Cable deposit device

Information

  • Patent Grant
  • 6658726
  • Patent Number
    6,658,726
  • Date Filed
    Friday, August 18, 2000
    24 years ago
  • Date Issued
    Tuesday, December 9, 2003
    21 years ago
  • Inventors
  • Original Assignees
  • Examiners
    • Vidovich; Gregory
    • Compton; Eric
    Agents
    • Blakely, Sokoloff, Taylor & Zafman LLP
Abstract
A swing-down separating means (24) connected to the pivot arm (21) is provided for the initial separation of the two cables (3,4) of a double crimped cable (25). This separating means may be moved such that it is in detachable engagement with a guide and separating part (28) arranged in a first cable deposit trough (26) which may be emptied as a result of a lateral pivotal movement. To transfer the double crimped cables (25) in the separated condition in the emptying position of the first cable deposit trough (26), this first cable guide and separating part (28) may in turn be moved such that it is in detachable engagement with a second cable guide and separating part (29) arranged in a second cable deposit trough (27), which is located below the first cable deposit trough (26) and may be moved laterally in the longitudinal direction.
Description




BACKGROUND




The invention relates to a cable deposit device for automatic cable processing units.




The manufacture of double crimped cables by means of automatic cable processing units is known, in which two cables having possibly different cross-sections and different lengths are mutually connected at their one-end by means of a single crimp contact and were likewise each provided with a crimp contact at their other ends. Here, there is a risk of the two cable portions which are mutually connected in this manner becoming tangled with one another, and, after their manufacture, necessitates immediate removal and spatial separation of the two free cable portions by hand, as well as an appropriate deposit area.




The object of the present invention is to provide a cable deposit device of the type mentioned at the outset, which does not have the above-described disadvantages of the previous devices, that is to say by means of which two cable which are processed parallel to one another are deposited in a cable deposit trough such that, even when they are mutually connected at one end by way of a double crimp contact, they are spaced apart from one another at least over part of their length so that they may be separated.











BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS




The invention is explained in more detail below by way of example, with reference to the drawing, in which:





FIG. 1

shows a schematic sketch of an exemplary embodiment of a cable deposit device according to the invention combined with a previously known automatic cable processing unit;





FIG. 2

shows a perspective view of part of the cable deposit device illustrated in the sketch of

FIG. 1

;





FIGS. 3

to


5


shows perspective views analogous to

FIG. 2

, but illustrated in each case after a further operating step and without the receiving conveyor belt for the sake of clarity;





FIG. 6

shows a perspective view similar to

FIG. 3

, but from a different viewing angle, with the double crimped cable deposited in the first cable deposit trough;





FIG. 7

shows a perspective view analogous to

FIG. 6

, but as a double crimped cable is transferred from the first, laterally pivotal cable deposit trough into the second cable deposit trough, which may be drawn out in its longitudinal direction.





FIG. 8

shows, on an enlarged scale, a perspective view of the two cable gripping units mounted next to one another on a pivot arm according to

FIG. 1

;





FIG. 9

shows a section along the line A—A in

FIG. 8

;





FIG. 10

shows a perspective view, illustrated in a partial section, of the drive of the swing-down separating unit associated with the cable gripping unit in

FIG. 9

; and





FIG. 11

shows a section along the line B—B in FIG.


10


.











DETAILED DESCRIPTION




The invention relates to a cable deposit device for automatic cable processing units for depositing two cables on at least one cable receiving surface, said cables being connected at their one end to form a double cable, cut to size and stretched out, and for separating these cables after they have been processed, a cable receiving region being formed in the region, of the ejection axes of cables conveyed out of the automatic cable processing unit, and a pivot arm having at least one cable gripping unit being provided in the cable entry region of said cable receiving region, said pivot arm serving to grip the rear ends—as seen in their transport direction—of the two cables and to supply the rear ends to be processed of the two cables to at least one cable processing station located in the pivot region of the pivot arm, the pivot region of he pivot arm extending. beyond :both ejection axes, and the last cable processing station in the cable processing procedure being constructed as a double crimping unit.




In the exemplary embodiment described, below, the cable receiving surface is formed by an upper carrying side of a continuously revolving receiving conveyor-belt


14


to form a region


15


for receiving and stretching out the cables. However, for shorter cables


3


,


4


, a stationary cable receiving surface would suffice.




As can be seen in particular in

FIG. 1

, the cable deposit device


1


is connected to a conventional, previously known automatic cable processing unit


2


to form a common operating unit, and functions such that cables


3


and


4


, which have been processed by the automatic cable processing unit


2


, may be deposited separately for the manufacture of so-called double crimped cables


25


or for example two single conductors having different diameters.




By means of the two belt drive units


5


and


6


, the two cables


3


and


4


are supplied in known manner to a pivot head


7


which supplies the leading ends of the cables


3


and


4


to one or more of the processing stations


8


to


11


for the purpose of stripping them and then pressing a crimp contact thereon.




After the leading ends of the two cables


3


and


4


have been processed, they are ejected at high speed along the two ejection axes


12


and


13


into the cable deposit device


1


.




In the region of the two ejection axes


12


,


13


of the two cables


3


,


4


conveyed out of the automatic cable processing unit


2


, a region


15


for receiving and stretching out the cables is formed by an upper carrying side of a continuously revolving receiving conveyor belt


14


. Here, the receiving conveyor belt


14


is guided by way of the two idler pulleys


16


and


17


(FIG.


2


), and is driven by means of a drive motor


18


connected to the idler pulley


17


, such that the rotational speed of the receiving conveyor belt


14


is greater than the ejection speed of the two cables


3


and


4


conveyed out of the automatic cable processing unit


2


, in order that the two cables are received stretched out on the region


15


for receiving and stretching out the cables.




A pivot arm


21


having two cable gripping units


19


and


20


is provided in the cable entry region of the receiving conveyor belt


14


, said pivot arm being intended for gripping the rear ends-as seen in their transport direction-of the two cables


3


and


4


and for supplying the rear ends of the two cables


3


and


4


to a stripping unit


42


located in the pivot region of the pivot arm


21


, then to a unit


43


for bringing the cable ends together, and then to a double crimping unit


22


. Here, the unit


43


for bringing the cable ends together may be constructed in the manner described in the unpublished European patent application 98 810 861.9. In the unit


43


for bringing the cable ends together, the previously stripped rear ends of the two cables


3


and


4


are placed together and then mutually connected in a double crimping unit


22


by means of a common crimp contact.




Here, the pivot arm


21


provided with two cable gripping units


19


and


20


may be part of the automatic cable processing unit


2


or part of the cable deposit device


1


.




Here, in known manner, a first motor drive


47


serves to pivot the pivot arm


21


in precisely controlled manner, and a second motor drive


46


serves to displace the latter in the longitudinal direction (FIG.


8


).




As can be seen in

FIGS. 2

to


7


, in that pivoted position of the pivot arm


21


(illustrated by dashed lines in

FIG. 1

) which is. associated with the unit


43


for bringing the cable ends together, provided below the two cable gripping units


19


and


20


connected to the pivot arm there is both a cable supporting arrangement which is provided with a pivotal cable supporting bracket


23


and which, in this displaced, pivoted position of the pivot arm


21


, lifts the two rear ends, which have been brought together by the unit


43


for bringing the cable ends together, of the two cables


3


and


4


into the grasping region of the cable gripping unit


20


(FIG.


3


), and releases them after they have been gripped by the latter (FIG.


4


), as well as a swing-down separating means


24


which is connected to the pivot arm


21


by way of the cable gripping unit


20


and which, before the two cables


3


and


4


which are to be mutually connected are brought together by the unit


43


for bringing the two cables together, may be pivoted down in the vertical direction between the two latter.




After the double crimped cable


25


has been completed, this swing-down separating means


24


is left in the vertically downward pivoted separating position (

FIG. 4

) for the purpose of further separating the two cables


3


and


4


of said double crimped cable which are mutually crimped together, and, by pivoting the pivot arm


21


back in corresponding manner, is moved into a pivoted position of the latter in which the swing-down separating means


24


is located precisely above a first upwardly extending cable guide and separating part


28


, which is arranged in a first cable deposit trough


26


located below said swing-down separating means. In this pivoted position of the pivot arm


21


, by drawing out the cable guide and separating part


28


, the swing-down separating means


24


may be moved such that it is in detachable engagement with the first cable guide and separating part


28


extending from a first cable deposit trough


26


which, in this pivoted position of the pivot arm


21


, is located below the two cable gripping units connected to the pivot arm


21


, extends parallel to the longitudinal direction of the receiving conveyor belt


14


and may be emptied perpendicular to this longitudinal direction into a second cable deposit trough


27


as a result of a lateral pivotal movement, which second cable deposit trough may be moved below said first cable deposit trough in the longitudinal direction C thereof.




For the purpose of retaining the separated condition of the two cables


3


and


4


of a double crimped cable


25


during its transfer from the first cable deposit trough


26


into the second cable deposit trough


27


, in the emptying position of the first cable deposit trough


26


(

FIG. 7

) this first cable guide and separating part


28


, which may be pivoted together with the first cable deposit trough


26


, may be moved such that it is in detachable engagement with a second double-crimped cable guide and separating part


29


arranged in the second cable deposit trough


27


.




When using thin, very flexible cables


3


and


4


, it is possible that these may hang down slightly when the pivot arm


21


is pivoted out of a starting position extending parallel to the receiving conveyor belt


14


. If this occurs, in order to reliably prevent these cables


3


,


4


from possibly catching on the first cable guide and separating part


28


, the latter may be displaced in its longitudinal direction, that is to say, when the pivot arm


21


pivots, it may be drawn back into the position illustrated in FIG.


2


and drawn out later such that it is in engagement with the swing-down separating means


24


(FIG.


5


).




In order to ensure that the double crimped cable


25


located in the first cable deposit trough


26


is transferred—in problem free manner into the second cable deposit trough


27


, even when the pivoting angles of the first cable deposit trough


26


into the emptying position (

FIG. 7

) thereof are relatively small, a cable pushing means


30


is associated with the first cable guide and separating part


28


and may be displaced in its longitudinal direction along the latter.




In order to move the rear end—as seen in the movement direction—of the two cables


3


,


4


to be connected to form a double crimped cable


25


in and out of engagement with the cable processing stations


42


,


43


, and


22


, the two cable gripping units


19


and


20


mounted on the pivot arm


21


may be displaced in precise manner, controlled by way of the control unit


33


(FIG.


1


), with the aid of a motor drive


46


displacing the pivot arm


21


in its longitudinal direction.




Furthermore, the two cable gripping units


19


and


20


are mounted on the pivot arm


21


such that they are each pivotal in a horizontal plane about a respective vertical axis


38


and


39


and may be pivoted towards and away from the in each case other cable gripping unit by way of two pneumatic cylinder units,


32


and


33


respectively, each having three operating positions, so that for example, when crimping the rear guided together ends of the cables


3


and


4


in the double crimping unit


22


, the cable gripping unit


19


may be pivoted away laterally with the aid of the pneumatic cylinder unit


33


so that the rear ends of the cables


3


and


4


are more accessible.




In addition, thanks to the two vertical guide means


40


and


41


, the two cable gripping units


19


and


20


may be lowered resiliently downwards in opposition to the action of at least one upwardly acting pressure spring (not illustrated). This is particularly important when crimping takes place in the double crimping unit


22


, since, when crimping is effected, by means of a pressure die, the respective cable ends of the two cables


3


and


4


are thus lowered a little and, during this, the associated cable gripping unit


20


is lowered the same distance downwards in opposition to the spring action by way of the pressure die.




As already mentioned, the unit


43


for bringing the cable ends together is constructed in the manner described for example in European patent application 98 810 861.9, that is to say, as can be seen in particular in

FIGS. 2 and 3

, those two stripped ends of the two cables


3


and


4


which are to be crimped together are supplied to a respective gripper unit


44


and


45


of the unit


43


for bringing the cable ends together, then, after the two cables


3


and


4


have been released, these two ends are brought together by the two cable gripping units


19


and


20


as a result of a rotational movement on behalf of the gripper associated with the gripper unit


44


(FIG.


4


), the two cables


3


and


4


are held together by the cable gripping unit


20


, and then, after further displacement of the pivot arm


21


as far as the double crimping unit


22


, these two ends which are brought together in this manner are mutually connected in the double crimping unit by way of a single crimp contact.




Then, the pivot arm


21


is pivoted back again, that is to say it is moved into the cable ejection position illustrated in

FIG. 5

, in which the first cable guide and separating part


28


is moved such that it is in engagement with the swing-down separating means


24


, and then the gripper of the cable gripping unit


20


is released so that, as can be seen in

FIG. 6

, the double crimped cable


25


drops down into the first cable deposit trough


26


with the cables


3


and


4


separated by the first cable guide and separating part


28


.




The arrangement and the pivot drive of the swing-down separating means


24


can be seen in particular on an enlarged scale in

FIGS. 9

,


10


and


11


.




As can be seen in these Figures, the pivotal swing-down cable separating means


24


and its drive


34


are flanged to the cable gripping unit


20


. To pivot the swing-down separating means


24


, the pneumatic drive


34


is provided with a rotary piston


35


which, as can be seen in particular in

FIG. 11

, may be moved pneumatically through approximately 90° between the lateral stop faces of a fixedly arranged stop element


36


within a cylinder


37






It is of course also possible to provide only one cable gripping unit


20


and to supply the two cables


3


and


4


to the unit


43


for bringing the cable ends together in two steps.




When this cable deposit device


1


is in operation, a particular batch size of completed double crimped cables


25


is first stored temporarily in the first cable deposit trough


26


and, after this batch size has been reached, is transferred into the second cable deposit trough


27


whilst retaining the separated condition of the cables


3


and


4


, said cable deposit trough then being displaced in its longitudinal direction C, thereby moving the completed double crimped cables


25


so that they may be separated and removed by hand from the danger zone of the automatic cable processing unit


2


.




After the first deposit trough


26


has been emptied, it may be moved immediately back into its receiving position again, so that the double crimped cables


25


may be manufactured continuously, and there is still sufficient time remaining for the completed batches of double crimped cables


25


to be removed by hand from the second cable deposit trough


27


in risk-free manner.



Claims
  • 1. A cable deposit device comprising:a pivot arm having a cable gripping unit located in a cable entry region of a cable receiving region, said cable receiving region being in a region of an ejection axis of a pair of cables to be conveyed; a plurality of cable processing stations located in a pivot region of the pivot arm, the pivot region extends beyond the ejection axis; first means for separating the pair of cables; second means for separating the pair of cables, said first separation means being moveable to detachably engage said second separation means and guide the pair of cables into a first cable deposit trough on the same side of a vertical plane that runs through the cable ejection axis; and third means for separating the pair of cables, said second separation means being moveable to detachably engage said third separation means and guide the pair of cables into a second cable deposit trough.
  • 2. A cable deposit device as in claim 1, further comprising:a continuously revolvable conveyor belt to receive and stretch out the pair of cables; and wherein the first cable deposit trough extends approximately parallel to a longitudinal axis of the conveyor belt and can be pivoted laterally in a direction perpendicular to the longitudinal axis to empty its contents.
  • 3. A cable deposit device as in claim 1 wherein the second separation means can pivot about a pivot axis that is parallel to a longitudinal axis of the first cable deposit trough.
  • 4. A cable deposit device as in claim 1 wherein the second separation means is moveable in its longitudinal direction.
  • 5. A cable deposit device as in claim 1 further comprising:means for pushing cables that are separated by the second separation means, the pushing means being moveable in its longitudinal direction along the second separation means.
  • 6. A cable deposit device as in claim 1 wherein, next to said cable gripping unit, the pivot arm has another cable gripping unit.
  • 7. A cable deposit device as in claim 1 wherein the cable gripping unit is connected to the pivot arm so that it may be displaced in a longitudinal direction of the pair of cables.
  • 8. A cable deposit device as in claim 1 wherein the cable gripping unit is height-adjustable in a vertical direction with respect to the pivot arm.
  • 9. A cable deposit device as in claim 6 wherein the pair of cable gripping units are arranged on the pivot arm so that they can be pivoted independently laterally from one another.
  • 10. A cable deposit device as in claim 1 wherein the stations include means for bringing ends of the pair of cables together and means for crimping the pair of cables together.
Priority Claims (1)
Number Date Country Kind
19991537/99 Aug 1999 CH
US Referenced Citations (7)
Number Name Date Kind
4615100 Reinertz Oct 1986 A
5063656 Hirano et al. Nov 1991 A
5305508 Koch et al. Apr 1994 A
5740608 Long Apr 1998 A
5960622 Koch et al. Oct 1999 A
6357575 Conte Mar 2002 B1
20010047589 Conte Dec 2001 A1
Foreign Referenced Citations (1)
Number Date Country
0 788 200 Jun 1997 CH