The invention relates to a self-adjusting crimping tool for crimping items of different sizes. The crimping tool may be a hand tool or a powered tool, e.g. a hydraulically, pneumatically or electrically powered tool.
Crimping tools are used for cable termination and may be hand tools or powered tools, e.g. hydraulically powered tools. Cable termination is required e.g. for connecting a cable or a wire to power, coaxial, fibre-optic or modular connectors. The crimping tool provides a clamping force that mechanically clamps a connector to an end portion of a cable. Hence, when crimping, a connector i.e. a terminal, splice, contact or a similar device is mechanically secured to a cable—e.g. to a conductor such as a wire—by deformation so that a solid joint having reliable mechanical and electrical connection is formed. The crimping operation resulting in a crimped joint is e.g. performed using crimping dies.
Different connectors have different shapes and different sizes. Therefore, the tool heads of crimping tools are typically specifically adapted to a specific connector shape and may e.g. be polygonal, circular or oval. Further, the tool head needs to be adapted to a specific size. Conventionally, a tool head has not been adapted to crimp connectors of different sizes. Instead, multiple dies or dies with multiple crimping positions have been used.
In US 2015/349478 a crimping tool is disclosed, in which crimping dies are co-operating so as to crimp an item into a rectangular, specifically quadratic, cross section. The co-operating dies of the crimping tool are advantageous in that they accept different sizes of the same cross sectional shape. The technique may also be implemented on other polygonal shapes, such as e.g. hexagonal or triangular, by arranging a corresponding number of dies on the tool head. It is however not adapted to handle other shapes than polygonal shapes.
Crimping tools for crimping non-polygonal shapes such as oval shapes or the like are generally not adapted for items of different sizes. Normally such tools comprise several positions, each designed for the crimping of an item of a specific size. There is not one position that is adapted to crimp oval shapes of different sizes.
Hence, there is a need of a crimping tool that facilitates crimping of non-polygonal shapes, such as oval shapes.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a crimping tool that facilitates crimping of non-polygonal shapes, such as oval shapes.
The invention relates to a crimping tool for crimping items to a substantially ellipsoidal shape, the crimping tool comprising a first and a second die arranged to interact with each other, each comprising a circular segment surface, wherein the dies are arranged such that the circular segments are opposed each other forming a substantially ellipsoidal shape between them, characterised in that the first and the second interacting dies are movable with respect to each other, the first die being pivotally arranged to move in a part circular movement with respect to the second die, substantially without rotating around its own centre, wherein the circular segment of the first die at a trailing end thereof comprises an edge arranged to follow the circular segment surface of the second die, thereby continuously closing a first end of the substantially ellipsoidal shape between the circular segments.
In accordance with specific embodiment if the invention the second die comprises an edge arranged to follow the circular segment surface of the first die, thereby continuously closing a second end of the substantially ellipsoidal shape between the circular segments.
In another specific embodiment the second die is fixed on the crimping tool and the first die is pivotally arranged in two, or more, pivot arms of an equal pivot length.
In yet another specific embodiment the circular segment surfaces of both the first and second die have a radius of curvature that correspond to a circle with radiuses equalling the pivot length of the two pivot arms.
The crimping tool may be a hand tool or a powered tool, e.g. a hydraulically, pneumatically or electrically powered tool.
Other embodiments and advantages will be apparent from the detailed description and the appended drawings.
An exemplary embodiment related to the invention will now be described with reference to the appended drawings, in which;
In
The crimping tool 10 comprises a tool head 20 carrying a first die 11 and a second die 21 arranged to interact with each other. Each die 11,21 comprises a circular segment surface 12,22 and the dies are arranged such that the circular segments 12,22 are opposed each other forming a substantially ellipsoidal shape E1-3 between them. The first and the second interacting dies 11,21 are movable with respect to each other. In the shown embodiment the first die 11 is pivotally arranged to move in a part circular movement with respect to the second die 12, substantially without rotating around its own centre. The first die 11 is moved by providing a force F in a closing direction as illustrated in
In the shown embodiment the second die 21 is fixed with respect to the tool head 20 of the crimping tool 10, wherein the first die 11 is pivotally arranged in two pivot arms 24,25 of an equal pivot length LP (see
The circular segment 12 of the first die 11 comprises an edge 13, which constitutes a first end 31, a trailing end, of the circular segment 12 with respect to its circular movement and which is arranged to follow the circular segment surface 22 of the second die 21 closely, thereby continuously closing a first end of the substantially ellipsoidal shape E1-3 between the circular segments 12,22. The first end 31 of the substantially ellipsoidal shape is hence defined by the interaction of the edge 13 of the of the first die 11 and the circular segment surface 22 of the second die 21.
Likewise, the circular segment 22 of the second die 21 comprises an edge 23, which constitutes a distal, second end of the circular segment 22 with respect to the circular movement of the first die 11 and which is arranged to closely follow the circular segment surface 12 of the first die 11 as it progresses in its circular movement, thereby continuously closing the second end 32 of the substantially ellipsoidal shape between the circular segments 12,22. The second end is hence formed between the edge 23 of the of the second die 21 and the circular segment 12 of the first die 11.
A crimping operation is performed in that one or more item to be crimped, e.g. a connector and wire end onto which the connector should be crimped, are positioned in the substantially ellipsoidal shape E1 between the circular segments 12,22 when it is in an open position, i.e. as shown in
As is illustrated in
Hence, in both extreme positions as shown in
The second circle C2 has a radius R2 and illustrates the imagined trajectory of the edge 13 of the first die 11 around an imaginary centre point P2. The second circle C2 coincide with the circular segment 22 of the second die 21. Hence, in addition to showing the trajectory of the edge point 13 the second circle C2 also illustrates a full circle corresponding to the circular segment 22 of the second die 21. This is natural since the edge 13 of the first die 11 is adapted to follow said circular segment 22 with as little play as possible.
The third circle C3 illustrates a full circle corresponding to the circular segment 12 of the first die 11. The third circle C3 has an imaginary centre point P3 and a radius R3. Since the first die 11 is moving in a part circular movement the circular segment 12 will move along with it, and so will the illustrative third circle C3. However, in correspondence to the fact that the edge 13 of the first die 11 follows the second circle C2, a part of the third circle C3 will always coincide with the edge 23 of the of the second die 21, and said edge 23 will hence follow the circular segment 12 of the first die 11 with as little play as possible as the first die 11 circles along its trajectory.
The edge 13 of the first die 11 is the outermost part of the circular segment 12 of the first die 11, and correspondingly the edge 23 of the second die 21 is the outermost part of the circular segment 22 of the second die 21. Hence, the circular segments 12 and 22 are asymmetric with respect to opposed faces of the dies 11 and 21, the edges 13,23 hence being the respective outermost part of each die 11,21.
It is to be noted that the circles C1, C2 and C3 are of the same size and thus have the same radiuses, i.e. R1=R2=R3. In other words: the circular segment surfaces 12,22 of both the first and second die 11,21 have a radius of curvature that correspond to a circle with a radius equalling the pivot length LP of the two pivot arms 24 and 25. Further, as is apparent from above and from the figures the dies are so positioned with respect to each other so that the edge 13 of the first die 11 is adapted to follow the circular segment 22 of the second die 21 with as little play as possible and so that the edge 23 of the second die 21 will follow the circular segment 12 of the first die 11 with as little play as possible, as the first die 11 circles along its trajectory.
As is apparent from
Above, the invention has been described with reference to a specific embodiment. It is obvious to a person skilled in the art that other embodiments are possible within the scope of the following claims.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
1650821-0 | Jun 2016 | SE | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
PCT/SE2017/050625 | 6/12/2017 | WO | 00 |