JP2000353437A - Electric wire end gripping method in adjusting electric wire length in crimping, and gripping structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To prevent an error in chucking an electric wire when transferring the electric wire from a wire measuring part to a crimping part. SOLUTION: This electric wire gripping structure is to transfer an electric wire end from an electric wire length adjusting machine 3 to a crimper machine 4 by a revolving hand 30 when transferring the electric wire in manufacturing a wire harness. The wire end protruding from a wire supply cylinder 24 is lightly gripped by the chuck 32 of the revolving hand, the chuck 32 is moved as it is to the cylinder 24 side for a designated length to obtain a crimp length L against a spring 25 while gripping the electric wire (Figure b), and this structure is then shifted to a transfer action by gripping the electric wire so as not to move it. In accordance with this shift, the cylinder 24 returns to its fixed position with the spring 25 and a stopper 26. If the chuck is sent this way to the cylinder, the electric wire (a) can be moved for the crimp length tab by slightly protruding it from the cylinder 24 and putting it in the chuck. Even if the protrusion of the electric wire is not much, it can be reliably gripped without having much influence of deformation of the wire when gripping its protruded end.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a wire harness for an electric wire measuring machine when manufacturing a wire harness for an automobile, that is, a wire harness in which a plurality of wires are arranged in parallel and both ends of each wire are pressed against a connector. The present invention relates to a method for gripping a wire end when transferring the wire end from a delivery port to a pressure contact portion of a pressure welding machine and a gripping structure thereof.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, as shown in FIG. 9, a wire harness W for an automobile includes a plurality of connectors C ₁ , C ₂ , C _3.
(General code C) to which the electric wire a is connected.
In order to connect the electric wire a to the connector C, pressure connection (hereinafter referred to as pressure connection) is frequently used from the viewpoint of workability. In the example of the wire harness, one end (hereinafter, referred to as A end) one connector C ₁ to the eight wires a of connected, the other end (hereinafter, referred to as B end) to the two connectors C _2, C ₃ of Each of the four electric wires a is connected.

[0003] Further, as shown in FIG.
The electric wire a is pressed down into the groove 60 of the press contact terminal T provided in each connector C by press-fitting with the press contact blade S, and the coating 62 of the electric wire a is cut off at the edge of the groove 60 with the press-fitting. The contact 61 is brought into contact with the press contact terminal T, and the wire a is held in the groove 60 by the springback of the press contact terminal T. Then, after the wire a is pressed against the press contact terminal T, FIG.
As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal cover L is put on the connector C to prevent the wire a from coming out.

[0004] In general, a pressure welding apparatus in the manufacture of a wire harness is a wire measuring machine, a wire welding machine, and a wire transfer machine for transferring an end of a wire from a wire outlet of the wire measuring machine to a pressure welding portion of the wire welding machine. As shown in Japanese Patent Application Nos. 10-337249 and 350013, for example, there is a method in which a wire end is gripped by a revolving hand and transferred while measuring the wire.

[0005] The transfer of electric wires while measuring the size is generally performed by:
With reference to FIG. 2 showing one embodiment of the present invention, two pairs of measuring rollers 20 that are in contact with each other and a lifting / lowering body (support frame) that raises and lowers a large number of wires a to be routed in a vertically parallel state. ) 21, the vertical movement of the elevating body 21 causes the wire a to be pressed next to be positioned at the level of the roller 20, the wire a is gripped by the chuck 32, and the pair of rollers 20 which rotate while rotating. The electric wire a is sent out by the rotation of the roller 20 and the chuck 32 is moved to the press contact portion, and the electric wire is transferred together with the measurement.

[0006]

Conventionally, in the above-described wire transfer, as shown in FIG. 12, a delivery cylinder (nozzle) 70 serving as a wire delivery port is fixed to the elevating body 21 by welding or the like. Comes to the receiving position (FIG. 9A), the press roller L is sent out by the measuring roller 20 (FIG. 10B), and then the wire a is gripped by the chuck 32 and transferred to the scale. (FIG. 3 (c)). When the electric wire is fed into the chuck 32, the wire end of the electric wire a interferes with the end of the electric wire a due to the habit of the electric wire a, and the electric wire a does not enter the chuck 32 or is not securely held.

[0007] It is an object of the present invention to ensure that an end of an electric wire can be grasped.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention does not send out an electric wire, but moves a chuck to move the electric wire to secure a press-contact allowance and then chucks the electric wire. It was done. In this way, if the chuck goes ahead, it is possible to slightly protrude the electric wire from the electric wire delivery port, put it in the chuck, and move it by the press contact allowance. If the protrusion amount is small, the influence of the line peculiarity when gripping the protruding end is small, and the gripping can be reliably performed.

As a specific configuration of the gripping method, the wire end gripping method for gripping and transferring the wire end from the wire feed port of the wire measuring machine to the press-contact portion of the press-connecting machine by a turning hand, The wire end protruding from the wire feed port is movably gripped by the chuck of the turning hand, and in this state, the chuck is moved to the wire feed port side for a required length to obtain a press-contact allowance at the time of pressing. It is possible to adopt a configuration in which the electric wire is moved while holding the electric wire, and then the electric wire is immovably held by the chuck and the transfer is performed.

[0010] In the electric wire end gripping structure which forms the electric wire gripping method, the electric wire feed port is constituted by a feed tube movable in the electric wire feed direction, and the feed tube is pushed by the chuck and has the required length. It may be configured to retreat and return to the home position when the pressing force by the chuck is released.

As a specific example of the advancing / retracting structure of the delivery tube, the delivery tube is mounted on a support frame that is immovable in the wire delivery direction so as to be movable in the wire delivery direction, and between the support frame and the delivery tube. May adopt a configuration in which a spring for urging the delivery cylinder toward the chuck is provided, and a stopper for positioning the delivery cylinder at the fixed position against the urging force is provided.

[0012]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment in which an embodiment of an electric wire gripping structure according to the present invention is applied to a wire harness manufacturing apparatus will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows a wire harness manufacturing apparatus.
As shown in the figure, a pallet feeding section 1, an electric wire supply section (electric wire measuring machine) 2, an electric wire setting section (electric wire transfer machine) 3, a pressure welding head section (electric wire pressure welding machine) 4, and a cover mounting section (cover mounting machine).
5 is comprised.

The pallet feeding section 1 receives upper and lower guide rails 10a and 10b for guiding a pallet P in which a plurality of connectors C are juxtaposed, and receives the pallets P between the guide rails 10a and 10b located on both sides thereof. Two lifting platforms 11a and 11b to be passed, and two carriages 12 for moving the pallet P along the guide rail 10a or 10b.
a and 12b. The carriage 12 a is screwed into the screw shaft 13 in a ball screw structure, and the carriage 12 a
b is fixed to an endless belt 14 stretched over a pair of pulleys, and travels with the driving of the servo motors 15 and 16, respectively.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the electric wire supply unit 2 comprises two pairs of measuring rollers 20 which come in contact with and separate from each other, and an elevating body which moves up and down a large number of electric wires a to be routed vertically. (Support frame) 21, and the wire a to be pressed next is positioned at the level of the roller 20 by the vertical movement of the elevating body 21, and the wire a is sandwiched by the pair of rotating rollers 20.
In front of the electric wire supply unit 2, scissors 22 that advance and retreat with respect to a delivery hole (delivery port) of the electric wire a, and a support bar 2 that can move up and down.
3 are provided.

The elevating body 21 is provided with a tube 24 forming a discharge port (nozzle) for each electric wire a so as to be movable in the feeding direction. As shown in FIG. A coil spring 25 is interposed between the bodies 21. The cylinder 24 is urged forward by the spring 25 in the feeding direction, and the amount of protrusion is regulated by the stopper 26. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, when the cylinder 24 is in the protruding state, the electric wire a is cut by the scissors 22 to be in the standby position (FIG. 4A). The wire a is moved while holding (gripping) the wire a movably while pressing the cylinder 24 against the spring 25 until the press-contact allowance L projects in the open state (FIG. 6B). If it protrudes by the margin L, it is gripped immovably (FIG. 3 (c)). Thereafter, the chuck 32 moves toward the pressure contact portion (FIG. 4D).

With this movement, the cylinder 24 also returns to the home position (standby position) by the spring 25 and the roller 20
Is rotated, and a wire a of a required length is sent out and measured. When the measurement is completed, as shown in FIG. 5, the B-end chuck 33 secures the press-contact margin L from the cut end (the chain line portion in FIG. 5) and grips the electric wire a. Thereafter, the electric wire a is cut by the scissors 22, and the chuck 33 moves toward the pressure contact portion. The chuck 33 is opened on both upper sides and closed and held downward.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the electric wire setting section 3 has two revolving arms (revolving hands) 30 and 31, and the distal ends of the revolving arms 30 and 31 respectively have electric wires a. The above-mentioned A-end chuck 32 and B-end chuck 33 for holding the A-end and the B-end are provided. Swivel arm 3
The gears 0 and 31 mesh with gears 34 and 35 at their base ends, and are simultaneously turned in opposite directions by the same driving servomotor 36. In this turning, the tip ends of the turning arms 30 and 31 pass through different trajectories, so that the A-end chuck 32 and the B-end chuck 33 do not interfere with each other. Here, a link 37 which forms a parallel crank mechanism together with the turning arm 31 is connected to one side of the B-end chuck 33 so that the B-end chuck 33 always faces in the same direction.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 6 and 7, the pressing head 4 is driven by a
The screw shaft 42 is rotated via the screw shaft 42 to raise and lower the press contact blade S provided at the lower end of the lifting rod 43 screwed to the screw shaft 42 with a ball screw structure, and the A-end chuck 32 or This pushes down the B-end chuck 33. The press-contact head section 4 is provided with a linear scale 44 for detecting the height of the elevating rod 43 from a reference position, and a load cell 45 for detecting a reaction force of the press-contact blade S.

Further, below the press-contact head portion 4, a line habit correcting device 46 is provided. This line habit correcting device 46
Is a wire habit correcting chuck 4 that moves back and forth by grasping the end of the electric wire a protruding from the A-end chuck 32 or the B-end chuck 33.
7 and its open / close sensor (not shown).

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 8, the cover mounting portion 5 includes a cover gripping chuck 50 that moves up and down and moves back and forth by driving a cylinder or the like.
Is provided with a linear scale 51 for detecting the height of the cover gripping chuck 50 from the reference position.

This embodiment has the above configuration.
For example, in order to manufacture the wire harness W shown in FIG. 9, three connectors C and terminal covers L corresponding to the A end and the B end of the wire harness W are juxtaposed on a pallet P on the elevating platform 11b at the ascending position. Then, the lift 11b is lowered, and the pallet P is sent to the lift 11a at the lowered position via the guide rail 10b as the carriage 12b travels.

Then, the carriage 12b and the pallet P
, The carriage 12a is engaged with the pallet P, and the pallet P is moved on the guide rail 10a along with the traveling, and the connector C which first presses the electric wire a is pressed. Terminal T of the pressure welding head 4
Is positioned below the press-contact blade S. This positioning is performed by a preset program.

Next, by the above-described operation, the first electric wire a set in advance by the program is sent out a little from the electric wire supply unit 2, and the tip end is held by the A-end chuck 32 (see FIG. 3 (a)). While further sending out the electric wire a, the turning arm 30 is turned to position the A-end chuck 32 in front of the press-contact head portion 4 (see FIG. 3B). At this time, the support lever 23 has retreated downward.

Then, the feed of the electric wire a is stopped, and as shown in FIGS.
Of the wire a is receded while sliding in the pulling direction along the coating surface of the wire a to correct the bending habit of the wire a into a straight line.

At this time, the wire habit correcting chuck 47 is connected to the electric wire a.
Is detected by an open / close sensor to determine whether the margin of the wire a is sufficient or insufficient for the pressure welding by a program.

Subsequently, the press-contact blade S of the press-contact head section 4 is lowered together with the A-end chuck 32, and the front end of the electric wire a is press-fitted into the groove of the terminal T of the predetermined connector C. This press-fit height is
The optimum value is set in advance by the control program of the servomotor 40. The press-fit height is measured by the linear scale 44, and the press-fit resistance is measured by the load cell 45, and the quality of the press-fit state is determined by a program.

On the other hand, in parallel with this pressure welding,
While supporting the electric wire a that is stationary in front of the terminal with the raised support bar 23, the electric wire a is gripped by the B-end chuck 33 and the scissors 22 are advanced by the above-described operation, and the electric wire a is moved behind the B-end chuck 33. Cut to required length (see FIG. 3 (b)).

After completion of the pressing at the end A, the swing arm 3
1 is rotated to position the B-end chuck 33 in front of the press-contact head unit 4 and the electric wire a
Is released, the turning arm 30 is turned simultaneously with the turning arm 31 in the opposite direction, and the A-end chuck 32 is positioned in front of the wire supply unit 2 (see FIG. 3A). Further, the pallet P is moved in accordance with the setting of the program, and the terminal T of the connector C at the B end for pressing the electric wire a is positioned below the pressing blade S of the pressing head portion 4.

Next, the press-contact blade S of the press-contact head 4 is lowered together with the B-end chuck 33, and the rear end of the wire a is press-fitted into the groove of the terminal T of the predetermined connector C at the B end. The press-fitting height is also set to an optimum value in advance by the control program of the servo motor 40 in the same manner as the A-end side, and at the time of press-fitting, the press-fitting height is measured by the linear scale 44 and the press-fitting resistance is measured by the load cell 45. The quality of the pressed state is determined by a program.

During the press-contact at the end B, the wire supply unit 2 performs the feeding operation of the wire a to be pressed next, and by repeating the press-contact operation as described above for all the wires a, as shown in FIG. Routing is completed.

Thereafter, the pallet P and the carriage 12a
Is disengaged, the carriage 12b is engaged with the pallet P instead, and the pallet P is moved below the cover mounting portion 5.

Then, as shown in FIG.
Is gripped by the cover gripping chuck 50, lifted, and moved forward to cover the corresponding connector C. When this operation is sequentially performed for each connector C, the wire harness W is completed.

Here, when the terminal cover L is mounted, the height of the terminal cover L from the connector C is set on the linear scale 51.
Measurement, compare the value with the allowable value with a program,
The quality of the mounted state is determined. Then, only good products are shipped as products.

After press-fitting the wire a, prior to mounting the terminal cover L, the press-fit height of the wire a is measured by a laser sensor, and the press-fit height of all the wires a is set to the connector C within the allowable tolerance. If only the terminal cover L is covered, it is possible to save the trouble of removing the terminal cover L when repairing a product having poor press contact.

In the above embodiment, a pair of swing arms 30, 31
However, the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application No. 10-3372 has been disclosed.
As described in No.49, etc., A
The present invention can be applied to the transfer mechanism at the A end even in the case of moving both the end and the B end. At this time, the revolving arm individually performs both the operations shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and at the time of gripping the B end, the chuck is inverted.

[0037]

According to the present invention, as described above, since the electric wire is gripped with the press-contact allowance by the movement of the chuck, a chucking error does not easily occur and a stable electric wire transfer operation can be obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall perspective view showing an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of an electric wire supply unit according to the embodiment.

FIG. 3 (a) is a plan view showing one state of the electric wire set part of the above, and (b) is a plan view showing another state of the same.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an electric wire gripping operation of the above.

FIG. 5 is an electric wire gripping action diagram of the above.

FIG. 6 is a right side view of a lower portion of the press-contact head unit according to the first embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a schematic perspective view showing the operation of the linear habit correcting chuck of the above.

FIG. 8 is a schematic perspective view showing the operation of the cover mounting unit of the above.

FIG. 9 is a schematic plan view showing an example of a wire harness.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing wire pressure welding to a connector terminal.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a connector to which a terminal cover is attached.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a conventional electric wire gripping action.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pallet sending part 2 Electric wire supply part (Electric wire measuring machine) 3 Electric wire setting part (Electric wire transfer machine) 4 Pressure welding head part (Electric wire pressure welding machine) 5 Cover mounting part 20 Measurement roll 21 Elevating body (support frame) 22 Scissors 24 Discharge cylinder 25 Coil spring 26 Positioning stopper 30, 31 Rotating arm (rotating hand) 32 A-end chuck 33 B-end chuck 47 Straightening chuck 50 Cover gripping chuck S Pressure contact blade C Connector L Terminal cover a Electric wire P Pallet

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing from the front page (72) Inventor Toshio Yoneya 1-7-10 Kikuzumi, Minami-ku, Nagoya City Inside Harness Research Institute, Inc. (72) Inventor Nobuyuki Itaya 1-7-1, Kikuzumi, Minami-ku, Nagoya-shi No. F-term in the Harness Research Institute (reference) 5G309 FA07

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A method for gripping an end of an electric wire when the electric wire end is gripped by a revolving hand 30 and transferred from an electric wire outlet of an electric wire measuring machine 2 to a press-contact portion of an insulation displacement machine 4, The wire end protruding from the port 24 is movably gripped by the chuck 32 of the turning hand 30, and in this state, the chuck 32 is moved to the required length to obtain a press-contact allowance L at the time of press-contact. A method for gripping a wire end during crimping of a wire, characterized in that the wire a is moved toward the mouth while holding the wire a, and then the wire is gripped immovably by the chuck 32 and the transfer is performed. 2. An electric wire end gripping structure for carrying out the electric wire gripping method according to claim 1, wherein the electric wire outlet is constituted by a feed tube 24 which is movable in a wire feed direction, and the feed tube 24 is provided with A wire end gripping structure at the time of wire measurement in pressure welding, wherein the wire is retracted by the required length L by being pushed by the chuck 32 and returns to a fixed position when the pressing force by the chuck 32 is released. 3. The delivery tube 24 is attached to a support frame 21 that is immovable in the wire delivery direction so as to be movable in the wire delivery direction, and the support frame 21 and the delivery tube 24 are movable.
A spring 25 for urging the delivery cylinder 24 toward the chuck 32 and a stopper 2 for positioning the delivery cylinder 24 at the fixed position against the urging force.
3. The wire end gripping structure according to claim 2, wherein the wire is measured during pressure welding.