EP0246990B1 - Method and device for automatically crimping on conducting wires connection pieces laterally attached to a strip - Google Patents

Description

The subject of the present invention is a method and devices for automatically crimping on conductive wires connection pieces fixed laterally on a strip.

The technical sector of the invention is that of the construction of wiring machines.

Automatic wiring machines are known which unwind a conductive wire, which cut it along sections of programmed length, which strip the ends of the wires and which present these ends at various work stations including a station intended for automatic crimping, on each stripped end, a connection piece of any known type, for example a piece with rolled edges, a plug, an eyelet, etc.

The FR patent application. A. 2.513.478 (81 / 18.181) (AUTOMATISMES ET TECHNIQUES ADVANCES - ATA) describes an automatic machine of this type comprising a conveyor for transferring the ends of the wires constituted by a turntable which is driven by a stepping motor controlled by a microprocessor and which carries pairs of pivoting jaws which grip each end of wire at two points, forming between them a loop of variable length.

The devices according to the invention are intended to equip, on a machine of this type, the work station intended to crimp the connection pieces on the ends of bare wires.

Certain connection pieces are produced in series by punching out a metal strip and, in this case, they are supplied in coils in which the connection pieces are fixed laterally on a thin metal strip which constitutes the part remaining of the strip after cutting the connecting pieces.

The connection pieces which are delivered in this form pose problems in being crimped one after the other on the ends of wires presented by the transfer conveyor of an automatic cable-laying machine.

On known crimping stations, the coil on which is wound the strip carrying the connection pieces, which is very bulky, is arranged on the side of the crimping station, the axis of the coil being parallel to the longitudinal axis of the workplace, so that the connecting pieces are parallel to the ends of the wires. This solution is not good because of the size of the coil. Crimping tools comprising sets of dies and punches for bending the crimping fins on the stripped end of a conductive wire and on the insulating sheath thereof are known as well as the die-punch assembly allowing to separate each connecting piece from the strip which carries them, which is generally designated by the name of dipping blade.

The objective of the present invention is to provide means for arranging the coil carrying the connection pieces in the extension of the crimping station, the axis of the coil being perpendicular to the axis of the crimping station, so that the width of the crimping station is not increased by the size of the coil.

• on dispose la bobine,portant les pièces de connexion fixées latéralement sur une bande,dans le prolongement d'un poste de sertissage, l'axe de la bobine étant perpendiculaire à l'axe longitunal du poste;
• on fixe sur les plateaux d'une presse de sertissage un dispositif manipulateur qui comporte des poinçons et des matrices de sertissage des pièces de connexion et un chariot qui pivote autour d'un axe vertical;
• on introduit ladite bande dans un couloir de guidage à l'extrémité avant duquel vient se placer ledit chariot;
• on fait pénétrer l'extrémité avant de ladite bande dans ledit chariot d'une longueur égale au pas entre deux pièces de connexion;
• on découpe ladite bande entre la première et la deuxième pièce de connexion pour libérer la première pièce de connexion;
• on fait pivoter ledit chariot de 90° pour présenter ladite première pièce de connexion dans l'alignement du fil;
• on engage l'extrémité d'un fil dénudé au-dessus des ailettes de sertissage de ladite première pièce de connexion;
• on déplace le plateau mobile de la presse qui porte des poinçons de sertissage qui coopèrent avec des matrices de sertissage pour sertir sur le fil les ailettes de sertissage et on sectionne en même temps le tronçon de bande restant attaché à la pièce de connexion;
• on relève le plateau mobile de presse, on évacue le fil équipé, on ramène ledit chariot mobile contre l'extrémité avant dudit couloir et un nouveau cycle recommence par l'introduction de l'extrémité avant de ladite bande dans ledit chariot.

This objective is achieved by a process which comprises the following operations:

• the coil is placed, carrying the connection pieces fixed laterally on a strip, in the extension of a crimping station, the axis of the coil being perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the station;
• a manipulator device which comprises punches and dies for crimping the connection pieces and a carriage which pivots about a vertical axis is fixed on the plates of a crimping press;
• said strip is introduced into a guide passage at the front end of which said carriage is placed;
• the front end of said strip is made to penetrate into said carriage of a length equal to the pitch between two connection pieces;
• cutting said strip between the first and the second connection piece to release the first connection piece;
• said carriage is rotated 90 ° to present said first connection part in alignment with the wire;
• engaging the end of a bare wire above the crimping fins of said first connection part;
• the movable plate of the press which carries crimping punches which cooperate with crimping dies is moved to crimp the crimping fins on the wire and at the same time the remaining strip section attached to the workpiece is cut connection;
• the movable press plate is raised, the equipped wire is removed, said movable carriage is brought back against the front end of said passage and a new cycle begins again by introducing the front end of said strip into said carriage.

• une plaque qui est fixée sur un des plateaux de ladite presse et qui comporte un couloir de guidage et des moyens pour faire avancer pas à pas ladite bande dans ledit couloir;
• un chariot pivotant et des moyens pour faire pivoter ledit chariot de 90° autour d'un axe vertical entre une première position où ledit chariot est placé à l'extrémité dudit couloir et une deuxième position où il est disposé dans l'alignement de la position occupée par lesdits fils pendant le sertissage, lequel chariot porte une lame presseuse qui est munie d'un poinçon qui sectionne ladite bande entre la première et la deuxième pièce de connexion;
• un support de poinçons qui est fixé à l'autre plateau de la presse et qui porte deux poinçons de sertissage des pièces de connexion sur les fils et un doigt qui s'appuie sur ladite lame plongeuse pour faire cisailler par celle-ci le tronçon de bande métallique restant fixé à chaque pièce de connexion.

A device according to the invention, for automatically crimping on conductive wires connection pieces which are fixed laterally on a metal strip which is delivered wound on a coil, is fixed on the plates of a crimping press and it comprises:

• a plate which is fixed to one of the plates of said press and which comprises a guide passage and means for advancing said strip step by step in said passage;
• a pivoting carriage and means for rotating said carriage 90 ° about a vertical axis between a first position where said carriage is placed at the end of said corridor and a second position where it is arranged in alignment with the position occupied by said wires during crimping, which carriage carries a pressing blade which is provided with a punch which cuts said strip between the first and the second connecting part;
• a support for punches which is fixed to the other plate of the press and which carries two punches for crimping the connection pieces on the wires and a finger which is supported on said plunger blade to make it shear the section of metal strip remaining attached to each connection piece.

The invention results in the possibility of supplying an automatic crimping station with electrical connection parts forming part of a robot by means of connection parts which are fixed laterally on a metal strip which is delivered wound on a coil and this by arranging the coil in alignment with the crimping station, so that the overall width of this station is not increased by the presence of a coil arranged on the side of the crimping station.

The following description refers to the appended drawings which represent, without any limiting nature, exemplary embodiments of devices according to the invention.

Figure 1 is a schematic plan view of a portion of an automatic wiring machine.

FIG. 2 is a top view of a portion of strip carrying lateral connection pieces.

Figures 3 and 4 are views in vertical section and in plan of a device according to the invention.

FIG. 5 is a partial section along V-V of FIG. 4.

FIG. 6 is a partial section on VI-VI of FIG. 4.

Figure 7 is a partial vertical section of the carriage in position II-II.

Figure 8 is a view along line VIII-VIII of Figure 7.

Figure 1 is a partial and schematic top view of an automatic wiring machine. This machine comprises a conveyor for transferring the ends of the wires which is, for example, a circular plate 1 driven in step-by-step rotation about a vertical axis 2.

The plate 1 comprises, at its periphery, pairs of pivoting jaws 3a, 3b. Each pair of jaws grips a piece of wire 4 between two points and presents the ends of the wire 4 successively in front of various work stations which are distributed around the periphery of the plate 1.

FIG. 1 represents one of the work stations 5 which is the station for crimping the connection pieces on the stripped ends of the wires 4. The other work stations are not shown for the sake of clarity of the drawing.

The workstation 5 receives connection pieces 6 which are supplied in a strip wound on a reel 7.

FIG. 2 represents a view of a section of the strip carrying the connection parts. This consists of a thin metal strip 8, on which the connection pieces 6 are fixed laterally, the axis of the pieces 6 being perpendicular to the direction of the strip 8. The distance between the pieces 6 is equal to one not constant a.

FIG. 2 represents female connection pieces with rolled edges but this example is not limiting and the pieces can be male plugs, eyelets or any other equivalent connection piece. Each connecting piece 6 has two pairs of folding fins, respectively the pair 10a, 10b which is intended to be crimped onto the conductive wire and the pair 11a, 11b which is intended to be crimped onto the insulating sheath of the wire. The coil 7 on which the strip of connecting pieces 6 is wound is placed in the extension of the work station 5, the axis x x1 of the coil being perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the work station, so that the strip 8 is unwound in a substantially radial direction relative to the plate 1.

The workstation 5 has a guide corridor 12 into which the strip 8 carrying the connection pieces penetrates and this corridor is equipped with a pneumatic thrust pin which advances the strip 8 step by step inside the corridor, each par being equal to the spacing a between two connecting pieces. The workstation 5 also includes means for separating each connection piece 6 from the strip 8, means for bringing it to the periphery of the plate 1 by rotating it 90 ° so that the connection piece is in parallel at the end of a wire 4, the crimping fins 10a, 10b and 11a, 11b being located on the side of the plate, and means for crimping these fins.

Figures 3 and 4 respectively represent a top view and an elevational view of a first embodiment of a device according to the invention.

This device is mounted on the two plates of a crimping press which comprises for example a fixed lower plate 13 and an upper plate 14 which is vertically movable relative to the plate 13.

The fixed plate 13 carries a plate 15 at the surface of which is cut the guide passage 12 in which the strip 8 carrying the connection pieces 6 circulates.

The device comprises a rotary carriage 16 which pivots about a vertical axis 17 and which can occupy two positions, a position I of axis y yl, shown in FIG. 4 and a position II offset by 90 ° by turning in the direction counterclockwise.

The carriage 16 carries a plunger and pressing blade 18 which can be seen in detail in FIGS. 5 and 6. This blade is kept pressed by a spring 18a against the junction between the metal strip 8 and the first connection piece 6 which is then finds parallel to the axis y yl. The press blade 18 is extended by a separator punch 19 visible in FIG. 6 which extends transversely to the strip 8. This punch comes to be positioned above a free space 20 delimited by two blades 21a, 21b which constitute a separation matrix.

When the punch 19 is pressed, the latter shears the strip 8 which connects the first connection piece to the others, so that the first connection piece attached to a section of strip is released and held by clamping secured to the carriage 16 by the pressing blade 18, under the action of the spring 18a.

The separator punch 19 can be actuated by a jack 22 which presses on the pressing blade 18 as shown in FIG. 6. As a variant, the separator punch can be actuated by a pusher fixed to the movable plate 14 of the press which is moved slightly towards the bottom to cut the strip 8.

Once the strip 8 has been cut, a pneumatic cylinder acting on the carriage 16, rotates the latter 90 ° counterclockwise to bring it into position II-II.

The connection piece 6 transported by the pivoting carriage is placed in the crimping position II-II above two fixed dies, a matrix 23 which is used for crimping the fins 11a and 11b, on the insulating sheath of the wire and a matrix 24 which is used for crimping the fins 10a and 10b on the stripped wire.

Figure 7 shows a partial vertical section through the crimp position II-II. This section shows a part of the pressing blade 18 which is part of the pivoting carriage 16 and a connection piece 6 which is placed above the dies 23 and 24.

FIG. 8 represents a section along VIII-VIII of FIG. 7.

Once the mobile carriage has brought a connection piece into position II-II, one end of wire 4 is brought by the turntable above the connection piece, so that this end of wire is placed above the crimping fins 10a, 10b and 11a, 11b of the part 6. For clarity of the drawing, the wire 4 is shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 above the connection part.

The movable plate 14 of the press carries a punch support 25 which carries a punch 26 which is located above the matrix 23 and which is used to crimp the fins 11a and 11b on the insulating sheath and a punch 27 which is located above the matrix 24 and which is used to crimp the fins 10a and 10b on the exposed conductive wire. He also wears a support finger 28.

After the wire 4 has been placed above the crimping fins, the movable plate 14 is lowered so that the punches 26 and 27, cooperating with the dies 23 and 24, crimp the connection piece on the end wire 4.

At the same time, the support finger 28 comes to rest on the pressing blade 18 and the latter comprises a punch which shears the junction between the connection piece 6 and the strip section 8 which was fixed to the latter. .

The movable plate 14 is then raised, the punch support 25 rises by releasing the press blade 18, the strip waste 8 is evacuated for example by an air jet and the movable carriage 16 is brought back to position y yl to take a new connection piece and a new cycle begins again.

Column 17 allows the punch holder 25 and the movable carriage to be perfectly aligned. A centering pin allows the carriage to be positioned exactly in position II-II, so that the punches and the dies are placed exactly opposite each other.

Figures 3 to 6 show a device in which the crimping dies 23 and 24 are fixed. As a variant, the crimping dies can be carried by the mobile carriage 16.

The devices according to the invention allow the use on an automatic wiring machine of connection pieces fixed laterally on a strip without increasing the overall dimensions in width of the automatic crimping station of the overall dimensions of the coil.

The crimping assembly fits in a width of the order of 80 to 100 mm because the coil 7 is located in the extension of the crimping station. The width of the crimping station remains substantially the same as in the case where connection pieces supplied are used aligned with each other.

Claims (4)

1. Automatic method for crimping tightly on conductor wires, connecting parts (6) fixed laterally on a band (8) which is wound on a coil (7), comprising the following sequence of steps:

   - placing said coil in extension of a crimping station, the axis (x x1) of the coil being perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the station:

   - fixing, on the plates (13, 14) of a crimping press, a manipulator device which comprises dies (26, 27) and die plates (23, 24) for crimping the connecting parts, and a carriage (16) pivotable about a vertical axis (17);

   - introducing said band into a guiding channel (12) at the front end of which said carriage (16) comes into position;

   - causing the front end of said band to penetrate into said carriage (16) over a length equal to the pitch between two connecting parts;

   - cutting said band (8) between the first and second connecting parts so as to release the first connecting part;

   - pivoting said carriage (16) of 90° in order to present the first connecting part in alignment with the wire;

   - engaging the end of a bare wire between the crimping fins (10a, 10b, 11a, 11b) of said first connecting part;

   - moving the mobile press plate (14) carrying the crimping dies (26, 27) which cooperate with die plates (23, 24) in order to crimp the crimping fins (10a, 10b, 11a, 11b) on the wire, and simultaneously severing the length of band (8) remaining unfastened from the connecting part;

   - lifting the mobile press plate (14), removing the equipped wire (4), returning said mobile carriage (16) against the front end of said passage, and starting a new cycle by introducing the front end of said band into said carriage.
2. Device for automatically crimping connecting parts (6) on conductor wires (4), which parts are fixed laterally on a metal band (8) which is supplied wound around a coil (7), said device being fixed on the plates (13, 14) of a crimping press, and comprising:

   - a plate (15) which is fixed on one (13) of said press plates and which comprises a guiding channel (12) and means for moving said band stepwise into said channel;

   - a pivotable carriage (16) and means for pivoting said carriage of 90° about a vertical axis (17) between a first position in which said carriage is placed on the end of said channel and a second position in which it is placed in alignment with the position occupied by said wires (4) during crimping, said carriage carrying a pressure segment (18) which is equipped with a die (19) for severing said band between the first and second connecting parts;

   - a support for the dies (25) which is fixed to the other press plate and which carries two dies (26, 27) for crimping the connecting parts on the wires and a finger (28) which presses on said pressure segment (18) in order to cause it to cut the length of metal band (8) remaining attached to each connecting part.
3. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that said pivotable carriage (16) further carries two die plates (23, 24) for crimping the connecting parts.
4. Device according to claim 2, characterized in that said pivotable carriage (16) positions the connecting parts, when said carriage is in the second position, above two fixed crimping die plates (23, 24).

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