EP0427500A2 - Harness crossover system - Google Patents
Harness crossover system Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- EP0427500A2 EP0427500A2 EP90312113A EP90312113A EP0427500A2 EP 0427500 A2 EP0427500 A2 EP 0427500A2 EP 90312113 A EP90312113 A EP 90312113A EP 90312113 A EP90312113 A EP 90312113A EP 0427500 A2 EP0427500 A2 EP 0427500A2
- Authority
- EP
- European Patent Office
- Prior art keywords
- gripper
- wire
- guide
- wires
- crossover
- 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
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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
- H01R43/28—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing, assembling, maintaining, or repairing of line connectors or current collectors or for joining electric conductors for wire processing before connecting to contact members, not provided for in groups H01R43/02 - H01R43/26
Definitions
- Eject tracks 126 are provided for the connectors s of the assembled harnesses, these aligning with the tracks of the fixtures 110 positioned at the test and eject stations g .
- Connectors or connector sticks s may be loaded into the loading tracks by means of a bowl feed, a tape reel feed, or by hand.
- tape feed and bowl feed mechanisms are indicated respectively at 130 and 131 in fig. 3.
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
- Manufacturing Of Electrical Connectors (AREA)
- Supply And Installment Of Electrical Components (AREA)
- Insulated Conductors (AREA)
Abstract
Description
- The present invention relates to apparatus for assembling terminated wires into electrical connectors to form harnesses and in particular to such apparatus which can form harnesses in which the order of wires is not the same at each end.
- In order to conduct electrical signals between printed circuit board assemblies or components by means of electrical conductors in electrically operated equipment and products, it is common to employ a harness of terminated wires assembled into a single connector at at least one end, the wires being also terminated at their other ends.
- The object of the present invention is to provide an improved apparatus for the semi-automatic or automatic manufacture of such harnesses.
- The present invention is apparatus for changing the order of wires in an array of wires, the apparatus comprising a first guide for clamping the array adjacent one end while leaving the ends of the wires projecting from the guide, a second guide for clamping the array adjacent its other end, an auxiliary gripper for individually clamping each projecting wire end, a crossover gripper for gripping a wire adjacent the first guide and between the two guides and means for moving the crossover gripper in a first direction axially of the wires, in a second direction transversely of the wires and in a third direction perpendicular to the first and second directions.
- Embodiments of the present invention will now be described by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings in which:-
- FIG. 1 shows a harness assembling apparatus;
- FIGS. 2 and 3 are diagrams illustrating the operation of the apparatus of Fig. 1; and
- FIG. 4 is a diagram illustrating crossover apparatus according to the present invention.
- With reference now to Figs. 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings, apparatus according to the present invention comprises left and right hand shuttle table towers, generally indicated at 100 and 101 respectively spaced apart and relatively movable towards and away from one another by means of a
lead screw 102 to select the length of the harnesses to be assembled. Each tower is topped by ashuttle table system shuttle table systems left hand system 104 as seen in Figs. 1 to 3 moving clockwise, and the tables of the right hand system as seen in Figs. 1 to 3 moving anti-clockwise. Each table makes a purely linear movement in its turn, the tables moving in the directions indicated by the arrows G F E H, and each table carries an elongated, slotted track-like fixture 110 having a track for positioning individual connectors or a stick or sticks of interconnected connectors s, thefixtures 110 being carried by the tables with their tracks all in parallel with one another, thosefixtures 110 of the left handshuttle table system 104 being positioned each along the right hand edge of its table and thosefixtures 110 of the right handshuttle table system 104a being positioned each along the left hand edge of its table. - The
shuttle table systems table fixtures 110 moved successively, in the directions indicated by arrows F into connector loading stations f, e.g. in which sticks of connectors are loaded into the fixture tracks, then in the directions indicated by arrows E into void positions e, then in the directions indicated by arrows H into termination stations h, in which wires w are terminated into sticks of connectors, then in the directions indicated by arrows G into test and eject stations g in which the assembled harnesses are tested and then unloaded from the fixture tracks onto an eject track. - Associated with each
shuttle table system plate 112 carried by a rotatingactuator 114 mounted on a pneumatically operatedslide 115 to slide to-and-fro in the directions of arrows E and G and as indicated by the double-headed arrow C in Fig. 2. Theactuator 114 is actuable to position theplate 112 alternately over the loading station f and the eject station g, as indicated by the double-headed arrow B. Theplate 112 has a row oflocation teeth 116 on each side to locate in the wire receiving recesses 161 (see Figs. 1 and 2) in connector sticks s held in the tracks offixtures 110 positioned at the loading and eject stations f and g respectively. The rows ofteeth 116, are predeterminedly spaced to engage one tooth in each of the connector stick recesses 161, there being a recess 161 formed at each circuit point of each connector stick. Theteeth 116, therefore, engage with the connector sticks s to entrain the connector sticks for loading and, thereafter, unloading movements along the fixture tracks as theactuator 114 is slid to-and-fro in the directions C+ and C- respectively, the actuator having previously been actuated to rotate theplate 112 in tbe directions B+ and B- respectively. - Also associated with each
shuttle table system component load actuator 120 which carries a track block baving atrack 121 for guiding sticks of connectors s parallel with the tracks of thefixtures 110 mounted on the shuttle tables. Eachactuator 120 is mounted on a pneumatically operated slide so as to be slidable to-and-fro in the directions of arrows H and F as indicated by the double headed arrow A in the direction A+ to align its connector stick track respectively with that of afixture 110 in the loading station f and in the direction A- to align its connector stick track with a connectorstick loading track 124 parallel to, but outwardly offset, with respect to thefixtures 110 positioned at the loading stations f.Eject tracks 126 are provided for the connectors s of the assembled harnesses, these aligning with the tracks of thefixtures 110 positioned at the test and eject stations g. Connectors or connector sticks s may be loaded into the loading tracks by means of a bowl feed, a tape reel feed, or by hand. Alternatively, tape feed and bowl feed mechanisms are indicated respectively at 130 and 131 in fig. 3. - Wire feed may be from reels of discrete wires w, or ribbon cable may be used. Discrete wires w are fed in over a changeover drum 134 (see Fig. 3), for measuring the wires, the drum being selected according to the size of the wires w, and then through a
wire straightener 135. The wires are fed in transversely of the loading and ejecttracks shuttle table towers wire guides carriage wire guide 201 is carried for transverse movements, between afixed position 201A and a selectable position 201B, by acarriage 136 movable to-and-fro on track rods 137 (see Fig. 1), and this guide moves between the jaws of the wirecutting station guide 204 when thewire guide 204 is open. The position 201B of the carriage wire guide is selected depending upon the spacing of theright hand tower 101 from theleft hand tower 100 and thepositions 201A and 201B remain in the same position as shown in Fig. 2, relative to thetowers wire guide 204 is movable between two positions fixed relative to thetower 100, as shown in Fig. 2, and inposition 204A it aligns with eachfixture 110 positioned at the termination station h and with the wire cutting station z. The left and righthand wire guides 202 and 203 associated with the left andright hand towers tracks rearmost position 202A out of the path of movement of thecarriage 136, a secondwire gripping position 202B on which it aligns transversely with thewire guides positions shuttle table system 100 on the inboard side. Theguide 203 has twopositions 203A and 203B which it always maintains relative to thetower 101, corresponding to thepositions 202B and 202C respectively, and theguides 202 and 203 move between theirpositions - In the initial setting of the apparatus, the wires w are fed through the
wire guide 201 positioned at 201A and are overfed throughwire guide 204 with theguide 204 in theposition 204A, that is to say, in its position to grip the wires during the wire cutting by the wire cutter Z. Theguide 204 is not closed at this stage. Also, the left andright hand guides 202 and 203 are open and positioned at 202A and 203A respectively. Theguide 201A is closed to grip the wires and the wire cutter Z is operated to cut the wires w, thereby to align the ends of the wires at the wire cutting station z. In operation of the apparatus, the wire guides are automatically sequenced as follows:Guide 201 moves from 201A to 201B to transport the cut wire ends to align with the right hand termination station h. The wires are overfed through theguide 203 which then closes to grip the wires.Guide 201 then opens and moves back to 201A and recloses. At this stage, the wire ends, gripped by theguide 203, may be operated upon by a single ended wire insulation stripper unit T. In the present example, however, it is assumed that an I.D.T. connector is being used at each end. Next, the wire guide 202 moves to 202B and closes, gripping the wires adjacent theleft hand tower 100. Next, thewire guide 204A closes and required lengths of harness wires w are cut off from the feed wires at the station z. Next, thewire guide 201 opens and thewire guide 204 moves to 204B retracting the feed wire ends. Next, thewire guides 202 and 203 move in unison to 202C and 203B respectively to position the harness wire ends at the wire insertion stations h. Termination presses P carried one over each of the shuttle table towers are then operated to terminate the wires in connector sticks s positioned at the termination stations h. Next, thewire guides 202 and 203 open and move topositions wire guide 204 moves to 204A. Next, thecarriage wire guide 201 closes on the feed wires w at the input feed. At the same time thewire guide 204 opens to allow the passage of the carriage wire guide to the position 201B as the automatic wire feed cycle re-commences. - The apparatus described above is very efficient in producing harnesses in which the wires are in the same order at each end of the harness. It is however not always possible to design the printed circuit board assemblies or components to be connected to the harness such that the same order is maintained. The apparatus illustrated in Fig. 4 is provided to enable crossovers to be provided as necessary.
- As shown in Fig. 4 the crossover apparatus comprises an
auxiliary gripper 250, twocrossover grippers wire tip gripper - The apparatus of Fig. 4 is used in conjunction with the
guide 203 when it and the guide 202 are respectively in theposition auxiliary gripper 250 is mounted to be movable from the right to a position almost abutting theguide 203 and there engage the ends of the wires projecting beyond theguide 203. Thegripper 250 consists of individually operable pairs of jaws for each wire each pair of jaws having two positions - an open position in which it may be moved relative to the wires and a closed position in which it grips and secures the ends of the wires. - The
crossover grippers tip grippers guides - The jaws of the
guide 203 is provided with three operating positions - an open position in which the jaws of the guide are clear of the wires, a guide position in which the jaws allow axial movement of the wires while preventing transverse or lateral movements, and a closed position in which the jaws grip the wires. - The use of the crossover apparatus will now be illustrated by the transfer of a wire end from
position number 4 in theguide 203 to position number 10. The wires are secured by theguide 203 and theauxiliary clamp 250 is in position abutting theguide 203 with its jaws closed to grip the wires. The jaws ofguide 203 are then put in the guide position. The crossover grippers with the associated tip grippers are then moved across above the wire from their parked position until thegrippers position 4. Thegrippers gripper 256 is closed on the wire to grip it. The appropriate jaws of theauxiliary gripper 250 are opened to release the wire and thegripper 256 is moved away from thegripper 258 in the Y direction until the lip of the wire is clear of theguide 203, at which point thegripper 258 is closed to grip the wire. Thegrippers tip gripper 258 is then opened, thecrossover gripper 256 moved to the righttowards the tip gripper to pass the wire tip through theguide 203 to the auxiliary gripper which can then grip the tip of the wire allowing thegrippers position 4 to position 10 is the only transfer required then theguide 203 can be closed and theauxiliary clamp 250 opened and then withdrawn. - If for example two wires are to be interchanged then both of the gripper clamps 252 and 256 are utilised. The procedure is similar to that described above, one clamp picking up one wire, the other clamp picking up the second wire, the one clamp relocating the first wire in the space vacated by the second wire and the other clamp relocating the second wire in the space vacated by the first wire.
- It should be noted that the above interchange can be achieved by a single crossover clamp, together with its associated tip clamp if there is an unused wire space in the
guide 203 which can be used to locate the first wire while the second wire is being relocated, the first wire subsequently being retrieved and relocated. - More complicated crossovers can also be achieved by the basic technique of holding a wire in one crossover gripper while retrieving and relocating a second wire using the second crossover gripper.
- Each crossover gripper is provided with an associated tip gripper because otherwise there is a danger that the wire tip might curl out of alignment with the passage in the
guide 203 because the memory of the wire is not entirely destroyed by the wire straightening techniques previously described. If however this wire curl is not a problem then thewire tip grippers - Because a wire that has been relocated inevitably follows a longer path between the
guides 202 and 203 the tip of the relocated wire may not project sufficiently beyond the guide 202. This problem may be overcome by introducing slack into the wires before commencing the crossover process. This slack may be introduced by, for example, forming a loop in the wires by a conventional looper system or by making the initial spacing between theguides 202 and 203 greater than desired and then reducing the spacing to the desired value before commencing crossover.
Claims (4)
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
GB898925001A GB8925001D0 (en) | 1989-11-06 | 1989-11-06 | Apparatus for assembling terminated wires into connectors to form electrical harnesses |
GB8925001 | 1989-11-06 |
Publications (3)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
EP0427500A2 true EP0427500A2 (en) | 1991-05-15 |
EP0427500A3 EP0427500A3 (en) | 1991-09-11 |
EP0427500B1 EP0427500B1 (en) | 1994-07-20 |
Family
ID=10665799
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
EP19900312113 Expired - Lifetime EP0427500B1 (en) | 1989-11-06 | 1990-11-06 | Harness crossover system |
Country Status (4)
Country | Link |
---|---|
EP (1) | EP0427500B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JPH0770262B2 (en) |
DE (1) | DE69010839T2 (en) |
GB (1) | GB8925001D0 (en) |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5471741A (en) * | 1994-10-17 | 1995-12-05 | Molex Incorporated | Wire harness termination apparatus |
Families Citing this family (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
CN112687431B (en) * | 2020-12-04 | 2022-08-16 | 上海航天设备制造总厂有限公司 | Automatic blanking collecting device based on synchronous belt and multiple groups of wires |
Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0105648A2 (en) * | 1982-10-01 | 1984-04-18 | AMP INCORPORATED (a New Jersey corporation) | Apparatus for fabrication of a crossover wire harness |
WO1988005968A1 (en) * | 1987-02-02 | 1988-08-11 | Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Zur Förderung Der Angewand | Process and device for mounting contact parts into plug housings |
WO1989007850A1 (en) * | 1988-02-10 | 1989-08-24 | Amp Incorporated | Apparatus for inserting terminals on the ends of wires into cavities in an electrical connector |
Family Cites Families (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
GB8429512D0 (en) * | 1984-11-22 | 1985-01-03 | Molex Inc | Assembling electrical harnesses |
JPS62254316A (en) * | 1986-04-25 | 1987-11-06 | 住友電装株式会社 | Supplementary apparatus for assembly of wiring harness containing connectors and application of the same |
US4734965A (en) * | 1986-12-19 | 1988-04-05 | International Business Machines Corporation | Automatic wiring network fabricator |
-
1989
- 1989-11-06 GB GB898925001A patent/GB8925001D0/en active Pending
-
1990
- 1990-09-10 JP JP2239767A patent/JPH0770262B2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1990-11-06 EP EP19900312113 patent/EP0427500B1/en not_active Expired - Lifetime
- 1990-11-06 DE DE1990610839 patent/DE69010839T2/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
Patent Citations (3)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
EP0105648A2 (en) * | 1982-10-01 | 1984-04-18 | AMP INCORPORATED (a New Jersey corporation) | Apparatus for fabrication of a crossover wire harness |
WO1988005968A1 (en) * | 1987-02-02 | 1988-08-11 | Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft Zur Förderung Der Angewand | Process and device for mounting contact parts into plug housings |
WO1989007850A1 (en) * | 1988-02-10 | 1989-08-24 | Amp Incorporated | Apparatus for inserting terminals on the ends of wires into cavities in an electrical connector |
Cited By (1)
Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
---|---|---|---|---|
US5471741A (en) * | 1994-10-17 | 1995-12-05 | Molex Incorporated | Wire harness termination apparatus |
Also Published As
Publication number | Publication date |
---|---|
EP0427500B1 (en) | 1994-07-20 |
GB8925001D0 (en) | 1989-12-28 |
DE69010839D1 (en) | 1994-08-25 |
JPH03156810A (en) | 1991-07-04 |
DE69010839T2 (en) | 1995-03-09 |
JPH0770262B2 (en) | 1995-07-31 |
EP0427500A3 (en) | 1991-09-11 |
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