JP2022167483A - Wire processing device and wire processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

To reduce incidental work from a twisted wire processing step to a terminal insertion step, and reduce an installation space of a device necessary for wire harness processing.SOLUTION: A wire processing device includes a data instruction part 10, a wire holding part 20, a wire transferring part 30, and a twist processing part 40. The wire holding part 20 holds at least two wires. The data instruction part 10 indicates a condition of twist processing, a take-out position of the two wires, and a placing position of the twisted wire, to the twist processing part 40 and the wire transferring part 30. The twist processing part 40 subjects the two wires to twist processing according to the instruction of the data instruction part 10 to form a twisted wire. The wire transferring part 30 takes out the two wires from the wire holding part 20 at the take-out position and delivers the two wires to the twist processing part 40 according to the instruction of the data instruction part 10, and transfers the twisted wire to the placing position in the wire holding part 20 from the twist processing part 40.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an electric wire processing apparatus and an electric wire processing method.

A twisted wire (twisted pair) processing method included in the wire harness processing includes a cutting and crimping step and a twisting step. In the cutting and crimping process, a cutting and crimping machine measures and cuts the wire wound on the roll, and crimps terminals on both ends to create a terminal-equipped wire. In the twisting process, a twisting machine twists two terminal-equipped electric wires together to create a twisted wire. In the terminal inserting process, the terminals of the prepared twisted wires are inserted into the connector housing by a terminal inserting machine or by hand.

JP 2015-220070 A JP 2011-100711 A

In the twisted wire processing process, it is necessary to move the electric wire/twisted wire between each process. For this reason, before the terminal insertion step, additional work such as bundling a plurality of wires, attaching a cap to the wire, removing the cap, rolling the wire, and unrolling the wire occurs. It took time and effort to process the twisted wire. In addition, the twisted wire processing process is not directly connected to other wire harness processing processes, and various devices for processing the wire harnesses are arranged in a distributed manner. As a result, a large occupied space is required.

The twisted cable manufacturing apparatus of Patent Document 1 performs the cutting/crimping process and the twisting process in one apparatus. It is necessary to bundle and transport the wires. Therefore, ancillary work such as removal of the cap is required.
Further, in the electric wire end processing apparatus of Patent Document 2, the electric wires with terminals are aligned based on the order of use in the following processes (twisting process, joint process, sub-assembly process, etc.), set on the discharge beam, and discharged. . Transportation to the twisting process can be performed in units of discharge beams, but when transporting the twisted wire produced by the twisting machine to the terminal insertion process, work such as removal of the cap is also required.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its object is to reduce the incidental work from the twisted wire processing process to the terminal insertion process, and to reduce the installation space for the equipment necessary for wire harness processing. is to reduce the

In order to achieve the above object, a wire processing apparatus and a wire processing method according to the present invention are characterized by the following (1) to (6).
(1) A wire processing device for processing two wires into a twisted wire,
an electric wire holder that holds at least the two electric wires;
an instruction section for instructing the conditions of twisting, the extraction position of the two electric wires in the electric wire holding section, and the driving position of the twisted wire;
a twist processing unit that twists the two electric wires according to instructions from the instruction unit to create the twisted wire;
According to the instruction, the two electric wires are taken out from the electric wire holding portion at the take-out position and transferred to the twist processing portion, and according to the instruction, the twisted wire is driven into the electric wire holding portion from the twist processing portion. A wire transfer unit that transfers to a position,
Electric wire processing equipment.
(2) the electric wire transfer unit,
a one-end gripping portion that grips one end side of the two electric wires;
a second end gripping portion for gripping the other end side of the two electric wires;
a moving mechanism for moving the one end gripping portion and the other end gripping portion between the wire holding portion and the twist processing portion;
The electric wire processing apparatus according to (1) above.
(3) the one-end gripping portion and the other-end gripping portion are arranged adjacent to each other in the first direction;
The moving mechanism moves the one-end gripping portion and the other-end gripping portion in the first direction,
The electric wire processing apparatus according to (2) above.
(4) The twisted portion is
a one-end holding portion that holds one end side of the two electric wires transferred from the one-end holding portion;
a second end holding portion that holds the other end side of the two electric wires transferred from the other end holding portion;
At least one of the one end holding part and the other end holding part is moved so that the distance between the one end holding part and the other end holding part becomes a distance corresponding to the length of the two electric wires. , and a twisting movement mechanism that separates them from each other,
The other end holding part rotates about the extending direction of the two electric wires while being separated from the one end holding part.
The electric wire processing apparatus according to (2) or (3) above.
(5) the one end holding portion and the other end holding portion are arranged adjacent to each other in the first direction;
The moving mechanism moves the other end holding portion in a second direction that intersects with the first direction,
The one end holding part is configured to be movable in the first direction and rotatable within a plane including the first direction and the second direction,
The electric wire processing apparatus according to (4) above.
(6) An electric wire processing method for processing two electric wires into a twisted wire,
generating instruction information that instructs the conditions for twisting, and the extraction position of the two electric wires and the driving position of the twisted wire in the electric wire holding portion that holds at least the two electric wires;
According to the instruction information, the wire transfer unit takes out the two wires from the wire holding unit at the take-out position and transfers them to the twist processing unit;
The twist processing unit twists the two electric wires according to the instruction information to create the twisted wire,
According to the instruction information, the wire transfer unit transfers the twisted wire from the twist processing unit to the driving position in the wire holding unit.
Electric wire processing method.

According to the electric wire processing apparatus having the configuration (1) and the electric wire processing method having the configuration (6), the electric wire is transferred from the state held by the electric wire holding portion (rod) to the twist processing portion by the electric wire transfer portion. The wire is transferred, processed into a twisted wire, and driven into the wire holder. That is, an electric wire with a terminal including a twisted wire can be processed into a wire harness circuit state (sub-harness). Therefore, the twisted wire can be transported to the next process such as the terminal insertion process together with the wire holding portion. Therefore, from the twisted wire processing step to the terminal insertion step, it is possible to reduce incidental work such as wire bundle bundling, bundling unbundling, capping, and capping. In addition, since the space required for ancillary work between the twisted wire processing step and the terminal insertion step is not required, the space required for wire harness processing can be reduced.

According to the electric wire processing apparatus having the above configuration (2), the electric wires can be transferred by holding one end side and the other end side of the two electric wires.

According to the electric wire processing apparatus having the above configuration (3), two electric wires are held in a state where one end side and the other end side are arranged adjacent to each other, and the two electric wires are moved in one direction from the electric wire holding portion to the twist processing portion. It becomes possible to transfer electric wires. Therefore, the device configuration can be simplified.

According to the wire processing apparatus having the above configuration (4), the distance between the gripping portion at one end and the gripping portion at the other end can be adjusted by the moving mechanism, so twisting according to the length of the wire can be performed.

According to the electric wire processing apparatus having the above configuration (5), when the electric wire is transferred from the electric wire transfer section, the other end holding section moves in the direction in which the electric wire is stretched, and the one end holding section rotates the holding direction of the electric wire. In this state, it faces the other end holding portion along the second direction, and can be twisted. That is, the electric wire transfer section does not need to transfer the one end side and the other end side of the electric wire to the twist processing start positions separated from each other.

ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the incidental work from a twist wire process to a terminal insertion process can be reduced, and the installation space of the apparatus required for wire harness processing can be reduced.

The present invention has been briefly described above. Furthermore, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading the following detailed description of the invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiment") with reference to the accompanying drawings. .

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an electric wire processing apparatus according to one embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of instruction information from a data instruction unit. 3 is a partially enlarged view of the wire holding portion shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of the electric wire transfer section shown in FIG. 1, showing how the electric wire transfer section picks up electric wires. 5 is a partially enlarged view of the twisted portion shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing how the wire transfer section transfers the wire to the twist processing section. FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a tension adjusting mechanism for a twisted portion. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the tension adjusting mechanism. FIG. 9 is a side view of the tension adjusting mechanism, showing a state in which tension is not applied to the electric wire. FIG. 10 is a side view of the tension adjusting mechanism, showing a state in which tension is applied to the electric wire. FIG. 11 is an enlarged view near the sensor shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. FIG. 12 is an enlarged view near the sensor. FIG. 13 is an enlarged side view showing the vicinity of the sensor of the tension adjusting mechanism according to the modification, and shows a state in which no tension is applied to the electric wire. FIG. 14 is a side view of a tension adjusting mechanism according to a modification, showing a state in which tension is applied to electric wires. FIG. 15 is an enlarged view near the sensor according to the modification.

Specific embodiments relating to the present invention will be described below with reference to each drawing.

(Configuration of electric wire processing device)
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an electric wire processing apparatus according to one embodiment. The electric wire processing apparatus includes a data instruction unit 10 (instruction unit, control device) for instructing twist processing conditions, etc.; and a twist processing unit 40 for twisting two electric wires to form a twisted wire. The electric wire processing apparatus processes electric wires with terminals including twisted wires of different types, sizes, and lengths into a wire harness circuit state (sub-harness). Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, as shown in FIG. 1, "front-rear direction", "left-right direction", and "up-down direction" are defined. "Front-back direction", "left-right direction" and "up-down direction" are orthogonal to each other.

(Data indication unit 10)
The data instruction unit 10 is a control device having a storage unit and a calculation unit. The data instruction unit 10 generates instruction information indicating twist processing conditions such as the length of the twisted wire and the number of rotations, as well as the position at which the wire is taken out from the wire holding unit 20 and the position at which the twisted wire is driven in. The twist processing section 40 is instructed. FIG. 2 shows an example of instruction information from the data instruction section 10 when five sets of twist lines No. 1 to No. 5 are created. The instruction information from the data instruction unit 10 includes the conditions for twisting, the extraction positions of the two wires in the wire holding unit 20 (rod extraction positions A and B), and the twisted wire driving positions (rod insertion positions A and B). including. The twist processing conditions include, for example, the number of twist rotations, the number of untwisted rotations, the twist rotation speed, the position of retraction of the twisted pair, the primary retraction position of the twisted pair, the retraction speed of the twisted pair, and the adjusted conveying speed of the twisted pair. The data instruction unit 10 does not have to include part of the twist processing conditions, for example, the twist adjustment conveying speed, in the instruction information. Moreover, the instruction information of the data instruction unit 10 may include the name of the wire type, the name of the wire size, the length of the wire, and the like. The data instructing unit 10 instructs the wire transfer unit 30 about the position where the two wires are extracted from the wire holding unit 20 and the position where the twisted wire is driven in, and instructs the twisting unit 40 about the conditions for twisting. Further, the data instruction section 10 controls each section constituting the twist processing section 40 .

(Electric wire holding portion 20)
As shown in FIG. 3, the electric wire holding portion 20 has a holding base 21 and a rod extending in the left-right direction, which is detachably held by the holding base 21 and has a plurality of electric wire clips 22 provided on the top thereof. is doing. The wire clips 22 are arranged adjacent to each other in the lateral direction of the pole and supported and fixed to the holding base 21 . The wire clip 22 has a pair of clamping pieces that are elastically urged in the clamping direction. The wire holding unit 20 holds one end W1a, W2a and the other end W1b, W2b of the two wires W1, W2 in order of one end W1a, one end W2a, the other end W1b, and the other end W2b. is doing. The electric wire holding portion 20 holds the electric wires W1 and W2 so that the electric wires W1 and W2 are formed in a U shape with the both ends facing in the same direction by holding the portions near both ends of the electric wires W1 and W2 with the respective electric wire clips 22. . Since the wire holding part 20 holds both ends of the wire with the wire clip 22, it can hold a plurality of types of wires having different lengths and sizes, and can also hold a twisted wire produced by the twist processing part 40. In addition, in the wire holding portion 20, wires with terminals having different wire types, sizes, and lengths, including twisted wires, are held by rods. Therefore, it is possible to reduce incidental work such as bundling, unbundling, capping, capping, etc., which are required when the electric wires are transported.

(Electric wire transfer unit 30)
The wire transfer unit 30 includes a transfer head 31 (one end gripping portion) that grips one ends W1a and W2a of the two wires W1 and W2, and a transfer head 31 (one end gripping portion) that grips the other ends W1b and W2b of the two wires W1 and W2. It has a head 32 (the other end gripper) and a moving mechanism 33 that moves the transfer heads 31 and 32 in the left-right direction.

The moving mechanism 33 extends vertically and horizontally and includes a mounting plate 331 to which the transfer heads 31 and 32 are attached, and a mounting plate 331 fixed to the rear surface of the mounting plate 331 for moving the mounting plate 331 horizontally. and a moving unit 332 . The moving mechanism 33 has two shafts 333 extending in the left-right direction, which are inserted through the moving parts 332 , and two support plates 334 extending in the front-rear direction and the vertical direction and fixedly supporting both ends of the shafts 333 . . The support plate 334 is fixed to the floor via a support frame. The transfer heads 31 and 32 are mounted on a mounting plate 331 side by side in the left-right direction. The two moving parts 332 are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction and are moved together along the shaft 333 by a driving part such as a motor (not shown). The moving mechanism 33 is arranged between the upper part of the wire holding part 20 and the upper part of the twisting part 40 , and moves the transfer heads 31 and 32 between the wire holding part 20 and the twisting part 40 .

As shown in FIG. 4, the transfer heads 31 and 32 are arranged side by side on the front surface of the mounting plate 331 with an interval left and right. The transfer head 31 has a spacer 311 and gripping pieces 312 provided on the left and right sides of the spacer 311, and is configured to be vertically movable with respect to a mounting plate 331 by a mechanism such as an air cylinder. . The spacer 311 has a lower end portion 311a whose width in the left-right direction is equal to the distance between the adjacent wire clips 22 (the intermediate position between the gripping pieces of one wire clip 22 and the gripping pieces of the wire clip 22 adjacent to this wire clip 22). distance from the middle position of the piece). The left and right gripping pieces 312 are driven to approach or separate from the spacer 311 from the left and right sides. are grasped respectively. The left and right gripping pieces 312 have an opening 312a in the central portion in the front-rear direction. The opening 312a allows the wires W1 and W2 to be removed from the wire holding portion 20, driven into the wire holding portion 20, and transferred to and from the twisted portion 40. to avoid interference with

The transfer head 32 has the same configuration as the transfer head 31, and grips the other ends W1b and W2b of the wires W1 and W2 between the left and right gripping pieces 322 and the lower ends 321a of the spacers 321, respectively. .

The wire transfer unit 30 moves the transfer heads 31 and 32 by the moving mechanism 33 so that the transfer head 31 is positioned above the wire W1 and W2 extraction positions of the wire holding unit 20 according to the instruction of the data instruction unit 10 . to move left and right. Above the wire W1, W2 pick-up position, the transfer head 31 descends to grip one ends W1a, W2a, and then ascends. Next, the moving mechanism 33 moves the transfer heads 31 and 32 in the left-right direction so that the transfer head 32 is positioned above the wire W1 and W2 pick-up positions, and the transfer head 32 descends to move the other end portion. W1b and W2b are grasped and lifted. The electric wire transfer section 30 moves the transfer heads 31 and 32 holding the electric wires W1 and W2 leftward to stop above a predetermined position of the twist processing section 40, and then descends (see FIG. 6). ), and deliver the wires W1 and W2 to the twist processing unit 40 (the fixed clamp 41 and the rotary clamp 42). The wire transfer unit 30 holds the wires W1 and W2 in the U-shape by holding both ends of the wires W1 and W2 with the transfer heads 31 and 32 as described above. It can be taken out from the holding part 20 and passed to the twist processing part 40 . In addition, the wire transfer section 30 receives the wires W1 and W2 from the twist processing section 40 and causes the wire holding section 20 to hold (drive) the wires W1 and W2 by an operation opposite to that described above.

(Twist processing unit 40)
The twist processing unit 40 includes a fixed clamp 41 (one end holding portion), a rotating clamp 42 (other end holding portion), and moving mechanisms 43 and 45 . The fixed clamp 41 holds one ends W1a and W2a of the two electric wires W1 and W2 transferred from the transfer head 31 . The rotary clamp 42 holds the other ends W1b, W2b of the two wires W1, W2 transferred from the transfer head 32. As shown in FIG. The moving mechanism 43 moves the rotary clamp 42 in the front-rear direction so that the distance between the fixed clamp 41 and the rotary clamp 42 corresponds to the length of the two wires W1 and W2. Separate. The moving mechanism 45 moves the fixed clamp 41 in the front-rear direction and rotates it in a horizontal plane including the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. In the initial state of the twisting part 40, the fixed clamp 41 and the rotary clamp 42 are arranged adjacent to each other in the horizontal direction (first direction), as shown in FIG.

The fixed clamp 41 has a holding plate 411 , a grip portion 412 , a spacer 413 , a mounting plate 414 and a driving portion 415 . The holding plate 411 extends in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction, and holds one ends W1a and W2a of the electric wires W1 and W2 placed thereon. The grip portion 412 is an L-shaped block when viewed from above, and has an arm portion 412a extending in the front-rear direction and a tip portion 412b extending in the lateral direction (either left or right direction) from the front end of the arm portion 412a. The two gripping portions 412 are arranged opposite to each other on the upper surface of the holding plate 411 such that the distal end portions 412b extend inward from each other. The spacer 413 is a vertically extending block, and is fixed on the upper surface of the holding plate 411 at an intermediate position between the left and right tip portions 412b. The mounting plate 414 is a plate-shaped member arranged in front of the spacer 413 and the tip portion 412b and extending in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. The drive unit 415 drives the two gripping portions 412 in the left-right direction so that the tip portions 412 b of the two gripping portions 412 approach and separate from the spacer 413 .

The fixed clamp 41 is connected to a moving mechanism 45 via a U-shaped mounting plate 44 when viewed in the front-rear direction. The mounting plate 44 is attached to the fixed clamp so as to cover the fixed clamp 41 from above.

The moving mechanism 45 has a rotation drive section 450 attached to the upper surface of the mounting plate 44 and a cylinder 451 arranged above the rotation drive section 450 . Further, the moving mechanism 45 includes an L-shaped mounting plate 452 having a horizontal portion 452a and a vertical portion 452b arranged to cover the right side and the lower side of the cylinder 451, a holding portion 453 holding the cylinder 451, have The rotary drive unit 450 has an upper portion connected to the horizontal portion 452a of the mounting plate 452, and rotates the mounting plate 44 and the fixed clamp 41 held by the mounting plate 44 in the horizontal plane. The cylinder 451 has a vertical portion 452b fixed to the right end of a piston rod extending in the left-right direction, and moves the mounting plate 44 and the fixed clamp 41 held by the mounting plate 44 in the left-right direction. The holding part 453 is fixed to the floor via the support frame.

The rotary clamp 42 has a holding plate 421 , a grip portion 422 , a spacer 423 , a mounting plate 424 and a driving portion 425 . The holding plate 421 , the gripping portion 422 , the spacer 423 , the mounting plate 424 , and the driving portion 425 of the rotating clamp 42 correspond to the holding plate 411 , the gripping portion 412 , the spacer 413 , the mounting plate 414 , and the driving portion 415 of the fixed clamp 41 . and have equivalent configurations and functions. The sizes of the fixed clamp 41 and the rotary clamp 42 in the horizontal direction substantially match the sizes of the transfer heads 31 and 32 of the wire transfer unit 30 in the horizontal direction.

As shown in FIG. 7, the rotating clamp 42 is rotatably held by a rotating mechanism RU on a stage ST extending in the front-rear direction and the left-right direction. It rotates around the extending direction of W2 (front-rear direction).

The rotation mechanism RU has a mounting block 50 , a shaft 51 , a pulley 52 , a belt 53 , a pulley 54 , a motor 55 , a holding portion 56 and a mounting plate 57 . The rotary clamp 42 is fixed at its front end (drive portion 425 ) to the shaft 51 via the mounting block 50 . The shaft 51 extends in the front-rear direction and is inserted through a pulley 52 that is arranged in the left-right direction and rotates in a vertical plane. The pulley 52 rotates along with the rotation of the pulley 54 via a belt 53 stretched between a pulley 54 arranged in the left-right direction and rotating in a vertical plane, thereby rotating the shaft 51 . A rotating shaft of the pulley 54 is connected to a rotating shaft of the motor 55 . The holding part 56 holds the shaft 51 on the lower surface of the stage ST so as to allow the rotation of the shaft 51 . A mounting plate 57 holds the motor 55 on the lower surface of the stage ST. That is, the rotating clamp 42 is rotatable by the motor 55 via the pulley 54, the belt 53, the pulley 52, the shaft 51, and the mounting block 50, and is held on the stage ST via the holding portion 56 and the mounting plate 57. be done.

5, the fixed clamp 41 and the rotating clamp 42 are arranged side by side at the rear end of the rail 431 so that the gripping portions 412 and 422 face rearward when the twisting portion 40 starts to operate. . The positions of the fixed clamp 41 and the rotating clamp 42 shown in FIG. 5 are assumed to be initial positions.

The moving mechanism 43 moves the rotary clamp 42 in the front-rear direction (second direction crossing the first direction). The moving mechanism 43 has a rail 431 extending in the front-rear direction and a tension adjusting mechanism TU. The rail 431 is fixed to the floor via a support frame.

(Tension adjustment mechanism TU)
The tension adjustment mechanism TU moves the rotary clamp 42 along the rail 431 and changes the position of the rotary clamp 42 in the front-rear direction, thereby adjusting the tension of the wires W1 and W2 held by the fixed clamp 41 and the rotary clamp 42. (tension). That is, the tension adjustment mechanism TU can keep the tension of the electric wires W1 and W2 constant by changing the distance between the fixed clamp 41 and the rotary clamp 42 .

7 and 8, the tension adjusting mechanism TU includes a pulley 61, a belt 62, a slider 63, a mounting plate 64, a slider 65, a U-shaped block 66, a first plate 67, a second plate 68, a shaft 69, It has a spring 70 (elastic member), a slider 71 , a gauge 72 , a connecting plate 73 and a sensor 74 .

The pulley 61 is attached to the left side surface near the rear end of the rail 431 and is rotatable within a vertical plane. The pulley 61 receives power from a drive source M such as a servomotor that drives the front pulley via a belt 62 that is stretched between the pulley 61 and a front pulley disposed near the front end on the left side surface of the rail 431 . It is transmitted to a slider 63 attached to 62 . The lower surface of the slider 63 is fixed to the left side of the upper surface of the mounting plate 64 extending in the horizontal plane. A slider 65 is fixed on the upper surface of the mounting plate 64 at a position on the rear right side of the slider 63 . The slider 65 is driven by the drive source M via the front pulley, belt 62, pulley 61, slider 63, and mounting plate 64, and moved along the rail 431 in the front-rear direction.

A U-shaped block 66 is arranged in front of the mounting plate 64 above the stage ST and fixed to the upper surface of the stage ST. The U-shaped block 66 has two side plates 661 extending in the vertical direction and the front-rear direction, and an upper plate 662 connecting upper ends of the side plates 661 . A first plate 67 having a through hole in the center is fixed to the rear end of the U-shaped block 66 . A second plate 68 having an upper surface fixed to the lower surface of the mounting plate 64 is arranged behind the first plate 67 . A shaft 69 extending in the front-rear direction is arranged between the second plate 68 and the U-shaped block 66 . The shaft 69 has its rear end fixed to the second plate 68 and its front end passed through the through hole of the first plate 67 and is disposed within the U-shaped block 66 . A disk portion having an outer shape larger than the outer diameter of the shaft 69 is attached to the front end of the shaft 69 to prevent the first plate 67 from slipping out of the through hole. A spring 70 is arranged between the first plate 67 and the second plate 68 , and the shaft 69 is inserted through the spring 70 . The slider 71 is fixed to the upper surface of the upper plate 662 of the U-shaped block 66 . The slider 71 is movable along the rail 431 .

When moving the rotating clamp 42 forward from the initial position, the drive source M transmits the driving force to the slider 63 via the front pulley, the pulley 61 and the belt 62 . Then, the mounting plate 64, the second plate 68, and the shaft 69, which are directly or indirectly fixed to the slider 63, are moved forward. As the second plate 68 moves forward, the first plate 67 is pushed forward via the spring 70 (due to the repulsive force of the spring 70 compressed between the first plate 67 and the second plate 68). be By moving the first plate 67 forward, the U-shaped block 66, the stage ST, and the slider 71 fixed directly or indirectly to the first plate 67 are moved forward. As the stage ST moves forward, the rotary clamp 42 held on the stage ST by the rotation mechanism RU moves forward. In this way, the stage ST (first moving portion) on which the rotary clamp 42 is mounted moves following the second moving portion including the sliders 63 and 65 and the mounting plate 64 .

A gauge 72 is arranged on the rear right side of the U-shaped block 66 . The gauge 72 has a plurality of comb teeth 72a arranged in the front-back direction, and a horizontal portion 72b extending in the front-back direction above the comb teeth 72a. The gauge 72 is fixed to the mounting plate 64 via an L-shaped connection plate 73 fixed to the upper surface of the horizontal portion 72b.

A sensor 74 is fixed to the right side plate 661 of the U-shaped block 66 . The sensor 74 is a groove-shaped photoelectric sensor (optical sensor) that has a groove in the center in the horizontal direction and detects the presence or absence of an object in the groove. It is fixed to the character block 66 . The sensor 74 counts the number of comb teeth 72a that have passed through the groove from the start of movement to the end of movement relative to the gauge 72 . The number of comb teeth 72a counted by sensor 74 represents the amount of movement of stage ST, U-shaped block 66, and slider 71 (first moving portion) relative to sliders 63 and 65 and mounting plate 64 (second moving portion). The sensor 74 detects the amount of movement each time the first moving part moves.

Information on the amount of movement detected by the sensor 74 is sent to a control device that controls the drive source M, and the control device controls the drive source M according to this movement amount to complement the movement amount of the slider 63. move like this. The control device may, for example, be integrated with the data indication unit 10 or may be provided separately from the data indication unit 10 .

(Operation of wire processing device)
Next, the operation (wire processing method) of the wire processing apparatus configured as described above will be described. In the initial state, as shown in FIG. 1 , the wire transfer section 30 is positioned above the wire holding section 20 , and the fixed clamp 41 and rotating clamp 42 of the twist processing section 40 are positioned at the rear end of the rail 431 .

The data instructing unit 10 instructs the wire transferring unit 30 and the twist processing unit 40 about the length of the twisted wire, the number of rotations, the position at which the wire is taken out, and the position at which the wire is driven. The wire transfer section 30 descends from above the removal position in the wire holding section 20 according to the instruction of the data instruction section 10, and the transfer heads 31 and 32 remove the wires W1 and W2. The wire transfer unit 30 moves the transfer heads 31 and 32 in the left direction shown in FIG. 40 are stopped above the fixed clamp 41 and rotating clamp 42 . At this time, the fixed clamp 41 is positioned directly below the transfer head 31 and the rotary clamp 42 is positioned directly below the transfer head 32 .

The transfer operation of the wires W1, W2 from the wire transfer section 30 to the twist processing section 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6. FIG. The transfer heads 31 and 32 of the wire transfer unit 30, which have taken out the wires W1 and W2 from the wire holding unit 20 and moved leftward above the fixed clamp 41 and the rotary clamp 42 of the twist processing unit 40, are fixed. The clamp 41 descends toward the rotating clamp 42 . The transfer heads 31 and 32 place the electric wires W1 and W2 between the two holding portions 412 and the spacer 413 of the fixed clamp 41 and between the two holding portions 422 and the spacer 423 of the rotary clamp 42. Deploy. The wires W1, W2 are placed on the upper edges 414a, 424a. In this state, the grips 412 and 422 are closed (the two grips 412 approach the spacer 413 from the left and right, and the two grips 422 approach the spacer 423 from the left and right), and the wires W1 and W2 are closed. are held by a fixed clamp 41 and a rotating clamp 42 . After that, the transfer heads 31 and 32 open the grips 412 and 422 (the two grips 412 are separated from the spacer 413 and the two grips 422 are separated from the spacer 423) and rise to the original height. Return to the top (fixed clamp 41, directly above rotating clamp 42). In this manner, the transfer heads 31 and 32 transfer the wires W1 and W2 to the fixed clamp 41 and the rotary clamp 42, respectively.

Next, a twisting method in the twisting section 40 will be described. The fixed clamp 41 and the rotary clamp 42 to which the wires W1 and W2 are passed from the wire transfer section 30 are moved forward (in the direction of the arrow YA shown in FIG. is moved a distance slightly longer than the length of . Next, the fixing clamp 41 is rotated 180 degrees in the direction of the arrow YB shown in FIG. 5 by the moving mechanism 45 so that the mounting plate 414 faces forward, and is rotated rightward (in the direction of the arrow YC shown in FIG. 5). , and the fixed clamp 41 is arranged directly below the position where the rail 431 is extended rearward. That is, the fixed clamp 41 and the rotating clamp 42 are arranged so that the mounting plate 414 and the mounting plate 424 face each other, and the electric wires W1 and W2 are arranged between the fixed clamp 41 and the rotating clamp 42 in a U shape. retained. The fixed clamp 41 does not move from this position while the wires W1, W2 are twisted.

After that, the rotating clamp 42 is moved forward by the moving mechanism 43 and stops at the twisting start position (the position indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 1). When the rotary clamp 42 is at the twisting start position, the distance between the rotary clamp 42 and the fixed clamp 41 is a distance corresponding to the lengths of the wires W1 and W2.

The rotary clamp 42 is arranged at the twisting start position, and is driven by the motor 55 to rotate in a state where no tension is applied to the wires W1 and W2 shown in FIG. 9, thereby twisting the wires W1 and W2. Start. As shown in FIG. 8, by twisting the wires W1 and W2, the wire length is shortened, and a pulling force is applied to the rotating clamp 42 and the stage ST holding the rotating clamp 42 toward the rear (in the direction of the arrow Y1). By applying a backward force to the stage ST, the slider 71 fixed to the stage ST via the U-shaped block 66 is moved backward. The first plate 67 fixed to the U-shaped block 66 is moved rearward to compress the spring 70 between itself and the second plate 68 (see arrow Y2).

The second moving part (sliders 63, 65, mounting plate 64) moves the first moving part (stage ST, U-shaped block 66, It does not follow the movement of the slider 71) and does not move. That is, the sensor 74 is fixed to the U-shaped block 66 that moves in the Y1 direction, and the gauge 72 is fixed to the mounting plate 64 whose position in the front-rear direction does not change, so the sensor 74 moves relative to the gauge 72 ( (a state in which tension is applied to the electric wires W1 and W2 shown in FIG. 10). The amount of movement of the sensor 74 relative to the gauge 72 (see arrow Y4 in FIG. 11) corresponds to the amount of contraction of the spring 70 . According to this movement amount, the control device controls the drive source M so as to move the stage ST in a direction that complements this movement (direction of arrow Y3 shown in FIG. 8).

Each time the spring 70 expands and contracts, the sensor 74 reacts to detect the amount of movement, and the rotating clamp 42 is moved in a direction (see arrow Y5 in FIG. 12) that complements this amount of movement. In addition, when the repulsive force of the spring 70 exceeds the frictional force between the slider 63 and the belt 62, the second moving portion (the sliders 63 and 65 and the mounting plate 64) moves following the movement of the first moving portion. do. In this case, sensor 74 does not move relative to gauge 72 .

Thus, by twisting the wires W1 and W2 in accordance with the contraction of the twisted wires by the tension adjustment mechanism TU including the sensor 74 and the drive source M, the tension of the wires W1 and W2 (twisted wires) is kept within a certain range. Adjustable. Further, since the tension can be adjusted by driving control of the stage ST holding the rotary clamp 42, the size of the apparatus is not increased.

The twist processing unit 40 grips the wires W1 and W2 with a fixed clamp 41 and a rotary clamp 42, twists them while adjusting the tension, and creates a twisted wire. The rotating clamp 42 gripping the other ends of the twisted wires W1 and W2 is moved rearward by the moving mechanism 43 . The fixed clamp 41 gripping one end of the twisted wires W1 and W2 is moved leftward and rotated 180 degrees. Thus, the fixed clamp 41 and the rotating clamp 42 return to their initial positions. The transfer heads 31 and 32 of the wire transfer unit 30 are lowered from above the fixed clamp 41 and the rotating clamp 42 (height in the initial state), and the wires W1 and W2 are twisted by an operation opposite to that when transferring the wires W1 and W2. Receive (hold) the line. After the transfer heads 31 and 32 that have gripped the twisted wires are lifted, they are moved rightward to above the wire holding unit 20 (above the driving position indicated by the data instruction unit 10) by the moving mechanism 33. FIG. The transfer heads 31 and 32 are lowered to drive (hold) the one ends W1a and W2a and the other ends W1b and W2b of the twisted wires into the wire clip 22 at the wire holding portion 20 at the driving position.

Since the electric wire holding part 20 holds a plurality of electric wires including the twisted wires produced by the twist processing part 40 on the rod, the plurality of electric wires including the twisted wires can be easily transferred to the next process by carrying the rod. can be transported. Therefore, it is possible to reduce incidental work such as wire bundling, unbundling, capping, capping, etc., which are required when the wires are transported.

As described above, according to the electric wire processing apparatus and the electric wire processing method of the present embodiment, the electric wires W1 and W2 are twisted by the electric wire transfer unit 30 from the state held by the electric wire holding unit 20 (rod). 40 , processed into a twisted wire, and driven into the wire holding portion 20 . That is, an electric wire with a terminal including a twisted wire can be processed into a wire harness circuit state (sub-harness). Therefore, the twisted wire can be transported together with the rod to the next process such as the terminal insertion process. Therefore, from the twisted wire processing step to the terminal insertion step, it is possible to reduce incidental work such as wire bundle bundling, bundling unbundling, capping, and capping. In addition, since the space required for ancillary work between the twisted wire processing step and the terminal insertion step is not required, the space required for wire harness processing can be reduced.

Further, in the wire processing apparatus of the present embodiment, when the wires W1 and W2 are twisted together by the rotation of the rotating clamp 42 in the twist processing unit 40 to shorten the length of the wire, the stage ST on which the rotating clamp 42 is mounted shifts to the fixed clamp 41. pulled to the side. At this time, the amount of movement of the first moving portion (stage ST, U-shaped block 66, and slider 71) with respect to the second moving portion (sliders 63, 65, and mounting plate 64) is detected by sensor 74, and the amount of movement is complemented. , the second moving part is moved by the control device and the driving source M. As shown in FIG. With this configuration, the distance between the rotating clamp 42 and the fixed clamp 41 can be adjusted according to the increase or decrease in the tension of the wires W1, W2, so the tension applied to the wires can be adjusted within a certain range. Therefore, regardless of the length of the twisted wire, the tension applied to the wires W1 and W2 during twisting can be adjusted to be constant without increasing the size of the equipment. In addition, since the tension applied to the wires W1 and W2 is adjusted by controlling the drive source M according to the amount of movement detected by the gauge 72 and the sensor 74, even if the length of the twisted wire is long, the tension can be adjusted. There is no need to lengthen (enlarge) such facilities.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be modified, improved, etc. as appropriate. In addition, the material, shape, size, numerical value, form, number, location, etc. of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary and not limited as long as the present invention can be achieved.

(Modification)
Modifications of the tension adjustment mechanism TU of the twist processing unit 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 to 15. FIG. While the gauge 72 of the above embodiment has a plurality of comb teeth 72a, the gauge 72A of the modified example does not have comb teeth 72a and has a rectangular concave portion 72Ab between two rectangular portions 72Aa. have In a modified example, sensor 74 detects the presence or absence of gauge 72 . In the state shown in FIG. 13 in which no tension is applied to the wires W1 and W2, the sensor 74 is positioned at the rectangular portion 72Aa and detects the gauge 72A (detects the existence of the gauge 72A). On the other hand, when the wires W1 and W2 are under tension as shown in FIG. 14, the sensor 74 is located at the recess 72Ab and does not detect the gauge 72A (detects the absence of the gauge 72A). The control device that receives the output of sensor 74 drives drive source M when sensor 74 is positioned within a predetermined range (range indicated by arrow Y6) shown in FIG. , continue normal operation. On the other hand, the control device (data instruction unit 10) stops the drive source M and the motor 55 when the sensor 74 is positioned outside the predetermined range, that is, when the presence of the gauge 72A is detected. Thus, when the position of the sensor 74 is out of the predetermined range (when abnormal tension occurs), by stopping the driving source M, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of wire elongation, breakage, and the like.

Here, the features of the electric wire processing apparatus and the electric wire processing method according to the embodiments of the present invention described above are briefly summarized in [1] to [6] below.
[1] A wire processing device for processing two wires (W1, W2) into a twisted wire,
a wire holding part (20) for holding at least the two wires;
an instruction unit (data instruction unit 10) for instructing the twisting conditions, the take-out position of the two electric wires and the driving position of the twisted wire in the electric wire holding unit;
a twist processing unit (40) for twisting the two electric wires according to instructions from the instruction unit to create the twisted wire;
According to the instruction, the two electric wires are taken out from the electric wire holding portion at the take-out position and transferred to the twist processing portion, and according to the instruction, the twisted wire is driven into the electric wire holding portion from the twist processing portion. A wire transfer unit (30) that transfers to a position,
Electric wire processing equipment.
[2] The wire transfer section (30)
a one end gripping portion (transfer head 31) for gripping one end side (one ends W1a, W2a) of the two electric wires;
a second end gripping portion (transfer head 32) for gripping the other end side (other end portions W1b, W2b) of the two electric wires;
a moving mechanism (33) for moving the one end gripping portion and the other end gripping portion between the wire holding portion and the twist processing portion;
The electric wire processing apparatus according to [1] above.
[3] The one-end gripping portion and the other-end gripping portion are arranged adjacent to each other in a first direction (horizontal direction),
The moving mechanism moves the one-end gripping portion and the other-end gripping portion in the first direction,
The electric wire processing apparatus according to [2] above.
[4] The twisting part is
a one-end holding portion (fixing clamp 41) that holds one end side of the two electric wires transferred from the one-end holding portion;
a second end holding portion (rotary clamp 42) that holds the other end side of the two electric wires transferred from the other end holding portion;
At least one of the one end holding part and the other end holding part is moved so that the distance between the one end holding part and the other end holding part becomes a distance corresponding to the length of the two electric wires. , and a twisting movement mechanism (movement mechanism 43) that separates them from each other,
The other end holding part rotates about the extending direction of the two electric wires while being separated from the one end holding part.
The electric wire processing device according to the above [2] or [3].
[5] The one end holding portion and the other end holding portion are arranged adjacent to each other in the first direction (horizontal direction),
The moving mechanism moves the other end holding portion in a second direction (front-rear direction) intersecting the first direction,
The one end holding part is configured to be movable in the first direction and rotatable within a plane including the first direction and the second direction,
The electric wire processing apparatus according to [4] above.
[6] A wire processing method for processing two wires (W1, W2) into a twisted wire,
Generating instruction information for instructing twisting conditions, a position for taking out the two electric wires from a wire holding portion (20) for holding at least the two wires, and a position for driving the twisted wire,
According to the instruction information, the electric wire transfer section (30) picks up the two electric wires from the electric wire holding section at the pick-up position and transfers them to the twist processing section (40);
The twist processing unit twists the two electric wires according to the instruction information to create the twisted wire,
According to the instruction information, the wire transfer unit transfers the twisted wire from the twist processing unit to the driving position in the wire holding unit.
Electric wire processing method.

10 data indicator (instructor, control device)
20 wire holding unit 21 holding table 22 wire clip 30 wire transfer units 31, 32 transfer head 33 moving mechanism 40 twist processing unit (twisting machine)
41 fixed clamp 42 rotating clamp 43 moving mechanism (moving mechanism for twist processing)
44 Mounting plate 45 Moving mechanism 50 Mounting blocks 51, 69 Shafts 52, 54, 61 Pulleys 53, 62 Belt 55 Motor 56 Holding part 57 Mounting plates 63, 65, 71 Slider 64 Mounting plate 66 U-shaped block 67 First plate 68 Second Two plates 70 Springs 72, 72A Gauge 72a Comb tooth 72Aa Rectangular portion 72Ab Recess 72b Horizontal portion 73 Connection plate 74 Sensor M Drive source RU Rotation mechanism ST Stage TU Tension adjustment mechanism W1, W2 Electric wires W1a, W2a One end W1b, W2b The other end Department

Claims (6)

A wire processing device for processing two wires into a twisted wire,
an electric wire holder that holds at least the two electric wires;
an instruction section for instructing the conditions of twisting, the extraction position of the two electric wires in the electric wire holding section, and the driving position of the twisted wire;
a twist processing unit that twists the two electric wires according to instructions from the instruction unit to create the twisted wire;
According to the instruction, the two electric wires are taken out from the electric wire holding portion at the take-out position and transferred to the twist processing portion, and according to the instruction, the twisted wire is driven into the electric wire holding portion from the twist processing portion. A wire transfer unit that transfers to a position,
Electric wire processing equipment. The wire transfer unit is
a one-end gripping portion that grips one end side of the two electric wires;
a second end gripping portion for gripping the other end side of the two electric wires;
a moving mechanism for moving the one end gripping portion and the other end gripping portion between the wire holding portion and the twist processing portion;
The electric wire processing apparatus according to claim 1. The one end gripping portion and the other end gripping portion are arranged adjacent to each other in the first direction,
The moving mechanism moves the one-end gripping portion and the other-end gripping portion in the first direction,
The electric wire processing apparatus according to claim 2. The twist processing part is
a one-end holding portion that holds one end side of the two electric wires transferred from the one-end holding portion;
a second end holding portion that holds the other end side of the two electric wires transferred from the other end holding portion;
At least one of the one end holding part and the other end holding part is moved so that the distance between the one end holding part and the other end holding part becomes a distance corresponding to the length of the two electric wires. , and a twisting movement mechanism that separates them from each other,
The other end holding part rotates about the extending direction of the two electric wires while being separated from the one end holding part.
The electric wire processing apparatus according to claim 2 or 3. the one end holding part and the other end holding part are arranged adjacent to each other in the first direction,
The moving mechanism moves the other end holding portion in a second direction that intersects with the first direction,
The one end holding part is configured to be movable in the first direction and rotatable within a plane including the first direction and the second direction,
The electric wire processing apparatus according to claim 4. An electric wire processing method for processing two electric wires into a twisted wire,
generating instruction information that instructs the conditions for twisting, and the extraction position of the two electric wires and the driving position of the twisted wire in the electric wire holding portion that holds at least the two electric wires;
According to the instruction information, the wire transfer unit takes out the two wires from the wire holding unit at the take-out position and transfers them to the twist processing unit;
The twist processing unit twists the two electric wires according to the instruction information to create the twisted wire,
According to the instruction information, the wire transfer unit transfers the twisted wire from the twist processing unit to the driving position in the wire holding unit.
Electric wire processing method.

Images