CN115241709A - Electric wire processing device and electric wire processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

The auxiliary operation from the stranded wire processing step to the terminal insertion step is reduced, and the installation space of the device required by the wire harness processing is reduced. The wire processing device is provided with: a data indication part (10), an electric wire holding part (20), an electric wire transfer part (30) and a twisting processing part (40). The wire holding section (20) holds at least two wires. A data instruction unit (10) instructs the twisting unit (40) and the wire transfer unit (30) on the conditions of the twisting process, the positions of the two wires to be taken out, and the position of the twisted wire to be driven. A twisting processing part (40) twists two electric wires according to the instruction of the data instruction part (10) to produce a twisted wire. The electric wire transfer part (30) takes out two electric wires from the electric wire holding part (20) at the taking-out position according to the instruction of the data instruction part (10) and transfers the electric wires to the twisting processing part (40), and transfers the twisted wires from the twisting processing part (40) to the driving position of the electric wire holding part (20).

Description

Electric wire processing device and electric wire processing method

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an electric wire processing apparatus and an electric wire processing method.

Background

The method of processing the twisted wire (twisted pair) included in the processing step of the wire harness includes a cutting and crimping step and a twisting step. In the cutting and crimping step, the wire wound around the roller is cut by a cutting and crimping machine to crimp and crimp the terminals at both ends of the wire, thereby producing a terminal-equipped wire. In the twisting step, two electric wires with terminals are twisted with each other by a twisting machine to produce a twisted wire. The terminal of the generated stranded wire is inserted into the connector housing by a terminal insertion machine or a human hand in the terminal insertion process.

Documents of the prior art

Patent document

Patent document 1: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2015-220070

Patent document 2: japanese patent laid-open publication No. 2011-100711

Disclosure of Invention

Technical problems to be solved by the invention

In the above-described stranded wire processing step, the wire/stranded wire needs to be moved between the respective steps. Therefore, before reaching the terminal insertion step, additional operations such as an operation of collecting a plurality of electric wires, an operation of attaching a cover to the electric wires, an operation of detaching the cover, an operation of rounding the electric wires, and an operation of restoring the round of the electric wires occur, and it takes time and labor to process the stranded wire. In addition, since the wire stranding process is not directly connected to the other wire harness processing processes, and various devices for processing the wire harness are disposed in a distributed manner, a large space is required.

The stranded cable manufacturing apparatus of patent document 1 performs the cutting and crimping step and the twisting step by one apparatus, but since the stranded electric wires (stranded wires) are discharged onto the discharge tray, the stranded wires need to be bundled and transported before the terminal insertion step. Therefore, an additional work such as a removal work of the cover occurs.

In addition, the electric wire terminal processing apparatus of patent document 2 arranges and places the electric wires with terminals on the discharge beam based on the order used in the next process (twisting process, bonding process, sub-assembling process 8230; \8230; etc.) and discharges. The conveyance to the twisting step can be performed in units of discharge beams, but when the twisted wire produced by the twisting machine is conveyed to the terminal insertion step, the cover is still removed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object thereof is to reduce the number of work accompanying the wire harness processing step to the terminal insertion step, and to reduce the installation space of the device required for the wire harness processing.

Means for solving the problems

In order to achieve the above object, an electric wire processing apparatus and an electric wire processing method according to the present invention have the following features (1) to (6).

(1) An electric wire processing device for processing two electric wires into a stranded wire, comprising:

an electric wire holding portion that holds at least the two electric wires;

an indicating portion indicating conditions of a twisting process and a taking-out position of the two electric wires in the electric wire holding portion and a driving position of the twisted wire;

a twisting unit that twists the two electric wires in accordance with the instruction of the instruction unit to produce the twisted wire; and

and an electric wire transfer unit which takes out the two electric wires from the electric wire holding unit at the take-out position and transfers the two electric wires to the twisting processing unit in accordance with the instruction, and which transfers the twisted wire from the twisting processing unit to the driving position in the electric wire holding unit in accordance with the instruction.

(2) The electric wire processing apparatus according to the above (1),

the wire transfer unit includes:

a first end holding portion that holds one end sides of the two electric wires;

a second end holding portion that holds a second end side of the two electric wires; and

a moving mechanism that moves the one end grip portion and the other end grip portion between the electric wire holding portion and the twist processing portion.

(3) The electric wire processing apparatus according to the above (2), wherein,

the one-end grip portion and the other-end grip portion are disposed adjacent to each other in a first direction,

the moving mechanism moves the one end grip portion and the other end grip portion in the first direction.

(4) The electric wire processing apparatus according to the above (2) or (3), wherein,

the twist processing portion has:

a first end holding portion that holds one end sides of the two electric wires delivered from the first end holding portion;

a second end holding portion that holds a second end side of the two electric wires transferred from the second end grip portion; and

a twisting movement mechanism that moves at least one of the one end holding portion and the other end holding portion so that the one end holding portion and the other end holding portion are spaced apart from each other by a distance corresponding to the lengths of the two electric wires,

the other end holding portion rotates about an axis in a direction in which the two wires extend, while being spaced apart from the one end holding portion.

(5) The electric wire processing apparatus according to the above (4), wherein,

the one end holding portion and the other end holding portion are disposed adjacent to each other in the first direction,

the moving mechanism moves the other end holding portion in a second direction intersecting the first direction,

the one-end holding portion is configured to be movable in the first direction and rotatable within a plane including the first direction and the second direction.

(6) A wire processing method for processing two wires into a twisted wire, wherein,

generating instruction information indicating conditions of a twisting process and a take-out position of the two electric wires in an electric wire holding part holding at least the two electric wires and a drive-in position of the twisted wire,

the electric wire transfer part takes out the two electric wires from the electric wire holding part at the taking-out position according to the instruction information and transfers the electric wires to the twisting processing part,

twisting the two electric wires according to the instruction information by using the twisting part to produce the twisted wire; and

the wire transfer unit transfers the twisted wire from the twisting unit to the driving position in the wire holding unit according to the instruction information.

According to the electric wire processing apparatus having the configuration of the above (1) and the electric wire processing method having the configuration of the above (6), the electric wire is transferred from the electric wire transfer part to the twisting part while being held by the electric wire holding part (pole), and is processed into a twisted wire and is driven into the electric wire holding part. That is, the terminal-equipped electric wire including the twisted wire can be processed into a wire harness circuit state (sub-wire harness). Therefore, the stranded wire can be conveyed to the next step such as the terminal insertion step together with the wire holding portion. Therefore, the additional work of wire harness concentration, harness loosening, cover mounting and cover dismounting, etc. from the wire stranding process to the terminal insertion process can be reduced. In addition, since the space for additional work required between the wire stranding process and the terminal insertion process is not required, the space occupied for the wire harness process can be reduced.

According to the electric wire processing apparatus having the configuration of the above (2), the electric wires can be transferred by gripping one end side and the other end side of the two electric wires.

According to the electric wire processing apparatus having the configuration of the above (3), the one end side and the other end side of the two electric wires are held in a state of being adjacently arranged, and are moved from the electric wire holding portion to one direction of the twist processing portion, whereby the electric wires can be transferred. Therefore, the device structure can be simplified.

According to the electric wire processing apparatus having the configuration of the above (4), since the distance between the one end grip portion and the other end grip portion can be adjusted by the moving mechanism, twisting processing corresponding to the length of the electric wire can be performed.

According to the electric wire processing apparatus having the configuration of the above (5), when the electric wire is transferred from the electric wire transfer unit, the other end holding portion moves in the direction in which the electric wire is tensioned, and the one end holding portion faces the other end holding portion in the second direction while rotating the holding direction of the electric wire, thereby enabling twisting processing. That is, the electric wire transfer unit does not need to transfer the one end side and the other end side of the electric wire to the twisting start positions spaced apart from each other.

Effects of the invention

According to the present invention, the number of additional operations from the wire stranding process to the terminal insertion process can be reduced, and the installation space of the device required for wire harness processing can be reduced.

The present invention has been described briefly above. Further, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading the following detailed embodiments (hereinafter, referred to as "embodiments") with reference to the drawings.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an electric wire processing apparatus according to an embodiment.

Fig. 2 is a diagram showing an example of the instruction information of the data instruction section.

Fig. 3 is a partially enlarged view of the wire holding portion shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a partially enlarged view of the electric wire transfer unit shown in fig. 1, showing a state where the electric wire transfer unit takes out the electric wire.

Fig. 5 is a partially enlarged view of the twisted portion shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 6 is a diagram showing a state where the electric wire transfer unit transfers the electric wires to the twist processing unit.

Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a tension adjusting mechanism of the twist processing portion.

Fig. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the tension adjusting mechanism.

Fig. 9 is a side view of the tension adjusting mechanism, showing a state where no tension is applied to the electric wire.

Fig. 10 is a side view of the tension adjusting mechanism, showing a state in which tension is applied to the electric wire.

Fig. 11 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the sensor shown in fig. 9 and 10.

Fig. 12 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the sensor.

Fig. 13 is an enlarged side view of the vicinity of a sensor of the tension adjusting mechanism according to the modification, and is a diagram showing a state where no tension is applied to the electric wire.

Fig. 14 is a side view of the tension adjustment mechanism according to the modification, and is a diagram showing a state in which tension is applied to the electric wire.

Fig. 15 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the sensor according to the modified example.

Description of the symbols

10. Data indicating part (indicating part, control device)

20. Wire holding part

21. Holding table

22. Electric wire clamp

30. Wire transfer part

31. 32 move and carry head

33. Moving mechanism

40. Twisting processing part (twisting machine)

41. Fixing clamp

42. Rotary clamp

43. Moving mechanism (moving mechanism for twisting processing)

44. Mounting plate

45. Moving mechanism

50. Mounting block

51. 69 axle

52. 54, 61 pulleys

53. 62 belt

55. Electrical machine

56. Holding part

57. Mounting plate

63. 65, 71 sliding block

64. Mounting plate

66 U-shaped block

67. First plate

68. Second plate

70. Spring

72. 72A gauge

72a comb teeth

72Aa rectangular part

72Ab recess

72b horizontal part

73. Connecting plate

74. Sensor with a sensor element

M driving source

RU rotating mechanism

ST workbench

TU tension adjusting mechanism

W1, W2 electric wire

One end of W1a, W2a

The other end of W1b, W2b

Detailed Description

Hereinafter, specific embodiments according to the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

(Structure of electric wire processing apparatus)

Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an electric wire processing apparatus according to an embodiment. The wire processing device is provided with: a data indication section 10 (indication section, control device) which indicates the conditions of the twisting process and the like; a wire holding portion 20 (pole) for holding a plurality of wires having different lengths and sizes; an electric wire transfer unit 30 for transferring an electric wire; and a twisting process part 40 which twists two electric wires to make a twisted wire. The electric wire processing apparatus processes electric wires with terminals, which are different in electric wire type, size, and length and include stranded wires, into a harness circuit state (sub-harness). Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, "front-back direction", "left-right direction", and "up-down direction" are defined as shown in fig. 1. The "front-rear direction", "left-right direction", and "up-down direction" are orthogonal to each other.

(data indication part 10)

The data instruction unit 10 is a control device having a storage unit and an arithmetic unit. The data instructing unit 10 generates instruction information indicating the conditions of the twisting process such as the length of the twisted wire and the number of rotations, and the position of the electric wire to be taken out and the position of the twisted wire to be driven into the electric wire holding unit 20, and instructs the electric wire transfer unit 30 and the twisting process unit 40. Fig. 2 shows an example of the instruction information of the data instruction section 10 when 5 sets of twisted wires, nos. 1 to 5, are produced. The instruction information of the data instruction section 10 includes conditions of the twisting process, and the taking-out positions (rod taking-out positions a and B) of the two electric wires and the driving positions (rod driving positions a and B) of the twisted wire in the electric wire holding section 20. For example, the conditions for the twisting process include the number of twists, the position where the counter twist is retreated once, the speed of retreating the counter twist, and the speed of adjusting the feed of the counter twist. The data instruction unit 10 may not include a part of the conditions for the twisting process in the instruction information, and may not include the twist-alignment adjustment conveyance speed, for example. The instruction information of the data instruction unit 10 may include the name of the type of the electric wire, the name of the size of the electric wire, the length of the electric wire, and the like. The data instructing unit 10 instructs the wire transfer unit 30 on the positions of two wires to be taken out and the position of twisted wire to be driven into the wire holding unit 20, and instructs the twisting unit 40 on the conditions of the twisting process. In addition, the data instructing section 10 controls each section constituting the twist processing section 40.

(electric wire holder 20)

As shown in fig. 3, the wire holding portion 20 includes: a holding table 21; and a rod extending in the left-right direction, detachably held by the holding base 21, and provided with a plurality of wire clamps 22 at an upper portion thereof. The wire clamps 22 are arranged adjacent to each other in the lateral direction of the rod, and are supported and fixed on the holding base 21. The pair of clamping pieces of the wire clamp 22 are elastically biased in the clamping direction, and both ends of the terminated wires W1 and W2 (hereinafter, also referred to as wires W1 and W2) are clamped by the clamping pieces. The wire holding portion 20 holds the one ends W1a, W2a and the other ends W1b, W2b of the two wires W1, W2 in this order from the one end W1a, the one end W2a, the other end W1b, and the other end W2b. The wire holding portion 20 holds the wires W1 and W2 so that both ends of the wires W1 and W2 are oriented in the same direction and in a U shape by causing the wire clamps 22 to clamp portions near both ends of the wires W1 and W2, respectively. The electric wire holding portion 20 holds both end portions of the electric wires by the electric wire clamps 22, respectively, and therefore can hold a plurality of kinds of electric wires different in length/size, and also can hold the twisted wire made of the twist processing portion 40. In the wire holding portion 20, the terminal-equipped wires including twisted wires of different types, sizes, and lengths of wires are held on the pole, and therefore, these terminal-equipped wires can be carried to the next step together with the pole. Therefore, the accompanying operations such as wire harness concentration, harness loosening, cover attachment and cover detachment required for the transportation of the wires can be reduced.

(electric wire transfer unit 30)

The wire transfer unit 30 includes: a transfer head 31 (one-end gripping part) that grips one ends W1a, W2a of the two wires W1, W2; a transfer head 32 (other end gripping portion) that grips the other ends W1b, W2b of the two electric wires; and a moving mechanism 33 for moving the transfer heads 31, 32 in the left-right direction.

The moving mechanism 33 includes: a mounting plate 331 extending in the up-down direction and the left-right direction and to which the transfer heads 31, 32 are mounted; and two moving portions 332 fixed to a rear surface of the mounting plate 331 for moving the mounting plate 331 in the left-right direction. The moving mechanism 33 includes: two shafts 333 inserted through the moving portion 332 and extending in the left-right direction; and two support plates 334 extending in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction and fixedly supporting both ends of the shaft 333. The support plate 334 is fixed to the ground by a support frame. The transfer heads 31 and 32 are arranged in the left-right direction and attached to the mounting plate 331. The two moving portions 332 are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction and are moved together along the shaft 333 by a driving portion such as a motor not shown. The moving mechanism 33 is disposed between the upper side of the wire holding portion 20 and the upper side of the twisting portion 40, and moves the transfer heads 31 and 32 between the wire holding portion 20 and the twisting portion 40.

As shown in fig. 4, the transfer heads 31 and 32 are arranged in parallel on the front surface of the mounting plate 331 with a space therebetween in the left-right direction. The transfer head 31 has a spacer 311 and grip pieces 312 provided on the left and right sides of the spacer 311, and is configured to be movable in the vertical direction with respect to the mounting plate 331 by a mechanism such as a cylinder. The width of the lower end 311a of the spacer 311 in the left-right direction is substantially equal to the distance between the adjacent wire clamps 22. In other words, the width of the lower end portion 311a of the spacer 311 in the left-right direction substantially coincides with the distance between the middle position of the two clamping pieces of one wire clamp 22 and the middle position of the two clamping pieces of the wire clamp 22 adjacent to the wire clamp 22. The left and right gripping pieces 312 are driven to approach or separate from the left and right sides of the spacer 311, and one end portions W1a, W2a of the wires W1, W2 are gripped between the left and right gripping pieces 312 and the lower end portion 311a of the spacer 311. The left and right grip pieces 312 have an opening 312a at the center in the front-rear direction. The opening 312a can avoid interference with the wire clamp 22 and the gripping portions 412 and 422 when the wires W1 and W2 are taken out from the wire holding portion 20, when the wires are entered into the wire holding portion 20, and when the wires are transferred to the twisting processing portion 40.

The transfer head 32 has the same configuration as the transfer head 31, and grips the other ends W1b and W2b of the electric wires W1 and W2 between the left and right gripping pieces 322 and the lower end 321a of the spacer 321, respectively.

The electric wire transfer unit 30 moves the transfer heads 31 and 32 in the left-right direction by the moving mechanism 33 in accordance with the instruction of the data instruction unit 10 so that the transfer head 31 is positioned above the positions where the electric wires W1 and W2 are taken out from the electric wire holding unit 20. Above the wire take-out positions W1 and W2, the transfer head 31 is lowered to hold the one ends W1a and W2a, and then raised. Next, the moving mechanism 33 moves the transfer heads 31 and 32 in the left-right direction so that the transfer head 32 is positioned above the positions where the electric wires W1 and W2 are taken out, and lowers the transfer head 32 to grip the other end portions W1b and W2b and raise them. The electric wire transfer unit 30 moves the transfer heads 31 and 32 holding the electric wires W1 and W2 leftward and stops above a predetermined position of the twist processing unit 40, and then moves downward (see fig. 6) to transfer the electric wires W1 and W2 to the twist processing unit 40 (fixing jig 41 and rotating jig 42). As described above, the electric wire transfer unit 30 allows the transfer heads 31 and 32 to grip both ends of the electric wires W1 and W2, thereby taking out the electric wires W1 and W2 from the electric wire holding unit 20 and transferring the electric wires W1 and W2 to the twisting processing unit 40 while maintaining the U-shape of the electric wires W1 and W2. In addition, the electric wire transfer unit 30 receives the electric wires W1 and W2 from the twist processing unit 40 by the reverse operation to the above, and holds (drives) the electric wires W1 and W2 to the electric wire holding unit 20.

(twist processing part 40)

The twisting section 40 includes a fixing jig 41 (one end holding section), a rotating jig 42 (the other end holding section), and moving mechanisms 43 and 45. The fixing jig 41 holds one ends W1a, W2a of the two wires W1, W2 delivered from the transfer head 31. The rotating jig 42 holds the other ends W1b, W2b of the two electric wires W1, W2 transferred from the transfer head 32. The moving mechanism 43 moves the rotating jig 42 in the front-rear direction so as to be separated from the fixing jig 41, so that the distance between the fixing jig 41 and the rotating jig 42 becomes a distance corresponding to the length of the two wires W1, W2. The moving mechanism 45 moves the fixing jig 41 in the front-rear direction and rotates in a horizontal plane including the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. In the initial state of the twist processing part 40, as shown in fig. 1, the fixing jig 41 and the rotating jig 42 are disposed adjacent to each other in the left-right direction (first direction).

The fixing jig 41 includes a holding plate 411, a grip portion 412, a spacer 413, a mounting plate 414, and a driving portion 415. The holding plate 411 extends in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, and holds one end portions W1a, W2a of the wires W1, W2 placed thereon. The grip portion 412 is a block having an L shape in plan view, and includes an arm portion 412a extending in the front-rear direction and a distal end portion 412b extending in the lateral direction (either one of the left and right directions) from the distal end of the arm portion 412 a. The two gripping portions 412 are disposed on the upper surface of the holding plate 411 so that the distal end portions 412b extend inward from each other. The spacer 413 is a block extending in the vertical direction, and is fixed to the middle position of the left and right end portions 412b on the upper surface of the holding plate 411. The mounting plate 414 is a plate-like member extending in the left-right direction and the up-down direction and disposed behind the spacer 413 and the end part 412b, and the wires W1 and W2 are mounted on the upper end edge 414 a. The driving unit 415 drives the two grip portions 412 in the left-right direction so that the distal end portions 412b of the two grip portions 412 approach and separate from the spacer 413.

The fixing jig 41 is connected to a moving mechanism 45 via a mounting plate 44 having a U shape when viewed in the front-rear direction. The mounting plate 44 is attached to the fixing jig so as to cover the fixing jig 41 from above.

The moving mechanism 45 includes a rotation driving unit 450 attached to the upper surface of the attachment plate 44, and a cylinder 451 disposed above the rotation driving unit 450. Further, the moving mechanism 45 includes: an L-shaped mounting plate 452 disposed to cover the right and lower sides of the cylinder body 451, and having a horizontal portion 452a and a vertical portion 452b; and a holding portion 453 that holds the cylinder body 451. The upper portion of the rotation driving portion 450 is connected to the horizontal portion 452a of the mounting plate 452, and rotates the mounting plate 44 and the fixing jig 41 held by the mounting plate 44 in a horizontal plane. The cylinder body 451 fixes the vertical portion 452b to the right end of the piston rod extending in the left-right direction, and moves the mounting plate 44 and the fixing jig 41 held by the mounting plate 44 in the left-right direction. The holding portion 453 is fixed to the ground via a support frame.

The rotating jig 42 includes a holding plate 421, a holding portion 422, a spacer 423, a mounting plate 424, and a driving portion 425. The holding plate 421, the holding portion 422, the spacer 423, the placing plate 424, and the driving portion 425 of the rotating jig 42 have the same configurations and functions as the holding plate 411, the holding portion 412, the spacer 413, the placing plate 414, and the driving portion 415 of the fixing jig 41, respectively. The dimension of the fixing jig 41 and the rotating jig 42 in the left-right direction substantially matches the dimension of the transfer heads 31 and 32 of the electric wire transfer unit 30 in the left-right direction.

As shown in fig. 7, the rotating jig 42 is rotatably held by the rotating mechanism RU on the table ST extending in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, and rotates about the extending direction (front-rear direction) of the two wires W1 and W2 in a state separated from the fixing jig 41.

The rotation mechanism RU has a mounting block 50, a shaft 51, a pulley 52, a belt 53, a pulley 54, a motor 55, a holding portion 56, and a mounting plate 57. The front end (driving portion 425) of the rotating jig 42 is fixed to the shaft 51 via the mounting block 50. The shaft 51 extends in the front-rear direction, and is inserted through a pulley 52 that is disposed in the left-right direction and rotates in a vertical plane. The pulley 52 rotates with the rotation of the pulley 54 via a belt 53 disposed in the left-right direction and stretched between the pulley 52 and the pulley 54 rotating in the vertical plane, and rotates the shaft 51. The rotating shaft of the pulley 54 is connected to the rotating shaft of the motor 55. The holding portion 56 holds the shaft 51 on the lower surface of the table ST so as to allow the shaft 51 to rotate. The mounting plate 57 holds the motor 55 on the lower surface of the table ST. That is, the rotary jig 42 can be rotated by the motor 55 via the pulley 54, the belt 53, the pulley 52, the shaft 51, and the mounting block 50, and is held on the table ST via the holding portion 56 and the mounting plate 57.

The fixing jig 41 and the rotating jig 42 are arranged at the rear end of the guide rail 431 in parallel such that the gripping portions 412 and 422 face rearward as shown in fig. 5 when the twist processing portion 40 starts operating. The positions of the fixing jig 41 and the rotating jig 42 shown in fig. 5 are set as initial positions.

The moving mechanism 43 moves the rotating jig 42 in the front-rear direction (a second direction intersecting the first direction). The moving mechanism 43 has a rail 431 extending in the front-rear direction and a tension adjusting mechanism TU. The guide rail 431 is fixed to the ground via a support frame.

(tension adjusting mechanism TU)

The tension adjusting mechanism TU moves the rotary jig 42 along the rail 431 to change the position of the rotary jig 42 in the front-rear direction, thereby adjusting the tension (tension) of the wires W1 and W2 held by the fixed jig 41 and the rotary jig 42. That is, the tension adjusting mechanism TU can keep the tensions of the wires W1 and W2 constant by changing the distance between the fixing jig 41 and the rotating jig 42.

As shown in fig. 7 and 8, the tension adjustment mechanism TU includes a pulley 61, a belt 62, a slider 63, a mounting plate 64, a slider 65, a U-block 66, a first plate 67, a second plate 68, a shaft 69, a spring 70 (elastic member), a slider 71, a gauge 72, a connecting plate 73, and a sensor 74.

The pulley 61 is attached to the left side surface near the rear end of the rail 431 and is rotatable in a vertical plane. The pulley 61 transmits power from a drive source M such as a servomotor that drives the front pulley to a slider 63 attached to the belt 62 via a belt 62 stretched between the pulley 61 and the front pulley disposed near the front end of the left side surface of the rail 431. The lower surface of the slider 63 is fixed to the left side of the upper surface of the mounting plate 64 extending in a horizontal plane. A slider 65 is fixed to the upper surface of the mounting plate 64 at a position on the rear right side of the slider 63. The slider 65 is driven by the drive source M via the front pulley, the belt 62, the pulley 61, the slider 63, and the mounting plate 64, and moves in the front-rear direction along the rail 431.

A U-block 66 is disposed in front of the attachment plate 64 above the table ST, and the U-block 66 is fixed to the upper surface of the table ST. The U-block 66 has two side plates 661 extending in the up-down direction and the front-rear direction, and an upper plate 662 connecting upper end portions of the side plates 661. A first plate 67 having a through hole at the center is fixed to the rear end of the U block 66. A second plate 68 is disposed behind the first plate 67 to fix the upper surface thereof to the lower surface of the mounting plate 64. A shaft 69 extending in the front-rear direction is disposed between the second plate 68 and the U-block 66. The rear end of the shaft 69 is fixed to the second plate 68, and the front end thereof is disposed in the U-block 66 through the through hole of the first plate 67. A disk portion having an outer shape larger than the outer diameter of the shaft 69 is attached to the tip of the shaft 69 to prevent the first plate 67 from falling off the through hole. A spring 70 is disposed between the first plate 67 and the second plate 68, and the shaft 69 is inserted into the spring 70. A slider 71 is fixed to the upper surface of the upper plate 662 of the U block 66. The slider 71 can move along the rail 431.

When the rotary jig 42 moves forward from the initial position, the driving force is transmitted to the slider 63 by the driving source M via the front pulley, the pulley 61, and the belt 62. The mounting plate 64, the second plate 68, and the shaft 69, which are directly or indirectly fixed to the slider 63, move forward. As the second plate 68 moves forward, the first plate 67 is pressed forward by the spring 70, that is, by the reaction force of the spring 70 compressed between the first plate 67 and the second plate 68. The U-block 66, the table ST, and the slider 71, which are directly or indirectly fixed to the first plate 67, move forward by the forward movement of the first plate 67. By moving the table ST forward, the rotary chuck 42 held by the table ST is moved forward by the rotating mechanism RU. In this way, the table ST (first moving unit) on which the rotary jig 42 is mounted moves following the second moving unit including the sliders 63 and 65 and the mounting plate 64.

A gauge 72 is disposed behind the U-block 66 on the right side. The gauge 72 includes a plurality of comb teeth 72a arranged in the front-rear direction and a horizontal portion 72b extending in the front-rear direction above the comb teeth 72a. The gauge 72 is fixed to the mounting plate 64 via an L-shaped connecting plate 73 fixed to the upper surface of the horizontal portion 72b.

A sensor 74 is fixed to a right side plate 661 of the U-block 66. The sensor 74 is a groove-shaped photoelectric sensor (optical sensor) having a groove in the center in the left-right direction and detecting the presence or absence of an object in the groove, and is fixed to the U-block 66 so that the comb 72a of the gauge 72 is positioned in the groove. The sensor 74 counts the number of teeth 72a passing through the groove from the start time to the end time of the movement relative to the gauge 72. The number of comb teeth 72a counted by the sensor 74 indicates the amount of movement of the table ST, U-block 66, and slider 71 (first moving portion) relative to the sliders 63, 65 and mounting plate 64 (second moving portion). The sensor 74 detects the amount of movement each time the first moving part moves.

The information on the amount of movement detected by the sensor 74 is transmitted to a control device that controls the drive source M, and the control device controls the drive source M based on the amount of movement, and moves the slider 63 to compensate for the amount of movement. The control device may be incorporated in the data instruction unit 10, or may be provided separately from the data instruction unit 10.

(operation of electric wire processing apparatus)

Next, the operation of the electric wire processing apparatus (electric wire processing method) configured as described above will be described. In the initial state, as shown in fig. 1, the electric wire transfer unit 30 is positioned above the electric wire holding unit 20, and the fixing jig 41 and the rotating jig 42 of the twist processing unit 40 are positioned at the rear end of the rail 431.

The data instruction unit 10 instructs the wire transfer unit 30 and the twist processing unit 40 on the length, the number of turns, the wire take-out position, and the wire drive-in position of the twisted wire. The wire transfer unit 30 descends from above the removal position of the wire holding unit 20 in accordance with the instruction of the data instruction unit 10, and removes the wires W1 and W2 by the transfer heads 31 and 32. In the electric wire transfer unit 30, the transfer heads 31 and 32 are moved leftward in fig. 1 by the moving mechanism 33 while the electric wires W1 and W2 are gripped by the transfer heads 31 and 32, and stopped above the fixing jig 41 and the rotating jig 42 of the twist processing unit 40. At this time, the fixing jig 41 is positioned directly below the transfer head 31, and the rotating jig 42 is positioned directly below the transfer head 32.

With reference to fig. 5 and 6, the transfer operation of the electric wires W1 and W2 from the electric wire transfer unit 30 to the twist processing unit 40 will be described. The transfer heads 31 and 32 of the electric wire transfer unit 30, which have taken out the electric wires W1 and W2 from the electric wire holding unit 20 and moved leftward above the fixing jig 41 and the rotating jig 42 of the twisting processing unit 40, are lowered toward the fixing jig 41 and the rotating jig 42. The transfer heads 31 and 32 dispose the electric wires W1 and W2 between the two gripping portions 412 of the fixing jig 41 and the spacer 413 and between the two gripping portions 422 of the rotating jig 42 and the spacer 423. The wires W1, W2 are placed on the upper edges 414a, 424a. In this state, the holding portions 412 and 422 are closed, that is, the two holding portions 412 approach the spacer 413 from the left-right direction, the two holding portions 422 approach the spacer 423 from the left-right direction, and the electric wires W1 and W2 are held by the fixing jig 41 and the rotating jig 42. Thereafter, the transfer heads 31 and 32 open the gripping portions 312 and 322, that is, the gripping portions 312 are separated from the spacer 311, and the gripping portions 322 are separated from the spacer 321, and are raised to return to the original height (directly above the fixing jig 41 and the rotating jig 42). Thus, the transfer heads 31 and 32 transfer the electric wires W1 and W2 to the fixing jig 41 and the rotating jig 42.

Next, a method of twisting in the twisting portion 40 will be described. In the fixing jig 41 and the rotating jig 42 to which the electric wires W1 and W2 are transferred from the electric wire transfer unit 30, the rotating jig 42 is moved forward (in the direction of the arrow YA shown in fig. 5) by the moving mechanism 43 by a distance slightly longer than the length of the fixing jig 41 in the front-rear direction. Next, the fixing jig 41 is rotated by 180 degrees in the direction of the arrow YB shown in fig. 5 so that the placing plate 414 faces forward by the moving mechanism 45, and is moved in the right direction (the direction of the arrow YC shown in fig. 5), and the fixing jig 41 is disposed directly below the position where the rail 431 extends rearward. That is, the fixing jig 41 and the rotating jig 42 are disposed so that the mounting plate 414 and the mounting plate 424 face each other, and the wires W1 and W2 are held in a U shape between the fixing jig 41 and the rotating jig 42. The fixing jig 41 does not move from this position while the electric wires W1, W2 are twisted.

Thereafter, the rotary jig 42 is moved forward by the moving mechanism 43 and stopped at the twisting start position (the position indicated by the one-dot chain line in fig. 1). When the rotating jig 42 is at the twisting start position, the distance between the rotating jig 42 and the fixing jig 41 is a distance corresponding to the length of the wires W1 and W2.

The rotating jig 42 is disposed at the twisting start position, and is driven by the motor 55 to rotate in a state where no tension is applied to the wires W1, W2 as shown in fig. 9, thereby starting twisting of the wires W1, W2. As shown in fig. 8, since the wires W1 and W2 are twisted and the wire length is shortened, a tensile force in the backward direction (the direction of arrow Y1) is applied to the rotary jig 42 and the table ST holding the rotary jig 42. When a force is applied to the table ST in the rearward direction, the slider 71 fixed to the table ST via the U-block 66 moves rearward. The first plate 67 fixed to the U-block 66 moves backward, and compresses the spring 70 between the second plate 68 and the first plate 67 (see arrow Y2).

The second moving unit (the sliders 63 and 65 and the mounting plate 64) does not follow the movement of the first moving unit (the table ST, the U-block 66 and the slider 71) and does not move within a range in which the reaction force of the spring 70 is smaller than the frictional force between the slider 63 and the belt 62. That is, since the sensor 74 is fixed to the U block 66 that moves in the Y1 direction and the gauge 72 is fixed to the mounting plate 64 whose position in the front-rear direction does not change, the sensor 74 moves relative to the gauge 72 (a state in which tension is applied to the wires W1 and W2 shown in fig. 10). The amount of movement of the sensor 74 relative to the gauge 72 (see arrow Y4 shown in fig. 11) corresponds to the amount of contraction of the spring 70. Based on the amount of movement, the control device controls the drive source M to move the table ST in a direction (the direction of arrow Y3 shown in fig. 8) to complement the movement.

Each time the spring 70 expands and contracts, the sensor 74 responds to detect the amount of movement, and the rotary jig 42 is moved in a direction (see arrow Y5 in fig. 12) to compensate for the amount of movement. When the reaction force of the spring 70 exceeds the frictional force between the slider 63 and the belt 62, the second moving portion (the sliders 63 and 65 and the mounting plate 64) moves following the movement of the first moving portion. In this case, sensor 74 does not move relative to gauge 72.

In this way, by twisting the wires W1 and W2 in accordance with the contraction of the twisted wire by the tension adjusting mechanism TU including the sensor 74 and the drive source M, the tensions of the wires W1 and W2 (twisted wire) can be adjusted within a certain range. Further, since the tension can be adjusted by controlling the driving of the table ST holding the rotary jig 42, the apparatus does not become large.

The twisting section 40 grips the electric wires W1 and W2 by a fixing jig 41 and a rotating jig 42, and twists the wires while adjusting the tension to produce a twisted wire. The rotary jig 42 gripping the other end sides of the wires W1 and W2 to be twisted is moved backward by the moving mechanism 43. The fixing jig 41 holding one end side of the wires W1, W2 to be twisted is moved leftward and rotated by 180 degrees. Thus, the fixing jig 41 and the rotating jig 42 are returned to the initial positions. The transfer heads 31 and 32 of the wire transfer unit 30 are lowered from above the fixing jig 41 and the rotating jig 42 (from the initial state height), and receive (grip) the twisted wire by the reverse operation to the transfer of the wires W1 and W2. After the transfer heads 31 and 32 holding the twisted wire are raised, they are moved rightward by the moving mechanism 33 to a position above the wire holding portion 20, i.e., above the driving position indicated by the data indicating portion 10. The transfer heads 31 and 32 are lowered to drive (hold) the one end portions W1a and W2a and the other end portions W1b and W2b of the strands into the wire holder 22 at the driving position of the wire holding portion 20.

The wire holding section 20 holds a plurality of wires including the twisted wire produced by the twist processing section 40 on the rod, and therefore, the plurality of wires including the twisted wire can be easily carried to the next step by carrying the rod. Therefore, the additional work such as wire harness concentration, harness loosening, cover mounting and cover dismounting required for carrying the wires can be reduced.

As described above, according to the electric wire processing apparatus and the electric wire processing method of the present embodiment, the electric wires W1 and W2 are transferred from the state of being held by the electric wire holding portion 20 (pole) to the twist processing portion 40 by the electric wire transfer portion 30, processed into a twisted wire, and driven into the electric wire holding portion 20. That is, the terminal-equipped electric wire including the twisted wire can be processed into a wire harness circuit state (sub-wire harness). Therefore, the stranded wire can be conveyed in the next step such as the step of inserting the terminal into each rod. Therefore, the additional work of wire harness concentration, harness loosening, cover mounting and cover dismounting, etc. from the wire stranding process to the terminal insertion process can be reduced. In addition, since the space for additional work required between the wire stranding process and the terminal insertion process is not required, the space occupied for the wire harness process can be reduced.

In the electric wire processing apparatus according to the present embodiment, when the electric wires W1 and W2 are twisted by the rotation of the rotating jig 42 and the electric wire length is shortened in the twisting processing section 40, the table ST on which the rotating jig 42 is mounted is pulled toward the fixing jig 41. At this time, the amount of movement of the first moving portion (the table ST, the U-block 66, and the slider 71) relative to the second moving portion (the sliders 63 and 65, and the mounting plate 64) is detected by the sensor 74, and the second moving portion is moved by the control device and the driving source M to compensate for the amount of movement. According to this configuration, since the distance between the rotating jig 42 and the fixing jig 41 can be adjusted according to increase and decrease in the tension of the wires W1 and W2, the tension applied to the wires can be adjusted within a certain range. Therefore, regardless of the length of the stranded wire, the tension applied to the wires W1, W2 during stranding can be adjusted to be constant without increasing the size of the equipment. Further, since the tension applied to the wires W1 and W2 is adjusted by controlling the driving source M based on the amount of movement detected by the gauge 72 and the sensor 74, the equipment involved in the tension adjustment is not enlarged (upsized) even when the twisted wire length is long.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and modifications, improvements, and the like can be appropriately made. The material, shape, size, numerical value, form, number, arrangement position, and the like of each component in the above-described embodiments are arbitrary as long as the present invention can be realized, and are not limited.

(modification example)

A modified example of the tension adjusting mechanism TU of the twist processing section 40 will be described with reference to fig. 13 to 15. While the gauge 72 of the above embodiment has a plurality of comb teeth 72A, the gauge 72A of the modified example does not have the comb teeth 72A, and has a rectangular recess 72Ab between two rectangular portions 72 Aa. In the modification, the sensor 74 detects the presence or absence of the gauge 72A. In a state shown in fig. 13 where no tension is applied to the wires W1, W2, the sensor 74 is positioned at the rectangular portion 72Aa, and detects the gauge 72A (detects the presence of the gauge 72A). On the other hand, in the state shown in fig. 14 where tension is applied to the wires W1, W2, the sensor 74 is positioned at the position of the recess 72Ab, and the gauge 72A is not detected (the non-gauge 72A is detected). The control device that receives the output of the sensor 74 drives the drive source M to continue the normal operation when the sensor 74 is located in the predetermined range (the range of the arrow Y6) shown in fig. 15, that is, when the absence gauge 72A is detected. On the other hand, when the sensor 74 is out of the predetermined range, that is, when the gauge 72A is detected, the control device (data instruction unit 10) stops the drive source M and the motor 55. In this way, when the position of the sensor 74 is out of the predetermined range, that is, when the abnormal tension is generated, the driving source M is stopped, whereby the occurrence of the elongation, the breakage, or the like of the electric wire can be avoided.

Here, the features of the electric wire processing apparatus and the electric wire processing method according to the embodiments of the present invention are briefly summarized and listed as [1] to [6], respectively.

[1] An electric wire processing device for processing two electric wires (W1, W2) into a stranded wire, comprising:

an electric wire holding part (20) that holds at least the two electric wires;

an indicating part (data indicating part 10) for indicating the twisting conditions, the taking-out positions of the two electric wires in the electric wire holding part and the driving-in position of the twisted wire;

a twisting processing part (40) which twists the two electric wires according to the instruction of the instruction part to produce the twisted wire; and

and an electric wire transfer unit (30) which takes out the two electric wires from the electric wire holding unit at the take-out position and transfers the two electric wires to the twisting unit according to the instruction, and transfers the twisted wire from the twisting unit to the drive-in position in the electric wire holding unit according to the instruction.

[2] The electric wire processing apparatus according to the above [1],

the wire transfer unit (30) has:

one end gripping part (transfer head 31) that grips one end sides (one ends W1a, W2 a) of the two electric wires;

a second-end gripping portion (transfer head 32) that grips the second ends (second ends W1b, W2 b) of the two electric wires; and

a moving mechanism (33) that moves the one end grip portion and the other end grip portion between the electric wire holding portion and the twist processing portion.

[3] The electric wire processing apparatus according to the above [2],

the one end grip portion and the other end grip portion are disposed adjacently in a first direction (left-right direction),

the moving mechanism moves the one end grip portion and the other end grip portion in the first direction.

[4] The electric wire processing apparatus according to the above [2] or [3], wherein,

the twist processing portion has:

a first end holding portion (fixing jig 41) for holding one end sides of the two electric wires delivered from the first end holding portion;

a second end holding portion (rotating jig 42) that holds the second end side of the two electric wires transferred from the second end holding portion; and

a twisting movement mechanism (movement mechanism 43) for moving at least one of the one end holding portion and the other end holding portion so that the one end holding portion and the other end holding portion are spaced apart from each other by a distance corresponding to the length of the two electric wires,

the other end holding portion rotates about an axis in a direction in which the two wires extend, while being spaced apart from the one end holding portion.

[5] The electric wire processing apparatus according to the above [4],

the one end holding portion and the other end holding portion are adjacently arranged in a first direction (left-right direction),

the moving mechanism moves the other end holding portion in a second direction (front-rear direction) intersecting the first direction,

the one-end holding portion is configured to be movable in the first direction and rotatable within a plane including the first direction and the second direction.

[6] A wire processing method for processing two wires (W1, W2) into a twisted wire, wherein,

generating instruction information indicating conditions of twisting work and a take-out position of the two electric wires in an electric wire holding part (20) holding at least the two electric wires and a drive-in position of the twisted wire,

an electric wire transfer unit (30) takes out the two electric wires from the electric wire holding unit at the take-out position according to the instruction information and transfers the electric wires to a twist processing unit (40),

twisting the two electric wires according to the instruction information by the twisting part to produce the twisted wire,

the wire transfer unit transfers the twisted wire from the twisting unit to the driving position in the wire holding unit according to the instruction information.

Claims (6)

1. An electric wire processing device for processing two electric wires into a twisted wire, the electric wire processing device comprising:

an electric wire holding portion that holds at least the two electric wires;

an indicating portion indicating conditions of a twisting process and a taking-out position of the two electric wires in the electric wire holding portion and a driving position of the twisted wire;

a twisting unit that twists the two electric wires in accordance with the instruction of the instruction unit to produce the twisted wire; and

and an electric wire transfer unit which takes out the two electric wires from the electric wire holding unit at the take-out position and transfers the two electric wires to the twisting processing unit in accordance with the instruction, and which transfers the twisted wire from the twisting processing unit to the driving position in the electric wire holding unit in accordance with the instruction.

2. The electric wire processing apparatus as set forth in claim 1,

the wire transfer unit includes:

a first end holding portion that holds one end sides of the two electric wires;

a second end holding portion that holds a second end side of the two electric wires; and

a moving mechanism that moves the one end grip portion and the other end grip portion between the electric wire holding portion and the twist processing portion.

3. The electric wire processing apparatus according to claim 2,

the one end holding portion and the other end holding portion are disposed adjacent to each other in a first direction,

the moving mechanism moves the one end grip portion and the other end grip portion in the first direction.

4. The electric wire processing apparatus as set forth in claim 2 or 3,

the twist processing portion has:

a first end holding portion that holds one end sides of the two electric wires delivered from the first end holding portion;

a second end holding portion that holds the second end sides of the two electric wires transferred from the second end gripping portion; and

a twisting movement mechanism for moving at least one of the one end holding portion and the other end holding portion so that the one end holding portion and the other end holding portion are spaced apart from each other by a distance corresponding to the lengths of the two electric wires,

the other end holding portion rotates about an axis in a direction in which the two wires extend, while being spaced apart from the one end holding portion.

5. The electric wire processing apparatus according to claim 4,

the one end holding portion and the other end holding portion are adjacently arranged in a first direction,

the moving mechanism moves the other end holding portion in a second direction intersecting the first direction,

the one-end holding portion is configured to be movable in the first direction and rotatable within a plane including the first direction and the second direction.

6. A wire processing method characterized by processing two wires into a twisted wire, wherein, in the method,

generating instruction information indicating conditions of a twisting process and a take-out position of the two electric wires in an electric wire holding part holding at least the two electric wires and a drive-in position of the twisted wire,

the electric wire transfer part takes out the two electric wires from the electric wire holding part at the taking-out position according to the instruction information and transfers the electric wires to the twisting processing part,

twisting the two electric wires by the twisting part according to the instruction information to produce the twisted wire; and

the wire transfer unit transfers the twisted wire from the twisting unit to the driving position in the wire holding unit according to the instruction information.

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