APPARATUS AND METHOD FOR PROCESSING A PLURALITY OF ELECTRICAL WIRES

Abstract

An apparatus to process a plurality of electrical wires as well as a method that uses the apparatus are indicated. The apparatus includes a feed device, a stationary holding device, a holding device that is non-stationary along a linear guiding direction, a non-stationary bundling device that is separate from the non-stationary holding device and a controller connected to a drive of the non-stationary bundling device. The stationary holding device and/or the non-stationary holding device are configured to twist the respectively held end of the wires; The controller controls the drive in such a way that a distance between a bundling segment of the non-stationary bundling device and the non-stationary holding device assumes a specified or a specifiable distance.

Claims

1. An apparatus for processing a plurality of electrical wires, comprising: a feed device, configured to guide a leading end of a plurality of wires through a zone of a processing region; a stationary holding device arranged in the zone of the processing region, configured to hold a lagging end of the wires; a non-stationary holding device that is non-stationary along a linear guiding direction, configured to hold the leading end of the wires, wherein the stationary holding device and/or the non-stationary holding device is configured to twist the held end of the wires respectively; a non-stationary bundling device that is non-stationary along the linear guiding direction by means of a controllable drive and is separate from the non-stationary holding device, which comprises a bundling segment, wherein the bundling segment is configured to bundle a bundling region on the leading end of the wires. a controller connected to the drive of the non-stationary bundling device, configured to control the drive in such a way that a distance between the bundling segment of the non-stationary bundling device and the non-stationary holding device assumes a specified or a specifiable distance.

2. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: a distance measuring device configured to measure the distance between the bundling segment of the non-stationary bundling device and the non-stationary holding device, wherein the controller is additionally connected to the distance measuring device.

3. The apparatus according to claim 1, which furthermore comprises the following: a stationary bundling device, arranged in the processing region and configured to bundle a bundling region on the lagging end of the wires.

4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the specified or specifiable distance defines a position of the bundling region on the leading end of the wires.

5. The apparatus according to claim 4, wherein the controller is furthermore configured to determine the position of the bundling region on the leading end of the wires from a distance to the first intersecting position of the wires on the leading end.

6. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance measuring device comprises a magnetostrictive position measuring system, and magnetic position measuring system or an optical position measuring system.

7. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the distance measuring device comprises a position indicator and path-sensor device, wherein the position indicator is arranged on a linear guide, in particular, on a guide carriage, of the non-stationary holding device.

8. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one or both of the non-stationary bundling device and the stationary bundling device are configured to wrap the wires with a bundle binder, in particular, to wrap the wires with an adhesive tape.

9. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one or both the non-stationary bundling device and the stationary bundling device each comprise a positioning device independent from the drive, wherein the positioning device is configured to position the bundling segment of the respective bundling device in relation to the respective wire end to be bundled.

10. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the non-stationary holding device can be moved along a holding device linear guide, wherein the non-stationary bundling device can be moved along a bundling device linear guide, wherein the holding device linear guide and the bundling device linear guide are separate from one another and run parallel with one another.

11. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein one or both the non-stationary bundling device and the stationary bundling device each comprise a sensor, in particular, an optical sensor, wherein the respective sensor is configured to detect the first intersecting position of the wires and/or to detect the presence of the bundle binder and/or to detect the position of the bundle binder.

12. The apparatus according to claim 10, wherein the controller is configured to further use a detection result from the sensor, which indicates the first intersecting position of the wires, to control the drive.

13. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the sensor comprises an optical line sensor and the first intersecting position of the wires is assumed at a position, which corresponds to the position on the optical line sensor, at which a difference of the signal intensity of the adjacent image points of the optical line sensor exceeds a predetermined threshold.

14. The apparatus according to claim 11, wherein the sensor comprises an optical sensor with an illumination means and an digital camera.

15. A method for processing a plurality of electrical wires using an apparatus according to claim 1, the method comprising: holding a leading end of the wires with the non-stationary holding device, and holding a lagging end of the wires with the stationary holding device in the zone of the processing region; twisting the wires on the leading end against the lagging end and/or twisting the wires on the lagging end against the leading end; after completion of the twisting or during twisting: controlling the drive in such a way that the distance between the bundling segment of the non-stationary bundling device and the non-stationary holding device assumes a specified or a specifiable distance; bundling, with the non-stationary bundling device, a bundling region on the leading end of the wires and/or bundling, with the stationary bundling device, a bundling region on the lagging end of the wires.

16. The method according to claim 15 wherein one or both of the non-stationary bundling device and the stationary bundling device are configured to wrap the wires with a bundle binder, further comprising: detecting the presence of the bundle binder or the position of the bundle binder; determining if a quality criterion is fulfilled from the detection results; outputting a signal depending on the determination.

17. The method according to claim 15, further comprising: specifying the distance relative to a first intersecting position of the wires on the leading end.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0040] In the following, embodiments of the disclosure will be explained in more detail based on the enclosed drawings. The figures show:

[0041] FIG. 1 a twisted wire pair to clarify the terms used herein;

[0042] FIG. 2 a region of the wire pair from FIG. 1 with other aspects for clarification;

[0043] FIG. 3 in order to explain the aspects disclosed herein, a top view of an apparatus for processing a plurality of electrical wires without a non-stationary bundling device;

[0044] FIG. 4 a top view of an apparatus similar to the one shown in FIG. 3 in accordance with an embodiment of the disclosure;

[0045] FIG. 5 a partial aspect of the apparatus from FIG. 4 in a perspective view;

[0046] FIG. 6 another partial aspect of the apparatus from FIG. 4 in a perspective view;

[0047] FIG. 7 a block diagram of a controller for the apparatus shown in FIG. 4 with a position regulation system;

[0048] FIG. 8 a lateral view of a bundling device of the apparatus from FIG. 4;

[0049] FIG. 9: another lateral view of the bundling device of the apparatus from FIG. 4 in another position.

[0050] FIG. 10 a perspective view of an optical sensor arranged on the apparatus from FIG. 4 for distance measurement.

DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS

[0051] FIG. 1 shows a twisted wire pair 10 of a first line 11 and a second line 12. The number of two wires 11, 12 of the wire pair 10 is descriptive and not restrictive, and it more than two wires, 11, 12 can be provided as well.

[0052] An end 16 of the wire pair 10 is defined as a leading end, which is guided through a processing region of an apparatus 100 described taking FIGS. 3 to 10 into account to process the plurality of electrical wires 11, 12. The other end 17 of the wire pair is defined as the lagging end.

[0053] At the lagging end 17, a first contact 13 and a second contact 14 are attached to wires 11 and 12. A region between the ends 16, 17 is a twisted, meaning the wires 11, 12 wrap around each other.

[0054] At the leading end 16, a bundle binder is attached within a bundling region 15, for example, an adhesive tape. Similarly, a bundle binder, for example, an adhesive tape is attacked at the lagging end 17 in a bundling region 18. The bundle binders at the bundling regions 15, 18 prevent that the twisting of the wires 11, 12 loosens. The wires 11, 12, in FIG. 1 are tied by means of bundle binders.

[0055] Starting from the leading end 16, the wires 11, 12 overlap and intersect for the first time at a first intersection point P2. Similarly, the wires 11, 12 overlap and intersect starting from the lagging end 17 for the first time at a first intersection point P1. The bundling regions 16, 18 are positioned around a certain distance from the respective first intersection point P2 or P1.

[0056] For the sake of explanation, a partial region of the wire pair 10 is shown again in FIG. 2. The untwisted ends of the wires 11, 12 on the lagging wire end have a length a1. At the first intersection point P1, a distance a3 follows until the beginning of the bundle binder in the bundling region 18. The distance between two identical intersections and crossings of the wires 11, 12 in the twisted region is specified as the pitch length a2.

[0057] In FIG. 3, for the sake of explanation, an apparatus 100 to process the plurality of electrical wires 11, 12 is shown without a non-stationary bundling device.

[0058] In FIG. 3, the leading ends of the wires 11, 12 are guided into a processing region 101, from where they can be guided along a machine axis on a guide rail 105. Processing modules 103, 104, 105, 106 can carry out manipulations on the wires 11, 12 in the processing region 101.

[0059] The leading ends of the wires 11, 12 are stripped by a cutting head 102 and are supplied on the one side to successive processing modules 103, 104 using a first swivel unit 107. Here, for example, a grommet and a contact can be mounted to the wire end for example.

[0060] Then, the first swivel unit 107 brings the wires 11, 12 back into the direction of the machine axis. There, they are guided through until they can be gripped by the extraction carriage 109. The wires 11, 12 are pulled out along the guide rail 105 by the extraction carriage depending on the desired wire length in the defined linear guiding direction.

[0061] The wires 11, 12 are then gripped by a second swivel unit 108 and severed and stripped by the cutting head 102. The lagging wire ends are fed to the processing modules 105, 106 on the other side by the second swivel unit 108 and fully assembled, meaning, for example, in turn, provided with a grommet and a contact.

[0062] A transfer module 111 takes over the lagging wire ends 11, 12 and transfers them, following a swivelling movement, to a stationary holding device 110. A transfer module 112 transfers the leading wire ends 11, 12 of a non-stationary holding device 120.

[0063] The stationary holding device 110, the non-stationary holding device 120 or both holding devices 110, 120 are respectively designed to twist the ends of the wires 11, 12 held by them. For example, the non-stationary holding device 120 comprises a twisting head, which can be rotated around the machine axis, thereby carrying out the twisting process. The non-stationary holding device 120 is moved in the direction of the stationary holding device 110 during the twisting process in order to compensate for the shortening of the wires 11, 12.

[0064] In FIG. 4, the apparatus 100 from FIG. 3 is shown, wherein a non-stationary bundling device 125 is additionally provided. Optionally, as is shown in FIG. 4, a stationary bundling device 115 can also be provided in the processing region 101. The bundling devices 115, 125 are, for example, designed as bundling heads, as they are known from DE 20 2015 001 990 U1, and they each comprise a bundling segment 116 and 126, in which the bundling regions 115, 125 can be wrapped with a bundle binder, for example, an adhesive tape. The stationary bundling device 115 is, for example, identical to the non-stationary bundling device 125 so that it can be positioned in the direct vicinity of the adjacent assemblies respectively.

[0065] The bundling heads 115, 125 can be moved on an additional linear guide separately from the holding devices 110, 120, parallel to the movement direction of the non-stationary holding device 120.

[0066] FIG. 5 shows the bundling devices or the bundling heads 115, 125 on the guidance device 105 separately in a perspective view. In FIG. 5, the non-stationary bundling device 125 is connected to a servomotor 127 via a toothed belt 128. The servomotor 127 and the toothed belt 128 form a nonrestrictive example for a drive and can move the non-stationary bundling device across a wide range along the guidance device 105. The stationary bundling device 115 can be moved over a small range via a drive formed of a servomotor 117 and a spindle 118.

[0067] In FIG. 5, a distance measuring device 129 is fixedly connected to the non-stationary bundling device 125 and is configured in such a way that it can output a distance signal, which directly or indirectly indicates a distance between the bundling segment 126 of the non-stationary bundling device 125 and the non-stationary holding device 120, to a controller.

[0068] FIG. 6 shows the distance measuring device 129 in a perspective detailed view, which, for example, is formed of a position sensor 129a and a position indicator 129b. The position indicator 129b is connected to the carriage of the non-stationary holding device 120.

[0069] FIG. 7 shows a block diagram of a controller 200, which is configured to control the drive 127, 128. The controller 200 guides a position regulation system, which is implemented with the aid of the distance measuring device 129, of the non-stationary bundling device 125 relative to the non-stationary holding device 120.

[0070] In FIG. 7, a desired distance 201 and a signal 202 from the distance measuring device 129 are subtracted from one another and the difference is provided to a PI controller 204, which outputs the deviation as a preliminary control signal 206. The instantaneous movement 205 of the non-stationary bundling device 125, the position of which is regulated to compensate for the shortening is added to the preliminary control signal 206 and the resulting signal is output as a control signal 208 for the positioning of the non-stationary bundling device 125.

[0071] Similarly, if a stationary bundling device 115 is used, the controller 200 can then generate a control signal for the fine positioning of the stationary bundling device 115 by means of its drive 117, 118 in order to position the bundling segment 116 on the lagging end of the wires 11, 12.

[0072] A controller 200, which carries out the method disclosed herein, is, for example, contained in a machine controller of an apparatus disclosed herein. The machine controller can calculate the geometry of the twisted wires to be expected from the process parameters, in particular, the length a1 of the untwisted wire ends (see FIG. 2), the position of the intersection points P1, P2 etc. From this, the relative positions can be determined, to which the bundling devices 115, 125 are to be brought. Examples of the process parameters include the desired cable length, the pitch length and the cable cross section the cable spacing in the gripping devices used.

[0073] While the lines 11, 12 are assembled, pulled out and twisted, the bundling devices 115, 125 are brought outside of the cable axis. Before completion of the twisting, the bundling devices 115, 125 are positioned in the axis direction of the wires 11, 12 so that the bundle binder can be attached to the desired position. Thereby, the non-stationary bundling device 125 is realigned in a regulated manner depending on the movement of the non-stationary holding device 120.

[0074] After completing the twisting process, the respective bundling devices 115, 125 can be brought across the respective bundling region 15, 18. For this purpose, the respective bundling devices 115, 125, as is shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, are suspended on a parallelogram linkage 300, which can be adjusted by means of a drive formed of a servomotor 301 and a spindle 302 between the position shown in FIG. 8 and the position shown in FIG. 9. Alternatively, other actuators can also be used for adjustment, such as pneumatic actuators or other mechanical solutions. This arrangement allows for the bundling devices 115, 125 to be able to be positioned without the actual twisting process being impaired. The bundling devices bring the bundle binders to the bundling regions 15, 18.

[0075] Optical sensors can be provided in order to detect improperly bundled wires 11, 12. For example, an evaluation of the optical sensor is used to sort out improperly bundled wire pairs 10 automatically. The optical sensors can also be used to detect other parameters of the wires 11, 12, for example, a correct stripping or a correct fitting with grommets and/or contacts.

[0076] In FIG. 10, the non-stationary bundling device 125 is shown in a detailed perspective view; the following designs however are also optionally valid for the stationary bundling device 115. As can be recognized in FIG. 10, an optical sensor 130 is provided, which can check if the execution of the bundling process is correct. In particular, the sensor 130 can detect the presence or the lacking of, or also as an option, the position of the bundle binder with relation to the respective first intersection point P2 and P1. It becomes possible to monitor the position of the attached bundle binder as a quality value. A position value of the respective intersection points P1, P2, which is provided to the controller 200, also makes it possible to realign the position of the respective bundling region 15, 18 in the adaptive manner.

[0077] The sensor 130 is typically mounted directly on the respective bundling device 115, 125 and is moved together with it. For example, the sensor 130 can be moved across the bundling region 15, 18 and the first intersection point P1, P2, typically along the wire axis. Here, a line-by-line intensity image (shadow image) of this region can be acquired for analysis. A digital camera with illumination is also possible as a sensor 130, which can also be moved along the wire axis and the images of which are, for example, analysed by means of an image evaluation software.

[0078] If the optical sensor 130 are used for quality monitoring, the bundling devices 115, 125 carry out the movements necessary for the measurement along the axes of the wires 11, 12. The measured data are transferred to the machine controller and evaluated.

[0079] In order to complete the bundling process, the bundling devices 115, 125 swivel back into the position outside of the axis of the wires 11, 12 and the finished cable is discharged. If a quality monitoring is used, the finished cable can be added to a corresponding storage, for example a storage tray, which corresponds to the detected quality.