the main body (100) having an inner cylindrical surface (102) and a plurality of radial stator teeth (104), the inner cylindrical surface (102) defining a receiving cavity for the rotor (R) of the motor, the plurality of radial stator teeth (104) extending from the cylindrical surface (102) toward the yoke (101', 101"), and stator slots (106) provided between the plurality of radial stator teeth (104), the stator slots (106) being used to receive windings (107) formed by conductors (14, 14'). The method includes: - Manufacture (A) a coil (4) formed by conductors (14, 14'), wherein one or more conductors (14, 14') are wound on a winding tool (20) to form at least one coil (4), the coil (4) including at least one linear portion (4a, 4b), the linear portion (4a, 4b) further including line segments of a plurality of individual conductors (14, 14'), and the linear portion being adapted to be inserted into one of the stator slots (106); - The star-shaped member (100) is supported (C) on the rotation axis (503, 603), wherein at least one first stator slot (106) is operable by the manipulator (400) of the coil (4); - The first linear portion (4b) of the coil (4) is inserted (D) into at least one first stator slot (106) by the manipulator (400), and the second linear portion (4a) of the coil (4) is constrained; - Rotate the star-shaped member (100) about the rotation axis (503, 603) by an angle (E), thereby deforming the coil (4) at the portion (4c) between the linear portions (4a, 4b) and making at least one second stator slot (106) available for operation by the manipulator (400); - The second linear portion (4a) of the coil (4) is inserted (F) into at least one second stator slot (106) by means of the manipulator (400); - Repeat steps (G) D, E and F until the winding of the star (100) is completed, thereby inserting the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil (4) into each stator slot (106); - Constrain the star-shaped member (100) (H) to the yoke (101', 101").

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein, During step E, the star-shaped member (100) rotates by an angle corresponding to the angle between the first stator slot (106) and the second stator slot (106), which may be adjacent or non-adjacent. During steps D and F, the star-shaped member (100) remains stationary, and steps E alternate with steps D and F.

3. The method according to claim 1 or 2, wherein, In step E, the star-shaped component (100) rotates about the rotation axis (503, 603) by an angle that corresponds to the electrical phase of the completed stator (S1, S2).

4. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, Includes a pressing and / or carburizing step (B) prior to step D, wherein the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the at least one coil (4) are subjected to pressing, hot carburizing, or pressing and hot carburizing in a desired order or simultaneously, in order to compact the respective conductor segment portions (14, 14').

5. The method according to claim 4, wherein, The pressing and / or carburizing step (B) includes the following steps: while the coil (4) is wound on the winding tool (20), pressing the linear portion (4a, 4b) of the coil (4) with one or more pressing elements (30), and heating the linear portion (4a, 4b) by one or more heating devices (31) integrated in or connected to the pressing element (30).

6. The method according to claim 4 or 5, wherein, In the pressing and / or carburizing step (B), the hot carburizing process is achieved by inserting one or more heating elements (31) between the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil, thereby heating the linear portions (4a, 4b) to a predetermined carburizing temperature while the coil (4) is wound on the winding tool (20).

7. The method according to any one of claims 4-6, wherein, In the pressing and / or carburizing step (B), while the coil (4) is wound on the winding tool (20), the linear portions (4a, 4b) are pressed by a pressing device (300) inserted between the linear portions (4a, 4b).

8. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, In the coil manufacturing step (A), a complementary wire (14') with a smaller cross-section relative to the wire (14) is added to one or more wires (14) such that the complementary wire (14') occupies the gap between the wires (14).

9. The method according to any one of the preceding claims further comprises the step of insulating the conductor (14), wherein, Electrical insulation layer: - It may be applied, at least to the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil (4), after an optional pressing and / or carburizing step (B), or -Applied between the stator teeth (104) before step D of the linear portion (4a, 4b) of the inserted coil (4).

10. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, In the coil manufacturing step (A), a series of multiple coils (4) are manufactured on the same winding tool (20) such that the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coils (4) are spaced apart from the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the subsequent coils (4) by a predetermined pitch distance.

11. The method of claim 10, wherein: - Before step E and during insertion step D, the first linear portions (4b) of a series of coils (4) are simultaneously inserted into the corresponding stator slots (106) of the star-shaped member (100). After step E, the second linear portion (4a) of a series of coils (4) is simultaneously inserted into the corresponding stator slot (106) of the star member (100), so that the corresponding windings (117) are distributed in multiple stator slots (106).

12. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, Between steps D and E, and between steps F and G, the following are provided: In step (D', F'), the stator slot (106) in which the corresponding linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil (4) are temporarily closed by a closing device (510) of the stator slot (106), the closing device (510) being movable between a retracted position and a forward position, in which the stator slot (106) is opened in the radial direction and can be approached and touched by the manipulator (400), and in the forward position, the stator slot (106) is closed in the radial direction and prevents the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil (4) from dislodging.

13. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, During the insertion step D, the first linear portion (4b) of each coil (4) remains coplanar with the second linear portion (4a) of the manipulator (400).

14. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, Steps C and G are performed by supporting the star-shaped member (100) within the spindle (501) and cylindrical surface (508) of the winding device (500); wherein the cylindrical surface (508) has a longitudinal opening (509) that provides a passage in the radial direction to the first stator slot (106) of the star-shaped member (100), thereby keeping only the stator slot (106) where the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coils (4) need to be inserted from time to time accessible from the outside, while the rest of the star-shaped member (100) is confined between the spindle (501) and the cylindrical surface (508).

15. The method according to claim 14, wherein, Steps D and F are performed by rotating the star (100) to bring the stator slot (106) intended to accommodate the linear portions (4b, 4a) of the coil (4) to the longitudinal opening (509) and keeping the star stationary during the insertion of the linear portions (4b, 4a).

16. The method according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The yoke (101') is made as a single piece, and step H is performed by inserting a star-shaped piece (100) with windings (107) into the yoke (101').

17. The method according to any one of claims 1-11, wherein, The yoke (101”) is made into a set of sectors (110), and step H is performed by using an operating system (610) for sequentially operating the sectors (110) of the yoke (101”) between steps E and F and between steps F and G to constrain the sectors (110) of the yoke (101”) to the star member (100) at the stator slot (106) of the linear portion (4b, 4a) of the inserted coil (4), thereby closing the stator slot (106) from the outside.

18. The method according to claim 17, wherein, Step H is performed by temporarily constraining the sector (110) of the yoke (101”) to the star (110) and the spindle (601) supporting the star (110) by a removable fastening element (611), and holding the completed yoke (101”) together by a gripper system (700).

19. A dual-component stator (S1, S2), the dual-component stator being referred to as a star-shaped yoke stator, the dual-component stator being obtained directly using the method according to any one of the preceding claims.

20. An electric motor comprising a dual-component stator (S1, S2), the dual-component stator being referred to as a star-shaped yoke stator, the dual-component stator being obtained directly by the method according to any one of the preceding claims.

21. An apparatus (500, 600) for manufacturing star-shaped yoke stators (S1, S2), The stator (S1, S2) includes: - The outer body (101', 101") is called the yoke, and - A body (100), located inside the yoke (101', 101"), the body (100) being referred to as a star-shaped component, the body (100) having an inner cylindrical surface (102) and a plurality of radial stator teeth (104), the inner cylindrical surface (102) defining a receiving cavity for the rotor (R) of the motor, the plurality of radial stator teeth (104) extending from the cylindrical surface (102) toward the yoke (101', 101"), and stator slots (106) existing between the radial stator teeth (104), the stator slots (106) being for receiving windings (107) of conductors (14), The device (500, 600) includes: - At least one winding tool (20) configured to perform step A, wherein one or more wires (14, 14') are wound around the winding tool (20) to form a coil (4) comprising at least one linear portion (4a, 4b), the linear portion (4a, 4b) further comprising segment portions of a plurality of individual wires (14, 14'), and the linear portion (4a, 4b) is adapted to be inserted into one of the stator slots (106); - Spindles (501, 601), said spindles (501, 601) are rotatable about rotation axes (503, 603) and can be locked in multiple angular positions, said spindles (501, 601) are configured as follows: - Support the star-shaped member (100) such that at least one first stator slot (106) of the star-shaped member (100) can be approached and touched by the manipulator (400) of the coil (4), and - Rotate the star-shaped member (100) by an angle (E) corresponding to an angle that allows at least one second stator slot (106) to be approached and touched by the manipulator (400) of the coil (4), and may deform the coil (4) at a portion (4c) between the linear portions (4a, 4b) during step E. - A manipulator (400) for the coil (4), the manipulator (400) being configured to perform step D by inserting a first linear portion (4b) of the coil (4) into a corresponding stator slot (106) and constraining a second linear portion (4a) of the same coil (4), and to perform step F by inserting the second linear portion (4a) of the coil (4) into a corresponding stator slot (106). -The main shaft is capable of intermittent rotation, alternating with the operation of the manipulator (400) for inserting the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil (4).

22. The apparatus (500, 600) according to claim 21, wherein, The winding tool (20) includes a support frame (21) that supports a series of corner elements (23), wherein each corner element (23) in the series is arranged approximately along the edge of an ideal parallelepiped, and wherein each series of corner elements (23) is spaced apart from each other to define a corresponding series of winding chambers (24) to accommodate the wires (14) forming the coil (4).

23. The apparatus (500, 600) according to claim 21 or 22, comprising a wire guiding device (150), said wire guiding device (150) including an axial guide (151), wherein a plurality of wire guiding tubes (152) are slidable along said axial guide (151) in a controlled manner and independently of each other, wherein, Each wire guide tube (152) passes through and guides a layer formed by one or more wires (14, 14'), which is used to form a ring.

24. The apparatus (500, 600) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a pressing device (300) for pressing the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil (4), comprising a plate (301) having a series of inclined planes (303) adapted to contact the linear portions (4a, 4b) to be pressed.

25. The apparatus (500, 600) according to any one of the preceding claims includes a heating device (30') for performing hot carburizing treatment of the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil (4), comprising one or more heating elements (31), the heating elements (31) preferably being induction type, the heating elements (31) being shaped and arranged to be insertable between the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil (4).

26. The apparatus (500, 600) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein, The manipulator (400) of the coil (4) includes a first clamp (401) or upper clamp and a second clamp (402) or lower clamp, wherein the lower clamp (402) is configured to remove a first linear portion (4b) of the coil (4) from the winding tool (20) to constrain the first linear portion (4b) and spring it into a first stator slot (106), and wherein the upper clamp (401) is configured to remove a second linear portion (4a) of the coil (4) from the winding tool (20) to constrain the second linear portion (4a) and spring it into a second stator slot (106).

27. The apparatus (500) as claimed in claim 26, wherein, The upper gripper (401) and the lower gripper (402) are movable relative to each other between the following positions: -Initially coplanar position, the coil (4) does not deform at the initial coplanar position, and - Multiple staggered positions, at which the clamps (401, 402) are in different planes and / or at different heights, to allow the linear portion (4b, 4a) of the coil (4) to be inserted into the stator slot (106) at different angular positions of the star (100) of the assembled stator (S1) each time.

28. The apparatus (500, 600) according to claim 26 or 27, wherein, The grippers (401, 402) are provided with a pop-out element (407) operable to pop out the linear portion (4a, 4b) of the coil (4) from the grippers (401, 402) so that the linear portion (4a, 4b) can be inserted into the stator slot (106).

29. The device (500) according to any one of the preceding claims, comprising a support structure (502) and a carriage (505), wherein the main shaft (501) is constrained to the support structure (502), and the carriage (505) is movable relative to the main shaft (501) and / or the support structure (502) between the following positions: - In the first position, the carriage (505) does not obstruct the main shaft (501), and the star-shaped member (100) supported on the main shaft (501) is not restricted by the carriage (505). - Second position, in which the carriage (505) extends around the main shaft (501) and surrounds the star-shaped member (100) supported on the main shaft (501).

30. The apparatus (500) according to claim 29, wherein, The carriage (505) has an inner cylindrical surface (508) that is complementary to the star-shaped member (100) supported on the main shaft (501) and opens outward at a longitudinal opening (509) through which the manipulator (400) of the coil (4) is inserted to accommodate the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil (4) in the corresponding stator slots (106) of the star-shaped member (100).

31. The apparatus (500) according to claim 30, further comprising a closing device (510) configured to temporarily and upon command close the longitudinal opening (509).

32. The apparatus (500) as claimed in claim 31, wherein, The closing device (510) is a sliding or drawer-type device mounted on the carriage (505) and is provided with a panel (511) that is movable between the following positions: - In the retracted position, the panel (511) does not obstruct the longitudinal opening (509), thereby allowing the manipulator (400) to be inserted through the longitudinal opening (509) into the stator slot (106) of the star-shaped member (100) supported on the main shaft (501), and - Forward position, in which the panel (511) blocks the longitudinal opening (509) to prevent the linear portions (4a, 4b) of the coil (4) from dislodging from the stator slot (106).

33. The apparatus (600) according to any one of claims 21-28, comprising a system (610) for operating a sector (110) of a yoke (101”), the system (610) being provided with at least one gripper (620) having jaws (621, 622) movable to grip / release the sector (110) of the yoke (101”), wherein, The clamp is movable to a position for releasing the sector (110), where the sector (110) is anchored to the star (100) and closes one or more stator slots (106) of linear portions (4a, 4b) provided with coils (4).

34. The apparatus (600) of claim 33, comprising one or more fastening elements (611) transportable by an operating system (610) with each sector (110) of the yoke (101”) and configured to constrain the sectors (110) of the yoke (101”) to the spindle (601) during stator (S2) assembly, the fastening elements (611) being removable after assembly.

35. The apparatus (600) according to claim 34, wherein, The fastening element (611) is forked, engaging the two longitudinal ends of the sector (110) of the yoke (101”), and is capable of being inserted into a corresponding recess (605) on the main shaft (601) to span the linear portion (4a, 4b) of the coil (4) inserted into the stator slot (106) of the star (100).

36. The apparatus (600) according to claim 35, wherein, The fork-shaped element (611) engages the sector (110) of the corresponding yoke (101”) and has at least one tooth (611”) that can be inserted into a recess (605) of the spindle (601), wherein the spindle (601) includes at least one lever (612), and the tooth (611”) snaps into the corresponding lever (612), and wherein the lever is movable to release the tooth (611”) and allow the corresponding fork-shaped element (611) to be released.

37. The apparatus (600) according to claim 36, wherein, The recesses (605) for inserting the fork-shaped elements (611) are arranged circumferentially on the spindle (601) at a pitch proportional to or corresponding to the pitch between the sectors (110) of the yoke (101”), and the spindle includes at least one lever (612) for each recess (605), the lever (612) oscillating about a pin (613) which is counteracted by a spring (613'), and is provided with teeth (612') for engaging the teeth (611”) of the corresponding fork-shaped elements (611).

38. The apparatus (600) according to claim 37, wherein, The main shaft (601) is cylindrical, the lever (612) is arranged radially on the main shaft (601), and the pin (613') is arranged tangentially, i.e. orthogonally to the corresponding lever (612).

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