JP2018055863A - Terminal insertion device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To appropriately insert a terminal into a cavity of a housing even while positional displacement occurs in an insertion direction of the terminal.SOLUTION: A terminal insertion device comprises: a fixing bar (12) for fixing a wire (10) with a terminal; an insertion mechanism (20) which inserts a terminal of the wire with the terminal into a cavity (22A); delivery mechanisms (14 and 18) which deliver the wire with the terminal from the fixing bar to the insertion mechanism; an imaging part (16) which images at least an end in the terminal of the wire with the terminal in the delivery mechanisms in a direction that crosses an insertion direction; and a control part (24) which controls a moving amount for a movement mechanism (18C) to move the terminal in the insertion direction on the basis of the picked-up image, the movement mechanism being configured to move the terminal in the insertion direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

  The technique disclosed in this specification relates to a technique for inserting a terminal of a terminal-attached electric wire.

  Conventionally, a terminal insertion device that automatically inserts a terminal of a terminal-attached electric wire with a terminal attached to an end of the electric wire into a cavity of a housing has been used. For example, Patent Literature 1, Patent Literature 2, and Patent Literature 3 disclose a terminal insertion device that automatically inserts a terminal of a terminal-attached electric wire.

JP-A-9-134772 JP-A-8-138826 JP-A-7-296939

  In the terminal insertion device, the electric wire with terminal to be automatically inserted is first fixed to the fixing bar in a predetermined order. And the electric wire with a terminal is taken out from a fixed bar with the taking-out chuck | zipper in a terminal insertion apparatus, and after adjusting the position in the direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of a terminal, it inserts sequentially in the cavity of a housing.

  However, if the terminal-attached electric wire at the time of being fixed to the fixing bar is misaligned in the terminal insertion direction, the misalignment affects the gripping position of the take-out chuck. As a result, there have been cases where the terminal is not sufficiently inserted into the cavity of the housing.

  The technology disclosed in the present specification has been made to solve the problems as described above, and even when the terminal is misaligned in the insertion direction, the terminal is appropriately The present invention relates to a technique for inserting into a cavity of a housing.

  A first aspect of the technology disclosed in the specification of the present application is a fixing bar for fixing an electric wire with a terminal having a terminal connected to an end, and an insertion mechanism for inserting the terminal of the electric wire with a terminal into a cavity of a housing. And a delivery mechanism for delivering the electric wire with terminal from the fixed bar to the insertion mechanism, and at least an end portion of the terminal of the electric wire with terminal in the delivery mechanism is inserted into the cavity of the housing. An image capturing unit that captures an image from a direction that intersects the insertion direction, and the transfer mechanism includes a moving mechanism that moves the terminal in the insertion direction. The captured image is captured by the image capturing unit. Based on this, the moving mechanism further includes a control unit that controls a moving amount by which the terminal is moved in the insertion direction.

  In addition, a second aspect of the technology disclosed in the specification of the present application relates to the first aspect, and the control unit controls the operation of the delivery mechanism to stop the electric wire with terminal, and Then, at least the end portion of the terminal of the electric wire with terminal in a stationary state is caused to be imaged by the imaging unit.

  In addition, a third aspect of the technology disclosed in the specification of the present application is related to the first aspect or the second aspect, and the delivery mechanism rotates the electric wire with terminal around an axis in the insertion direction. A rotation mechanism, wherein the imaging unit images the end portion of the terminal and a root portion on the opposite side of the end portion from a direction intersecting the insertion direction, and the control unit Based on the captured image captured by the imaging unit, the rotation mechanism controls the rotation angle at which the electric wire with terminal is rotated.

  In addition, a fourth aspect of the technology disclosed in the specification of the present application relates to the third aspect, and the control unit is configured so that the terminal of the captured image has a direction intersecting the insertion direction of the end. Based on the position and the position of the root portion in the direction intersecting the insertion direction, the rotation mechanism controls the rotation angle at which the terminal-attached electric wire is rotated.

  According to the first aspect of the technology disclosed in the specification of the present application, even if a positional deviation occurs in the insertion direction of the terminal, the moving mechanism sets the terminal based on the captured image captured by the imaging unit. By moving in the insertion direction, the terminal can be properly inserted into the cavity of the housing.

  In particular, according to the second aspect, since the accuracy of specifying the position of the tip of the terminal in the captured image is increased, the accuracy of position adjustment in the terminal insertion direction can be increased.

  In particular, according to the third aspect, the control unit controls the rotation angle for rotating the electric wire with the terminal based on the captured image including the end portion of the terminal and the base portion of the terminal, thereby causing the terminal to be directed vertically. And the vertical direction of the terminal can be adjusted to the vertical direction of the terminal when inserted into the cavity of the housing.

  In particular, according to the fourth aspect, the control unit determines the vertical direction of the terminal based on the combination of the vertical position of the end portion of the terminal and the vertical position of the base portion of the terminal. And a control part can adjust the up-down direction of a terminal by controlling the rotation angle including the direction which rotates the electric wire with a terminal based on the relationship of the rotation angle between each reference | standard shape.

  The objectives, features, aspects, and advantages of the technology disclosed in this specification will become more apparent from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings provided below.

It is a figure which illustrates schematically the structure for implement | achieving the terminal insertion apparatus regarding embodiment. It is a side view for demonstrating operation | movement of the terminal insertion apparatus regarding this Embodiment. It is a side view for demonstrating operation | movement of the terminal insertion apparatus regarding this Embodiment. It is a side view for demonstrating operation | movement of the terminal insertion apparatus regarding this Embodiment. It is a side view for demonstrating operation | movement of the terminal insertion apparatus regarding this Embodiment. It is a side view for demonstrating operation | movement of the terminal insertion apparatus regarding this Embodiment. It is a figure which illustrates the picked-up image of the terminal of the electric wire with a terminal obtained in an imaging part. It is a figure which illustrates the picked-up image of the terminal of the electric wire with a terminal arrange | positioned corresponding to the up-down direction of the cavity of the housing in which a terminal is inserted. It is a figure which illustrates the insertion state of a terminal in case the shift | offset | difference of an insertion direction is not adjusted. It is a flowchart for demonstrating operation | movement of the terminal insertion apparatus regarding this Embodiment.

  Embodiments will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  Note that the drawings are schematically shown, and the configuration is omitted or simplified as appropriate for the convenience of explanation. In addition, the mutual relationships between the sizes and positions of the configurations and the like shown in different drawings are not necessarily accurately described and can be changed as appropriate.

  Moreover, in the description shown below, the same code | symbol is attached | subjected and shown in the same component, and it is the same also about those names and functions. Therefore, detailed descriptions thereof may be omitted to avoid duplication.

  In the description described below, terms that mean a specific position and direction such as “top”, “bottom”, “side”, “bottom”, “front” or “back” may be used. Even if it exists, these terms are used for convenience in order to make it easy to understand the contents of the embodiment, and are not related to the direction in actual implementation.

<Embodiment>
Hereinafter, the terminal insertion apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described.

<About the configuration of the terminal insertion device>
In the following description, the moving direction of each component may be described as being along the xyz-axis direction for convenience, but these are examples and are not particularly limited thereto. That is, it is only necessary that each configuration can move in the three-dimensional space. For example, a case where a moving direction that does not depend on the orthogonal coordinate system is defined, and a case where a different moving direction is defined for each configuration may be used. .

  FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically illustrating a configuration for realizing a terminal insertion device according to the present embodiment. Note that, from the viewpoint of facilitating understanding of the configuration, some components may be omitted or simplified in FIG.

  As illustrated in FIG. 1, the terminal insertion device according to this embodiment includes a fixing bar 12 that fixes the terminal 10 </ b> A of the terminal-attached electric wire 10, and the terminal-attached electric wire 10 that is fixed to the fixing bar 12 from the fixing bar 12. The take-out mechanism 14 that takes out and grips, the imaging unit 16 that takes an image of the electric wire 10 with a terminal delivered from the fixing bar 12 to the insertion mechanism 20 described later from the direction intersecting the insertion direction of the terminal 10A, and the take-out mechanism 14 The gripped electric wire with terminal 10 is temporarily disposed, and the position adjusting mechanism 18 for adjusting the position of the terminal 10A, the electric wire with terminal 10 adjusted in position by the position adjusting mechanism 18, and the housing 22 is provided with an insertion mechanism 20 for insertion into the cavity 22A, and a control unit 24 for controlling the operation of the terminal insertion device.

  The electric wire with terminal 10 includes an electric wire 10B and a terminal 10A connected to an end of the electric wire 10B.

  The electric wire 10 </ b> B includes a core wire that is a wire mainly composed of a metal such as copper or aluminum, and an insulating coating that covers the periphery of the core wire. The insulating coating is, for example, a synthetic resin member whose main component is polyethylene, vinyl chloride, polyamide-based nylon, or the like.

  Terminal 10A is connected to the end of electric wire 10B. Terminal 10A is a metal member whose main component is a metal such as copper or tin, for example. Examples of the connection method between the terminal 10A and the electric wire 10B include crimping or welding.

  The fixing bar 12 is provided so as to extend in a direction intersecting with an insertion direction of the terminal 10A described later, specifically, in the x-axis direction in FIG. Usually, a plurality of electric wires 10 </ b> B are fixed to the upper surface of the fixing bar 12.

  As a specific structure of the fixing bar 12, for example, a structure in which a groove 12A having a width enough to sandwich the electric wire 10B is formed on the upper surface of the fixing bar 12 where the electric wire 10B is fixed is assumed. The fixed bar 12 is made of, for example, an elastic body.

  The take-out mechanism 14 includes a take-out chuck 14A that grips the electric wire with terminal 10 fixed to the fixed bar 12, and a moving mechanism 14B that moves the take-out chuck 14A in at least the y-axis direction and the z-axis direction. Here, the y-axis direction corresponds to the insertion direction of the terminal 10A. Further, the driving of the moving mechanism 14B is realized by, for example, a plurality of linear actuators.

  The take-out chuck 14A is, for example, a pair of plate-like members 141, and at least one of them can be driven so as to approach or separate from the other along the x-axis direction. The drive of the take-out chuck 14A is realized by, for example, a solenoid actuator or a ball screw type electric actuator.

  Each plate-like member 141 has a recess in a portion sandwiching the terminal-attached electric wire 10. When the takeout chuck 14 </ b> A grips the terminal-attached electric wire 10 fixed to the fixed bar 12, the takeout chuck 14 </ b> A is arranged so that the concave portion corresponds to the position of the groove 12 </ b> A in the fixed bar 12. The take-out chuck 14 </ b> A grips the terminal-attached electric wire 10 at both sides of the plate-like member 141 sandwiching the recess. That is, the take-out chuck 14A grips a portion of the terminal-attached electric wire 10 excluding a portion fixed to the groove 12A in the fixing bar 12.

  The imaging unit 16 is not particularly limited, and is, for example, a digital camera equipped with a CCD. The imaging unit 16 images at least the terminal 10A of the electric wire with terminal 10 from a direction intersecting with the insertion direction of the terminal 10A, for example, a direction orthogonal to the insertion direction of the terminal 10A.

  The position adjustment mechanism 18 includes an xy position adjustment mechanism 18A that performs position adjustment in the x-axis direction of the electric wire 10 with terminal and a y-axis direction that is an insertion direction, and a z position adjustment mechanism 18B that performs position adjustment in the z-axis direction. , A moving mechanism 18C for moving the xy position adjusting mechanism 18A in at least the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction. Further, the position adjustment mechanism 18 can include a rotation mechanism 18D that rotates the z position adjustment mechanism 18B about the axis in the y-axis direction.

  The xy position adjusting mechanism 18A has a pair of opposing members 181. The opposing member 181 can be driven so that at least one approaches or separates from the other along the x-axis direction. The driving of the xy position adjusting mechanism 18A is realized by, for example, a solenoid actuator or a ball screw type electric actuator.

  The terminal 10A can be arranged at a predetermined position in the x-axis direction by sandwiching the electric wire with terminal 10 arranged in the xy position adjusting mechanism 18A by the facing member 181.

  Further, since the xy position adjusting mechanism 18A can be moved in the y-axis direction by the moving mechanism 18C, the terminal 10A can be arranged at a predetermined position in the y-axis direction by the movement.

  The z position adjusting mechanism 18B has a pair of opposing members 182. The opposing member 182 can be driven such that at least one of the opposing members 182 approaches or separates from the other along the z-axis direction. The driving of the z position adjusting mechanism 18B is realized by, for example, a solenoid actuator or a ball screw type electric actuator.

  The terminal-attached electric wire 10 can be arranged at a predetermined position in the z-axis direction by sandwiching the electric wire with terminal 10 arranged in the xy position adjusting mechanism 18A by the facing member 182.

  Further, the z position adjusting mechanism 18B can be rotated around the axis in the y-axis direction by the rotating mechanism 18D. The rotation angle of the rotation mechanism 18D is ± 180 ° at the maximum. The z-position adjusting mechanism 18B rotates with the opposing member 182 in the z-position adjusting mechanism 18B sandwiching the terminal-attached electric wire 10, whereby the terminal-attached electric wire 10 can be rotated around the axis in the y-axis direction. .

  The moving mechanism 18C moves the xy position adjusting mechanism 18A at least in the x-axis direction and the y-axis direction. The driving of the moving mechanism 18C is realized by, for example, a linear actuator. Even when the moving mechanism 18C is not provided, the removing mechanism 14, the inserting mechanism 20, and the position adjusting mechanism 18 are moved by the moving mechanism 14B in the removing mechanism 14 or the moving mechanism 20B in the inserting mechanism 20 described later. It suffices if the position between these is relatively movable.

  The insertion mechanism 20 includes an insertion chuck 20A that temporarily holds the electric wire with terminal 10 disposed in the xy position adjustment mechanism 18A, and a movement mechanism that can move the insertion chuck 20A in at least the y-axis direction and the z-axis direction. 20B. The driving of the moving mechanism 20B is realized by, for example, a plurality of linear actuators.

  The insertion chuck 20A is, for example, a pair of rod-like members 201, and at least one of them can be driven so as to approach or separate from the other along the x-axis direction. The driving of the insertion chuck 20A is realized by, for example, a solenoid actuator or a ball screw type electric actuator.

  The control unit 24 may execute a program stored in a recording medium. That is, for example, a central processing unit (CPU), a microprocessor, a microcomputer, or a digital signal processor (DSP) may be used.

  The control part 24 is connected to each structure of the terminal insertion apparatus regarding this Embodiment. And the control part 24 controls the operation | movement including the operation | movement which inserts the terminal 10A of the electric wire 10 with a terminal in the cavity 22A of the housing 22 according to the program stored beforehand.

  The housing 22 is molded from an insulating resin material such as polybutylene terephthalate (PBT) or ABS resin. The housing 22 is provided with a plurality of cavities 22A into which the terminals 10A are inserted on the main surface to which the electric wire with terminal 10 is connected.

<Operation of terminal insertion device>
Next, the operation of the terminal insertion device according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 2 to 6 are side views schematically illustrating the configuration of the terminal insertion device for explaining the operation of the terminal insertion device according to the present embodiment. FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining the operation of the terminal insertion device according to this embodiment.

  First, as illustrated in FIG. 2, the terminal-attached electric wire 10 is fixed to the fixing bar 12 in a predetermined order. This corresponds to step ST101 illustrated in FIG.

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 3, the terminal-attached electric wire 10 is held by the take-out chuck 14 </ b> A of the take-out mechanism 14. This corresponds to step ST102 illustrated in FIG.

  Here, the imaging unit 16 captures an image of the terminal 10A of the terminal-attached electric wire 10 from a direction intersecting the y-axis direction that is the insertion direction of the terminal 10A. This corresponds to step ST103 illustrated in FIG. In the case illustrated in FIG. 3, the imaging unit 16 images a range indicated by X, for example, of the terminal 10 </ b> A from the back side of the drawing. However, when performing the rotation operation of the electric wire 10 with a terminal which will be described later, further imaging is performed including the range indicated by Y.

  Note that the timing at which the imaging unit 16 images the terminal 10A is a time when the terminal-attached electric wire 10 is fixed to the fixing bar 12 and is not gripped by the take-out chuck 14A of the take-out mechanism 14 (time point illustrated in FIG. 2). ) When the terminal-attached electric wire 10 is fixed to the fixing bar 12 and is gripped by the take-out chuck 14A of the take-out mechanism 14, the terminal-attached electric wire 10 is taken out from the fixed bar 12 and the take-out chuck 14A of the take-out mechanism 14 is removed. Can be envisaged (at the time illustrated in FIG. 3), or any later time until the terminal 10 </ b> A is inserted into the cavity 22 </ b> A of the housing 22. That is, the imaging part 16 should just be able to image the electric wire 10 with a terminal in the state which reflects the position shift of the insertion direction at the time of the electric wire 10 with a terminal being fixed to the fixing bar 12. FIG.

  In addition, in the timing which the imaging part 16 images the terminal 10A of the electric wire 10 with a terminal, it is desirable that the electric wire 10 with a terminal is stationary. The control unit 24 controls the operation of the take-out mechanism 14 and the operation of the position adjustment mechanism 18 at the timing of imaging, so that the terminal 10A can be made stationary. When the terminal 10 </ b> A is captured in a stationary state, the positional accuracy in the insertion direction of the terminal-attached electric wire 10 recognized in the captured image obtained by the imaging unit 16 is increased.

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 4, the terminal-attached electric wire 10 is disposed in the xy position adjustment mechanism 18 </ b> A of the position adjustment mechanism 18 by the take-out chuck 14 </ b> A. This corresponds to step ST104 illustrated in FIG.

  Subsequently, as illustrated in FIG. 5, the position of the electric wire with terminal 10 in the x-axis direction is adjusted by being sandwiched between the opposing members 181 in the xy position adjusting mechanism 18A.

  Furthermore, when the xy position adjusting mechanism 18A moves in the y-axis direction by the moving mechanism 18C, the position of the terminal-attached electric wire 10 in the y-axis direction that is the insertion direction is adjusted. This corresponds to step ST105 illustrated in FIG.

  The position adjustment in the y-axis direction is performed based on a captured image captured by the imaging unit 16. Specifically, the captured image of the terminal 10A of the terminal-attached electric wire 10 obtained in the imaging unit 16 is image-analyzed in the control unit 24, and the position of the terminal 10A in the insertion direction, particularly the position of the tip of the terminal 10A is specified. The Then, the control unit 24 calculates the movement amount in the insertion direction based on the difference between the position of the tip of the terminal 10A specified in the captured image and the reference position. Furthermore, the control unit 24 moves the moving mechanism 18C based on the movement amount.

  FIG. 7 is a diagram illustrating a captured image of the terminal 10 </ b> A of the terminal-attached electric wire 10 obtained in the imaging unit 16. In the case illustrated in FIG. 7, the position Z is specified as the position of the tip of the terminal 10A by image analysis.

  Then, the control unit 24 calculates how much the position Z is shifted in the insertion direction with respect to a predetermined reference position R. In the case illustrated in FIG. 7, it can be seen that the position Z of the imaged terminal 10 </ b> A is shifted from the reference position R toward the terminal 10 </ b> A. And the control part 24 moves the movement mechanism 18C so that the shift | offset | difference may be canceled, and adjusts the position in the y-axis direction of the electric wire 10 with a terminal. The reference position R of the terminal 10A is obtained by specifying the position of the terminal 10A in the captured image of the terminal-attached electric wire 10 imaged in a state where there is no shift in the insertion direction by image analysis. .

  The position adjustment of the terminal-attached electric wire 10 in the y-axis direction may be performed not only by the position adjustment mechanism 18 but also by the take-out mechanism 14, for example. That is, the take-out mechanism 14 may adjust the position in the insertion direction when the terminal-attached electric wire 10 is arranged in the position adjustment mechanism 18 based on the deviation of the specified position Z of the terminal 10A from the reference position R.

  Next, as illustrated in FIG. 6, the electric wire with terminal 10 is sandwiched by the facing member 182 in the z position adjusting mechanism 18 </ b> B instead of the facing member 181 in the xy position adjusting mechanism 18 </ b> A. The position is adjusted. This corresponds to step ST106 illustrated in FIG.

  Here, when the position adjustment mechanism 18 includes the rotation mechanism 18D, the z position adjustment mechanism 18B is configured so that the terminal-attached electric wire 10 is centered on the axis in the y-axis direction while the terminal-attached electric wire 10 is sandwiched between the opposing members 182. Can be rotated.

  The rotation is performed based on a captured image captured by the imaging unit 16. Specifically, the captured image of the terminal 10A of the terminal-attached electric wire 10 obtained in the imaging unit 16 is subjected to image analysis in the control unit 24, and the shape of the terminal 10A is specified. Then, the control unit 24 determines which reference shape recorded in advance matches the reference shape. Further, the control unit 24 determines a rotation angle for rotating the rotation mechanism 18D based on the determination.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating a captured image of the terminal 10 </ b> A of the terminal-attached electric wire 10 arranged corresponding to the vertical direction of the cavity 22 </ b> A of the housing 22 into which the terminal 10 </ b> A is inserted.

  In the terminal-attached electric wire 10 illustrated in FIG. 8, the position in the z-axis direction of the upper end or the lower end of the tip of the terminal 10A, that is, A or B in FIG. 8 and the z-axis of the upper or lower end of the root of the terminal 10A. The position in the direction, that is, the relationship with C or D in FIG. 8 is recorded in advance. And when the said positional relationship of the terminal 10A newly imaged by the imaging part 16 corresponds with the recorded positional relationship in FIG. 8, the control part 24 shows the shape of the imaged terminal 10A and FIG. It is determined that the illustrated reference shape matches.

  In addition to the vertically oriented terminal 10A illustrated in FIG. 8, for example, the vertically inverted terminal 10A, and further the terminal 10A illustrated in FIG. 8 rotated by 90 ° about the axis in the y-axis direction 10A and the like, in addition to the relationship of the rotation angle with the terminal 10A illustrated in FIG. 8, the relationship between the upper end or lower end of the tip portion of the terminal 10A and the upper end or lower end of the root portion of the terminal 10A is recorded in advance. Keep it. The recording may be performed in a memory or the like in the control unit 24 or may be performed in an external recording medium. The internal or external recording medium includes, for example, a hard disk (Hard disk drive, ie, HDD), a random access memory (ie, RAM), a read-only memory (ie, ROM), a flash memory, Includes volatile or non-volatile semiconductor memory, magnetic disk, flexible disk, optical disk, compact disk, DVD, etc., such as erasable programmable read only memory (EPROM) and electrically erasable programmable program-only memory (EEPROM) (Storage medium) It is configured by a memory (storage medium) including the configuration.

  By doing so, the control unit 24 can determine which shape of the terminal 10 </ b> A newly imaged by the imaging unit 16 and which reference shape of the terminal 10 </ b> A arranged in the vertical direction match. This corresponds to step ST107 illustrated in FIG.

  When the imaged shape of the terminal 10A matches the reference shape illustrated in FIG. 8, the up-down direction of the imaged terminal 10A corresponds to the up-down direction of the cavity 22A of the housing 22 into which the terminal 10A is inserted. Therefore, the control unit 24 does not instruct the rotation. This corresponds to step ST108 illustrated in FIG.

  On the other hand, when the shape of the imaged terminal 10A coincides with another reference shape, the vertical direction of the imaged terminal 10A corresponds to the vertical direction of the cavity 22A of the housing 22 into which the terminal 10A is inserted. is not. In that case, the control unit 24 rotates the rotation mechanism 18D to rotate the z position adjustment mechanism 18B around the axis in the y-axis direction with the terminal-attached electric wire 10 being sandwiched between the opposing members 182. By doing so, the terminal-attached electric wire 10 rotates around the axis in the y-axis direction. This corresponds to step ST109 illustrated in FIG.

  Here, the rotation angle including the direction in which the electric wire 10 with terminal is rotated is determined by the control unit 24 based on the relationship of the rotation angles between the respective reference shapes.

  The adjustment operation in the xy position adjustment mechanism 18A and the adjustment operation in the z position adjustment mechanism 18B may be performed in reverse order.

  Next, the terminal-attached electric wire 10 is gripped by the insertion chuck 20 </ b> A of the insertion mechanism 20 and further moved to the front of the cavity 22 </ b> A of the housing 22. Then, the terminal 10 </ b> A of the terminal-attached electric wire 10 is inserted into the cavity 22 </ b> A of the housing 22. This corresponds to step ST110 illustrated in FIG.

  As described above, according to the present embodiment, even if the position of the terminal-attached electric wire 10 fixed to the fixing bar 12 has a displacement in the insertion direction, the terminal imaged by the imaging unit 16 Based on the captured image of 10A, the position in the insertion direction of the terminal 10A can be adjusted.

  FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating an insertion state of the terminal 10 </ b> A when the shift in the insertion direction is not adjusted.

  If the terminal 10A is inserted into the cavity 22A of the housing 22 with a positional shift in the insertion direction, it may not be inserted to an appropriate depth position, resulting in a poor connection. In the case illustrated in FIG. 9, the terminal 10 </ b> A does not reach the position where the terminal 10 </ b> A is properly engaged with the structure in the cavity 22 </ b> A, and is in the insertion position shallower than the original position.

  However, according to the present embodiment, since the position in the insertion direction of the terminal 10A can be adjusted based on the captured image of the terminal 10A imaged by the imaging unit 16, the terminal 10A is fixed after being fixed to the fixing bar 12. 10A can be inserted to an appropriate depth position in the cavity 22A of the housing 22 even if the terminal 10A is misaligned in the insertion direction.

<About the effects produced by the embodiment described above>
Next, effects produced by the embodiment described above will be exemplified. In the following description, the effect is described based on the specific configuration exemplified in the above-described embodiment, but is exemplified in the present specification within a range in which the same effect occurs. Other specific configurations may be substituted.

  According to the embodiment described above, the terminal insertion device includes the fixing bar 12, the insertion mechanism 20, the delivery mechanism, and the imaging unit 16. Here, the delivery mechanism includes, for example, a take-out mechanism 14 and a position adjustment mechanism 18. The fixing bar 12 fixes the terminal-attached electric wire 10 having the terminal 10A connected to the end. The insertion mechanism 20 inserts the terminal 10 </ b> A of the electric wire with terminal 10 into the cavity 22 </ b> A of the housing 22. The delivery mechanism delivers the terminal-attached electric wire 10 from the fixing bar 12 to the insertion mechanism 20. The imaging unit 16 images at least an end portion of the terminal 10 </ b> A of the electric wire with terminal 10 in the delivery mechanism from a direction intersecting the insertion direction in which the terminal 10 </ b> A is inserted into the cavity 22 </ b> A of the housing 22. The position adjusting mechanism 18 includes a moving mechanism 18C that moves the terminal 10A in the insertion direction. In addition, the terminal insertion device includes a control unit 24. Based on the captured image captured by the imaging unit 16, the control unit 24 controls the amount of movement by which the moving mechanism 18C moves the terminal 10A in the insertion direction.

  According to such a configuration, the moving mechanism 18 </ b> C moves the terminal 10 </ b> A in the insertion direction on the basis of the captured image captured by the imaging unit 16 even when there is a positional shift in the insertion direction of the terminal 10 </ b> A. Thus, the terminal 10 </ b> A can be appropriately inserted into the cavity 22 </ b> A of the housing 22. Specifically, since the position of the tip of the terminal 10A can be specified from the captured image including the end of the terminal 10A by image analysis in the control unit 24, the position adjustment in the insertion direction of the terminal 10A is performed with high accuracy. be able to. Therefore, it is possible to suppress an insertion error caused by a shift in the insertion direction of the fixed bar 12 such as a stroke shortage.

  Other configurations exemplified in the present specification other than these configurations can be omitted as appropriate. In other words, the effects described above can be produced only with these configurations.

  However, when at least one of the other configurations exemplified in the present specification is appropriately added to the configuration described above, that is, the configuration described above is not exemplified as the configuration described above. Even when other configurations described above are added to the configurations described above, the effects described above can be similarly produced.

  Further, according to the embodiment described above, the control unit 24 controls the operations of the take-out mechanism 14 and the position adjustment mechanism 18 to make the terminal-attached electric wire 10 stationary and stationary. The imaging unit 16 is caused to image at least the end portion of the terminal 10 </ b> A of the terminal-attached electric wire 10. According to such a configuration, since the accuracy of specifying the position of the tip of the terminal 10A in the captured image is increased, the accuracy of position adjustment in the insertion direction of the terminal 10A can be increased.

  Moreover, according to embodiment described above, the position adjustment mechanism 18 is equipped with rotation mechanism 18D which rotates the electric wire 10 with a terminal centering | focusing on the axis | shaft of an insertion direction. In addition, the imaging unit 16 images the end portion of the terminal 10A and the root portion that is the end portion on the opposite side of the end portion from the direction intersecting the insertion direction. And the control part 24 controls the rotation angle by which the rotation mechanism 18D rotates the electric wire 10 with a terminal based on the captured image imaged by the imaging part 16. FIG. According to such a configuration, the control unit 24 controls the rotation angle for rotating the electric wire with terminal 10 based on the captured image including the end portion of the terminal 10A and the root portion of the terminal 10A, whereby the terminal 10A. The vertical direction of the terminal 10A can be adjusted to the vertical direction of the terminal 10A when inserted into the cavity 22A of the housing 22.

  Further, according to the embodiment described above, the control unit 24 has the position of the terminal 10A in the captured image in the direction intersecting with the insertion direction of the end portion and the direction intersecting with the insertion direction of the root portion. Based on the position, the rotation mechanism 18D controls the rotation angle at which the terminal-attached electric wire 10 is rotated. According to such a configuration, the control unit 24 determines the vertical direction of the terminal 10A based on the combination of the vertical position of the end portion of the terminal 10A and the vertical position of the root portion of the terminal 10A. And the control part 24 can adjust the up-down direction of 10 A of terminals by controlling the rotation angle including the direction which rotates the electric wire 10 with a terminal based on the relationship of the rotation angle between each reference | standard shape. it can.

<Modifications in Embodiments Described above>
In the embodiment described above, the material, material, dimension, shape, relative arrangement relationship, or implementation condition of each component may be described, but these are examples in all aspects. Thus, it is not limited to those described in this specification.

  Accordingly, countless variations and equivalents not illustrated are envisioned within the scope of the technology disclosed in this specification. For example, the case where at least one component is modified, the case where it is added, or the case where it is omitted are included.

  In addition, as long as no contradiction arises, “one or more” components described as being provided with “one” in the embodiment described above may be provided.

  Further, each component in the embodiment described above is a conceptual unit, and one component is composed of a plurality of structures within the scope of the technique disclosed in this specification. In addition, a case where one component corresponds to a part of a structure and a case where a plurality of components are provided in one structure are included.

  In addition, each component in the embodiment described above includes structures having other structures or shapes as long as the same function is exhibited.

  Also, the descriptions in the present specification are referred to for all purposes related to the present technology, and none of them is admitted to be prior art.

  Further, in the embodiment described above, when a material name or the like is described without being particularly specified, the material contains other additives, for example, an alloy or the like unless a contradiction arises. Shall be included.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Electric wire with a terminal 10A Terminal 10B Electric wire 12 Fixing bar 12A Groove 14 Taking out mechanism 14A Taking out chuck 14B, 18C, 20B Moving mechanism 16 Image pick-up part 18 Position adjusting mechanism 18A xy position adjusting mechanism 18B z position adjusting mechanism 18D Rotating mechanism 20 Inserting mechanism 20A Insertion chuck 22 Housing 22A Cavity 24 Controller 141 Plate member 181, 182 Opposing member 201 Bar member

Claims (4)

A fixing bar for fixing an electric wire with a terminal having a terminal connected to the end;
An insertion mechanism for inserting the terminal of the electric wire with terminal into a cavity of the housing;
A delivery mechanism for delivering the terminal-attached electric wire from the fixed bar to the insertion mechanism;
An imaging unit that images at least an end portion of the terminal-attached electric wire in the delivery mechanism from a direction intersecting an insertion direction in which the terminal is inserted into the cavity of the housing;
The delivery mechanism is
A moving mechanism for moving the terminal in the insertion direction;
And a control unit that controls a moving amount by which the moving mechanism moves the terminal in the insertion direction based on a captured image captured by the imaging unit.
Terminal insertion device. The control unit controls the operation of the delivery mechanism to stop the electric wire with terminal and to image at least the end portion of the terminal of the electric wire with terminal in the stationary state on the imaging unit. Let
The terminal insertion device according to claim 1. The delivery mechanism is
A rotating mechanism for rotating the electric wire with terminal around an axis in the insertion direction;
The imaging unit images the end portion of the terminal and a root portion that is an end portion on the opposite side of the end portion from a direction intersecting the insertion direction,
The control unit controls a rotation angle at which the rotating mechanism rotates the electric wire with terminal, based on the captured image captured by the imaging unit.
The terminal insertion device according to claim 1 or 2. Based on the position of the terminal in the captured image in the direction intersecting the insertion direction of the end portion and the position of the root portion in the direction intersecting the insertion direction, Control the rotation angle of rotating the electric wire with terminal,
The terminal insertion device according to claim 3.

Images