Stator manufacturing apparatus

A stator manufacturing apparatus for manufacturing a stator, the stator manufacturing apparatus configured to be operatively associated with:

• a stator core having radial slots that are formed at a plurality of positions in a circumferential direction so as to open in an inner peripheral surface of the stator core;
• and
• a rectangular cross-section rectangular wire that is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape and forms a coil winding, and that has a plurality of linear portions that are respectively disposed in the slots and formed in parallel to the slots, a plurality of continuous portions that alternately connect one ends of the adjacent ones of the linear portions to each other and alternately connect the other ends thereof to each other, and a plurality of bent portions that are formed by bending one end side of the linear portions radially inward, wherein the rectangular wire is disposed on the stator core in a distributed winding arrangement, the stator manufacturing apparatus comprising:
• an insertion jig which is entirely formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and from which the rectangular wire is axially detachable, wherein
• the insertion jig has protrusions that are respectively provided at a plurality of positions, which are aligned with the slots, on an outer peripheral surface of the insertion jig so as to protrude radially, and one end-side restricting members that are respectively provided at positions offset from the protrusions formed in the circumferential direction on an inner diameter side of an inscribed circle of teeth each located between adjacent ones of the slots of the stator core so as to protrude toward one axial end side,
• radial positions of the linear portions are restricted by disposing the rectangular wire from one end side of the insertion jig and disposing the linear portions so as to radially overlap the protrusions, respectively, and circumferential positions of the linear portions are restricted by disposing each of the bent portions between the one end-side restricting members, and
• with the linear portions and the slots being aligned with each other, the insertion jig is inserted into the stator core from the one end side of the insertion jig, and is removed from the stator core toward the other end side, so as to respectively dispose the linear portions at predetermined positions in the slots.