Transformer Core Butt Joint Design Reduces Lamination Scrap
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing transformer cores often result in unnecessary scrap of lamination material due to notched mitered joints between yokes and the center leg, necessitating improvements in design to minimize material waste.
Innovation Solution
A transformer design featuring a center leg oriented at a non-zero angle relative to the yoke planes, with butt joints between the center leg and yokes, reducing material waste and optimizing flux paths.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If notched mitered joints are used between yokes and center leg, then the transformer core can be assembled, but unnecessary scrap of lamination material occurs
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of cutting notches into the yoke to accommodate the center leg (conventional approach), the patent inverts the approach by making the center leg fit into a recess in the yoke. This inversion eliminates the need for notches and reduces material scrap while maintaining assembly capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the geometric parameters of the joint configuration. By specifying that the center leg has a width less than the distance between opposite surfaces of the yoke, and by creating a recess in the yoke to receive the center leg, the joint geometry is optimized to eliminate material waste while ensuring proper assembly.
2Loss of substance
If butt joints are used between center leg and yokes, then material waste is reduced, but the joint configuration becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The yoke is segmented by creating a recess that divides the yoke structure into portions that accommodate the center leg. This segmentation allows for a butt joint configuration that reduces material waste while the recess provides clear manufacturing guidelines for assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
By changing the geometric parameters to create a recess in the yoke with specific dimensions (width less than the distance between opposite surfaces), the patent achieves a butt joint configuration that simplifies the overall structure while reducing material waste. The parameter changes make the joint configuration more straightforward rather than more complex.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The design minimizes material scrap and enhances magnetic flux path efficiency by using butt joints instead of notched mitered joints, improving the overall performance and efficiency of the transformer core.
Implementation Method 1
a first yoke formed of a plurality of first yoke laminations oriented parallel to a first plane; a second yoke formed of a plurality of second yoke laminations oriented parallel to the first plane; a center leg formed of a plurality of leg laminations oriented parallel to a second plane
Data Source
AI summary
A unique transformer includes a first yoke formed of laminations oriented parallel to a first plane; a second yoke formed of laminations oriented parallel to the first plane; and a center leg formed of laminations oriented parallel to a second plane oriented at a non-zero angle relative to the first plane. The center leg includes a first end. The first yoke and the second yoke are in contact with the center leg at the first end. The transformer includes a coil disposed about the center leg, and a butt joint between the center leg and at least one of the first yoke and the second yoke.