Patent ID: 8726493

Claim:
Clamping system of special conductors for a stator or rotor bar winding for an electric machine, the clamping system being suitable for clamping said special conductors during a twisting step and/or a step of picking up such conductors from a twisting device, the clamping system comprising: a system axis (T-T); a plurality of grippers aligned or adapted to be aligned along a circumference lying on a plane substantially perpendicular to the system axis (T-T), each gripper including a pair of jaws or holding arms mounted so as to be mobile in a plane transversal to said system axis (T-T); and actuation elements of the grippers adapted to be activated to make each gripper take up: (a) an operative clamping configuration, in which said holding arms are relatively closer together to clamp on two opposite sides a portion of at least one of said special conductors, and (b) an operative release configuration, in which said holding arms are relatively farther apart to release said portion of the special conductor; said clamping system being characterized in that: each of said grippers comprises a gripper body slidably mounted along a sliding direction (R) transversal to the system axis (T-T), the gripper body including a body portion to which said holding arms are hinged and being suitable for taking up a position relatively more advanced towards the system axis (T-T) when the gripper takes up said clamping configuration, and a position relatively more set back with respect to said advanced position when the gripper takes up said release configuration; and each of said grippers comprises closing elements and opening elements of the holding arms of the grippers, said closing elements comprising a forced passage arranged frontally to each pair of holding arms and suitable for engaging such arms during the sliding of the gripper body towards said advanced position to make the gripper take up said clamping configuration, and said opening elements comprising elastic elements connected to said pair of holding arms and suitable for spreading apart such arms while the gripper slides towards said set back position leaving the forced passage so as to allow the gripper to take up said release configuration.