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EP-4742464-A1 - CENTRING DEVICE AND SYSTEM COMPRISING A PROCESSING STATION AND CENTRING DEVICE AND METHOD FOR OPERATING THE CENTRING DEVICE

EP4742464A1EP 4742464 A1EP4742464 A1EP 4742464A1EP-4742464-A1

Abstract

The invention relates to a centering device (1) with a gripping unit comprising two gripper jaws (2, 3) which are linearly displaceable in a gripper actuation direction (B) for opening and closing the gripping unit and each have a tool (4, 5) with a tool contour (6, 7), wherein a first gripper jaw (2) of the two gripper jaws (2, 3) has an arm (8) extending from the tool (4) in a substantially U-shaped form, with an opening of the U-shaped form being oriented perpendicular to the gripper actuation direction (B) and perpendicular to the cable feed direction (Z). The invention also relates to a system comprising a processing station for processing the cable and a centering device (1), as well as a method for operating a centering device (1).

Inventors

  • STRAUß, Benedikt

Assignees

  • MD Elektronik GmbH

Dates

Publication Date
20260513
Application Date
20251022

Claims (10)

  1. Centering device (1) for the aligned receiving of a cable, in particular a multi-core cable, with a gripping unit comprising two gripper jaws (2, 3) which are linearly displaceable in a gripper actuation direction (B), in particular in opposite directions to each other, for opening and closing the gripping unit and each have a tool (4, 5) with a tool contour (6, 7), wherein the tool contours (6, 7) face each other in the gripper actuation direction (B), and wherein the tool contours (6, 7) extend along a cable feed direction (Z) perpendicular to the gripper actuation direction (B) in order to receive at least one core, in particular several cores, of the cable, characterized in that a first gripper jaw (2) of the two gripper jaws (2, 3) has an arm (8) which extends from the tool (4) with a substantially U-shaped profile, wherein an opening of the U-shaped profile is oriented perpendicular to the gripper actuation direction (B) and perpendicular to the cable feed direction (Z).
  2. Centering device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that the gripping unit can be actuated between an open position and a closed position, wherein a second gripper jaw (3) of the two gripper jaws (2, 3) and the opening in the open position of the gripping unit are arranged offset from each other in the gripper actuation direction (B).
  3. Centering device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the arm (8) of the first gripper jaw (2) has a tool interface (13) for the tool (4) and an actuating interface (11) for an actuator (10), wherein the tool interface (13) is formed on a first leg (16) of the bow-shaped section and the actuating interface (11) is formed on a second leg (17) of the bow-shaped section.
  4. Centering device (1) according to claim 3, characterized in that the tool interface (13) is located at a free end of the first leg (16) is formed and/or the actuation interface (11) is formed at a free end of the second leg (17).
  5. Centering device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the two gripper jaws (2, 3) each have a tool receptacle (13) for releasably receiving the respective tool (4, 5).
  6. Centering device (1) according to one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the tool contours (6, 7) are designed to hold at least one conductor of the cable in the closed position of the gripping unit.
  7. Centering device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 6, with an actuator (10), in particular a linear actuator, for actuating the gripping unit, characterized in that the actuator (10) is designed to actuate the two gripper jaws (2, 3) synchronously.
  8. Centering device (1) according to claim 7, characterized in that the actuator (10) is designed such that the two gripper jaws (2, 3) each have a stroke of the same magnitude for opening and closing.
  9. System comprising a processing station for processing the cable and a centering device (1) according to one of claims 1 to 8, characterized in that the processing station and the centering device (1) are arranged offset from each other transversely to the cable feed direction (Z).
  10. Method for operating a centering device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, comprising the following steps: - Feeding the cable along the cable feed direction (Z), - Closing of the gripping unit, - Opening the gripping unit, - Routing the cable along the cable feed direction (Z), characterized in that the feeding and the extraction take place in the same direction along the cable feed direction (Z), wherein a free end of the The cable is guided through the bow-shaped course of the arm (8) of the first gripper jaw (2) when feeding or removing it.

Description

Technical field The invention relates to a centering device for the aligned reception of a cable, comprising a gripping unit consisting of two gripper jaws. The invention also relates to a system comprising a processing station and the centering device. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for operating the centering device. Background of the invention To precisely process the end of a cable, especially a multi-core cable, the cable end is stripped to expose the core(s). For further processing, the core is held in a centering device, with several cores aligned as closely as possible within a defined plane. After processing, the centering device is opened so that the cable can be transported further. Such a centering device is already known from the prior art. WO 2016/088088 A1 known. Other devices used in this field are already known from the US 2024/0079863 A1 or the US 4,715,099 A known. However, the problem is that the cable is fed into the centering device in a cable feed direction (usually perpendicular/transverse to the cable's longitudinal axis) and is fed out in a cable exit direction opposite to the cable feed direction. In particular, at least one (upper) gripper jaw blocks the path for the cable to pass through, i.e., for feeding and exiting in the same direction. This results in a complex cable handling process. The design must be such that it allows for the removal of the material, which in turn has adverse effects on the compactness of the centering device. Brief description of the invention The object of the invention is therefore to provide a centering device as well as a system consisting of a processing station and the centering device and a method for operating the centering device, in which the centering device is designed to be as compact as possible and at the same time ensures a particularly effective and simple feeding and extraction of the cable into and out of the centering device. This problem is solved by a centering device with the features of claim 1 and by a system or method with the features of the dependent claims. Advantageous embodiments are the subject of the dependent claims. The centering device serves to align and hold a cable, particularly a multi-core cable. The centering device has a gripping unit consisting of two gripper jaws, i.e., a first gripper jaw and a second gripper jaw. To open and close the gripping unit, i.e., to actuate the gripping unit, the two gripper jaws are linearly displaceable in one gripper actuation direction (each). In particular, the two gripper jaws can be linearly displaceable in opposite directions to each other, i.e., towards each other (to close) and away from each other (to open). The two gripper jaws each have a tool with a tool contour. The tool contours face each other in the gripper actuation direction, i.e., they are arranged opposite each other in the gripper actuation direction. In particular, each tool contour can protrude in the direction of the tool contour of the other gripper jaw. The tool contours extend along a cable feed direction perpendicular to the gripper actuation direction in order to grip at least one conductor, in particular several The tool is designed to accommodate the conductors of the cable, particularly in a form-fitting manner. This means that each tool contour (i.e., a respective cross-section of the tool contour) is designed to at least partially enclose a respective cross-section of the conductor(s) (around a cable longitudinal axis or (individual) conductor longitudinal axis). In particular, the tool contours are designed with a centering element, wherein a conductor of the cable can be accommodated by the centering element. Preferably, the tool contours are designed with multiple centering elements, wherein a conductor of the cable can be accommodated in each centering element, and preferably all conductors of the cable can be accommodated in the multiple centering elements. The tool contours with the multiple centering elements are preferably designed to accommodate the conductors of the cable between the tools, aligning their (individual) conductor longitudinal axes parallel to each other along the cable feed direction. In other words, the cable longitudinal axis, the gripper actuation direction, and the cable feed direction are each aligned perpendicular to each other. According to one aspect of the present invention, the first gripper jaw has a (first) arm. In particular, the arm of the first gripper jaw can extend from the tool (of the first gripper jaw). Preferably, the arm of the first gripper jaw extends substantially in a plane perpendicular to the cable feed direction. The arm has a substantially U-shaped profile. A U-shaped profile is understood to be a U-shape or a V-shape formed by two spaced-apart legs that are connected to each other at a closed end of the U-shaped profile and are unconnected at an open end. That is to say, the arm has two legs (substantially parallel or con