DE8004432U1 - Device for automatically equipping housings with electrical connectors - Google Patents

Description

DR BOLF & ZAPF

Authorized representative at the European Patent Office
Professional Representatives before the European Patent Office

I / My / 1660 G

Grote & Hartmann GmbH & Co.KG, Am Kraftwerk 13,
5600 Wuppertal 21

Device for the automatic loading of
Housings with electrical connectors

The invention relates to a device for automatically equipping housings with electrical connectors, the are preferably attached to highly flexible tinsel conductors.

Electrical connectors made from stamped sheet metal parts are usually after stamping and shaping with a Bridge tied to a retaining strip. They are wound onto a reel with the retaining or scrap strips.

wraps to facilitate transport and further processing. For crimping the connector on
electrical conductor is placed a coil in a crimping device. There the connectors are unwound from the spool and the crimping tool is attached to the retaining strip.

witnesses supplied, the means of transport using the holding strip for holding and guiding. In the crimping tools, the connector is crimped onto an electrical conductor, using the known method

Schloetileiche 20, Posffacti 130219 D-5600 Wuppertal 1 Patent Attorney Dr -Ing.Dipl.-Ing. A.Soll

Telephone (0202) 445096/451226 ■ Telex: £ 5gi? 73, soza,; ; "·;. · ■, patent attorney Dipl-Ing. Chr. Zapf

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at the same time the retaining strip is separated from the connector. For equipping a housing with a crimped After opening the connector, the conductor is gripped behind the crimping point with suitable gripper elements the crimping tools transported in front of a housing opening and pushed into the housing. The gripper elements then release the conductor again, after which the connector is stored in a suitable manner in the housing.

These known methods have the particular disadvantage that when gripping the conductor after crimping there is no guarantee that the connector will work in the desired manner is designed to fit it into the usually small opening of a housing without re-centering and without jamming to be able to insert. Even with relatively stiff conductors, it is not guaranteed that the alignment is accurate enough because it can happen that the conductor is not axial in the end area even before crimping runs straight. This can result in the insertion process with a misaligned connector the connector catches and the contact elements are bent or the opening of the housing is missed and the Connector with conductor is bent, with usually considerable interference with the automatically operating device appear.

The known methods also do not allow housings with connectors with rigid conductors to be produced automatically to be equipped, the end area of which should have a kink or other deformations. Such deformations, which are carried out before or after crimping prevent a conductor from being gripped and guided with the desired orientation of the connector.

Schloebteiche 20, Postfach 130219 · D-5600 Wuppertal 1 Patent attorney Dr.-Ing. Dipl-Ing.A.SoIf Telephone (0202) 445096/451226 Telex: 8591273 soza patent attorney Dipl.-Ing.Chr. Tap

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Furthermore, it is particularly with the known methods not possible to automatically equip housings with connectors that are connected to flexible individual conductors, for example on Lahnlitzenleiter, are crimped. Because after gripping the conductor, the connector would become uncontrollable hanging in the air and could not be centered to the required extent in a housing opening be inserted.

A device has already been proposed which makes it possible, regardless of the housing, of the connector and Ladder type to be loaded automatically. A connector on the retaining strip is in one with a Crimping device combined assembly device fed to the crimping tools, a conductor is crimped and the retaining strip severed, the crimped element gripped, transported in front of the opening of a housing and pushed into the housing chamber. Essential to the invention is that during and after the crimping of the conductor, the connector is guided on the retaining strip and is held, then after opening

[| the crimping tools the crimped connector on the neck part strip of gripper elements is fed, the gripper

elements grip and align the connector, the connector is then separated from the retaining strip, from the gripping 'p. fer elements is transported in front of the opening of a housing chamber and pushed into the housing chamber. By maintaining the connection between the retaining strip and the connector after crimping

30 creates the possibility of receiving the retaining strip as a guide element and the crimped connec after opening the crimping tool instead of the

To grab and align the ladder. After that is the SchtoBbWcne 20, Poetfach 130219 D-5600Wjpper1a) 1 patent attorney Dr-Ing DipWng A So « Tphone (0202) 445096/451226 ■ WwTeSEfIOT & c_ '. " ¹ I.". Patent arwafl Qpl-Ing Ov Zapl

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Function of the holding strip fulfilled; he can then be severed will. Gripping and aligning the connector in turn creates the conditions for the centered Slide the connector into the housing chamber.

It is advantageous if the gripper elements grip the connector only in the claw area, so that the contact area of the connector remains free. This creates the possibility of first the contact area insert the connector into the housing chamber without further process steps and then after to push the connector completely into the chamber after opening the gripper elements. It is also advantageous if the conductor is clamped in front of the insertion opening of the chamber, the housing chamber over the free contact area of the connector is pushed, then the claw area of the connector is released and the Connector over the conductor, which is held and clamped, completely enclosed in the housing chamber.

Of course, according to the older proposal, it is also possible to first push open the housing chamber, then to grasp the conductor and then or at the same time to release the claw area. Important is only that the gripping after pre-plugging and thus partial storage of the connector in the housing he follows. It is also possible to push the contact part into the housing with the first gripper, with the housing stands still, then the gripper to open and then the connector in a suitable manner to be pushed in to the desired depth.

The connector is separated from the retaining strip in an advantageous manner in that first the retaining strip cut transversely to the conveying direction, thereby

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the remainder of the retaining strip is angled downwards and then the connecting bar of the connector is cut will. In particular, the bending of the remnant creates sufficient space under the ladder to the introducer a knife into this space, which cuts through the connecting web with a downward movement.

The proposed device is thus independent of Connector and ladder type because gripping and alignment is done on the connector and not on the conductor. The centering in front of the opening of the housing chamber, the connector is simply placed on, regardless of whether which type of conductor is connected. Thus, with a few new procedural steps, a considerable one has been achieved Make progress.

The proposed equipping device has a mounting frame in which moving parts in a suitable Way are arranged and consists next to the mounting frame essentially consisting of a guide rail with a brake plate, a knife system for cutting through the retaining strip, a knife system for cutting through the connecting bar, a connector gripper, a ladder gripper and a housing magazine.

The brake plate is arranged above the guide rail in the area of the holding strip. The knife system consists of a separating knife with a V-shaped cutting edge arranged transversely to the transport direction above the holding strip, which is stored in a knife holder connected to a piston-cylinder arrangement attached to the frame, with a stop piece limiting the downward stroke of the knife holder being fixedly arranged on the frame and between the stop piece

SchtoBbleiche 20. Poetfach 130219 D-5600 Wipoertali Patent Attorney Dr.-IngDipl-Ing Tetotan (0202) 445096/451226 · Wex.8591273 »za. . .... .. Retertanwafl Dipping Che Zi AABABBA ■ BBb

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and a compression spring is provided for the knife holder. The knife system can also consist of a knife stand exist by standing upright a cutting knife with an angled one pointing to the guide rail The cutter head is stored, the cutting edge of which is arranged parallel to the transport direction, with the cutter block with it is connected to the frame seated piston cylinder assemblies and the assembly of the bracket horizontally at right angles moves back and forth to the transport direction and moves vertically at right angles to the transport direction. The connector gripper has a narrow sliding block, the feet of which are on the guide rail stand and which is connected to a piston rod of the piston-cylinder assembly attached to the frame, the connector gripper over the guide rail in the transport direction with the feet on the guide rail sliding back and forth, the gripper moving one around the axis stored in the bracket against the Pressure of the spring has pivotable gripping arm, the gripping area has a recess that together forms a transport chamber with the foot. A ladder gripper and a housing magazine sit in the direction of transport at a distance from the elements in the frame, with the ladder gripper in front of the housing magazine is arranged and thereby a free space is formed. It is also advantageous that in this space between the housing magazine and the ladder gripper as an extension of the end area tapered guide rail is a narrow bridge, which is slidably arranged in the transport direction on a web attached to the frame and one creates a seamless connection of the two parts, essentially as a sliding base for the connector gripper serve, whereby the bridge has a locking lug,

Schloßbleiche 20, Postfach 130219 · D-5600 Wuppertal 1 Patent attorney Dr-Ing. Dipl.-Ing. A. So «

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against which the foot of the gripper moves.

It is also essential that a ladder gripper from a rigid arm which is attached to a block, and consists of a swivel arm around the axis supported in a fork of the arm, preferably by means of a attached to the block piston-cylinder assembly, is pivotably arranged and the block with one on the frame attached piston-cylinder assembly is connected, the ladder gripper horizontally at right angles to the transport device advances and withdraws. The housing magazine stores the housing and is in a guide block firmly clamped, whereby the guide block can be transported vertically downwards in a sliding block is supported, the slide block is further connected to a piston-cylinder assembly attached to the frame which advances and retracts the housing magazine unit horizontally at right angles to the transport direction .

According to the present invention, the proposed solution to the problem set is to be expanded to this effect that the assembly is carried out much faster and thus the throughput is increased significantly can be without the cycle times of the machine elements are significantly increased.

The invention therefore relates to a device for automatically equipping housings with electrical ones Connectors, with a connector on the retaining strip in a fitting device combined with a crimping device fed to the crimping tools, crimped a conductor and severed the retaining strip, the

Stf * jewei (^ 20.Poslfac »i130219D-5600VVuppertal1 Patent Attorney Dr.-Ing.Dipl.-Ino, A. SoIf

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na BOLF & ZAPF

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Attacked element grabbed, transported in front of the opening of a housing and into the housing chamber is inserted, and during and after the crimping of the conductor, the connector on the retaining strip is guided and held, then after opening the crimping tools, the crimped connector on the Retaining strip is taken over by retaining elements, then separated from the retaining stiffener by the Haltelement.en is transported in front of the opening of a housing chamber and pushed into the housing chamber, and wherein a plurality of conductor ends are arranged in a holding block that transports the block cyclically the stripping and crimping to a connector takes place, the retaining strip in the particular The distance between several crimped connectors is cut transversely to the transport direction, then all connectors of the severed piece of retaining strip are taken over by at least two transporters at the same time, then the ladder is released from the holding block are separated, the retaining strip piece is separated and each conveyor is transported in front of a housing, in the chambers of which the crimped connectors are pushed in individually but at the same time.

It is essential that the crimped connectors are still seated on the piece of retaining strip when they are handed over to the conveyors. This ensures that the connector is precisely aligned from e.g. B. chambers of the transporters are taken over, in which they also store precisely aligned during the further transport. The severing of the retaining strip piece is without affecting the alignment of the

hbebteiche 20. Postfach 130219 · D-5600 Wuppertal 1 Patent Attorney Dr.-Ing. Dipt.-Ing. A. So «

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crimped connector possible. Another advantage is that the transporters create the opportunity to to position crimped connector exactly in front of a housing chamber. According to a special embodiment The invention transporters are used whose chambers are open at the front and rear, so that they vcn the front of the crimped connector can be pushed, at the same time they all connectors one Take over the retaining strip piece. The crimped connectors can then be individually extracted from a chamber of the conveyor be pushed forward into a housing chamber, with the housing chamber in front of the connector is positioned.

The invention is explained in more detail by way of example with the aid of the drawing. Show it:

Fig. 1 schematically shows a plan view of a method according to the invention Block diagram,

FIG. 2 shows a conveyor in front of a housing, FIG. 3 schematically shows the severing of the holding strip .

Among other things, the device according to the invention is particularly suitable for crimping connectors onto multi-core lines. Therefore, a line 9 is shown in Fig. 1, which has four relatively soft conductors 1, 2, 3, 4, the other ends of which are also to be crimped to connectors and therefore bear the digits 5, 6, 7, 8. The conductors 1 to 4 provided with a connector are to be inserted into one housing and the connections: 5 to 8 are to be inserted into another housing with four chambers. The invention is self-evident

Schloflbteche20.Postfach 130219 D-5600Wuppertal 1 Palentanwall Dr-hgDipMnc Telephone (0202) 445096/451226 Telex 8591273 sofa PaertanwaH Dipf-lng Chr Z

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Effort is to be carried out.

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not on processing that particular number
restricted by conductors of a particular telephone cord;
rather, other tasks can also be solved,
where it matters, very quickly to several
To crimp conductor connectors and to equip several housings at the same time.

According to the example shown, the invention provides:

that the ends of the conductors 1 to 8 possibly by hand an I.

Holding block 10 are abandoned. A holding block 10 is

preferably designed so that it all conductors 1 to 8?

of a cable S, with suitable: '

Holding means (not shown) that each conductor _K

preferably by clamping in such a way that it does not §

can be easily pulled out. Over- 1

if the end of the ladder protrudes from the ladder block, so J

Z that they can be edited. |

Each holding block is assigned to a transport system (not shown |

placed), which is the sequence of holding blocks a, \

% b, c, d, e etc. preferably records completely and \

I clockwise preferably by the distance one ^

Head transported in the direction of arrow 11. At 12
an exact cutting device can be provided,

which may be inserted into the holding block 10 by hand
Heads 1 to 8 trimmed in the end area so that all
the holding block 10 protruding ends of the conductors 1 to
8 can be brought to the same transfer rate. This
However, precise cutting is not always

required, but only to be provided if the exact insertion is not possible or only with a considerable amount

In the process sequence, the ends of the conductors f

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1 to 8 stripped and crimped in cycles one after the other. For this purpose there is a known per se at around 13 Isolating device provided, which is preferably a few cycles later about at 14 a known per se Crimping device follows. This cyclical division of the stripping and crimping is particularly advantageous, because simple one-piece devices can be used, one conductor at a time to edit. This avoids the different crimp heights that occur in systems with multiple stems and cause undesirable, different pull-out forces between the conductor and the connector. Alike Multi-stump stripping devices may require different cutting depths, so that insulation residues stand still or strands are cut away, which also leads to different pull-out forces.

In front of or in the crimping device, connectors (Fig. 3) are fed and crimped, which are attached to a holding strip 16 are arranged side by side at a certain distance from one another, with each connector

15 sits with a retaining web 17 on the retaining strip 16, which is shown in detail in FIG. 3 by way of example will. In Fig. 3, the holding blocks a and b are not shown in order to simplify the drawing not to bother. Only one guide rail 18 is shown, but it is not essential to the invention is.

What is essential, however, is that the connectors are still arranged on the retaining strip 16 after crimping, as Fig. 3 illustrates, and that the crimping device 14 has a separating knife 19 over the retaining strip

16 is so far downstream that the severing

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of the holding strip 16 between two holding blocks can be done. In this way, the separating cuts are placed so that a retaining strip section 20 with im In the present case, eight conductor connector elements remain, with the retaining strip 16 in the area the holding blocks with suitable means (not shown), for example with guide rails, out will. For this purpose, guide beads can also be provided on the retaining strip 16 (not shown) be provided, which ensure a tilt-free straight run of the retaining strip, the beads slide in corresponding grooves in the respective guide rail.

Before or after severing the retaining strip 16 at 19 in FIG. 1, according to the invention two conveyors 21 and 22 pushed onto the connector from the front. The transporters have chambers 23 which Pick up the connectors in a form-fitting manner and store them en bloc. In the present exemplary case, the two conveyors each have four chambers 23, one of which Transporter 22 the crimped conductors 1 to 4 and the other transporter 21 the crimped conductors Record 5 to 8. After the conveyors have picked up the connector ladder elements the holding means of the respective holding block 10 opened and the lines 1 to 8 released; the The holding block is then removed and can be reassigned. Furthermore, the retaining strip is now superfluous and can be cut off with a knife 24 which cuts through the webs 17, wherein preferably first the strip is bent down using suitable means to leave room for the cutting edge 25 of the knife 24 to create, and then the webs 17 are severed at the same time. For this

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Purpose, the length of the cutting edge 25 corresponds to the length of the retaining strip piece 20 to be cut off. (In Fig. 3 are) the webs 17 broken off except for one because of the clarity of the figure and not shown cut off ).

The chambers 23 of the conveyors 21 and 22 are not only continuous from front to back, but also preferably designed to be open at the bottom, so that they have a slot 26 after unloading the chambers 23 are used to release the respective conductors, as will be described below will.

After cutting off the retaining strip 16, the Transporters 21 and 22 together in front of a housing with z. B. eight chambers are driven, with either the housing horizontally in front of the conveyors or at right angles to the direction of transport or the conveyors be brought into a vertical position when the housing to be equipped is arranged one above the other Has chambers. In both cases, however, the grid of the housing chambers must match the grid of the conveyor chambers to match. Then all connector-conductor elements can with one pushing operation with appropriate means at once from the back to the front from the chambers 23 into the or - if there are two or multiple enclosures are involved - slid into the enclosures. The transporters will then proceed as follows: that the slots 26 expose the conductors.

According to a particular embodiment of the invention, however, the two conveyors 21 and 22 are each driven in front of a housing 27 or 28, which is shown in

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Fig. 1 is indicated. The conveyor 22 is in front of the housing 28 and the conveyor 21 is in front of the housing 27 transported. The housings are arranged such that they are for loading from top to bottom, so perpendicular to the transport direction of the transporters, can be transported step by step, each Step corresponds to the chamber grid of the chambers of the respective housing. The conveyors are used for loading also transported in cycles, in which case each step corresponds to the chamber grid of the transporters is equivalent to. In this way you can equip two or more housings at the same time by at the same time transported a chamber 23 in front of a housing chamber, the connector conductor element with a suitable automatic, pushing means from the rear inserted into the housing chamber and the housing is then conveyed down one step, the conductor 1 (Fig. 3) through the slot 26 of the Chamber 23 slides so that the connector conductor element is arranged outside of the conveyor 22.

With the invention it is thus possible to have several housings with different ones per unit of time very much more quickly To equip the raster of the chambers without having to use several machines. In the Conveyors, the connector-conductor elements are particularly well stored, so that for equipping the housing chambers no centering means are required.

Another advantage is the possibility of using individual lines, which are usually stripped from z. B. come a cutting machine and individually fed directly to the crimping device can be. The holding blocks can be omitted.

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Instead, only suitable holding and guiding means need to be provided for the holding strip 16 to become.

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Claims (4)

DR1SOLF & ZAPF Authorized representatives at the European Patent Office Prolessional Representatives before the European Patent Office I / My / 1660 G Grote & Hartmann GmbH & Co.KG, Am Kraftwerk 13, Wuppertal 21 Claims for protection: 1. Device for automatically fitting housings with electrical connectors, characterized in that that they subsequently functionally interact with the following institutions comprises: holding blocks (10) which hold the conductors of a cable (9), the holding blocks of be transported without gaps in a transport system, preferably an exact cutting device (12) in Transport direction viewed at right angles in front of the holding blocks, one downstream of the precision cutting device Isolating device (13), a crimping device (14), holding and guiding means for the holding strip (16) the crimped connector (15), a separating knife (19) arranged above the retaining strip (16), conveyors (21,22), which are arranged to be able to slide onto the connector from the front and which have chambers (23) which contain the Pick up connectors with a form fit and store en bloc, means of transport that the transporters of a knife device (24) feed a knife device (24) which cuts through the webs (17) at the same time, a Transport device for each transporter, which moves one transporter in front of a housing, SdntoBWeiche 20. Postfach 130219 D-5600V ^ jppertal1 Patent Attorney Dr.-Ing. Dipl.-Ing. A. SoH Telephone (0202) 445096/451226 · Tetex: jB591279.soa. :; ¹¹¹ I. ". Patent attorney Dipl.-Ing.Chr. Zapf * f ο ι · Authorized representatives at the European Patent Office Tofessional Representatives before the European Patent Office :: j. jDftjSOLF & ZAPF /; wherein the housings are arranged so that they can be transported step by step from top to bottom. 2. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that g e - indicates that the means of transport the Transport holding blocks (IC) step by step. 3. Apparatus according to claim 1 and / or 2, characterized in that the transport means For the conveyors, both conveyors are arranged side by side in front of the knife device (24) transport and then transport further separately, 4. Device according to one or more of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that that the length of the cutting edge (25) of the knife device (24) corresponds to the length of the piece of retaining strip to be separated (20) corresponds. AchtoBbleiche 20, Pastfach 130219 · D-5600Wjppertali Patent Attorney Dr.-Ing.Dipl.-Ing.ASo « Telephone (0202) 44505) 6/451226 Telex: 8591273 soza Patent Attorney Dipl.-Ing, Chr. Tap