General Electric Company

Gustave F Wiedemann

David Michael Pierre

Lynn E Bradtmueller

Ronnie G Smitley

David M Erdman

Harold B Harms

John L Oldenkamp

An operator sequentially inserts into an automated system for making armatures for electrodynamic machines loaded magazines containing a required number of hairpin conductors for an armature to be made, an armature core comprising a plurality of substantially aligned laminations preassembled to form the core and a commutator, and removes armatures completed by assembling these components. All the insertion and removal steps are performed from an operator's position such that operation of the system embodying the present invention is easily and conveniently performed even though the components and completed armatures can be of substantial weight. The use of a hairpin magazine, including the hairpin conductors required for an armature, permits simultaneous transfer of all the hairpin conductors into upper twist tooling wherein upper ends of the hairpin conductors adjacent end turn portions of the conductors are moved apart relative to one another. The frog leg conductors thus formed are removed from the upper twist tooling and inserted into slots of an armature core which has been earlier inserted into the system. The frog leg conductors are fully pressed through the armature core into lower twist tooling which then is operated to move the ends of the conductors extending beyond the armature core away from one another and into alignment with other conductors for insertion into a commutator for the armature, which commutator was earlier placed into the system. The commutator is properly positioned beneath the armature core which is then pressed onto the commutator. The completed armature is moved to the operator's position where the operator removes the completed armature and replaces it with a commutator for the next armature. The operator continues to insert components of armatures into the system and removes completed armatures made up by assembling the components so inserted.

Method for making armatures for electrodynamic machines

Apparatus for making armatures for electrodynamic machines

A drive system for a laundry machine utilizing a switched reluctance motor of three or more phases and with stator/rotor pole ratios selected from the ratios of 6:4 and 8:6 with the actual number of poles being a multiple of 2 or more times those numbers. A stator/rotor gap of 10-20 mils is maintained in large diameter motors and cooling for the coils and electronic components positioned within the motor is provided.

Gearless direct drive switched reluctance motor for laundry application

A method of continuously forming edgewise wound cores from a strip of generally thin ferromagnetic material at at least one operation station therefor having a means for receiving the cores. The receiving means includes a pair of separable means adapted for association with each other and separation, and a set of supporting means is operable generally in one of the separable means for movement between retracted and protracted positions, respectively. In the practice of this method, the continuous strip is deformed generally edgewise thereof into a plurality of helical convolutions at the at least one operation station. The separable means are separated from each other, and thereby the operation of the supporting means toward the protracted positions thereof is effected. A part of each supporting means is extended beyond the one separation means when the supporting means are in the protracted positions thereof, and at least some of the helical convolutions are received generally in an axial stack thereof about the one separable means on the supporting means parts when the supporting means are in the protracted positions thereof, respectively.

Method of forming edgewise wound cores

Apparatus for forming edgewise wound cores from a continuous strip of generally thin ferromagnetic material has means operable generally for deforming the continuous strip into a plurality of generally helical convolutions thereof, and means is arranged for receiving the deformed helical convolutions from the deforming means and for accumulating the deformed helical convolutions into a generally axial stack thereof. The receiving and accumulating means includes a pair of relatively movable means associated with each other and operable generally for separation, and a set of means operable in one of said relatively movable means toward a preselected position for supporting at least some of the deformed helical convolutions received on said one relatively movable means when the other of said relatively movable means is separated therefrom, respectively.

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New Haven, IN, United States of America

Gustave F Wiedemann