EP0714105A1 - Manufacturing method of an electrical conductor harness and manufacturing plant of such a harness. - Google Patents

Abstract

The method involves a first phase in which the longest conductor of the bunch (11) is wound on the rotatable drum (23), having helicoidal slots (25) formed in it into which the conductors are placed. After the first conductor has been wound onto the drum the other conductors are successively wound in length order, side by side, into the slot (25) occupied by the first conductor. The method also involves a second phase of the wire bunch assembly, during which the bunch (11) of conductors is unwound from the drum (23), and fastened together during the unwinding process and then rewound onto a reception support (32).

Description

The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a bundle of electrical conductors, intended in particular to equip an elevator shaft, as well as an installation for manufacturing such a bundle of conductors.

A lift shaft generally comprises a network of electrical conductors of different lengths, possibly associated with a carrying cable, ensuring an electrical connection on the one hand between each floor and on the other hand between each floor and a control cabinet located nearby. an end zone of the elevator shaft.

In order to limit manufacturing costs, elevator manufacturers try to limit the number of tasks performed in the elevator shaft as much as possible.

Consequently, it is desirable to produce in advance, in a cable factory, a bundle of conductors provided with constituent elements of different lengths and ready to be installed in the elevator shaft.

The current method of manufacturing such a bundle of conductors consists of laying each conductor on a horizontal or inclined table.

Such a table is provided with studs which each correspond to a level of stage, each cable running between these studs.

When manufacturing a bundle of conductors, an operator extends a first main constituent element of the bundle, such as a carrying cable, between two studs each corresponding to the positions which the ends of this element must occupy in the elevator shaft .

The operator then successively extends the other conductors between pads each corresponding to the positions to be occupied by the ends of a conductor in the bundle.

When all the constituent elements of the bundle are laid out on the table, the operator assembles the bundle by connecting them together by means of collars and then goes successively to each stud to carry out different operations such as stripping, stripping, connectivity, control or the like.

The operator responsible for manufacturing the bundle of conductors must therefore carry out successive displacements along the table to prepare each of the ends of the conductors and ensure the assembly of the bundle.

Due to the necessarily large length of the cable bundle to be produced, the table has large dimensions, for example of the order of 17 meters, which makes the current method of manufacturing the bundle long and tedious to implement.

The object of the invention is to solve the problems mentioned and to propose a method of manufacturing a bundle of electrical conductors of different lengths which is quickly implemented and which makes it possible to limit the movements of an operator.

• une première phase de formation de faisceau au cours de laquelle on enroule un élément constitutif de ce faisceau ayant la plus grande longueur sur un support rotatif à contour fermé par engagement dudit élément constitutif principal dans une gorge d'allure hélicoïdale du support, et on enroule successivement d'autres éléments constitutifs de longueur inférieure dudit faisceau dans la zone de la gorge occupée par l'élément de plus grande longueur, entre deux emplacements respectifs de ladite gorge correspondant chacun à une position longitudinale que doit occuper une extrémité de chacun desdits autres éléments dans le faisceau , caractérisé en ce qu'il comporte en outre :
• une seconde phase d'assemblage de faisceau au cours de laquelle on déroule simultanément l'ensemble des éléments constitutifs du faisceau à partir du support rotatif à contour fermé, on assemble lesdits éléments au moyen d'organes de liaison au cours dudit déroulement, et on enroule le faisceau obtenu sur un mandrin de réception.

The subject of the invention is therefore a method of manufacturing a bundle of electrical conductors formed of a set of constituent elements of different lengths comprising:

• a first phase of beam formation during which a constituent element of this bundle having the greatest length is wound on a rotary support with closed contour by engagement of said main constituent element in a groove of helical shape of the support, and one rolls up successively other constituent elements of shorter length of said bundle in the region of the groove occupied by the longer element great length, between two respective locations of said groove each corresponding to a longitudinal position which one end of each of said other elements in the bundle must occupy, characterized in that it further comprises:
• a second beam assembly phase during which all of the constituent elements of the beam are simultaneously unwound from the rotary support with closed contour, said elements are assembled by means of connecting members during said unwinding, and wraps the bundle obtained on a receiving mandrel.

According to another characteristic of the invention, the material for forming said component of said bundle being taken from a corresponding supply coil, a free end of said element is fixed to a point of attachment formed at one of said locations of said zone corresponding to the longitudinal position which this end must occupy in the beam, the rotary support is rotated so as to wind said element in the groove to a second attachment point formed at another location in said corresponding zone at a second position to be occupied by the other end of the element in the bundle, said element is cut so as to separate it from the supply coil and said other end is fixed on said second attachment point.

Advantageously, prior to the winding of said constituent element of the bundle having the greatest length, a metallic or non-metallic cable supporting the bundle is wound on the rotary support in a vertical position.

Preferably, between the first beam formation phase and the second beam assembly phase, the ends of at least some of the constituent elements of the bundle of conductors with corresponding connectors.

The invention also relates to an installation for manufacturing a bundle of conductors formed by a set of constituent elements of different lengths for the implementation of the method as defined above, characterized in that it comprises beam forming means comprising a set of coils supplying material for forming said constituent elements of said bundle, a device for cutting off said constituent elements of the bundle and a rotary support with closed contour provided with a groove of helical shape in which successively winds each component of said bundle between two locations of said groove each corresponding to a position to be occupied by one end of said element in the bundle, means for assembling the constituent elements of the bundle during the simultaneous unfolding of the assembly of the constituent elements of said bundle, and a mandrel for receiving the says beam thus assembled.

Advantageously, the rotary support has attachment points formed in the walls of the groove at said locations in the groove, each corresponding to a position that one end of one of said elements must occupy in the bundle and adapted to each receive one end. of said constituent element of the bundle.

Preferably, the rotary support has the shape of a cylinder, said groove being formed on the external surface of said cylinder, or comprises at least two rotary rollers for driving a mat, said groove being formed on the external surface of said mat .

According to another characteristic of the installation according to the invention, said groove comprises a set of marking graduations of said locations each corresponding to a position to be occupied by one end of one of said constituent elements of the beam.

Advantageously, the anchoring points are constituted by notches formed in the lateral walls of the groove, and oriented according to the direction of unwinding of said constituent elements of the bundle.

• la figure 1 représente une vue schématique de profil d'une installation de fabrication selon l'invention lors d'une première phase de formation de faisceau d'un procédé de fabrication de faisceau ;
• la figure 2 est une vue schématique de dessus de l'installation représentée sur la figure 1 ;
• la figure 3 est une vue identique à celle de la figure 1, lors d'une seconde phase d'assemblage de faisceau du procédé de fabrication de faisceau ;
• la figure 4 représente une vue schématique en coupe d'une gorge du support rotatif de l'installation de la figure 1 ;
• la figure 5 représente une vue schématique en perspective d'un support rotatif de l'installation représentée sur les figures 1 à 3 ;
• la figure 6 représente un autre mode de réalisation du support rotatif.

Other characteristics and advantages will emerge from the following description, given by way of example, with reference to the appended drawings in which:

• FIG. 1 represents a schematic profile view of a manufacturing installation according to the invention during a first beam forming phase of a beam manufacturing process;
• Figure 2 is a schematic top view of the installation shown in Figure 1;
• Figure 3 is a view identical to that of Figure 1, during a second beam assembly phase of the beam manufacturing process;
• 4 shows a schematic sectional view of a groove of the rotary support of the installation of Figure 1;
• 5 shows a schematic perspective view of a rotary support of the installation shown in Figures 1 to 3;
• FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the rotary support.

FIGS. 1 to 3 show an installation for manufacturing a bundle of conductors according to the invention, designated by the general reference 10.

It is intended to ensure the manufacture of a bundle 11 composed of a set of constituent elements of different lengths.

The term "constituent element" designates any element entering into the constitution of the bundle, such as a conductor or also a support cable.

The installation 10 includes beam forming means 12 and beam assembling means 14.

The beam forming means 12 comprise a set of coils for supplying material for forming constituent elements of the beam, such as the coil 16, preferably mounted on a fixed support 17 by means of a positioning rail. not shown, and sectioning means 18, of known type, supplied from the supply coils 16.

These sectioning means 18 are intended to cut each constituent element of the bundle to a determined length and, preferably, to strip each end of the conductors.

Advantageously, a particular type of material is wound on each supply reel 16.

In these figures, for clarity, only one supply coil has been shown.

This coil delivers a conductor 20 represented by a single line.

This conductor consists of a cable such as 21, made of a conductive material provided externally with an insulation sheath such as 22, as illustrated in FIG. 4.

Furthermore, the beam forming means 12 comprise a rotary support 23 driven in rotation by a motor means 24 and disposed downstream of the sectioning means 18.

The rotary support 23 preferably has the shape of a cylinder provided on its external surface with a helical groove 25 in which is wound successively each constituent element of the bundle delivered by a corresponding supply coil.

As shown in Figure 4, the helical groove 25 has a bottom 26 and two side walls 27 and 28. In this groove are arranged side by side the conductors, such as 20, possibly associated with a bundle support cable in vertical position 29.

Advantageously, a shuttle system hereinafter designated as a cutting device 30 is interposed between the cutting means 18 of the elements making up the bundle and the rotary support 23 so as to guide the material for forming each of said elements in the helical groove 25 This cutting device 30 is composed in a known manner of a guide eyelet 31 moved parallel to the axis of the rotary support 23 by displacement means (not shown), for example of the pinion and rack type, driven by the motor means 24 of the rotary support 23.

Furthermore, the assembly means of the bundle 14 are arranged downstream of the rotary support 23. They are intended to ensure the assembly of the various constituent elements of the bundle of conductors by means of connecting members such as collars.

Preferably, a beam recovery mandrel 32 driven in rotation by a second motor means 34 and on which the assembled bundle of conductors is wound is placed downstream of the assembly means 14.

dans laquelle D désigne le diamètre du cylindre, H désigne la hauteur du cylindre, et h et e désignent respectivement le pas et l'épaisseur de la gorge hélicoïdale 25.FIG. 5 shows a detailed view of the rotary support 23. The dimensions of the cylinder constituting this rotary support 23 are chosen as a function of the length L of the component of the bundle having the greatest length, for example the support cable, to be wound in the helical groove 25. This length L is linked to the cylinder diameter by the following equation: $$\text{L = π x D x}\left(\frac{\text{H}}{\text{h + e}}\text{- 1}\right)$$

in which D denotes the diameter of the cylinder, H denotes the height of the cylinder, and h and e denote respectively the pitch and the thickness of the helical groove 25.

For example, for a beam length L of the order of 50m, D is between 1 m and 1.40 m, preferably 1.20 m, H is between 0.75 m and 1.20 m preferably 1 m, h is between 50 mm and 100 mm, for example 0.75 mm, and e is of the order of a few millimeters.

Preferably, the rotary support 23, in the form of a cylinder, is hollow and has an axis of rotation 36, and a set of spokes, such as 38. In addition, the external surface of the rotary support 23, on which the groove is formed helical 25, is advantageously perforated but can also be constituted by a solid surface.

Furthermore, a set of graduations 40, for example at the rate of one graduation every 10 cm, is arranged in the groove 25, preferably on the walls 27 and 28 of this groove 25.

In addition, attachment points 42, of which only three have been shown, are regularly arranged in the walls of the helical groove 25, for example every 10 cm. Each attachment point 42 is for example constituted by a notch formed in the walls 27 and 28 of the groove and adapted to receive one end of one of the conductors 20, at a location corresponding to the position which this end must occupy in the bundle of conductors.

Advantageously, each notch is oriented according to the direction of rotation of the rotary support 23 used to unwind the constituent elements of the bundle.

According to another embodiment shown in FIG. 6, the rotary support 43 comprises two rollers 44 and 46 for driving a perforated belt 48. The external surface of the belt 48 is provided, as in the previous embodiment, with a groove of helical shape 50, partially shown in this figure, with two walls 52 and 54 also provided with graduations and notches 56 and 58 respectively. .

Of course, the dimensions of the conveyor belt are likewise determined as a function of the length of the conductors to be wound up and therefore of the length of the bundle to be produced.

According to another embodiment of the rotary support, not shown, this comprises four drive rollers for a carpet similar to the carpet in FIG. 6, the rollers being arranged so as to give the rotary support a square or rectangular section .

The method of manufacturing a bundle of electrical conductors by means of the installation which has just been described comprises a first phase of beam formation (FIGS. 1 and 2) and a second phase of assembly of beam (FIG. 3) .

During the first beam formation phase, a material forming a main constituent element of the beam intended to have the greatest length is taken from a supply coil. The end of this element is passed through the eyelet 31 of the cutting device 30 and this end is fixed in a notch 42 of the rotary support 23, located near one of the end zones of the groove 25 of this support.

The support 23 is rotated so that this element intended to have the greatest length winds in the helical groove 25, to a second notch separated from the first notch with a length of groove corresponding to the length of the beam to be produced. This main element is cut so as to separate it from its supply coil, and its free end is engaged in the second notch.

The first element is thus temporarily secured to the coil and can rotate with it.

Each conductor, of length and smaller diameter, such as 20, is then successively wound up in the zone occupied by the main element, by unwinding a corresponding supply coil, such as 16.

To do this, one end of the conductor 20 is passed through the sectioning means 18, a notch, such as 42, of the helical groove 25 is identified by means of the graduations, the location of which corresponds to a first longitudinal position which must occupy this end in the bundle. The conductor 20 is then wound in the groove 25 to a second notch disposed at a location corresponding to a second longitudinal position to be occupied by the other end of this conductor, also identified by means of a graduation 42.

The conductor is then cut so as to separate it from its supply coil 16 and its free end is engaged in the second notch.

In the case where the bundle to be produced is intended to be installed in an elevator shaft in a vertical position, prior to the winding of the main element of greater length, the rotary support 23 is wound up with a support cable for beam 11 in vertical position, made of metallic material or not metal, between two locations of the helical groove 25 each corresponding to the positions of the anchor points of this support cable 11 in the elevator shaft.

When all the conductors have been wound in the rotary support 23 and temporarily subjected thereto, the ends of each conductor are connected to respective connectors. Then all the constituent elements of the bundle are unrolled simultaneously and passed through the bundle assembly means 14 at which they are assembled by means of collars, and the bundle obtained is wound on the recovery mandrel 32 by rotating it.

The particular orientation of the notches allows disengagement of the ends of the conductors when the mandrel exerts traction on the beam. The beam obtained is then ready to be installed in an elevator shaft.

The dimensions of the rotary support which has been described make it possible to produce a beam of a length substantially of 50 m, but it is possible to use a support having such dimensions to ensure the manufacture of smaller beams by partial occupation of the length of throat 25.

Of course, the invention is not limited to the embodiments which have been described.

Thus, the location of the anchoring points carried out by means of the graduations arranged on the walls of the groove can be ensured by means of a measuring device incorporated in the cutting device.

Claims (10)

Method for manufacturing a bundle (11) of electrical conductors formed of a set of constituent elements of different lengths comprising: a first beam forming phase (11) during which a constituent element of this bundle (11) having the greatest length is wound on a rotary support (23; 43) with closed contour by engagement of said main constituent element in a groove of helical shape (25; 50) of the support (23; 43), and other elements (20) constituting a shorter length of said bundle (11) are successively wound in the area of the groove (25; 50) occupied by the element of greater length, between two respective locations of said groove (25; 50) each corresponding to a longitudinal position to be occupied by one end of each of said other elements in the bundle (11), characterized in that it also includes: a second beam assembly phase during which all of the elements constituting the beam (11) are simultaneously unwound from the rotary support with closed outline (23; 43), said elements are assembled by means of connection during said unwinding, and the bundle is wound on a receiving mandrel (32). Method according to claim 1, characterized in that the material for forming said element constituting said bundle (11) being taken from a corresponding supply coil (16), a free end of said element (20) is fixed to a attachment point formed at one of said locations in said groove (25; 50) corresponding to the longitudinal position which this end must occupy in the bundle (11), the rotary support (23) is rotated so as to wind said element (20) in the groove (25; 50) up to a second attachment point formed at another location in said groove corresponding to a second position which the other end of the element (20) must occupy in the bundle (11), said element (20) is cut so as to separate it from the supply coil (16) and said other end is fixed on said second attachment point. Method according to one of claims 1 and 2, characterized in that prior to the winding of said constituent element of the bundle having the greatest length, a metallic or non-metallic support cable is wound on the rotary support (23; 43) beam (11) in vertical position. Method according to any one of Claims 1 to 3, characterized in that, between the first beam-forming phase and the second beam-assembling phase, the ends of at least some of the constituent elements (20) are connected from the bundle (11) of conductors to corresponding connectors. Installation for manufacturing a bundle (11) of conductors formed by a set of elements (20) constituting different lengths, for implementing the method according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that '' it comprises beam forming means (12) comprising a set of supply coils (16) of material for forming said elements (20) constituting said beam (11), a cutting device (18) of said elements (20 ) constituting the bundle (11) and a rotary support (23; 43) with closed outline provided with a groove of helical shape (25; 50) in which each element (20) constituting said bundle (11) is wound successively between two locations of said groove (25; 50) each corresponding to a position to be occupied by one end of said element in the bundle (11), means of assembly (14) of the constituent elements of the bundle (11) during the simultaneous unwinding of all the constituent elements of said bundle, and a mandrel (32) for receiving said bundle thus assembled. Installation according to claim 5, characterized in that the rotary support (23; 43) has attachment points (42) formed in the walls (27, 28) of the groove (25; 50) at the said locations of the groove (25; 50) each corresponding to a position to be occupied by one end of one of said elements in the bundle (11) and adapted to each receive one end of said element (20) constituting the bundle (11). Installation according to one of claims 5 and 6, characterized in that the rotary support (23) has the shape of a cylinder, said groove (25) being formed on the external surface of said cylinder. Installation according to one of claims 5 and 6, characterized in that the rotary support (43) comprises at least two rotary rollers (44,46) for driving a belt (48), said groove (50) being provided on the outer surface of said mat (48). Installation according to any one of claims 5 to 8, characterized in that said groove (25; 50) comprises a set of graduations (40) for locating said locations each corresponding to a position to be occupied by one end of one of said elements constituting the bundle (11). Installation according to any one of claims 6 to 9, characterized in that the anchoring points consist of notches (42) formed in the side walls (27,28) of the groove (25; 50), and oriented according to the direction of development of said constituent elements of the bundle (11).

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