Method for loading and unloading workpieces

• US 5,494,230 A
• Filed: 12/05/1994
• Issued: 02/27/1996
• 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:
  US08/349,248
• Time in Patent Office: 449 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. A method of placing unwound shafted motor armatures in a fixed axis collet of an armature winding machine and removing wound armatures therefrom, said method comprising:

providing a staging assembly movable horizontally between a first location adjacent said collet and a second location remote from said collet, said staging assembly including a first armature shaft gripping assembly for removing wound armatures from the machine collet and a second armature shaft gripping assembly for placing unwound armatures in the machine collet, said gripping assemblies being mutually spaced laterally with respect to said collet axis, said first gripping assembly having a first armature shaft gripping device facing toward said collet, and said second gripping assembly having a second armature shaft gripping device facing toward said collet, both said first and second gripping devices being constructed to hold armature shafts with their axes lying in a horizontal plane coinciding with the horizontal plane containing the collet axis,

and repeatedly performing the following sequence of operations;

A. locating a first unwound armature in a predetermined, generally horizontal rest position on a first pallet below the level of the collet axis, with the first unwound armature vertically aligned with the staging assembly when the staging assembly is at said second location,

B. positioning the staging assembly at said second location with a first wound armature held by said first armature shaft gripping assembly,

C. elevating the first pallet to bring the first unwound armature adjacent said second assembly and gripping the first unwound armature shaft at its end remote from the machine by said second armature shaft gripping assembly,

D. lowering the empty first pallet,

E. moving said staging assembly in a horizontal direction to position said first assembly over said first pallet and elevating said first pallet to a position adjacent said first assembly,

F. transferring said first wound armature to said first pallet by releasing it from said first gripping device and again lowering said first pallet to enable removal of said first wound armature to another location for further processing,

G. moving the staging assembly toward the winding machine and arresting its movement upon reaching the first location,

H. extending said first gripping device from said first assembly to grip the shaft of a newly wound second wound armature in said collet, releasing the grip of said collet and retracting said first gripping device to thereby remove said second wound armature horizontally from the collet,

I. moving the staging assembly laterally with respect to the axis of said collet to align the axis of the first unwound armature held in said second gripping device with the axis of said collet,

J. extending the second gripping device toward the collet and inserting the shaft of the first unwound armature into the collet,

K. gripping the shaft of the first unwound armature by the collet,

L. releasing the shaft of the first unwound armature from the second assembly by opening the second gripping device,

M. retracting the second gripping device from the collet,

N. locating a second unwound armature in said predetermined, rest position on a second pallet with the second unwound armature vertically aligned with the staging assembly when the staging assembly is at said second location, and

O. returning the staging assembly to said second location with said second assembly remaining in said vertical plane, whereby the second assembly is positioned over said second unwound armature and thereby ready to receive said second unwound armature, and whereby said second wound armature is held by said first assembly in readiness to be placed on said second pallet.

2. A method according to claim 1 wherein the steps of moving said staging assembly toward the winding machine and returning said staging assembly to said second location are accomplished by mounting said staging assembly on a telescoping motion doubling beam and reciprocally moving said motion doubling beam in a direction parallel to the axis of said collet.

3. A method of placing unwound shafted motor armatures in a fixed axis collet of an armature winding machine and removing wound armatures therefrom, said method comprising:

providing a staging assembly movable horizontally between a first location adjacent said collet and a second location remote from said collet, said staging assembly including a first armature shaft gripping assembly for removing wound armatures from the machine collet and a second armature shaft gripping assembly for placing unwound armatures in the machine collet, said gripping assemblies being mutually spaced laterally with respect to said collet axis, said first gripping assembly having a first armature shaft gripping device facing toward said collet, and said second gripping assembly having a second armature shaft gripping device facing toward said collet, both said first and second gripping devices being constructed to hold armature shafts with their axes lying in a horizontal plane coinciding with the horizontal plane containing the collet axis,

and repeatedly performing the following sequence of operations;

with a wound armature gripped by the gripping device of said first assembly, locating an unwound armature in a predetermined, generally horizontal rest position on a conveyor below the level of the collet axis at said second location, with the shaft axis of the unwound armature lying in a vertical plane coinciding with said collet axis,

elevating the unwound armature adjacent said second assembly and gripping the unwound armature shaft at its end remote from the machine by said second armature shaft gripping assembly,

moving said staging assembly in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the vertical plane to position the wound armature gripped by the gripping device of said first assembly over the rest position previously occupied by said unwound armature,

releasing said wound armature from said first gripping device and lowering said wound armature to said conveyor,

moving the staging assembly toward the winding machine and arresting its movement upon reaching the first location,

extending said first gripping device from said first assembly to grip the shaft of a newly wound armature in said collet, releasing the grip of said collet and retracting said first gripping device to thereby remove the newly wound armature horizontally from the collet,

moving the staging assembly laterally with respect to the axis of said collet to align the axis of the unwound armature held in said second gripping device with the axis of said collet,

extending the second gripping device toward the collet and inserting the shaft of the unwound armature into the collet,

gripping the shaft of the unwound armature by the collet,

releasing the shaft from the second assembly by opening the second gripping device,

retracting the open second gripping device away from the collet, and

returning the staging assembly to said second location with said second assembly remaining in said vertical plane, whereby the second assembly is ready to receive another unwound armature from said conveyor and place the newly wound armature carried by the first assembly onto the conveyor.

4. A method according to claim 3 wherein the steps of moving said staging assembly toward the winding machine and returning said staging assembly to said second location are accomplished by mounting said staging assembly on a telescoping motion doubling beam and reciprocally moving said motion doubling beam in a direction parallel to the axis of said collet.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the step of locating an unwound armature in a predetermined, generally horizontal rest position on a conveyor below the level of the collet axis at said second location is accomplished by depositing said unwound armature on a pallet and conveying said pallet to said second location on said conveyor and said step of releasing said wound armature from said first gripping device and lowering said wound armature to said conveyor includes the step of depositing said wound armature on the same pallet from which said unwound armature was removed.

6. A method of placing unwound shafted motor armatures in a fixed axis collet of an armature winding machine and removing wound armatures therefrom, said method comprising:

providing a staging assembly movable horizontally between a first location adjacent said collet and a second location remote from said collet, said staging assembly including a first armature shaft gripping assembly for removing wound armatures from the machine collet and a second armature shaft gripping assembly for placing unwound armatures in the machine collet, said gripping assemblies being mutually spaced laterally with respect to said collet axis, said first gripping assembly having a first armature shaft gripping device facing toward said collet, and said second gripping assembly having a second armature shaft gripping device facing toward said collet, both said first and second gripping devices being constructed to hold armature shafts with their axes lying in a horizontal plane coinciding with the horizontal plane containing the collet axis,

and repeatedly performing the following sequence of operations;

A. locating a first unwound armature in a predetermined position on a conveyor below the level of the collet axis, with the first unwound armature vertically aligned with the staging assembly when the staging assembly is at said second location,

B. positioning the staging assembly at said second location with a first wound armature held by said first armature shaft gripping assembly and with said second shaft gripping assembly vertically aligned with said first unwound armature,

C. elevating the first unwound armature to bring the first unwound armature adjacent said second assembly and gripping the first unwound armature shaft at its end remote from the machine by said second armature shaft gripping assembly,

D. transferring said first wound armature to said predetermined position to enable removal of said first wound armature to another location for further processing,

E. moving the staging assembly toward the winding machine and arresting its movement upon reaching the first location,

F. extending said first gripping device from said first assembly to grip the shaft of a newly wound second wound armature in said collet, releasing the grip of said collet and retracting said first gripping device to thereby remove said second wound armature horizontally from the collet,

G. extending the second gripping device toward the collet and inserting the shaft of the first unwound armature into the collet,

H. gripping the shaft of the first unwound armature by the collet,

I. releasing the shaft of the first unwound armature from the second assembly by opening the second gripping device,

J. retracting the second gripping device from the collet,

K. transferring the staging assembly to said second location with said second assembly positioned over said predetermined position on the conveyor;

L. during said preceding steps C through K locating a second unwound armature in said predetermined position on said conveyor, so that said staging assembly, upon return to said second location, is thereby ready to receive said second unwound armature, and whereby said second wound armature is held by said first assembly in readiness to be transferred to said predetermined position on the conveyor; and

M. moving the staging assembly laterally back and forth with respect to the axis of said collet during the preceding steps A through L as needed to enable steps A through L to be performed.

7. A method according to claim 6 wherein the steps of moving said staging assembly toward the winding machine and returning said staging assembly to said second location are accomplished by mounting said staging assembly on a telescoping motion doubling beam and reciprocally moving said motion doubling beam in a direction parallel to the axis of said collet.

8. The method of claim 6 wherein the step of locating an unwound armature in a predetermined, generally horizontal rest position on a conveyor below the level of the collet axis at said second location is accomplished by depositing said unwound armature on a pallet and conveying said pallet to said second location on said conveyor and said step of releasing said wound armature from said first gripping device and lowering said wound armature to said conveyor includes the step of depositing said wound armature on the same pallet from which said unwound armature was removed.