The invention relates to a cable transport device having a pivotably mounted cable transporter for a cable to be drawn in and to be transported, a first drive means connected in a stationary manner to a base frame and intended for achieving an exactly defined pivot movement of the cable transporter about a pivot axis and a second drive means for synchronous driving of at least two cooperating pressure rollers, at least one pressure roller being arranged so as to be laterally adjustable, and a cable transport device having a guide sleeve.
Cable transport devices are known, for example from a CrimpCenter of the applicant. Such cable transport devices are fixed in a stationary manner on a base frame. A first gripper is arranged in the cable transport axis on the base frame on a pivot device having a moveable guide carriage, this gripper cooperating with processing stations, for example with a cutting and insulation stripping station arranged in the cable transport axis and with a crimping device arranged outside the cable transport axis. The electric cable is led from a store, for example from a cable drum, through a guide sleeve and two alignment units to a cable transporter. In the cable transporter, the cable is clamped between two coated toothed belts. The toothed belts are each driven by drive and deflection belt sprockets and supported several times by smaller belt sprockets in the region between the drive and deflection belt sprockets. The two toothed belts are pressed by a suitable pressing device, for example pneumatically, with a force against one another so that there is sufficient frictional force between the coated toothed belts and the cable to be transported between the toothed belt coatings. The cable transporter is driven by a controlled servo drive motor. In this way, the clamped cable present between the toothed belts is transported in the longitudinal direction. A measuring wheel of a longitudinal measuring device, which measuring wheel rests with spring force outside the transport system against the cable, detects the required cable length with the aid of an encoder. The signals of this encoder are fed into the control of the servo motor so that the process for cutting the cable to length is controlled in this way.
The cable is led through guide sleeves and a guide tube from the cable transporter into the working region of a cutting and insulation stripping station and is gripped by the first gripper at the cable beginning. The zero cut is now carried out at the cable beginning in the cutting and insulation stripping station and is detected by the measuring wheel. This is followed by the stripping of insulation from the cable beginning. The pivot device then pivots the gripper to the laterally arranged processing stations where, for example, a seal and/or a crimp contact is mounted on the cable end stripped of insulation.
With a cable transport and pivot device according to EP0708050B1, the gripper arranged on a pivot device could be omitted if the cable transport device was mounted on a pivot device. In this way, the distance between the cable transport device and the processing stations was considerably reduced. A disadvantage of this device is, however, the complicated design for force transmission via a plurality of axes of rotation. Another disadvantage is that the drive motor responsible for the cable transport is arranged directly on the pivot device and must be concomitantly swiveled by the drive motor responsible for the pivoting process.
For controlled guidance of the cable to be transported, EP 0 708 050 B1 provides, on the cable feed side, an entry cable guide connected to a flexible guide tube and, on the cable delivery side, an exit cable guide. A guide sleeve in the form of a tube has the disadvantage that it too has to be replaced when changing to a cable having a different cross-section and the cable has to be threaded again. Such a procedure is complicated and considerably increases the changeover times.
It is an object of the invention considerably to simplify the design of a cable transport device having a pivotable cable transporter and in this way to produce said design more economically and nevertheless to ensure the necessary precision for the cable processing.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide a cable transport device having a guide sleeve, which does not have the disadvantages described and can be adapted to the cable according to the cable cross-section to be processed in each case.
This object is achieved by the features disclosed herein. Advantageous further developments are disclosed herein.
According to the invention, the second drive means having a drive axle for the pressure rollers of the cable conveyor is connected in a stationary manner to the base frame, and the drive axle of the second drive means coincides with the pivot axis for the cable transporter.
With such a design of the cable transport device according to the invention, a very great deal of material can be saved. The number of moving parts is reduced and hence also the susceptibility to faults and the required maintenance.
In a second version of the invention, the second drive means having a drive axle for the pressure rollers of the cable conveyor is likewise connected in a stationary manner to the base frame, the axes of rotation are parallel to one another and parallel to a common pitch axis, and the transmission of the drive movement takes place via a toothed belt which is clamped symmetrically relative to the center of rotation of the pivot axis of the first drive means between a first intermediate shaft arranged on a base plate of the cable transporter and a second intermediate shaft fixed to the machine frame, the pitch axis of the cable transporter being identical to the axis of the first intermediate shaft.
A pivotable cable transport device as described herein is also substantially more material- and space-saving than comparable cable devices of the prior art.
According to the invention, the guide sleeve is composed of a grooved plate and a cover plate. These plates can be replaced for adaptation to different cable diameters and for correction of the position of the cable and are equipped for this purpose with different groove geometries.
Such guide sleeves are not limited to pivotable cable transport devices but can also be used in stationary systems.
A plurality of working examples of the invention are illustrated with reference to
The cable transport device according to
According to the invention, the second drive means 5 with its drive axle 10 is connected in a stationary manner to the base frame 2. The drive axle 10 of the second drive means 5 for the pressure rollers 6, 7 of the cable transporter 1, coincides with the pivot axis 4 for the cable transporter 1.
In the embodiments of the invention according to
The cable transport device shown in
While
In order to control the pressure on the cable 21 to be transported, an adjustable plate 20 according to
As further shown in
Belt sprockets (6′, 7′) which have a drive connection via a double-sided toothed belt 25 to a second drive sprocket arranged on the drive axle 10 of the second drive means 5 are arranged on the axes 8, 9 of rotation of the pressure rollers 6, 7, on the underside of the cable transporter 1 (
The base plate 13 of the cable transporter 1 can, according to
For the purpose of inserting the cable 21 to be transported, the adjustable plate 20 moves away from the base plate 13 of the cable transporter 1 and, after insertion of the cable 21 between the pressure rollers 6, 7, the adjustable plate 20 travels by means of compressed air or by means of the pressure of another mechanical energy accumulator 28, for example of a pneumatic cylinder, or a spring, to a position in which the pressure rollers 6, 7 and the measuring wheel 22 and the counter-wheel 23 press with a defined force onto the cable 21 to be transported. A pressure mechanism 27 controls the pressure on the cable 21 to be transported, by the pressure rollers 7 mounted in a fixed manner on the adjustable plate 20 relative to the pressure rollers 6 mounted on the base plate 13 of the cable transporter 1. Such a non linear pressure mechanism is shown in
For avoiding forward and return transport of the cable 21 during the pivot movement, the second drive belt sprocket 24, which is responsible for the rotation of the pressure rollers 6, 7 of the cable transporter 1, rotates in the same direction with the first drive belt sprocket 19 of the first drive means 3 via a control. In a further working example according to
According to
In addition, the cover plate 40 and/or the grooved plate 41 may have openings 50 which permit a cable inscriber 49, e.g. a printer ink 51, access to the cables 21.
Alternatively, the first channel element 44 is fixed on the adjustable plate 20 and the second channel element 45 is fixed on the base plate 13 of the cable transporter 1.
The adjustable plate 20 and base plate 13 of the cable transporter 1 move relative to one another so that both can also be moved onto the cable 21.
It is within the scope of the invention to use one pressure roller 6, 7 each depending on the cable to be transported and to be processed. More than two pressure rollers 6, 7 each are also conceivable and, under certain conditions, can even replace an upstream orientation station.
It is also within the scope of the invention for the measuring wheel 22 and the counter-wheel 23 to be arranged upstream or downstream of the pressure rollers 6, 7. This will be required in particular in the case of cable transport devices according to
It is also within the scope of the invention if a pressure mechanism differing from the disclosure is used.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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00757/08 | May 2008 | CH | national |
This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/990,116 which is a 371(c) national-stage entry of PCT International Application No. PCT/IB2009/052125 filed on May 20, 2009, which claims the benefit of priority to prior Swiss national application no. 00757/08 filed on May 20, 2008 and also claims the benefit of priority, and as a non-provisional of, prior U.S. provisional application No. 61/117,189 filed on Nov. 23, 2008; the entire contents of PCT International application no. PCT/IB2009/052125 and U.S. patent application Ser. No. 12/990,116 are incorporated herein by reference.
Number | Date | Country | |
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61117189 | Nov 2008 | US |
Number | Date | Country | |
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Parent | 12990116 | Nov 2010 | US |
Child | 14587495 | US |