EP0752742A1 - Method and apparatus for automatic manufacturing of sets of cables - Google Patents

Abstract

The method provides plugs esp. insulation piercing contact elements (i.p.c.d) on both ends of leads. The plugs are arranged in housings with predetermined spacing. A lead is drawn out of a lead supply, aligned and applying lead to a cable to be contacted. Before this latter step, the lead is fixed to a first work plane. It is then fed back from the lead supply until the required length of cable is obtained. The other end of the lead is then fixed down. Next, the cable is twisted into a lower contact position in a second work plane and its free ends are fed outwards. The two cable ends are simultaneously pressed into i.p.c.d. elements each fed into a clamp. The contact elements sit in one of several housing chambers. At the same time, the fixing, withdrawing and locating of the next cable is carried out. After this, the pre-manufactured lead compositions are fed for further processing or removal.

Description

The invention relates to a method and a device for the mechanical assembly of lines at both ends with plugs arranged in housings with certain grid spacings, in particular insulation displacement contact elements for the automatic production of line sets. Such a cable assembly device has a cable pull-in device for pulling in individual conductors into the cable processing line, a cable feed device, a cable cutting station and an equipping station for contacting the lines with the housings supplied from an article feed.

Such a cable assembly device is known from the applicant's own production. Only conductors of the same length can be processed with it. In practical use, for example on washing machines, however, cable harnesses are required whose individual conductors have different lengths in order to be able to be routed from the control panel to the individual machine parts, such as pumps, solenoid valves, controllers, drum drives and the like, which can be carried out in different ways Distance to the control panel are arranged. There is therefore a need for a cable harness whose individual conductors or cable sets of very different lengths are provided with housing modules at their ends. This requirement could not be met with the known cable assembly device, among other things, because the machine is equipped with a multiple cable feed, which simultaneously feeds up to 20 conductors to one another for processing. Subsequent cutting, shortening or shifting to produce different individual line lengths within the cable harness is not possible with the known system and would require a complicated mechanical construction that cannot be realized with reasonable means.

In view of this prior art, the invention is based on the object of making it possible to automatically equip conductors of different lengths with housings, which has a single-wire processing, which is assembled in different steps in such a way that grid jumps can be made and pairings of different plug systems of the same grid size with one another allowed, with further processing, such as the execution of testing processes, being decoupled from the contacting process itself.

The object is achieved by a method in which the line is fixed with its free end in a first working level before being cut to length, then the line is fed from the line supply with continuous feed until the desired length of the cable is reached, that then the other end of the line is fixed and the cable is cut to the desired length, that the cable is then pivoted into a contact position, preferably arranged below, in a second working plane and its free ends are moved outwards, so that both cable ends are simultaneously in each a insulation displacement contact of the separately supplied insulation displacement contact element which is seated in a housing chamber of a housing having a plurality of housing chambers at a certain grid spacing, that at the same time with this contacting on the first working level, fixing, providing length and cutting the n Next cable is carried out, which is contacted after pivoting into the second working level with another insulation displacement contact element of the housing, after which the line sets thus finished are fed for further processing or removal.

In terms of the device, the object is achieved according to the invention in that the assembly station, the first of which grips the free end of the supplied conductor with continued cable feed and the second closes after the desired cable length has been provided while the cable feed has ended and fixes the conductor for cutting to length, that the cable pliers axially oppose one another and extendable and synchronously pivotable from a loading position into a contacting position on a contacting device, and that the contacting position adjacent to the cable tongs is a clocked drive and coordinated with the cable tongs function grid transport device for further processing and / or removal of the assembled cable sets.

The essential idea of the invention resides in the provision of two cable pliers, which allow processing and contacting of free cable ends with the plugs arranged in housings, with cables of different lengths being freely contactable at different grid spacings. This results from the possibility of maintaining the conductor feed in the first cable pliers after the conductor end has been fixed and of forming a cable loop of great length that sags downward. After the cable is then fixed in the second cable pliers and cut to length, the two free ends can be assembled with different grid jumps.

For this purpose, it is advantageous to design each cable pliers from a turning plate with three pliers elements, each offset by 120 ° on the circumference, so that the cable feed plane with the aforementioned loop formation can be spatially separated from the contacting plane. This enables simultaneous conductor provision and conductor contact with extremely fast cycle times. Each cable pliers expediently has a fixed jaw and a movable jaw on the outer circumference of the turning plate with pneumatic drive, the pliers elements being able to be arranged on the cable pliers in the radial direction or in the circumferential direction.

In order to improve the guidance of the conductor between the cable feed device / cable cutting station and the equipping station, it is proposed in an expedient embodiment of the invention to arrange an axially movable cable entry funnel in the path of movement of the conductor in front of the equipping station, wherein a cable backstop can additionally be provided. In order to achieve targeted guidance in the further feed movement of the cable towards the first cable tongs, a guide piece is advantageously inserted and inserted between the cable tongs arranged extendable, which prevents the cable from escaping from its axial feed direction and ensures secure gripping by the first cable pliers.

In the preferred embodiment of the invention, a cable guide shaft is arranged below the space between the two cable tongs, into which the inserted conductor extends in the form of a loop, before it is fixed by the second cable tongs after reaching the desired length and then cut to length by the cutting device. The knives of the cutting station are advantageously movable relative to one another in order to prevent the conductor from bending during the cutting process.

The cable pliers can be moved axially against one another in order to be able to reduce the distance between them from the charging position for the contacting process and in turn be able to enlarge them for contacting. In order to carry out the contacting after the cable ends have been moved into the housing, a contacting stamp is provided, which can be moved from top to bottom and carries out individual contacting.

The housing, which is preferably provided with insulation displacement contact elements, is fed from a magazine to the assembly station of the cable assembly device according to the invention. For the transport, below the contacting position of the cable tongs, a raster transport device, which is driven in a clocked manner and coordinated with the cable tongs function, is provided for housing supply, further processing and / or removal of the conditioned line sets. The grid transport device preferably has a cyclically driven drive belt which interacts with a housing holder. Reverse operation is also advantageously possible in the preferred embodiment.

In order to be able to provide a favorable space distribution and modular construction with expansion options, it is provided to arrange the housing feed and the cable pulling device transversely to one another in such a way that Processing directions are at right angles to each other, wherein the loading station is arranged at the intersection of the processing directions.

A drive cylinder for the cable tongs rotary movement and a servo motor for the grid transport device are provided as the drive for the assembly station. The opening and closing of the turning tongs, i.e. The axial travel is ensured by an additional drive, which is connected directly to the first cable pliers and to the second by a central shaft, which can be coupled to the drive via an index pin.

The described cable assembly device according to the invention provides single-wire processing that is highly flexible, has a modular structure and is conceptually designed to process a wide variety of connector programs, for example Rast 2.5 and Rast 5 with the associated line spectrum of different lengths and with grid jumps. A very high processing speed is achieved due to the high positioning accuracy, whereby long lines are made possible by the formation of loops underneath the cable pliers. In particular, the parallel workflow of pulling in and contacting is advantageous, since it enables cycle time to be minimized, which is further improved by the parallel processing of both ends of the line. On the other hand, the tight arrangement of the two cable pliers allows the processing of very short cable lengths of 120mm.

Fig. 1

eine Draufsicht auf eine schematisch dargestellte Grundkonzeption einer Kabelkonfektioniereinrichtung,

Fig. 2

die Grundmaschine der Fig. 1 mit ergänzenden Optionen,

Fig. 3

eine Vier-Modul-Version,

Fig. 4

eine Kabelzangen-Einheit der Bestückungsstation schematisch in einer Frontansicht;

Fig. 5

eine vergößerte Darstellung der Kabelzangen in Kontaktierposition mit einer Detail-Darstellung einer Kabelzange in Seitenansicht und

Fig. 6

eine geänderte, bevorzugte Ausführungsform der Kabelzangen in einer Darstellung gemäß Fig. 5.

Further details, features and advantages of the subject matter of the invention result from the following description of the accompanying drawing, in which a cable assembly machine is shown schematically. The drawing shows:

Fig. 1

a plan view of a schematically illustrated basic concept of a cable assembly device,

Fig. 2

1 with additional options,

Fig. 3

a four-module version,

Fig. 4

a cable tongs unit of the assembly station schematically in a front view;

Fig. 5

an enlarged view of the cable pliers in the contact position with a detailed view of a cable pliers in side view and

Fig. 6

a modified, preferred embodiment of the cable pliers in a representation according to FIG. 5th

In the basic concept of a cable assembly device for the mechanical assembly of insulation displacement contact elements arranged in housings with conductors, a cable pull-in device 1 is provided for pulling the single wire into the machine, in which the delivery of the single wire takes place from a barrel 2 or from Conipack. The cable pull-in device 1 works with a roller drive, not shown in detail, which pulls the unprocessed cable from a roll and introduces it into the machine. After a blank spot detection and node detection, the cable first arrives in a cable straightening unit 3, in which straightening takes place by means of horizontally and vertically acting roller combinations. The cable is then gripped by a feed device 4 and advanced further in the direction of the assembly station 5 of the cable assembly device.

The cable feed device 4 consists of two toothed belt drives 6 arranged one above the other in a plane, the belts of which lie against each other in the adjacent strand behind a funnel-like insertion area and are suitable for gripping and advancing the cable. For this purpose, a belt drive is driven by a servo motor.

In the direction of movement of the cable behind the cable feed device there are measuring wheels 7 with which slip tests for tape feed and length measurements are carried out. The cable then arrives at the loading station 5.

The loading station 5 is located at the interface of the article feed according to arrow 8 coming from the right in the drawing and the cable feed as described above, which are arranged at right angles to one another. The article feed works with a magazine, not shown, in which article carriers are arranged, which serve to receive and precisely position the plug elements at a precisely provided location. The article consists of a housing with insulation displacement contact elements which are fed to the loading station 5 by means of transport devices (not shown) for processing on rails opposite one another. In the loading station 5, toothed belts 9, 10, which are driven by the servo motor already mentioned, take over the article carriers with the housings and push them into a contacting position within the loading station 5 in cyclical feed.

The core component of the loading station 5 are two cable tongs 11, 12 which are arranged at a distance from one another and are shown in more detail in FIGS. 4 and 5 of the drawing. Figure 4 shows a schematic front view with drive and storage of the cable tongs 11 and 12. Figure 5 shows the design of a cable tongs in more detail in a side view.

The two cable tongs 11 and 12 can be moved relative to one another in the manner of an opening and closing process according to arrow 13 in FIG. 4 of the drawing and, moreover, can be pivoted in steps of 120 ° in order to provide a charging position and a different contacting position. For this purpose, the tongs 11 and 12 are supported on one side and suspended as a complete unit on the top of the machine frame 14. A piston drive 15 is provided as the rotary drive, which acts on a drive shaft 16 which is connected to the cable pliers 11 and 12. For the horizontal opening and closing of the cable pliers 11 and 12 according to arrow 13, an axially arranged cylinder 29, 30 is provided for each cable pliers 11, 12, the piston rod of the cylinder 30 for the cable pliers 12 being guided centrally through a hollow shaft to the pliers 12, while the piston rod of the cylinder 29 for the cable pliers 11 engages the cable pliers 11 via an externally guided flange (not shown).

Each cable pliers 11 and 12 consists of a turning plate 17 as a base body, on the outer circumference of which three pliers elements 18, 19, 20, each with an upper jaw 21 and a lower jaw 22 as shown in FIG. The upper jaw is articulated on the turning plate 17 and is opened and closed pneumatically. The pliers element 18 is in the representation of Figure 5 in the position provided for charging with the conductor, while the pliers element 19 is in the contacting position, as is illustrated in the drawing in the left part of Figure 5 by the fact that there the left and right Cable tongs 11, 12 are article carriers 23 with cutting contact elements 24, into which the free ends of the cable to be contacted can be inserted. In the embodiment according to FIG. 6, the pliers elements are arranged on the turning plate in the radial direction of extension, which has the advantage that instead of the horizontal back and forth method of the contacted complete connector system consisting of cable, contact and housing, which is required in the embodiment according to FIG. 5 a vertical method is now possible which is inexpensive in terms of apparatus and time.

Another important, but not shown element of the loading station is a filler or guide piece, which can be inserted in the loading position from above between the cable pliers 11 and 12 such that the space between the pliers, adjacent to the cable, is filled. As a result, a cable guide is provided through the second cable tongs 12 into the first cable tongs 11, which ensures accurate guidance into the space between the upper jaw and the lower jaw until it is fixed. In order not to impair the movement of the cable pliers 11 and 12 towards one another, the filling piece is pulled out of the intermediate space again after it has fulfilled its guiding position.

A grid transport device 25 leads out of the loading station 5 and accomplishes the article transport by means of the drive belts 9 and 10.

The grid transport device 25 has a drive belt 9 or 10 for each end of the cable branch to be produced, which is on both sides extend the cable pliers. The endless drive belts 9, 10 bring about a longitudinal movement of the article carrier and transport through the loading station until the finished cable is removed. The drive belts 9 and 10 are driven by the servo motor, and any position of the article carriers can be moved forwards and backwards.

The assembly station is also equipped with a cable cutting station, not shown, the cutting tools of which are arranged adjacent to the second cable pliers 12.

In the further path of movement of the fully contacted articles on the grid transport device 25 there are mechanical and electrical test devices, stations for further processing of the insulation displacement contact elements equipped with cable lengths and a removal station for the orderly release of the tested and recognized as faultless cable sets in busbars.

According to the embodiment in FIG. 2 of the drawing, which schematically shows a complete one-module version of a cable assembly device according to the invention, a mechanical and electrical test of the contact is carried out in the test station 26. In position 27, the housing is closed by means of a cover. In the removal station 28, the finished cable sets are removed and the article carriers thus cleared are lowered and returned to their starting position for the article feed.

3 of the drawing schematically shows a four-module version of a cable assembly device according to the invention as an example of the variability that is provided by the modular structure. The machine in FIG. 3 has four cable feed and processing modules A, B, C, D in the above individual configuration.

The cable assembly device described above works as follows:

From the barrel 2 as a line supply device, a line, as indicated by dashed lines in Fig. 1 of the drawing, is withdrawn from the cable pulling device and drawn into the machines for cable assembly. The line is subjected to various tests, such as blank spot detection and node detection. A cable backstop is provided to prevent the line from returning.

The line enters the cable straightening unit 3, where it is straightened axially and made tension-free by the horizontally and vertically arranged straightening rollers.

The line is then taken over by the cable feed device 4, which is formed from two internally toothed conveyor belts 6 arranged side by side or one above the other, which clamp the line between their circumferential surfaces running in the longitudinal direction of the line and convey it axially in the direction of the loading station 5. For the purpose of easier reception of the line, the toothed belts 6 are arranged funnel-like to one another on the inlet side.

Before entering the assembly station 5, measurements are still carried out on the line by means of the measuring device 7, for example slip measurements and determination of the line length, the latter measurement being used to control the cutting tools of the cutting station 5 integrated in the assembly station.

The article feed is arranged transversely to the processing direction just described. According to part 8 of FIG. 1, article carriers are fed from a magazine (not shown) in two mutually parallel rows coaxially with the drive belts 9, 10 to the grid transport device 25. The article carriers are equipped with insulation displacement contact elements located in housings, which are each fitted in the loading station 5 with one end of the line fed from the cable pull-in device 1. For this purpose, the articles are routed in the contacting position adjacent to the cable tongs 11, 12 of the assembly station 5 and after the Contacting processed further by means of the grid transport device 25 or fed to the removal.

For the actual contacting, the cable pliers must first be fitted with the cut cable. For this purpose, an axially movable cord in the form of a tube takes over the routing of the line between the measuring wheels 7 and the cable tongs 11, 12 in order to ensure a safe transition for the entry of the line into the first cable tongs 11, which fixes the free end of the line. The parallel pliers elements of the second cable pliers 12 are opened during the passage of the line and between the cable pliers there is a lowered filler piece for guiding the movement of the line. The pliers elements are in the loading position, which is arranged above and offset from the contacting position. After the line end has been fixed in the first cable pliers 11, the further feed movement forms the line loop 28 of a desired line length between 120 mm and 2800 mm, which can be seen in FIG. 5 of the drawing. Once the desired length has been reached, the second cable pliers 12 fix the line and the line is cut to length in the adjacent cutting station and the second end of the line is exposed for contacting.

In the subsequent process step, the cable pliers are rotated by 120 ° and the cable loop 28 is thus moved into the contacting position. For this purpose, the filler is moved out of the space between the two cable tongs 11, 12 and the cable cord is retracted in order to allow the intended axial movement of the cable tongs 11, 12 relative to one another. First of all, the cable tongs 11, 12 must be moved against each other before the 120 ° rotation is carried out in order to be able to be positioned in the contacting position between the article carriers. After rotation into the contacting position, which can be seen in the left drawing in FIG. 5, the cable pliers 11, 12 are moved apart and the protruding free cable ends of the cable loop are thereby inserted into the corresponding insulation displacement contact elements supplied. Contact stamps are then moved down from above, which complete the assembly.

The contacting is continued in a repetition of these steps with further individual lines, both different housings and housings being able to be equipped with different housing grids, as well as grid jumps with different numbers on the opposite processing sides and spaces being possible. Cable clamps and contacts at other locations are loaded simultaneously, which enables fast cycle times. The pliers elements 18, 19, 20 are opened pneumatically, while the closing is effected by compression springs.

After complete contacting, an electrical continuity test, short-circuit test and measurement of the cable protrusion are carried out using a defined insulation displacement connector. Error messages lead to automatic identification by unilaterally disconnecting the cable. Flawlessly conditioned cable sets or line modules are removed at the end of the grid transport device 25 at a removal station, while the freed article carriers are led back to the magazine.

Reference list

1

Cable pulling device

2nd

Barrel

3rd

Cable straightener

4th

Cable feed device

5

Assembly station

6

Timing belt

7

Measuring wheels

8th

arrow

9

Drive belt

10th

Drive belt

11

Cable pliers

12th

Cable pliers

13

arrow

14

Machine frame

15

Piston drive

16

drive shaft

17th

Turning plate

18th

Pliers element

19th

Pliers element

20th

Pliers element

21

movable jaw

22

fixed jaw

23

Article carrier

24th

Cutting contact element

25th

Raster transport device

26

Test station

27

Lid closing device

28

Cable loop

29

cylinder

30th

cylinder

Claims (15)

Process for the mechanical assembly of lines at both ends with plugs arranged in housings with certain grid spacings, in particular insulation displacement contact elements, for the automatic production of line sets, in which a line is pulled from a line supply, directed and cut to a cable to be contacted,
characterized,
that the line is fixed with its free end on a first working level before being cut to length, then the line is fed from the line supply with continuous feed until the desired length of the cable is reached with sag or loop formation, then the other end of the line is fixed and cut to length, that the cable is then pivoted into a contact position, preferably arranged below, in a second working plane and its free ends are moved outwards so that both cable ends are pressed simultaneously into one insulation displacement connector of the separately supplied insulation displacement contact element, which in a housing chamber of a housing having a plurality of housing chambers in a certain grid spacing, and that at the same time with this contacting on the first working level the fixing, providing length and cutting of the next cable is carried out, which after the pivoting into the second working level is contacted with a further insulation displacement contact element of the housing, after which the line set thus finished is sent for further processing or removal. Cable assembly device, in particular for carrying out the method according to claim 1 for mechanically fitting lines at both ends with plugs arranged in housings, in particular insulation displacement contact elements for the automatic production of cable sets, which have a cable pulling device for pulling in individual cables, a cable feed device, a cable cutting station and has an assembly station for assembling the lines with the housings supplied from an article feed,
characterized by
that the assembly station (5) has two spaced-apart cable tongs (11, 12), the first (11) of which grips the free end of the supplied conductor with continued cable feed and the second (12) of which closes after the desired cable length has been provided while the cable feed is stopped and the conductor for cutting to length is fixed in such a way that the cable pliers (11, 12) are axially retractable and extendable against each other and can be pivoted synchronously from a loading position into a contacting position on a contacting device, and that the contacting position of the cable pliers (11, 12) is adjacent to a clocked driven one and the grid transport device (25) coordinated with the cable tongs function is provided for further processing and / or removal of the assembled cable sets. Cable assembly device according to claim 2, characterized in that each cable pliers (11, 12) is formed from a turning plate (17) with three pliers elements (18, 19, 20) which are each offset by 120 ° on the circumference. Cable assembly device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that each cable pliers (11, 12) has pliers elements (18, 19, 20) with a fixed jaw (22) and a movable jaw (21) on the outer circumference of the turning plate (17). Cable assembly device according to Claim 4, characterized in that the pliers elements (18, 19, 20) are arranged on the cable pliers (11, 12) in the radial direction or in the circumferential direction. Cable assembly device according to one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that a pneumatic drive is provided for opening the cable pliers (11, 12). Cable assembly device according to one of claims 2 to 6, characterized in that an axially movable cable entry funnel is arranged in the path of movement of the conductor in front of the loading station (5). Cable assembly device according to one of Claims 2 to 7, characterized in that a guide piece can be arranged in and out between the cable pliers (11, 12). Cable assembly device according to one of Claims 2 to 8, characterized in that a cable guide shaft is arranged below the two cable pliers (11, 12), into which the pushed-in conductor extends in the form of a loop. Cable assembly device according to one of claims 2 to 9, characterized in that a cutting device is arranged adjacent to the second cable pliers (12), the cutting tools of which can be moved relative to one another. Cable assembly device according to one of Claims 2 to 10, characterized in that the cable tongs (11, 12) can be moved apart axially to carry out the contacting process, and a contacting plunger which can be moved up and down is provided on both sides of the cable tongs (11, 12) above the housing. Cable assembly device according to one of claims 1 to 11, characterized in that the grid transport device (25) has a clocked drive belt (9, 10) on each contacting side of the assembly station (5). Cable assembly device according to claim 12, characterized in that a reversing operation is made possible with the drive belts (9, 10). Cable assembly device according to one of claims 1 to 13, characterized by a modular design and a housing feed, which is arranged at right angles to the cable pulling device (1), the assembly station (5) being arranged at the intersection of the processing devices. Cable assembly device according to one of claims 1 to 14, characterized in that a drive cylinder for the cable tongs (11, 12) and a servo motor for the grid transport device (25) is provided as a drive, an additional one for the axial travel of the cable tongs (11, 12) Drive, preferably piston drive, is provided.

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