Patent Application
20220223321
This application claims the benefit of Italian Patent Application Nos. 102020000028505 filed on Nov. 26, 2020 and 102021000024221 filed on Sep. 21, 2021, the whole disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference in their entirety.
The present disclosure relates to electrical wiring, and more particularly, to a system for producing electrical wiring or associated harnesses.
In the field of electronics, insulation displacement connections (IDC), also referred to as IDC connections, are permanent electric connections between an electric wire and a terminal placed in a specific housing or connector made of plastic. During the step of inserting the electric wire inside the connector, the tabs of the terminal cut the insulation casing of the electric wire and establish the electric connection between the terminal and the wire.
In distinction, crimp connections are permanent electric connections between a wire and a terminal. This connection requires the clamping of the terminal on the electric wire through the crimper of the mold. Therefore, a preliminary operation that must to be performed before crimping of the wire is the removal of the insulation casing of the electric wire (stripping), so that the conductive component can be directly connected to the electric terminal. In this way, as the electric wire is blocked on the terminal through the crimper, a stable mechanical and electrical connection is assured. Often, a cable or wiring harness may require each connector type, further increasing the complexity of its assembly.
Current IDC and crimping processes are expensive, time consuming and often unreliable.
A machine includes a first feeding station feeding at least one electrical wire, and a crimping station having at least one crimping tool. The machine further includes an insulation displacement connection (IDC) connection station, and a movable holding and transfer device having at least one actuator. The holding and transfer device receives an electrical wire from the first feeding station and transfers one or both ends of a first wire from the feeding station to one or both of the crimping station and the IDC connection station.
The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying Figures, of which:
Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the attached drawings, wherein the like reference numerals refer to the like elements. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiment set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the disclosure to those skilled in the art.
In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing.
The machine 1000 comprises four working stations positioned on a closed loop 800: a first feeding station 100, a crimping station 200, a second feeding station 300 and an IDC connection station 400. The machine 1000 uses a linear motor track (e.g., Beckhoff XTS or B&R Supertrack) for moving holding and transfer means 500, which are configured so as to hold and transfer electrical wires, through the different working stations 100, 200, 300, 400 on the closed loop 800. The holding and transfer means 500 comprise an independent mover which carries a transfer comb 500′, 500″, the transfer comb 500′, 500″ comprising a frame and seats designed so as to accommodate one end of an electrical wire. Each mover can be controlled independently, allowing maximum flexibility.
The first feeding station 100 comprises feeding means 110 to load electrical wires 11, 12 on the transfer comb 500′, 500″. For example, the feeding means 110 may comprise clamps for loading the electrical wires 11, 12 on the transfer comb. The electrical wires 11, 12 which are fed at the first feeding station 100 comprise one end 11a, 12a which is further terminated by crimp connectors at the crimping station 200.
The first feeding station 100 comprises three units of feeding means 110 that can work simultaneously. For example, the first feeding station 100 may comprise any number of units of feeding means 110, for example one, two, four, five or more.
The crimping station 200 comprises three crimping machines of the type of crimping presses to process different electrical wires simultaneously. For example, crimping is performed by inserting the stripped end of a wire into a portion of a terminal which is then mechanically deformed by compressing it tightly around the wire and each crimping press is configured so as to crimp a particular shape of crimp connectors. Preferably, the crimping station 200 does not comprise stripping means since the electrical wires have already been stripped at the first feeding station 100. For example, the crimping station 200 may comprise any number of crimping presses, for example one, two, four, five or more. Preferably, the crimping station 200 comprises as many crimping presses as the number of feeding units comprised in the first feeding station 100.
The second feeding station 300 is configured so as to feed electrical wires 13, 15 whose ends 13a, 13b, 15a, 15b need to be terminated by IDC connectors. The second feeding station 300 comprises bending means 310 to bend the electrical wires 13, 15 into a U-shaped configuration, so that both ends of each electrical wire 13, 15 are accommodated into the seats of the transfer comb 500′, 500″. The electrical wires are more easily transferred through the different working stations if they are held in a U-shaped configuration as both ends are made directly available to processing means.
The IDC connection station 400 comprises a plurality of machines to terminate by IDC connectors electrical wires which have been fed at the first feeding station 100 and at the second feeding station 300, The IDC connection station 400 may realize different hybrid electrical wiring structures 10, of the type represented in
The first feeding station 100 further comprises rotating clamps 130′ which bend the electrical wire 11, 12 into a U-shaped configuration before providing it to the holder comb, so that the two ends of each wire 11a, 11b and 12a, 12b can be accommodated into the corresponding seats of the holder comb 500′, 500″ (see
The first feeding station 100 further comprises cutting means 140 to cut the fed wire at the required length L by means of cutting blades (see
The feeding means 110 feeds the stripped and cut electrical wires 11, 12 to the transfer comb 500′, 500″ positioned in front of them (see
The asymmetric holder comb 500′ presents an asymmetric design and it comprises a temporary storage area 510 and a permanent storage area 520. The temporary storage area 510 comprises two seats 511′, 512′ placed at a first distance D. The permanent storage area 520 comprises a plurality of seats 521′, 522′, for instance twenty-one teeth or more, which are placed at a second distance d. The first distance D is greater than the second distance d and it is designed so as to correspond to the distance between the two ends of an electrical wire bent in a U-shape configuration. The temporary storage area 510 is designed so as to accommodate wires 11, 12 comprising one end to be crimped, while the permanent storage area 520 is designed so as to accommodate wires that have already been crimped and additional wires comprising two ends to be terminated by IDC connectors.
The asymmetric holder comb 500″ presents an asymmetric design and it comprises a temporary storage area 510 and a permanent storage area 520. The temporary storage area 510 comprises two seats 511″, 512″ placed at a first distance D, wherein each seat 511″, 512″ is delimited by a corresponding pair of teeth and has a variable width s, s′. The temporary storage area 510 is provided with elastic means 530, for example a helical traction spring, which are configured to dynamically adjust the distance between each pair of teeth delimiting each seat 511″, 512″ and thus to dynamically adjust the width of each seat 511″, 512″. In this way, as result of the elasticity of the helical traction spring, electrical wires having different sections may be accommodated and held in the seats 511″, 512″, without the risk of deforming and/or damaging the teeth.
The permanent storage area 520 comprises a plurality of seats 521″, 522″, for instance twenty-one teeth or more, which are placed at a second distance d, wherein each seat 521″, 522″ is delimited by a pair of teeth. The seats 521″, 522″ may have predefined different widths s, s′, i.e. each seat 521″, 522″ may be delimited by a pair of teeth placed at a predefined different distance s, s′, in order to accommodate and hold electrical wires having different sections. Preferably, each seat 521″, 522″ may be fixed by means of screws and it may be added or removed from the permanent storage area 520 according to the user's needs, that is depending on the number of wires having a predefined section corresponding to the predefined seat width s, s′ that must be held in the holder comb 500″. In this way, electrical wires having different sections may be accommodated and held in the seats 521″, 522″, without the risk of deforming and/or damaging the teeth.
For instance, the asymmetric holder comb 500″ according to this configuration may accommodate and hold into the seats 511″, 512″, 521″, 522″ electrical wires having a section of 0.35 mm2 and/or of 1.5 mm2. However, it is clear that also electrical wires having sections smaller than 0.35 mm2, or sections larger than 1.5 mm2, or any other section may be accommodated and held in the holder comb 500″ according to the present invention.
Each asymmetric holder comb 500′, 500″ is placed on a mover that can be controlled independently and that transfers it through the different working stations 100, 200, 300, 400 of the machine 1000. The movers are functionally controlled by electronic means. During the crimping operations, the comb 500′, 500″ is constantly moved between the first feeding station 100 and the crimping station 200. The asymmetric design of the transfer comb 500′, 500″ provides a significant advantage in conjunction with the independent controls provided by the linear motor transfer system, since, during each translation moment, two operations can be carried out, i.e. the feeding of the uncrimped electrical wires and the collection of the crimped ones.
In the following, the operation of a preferred embodiment according to the present invention is described with reference to
According to the first illustrative embodiment described above and shown in
According to the second illustrative embodiment described above but not shown in
Preferably, the seats 511′, 512′, 511″, 512″ of the temporary storage area 510 may have a variable width that can be adjusted according to the section of the electrical wire 11 received at the first feeding station 100. Preferably, the variable width is adjusted by means of elastic means, for instance a helical traction spring.
The first electrical wire 11 may be further cut at a predefined length by cutting means at the first feeding station 100 according to the first or second illustrative embodiments.
The asymmetric holder comb 500′, 500″ carrying the first electrical wire 11 is moved to the crimping station 200 (see
During crimping of the first wire 11, the asymmetric holder comb 500′, 500″ is moved back to the first feeding station 100 to receive a second electrical wire 12 (see
At the crimping station 200, the first crimped electrical wire 11 is released from the crimping clamps and positioned in the permanent storage area 520 of the asymmetric holder comb 500′, 500″. Preferably, the seats 521′, 522′, 521″, 522″ of the permanent storage area 520 may have predefined different widths s, s′ for accommodating corresponding electrical wires having predefined different sections. For example, the electrical wire 11 may be accommodated on a seat 521′, 522′, 521″, 522″ of the permanent storage area 520 having a width corresponding to its section.
Afterwards, the crimping clamps collect the second electrical wire 12 from the asymmetric holder comb 500′, 500″. The first crimped electrical wire 11 is loaded into the permanent storage area 520 so that the uncrimped end 11b is positioned inside an empty seat 521′, 521″ and the crimped end 11a, comprising the crimp connector 50, is hanging down from the asymmetric holder comb 500′, 500″. During crimping of the second electrical wire 12, the asymmetric holder comb 500′, 500″ carrying the first crimped wire 11 is moved back to the first feeding station 100 to receive a third electrical wire 14 (see
At the crimping station 200, the second crimped electrical wire 12 is released by the crimping clamps and positioned in the permanent storage area 520 of the asymmetric holder comb 500′, 500″ together with the first crimped wire 11. Preferably, the electrical wire 12 may be accommodated on a seat 521′, 522′, 521″, 522″ of the permanent storage area 520 having a width corresponding to its section.
Afterwards, crimping clamps collect the third electrical wire 14 from the asymmetric holder comb 500′, 500″ (see
These operations can be repeated for a number of times so as to load a plurality of electrical wires into the temporary storage area 510 of the asymmetric holder comb 500′ at the first feeding station 100 and to transfer them to the crimping station 200.
These operations are carried out so that, while a previous wire is being crimped at the crimping station 200, a new wire is loaded into the temporary storage area 510 and transferred to the crimping station 200 and then, before the new wire is collected by crimping clamps, the previous wire is released and loaded on the permanent storage area 520 together with the other crimped wires. During these transfer movements, the electrical wires which have already been crimped are all stored into the permanent storage area 520.
The asymmetric holder comb 500′, 500″ storing a plurality of crimped electrical wires in the permanent storage area 520 is then moved to the second feeding station 300. At the second feeding station 300, the asymmetric holder comb 500′, 500″ stops and receives at least one additional electrical wire 13 comprising two ends to be terminated by IDC connectors. For example, at the second feeding station 300, a plurality of additional electrical wires 13, 15 is loaded into the permanent storage area 520 of the asymmetric holder comb 500′, 500″ which also stores the crimped electrical wires 11, 12, 14.
At the second feeding station 300, the additional electrical wires 13, 15 are bent into a U-shaped configuration by bending means 310. The additional electrical wires 13, 15 are initially partially accommodated into guiding means 340 and are bend around the semi-circular jig 330. The additional electrical wires 13, 15 hence assume a U-shaped configuration around the semi-circular jig 330 and are directly loaded into the permanent storage area 520 so that the two ends are accommodated into different seats of the permanent storage area 520. In this way, both ends of the electrical wires are made easily available to the processing means of the IDC connection station 400.
Finally, the asymmetric transfer comb 500′, 500″ is transferred to the IDC connection station 400. The IDC connection machine 420 may be of the known type and it is configured so as to insert the electrical wires 11, 12, 13, 14, 15 in corresponding receptacles 50 of a connector 30 or of different connectors 30, 30′ provided with at least one corresponding electrical terminal 20. The IDC connection station 400 further comprises a trimming station 410 where the ends of the wires are all trimmed at the same distance from the asymmetric holder comb 500′. 500″ in order to have identical lengths of insertion in the connectors. Once the wires 11, 12, 13, 15 have been trimmed, the asymmetric holder comb 500′, 500″ is moved toward the insertion region, where there can be one or more connectors and the wires are inserted into corresponding electrical terminals.
The machine according to the invention allows producing in a completely automated manner hybrid electrical wirings structures. For example, the electrical wires can have both ends inserted into corresponding receptacles 50 of one or more connectors 30, 30′ provided with corresponding electrical terminals 20, or the electrical wires can have one end terminated by crimp connectors 40 and one end terminated by IDC connectors. Therefore, of course, the machines and components described herein should be understood to be performing under the control of more or more computers and associated memory devices, for example located within the illustrated machine 1000. More specifically, each of the modules shown in
While the invention has been described with respect to the preferred physical embodiments constructed in accordance therewith, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications, variations and improvements of the present invention may be made in the light of the above teachings and within the purview of the appended claims without departing from the spirit and intended scope of the invention.
For instance, even if it is described that two or more wires are collected at the first feeding station 100 and one or more wires are collected at the second feeding station 300, it is clear that the machine could also be worked in such a way that a single wire is collected at the first feeding station, that one end of that wire is crimped at the crimping station 200, without the asymmetric holder comb 500′, 500″ moving back to the first feeding station 100 to collect a second wire, and then the other end of the first wire is connected to an IDC terminal at the IDC connection station 400. Moreover, the machine could also be worked in such a way that no wires are collected at the first feeding station 100 and that one or more wires are collected at the second feeding station 300 for IDC connection.
For instance, even if the structure and the functioning of the bending means 310 have been described with reference to the second feeding station 300, it is evident that the same principles may also apply to the bending means 130 at the first feeding station 100.
Moreover, even if the bending means 130, 310 and the stripping means 120 have been shown and described separately, it is clear that they can be combined at the first feeding station 100. For example, according to an illustrative embodiment, the electrical wires 11, 12 which are fed at the first feeding station 100, may be first inserted into the feeding means 110, then may pass through the stripping blades 120 to be stripped and finally they may be bent into a U-shaped configuration by bending means 130. For example, according to another illustrative embodiment, the electrical wires 11, 12 which are fed at the first feeding station 100 may be first bent into a U-shaped configuration by the bending means 130 and then one end of the electrical wires 11, 12 in the U-shaped configuration may pass through the stripping blades 120′ to be stripped.
Moreover, even if the stripping means 120, the bending means 130, 310 and the asymmetric holder comb 500′, 500″ have been described in reference to the machine 1000, it is clear that they can be also employed in a different machine for producing hybrid electrical wiring.
Moreover, the number of machines located at each working station may be different from what is shown in the Figures. For example, even if it is shown that there are three feeding machines respectively at the first feeding station 100 and at the second feeding station 300, it is clear that they can be for example one, two, four, five or more.
For example, even if it is shown that there are three crimping machines at the crimping station 200, it is clear that they can be for example one, two, four, five or more.
For example, even if four holding and transfer means 500 are represented on the closed loop 800, it is clear that they can be for example one, two, three, five or more. Preferably, there are nine holding and transfer means 500 in the machine 1000.
In addition, those areas in which it is believed that those of ordinary skill in the art are familiar, have not been described herein in order not to unnecessarily obscure the invention described. Accordingly, it has to be understood that the invention is not to be limited by the specific illustrative embodiments, but only by the scope of the appended claims.
It should be appreciated for those skilled in this art that the above embodiments are intended to be illustrated, and not restrictive. For example, many modifications may be made to the above embodiments by those skilled in this art, and various features described in different embodiments may be freely combined with each other without conflicting in configuration or principle.
Although several exemplary embodiments have been shown and described, it would be appreciated by those skilled in the art that various changes or modifications may be made in these embodiments without departing from the principles and spirit of the disclosure, the scope of which is defined in the claims and their equivalents.
As used herein, an element recited in the singular and proceeded with the word “a” or “an” should be understood as not excluding plural of the elements or steps, unless such exclusion is explicitly stated. Furthermore, references to “one embodiment” of the present disclosure are not intended to be interpreted as excluding the existence of additional embodiments that also incorporate the recited features. Moreover, unless explicitly stated to the contrary, embodiments “comprising” or “having” an element or a plurality of elements having a particular property may include additional such elements not having that property.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 102020000028505 | Nov 2020 | IT | national |
| 102021000024221 | Sep 2021 | IT | national |
