Device for stripping an insulated wire

Abstract

A device (1) for stripping an insulated wire comprises a stripping unit (10), a drive unit (16) arranged in a housing (20), and a power supply unit (17). The stripping unit (10) is designed for stripping the insulated wire and is connected to the drive unit (16) so that the stripping unit (10) can be set into a rotary motion when the drive unit (16) is in operation. The drive unit (16) can be driven by a power supply unit (17), which is integrated into the device (1) when the device is in operation.

Description

background

[0001] The present invention relates to a device for stripping an insulated wire. The device is particularly designed as a wireless device. State of the art

[0002] Hand tools for stripping wire insulation are known in a variety of designs. Two examples of such a hand tool are shown in TWM354265 Y. With these hand tools, the insulation layer of the wire is usually cut and then pulled off the wire. The hand tools shown also offer the option of selecting an opening corresponding to a standard wire diameter. However, with such a hand tool, only one end of a wire can be stripped. It is not easily possible to strip an intermediate section of a wire, as may be necessary, for example, for the windings of coils. In addition, the tensile forces applied when stripping the insulation layer can damage a wire consisting of several fine wire filaments; for example, some of the wire filaments may break.

[0003] A device for stripping enamel-insulated wires used for electrical coils on a winding machine is known, for example, from EP 0 568 139 A1. This device contains a hollow rotor shaft through which the enamel-insulated wire is passed, onto which a stripping head is attached and secured with a clamping screw. The stripping head is equipped with at least three cutting blades rotating around the wire. The blades are also moved relative to the wire so that a piece of wire of the desired length can be stripped. The wire is then wound onto a spool such that the stripped piece of wire lies in the area of ​​the terminal part of the coil. This device is suitable for integration into a coil winding machine, which enables precise positioning of the stripped pieces of wire on the terminal parts of the coils.This device was designed for the series production of coils, but is unsuitable for an application in which such stripping of the end of a wire is required. Object of the invention

[0004] The object of the invention is to develop a device for stripping a wire, by means of which the end of an insulated wire can be stripped easily and with minimal effort. In particular, the device is designed such that lower tensile forces act on the wire when removing the insulation layer. Description of the invention

[0005] The object of the invention is achieved by a device according to claim 1. Advantageous variants of the device are the subject of claims 2 to 10.

[0006] When the term "for example" is used in the following description, this term refers to exemplary embodiments and / or embodiments, which is not necessarily to be understood as a more preferred application of the teachings of the invention. Similarly, the terms "preferably" and "preferably" are to be understood as referring to one example from a set of exemplary embodiments and / or embodiments, which is not necessarily to be understood as a preferred application of the teachings of the invention. Accordingly, the terms "for example," "preferably," or "preferably" may refer to a plurality of exemplary embodiments and / or embodiments.

[0007] The following detailed description contains various embodiments of the device according to the invention. The description of a specific device is to be considered only as an example. In the description and claims, the terms "include," "comprise," and "have" are interpreted as "including, but not limited to."

[0008] A device according to the invention for stripping an insulated wire comprises a stripping unit, a drive unit arranged in a housing, and a power supply unit, wherein the stripping unit is designed to strip the insulated wire. The stripping unit is connected to the drive unit so that the stripping unit can be set in a rotary motion when the drive unit is started up. The drive unit is drivable by a power supply unit, wherein the power supply unit is integrated into the device for the duration of the device's operation. The drive unit can thus be powered by a power supply unit that is integrated into the device, so that the device can be operated wirelessly. The stripping unit is designed as a rotatable stripping unit.

[0009] According to one embodiment, the energy supply unit contains a rechargeable energy storage element, in particular a battery or a battery pack.

[0010] According to one embodiment, the drive unit and the power supply unit are accommodated in a housing of the device. The power supply unit can be removed from the housing. According to one embodiment, the housing comprises a first housing sub-element and a second housing sub-element, wherein the drive unit is arranged in the first housing sub-element and the power supply unit is arranged in the second housing sub-element. The first housing element can be separable from the second housing sub-element, so that the power supply unit can be replaced separately or together with the second housing sub-element.

[0011] According to one embodiment, the battery or battery pack is removable from the housing. The battery or battery pack can be replaced or recharged on an external charging station.

[0012] According to one embodiment, the stripping unit comprises a cutter head. In particular, the cutter head contains a base body and a plurality of cutter carriers. According to one embodiment, the cutter head contains three cutter carriers. According to one embodiment, the cutter head is housed in a protective cover. A protective cover can reduce the risk of injury from accidentally rotating cutter heads. Furthermore, a suction device can be connected to the protective cover. Any chips generated during the stripping of a wire can be removed directly from the cutter head, preventing the cutter head from becoming contaminated by chips.

[0013] According to one embodiment, the knife carriers are pivotally connected to the base body by means of a pivoting member, wherein the knife carriers each have a first knife carrier arm and a second knife carrier arm, which extend in opposite directions from the pivoting member. The angle of the center axes of the first and second knife carrier arms can, in particular, be between 170 and 190 degrees. In particular, a cutting edge is arranged on each of the first knife carrier arms.

[0014] According to one embodiment, the cutting edge contains a hard metal. Using such a cutting edge, it is possible to strip up to 100,000 wires. According to one embodiment, the cutting edge contains a diamond cutting edge. Using a diamond cutting edge, up to one million wires can be stripped. Such devices are used particularly in vehicle manufacturing, for example, for automobiles or bicycles.

[0015] According to one embodiment, the length of the stripped wire end is up to 60 mm.

[0016] According to one embodiment, the base body contains an adjustment element for adjusting the wire diameter. The adjustment element can be designed, in particular, as an adjustment screw. The adjustment element is arranged, in particular, within the blade carriers. The blade carriers can rest on the adjustment element along their inner edge. The adjustment element can prevent the blades from touching each other and causing damage if the contact occurs during operation of the device.

[0017] According to one embodiment, an adapter element is arranged between the stripping unit and the drive unit. The adapter element is designed to accommodate the stripping unit. The adapter element can be plugged onto the drive unit by means of a plug-in connection or plugged into the drive unit. For example, the drive unit can contain a rotor shaft that can be driven by an electric motor. The adapter element can be plugged onto the rotor shaft. In particular, the rotor shaft can have a cross-sectional area in the shape of a polygon. The adapter element can have an opening in the shape of a corresponding polygon, so that a positive connection is obtainable between the adapter element and the rotor shaft. Alternatively or additionally, the adapter element can be connected to the rotor shaft via a force-fitting connection.For example, the adapter element can be designed to accommodate at least one fastening screw. When the fastening screw is tightened, the adapter element is held on the rotor shaft by the applied compressive force.

[0018] Of course, it is possible to combine a positive and a non-positive connection between the adapter element and the drive unit.

[0019] According to one embodiment, the drive unit is shielded against the ingress of water. The drive unit is, in particular, integrated into a housing designed as a waterproof housing.

[0020] According to one embodiment, the device includes an adjustment element for adjusting a rotational speed of the drive unit, in particular for setting a desired rotational speed of the drive unit. The adjustment element can comprise a slider or a rotary switch, allowing continuous adjustment of the rotational speed. Thus, the rotational speed can be adjusted according to the properties of the insulation material of the insulation layer and the wire diameter.

[0021] According to one embodiment, an adapter is provided for coupling the stripping unit to the drive unit. The adapter can be used in particular for stripping units that cannot be directly coupled to the drive unit's drive shaft because the connecting elements to be coupled have different dimensions. Using the adapter, a stripping unit that would no longer be compatible with the drive unit can still be coupled to the drive unit. Thus, when using the device according to the invention, existing, earlier versions of the stripping units can continue to be used, since they can be coupled to the drive unit using the corresponding adapter and thus continue to be used.

[0022] The device is more compact and therefore easier to handle as a wireless device. Despite the weight of the battery or battery pack, the device weighs a maximum of 1 kg. For example, the device, including the battery or battery pack, can have a mass of 700 g up to and including 1 kg. Brief description of the drawings

[0023] The device according to the invention is illustrated below using several exemplary embodiments. Fig. 1 shows a device according to a first exemplary embodiment, Fig. 2 shows a detail of Fig. 1, and Fig. 3 shows an exploded view of a device according to a second exemplary embodiment. Detailed description of the drawings

[0024] Fig. 1 shows a device 1 for stripping insulated wires, comprising a stripping unit 10, a drive unit 16, and a power supply unit 17, for example a battery pack, wherein the drive unit 16 and the power supply unit 17 can be accommodated in a housing 20. The housing 20 can comprise a removable cover 15. The cover 15 can, in particular, contain a transparent material. The cover 15 can, in particular, be designed as a protective cap with or without a wire guide. A switch 18 is provided for starting and stopping the device 1. The stripping unit 10 is designed to remove the insulation layer from a portion of the wire. The insulation layer of the wire can contain a varnish or a plastic. In particular, the stripping unit 10 can comprise a cutter head.

[0025] Fig. 2 shows a detail of the cutter head. The cutter head contains a base body 13, which can be designed as a hollow shaft. An adjustment element 3 for setting the desired wire diameter is arranged in the base body 13. For example, the adjustment element can be designed as an adjustment screw that can be screwed into the base body 13. On the outside of the base body 13, a plurality of cutter holders 2 are arranged, each having a cutting edge 8. The cutting edge 8 can contain a hard metal or diamond. The cutter holders 2 are arranged so as to be pivotable with respect to the base body 13. The cutter holder 2 according to the present embodiment is equipped with a pivoting member for this purpose. Starting from the pivoting member, a first cutter holder arm 21 and a second cutter holder arm 22 extend in substantially opposite directions.

[0026] According to the present embodiment, the pivoting member comprises a bore in which, in the assembled state, a cylindrical pin 7 is received. The cylindrical pin 7 is received in a corresponding bore in the base body 13. The base body 13 can contain a projection for this purpose. The blade carrier 2 is arranged to rotate about the cylindrical pin 7 so that the distance between the cutting edges 8, which are attached to each of the blade carriers 2, can be adjusted. To adjust the distance between the cutting edges 8 from one another, the adjusting element 3 is actuated. The distance between the cutting edges 8 depends on the diameter of the insulated wire. The adjusting element 3 serves to set the desired diameter of the insulated wire. The adjusting element 3, designed as an adjusting screw, is in contact with the surface of the blade carrier 2 in a support area thereof, according to this embodiment.The contact area may contain a diamond or a hard metal or be locally hardened.

[0027] The knife carrier 2 is connected to a guide disc 6 by means of a guide element at its end of the second knife carrier arm 22 opposite the cutting edge 8. The guide element contains a guide head 14 that can slide in a guide track located in the guide disc 6. The guide disc 6 is secured to the base body 13 by a retaining ring 12.

[0028] A spring element 9 (not shown) may be received in a bore of the knife carrier 2 to hold each of the knife carriers 2 in the rest position in which an insulated wire can be inserted into the device 1.

[0029] The wire is stripped by pulling the insulated wire out of the cutter head or inserting it into the cutter head, with its insulation layer being removed or stripped off by means of the cutting edges 8. When the insulated wire is stripped, the base body 13 is set in a rotary motion by the drive unit 16 (see Fig. 1). The knife carriers 2 are also set in a rotary motion via the coupling with the cylindrical pin 7 to the base body 13. The cutting edges 8 of the knife carriers 2 located on the first knife carrier arm 21 approach one another in the process, since centrifugal forces act on the knife carriers 2, which cause the end of the second knife carrier arm 22 of each of the knife carriers 2 opposite the cutting edge 8 to be pushed away from the base body 13.The guideway in which the guide head 14 can slide is, for example, spiral-shaped, so that the angle of inclination between the knife carrier 2 and the center axis of the base body 13 can change. In particular, the angle of inclination can increase with increasing rotational speed of the base body 13.

[0030] The rotational speed, i.e., the speed of rotation, can be continuously adjusted. The rotational speed can range from 3,500 to 15,000 rpm. The greater the angle of inclination, i.e., the higher the rotational speed, the closer the cutting edges 8 come to one another. When an insulated wire is located in the device 1, its insulation layer is removed by machining or stripping, whereby the wire is stripped at this point. When the wire is moved relative to the device, or the device is moved relative to the wire, a section of the wire corresponding to the path of this translational movement is stripped. When the device is switched off, the centrifugal force disappears, and the cutting edges 8 are returned to their rest position by means of the spring element 9.

[0031] The diameter of the insulated wire may be in the range from 0.2 to 8 mm inclusive. In particular, the diameter of the insulated wire may be in the range from 0.2 to 7 mm inclusive.

[0032] Fig. 3 shows an exploded view of a device 30 for stripping insulated wires, comprising a stripping unit 10, a drive unit 16, and a power supply unit 17, for example, a rechargeable battery or a battery pack. The drive unit 16 and the power supply unit 17 can be accommodated in a housing 20. The housing 20 can be formed in two parts so that the power supply unit 17 is replaceable. In the assembled state, the power supply unit 17 is connected to the drive unit 16 via contact elements (not shown). The drive unit 16, the power supply unit 17, and the contact elements are not the subject of the present invention and are therefore only shown schematically. According to the present embodiment, the housing 20 comprises a first housing sub-element 23 and a second housing sub-element 24.The first housing sub-element 23 and the second housing sub-element 24 can be connected to one another, for example, by means of a snap connection, a locking connection, or a screw connection. The connection between the first housing sub-element 23 and the second housing sub-element is thus advantageously designed as a detachable connection.

[0033] The power supply unit 17 can contain at least one rechargeable battery or battery pack that can be removed from the power supply unit for replacement. Alternatively, the power supply unit 17 can be replaced with a similar power supply unit, i.e., the rechargeable battery or battery pack remains in the second housing sub-element 24 when the second housing sub-element 24 is attached to an external charging station (not shown) for charging the rechargeable battery or battery pack. According to this variant, only a minimal amount of time is required to replace the second housing sub-element because the time required to remove a discharged rechargeable battery or battery pack from the second housing sub-element 24 and to insert a charged rechargeable battery or battery pack into the second housing sub-element 24 is eliminated.

[0034] According to Fig. 3, the dimensions of the shaft end of the base body 13 of the stripping unit 10 do not match the diameter of the drive shaft 26 of the drive unit 16. Therefore, an adapter 25 is used to enable coupling of the shaft end of the base body 13 to the drive shaft 26. According to the present exemplary embodiment, the adapter 25 is designed as a substantially cylindrical block element containing two recesses 27, 28 extending in the direction of the central axis. The recesses 27, 28 are designed as blind bores in this illustration. The recess 28 could also be designed as a through-bore, in other words, the recess 28 opens into the recess 27, which is not shown in the drawing. The recesses 27, 28 are thus designed as axial bores.

[0035] The recess 27 serves to accommodate the shaft end of the base body 13. According to the present embodiment, the recess 27 is designed as a cylindrical axial bore. The recess 27 could also have a polygonal cross-section, for example, be designed as a square or hexagonal section. To secure the shaft end of the base body 13, a first radial threaded bore 29 is provided, which is designed to receive a fixing screw 39.

[0036] The recess 28 serves to accommodate an end portion of the drive shaft 26. According to the present embodiment, the recess 28 is designed as a cylindrical axial bore. The recess 28 could also have a polygonal cross-section, for example, be designed as a square or hexagonal section. To secure the drive shaft 26, a second radial threaded bore 33 is provided, which is designed to receive a fixing screw 34.

[0037] The housing 20 can be connected to a removable cover 15. The cover 15 can, in particular, contain a transparent material. The cover 15 can, in particular, be designed as a protective cap with or without a wire guide. For this purpose, the first housing part element 23 of the housing 20 contains an external thread 31, which is schematically illustrated in Fig. 3. The cover 15 contains a corresponding internal thread 32, into which the external thread 31 engages in the assembled state.

[0038] According to an embodiment not shown, the cover 15 can be connected to the first housing part element 23 by means of a bayonet lock.

[0039] A switch 18 is provided for starting and stopping the device 30. The stripping unit 10 is designed to remove the insulation layer from a portion of the wire. The insulation layer of the wire can contain a varnish or a plastic. In particular, the stripping unit 10 can comprise a knife head, which can be configured, for example, as shown in Fig. 2.

[0040] An adjustment element 35 may be provided for changing the speed of the drive unit 16. The adjustment element 35 may, for example, comprise a slider or a rotary switch by means of which the speed can be continuously adjusted. A scale (not shown) may be mounted on the housing 20 to indicate the set speed value to the user.

[0041] It will be obvious to a person skilled in the art that many further variations are possible in addition to the described devices, uses, or process variants without departing from the inventive concept. The subject matter of the invention is therefore not limited by the foregoing description and is determined by the scope of protection defined by the claims. The broadest possible reading of the claims is decisive for the interpretation of the claims or the description. In particular, the terms "containing" or "comprising" should be interpreted to refer to elements, components, or steps in a non-exclusive sense, thereby indicating that the elements, components, or steps may be present or used, or that they may be combined with other elements, components, or steps not explicitly mentioned.Where the claims refer to an element or component from a group which may consist of A, B, C to N elements or components, that language should be interpreted to require only a single element of that group, and not a combination of A and N, B and N, or any other combination of two or more elements or components of that group.

Claims

1. Device (1, 30) for stripping an insulated wire, comprising a stripping unit (10), a drive unit (16) arranged in a housing (20) and a power supply unit (17), wherein the stripping unit (10) is designed to strip the insulated wire, wherein the stripping unit (10) is connected to the drive unit (16) so that the stripping unit (10) can be set in a rotary movement when the drive unit (16) is started up, characterized in that the drive unit (16) can be driven by a power supply unit (17), wherein the power supply unit (17) is integrated in the device (1, 30) for the duration of the operation of the device.

2. Device (1, 30) according to claim 1, wherein the energy supply unit (17) contains a rechargeable energy storage element, for example a battery or a battery pack.

3. Device (1, 30) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the energy supply unit (17) can be removed from the housing (20) or the housing (20) comprises a first housing part element (23) and a second housing part element (24), wherein the drive unit (16) is arranged in the first housing part element (23) and the energy supply unit (17) is arranged in the second housing part element (24), wherein the first and second housing part elements (23, 24) are separable, so that the energy supply unit (17) can be replaced separately or together with the second housing part element (24).

4. Device (1, 30) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein the stripping unit (10) comprises a knife head.

5. Device (1, 30) according to claim 4, wherein the knife head includes a base body (13) and a plurality of knife carriers (2).

6. Device (1, 30) according to claim 5, wherein the knife carriers (2) are pivotally connected to the base body (13) by means of a pivoting member, wherein the knife carriers (2) each have a first knife carrier arm (21) and a second knife carrier arm (22) which extend in opposite directions from the pivoting member.

7. Device (1, 30) according to claim 6, wherein a cutting edge (8) is arranged on each of the first knife carrier arms (21).

8. Device (1, 30) according to one of claims 5 to 7, wherein the base body (13) contains an adjusting element (3) for adjusting the wire diameter.

9. Device (1, 30) according to one of the preceding claims, comprising an adjusting element (35) for adjusting a rotational speed of the drive unit (16).

10. Device (1, 30) according to one of the preceding claims, wherein an adapter (25) is provided for coupling the stripping unit (10) to the drive unit (16).