Patent Abstract:
A method of manufacturing armature windings for an electromechanical machine, includes manufacturing a band of conductor elements with at least one layer, formation of windings on a tool and installation of the windings into an armature. The method results in a highly uniform winding, increased fill percentage in slots, improved electrical efficiency, lower material cost and labor consumption for manufacturing and complete automation of production.

Full Description:
[0001]     This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) to U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 60/669,735, filed Apr. 8, 2005, which is expressly incorporated by reference herein. 
     
    
     BACKGROUND  
       [0002]     This disclosure relates to anchor windings for various electromechanical machines of small and medium size, for example automobile generators, electrical DC and AC motors both round, arc and linear for driving various equipment, etc. in which windings are placed in slots of an iron core. There are numerous disadvantages of prior designs, namely, the majority of windings for small and medium size electrical machines are manufactured using round wire which is not capable of providing highly uniform winding, causes high electrical losses, low copper fill in slots and requires complex and labor consuming operations while being manufactured.  
         [0003]     Other prior designs describe various designs for stators of electrical machines, mostly automotive generators, formed of rectangular or square cross sectional wire. Such wire can be laced into the stator core winding slots in a very densely packed configuration. This allows larger cross sectional areas to be provided for the conductors, thus lowering the winding&#39;s resistance. Reducing the stator core winding resistance improves efficiency. Such rectangular wire core designs are said to improve “slot space utilization”.  
         [0004]     Further other designs describe a stator winding which includes a plurality of U-shaped segment conductors and forms two coil ends which project from two end surfaces of the stator iron core in axial directions respectively, the segment conductors including U-shaped turn portions respectively. The U-shaped turn portions are located in one of the two coil ends, and ends of the segment conductors are located in the other of the two coil ends; wherein the ends of the segment conductors are connected at joint portions which are arranged in a multiple-ring shape.  
         [0005]     Still further prior designs describe rectangular conductors placed in stator slots, in particular each of electric conductors which are accommodated in one of slots and are adjacent to one another are bent. This invention includes not less than four conductors per slot, stacked only in a radial direction.  
         [0006]     Another prior design describes the main difference being that the stator has two end surfaces, in an axial direction of said iron core, which are formed such that one of the two end surfaces has openings constituting second slot openings through which said electric conductors are inserted into said slots, end portions of said electric conductors being bent in circumferential directions at positions immediately outward of said second openings.  
         [0007]     Yet other prior designs describe variants of technology having conductors with square or rectangular cross section in slots and round in the front end zones.  
         [0008]     Still yet other designs describe multi-phase stator winding, comprised of independent sets of three-phase windings, each being wound on the armature core by being inserted in the slots so that the n sets of three-phase windings are shifted from each other by an electrical angle of π/(3n) radians. Also, a design is described comprised of first and second sets of three-phase windings wound respectively being inserted in said plurality of slots so that the respective sets of three-phase windings are arranged with a phase difference of electrical angle of π/6 radians therebetween;  
         [0009]     Further prior designs describe similar solutions based on utilization of U-shaped segments for multi-phase stator winding. In particular, different layers arranged in a depth direction of each slot, and conductor segments are insulated from each other. This multi-phase stator is suggested for use together with a Lundel-type rotor.  
         [0010]     Yet other prior designs describe utilization of the given design to achieve good air cooling for the stator using in front end zones a cooling air passageway; two ventilation passages are provided at both axial ends of the field rotor.  
         [0011]     Still yet other prior designs describe various technologies for manufacturing windings with square or rectangular conductors.  
         [0012]     Other prior designs describe the method of welding a plurality of pairs of connection ends of a plurality of segments of a circumferentially disposed stator winding of a rotary electric machine.  
         [0013]     Further other prior designs describe a design and method for manufacturing a winding in which two continuous electrical conductors per phase are positioned into a predetermined pitch of the winding slots, and extend from the lead side and non-lead side of the core.  
         [0014]     A major disadvantage of the above design and method of manufacturing is the requirement to make many welding connections—two connections per slot for two-layer winding and four connections per slot for four-layer winding. These connections have to be made in a very limited space making manufacturing labor consuming and expensive.  
         [0015]     Moreover other prior designs describe a stator having a polyphase stator winding comprising a number of winding sub-portions in each of which a long strand of wire is wound so as to alternately occupy an inner layer and an outer layer in a slot depth direction within said slots at intervals of a predetermined number of slots, the strand of wire folding back outside the slots at axial end surfaces of the stator core, wherein winding subportions are constituted by at least one winding assembly.  
         [0016]     These designs reduce the amount of necessary welding, however at the expense of a more complicated process of stator manufacturing.  
         [0017]     Therefore, there is a need in the art for a method for manufacturing armature windings for electromechanical machines that overcomes the disadvantages of the prior art, provides highly uniform winding, increased copper fill in slots, improved motor efficiency, lower material costs and labor consumption for manufacturing and provides the opportunity for automated production.  
       SUMMARY  
       [0018]     The present disclosure is directed to a highly uniform winding with high copper fill, free from numerous welding connections. The many embodiments allow manufacturing of different types of windings, including wave winding, lap winding and mixed winding with number of layers “n” (where “n” is any number starting from  1  and number of conductors “m” (where “m” is any number starting from 1). The embodiments described herein can also be used to manufacture armature winding for DC and AC electrical machines, also for other types of special machines for example linear and arc stators for motors, magneto-hydrodynamic pumps, etc.  
         [0019]     A useful effect is achieved due to the winding being made from a preliminarily manufactured one layer or a multi-layer band comprised of connected conductor elements. This band can be made in several ways, including, without limitation, cutting, stamping or otherwise forming from a sheet or a pipe constructed from electro-conductive material, for example copper, aluminum or any other suitable material, by placing a long conductor of any cross sectional shape or winding the conductor on a mandrel, having a flat, round or other suitable cross-sectional shape.  
         [0020]     Winding conductors configured with square or rectangular cross-sectional shape instead of conventional round typically increases the slot fill by 20-25%. Other cross-sectional shapes may also be used as required. Further, conductors configured with a changeable cross-section along its length with respect to a position in the slot height can provide an additional 10-15% depending on the specific geometry of the slot zone of the electro-mechanical machine armature.  
         [0021]     The band of winding conductor elements may be placed in a special mandrel for winding manufacturing. During this process, conductors are separated into “n” groups (two groups minimum) depending on the required number of layers and the type of connection.  
         [0022]     When conductors are separated into at least two groups (for example all even conductors are defined in a first group while odd conductors are defined in a second group), central zones of conductors of the first group are inserted in slots of one section of the mandrel while central zones of conductors of the second group are inserted in another section of the mandrel. Slots hold central zones of conductors in a fixed position to prevent deformation in the following stages of winding formation.  
         [0023]     Winding formation may be made in one embodiment by shifting one section of the conductor elements (usually the central zones) associated with the mandrel relative to the other section of conductor elements (usually the central zones) associated with the mandrel such that the end zones of the conductors are deformed and that central zones of the conductor elements from different groups take a pre-determined alignment relative to one another. The winding formed in this embodiment may then be removed from the mandrel and inserted in the armature of the electromechanical machine.  
         [0024]     The above method is but one embodiment in the present disclosure and several modifications thereto are also disclosed herein. For example, in one embodiment, the band may be made from a non-insulated electro-conductive material and have an insulation material applied after the winding is formed. Moreover, it is possible to utilize an actual armature for an electromechanical machine as one section of the mandrel so that finalizing the formation of the winding may be accomplished by inserting the conductor elements into the slots of the armature.  
         [0025]     In another embodiment, the band comprised of connected conductor elements may be stretched according to the requirement for a specific electromechanical machine prior to placement in slots, thereby confirming that the central zones of conductor elements move without deformation and perpendicular to the conductor elements length while the end zones of the conductor elements are deformed as desired.  
         [0026]     Multi-layer windings may also be manufactured in one embodiment as a combination of two or more two-layer windings. 
     
    
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS  
       [0027]     Certain embodiments are shown in the drawings. However, it is understood that the present disclosure is not limited to the arrangements and instrumentality shown in the attached drawings, wherein:  
         [0028]     FIGS.  1 A-D show a sheet of electro-conductive material formed into a band of connected conductor elements by stamping the sheet.  
         [0029]      FIGS. 2A  and B show a band of connected conductor elements obtained by cutting electro-conductive material originally having a pipe-like configuration.  
         [0030]     FIGS.  3 A-C illustrate a band of connected conductor elements formed by winding electro-conductive material on a mandrel with subsequent deformation of the band.  
         [0031]     FIGS.  4 A-C show a band of connected conductor elements formed by winding electro-conductive material on a mandrel.  
         [0032]     FIGS.  5 A-C show a band of connected conductor elements formed by winding electro-conductive material on a mandrel with subsequent expansion of the band.  
         [0033]     FIGS.  6 A-D illustrate a band of connected conductor elements formed by structured placement of electro-conductive material.  
         [0034]     FIGS.  7 A-F show the steps to manufacture a winding from an electro-conductive material insulated on two sides.  
         [0035]     FIGS.  8 A-F show the steps to manufacture a winding from an electro-conductive material insulated on one side.  
         [0036]     FIGS.  9 A-D show prior art steps of filling an armature slot with a winding.  
         [0037]      FIGS. 9E  and F show conductor elements having different dimensional configurations for filling armature slots.  
         [0038]     FIGS.  10 A-D illustrate the steps to manufacture a band with conductor elements of variable geometry.  
         [0039]      FIGS. 11A  and B illustrate a band with openings formed therein.  
         [0040]     FIGS.  12 A-F illustrate the steps to manufacture a winding with conductor element central zones having a greater vertical extent than the conductor element end zones.  
         [0041]     FIGS.  13 A-F show the steps to manufacture a two-layer band of connected conductor elements.  
         [0042]     FIGS.  14 A-F show the steps to manufacture a three-layer band of connected conductor elements.  
         [0043]     FIGS.  15 A-C illustrate various mandrels or anchors for winding.  
         [0044]      FIG. 16  illustrates the step of disposing a band of connected conductor elements on a mandrel, anchor or armature for winding.  
         [0045]      FIGS. 17A  and B show a band of connected conductor elements disposed on the mandrel, anchor or armature.  
         [0046]      FIGS. 18A  and B show dividing the conductors into at least two groups.  
         [0047]      FIGS. 19A  and B show disposing one of the divided groups in the slots of the mandrel, anchor or armature.  
         [0048]      FIG. 20  illustrates one embodiment of an other section of the mandrel.  
         [0049]      FIGS. 21A  and B illustrate another embodiment of the other section of the mandrel.  
         [0050]      FIGS. 22A  and B illustrate another embodiment of the other section of the mandrel.  
         [0051]     FIGS.  23 A-C show the steps in formation of a two-layer wave winding.  
         [0052]      FIGS. 24A  and B illustrate a two-layer wave winding.  
         [0053]     FIGS.  25 A-C show the steps in formation of two-layer lap winding.  
         [0054]      FIGS. 26A  and B illustrate a two-layer lap winding.  
         [0055]     FIGS.  27 A-C show the steps in formation of an additional turn to the end zones of the two-layer lap winding.  
         [0056]      FIG. 28  illustrates a manufacturing process for a multi-layer winding including the formation of third and fourth layers.  
         [0057]     FIGS.  29 A-F show formation of a multi-layer winding in a step-by-step process.  
         [0058]     FIGS.  30 A-C show the end zones of various multi-layer windings.  
         [0059]      FIG. 31  illustrates the positioning of the multi-layer band on a mandrel or anchor for manufacturing four-layer mixed winding.  
         [0060]     FIGS.  32 A-C show multi-layer band of  FIG. 31  fitted to the other mandrel tooling to form a four-layer mixed winding.  
         [0061]      FIGS. 33A  and B illustrate electrical connection of the conductor elements in a four-layer mixed winding.  
         [0062]     FIGS.  34 A-D illustrate the steps in producing a multi-row, multi-layer winding.  
         [0063]      FIG. 35  shows a multi-layer, multi-row winding with a different number of rows in respective layers.  
         [0064]      FIG. 36  shows the stretching or expanding of the band of connected conductor elements.  
         [0065]      FIG. 37  shows steps of a process of placing the stretched or expanded band of connected conductor elements on the mandrel, anchor or armature.  
         [0066]      FIG. 38  shows the steps of a process of placing connected conductor elements on the mandrel, anchor or armature.  
         [0067]      FIGS. 39A  and B illustrate a formed band of connected conductor elements and deformation thereof to form a winding for installation on the armature.  
         [0068]     FIGS.  40 A-D illustrate a formed winding, compression thereof and installation into an armature.  
         [0069]     FIGS.  41 A-E show one embodiment of the steps in manufacturing a winding from a band of connected conductor elements on a flat mandrel, anchor or armature.  
         [0070]     FIGS.  42 A-D show another embodiment of the steps in manufacturing a winding from a band of connected conductor elements on a flat mandrel, anchor or armature.  
         [0071]     FIGS.  43 A-C illustrate formation of a cylindrical winding from the flat winding of FIGS.  41 A-E or  42 A-D. 
     
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS  
       [0072]     For the purposes of promoting and understanding the principles disclosed herein, reference will now be made to the preferred embodiments illustrated in the drawings and specific language will be used to describe the same. It will nevertheless be understood that no limitation of the scope is thereby intended. Such alterations and further modifications in the illustrated device and such further applications are the principles disclosed as illustrated therein as being contemplated as would normally occur to one skilled in the art to which the disclosure relates.  
         [0073]     Manufacturing a band  20  comprised of connected conductor elements  24  may be done in numerous different ways, only a few of which will be described herein, which shall not be interpreted in any limiting sense, in particular:  
         [0074]     Separating a whole piece of electro-conductive material  22 , for example a sheet or a pipe using suitable methods, for example stamping with any type of stamp or cutting using any known suitable tools. For example, in one embodiment as shown in FIGS.  1 A-D, a flat sheet of electro-conductive material  22  having a flat cross-section (see  FIG. 1C ) may be formed using any suitable method, including without limitation, stamping, forming or any other suitable forming method, into a band  20  including a plurality of conductor elements  24 . Each conductor element includes a central zone  26  and end zones  28  disposed at opposing ends of each central zone  26 .  
         [0075]     For example, in another embodiment as shown in  FIGS. 2A  and B, a generally tubular shape of electro-conductive material  22  may be formed using any suitable method, including without limitation, cutting, grinding, slitting, slicing or any other suitable forming method, into a band  20  including a plurality of conductor elements  24 . As shown in  FIG. 2A , the electro-conductive material  22  may be fitted over a mandrel  30  to support the electro-conductive material  22  while the wheel  32  cuts or forms gaps or slots  34  in the electro-conductive material  22  in order to define the conductor elements  24 . Similarly, in  FIG. 2B , the gaps or slots  34  are formed in the electro-conductive material  22  substantially parallel to the longitudinal axis for the electro-conductive material  22 .  
         [0076]     In another embodiment, electro-conductive material  22 , having longitudinally extended form in this embodiment and further having any suitable cross-section, may be wound on a mandrel  30 , which may have any desirable configuration, for example, flat, round or any other suitable cross-section. For example, in one embodiment as shown in FIGS.  3 A-C, a supply of electro-conductive material  22  is wrapped around a mandrel  30  having a generally round cross-section. After forming the electro-conductive material  22  to the mandrel  30 , the band of connected conductor elements  24  is removed from the mandrel  30  and placed between two surfaces  40 , which may be useful for further forming the band  20 . For example, in one embodiment, shown in  FIG. 3C , the surfaces  40  compress the band  20  so as to form a multi-layer (two in this instance) band of connected conductor elements  24 .  
         [0077]     In another embodiment, for example as shown in FIGS.  4 A-C, a supply of electro-conductive material  22  is applied onto and formed onto the generally rectangular shaped mandrel  30 . As shown in  FIG. 4B , the conductor elements  24  are created by fitting each turn of the electro-conductive material  22  side-by-side with the previous turn on electro-conductive material  22 . As shown in  FIG. 4C , the electro-conductive material  22  may have any suitable cross-section. For example, a horizontally prominent rectangle, a horizontally dominant oblong (rectangle with reliefs  42  formed at each comer as a bevel, facet, rounded angle or any other suitable relief) or a vertically dominant rectangle. It will be recognized by those of skill in the art that other cross-section configurations of the electro-conductive material may be used, such as tetragon, trapezium, trapezoid, parallelogram, rhombus, deltoid, square or any other suitable configuration.  
         [0078]     In another embodiment, for example as shown in FIGS.  5 A-C, a two-layer band  20  of connected conductor elements  24  may be formed by winding such electro-conductive material  22  on the mandrel  30 , which may have a complex cross-section. One of skill in the art will recognize the side-by-side relationship of the electro-conductive material  22  as it is wound on the mandrel  30 . As shown in  FIG. 5B , the mandrel  30  is removed leaving a multi-layer band  20 . As will be described in more detail below, as shown in  FIG. 5C , the band  20  is expanded in a direction  44  perpendicular to a longitudinal axis  46  of the conductor elements  24  so that the central zones  26  of the conductor elements  24  are displaced parallel and the end zones  28  are deformed so that the central zones  26  of each of the conductor elements  24  are disposed in a predetermined orientation relative to one another. In each of the foregoing, a two-layer band or winding may be obtained.  
         [0079]     In another embodiment, for example as shown FIGS.  6 A-D, a band  20  is formed by structured placement of at least one continuously extending electro-conductive material  22  to form the connected conductor elements  24 . It will be recognized by one of skill in the art that such structured placement may take any suitable form as necessary or desired for incorporation into the armature of an electromechanical machine. Such structured placement may be on a flat surface or a mandrel depending on the desired application. Additionally, it will be recognized by those of skill in the art, as likewise explained above, that the electro-conductive material  22  may have any suitable cross-section (for example as shown  FIGS. 6B  and D, or any other suitable configuration).  
         [0080]     In another embodiment, as shown in FIGS.  7 A-F and  8 A-F conductor element isolation may be accomplished by utilizing preliminary insulated (partially ( FIGS. 8A-8F ) or completely (FIGS.  7 A- 7 F)) conductor elements  24 . For example, a sheet or pipe may be formed from an electro-conductive material  22  coated with sufficiently elastic insulation  50  (for example, polyamide or any other suitable material) that won&#39;t be destroyed during stamping or other forming, as shown in FIGS.  7 A-E and  8 A-E. In this embodiment, after initial forming of the conductor elements  24  ( FIGS. 7D  and E and  8 D and E), a winding is formed, as will be described in detail below. When the winding is fitted to the armature  52  of the electro-mechanical machine, insulation  50  is present between conductor elements  24  due to insulation layers  50  applied to the surface of the electro-conductive material  22 , while non-insulated edges  54  (as a result of forming) will be isolated from electrical contact with the armature  52  by slot insulation  56  which may be formed from any suitable material and take any suitable form to provide the advantages disclosed herein. Wedge  58  likewise may be formed from an insulated material to electrically isolate the conductor elements  24  from the armature  52 . However, in the event that the conductor elements  24  are sufficiently insulated  50  and the slot insulation  56  isolates the conductor elements  24  from the armature  52 , the wedge  58  in certain applications may be formed from an electrically conductive material without adverse effect. As also shown in  FIGS. 7F and 8F  to avoid the possibility of short circuit, longitudinal edges  42  of conductor elements have reliefs  42  formed therein, preferably with a slightly round or facet configuration or any other suitable configuration that will not damage insulation  50  during forming.  
         [0081]     Alternatively, in another embodiment, the band may be formed as described above with a non-insulated material and the conductor elements may be insulated after forming using any conventional or suitable method, for example dipping the formed winding in lacquer before inserting it into the armature or any other suitable process.  
         [0082]     It is known that making a winding from conductors with square or rectangular cross-section shape ( FIGS. 9C  and D) instead of conventional round cross-section ( FIGS. 9A  and B) typically increases the slot fill by on 20-25%. However, as disclosed herein and shown in  FIGS. 9E  and F, in one embodiment an additional 10-15% filling ratio may be achieved depending on the specific geometry of the slot of the electromechanical machine armature by forming conductor elements  24  having different dimensional configurations. For example, the conductor elements  24  may vary the width, thickness, or any other parameter to achieve the desired slot fill or correspond to the slot of the armature.  
         [0083]     The process of manufacturing conductor elements  24  of different dimensional configurations within the same winding can be accomplished using any suitable process or method such as, for example, stamping, rolling or any other suitable process. In one embodiment, as shown in FIGS.  10 A-D a band  20  may be rolled ( FIGS. 10B  and C) to form a band  20  with conductor elements  24  having different dimensional configurations ( FIGS. 10A  and D). It will be recognized by those of skill in the art that the dimensional configurations that may differ are not limited to width, length or thickness. Rather, adjacent or series of conductor elements may have any different dimensional configuration as may be required by the design for the winding and the desired electrical performance parameters.  
         [0084]     In another embodiment, as shown in  FIGS. 11A  and B, openings  62  may be formed in the conductor element  24  during formation of the conductor element  24  or after the winding has been formed. When inserted in the armature  52  of the electromechanical machine, cooling channels  60  are defined by generally vertical alignment of the openings  62  of the winding, thereby enhancing heat transfer from the winding and armature, which is especially useful in connection with rotating armatures. The wedge  58  may likewise have a channel formed therein generally aligned with the cooling channels  60  to facilitate the flow of a fluid (preferably air in this embodiment, but not limited thereto) through the cooling channels  60  (i.e., take in cool air and expel heated air). It is within the teachings of this disclosure that the openings and cooling channels may be configured in any suitable manner as necessary to provide the desired performance and advantages as disclosed herein. Accordingly, those of skill in the art will recognize the numerous embodiments taught by this disclosure.  
         [0085]     In another embodiment, as shown in FIGS.  12 A-F, it may be advantageous to use vertical conductor elements  24  with a first vertical extent  64  in the central zones  26  greater than a second vertical extent  66  in the end zones  28 . However, it is not easy to form the conductor element  24  central zones  26  of this embodiment using conventional forming processes or methods. In this embodiment, the conductor elements of  FIGS. 12A  and B may be formed by stamping from electro-conductive sheet material and thereafter, the central zones  26  may be twisted or rotated approximately 90 degrees (or other suitable rotation amount) that corresponds to the slots of the armature to which such winding is to be fitted ( FIGS. 12C , D, E and F). It will be recognized by those of skill in the art that the central zones may be modified in any manner or combination thereof as taught herein to provide the advantages of this disclosure.  
         [0086]     In other embodiments, as shown in FIGS.  13 A-F and FIGS.  14 A-F, bands  20  containing more than one layer may be formed for use as multi-layer windings. The bands  20  can be obtained by bending or folding the one-layer band  20  formed as described above, as shown in FIGS.  13 A-F and  14 A-F. In particular, as shown in  FIGS. 13A  and B and  FIGS. 14A  and B, the band  20  is formed in any manner as described above to define a plurality of conductor elements  24 . Such band  20  is then bent or folded, for example in half as shown in FIGS.  13 C-F, or in thirds as shown in FIGS.  14 C-F.  
         [0087]     Once a band is formed as per any of the above embodiments or others, further processing may be useful for incorporation of such band in an armature of an electromechanical machine to form a winding thereof.  
         [0088]     In one embodiment, the band  20  is placed on the armature  52  or a section of mandrel tooling  70  (which may be flat ( FIG. 15B ) or have a contoured surface ( FIG. 15A )) to form a winding. Without limitation, the armature  52  and mandrel tooling  70  will sometimes collectively be referred to herein as an anchor  72  for convenience and each will be recognized as an acceptable substitute or intermediary for the other. The anchor  72  preferably has a crenellated form defined on its outer surface, wherein the teeth or merlons  74  have a vertical extent greater than the slots or crenels  76  for formation of the winding. Generally, the slots  76  of the anchor  72  and the teeth  74  have a generally equal lateral spacing dimension or width. The band  20  is disposed on the anchor  72  such that the conductor elements  24  extending in one direction are disposed over the slots  76  and the conductor elements  24  extending in the opposite direction are disposed over the teeth  74  between slots  76 , as shown in  FIGS. 16 and 17 A and B.  
         [0089]     The next step, in one embodiment, as shown in  FIGS. 18A  and B and  19 A and B, is dividing the conductor elements  24  into at least two groups, for example by pressing conductor elements  24  located immediately above the slots  76  into such aligned slots  76  (as shown in  FIG. 18 ). In  FIG. 19 , one embodiment of the division step is illustrated, wherein certain conductors are pressed or formed into the slots  76  by a pusher  80  as the anchor  72  is rotated past the pusher  80  and is aligned with such slots  76 .  FIG. 19B  illustrates with different shading how alternating conductor elements  24  are fitted into the slots while the other conductor elements remain contiguous with the teeth of the anchor  72 .  
         [0090]     The next step, in one embodiment, as shown in  FIGS. 20-22 , is to cover the divided conductor elements  24  and anchor  72  with another section of the mandrel tooling  82  such that the central zones of conductor elements are fixed in slots  76 ,  86  and that the teeth  74 ,  84  are contiguous with opposed conductor elements  24  so that such conductor elements  24  remain fixed in their respective slots  76 ,  86 . The other section of the mandrel tooling  82  may be formed of two, three or more parts, each substantially as shown in  FIG. 20  as a caterpillar track ( FIGS. 21A  and B), an elastic but not stretchable band ( FIGS. 22A  and B) or any other suitable structure configured to perform the function disclosed above.  
         [0091]     Next, in another embodiment, as shown in FIGS.  23 A-C,  24 A and B,  25 A-C and  26 A and B, the divided groups of conductor elements  24  are shown in  FIGS. 23A and 25A . The other section of the mandrel tooling  82  or anchor has been fitted over the anchor  72  in  FIGS. 23B and 25B . The other section of the mandrel tooling  82  may then be moved relative to the internal section of mandrel tooling  70  a desired extent based on the phase group of the conductor elements  24  and the design of the electro-mechanical machine, such that the central zones of the conductor elements are not deformed and remain aligned in parallel, but the end zones of the conductor elements are deformed as shown in  FIGS. 24A and 26A . The extent of movement or twisting angle as shown in  FIGS. 23B and 25B  is close to the dimension of pole pitch and in other embodiments can be less or more than half of slot pitch. The extent of movement is preferably selected so that the conductor elements that are predetermined to occupy the same slot are superposed in space. As a result, in the embodiment shown in  FIGS. 23A and 24A  and B, a two-layer wave winding for an armature is formed with movement in direction  88  likewise with the conductor&#39;s direction, or in the embodiment shown in FIGS.  25 A-C and  26 A and B, a two-layer lap winding is formed with movement in direction  90  opposite to conductor&#39;s direction.  
         [0092]     During formation of lap winding, the end zones  28  of the conductor elements  24  are deformed in the direction opposite to conductor placing (to the left in  FIG. 27A ) such that the end zones  28  cross and are oriented substantially vertical ( FIG. 27B ) and thereby increase the space occupied by the end zones  28  (as shown in  FIGS. 27A  and B). This drawback can be overcome by additional rotation of end zones  28  at an angle from 0 to 180 degrees as shown in  FIG. 27C .  
         [0093]     In other embodiments, a winding may be required with more than two layers. There are several embodiments within this disclosure to address such a requirement. It will be recognized by those of skill in the art that other possible solutions are within the teachings of this disclosure. For example, a multi-layer winding may be manufactured as a combination of two-layer windings manufactured separately, as described above, or as a sequential process. As shown in FIGS.  28 ,  29 A-F and  30 A-C, the process described above may be repeated as many times as the number of layers desired divided by two, for example an eight-layer winding should repeat the above process four times. In particular, in  FIG. 28 , the multi-layer winding is formed by adding one layer of conductor elements  24  at a time to the anchor  72  until the slots  74  are filled. It will be recognized by one of skill in the art that the anchor  72  is rotated in direction  92  as the conductor elements  24  are set in direction  94  so that the conductor elements  24  may be disposed within the slots  74  to create a multi-layer winding. Additionally, in FIGS.  29 A-F, a two-layer winding is formed in the process set forth above in FIGS.  29 A-C. An additional two-layer winding is further added to the anchor  72  in  FIGS. 29D  and E. Finally, in  FIG. 29F , an additional two-layer winding has been added to the slot  74  of the anchor  72  as set forth in the process steps above. FIGS.  30 A-C, respectively, illustrate a view of the end zones of two-, four-, and eight-layer windings manufactured in accordance with the process set forth above.  
         [0094]     The mandrel tooling may also be moved in different directions during manufacture of the different layers of a multi-layer winding, one layer of the multi-layer winding is a wave winding and the next layer of the multi-layer winding is a lap winding or any other combination that may enhance the favorable electrical parameters of the electro-mechanical machine.  
         [0095]     In another embodiment, a multi-layer winding may be formed by simultaneous or sequential shifts in different layers of a pre-manufactured multi-layer band, such as a three-layer band  20  shown in FIGS.  14 C-F.  
         [0096]     The first layer  98  of conductor elements  24  of the band is disposed in slots  74  of an anchor  72  as shown in  FIG. 31 .  
         [0097]     The conductor elements  24  of the other band layers are disposed in slots  100  formed in cylindrical pipe-type mandrels  102  so that the central zones of each of the conductor elements  24  in each layer remain disposed in the respective slots  100  of one of the mandrels  102  as shown in FIGS.  32 A-C.  
         [0098]     Mandrels or anchors  70  together with conductor elements  24  disposed in the respective slots are moved a predetermined extent so that according to a desired scheme all conductor elements  24  that are to be placed in a given slot of the armature will be positioned one above the other as shown in  FIGS. 33A  and B.  
         [0099]     In certain embodiments, as shown in FIGS.  34 A-D and  35 , a winding with more than one row of conductor elements  24  in each layer is required to be disposed within a slot  76  of the armature. For example, a multi-row winding may be manufactured by disposing in each slot  76  of the anchor  72  more than one conductor in accordance with the process described above and as shown in FIGS.  34 A-D. It will be recognized by one of skill in the art that a multi-layer and multi-row winding having different numbers of rows in respective layers may also be manufactured based on this disclosure as shown in  FIG. 35 . One advantage of these embodiments is an increase in the slot fill relative to conventional constructions.  
         [0100]     It is also possible to manufacture winding with preliminary band stretching that will allow for deformation of conductors in the process of winding formation.  
         [0101]     In another embodiment, as shown in  FIGS. 36A  and B, after manufacturing using any method disclosed herein, the band  20  may be stretched or expanded to create required gaps between sequential conductor elements  24  and formation of the end zones  28  of the winding. Stretching or expanding may be in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the conductor elements in the central zone  26  so that the central zones  26  are displaced parallel and the end zones  28  are deformed so that the central zones  26  of different conductor elements  24  reside in predetermined positions relative to one another.  
         [0102]     The stretched or expanded band  20  may then be disposed on the anchor or cylindrical mandrel  72  for winding as shown in  FIG. 37 . The anchor or mandrel  72  has slots  76  corresponding to slots of the armature  52  that the predetermined conductor element  24  is intended to be associated with, and the teeth  74  between slots  76  are generally configured to have a dimension not less than a slot width. As described above with respect to disposing the band over the anchor or mandrel  72 , the conductor elements  24  are oriented so that those extending in one direction are positioned above the slots  76  while the conductor elements  74  extending in the opposite directions are placed on the teeth between slots as shown in  FIG. 37 .  
         [0103]     In one embodiment, the mandrel, anchor or armature may be moved around its axis “K” times where “K” is calculated according to the formula below:
 
 K=F×N 
 
         [0104]     Where  
         [0105]     F=number of phases  
         [0106]     N=number of conductors per pole and phase  
         [0107]     During this process, conductor elements may be divided into at least two groups: one including conductor elements to be placed in slots; and the other from conductor elements to be placed between slots on the teeth  74 . Another section of mandrel tooling  82  may be disposed (as shown in  FIGS. 20-22 ) on the conductor elements  24  disposed on the teeth  74 , so that the mandrels may be moved relative to one another equal to half of slot pitch such that predetermined conductors to be placed in the same slot are in superposition while ensuring that central zones of conductor elements are fixed while end zones are deformed resulting in a two-layer wave winding similar to that shown in  FIGS. 23 and 24 .  
         [0108]     In other embodiments, as shown in  FIG. 38 , the process for band manufacturing and placement or insertion may be combined, or the process for band manufacturing, placement and formation (at least partially) may also be combined. For example, a conductor element  24  having a required cross-section may be placed directly on the surface of a mandrel, anchor or armature  72  for winding as shown in  FIG. 38 . In one embodiment, the mandrel  72  may be turned, as shown by arrow  106 , in the desired direction as the dispensing roll  108  is moved back and forth, as shown by arrow  110 , and the mandrel is also moved, as shown by arrow  112  so that the end zones  28  of the conductor elements  24  may be formed.  
         [0109]     In another embodiment, a band  20  may be formed on a mandrel, as shown in  FIGS. 39A  and B, using any method described above and as a result is highly flexible because of the rhomboid shaped sections. The band  20  may be removed from the mandrel and transferred into an armature  52  as shown in FIGS.  40 A-D. Between the band removal and its placement into the armature  52 , it is possible to perform several auxiliary operations, for example insulation of conductor elements  24  in any suitable manner, improving the end zone shape, making compensating connections, winding tap connections, compressing the winding ( FIGS. 40B and 39B ), etc.  
         [0110]     Significant simplification of the above described methods may be especially useful in the production of medium scale electromechanical machines, wherein the band  20  may be manufactured in the form of a flat winding by placing the band in one of the above described ways on a flat mandrel (see FIGS.  41 A-E and FIGS.  42 A-D), moving conductor elements  24  relative to one another, removing the band  20  from mandrel  72 , folding the band  20  into a circle (as shown in FIGS.  43 A-C) (which is easy because of high flexibility of the band  20 ) and inserting the winding into the armature of the electromechanical machine as described above with respect to  FIG. 39 .  
         [0111]     Furthermore, while the particular preferred embodiments have been shown and described, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that changes and modifications may be made without departing from the teaching of the disclosure. The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only and not as limitation. The actual scope of the disclosure is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewed in their proper perspective based on the related art.

Technology Classification (CPC): 8