JP2014135122A - Wiring harness processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a wiring harness processing device capable of achieving both reduction in required prior works caused by variation in temperature condition of a device, and improvement in processing accuracy or processing quality determination accuracy.SOLUTION: A temperature sensor 6 detects a temperature of a gear mechanism 3 coupled to a shaft 21 of a servomotor 2 and to a processing mechanism for processing a wiring harness, or an index temperature corresponding to the temperature. Temperature adjustment parts 7, 8 adjust the temperature of the gear mechanism 3 to a preset temperature state on the basis of the detection temperature of the temperature sensor 6.

Description

  The present invention relates to a wire harness processing apparatus including a gear mechanism connected to a shaft of a servo motor and a processing mechanism for processing a wire harness.

  The wire harness is manufactured using a wire harness processing apparatus. For example, a wire harness processing apparatus such as a crimping apparatus that crimps a terminal fitting to the end of the wire harness or a skinning apparatus that removes the wire coating of the wire harness is used. An example of a crimping device is shown in Patent Document 1.

  A wire harness processing device such as a crimping device or a skinning device includes a servo motor, a processing mechanism for processing the wire harness, and a gear mechanism connected to the shaft of the servo motor and the processing mechanism. The gear mechanism transmits the rotational force of the shaft of the servo motor to the machining mechanism by reducing or increasing the rotational speed.

  When the wire harness is processed, the servo motor of the wire harness processing apparatus is controlled according to a preset reference control pattern. For example, in a crimping device, the rotation angle of a servo motor is controlled so as to follow a preset current transition pattern.

  Moreover, in the wire harness processing apparatus, the servo motor control pattern for appropriate processing varies depending on various processing conditions and environmental conditions. For example, in a crimping apparatus, the servo motor control pattern varies depending on the processing conditions such as the shape and material of the terminal fitting and electric wire to be processed, and also varies depending on the temperature condition of the apparatus. That is, the appropriate control pattern of the servo motor changes due to fluctuations in the temperature conditions of the apparatus.

  Moreover, as shown in Patent Document 1, in the terminal crimping process of the wire harness using the crimping device, automatic determination of the quality of the crimping state of the metal terminal based on the comparison between the reference values of various parameters and the actual measurement values is performed. Done. The automatic determination of the quality of the crimped state is performed, for example, based on a comparison between the reference value of the current of the servo motor and the measured value, a comparison of the crimp metal reference value of the crimped metal fitting and the measured value, and the like.

  In addition, in determining whether the terminal fitting is in a crimped state, the reference values of various parameters vary depending on processing conditions such as the shape and material of the terminal fitting and the electric wire, and also vary depending on the temperature condition of the apparatus. In other words, an appropriate quality determination criterion changes due to fluctuations in the temperature conditions of the apparatus. For example, paragraph [0026] of Patent Document 1 shows that the current value of the servo motor is corrected by the measured value of the temperature of the coil of the servo motor in the pass / fail determination of the crimped state.

JP-A-8-236253

  By the way, in order to create a servo motor control pattern and a criterion for determining the quality of machining for each combination of various machining conditions and temperature conditions, a large number of machining samples and a lot of machining to obtain measured data are performed. A great deal of labor is required, such as evaluation of the machining state and analysis of measured data for the machined samples.

  In particular, for the temperature condition, innumerable conditions are conceivable within the assumed temperature range, so that the reference control pattern and the reference for pass / fail judgment are created as the processing accuracy and precision of the pass / fail judgment are increased. Enormous effort is required for the prior work. On the other hand, when the temperature condition is set roughly to reduce the prior work (work for creating a reference), the processing accuracy and the accuracy of the processing quality determination deteriorate.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to achieve both a reduction in prior work required due to fluctuations in the temperature condition of the apparatus and an improvement in processing accuracy or accuracy of processing quality determination in a wire harness processing apparatus.

The wire harness processing apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention includes the following components.
(1) A first component is a gear mechanism connected to a shaft of a servo motor and a processing mechanism for processing a wire harness.
(2) The second component is a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the gear mechanism or an index temperature corresponding to the temperature.
(3) The third component is a temperature adjustment unit that adjusts the temperature of the gear mechanism to a preset temperature state based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor.

The wire harness processing apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention is an aspect of the wire harness processing apparatus according to the first aspect. The wire harness processing apparatus according to the second aspect further includes a gear container that houses the gear mechanism. The temperature sensor detects the temperature of the gear container,
The temperature adjusting unit adjusts the temperature of the gear container.

  The wire harness processing apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention is an aspect of the wire harness processing apparatus according to the second aspect. In the wire harness processing apparatus according to the third aspect, the temperature adjusting unit controls the heater based on a comparison result between a heater for heating the gear container and a temperature detected by the temperature sensor and a preset temperature. A heater control unit.

  The wire harness processing apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention is an aspect of the wire harness processing apparatus according to the third aspect. The wire harness processing apparatus which concerns on a 4th aspect WHEREIN: The said temperature control part is provided with the said some heater arrange | positioned in multiple places.

  If the wire harness processing apparatus according to each of the above aspects is employed, the temperature of the gear mechanism is stabilized. For this reason, prior work such as the creation of a large number of control patterns or the creation of a number of pass / fail judgment criteria required due to fluctuations in the temperature conditions of the apparatus is greatly reduced for reasons described later. For example, conventionally, in order to ensure a predetermined processing accuracy and accuracy of pass / fail judgment, a control pattern or a pass / fail judgment criterion has been individually created for each of three to five device temperature conditions. Prior work required for creating a pattern or creating a pass / fail judgment criterion is reduced from one third to about one fifth.

  Furthermore, since the temperature of the gear mechanism is stabilized, the processing accuracy of the wire harness and the accuracy of processing quality determination are also improved. Therefore, if the wire harness processing apparatus according to each of the above aspects is employed, reduction of the preliminary work required due to fluctuations in the temperature condition of the apparatus and improvement of the processing accuracy or the accuracy of the processing quality determination can be achieved. It is possible to achieve both.

  Moreover, in the wire harness processing apparatus which concerns on a 2nd aspect, the temperature of the gear container which accommodates a gear mechanism is adjusted to the preset temperature state. As described above, when the temperature of the closed small region including the gear mechanism is adjusted, the responsiveness of the temperature adjustment is improved, and the temperature of the gear mechanism can be stabilized with small energy. Furthermore, when the existing wire harness processing apparatus includes a gear container, it is easy to add a temperature sensor and a temperature adjustment unit to the existing apparatus.

  Moreover, in the wire harness processing apparatus which concerns on a 3rd aspect, a temperature control part performs the heating control using a heater. In this case, if the set temperature of the temperature adjusting unit is set to a temperature higher than room temperature, the temperature of the gear mechanism can be stabilized by a simple device that does not include the cooling device.

  Moreover, in the wire harness processing apparatus which concerns on a 4th aspect, the temperature of a gear mechanism is adjusted with the some heater arrange | positioned in several places. As described above, since the heating points are dispersed, the temperature distribution of the gear mechanism is made uniform, and the processing accuracy of the wire harness and the accuracy of the processing quality determination are further stabilized.

It is a side view including a sectional view in a part of crimping device 1 which is an example of a wire harness processing device concerning an embodiment of the present invention. 2 is a rear view of the crimping device 1. FIG. It is a trend graph of the process value of the crimping process by each of the crimping | compression-bonding apparatus 1 and the conventional crimping | compression-bonding apparatus.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following embodiment is an example embodying the present invention, and is not an example of limiting the technical scope of the present invention.

  First, the configuration of a crimping apparatus 1 that is an example of a wire harness processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In FIG. 1, the terminal fitting 91 and the electric wire 92 that are the objects of the crimping process by the crimping apparatus 1 are drawn with virtual lines (two-dot chain lines).

  The crimping apparatus 1 is an apparatus used for manufacturing a terminal-attached electric wire included in a wire harness mounted on a vehicle such as an automobile. The crimping apparatus 1 crimps a part of the terminal fitting 91 to the end portion of the electric wire 92 by pressing and bending a part of the terminal fitting 91 in a state where the end portion of the electric wire 92 is disposed on the inside thereof.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the crimping apparatus 1 includes a servo motor 2, a gear mechanism 3, a cam mechanism 41, a ram part 42, a processing part 43, a base part 44, a gear container 51, a casing 52, and a temperature sensor 6. The heater 7 and the heater control unit 8 are provided. The cam mechanism 41 and the ram part 42 are parts constituting a processing mechanism for processing the wire harness.

<Servo motor>
The servo motor 2 is a drive source for the crimping apparatus 1. The driving force of the servo motor 2 is transmitted to the processing unit 43 through the gear mechanism 3, the cam mechanism 41 and the ram unit 42.

<Gear mechanism>
The gear mechanism 3 is connected to a shaft 21 of the servo motor 2 and a cam mechanism 41 that is a part of a processing mechanism that processes the wire harness. That is, the shaft 21 of the servo motor 2 is connected to the input part of the gear mechanism 3, and the output shaft 31 of the gear mechanism 3 is connected to the input part of the cam mechanism 41.

  The gear mechanism 3 is, for example, a speed reducer that transmits the rotational force of the shaft 21 of the servo motor 2 to the cam mechanism 41 by reducing the rotational speed. Note that the gear mechanism 3 may be a speed increaser.

<Cam mechanism>
The cam mechanism 41 is a mechanism that converts the rotational movement of the output shaft 31 of the gear mechanism 3 into a reciprocating movement. The distal end portion of the connecting rod 411 that is the output portion of the cam mechanism 41 reciprocates as the output shaft 31 of the gear mechanism 3 rotates. The cam mechanism 41 is, for example, a crank mechanism.

<Lamb section>
The ram portion 42 is a portion (piston portion) that is connected to the distal end portion of the connecting rod 411 of the cam mechanism 41 and reciprocates as the servo motor 2 rotates.

<Processing part and base part>
The processing part 43 is a part that directly acts on a processed part of the wire harness to process the wire harness. Moreover, the base part 44 is a part in which the to-be-processed part of a wire harness is mounted.

  In the present embodiment, the processing portion 43 is a crimper that bends a plate-like crimping portion that surrounds three sides of the end portion of the electric wire 92 in the terminal fitting 91 and crimps it to the end portion of the electric wire 92. In addition, the base portion 44 is an anvil on which the crimping portion of the terminal fitting 91 and the end portion of the electric wire 92 are placed.

  The crimper (working part 43) and the anvil (base part 44) sandwich the crimping part of the terminal fitting 91 and the end of the electric wire 92 between them, so that the crimping part of the terminal fitting 91, which is the processed part of the wire harness, is inserted between them. And the edge part of the electric wire 92 is processed.

<Gear container>
The gear container 51 is a container that houses the gear mechanism 3. In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the gear container 51 is a round cylindrical container. The gear container 51 is a container made of a material whose main component is a metal such as iron, stainless steel, or aluminum.

<Case>
The housing 52 is a part that supports the gear container 51 and the link mechanism 41 integrally connected to the servo motor 2 and accommodates the gear container 51 and the link mechanism 41. In FIG. 1, the section of the casing 52 is shown by hatching.

<Temperature sensor>
The temperature sensor 6 is a sensor that detects the temperature of the gear mechanism 3 or an index temperature corresponding to the temperature. A typical example of the temperature sensor 6 is a thermistor, but a diode temperature sensor or a thermocouple may be adopted as the temperature sensor 6.

  The temperature sensor 6 in the present embodiment is a sensor that detects the temperature of the gear container 51 and is an example of a sensor that detects an index temperature corresponding to the temperature of the gear mechanism 3. For example, the temperature sensor 6 is embedded in the wall of the gear container 51. In this case, it is conceivable that the temperature sensor 6 is held in a state of being inserted into a cavity formed in the wall of the gear container 51.

  In the present embodiment, one temperature sensor 6 is attached to the gear container 51, but the crimping apparatus 1 includes a plurality of temperature sensors 6 attached to a plurality of locations of the gear container 51. Is also possible.

<Heater>
The heater 7 is a device that heats the gear container 51 and is, for example, a resistance heating type heater or a halogen heater. In the example shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the heater 7 is embedded in the wall of the gear container 51. In this case, it is conceivable that the heater 7 is held in a state of being inserted into a cavity formed in the wall of the gear container 51.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the present embodiment, a plurality of heaters 7 are arranged at a plurality of locations in the gear container 51. In the example shown in FIG. 2, three heaters 7 are attached to the gear container 51.

<Heater control unit>
The heater control unit 8 is a device that controls the heater 7 based on a comparison result between the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 6 and a preset temperature. The heater control unit 8 includes a processor 81 and a heater drive circuit 82.

  The processor 81 is, for example, a microprocessor unit including a CPU (Central Processor Unit) or a sequencer. The processor 81 controls the heater 7 via the heater drive circuit 82 based on the comparison between the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 6 and a preset temperature. The set temperature for temperature control of the gear mechanism 3 is set to a temperature sufficiently higher than the room temperature of the room in which the crimping apparatus 1 is disposed.

  For example, it is conceivable that the processor 81 controls the heater 7 via the heater drive circuit 82 in accordance with any of a plurality of control rules shown below.

  The first example of the control rule is to output an ON signal for operating the heater 7 to the heater drive circuit 82 when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 6 is lower than a preset target temperature, and the temperature sensor 6 The control rule is that an OFF signal for stopping the heater 7 is output to the heater drive circuit 82 when the detected temperature is higher than the target temperature.

  In the second example of the control rule, the heater 7 is operated with a heat amount corresponding to the difference between the target temperature and the detected temperature when the detected temperature of the temperature sensor 6 is lower than one preset target temperature. This is a control rule in which a drive signal is output to the heater drive circuit 82 and an OFF signal for stopping the heater 7 is output to the heater drive circuit 82 when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 6 exceeds the target temperature.

  The third example of the control rule is to output an ON signal for operating the heater 7 to the heater drive circuit 82 when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 6 falls below the first set temperature, and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 6. Is a control rule that an OFF signal for stopping the heater 7 is output to the heater drive circuit 82 when the temperature exceeds a second set temperature lower than the first set temperature. In addition to the above, it is also conceivable that the processor 81 controls the amount of heat of the heater 7 by PID control based on the comparison between the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 6 and the target temperature.

  In addition, it is conceivable that the processor 81 controls the plurality of heaters 7 to be in the same state. In addition, the processor 81 individually operates or stops the plurality of heaters 7, thereby gradually increasing the heat amount of the plurality of heaters 7. It is also conceivable to control.

  The heater drive circuit 82 controls at least the operation and stop of the heater 7 in accordance with a control signal from the processor 81. It is also conceivable that the heater drive circuit 82 controls the amount of heat of the heater 7 that is operating in accordance with a control command from the processor 81.

  As described above, the heater control unit 8 and the heater 7 adjust the temperature of the gear mechanism 3 to a preset temperature state based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 6. More specifically, the heater control unit 8 and the heater 7 adjust the temperature of the gear container 51 based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 6. The heater control unit 8 and the heater 7 are an example of a temperature adjustment unit that adjusts the temperature of the gear mechanism 3 to a preset temperature state.

<Effect>
According to various experiments, in the crimping device, if the temperature of the gear mechanism 3 is stabilized, the accuracy of crimping of the terminal fitting is stabilized, and the servo motor current and crimp height when a satisfactory machining result is obtained. It was found that the values of various parameters were stable. That is, among the temperature conditions of the crimping device, the temperature condition of the gear mechanism 3 affects the control pattern of the servo motor 2 for ensuring a predetermined machining accuracy and the reference value of the parameter for judging the quality of machining. It was found to account for the majority of the impact.

  FIG. 3 is a trend graph of process values of a crimping process using the crimping apparatus 1 that performs temperature control of the gear mechanism 3 and a conventional crimping apparatus that does not perform the temperature control. The only difference between the crimping device 1 used in this case and the conventional crimping device is whether or not the above-described configuration for controlling the temperature of the gear mechanism 3 is provided.

  3A is a graph when the conventional crimping apparatus is used, and FIG. 3B is a graph when the crimping apparatus 1 is used. In each graph, the process value PV on the vertical axis is a measured value corresponding to the output torque of the servo motor 2, and the smaller the process value PV, the higher the output torque. In each graph, the horizontal axis is the time axis.

  Each graph shows the process value PV (output torque) obtained when the environmental temperature of the apparatus is 5 ° C, 10 ° C, 15 ° C, 20 ° C, 25 ° C, 30 ° C and 35 ° C. Seven graph lines are drawn. In any of the seven temperature conditions, the control patterns of the servo motor 2 in the crimping apparatus 1 and the conventional crimping apparatus are the same.

  As can be seen from the graph of FIG. 3A, in the crimping process using the conventional crimping apparatus, even if the servo motor 2 is controlled with the same control pattern, the output torque varies greatly depending on the environmental temperature. The output torque of the servo motor 2 greatly affects the quality of crimping of the crimp terminal. When the variation of the output torque is large, the variation of other process values such as the crimp height is also large. For this reason, in the crimping process using the conventional crimping device, the quality of the obtained crimp terminal varies greatly depending on the environmental temperature.

  On the other hand, as can be seen from the graph of FIG. 3 (b), in the crimping process using the crimping apparatus 1, if the servo motor 2 is controlled with the same control pattern, the variation in output torque is almost constant even if the environmental temperature changes. Does not occur. In this case, variations in other process values such as crimp height are small. Therefore, in the crimping process using the crimping device 1, the quality of the obtained crimp terminal is stable regardless of changes in the environmental temperature.

  As described above, if the crimping apparatus 1 is employed, the temperature of the gear mechanism 3 is stabilized, and consequently various process values of the crimping process are stabilized. Therefore, due to the above-described reasons based on various experiments, prior work such as creation of a large number of control patterns or creation of a number of pass / fail judgment criteria required due to fluctuations in the temperature conditions of the apparatus is greatly reduced. For example, conventionally, a control pattern or a criterion for pass / fail judgment has been individually created for each of three to five device temperature conditions in order to ensure a predetermined press-fit accuracy and pass / fail judgment accuracy. In this case, the preliminary work required for creating the control pattern or creating the pass / fail judgment criteria is reduced from one third to about one fifth.

  Furthermore, since the temperature of the gear mechanism 3 is stabilized, the accuracy of the crimping process of the terminal fitting 91 and the accuracy of the quality determination of the process are also improved. Therefore, if the crimping device 1 is employed, it is possible to achieve both the reduction of the preliminary work required due to the fluctuation of the temperature condition of the device and the improvement of the processing accuracy or the accuracy of the processing quality determination. .

  Moreover, in the crimping | compression-bonding apparatus 1, the temperature of the gear container 51 which accommodates the gear mechanism 3 is adjusted to the preset temperature state. Thus, when the temperature of the closed small region containing the gear mechanism 3 is adjusted, the responsiveness of the temperature adjustment is improved, and the temperature of the gear mechanism 3 can be stabilized with small energy. Furthermore, when the existing crimping apparatus includes the gear container 51, it is easy to add the temperature sensor 6 and the heater 7 to the existing apparatus.

  In the crimping apparatus 1, the temperature adjustment of the gear mechanism 3 is performed by heating control using the heater 7. In this case, if the set temperature of the gear mechanism 3 is set to a temperature higher than room temperature, the temperature of the gear mechanism 3 can be stabilized by a simple device that does not include a cooling device.

  Further, a lubricant such as grease is applied to many machine parts such as a gear and a shaft included in the gear mechanism 3. The lubricant exhibits stable lubrication characteristics in a temperature environment higher than general room temperature (about 0 ° C. to 35 ° C.). Therefore, by maintaining the temperature of the gear mechanism 3 at a temperature higher than room temperature, the characteristics of the gear mechanism 3 are stabilized, and the processing accuracy of the wire harness is also stabilized.

  Moreover, in the crimping | compression-bonding apparatus 1, the temperature of the gear mechanism 3 is adjusted with the some heater 7 arrange | positioned in several places. As described above, since the heating locations are dispersed, the temperature distribution of the gear mechanism 3 is made uniform, and the processing accuracy of the wire harness and the accuracy of processing quality determination are further stabilized.

<Others>
The crimping device 1 shown above is an example of a wire harness processing device, but the present invention can also be applied to other wire harness processing devices including the servo motor 2 and the gear mechanism 3.

  In the crimping device 1, the temperature sensor 6 is disposed in the gear container 51, so that the temperature in the gear container 51, that is, the atmospheric temperature of the gear mechanism 3 is an index temperature corresponding to the temperature of the gear mechanism 3. It can also be detected.

  In the crimping apparatus 1, the temperature sensor 6 is disposed in the gear container 51 in contact with the gear mechanism 3, or the non-contact temperature sensor 6 such as a radiation thermometer is disposed toward the gear mechanism 3. It can also be considered. Thereby, the temperature of the gear mechanism 3 itself is detected by the temperature sensor 6.

  It is also conceivable that the crimping device 1 includes a cooling device such as a fan for cooling the gear mechanism 3 and a cooling control unit that controls the cooling device based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 6.

  In addition, the wire harness processing apparatus according to the present invention can be configured by appropriately modifying or omitting a part of the above-described embodiment within the scope of the invention described in each claim. It is.

1 Crimping device (wire harness processing device)
2 Servo motor 3 Gear mechanism 6 Temperature sensor 7 Heater (temperature control unit)
8 Heater controller (temperature controller)
21 Servo motor shaft 31 Gear mechanism output shaft 41 Cam mechanism 41 Link mechanism 42 Ram part 43 Processing part 44 Base part 51 Gear container 52 Case 81 Processor 82 Heater drive circuit 91 Terminal fitting 92 Electric wire 411 Connecting rod

Claims (4)

A gear mechanism connected to a shaft of the servo motor and a processing mechanism for processing the wire harness;
A temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the gear mechanism or an index temperature corresponding to the temperature;
A wire harness processing apparatus comprising: a temperature adjusting unit that adjusts the temperature of the gear mechanism to a preset temperature state based on a temperature detected by the temperature sensor. It is a wire harness processing apparatus of Claim 1, Comprising:
A gear container that houses the gear mechanism;
The temperature sensor detects the temperature of the gear container;
The temperature adjusting unit adjusts the temperature of the gear container;
Wire harness processing equipment. The wire harness processing apparatus according to claim 2,
The temperature control unit is
A heater for heating the gear container;
A wire harness processing apparatus comprising: a heater control unit that controls the heater based on a comparison result between a temperature detected by the temperature sensor and a preset temperature. It is a wire harness processing apparatus of Claim 3, Comprising:
The said temperature control part is a wire harness processing apparatus provided with the said some heater arrange | positioned in multiple places.

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