JP2001025140A - Grommet-expanding machine for long grommet - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a grommet-expanding machine capable of stably expanding a long grommet for electric wire passing work. SOLUTION: The root part of an expanding claw 1, passed through a grommet and its front end, are supported by link mechanisms disposed in parallel. A cylinder actuator 5 interlockingly drive the link mechanisms 2, 3 to relatively move three expanding claws 1 supported by first, second and third links 8, 9 and so on to a radially expanded position and enlarge the grommet with the claw.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a grommet spreader used to spread a grommet through an electric wire such as a wire harness.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When wiring a wire harness, for example, through a hole in a partition wall between an automobile cabin and an engine room or between a cabin and a trunk room, a rubber boot with a flange called a grommet is attached to the wire harness in advance. The grommet is attached to the hole of the partition wall to support the wire harness and seal the gap around the outer periphery of the harness with the grommet.

Since the grommet is mounted on a wire harness for which a connector has been attached, it is necessary to greatly expand a hole when the wire harness is passed inside, and a considerably large force is required for opening. For this purpose, a special grommet spreader is used. Conventional examples of the grommet spreader include, for example, a foot-operated spreader disclosed in JP-A-8-275340 and JP-A-10-115.
No. 626 discloses an air-driven spreader and the like.

[0004]

The grommet spreader disclosed in the above publication is very useful for expanding a grommet of a general shape. However, since the expanding claw is cantilevered, it has a long length. There is a problem that it cannot respond well to special grommets with a long length (long grommets).

In some cases, a cantilever-supporting expanding claw cannot secure a length that can penetrate a long grommet due to a problem in strength.

Further, a bellows-like long grommet G as shown in FIG. 8 can be compressed to reduce its length to some extent. In this case, even a claw having a general length can be penetrated through the grommet to expand the work. It can be performed, but when working under conditions where there is not enough room, that is, when the load is applied to the tip of the nail, the nail may be bent and the tip side does not open well, or the nail may be bent, broken, etc. Trouble is easy to occur.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the expanding claw can be made to have a length compatible with a long grommet, and the long claw can be opened without causing bending or breakage, so that the grommet can be favorably expanded. The task is to provide a grommet spreader.

[0008]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, three or more expanding claws passing through holes of a grommet, and each of the expanding claws are gathered at one place.
In a grommet spreader having a link mechanism for separating to a radially spread position and a driving means for the link mechanism, two sets of the link mechanisms are provided in parallel, and one of the link mechanisms is provided at the tip of the expanding claw. The two sets of link mechanisms support the root part of the expanding claw and the tip part penetrating the grommet, and in this state, the two sets of link mechanisms are linked to move the expanding claw. It was.

It is preferable that the grommet spreader includes a link mechanism and a slide mechanism for relatively displacing the spread pawl in the pawl longitudinal direction.

Further, a pawl receiving hole is provided in the link of the link mechanism disposed on the distal end side of the expanding pawl, and insertion and removal of the expanding pawl into and from the hole are performed by relative movement of the pawl and the link mechanism by the slide mechanism. Is also preferred.

Further, it is preferable that the driving mechanism of the link mechanism can stop halfway.

[0012]

According to the present invention, a link mechanism is added to the distal end side of the expanding claw, and the root portion and the distal end of the expanding claw are supported by two sets of link mechanisms which are interlocked with each other. Since the expanding claw is opened, even if the expanding claw is lengthened and penetrated through a long grommet, the claw does not bend or break. Further, the long grommet can be sufficiently widened and the electric wire can be smoothly passed through without causing the tip of the claw to bend and the opening on the tip side to be deteriorated.

[0013] In the apparatus having the above-described slide mechanism, the expanding claw can be replaced with a different length to cope with a change in the length of the grommet.

Also, the attachment and detachment of the tip of the expanding claw from the link mechanism can be performed by relative movement by the slide mechanism, thereby improving workability.

In addition, if the drive means of the link mechanism is provided with a stopping function in the middle, when the grommet after the wire passing operation is pulled off from the expanding claw, the expanding claw is stopped at a slightly opened position and the claw is stopped. The electric wire can be easily pulled out from between, and the workability is further improved.

[0016]

1 to 4 show an embodiment of a grommet spreader according to the present invention. The grommet spreader includes three expanding claws 1, two sets of link mechanisms 2 and 3, a slide mechanism 4 for displacing the link mechanism 3 in the longitudinal direction of the expanding claw 1, and a driving cylinder actuator 5. And a power transmission unit 6 for transmitting the push-pull movement of the actuator to the link mechanisms 2 and 3.

The link mechanism 3 includes an L-shaped first link 7 shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a V-shaped bent second link 8 whose tip abuts the tip of the first link 7, and a second link 8. 1st, 2nd
A third link 9 arranged vertically at the lower end of the link,
It is configured by combining a fourth link 10 for pulling the second link 8.

The first link 7 is attached to a slider 4a of the slide mechanism 4 (in the figure, the first link is integrated with the first link. 4b is a guide rod). The first link 7 is displaced in the longitudinal direction of the expanding claw 1; Does not move in the direction.

The third link 9 is a movable link and has a vertically long slot 9a. A support shaft 11 is slidably attached to the elongated hole 9a of the third link 9, and the support shaft 11
The end of the horizontal portion of the link 8 is rotatably supported.

The fourth link 10 has one end connected to a pin 12
The other end is rotatably attached to the bent portion of the second link 8 by a pin 13 near the lower end of the third link 9.

The link mechanism 2 differs from the link mechanism 3 in the following points, but has the same basic configuration as the link mechanism 3. The differences between the two are listed below.

The link mechanism 2 has the expanding claw 1 detachably attached to the distal ends of the first, second and third links 7, 8 and 9, while the link mechanism 3 has the first and second links 7, 8 and 9. Claw receiving holes 14 shown in FIG. 2 were provided at the distal ends of the second and third links 7, 8, and 9.

The link mechanism 2 has the first link 7 and the support shaft 11 fixedly arranged at a fixed position, whereas the link mechanism 3 has the first link 7 and the support shaft 11
a, and the support shaft 11 is formed by a hollow bush and guided by the guide rod 4c.

The link mechanism 2 fixes the lower end of the third link 9 to the yoke 6 a attached to the output rod of the cylinder actuator 5, whereas the link mechanism 3
Has the lower end of the third link 9 engaged with the yoke 6a so as to be able to slide horizontally.

The slide mechanism 4 includes, as preferable elements, a slide bush 4d mounted near the lower end of the third link 9 of the link mechanism 3 and a guide rod 4e for guiding the bush.

Also, as a preferable element, a slide guide 6b (a guide rod and a slide bush in the figure) for guiding the yoke 6a up and down is provided to the power transmission unit 6.
Is included.

Further, the cylinder actuator 5 is an air cylinder, a switching valve (not shown) is incorporated in an air supply path to the cylinder, and stop control is performed when the output rod is controlled to be stopped halfway while being pushed out. A position sensor (preferably one that can change the detection position) is attached.

In the drawing, reference numeral 15 denotes a base plate, and this base plate is mounted on a gantry (not shown) to complete the spreader.

In the exemplary grommet spreader configured as described above, the link mechanisms 2 and 3 are operated in conjunction with each other by the cylinder actuator 5 to collect the three spread claws 1 at one location. Then, in this state, the long grommet G is inserted into the outside of the expanding claw, and the link mechanism 3 is slid toward the link mechanism 2 so that the distal end of each expanding claw 1 is the first, second, and third link distal end. Through the claw receiving hole 14.

Thereafter, when the output rod of the cylinder actuator 5 is retracted, the expanding pawls 1 supported by the first, second, and third links 7, 8, and 9 of the link mechanisms 2, 3 radially expand. To extend the grommet to a state where the electric wire can be inserted.

When the wire harness has been passed through the expanded grommet, the cylinder actuator 5 is driven again to move the expanding claw 1 toward the gathering point. Then, preferably, when the expanding claw 1 returns slightly before the gathering point, the expanding claw 1 is stopped, and the link mechanism 3 is expanded with a gap left between the expanding claws to allow the wire harness to easily pass. Remove from the nail and pull grommet together with wire harness from spreading nail.

FIGS. 5 and 6 show an embodiment of a four-claw grommet spreader. In this grommet spreader, the link mechanisms 2 and 3 (only the side surface of 3 is shown) include a fifth link 16 that is substantially symmetrical to the second link 8 and a sixth link 17 that pulls the fifth link 16. Further, the first link 7 is made to have a size and shape that does not hinder the movement of the fifth link 16, and the tips of the first link 7, the second link 8, the third link 9, and the fifth link 16 are gathered at one place. The distal ends of these links are separated from each other by the displacement of the second, third, and fifth links 8, 9, and 16. Second link 8,
The fifth link 16 is pivoted about a guide rod 19a attached to a gantry 18 (a part of which is shown in the figure) as a fulcrum. Slot 9a and support shaft 11 provided in the third link 9 of the machine
Is omitted, but it is also possible to rotate it with the same structure as the three-claw spreader. The other parts are configured almost similarly to the three-claw spreader.

That is, the roots of the four expanding claws (not shown) are detachably attached to the corresponding links of the link mechanism 2,
Claw receiving holes 14 are provided at the tips of the links 7, 8, 9, 16 of the link mechanism 3, respectively. In addition, the link mechanism 3
The link mechanism 2, 3 is supported by a slider 19a (which is guided by two guide rods 19b) of a slide mechanism 19 in place of the above-described slide mechanism 4, and can be displaced in the longitudinal direction of the expanding claw 1. They are driven by one cylinder actuator 5 in conjunction with each other.

Since the four-claw grommet spreader has a rectangular grommet opening, the workability of passing electric wires is superior to that of the three-claw spreader.

In each of the illustrated grommet spreaders, the movements of the link mechanisms 2 and 3 are synchronized, so that the timings of the claw expansion coincide and a uniform force acts on the grommet. Therefore, the grommet is unlikely to be broken.

FIG. 7 shows a configuration in which the expanding claw 1 is formed by a sleeve 1a and a shaft 1b inserted therein so that the claw can be expanded and contracted by sliding the shaft 1b. The link mechanism 3 and the grommet can be attached to and detached from the expanding claw 1 without the slide mechanism 4.

[0037]

As described above, in the grommet spreader according to the present invention, since the spread pawl is moved by the two sets of link mechanisms, the pawl length can be made sufficiently long. The long grommet can be stably expanded, and the nail can be prevented from being bent or broken.

Further, the one having a function of relatively displacing the expanding pawl and one of the link mechanisms in the longitudinal direction of the pawl can be used to cope with a change in the length of the grommet by exchanging the pawl. Workability is also improved.

Further, in the apparatus in which the expanding claw is stopped during the movement, the wire and the grommet can be easily removed after the wire passing operation is completed, and the workability is further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a main part of an embodiment of a three-claw grommet spreader.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an overall perspective view.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state in which a nail is opened.

FIG. 5 is a front view showing a main part of the embodiment of the four-claw grommet spreader;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken along line YY of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a side view showing another example of the expanding claw.

FIG. 8 is a partially broken side view showing an example of a long grommet.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Expanding claw 2, 3 Link mechanism 4 Slide mechanism 4a Slider 4b, 4c, 4e Guide rod 4d Slide bush 5 Cylinder actuator 6 Power transmission part 6a Yoke 6b Slide guide 7 First link 8 Second link 9 Third link 9a Length Hole 10 Fourth link 11 Support shaft 12, 13 Pin 14 Claw receiving hole 15 Base plate 16 Fifth link 17 Sixth link 18 Mount 19 Guide mechanism 19a Slider 19b Guide rod G Grommet

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A three or more expanding claw that passes through a hole of a grommet, a link mechanism that collects each expanding claw at one position, and further separates the expanding claw from a radially expanded position; and a driving unit of the link mechanism. And two sets of the link mechanisms are provided in parallel with each other, and one of the link mechanisms is detachably attached to the distal end of the expanding claw. A grommet spreader for a long grommet, characterized in that a root portion of the grommet and a tip portion penetrating the grommet are supported, and in this state, two sets of link mechanisms are linked to move the expanding claw. 2. A slide mechanism for relatively displacing one link mechanism and the expanding pawl in a longitudinal direction of the pawl.
Grommet spreader for long grommet described. 3. A pawl receiving hole is provided in a link of a link mechanism disposed on the distal end side of the expanding pawl, and insertion and removal of the pawl into and from the hole are performed by relative movement of the pawl and the link mechanism by the slide mechanism. The grommet spreader for long grommets according to claim 2. 4. The grommet spreader for long grommets according to claim 1, wherein said drive means can be stopped halfway.