Apparatus for loading and unloading workpieces

• US 5,372,319 A
• Filed: 08/10/1993
• Issued: 12/13/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 10/03/1989
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Globe Products Incorporated
• Original Assignee: Globe Products Incorporated
• Inventors: Dolgas, Patrick A.
• Primary Examiner(s): MATECKI, KATHERINE A
• Application Number:
  US08/104,890
• Time in Patent Office: 490 Days
• Field of Search: 242/7.05 B, 242/7.01, 242/7.05 R, 242/7.05 A, 242/1.1 R, 414/225, 414/226, 414/751, 414/753, 901/6, 901/7, 198/346.2, 198/468.2, 29/596
• US Class Current: 242/433.4
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 15/00 Methods or apparatus specially adapted for manufacturing, assembling, maintaining or repairing of dynamo-electric machines
• CPC Class Codes: H02K 15/09 by laying conductors into slotted rotors
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49009 Dynamoelectric machine

Abstract

A method and an apparatus for successively loading workpieces, such as unwound armature assemblies, along a predetermined axis into a workpiece processing machine using an elongate main beam and a staging assembly with workpiece grippers connected to the main beam by a motion multiplier.

Claims

1. Apparatus for successively loading unwound armature assemblies, each comprising a coil-receiving core mounted on an armature shaft, into an armature winding machine that winds coils of wire onto the armature core in accordance with a coil winding process and that has gripping means for holding the armature shaft on a predetermined axis while an armature is being wound by the machine, and unloading wound armature assemblies from the same armature winding machine, said apparatus comprising:

a stationary mounting member;

an elongate beam;

means mounting said beam on said stationary mounting member for movement in a first path parallel to said axis;

beam drive means for reciprocally moving said beam along said first path generally toward and away from said gripping means;

a support carriage;

means mounting said support carriage on said beam for movement of said carriage relative to said beam in a second path parallel to said axis and to said first path;

carriage drive means for reciprocally moving said support carriage relative to said beam along said second path generally toward and away from said gripping means;

an armature staging assembly comprising armature clamp means for gripping the shafts of armatures and means for actuating and releasing said clamp means; and

staging assembly mounting means mounting said staging assembly on said support carriage.

2. The apparatus for claim 1 wherein said armature clamp means comprises a first clamp that grips the shafts of unwound armatures and a second armature clamp that grips the shafts of wound armatures, and wherein said armature staging assembly further comprises means for mounting said armature clamps for movements along mutually parallel paths that are parallel to or coincident with said axis, and means for moving said armature clamp means relative to said carriage along said mutually parallel paths.

3. The apparatus for claim 1 wherein said staging assembly mounting means mounts said staging assembly on said support carriage for movement of said staging assembly along a third path perpendicular to said axis, and said apparatus further comprises staging assembly drive means for reciprocally moving said staging assembly along said third path.

4. The apparatus of claim 1 wherein said carriage drive means comprises a motion doubler connected to said carriage and to said beam that causes said support carriage to move twice as far and twice as fast as said beam.

5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein said motion doubler comprises a pair of pulleys mounted in spaced relation to one another on said beam, a timing belt encircling said beam and extending around said pulleys, a first clamp connecting said timing belt to said carriage, and a second clamp connecting said timing belt to said mounting member.