Title: Method and device for welding contacts to optical waveguides
Abstract: A method and device for welding pin contacts and socket contacts to an optical waveguide, the welding device has a contact loading station, a contact transport carriage, a laser welding device, and an electrical control unit. The contact loading station has a socket contact transfer device and a pin contact transfer device. The contact transport carriage has a pin contact holder and a socket contact holder. The contact transport carriage is displaceable between the contact loading station and the laser welding station. The electrical control unit controls the combination and number of socket contacts and pin contacts transferred from the socket contact transfer device to the socket contact holder and from the pin contact transfer device to the pin contact holder without having to re-tool the welding device.
Patent Number: 6,897,404 Issued on 05/24/2005 to Bauer, et al.
| Inventors:
|
Bauer; Lothar (Wiesbaden, DE);
Germann; Robert (Gross Umstadt, DE);
Gerst; Michael (Worms, DE);
Kreuzer; Helmut (Gross-Zimmern, DE);
Stegmayer; Gerd (Gross Gerau, DE)
|
| Assignee:
|
Tyco Electronics AMP GmbH (Bensheim, DE)
|
| Appl. No.:
|
409379 |
| Filed:
|
April 8, 2003 |
Foreign Application Priority Data
| Apr 17, 2002[DE] | 102 17 104 |
| Current U.S. Class: |
219/121.63; 219/121.64; 219/121.82 |
| Intern'l Class: |
B23K 026/22; G02B006/36; G02B006/38 |
| Field of Search: |
219/12163,121.64,121.82
385/78
|
References Cited [Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
| 4644817 | Feb., 1987 | Johnson, Jr.
| |
| 4859827 | Aug., 1989 | Coyle et al.
| |
| 4944079 | Jul., 1990 | Nakamura et al.
| |
| 5098005 | Mar., 1992 | Jack.
| |
| Foreign Patent Documents |
| 199 19 428 | Nov., 2000 | DE.
| |
| 59147311 | Aug., 1984 | JP.
| |
| 8-43863 | Feb., 1996 | JP.
| |
| WO 0188583 | Nov., 2001 | WO.
| |
Other References
European Search Report dated Jun. 28, 2004 for application No. EP 03 00 7621.
|
Primary Examiner: Evans; Geoffrey S.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Barley, Snyder, Senft & Cohen, LLC
Claims
1. A welding device for welding socket contacts and pin contacts to an optical
waveguide, comprising:
a contact loading station having a socket contact transfer device and a pin contact
transfer device;
a contact transport carriage having a pin contact holder and a socket contact
holder, the contact transport carriage is displaceable between the contact loading
station and a laser welding station; and
an electrical control unit that controls the combination and number of socket
contacts and pin contacts transferred from the socket contact transfer device to
the socket contact holder and from the pin contact transfer device to the pin contact
holder without re-tooling the welding device.
2. The welding device of claim 1, further comprising an optical waveguide feed
funnel that introduces the optical waveguide into the socket contact held by the
socket contact holder or the pin contact held by the pin contact holder.
3. The welding device of claim 1, wherein the pin contacts and the socket contacts
are provided in separate strips, each of the strips having a plurality of the pin
contacts or the socket contacts connected by webs.
4. The welding device of claim 3, further comprising a separating device for
separating the pin contacts and the socket contacts from the strip.
5. The welding device of claim 4, wherein the separating device simultaneously
separates the pin contacts and the socket contacts from the strip and conveys the
pin contacts and the socket contacts into the corresponding pin contact holder
or socket contact holder.
6. The welding device of claim 5, wherein the separating device includes a cutting
punch, a counter-cutter, and a web holding-down device, the counter-cutter separates
the web from the socket contact or the pin contact when the cutting punch moves
upward to convey the pin contact or the socket contact into the respective pin
contact holder or socket contact holder.
7. The welding device of claim 4, further comprising an extraction duct for removing
the webs separated from the pin contacts and the socket contacts.
8. The welding device of claim 1, wherein the laser welding station includes
a single displaceable laser.
9. The welding device of claim 1, wherein the socket contacts, the pin contacts,
and the optical waveguides are made from plastic.
10. The welding device of claim 1, wherein the contact transport carriage has
two socket contact holders and two pin contact holders arranged alternately in
a direction of displacement.
11. The welding device of claim 1, wherein the socket contact holder and the
pin contact holder each have a pair of clamping arms that secure the pin contact
or the socket contact in the respective pin contact holder or socket contact holder.
12. The welding device of claim 1, further comprising a second contact loading
station with a second contact transport carriage.
13. The welding device of claim 12, wherein the contact loading station and the
second contact loading station act in a phase-displaced, push-pull manner such
that when the contact transport carriage is located at the laser welding station,
the second contact transport carriage is located at the second loading station
and when the second contact transport carriage is located at the laser welding
station, the contact transport carriage is located at the loading station.
14. The welding device of claim 13, wherein the contact transport carriage and
the second contact transport carriage each have one socket contact holder and two
pin contact holders.
15. A method for welding socket contacts and pin contacts to an optical waveguide, comprising:
transferring the socket contacts and the pin contacts into respective socket
contact holders and pin contact holders arranged on a contact transport carriage;
displacing the contact transport carriage to position the socket contacts and
the pin contacts for receipt of the optical waveguide;
welding the optical waveguide to the socket contacts and the pin contacts at
a laser welding station; and
controlling the combination and number of the socket contacts and the pin contacts
transferred to the socket contact holder and to the pin contact holder without
re-tooling the welding device.
16. The method of claim 15, further comprising providing the socket contacts
and the pin contacts in separate strips, each of the strips having a plurality
of the pin contacts or the socket contacts connected by webs.
17. The method of claim 16, further comprising separating the pin contacts and
the socket contacts from the strip.
18. The method of claim 15, further comprising removing the webs separated from
the socket contacts and the pin contacts with an extraction duct.
19. The method of claim 15, wherein the transport carriage has two socket contact
holders and two pin contact holders.
20. The method of claim 19, wherein two pin contacts are transferred to the pin
contact holders.
21. The method of claim 19, wherein two socket contacts are transferred to the
socket contact holders.
22. The method of claim 19, wherein one pin contact and one socket contact is
transferred to the respective pin contact holder and socket contact holder.
23. The method of claim 15, further comprising:
transferring the socket contacts and the pin contacts into respective second
socket contact holders and second pin contact holders arranged on a second contact
transport carriage;
displacing the second contact transport carriage to position the socket contacts
and the pin contacts for receipt of the optical waveguide; and
controlling the combination and number of socket contacts and pin contacts transferred
to the second socket contact holder and to the second pin contact holder without
re-tooling the welding device.
24. The method of claim 23, wherein the transport carriage and the second transport
carriage each have one socket contact holder and two pin contact holders.
25. The method of claim 24, wherein two pin contacts are transferred to the pin
contact holders.
26. The method of claim 24, wherein one pin contact and one socket contact is
transferred to the respective pin contact holders and socket contact holders.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a method and device for welding socket contacts and/or
pin contacts to optical waveguides. More specifically, the invention relates to
a method and device for welding plastic contacts to plastic optical waveguides.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
It is known from DE 199 19 428 A1 to secure sleeve-like ferrules of plastic,
into
which a plastic optical waveguide has been introduced, to the optical waveguide
by means of a laser welding process. The ferrules are also known as contacts and
may take the form of a socket contact or a pin contact. Typically, one end of the
optical waveguide is provided with the socket contact and another end of the optical
waveguide is provided with the pin contact so that the two ends of the optical
waveguide may be mated with each other.
Assembly machines with welding devices already exist for manufacturing the
optical waveguides wherein the socket contacts or the pin contacts may be welded
to the optical waveguide ends. The socket contacts and the pin contacts are fed
from a supply reel on a narrow piece of plastic material formed in one piece therewith
to form a strip. As the contacts are unwound from the supply reel, the contacts
are separated from the strip by a severing device and are positioned in a contact
holder. An end of the optical waveguide is then introduced into the contact and
the contact is welded to the associated end.
The existing welding devices, which are generally of modular construction, are
only capable of welding either the socket contacts or the pin contacts to the ends
of the waveguides. To change from welding the socket contacts to welding the pin
contacts or vice versa, a tool change or even a complete module change is required.
Having to re-tool the welding device necessitates down time that negatively affects
the output of the welding device. An example of such a welding device is manufactured
by Tyco Electronics AMP GmbH, AMPèrestrasse 12-14, 64625 Bensheim, Germany,
under the name "MOST Laser Module."
It is therefore desirable to develop a welding device wherein socket contacts
and/or pin contacts may be welded as desired to respective optical waveguide ends
without having to re-tool the welding device and without affecting the output of
the welding device.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The invention relates to a welding device for welding pin contacts and socket
contacts to an optical waveguide. The welding device has a contact loading station,
a contact transport carriage, a laser welding device, and an electrical control
unit. The contact loading station has a socket contact transfer device and a pin
contact transfer device. The contact transport carriage has a pin contact holder
and a socket contact holder. The contact transport carriage is displaceable between
the contact loading station and the laser welding station. The electrical control
unit controls the combination and number of socket contacts and pin contacts transferred
from the socket contact transfer device to the socket contact holder and from the
pin contact transfer device to the pin contact holder without having to re-tool
the welding device.
The invention further relates to a method for welding pin contacts and socket
contacts to an optical waveguide. The socket contacts and the pin contacts are
transferred into respective socket contact holders and pin contact holders arranged
on a contact transport carriage. The contact transport carriage is displaced to
position the socket contacts and the pin contacts for receipt of the optical waveguide.
The optical waveguide is welded to the socket contacts and the pin contacts at
a laser welding station. The combination and number of the socket contacts and
the pin contacts transferred to the socket contact holder and to the pin contact
holder is controlled by an electrical control unit without having to re-tool the
welding device.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view along a longitudinal axis of a structural unit
with an end of an optical waveguide provided with a pin contact;
FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the structural unit of. FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 is a radial cross-sectional view of the structural unit of FIG. 1;
FIG. 4 is a plan view of the optical waveguide provided with two pin contacts;
FIG. 5 is a plan view of the optical waveguide provided with a pin contact and
a socket contact;
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a welding device;
FIG. 7 is a partial front view of the welding device of FIG. 6 in a first operating phase;
FIG. 8 is a partial front view of the welding device of FIG. 6 in a second operating phase;
FIG. 9 is a front view of a laser welding station of the welding device of FIG. 6;
FIG. 10 is a partially schematic plan view of a second embodiment of the welding
device; and
FIG. 11 is a side view of the welding device of FIG. 10.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT
A structural unit
11 including an optical waveguide
13 and a pin
contact
17 and/or socket contact
35 will first be described with
reference to FIGS. 1 through 5. A first embodiment of a welding device
41
and a method thereof will then be described with reference to FIGS. 6 through 9.
A second embodiment of the welding device
41 and a method thereof will thereafter
be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. It should be noted that the individual
components and structural units of the embodiments shown in FIGS. 6 through 11
are known with regard to their construction and mode of operation, such that they
will not be described in full herein. The components and structural units of known
welding devices, such as the above-mentioned welding device "MOST Laser Module"
made by Tyco Electronics AMP GmbH, will hereby be incorporated by reference.
As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the structural unit
11 includes the optical
waveguide
13 and the pin contact
17. The optical waveguide
13
has an inner cladding
19 and an outer cladding
21. The inner cladding
19 and the outer cladding
21 are removed from an end
15 of
the optical waveguide
13. The end
15 has an end face
25 set
back
31 with respect to a contact end face
29 to protect the sensitive,
optically important end face
25. In practical embodiments, the optical waveguide
13 is set back
31 from {fraction (1/100)} mm to {fraction (1/10)} mm.
The pin contact
17 is arranged on the end
15 of the optical waveguide
13. The pin contact
17 consists of a plastic material that is more
transparent than the material of the inner cladding
19. The pin contact
17 has an internal diameter that substantially corresponds to an external
diameter of the inner cladding
19. The contact end face
29 is not
positioned flush with the end
15 of the optical waveguide
13. The
pin contact
17 has a flange
23 with an end face that abuts an end
of the outer cladding
21. The flange
23 may also act as a stop for
the socket contact
35 (not shown in FIGS.
1 and
2), when the
pin contact
17 is mated with the socket contact.
As shown in FIG. 3, the external circumference of the inner cladding
19
and the internal circumference of the pin contact
17 are welded together
by laser welding at weld points
33. In FIG. 3, the inner cladding
19
and the internal circumference of the pin contact
17 are welded together
at three weld points
33. Because the pin contact
17 consists of a
plastic material that is more transparent than the material of the inner cladding
19, the laser light can almost completely penetrate the pin contact
17
during irradiation and thereby produce welds in a radially outermost area of the
inner cladding
19 of the optical waveguide
13.
FIG. 4 shows an example of the optical waveguide
13 with the pin contact
17 welded to each end thereof. FIG. 5 shows an example of the optical waveguide
13 with the pin contact
17 welded to one end and the socket contact
35 welded to another end thereof. Instances may also arise in which the
optical waveguide
13 may have the socket contact
35 welded to each
end thereof. The pin contacts
17 take a somewhat different form in FIGS.
4 and 5 than in FIGS. 1 and 2.
The first embodiment of the welding device
41 will now be described in
greater detail with reference to FIGS. 6 through 9. As shown in FIG. 6, the welding
device
41 has an electrical control unit
75 and a base plate
43
provided with a centrally positioned laser welding station
57 attached to
a setting panel
69 and a contact loading station
49. The laser welding
station
57 has a housing
59. A wall
61 of the housing
59
has two optical waveguide feed funnels
63. A cover
67 of the housing
59 is provided with a bracket
65. The bracket
65 contains
electrical data and control lines for connecting the setting panel
69 to
the rest of the welding device
41. The setting panel
69 includes
a keypad
71 and a screen
73.
As shown in FIG. 9, the laser welding station includes a single displaceable
laser
109. It is also possible to provide two or more lasers instead of a single
displaceable laser, in accordance with the module widths, which in the embodiment
illustrated is 55 mm when two lasers are used or 27.5 mm when three lasers are
used. The laser
109 produces a laser beam
111 and is arranged on
a horizontally displaceable laser carriage
113.
The electrical control unit
75 is connected with the rest of the welding
device
41 by an electrical cable
77 (only a cable end is shown in
FIG.
6). The electrical control unit
75 has a programmable control
device (not shown). The programmable control device (not shown) is preferably in
the form of a microprocessor or a microcontroller wherein the selection of specific
control programs and/or the setting of specific control parameters is possible
by means of the setting panel
69.
Proximate the laser welding station
57 is the contact loading station
49. The contact loading station
49 is arranged above the base plate
43 on a board
47 provided on a support
45 that extends from
the base plate
43. The board
47 has a stand
51. An upper end
of the stand
51 holds a socket contact supply reel
53 and a pin contact
supply reel
55. The socket contact supply reel
53 and the pin contact
supply reel
55 may be located above the contact loading station
49,
as shown in FIG. 6, or beneath the contact loading station
49, as shown
in FIGS. 7 and 8.
As best shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the socket contact supply reel
53 and
the
pin contact supply reel
55 are wound with a strip
79 of either the
pin contacts
17 or the socket contacts
35. The strip
79 is
formed by connecting neighboring contacts
17,
35 by connecting webs
77. Because the welding device
41 described herein is principally
intended for welding plastic contacts to plastic optical waveguides, the pin contacts
17, socket contacts
35, and the connecting webs
77 preferably
consist of the same plastic material and the connecting webs
77 and the
contacts
17,
35 held therebetween are formed in one piece. The strip
79 is conveyed in a controlled manner via a conveying duct
81 to
a strip feed roller for socket contact feed
83 or a strip feed roller for
pin contact feed
85. The respective strips
79 are deflected from
an approximately vertical conveying direction to a substantially horizontal conveying
direction during feeding.
As shown in FIG. 7, a pin contact separating device
87 and a socket contact
separating device
89 are located proximate the contact loading station
49.
Each separating device
87,
89 has a cutting punch
91,
93,
respectively, movable in a vertical direction. On both sides of each cutting punch
91,
93 is a connecting web holding-down device
95 and a counter-cutter
97. The cutting punches
91,
93 and the counter-cutter
97
shear-off the connecting webs
77 located on each side of the contacts
17,
35, when the cutting punch
91,
93 moves upward. An extraction
duct
99 is arranged in the space formed between the two mutually facing
connecting web holding-down devices
95 of the separating devices
87,
89. The extraction duct
99 extracts the connecting webs
77
severed from the contact strips
79.
As shown in FIG. 7, a contact transport carriage
101 is arranged above
the separating devices
87,
89. The contact transport carriage
101
may be displaced in relation to the separating devices
87,
89 in
a horizontal direction (with regard to FIG.
7). A number of contact holders
103,
105 are arranged on the contact transport carriage
101.
Four contact holders
103,
105 are arranged in the embodiment illustrated.
Two of the contact holders are socket contact holders
103 and two of the
contact holders are pin contact holders
105. The socket contact holders
103 and the pin contact holders
105 are arranged alternately in the
carriage displacement direction and at a predetermined distance from each other.
Each of the contact holders
103,
105 has a clamping arm pair
107.
Each clamping arm pair
107 has two clamping arms. The clamping arm pair
107 accommodates and temporarily, resiliently secures the pin contact
17
or the socket contact
35. The shape and spacing of the clamping arms of
each clamping arm pair
107 conform to the external shape of the pin contact
17 or the socket contact
35, i.e. the socket contact holders
103
and the pin contact holders
105 are only suitable for temporarily securing
the socket contacts
35 or the pin contacts
17, respectively.
The two cutting punches
91,
93 exhibit a centre-to-centre distance
from one another of 27.5 mm, the centre-to-centre distance is also displayed by
mutually adjacent contact holders
103,
105. In this way, the pin
contact holders
105 and the two socket contact holders
103 each exhibit
a centre-to-centre distance from one another of 55 mm. Other dimensions and spacings,
however, are possible.
To transfer the contacts
103,
105 from the respective separating
devices
87,
89 to the contact transport carriage
101, the
contact transport carriage
101 is displaced such that one of the two pin
contact holders
105 is in alignment with the pin cutting punch
91
and/or one of the two socket contact holders
103 is in alignment with the
socket cutting punch
93. By moving the cutting punches
91,
93
upwards, the relevant pin contact
17 or socket contact
35 is severed
from the strip
79 and is transferred directly into the respective pin contact
holder
105 or socket contact holder
103 positioned thereabove. The
contacts
103,
105 are held firmly thereby by means of the resiliently
pretensioned clamping arms
107.
Since the pin contact holders
105 conform to the shape of the pin contacts
17 and the socket contact holders
103 conform to the shape of the
socket contacts
35, the pin contacts
17 and the socket contacts
35
may be conveyed into the contact loading station
49 with each working cycle
of the welding device
41. It is possible to transfer as desired two of the
pin contacts
17, two of the socket contacts
35, or one of the pin
contacts
17 and one of the socket contacts
35 into the two pin contact
holders
105, the two socket contact holders
103, or one of the two
pin contact holders
105 and one of the two socket contact holders
103,
respectively. In this way, two of the pin contacts
17, two of the socket
contacts
35, or one of the pin contacts
17 and one of the socket
contacts
35 may be welded as selected to the ends
15 of the optical
waveguide
13. A different contact pairing selection for each working cycle
is made possible by programming, so the need for re-tooling is eliminated.
After the contact holders
103,
105 are loaded with the pin contacts
17 and/or the socket contacts
35 in the loading position illustrated
in FIG. 7, the contact transport carriage
101 is displaced into a position
in which one of the two contact holders
103,
105 is aligned with
the laser beam
111. When the contact transport carriage
101 is displaced,
the centre lines of the two contact holders
103,
105 are aligned
with the centre lines of the ends
15 of the optical waveguide
13
that are positioned by the optical waveguide feed funnels
63. The ends
15
are introduced into the contacts
17,
35 by an optical waveguide feed
device (not shown). The respective contacts
17,
35 and the respective
ends
15 have a predetermined relative axial position such that the desired
degree of set-back
31 (FIG. 1) is achieved with a predetermined exacting tolerance.
After introduction of the ends
15 of the optical waveguide
13
into the contact holders
103,
105, welding is performed. The contact
17,
35, which is located in alignment with the laser
109,
is welded to the end
15 of the optical waveguide
13. The laser
109
is then moved into alignment with the contact
17,
35 held by the
other contact holder
103,
105. The contact
17,
35 is
welded to the end
15 of the optical waveguide
13. Movement of the
laser carriage
113 is controlled with an obliquely extending control channel
115 that is in engagement with a control pin (not shown) that may be moved
in a vertical direction by a drive (not shown). The control channel
115
is designed so that the laser carriage
113 may be displaced at least the
horizontal distance between the two socket contact holders
103 or the two
pin contact holders
105 on the contact transport carriage
101, i.e.,
55 mm in the embodiment illustrated.
A working cycle of the welding device
41 according to the first embodiment
shown in FIGS. 6 through 9 will now be described in greater detail. The electrical
control unit
75 is programmed to control whether two of the pin contacts
17 or one of the pin contacts
17 and one of the socket contacts
35
are to be welded to the ends
15 of the optical waveguide
13 during
the work cycle. The contact transport carriage
101 is brought into a suitable
loading position. If two of the pin contacts
17 are to be welded to the
ends
15 of the optical waveguide
13, the contact transport carriage
101 is moved until the left-hand pin contact holder
105 is aligned
with the pin cutting punch
93. The left-hand pin contact holder
105
is loaded with the pin contact
17 that has been severed from the strip
79.
The contact transport carriage
101 is moved until the right-hand pin contact
holder
105 is aligned with the pin cutting punch
93. A further pin
contact
17 is severed from the strip
79 and is transferred into the
right-hand pin contact holder
105. If two of the socket contacts
35
are to be welded to the ends
15 of the optical waveguide
13, the
procedure is the same, except that the left-hand socket contact holder
103
and then the right-hand socket holder
103 are loaded one after the other
with a socket contact
35 severed from the strip
79 by the socket
cutting punch
91. If the pin contact
17 is to be welded to the end
15 of the optical waveguide
13 and the socket contact
35 is
to be welded to the other end
15 of the optical waveguide
13, the
pin contact
17 is transferred from the strip
79 to the left-hand
pin contact holder
105 and the socket contact
35 is transferred from
the strip
79 to the left-hand socket contact holder
103.
The contact transport carriage
101 is moved into a position wherein the
left-hand of the two contact holders
103,
105 is aligned with the
laser beam
111 and the waveguide feed funnels
63. The ends
15
of the optical waveguide
13 are introduced through the waveguide feed funnels
63 into the contacts
17,
35. After the ends
15 of the
optical waveguide
13 are received in the respective contacts
17,
35, the ends
15 of the two optical waveguide
13 are secured
to the respective contacts
17,
35 by welding. One of, the two contacts
17,
35 is first welded to the respective end
15. The laser
109 is then displaced by the horizontal carriage
113 into a position
corresponding with the other contact
17,
35. The other contact
17,
35 is then welded to the respective end
15. The resulting structural
unit
11 is gripped by gripping arms (not shown) and removed from the welding
device
41.
The second embodiment of the welding device
41 will now be described in
greater detail with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. The welding device
41
of the first embodiment has a maximum working cycle rate, i.e., working cycle frequency.
A working cycle rate exceeding this rate may be achieved with the second embodiment
of the welding device
41.
The welding device
41 of the second embodiment has a laser welding station
57 similar to the first embodiment, but has two contact loading stations
49a,
49b, as shown in FIG.
10. The contact loading
stations
49a,
49b are arranged on opposite sides of
the laser welding station
57. The contact loading stations
49a,
49b each include the elements and structural units illustrated and
described in relation to FIGS. 6 through 9, with the exception that each of the
two contact transport carriages
101a,
101b has only
three contact holders. Because each of the contact transport carriages
101a,
101b has only three contact holders, the optical waveguide
13
is limited to being manufactured with either two pin contacts
17 or one
pin contact
17 and one socket contact
35. The optical waveguide
13
can not be manufactured with socket contacts
35 welded to the ends
15
thereof. Each of the contact transport carriages
101a,
101b
is provided with two pin contact holders
105 and one socket contact
holder
103, such that a structural unit
11 according to FIG. 4 or
5 may be produced with each of the contact transport carriages
101a,
101b.
As best shown in FIG. 11, the left-hand contact transport carriage
101a
is positioned on a running rail
117. In each of the positions between
which the laser
109 may be displaced, there is located one of the two feed
funnels
63. Each of the feed funnels
63 includes an upper feed funnel
half
119a and a lower feed funnel half
119b. The feed
funnel halves
119a,
119b are formed at lower ends of
upper feed funnel plates
121a,
121b, respectively.
The two feed funnel plates
121a,
121b may be moved
by means of an upper cylinder drive
123a or a lower cylinder drive
123b between an open position, in which an end
15 of the optical
waveguide
13 may be passed through the respective feed funnel
63,
and a clamping position, in which the resulting structural unit
11 after
welding may be clamped. The upper feed funnel plate
121a is moved
with the interconnection of a toggle lever
125.
The working cycle of the welding device
41 according to the second embodiment
shown in FIGS. 10 and 11 will now be described in greater detail. As shown in FIG.
10, the loading stations
49a,
49b operate in a phase-displaced,
push-pull manner, such that one of the contact transport carriages
101a,
101b is located at the loading station
49a,
49b
and the other contact transport carriage
101a,
101b
is located at the laser station
57. For example, FIG. 10 shows a phase
in which the right-hand contact transport carriage
101b is located
in the right-hand loading position
49b and is being loaded with the
contacts
17,
35, and the left-hand contact transport carriage
101a
is located in the laser station
57 and the ends
15 of the optical
waveguide
13 are being introduced into the contacts
17,
35
and welded thereto. After welding, the resulting structural unit
11 is removed
from the welding device
41, and the left-hand contact transport carriage
101a is displaced into the left-hand loading station
49a
and the right-hand contact transport carriage
101b loaded with
contacts
17,
35 is displaced into the laser station
57. The
ends
15 of the optical waveguide
13 are introduced into the contacts
17,
35 held by the right-hand contact transport carriage
101b
and are welded thereto, while the left-hand contact transport carriage
101a
is being loaded with the contacts
17,
35.
In providing the second embodiment of the welding device
41 with two loading
stations
49a,
49b, each of the loading stations
49a,
49b are associated with two contact supply reels
53,
55.
A working cycle rate, therefore, may be achieved which is roughly twice that of
the first embodiment of the welding device
41 that has only a single loading
station
49.
*
