HK1050725B - Connecting element and connection method thereof - Google Patents

Description

Connecting piece and connecting method thereof

Technical Field

The invention relates to a coupling for connecting two tension-absorbing support elements, comprising at least a first and a second housing with a through-opening for receiving the respective support element, wherein the housings can be connected together by a connection at a first end of each housing, and wherein the opposite second end of each housing is provided with a locking element for retaining the support element.

Background

The invention is used in the construction industry, but is not limited to the construction industry. Connecting elements or so-called wire locks are used to connect together support elements such as cable cores in tensioned wires. The connection can be made during the actual process of assembling a cable made up of several such tension wires, where the tension wires are separately tensioned.

When the wire is tightened with the required force, the wire can be permanently locked to the base of a structure part to be fixed by means of a wedge structure. The connector is then removed from the tensioned wire and attached to the next wire to be tensioned.

Cables are used primarily to secure various structural components to one another, such as bridges, masts, buildings, etc. These cables can be used on the one hand to hold the assembled structure and on the other hand also during the actual construction of the structure. Cables made of support members such as wires may be used in bridge structures such as suspension bridges, cable pier bridges, and the like.

The known wire locks generally have the disadvantage that they are inconvenient to handle and time consuming to assemble and disassemble, and thus are expensive. They also tend to unscrew and/or grip the cable core, making it difficult to remove the housing. The clamping of the parts in the known wire locks also means that after pulling the wire they are clamped, the device has to be scrapped, resulting in increased costs and unnecessary material consumption.

Because these designs often grip the wire, known devices lack flexibility, particularly when disassembled. In certain embodiments, prior art designs have wedges that cause the problems described above. Cleats are often used in prestressed concrete installations. The prior art design also has the ability of the wedge to skew in the housing portion through which the wire passes, making the operation more complicated, making it unnecessarily expensive.

The connection between the wire and the prior art design is also not rotatable relative thereto. This means that unnecessary torque acts on the connecting element, and there is therefore a risk of the connecting element unscrewing.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the invention to provide a coupling which forms an axial locking of the support while the support is freely rotatable in the coupling.

Another object of the invention is to provide a coupling which is locked in its working position, i.e. in which, for example, the tension wire can be pulled.

The projections of the connecting element must also be as small as possible so that the wire is not caught by these projections, for example during actual construction work.

The connector must also provide good flexibility, allow controlled assembly and disassembly, provide for the building personnel to safely assemble and disassemble the traction wires, for example from the tension wires, such as are commonly used in the construction of bridges, structures and the like. The material and dimensions of the traction wires may be the same as the core of the tension wires to be pulled, and other dimensions and materials may be used. The traction wire can thus be used repeatedly to pull several tensioning wires.

This is achieved by a coupling of the type mentioned above in which the locking element of at least one housing forms an axial locking of the support in the operating position, through which housing a stop formed on the support in the region of the second end of the housing passes.

Further solutions to the objects of the invention and further features of the invention are specified in the other claims.

The present invention means that because the connector of the present invention is rotatable relative to the wire, the chances of causing a fracture flaw in the wire core are reduced.

The invention means that a connector is provided which can be locked in the working position quickly and easily, preventing unwanted unscrewing.

The number of parts of such a connector is also considerably reduced compared to prior art connectors, so that the operational reliability is improved. Since the wire core or the connecting element is free to rotate, unwanted stresses in the wire or torsional forces acting on the traction wire or the tension wire are avoided. The connecting piece cannot be unscrewed due to torsion.

It is also an object to provide such a connector which can be quickly assembled and disassembled from a tensioning wire during construction of a structure, thereby reducing construction costs.

This is achieved by a method of attaching a support member to a building using a connector of the type described above, the method comprising: passing the traction wire through a cable conduit with the connector such that the connector terminates in a region of the first foundation; connecting the tension wire to a connector coupled to the traction wire; passing the tensioning wire through the cable guide tube in the opposite direction by means of the pull wire and the coupled connector so that the connector terminates in a region of the second foundation; securing the tensioning wire to the first and second bases; and removing the connector from the tensioning wire.

This method provides a quick and simple method of applying a support member such as a tension wire to a structure such as a cable pier bridge.

In view of the above, the present invention provides a connection for connecting two tension-absorbing first and second supports, wherein the connection comprises at least a first and a second housing with through-holes for receiving the respective supports, wherein the housings can be connected together by a connection at a first end of each housing, and wherein an opposite second end of each housing is provided with a locking member for holding the supports, wherein, in the working position, the locking member of at least one housing forms an axial locking of the supports, and a stop formed on a support in the region of the second end of the housing passes through the housing.

In other aspects, the stop is an upset formed on the support and has a diameter greater than a diameter of the support. The through hole is of a stepped design with a first shoulder, and the stop portion abuts against the shoulder. The first shoulder has a ramp against which the stop abuts. The locking member comprises at least two housing parts which in the operative position form a stop housing which forms a second shoulder against which the stop part abuts. The second shoulder is formed within the stopper housing. The first connecting portion of the housing includes means for connecting the housing to an intermediate portion. Viewed in the longitudinal direction of the housing and the intermediate part, in the operating position a recess in the housing is aligned with a fixing unit and surrounds the housing, the fixing unit being arranged such that it can be fixed to the intermediate part, the projection of the fixing unit being received by the recess, so that the housing is locked torsionally in the intermediate part. The protrusion of the fixing unit may be released so as not to be received by the notch, whereby the intermediate portion may be released from the housing. The connecting portion of at least one housing is torsionally locked by means of a locking pin inserted through the housing and the hole of the intermediate portion.

The invention also provides a method for assembling a first support and a second support to a building structure by means of the above connector, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: passing the first support member together with the connector through a cable conduit such that the connector terminates in a region of the first foundation; connecting a second support to the connector coupled to the first support; passing a second support member through the cable guide in the opposite direction by means of the first support member and the coupled connector member such that the connector member terminates in a region of the second foundation; fixing the second support member to the first and second bases; and releasing the connector from the second support.

In other aspects, the method also includes the steps of: applying at least one housing over a stop formed on each support; fitting at least two housing portions around each support; pulling each support so that the stop portion abuts the housing portion, the housing portion in the operative position resting against an internal shoulder in the through hole, while the stop portion rests against the housing portion so as to form an axial lock of the wire ends; and connecting at least one housing to the intermediate portion. At least one housing is torsionally locked on the intermediate part by means of a fixing unit arranged on the intermediate part, which fixing unit has a projection which, viewed in the longitudinal direction of the housing and the intermediate part, during coupling together is released until a recess in the housing is aligned with and surrounds the fixing unit, at which time the fixing unit with its projection comes into engagement with the recess. At least one housing is torsionally locked to the intermediate part by means of a locking pin.

Drawings

Embodiments of the invention are described in detail below, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a connector according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded side view of the connector of the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view of a first embodiment of a connector of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of a connector according to a second embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is an exploded side view of a second embodiment of a connector of the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a side view of a second embodiment of a connector of the present invention in an assembled state;

FIG. 7 is a side view of the invention shown in FIG. 6 in an unassembled state;

FIG. 8 illustrates a stationary unit of FIGS. 6 and 7; and

figure 9 shows the connector used in the construction of a cable pier bridge.

Detailed Description

The "working position" refers to the state in which the coupling housing is fitted and locked between the two wire ends. Fig. 1 shows a coupling 1 according to a first embodiment of the invention in a disassembled state. The connector 1 of fig. 1 is used to connect a first support 2 and a second support 3, such as a traction wire and a tensioning wire. The connecting element 1 comprises a first and a second housing 5 and 6, of which the first housing 5 is connected to the traction wire 2, which traction wire 2 pulls a plurality of tension wires 3 one at a time into a cable guide tube (not shown in fig. 1, indicated with reference numeral 56 in fig. 9) during the construction process. After the pull wire 2 has passed through the first housing 5, the end of the pull wire is upset to form a lug 20. The material of which the projections 20 are made can be, for example, the same as the tension wire 3. This has the advantage that no other material is required to form the boss 20 on the construction site. Preferably upset into a round shape. Thus, a stop can be produced in a simple manner.

The coupling sleeve 27 with the thread 25 (only partially shown in fig. 1) thereon is then screwed onto the first end 11 of the housing 6, so that the projection 20 abuts against a shoulder 26 (see fig. 3) in the housing and so that a locking pin 35 can be hammered into the hole 35' and a corresponding hole 35 "of the coupling sleeve 27. A housing 5 for more permanent fixation, that is, a housing 5 for holding the traction wire 2 or the like so that a structure for more permanent fixation of the housing 5 to the connection sleeve 27 can be provided. The traction wire 2 is thus locked to the attachment 1 in a simple manner. This results in reliable handling and easy assembly and disassembly.

Through holes 7 for the passage of the traction wires 2 and the tension wires 3 are provided in the housings 5 and 6. The hole 7 extends in the longitudinal direction of the connecting element 1. By using a combination of bores 8 in the second end 13 of the housings 5 and 6, which bores have a smaller diameter than the boss 20, the boss 20 can rest against a shoulder 26 in the housing (see fig. 3). In the working position, the lug 20 of the tensioning wire 3 is thus freely rotatable against the shoulder 26 on the housing 6, thereby axially locking the tensioning wire. Shoulder 26 is formed such that the inner diameter of housing 6 can accommodate boss 20.

The same applies to the connection of the traction wire 2 to the housing 5.

The housing 6 of the connection piece 1 is likewise arranged at the corresponding end of the connection sleeve 27, which end is available for connection by means of the thread 25 on the connection sleeve 27 (only a part of the thread 25 is shown). A corresponding thread 25' is provided in the housing 6 (see fig. 2). The two housings 5 and 6 can thus be connected to one another, wherein the housing 5 is connected to the traction wire 2 and the other housing 6 holds the tension wire 3 to be pulled. When the connecting sleeve 27 is connected to the housing 6, one end 20' of the connecting sleeve 27 preferably abuts against the lug 20, that is to say the lug 20 ends up in a position abutting against the first shoulder 26 before the tensioning wire 3 is pulled.

A recess 29 ends against the head 33 of a locking bolt 31 when the housing 6 holding the tension wire 3 is assembled. This locking structure and locking method are explained below.

Fig. 2 is a side view of the body of the connector 1 according to the first embodiment. The first housing 5 comprises a through-hole 7 of stepped design with a first shoulder 26, against which first shoulder 26 a projection (shown in fig. 1) can abut. The shoulder 26 is preferably provided with a bevel 25 to bear against the rounded boss 20 and so that the shoulder 26 does not cut into the boss 20. A connection 9 is located at a first end 11 of the housing 6. Where an internal thread 25' is formed in the through hole 7 to receive the thread 25 of the connecting sleeve 27. A threaded bore 31' is formed in the connecting sleeve 27 and is adapted to receive a locking bolt 31 (not shown in fig. 2, see fig. 1, 6, 7 and 8). Fig. 2 also shows a hole 35' for insertion of a locking pin 35 (see fig. 1) and a corresponding hole 35 ".

Fig. 3 shows a part of the joint 1 of the first embodiment. Fig. 3 shows how the projection 20 of the tensioning wire 3 rests on the inclined surface 25 of the shoulder 26. To remove the housing 6 from the tensioning wire 3, the wire can be cut close to the connecting piece 1 and the end of the wire with the projection 20 can then be removed. When a new join is made, a new wire end can be introduced through the bore 8 and the hole 7, which will be subsequently upset by an upsetter.

Fig. 4 and 5 show a second embodiment of the invention, in which the connecting element 1 is in a disassembled state. The reference numerals in the two figures correspond in large part to those shown in figure 1. The difference compared to the first embodiment is that the bore 8' therein has a larger diameter than the boss 20. Thus, the two projections 17 and 18 are used to form a support between the shoulders 26 and the two bosses 20 of the two shells 5 and 6, respectively. In the operating position, the projections 17 and 18 together form a stop housing 22. The stop housing 22 forms a second shoulder 26' (see fig. 6) for the boss 20 to rest on. In fig. 4, there are no shoulders inside the two housing parts constituting the projections 17 and 18. That is, in the working position the projection 20 abuts against an end formed by the stop housing 22. It is advantageous to form a second shoulder 26' inside the stopper housing 22 (see fig. 5). In this way, when connecting the tensioning wire 3 to the connector 1, the boss 20 is guided to the stop housing 22 by means of the cylindrical flange region 22 ' surrounding the second shoulder 26 ', thus ending correctly in the second shoulder 26 '. This guidance means that the boss 20 is substantially centered in the housing 6 and does not hit or be affected by the inner surface of the housing 6. Fig. 5 is a side view of the connector 1 shown in fig. 4 and its main components. In this figure, one projection 17 is clearly shown, in order to show the second shoulder 26' that constitutes the support boss 20.

The material used for the housing portions 17 and 18 is preferably harder than the housing portions 5 and 6. This harder material is often more expensive. By making the housing parts 17 and 18 replaceable, material costs can be reduced. This is because only the housing parts 17 and 18 have to be replaced in the event of any wear. Advantageously, there are two housing portions or projections, but there may be more. They are formed such that, when they are detached from the tensioning wire 3, they make it possible to remove the tensioning wire 3 with the lug 20 from the housing 6 without having to remove the lug 20 or cut the wire. This is easily achieved by the diameter of the bore 8' being larger than the diameter of the boss 20.

Fig. 6 shows a coupling element 1 according to a second embodiment fitting a tension wire 3 with a traction wire 2. The reference numerals in fig. 6 and 7 correspond to those described and shown above, but it should be noted that the orientation of the view of the connection is different from that in fig. 3-5. Fig. 6 clearly shows how the tensioning wire 3 and the traction wire 2 abut against the respective projections 17 and 18 (fig. 6 and 7 only show 17, since 18 is covered). The projections 17 and 18 in turn abut a shoulder 24.

In the working position, the boss 20 formed at the end of each wire is free to rotate against the housings 5 and 6 by means of the projections 17 and 18, thus forming an axial lock of each wire end. Therefore, the number of parts is greatly reduced compared with the prior art, and the operational reliability is improved. Since the wire core or the connector is free to rotate, undesired stresses in the wire are avoided. The stresses caused by the known structures on the market may cause accidents when pulling or tensioning the wire. The boss 20 may be created after or before the tensioning wire 3 passes through the bore 8' in the housing 6. The diameter of the bore 8' is therefore greater than the diameter of the boss 20.

In this connection, the two housing parts forming the projections, for example, ensure that the housing and the tensioning wire 3 can be connected or disconnected without cutting the wire. Thus, removal of the projection 20 is not required during disassembly, and the working time is reduced when a cable, which may be composed of up to 80 wires, is pulled tight. Likewise, the housing parts 17 and 18 for the abutment of the projection 20 thereon mean, on the one hand, that the cable core can be rotated, since the projection 20 can be rotated with respect to the second shoulder 26' of the stop housing 22 formed from the projections 17 and 18; on the other hand, this means that the locking housing 22 can be rotated in the housing 6. Since the friction is distributed over many surfaces of the connection, it results in minimal wear of the inventive device. The coupling element 1 according to the invention has the same locking elements for the tensioning wire and the traction wire itself to be tensioned. This provides a greater range of rotation of the wire and further reduces friction.

The housing 6 is locked on the connecting sleeve 27 by means of a locking bolt 31 having a chamfered head 33. The chamfer is preferably a flat surface 32. In the assembled position, the flat 32 is turned away from the housing 6, so that the non-chamfered portion of the head 33 is received in the recess 29 to achieve locking. In this way, the housing 6 can be locked on the connection sleeve 27 to prevent the housing 6 from being unintentionally detached from the connection sleeve 27. The head 33 is received in the recess 29 of the housing 6 to such an extent that no part of the protruding member protrudes outside the contour of the housing. Which prevents the wire or other object from becoming stuck in the connector. The connection also has rounded corners h to facilitate its transfer from one location to another. Since the head 33 is easily accommodated in the recess 29 and the device can be transported easily and quickly, time is saved considerably. At the same time, safety is ensured at the construction site, since a double protection is created to prevent the device from unscrewing. Freely rotatable connection 1 means that it is rotated on each boss 20, so that the torsional forces acting on the connection 9 are eliminated, while the connection is ensured by means of said locking bolt 31.

To remove the housing 6 from the connecting sleeve 27, the locking bolt 31 is turned approximately half a turn so that the flat 32 is turned towards the housing 6 as shown in fig. 7. The arrow P indicates the direction of rotation of the locking bolt 31 shown in fig. 6 and 7.

Fig. 7 shows the coupling piece 1 according to the invention in a position in which the housing 6 is detachable from the coupling sleeve 27. The housing 6 can thus be detached from the connecting sleeve 27 in a controlled manner, which in turn means that the tensioning wire and its lug 20 can be easily detached from the housing 6. The locking bolt 31 can be turned by means of a tool such as a hexagonal socket wrench.

Fig. 8 illustrates a locking bolt 31 of the present invention. The flat 31 is preferably made so that its surface is tangential to the outer surface of the bolt body, i.e. the region of the thread G. The thread G corresponds to a thread G in the coupling sleeve 27 (see fig. 2 and 5). A recess u for a hexagonal socket wrench is formed in the head portion 33.

Fig. 9 shows an example of an advantageous application of the connection piece 1 according to the invention. The terms "upper", "lower", and the like refer to a general direction on a structural member or the like, e.g., upward, downward, and the like. For simplicity, the scale in FIG. 9 is not actual scale. The figure schematically shows the main parts of a cable pier bridge under construction. Fig. 9 may be described in conjunction with fig. 5. To tension a tensioning wire 3, a traction wire 2 with a connecting element 1 (enlarged to illustrate the method) is moved by means of a pusher M from a position on an upper foundation 52 on a pylon 53 to a lower foundation 54 on a deck 55. The pylons 53 stand on the bedrock b. An elevator 60 for transporting personnel and materials is provided on the bridge tower 53. The traction wire 2 together with the connecting element 1 is pushed via a cable guide 56 to the lower foundation 54, on which a wire winder 57 with the tensioning wire 3 is located. A boss 20 (not shown in fig. 9) is formed at the end of the tension wire 3 with an upsetting machine (not shown). According to the first embodiment of the invention, the housing 6 is mounted on the tensioning wire and then upset to form the boss 20. According to the second embodiment of the invention, the bulge 20 is preferably upset before the housing 6 is mounted on the tensioning wire.

The ends of the tensioning wires 3 pass through the housing 6. A housing part (not shown in fig. 9 but indicated by the references 17 and 18 in fig. 4) is placed around the end of the tensioning wire 3 and into the housing 6. The tensioning wire 3 is pulled back so that the projections 20 abut against the projections 17 and 18 in the housing 6. An intermediate portion, for example a connecting sleeve 25 provided with a thread 25, is screwed into the housing 6, so that the end 20' of the connecting sleeve 27 presses the boss 20 completely against the projections 17 and 18 and the housing 6. In this way, the lug 20 can be guided into a position against the shoulder during assembly, which means that the projections 17 and 18 interact before the tensioning wire 3 is actually pulled. The head 33 of the locking bolt 31 is now turned so that its flat surface 32 faces the housing 6, so that the housing 6 can be turned to a position in which the recess 29 is aligned with the locking bolt 31 (see fig. 7). In this position, the locking bolt is preferably screwed through 180 ° or at least to the region where the flat 32 ends in the recess 29. This position is shown in figure 6. After this screwing, the locking bolt 31 is screwed to its lowermost position with sufficient force to lock the housing 6 on the connecting sleeve 27. The second housing 5 is locked to the connecting sleeve 27 with a locking pin 35.

The pusher M, which is preferably also equipped with a pulling drive, then pulls the tensioning wire 3 back to the upper foundation 52 via the cable guide 56 by means of the traction wire 2 and the connecting element 1. The tension wire 3 is then fixed to the underlying foundation in a conventional manner and cut thereunder. The tensioning wire 51, now located in the cable guide 56, is then pulled with sufficient force and secured to the upper foundation 52.

The locking bolt 31 is then unscrewed to the position shown in figure 7. I.e. the locking bolt 31 is turned approximately 180 deg. to a position in which the flat surface 32 of the head 33 is substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the housing 5 and is located opposite the housing 5. The housing 6 is then unscrewed from the connecting sleeve 27. The end of the tensioning wire 3 is then pushed back so that the projection 20 is exposed together with the housing parts 17 and 18 (see fig. 3), and the housing parts 17 and 18 are then removed, which means that the tensioning wire 3 with its projection 20 can thus be removed from the housing 6. The parts of the coupling 1 can be reassembled (the coupling is still mounted on the traction wire 51) and it can be pushed down again with the traction wire 2 onto the lower foundation 54, so that it is again connected with the end of the next tensioning wire 3.

The tensioning wires 3 can naturally be fixed first on the upper foundation 52 and then tensioned from the deck 55 under the lower foundation 54 and fixed on the lower foundation. The fastening of the tensioning wire can be carried out simultaneously with the transfer of the coupling element 1 together with the traction wire 2 to the lower foundation 54.

Because a cable guide typically may include 80 tensioned wires, the pull wires with connectors described above are moved up and down 80 times in the cable guide 56. A cable pier bridge typically includes up to 100 cable ducts. A considerable time saving can thus be achieved when using the invention when assembling the tension wire. Furthermore, the invention is extremely reliable and simple to handle in operation.

Claims (16)

1. A connection for connecting two tension-absorbing first (2) and second (3) supports, wherein the connection (1) comprises at least a first and a second housing (5, 6) with a through-hole (7) for receiving the respective support (2, 3), wherein the housings (5, 6) can be connected together by a connection (9) at a first end (11) of each housing (5, 6), the opposite second end (13) of each housing (5, 6) being provided with a locking member for holding the supports (2, 3), characterized in that, in the working position, the locking member of at least one housing (5, 6) forms an axial locking of the supports (2, 3), the supports (2, 3) being in the region of the second end (13) of the housing (5, 6), 3) The stop formed on the housing (5, 6).

2. The connection according to claim 1, characterized in that the stop is an upset formed on the support (2, 3) and has a diameter greater than the diameter of the support (2, 3).

3. The connection according to claim 1, characterized in that the through hole (7) is of stepped-shaped design with a first shoulder (26) against which the stop abuts.

4. The connection according to claim 2, characterized in that the through hole (7) is of stepped-shaped design with a first shoulder (26) against which the stop abuts.

5. A connection piece according to claim 3, wherein said first shoulder (26) has a ramp (25) against which said stop portion abuts.

6. The connecting element according to claim 4, wherein the first shoulder (26) has a ramp (25) against which the stop abuts.

7. A connecting element according to claim 1 or 2, characterised in that the locking element comprises at least two housing parts (17, 18) which in the active position form a stop housing (22) which forms a second shoulder (26') against which the stop part abuts.

8. The fitting according to claim 7, characterized in that said second shoulder (26') is formed inside said stopper housing (22).

9. The connection according to any one of claims 1-8, characterized in that the first connection portion (9) of the housing (5, 6) comprises means (25) for connecting the housing (5, 6) to an intermediate portion (27).

10. A connection piece according to claim 1, characterised in that a recess (29) in the housing (5, 6) is aligned with a fixing unit (31) and surrounds the housing (5, 6) in the operating position, seen in the longitudinal direction of the housing (5, 6) and the intermediate part (27), the fixing unit (31) being arranged such that it can be fixed to the intermediate part (27), the projection (33) of the fixing unit (31) being received by the recess (29) such that the housing (5, 6) is twistably locked to the intermediate part (27).

11. The connection according to claim 10, characterized in that the projecting element (33) of the fixing unit (31) can be released so that it is not accommodated by the recess (29), whereby the intermediate part (27) can be released from the housing (5, 6).

12. Connection piece according to claim 1, characterized in that the connection part (10) of at least one housing (5, 6) is torsionally locked by means of a locking pin (35) which is inserted through holes (36) of the housing (5, 6) and the intermediate part (27).

13. Method for assembling a first support (2) and a second support (3) to a building structure by means of a connector according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: passing the first support (2) together with the connector (1) through a cable conduit (56) such that the connector (1) terminates in a region of the first foundation (54); connecting a second support (3) to the connector (1) coupled to the first support (2); -passing a second support (3) through a cable duct (56) in the opposite direction by means of the first support (2) and the coupled connector (1), so that the connector (1) ends in a region of a second foundation (52); -fixing said second support (3) on said first and second bases (52, 54); and releasing the connection member (1) from the second support member (3).

14. Method according to claim 13, characterized in that it comprises the following steps: applying at least one housing (5, 6) over a stop formed on each support (2, 3); -fitting at least two housing parts (17, 18) around each support (2, 3); -pulling each support (2, 3) so that the stop portion abuts against the housing portions (17, 18), the housing portions (17, 18) resting against an internal shoulder (26) in the through hole (7) in the working position, while the stop portion rests against the housing portions (17, 18) so as to form an axial lock of the wire ends; and connecting at least one housing (5, 6) to the intermediate part (30).

15. The method according to claim 13, characterized in that it further comprises the steps of: at least one housing (6) is torsionally locked on the intermediate part (27) by means of a fixing unit (31) arranged on the intermediate part (27), the fixing unit (31) having a projection (33) which, viewed in the longitudinal direction of the housing (5, 6) and the intermediate part (30), is released during coupling together until a recess (29) in the housing (6) is aligned with the fixing unit (31) and surrounds the fixing unit (31), at which time the fixing unit (31) with its projection (33) comes into engagement with the recess (29).

16. The method of claim 15, further comprising the steps of: at least one housing (5, 6) is locked in a torsional manner on the intermediate part (27) by means of a locking pin (35).