Automatic armature winding

Claim 2

In a method of automatically winding armatures wherein armatures are wound and lead wire connections are formed at a winding station and a wound armature is removed from the winding station and replaced by an unwound armature, the method of handling a wire used in winding the armatures at the termination of the winding of the wound armature and the start of the winding of the unwound armature comprising the steps of hooking the wire about a commutator tang adjacent the wound armature, clamping the wire immediately adjacent said tang, cutting the wire between the tang and the portion thereof which is clamped, removing the wound armature and replacing it at the winding station by the unwound armature, looping the wire completely around a commutator tang of the unwound armature while maintaining the wire clamped, and cutting the wire between the last mentioned tang and the portion thereof which is clamped.

Claim 3

In a method of automatically winding armatures wherein armatures are wound and lead wire connections are formed at a winding station and a wound armature is removed from the winding station and replaced by an unwound armature, the method of handling a wire used in winding the armatures at the termination of the winding of the wound armature and the start of the winding of the unwound armature comprising the steps of hooking the wire about a commutator tang adjacent the wound armature, clamping the wire immediately adjacent said tang, cutting the wire between the tang and the portion thereof which is clamped, removing the wound armature and replacing it at the winding station by the unwound armature, looping the wire completely around a commutator tang of the unwound armature while maintaining the wire clamped, and cutting the wire between the last mentioned tang and the portion thereof which is clamped.

Claim 4

In a method of automatically winding armatures wherein armatures are wound and lead wire connections are formed at a winding station and a wound armature is removed from the winding station and replaced by an unwound armature, the method of handling a wire used in winding the armatures at the termination of the winding of the wound armature and the start of the winding of the unwound armature comprising the steps of hooking the wire about a commutator tang adjacent the wound armature, clamping the wire immediately adjacent said tang, cutting the wire between the tang and the portion thereof which is clamped, removing the wound armature and replacing it at the winding station by the unwound armature, looping the wire completely around a commutator tang of the unwound armature while maintaining the wire clamped, and cutting the wire between the last mentioned tang and the portion thereof which is clamped.

Claim 5

The method of claim 1 wherein the wire is first cut by a cutter advancing toward the core of the wound armature, the movement of the cutter during and after the cutting of the wire causing the wire to be bent toward the armature core partially around said first mentioned tang.

Claim 6

The method of claim 1 wherein the wire is cut the second mentioned time by a cutter moving away from the core of the unwound armature, such movement of the cutter causing the wire to be bent away from the armature core partially around the tang of the unwound armature.

Claim 7

The method of claim 1 wherein the wire is hooked to the first mentioned tang by rotating a flier used in winding coils in the armature in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the flier when winding coils.

Claim 8

The method of claim 4 wherein an abutment is placed adjacent the first mentioned tang after the wire is hooked thereto, and the flier is then rotated in the same direction of movement when winding coils to extend the wire over a surface of the abutment, and wherein the wire is clamped to said surface of the abutment.

Claim 9

The method of claim 1 wherein the wire adjacent the first mentioned tang is engaged by movable clamp means after the wire is hooked thereto, and the wire is drawn by said movable clamp means to a fixed clamp means.

Claim 10

The method of claim 1 wherein the wire is looped about the last mentioned tang by rotating a flier used in winding coils in the armature in a first direction which is opposite to the direction of movement of the flier when winding coils, thereby to hook the wire about the rear face of the last mentioned tang, and then rotating the flier in the same direction of movement when winding coils while preventing the wire from becoming unhooked, thereby causing it to bend around the front of the last mentioned tang.

Claim 11

The method of claim 7 wherein the wire is prevented from becoming unhooked by moving a tang shield into covering relation to the last mentioned tang, the tang shield having a surface confronting and spaced from the armature core along which the wire is guided over the front of the last mentioned tang.

Claim 12

The method of claim 8 wherein the shield is movable axially of the armature shaft to shield and expose the tangs, the shield being advanced toward the core to shield the last mentioned tang.

Claim 13

The method of claim 8 wherein the shield has at least one notch in the surface thereof confronting the core, the shield being mounted for rotation about the axis of the armature shaft, and wherein the shield is rotated to move it into shielding relation to the tang.

Claim 14

In a method of automatically winding armatures of the type having a slotted armature core and a commutator mounted upon an armature shaft, the end of said commutator confronting the armature core having as many wire lead receiving tangs as there are coils, said tangs having a front surface generally facing toward said armature core and a rear surface generally facing away from said armature core, the method being of the type wherein such armatures are wound and lead wire connections are formed at a winding station and a wound armature is removed from the winding station and replaced by an unwound armature, the winding of coils in the armature slots being done by a pair of rotating fliers with each of which is associated a wire strand used in forming the coils and the lead wire connections for a plurality of successively wound armatures, the method of cutting the wire strands between a wound armature and an unwound armature comprising the steps of hooking said wire strands about the rear faces of a pair of spaced commutator tangs associated with the wound armature, clamping both of said wire strands adjacent said tangs, severing said wire strands between the points where said wires are clamped and said tangs, maintaining the clamping of said wire strands as the wound armature is removed and replaced by an unwound armature, wrapping said wire strands about a pair of commutator tangs of the unwound armature in preparation for the winding of coils in slots of said unwound armature, and again cutting said wire strands between the clamped portions thereof and said last mentioned pair of commutator tangs.

Claim 15

In a method of automatically winding armatures of the type having a slotted armature core and a commutator mounted upon an armature shaft, the end of said commutator confronting the armature core having as many wire lead receiving tangs as there are coils, said tangs having a front surface generally facing toward said armature core and a rear surface generally facing away from said armature core, the method being of the type wherein such armatures are wound and lead wire connections are formed at a winding station and a wound armature is removed from the winding station and replaced by an unwound armature, the winding of coils in the armature slots being done by a pair of rotating fliers with each of which is associated a wire strand used in forming the coils and the lead wire connections for a plurality of successively wound armatures, the method of cutting the wire strands between a wound armature and an unwound armature comprising the steps of hooking said wire strands about the rear faces of a pair of spaced commutator tangs associated with the wound armature, clamping both of said wire strands adjacent said tangs, severing said wire strands between the points where said wires are clamped and said tangs, maintaining the clamping of said wire strands as the wound armature is removed and replaced by an unwound armature, wrapping said wire strands about a pair of commutator tangs of the unwound armature in preparation for the winding of coils in slots of said unwound armature, and again cutting said wire strands between the clamped portions thereof and said last mentioned pair of commutator tangs.

Claim 16

In a method for successively winding armatures with the use of an armature winding machine of the type having at least one rotating flier for laying wire into pairs of armature slots to form coils therein, the flier and the armatures being manipulated as required to form coils in successive pairs of slots and to hook wire leads about commutator tangs between the winding of coils in an armature, a wound armature being removed from the armature winding machine after the winding thereof is complete and replaced by an unwound armature, the method of handling the wire between the winding of armatures including the steps of stopping the flier adjacent a commutator tang at a first position after the winding of the last of The coils to be wound by the flier in an armature, hooking the wire about the last mentioned tang by rotating the flier to a second position in a direction opposite to the direction it rotates when winding coils, placing an abutment adjacent the tang and rotating the flier in the same direction it is rotated when winding coils back to approximately the first position to extend the wire over a surface of the abutment, clamping the wire to the surface of the abutment, cutting the wire between the tang and the portion thereof clamped to the abutment, removing the wound armature from the winding machine and replacing it by an unwound armature, positioning the abutment with the wire clamped thereto between the commutator and the core of the unwound armature with the wire between the abutment and the flier extending across the front of a commutator tang, rotating the flier in the said opposite direction back to approximately the second position to hook the wire about the last mentioned tang, again rotating the flier in the same direction as it is rotated when winding coils while guiding the wire over the front of the tang, whereupon the wire is completely looped about the last mentioned tang, and cutting the wire between the portion thereof clamped to the abutment and the last mentioned tang.

Claim 17

In a method for successively winding armatures with the use of an armature winding machine of the type having at least one rotating flier for laying wire into pairs of armature slots to form coils therein, the flier and the armatures being manipulated as required to form coils in successive pairs of slots and to hook wire leads about commutator tangs between the winding of coils in an armature, a wound armature being removed from the armature winding machine after the winding thereof is complete and replaced by an unwound armature, the method of handling the wire between the winding of armatures including the steps of stopping the flier adjacent a commutator tang at a first position after the winding of the last of The coils to be wound by the flier in an armature, hooking the wire about the last mentioned tang by rotating the flier to a second position in a direction opposite to the direction it rotates when winding coils, placing an abutment adjacent the tang and rotating the flier in the same direction it is rotated when winding coils back to approximately the first position to extend the wire over a surface of the abutment, clamping the wire to the surface of the abutment, cutting the wire between the tang and the portion thereof clamped to the abutment, removing the wound armature from the winding machine and replacing it by an unwound armature, positioning the abutment with the wire clamped thereto between the commutator and the core of the unwound armature with the wire between the abutment and the flier extending across the front of a commutator tang, rotating the flier in the said opposite direction back to approximately the second position to hook the wire about the last mentioned tang, again rotating the flier in the same direction as it is rotated when winding coils while guiding the wire over the front of the tang, whereupon the wire is completely looped about the last mentioned tang, and cutting the wire between the portion thereof clamped to the abutment and the last mentioned tang.

Claim 18

In the winding of an armature of the type having a slotted armature core and a commutator with tangs on the end thereof confronting said core, each of said tangs having a front surface facing the core and a rear surface facing away from the core with an armature winding machine of the type having at least one rotating flier for laying wire into pairs of armature slots to form coils therein, the method of handling the wire used in winding the armature at the beginning of the winding, the wire being the front adjacent its free end at a predetermined location adjacent the armature and extending to the flier from said location across the front face of a preselected tang about which a start wire is to be connected, said method including the steps of rotating the flier in a direction to cause the wire to be hooked to said tang while maintaining the wire clamped, the wire extending from said location across the front face of said tang and across the rear face of said tang to said flier, placing shield means adjacent said tang effective to guide the wire over the front face of said tang when said flier is rotated in a direction opposite to said first mentioned direction, and rotating said flier in a direction opposite to said first mentioned direction while retaining said shield means over said tang whereupon the wire is caused to be extended over the front face of said tang, the wire thus being completely looped about said tang.

Claim 19

In the winding of an armature of the type having a slotted armature core and a commutator with tangs on the end thereof confronting said core, each of said tangs having a front surface facing the core and a rear surface facing away from the core with an armature winding machine of the type having at least one rotating flier for laying wire into pairs of armature slots to form coils therein, the method of handling the wire used in winding the armature at the beginning of the winding, the wire being the front adjacent its free end at a predetermined location adjacent the armature and extending to the flier from said location across the front face of a preselected tang about which a start wire is to be connected, said method including the steps of rotating the flier in a direction to cause the wire to be hooked to said tang while maintaining the wire clamped, the wire extending from said location across the front face of said tang and across the rear face of said tang to said flier, placing shield means adjacent said tang effective to guide the wire over the front face of said tang when said flier is rotated in a direction opposite to said first mentioned direction, and rotating said flier in a direction opposite to said first mentioned direction while retaining said shield means over said tang whereupon the wire is caused to be extended over the front face of said tang, the wire thus being completely looped about said tang.

Claim 20

The method of claim 13 further including the step of cutting the wire between the clamped end thereof and the tang by cutter means moving in a direction to cause the cut end of the wire to be bent around said tang.

Claim 21

The method of claim 14 wherein said cutter means is moved in a direction substantially normal to the armature shaft.

Claim 22

The method of claim 14 wherein the cutter means is moved in a direction substantially parallel to the armature shaft and away from the armature core.

Claim 23

The method of claim 13 wherein said shield means is mounted for movement axially of the armature shaft, said shield means being placed adjacent said tang by moving it axially toward the armature core and over said tang.

Claim 24

The method of claim 13 wherein said shield means surrounds the commutator and is mounted for rotation about the axis of the armature shaft, said shield means having a forward edge confronting the armature core with at least one notch therein for exposing said tang, said shield means being placed adjacent said tang by rotating it to move said notch away from said tang.

Claim 25

In the winding of an armature of the type having a slotted armature core and a commutator with tangs on the end thereof confronting the armature core, each of the tanGs having a front surface facing the armature core and a rear surface facing away from the armature core, the method of attaching the finish wire leading from a coil wound in a pair of slots in the core to a preselected one of the tangs and severing the finish wire between the tang and a flier used in winding the coil while maintaining control of the wire at all times comprising the steps of stopping the rotation of the flier at the end of the winding of the coil at a first stop position, rotating said flier in a direction opposite to the direction in which it was rotated to wind the coil to thereby extend the wire across the rear face of said tang, positioning an abutment between said tang and the free end of the flier and on the side of said tang opposite from said core, rotating said flier back to approximately said first stop position to thereby extend said wire over said abutment, clamping the wire to said abutment in preparation for the cutting of the wire adjacent said tang, severing said wire by cutter means, and extending the cut end of the portion of wire severed from the flier partially around said tang.

Claim 26

In the winding of an armature of the type having a slotted armature core and a commutator with tangs on the end thereof confronting the armature core, each of the tanGs having a front surface facing the armature core and a rear surface facing away from the armature core, the method of attaching the finish wire leading from a coil wound in a pair of slots in the core to a preselected one of the tangs and severing the finish wire between the tang and a flier used in winding the coil while maintaining control of the wire at all times comprising the steps of stopping the rotation of the flier at the end of the winding of the coil at a first stop position, rotating said flier in a direction opposite to the direction in which it was rotated to wind the coil to thereby extend the wire across the rear face of said tang, positioning an abutment between said tang and the free end of the flier and on the side of said tang opposite from said core, rotating said flier back to approximately said first stop position to thereby extend said wire over said abutment, clamping the wire to said abutment in preparation for the cutting of the wire adjacent said tang, severing said wire by cutter means, and extending the cut end of the portion of wire severed from the flier partially around said tang.

Claim 27

In the winding of an armature of the type having a slotted armature core and a commutator with tangs on the end thereof confronting the armature core, each of the tangs having a front surface facing the armature core and a rear surface facing away from the armature core, the method of attaching the finish wire leading from a coil wound in a pair of slots in the core to a preselected one of the tangs and severing the finish wire between the tang and a flier used in winding the coil while maintaining control of the wire at all times comprising the steps of stopping the rotation of the flier at the end of the winding of the coil at a first stop position, rotating said flier in a direction opposite to the direction in which it was rotated to wind the coil to thereby extend the wire across the rear face of said tang, positioning an abutment between said tang and the free end of the flier and on the side of said tang opposite from said core, rotating said flier back to approximately said first stop position to thereby extend said wire over said abutment, and clamping the wire to said abutment in preparation for the cutting of the wire adjacent said tang, and severing said wire by cutter means, said cutter means being moved in a direction to cause the cut end of the wire to be bent around said tang after being clamped to said abutment.

Claim 28

In the winding of an armature of the type having a slotted armature core and a commutator with tangs on the end thereof confronting the armature core, each of the tangs having a front surface facing the armature core and a rear surface facing away from the armature core, the method of attaching the finish wire leading from a coil wound in a pair of slots in the core to a preselected one of the tangs and severing the finish wire between the tang and a flier used in winding the coil while maintaining control of the wire at all times comprising the steps of stopping the rotation of the flier at the end of the winding of the coil at a first stop position, rotating said flier in a direction opposite to the direction in which it was rotated to wind the coil to thereby extend the wire across the rear face of said tang, positioning an abutment between said tang and the free end of the flier and on the side of said tang opposite from said core, rotating said flier back to approximately said first stop position to thereby extend said wire over said abutment, and clamping the wire to said abutment in preparation for the cutting of the wire adjacent said tang, and severing said wire by cutter means, said cutter means being moved in a direction to cause the cut end of the wire to be bent around said tang after being clamped to said abutment.

Claim 29

The method of claim 19 wherein said cutter means is moved in a direction substantially normal to the armature shaft after said wire is clamped to said abutment.

Claim 30

The method of claim 19 wherein said cutter means is moved in a direction substantially parallel to the armature shaft and toward the armature core after said wire is clamped to said abutment.

Claim 31

In the winding of an armature of the type having a slotted armature core and a commutator with tangs on the end thereof confronting the armature core, each of the tangs having a front surface facing the armature core and a rear surface facing away from the armature core, the method of attaching the finish wire leading from a coil wound in a pair of slots in the core to a preselected one of the tangs and severing the finish wire between the tang and a flier used in winding the coil while maintaining control of the wire at all times comprising the steps of stopping the rotation of the flier at the end of the winding of the coil at a first stop position, rotating said flier in a direction opposite to the direction in which it was rotated to wind the coil to thereby extend the wire across the rear face of said tang, clamping the wire between said tang and the flier in preparation for the cutting of the wire adjacent said tang, severing said wire by cutter means, and bending the cut end of the wire severed from said flier partially around said tang, all of the foregoing steps being conducted prior to removing said flier from the position it occupies during the winding of the coils by said flier.

Claim 32

In the winding of an armature of the type having a slotted armature core and a commutator with tangs on the end thereof confronting the armature core, each of the tangs having a front surface facing the armature core and a rear surface facing away from the armature core, the method of attaching the finish wire leading from a coil wound in a pair of slots in the core to a preselected one of the tangs and severing the finish wire between the tang and a flier used in winding the coil while maintaining control of the wire at all times comprising the steps of stopping the rotation of the flier at the end of the winding of the coil at a first stop position, rotating said flier in a direction opposite to the direction in which it was rotated to wind the coil to thereby extend the wire across the rear face of said tang, clamping the wire between said tang and the flier in preparation for the cutting of the wire adjacent said tang, severing said wire by cutter means, and bending the cut end of the wire severed from said flier partially around said tang, all of the foregoing steps being conducted prior to removing said flier from the position it occupies during the winding of the coils by said flier.

Claim 33

The method of claim 23 wherein the wire is clamped by engaging a portion thereof by movable means and moving said movable means and the wire into engagement with a relatively fixed member, the wire thereby being brought into position for engagement by said cutter means.

Claim 34

The method of claim 23 wherein the step of clamping the wire is accomplished by moving an abutment adjacent to the wire between said tang and the flier, rotating the flier to extend the wire over said abutment and clamping the wire to said abutment.