JP2001160472A - Fastening apparatus of wire with terminal in an automatic terminal inserter and its fastening method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To remove insertion error and zipping error in the insertion of a terminal 8 held by a terminal zipper 12. Before the terminal 8 of a wire with terminal 7 is inserted into a connector housing 10, the wire part 9 is remaining to be bent or wound centering around a clamp rod 3, therefore, insertion error or zipping error of the terminal 8 might occur due to slippage of the holding position of the terminal fastening apparatus 12 or a wire fastening apparatus 13 if the terminal 8 held by the terminal fastening apparatus 12 is inserted in the bent state as it is. SOLUTION: A wire guide member 20 is installed between a terminal block 4 loading the terminal 8 and a clamp rod 3 pinching and supporting the wire part 9 of the wire with terminal 7 to suppress the horizontal deflection of the wire part 9 and a wire presser 22 is installed on a wire fastening apparatus 13 to suppress the vertical deflection.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improved apparatus and method for chucking a terminal-attached electric wire in an automatic terminal insertion machine suitable for preventing chucking errors and reducing insertion errors in a connector housing. .

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, when an automatic terminal insertion machine chucks an electric wire with a terminal by its terminal insertion head and inserts the electric wire with a terminal into a terminal accommodating chamber of a mating connector housing, it is necessary to avoid an insertion error or a chuck error. Normally, matching the terminal with the terminal accommodating chamber requires dimensional accuracy,
It is considered difficult. 6 to 11, the conventional automatic terminal insertion machine 1 mainly includes a clamp rod 3 provided on a mounting table 2, a terminal block 4 having an L-shaped cross section, and a longitudinal wall 5 having a longitudinal length of the mounting table 2. It comprises a terminal insertion head 6 movably provided in the direction. The terminal-attached electric wire 7 (hereinafter, also referred to as “electric wire” in some cases) has metal terminals 8 (hereinafter, referred to as “terminals”) attached to both ends thereof placed on the terminal block 4,
The electric wire portion 9 is gripped by the clamp rod 3. The electric wires 7 chucked by the terminal insertion head 6 and lifted from the clamp rod 3 are grasped one by one and the terminals 8 are mounted on the mounting table 2.
Connector housing 10 positioned on top of
(Hereinafter, also referred to as “connector”) predetermined terminal receiving chamber 1
Inserted at 0 '.

A detailed description will be given of a method of performing the terminal insertion by the terminal insertion head 6. The electric wire 7 in which the electric wire portion 9 is driven into the clamp rod 3 by a mechanical or artificial method, has the terminal 8 inserted into the terminal block 4. It is in a mounted state. Next, the terminal insertion head 6 is moved from above so as to approach a predetermined gripping position. The terminal insertion head 6 has a terminal holder 11, a terminal chuck 12 and an electric wire chuck 13 incorporated therein so as to move up and down, left and right, and back and forth. The vertical position of the head of the terminal 8 is corrected by sandwiching the terminal 8 with the block 4. A pair of openable and closable terminal chucks 12 and wire chucks 13 that have been lowered after the correction is completed hold the terminals 8 and the wire portions 9 from the lateral direction (chuck), and the connector 10 while maintaining a predetermined interval.
To move the electric wire 7 upward. The terminal 8 is advanced toward the connector 10 while maintaining the state, and positioning is performed so that the head of the front end of the terminal 8 enters the terminal receiving chamber (not shown) of the connector 10. Then, the terminal temporary presser 11 rises, and the terminal chuck 12 is also opened and moves upward. In this way, only the wire chuck 13 advances while holding the wire 7, and the terminal 8 is completely inserted into the predetermined terminal accommodating chamber 10 ′ of the connector 10. Thereafter, the wire chuck 13 is also released and rises, and the terminal chuck 12 and the wire chuck 13 return to their original positions.

[0004]

However, in the conventional device, the wire portion 9 before being inserted into the connector 10 is used.
Is bent toward the terminal 8 with the clamp rod 3 as the center, or bent and bent not only in the horizontal plane but also in the upper and lower planes as shown by reference numerals 5 'and 5 "(FIG. 10). When the electric wire portion 9 is fitted into the clamp rod 3 in a state of being halfway up, the position of the terminal 8 may be lower than the support position of the clamp rod 3 and may be inclined. Terminal 8 of
Is slightly inclined, so that the correction by the terminal temporary holding member 11 becomes insufficient, and when the terminal chuck 12 tries to grasp and insert the terminal 8, the chucking position of the terminal chuck 11 or the electric wire chuck 13 is shifted and the chuck is displaced. Therefore, an insertion error of the terminal 8 occurs. In addition, the positional deviation caused in the left-right direction of the tip of the terminal 8 due to the bending of the electric wire 7 cannot be corrected because there is nothing to maintain the straightness of the electric wire, and the proper chucking by the chucks 12 and 13 cannot be performed. Was also the cause. In addition, when these mistakes occur, the apparatus must be stopped and set-up must be performed each time, thereby reducing productivity.

The present invention has been devised in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and stabilizes the state of a terminal-equipped wire in a stage before chucking to reduce chucking errors and insertion errors into a connector housing. The object of the present invention is to simplify the chuck operation and improve the insertion tact.

[0006]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an automatic terminal insertion machine, comprising: a terminal chuck provided on a terminal insertion head; In an automatic terminal insertion machine in which a terminal and a wire portion of an electric wire with a terminal are chucked to insert the terminal into a predetermined terminal accommodating chamber of a connector housing, a terminal block on which the terminal is placed and the wire portion are separated. Between the clamp rod that holds and supports
Provide a wire guide member that regulates the right and left deflection of the wire portion, before the terminal and the wire portion are chucked,
The terminal-equipped electric wire supported by the terminal block, the electric wire guide member, and the clamp rod is configured to be held in a substantially linear shape.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the chucking device for the terminal-equipped wire in the automatic terminal insertion machine according to the first aspect, wherein the wire chuck is provided with a wire holder, and when the wire chuck is moved downward, The electric wire portion supported by the clamp rod is pressed from above to straighten the electric wire portion into a substantially straight line.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for chucking a terminal-equipped wire in an automatic terminal insertion machine, wherein the terminal and the wire portion of the terminal-equipped wire are chucked by a terminal chuck and a wire chuck provided on an insertion head. In a method of chucking an electric wire with a terminal in an automatic terminal insertion machine configured to insert the terminal into a predetermined terminal accommodating chamber of a housing,
Before the terminal and the electric wire portion are chucked, the posture of the electric wire with the terminal is corrected so as to be substantially linear in the left-right direction, and then the electric wire with the terminal is chucked by the two chucks. It is characterized by having been done.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method of chucking an electric wire with a terminal in the automatic terminal insertion machine according to the third aspect, wherein the posture of the electric wire with a terminal is corrected in a vertical direction so as to be substantially linear. It is characterized by having such a configuration.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the right and left deflection of the electric wire portion is restricted between the terminal block on which the terminal is placed and the clamp rod for holding and supporting the electric wire portion of the electric wire with the terminal. Since the wire guide member is provided, the terminal-equipped wire supported by the terminal block, the wire guide member, and the clamp rod is straightened before the terminal and the wire portion are chucked. Is held.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the wire chuck is provided with the wire holder, when the wire chuck moves downward, the wire portion supported by the clamp rod is pressed from above to hold the wire portion. Straighten into a substantially straight line.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, before the terminal and the electric wire portion are chucked, the posture of the electric wire with the terminal is corrected in advance so as to be substantially linear in the left-right direction. Since the configuration is such that the terminal-equipped electric wire is chucked, the state of the electric wire is stabilized, and the terminal of the terminal-equipped electric wire matches the insertion position of the connector housing into the predetermined terminal accommodating chamber.

According to the fourth aspect of the invention, the posture of the terminal-attached electric wire is corrected so as to be substantially linear also in the vertical direction, so that the state of the electric wire is further stabilized.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a side view showing the entire automatic terminal insertion machine, FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of a wire guide member,
3 is an operation explanatory view showing a state before the terminal-attached electric wire is chucked, and FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory view showing a state where the electric wire is chucked. It is to be noted that substantially the same portions or members as those of the above-described conventional device are denoted by the same reference numerals as those used above, and description thereof is omitted.

The automatic terminal insertion machine 1 shown in FIG. 1 has a terminal insertion head 6, which can be moved to the left and right (lateral) directions with respect to the vertical wall 5 via a slider 15. On the other hand, it can move up and down. Although not shown, the insertion head 6 is provided with various air cylinders for moving the terminal chuck 12 and the electric wire chuck 13 back and forth, left and right, and up and down. The control for the drive or movement required for the above-mentioned left, right, up and down directions and chuck operation in these cases can correspond to various kinds by having in advance position data according to the kind and size of the terminal and the electric wire. A three-axis drive control is performed by a motor mechanism.

An angle-shaped electric wire guide member 20 is provided between the terminal block 4 on which the terminal 8 is placed and the clamp rod 3 which sandwiches and supports the electric wire portion 9. 2, a large number of grooves 21 are formed in the wire guide member along the left-right direction, and the wire portion 9 is inserted into the groove 21 so that the wire portion 9 is formed.
Left and right swings are regulated. As a result, the terminal block 4 and the wire guide member 2 can be moved before the wire portion 9 is chucked.
The terminal-attached electric wire 7 in the portion supported by the clamp rod 3 and the clamp rod 3 is supported so as to be kept substantially horizontal and substantially straight. On the other hand, the wire chuck 13 is provided with a wire holder 22. That is, one of the pair of electric wire chuck claws 131 (hereinafter referred to as “claw”) has the electric wire pressing 22
Is provided (FIG. 5A). Wire chuck 1
When the rod 3 moves downward, the electric wire portion 9 supported by the clamp rod 3 is first pressed from above and seated on the groove bottom 23 of the rod 3. Thereafter, the claw 131 of the wire chuck 13 clamps the wire portion by the servo motor mechanism.
In this way, before the terminal 8 and the wire portion 9 are chucked, the posture of the wire with terminal 7 is corrected by the wire guide member 20 so as to be substantially linear in the left-right direction. The posture of the terminal-attached electric wire 7 is corrected so as to be substantially straight even in the vertical direction. As a result, the terminal block 4, the electric wire 7 with the terminal supported by the electric wire guide member 20, and the clamp rod 3 maintain the standby state before the chuck stably in a substantially straight state, and the terminal 8 is also in the terminal block. 4 is not inclined at all, and a substantially horizontal state is stably maintained. . In this horizontal state, the terminal 8 and the wire portion 9 are chucked, and the terminal 8 is
0 'is inserted in the accommodation room 1
It is set so that the inside of 0 'substantially coincides with the direction in which the terminal 8 enters.

Next, a method of chucking the terminal-attached electric wire 7 will be described. In the previous step, the terminal-attached electric wire 7 is supported and prepared on the terminal block 4, the electric wire guide member 20, and the clamp rod 3 (FIG. 3). At this time, the terminal chuck 12 and the electric wire chuck 13 provided on the terminal insertion head 6 side are above the electric wire with terminal 7 prepared by setting. Next, the entire terminal insertion head 6 descends to the state shown in FIG.
At this time, if the electric wire portion 9 is floating in the groove 23 of the clamp rod 3,
Is pressed against the groove bottom. Further, the warpage in the horizontal direction and the variation of the curved deformation in the horizontal plane of the wire portion 9 inserted into the groove 21 of the wire guide member 20 are corrected.

Next, after the terminal-attached electric wire 7 is straightened, the terminal crimping portion 8 'of the terminal 8 is moved by the terminal chuck 12 (12' in FIG. 1), and the electric wire portion 9 is moved by the electric wire chuck 1.
3 (13 'in FIG. 1). The chucked electric wire 7 is moved upward by the terminal insertion head 6, and moves to a predetermined terminal accommodating chamber 10 'to be inserted into the connector 10 as shown in FIG. 5B. The terminal 8 advances in the direction of arrow B while the chucks 12 and 13 are kept at a fixed interval, and the front end of the terminal 8 is inserted near the entrance of the terminal accommodating chamber 10 'to perform positioning. From this state, only the terminal chuck 1 is once pulled up, and the wire chuck 13 is further moved in the direction of the connector 10 (direction B). Thus, terminal 8
Is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 10 '. Thereafter, the wire chuck 13 is also lifted upward, and the terminal insertion head 6 and the chucks 12 and 13 return to the initial positions, and the process for inserting the next terminal is started.

In the present embodiment, having the above-described configuration, the terminal-attached electric wire 7 can be guided by the electric wire guide member 20 and the electric wire holder 22 in two directions, up and down, left and right, and can be corrected. When the terminal-attached electric wire 7 is chucked at 6, the electric wire is chucked in a stable state. Therefore, mistakes in the chuck and insertion errors into the connector can be reduced. Further, since the state of the terminal 8 and the electric wire portion 9 can be stabilized, the terminal crimping portion 8 ′ having strict dimensional accuracy can be chucked with high accuracy. For this reason, even if the combination of the terminal part number, wire type, size, etc. changes,
Since the size and shape of the crimping portion do not greatly change, automation of the chucking method can be advantageously expanded.

Further, an electric wire holder 2 is attached to the electric wire chuck 13.
2, the electric wire portion is corrected at the tact of the lowering operation of the chuck 13 to stably maintain the state of the terminal 8 and the electric wire portion 9, so that chuck errors can be reduced, and the electric wire 7 with a terminal can be reduced accordingly. Auxiliary mechanism for the gripping operation of the terminal, for example, the terminal temporary presser 1 used in the above-described conventional apparatus.
Tacts such as 1 can be omitted, and furthermore, the operation of gripping the terminal wires can be simplified, the insertion tact can be increased, and the productivity can be improved accordingly.

Although the present embodiment has been described in detail, the specific configuration is not limited to this embodiment, and even if there is a design change or the like within a range not departing from the gist of the present invention, the present embodiment is not limited to this embodiment. Included in the invention. For example, although the terminal chuck 12 is configured to grip the narrowed terminal crimp portion 8 ′ of the terminal,
The head may be grasped like a conventional device.

[0021]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, between the terminal block on which the terminal is placed and the clamp rod which clamps and supports the wire portion of the wire with the terminal. Since the wire guide member that regulates right and left deflection of the wire portion is provided, the terminal and the wire portion are chucked before being supported by the terminal block, the wire guide member, and the clamp rod. The terminal-equipped electric wire is held in a substantially straightened shape. For this reason, it is possible to prevent a chuck error and to reduce an error in inserting a terminal into a connector terminal.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, since the wire chuck is provided with the wire retainer, when the wire chuck moves downward, the wire portion supported by the clamp rod is pressed down from above. Straighten the wire portion into a substantially straight line.
For this reason, it is possible to prevent a chuck error due to the terminal chuck or the electric wire chuck, to further secure the chuck, and to more stably insert the terminal into the connector housing.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a method for chucking an electric wire with a terminal in an automatic terminal insertion machine according to the present invention.
Before the terminal and the electric wire portion are chucked, the posture of the electric wire with the terminal is corrected so as to be substantially linear in the left-right direction in advance, and then the electric wire with the terminal is chucked by the two chucks. For this reason, the terminal-equipped wire is in a stable state,
This has the effect of significantly reducing chuck errors caused by the terminal chuck and the wire chuck and insertion errors into the terminal insertion chamber. In addition, the tact such as the terminal temporary retainer 11 used in the conventional apparatus can be omitted, the operation of gripping the terminal wire can be simplified, the insertion tact can be increased, and the productivity can be improved accordingly.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the posture of the electric wire with terminal is corrected so as to be substantially linear also in the vertical direction, so that the electric wire can be made closer to a straight state.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an entire automatic terminal insertion machine according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged front view of the electric wire guide member of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an operation explanatory view showing a state before an electric wire with a terminal is chucked.

FIG. 4 is an operation explanatory view showing a state in which the terminal-attached electric wire is chucked.

5A is an enlarged sectional view of a main part taken along line BB in FIG. 4, and FIG. 5B is an operation explanatory view showing a correlation among a connector housing, a terminal chuck, and an electric wire chuck.

FIG. 6 is an external perspective view of a conventional device.

FIG. 7 is a schematic plan view showing a state where an electric wire with a terminal is set on a terminal block and a clamp rod.

FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory view showing a chuck operation of the terminal-equipped electric wire.

9 is a sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 8;

FIG. 10 is an operation explanatory view showing a state of the electric wire with terminal before being chucked.

FIG. 11 is an operation explanatory view showing a state immediately before an electric wire is inserted into the connector housing.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Clamping Rod 4 Terminal Block 6 Terminal Insertion Head 7 Terminal Wire 8 Terminal 9 Wire Part 10 Connector (Connector Housing) 10 'Terminal Housing 12 Terminal Chuck 13 Wire Chuck 20 Wire Guide Member 22 Wire Holder

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An automatic terminal in which a terminal and an electric wire portion of an electric wire with a terminal are chucked by a terminal chuck and an electric wire chuck provided on a terminal insertion head, and the terminal is inserted into a predetermined terminal accommodating chamber of a connector housing. In the insertion machine,
Between the terminal block on which the terminal is placed and the clamp rod that sandwiches and supports the electric wire portion, an electric wire guide member for regulating right and left deflection of the electric wire portion is provided, and the terminal and the electric wire portion are chucked. Automatic terminal insertion, wherein the terminal-equipped electric wire supported by the terminal block, the electric wire guide member, and the clamp rod is held so as to be corrected into a substantially linear shape before being held. Chucking equipment for electric wires with terminals in machines. 2. An electric wire holder is provided on the electric wire chuck,
2. The automatic terminal according to claim 1, wherein when the wire chuck is moved downward, the wire portion supported by the clamp rod is pressed from above to straighten the wire portion to a substantially linear shape. Device for chucking wires with terminals in insertion machines. 3. An automatic terminal insertion wherein a terminal and an electric wire portion of an electric wire with a terminal are chucked by a terminal chuck and an electric wire chuck provided on an insertion head, and the terminal is inserted into a predetermined terminal accommodating chamber of a connector housing. In the method for chucking a terminal-equipped wire in a machine, before the terminal and the wire portion are chucked, the posture of the terminal-equipped wire is corrected so as to be substantially linear in the left-right direction. A method of chucking an electric wire with a terminal in an automatic terminal insertion machine, wherein the electric wire with a terminal is configured to be chucked. 4. The method for chucking an electric wire with a terminal in an automatic terminal insertion machine according to claim 3, wherein the posture of the electric wire with a terminal is corrected in the vertical direction so as to be substantially linear. .