JP2001135174A - Printing method and device for cable - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a printing device for applying accurate identification printing on a cable after mounting a connector, without causing positional and directional offsets. SOLUTION: The printing device comprises a connector carrying pallet 1 for feeding a connector while guiding via a sliding rail 6, a cable receiver 2 on which a cable 21 pulled out of a connector 20 is placed, a cable corrector 3 and a holder 4, so that the cable 21 fed into a marking part is held downward by the corrector 3, squeezed in the longitudinal direction and drawn straight. Further, the drawn cable 21 is held at the center of the marking part by the holder 4, and printing is applied on the cable 21 in this state with a laser marker 5.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a printing method for performing identification printing on a wire after a connector is attached thereto in a manufacturing process of a wire harness using a non-contact printing machine such as a laser marker, and a printing device for a wire.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art When a plurality of wires are connected using a single connector, each wire is generally colored and identified by a difference in color. Because of the increase in production and cost, disadvantages have arisen in that electric wires are identified by characters or codes printed on the electric wires and the colors of the electric wires are unified to one color.

In this case, a method has been adopted in which printing is performed at the time of measuring the electric wire, and thereafter, cutting, terminal attachment, and the like are performed and then the electric wire is incorporated into the connector housing.

[0004]

When printing is performed at the time of measuring the electric wire, it is necessary to stop the measuring each time, so that a time loss occurs, the production efficiency is reduced, and the output is reduced.

[0005] Further, if the terminals are attached after the printing and the wiring is assembled into the connector housing, a deviation occurs between the printing position and the printing direction of each electric wire drawn from the connector. Therefore,
When the position and direction of printing are specified, it is necessary to correct the deviation in advance, and wasteful work increases.

[0006] It is an object of the present invention to solve these problems and improve the productivity of a wire harness.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, according to the present invention, an electric wire after a connector is attached is provided.
It is sent to the marking part together with the connector supported by the transport pallet, and at the marking part, the wire drawn from the connector is linearly stretched and held at the center of the marking part, and in this state, the non-contact type placed on the marking part A printing machine was used to apply identification printing to the electric wire coating.

Further, in order to surely perform printing without causing a shift in the position and the direction of the electric wire, a printing device is configured as follows. That is, a pallet for holding the connector in a posture in which the connector can be fed in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the wire is drawn from the connector, a wire receiver for placing a terminal portion of the wire drawn from the connector on the pallet, and a lifting and lowering and advancing and retreating. An electric wire straightening tool having a mechanism, a holder having an elevating mechanism, and a non-contact printing machine arranged above the marking unit, wherein the straightening tool is lowered and pressed from above on the electric wire sent to the marking unit, Further, the wire is advanced in a direction away from the connector to linearly stretch the wire on the wire receiver in the drawing direction from the connector, and then the holder descends and holds the stretched wire at the center of the marking portion. The contact printing machine was used to print on electric wires.

This apparatus has a feed mechanism for moving a pallet holding the connector in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the wires are pulled out from the connector when it is necessary to sequentially feed a plurality of wires drawn from the connector to the marking portion. I do.

It is preferable that the electric wire straightening tool is formed of a roller with a V-groove that presses the electric wire on the groove surface of the V-groove and rolls the electric wire in the direction in which the electric wire is extended.

It is also preferable that the wire straightening tool is formed by a grooveless roller that rolls in the direction in which the wire is stretched, and the roller pushes the wire into a V-groove provided in the wire holder to center the wire. An electric wire straightening device using these rollers, when paired with two rollers eccentrically arranged and attached to a holding member having a swing fulcrum at a position deviated from the center of rotation of both rollers, two rollers are used for two rollers. The electric wires can be stretched at the same time and the two electric wires can be printed at the same time, and a more preferable device can be realized.

The electric wire straightening device is preferably a roller which does not cause abrasion in consideration of preventing the electric wire from being damaged. However, the straightening device is provided with a soft pad and a V-groove for centering the electric wire, and the electric wire is pressed by the soft pad. In this case, the electric wire can be stretched without damaging the electric wire by lightly applying the groove surface of the V-groove to the electric wire.

In addition, when the holder uses a chuck for holding the stretched electric wire from both sides, and when a laser marker is used as a printing machine, a brush that moves together with the electric wire straightening tool is provided, and the brush moves forward and backward of the wire straightening tool. It is preferable that the gripping surface is sometimes brushed by passing between the gripping surfaces of the chuck.

Further, it is preferable that a sensor for detecting the electric wire positioned at the marking portion is provided, and printing by the printing machine is executed based on a detection signal from the sensor.

By providing a penetrating window hole in the holder so that printing can be performed in the window hole, the stretched electric wire can be pressed and held from above by the holder. This structure is particularly effective when printing a plurality of electric wires at the same time. Unlike the chuck, each electric wire can be held collectively by one holder, and there is no installation restriction in terms of space.

[0016]

According to the present invention, since printing is performed on the electric wire after the connector is attached, the printing can be performed without stopping the measurement of the electric wire, and the work time is not lost.

Further, the electric wire which has been attached to the connector is bent with a habit and cannot be positioned as it is, so that printing cannot be performed. Therefore, in the present invention, the electric wire drawn from the connector is straightened in the drawing direction by the electric wire straightening tool, and is held at the center of the marking portion by the holder to perform printing.

In this case, printing leakage due to displacement of the electric wire does not occur, and the printing position and orientation are kept constant. Therefore, it is not necessary to correct misalignment even when the print position and orientation are specified.

A device that conveys a connector and electric wires on a pallet and sequentially sends a plurality of electric wires to a marking section can perform printing continuously.

Further, in the device in which the wire straightening tool is formed by rollers, the wire is not scratched. Further, when two rollers are attached to a holder having a swinging fulcrum at a position shifted from the rotation center of both rollers, two electric wires having the same diameter and different diameters can be processed at the same time, and work efficiency is improved.

When the printing machine is a laser marker and the holder is a chuck, the burner of the coating adheres to the gripping surface of the chuck when the electric wire is rubbed with a laser beam to make characters or the like emerge, but the apparatus is provided with a brush. Since brushing of the gripping surface is performed before the chuck next grips the electric wire to remove extraneous matter, contamination of the electric wire due to transfer of the extraneous matter from the gripping surface does not occur.

In addition, a device that performs printing by detecting a wire positioned at the marking portion with a sensor can avoid a situation in which a laser beam is irradiated without a wire when a laser marker is used, and damage to the table by the laser beam can be prevented. No sticking.

[0023]

1 to 6 show a printing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

This printing apparatus includes a pallet 1 for holding and transporting the connector shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a feed mechanism (not shown) for horizontally feeding the pallet 1, and a terminal of an electric wire to which the connector 20 is attached. The electric wire receiver 2 includes a wire receiver 2 on which a portion is mounted, an electric wire correction tool 3 and a holder 4 disposed above the electric wire receiver 2, and a laser marker 5 provided above the marking portion.

The pallet 1 is guided by a slide rail 6 shown in FIG. 2 and sent from a preceding station to a printing station. In the first step, the wire is cut and the connector is attached. The connector is attached by stripping the end of the electric wire to expose the conductor, and then attaching a crimp terminal and inserting the crimp terminal into the connector set on the pallet 1; Press-fit the end of the wire into the wire, cut the coating with the contact piece of the terminal to electrically connect the contact piece and the conductor, and then crimp the barrel of the terminal to hold the wire coating. .

FIG. 7 shows an example of the wire harness (FIG. 20 is a connector, 21 is an electric wire) after the processing, and the pallet 1 is moved to the printing station with such a product. come.

The feed mechanism for moving the pallet 1 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 7 may be a known mechanism, for example, a mechanism in which a ball screw is rotated by a servomotor to feed a slider screwed to the ball screw. The slider of the feed mechanism is connected to the pallet 1 by a detachable connecting tool to feed the pallet 1. The pallet 1 is separated from the slider of the feed mechanism after printing and removal of the connector, and is returned to the starting end of the processing line through a return path (not shown).

The electric wire receiver 2 is provided along the moving path (outgoing path) of the pallet 1.
Of the electric wire 21 is performed.

The electric wire straightening tool 3 has an elevating mechanism 7 and an advance / retreat mechanism 8 shown in FIG. The lifting mechanism 7 includes a movable frame 7a
Is moved up and down by the air cylinder 7b. Reference numeral 7c denotes an adjuster for adjusting the amount of elevation. When the movable frame 7a reaches the top dead center and the bottom dead center, the stopper 7d attached to the movable frame 7a hits the adjustment bolt of the adjuster 7c. The air cylinder 7b and the adjuster 7c are mounted on the fixed frame 9.

The reciprocating mechanism 8 includes an air cylinder 8a mounted on the movable frame 7a, a movable arm 8b pushed and pulled by the cylinder 8a, a stopper 8c for stopping the movable arm 8b at the forward end point, and an adjuster for adjusting the stop position. 8d. The adjuster 8d may be provided on the stopper 8c side.

The electric wire straightening tool 3 is composed of a roller 3a with a V-groove shown in FIG. 6 and a horizontal support shaft 3b attached to a movable arm 8b. The roller 3a is rotatably supported by the horizontal support shaft 3b. Since the roller 3a performs correction and centering with the V groove, it can cope with a change in the size of the electric wire. The movable arm 8
At b, a taper 10 having a tapered taper is attached vertically.

The holder 4 is an air chuck that opens and closes a pair of left and right parallel hands 4a and grips the electric wire 21 from both sides, and has an elevating mechanism 11 shown in FIG. The lifting mechanism 11 has the same structure as the lifting mechanism 7 for the correction tool 3.

Reference numeral 12 in FIGS. 2 and 3 denotes an optical fiber sensor for detecting electric wires supported by the fixed frame 9. The sensor 12, the roller 3a, the brush 10, and the parallel hand 4a of the chuck are arranged at the center of the marking portion (C in FIG. 4 is a center line).

The laser marker 5 is provided on the fixed frame 9 via a position adjusting mechanism 13 as shown in FIG. The position adjusting mechanism 13 can move the position of the support plate 13a forward, backward, left and right within a range of about 10 mm each, and by moving the support plate 13a, FIGS.
The emission center P of the laser beam shown in FIG. 5 is correctly positioned.

1 and 4, reference numeral 14 denotes a turnbuckle for adjusting the height position of the laser marker 5, and reference numeral 15 denotes a safety cover.

In the printing apparatus constructed as described above, when the pallet 1 is sent to the printing station and stopped, the correction tool 3 descends and the electric wire 2 pulled out from the connector 20 is moved.
1 is pressed from above as shown in FIG. Then, the straightening tool 3 rolls in a direction away from the connector, and the wire 21 on the wire receiver 2 is straightened. Next, the orthosis 3 is shown in FIG.
When the chuck 4 moves forward to the position indicated by the dashed line and stops, the chuck 4 descends, and as shown in FIG.
Grab 1 from both sides. At this time, the electric wire 21 is accurately positioned on the center line C of the marking portion, and printing is performed by the laser marker 5 in this state. Therefore, there is no problem such as printing leakage or printing misalignment.

When printing is completed, the parallel hand 4a is opened and the chuck 4 is returned, and thereafter, the correction tool 3 is retracted. At this time and at the next forward movement, the brush 10 brushes the gripping surface of the parallel hand 4a to remove the cinder of the coating adhered to the gripping surface. The straightening tool 3 retreats after returning and returns to the original position, and the printing on the first electric wire is completed. Thereafter, the feed mechanism feeds the pallet 1 at a preset pitch, and the second electric wire is set on the marking portion.
Then, the same operation is sent back to the second and subsequent wires, and thus all the wires are printed for identification.

FIGS. 10 to 14 show a printing apparatus according to the second embodiment. This apparatus uses a wire groove 2 for wire centering provided in the wire receiver 2, a wire straightening tool 3A for pressing two wires simultaneously, and a holder 4A for pressing and holding the wire 21 from above. The difference from the apparatus of FIGS. 1 to 6 is that a presser 16 that presses down the end of the electric wire drawn from the connector is used. The elevating mechanisms 7, 11 and the advancing / retracting mechanism 8 have different shapes, but the functions are the same as those described above.

As shown in FIG. 13A, the electric wire straightening tool 3A has a holding shaft 3e having a rotation center O at a position shifted from the rotation centers of the two eccentrically arranged rollers 3c and 3d.
It is configured to be attached to. As shown in FIGS. 13B and 13C, when there is a diameter difference between the two electric wires 21 pressed by the rollers 3c and 3d, the electric wire straightening tool 3A rotates the holding shaft 3e to rotate the rollers 3c. The height position of the pressing point by 3d is automatically adjusted to match the wire diameter. Therefore, even if the diameters of the wires are different, the two wires 21 can be reliably pressed to correct the bending. Although the rollers 3c and 3d in the figures are rollers without grooves, rollers with V grooves may be used, and in that case, the V grooves 15 provided in the electric wire receiver 2 may be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 14, the holder 4A has a window hole 4b penetrating vertically and a pressurizer 4c for pressing and holding the corrected electric wire by positioning it in the V groove on the lower surface. Pressurizer 4c
Is mounted movably up and down by urging downward with a spring 4e on a frame 4d with a window hole to be raised and lowered by a lifting mechanism 11. When pressing a large-diameter electric wire, the pressurizer 4c compresses the spring 4e. It is designed to escape upward. Further, each pressurizer 4c is provided with a slit 4f for opening the printing surface of the electric wire to the outside through the window hole 4b, and in the slit 4f, simultaneous printing on two electric wires by the laser marker 5A (FIG. 10) is performed. Done.

FIG. 15 shows an electric wire straightening tool without rollers. This electric wire straightening tool 3B is provided with a sponge pad 3h and a centering claw 3i on a lower surface of a main body 3g provided with a window hole 3f for laser irradiation to be moved by an elevating mechanism and an advancing / retracting mechanism (both not shown). Presses the electric wire 21 on the electric wire receiver 2 to center the electric wire by the V groove provided in the centering claw 3i. Even with such a correction tool, the electric wire can be aligned with the center of the marking point.

It is preferable that the characters attached to the electric wires are not easily erased. In this respect, the printing machine used is preferably an exemplary laser marker. However, unless otherwise specified, an ink jet printing machine can be used.

[0043]

As described above, according to the printing method and the printing apparatus of the present invention, the electric wire after the connector is attached is stopped by the connector set on the pallet, and in this state, the hazy electric wire is fixed by using the straightening tool. Since printing is performed by stretching the paper straight and holding it at the marking portion with a holder, it is not necessary to stop the metering every time printing is performed, and loss time is eliminated and productivity can be increased.

Since the printing position and orientation are constant,
There is no need to correct the misalignment of the position and direction, and the productivity is further improved.

In addition, those in which the correction tool is formed by a roller or in which a brush for cleaning the gripping surface of the chuck is provided,
Dirt and damage to the wires do not occur.

In the case where two rollers are provided so that the height position of the pressing point is automatically adjusted, two wires of the same diameter and different diameters can be simultaneously printed, thereby improving the productivity. .

In the case where the sensor for detecting the presence / absence of an electric wire is provided, the table is not irradiated with laser light when the laser marker is used, and the protection effect of the apparatus is enhanced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of a printing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of a main part of a side surface.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a main part of a plane.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged view of a main part of the front.

FIG. 5 is a detailed view of a portion along line VV in FIG. 3;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged front view of the orthosis.

FIG. 7 is a diagram schematically illustrating an example of an electric wire after a connector is attached.

FIG. 8 is a front view showing a straightening operation of the electric wire by the straightening tool.

FIG. 9 is a front view showing a state of holding the wire after the correction by the chuck.

FIG. 10 is a side view of another embodiment.

FIG. 11 is a front view of the apparatus of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a plan view of a main part of the apparatus of FIG. 10;

13A is a plan view of an electric wire straightening tool using a pair of rollers, FIG. 13B is a side view of the same straightening tool, FIG. 13C is a front view of the same, and FIG.

14A is a plan view of a holder with a window hole, FIG. 14B is a vertical sectional side view of the holder, and FIG.

FIG. 15 (a) is a perspective view showing another example of the electric wire straightening tool, which is turned upside down. FIG. 15 (b) is a side view of the above straightening tool.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Pallet 2 Electric wire holder 3, 3A, 3B Electric wire correction tool 3a V-grooved roller 4, 4A holder 4a Parallel hand 5, 5A Laser marker 6 Sliding rail 7 Elevating mechanism 8 Advancing / retreating mechanism 9 Fixed frame 10 Brush 11 Elevating mechanism 12 Electric wire detection Sensor 15 V groove 16 Holder 20 Connector 21 Electric wire C Center line of marking part P Center of laser beam emission

Claims (8)

[Claims] An electric wire after the connector is attached is sent to a marking portion together with a connector supported by a transport pallet,
At the marking portion, the wire drawn from the connector is stretched linearly and held at the center of the marking portion, and in this state, the identification of the coating of the wire is performed by a non-contact printing machine arranged at the marking portion. Method of printing electric wires. 2. A pallet for holding a connector in a position in which the connector can be fed in a direction perpendicular to a direction in which an electric wire is drawn from the connector, a wire receiver on which a terminal portion of the electric wire drawn from the connector on the pallet is placed, And a wire straightening tool having an advancing and retreating mechanism, a holder having an elevating mechanism, and a non-contact type printing machine arranged above the marking unit, wherein the straightening tool descends and sends the wire sent to the marking unit from above. Presser, further advance in the direction away from the connector, linearly stretch the wire on the wire receiver in the direction of pulling out from the connector, and then the holder descends and holds the stretched wire at the center of the marking portion. A printing device for electric wires that allows non-contact printing machines to print on electric wires. 3. The electric wire printing method according to claim 2, further comprising a feed mechanism for moving the pallet in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the electric wires are drawn out of the connector and sequentially feeding the plurality of electric wires drawn out of the connector to the marking portion. apparatus. 4. The electric wire straightening device according to claim 2, wherein the electric wire straightening tool is formed by a roller having a V-groove that rolls in the direction in which the electric wire is stretched, and the electric wire is stretched while centering the electric wire on the groove surface of the V-grooved roller. The printing device for an electric wire according to the above. 5. The electric wire straightening device according to claim 1, wherein the electric wire straightening tool is formed by a grooveless roller that rolls in the direction in which the electric wire is stretched, and the electric wire is pushed into a V-groove provided in the electric wire receiver to center the electric wire. 4. The printing device for an electric wire according to 2 or 3. 6. A pair of eccentrically arranged rollers are mounted on a holding member having a swing fulcrum at a position deviated from the center of rotation of the two rollers, and the electric wire is fixed by an electric wire straightening tool having the two rollers. The printing device for electric wires according to claim 4 or 5, wherein the electric wires are simultaneously stretched and printed on two electric wires at the same time. 7. A chuck for holding the stretched electric wire from both sides as the holder, a laser marker as a printing machine, and a brush which moves together with the wire straightening tool, and the brush is a gripping surface of the chuck when the wire straightening tool advances and retreats. The electric wire printing apparatus according to any one of claims 2, 3, 4, and 5, wherein the gripping surface is brushed by passing through the gap. 8. The holder according to claim 2, wherein the holder is configured to press and hold a stretched electric wire from above with a pressurizer, the holder has a penetrated window hole, and printing is performed in the window hole. 7. The printing device for an electric wire according to any one of 6.