Twisting assembly for wires of inductive windings and the like
A twisting assembly for wires of inductive windings that comprises a fixed frame. The assembly comprises: at least two bushings provided with respective channels and each of which defines at least one seat for at least one respective wire; at least one upper shaped portion which is provided, on at least one upper surface of at least one bushing, with a conveyance chute for the terminal front of at least one wire; at least one element for moving the at least two bushings for the rotation of at least one first bushing with respect to at least one second bushing for the temporary alignment of at least one upper shaped portion of at least one first bushing with at least one channel of at least one second bushing which is open toward the first bushing.
1 . A wire-twisting assembly for wires inductive windings, comprising:
a fixed frame;
a carousel, rotatably supported on the fixed frame and having an axis of rotation:
a first bushing and a second bushing, each bushing being cylindrical and extending along the axis of rotation, the first and second bushings being coaxial and arranged in contiguous relation:
wherein the first bushing defines a plurality of first channels extending substantially parallel to the axis of rotation and defining respective first wire seats, each first wire seat being open toward the second bushing:
where the second bushing defines a plurality of second channels extending substantially parallel to the axis of rotation and defining respective second wire seats, each second wire seat being open toward the first bushing;
the second bushing further including a plurality of shaped portions formed on an upper surface thereof, each shaped portion defining a conveyance chute configured to guide a terminal end of at least one wire toward and into a corresponding first channel of the first bushing; and
at least one drive element configured to rotate the first bushing and second bushing relative to one another about the axis of rotation,
wherein relative rotation between the first and second bushings selectively aligns the shaped portions of the second bushing with the first channels of the first bushing to facilitate insertion of the terminal end of the at least one wire into the first channel.
2 . The wire-twisting assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the first channels and the second channels face one another upon relative rotation of the first and second bushings, such that the channels are selectively aligned.
3 . The wire-twisting assembly according to claim 1 , wherein each of the first channels and the second channels includes an inlet end, having flared edges configured to facilitate insertion of the terminal end of the at least one wire.
4 . The wire-twisting assembly according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one drive element is configured to impart both rotational and axial movement to the first and second bushings to selectively move the first and second bushings between: an inactive configuration, in which the one of the first bushing or the second bushing that is radially outermost is positioned at a different axial height relative to the other of the first bushing or the second bushing to permit accommodation of substantially straight wires in the respective channels, and a twisting configuration, in which the first and second bushings are positioned at a same height, and are substantially coplanar, such that straight wires accommodated in the first and second channels are arranged according to a geometry of a desired inductive winding.
5 . The wire-twisting assembly according to claim 4 , further comprising, for each of the first and second bushings, guide elements interposed between the respective bushing and the fixed frame, wherein said guiding elements are configured to permit rotation of the respective bushing about the axis of rotation and axial translation of the respective bashing along the axis of rotation, the rotation and axial translation being limited to respective predefined angular and axial ranges.
6 . The wire-twisting assembly according to claim 1 , wherein at least one of the shaped portions is substantially wedge-shaped and comprises a pair of opposing inclined faces that converge upward toward an apex.
7 . The wire-twisting assembly according to claim 6 , wherein each inclined face defines a respective chute configured to guide the terminal end of said at least one wire into a corresponding first channel of said first bushing, the corresponding first channel being open toward an edge.
8 . The wire twisting assembly according to claim 7 , further comprising an inner flared surface positioned to face a radially innermost first bushing; and an outer flared surface positioned to faces a radially outermost first bushing, wherein each of the inner and outer flared surfaces is configured to guide the terminal end of the at least one wire into a corresponding first channel of the respective radially innermost and outermost first bushings.
9 . The wire-twisting assembly according to claim 8 , wherein the inner flared surface and the outer flared surface are fixed to the fixed frame.
10 . A method of twisting wires for inductive windings, comprising:
providing a fixed frame;
rotatably supporting a carousel on the fixed frame, the carousel having an axis of rotation;
providing a first cylindrical bushing and a second cylindrical bushing, the first and second bushings being coaxial and arranged in contiguous relation along the axis of rotation;
defining a plurality of first channels in the first bushing, each channel extending substantially parallel to the axis of rotation and defining a first wire seat open toward the second bushing;
defining a plurality of second channels in the second bushing, each channel extending substantially parallel to the axis of rotation and defining a second wire seat open toward the first bushing;
forming a plurality of shaped portions on an upper surface of the second bushing, each shaped portion defining a conveyance chute configured to guide a terminal end of at least one wire toward and into a corresponding first channel of the first bushing; and
rotating at least one of the first bushing or the second bushing relative to the other of the first bushing or the second bushing about the axis of rotation to selectively align the shaped portions of the second bushing with the first channels of the first bushing, thereby facilitating insertion of the terminal end of the at least one wire into the first channel.
11 . The method off twisting according to claim 10 , wherein, simultaneously with the rotation of the bushings, said bushings are moved axially along the axis of rotation, such that an axial height of each innermost bushing is equal to or greater than an axial height of the next immediately outer bushing.
12 . The method off twisting according to claim 10 , wherein, in a full-twist configuration, the bushings have equal axial heights.
13 . The method off twisting according to claim 10 , further comprising a preliminary step of radially aligning all channels of said bushings that define said wire seats.
14 . The method off twisting according to claim 10 , wherein said second bushings comprise a plurality, each second bushing being contiguous with at least one respective first bushing, the first bushing being coaxial with the second bushing and arranged in either an internal configuration or an external configuration.