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US 5,460,069 AGranted
Machine for stripping outer jacket from multi-conductor cables
AssigneeThe Boeing Company
InventorsBabak Sayyadi, Howard J. Van Laeken
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An automated wire stripper has a forward wire-gripping assembly, a rearward insulation-pulling assembly, and a rotatable knife hub assembly positioned intermediate of the forward and rearward assemblies. The knife hub assembly includes a pair of thermal knife elements which are spring-biased to normally close upon the end of a wire. Pneumatic actuators open the knife elements against the bias of the springs. The rearward assembly is operable to clamp and pull a section of outer jacket or insulation covering from the wire after the knife hub has cut around the its circumference of the jacket.
Claims4
A rotatable knife hub assembly for use in connection with an automated wire stripping machine, comprising:
- a circular housing;
- a pair of opposing thermal knife elements for severing a covering from an end region of a wire that is to be stripped by said machine, said knife elements being heatable during a severing operation to aid in severing the covering;
- a pair of slider members carried by said knife hub assembly, each slider member having a central portion and oppositely-extending flange portions projecting laterally outwardly from said central portion, said slider members being moveable toward and away from each other, with the central portion of each slider member carrying one of said thermal knife elements, and further, a pair of springs interconnecting said flange portions of each slider member and said housing, said springs being biased to normally pull said slider members toward each other;
- a pair of elongated actuator arms carried by said housing, each actuator arm having both an inner end and an outer end, said inner end of each arm being connected to one of said slider members, for driving such slider member outwardly against the bias of said springs, and said outer end of each arm extending outwardly relative to said housing;
- a pair of fluid-powered actuators spaced apart from said housing on generally opposite sides thereof, one fluid-powered actuator being positioned adjacent said outer end of each actuator arm when said housing is in a home rotational position, each fluid-powered actuator having a reciprocating drive arm that is extendible into driving contact with said adjacent outer end when said housing is in said home position, in a manner so as to push said actuator arm associated with such end inwardly against the bias of said springs, and in operation, said housing being rotatable into said home position, and, when said housing is in said home position, said drive arms of said fluid-powered actuators being simultaneously extendible to drive said actuator arms inwardly, thereby forcing said slider members apart to define a pathway between said thermal knife elements, for extending said wire end region in between said knife elements.
2 more elements
A rotatable knife hub assembly for use in connection with an automated wire stripping machine, comprising:
- a circular housing;
- a pair of opposing thermal knife elements for severing a covering from an end region of a wire that is to be stripped by said machine;
- a pair of slider members carried by said knife hub assembly, each slider member having a central portion and oppositely-extending flange portions projecting laterally outwardly from said central portion, said slider members being moveable toward and away from each other, with the central portion of each slider member carrying one of said thermal knife elements, and further, a pair of springs interconnecting said flange portions of each slider member and said housing, said springs being biased to normally pull said slider members toward each other;
- a pair of elongated actuator arms carried by said housing, each actuator arm having both an inner end and an outer end, said inner end of each arm being connected to one of said slider members, for driving such slider member outwardly against the bias of said springs, said actuator arms being positioned parallel to and side-by-side each other, so that their outer ends extend outwardly relative to said housing in opposite directions;
- and
- a pair of opposing fluid-powered actuators spaced apart from said housing on generally opposite sides thereof, one fluid-powered actuator being positioned adjacent said outer end of each actuator arm when said housing is in a home rotational position, each fluid-powered actuator having a reciprocating drive arm that is extendible into driving contact with said adjacent outer end when said housing is in said home position, in a manner so as to push said actuator arm associated with such end inwardly against the bias of said springs, and in operation, said housing being rotatable into said home position, and, when said housing is in said home position, said drive arms of said fluid-powered actuators being simultaneously extendible to drive said actuator arms inwardly, thereby forcing said slider members apart to define a pathway between said thermal knife elements, for extending said wire end region in between said knife elements.
3 more elements
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.