DE1640469A1 - Arrangement for connecting cable wires with a sheath - Google Patents

Description

Arrangement for connecting cable wires with a sheath

The invention relates to an arrangement for connecting cable wires to those made of thermoformable dielectric material Sheathing.

Flat cable technology is particularly popular because it has a flat design easily leads to use in so-called "printed" circuits, since the identification of power lines without individual Coding is made easier.

There are a number of lamination methods of making a of such construction are known, some of which involve fusing together dielectric strips or ribbons to form a ribbon-shaped Forming product with electrical conductors encapsulated by the dielectric strips on their inner surfaces. With some of these Method is brought about the bond on the inner surfaces by a heat-sensitive adhesive by z. B. a shift beforehand a low melting point thermoplastic is applied to the dielectric strips, while other methods the dielectric strip materials themselves by heat

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will give way. In any case it is necessary during the working process to apply heat to the contact surfaces in order to bond to build.

However, if the temperature necessary for bonding is higher than the temperature near the breakdown or dissolution of the dielectric, the supply of bonding heat becomes a difficult problem In any case, the difficulty of supplying heat is increased, when the speed of lamination is increased. Corresponding In an earlier process, the lamination was carried out by means of heat rollers coated with a mixture of solutions, on ' to which the softened dielectric does not adhere. Another method is the lamination between a heat roller and a cooling roller, wherein the adherence to the heating roller by using a tape between the heat roller and the product.

It is the object of the invention to provide a more efficient method for the production of flat cables which has the disadvantages of the previous Procedure avoids. This is achieved for an arrangement of the type initially selected in that the inner surfaces of the one below the other The cable wires to be connected strips face heating devices, while on the outer surfaces of the strips in the same places Cooling devices are present that in the flow direction of the cable devices for connecting the strips around the cable wires and Pressure devices for pressing the strips together are connected downstream.

According to the present invention, the bonding heat becomes immediate supplied to the inner surfaces forming the mating surface as they are pressed together to form the layer, the location the application of heat is as close as possible to the point of bond. According to another feature of the invention, the heat is by means of

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a knife element applied, which is essentially against the nip of the rollers or other lamination devices extends, and which is provided with a passage for receiving and running the conductor elements of the cable in this clamping gap.

According to another aspect of the invention is a heating cooling device provided, which acts on the outer sides of the dielectric and preferably on the entire area in which the Heat is applied to the surfaces forming the contact surface. There is therefore a heat gradient from the inner to the outer surfaces of the dielectric strips, which increases the temperature of the Inner surfaces can rise to the desired bonding temperature, while the outer surfaces can be kept cool enough to ensure the integrity of the strips and prevent them from sticking to the lamination rollers.

Because the heat is supplied directly where it is needed, only a small amount of heat penetration needs to be provided. Therefore, the work process can be speeded up without excessive temperatures to feed. At the same time, the use of external cooling makes it possible to keep the bulk of the dielectric at a low level Maintain temperature, which makes the working parameters less critical. It is closed because the conductors apply heat by means of the Knife are used, a high degree of accuracy of the ladder installation is ensured. The influence of the cooling prevents a later Moving the ladder out of its end position. The result is that the process enables the mass production of flat cables with very high conductor densities and strict requirements for the conductor installation positions and at the same time also facilitates the use of dielectric materials allows at which the bond temperatures must be precisely controlled.

Further features and advantages of the invention emerge from

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Writing of a preferred exemplary embodiment based on the accompanying drawings. Show it:

Fig. 1 is a schematic front view of a cable lamination arrangement of a preferred embodiment of the device according to the invention,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2-2 in

of Fig. 1,

3 shows the enlarged representation of the view of a section

along the line J-3 in Fig. 2,

FIG. 4 shows a more enlarged part of FIG.

5 along the part of a cross section rotated by 90 ° the line 5-5 in Fig. 4,

6 shows a partial cross-section of a product produced according to the invention and

Fig. 7 is an idealized diagram of the isotherms along the dielectric strip during the lamination process according to the invention.

The arrangement shown in Fig. 1 comprises a machine bed 10, on which a table 12 and, by means of a console 14, a vertical slide or a tower 16 are mounted. The tower 16 carries one Slide 18, which can be adjusted vertically into a working position when a knob 20 is turned. indicated by a meter 22 will. This adjustment together with a lateral adjustment of the table 12 by means of a micrometer-like device 24 and the associated measuring instrument 26 effects the mechanical alignments for carrying out the method according to the invention.

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In the device shown, the laminating machine part comprises a cooling device 30 mounted on the table 12 for cooperation with one by means of an insulating block 34 and one Support 36 mounted on the vertical slide 18 heating knife device 32. As will be described, the cooling device 30 includes the lamination rollers through which the strips or tapes 38 and 40 are crimped tightly around an array of wires 42 to form the finished cable 44. As can be seen, the straps 38 and 40 removed from supply spools 46 and 48 and over reels 50 and 52 and guided between smoothing and tensioning rollers 54 and 56. Naturally the supply reels 46 and 48 may be provided with braking or other means to provide the desired tape tension of the tension rollers 54 and 56 or in addition to these.

The conductor assembly is supplied as a bundle of wires, two rows of which can be seen at 58 and 60, from supply spools (not shown). These supply reels are conventionally provided with frictional braking devices to provide sufficient tension on the wires as shown and to keep them straight as they are passed through the device. The wires are drawn over a roller assembly 62 and through an alignment comb 64 and cleaning brush 66 to the combination of heating knife and cooling devices 32 and 30 where lamination is performed. The brush 66 can also help tension the wires.

After the laminated product has passed through the cooling station 30, it is passed through a cooling bath 70 via a roller device 68 and then via drive rollers 72 to a take-up reel (not shown) guided. The drive rollers 72 are driven by a motor 73. They are arranged so that the finished cable is firmly gripped and is pulled through the facility. Though also the lamination rolls are driven in the cooling device 30, as will be described below is, it is preferable that by the pinch rollers 72 am

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finished cable 44 to choose the voltage provided to be large enough at least in part the resistance in the dielectric tapes and in the wires as they pass through the lamination site overcome. In this process, the shear forces in the are softened Dielectric decreased at this point. As can be seen from FIG. J, the cooling device 50 comprises two cooling blocks 80 and 82, in which two lamination rollers 84 and 86 are rotatably arranged on pins 83. As indicated in Fig. ^ By arrows, the Rollers 84 and 86 are driven in opposite directions by a motor 88 through a gearbox 90 (Fig. 2). With the structure shown heat exchangers in the form of water pipes 92 and 94 are provided. These tubes can be formed into shoe members 96 and 98, which slidably disposed in blocks 80 and 82 and urged by springs 99 against rollers 84 and 86, respectively. Suitable external installations (not shown) are provided for the supply of the cooling liquid. The heat exchangers thus generally cool the cooling blocks 80 and 82 and particularly the lamination rollers 84 and 86 carried by them.

With the cooling blocks 80, 82 and especially with the lamination rollers 84, 86 cooperating is the heating knife device 32 in the arrangement of Fig. 1 installed. As can be clearly seen from Fig. 3, the heating knife device 32 includes two knife elements 100 and 102, which has a channel 103 for receiving the wires 42 to be encapsulated limit, and which semicircular parts 104 and 106 have, which together form a pierced head part. This headboard takes the wires and directs them to positions between belts 38 and 40 im Gap of the lamination rollers 84 and 86. Each of the two heating knives consists of a housing jacket I08 made of a suitable solid and against corrosion and wear-resistant metal alloy, which with a suitable body 110 made of a particularly good Heat conductors, e.g. B. made of silver, is filled. Electrical heating elements 112 are arranged in this body 110.

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The knives 100 and 102 are connected to one another and one of the knives, z. B. 100, is suitably secured by screws (not shown) to the insulating block 34 (Pig. 1) so that the heating knife assembly is moved as a unit with the carriage 18. With the in Fig.3 The construction shown have the knife-shaped foot parts 114 and 116, which at a flat angle against the opposite surfaces 118, 120 of the cooling blocks 80 and 82 are inclined in order to form a mouth-like slot for receiving the strips 38 and 40 with them. It is a feature of the invention that the outer surfaces of the belts 38 and 40 during heating (and also shortly before and after) the surface of contact forming surface are cooled. The belts 38 and 40 are thus in direct contact with the cooling surfaces 118 and " 120 and with the cooling rollers 84 and 86, while first the radiant heat from the knife foot parts 114 and 116 and the heat conduction through exposed to direct contact with the knife head parts 104 and 106, respectively are.

The convergence of the elements of the cable in the gap of the lamination rollers 84 and 86 is shown more clearly in FIG. Fig. 5 shows how the head sections 104 and IO6 of the heat knives 100 and 102 are shaped are to precisely arranged through holes II3 for the wires 42 to limit. As can be seen, the tapes 38, 40 between the cooling rollers 84 and 86 and the head share 104 and 106, respectively, of the heat knife held, the straps are in direct contact with the headboards j 104 or 106 in the apex area and preferably also over a considerable distance behind the rounded head parts, it consists hence a relative movement between the contacting surfaces of the belts 38, 40 and the knife heads 104 and 106, respectively Practice has shown that the belts move easily through the assembly without undue drag. Various of the dielectric used This is because materials have low coefficients of friction.

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In contrast, at least in some of the preferred embodiments of the process the knife head parts 104, 106 opposite Areas of the belts 58, 40 heated enough that the interface between the tapes and the knife heads probably is melted by the dielectric melted in the entire contact area. This melted or at least highly plastic State of the dielectric makes it possible that the dielectric material in the area between the end of the head parts 104, IO6 and the Gap of the rollers 84, 86 between or around the wires 42 flows or pressed will. In practice it has been found that it is actually desirable, at least when working with certain materials, to use the Adjust the gap between the rollers a little narrower than the thickness of the finished cable, so that the dielectric material is exposed to special processing when passing between the rollers. This way the tolerances of the material and the device and it is ensured that there is always a good binding pressure as the cable passes through the gap of roles is available. Also, the amount of special machining helps keep the dielectric tight around the wires without any Gap formation is placed, and that the dielectric material is welded together on the entire contact surface between the two tapes or mixed.

The on the belts 38 and 40 in the area of approach to the gap and braking forces acting in the gap of the rollers 84 and 86 include the aforementioned friction on the knives 100 and 102, the braking effect by the tension rollers 54, 56 and the resistance of the supply reels 46, 48. The braking forces acting on the wires 42 close the friction of the brush 66 and the braking or other resistance to the wire supply reels. These forces are at of the device shown by the sum of the tensile forces applied by the drive rollers 72 and the lamination rollers 84, 86. The drive rollers 72 can be at a constant speed

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are driven, with the rollers in a fixed inevitable Interacting with the cable are located while the lamination rolls 84 and 86 can be operated with a generally constant torque. The latter can be achieved in that when using a tape material with a low coefficient of friction only the rollers 84 and 86 are driven a little faster to allow them to slide on the belts.

In the example shown in FIG. 6, the cable to be formed can have a form of multi-core transmission cables A, B, C, etc. in which each transmission line is one of two ground lines 42G | flanked signal conductor 42S. To both the desired wave impedance As well as facilitating isolation, each transmission line can be isolated and self-contained. This can result from an unequal spacing where, As shown, the distance between the sets of transmission lines is less than the distance between the signal conductor and the Earth wires in all sets is. This accuracy of arrangement is made possible by the fact that the wires through the head part of the heat meter device are set exactly at the point at which they are inserted into the cable. To further ensure this alignment the disengaging comb 64 (Fig. 3) has guide slots in the same arrangement as in Fig. 5, so that the wires are already in the correct proportion before going into the heat meter device 32 run in.

The heat gradient established by the heating knife and cooling devices 32 and 30 transversely to the thickness of the strips 38, 40 is shown in FIG. The diagram is mm, a computational evaluation at the adopting a hot knife temperature of 370 ° G and a cooling temperature of 38 ⁰ G, as well as a band or strip-thickness of 0.2, and with the further assumption of a typical specific heat and velocity the movement of the belt. It should be noted that,

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because the cooling device has at least coextensive with the hot knife, the bulk of the belt to temperatures below 259 ⁰ C. When a dielectric, e.g. B. FEP fluorocarbon is used, which ^{melts at around 288 0} C and begins to decay at around 598 ⁰ C, the control of the temperatures in a bath is critical. The main mass of the tape is protected by the interaction of heating knife and cooling devices. In addition, because the penetration of heat from the knife is limited, the depth of softening of the material is also limited. In Fig. 7 z. B. the heat line for 288 ⁰ C at a depth of around 0.076 mm and the heat line for 235 ⁰ C at a depth of around 0.11 mm. Assuming that the material ^{melts at 288 °} C., wires 42 with a diameter of 0.18 mm are firmly embedded in thermoplastic when they are inserted into the lamination. This embedding prevents undesired displacement of the wires inserted into the laminated strip by the heating knife device.

The diagram of FIG. 7 is greatly simplified since it also has a There is a heat gradient in the heating knife device itself. Hence are the knife semicircular parts 104 and IO6 because of their protruding nature cooler than z. B. the shoe parts 114 and Ho. In the illustrated This device is suppressed in that a gap between the shoe parts 114 and II6 and the approaching Bands 38 and 40 is provided. Those listed in Table 1 below empirical data contained temperatures taken from the knife bodies and which, of course, were much higher than the temperatures of the work surfaces, but are generally proportional to them.

Typical operating parameters for the generation of z. B. in FIG. 6 shown cables according to the invention are summarized in Table 1:

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Table 1 Example I Example II Example III Example IV

Material of the di- fluoroethy- vendor 1 electric lenpropylen polyethylene Belts 38/40 thermoplastic thermoplastic

(FEP fluoroplastic carbon)

Thickness per band 0.33 mm

600 grams of tension applied per band (including the
Rolls 54/56)

0.30 mm 600 grams

Vendor polyethylene thermoplastic

0.30 mm grams

Wire division

Crude oil to Sign.L. 0.51 mm 0.51 mm Erdl. to Erdl. 0.3mm 0.3mm

0.51mm 0.3mm

Vendor polyethylene thermoplastic

0.317 mm 600 grams

Wires 42, with
Silver covered
0-free copper 0.177 mm 0.177 mm 0.177 mm 0.177 mm Voltage per
Wire 42 125 grams 125 grams 125 grams 125 grams Knife temp. at the
Silver body 110
within the
Shoe part 563 ° C 349 ° C 355 ° C 333 ° C Division of the mes
ser wire guide,
Crude oil to Sign.L.
Crude oil to Erdl. 0.58 mm
0.33 mm 0.56 mm
0.30 mm 0.56 mm
0.30 ram 0.51 mm
0.30 mm Temperature of
Cooling rollers 77 ° C 61 ° C 66.6 ⁰ C 61 ° C Distance of
Cooling rollers 9.58 mm 0.56 mm 0.58 mm 0.50 mm Bath 70 temp. 33 ° C 33 ° C 33 ° C 33 ° C Output cable
am per minute
thickness 0.69 mm 0.58 mm 0.64 mm 0.69 mm

0.51mm 0.3mm

+ The tape materials in Examples 2, 3 and 4 were self-extinguishing polyethylenes from three different vendors.

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The formulation of such materials changes with the vendor, however the examples given are typical commercially available thermoplastics having the desired physical and electrical properties useful in accordance with the invention. In example IV the thermoplastic tapes were provided on one side with a 0.02 mm thick polyester layer. These coated sides formed the outer surfaces of the cable.

In the table above, the distances between the knife-wire guides are different in the various examples on the final wire pitch. It should be noted that in these cases the extent of Cable-wire division somewhat reduced compared to the knife-wire division is. This is due to the stretching of the cable as it passes through the gap in the lamination rollers 84, 86 in the lamination device accomplished. Because there is friction here as the parts pass through the lamination station, this stretching is due to the extent the voltage applied to the finished cable 44 is controlled. This tension can be caused by the difference in the operating speed of the Pinch rollers 72 and the lamination rollers 84, 86 are controlled. The lamination rollers can, for example, at one speed are driven; which is twice as high as the speed of rotation the driving rollers and even a small increase or decrease in this ratio has the consequence that the tension is decreased or increased on the cable 44.

It should be noted that various controls, adjustments or other means are provided which have been omitted from the drawings for the sake of clarity of explanation.

In addition to the external installations for the cooling device and to the circuitry for the hot knife heaters and thermoelectric elements and the like for maintaining proper temperatures special controllers are therefore required during the work process

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for the lamination rollers 84 and 86 and for the motor 73. In addition, the position of the cooling blocks 80, 82 on the table 12 can be adjustable. This adjustment can be used to control the lamination or cooling roller spacing at the gap between them. This dimension at the base of the converging one formed by these rollers Path plays a role during lamination to achieve a secure bond between the components of the cable. As can be seen from Table 1, this dimension can correspond to the used material can be changed slightly. Other adjustments, which provide quality control and easy adjustment, include the vertical adjustment 20 for the heating knife device ' 32 and the horizontal adjustment 24 of the table 12.

It should be noted that the method described and the corresponding The arrangement can be modified and adapted to the needs of the product. Although the previously described stretching of the cable a convenient way of providing for a final adjustment of the lead wire spacing is some materials are not good for this Appropriate working method. It is then preferable to set the pitch of the knife-wire guide practically in accordance with the desired defining the final dimensions of the cable and the slightest forces causing a displacement during the lamination process to use. Although the cooling bath 70 is desirable in order to maintain the strength j | To ensure the cable before it is passed over the pinch rollers, it can be seen that the bath can be omitted in some cases could.

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Claims (3)

Claims 1. Arrangement for connecting cable wires with from thermoformable dielectric material existing sheathing, characterized in that the inner surfaces of each other around the Cable wires (42) to be connected to strips (38, 40) facing heating devices (32, 114, 116, 104, 106) while being connected to the Outer surfaces of the strips (38, 40) rest on the same places cooling devices (80, 82, 84, 86) that in the direction of passage of the cable means for connecting the strips around the cable wires and pressure means (84, 86) for crimping them together downstream of the strip. 2. Arrangement according to claim 1, characterized in that the printing devices (84, 86) are motor-driven lamination rollers. 3. Arrangement according to claims 1 and 2, characterized in that the heating devices consist of two complementary semicircular parts (104, 106) are embedded in the funnel neck formed by the lamination rollers (84, 86) and that the semicircular parts (104, I06) have an opening (113) for guiding the Having wires (42) in a geometric shape. 00 9 835/0578