JP7484822B2 - Magnet Assembly Device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a magnet assembly device.

Conventionally, for example, when manufacturing a motor, a device is known for inserting magnets into a rotor core.

For example, Patent Document 1 describes a magnet assembly process in which magnets are assembled to the core part from a direction perpendicular to the axis. In this process, magnets are pressed into the press-in grooves of the core part and held in place. Patent Document 2 describes a method that uses magnets that are split in the insertion direction.

JP 2006-296045 A JP 2003-70214 A

Generally, when inserting magnets, it is necessary to avoid excessive impact to prevent demagnetization due to magnet damage. However, if the gap between the magnet and the core is set small for this purpose, it becomes necessary to assemble the magnets one by one in multiple steps (Figure 17), such as attracting, moving, inserting, separating, and retracting, which increases the number of labor hours.

Furthermore, if the number of magnets is increased by dividing them in the insertion direction using the method of Patent Document 2 to suppress eddy current loss and heat generation during rotor rotation (Figure 18), it becomes necessary to efficiently assemble a large number of magnets into the rotor core, further increasing the number of steps.

The present invention was created in light of this point, and its purpose is to provide a magnet assembly device and magnet assembly method that can reduce the number of actuators and efficiently insert and assemble magnet groups that are stacked in multiple tiers and arranged in multiple rows into a workpiece while preventing excessive shock.

(First Aspect)
The first aspect of the present invention is a magnet assembly device (1) that inserts and assembles a magnet (T) into an insertion hole (hW) formed in a workpiece. This device inserts multiple magnets stacked in multiple stages into one insertion hole, and includes a magnet supply pusher (11), a shutter (13), and an insertion arrow (15).

The magnet supply pusher pushes out a row of magnets from a group of magnets stacked in multiple tiers and arranged in multiple rows to an insertion preparation position.

The shutter is located at the bottom side of the insertion preparation position and can be opened and closed.

The insertion arrow is arranged to be able to descend from above the insertion preparation position, and descends when the shutter is opened, pressing down all the multiple magnets arranged at the insertion preparation position at once.

(Effect of the first aspect)
According to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to reduce the number of actuators and simplify the equipment. In addition, it is possible to efficiently insert and assemble magnet groups, which are stacked in multiple stages and arranged in multiple rows, into a workpiece while preventing excessive impact.

(Second aspect)

The second aspect of the present invention is a magnet assembly method (7) in which a magnet (T) is inserted into an insertion hole (hW) formed in a workpiece to be inserted and assembled. This method inserts multiple magnets stacked in multiple tiers into one insertion hole, and includes a magnet supply step (S1), a magnet extraction step (102), and a batch insertion step (S2).

In the magnet supply step, the magnet supply pusher (11) pushes out a row of magnets from a group of magnets stacked in multiple tiers and arranged in multiple rows to an insertion preparation position.

In the magnet extraction step (102), the magnet extraction arrow (53) slides the row of stacked magnets at the front of the extruded magnet group into the insertion preparation position.

In the batch insertion step, the insertion arrow (15), which is provided so as to be able to descend from above the insertion preparation position, descends when the shutter (13), which is provided so as to be able to open and close at the bottom side of the insertion preparation position, opens, and pushes down the multiple stages of magnets arranged at the insertion preparation position all at once.

(Effect of the second aspect)
According to the second aspect of the present invention, the same effects as those of the first aspect can be obtained.

FIG. FIG. FIG. FIG. 4 is a front view taken along a direction IV in FIG. 3 . FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the relationship between the temporary jig and a work to be inserted. FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of the position adjustment mechanism of FIG. 3 . 4 is an enlarged view showing the operation of the shutter in FIG. 3 . FIG. FIG. 9 is a plan view taken along the line IX in FIG. 8 . FIG. 9 is a view taken along the X direction in FIG. 8 (left side view). FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view showing the operation of the temporary assembly device. FIG. 5 is a schematic cross-sectional view showing the operation of the centering device. FIG. FIG. FIG. 7 is a flow diagram of a magnet assembling method (second embodiment). FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing a conventional magnet insertion process. Schematic diagram of multi-stacked magnets.

The following describes several embodiments of the present invention with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the "inserted workpiece" into which the magnet is inserted is the rotor core of an embedded magnet motor. Embedded magnet motors are used, for example, in three-phase brushless motors mounted on vehicles.

First Embodiment
The first embodiment is a "magnet assembly device X" that accurately and efficiently inserts and assembles a plurality of "magnets T" that are stacked in multiple layers in advance into an "insertion hole hW" that is formed parallel to the "axial direction Z" of an "inserted workpiece W."

Figure 1 shows a plan view of the workpiece W to be inserted, which is the subject of this invention. There are 16 insertion holes hW. In the plan view, two circumferentially adjacent insertion holes hW form a pair, and eight pairs of these insertion holes hW are arranged radially. The two magnets inserted into these two insertion holes hW form a magnet pair.

[Magnet assembly device]
2 shows a plan view of the magnet assembly device X. The magnet assembly device X includes a "temporary jig 1", a "temporary jig table 3" on which the temporary jig 1 is placed, a "temporary assembly device 5", a "centering device 7" on which the workpiece W is placed, and a "main assembly device 9".

[Magnet assembly]
In addition, in the magnet assembly according to the present invention, the work is divided into the following steps.
(1) The multi-stacked magnets are assembled to the temporary jig 1 by the temporary assembly device 5 (hereinafter referred to as "temporary assembly").
(2) Optimizing the position of the assembled stacked magnets (hereinafter referred to as "alignment").
(3) The temporary jig 1 after temporary assembly is moved to directly above the centering device 7 by the temporary jig table 3.
(4) The stacked magnets assembled to the temporary jig 1 by the final assembly device 9 are moved to the workpiece W to be inserted (hereinafter referred to as "final assembly").

<Temporary jig>
The temporary jig 1 is shown in a plan view in Fig. 3 and in a front view in Fig. 4. The temporary jig 1 has a "main body 11" that imitates the inserted workpiece W, a plurality of "engagement arms 13" that extend from the main body 11 and engage with the temporary jig table 3, eight "alignment mechanisms 15", a "severe guide 17" that is connected directly below the main body 11, a "shutter 19", and a "cam follower 191" for opening and closing the shutter 19, and is placed on the temporary jig table 3 via the engagement arms 12. The alignment mechanisms 5, the severe guides 17, the shutters 19, and the cam followers 191 will be described later.

Figure 5 shows a schematic cross-sectional view of the temporary jig 1. Note that the shutter 19 and cam follower 191 are omitted from Figure 5. The temporary jig 1 is configured by connecting a severe guide 17, which is a disk-shaped plate, to the bottom of the main body 11, and the thickness of the main body 11 is approximately the same as the thickness of the workpiece W to be inserted. The severe guide 17 guides the magnet T temporarily assembled to the main body 11 so as to optimize the position through which the magnet T passes before entering the insertion hole hW of the workpiece W to be inserted. The severe guide 17 has a "severe guide hole h17" and a "bump b17", and is connected directly below the main body 11. The clearance (gap) between the severe guide hole h17 and the magnet is relatively small.

When the temporary jig 1 is stacked on the workpiece W to be inserted, the positions of the holes are aligned. A rough guide hole h11 is located at a position on the temporary jig 1 that corresponds to the insertion hole hW of the workpiece W to be inserted. Its width is made wider than the width of the insertion hole hW so that the magnet T can easily enter during temporary assembly. The area around the entrance to the rough guide hole h11 has a gentle "slope g11" so that the magnet T entering from above is less likely to collide with the end of the hole. The rough guide hole h11 has a relatively large clearance with the magnet.

Directly below the rough guide hole h11, a "severe guide hole h17" is provided, sandwiching a mechanism (hereinafter "shutter mechanism") in which the shutter 19 and cam follower 191 are integrated. "Bumps b17" protrude from the inner walls on all four sides of the severe guide hole h17, narrowing the width of the space leading to the insertion hole hW of the inserted workpiece W. In this way, the bumps b17 guide the magnet T, which is pushed in from above, so that it is accurately pushed into the specified position of the insertion hole hW.

When the magnet T is inserted into the rough guide hole h11, the temporary jig 1 has a "fitting gap t11". On the other hand, when the magnet T is inserted into the insertion hole hW, the inserted workpiece W has a "fitting gap tW". In this case, the relationship between the two is "fitting gap t11 > fitting gap tW".

<Alignment mechanism>
6 shows an enlarged plan view of the alignment mechanism 15. The alignment mechanism 5 is for positioning the magnet pair inserted into the temporary jig 1 by bringing it into contact with the inner wall of a predetermined side of the rough guide hole h11, and has a "movable guide 151," a "spring 153," a "guide pusher 155," and an "adjustment bolt 157." The movable guide 151 is provided so as to be movable in the radial direction of the temporary jig 1, and its radially outer end is capable of coming into contact with the magnet pair and spreads in the circumferential direction.

The spring 153 biases the movable guide 151 in the radially outward direction. The guide pusher 155 adjusts the limit position of the magnet pair in the radially outward direction. The adjustment bolt 157 fine-tunes the position of the guide pusher 155. This allows the position of the magnet pair to be accurately aligned directly above the specified position of the insertion hole hW, making it possible to smoothly move on to the actual assembly.

<Shutter and cam follower>
Referring again to Fig. 3, Fig. 7 shows in plan view the movement of the shutter 19 when it is switched from the "closed state" (upper figure) to the "open state" (lower figure). The shutter 19 and the cam follower 191 are linked by a link mechanism (shutter mechanism), and during the actual assembly, the shutter 19 changes to the open state as soon as the cam follower 191 rotates in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 3.

<Temporary jig table>
The temporary jig table 3 is a circular table that can rotate around a rotation axis r while multiple temporary jigs 1 are placed on it, and moves the temporary jigs 1 from just below the temporary assembly device 5 to just below the main assembly device 9 (FIG. 2). In this embodiment, four temporary jigs 1 can be placed on it. A hole is provided just below the temporary jig 1 placement position on the temporary jig table 3. The temporary jig 1 is not placed directly on the temporary jig table 3, but is placed on the temporary jig table 3 by engaging multiple engagement arms with the temporary jig table 3 (FIG. 3). Therefore, when viewed from below, the bottom surface of the temporary jig 1 (severe guide 17 and shutter mechanism) can be seen.

<Temporary assembly device>
The temporary assembly device 5 is shown in a plan view in Fig. 8, a side view in Fig. 9, a front view in Fig. 10, and a perspective view showing the operation in Fig. 11. The temporary assembly device 5 includes a "magnet pusher 51", a "magnet cutting arrow 53", an "assembly shutter 55", an "insertion arrow 57", and a "drive motor 59".

The magnet pusher 51 pushes forward one row at a time the magnets that have been stacked in multiple layers and arranged in multiple rows. The magnet pusher 53 slides the row of multi-layered magnets in the front row of the pushed-out magnet group to the insertion preparation position (directly above the rough guide hole h11). The assembly shutter 55 is provided on the bottom side of the insertion preparation position so that it can be opened and closed.

The insertion arrow 57 is provided so that it can descend from above the insertion preparation position, and when the assembly shutter 55 opens, it descends and pushes down all of the row of stacked magnets T arranged at the insertion preparation position. The assembly shutter 55 and the insertion arrow 57 operate in conjunction with each other via a link mechanism.

[Temporary assembly]
The drive motor 59 has a plurality of motors, each of which drives the magnet pusher 51, the magnet extracting arrow 53, the assembly shutter 55, and the insertion arrow 57. This allows the magnet T to be inserted into the rough guide hole h11 of the temporary jig 1, and the magnets to be temporarily assembled to the temporary jig 1 while still stacked in multiple layers.

<Centering device>
12 shows an external perspective view of the centering device 7. When a three-dimensional coordinate system is defined in which a plane perpendicular to the axial direction Z of the inserted work W is the XY plane, the centering device 7 supports the inserted work W so that it can move parallel to the X, Y and Z directions, and also so that it can rotate around the axial direction Z (hereinafter referred to as being movable in the "θ direction"). This allows the inserted work W to float in the XYθ directions (hereinafter referred to as "XYθ floating"), making it easy to "center" the temporary jig 1 and the inserted work W (aligning the axes of the temporary jig 1 and the inserted work W to coincide).

Figure 13 shows a front cross-sectional view illustrating the operation of the centering device 7. The centering device 7 includes a "base table 71," a "center guide 72," a "center receiver 73," a "connecting shaft 74," a "floating table 75," a "guide shaft 76," a "steel ball 77," a "steel ball holding plate 78," and a "connecting pin 79."

A center guide 72 is fitted into the base table 71 of the centering device 7. A center receiver 73 is fitted into the center guide 72. At this time, the center of the center guide 72 and the center of the center receiver 73 are naturally aligned. In addition, a connecting shaft 74 is connected to the center guide 72 and is integrated with it.

A steel ball holding plate 78 capable of holding multiple steel balls 77 is placed on the upper surface of the center receiver 73, a floating table 75 is placed on the steel ball holding plate 78, and the workpiece W to be inserted is placed on the floating table 75. The floating table 75 is gently positioned with the center receiver 73 by a connecting pin 79 with a gap, allowing it to move smoothly.

Figure 14 shows a perspective view of the steel ball holding plate 78. The steel ball holding plate 78 is a disk-shaped plate with multiple round holes capable of holding steel balls 77 inside, and holds, for example, five steel balls 77 radially at 60 degree intervals from the center point of the plate. As a result, it is sandwiched between the center receiver 73 and the floating table 75, reducing the sliding resistance between them, and allows the floating table 75 to float freely above the center receiver 73 with the inserted workpiece W placed on it. This makes it easier to align it with the temporary jig 1.

The floating table 75 is fitted with multiple guide shafts 76. The base table 71 is provided with multiple through holes for the guide shafts 76 to pass through. By passing the guide shafts 76 through the multiple through holes, the floating table 75 is nested within the base table 71, but the two do not come into direct contact. From the bottom up, the base table 71, center receiver 73, steel ball holding plate 78, and floating table 75 are stacked in this order.

[Centering]
Referring again to Figure 13, initially, the temporary jig 1 is positioned on the centering device 7, and the workpiece W is positioned on the temporary jig table 3. When the connecting shaft 74 is lifted together with the center receiver 73 from this state, the guide shaft 76 is tapered so that its diameter gradually decreases, and so the guide shaft 76 is positioned inside the through hole at a point where its diameter is smaller than the through hole. This allows the lifted floating table 75 to move freely in the X, Y and θ directions.

When the workpiece W to be inserted is pressed against the temporary jig 1 in this state, the workpiece W moves in the XYθ directions following the horizontal position of the temporary jig 1. This makes the centering work easier, and the multi-stacked magnets can be assembled accurately and smoothly during actual assembly. Note that when the workpiece W to be inserted is aligned with the temporary jig 1, the center receiver 73 may shift from its original position in the XY directions, but this is automatically corrected when the center receiver 73 seats on the center guide 72 after the magnet is inserted.

<This assembly device>
15 shows a front view of the assembly device 9. The assembly device 9 includes a "temporary jig holder 91", a "lump-insertion arrow 93", a "drive motor 95", and a "shutter opening/closing motor 97". The temporary jig holder 91 fixes the temporary jig 1 on the temporary jig table 3. The lump-insertion arrow 93 is driven vertically by the drive motor 95, and when it descends, it pushes the magnet T temporarily assembled to the temporary jig 1 into the insertion hole hW of the workpiece W to perform the final assembly. The shutter opening/closing motor 97 grips and rotates the cam follower 191 of the temporary jig 1.

[Assembly]
First, the temporary jig 1 is fixed and centered by the temporary jig holder 91 carried by the temporary jig table 3, and the temporary jig 1 is aligned with the workpiece W to be inserted. Next, the drive motor 95 lowers the batch insertion arrow 93, and at the same time, the shutter opening and closing motor 95 rotates the cam follower 191 of the temporary jig 1 to open the shutter 19. As a result, the magnets T temporarily assembled to the temporary jig 1 are pushed into the insertion holes hW of the workpiece W to be inserted all at once. At this time, the magnets T pass through the severe guide holes h17 of the temporary jig 1, and are automatically adjusted in position to fit inside the insertion holes hW.

[Effects of the First Embodiment]
Generally, when inserting magnets, it is necessary to avoid excessive impact in order to prevent demagnetization due to magnet damage. Also, when dividing the magnets in the insertion direction to increase their number using the method of Patent Document 2 in order to suppress eddy current loss and heat generation during rotor rotation, it becomes necessary to efficiently assemble a large number of magnets into the workpiece W to be inserted.

In response to these problems with the conventional technology, by applying magnet insertion in a multi-stage process that introduces the temporary jig of the first embodiment, it is possible to reduce the number of actuators and simplify the equipment. In addition, it is possible to efficiently and accurately insert and assemble magnet groups that are stacked in multiple stages and arranged in multiple rows into the specified positions of the workpiece to be inserted, while preventing excessive impact from being applied.

Second Embodiment
The second embodiment is a method for assembling a magnet using the magnet assembling device according to the first embodiment. Fig. 16 shows a flow diagram of the magnet assembling method (second embodiment). The magnet assembling method of the present invention is a magnet assembling method 100 for inserting and assembling a magnet T into an insertion hole hW formed in a workpiece W, in which a plurality of magnets stacked in multiple stages are inserted into one insertion hole, and includes a magnet supply step 101, a magnet extraction step 102, and a batch insertion step 103.

In magnet supply step 101, the magnet supply pusher 51 pushes out a row of magnets from a group of magnets stacked in multiple tiers and arranged in multiple rows to an insertion preparation position.

In the magnet extraction step 102, the magnet extraction arrow 53 slides the row of multi-layered magnets in the front row of the extruded magnet group to the insertion preparation position.

In the batch insertion step 103, the insertion arrow 57, which is provided so as to be able to descend from above the insertion preparation position, descends when the assembly shutter 55, which is provided so as to be able to open and close on the bottom side of the insertion preparation position, opens, and pushes down the multiple stages of magnets arranged at the insertion preparation position all at once.

[Effects of the second embodiment]
The same configuration as in the first embodiment provides the same effects as in the first embodiment.

Other Embodiments
The above embodiments are designed with the rotor core of an embedded magnet motor in mind, but the workpiece to be inserted is not limited to the rotor core of an embedded magnet motor, and may be a workpiece of any shape into which a rectangular magnet can be inserted.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and can be implemented in various forms without departing from the spirit of the invention.

1 Temporary jig h11 Rough guide hole 51 Magnet pusher 53 Magnet cutting arrow 55 Assembly shutter 57 Insertion arrow T Magnet W Inserted workpiece hW Insertion hole (inserted workpiece)
X Magnet assembly device

Claims (5)

A magnet assembly device (X) that inserts and assembles a rectangular parallelepiped magnet (T) into an insertion hole (hW) formed in a workpiece (W), and inserts multiple magnets stacked in multiple stages into one insertion hole,
a magnet pusher (51) for pushing out one row of magnets from a group of magnets stacked in multiple stages and arranged in multiple rows to an insertion preparation position;
A magnet cutting arrow (53) for sliding a row of multi-layered magnets in the front row of the pushed-out magnet group to an insertion preparation position;
an assembly shutter (55) provided so as to be openable and closable on the bottom side of the insertion preparation position;
an insertion arrow (57) that is provided so as to be capable of descending from above the insertion preparation position and that descends when the assembly shutter is opened to collectively press down the multi-stage magnets arranged at the insertion preparation position;
A magnet assembly device comprising: A rough guide hole (h11) having a fitting gap larger than the fitting gap with the magnet in the insertion hole is formed at a position directly above the insertion hole, and a temporary jig (1) into which a multi-stage magnet is temporarily inserted before being inserted into the insertion hole of the inserted workpiece,
2. The magnet assembly device according to claim 1, wherein after the multi-stage magnets are inserted into the temporary jig by the insertion arrows, the magnets are reinserted from the temporary jig into the insertion holes. The magnet assembly device according to claim 1 or 2, in which the assembly shutter and the insertion arrow are linked by a link mechanism. The magnet assembly device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the workpiece to be inserted is a rotor core of an embedded magnet motor. A magnet assembling method (100) for inserting and assembling a magnet (T) into an insertion hole (hW) formed in a workpiece (W), the method including inserting a plurality of magnets stacked in multiple stages into one insertion hole,
a magnet supply step (101) in which a magnet pusher (51) pushes out a row of magnets from a group of magnets stacked in multiple tiers and arranged in multiple rows to an insertion preparation position;
a magnet extraction step (102) in which a magnet extraction arrow (53) slides a row of multi-layered magnets in the front row of the pushed-out magnet group to an insertion preparation position;
a batch insertion step (103) in which an insertion arrow (57) provided so as to be capable of descending from above the insertion preparation position descends when an assembly shutter (55) provided so as to be capable of opening and closing on the bottom side of the insertion preparation position opens, and pushes down the multi-stage magnets arranged at the insertion preparation position at once;
A magnet assembly method comprising:

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