Patent ID: 7271690

Claim:
A method for manufacturing an inductor, said method comprising the steps of: providing a nonconductive tube having a first end and a second end, with said tube having an outer surface and defining a tube axis, and with said tube having a cylindrical inner surface distanced from said tube axis by a radial distance, R; providing a first saddle and a second saddle; fastening the first end of the tube to the first saddle, with said first saddle abutting the outer surface and the inner surface of the tube; fastening the second end of the tube to the second saddle, with said second saddle abutting the outer surface and the inner surface of the tube; mounting a first clamp to the first saddle and a second clamp to the second saddle; forming a groove in said outer surface, said groove extending substantially helically about said tube axis; winding a wire extending from a first end to a second end around said tube to create a plurality of turns, with at least a portion of said wire disposed in said groove to maintain said wire in a predetermined shape with a predetermined separation between adjacent turns during a generation of magnetic forces created by electrical currents passing through said wire; clamping said first end of said wire with the first clamp at a first clamping point distanced from said tube axis by a radial distance, r, with r>R; and clamping said second end of said wire with the second clamp.