Assembly of an electric cable with a cable terminal

Abstract

Method for crimping a cable terminal onto an electric cable includes providing an electric cable having an outer insulation sheath and at least one conductive strand with a sheathed portion, and providing a terminal having shrink wings and provide a gasket having a sealing portion and a shrink portion. The method also includes stripping the electrical cable so that a stripped portion is formed, positioning the shrinkage portion of the joint so that it directly overlaps the stripped portion of the cable without the shrinkage portion overlapping the sheathed portion of the cable, and fully crimping the shrink wings onto the shrink portion of the joint without the shrink wings covering the sheathed portion of the cable.

Claims

1. An assembly of an electric cable and a cable terminal, comprising: the cable being provided with an outer insulation sheath and at least one conductive strand, and having a sheathed portion and a stripped portion, the assembly further having a gasket with a sealing portion and a shrinkage portion, the shrinkage portion includes a collar, the terminal having shrinkage wings, and wherein the sealing portion of the gasket is assembled on the sheathed portion of the cable, the shrinkage portion of the gasket is assembled directly onto the stripped portion of the cable, wherein the shrinkage portion has a shoulder arranged to abut the sheathed portion of the cable, and the shrinkage wings are fully assembled onto and into direct engagement with the shrinkage portion of the gasket, the shrinkage wings arranged between the collar and the sealing portion along a longitudinal axis.

2. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the shrinkage wings do not overlap when crimped onto the shrinkage portion of the gasket.

3. The assembly according to claim 1, wherein the terminal has one of a distal male part or a distal female part.

4. A method for crimping a cable terminal onto an electric cable, comprising: providing an electrical cable having an outer insulation sheath and at least one conductive strand, with a sheathed portion, providing a terminal having shrinkage wings and provide a gasket having a sealing portion and a shrinkage portion, the shrinkage portion includes a collar, stripping the electrical cable so that a stripped portion is formed, positioning the shrinkage portion of the gasket so that it directly overlaps the stripped portion of the cable, without the shrinkage portion overlapping the sheathed portion of the cable, and fully crimping the shrinkage wings into direct engagement onto the shrinkage portion of the gasket without the shrinkage wings covering the sheathed portion of the cable, the shrinkage wings arranged between the collar and the sealing portion along a longitudinal axis.

5. The method according to claim 4, comprising positioning the sealing portion of the gasket at the sheathed portion of the cable without the sealing portion of the gasket covering the stripped portion of the cable.

6. The method according to claim 4, comprising completely crimping the shrinkage wings onto the crimping portion of the gasket without overlapping the shrinkage wings.

7. The method according to claim 4, wherein the step of stripping the electrical cable so as to form a stripped portion, is replaced by the step of supplying the electrical cable with the stripped portion.

8. The method according to claim 4, comprising abutting a shoulder of the shrinkage portion of the gasket on the sheathed portion of the cable.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

(1) Other characteristics and advantages of the present description will become clearer when reading the following detailed description of a given mode of realization as a non-limitative example and illustrated by the annexed drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 represents a side view of an assembly of an electric cable and a cable terminal according to this description,

(3) FIG. 2 represents a top view of the assembly as described here,

(4) FIG. 3 is a schematic representation of an electric cable and the crimping process according to this description.

(5) FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of the process with additional steps,

(6) FIG. 5 shows the schematic representation of the process with additional steps,

(7) FIG. 6 represents an assembly according to the previous art,

(8) FIG. 7 represents a joint according to the previous art.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

(9) FIG. 1 is a side view of an assembly of an electrical cable and a cable terminal as described here. A cable 1 has an outer insulation sheath 3 and a plurality of conductive strands 2 with a sheathed portion 1g of cable 1 and a stripped portion 1d of cable 1. Cable 1 has a longitudinal axis XX′. A YY′ axis is shown to delineate the sheathed portion 1g of cable 1 and the stripped portion 1d of cable 1. The outer insulation sheath 3 is, for example, made of plastic and the conductive strands 2 are made of a conductive material such as copper, for example. In one particular design, the outer diameter of sheath 3 is 4.8 mm (or between 4 and 5 mm) and the inner diameter of sheath 3 is 3.2 mm (or between 3 and 4 mm). The conductive strands 2 each have a diameter of 0.32 mm (or between 0.25 mm and 0.35 mm). Note that the conductive strands 2 may have a different diameter.

(10) The assembly of power cable 1 with a power cable terminal 10 is shown. Terminal 10 has shrinkage wings 15. The assembly further has a gasket 11 having a sealing portion 14 and a shrinkage portion 12, wherein the sealing portion 14 of gasket 11 is assembled on the sheathed portion 1g of cable 1, and the shrinkage portion 12 of gasket 11 is assembled directly on the stripped portion 1d of cable 1. The shrinkage wings 15 are fully assembled on the shrinkage portion 12 of gasket 11. Joint 11 is rotationally symmetrical and can easily be manufactured using a two-component molding process.

(11) In an example design, gasket 11 is made of a plastic material, in particular silicone. The sealing portion 14 has waves on its outer diameter, which vary between 4.25 mm and 7.2 mm. Shrinkage portion 12 has a smaller diameter than sealing portion 14. Shrinkage portion 12 may have a diameter of 2.3 mm (or between 2 and 3 mm). Shrinkage portion 12 can be 3.2 mm long and the sealing portion can be 4.3 mm long.

(12) The shrinkage wings 15 are made of metal, for example, steel, and are connected to a second shrinkage portion 16 directly crimped or pinched on the conductive strands 2. The second shrinkage portion 16 is connected to a distal part 17, which can be male or female, so as to connect terminal 10 to another compatible distal part 17 of another terminal 10. The second shrinkage portion 16 and the distal part 17 are made of a conductive material, for example, steel. The second shrinkage portion 16, when crimped onto the conductive strands 2, leaves a short end 2a of the conductive strands 2. Thus, an electrical current can flow from the conductive strands 2 of cable 1 to the distal part 17.

(13) The shrinkage portion 12 of gasket 11 is positioned on the stripped portion 1d of cable 1, so that it is in direct contact with the conductive strands 2. The shrinkage wings 15 are then clamped onto the shrinkage portion 12 of gasket 11, and closed on shrinkage portion 12, without the shrinkage wings 15 touching each other. The example two 15-strand wings will then fully contact the 12-strand portion of gasket 11, but will not be placed next to each other. A gap of 0.2 mm may thus be present between the shrinkage wing 15 at their distal end, when closed.

(14) In one example, gasket 11 has an internal shoulder 18 (shown schematically in FIG. 4) so that it abuts the sheathed portion 1g of cable 1 when assembling gasket 11 to cable 1. This ensures the correct positioning of gasket 11 on cable 1, and the correct alignment of the shrinkage portion 12 on the stripped portion 1d of cable 1. Thus, when crimping the shrinkage wings 15 onto the shrinkage portion 12 of gasket 11, the correct attachment of terminal 10 to cable 1 via gasket 11 is ensured, and gasket 11 is not injured (e.g. by incorrect positioning of the shrinkage wings 15).

(15) The shoulder 18 is made at the diameter change between the shrinkage portion 12 and the sealing portion 14 of gasket 11, so that it faces the sheathed portion 1g when inserting gasket 11 into cable 1 from the stripped portion 1d along the longitudinal axis XX′. Thus, shoulder 18 abuts the sheathed portion 1g at the YY′ axis. Gasket 11 also has a collar 19, so that it guides the shrinkage wings 15, especially during crimping and after crimping.

(16) FIG. 2 shows a top view of the assembly. The reference signs are kept as much as possible in relation to FIG. 1. The space between the shrinkage wings 15 is thus visible on the top view. Thus, in one example mode of fabrication, the shrinkage wings 15 cover 98% of the shrinkage portion 12 of gasket 11. In addition, the crimping of the second shrinkage portion 16 on the conductive strands 2 is shown, as well as the end 2a of the conductive strands 2.

(17) FIG. 3 shows a schematic representation of an electrical cable and the crimping process according to this description. Cable 1 is supplied with the stripped portion 1d in which the conductive strands 2 are exposed and bare, and the sheathed portion 1g in which the conductive strands 2 are insulated and covered by the outer insulation sheath 3. The stripped portion 1d is stripped so as to form a increased stripped portion, for example. In other words, the inner peripheral surface of the shrinkage portion 12 will be entirely in contact with the stripped portion 1d when assembled.

(18) FIG. 4 shows the schematic representation of the process with additional steps. The gasket 11 is supplied and inserted into the end of cable 1, from the stripped portion 1d. The shrinkage portion 12 of gasket 11 is positioned so that the inner peripheral surface of shrinkage portion 12 is directly and completely in contact with the stripped portion 1d of cable 1 without shrinkage portion 12 covering the sheathed portion 1g of cable 1. The sealing portion 14 of gasket 11 is thus positioned at the sheathed portion 1g of cable 1 without the sealing portion 14 of gasket 11 covering the stripped portion 1d of cable 1.

(19) The process may have the additional step of abutting the shoulder 18 of the shrinkage portion 12 of gasket 11 on the sheathed portion 1g of cable 1 at the YY′ axis. This ensures the correct positioning of gasket 11 of terminal 10.

(20) FIG. 5 shows the schematic representation of the process with further steps. The step of providing the terminal 10 having the shrinkage wings 15 and providing the gasket 11 having the sealing portion 14 and a shrinkage portion 12 is divided into sub-steps of first providing the gasket 11 with the sealing portion 14 and the shrinkage portion 12, and then providing the shrinkage wings 15 coming in one piece with the second shrinkage portion 16 and the distal part 17.

(21) The next step is to completely crimp the shrinkage wings 15 onto the shrinkage portion 12 of gasket 11 without the shrinkage wings 15 covering the sheathed portion 1g of cable 1. This ensures that the shrinkage portion 12 is not injured during crimping.

(22) In addition, the entire crimping of the shrinkage wings 15 to the shrinkage portion 12 of gasket 11 is carried out without the shrinkage wings 15 overlapping. The crimping step of the second shrinkage portion 16 on the conductive strands 2 is also performed.

(23) It is possible to supply power cable 1 directly with the increased stripped portion 1d, i.e. the step of stripping power cable 1 is carried out directly with the correct rib. In other words, the stripped portion 1d is directly with the correct stripped dimension.

(24) FIG. 6 shows an assembly according to the previous art, as described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,824,962. The conventional rubber gasket 50 consists of a first part with sealing lips 51 that provide a sealing function, and a second part 55 is adapted to be attached to the sheathed wire 52. Specifically, an insulating piece 54 of the metal terminal 53 is forcibly deformed to surround the rubber gasket around the entire periphery of the sheathed wire 52, thereby attaching the rubber gasket to the wire 52. In addition, an intermediate piece is interlaced on the peripheral surface of the gasket at the attachment point.

(25) FIG. 7 shows a gasket according to the prior art as described in EP2856568B1. The gasket consists of a sealing portion 32 and a shrinkage portion 31, with an additional reinforcement element 34 cooperating with a flange 33. The reinforcement element improves the crimp, “protects” the gasket during crimping and reduces deformation of the relatively soft gasket.

(26) It should also be understood that although a particular component arrangement is disclosed in the illustrated embodiment, other arrangements will benefit herefrom. Although particular step sequences are shown, described, and claimed, it should be understood that steps may be performed in any order, separated or combined unless otherwise indicated and will still benefit from the present invention.

(27) It is understandable that various modifications and/or improvements obvious to the skilled craftsman can be made to the different methods described in this description. In particular, reference is made to the reversal of steps provided this is not incompatible. It is also possible to provide neutral distal parts that can be coupled regardless of the corresponding distal part to be coupled.

(28) Although the different examples have specific components shown in the illustrations, embodiments of this invention are not limited to those particular combinations. It is possible to use some of the components or features from one of the examples in combination with features or components from another one of the examples.

(29) Although an example embodiment has been disclosed, a worker of ordinary skill in this art would recognize that certain modifications would come within the scope of the claims. For that reason, the following claims should be studied to determine their true scope and content.