Device and method for joining individual cables to produce a cable bundle

Abstract

Device (1) for joining individual conductors (2.1 to 2.n) to produce a conductor bundle (2) with at least one receiving element (1.7, 1.8) for receiving several individual conductors (2.1 to 2.n), wherein - that at least one receiving element (1.7, 1.8) is fork-shaped and includes several prongs (Z1 to Z4) and several spaces (F1 to F3) formed between the prongs (Z1 to Z4) and - that at least one receiving element (1.7, 1.8) is arranged on a cable form board (1.1) between at least two end receiving elements (1.2, 1.3) designed to receive cable ends, characterized in that the prongs (Z1 to Z4) are movably arranged in at least one direction (R) such that the size of the clearances (F1 to F3) is variably adjustable and the prongs (Z1 to Z4) can be easily removed from the cable bundle (2) while simultaneously continuing to support the cable bundle (2) on the at least one receiving element (1.7, 1.8).

Description

[0001] The invention further relates to a device for joining individual conductors to produce a conductor bundle according to the preamble of claim 1.

[0002] The invention relates to a method for joining individual conductors to produce a conductor bundle using such a device.

[0003] From DE 10 2016 107 270 B4, a device for bundling individual wires of a cable harness with a plurality of insulated wires is known. The device comprises a holding device for a connector, a gripper for moving the wires, and a control device for controlling the gripper. Furthermore, an additional receiving device with a receiving chamber is provided, arranged outside the holding device for the connector. The receiving chamber has a clamping device with respect to the insulation of the wires. The wires for the connector have a contact section. The wires for the receiving device are contactless and stripped at an end on the receiving device side or at an intermediate section near this end. The receiving chamber comprises several slots open on one side and arranged side by side, the widths of which differ and are adapted to a cross-section of the uninsulated wire.The slots are arranged within a front plate, the thickness of which is less than the length of the stripped intermediate section of the wires. The gripper inserts a first set of wires into the connector and a second set of wires into the receiving chamber of the receiving device.

[0004] Furthermore, DE 203 13 860 U1 discloses a mechanical device in the form of a comb for laying and organizing cable harnesses with approximately 40 cables, each with a diameter of 10 mm. The device, constructed from welded steel, has five chambers into which individual cables of the harness can be sorted. One side can be closed with a flat steel piece to prevent the cables inside from slipping out laterally. Due to the variable spacing between the individual round steel elements, cables with larger diameters can also be organized and laid.

[0005] DE 10 2020 200 548 A1 describes a method for manufacturing a cable harness in which a branched conductor strand is laid using guide elements and then immersed in a bath containing a viscous material to form an sheath. The viscous material is a silicone with a viscosity in the range of 500 mPas to 4,000 mPas. A special design of the laying aids ensures that the conductor strand is held taut on the mounting board and that the sheath is formed as desired.

[0006] DE 10 2016 107 742 A1 describes a device for manufacturing a cable harness, particularly for a vehicle. The device has at least one mounting board on which a plurality of cable holders are arranged, designed to support electrical cables between their starting and ending points. The cable holders are movable relative to the mounting board between a holding position in which several cable holders together form at least one routing path for the cables, and a stowage position in which the cable holders are arranged at least partially outside the routing path. The cable holders can be individually controlled by a control device such that at least one stowage cable holder from the plurality of cable holders can be moved into the stowage position while the cables are still supported by the remaining cable holders along the routing path.

[0007] DE 10 2015 108 365 A1 describes a wiring harness for a vehicle's electrical system. The wiring harness comprises a plurality of electrical conductors, which are grouped, at least partially, into one or more conductor bundles by at least one bandage. The at least one bandage is a plastic film.

[0008] DE 10 2016 107 270 B4 describes a device for bundling individual wires of a cable harness with a plurality of insulated wires, comprising a holding device for a connector, a gripper for moving the wires, a control device for controlling the gripper, and an additional receiving device arranged outside the holding device for the connector with at least one receiving chamber, wherein the receiving chamber has a clamping device with respect to the insulation of the wires, wherein the wires for the connector have a contact part and the wires for the receiving device are contactless, wherein the wires for the receiving device are stripped at an end on the receiving device side or near this end at an intermediate section, wherein the receiving chamber comprises at least one slot open on one side, wherein, if several slots are arranged next to each other,the width of the respective slots differs and is adapted to a cross-section of the conductor without insulation, the slots being arranged within a front plate, the thickness of the front plate being less than the length of the stripped intermediate section of the conductors, and the gripper inserting a first set of conductors into the connector and a second set of conductors into the receiving chamber(s) of the receiving device.

[0009] US 10 229 226 B2 describes a method for characterizing a bundle of electrical cables, in which, for at least one surface temperature of the cables, at least a sum of heat fluxes calculated for each cable for the heating effect due to the electrical resistance of each cable through which a respective electric current flows, and a heat flux calculated for the heat emitted by the bundle to its surroundings are taken into account in order to make the dimensioning of the cables compatible with their use.

[0010] US 2004 / 0150978A1 describes a wiring and / or cabling management system. The cable management system consists of a mounting bolt and an integrated cable guide assembly. The cable guide assembly may include a base section and an upper section with at least two guide elements that can be detachably mounted to the mounting bolt. The at least two guide elements of the cable guide assembly align the wiring and / or cabling in a generally vertical direction with respect to a heat-emitting device in order to minimize the surface area of ​​the wiring and / or cabling exposed to a heat-emitting device and thereby minimize heat generation within an enclosure.

[0011] The invention is based on the objective of providing a novel device and a novel method for joining individual conductors to produce a conductor bundle.

[0012] The problem is solved according to the invention by a device which has the features specified in claim 1 and by a method which has the features specified in claim 3.

[0013] Advantageous embodiments of the invention are the subject of the dependent claims.

[0014] A device for joining individual conductors to produce a conductor bundle comprises at least one receiving element for receiving several individual conductors.

[0015] According to the invention, the at least one receiving element is fork-shaped and comprises several prongs and several spaces formed between the prongs. The at least one receiving element is arranged on a cable forming board between at least two end receiving elements designed to receive cable ends.

[0016] Due to the current load on individual wires within an electrical cable bundle, the individual wires heat up during operation. In the worst case, this can lead to damage to the individual wires.

[0017] The device's at least one receiving element enables the arrangement of individual wires in defined positions and the maintenance of these positions until the wire bundle is completed or the positions of the individual wires are definitively fixed, for example, by wrapping the individual wires with adhesive tape. The individual wires are thus securely held in position even during subsequent processing steps, such as the electrical contacting of contact elements. This allows for the production of wire bundles with defined arrangements of wires within the bundle in optimized positions, thereby distributing thermal stress evenly among the individual wires. Consequently, at least nearly homogeneous temperature distributions within the wire bundle can be achieved during operation.

[0018] According to the invention, the prongs are arranged to be movable in at least one direction. This allows, on the one hand, variable adjustment of the size of the clearances and, on the other hand, easy removal of the prongs from the cable bundle while simultaneously continuing to support the cable bundle on the receiving element. Furthermore, different sized clearances can be created by moving the prongs, resulting in the receiving element being used variably to create different cable sets.

[0019] According to one possible embodiment of the device, the spaces are designed to accommodate several individual cables arranged one above the other and / or next to each other. This also allows for variable use of the receiving element to generate different cable sets.

[0020] In the inventive method for assembling individual conductors to produce a conductor bundle using the aforementioned device, the operation of conductor bundles with different arrangements of individual conductors and the temperature profiles occurring in the conductor bundles during operation are modeled. Several individual conductors are arranged on the cable forming board according to an arrangement of the individual conductors determined in the modeling and leading to a predetermined temperature profile, arranged in at least one receiving element, and assembled to form the conductor bundle.

[0021] This method makes it particularly advantageous to arrange the individual wires in defined positions within the at least one receiving element and to maintain these positions until the wire bundle is completed or the positions of the individual wires are definitively determined, for example, by wrapping the individual wires with adhesive tape. The individual wires are thus securely held in position even during further processing steps, such as the electrical contacting of contact elements. This allows for the production of wire assemblies with defined arrangements of wires within the assemblies, in order to achieve, for example, at least nearly homogeneous temperature distributions within the wire bundle during its operation.

[0022] According to one possible embodiment of the method, the individual wires are wrapped at least partially with adhesive tape after being arranged in the at least one receiving element, in order to hold them securely in their position and to give the wire bundle a desired shape.

[0023] According to the invention, when the wrapping process with adhesive tape is about to reach an area of ​​the at least one receiving element, prongs of the receiving element are moved out of the wire bundle. This enables the individual wire to be wrapped even in areas where the at least one receiving element is located.

[0024] Exemplary embodiments of the invention are explained in more detail below with reference to drawings.

[0025] This shows: Fig. 1 schematically a cross-section of a cable bundle and a temperature profile in the cable bundle, Fig. 2. Schematic perspective view of a device for joining individual wires to produce a wire bundle and several individual wires. Fig. 3 schematically a section of a receiving element of the device according to Fig. 2 during the insertion of several individual lines into this, Fig. 4 schematically shows the section of a recording element according to Fig. 3 after the insertion of the individual conductors during a wrapping of the individual conductors at a first point in time, Fig. 5 schematically the section of a recording element according to Fig. 3 after the insertion of the individual conductors during a wrapping of the individual conductors at a second time, Fig. 6 schematically shows the section of a recording element according to Fig. 3. After the individual conductors have been inserted during a wrapping of the individual conductors, at a third point in time, Fig. 7 schematically shows the section of a recording element according to Fig. 3. After the insertion of the individual conductors during a wrapping of the individual conductors, at a fourth point in time, Fig. 8 schematically the section of a recording element according to Fig. 3 after the insertion of the individual conductors during a wrapping of the individual conductors at a fifth point in time, Fig. 9 schematically the section of a recording element according to Fig. 3 after the insertion of the individual conductors during a wrapping of the individual conductors at a sixth point in time and Fig. 10 schematically the section of a recording element according to Fig. 3 after the insertion of the individual wires during a wrapping of the individual wires at a seventh point in time.

[0026] Corresponding parts are marked with the same reference symbols in all figures.

[0027] In Fig. Figure 1 shows a cross-section of a possible embodiment of a cable bundle 2 with several individual cables 2.1 to 2.n and a possible temperature profile with different temperature ranges T1 to T5 in the cable bundle 2.

[0028] The cable bundle 2 is intended, for example, for use in a vehicle as a vehicle wiring harness or as part of one.

[0029] In order to achieve a depicted, at least nearly homogeneous temperature distribution with a low temperature gradient, it is necessary to arrange the individual lines 2.1 to 2.n within the line bundle 2 at defined positions in the line bundle 2 and to maintain these positions.

[0030] To achieve such positioning, a device 1 is provided, wherein a possible embodiment of the device 1 is shown in Fig. 2 is shown.

[0031] The device 1 comprises a cable formboard 1.1 with three end receiving elements 1.2 to 1.4 in which electrical contact elements 3 to 5 for the conductor bundle 2 are mounted.

[0032] Furthermore, the device 1 comprises receiving elements 1.5, 1.6 arranged on the cable forming board 1.1, which are fork-shaped with two prongs and a space formed between them. These receiving elements 1.5, 1.6 are designed to receive sections of the conductor bundle 2, that is, to receive a single conductor 2.1 to 2.n or several single conductors 2.1 to 2.n.

[0033] Furthermore, the device comprises 1 fork-shaped receiving elements 1.7, 1.8 with more than two prongs Z1 to Z4 and clearances F1 to F3 formed between them. For clarity, the prongs Z1 to Z4 and the clearances F1 to F3 are shown only in the Fig. Numbers 3 to 10 are labelled with reference numbers.

[0034] To manufacture the conductor bundle 2, the contact elements 3 to 5 are arranged in the end receiving elements 1.2 to 1.4 and the individual conductors 2.1 to 2.n are arranged in the receiving elements 1.5 to 1.8. The receiving elements 1.5 and 1.6 create a branching of the conductor bundle 2. The individual conductors 2.1 to 2.n are electrically connected to the contact elements 3 to 5, for example to form so-called splices.

[0035] In the receiving elements 1.7, 1.8, several individual lines 2.1 to 2.n are arranged in a predetermined position or order in the free spaces F1 to F3.

[0036] This positioning or order depends on the subsequent operation of the cable bundle 2 and the electrical loads and resulting temperature distributions occurring in it during that operation.

[0037] To determine these temperature distributions, the operation of cable bundles 2 with different arrangements of individual cables 2.1 to 2.n and the temperature profiles occurring in the cable bundles 2 during operation are modeled. Subsequently, the arrangement is selected in which a predetermined, preferably homogeneous, temperature distribution is achieved.

[0038] This is in Fig. 3 based on a section of a receiving element 1.7 of the device 1 according to Fig. Figure 2 shows the insertion of several individual conductors 2.1 to 2.n into this. The prongs Z1 to Z4 are arranged and designed such that the spaces F1 to F3 between them are each designed to accommodate several individual conductors 2.1 to 2.n arranged one above the other and next to each other.

[0039] After inserting the individual lines 2.1 to 2.n in the optimized arrangement, these are - as in the Fig. 4 to 7 are shown in more detail – at least partially wrapped with adhesive tape 6, also referred to as tape. The individual conductors 2.1 to 2.n remain in their positions determined by the receiving element 1.7. Thus, the individual conductors 2.1 to 2.n are fixed in their optimal arrangement within the conductor bundle 2, and the conductor bundle 2 acquires the desired final shape.

[0040] When this wrapping with the adhesive tape 6 reaches an area of ​​the conductor bundle 2 in which the individual conductors 2.1 to 2.n are arranged in the receiving element 1.7, the individual conductors 2.1 to 2.n are wrapped as shown in Fig. Figure 8 shows in more detail – at least temporarily removed from the receiving element 1.7 and / or the receiving element 1.7 is at least temporarily detached from the individual conductors 2.1 to 2.n in the direction R. In one possible embodiment of the receiving element 1.7, the prongs Z1 to Z4 are movably arranged in at least one direction R and can thus be moved or pulled out of the conductor bundle 2.

[0041] It is also possible that the tines Z1 to Z4 are designed to be movable in other directions in order to be able to variably adjust the width of the clearances F1 to F3.

[0042] Then, as in the Fig. 9 and Fig. 10 shown in more detail - a further wrapping of the individual wires 2.1 to 2.n with the adhesive tape 6, whereby the specified optimized positioning of the individual wires 2.1 to 2.n in the wiring harness 2 is maintained. Reference symbol list 1 Device 1.1 Cable form board 1.2 to 1.4 End recording element 1.5, 1.6 Recording element 1.7, 1.8 Recording element 2 cable bundles 2.1 to 2.n Single line 3 to 5 contact elements 6 adhesive tape F1 to F3 free space R direction T1 to T5 temperature range Z1 to Z4 tine

Claims

[1] Device (1) for joining individual conductors (2.1 to 2.n) to produce a conductor bundle (2) with at least one receiving element (1.7, 1.8) for receiving several individual conductors (2.1 to 2.n), wherein - that at least one receiving element (1.7, 1.8) is fork-shaped and includes several prongs (Z1 to Z4) and several spaces (F1 to F3) formed between the prongs (Z1 to Z4) and - that at least one receiving element (1.7, 1.8) is arranged on a cable form board (1.1) between at least two end receiving elements (1.2, 1.3) designed to receive cable ends, characterized by , that the tines (Z1 to Z4) are arranged so that they are movable in at least one direction (R) such that the size of the clearances (F1 to F3) can be variably adjusted and the tines (Z1 to Z4) can be easily removed from the conductor bundle (2) while simultaneously continuing to support the conductor bundle (2) on the at least one receiving element (1.7, 1.8). [2] Device (1) according to claim 1, characterized by , that the free spaces (F1 to F3) are each designed to accommodate several individual lines (2.1 to 2.n) arranged one above the other and / or next to each other. [3] Method for joining individual conductors (2.1 to 2.n) to produce a conductor bundle (2) using a device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, wherein - the operation of cable bundles (2) with different arrangements of individual cables (2.1 to 2.n) and temperature profiles occurring in the cable bundles (2) during operation are modeled and, - several individual conductors (2.1 to 2.n) are arranged on the cable form board (1.1) according to an arrangement of the individual conductors (2.1 to 2.n) determined in the modeling and leading to a predetermined temperature profile, in which at least one receiving element (1.7, 1.8) is arranged and assembled to form the conductor bundle (2), - the individual conductors (2.1 to 2.n) are wrapped at least section by section with adhesive tape (6) according to the arrangement in which at least one receiving element (1.7, 1.8) is wrapped. characterized by , that when, during the wrapping with the adhesive tape (6), reaching an area of ​​the at least one receiving element (1.7, 1.8) is imminent, prongs (Z1 to Z4) of the at least one receiving element (1.7, 1.8) are moved out of the conductor bundle (2).

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