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US-12627108-B2 - Wire processing device

US12627108B2US 12627108 B2US12627108 B2US 12627108B2US-12627108-B2

Abstract

A wire holding device comprises a base and a clamping assembly. The clamping assembly includes a first gripper attached to the base and adapted to grip a first wire of a cable, and a second gripper adapted to grip a second wire of the cable. The second gripper is movable relative to, and operable independently of, the first gripper.

Inventors

  • David Alan College

Assignees

  • TE CONNECTIVITY SOLUTIONS GMBH

Dates

Publication Date
20260512
Application Date
20221007

Claims (12)

  1. 1 . A wire holding device, comprising: a base; a clamping assembly, including: a first gripper attached to the base and adapted to grip a first wire of a cable; and a second gripper adapted to grip a second wire of the cable, the second gripper movable relative to, and operable independently of, the first gripper, the second gripper is pivotally mounted to the first gripper about an axis perpendicular to a central axis of the cable, the first and second grippers are movable with the base in a vertical direction; a bracket, the base and the first gripper attached to the bracket; and a first actuator for moving the bracket in an insertion direction perpendicular to the vertical direction.
  2. 2 . The wire holding device of claim 1 , wherein the second gripper is rotatable relative to the first gripper by at least 20 degrees.
  3. 3 . The wire holding device of claim 1 , further comprising a wire separating actuator rotating the second gripper relative to the first gripper.
  4. 4 . The wire holding device of claim 1 , wherein the first actuator comprises a linear actuator mounted between the base and the bracket.
  5. 5 . The wire holding device of claim 1 , wherein the base is movable along a vertical axis with respect to a platform.
  6. 6 . The wire holding device of claim 1 , wherein each gripper includes opposable clamping members, at least one of the clamping members is movable relative to the other one of the clamping members for independently gripping a respective one of the first and second wires of the cable.
  7. 7 . The wire holding device of claim 6 , wherein each gripper includes a gripping actuator operative to bias at least one of the opposing clamping members relative to the other of the clamping members.
  8. 8 . The wire holding device of claim 7 , wherein each gripping actuator comprises a linear actuator having an end fixedly attached to a cam, the cam engaging with a surface of at least one of the clamping members.
  9. 9 . The wire holding device of claim 1 , further comprising a protrusion extending between the first and second grippers in a direction perpendicular to a central axis of the cable and sized to be arranged between and separate the first and second wires of the cable.
  10. 10 . The wire holding device of claim 1 , further comprising a cable clamp for selectively clamping the cable in position relative to the clamping assembly.
  11. 11 . The wire holding device of claim 1 , wherein the clamping assembly is independently movable along three mutually perpendicular axes.
  12. 12 . A wire holding device, comprising: a base; and a clamping assembly, including: a first gripper attached to the base and adapted to grip a first wire of a cable; and a second gripper adapted to grip a second wire of the cable, the second gripper movable relative to, and operable independently of, the first gripper; each gripper including: opposable clamping members, at least one of the clamping members is movable relative to the other one of the clamping members for independently gripping a respective one of the first and second wires of the cable; and a gripping actuator operative to bias at least one of the opposing clamping members relative to the other of the clamping members, each gripping actuator comprises a linear actuator having an end fixedly attached to a cam, the cam engaging with a surface of at least one of the clamping members.

Description

FIELD OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to the processing of wires or cables and associated terminals, and more specifically, to an improved system for applying terminals to wires of multi-wire cables, such as twisted pair cables. BACKGROUND Crimping or terminating systems for securing a terminal onto an element, such as an electrical conductor, typically include an applicator configured to feed a strip of terminals from a reel into position for crimping onto the conductor, and more specifically into a position above a lower crimping tool or die. Once the terminal is in place, an end of a wire or cable to be terminated is fed into position above or within the terminal. The terminal may be separated from the strip of terminals using a shear depressor attached to the movable end of an applicator ram used to drive an upper crimping die. As the applicator ram is moved, the depressor engages with a passive terminal shear or shear tool which shears the terminal from the strip just after the terminal is captured in the crimping tooling. While effective for use with single wires, the above-described arrangement is not well-suited for use with multi-wire cables, such as twisted pair cables. Specifically, in multi-wire cable applications, the wire ends may only extend beyond the cable (e.g., its jacket) a relatively short distance due to the requirements of the final terminated assemblies. This creates difficulty in placing the individual ends within the applicator during crimping operations. Further problems arise due to requirements that the pair of discrete wires must remain in close proximity to each other to prevent signal noise. Specifically, in the above-described crimping process, the pair of wires may be pre-formed into a shape that creates enough space for the crimp tooling. This separation, however, is greater than the final spacing in the connector and greater than the allowable spacing between the wires for signal integrity. Thus, the wires need to be reformed after crimping to locate them in closer proximity to each other. This forming and reforming process may result in length discrepancy between the wire pair or internal stresses causing the wires to flex too far apart. Further, the formed wires are not individually supported or controlled during crimping since the gripping occurs on the cable jacket behind the formed wires. Depending on the stiffness of the wire, drooping may occur which may affect the repeatability of accurate wire placement within the terminal. Improved systems and methods addressing these deficiencies are desired. SUMMARY In one embodiment of the present disclosure, a wire holding device comprises a base and a clamping assembly. The clamping assembly includes a first gripper attached to the base and adapted to grip a first wire of a cable, and a second gripper adapted to grip a second wire of the cable. The second gripper is movable relative to, and operable independently of, the first gripper. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying Figures, of which: FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of a terminal applicator useful for describing embodiments of the present disclosure; FIG. 2 is a side perspective view of the terminal applicator of FIG. 1 including a portion of a wire positioning device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 3A is a top perspective view of a wire positioning device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure; FIG. 3B is a partial top perspective view of the wire positioning device of FIG. 3A; FIG. 4 is a front perspective view of the wire positioning device of the preceding figures; FIG. 5 is another top perspective view of the wire positioning device of the preceding figures; FIG. 6 is another front perspective view of the wire positioning device of the preceding figures; and FIG. 7 is a bottom perspective view of the wire positioning device of the preceding figures. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTS Exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure will be described hereinafter in detail with reference to the attached drawings, wherein the like reference numerals refer to the like elements. The present disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as being limited to the embodiment set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that the present disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey the concept of the disclosure to those skilled in the art. In the following detailed description, for purposes of explanation, numerous specific details are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the disclosed embodiments. It will be apparent, however, that one or more embodiments may be practiced without these specific details. In other instances, well-known structures and devices are schematically shown in order to simplify the drawing. Embodiments of the