US-12620509-B2 - Cable alignment apparatus and method for aligning assembled cable ends of two cables of a cable harness in the correct rotational position as well as arrangement for assembling plug housings with cable ends with the cable alignment apparatus

US12620509B2US 12620509 B2US12620509 B2US 12620509B2US-12620509-B2

Abstract

A dual cable alignment apparatus ( 10 ) for rotationally aligning assembled cable ends of two cables ( 3,4 ) of a twisted cable harness ( 2 ), the cable alignment apparatus ( 10 ) comprising two clamping jaws ( 7,8 ) and a central web ( 9 ) disposed between the clamping jaws ( 7,8 ). Each of the two clamping jaws ( 7,8 ), which can be moved towards one another in the closing direction (s), can clamp a cable ( 3,4 ) between the central web ( 9 ) and the clamping jaws ( 7,8 ). The clamping jaws ( 7,8 ) are further designed to be movable laterally past the central web ( 9 ) for changing the rotational position by rolling the cable ( 3,4 ) clamped between them. The clamping jaws ( 7,8 ) can be moved independently of one another in the lateral direction by means of their own lateral drives ( 16,17 ), ensuring that each cable ( 3,4 ) can be brought precisely and reliably into the desired rotational position.

Inventors

Reto Eggiman
Pascal Suter
Pietro Fiorentino

Assignees

KOMAX HOLDING AG

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20230112
Priority Date: 20220119

Claims (10)

1 . Cable alignment apparatus for aligning assembled cable ends of two cables of a cable harness, in a correct rotational position, comprising the cable alignment apparatus: two clamping jaws and a central web arranged between the clamping jaws, wherein one cable of the two cables can be clamped between the central web and one of the clamping jaws, and wherein for changing the rotational position at least one of the clamping jaws is movable laterally past the central web, wherein laterally is a direction that is transverse to a longitudinal axis of the cable alignment apparatus as well as transverse to a closing direction of the clamping jaws.
2 . Cable alignment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a separate lateral drive is provided for at least one of the clamping jaws.
3 . Cable alignment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the clamping jaws and the central web each have clamping surfaces running parallel to one another, wherein the clamping surfaces are profiled and wherein the clamping surfaces are each provided with a profiling formed by grooves or slots.
4 . Cable alignment apparatus according to claim 3 , wherein the clamping jaws and the central web are made of metallic materials which are roughened in the area of the clamping surfaces or that the clamping jaws and the central web are coated in the area of the clamping surfaces.
5 . Cable alignment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the central web comprises a tapering inlet portion adjoining a clamping surface.
6 . Cable alignment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the central web has web segments separated from one another in a step-like manner for selectively presetting different clamping surfaces.
7 . Cable alignment apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein at least one clamping segment of the central web has grooves or slots which cooperate with corresponding grooves or slots of the clamping jaws in such a manner that, during a lateral motion, the clamping jaws and the central web can be retracted in a partially interlocking manner.
8 . Cable alignment apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the clamping jaws and/or the central web are equipped with sensors for determining the torsional moment applied to the clamped cable.
9 . Cable alignment apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an optical detection apparatus for determining the respective rotational position of the cables.
10 . Arrangement for handling cables, having a cable alignment apparatus according to claim 1 for aligning assembled cable ends of two cables of a cable harness in a correct rotational position and an assembly gripping unit with two individually controllable cable grippers for gripping and feeding to plug housings or to cells of a plug housing the assembled cable ends of the cables aligned in the correct rotational position.

Description

FIELD The invention relates to a cable alignment apparatus for aligning assembled cable ends of two cables of a cable harness in the correct rotational position. Furthermore, the invention relates to an arrangement for handling cables and for assembling plug housings with cable ends that have been aligned by means of such a cable alignment apparatus, as well as to a method for aligning assembled cable ends in the correct rotational position. BACKGROUND Cable harnesses such as those used in automobiles or aircraft consist of several cables, which are provided with plug housings at their prefabricated cable ends. For this purpose, the prefabricated cable ends, i.e. the cable ends that are cut to length, stripped and provided with contact elements (for example crimp contacts), are inserted into chambers or receivers of the plug housing. As a rule, the cables of a cable harness with the cable ends to be assembled are present individually and are also individually introduced into the chambers of the plug housing by means of corresponding mechanical devices. More and more cable harnesses consist of two or several cable strands made from a plurality of cables, mainly twisted cables, for which there is also a need to assemble the free, in particular untwisted, and optionally elongated cable ends of the cable harness. Twisted pair cables such as so-called UTP cables (UTP: Unshielded Twisted Pair) provide greater protection against electrical and magnetic interference compared to untwisted pairs and are characterized by particularly good transmission qualities of signals. In addition to twisted cables, untwisted cables of cable harnesses or other multi-cable systems, in which the cables are only arranged side by side and combined in a group, can be used as well. Corresponding mechanical devices known to the person skilled in the art as cable assembling stations are used for the automatic assembling of plug housings with cable harnesses consisting of two cables. The two contact elements must be in the correct rotational position (angular position around the longitudinal cable axis) to fit and be inserted into cells of a plug housing, which makes automatic assembling of plug housings with cables challenging. In order to take advantage of UTP cables, the untwisted areas of the cable ends should be as short as possible. The alignment of such short cable ends of the twisted pair in the correct rotational position is particularly demanding. A cable alignment apparatus for aligning assembled cable ends of two cables of a twisted cable harness in the correct rotational position has become known from EP 3 301 768 A1. In this cable alignment apparatus, the cable ends can be rotated by means of a rotary gripping apparatus that applies pressure to the cable harness at the twisted cable area. An optical detection apparatus for determining the rotational position of the cables verifies the alignment of the contact elements. Such an optical detection apparatus has already been described in EP 1 304 773 A1. The cable alignment apparatus in accordance with EP 3 301 768 A1 further comprises cable grippers arranged one behind the other at the portion of the untwisted cable end in the longitudinal direction of the longitudinal axis. The cable grippers are set up to fix only one cable at a time at the cable end and to guide the cable end of the other cable. If one cable end is in the correct rotational position by turning the cable harness at the twisted cable area, it is fixed by the relevant cable gripper, while the other cable end is only guided by the cable gripper. Once both contact elements are correctly oriented, the actual assembly process can begin. The orientation process of this cable alignment apparatus is evidently performed in several steps. SUMMARY It is therefore an object of the present invention to avoid the disadvantages of what is known and, in particular, to provide an improved cable alignment apparatus for aligning assembled cable ends of two cables of a twisted cable harness in the correct rotational position, which apparatus can be operated in particular efficiently. This object is solved according to the invention by means of a cable alignment apparatus for aligning assembled cable ends of two cables of a cable harness, in particular a twisted cable harness, in the correct rotational position, having the features of claim 1. This cable alignment apparatus is also referred to below as a dual cable alignment apparatus for the sake of simplicity. The dual cable alignment apparatus comprises two clamping jaws and a central web arranged between the clamping jaws, wherein a respective cable can be clamped between the central web and one of the clamping jaws. The clamping jaws can be two clamping jaws that can be moved towards one another in the closing direction to create a closed position. In the closed position, the respective cable is clamped between the clamping jaws and the central web. Preferably, in the closed p