FR2642233A1 - AUTOMATIC LOADING CRIMPING TOOL - Google Patents

Abstract

Ferrules 3 must be crimped at the end of electrical conductors to form lugs. Before crimping, they are joined by a removable strip 4. A feed wheel 14 meshes with the strip 4 by receiving the end pieces 3 in its toothing hollows. The wheel 14 is rotatably supported by a fixed gripper arm 12. A crimping wheel 43 meshes with the feed wheel 14. It is supported by a carrying rod 34 articulated to the fixed arm 12 along the axis 16 of the wheel. feed 14 and it is actuated around said reciprocating axis by the movable arm 13 of the gripper. Pawls 44, 46 cause that when the gripper arms are brought closer to one another, the crimping wheel 43 rolls on the immobilized feed wheel 14, and crimps an end piece 3a. When the arms 12, 13 are released, a spring 39 causes the return movement of the rod 34 which drives the feed wheel 14 in rotation via the crimping wheel 43 immobilized by its pawl 46. Use to allow a easy crimping by simple action on two gripper arms.

Description

The present invention relates to a crimping tool with loading

  automatic, especially for crimping elements such as connection terminals on

  ends of electrical conductors.

  Crimp lugs are known on ends of multi-stranded electrical conductors. These

  pods comprise a conductive tube of malleable material.

  The strands of the conductor are placed in this tube and the tube is crushed radially to fix the strands to

the inside of the tube.

  To perform such crimping, the crimping pliers are known, which are distinguished from an all-customary pliers only in that at least one of their jaws has projections intended to locally strengthen the action. crimping at certain points of the

length of the tubular lug.

  On the other hand, it is known from FR-A-340703 a tool for crimping on the conductor ends lugs removably attached along a supply belt. The tool includes a feed gear capable of meshing with the belt, a rotating disk disposed coaxially with the feed gear, a pawl acting between the disk and the feed gear to transmit the drive of the drive. disc to the wheel upon rotation in a first direction and to allow the disc to rotate relative to the wheel when the disc rotates in a second direction, the disc being coupled to a spring-biased operating handle. Another pawl acts between the cogwheel and the frame to prevent the cogwheel from turning in the second direction while allowing it to turn in the opposite direction.

first sense.

  The elements to crimp are thus brought step by step in a crimping region, by successive actions

of the user on the handle.

  The actual crimping is performed by means of a second handle actuating conventional crimping jaws, such as those of the aforementioned clamp of the state of the art. The tool according to FR-A-1340563 has the disadvantage of requiring a large number of parts and requiring the user to actuate two different handles, one to cause feeding, the other

to cause crimping.

  The object of the invention is to overcome these disadvantages by proposing an automatic loading crimping tool which is simpler and easier

  to use that tool according to FR-A-1,340,563.

  According to the invention, the self-loading crimping tool, in particular for crimping elements such as terminal lugs on ends of electrical conductors, comprising: - a feed gear; moving means moving back and forth about the axis of the feed gearwheel, coupled to actuating means; selective coupling means for, in a first direction of the back-and-forth movement, coupling the wheel

  toothed feed with moving means in va-and-

  comes for the feed gear to bring the crimping elements to a crimping region, and in a second direction of the reciprocating motion, to decouple from the feed wheel the moving means back and forth and to immobilize the feed wheel with respect to rotations about its axis; and crimping means; is characterized in that: - the moving means reciprocating about the axis of the feed gear comprises a crimping gear which meshes with the feed gear; the selective coupling means comprise means for preventing the rotation of the crimping gear about its axis in the first direction of the reciprocating movement and allowing the rotation of the crimping wheel around its axis in the second sense of movement back and forth; - The feed gear is adapted to receive in its hollow teeth the elements &crimp; and the crimping means are constituted by toothing tops of the crimping wheel and by the

  tooth cavity of the feed wheel.

  Thus, in the first direction of the moving means back and forth, the crimping wheel, immobilized around its own axis, rotates the feed wheel around his, so that the feed wheel brings an element to crimp in the crimping area while

  the crimping wheel deviates itself from said region.

  In the second direction of movement, moving means

  and forth, the feed wheel is prevented from rotating about its own axis and therefore the crimping element remains in crimping region. The movement of the moving means back and forth is thus reflected by a rolling of the crimping wheel to and beyond the crimping region, while a crest of the crimping wheel crushes the crimping element in a bottom end of the feed wheel, which performs crimping. The cycle can then start again for

perform the following crimping.

  Thanks to the invention, it is therefore sufficient to move the reciprocating moving means back and forth to perform both feeding and crimping. The moving means back and forth and in particular the crimping wheel are means for driving the wheel

  supply and at the same time crimping means.

  It follows from the above that the number of essential components of the tool is significantly reduced, as well as the size of the latter in the direction of the axes of the gear wheels. In addition, the tool is much more ergonomic since there is only one

actuation to be performed.

  Other peculiarities and advantages of

  the invention will become apparent from the description

  after. In the accompanying drawings, given by way of non-limiting example: FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of two crimping lugs carried by a removable power strip; - Figure 2 is a cross sectional view of the strip, and partially in axial section of the pod; - Figure 3 is an axial sectional view of a lug crimped on the end of a multi-stranded conductor; - Figure 4 is an elevational view of a tool according to the invention, with partial section of the strip and lugs, a front closure plate being 8tée; - Figures 5 to 8 are sectional views along lines V-V, VI-VI, VII-VII, and VIII-VIII of Figure 4 respectively; FIG. 9 is a detail of FIG. 4 with various cutaways; - Figures 10 to 13 are schematic views of the tool at four successive stages of a crimping cycle; FIG. 14 is a view in axial section of the crimping wheel; FIG. 15 is an enlarged detail of FIG. 14; FIG. 16 is a partial axial view, on an enlarged scale, of the crimping wheel; FIG. 17 is an axial view, on an enlarged scale, of a detail of the feed wheel; and - Figure 18 is a sectional view through the spout of the moving equipment, to show the cooperation with

  the teeth of the feed wheel.

  As shown in Figures 1 to 3, each lug comprises ur tube malleable conductive material 1

  coaxially connected to a skirt of insulating material 2.

  10. The blades 3, as supplied by the manufacturer, are held in a chain along a removable strip 4 with a U-shaped wire, the two branches of the U being constituted by successive fins 6 which are separated from each other for allow to bend the

  band around an axis parallel to the axes of the pods.

  Each fin 6 is traversed by a circular hole 7.

  The conductive tube 1 of each lug 3 is engaged transversally to the longitudinal direction of the strip in the holes 7 of two fins 6 facing each other. The skirt 2

  is projecting laterally with respect to the strip 4.

  As shown in FIG. 3, for crimping a lug 3 on a conductor comprising conducting strands 8 in an insulating sheath 9, the end of the conductor is stripped and the stripped end 8 is placed in the tube 1 while the end the sheath 9 is surrounded by the skirt 3. The tube 1 is then crushed so as to fix the conductors 8 therein, the crimping being preferably essentially concentrated at two points 11 of

the length of the tube 1.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the tool according to the invention is, in the example, made in the form of a "clamp" comprising a so-called fixed handle 12 and a so-called mobile handle 13, provided with gripping sheaths 12a.

and 13a.

  A feed gear 14 is rotatably mounted along a geometric axis 16 integral with the fixed handle 12 and adjacent the end of the handle 12 which is opposite the gripping sheath 12a. All

  axes that will be mentioned in the following description

are parallel to axis 16.

  According to the invention, the toothed feed wheel 14 is adapted to receive in its troughs 14a the tubes 1 of the lugs 3. This is visible in particular at the lower left portion of the feed gear wheel in FIG. 4, where the band 4 and the end pieces 3 have been cut along the median longitudinal plane of the band. The pitch of the lugs 3 along the band 4 corresponds to two notch steps of the feed wheel 14, so that, along the periphery of the feed gear wheel 14, between a region 17 o the band begins to mesh with the feed gear 14 and a crimping region 18, there is a pod tube 1 in a tooth cavity out of two. Regions 17 and 18

  are in a fixed position relative to the fixed clamp arm 12.

  Upstream of the meshing region 17, the band 4 is stored in a spiral in a magazine 19 defining inside an annular cavity 21. Between the magazine 19 and the meshing region 17, the band 4 passes through a corridor 22 passing through the common plane of the axes 21a of the cavity 21, and 16 of the feed wheel 14 substantially along a tangent common to the cavity 21 and the feed wheel 14. Thus the strip 4, wound in the magazine 19 with the fins 6 directed radially outward, is wrapped around the feed wheel 14 with the fins 6 directed towards the axis 16 of the feed wheel 14. In other words, on the feed wheel 14 , the U-shape of band 4

  overlaps the periphery of the feed wheel 14.

  As shown in Figure 7, a bottom 22a of the corridor 22 carries a longitudinal rib or rail 22b which is overlapped by the U-profile of the strip 4. The tubes

  1 of the pods 3 slide on the top of the rail 22b.

  A guide 23 (FIG. 4) comprises a wall 23a radially outwardly delimiting the cavity 21 over a portion of its periphery, a wall 22c forming a ceiling for the corridor 22, and a curved wall 23b surrounding the toothed wheel with a slight clearance. supply 14 over a certain peripheral distance from the meshing region 17 to the crimping region 18. A pusher 24 rotatably mounted on the guide 23 along an axis 24a is biased by a return spring 26 towards an active position in which it protrudes through the ceiling 22c of the corridor 22 and presses the band 4 to positively bring the lugs 3 in mesh with the

feed wheel 4.

  On the rest of its periphery, store 19 is

  delimited radially outwardly by a ferrule 27.

  Radially inwards, the cavity 21 is delimited

by a cylindrical mandrel 28.

  The cavity 21 and the passageway 22 are closed laterally by two plates 29 and 31, the plate 31 being removable, for example by screws such as 31a to allow restocking the magazine 19 and, after a replenishment, to engage the new band 4 in the corridor 22 to the meshing region 17. To enable this engagement, the pusher 24 is retracted against its return spring 26 by acting on a lug 32 which is integral with the pusher 24 and protrudes laterally through the plate 31. In Figure 4, the plate 31 has been removed to show the elements

constituent parts of the clamp.

  In use, the plates 29 and 31, the guide 23, the shell 27, and the mandrel 28 are integral with the arm of

fixed clamp 12.

  The tool according to the invention further comprises a movable unit 33 moving back and forth about the axis 16 of the

  feeder wheel 14. The moving equipment in and out

  comes comprises a carrier link 34 articulated to the fixed arm 12 along the axis 16 of the feed wheel 14. For control of the reciprocating movement of the moving assembly 33, the carrier link 34 is coupled to the arm

  mobile 13 which is mounted in-lever reversing movement.

  For this purpose, the movable arm 13 is hinged on the one hand to the carrier link 34 along an axis 36 and on the other hand to a compensating link 37 itself articulated along an axis 38 to the fixed arm 12. A tension spring 39 articulated on the one hand to the movable arm 13 in the vicinity of the axis 36, and on the other hand to the fixed arm 12 constantly remembers the movable arm 13 in a position away from the

  fixed arm 12, as shown in Figures 4 and 10.

  In use, the user grasps in the same hand the two arms 12 and 13 of the tool, so as to urge the arm 13 towards the arm 12, so that the axis 36 of articulation between the carrier link 34 and the arm 13, due to the effect of movement reversal around the hinge 41 between the compensating link 37 and the arm 13, moves away from the fixed arm 12 as shown in FIGS. > and 12 (maximum approach position

arms 12 and 13 of the tool).

  As the axis 36 is constrained to pivot about the axis 16 of the feed wheel 14, the hinge 41 around which the movement of the arm 13 reverses must move, which allows the compensating link 37 in pivoting about its hinge axis 38 with the

arm 12.

  The carrier link 34 has a V shape whose tip, adjacent to the axis 36, is directed towards the sheaths 12a and 13a of the arms 12 and 13. One end of the V is adjacent to the axis 16. L the other end of the V is adjacent to the axis of rotation 42 of a crimping gear 43. which meshes with the feed gear 14. The two branches of the V embrace the

crimping region 18.

  In addition, the tool comprises selective coupling means comprising two pawls 44 and 46 (see Figure 9) which cooperate respectively with the toothing of the feed wheel 14 and with the toothing of the crimping wheel 43. The pawl 44 is articulated to the fixed arm 12 along an axis 44a and is biased by a tension spring 44b towards its meshing position with the feed gear 14. The pawl 44 is arranged to allow rotation of the toothed wheel feeding around its axis 16 in the supply direction of the web 4 from the magazine 19 to the meshing region 17 and to the crimping region 18, and to prohibit the rotation of the feed wheel 14 in meaning

opposite.

  The pawl 46 is articulated to the carrier link 34 along an axis 46a and is permanently biased by a spring 46b towards its meshing position with the crimping gear 43. The pawl 46 is arranged to allow the toothed wheel 43 to roll on the toothed wheel 14 when the rod 34 moves around the axis 16 in the opposite direction to that allowed by the pawl 44 for the wheel 14, that is to say when the rod 34 rotates clockwise around the axis 16 in Figures 4, 9, and 10 to 13, and to prevent the rotation of the crimping gear 43 about its axis 42 when the rod 34 rotates in the opposite direction (counterclockwise figures), in order to couple in rotation the feed gear 14 with the moving element 33 when the latter moves in the

  anti-clockwise around axis 16.

  Thus, when the arm 13 is pivoted to the arm 12 from the position shown in FIG. 4, the carrier linkage 34 is pivoted clockwise, during which the crimping gear wheel 43 rolls on the wheel supply tooth 14 immobilized by the pawl 44. When the arm 13 is then released, it moves away from the arm 12 under the effect of the tension spring 39, the carrier rod 34 rotates counter-clockwise around the axis 16 and carries with it the feed gear 14 and therefore the band 4 in the direction bringing the pods 3 to the region

crimp 18.

  The carrier link 34 is extended beyond the crimping gear 43 to form a spout 47 whose free end is adjacent the periphery of the feed gear 14 very close to a lower end 23c of the guide 23. In use, the spout is engaged between the web 4a of the web 4 and the tubes 1 of the pods and deflects the web radially outwardly 4a and with it the fins 6 while maintaining the pods in their tooth cavities respective 14a of the feed gear 14, which tears the wings 6 of the band

  4 and therefore releases the tips of the latter.

  Below its tip, the nose 47 has a curved face 47a which matches the toothed crown of the feed wheel 14 substantially between the end 23c of the guide 23 and the meshing region.

between the gears 14, 43.

  More precisely, as shown in FIG. 6 and on a larger scale in FIG. 18, the feed gear 14 has been turned so that in an intermediate region of its axial length, referenced 14c at the 18, its peak diameter is reduced over an axial length corresponding to the width of the spout 47 so that the spout 47 can come to bear directly on the tubes 1 lugs 3 to prevent them can not escape axially when

  they are detached from band 4.

  Thus, when the carrier linkage 34 pivots clockwise about the axis 16 of the feed gear 14, the spout 47 moves along the

-2642233

  it surrounds the wheel 14 and releases from the band 4, at each stroke, a lug 3 which it maintains in its hollow gear of the wheel 14. When then the rod 34 pivots in the counter-clockwise direction around the wheel 16 axis, the spout 47 continues to maintain in the tooth cavities of the wheel 14 pods separated from the strip 4 since there is no relative rotation between the rod 34 at this stage 34

and the wheel 14.

  As shown more particularly in Figure 6, the link 34 preferably has two branches 34a which receive between them on the one hand the movable arm 13 and on the other hand the fixed arm 12, which itself comprises two branches 12b between which turns the feed gear 14. The spout 47 is constituted by a wear-resistant insert, the two branches 34a being brought closer to each other to the right of the spout 47 to be

  welded on both sides of the spout 47.

  The tool further comprises crimping means which consist of the toothed recesses 14a of the feed gear 14 and the toothing tops 43a of the crimping gear 43. It is therefore during the rotation of the moving element 33 in the clockwise direction about the axis 16 that takes place the crimping, by rolling of the crimping gear 43 on the periphery of the feed gear 14, over a corresponding peripheral distance substantially together

no teeth of the wheels 14 and 43.

  Thus, from the situation shown in FIG. 4, in which a terminal 3a is just upstream of the crimping region 18, after having made a complete travel to the movable arm 13 in the direction of the arm 12, the terminal 3a, FIG. 12 is still in the crimping position 18 but has now been crimped by the toothing vertex 43a shown in FIG. 12 and is now released by this toothing, which makes it possible to extract a tool from the tool with lug set to

  its end, as shown in Figure 3.

  When then the arm 13 is released (FIG. 13),

  the movement of the carrier link 34 in the anti-direction

  time brings the next lug 3b in crimping position, and the cycle can start again. Although it is desired a crimping, that is to say a crushing of the elements to be crimped 3, the space available between a bottom of teeth such as 14a and a toothing vertex such as 43a would be insufficient and block the movement of the gear wheel 43 on the wheel

  toothed 14 if standard gears were used.

  However, for convenience, we start with pine nuts

  standard that is properly milled.

  As shown in FIG. 16, to produce the crimping gear 43, it starts from a standard gear having, for example, eighteen teeth, and is machined by turning to shorten the teeth of the gearwheel 43 and thus form the vertices of the gear. gear 43a set back from the initial peaks 43b. In addition, as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15, at the top of each tooth are formed two ribs 43c in the circumferential direction for

  form the localized crimps 11 of Figure 3.

  As shown in FIG. 17, each tooth cavity 14a of the toothed wheel 14 is obtained by milling

  of the initial tooth cavity 14b of a standard pinion.

  Taking into account the current tooth pitches, it has been provided, as already stated, that only one trough of teeth on two of the feed wheel 14 is occupied by a lug 3 to be crimped, and that the travel of the moving assembly 33 around the axis 16 corresponds to two pitch teeth, so that the crimping stroke is sufficient for a pod still free in its crimping cavity at the beginning of the crimping stroke is crimped and released again at the end crimping stroke (Figure 12). The same result could have been obtained by employing for the feed wheel a toothed gear with a circumferentially smaller tooth pitch than the teeth, and as a crimping wheel, a pinion whose tooth cavities would be

  Larger ci-: referentially than the teeth.

  Comr. shown in FIG. 5, to adjust the size of the crimping cavity as a function of the diameter of the conductors and crimp terminals, provision is made for adjusting the distance between the axis 16 of the feed gear 14 and the The axis 42 of the crimping gear 43. For this adjustment, the crimping gear 3 is rotatably mounted about a shaft 48 having an axis 42 which is angularly adjustable relative to the connecting rod 34. around an axis 49 slightly eccentric with respect to the axis 48. The adjustment made is

identifiable by an index 51.

  For the tool to work properly during its lifetime, it is important that the angular position around the axis 16 of each lug 3 (lug 3a in FIG. 4) that is going to be crimped is always the same, namely the

  crimping position 18 already mentioned.

  A partial actuation of the arm 13, that is to say a relaxation of the arm 13 before the crimping stroke is completed would be a very important cause of deregulation since then the release stroke would itself be incomplete and consequently the feed gear would rotate from an angle

less than two no teeth.

  To avoid this drawback, the tool is equipped with non-return means comprising a toothed range 52 fixed to the compensating link 37 and a pawl 53 which is articulated to the movable arm 13 and which is biased by a spring 54 towards the rest position. shown in Figure 4. The pawl 53 can tilt on either side of this neutral position about its axis 56 of articulation to the arm 13. The range 52 is positioned and sized so that the click 53 comes right to exceed one or other of the ends of the range 52 when the arm 13 is in one or the other respectively of its limit switches relative to the arm 12. Thus, as shown in Figure 11, when the arm 13 is moved towards the arm 12, the pawl sweeps the track 52 and, as shown in FIG. 12, it escapes the track 52 just as the arm 13 reaches its end of travel close to the arm 12. The spring recall 54 then recalls the pawl 53 in the neutral position. And, as shown in Figure 13, when the arm 13 is allowed to move away from the arm 12, the pawl 53 tilts about its axis in the opposite direction to that shown in Figure 11, and it will not escape the range 52 that when the arm 13 will be returned to the position shown in Figure 4. As the pawl 53 tilts in two different directions depending on the direction of movement of the arm 13, it prevents, in each direction, the arm 13 of change direction except at the ends of the

arm stroke 13.

  There could also be disturbance of the angular position of a lug 3a ready to be crimped around the axis 16 if the angular travel of the rod 34 about the axis 16 was slightly different from the angle corresponding to two steps toothing around

- the axis 16.

  The pawls 44 and 46, in that they cooperate directly with the teeth of the supply gear wheels 14 and crimper 43, ensure this accuracy. For this, it is ensured that near each of the ends of the reciprocating stroke of the moving assembly 33, the spouts 44a and 46a of the two pawls 44 and 46 respectively are engaged in a recess of toothing 14a of the feed wheel 14 and respectively 43d of the crimping wheel 43 (see FIG. 9). Thus, the effective movement of each toothed wheel after a back and forth movement of the moving assembly 33 can only correspond to an integer number of tooth pitch. To avoid any progressive disruption, which would result in the impossibility for the pawls 44 and 46 to engage in the corresponding toothing at at least one of the reciprocating stroke ends of the moving assembly 33, it can be provided that the angular stroke of the moving element 33 is slightly greater than two notches of teeth and that each end of the reciprocating stroke is situated slightly beyond the position of the moving element 33 the pawl 44 or 46 of the wheel 14 or 43 which is in motion (in the direction of movement of the moving element 33) engages in the toothing of said wheel. Thus, between this position and the travel end of the moving element, the pawl 44 or 46 begins to emerge from the toothing (see pawl 44 in FIG. 9). But this is not a problem because during the following movement of the moving assembly 33, in the opposite direction of the preceding one, the same toothed wheel 14 or 43 rotates in the opposite direction on a very weak angle until the corresponding ratchet fully reengaging in the gear recess and blocks the rotation of this wheel, which then forces the other wheel to rotate two notches of teeth plus a small angle between the setting position of the pawl 46 or 44 corresponding to said other wheel and the end position of the mobile equipment 33, and

and so on.

  The tool further comprises means for adjusting the position of the toothed pad 52 (FIG. 4) with respect to the pawl 56 so that the pad 52 is situated exactly between the two stroke ends of the pawl 53, to ensure that the pawl 53 escapes from the range 52 at each end of travel back and forth of the arm 13 relative to the fixed arm 12. For this purpose, the position of the axis 41a (Figure 8) of the hinge 41 is adjustable by means of an eccentric device comprising journals 41b of axis 41f eccentric with respect to the axis 41a. The journals 41b can be immobilized in different positions around their axis 41f by means of a washer 41c which they are secured and which has cooperating notches 41d

  with a detachable locking pin 41e (Figure 4).

  Before insertion of the pin 41e into its not shown orifice of the arm 13, the washer 41c can be rotated and with it the journals 41b with respect to the arm 13 to precisely position the geometric axis 41 therein and Therefore the range 52 relative to the arm 13. This adjustment affects only negligibly on the angular position of the movable assembly 33 about the axis 16. This influence is totally ineffective if we took the precaution mentioned above. high, consisting in giving the moving equipment 33 an angular stroke slightly greater at each end of the race.

  meshing position of the two pawls 44 and 46.

  One of the end positions, represented in FIGS. 4 and 10, is delimited by pressing the end of the arm 13 adjacent to the axis 36 against a region located in

look, arm 12.

  At the other end of the race, that is to say the maximum approach of the two arms 12 and 13 in the region that is grasped by the user, the two arms 12 and 13 abut against each other by means of two

  stops 12c and 13c respectively, see Figures 4 and 12.

  The clip which has just been described is used in the following way: For the loading, the plate 31 is removed and, as represented in FIG. 10, the web 4 is pushed by hand towards the meshing region 17 all maintaining the pusher 24 in the retracted position with the pin 32. Once, as shown, the strip 4 has reached the region 17, the pusher 24 is released.

  the moving arm 13 is actuated several times in the vault

  comes in relation to the arm 12 so as to advance the band 4 and the pods 3 that it carries towards the region of

  crimping 18. When the band 4 meets the beak 47, this

  ci necessarily engages between the core of the strip 4 and the tubes 1 because thanks to the region 14c (Figure 18) of reduced peak diameter of the feed gear, the tip of the nose 47 is necessarily radially more

  near the axis 16 of the wheel 14 as the core of the band 4.

  There is therefore no manual guidance to be made to engage the web of the web 4 on the back of the spout 47. The separation between the web 4 and the pods 3 is therefore entirely

automatic.

  When a lug 3a arrives for the first time in the crimping region 18, it is in the situation shown in FIG. 4. While the lug 3a is not yet deformed, the driver is engaged in it. which one wishes to crimp the pod 3a. The arm 13 is then brought closer to the arm 12 until the abutments 12c, 13c meet, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12. In the situation shown in FIG. 11, substantially at halfway, the terminal 3a undergoes the

maximum crimping compression.

  In the situation shown in FIG. 12, the toothed vertex 43a having made the crimping, has almost disengaged from the corresponding tooth cavity of the wheel 14, and the user, by pulling on the driver which he has introduced into pod 3a, easily releases the

  lug between the gears 14 and 43.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the user then releases the arm 13 which, under the action of the return spring 39, returns to the position shown in FIG. 4, thus causing rotation of the feed gear 14 around its axis 16 on an angle corresponding to two notches of teeth, which brings crimping position 18 to the following lug 3b, and the

cycle can start again.

  Of course, the invention is not limited to

the example described and shown.

  Instead of being made in the form of a clamp, the tool could be of the type intended to be fixed to a workbench, or else the reciprocating actuation of the mobile assembly 33 could be automated. The supply of the lugs to the feed wheel 14 could also be modified. For example, a vibratory bowl device could be envisaged: the bowl then contains a stock of free pods 3 with respect to each other and

  presenting successively, under the effect of vibrations,

  above a calibrated window under which the hollows of dentition. The angular race between the region such as 17 o the wheel 14 receives the pods, and the region

  crimping 18 can then be significantly shorter.

Claims (19)

  An automatic loading crimping tool, particularly for crimping elements such as terminal lugs (3) on electrical conductor ends (8, 9), comprising: - a feed gear (14); - means (33) movable back and forth about the axis (16) of the feed gear (14), coupled to actuating means (13); selective coupling means for, in a first direction of the back-and-forth movement, coupling the wheel   feeding gear (14) with the moving means   and forth (33) for the feed gear (14) to bring the crimping elements (1, 3) to a crimping region (18), and in a second direction of the reciprocating movement decoupling the reciprocating moving means (33) from the feed wheel (14) and immobilizing the feed wheel (14) against rotation about its axis (16); and crimping means; characterized in that: - the moving means (331 reciprocating about the axis (16) of the feed gear (14) comprises a crimping gear (43) which meshes with the gear wheel (14) - the selective coupling means comprise means (46) for preventing rotation of the crimping gear (43) about its axis (42) in the first direction of the reciprocating motion and allow rotation of the crimping gear (43) around its   axis (42) in the second direction of the movement of va-et-   comes; - The feed gear (14) is adapted * to receive in its indentations (14a) crimping elements (3); and the crimping means consist of toothing tops (43a) of the crimping toothed wheel (43) and of the tooth cavities (14a) of the toothed wheel. power supply (14).   2. Tool according to claim 1, characterized in that the actuating means are associated with non-return means (52, 53) to prohibit the change of direction of the movement back and forth except at each   end of the run back and forth.   3. Tool according to claim 2, characterized in that the antiretour means comprise a pawl (53) movable on both sides of a neutral position and biased towards the neutral position by a spring (54), the pawl (53). ) traversing back and forth a toothed range (52) during the back and forth movement of the moving means back and forth (33).   4. Tool according to claim 1, characterized in that the reciprocating moving means (33) comprise a carrier link (34) connecting to each other the axes (16, 42) of the toothed wheels ( 14, 43), and in that the actuating means comprise a first gripper arm (12) carrying the axis (16) of a first (14) of the toothed wheels (14, 43), and a second arm clip   (13), connected to the carrier rod (34) movable in va-and-   is provided with respect to the first gripper arm (12) and for operating the carrier link (34) in a rotary motion about the axis (16) of the first gear (14). 5. Tool according to claim 4, characterized in that in the context of its movement back and forth relative to the first clamp arm (12), the second clamp arm (13) is movable to the first arm of forceps (12) for actuating the carrier plate (34) in the direction causing rotation of the crimping gear (43) about its axis (42), and is movable away from the first gripper arm (12) to actuate the carrier link (34) in the direction causing the   rotation of the feed gear (14).   6. Tool according to one of claims 4 or 5,   characterized in that the second gripper arm (13) is mounted as a motion reversing lever and is hinged for this purpose from the carrier link (34) and on the other hand - a compensating link (37). -even   articulated to the first clamp arm (12).   7. Tool according to claim 6, characterized in that the compensating link (37) is integral with a toothed range (52) which is traversed by a pawl (53) carried by the second clamping arm (13) and mobile of on either side of a neutral position, the pawl (53) being biased towards the neutral position by a spring (54), so as to make it possible to change the direction of movement of the second arm (13) only at each end of the reciprocating stroke of the second arm (13), the pawl (53) then being beyond one end of the toothed range (52) and can thus return to the neutral position and then move in a position enabling it to traverse the range o2) in the opposite direction, and in that the position of an axis (41a) by which the compensating link (37) is articulated to the second clamping arm (13) is adjustable at   means of an eccentric device (41b, 41c).   8. Or it according to one of claims 1 to 7,   characterized in that the axis (16) of the feed gear is secured to a magazine (19) for the crimping elements (3) and means (22, 23) for guiding the crimp elements (3). ) from the magazine (19) to the feed wheel (14) and along the periphery of the feed wheel (14) to the meshing region with the crimping wheel.   9. Tool according to one of claims 1 to 8,   characterized by means (22) for guiding from a magazine (19) to the feed gear (14) a web (4) connecting to each other a series of crimping elements (3) to be successively crimped between the feed gear (14) and the wheel toothed crimping machine (43).   10. Tool according to claim 9, characterized in that the guide means comprise a pusher (24) biasing the strip (4) in the direction of engagement of the crimping elements (3) in the recesses of teeth (14a).   the feed gear (14).   11. Tool according to one of claims 1 to 8,   characterized by separating means (47) for systematically detaching the crimping elements (3) from a   removable strip (4) which connects them.   12. Tool according to claim 11, characterized in that the separating means (47) are adjacent to the periphery of the feed gear (14), between a region (17) of meshing start of the strip (4). ) with the feed gear (14) and the meshing region mutual gear wheels (14, 43).   13. Tool according to one of claims 1 to 8,   characterized in that the crimping elements (3) are connected to each other by a U-shaped removable strip (4) opening towards the axis (16) of the feed gear (14), and in that the tool comprises separating means (47) for systematically detaching the crimping elements (3) from said web (4), the separating means (47) comprising a spout adjacent to the periphery of the toothed wheel supply (14) engaged in service in the U-profile of the belt to deflect radially outwardly relative to the axis (16) of the feed gear (14), the U-belt (4) while holding the crimping elements (3) in the hollows of   toothing (14a) of the feed gear (14).   Tool according to claim 13, characterized in that the feed gear (14) has a region (14c) having a reduced peak diameter at which the spout (47) is adjacent.   15. Tool according to one of claims 12 to 14,   characterized in that the separating means (47) are integral with the axis (42) of the crimping gear (43).   Tool according to one of claims 1 to 15,   characterized in that the toothing of at least one (43) of the toothed wheels (14, 43) has projections (43c)   to locally increase the crimping effect.   17. Tool according to one of claims 1 to 16,   characterized in that the inter-axis of the gears (14, 43) is adjustable to allow adjustment of the minimum gap between a tooth tip (43a) of the crimping gear (43) and a gear root (14a) of the feed gear (14) depending on the size crimping elements (3).   18. Tool according to one of claims 1 to 17,   characterized in that the stroke of the moving means   and forth (33) is such that, during each stroke in the direction causing rotation of the crimping gear (43), a tooth of the crimping gear (43) moves from a position opposite an element not yet crimped (3) housed in a tooth cavity (14a) of the feed gear (14) at a release position of this   element (3) after crimping thereof.   19. Tool according to one of claims 1   at 18, characterized in that the selective coupling means comprise two pawls (44, 46) each of which cooperates with the toothing of a respective one of the toothed wheels (14, 43) so as to be engaged in said toothing in the vicinity from each end of the race   back and forth of the moving means back and forth (33).