EP0145416A2 - Appareil pour la fabrication de faisceaux de fils électriques - Google Patents

Appareil pour la fabrication de faisceaux de fils électriques Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0145416A2
EP0145416A2 EP84308288A EP84308288A EP0145416A2 EP 0145416 A2 EP0145416 A2 EP 0145416A2 EP 84308288 A EP84308288 A EP 84308288A EP 84308288 A EP84308288 A EP 84308288A EP 0145416 A2 EP0145416 A2 EP 0145416A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
die
punch
connector
feed path
wires
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Granted
Application number
EP84308288A
Other languages
German (de)
English (en)
Other versions
EP0145416A3 (en
EP0145416B1 (fr
Inventor
Minoru Matsui
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Nippon Acchakutanshi Seizo KK
Original Assignee
Nippon Acchakutanshi Seizo KK
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Nippon Acchakutanshi Seizo KK filed Critical Nippon Acchakutanshi Seizo KK
Publication of EP0145416A2 publication Critical patent/EP0145416A2/fr
Publication of EP0145416A3 publication Critical patent/EP0145416A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0145416B1 publication Critical patent/EP0145416B1/fr
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R43/00—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing, assembling, maintaining, or repairing of line connectors or current collectors or for joining electric conductors
    • H01R43/04—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing, assembling, maintaining, or repairing of line connectors or current collectors or for joining electric conductors for forming connections by deformation, e.g. crimping tool
    • H01R43/048—Crimping apparatus or processes
    • H01R43/052—Crimping apparatus or processes with wire-feeding mechanism
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R43/00—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing, assembling, maintaining, or repairing of line connectors or current collectors or for joining electric conductors
    • H01R43/04—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing, assembling, maintaining, or repairing of line connectors or current collectors or for joining electric conductors for forming connections by deformation, e.g. crimping tool
    • H01R43/048—Crimping apparatus or processes
    • H01R43/05—Crimping apparatus or processes with wire-insulation stripping
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R43/00—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing, assembling, maintaining, or repairing of line connectors or current collectors or for joining electric conductors
    • H01R43/04—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing, assembling, maintaining, or repairing of line connectors or current collectors or for joining electric conductors for forming connections by deformation, e.g. crimping tool
    • H01R43/048—Crimping apparatus or processes
    • H01R43/055—Crimping apparatus or processes with contact member feeding mechanism

Definitions

  • the invention relates to apparatus for making electrical harnesses automatically and, more particularly, to fully automatic apparatus for making electrical harnesses of the kind which comprise a plurality of insulation clad wires connected to one or more multi-contact connectors at their ends and/or at desired positions, the wires being cut to a desired length, and connector-free ends being stripped of their insulating coverings.
  • Previously proposed contact-type electrical connectors have included an open-topped insulating housing in which a plurality of contacts are provided in parallel so as to accommodate individual wires.
  • Each contact includes a slot whose side edges function as blades for cutting the insulating covering of the wires, thereby allowing electrical connection between the conductors of the wires and the contact.
  • the width of the slot is narrower than the outside diameter of the insulation-clad wires.
  • a combination of insulating clad wires and contact-type electrical connectors is called an "electrical harness", and there are three main types: one has connectors affixed to both ends of the wires, a second has connectors affixed to only one end of the wires, with the other end being free of connectors and a third type has the connectors affixed in a middle portion of the wires, this type being called a "through type".
  • wires having a connector-free end there are two types: one has the connector-free ends terminating in the same plane, which means that the wires have the same length, and the other has the connector-free ends terminating at different positions, so as to adapt the harness for ready connection to various electronic elements or devices.
  • apparatus for making electrical harnesses including wires and electrical connectors and having a wire feed path extending substantially horizontally and axially of the apparatus; characterised in that a connector attaching device is provided along the feed path, the device comprising first and second cooperating assembling punch and die pairs disposed on respective sides of the wire feed path, the first and second punch and die pairs being operable individually or synchronously, a cooperating cutting punch and die pair between the first and second punch and die pairs, with the cutting punch and die being operable independently of the first and second assembling punch and die pairs, and connector supplying means for supplying connectors of different types to the first and second assembling dies; and a wire length measuring and feeding device located along the wire feed path, the device comprising a chuck reciprocally movable along the wire feed path for pulling out wires in its advancing movement for a distance corresponding to a desired length of the electrical harness, the moving distance and the frequencies of reciprocal movement of the chuck being adjustable dependently on the number of connectors to be af
  • apparatus for making electrical harnesses includes a connector attaching device 11 (hereinafter referred to as the attaching device), and a wire length measuring and feeding device 12.
  • the attaching device 11 affixes connectors 3 and 4 to ends of a wire group 2A, the connectors 3 and 4 being of different types and the wire group 2A being a group of wires selected from a wire group 2.
  • the wire length measuring and feeding device 12 includes a moving chuck 41 whereby the wire group 2A having one or more connectors is pulled out for a distance corresponding to a desired length of the intended electrical harness.
  • the moving chuck 41 is reciprocally moved, and in its advancing movement it pulls out the wire group 2A.
  • the connector 3 is of the "through type”
  • the connector 4 is of the "end type", and suitable for direct attached to a substrate.
  • the connectors 3, 4 are conveyed in known manner, using a known hopper, conveyor, magazine or the like, and a detailed description will be omitted for simplicity.
  • the apparatus of the invention can be applied to the production of various types of harnesses. Therefore, it is often necessary to change the pole number of the connectors depending on the intended type of harness.
  • the apparatus can be provided with a selecting device whereby a connector having a desired pole number is automatically selected, but when a large number of harnesses of the same type are produced at one time, it is not necessary to use such a selecting device. With the use of ordinary supplying means, the connectors in a magazine or the like have only to be replaced with the next lot each time one operation is finished.
  • the reference numeral 5 denotes reels from which a plurality of wires 2 are supplied to the attaching device 11 via a wire selecting device 13, which selects a wire group 2A having a pole number corresponding to that of the connectors 3 or 4.
  • the first and second punches 15 and 17 are fixed to the lower end of a slider 23 side by side, the slider 23 being movable up and down by means of a pneumatic cylinder 24.
  • the cutting punch 19 is located between the punches 15 and 17 on the slider 23.
  • the presser chuck 21 is mounted slightly outward of the second punch 17. By moving the slider 23, the punches 15, 17, the cutting punch 19 and the presser chuck 21 are caused to ascend or descend.
  • Figures 2 to 5 show that these members 15, 17, 19 and 21 are lowered to the connector attaching position.
  • the cutting punch 19 can be moved up and down by means of a pneumatic cylinder 25, independently of the above-mentioned members 15, 17 and 21, the pneumatic cylinder 25 being mounted on the slider 23.
  • the first die 16 is fixed to a top end of a slider 26, and the second die 18 is fixed to a top end of a slider 28, which is moved up and down by means of a pneumatic cylinder 27 mounted on the slider 26.
  • the slider 28 is additionally provided with the presser chuck 22 in such a manner as to allow same to move up and down.
  • the presser chuck 22 is normally urged upwardly under the action of a spring 29.
  • the cutting die 20 is made in one body with the second die 18.
  • the slider 26 is moved up and down in two steps by means of two pneumatic cylinders 30 and 31.
  • the dies 16 and 18 are raised from the position shown in Figure 1 up to the position shown in Figures 2 and 3, the latter being hereinafter referred to as the preparatory position.
  • the pneumatic cylinder 31 is operated thereby to raise the dies 16 and 18 up to the pressing position shown in Figures 4 and 5, thereby effecting a cooperative punching operation by the punch 15 and die 16, and by the punch 17 and die 18.
  • the first die 16 alone is raised to the preparatory position to the final attaching position, while the second die 18 is kept inoperative. In this way the connector attaching operation is conducted jointly by the first pair of punch 15 and die 16.
  • the wire selecting device 13 includes a first chuck 32, a second chuck 33 and a wire guide 34.
  • the first chuck 32 feeds the wire groups 2 along the feed path (W), which wire groups are supplied from the reels 5 via a bundling device 6, guide rollers 7 and a tension roller 8, and holds all the wire groups 2 when necessary.
  • the second chuck 33 holds all the wire groups except for a selected wire group 2A, which is made free for the subsequent connector attaching operation.
  • the wire guide 34 is located adjacent to the attaching device 11, and guides the wire group 2A to the connector attaching position along the feed path (W).
  • the first chuck 32, the second chuck 33 and the wire guide 34 are provided with guide grooves 35, 36 and 37 respectively in number corresponding to that of the wires, usually 20 to 24, each groove being produced in parallel with the feed path (W).
  • the grooves in each member are laterally spaced at equal intervals, which correspond to the pitches of the contacts loaded in the connectors 3, 4.
  • Each wire in the wire groups is individually fed to the attaching device 11 through the respective guide groove.
  • the first chuck 32 and the wire guide 34 are interconnected to each other by a connecting rod 38, and they are moved along the feed path (W) as a unit by means of a pneumatic cylinder 39.
  • the second chuck 33 is moved along the feed path (W) by means of a pneumatic cylinder 40 mounted on the first chuck 32.
  • the second chuck 33 is moved not only by the pneumatic cylinder 39 but also by the pneumatic cylinder 40 along the feed path (W).
  • the moving chuck 41 is designed to pinch the wire group 2A laterally of the feed path (W).
  • the moving chuck 41 is fixed to a chain 44 through an arm 45, which chain 44 is supported on a driving sprocket 42 and a follower sprocket 43.
  • the driving sprocket 42 is reversibly rotated by means of a d.c. motor 46, thereby enabling the chuck 41 to move reciprocally along the feed path (W).
  • the chuck 41 can be stopped at any desired point by switching off the motor 46. More particularly, by varying the amount of one movement and the frequencies of reciprocal movement of the chuck 41, the wire group 2A can be fed by a desired length.
  • the wire group 2A to be pulled out of the attaching device 11 is relatively short, it is only necessary to predetermine the distance for one advancing movement of the chuck 41. But, when it is too long, one or more reciprocal movements will be required in accordance with a desired length of the intended electrical harness. In this case after the moving chuck 41 has fed the wire group 2A over the predetermined distance, it releases same. Then, the chuck returns to its original starting point, where it again pinches the wires. Then it operates a second feeding of the same wire group 2A. Depending on the desired length, this procedure is repeated until the desired length of the wire group 2A is pulled out.
  • the first punch 15 and the die 16 are separated away from the feed path (W).
  • the moving chuck 41 comes to the attaching position, and pinches the wire group 2A having the connector 3 ( Figure 6(d)).
  • the first chuck 32 releases the wire group 2
  • the second chuck 33 continues to hold the wires other than the wire group 2A.
  • the moving chuck 41 starts to advance along the feed path (W) as it carries the wire group 2A, thereby pulling same out of the attaching device 11 until it stops at a predetermined position.
  • the first chuck 32 again pinches all the wire groups 2 including the wire group 2A, and the whole wires are stretched by the first chuck 32 and the moving chuck 41.
  • the attaching device 11 is again operated so as to affix a connector 3 to another desired position of the wire group 2A ( Figure 6(e)).
  • the punch 15 and die 16 are separated in the aforementioned manner, and the moving chuck 41 further pulls out the wire group 2A by a predetermined length.
  • the second die 18 is raised by the pneumatic cylinder 27 up to its operating posithn shown in Figure 6(f).
  • the first punch 15 and the second punch 17, and the first die 16 and the second die 18 are moved up to a position adjacent to the preparatory position shown in Figure 2, and the cutting punch 19 is lowered to cut the wire group 2A.
  • the cut wire group 2A l and the connector 3 is held by means of the presser chucks 21 and 22 at a position adjacent to a position where the second punch 17 and the second die 18 come together.
  • the portion of the wire group 2A advancing behind is, as shown in Figure 6(b), returned by means of the pneumatic cylinder 39 as it is pinched.
  • the remaining portion of the wire group 2A is returned by means of the pneumatic cylinder 39 as it is being pinched by the first chuck 32 along the feed path (W).
  • the cut ends of this portion of wire group 2A are located at the attaching position (P) for the punch 15 and die 16 ( Figure 6(h)).
  • the cutting punch 19 is returned to its original raised position.
  • first die 16 and the second die 18 are raised to the position shown in Figures 5 and 6(i) so as to affix a connector 3 to the terminal ends of the wire group 2A by the first punch 15 and die 16 working in cooperation.
  • the second punch 17 and the die 18 cooperate to affix a connector 4 to the terminal ends of the advancing wire group 2A as shown in Figure 6(i), wherein the connector 4 is a different type, being suitable for direct attachment to a substrate.
  • the wire group 2A l is cut to a desired length and is provided with connectors at desired positions, such as both ends and a middle portion.
  • the connector 4 is a different type, being suitable for direct attachment to a substrate. In this way a finished harness 50 is produced. If the steps of Figures 6(f) to 6(h) are omitted, the resulting harness 51 will have connectors 3 at one end and connectors 4 at the other end.
  • a modification can be made by placing the second die 18 in its inoperative condition as shown in Figures 3 and 4, and operating only the first punch 15 and die 16 continuously.
  • another type of harness 52 will be obtained, which, as shown in Figure 11, has a desired length and connectors of the same type at both ends and in its middle portion.
  • a further type of harness 53 can be obtained, which, as shown in Figure 12, has the connectors 3 only at both ends.
  • the second cooperating punch 17 and die 18 pair having the cutting die 20 mounted thereon, and the presser chucks 21 and 22 can be replaceable with a cutting die 47 opposing the cutting punch 19, and an insulating covering stripper 48, harnesses 54 can be obtained having one or more connectors 3 at one end and having a connector-free end as shown in Figure 13. It will be noted that the insulating coverings at the connector-free ends have been stripped.
  • Figure 8 hows another embodiment, wherein a length varying rod 49 capable of vertical movement is provided, which per se is known in the art.
  • a resulting harness 55 has wires of different lengths as shown in Figure 14. The connector-free ends terminate at different points, and it will be noted that the insulating covering at each end has been stripped off.
  • one or more connectors of the same or different type can be affixed to both ends or one end of a wire group cut to a desired length on a single process line. It is also possible to affix a connector at a desired position on the wires, such as in a middle portion, with both ends or one end having a connector or alternatively with one end having no connector.
  • the insulating coverings of the connector-free ends are removed for ready connection to electrical devices.
  • an extra wire length varying means is added, it is readily arranged that the connector-free ends terminate at different points, thereby facilitating connection of same to various electrical elements. All these operations can be conducted on a single processing line, thereby securing an efficient mass-production of electrical harnesses. This can also result in reduced production cost.
  • the series of operations can be computerised to perform under a program, thereby to effect a full automatic connector-to-wire attaching operation.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Supply And Installment Of Electrical Components (AREA)
  • Manufacturing Of Electrical Connectors (AREA)
EP19840308288 1983-11-29 1984-11-29 Appareil pour la fabrication de faisceaux de fils électriques Expired - Lifetime EP0145416B1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP225011/83 1983-11-29
JP58225011A JPS60117580A (ja) 1983-11-29 1983-11-29 自動圧接機

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0145416A2 true EP0145416A2 (fr) 1985-06-19
EP0145416A3 EP0145416A3 (en) 1987-10-07
EP0145416B1 EP0145416B1 (fr) 1990-08-16

Family

ID=16822674

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19840308288 Expired - Lifetime EP0145416B1 (fr) 1983-11-29 1984-11-29 Appareil pour la fabrication de faisceaux de fils électriques

Country Status (3)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0145416B1 (fr)
JP (1) JPS60117580A (fr)
DE (1) DE3482993D1 (fr)

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0221482A1 (fr) * 1985-10-28 1987-05-13 Bernhard Dr.-Ing. Jürgenhake Méthode et dispositif de transport de câbles
EP0241939A1 (fr) * 1986-04-18 1987-10-21 Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd. Procédé et dispositif pour la fabrication de faisceau de câbles
CN107332095A (zh) * 2017-06-02 2017-11-07 芜湖博康机电有限公司 一种全自动切线压接机压线机构
DE102018131444A1 (de) * 2018-05-18 2019-11-21 Zoller & Fröhlich GmbH Ablängautomat und modulares Kabelverarbeitungscenter

Families Citing this family (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS61135077A (ja) * 1984-12-04 1986-06-23 住友電気工業株式会社 コネクタ付電線の自動成形装置
JPS62116481U (fr) * 1986-01-16 1987-07-24
JPS63198274A (ja) * 1986-07-07 1988-08-16 クリエイト・システム株式会社 コネクタ圧接装置
JPH06105564B2 (ja) * 1989-09-08 1994-12-21 村田工業株式会社 ワイヤーハーネス圧接機
JP2007018888A (ja) * 2005-07-08 2007-01-25 Hitachi Ltd 電線加工装置及びその方法

Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4126935A (en) * 1977-05-31 1978-11-28 Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated Method and apparatus for manufacturing wiring harnesses
US4310967A (en) * 1979-02-16 1982-01-19 Molex Incorporated Apparatus for electrical harness fabrication

Family Cites Families (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS59127386A (ja) * 1982-12-29 1984-07-23 ヒロセ電機株式会社 分枝コネクタ圧接装置

Patent Citations (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4126935A (en) * 1977-05-31 1978-11-28 Bell Telephone Laboratories, Incorporated Method and apparatus for manufacturing wiring harnesses
US4310967A (en) * 1979-02-16 1982-01-19 Molex Incorporated Apparatus for electrical harness fabrication

Cited By (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
EP0221482A1 (fr) * 1985-10-28 1987-05-13 Bernhard Dr.-Ing. Jürgenhake Méthode et dispositif de transport de câbles
EP0241939A1 (fr) * 1986-04-18 1987-10-21 Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd. Procédé et dispositif pour la fabrication de faisceau de câbles
CN107332095A (zh) * 2017-06-02 2017-11-07 芜湖博康机电有限公司 一种全自动切线压接机压线机构
DE102018131444A1 (de) * 2018-05-18 2019-11-21 Zoller & Fröhlich GmbH Ablängautomat und modulares Kabelverarbeitungscenter

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
JPH0151860B2 (fr) 1989-11-07
DE3482993D1 (de) 1990-09-20
EP0145416A3 (en) 1987-10-07
EP0145416B1 (fr) 1990-08-16
JPS60117580A (ja) 1985-06-25

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