EP0706725B1 - Method and device for forming a branched loom - Google Patents

Abstract

A method and a device for forming wiring looms. The device for forming and joining together the branches (11, 12, 13) of a branched loom (10) of lengths of conductor wire (1, 4, 15) comprises two or more main co-linear conveyors (18, 26) with a common longitudinal axis (XX1). Each of said main conveyors moves wire end group carriers in two opposite directions. Said device comprises at least one joining apparatus adjacent one of said conveyors, and a unit for changing the order of wire end group carriers along said axis (XX1). Said device further comprises a two-way transfer unit for transferring the wire end group carriers from one of said main conveyors to the other, and a unit for separately controlling and monitoring the movement of said conveyors over predetermined distances. The method and device may be used to produce wiring looms.

Description

The present invention relates to a method and a device for shaping, that is to say shaping, in particular by tying and / or wrapping, bundles of electric wires or fibers, tubes or cables.

The technical field of the invention is that of the manufacture of electrical harnesses.

The electrical harnesses consist of sections of electrically conductive wires whose ends are "treated", that is to say generally stripped, provided with crimped lugs and / or plugged into cells of electrical connectors.

The preparation of the constituents of the electrical harnesses can be automated and such devices are notably described in patent application WO93 / 00730 (the Industrial Company) which describes devices for inserting and manipulating sections of electrical wires making it possible to constitute bundles of electric wires; other devices for manufacturing electrical bundles are also described, for example, in patent GB2087760 (YASAKI) which describes devices for inserting and preparing the ends of sections of wires intended to constitute bundles; in this document FIG. 8, is notably represented a bundle of electric wires having a branched structure comprising several branches.

In the present application, the terms of terminal branches will be used to designate parts of an electric bundle constituted by parts of sections of wires, the ends of which are grouped together to form one end (called the free end) of the terminal branch, the other end of the terminal branch being designated as a node and constituting one end of another branch; in the present application, the term central branch designates a branch bounded by two nodes and having no end of sections of wires, constituted only by portions of sections of wires and connecting together at least two branches (terminal or not).

FIG. 8 of the YASAKI patent cited above illustrates a traditional way of manual conformation of electrical harnesses in which the sections of wires intended to constitute the bundle are placed on a table or work surface, which can be horizontal and which comprises pins serving to guide and position the different parts and ends of branches of an electric bundle, thus making it possible to hold said branches in position and allowing an operator to manually tie and / or wrap each of said branches of said electric bundle ; this type of device allowing manual shaping is sometimes called the "nail board".

Tests have been carried out to automate these shaping and / or ligating and / or wrapping operations of branches of electrical harnesses which are described for example in patent application EP403,350 (Aerospace).

The device described in this document comprises a horizontal table provided with rectilinear parallel guide tracks along which supports can slide, each holding a connector, and pins; the supports or pins can be put in place by sliding along the guide tracks. The connectors and the pairs of pins are separated from each other along the guide tracks and then pairs of pins are tightened to delimit the nodes of the bundle after which supports are pulled transversely to the guide tracks to tension the respective conductors then allowing to join the conductors together to form the branches of the electrical harness.

A system similar to this is described in patent application EP 490 795 (RICARD) which comprises pliers for placing links moved by a robot provided with an arm; the device comprises several parallel conveyors between which are provided slides parallel to the conveyors receiving movable stops which becomes and organize the branches of the bundle; the beam to be conformed is held on the one hand by its ends and on the other hand by the nodes by means of bypass clamps; the clamp for placing links moves to different points of the parallel conveyors; this device requires the intervention of an operator to remove the shaped beam.

The document EP-A-490 795 describes a method of shaping a branched electric bundle comprising a plurality of sections of wires constituting so-called end branches of the bundle and, where appropriate, so-called central branches of the bundle, in which the free end of each of the end branches of said bundle, in respective supports such as clamps displaceable by a first conveyor.

Document EP-A-490 795 describes a device for shaping and tying branches of a branched bundle of sections of conductive wires, comprising at least two co-linear main conveyors of common longitudinal axis (XX1), each of said conveyors main being adapted to move end group supports, which device comprises a ligating device and comprises a permutation means along said axis (XX1) of the order of said end group supports.

The drawback of the devices described in these documents is their very great complexity. Indeed, these devices incorporate a very large number of elements (pins, supports and ligating device) which must be moved in two directions located in a plane (which are perpendicular to each other) and these complex devices are expensive and not very suitable for the fully automatic production of electrical harnesses.

An object of the invention is to provide a fully automatic electrical beam shaping device which allows complex beams to be shaped, comprising a large number of central and / or terminal branches, and which requires a minimum of moving and moving parts. organs; another object of the invention is to eliminate the need for guiding bodies (or pins) for the conformation of electrical harnesses, and to allow the use of a binding station which is fixed or possibly movable in one direction. .

• a- on transfère, de façon ordonnée et selon un espacement relatif prédéterminé, une partie desdites pinces ou supports tenant lesdites extrémités libres desdites branches terminales, qui sont situées d'un premier coté, coté gauche par exemple, de la branche à tendre, sur un deuxième convoyeur aligné avec ledit premier convoyeur c'est-à-dire s'étendant selon ledit axe longitudinal (XX1), les pinces ou support tenant lesdites extrémités libres desdites branches terminales, qui sont situées d'un deuxième coté, coté droit par exemple, de ladite branche à tendre étant disposés ou transférés, de façon ordonnée et selon un espacement relatif prédéterminé desdites extrémités libres ou desdits groupes d'extrémités de tronçons de fils , par longueur de branches croissantes, sur ledit premier convoyeur,
• b- on déplace ledit premier convoyeur selon une première direction et on déplace ledit deuxième convoyeur selon une deuxième direction sensiblement colinéaire ou coaxiale à ladite première direction et de sens opposé, pour tendre ladite branche et les portions de tronçons de fils constituant ladite branche, de manière à manipuler et à conformer le faisceau uniquement par déplacement des extrémités libres de ses branches terminales,
• c- on ligature ou on enrubanne ladite branche tendue grâce à un dispositif de ligaturage.

The solution to the problem posed consists in providing a conformation process by tying and / or wrapping of an electric bundle comprising a plurality of sections of electrically conductive wires in which for each of the branches of said bundle:

• a- a portion of said clamps or supports holding said free ends of said end branches, which are located on the first side, for example on the left side, of the branch to be stretched, is transferred in an orderly manner and according to a predetermined relative spacing a second conveyor aligned with said first conveyor, that is to say extending along said longitudinal axis (XX1), the clamps or support holding said free ends of said end branches, which are located on a second side, right side by example, of said branch to be stretched arranged or transferred, in an orderly fashion and at a predetermined relative spacing of said free ends or said groups of ends of sections of wires, by length of increasing branches, on said first conveyor,
• b- said first conveyor is moved in a first direction and said second conveyor is moved in a second direction substantially collinear or coaxial with said first direction and in the opposite direction, to tension said branch and the portions of sections of son constituting said branch, so as to manipulate and shape the beam only by moving the free ends of its terminal branches,
• c- ligating or wrapping said stretched branch by means of a ligating device.

• on tient ou on maintient ledit faisceau par lesdites extrémités ou groupes d'extrémités, c'est-à-dire chaque extrémité libre de chaque branche terminale dudit faisceau électrique, par un support respectif tel qu'une pince, lesquels pinces ou supports sont susceptibles de se déplacer selon un axe (XX1) de préférence horizontal,
• pour chacune desdites branches :
  • on classe, par exemple grâce à un calculateur ou ordinateur dans lequel des données relatives à la configuration dudit faisceau électrique et à la longueur notamment desdits tronçons ou desdites branches dudit faisceau ont été enregistrées, toutes lesdites extrémités libres de toutes lesdites branches selon deux catégories ou ensembles disjoints, correspondant, pour une première desdites catégories, à celles desdites extrémités libres desdites branches terminales situées d'un premier coté par exemple coté gauche de ladite branche à tendre, et correspondant, pour une deuxième desdites catégories, à celles desdites extrémités libres desdites branches terminales situées d'un deuxième coté par exemple appelé coté droit de ladite branche à tendre,
  • on écarte lesdites extrémités desdites branches terminales faisant partie de ladite première catégorie par rapport auxdites extrémités desdites branches terminales faisant partie de ladite deuxième catégorie, par un mouvement relatif desdits supports ou pinces selon ledit axe (XX1),
  • on pose au moins un lien sur ladite branche tendue grâce à un dispositif de ligaturage ou d'enrubannage.

Advantageously, a method of shaping or shaping, in particular by tying, of an electric bundle comprising at least two sections of wires, to form at least three branches separated by (and joining) in at least one node, comprises the operations following:

• said bundle is held or maintained by said ends or groups of ends, that is to say each free end of each terminal branch of said electrical bundle, by a respective support such as a clamp, which clamps or supports are susceptible to move along an axis (XX1) preferably horizontal,
• for each of said branches:
  • we classify, for example by means of a computer or computer in which data relating to the configuration of said electrical harness and to the length in particular of said sections or of said branches of said bundle have been recorded, all of said free ends of all of said branches according to two categories or disjointed assemblies, corresponding, for a first of said categories, to those of said free ends of said terminal branches situated on a first side, for example on the left side of said branch to be stretched, and corresponding, for a second of said categories, to those of said free ends of said terminal branches located on a second side, for example called the right side of said soft branch,
  • said ends of said end branches forming part of said first category are separated from said ends of said end branches forming part of said second category, by a relative movement of said supports or clamps along said axis (XX1),
  • at least one link is placed on said stretched branch by means of a binding or wrapping device.

Advantageously, in order to tie said end branches of said electrical bundle, the end or group of ends forming the free end of said end branch to be tied is placed on a first conveyor and all the other ends or groups are transferred or placed ends, forming the ends of all the other terminal branches, on a second conveyor aligned with or extending said first conveyor.

The invention also applies to a device for shaping and ligating branches of a bundle of sections of electrically conductive wires, said bundle having a branched or tree-like shape, each branch of said bundle being limited either by two nodes in the case a central branch, either by a node and a group of ends of said sections of son in the case of a terminal branch, which device comprises at least two main conveyors with co-linear belts of common longitudinal axis (XX1) preferably horizontal, each of said main conveyors being adapted to move and / or transport supports of said groups of ends, which supports may be constituted by clamps for holding ends of sections of wires or groups of ends of sections of wires, or by connector supports receiving one or more of said ends of said sections of wires, which device comprises orte at least one means or device for tying, preferably located at a fixed post, near one of said conveyors, which device comprises means or device for permutation along said axis (XX1) of the order of said group supports ends. The device according to the invention comprises a means or apparatus for bidirectional transfer of said end group supports from one of said conveyors to the other of said conveyors, which is interposed between the two conveyors, which device comprises means for controlling and displacement or movement control of said conveyors independently of one another, according to predetermined distances, and in two opposite directions.

Advantageously, the sum of the lengths of said main conveyors is at least equal to twice the longest length said electrical harness,

Advantageously, said device comprises a first conveyor capable of driving grippers for holding ends or groups of ends of sections of wire, or upstream main conveyor, and comprises a second main conveyor capable of driving or transporting said grippers. holding ends or main downstream conveyor, and said device comprises means for tying up portions of sections of son constituting a branch, which are located near one of said conveyors, and said device comprises means for transferring said clamps from said first conveyor to said second conveyor and vice versa, comprises means for ordering said groups of ends and / or said grippers holding said groups of ends, and comprises independent means for respectively driving said first and second main conveyors in two directions or opposite directions so that parts of t can be stretched ronons of son, constituting branches of said bundles.

Advantageously, said transfer and permutation means comprise two intermediate conveyors which may each be essentially constituted by a toothed pinion whose teeth have a pitch substantially equal to the pitch of the notches of the toothed belts of said main upstream and downstream conveyors, which intermediate conveyors are movable or displaceable along an axis (ZZ1) perpendicular to said longitudinal axis (XX1) of said main upstream and downstream conveyors, which intermediate conveyors are capable of receiving and / or moving at least one of said end group supports, each of said intermediate conveyors being susceptible to be placed in a first position where it is located in the extension or alignment of said main upstream and downstream conveyors and interposed between them so as to allow the transfer of a support of end groups from said upstream conveyor to said downstream conveyor or vice versa, each n of said intermediate conveyors being capable of being placed in a second position or it is no longer in the extension of said main conveyors upstream and downstream and can serve as a temporary support for a support of end groups while a second intermediate conveyor can be placed in said position of alignment with said main conveyors so as to allow the transfer of support for end groups and thus so as to allow the order of said end groups to be permuted along said longitudinal axis (XX1) of said main upstream and downstream conveyors .

Advantageously, said longitudinal axis (XX1) of said main conveyors and said axis (ZZ1) of movement of said intermediate conveyors are substantially horizontal, substantially situated in a horizontal plane, and the ends or groups of ends of said sections of wires are held in a position substantially vertical.

Advantageously, said two mobile intermediate conveyors are mechanically linked together and driven by a single jack.

Advantageously, each of said intermediate conveyors can be driven synchronously or constant velocity by one of said main upstream or downstream conveyors by a dog clutch drive device using a HOLDAM type seal.

Advantageously, said main upstream and downstream conveyors are conveyors provided with an endless belt with a toothed belt and in which said supports for groups of ends or ends of said end branches are each provided with a base provided with pads capable of drive or cooperate with notches of said toothed belt of said conveyors and each of said main upstream and downstream conveyors is driven by means of a synchronous stepping motor, and said device comprises ligating means placed close to the end a conveyor chosen from said main conveyors, which end is closest to the other main conveyor.

The method and device for shaping electrical harnesses according to the invention has many advantages.

The method and device according to the invention make it possible to carry out the conformation and ligating of complex beams from sections of individual wires fitted or not with lugs at their ends, which sections can be put in place manually by an operator in pliers or support for ends or groups of ends of sections of wire which are placed on a conveyor, or alternatively which can be placed on said conveyor by an automatic preparation machine placed upstream, and / or from groups of wires whose ends have been inserted into connectors and which can either be placed manually in holding clips of groups of ends of sections of wires or on supports which are placed on a conveyor or which are delivered by a machine automatic insertion provided upstream.

The present invention makes it possible to conform electrical harnesses by manipulating said beam only by automatic displacement of the free ends of its terminal branches, that is to say of the ends of the branches which are not connected to any other branch, which free ends of terminal branches can consist either of wires or groups of wires, whether or not equipped with terminals, and which can be held in clamps placed on a linear conveyor which can each hold one or more ends of sections of wires; the free ends of said end branches can also be constituted by ends of wires grouped together and inserted in connector cells, the manipulation of the free end in this case can be carried out via a connector support which will also be adapted to be placed and moved by the same linear conveyor.

The method and the device make it possible to conform bundles without limitation of the number of sections of wires, nor of the number of central branches or of the number of terminal branches, the configuration and positioning of the branches of the bundle and their binding being obtained by movement of the end groups, that is to say of the free ends of said end branches along a single axis, preferably horizontal, by comparison with the system such as that described in EP403 350 which requires movements in two directions to conform the beam and the branches of said bundle and which in this imitates entirely manual devices for shaping and ligating electrical harnesses.

The ligating method and device according to the invention are suitable for any type of beam, whatever their complexity, provided that these beams have a branched or tree structure; within the meaning of the present application, the expression "stretching a branch" of an electric bundle consists in spacing the ends of said branch, and more precisely in spacing the free ends of the terminal branches, a distance substantially equal to the length of a section of wire, the two ends of which are respectively grouped together in the two free ends of the terminal branches in question, without necessarily implying an effective mechanical stress in the 'any of the wire harness sections.

Within the meaning of the present application, the term "node" refers to the theoretical point or place of junction or connection or mechanical attachment of at least three branches of the bundle, which may be in whole or in part of the central branches or terminal.

Within the meaning of the present application, the term branch refers to a portion of the electric bundle constituted by parts of one or more sections of electrically conductive wires, which parts of sections of wires are generally substantially parallel to each other, maintained substantially in contact with each other, in particular by wrapping, and intended to be mechanically linked together by at least one link or ligature.

The numerous advantages provided by the invention will be better understood through the following description which refers to the appended drawings, which illustrate without any limiting nature, particular embodiments of the method and device for shaping electrical harnesses according to the invention .

Figure 1 is a schematic view of a very simple bundle made from two sections of son.

Figure 2 is a schematic view of the beam of Figure 1 illustrated according to another representation convention.

Figure 3 is a schematic representation of a second beam also very simple consisting of three sections of son.

FIG. 4 is a representation of the bundle of FIG. 3 according to another representation convention identical to the convention used in FIG. 2.

Figure 5 is a schematic longitudinal view of part of a shaping device according to the invention.

FIG. 6 partially illustrates operations of a shaping method according to the invention and the main components of a shaping device according to the invention.

Figure 7 illustrates according to a representation convention substantially identical to that of FIGS. 2 and 4 of a substantially more complex bundle.

FIGS. 8 to 14 illustrate the successive stages of conformation of the bundle shown in FIG. 7.

FIGS. 15 to 20 illustrate operations for permuting groups of ends along the general axis of a shaping device according to the invention.

FIG. 21 illustrates a particular mode of part of the transfer and permutation means and their means of driving by one of the main conveyors of a device according to the invention, FIG. 21 being a view along XXI of the figure 6.

FIG. 22 illustrates in longitudinal view a detail of embodiment of the transfer and permutation means.

FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate, according to two different modes of representation, a very simple bundle 10 comprising three branches 11, 12 and 13 which meet at a node 9.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, said bundle consists of a first electrical conductor 1 whose ends 2 and 3 may or may not be provided with lugs and a second section of electric wire 4 whose ends 5 and 6 may or may not be fitted with lugs.

In order to constitute the bundle shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, said sections of wires 1 and 4 must be assembled in such a way that said ends 2 and 5 are grouped close to one another, only part of said sections of wires 1 and 4 is also grouped together over part of their length by ties or ligatures 7 and 8 schematically represented so as to constitute a branch 11 which may be surrounded by a ribbon 14 so as to give it a certain stiffness and to protect and assemble the corresponding sections of wire sections.

Said link 8 which can be qualified as an intermediate link will be located near the node 9 with reference to FIG. 2. FIGS. 3 and 4 represent another very simple beam which comprises, in addition to the beam shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 , a third section of wire 15 provided with two ends 16 and 17 which are respectively grouped with the end 3 of said section of wire 1 and the end 6 of said section of wire 4.

A bundle with three branches 11, 12, 13 is thus obtained, each of said branches being constituted by the assembly (by means of links 7, 8) of parts of said sections of wires 1, 4, 15.

We see in Figure 4 that said branches 11, 12, 13 meet at a theoretical point 9 called node, this node being generally materialized, as shown in Figure 3, by the mechanical junction of the three branches which is achieved by placing in place of links 8 near the meeting point or node of the three branches.

As shown in FIG. 5, a device according to the invention comprises two main conveyors 18 and 26 which are preferably of the endless belt conveyor type, preferably said endless belt being constituted by a notched belt on at least its external face. , which strip is stretched between rollers 20 respectively 28 and driven in displacement by rotation of at least one of said rollers, which roller is driven respectively by a motor 21, 29 and a drive belt 22, 30, which motors 21, 29 are preferably synchronous stepping motors making it possible to cause a precise movement in advance or backward of said endless belt on which supports 23, 24, 25 of groups of ends are arranged;

Said conveyors 18 and 26 are substantially placed in alignment with one another, that is to say extend along a common longitudinal axis XX1, preferably horizontal.

A station or tying machine, preferably fixed, is placed near said conveyor 26 applied downstream conveyor, by reference to said conveyor 18 called upstream conveyor, on which are arranged said supports 23, 24, 25 holding the ends of sections of son or groups of ends of sections of wires forming said free ends of the bundle to be conformed; said supports 23, 24, 25 holding said free ends (or groups of ends) can either be placed manually on one of said conveyors or be transferred automatically by a device such as those described in the aforementioned application WO9300730.

The clamps for holding ends or groups of ends can for example be of the type described in patent application FR87 / 11392 (Automatisms and Robotics applied ARA), and in if the ends are fitted with connectors, the end group supports, that is to say the free ends of said end branches, can be constituted by supports described in patent application FR2 671 236 (The Company Industrial); these supports which may be constituted by clips or connector supports are in the present application generally designated by the term of support for groups of ends or by the term of support of free end of terminal branch.

• une première position où l'un des convoyeurs intermédiaires, 39 par exemple (par référence à la figure 19) est intercalé entre lesdits convoyeurs 18 et 26, placé dans l'alignement de ceux-ci et permet le transfert du support d'extrémités de branches terminales de l'un à l'autre desdits convoyeurs 18 26 par une rotation des moyens d'entrainement dudit convoyeur intermédiaire,
• dans une deuxième position (par référence à la figure 17) où ledit convoyeur intermédiaire 39 s'est déplacé (verticalement par référence à la figure 17) perpendiculairement par rapport à l'axe longitudinal desdits convoyeurs principaux amont et aval 18, 26, ledit convoyeur intermédiaire 39 sert de support temporaire audit support 25 d'extrémité libre de branche terminale et permet au deuxième convoyeur intermédiaire 40 de venir dans une position dans laquelle ledit convoyeur intermédiaire 40 est intercalé entre lesdits convoyeurs 18 et 26 et permet le transfert de l'un vers l'autre desdits convoyeurs 18, 26 d'un autre support 24 de groupe d'extrémités ou d'extrémité libre de branche terminale du faisceau à conformer.

With reference to FIGS. 5 and 6, said sections of wires 1 and 4 intended to constitute the bundle shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 which are located on said upstream conveyor 18, can see their ends permuted and transferred in part at least to the conveyor 26 according to the steps described in Figures 15 to 20; With reference to these figures 15 to 20, it can be seen that the device comprises said upstream and downstream conveyor 18 and 26 placed in alignment with one another and separated by a device for transfer and permutation of the order of the supports of groups of ends or supports of free ends of end branches which permutation and transfer means can essentially consist of two very small intermediate conveyors 39 and 40 which are capable of moving between two positions:

• a first position where one of the intermediate conveyors, 39 for example (with reference to FIG. 19) is interposed between said conveyors 18 and 26, placed in alignment with them and allows the transfer of the end support from end branches from one to the other of said conveyors 18 26 by a rotation of the drive means of said intermediate conveyor,
• in a second position (with reference to FIG. 17) where said intermediate conveyor 39 has moved (vertically with reference to FIG. 17) perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of said main upstream and downstream conveyors 18, 26, said conveyor intermediate 39 serves as a temporary support for said support 25 for the free end of the terminal branch and allows the second intermediate conveyor 40 to come into a position in which said intermediate conveyor 40 is interposed between said conveyors 18 and 26 and allows the transfer of one towards the other of said conveyors 18, 26 of another support 24 of group of ends or end free of terminal branch of the bundle to conform.

With reference to FIG. 15, in this position, said conveyor 26 carries said support for end groups 23 and said conveyor 18 supports said support for end groups 24 and 25; the two conveyors 18 and 26 are rotated in order to cause a displacement of said supports 23, 24 and 25 to the left; with reference to FIG. 16, said intermediate conveyor 39 which is driven in synchronism with said conveyor 18 by means shown in particular in FIG. 21, allows the transfer, from said conveyor 18 to said conveyor 26, of said support 24 and then receives said support 25.

With reference to FIG. 17, the permutation device is actuated, which causes an upward displacement of said intermediate conveyor 39 supporting said support 25 and of said conveyor 40 which comes into a position allowing it to be transferred, ie the return of said support 24 from the conveyor 26 (FIG. 17) to the conveyor 18 (FIG. 18), by virtue of a movement to the right of the said conveyors 18 and 26.

With reference to FIG. 19, said transfer and permutation device is then actuated so as to lower said intermediate conveyors 39 and 40 until said conveyor 39 returns to the intermediate position between said conveyors 18 and 26, then said conveyors 18 and 26 are actuated to cause a movement to the left with reference to FIGS. 19 and 20 which makes it possible to first transfer said support 25 from said intermediate conveyor 39 to said downstream conveyor 26, and which then allows said support 24 to be transferred from said conveyor 18 to said conveyor 39 then from said conveyor 39 to said conveyor 26.

Thanks to these permutation operations, it is possible to move the groups of ends of the bundle represented in FIG. 5, to a position represented in FIG. 6 in which at least part of a branch 11 formed by a portion of the sections of wires 1 and 4 is placed opposite a binding station 31 located near the downstream conveyor 26, the end groups 34 (grouping said ends 2 and 5 of said sections 1 and 4 respectively), which is held by said support 23 of group d ends, being located to the left of said binding station, that is to say to the left of branch 11 to be stretched, on said conveyor 26, and said supports 25 and 24 of said ends (respective 6 and 3 of said sections of wires 4 and 1) being located on said upstream conveyor 18 to the right of branch 11 to be stretched; a respective movement of said conveyors 26 and 18 according to arrows 33 and 32 in opposite directions, makes it possible to place said groups of ends or groups of ends 23, 25, 24 in positions in which the sections of wires 4 and 1 are substantially stretched as shown in FIG. 6 which allows the tying and / or wrapping of the branch 11.

When in particular a device according to the invention is provided which comprises a single ligating station 31 capable of ligating in a relatively small area the portions of sections of son which are presented to it, it is necessary that the sum of the respective lengths 38 and 37 conveyors 26 and 18 is at least equal to twice the longest length of the bundle to conform in this case the length of the wire section 1 which is in the example treated the greatest length of said bundle.

In FIG. 7 is shown schematically a slightly more complex electric harness than those in FIGS. 1 to 4, the shaping and wrapping operations of which are detailed in FIGS. 8 to 14.

With reference to FIG. 7, said bundle comprises 5 groups of ends A, B, C, D, E and three nodes N1, N2, N3; said bundle is constituted by five terminal branches a, b, c, d, e, respectively connecting said groups of ends A, B, C, D, E to said nodes N1, N1, N2, N3, N3, and by two branches central f and g respectively connecting said nodes N1 and N2, and said nodes N2 and N3.

In FIGS. 8 to 14, said bundle is shown diagrammatically and said main conveyors 18 and 26 are shown diagrammatically under said bundle, the direction of movement of which is indicated by an arrow respectively; in these figures, the end groups (represented by circles) situated to the left of a vertical dotted line separating said conveyors 18 and 26 are considered to be carried by said conveyor 26 or downstream conveyor, while said end groups located to the right of said dotted line are supposed to be moved by said upstream conveyor 18, to the right with respect to FIGS. 8 to 14 while said first ends are moved to the left by reference to the same figures.

Also certain branches are represented in a bent form without this representation having a particular meaning but has for goal only to clarify the reading of these figures.

With reference to these figures, the position measured along the longitudinal axis common to said main conveyors 18 and 26 is shown assuming that the length of said terminal branch (a) is greater than the length of said terminal branch (b), and that the length of said terminal branch (c) is less than the sum of the length of said terminal branch (d) and the length of said intermediate branch (g); the length of said terminal branch (e) is assumed to be greater than the length of said terminal branch (d).

With reference to FIG. 8, in order to stretch the terminal branch (a) and allow it to be tied up, in an area located near the end 26a of said conveyor 26, which end 26a is located near said conveyor 18 that is that is to say from the other main conveyor, the group of ends A is moved or transferred on said conveyor 26 and it is moved to the left to a predetermined position, and the groups of are transferred to said conveyor 18 ends B, C, D, E and they are moved to the right to a determined position and respecting a spacing between said groups of ends B, C, D, E so that all of the sections of son constituting the bundle is substantially stretched; in this case and by way of example the distance separating the group of ends A from the group of ends B, which is marked ab, in FIG. 8, will be substantially equal to the sum of the lengths of the terminal branches (a) and B) ; in the same way the distance marked ac in FIG. 8, separating said groups of ends A and C, will be substantially equal to the sum of the lengths of said terminal branches (c) and (a) and to which is added the length of said central branch (f).

After said branch (a) is ligated by a machine not shown which corresponds to the operation shown in Figure 8, to proceed to the ligating and shaping operation of the branch (f), as shown in FIG. 9, said group of ends B is transferred from said conveyor 18 to said conveyor 26 and positioned so that said branch (f) is substantially stretched by means of permutation and d scheduling and transfer described above.

To tension the branch (e) as shown in FIG. 10, the group of ends E is kept on said conveyor 18 and all the other groups of ends, namely A, B, C, D, are transferred to said second conveyor 26 main so as to place the portion of the sections of son forming said end branch (e) in the vicinity of the end 26a where the ligating device is located (not shown).

It is then possible, as shown in FIG. 11, to stretch the central branch (g), by transferring onto said conveyor 18 said group of ends D while preserving on said conveyor 26 said groups of ends A, B, C, up to 'at positions in which the portions of sections of son constituting said branch (g) are substantially stretched and thus allowing their binding.

As shown in FIG. 12, it is then possible to tension and tie the terminal branch (c) comprising at one end the group of ends C and at the other end the node N2, by transferring the group of ends C to the conveyor 18 and transferring on the conveyor 26 the groups of ends A, B, D, E, to a position in which the sections of son constituting the branch (c) are substantially stretched and located in an area close to the binding device.

In order to tie the terminal branch (d) located between said node N3 and said group of ends D, said group of ends D is transferred as shown in FIG. 13 onto said conveyor 18 and the other groups of ends A are transferred , B, C, E on said conveyor 26, to positions in which the portions of sections of son constituting said terminal branch (d) are substantially stretched and thus allow its binding.

The binding of the last terminal branch b of the bundle is then finished, by transferring the end group B to the conveyor 26 as shown in FIG. 14 and by transferring the end groups A, C, D, E to the conveyor 18, placing said groups in relative positions in which the portions of sections of son constituting said branch (b) are substantially tensioned.

With reference to FIG. 21, it can be seen that according to a preferred embodiment, said intermediate conveyors (39 and 40 with reference to FIG. 6 in particular), can, when they are in the position inserted or aligned with said main upstream conveyors and downstream, be driven synchronously with one of said upstream or downstream conveyors, by means of a dog clutch shown in this FIG. 21.

In this figure we see indeed that said conveyor 18 which extends along said axis XX1, comprises a toothed belt 19 provided with notches 48 spaced apart by a pitch 49, which belt is driven in rotation and supported by a pulley or roller 20 said conveyor capable of rotating along an axis of rotation YY1; a pulley 59 mounted on a shaft common to said pulley 20 is driven simultaneously with said pulley 20 and drives itself by means of a belt 57 a pulley 58 of axis YY2 parallel to said axis YY1, which pulley 58 drives a part rotating 55 provided with a hollow groove 56; when said intermediate conveyor 39 or 40 is placed in a position where it is interposed between said upstream and downstream conveyors, which intermediate conveyor can simply be produced by a toothed pinion 50 provided with teeth 51 having a circumferential pitch 52 which is close to said pitch 49 said toothed belts, said pinion and / or said conveyor 39 can be set in motion by means of a rotating part 53 which is rotationally integral along an axis YY2 of said toothed pinion 50 of said intermediate conveyor 39; when said intermediate conveyor 39 is moved along said axis ZZ1 until the axis of rotation of said pinion 50 comes to coincide with the axis of rotation YY2 of said pulley 58 of the drive device, the rotating part 53 integral in rotation of said pinion 50 and provided on its external face either with a protruding groove 54 or with eccentric lugs fulfilling the same function, comes to cooperate with the hollow groove 56 provided on the part 55 so as to allow a rotary drive of said part 53 and consequently of said pinion toothed by said pulley 58 according to a type of coupling generally known under the name of HOLDAM, which avoids a separate motorization of said intermediate conveyor 39 allowing the transfer of the end group supports from one to the other of said main upstream and downstream conveyors.

With reference to FIG. 22, the two main conveyors 18 and 26 comprise a belt 19, respectively 27, provided with notches 48A on its external face and notches 48B on its internal face; thus, said bands or belts 19, 27 driven by said rollers or pulleys 20, 28 provided with teeth 20 A, 28A, can cause displacements according to arrows 32, 33, in one or the other direction depending on signals for controlling in advance or in reverse, said supports 23, 24 (partially shown) of said end groups, by meshing studs 47 of the bases of said supports with teeth or notches 48; the axes YY1, YY2, YY3, parallel to each other, of rotation of said rollers and pinion 20, 50 B and 28 respectively, are perpendicular to said axes XX1 and ZZ1. In the position shown in FIG. 22 where said intermediate conveyor 40 is aligned, by its upper face 40 C (serving as a sliding plane for said supports) with the upper faces 18 C and 26 C of said conveyors 18, 26, said supports 23, 24 can be transferred from one to the other of said conveyors; it is of course necessary that said steps 49, 47A (of pads 47) and 52 are equal, and that the distance 60 separating said axes YY1 and YY2 or YY2 and YY3 is close to (or at least equal to) the length 61 of bases of said supports 23, 24, 25. We see in this figure that said mobile intermediate conveyors 39 and 40 can be connected to a rod 43 (partially shown) driven in translation along said axis ZZ1 by a single cylinder (not shown).

Claims (10)

1. A method of building up a ramified electrical harness comprising a plurality of wire runs constituting "terminal" branches of the harness and, where appropriate, "central" branches of the harness, in which:

   • the free end of each of the terminal branches of said harness is disposed in a respective support such as a clamp (23, 24, 25) displaceable by a first conveyor (18), characterized in that, for each of the branches of said harness:

   a) a fraction of said support holding said free ends of said terminal branches that are situated at a first end of a branch to be stretched are transferred in ordered manner and with predetermined relative spacing onto a second conveyor (26) in alignment with said first conveyor, the supports holding said free ends of said terminal branches that are situated at the opposite end of said branch to be stretched being disposed or transferred in ordered manner and with predetermined relative spacing of said free ends or said groups of ends of wire runs on said first conveyor;

   b) said first conveyor (18) is moved in a first direction (32) and said second conveyor (26) is moved in a second direction (33) that is colinear with and opposite to said first direction, thereby manipulating and shaping said harness solely by displacement of the free ends of its terminal branches; and

   c) said stretched branch is bound by means of a binding device (31).
2. A method according to claim 1, in which, for each of said branches:

   • all of the free ends of all of said branches are classified into two disjoint categories, e.g. by means of a computer in which there has been recorded data relating to the configuration of said electrical harness and to the lengths, in particular of said runs or of said branches of said harness, the categories comprising a first category constituted by those of said free ends of said terminal branches that are situated at one end of said branch to be stretched, and a second category constituted by those of said free ends of said terminal branches which are situated at the other end of said branch to be stretched; and

   • in step b):
      said ends of said terminal branches belonging to said first category are spaced apart from said ends of said terminal branches belonging to said second category by relative movement of said supports or clamps along said axis (XX₁).
3. A method according to claim 1 or 2, in which, to bind said terminal branches of said electrical harness, the end or the group of ends forming the free end of said terminal branch to be bound is/are disposed on a first conveyor and all of the other ends or groups of ends forming the ends of all of the other terminal branches is/are transferred or disposed on said second conveyor.
4. Apparatus for building up and binding branches (11, 12, 13) of a ramified harness (10) of conductor wire runs (1, 4, 15), the apparatus comprising at least two colinear main conveyors (18, 26) having a common longitudinal axis (XX₁), each of said main conveyors being adapted to displace supports of groups of ends, which apparatus includes at least one binding device and means for permutating the order of said supports of groups of ends along said axis (XX₁), the apparatus being characterized in that:

   • said apparatus comprises at least one both-way transfer means for said supports of groups of ends from one of said main conveyors to the other of said main conveyors, which device is interposed between the two main conveyors; and

   • said apparatus includes means for controlling and monitoring displacements of said conveyors independently of each other, through predetermined distances and in opposite directions.
5. Apparatus according to claim 4, comprising an upstream first main conveyor (18) suitable for entraining clamps of holding the ends or groups of ends of wire runs, comprising a downstream second main conveyor suitable for entraining or transporting said clamps for holding ends, comprising means for transferring said clamps from said first main conveyor to said second main conveyor, and vice versa, comprising means for ordering said groups of ends and/or said clamps holding said groups of ends, and comprising means for independently driving said first and second main conveyors in two opposite directions so as to enable portions of the wire runs constituting the branches of said harness to be stretched solely by displacing the free ends along a single axis.
6. Apparatus according to claim 4 or 5, in which said transfer and permutation means comprise two intermediate conveyors (39, 40) which are movable along an axis (ZZ₁) perpendicular to said longitudinal axis (XX₁) of said main conveyors, which intermediate conveyors are suitable for receiving and/or displacing at least one of said supports of groups of ends, each of said intermediate conveyors being suitable for being placed in a first position in which it is in line with said upstream and downstream main conveyors and is interposed between them so as to enable a support of groups of ends to be transferred from said upstream conveyor to said downstream conveyor, or vice versa, each of said intermediate conveyors being suitable for being placed in a second position in which it is capable of serving as a temporary support for a support of a group of ends while a second intermediate conveyor can be placed in said position in line with said main conveyors so as to enable a support of groups of ends to be transferred, thereby enabling the order of said groups of ends along said longitudinal axis (XX₁) of said upstream and downstream main conveyors to be permutated.
7. Apparatus according to claim 6, in which said longitudinal axis (XX₁) of said main conveyors, and said displacement axis (ZZ₁) of said intermediate conveyors are substantially horizontal, and in which the ends or groups of ends of said wire runs are held in a substantially vertical position.
8. Apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, in which said binding station is stationary or displaceable in a single direction only.
9. Apparatus according to any one of claims 4 to 8, in which each of said intermediate conveyors can be driven with constant velocity by one of said main conveyors via a clutching drive device using an Oldham type coupling.
10. Apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 9, in which each of said intermediate conveyors (39, 40) is essentially constituted by a gear wheel (46, 50) whose teeth are at a pitch substantially equal to the pitch (49) of the corrugations (48) of the cog belts of said upstream and downstream conveyors (18, 26).

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