The present invention concerns an applicator device for attaching metal terminals onto electrical cables, equipped with systems for controlled crimping of the terminal onto the conductor part of these cables. The invention also extends to the crimping unit equipped with this device.
The field of the invention is that of devices used for attaching metal terminals onto electrical cables. An example of these applicator devices is provided by Italian patent application no. TO2001A000022, filed in the name of the same Applicant.
With the object of ensuring that the pressure exerted on the crimping zone of the terminal onto the cable is as per design, the practice is known of providing load cell systems which sense the action of the press on the assembly of the knives (for crimping respectively the insulation and the conductor of the electrical cable) and of the blade for cutting and detaching the terminal from the respective carrier strip.
This type of known solution however has the disadvantage of not allowing the possibility of selecting monitoring of the specific action performed by the press on the conductor part of the electrical cable, which is the critical part for the functionality of the connection and the overall quality of the crimping. In consequence it is possible that, for a given total pressure exerted by the press on the terminal, the specific action on the conductor part of the electrical cable will be insufficient to obtain the correct state of crimping. Consequently the product obtained could undergo incorrect crimping which, in the most serious cases, could even mean that the connection at the point of contact between the cable and the terminal fails to achieve electrical conductivity.
The principal object of the present invention consists in providing an applicator device which enables the desired action of the press on the conductor part of the electrical cable to be guaranteed, so as to ensure the achievement of the perfect state of crimping onto the latter.
These and other objects are achieved with the device and the crimping unit of respectively claims 1 and 7. Some preferred ways of embodying the invention are contained in the remaining claims.
In relation to the known devices, the device realised according to the present invention offers the advantage of selectively detecting the action of the press on the knife which acts on the conductor part of the electrical cable. In this way it is guaranteed that this is actually the action desired, thus isolating it from being influenced by the effect of the press itself on the remaining movable or active parts of the device (in particular the knife for the insulation and the blade for detaching the terminal from the strip).
These and other objects, advantages and characteristics are apparent from the description which follows of a preferred embodiment of the device and the crimping unit of the present invention, illustrated by way of non-limiting example in the attached drawings, where:
In
The press 1 is in particular equipped with an eccentric shaft 3, suitable for exerting a thrust F1 on the crimping assembly 4 of the device 2, said assembly comprising the knife 5 for crimping the conductor part of the cable, the knife 6 for crimping the insulation part, and the blade 7 for detaching the terminal from the respective carrier strip.
As is better illustrated in
For its part, the remaining part of the support 11 for the crimping assembly 4 acts respectively on the knife 6 for the insulation and on the above-mentioned blade 7, the latter receiving the movement of the slide 12 activated by the eccentric shaft 3. This support 11 bears in its turn on the same slide 12, in the area of contact surfaces 15 laterally located with respect to the above-mentioned contact surface 14 of block 8 with shaft 9 of the press.
To explain it another way:
From the description given above, it is clear that there are two parts of crimping device 2 which, independently or selectively, receive reactions F2 and F3 to thrust F1 exerted by press 1, in particular:
Thanks to this selective distribution of loads, which distinguishes between knife 5 (for crimping onto the conductor of the electrical cable) and knife 6 and blade 7, it becomes possible to specifically monitor the action of the press on the above-mentioned knife 5. In this way errors are avoided resulting from reaching a design pressure which however does not distinguish between action on knife 5 for the conductor (critical for the quality of the crimping) and action on the remaining parts of the support 11 for the crimping assembly 4.
Although the invention has been described and illustrated so far with reference to the press shown in
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
MI2009A 000048 | Jan 2009 | IT | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind | 371c Date |
---|---|---|---|---|
PCT/EP2010/000194 | 1/13/2010 | WO | 00 | 9/8/2011 |