JP2005251535A - Manufacturing system and method of wire harness - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a manufacturing system and method of a wire harness with low cost and high yield by balancing a tradeoff of improvement of yield with production cost. <P>SOLUTION: The manufacturing system of a wire harness is equipped with a connection supporting unit 27 supporting connection of a wire with a terminal, and an automatic inserting unit 4 inserting a B end of the wire with a terminal with an A end connected to a connector housing by the connection supporting unit 27 into the connector housing. The connection supporting unit 27 includes a specifying means 28 capable of specifying a connecting tip of the B end by contacting to the B end, the automatic inserting unit 4 includes a positioning member for an operator to receive and deliver the B end, and the specifying means 28 is provided at the positioning member of the automatic inserting unit 4 and includes a conductive plate 13b electrically connected to the B end at positioning of the B end. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a wire harness manufacturing system and method, and more particularly to a wire harness manufacturing system and method that facilitates connection of a terminal-attached electric wire having connector terminals at both ends of a scaled electric wire.

Conventionally, when producing a wire harness, in order to make the terminal insertion process easier and more accurate, a device (for example, Patent Documents 1 to 3) and an auxiliary member for instructing the connector housing the terminal insertion destination. , A technique for supporting terminal insertion (for example, Patent Document 4), a device for inserting a preset terminal with a terminal with an automatic machine (for example, Patent Document 5), or one end of a terminal with a terminal For the part, the operator is instructed the connection destination, the other end is temporarily placed on the pallet, and after the connection of one end is completed for all the wires, the terminal temporarily placed on the pallet is An apparatus (Patent Document 6) that connects with the above is known.
JP 2002-343530 A JP-A-8-162249 JP 2002-358845 A JP-A-9-167670 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 9-167671 JP 11-191329 A

  In wire harness production technology, it is necessary to achieve both high yield and low production cost.

  In this regard, if automation is performed, the yield increases, but the cost increases in terms of development cost and capital investment.

  On the other hand, if automation is minimized and the number of manual processes is increased, the cost of equipment can be reduced, but it is difficult to suppress a decrease in yield due to human factors.

  In particular, when combining a connection indicator and an automatic insertion machine, the conventional technology is a specification that automates the insertion of the other end side after all the insertion of the one end side of the wire is manually performed. Even if a failure (for example, disconnection) occurs in the electric wire with terminal, the combination of the automatic device and the manual work, such as it becomes impossible to find the failure unless all of the one end is inserted, It was not easy.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a manufacturing system and method for a wire harness that is inexpensive and has a high yield by balancing the trade-off between yield improvement and production cost. Yes.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention provides a connection support unit for supporting connection of a terminal-attached electric wire having terminals for connector connection at both ends of a scaled electric wire, and an operator connects one end side by the connection support unit. It has an automatic insertion unit that inserts the other end of the electric wire with terminal connected to the housing into the connector housing, and the connection support unit can identify the connection destination of the terminal by contacting the terminal to which the automatic insertion unit connects The automatic insertion unit is a wire harness manufacturing system including a positioning member for an operator to deliver a terminal, and the specifying unit is provided on the positioning member of the automatic insertion unit. And a conductive member that is electrically connected to the terminal when the terminal is positioned.

  Further, when another aspect of the present invention performs connection support to a connector housing of a terminal-attached electric wire having terminals for connector insertion at both ends of a scaled electric wire, connection of one end of the electric wire with terminal is performed. An instruction process for instructing the tip, and an automatic insertion process in which an operator places the other end of the terminal-attached electric wire connected to the connector housing based on the instruction process on the positioning member and automatically inserts it by the automatic insertion unit, In the automatic insertion step, a continuity test is performed on the electric wire with terminal placed on the positioning member, and only the electric wire with terminal that passes the continuity test is inserted by the automatic insertion unit.

  According to the present invention, when the terminal on the other end side of the electric wire with terminal is transferred to the positioning member of the automatic insertion unit, the terminal and the conductive member are electrically connected, and this connection is achieved. To identify the connection destination of the terminal. That is, after the terminal connection on one end side of the terminal-attached electric wire is completed, before connecting the terminal on the other end side, the connection support unit performs a continuity inspection of the terminal-attached electric wire, and based on the inspection result, The pole of the electric wire with a terminal will be specified.

  Therefore, in the system of the present invention, since the trouble by the worker can be detected before connecting both end portions for each electric wire with terminal, while shifting from the work by the worker to the work by the automatic insertion unit, While the yield reduction due to human factors is detected early and the failure is suppressed as much as possible, the other end of the wire with terminal can be automatically inserted by the automatic insertion unit, improving yield and production cost. Can be achieved at the same time.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  Referring to FIG. 1, a wire harness manufacturing system 1 according to the present embodiment (hereinafter abbreviated as manufacturing system 1) has a terminal-attached electric wire having terminals T for connector connection at both ends of a scaled electric wire W. A cage unit 2 that accommodates TW, a connector unit 3 that holds a connector housing C to which one terminal T (hereinafter referred to as A end) of the terminal-attached electric wire TW is connected, and the other terminal T of the terminal-attached electric wire TW An automatic insertion unit 4 that automatically inserts the connector (hereinafter referred to as B end) into the target connector, and controls each of these components to instruct the operator S about the insertion position of the A end. And a control device 5 (see FIG. 3) for performing insertion.

  The scissor unit 2 and the automatic insertion unit 4 are arranged in parallel with each other across the work station ST where the worker S is located, while the connector unit 3 is a connector holding portion 14 of the automatic insertion unit 4 described later. It is disposed so as to be substantially in front and open the worker S side of the saddle unit 3, and faces the work station ST so that the worker S can insert the A end. The facing direction of the scissor unit 2 and the automatic insertion unit 4 is defined as the Y direction, the direction orthogonal to the Y direction in plan view is defined as the X direction, and the direction orthogonal to the X and Y directions is defined as the Z direction. To do.

  The gutter unit 2 includes a plurality of gutter-shaped accommodation portions 6 that accommodate the terminal-attached electric wires TW by type, and a wire instruction lamp 7 provided in each of the gutter-shaped accommodation portions 6. Each bowl-shaped storage portion 6 is formed in a container shape that opens upward, and stores the terminal-attached electric wire TW in an attitude in which the axis is oriented so as to be parallel to the Y direction, and the operator S holds the terminal-attached electric wire TW. In order to be able to be taken out, the respective leading end portions are arranged in parallel along the X direction in a state of facing the work station ST.

  Each of the wire support lamps 7 is disposed at the tip of the bowl-shaped housing portion 6, and when one specific lamp is lit, the operator S is instructed the type of the terminal-attached wire TW to be taken out next. ing. In addition, each hook-shaped housing portion 6 is provided with a sensor (not shown) that can detect whether or not the terminal-attached electric wire TW has been taken out by an operator.

  Referring to FIG. 2, the connector unit 3 includes a main body box 8 formed in a substantially rectangular shape, a connector holder 9 provided on the main body box 8 and accommodating the connector housing C, and provided on the connector holder 9. The cavity indicating lamp 10 is provided. In the present embodiment, the main body box 8 incorporates the control device 5.

  The connector holder 9 is a bottomed container having a receiving hole 11 that opens upward in the planar shape of the connector housing C, and receives the connector housing C from above in the receiving hole 11. In addition, a plurality of probes 11a are erected on the bottom of the connector holder 9, and these probes 11a are individually inserted into cavities C1 (see FIG. 6) of the connector housing C accommodated in the accommodation hole 11. Are arranged as follows. In the present embodiment, nine rows along the longitudinal direction of the connector housing C and two cavities C1 along the width direction are formed, and 18 probes 11a are arranged correspondingly. Yes.

  Eighteen cavity indicating lamps 10 are arranged corresponding to each probe 11 a, and these 18 are arranged in nine rows and two stages, and each stage is arranged along the longitudinal edge of the receiving hole 11. ing. And each cavity instruction | indication lamp | ramp 10 is instruct | indicated to the operator S the cavity C1 which should insert A end by lighting one specific one.

  Referring to FIG. 1 again, the automatic insertion unit 4 includes a unit body 12 extending in the X-axis direction. On the surface of the unit main body 12 on the operator S side, a set station ST1 for setting the B end of the terminal-attached electric wire TW for which insertion of the A end has been completed, and the set B end are inserted into the target connector housing C The insertion station ST2 to be set is set. The set station ST1 is disposed facing the work station ST, while the insertion station ST2 is disposed at a position shifted in the X direction (right side in FIG. 1) from the front surface of the basket unit 2.

  The unit main body 12 includes a stopper member 13 formed in the set station ST1, a connector holding portion 14 formed in the insertion station ST2, and an insertion head 15 that can be displaced relative to the unit main body 12 in the X-axis direction. And a control unit 16 for controlling the drive of the connector holding portion 14 and the insertion head 15.

  The stopper member 13 includes a stopper pin 13a that protrudes from the unit main body 12 toward the worker S side, and a conductive plate (conduction member) 13b that is fixed to the tip of the stopper pin 13a. The stopper pin 13a protrudes from the unit body 12 in a state where it can be retracted to the unit body 12 side by an air cylinder (not shown).

  Referring to FIGS. 1 and 6, the connector holding portion 14 includes a block main body 17 having a receiving hole 17 a that opens to the front side of the unit main body 12 (downward in FIG. 1), and the block main body 17 in the unit main body 12. On the other hand, a drive unit 18 that drives in the Z-axis direction is provided. The block body 17 accommodates and holds the connector housing C in the accommodation hole 17a in a posture in which the cavity C1 is opened to the front side of the unit body 12. The depth dimension of the accommodation hole 17a prevents contact between the terminal T and the connector housing C when the terminal T whose tip is in contact with the conductive plate 13b is moved in the X-axis direction by the insertion head 15 as it is. Is set to The drive unit 18 is configured by a uniaxial robot or the like provided in the unit main body 12, and a specific cavity C 1 in the connector housing C held by the block main body 17 with respect to the terminal T conveyed by the insertion head 15 Z Positioning is performed in the axial direction.

  Referring to FIG. 1 again, the insertion head 15 is set to an initial position SP (shown by a solid line in FIG. 1) where the B end of the terminal-attached electric wire TW can be set in cooperation with the stopper member 13. To be relatively displaced in the X-axis direction with respect to the unit body 12 between a processing position KP (shown by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1) where the B end is connected to the connector housing C held by the connector holding portion 14. It has become.

  The insertion head 15 includes an X-axis drive block 19 carried on the unit main body 12 in a posture protruding toward the worker S side, and a Y-axis carried on the X-axis drive block 19 in a posture protruding toward the worker S side. Drive arm 20, guide member 21 projecting from the tip of the X-axis drive block 19 in the X-axis direction (right side in FIG. 1), hanging block 22 hanging from the tip of the Y-axis drive arm 20, and the above A hand 23 is provided that protrudes from the hanging block 22 in the X-axis direction (right side in FIG. 1) at the same height position as the guide member 21 (position in the Z direction).

  The X-axis drive block 19 can be relatively displaced in the X-axis direction with respect to the unit main body 12 by a drive mechanism (not shown) disposed in the unit main body 12. Similarly, the Y-axis drive arm 20 can be displaced relative to the X-axis drive block 19 in the Y-axis direction by a drive mechanism (not shown) disposed in the X-axis drive block 19. The installation positions of the X-axis drive block 19 and the Y-axis drive arm 20 in the Z-axis direction are set above the stopper member 13 and the connector holding portion 14.

  Referring to FIGS. 1, 5 and 6, the guide member 21 includes a pair of upper and lower guide pieces 21a whose longitudinal direction is directed in the X-axis direction. Each guide piece 21a is moved up and down by a drive mechanism (not shown). It is possible to approach / separate in the (Z-axis direction). On the opposite side surfaces of each guide piece 21a, there are formed guide grooves 21b that open to the opposite guide piece 21a side and extend in the Y-axis direction. These guide grooves 21b are formed when the respective guide pieces 21a are in close contact with each other. The dimension is set so as to define a hole through which the B end of the terminal-attached electric wire TW can be inserted along the Y-axis direction. Each guide piece 21b regulates displacement of the B end in the vertical and X-axis directions within the hole defined by each guide groove 21b. The guide pieces 21a are in close contact with each other when the insertion head 15 is at the initial position SP.

  Further, when the insertion head 15 is driven to the initial position SP, the guide member 21 has one end side (the upper end portion in FIG. 1) of the hole defined by each guide groove 21b guided by the stopper member 13. A connector that is arranged so as to be closed by the plate 13b, while the surface of the guide member 21 including one end side of the hole is held by the connector holding portion 14 when the insertion head 15 is driven to the machining position KP. The housing C is arranged along the surface on the opening side of the cavity C1. In the present embodiment, the stopper member 13 and the guide member 21 constitute an example of a positioning member.

  With reference to the figure, the hand 23 includes a pair of upper and lower clamping pieces 23 a capable of clamping an electric wire W connected to a terminal T guided by the guide member 21. These sandwiching pieces 23a can be vertically approached / separated by a drive mechanism (not shown) provided on the hanging block 22. The drooping block 22 is provided with an unillustrated sensor that detects whether or not the electric wire W is disposed between the holding pieces 23a by the operator.

  Referring to FIGS. 1 and 3, the control device 5 is composed of a well-known CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like, and includes the heel unit 2, the guide plate 13b of the positioning unit 13, the control unit 16 of the automatic insertion unit 4, and the connector. The unit 3 and manufacturing information input means 24 including a bar code reader (not shown) are connected via cables K1 to K5, respectively.

  Further, the control device 5 mainly functions as an instruction unit 24, a determination unit (specifying unit) 25, and a storage unit 26.

  The instruction unit 24 sequentially turns on the electric wire instruction lamp 7 and the cavity instruction lamp 10 based on the information on the manufacturing procedure stored in the storage unit 26 in advance, and determines the electric wire with terminal TW that is the target for the worker S. In addition to instructing, the insertion position (cavity C1) of the A end of the terminal-attached electric wire TW is instructed. Further, the instruction unit 24 controls the control unit 16 to automatically insert the B end of the terminal-attached electric wire TW into the cavity C1 specified by the determination unit 25 described later.

  Based on the product type information read from the barcode or the like by the manufacturing information input means 24, the determination unit 25 reads the corresponding manufacturing procedure information from the storage unit 26 and outputs this information to the instruction unit 24. ing. Further, the determination unit 25 performs a continuity test on the terminal-attached electric wire TW electrically connected between the probe 11a and the conductive plate 13b of the connector unit 3, and the test result and the storage unit 26 are stored in advance. The cavity C1 of the connector housing C to which the B end of the terminal-attached electric wire TW is connected is specified based on the final connection information of the terminal-attached electric wire TW. That is, in this embodiment, when a defect occurs in the continuity test (for example, when the electric wire W is disconnected), the determination unit 25 cannot specify the cavity C1, and automatic insertion of the B end is stopped. Thus, in the present embodiment, the above-described problem is notified to the worker S by a not-illustrated notifying means.

  As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the bag unit 2, the connector unit 3, the conductive plate 13 b, the manufacturing information input means 24 and the control device 5 constitute a connection support unit 27, and this connection support unit In FIG. 27, the determination unit 25, the connector unit 3, and the conductive plate 13 b constitute the specifying unit 28.

  Hereinafter, a method for manufacturing a wire harness using the manufacturing system 1 will be described.

  Referring to FIG. 1, first, worker S inputs product type information to be manufactured into manufacturing apparatus 5 using manufacturing information input means. When the product type information is input, the control device 5 turns on the wire instruction lamp 7 to instruct the terminal-attached wire TW to be taken out first, and the operator S sends the terminal-attached wire TW from the corresponding bowl-shaped housing 6. Take out a bottle. This take-out operation is detected by a sensor (not shown) of the bowl-shaped housing portion 6, and the cavity C1 into which the A end of the terminal-attached electric wire TW is to be inserted is indicated by lighting of the cavity indicator lamp 10 in accordance with the detection result. (Instruction process).

  In response to the instruction in the instruction process, the operator S inserts the A end of the terminal-attached electric wire TW into the cavity C1, and the inserted A end is connected to the probe 11a located in the cavity C1. It comes into contact (see FIG. 2).

  Referring to FIGS. 4 and 5A, the operator S then inserts the B end of the terminal-attached electric wire TW into the hole defined by the guide groove 21b of each guide piece 21a. The tip of the B end is brought into contact with the guide plate 13 b of the stopper member 13. Here, the terminal-attached electric wire TW is electrically connected between the probe 11a and the conductive plate 13b, and the cavity C1 to which the B end is to be connected is specified by the determination unit 25.

  Referring to FIG. 5B, the setting operation of the B end is detected by a sensor (not shown) of the drooping block 22, and the electric wires W of the terminal-attached electric wire TW are clamped in accordance with the detection result. It is clamped by the piece 23a. Next, as shown in FIG. 5C, the stopper pin 13a is retracted by an unillustrated air cylinder, and then the X-axis drive block 19 is driven so that the B end supported by the guide member 21 is moved. Transport to the Y-axis position corresponding to the target cavity C1. Here, the stopper pin 13a is retracted by preventing the terminal T from being scratched by driving the X-axis drive block 19 while the conductive plate 13b and the terminal T are in contact with each other. It is to do.

  On the other hand, referring to FIG. 1, when the cavity C <b> 1 into which the B end is to be inserted is specified by the determination unit 25, the control unit 16 drives the drive unit 18 to move the block body 17 in the Z-axis direction. Execute the position adjustment. That is, when the insertion head 15 is driven to the processing position KP, the B end supported by the guide member 21 is held by the block body 17 so that it can be inserted into the target cavity C1. The position of the connector housing C is adjusted in the Z-axis direction.

  Then, when the insertion head 15 is driven to the machining position KP (see FIG. 1) and the position adjustment of the block body 17 is completed, the Y-axis drive arm 20 (each clamping) is shown as indicated by an arrow Y1 in FIG. The piece 23a) is driven to insert the B end supported by the guide member 21 into the cavity C1 (automatic insertion step).

  In the process of automatically inserting the B end into the cavity C1, a lance C2 that protrudes a certain amount into the cavity C1 while being elastically retractable engages with an opening (not shown) formed in the terminal T. It will be. In order to confirm this locked state, as shown by the arrow Y2 in FIG. 6 (b), the guide pieces 21a are separated from each other up and down from the B end, and in FIG. 6 (c). As indicated by an arrow Y3, the Y-axis drive arm 20 is driven with a predetermined driving force, and the tensile strength of the terminal-attached electric wire TW with respect to the connector housing C is confirmed. When this tensile test is completed, the holding state of both the holding pieces 23a with respect to the electric wire W is released, and the insertion head 15 is returned to the initial position SP.

  And when there exists the electric wire TW with a terminal inserted next, while returning to the process mentioned above which instruct | indicates the electric wire TW with the next terminal by the said electric wire instruction | indication lamp 7, insertion of all the electric wires TW with a terminal was completed In that case, the process is terminated.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, according to the operation of transferring the B end of the terminal-attached electric wire TW to the positioning member (the stopper member 13 and the guide member 21) of the automatic insertion unit 4, the B end and Since the conductive plate 13b is electrically connected and a continuity test can be performed between the probe 11a and the conductive plate 13b, the B-end pole (cavity C1) can be specified. That is, after the connection of the A end of the terminal-attached electric wire TW is completed, the pole of the B end of the electric wire TW with a terminal can be specified before connecting the B end.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, the trouble by the worker S is detected before connecting both terminals T for each terminal-attached electric wire TW during the transition from the work by the worker S to the work by the automatic insertion unit 4. Thus, the B end of the terminal-attached electric wire TW can be automatically inserted by the automatic insertion unit 4 while detecting a decrease in yield due to human factors at an early stage and suppressing the failure as much as possible. It is possible to achieve both improvement in production and reduction in production cost.

  In the above embodiment, the guide plate 13b is attached to the stopper pin 13a. However, instead of this configuration, the guide plate 13b can be provided to the guide member 21.

It is a top view which abbreviate | omits and shows a part of whole structure of the manufacturing system of the wire harness which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a partially perspective view schematically showing the connector unit of FIG. 1 in an enlarged manner. It is a block diagram which shows roughly the electrical structure of the manufacturing system of the wire harness of FIG. It is a top view which shows the state which set the terminal with respect to the automatic insertion unit of the manufacturing system of the wire harness of FIG. It is a side view which shows the operation | movement in the set station of the automatic insertion unit of FIG. 1, (a) is the state in which the B end was set, (b) is the state where the electric wire was clamped, (c) is the stopper pin. Each of the evacuated states is shown. It is a side view which shows the operation | movement in the insertion station of the automatic insertion unit of FIG. 1, (a) has shown the state which inserts B end, (b) has each shown the state which is performing the tension | pulling test of an electric wire.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Wire harness manufacturing system 3 Connector unit 4 Automatic insertion unit 13 Stopping member 13b Conductive plate 21 Guide member 25 Judgment part 27 Connection support unit C Connector T terminal TW Terminal-attached wire W Wire

Claims (2)

A connection support unit for supporting connection of a terminal-attached electric wire having terminals for connector connection at both ends of the scaled electric wire;
An automatic insertion unit that inserts the other end of the terminal-attached electric wire into the connector housing with one end connected to the connector housing by the connection support unit;
The connection support unit includes a specifying unit capable of specifying a connection destination of the terminal by contacting the terminal to which the automatic insertion unit is connected,
The automatic insertion unit is a wire harness manufacturing system including a positioning member for an operator to deliver a terminal,
The wire harness manufacturing system is characterized in that the specifying means is provided on a positioning member of the automatic insertion unit and has a conduction member electrically connected to the terminal when the terminal is positioned. Instructing the connection destination of one end of the terminal-attached electric wire when supporting connection to the connector housing of the electric wire with the terminal having terminals for connector insertion at both ends of the adjusted electric wire,
An automatic insertion step in which an operator automatically places the other end of the terminal-attached electric wire connected to the connector housing based on the instruction step on the positioning member and automatically inserts it with an automatic insertion unit;
A method of manufacturing a wire harness, wherein a continuity test of a terminal-attached electric wire placed on a positioning member is performed in the automatic insertion step, and only a terminal-attached electric wire that passes the continuity test is inserted by an automatic insertion unit.

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