Spacer tape, method for manufacturing a winding and winding

Abstract

A spacer tape is provided for spacing apart turns of a winding, which comprises a tape having an upper surface, a lower surface and a longitudinal axis, wherein the lower surface is adhesable and configured to be adhered to a conductor forming a turn of the winding, and spacers with an upper surface and a lower surface arranged on the tape, wherein the lower surface of the spacers is adhered to the upper surface of the tape, and wherein the upper surface of the spacers are adhesable and configured to be adhered to the conductor forming an adjacent turn of the winding.

Claims

1. A spacer tape for spacing apart turns of a winding comprising, a tape having an upper surface, a lower surface and a longitudinal axis, wherein the lower surface is adhesable and configured to be adhered to a conductor forming a turn of the winding, and spacers with an upper surface and a lower surface arranged on the tape, wherein the lower surface of the spacers is adhered to the upper surface of the tape, wherein the upper surface of the spacers are adhesable and configured to be adhered to the conductor forming an adjacent turn of the winding, wherein the spacers comprise a bonding element at the upper surface and the lower surface, and wherein the dimension of the bonding elements in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis is larger than the dimension of the tape.

2. The spacer tape according to claim 1, wherein the spacers are arranged on the tape equidistantly along the longitudinal axis.

3. The spacer tape according to claim 1, wherein the spacers comprise materials based on cellulose fiber or materials based on a polymer.

4. The spacer tape according to claim 1, wherein the bonding elements comprise a polymer.

5. The spacer tape according to claim 1, wherein the bonding elements comprise a reinforcement material.

6. The spacer tape according to claim 1, wherein the bonding elements have a distance of at least 1 mm to the edge of the spacers.

7. The spacer tape according to claim 1, wherein the upper surface of the tape is adhesable, and wherein the spacers are adhered to the tape by the adhesable upper surface of the tape, or wherein the spacers are adhered to the tape by an adhesive applied to the lower surface of the spacers.

8. The spacer tape according to claim 1, wherein the spacers comprise an UV curable adhesive film.

9. The spacer tape according to claim 1, wherein a removable protective layer is arranged on the upper surface of the spacers.

10. A method for manufacturing a winding comprising the following steps: arranging a spacer tape according to claim 1 on a conductor such that an adhesable lower surface of the tape is adhered to the conductor; winding of the conductor forming the turns of the winding such that spacers are arranged in between adjacent turns of the winding and are adhered to the adjacent turn of the winding.

11. The method for manufacturing a winding according to claim 10 comprising the additional following steps: thermal curing of the winding such that the spacers bond to the adjacent turns.

12. A winding comprising, a conductor forming at least two adjacent turns of the winding, a spacer tape according to claim 1, wherein the spacer tape is arranged in between the adjacent turns such that the spacer tape is adhered to both adjacent turns.

13. A winding according to claim 12, wherein the spacer tape is bonded to both adjacent turns.

14. The winding according to claim 12, wherein the spacers are arranged on the tape equidistantly along the longitudinal axis.

15. The winding according to claim 12, wherein the spacers comprise materials based on cellulose fiber or materials based on a polymer.

16. The winding according to claim 12, wherein the bonding elements comprise one of a polymer and a reinforcement material.

17. The winding according to claim 12, wherein the bonding elements have a distance of at least 1 mm to the edge of the spacers.

18. The winding according to claim 12, wherein the upper surface of the tape is adhesable, and wherein the spacers are adhered to the tape by the adhesable upper surface of the tape, or wherein the spacers are adhered to the tape by an adhesive-applied to the lower surface of the spacers.

19. The winding according to claim 12, wherein the spacers comprise an UV curable adhesive film.

20. The winding according to claim 12, wherein a removable protective layer is arranged on the upper surface of the spacers.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0032] In the following the present disclosure is described based on embodiments with reference to the figures. Same parts or parts with equivalent effect are referred to by the same reference numbers.

[0033] The figures serve solely to illustrate the present disclosure and are therefore only schematic and not drawn to scale. Some parts may be exaggerated or distorted in the dimensions. Therefore, neither absolute nor relative dimensions can be taken from the figures. Identical or identically acting parts are provided with the same reference numerals.

[0034] FIG. 1 shows a plain view of a bonding element, on which an adhesive is applied;

[0035] FIG. 2 shows a plain view of an upper surface and a lower surface of a spacer;

[0036] FIG. 3 shows a plain view of a lower surface of a spacer, on which an UV curable adhesive film is applied;

[0037] FIG. 4 shows a plain view of an embodiment of spacer tape;

[0038] FIG. 5 shows a plain view of a spacer tape, on which a protective layer is arranged;

[0039] FIG. 6 shows an alternative embodiment, wherein an UV curable adhesive film is used;

[0040] FIG. 7 shows a plain view of a spacer tape, wherein an UV curable adhesive film is used; and

[0041] FIG. 8 shows a winding comprising a spacer tape.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0042] FIG. 1 shows a plain view of a bonding element 12, on which an adhesive 13 is applied. The adhesive 13 is applied to the four corners of the rectangular bonding element 12 in order to fix the bonding element 12 to a spacer 9 later on. The adhesive 13 can be an instantaneous glue, but also could be any other glue or paste having good adhesive properties on the surface of the bonding element 12 facing the spacers 9.

[0043] The bonding element 12 consists of epoxy and can be reinforced with glass fibers to enhance the stability of the bonding elements 12. Under usual conditions, e.g., room temperature, the bonding element 12 is stiff. Thus, it becomes sticky under thermal processing. Therefore, the bonding elements 12 can be employed to bond to a conductor 6 by a thermal curing.

[0044] FIG. 2 shows a plain view of an upper surface 10 and a lower surface 11 of the spacer 9 after the bonding elements 12 have been adhered to the spacers 9 by the adhesive 13 dispensed at the corners of the bonding element 13. A safety distance of the bonding element 12 to the edges of the spacers 9 of at least 1 mm is maintained in order to avoid the adhesive 13 to be spilled on the conductor 6 later on, which could compromise the insulation of the conductor or of the winding.

[0045] In FIG. 3 a plain view of the lower surface 11 of the spacer 9 is displayed, on which the adhesive 13 is applied in the middle of the bonding element 12. Hence, after positioning a tape 2 as shown in FIG. 4, comprising an adhesable lower surface 4 as shown in FIG. 7, on a planar surface, the spacer can be fixed to a no-adhesable upper surface 3 of the tape 2 by the adhesive 13 in the middle of the bonding element 12. Alternatively, the upper surface 3 of the tape 2 can be adhesable, for example by an adhesive layer, such that the spacers 9 can be fixed to the tape 2 without an additional adhesive 13 by arranging them directly on the tape 2.

[0046] FIG. 4 shows a plain view of an embodiment of a spacer tape 1. The spacers 9 are adhered to the upper surface 3 of the tape 2 equidistantly. The distance between the spacers 9 along a longitudinal axis 5 of the tape 2 is a natural fraction of a circumference of a winding 8 as shown in FIG. 8, the spacer tape 1 is used in. In this way, it is ensured that the spacers 9 are stacked on top of each other in the winding 8, whereby turns 7 of the winding 8 are positioned between them. The dimension of the bonding elements 13 in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 5 of tape 2 are larger than the dimension of the tape 2 in this direction. Consequently, as the spacer are centered on the tape 2, the bonding elements 13 protrude from the tape 2 on two sides. Therefore, after the spacer tape 2 is adhere to the conductor 6 as shown in FIG. 8, the bonding elements 12 can bond directly to the conductor 6 at the area without tape 2, while being secured in position by the tape 2.

[0047] In FIG. 5 the spacer tape 1 is shielded by a protective layer 15 which is arranged on the upper surface 11 of the spacer 9. The protective layer 15, which can be a plastic layer, conserves the adhesive property of the upper surface 11 of the spacer 9 from any dirt or dust. Moreover, protected by the protective layer 15, the spacer tape 1 can be easily transported.

[0048] FIG. 6 shows a plain view of a lower surface 11 of a spacer 9, on which an UV curable adhesive film 14, in contrary to the bonding element 12, is applied to make the lower surface 11 of the spacer 9 adhesable. The UV curable adhesive film 14 is fixed to the spacer by curing the UV curable adhesive film 14 just at the corners. The middle of the UV curable adhesive film 14 is omitted at this step to adhere the spacer 9 on the tape 2 over the UV curable adhesive film 14, as indicated in FIG. 7.

[0049] FIG. 8 shows the winding 8 comprising the spacer tape 1. The spacer tape 1 has been adhered to the conductor 6, after which the conductor 7 was wound to form the turns 7 of the winding 8, such that the spacers 9 are arranged in between them to space the turns 7 apart. Thereafter, the whole winding 8 has been subjected to a thermal curing process, whereby the spacers 9 bond to both adjacent turns 7. As a consequence, the winding 8 is an integral electrical component formed by the conductor 6 and the spacer tape 1 that can withstand much larger electromagnetic forces compared to conventional spacers-type windings 8.

[0050] It has to be noticed that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the layouts described before and that further layouts can be retrieved by combination of features taken from different figures and embodiments.