Patent Grant
11283230
This application is the U.S. national stage of International Application No. PCT/EP2017/081400 filed on Dec. 4, 2017, which claims priority to German patent application no. 10 2016 123 470.2 filed on Dec. 5, 2016.
The present disclosure relates to a device, a method, and a system for crimping or inverse crimping. Herein, the term “inverse crimping” means that a crimp anvil is moved, together with a terminal supported on the crimp anvil or guided in a cutting blade, toward a stationary crimper instead of the usual movement of a crimper that is moved toward a stationary crimp anvil with the terminal supported on the crimp anvil or guided in the cutting blade.
When terminals (contact electrical terminals) are crimped onto multi-core cables, all terminals are usually produced in the so-called standard crimping geometry from one side (from above) (see
Generally speaking, for this purpose all terminals are brought, with the same orientation, onto the cores (individual cables or wires) of a multi-core (multi-wire) cable. For example, for a four-core cable, two terminals are crimped, from above, onto the corresponding cores. The terminals are subsequently rotated by appropriate devices (or manually) to the desired positions, at which the mounting of a housing (plug housing) should take place. This subsequent rotating of the individual cores or terminals is more difficult the shorter the dismantling (sheath-removal) length of the jacket of the multi-core cable is. In order to avoid this difficulty, the cables together with cores are alternately inserted into the crimping device rotated about their longitudinal axis automatically or manually or the entire crimping device is rotated (in the above example, in pairs, the upper cores are first crimped and then, after a 180° rotation of the cable about its longitudinal axis, the lower cores are crimped).
One non-limiting object of the present disclosure is to provide a device, a method, and a system for inverse crimping, using which device or method or system the formation of crimped multi-core cables having different orientations of the terminals can be simplified and improved.
Crimping devices described herein differ from standard crimping devices in that the crimp anvil is mounted on a movable part of the crimping device instead of on a stationary part, and the crimper is mounted on the stationary part of the crimping device instead of on the movable part. The crimp anvil and the crimper are thus mounted inversely with respect to a conventional crimping device. The movement, in or by which the crimping process is carried out, is still from above to below. In accordance with the inverse arrangement of the crimp anvil and of the crimper, the terminals are also fed or inserted into the crimping device rotated by 180° with respect to their longitudinal axis (inversely), i.e., opened downward. That is, they are fed or inserted into the crimping device such that they are opened downward in the opened initial state. Thus, the respective cores (cables), onto which the terminals are to be crimped, must also be fed or inserted into the crimping device below instead of above the terminal (inversely).
In the present disclosure, a terminal is preferably a metallic component that is preferably plastically deformable, and preferably at least partially electrically conductive.
In one preferred embodiment of the present teachings, the terminal has a crimp region on one side along its longitudinal direction and a contact region on the other side. During the crimping process, the crimp region is connected, preferably connected fixedly or in an interlocking manner, to a cable/conductor/cable-end or to a core by undergoing plastic deformation caused by the crimping device. The cable/conductor/cable-end or core is optionally provided with a ferrule. The contact region preferably forms a plug, a pin, or a socket. After the crimping process, the contact region can be mounted in a corresponding housing of a multi-pin plug.
In another preferred embodiment of the present teachings, the terminal does not include a contact region in the above sense; rather, in the uncrimped state it is an opened profile (tubular or V- or U-shaped) that, when crimping around the core, is closed (i) in a not completely overlapping manner, (ii) in a completely overlapping manner, or (iii) in a not completely closed manner. In this case, the terminal can preferably form a supporting ring, for example, for surrounding a jacket in the crimped state.
Each terminal is preferably crimped with (onto) a single wire or a single cable or a single core. The terminals mentioned herein preferably do not act to directly connect two cores within the to-be-reshaped region.
The terminals are preferably fed into the crimping device using an infeed belt. Preferably each terminal is held at least on one side on the infeed belt, wherein the connection between the infeed belt and the terminal is designed such that an easy separation or shearing-off of the terminal from the infeed belt is possible using (at) a predetermined breaking point without significant damaging or deforming of the terminal. The infeed belt is preferably metallic but can also be made of plastic. The terminal held on the infeed belt is preformed prior to the crimping process. If the terminal has a crimp region and a contact region, the contact region is preferably completely shaped or formed prior to the crimping process so that no further reshaping is necessary for later use, for example, as a plug or socket. The crimp region is preferably also preformed so that only a final and slight reshaping is necessary for connecting to the core, but at the same time insertion of the core is not unnecessarily hindered.
If the infeed-belt guide device is provided, it may be preferably designed or formed as a guide slot in the cutting blade. The cutting blade or the guide slot formed therein thus acts to guide the infeed belt. For this purpose, the guide slot is configured such that only the infeed belt is guided thereinto, and the terminal held on the infeed belt protrudes therefrom. The crimp anvil and the cutting blade are slidingly supported on each other. The terminal protrudes such that a support surface of the crimp anvil is in contact with the protruding terminal or can come into contact in a sliding relative movement between the terminal and the crimp anvil. As long as the terminal is not securely held between the crimper and the crimp anvil, the terminal is moved together with the crimp anvil toward the crimper while the terminal is held on the infeed belt that is guided in the guide slot. When the cutting blade abuts on a stop on the crimper or on a stop that is stationary with respect to the crimper, the terminal supported on the support surface of the crimp anvil is moved together with the crimp anvil farther toward the crimper while the cutting blade remains stationary. Due to the relative movement, the terminal is sheared off by the edge of the support surface that faces the cutting blade, or by a shearing edge provided on the crimp anvil near the support surface and the edge of the cutting blade that faces the crimp anvil.
The term “opened upward” means herein that the to-be-reshaped or reshaped regions of the crimp region of the terminal are disposed over the not-to-be-reshaped or not-reshaped regions and/or the core to be crimped with the terminal is inserted in the direction from above to below (i.e. vertically downward). Not-to-be-reshaped regions are regions of the crimp region that are not, or at least not significantly, reshaped during crimping. The not-to-be-reshaped regions preferably overlap with the to-be-reshaped regions perpendicularly to the longitudinal direction of the terminal (=longitudinal direction of the core). The term “opened downward” conversely means that the to-be-reshaped or reshaped regions of the terminal are disposed below the not-to-be-reshaped or not-reshaped regions and/or the core to be crimped with the terminal is inserted in the direction from below to above.
Crimping devices according to present teachings facilitate inverse crimping, i.e., crimping of terminals rotated by 180° with respect to the standard crimping device. In a crimping system comprising a standard (known) crimping device and an inverse crimping device as described herein, a first core of a multi-core cable can thus be provided, e.g., in the standard crimping device, with a first terminal in a first crimping process, and a second core of the multi-core cable can be provided, in the inverse crimping device according to the present teachings, with a second terminal that is rotated by 180° with respect to the first terminal, or vice versa, in a second crimping process without the multi-core cable having to be rotated about its longitudinal axis between the first and second crimping processes. The multi-core cable can therefore be continuously fixed or clamped, whereby the processing time is reduced and a high positional and locational accuracy of the multi-core cables with respect to the crimping device or the terminals is made possible.
The crimping process is preferably at least the process, in which by reshaping of the terminal the core is fixedly connected to the terminal or, by reshaping of the terminal, the terminal is fixedly connected to the core. Herein, the crimp anvil is preferably the tool that supports the terminal at least from above during the crimping process. Preferably the crimp anvil does not act directly to reshape the to-be-reshaped regions of the terminal; in particular the terminals to be crimped are preferably not opened toward the crimp anvil. The crimper is configured inversely thereto to reshape the to-be-reshaped regions (or at least a large part thereof) of the terminal supported on the crimp anvil in the crimping process during a relative movement between the crimp anvil and the crimper. The terminals to be crimped are preferably opened toward the crimper. In some embodiments it is not precluded that regions of the terminal are also reshaped by the crimp anvil. If terminals are used that are already “closed” in the initial state, the crimper is disposed on the side on which the overlap of the to-be-reshaped regions with respect to each other is increased or changed in the crimping process.
Additional advantages, further developments, and other utilities of the present disclosure will become apparent upon reading the further description of the embodiments with reference to the Figures and the appended claims, in which:
In the following a first embodiment of an inverse crimping device 10 is described with reference to
The inverse crimping device 10 includes a crimper 18 rigidly mounted, for example, on a base plate 28. In this embodiment the crimper 18 is attached to a pedestal (fixed base) 32, for example, by a screw 30; the pedestal 32 is mounted on the base plate 28.
As will be described below, the crimper 18 serves, in a crimping process, to reshape to-be-reshaped regions 20 of a terminal 12 supported on a crimp anvil 16 (see also
A crimp anvil 16 is provided vertically above the crimper 18. The crimp anvil 16 is held so as to movable in the vertical direction by a drive unit 36. On its underside the crimp anvil 16 includes a support region (support surface) 38 that is not depicted in detail. The support region 38 lies opposite the crimper region 34 in the vertical direction and is configured to support a terminal 12 (from above).
The drive unit 36 is configured such that, to carry out the crimping process, the crimp anvil 16 is movable toward the crimper 18 from a first vertical position (rest position), at which it is spaced by a predetermined vertical distance with respect to (from) the crimper 18, to a second vertical position, at which the to-be-reshaped regions 20 of the terminal 12 are completely reshaped. In the second position the crimp anvil 16 and the crimper 18 can overlap, i.e. engage one-into-the-other, in the horizontal direction at least in the region of the support region 38 and of the crimper region 34. The drive unit 36 is, for example, an electric motor having a transmission (e.g., worm gear unit, rack and pinion drive, etc.) or a hydraulic or pneumatic drive. The drive unit includes a corresponding control unit.
The anvil 16 further includes a guide plate (guide means) 40 that is preferably fixedly attached, optionally via third (additional) components, to the anvil. The anvil 16 and the guide plate 40 are configured or attached to each other such that a cutting blade 22 is movably guided between them (only) vertically. For the vertical guiding of the cutting blade 22, the guide plate 40 includes a vertical slot 42, in which a guide bolt 44, which is fixedly attached to the cutting blade 22 and protrudes from the cutting blade 22, is guided in the vertical direction between an upper stop position and a lower stop position. The cutting blade 22 is thus movable between an upper and a lower stop position, wherein only the lower stop position is abutted and the upper stop position could be omitted. The cutting blade 22 is preferably preloaded (biased, urged) toward the lower stop position, for example, by a spring 45.
In the lower stop position, the cutting blade 22 is in its vertically lowest position with respect to or relative to the crimp anvil 16. In this lower stop position, the lower end of the cutting blade 22 protrudes downward from the anvil 16 toward the crimper 18 or toward the base plate 28. The support region 38 or the anvil 16 and the cutting blade 22 are configured such that the downwardly projecting portion of the cutting blade 22 is configured to be adjacent to the support region 38 in the horizontal direction (overlapping in the horizontal direction). In this embodiment the downwardly projecting portion in the first position of the crimp anvil 16 projects so far that it is also adjacent, at least in a section, to the crimper region 34, at least its upper end, in the horizontal direction (overlapping in the horizontal direction).
In the downwardly projecting portion of the cutting blade 22 on the side facing the anvil 16 (upper side, upper end region of the portion protruding downward), a preferably horizontal guide slot 46, which serves as an example of an infeed-belt guide device according to the present teachings, is provided for receiving an infeed belt (also referred to as contact strip) 24, which feeds the terminals 12. The guide slot is open on the side toward the crimp anvil. The infeed belt 24 is, for example, a metallic belt on which the terminals 12 are held on one side (at one end in their longitudinal direction). The guide slot 46 is provided such that, when the cutting blade 22 is in its lower stop position (and the crimp anvil is in its initial position (first position)), terminals 12 can be fed in a direction perpendicular to the drawing plane of
In the protruding portion of the cutting blade 22, a core insertion opening 48 is also provided between the lower end (the end facing the crimper 18) of the cutting blade 22 and the guide slot 46. The core insertion opening 48 is preferably configured (shaped) in a conical manner, i.e. tapered from the side facing away from the anvil 16, and thus acts to easily insert a to-be-crimped core 14 with the terminal 12. As will be described below, the lower (outermost) end of the cutting blade 22 acts as a stop portion 50 of the cutting blade 22.
As will be described below with reference to
In the initial state (rest position) of the inverse crimping device 10 shown in
Furthermore, the core 14, for example, of a multi-core cable, is introduced from left to right into the inverse crimping device 10, in particular into the core insertion opening 48, so far that the core 14 is disposed vertically below the terminal 12 and overlaps therewith (see also
As can be seen from a comparison of
Starting from the position shown in
In
As the crimp anvil 16 moves further onto the crimper 18 (to the second vertical position shown in
As the crimp anvil 16 moves to the second vertical position shown in
In the next step the crimp anvil 16 is moved back upward, whereby first the crimped terminal 12 is released and can be removed, for example, leftward together with the core 14. After the return of the crimp anvil 16 and the corresponding return of the cutting blade 22 into their initial positions, a new terminal 12 already can be fed via the infeed belt 24, as shown in
The term “crimping process” herein should be understood in particular to mean the movement by which the actual crimping (reshaping) of the terminal on the core is effected. The movement of the crimp anvil from the first position to the second position is thus essentially meant here.
The infeed-belt transport device 52 acts to feed the infeed belt 24 to the cutting blade 22. For example, the infeed-belt transport device 52 includes two rollers, of which at least one is rotationally driven by an electric motor controlled by a control unit; the infeed belt 24 is transported between the two rollers. The infeed belt 24 is preferably configured as a perforated belt so that a corresponding gear ring can perform the transport or advancing and can ensure the exact positioning. In this embodiment the infeed-belt transport device 52 is rigidly connected to the cutting blade 22 such that, during the vertical movement of the cutting blade 22 together with the crimp anvil 16, an associated movement of the infeed-belt transport device 52 also occurs. A step motor is preferably used to enable the discontinuous (step-wise) feeding.
The core feed device 54 acts to feed and position the core 14 in the inverse crimping device 10. In particular, it makes possible an exact positioning, at least in the longitudinal direction of the core, of the to-be-crimped part of the core at a predetermined relative position with respect to the terminal. For example, the core feed device 54 includes two rollers or rolls, of which at least one is rotationally driven by an electric motor controlled by a control unit; the core 14 is transported and clamped by the rollers or rolls. Preferably the multi-core cable associated with the respective core is transported and positioned using the core feed device 54, and only a predetermined number of cores are inserted into the crimping device and optionally transported out again after the crimping.
In this embodiment the core feed device 54 is vertically movable, for example, by springs so that a downward movement of the core feed device 54 also takes place with the above-described downward movement of the crimp anvil 16 between the position, in
The support of both the infeed-belt transport device 52 and the core feed device 54, which is movable relative to the surroundings, thus acts to reduce forces that result from the movement of the crimp anvil 16 or of the cutting blade 22 during the crimping process. The infeed-belt transport device 52, the core feed device 54, and the drive unit 36 can be controlled centrally or non-centrally and optionally can be networked with one another.
Furthermore, in the depicted crimping system 56, preferably only a single core feed device (here also cable feed device) 54 is provided, which is preferably configured to be movable in a controlled manner (preferably by a drive (electric motor)) horizontally (in the drawing plane) in two directions, so that at least one core 14 of a multi-core cable 58 can be fed to both the conventional crimping device 58 and the inverse crimping device 10. Alternatively the crimping devices 10, 56 can be configured to be movable.
In particular, a terminal 12 opened upward can be crimped onto a first core 14 of a multi-core cable using the conventional crimping device 58, and a terminal 12 opened downward can be crimped onto a second core of the same multi-core cable 60 using the above-described inverse crimping device 10. In this case, the cable or cores need not be rotated about their longitudinal axis between the crimping processes.
Each of the crimping devices 10, 56 shown in
Such a crimping system makes possible the formation of the four terminals shown in
A possible example of a conventional crimping device 58, which can be used in the above-described crimping system 56, is depicted in a simplified manner in
In addition, further possible designs of the inverse crimping device or of the crimping system are described below, which if not in conflict can be combined with the above-described features and/or serve to exchange therewith.
Instead of the guiding using the guide plate 40, the cutting blade 22 can also be movably guided on the crimp anvil 16 in the vertical direction in any other suitable manner. The stop positions of the cutting blade 22 can also be formed by correspondingly integrally formed recesses in the cutting blade 22 and/or in the crimp anvil 16. In addition, the upper stop position of the cutting blade can be omitted, since this is not relevant for the functioning of the device.
The preload of the cutting blade 22 to its lower position with respect to the crimp anvil 16 can also be effected by hydraulic, electrical, or other types of actuators instead of by a spring. Alternatively it can be sufficient that the cutting blade 22 is “preloaded” by its own weight force and is moved downward associatively with the crimp anvil.
The above-described sequence (movement downward of the crimp anvil with the terminal→contact of the terminal with the core→contact of the to-be-reshaped regions with the crimper region, etc.) can also be modified as long as the function (effect) of the crimping is ensured.
As already explained, the inverse crimping device or the crimping system can be configured for simultaneous crimping of a plurality of cores. The cutting blade can accordingly also include one or more insertion openings or one single insertion opening configured for the insertion of a plurality of cores.
In the examples shown in the Figures, the terminals are crimped-on only onto the ends of the cores. Alternatively the terminals can be crimped-on onto any regions of the cores or also on a plurality of cores.
Although only B-crimp terminals are shown in the Figures, any kind of crimpable terminals, such as, for example, C-crimp terminals, can be used.
The movement of the crimp anvil is not limited to an upward-downward movement. Rather, the movement can occur in any (horizontal/vertical) direction, as long as a relative movement with respect to the crimper (toward the crimper) is achieved.
The above-described movement processes or sequences, when which component comes into contact or enters into interaction with which component, can of course be modified. For example, the core can already come into contact with the terminal upon insertion and/or the terminal can also already be in contact with the crimp anvil after the feeding of the terminal. Furthermore, the reshaping of the terminal can also occur only after or during the shearing-off of the terminal from the infeed strip.
Further aspects of the present disclosure include but are not limited to:
Aspect 1: Device (10) for inverse crimping of a terminal (12) onto a core (14), including
Aspect 2: Device (10) for inverse crimping of a terminal (12) onto a core (14), including
Aspect 3: Device (10) for inverse crimping of a terminal (12) onto a core (14), including
Aspect 4: Device according to one of aspects 1 to 3, wherein
Aspect 5: Device according to one of aspects 1 to 4, which further includes
Aspect 6: Device according to aspect 5, wherein
Aspect 7: Device according to aspect 5 or 6, wherein
Aspect 8: Device according to aspect 7, wherein
Aspect 9: Device according to one of aspects 1 to 8, wherein
Aspect 10: Crimping system for inverse crimping of two terminals (12) on two cores (14) of a multi-core cable (60), including
Aspect 11: Method for inverse crimping of a terminal (12) onto a core (14), including the following steps:
Aspect 12: Method according to aspect 11, wherein upstream or downstream a further terminal is crimped onto a further core by moving a crimper together with the terminal (12) and the to-be-crimped core (14) toward a crimp anvil, wherein
Aspect 13: Device (10) for inverse crimping of a terminal (12) onto a core (14), wherein the terminal (12) held on an infeed belt (24) is fed to the device (10), including
Aspect 14: Device (10) for inverse crimping of a terminal (12) onto a core (14), which terminal (12), held on an infeed belt (24), is fed to the device (10), which device (10) includes
Aspect 15: Device (10) for inverse crimping of a terminal (12) onto a core (14), which terminal (12), held on an infeed belt (24), is fed to the device (10), which device (10) includes
Aspect 16: Device according to one of aspects 13 to 15, wherein
Aspect 17: Device according to one of aspects 13 to 16, which further includes
Aspect 18: Device according to aspect 17, wherein
Aspect 19: Device according to aspect 17 or 18, wherein
Aspect 20: Device according to aspect 19, wherein
Aspect 21: Device according to one of aspects 13 to 20, wherein
Aspect 22: Crimping system for inverse crimping of two terminals (12) on two cores (14) of a multi-core cable (60), including
Aspect 23: Method for inverse crimping of a terminal (12) onto a core (14), including the following steps:
Aspect 24: Method according to aspect 23, wherein upstream or downstream a further terminal is crimped onto a further core by moving a crimper together with the terminal (12) and the to-be-crimped core (14) toward a crimp anvil, wherein
Aspect 25: Device or method according to one of the preceding aspects, wherein
Aspect 26: Device or method according to one of the preceding aspects, wherein
Aspect 27: Device or method according to aspect 26, wherein
Aspect 28: Device according to one of the preceding aspects, wherein
The disclosure also comprises a crimping system that is comprised of the disclosed devices and an infeed belt including terminals and/or one or more cores. It is explicitly emphasized that all of the features disclosed in the description and/or the claims should be considered as separate and independent from one another for the purpose of the original disclosure as well as for the purpose of limiting the claimed invention, independent of the combinations of features in the embodiments and/or the claims. It is explicitly stated that all range specifications or specifications of groups of units disclose every possible intermediate value or subgroup of units for the purpose of the original disclosure as well as for the purpose of limiting the claimed invention, in particular also as the limit of a range specification.
10 (Inverse) crimping device
12 Terminal
14 Core
16 Crimp anvil
18 Crimper
20 To-be-reshaped regions
22 Cutting blade
24 Infeed belt
26 Stop
28 Base plate
30 Screw
32 Pedestal
34 Crimper region
36 Drive unit
38 Support region
40 Guide plate
42 Slot
44 Guide bolt
45 Spring
46 Guide slot
48 Core insertion opening
50 Stop portion
52 Infeed-belt transport device
54 Core feed device
56 Crimping system
58 Conventional crimping device
60 Multi-core cable
70 Crimp anvil
72 Terminal
74 Crimper
76 Carrier
78 Drive unit
80 Infeed-belt guide device
82 Core
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 10 2016 123 470.2 | Dec 2016 | DE | national |
| Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCT/EP2017/081400 | 12/4/2017 | WO | 00 |
| Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO2018/104242 | 6/14/2018 | WO | A |
| Number | Name | Date | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3018816 | Cobaugh et al. | Jan 1962 | A |
| 3636611 | Rosenbaum | Jan 1972 | A |
| 3685148 | Garfinkel | Aug 1972 | A |
| 7757386 | Imgrut | Jul 2010 | B2 |
| 20150047189 | Stull | Feb 2015 | A1 |
| 20170033525 | Backenstoes | Feb 2017 | A1 |
| Number | Date | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 101542851 | Sep 2009 | CN |
| 1942399 | Oct 1970 | DE |
| 10357275 | Jul 2004 | DE |
| 1395498 | Apr 1965 | FR |
| 2001135447 | May 2001 | JP |
| 2007026968 | Feb 2007 | JP |
| 2008087938 | Jul 2008 | WO |
| Entry |
|---|
| English translation of the International Search Report dated Feb. 23, 2018 for parent application No. PCT/EP2017/081400. |
| English translation of the Written Opinion for parent application No. PCT/EP2017/081400. |
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 20200067252 A1 | Feb 2020 | US |
