JP2946270B2 - Method and apparatus for holding connector housing with dispensing mechanism - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for holding a connector housing into which a terminal with an electric wire is inserted, and more particularly to a connector housing having a function of discharging the connector housing from the holding apparatus after the terminal of the held connector housing is inserted. The present invention relates to a holding method and an apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional process of inserting a terminal with an electric wire into a connector housing and mounting the terminal, a connector housing is first inserted into a housing holder of a connector housing holding device. Next, a predetermined number of connection terminals crimped to the wire terminals are inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber, and then the connector housing is removed from the housing holder.
Conventionally, this removal has been performed manually by an operator.

As shown in FIG. 8, in a conventional reversing type connector housing holding device G, a connector housing 20, which is a workpiece, is inserted from a fitting direction α, and a housing holder disposed on a support 131a of a base 131. 121 is locked by a lock lever 126 from above. In this locked state, a predetermined number of connection terminals with electric wires (not shown) are inserted into the terminal receiving chamber on the upper side of the connector housing 20, and then the housing holder 121 is inverted by 180 ° by the inversion actuator 122. Next, a predetermined number of connection terminals with electric wires are again inserted into the terminal housing chamber of the connector housing 20 into which the terminals have not been inserted yet, and the terminal insertion is completed. Then, the housing holder 121 is again inverted by the inversion actuator 122 and returns to the original position. Finally, the operator manually removes the connector housing 20 from the housing holder 121.

[0004]

As described above, in the conventional connector housing holding device, the connector housing is manually taken out by the operator.
There has been a limit in increasing the efficiency of productivity, and there have been problems such as an increase in manufacturing costs due to the need for man-hours. Furthermore, when the connector housing is taken out, if the operator does not grasp and take out the connector housing portion but grasps the inserted electric wire and pulls in the direction opposite to the insertion direction,
The tension is applied to the connection portion between the electric wire and the connection terminal and the engagement portion between the connection terminal and the connector housing, and poor contact or disconnection of the connection terminal from the connector housing occurs, thereby causing inconvenience in quality control.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide a method and an apparatus for holding a connector housing which can automatically eject the connector housing after processing the connector housing. It is in.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide a housing holder for holding a connector housing, a vertical portion on which the connector housing is mounted, a housing guide for positioning the connector housing, and the connector. A method for holding a connector housing, comprising: a lock lever for fixing the housing; and a dispensing mechanism for dispensing the connector housing held by releasing the housing holder. This is achieved by a housing holding method.

It is a further object of the present invention to provide a housing holder for holding the connector housing, a vertical portion for mounting the connector housing, a housing guide for positioning the connector housing, and fixing the connector housing. A method for holding a connector housing, comprising: a lock lever; and a dispensing mechanism for dispensing the connector housing held by releasing the housing holder is provided in the housing holder. This is achieved by a housing retaining device. The dispensing mechanism includes a sliding portion that abuts on the connector housing and slides in the insertion direction of the connector housing and in the opposite direction, and a dispensing cylinder that is a driving source of the sliding portion. . The dispensing cylinder includes a drive shaft that moves in and out. The sliding portion includes a stopper that comes into contact with the drive shaft by the drive movement of the drive shaft, and a payout rod that is provided at the front end with a housing discharge plate that contacts the connector housing, and is connected to the stopper via a support plate. Have been.

[0008]

In the method and apparatus for holding a connector housing according to the present invention, the dispensing mechanism for dispensing the connector housing is provided in the housing holder, so that the connector housing held in the housing holder can be inserted in the insertion direction. Automatically extruded in the opposite direction. That is, the dispensing mechanism is composed of a dispensing cylinder having a drive shaft that moves in and out, and a sliding portion that abuts on the connector housing and slides in the insertion direction of the connector housing and in the opposite direction. Therefore, when the drive shaft is sent out by the operation of the dispensing cylinder, the sliding portion on which the tip of the drive shaft can slide is slid in the direction opposite to the insertion direction of the connector housing. As a result, the connector housing that has been in contact with the sliding portion in the housing holder is pushed out in the same direction as the moving direction of the sliding portion, and can be discharged from the housing holder.

[0009]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A connector housing holding device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of a connector housing holding device according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view of FIG. 1, and FIGS. 3 to 7 are operation explanatory views showing a process sequence. First, the configuration of the connector housing holding device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the connector housing holding device H includes a support 11 vertically mounted on a base 11.
It mainly comprises a housing holder 1 for holding a connector housing 20 with a. interposed therebetween, and a rotary actuator 6 which is a drive source of the housing holder 1. The rotation actuator 6 is operated by the working fluid flowing in and out of the working fluid inlet 12a and the outlet 12b, and rotates the rotating shaft 10. This rotating shaft 10
Is extended through the column 11a and is interlocked with the housing holder 1. The housing holder 1 rotates with the rotation of the rotation shaft 10.

The housing holder 1 has a lock lever 2 for fixing the connector housing 20 at an upper portion thereof and a lock cylinder 3 for driving the lock lever 2, and a housing guide 4 for positioning the side wall of the connector housing 20 on a side surface. , 5 and a lower portion 9 on which the connector housing 20 is mounted.
Further, a sliding portion 8 for discharging the connector housing 20 is provided in the housing holder 1,
A dispensing cylinder 7 which is a driving source for the sliding portion 8 is provided with the separation cylinder 1a interposed therebetween. The dispensing cylinder 7 includes a drive shaft 7a that moves in and out.

The sliding portion 8 includes a stopper 8a which comes into contact with the drive shaft 7a by the sending movement of the drive shaft 7a, a guide rod 8b which slides in a through hole 9a formed below the vertical portion 9; At the front end, a housing dispensing plate 8d that contacts the connector housing 20 is provided.
and a payout rod 8c connected to the stopper 8a via the e.

The lock lever 2 has one end suspended as a lever for fixing the connector housing 20 and the other end holding the lock cylinder 3 and rotating about a support shaft 2a.
That is, the lock lever 2 raises the tip when the lock cylinder 3 pulls the rod 3a (not shown), and lowers the tip when the rod 3a is sent out. When the distal end is lowered, the locking projection 20 on the upper surface of the connector housing 20
c to fix the connector housing 20.

The inside of the connector housing 20 has a two-stage structure comprising an upper terminal receiving chamber 20a and a lower terminal receiving chamber 20b. When this connector housing 20 is advanced in the insertion direction α indicated by the arrow in the figure, it is inserted into the space formed by the housing guides 4 and 5 and the vertical portion 9 and fixed by the lock lever 2.

On the other hand, the dispensing cylinder 7 provided on the base 11 is provided separately from the rotary actuator 6 and the rotary shaft 10, and the built-in drive shaft 7a is inserted in the inserting direction α and dispensed by fluid pressure. In the direction β. When the drive shaft 7a is sent out in the dispensing direction β, the dispensing cylinder 7 is disposed so as to be in contact with the stopper 8a, and the drive shaft 7a and the stopper 8a are not integrated but separated.

The housing holder 1 is rotatable with the connector housing 20 inserted therein. When the housing holder 1 is in the rotated state and the position after the rotation,
The drive shaft 7a is retracted by the dispensing cylinder 7. When the housing holder 1 returns from the rotating state, the drive shaft 7a sends out the dispensing cylinder 7 and comes into contact with the stopper 8a. Then, when the drive shaft 7a is further sent out, the sliding portion 8 is moved.
The whole slides and moves, and the connector housing 20 which has been in contact with the housing dispensing plate 8d can be dispensed from the housing holder 1. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the connector housing 20 can be paid out by sending out the drive shaft 7a, and the housing holder 1 can be rotated without the presence of the drive shaft 7a becoming an obstacle.

The rotation angle of the housing holder 1 can be set to an optimum angle according to the content of processing. Thus, the rotation angle can be set to any value, but is usually reversed, that is, the rotation angle is 180 °.

The dispensing cylinder 7 is a cylinder mechanism driven by pneumatic or hydraulic pressure. The dispensing cylinder 7 has a mechanism in which the tip of a built-in drive shaft 7a abuts a stopper 8a to move the entire sliding portion 8 in the axial direction. If you have, for example,
It is also possible to use solenoids, rotating cams, racks, pinion gears and the like.

Next, the operation of the connector housing holding device according to the present embodiment will be sequentially described with reference to FIGS. As shown in FIG. 3, the connector housing holding device H1 is in a state before the connector housing 20 is inserted. The housing holder 1 is at an initial position before the rotation, and the lock cylinder 3 provided on the housing holder 1 is pulled down by pulling the built-in rod 3a. Therefore, the lock lever 2 located at the opposite position across the support shaft 2a moves upward to secure a space for the connector housing 20 to be inserted.

At this stage, the rotary actuator 6 is not operated, and the dispensing cylinder 7 also has the drive shaft 7a retracted inside, so that the drive shaft 7a does not protrude significantly from the support 11a. In addition, the sliding portion 8 provided on the housing holder 1 side
The guide rod 8b connected to the stopper 8a is located at the initial position closer to a, and is in the state of being most pulled out from the through hole of the front hanging portion 9. At this time, the connector housing 20 having the locking projections 20c on the upper surface is inserted in the housing insertion direction α.

Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the connector housing holding device H2 is in a state after the connector housing 20 is fitted and inserted. The connector housing 20 is inserted into the housing holder 1 while being guided by the housing guides 4 and 5. Here, the lock cylinder 3 is a built-in rod 3a.
To move upward, and the lock lever 2 at the position facing the support shaft 2a moves downward. By this movement, the distal end of the lock lever 2 engages with the locking projection 20c of the connector housing 20, thereby fixing the connector housing 20 in the housing holder 1. At this time, the front end of the connector housing 20 is in contact with the housing dispensing plate 8d.

The connector housing 20 fixed in this manner is connected to the connection terminal 21a in the upper terminal receiving chamber 20a.
Is inserted. During this time, the rotation actuator 6 and the dispensing cylinder 7 do not operate. When the insertion of the connection wires 21a into the terminal receiving chamber 20a of the connector housing 20 is completed, the housing holder 1 is rotated by half a turn (180 °) to insert the wires into the other terminal receiving chamber 20b.

Next, as shown in FIG. 5, the connector housing holding device H3 is in a state after the housing holder 1 is rotated. After the insertion of the connection wire 21a into the terminal accommodating chamber 20a, the rotation actuator 6 is turned on by the working fluid inlet 1
The rotation shaft 10 is rotated based on the inflow and outflow of the working fluid from the 2a and the outlet 12b (not shown).
With the rotation of the rotation shaft 10, the connected housing holder 1 is rotated while holding the connector housing 20. In this embodiment, the rotation angle is 180 °, and the housing holder 1 is turned upside down and stopped. As a result, the terminal accommodating chamber 20b located below the connector housing 20 reverses and moves upward. In this state, the connection wire 21b is inserted into the terminal accommodating chamber 20b. During the rotation of the housing holder 1 and after the rotation, the dispensing cylinder 7 always pulls the drive shaft 7a.
a does not come into contact with the rotating housing holder 1.

The connector housing 20 of the connecting wire 21b
When the insertion into the working fluid is completed, the rotation actuator 6 reverses the flow direction of the working fluid from the working fluid inlet 12a and the outlet 12b (not shown), and
Is rotated in reverse. This causes the housing holder 1 to return to the initial position. During the reverse rotation of the rotation shaft 10, the dispensing cylinder 7 retracts the drive shaft 7a, so that the housing holder 1 that returns to the rotation and the drive shaft 7a do not come into contact with each other.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the connector housing holding device H4 is in a state where the connector housing 20 is being dispensed after the housing holder 1 is returned. When the housing holder 1 returns to the initial position, the discharging of the connector housing 20 is started.

First, the lock cylinder 3 is operated to retract the rod 3a, whereby the lock lever 2 moves upward, and the engagement state with the locking projection 20c is released.
In this state, the dispensing cylinder 7 operates to feed the drive shaft 7a in the dispensing direction. Since the drive shaft 7a contacts the stopper 8a and moves in the dispensing direction while further pressing the stopper 8a, the entire sliding portion 8 also starts moving in the dispensing direction. That is, the guide rod 8b slides in the through hole 9a provided in the front hanging portion 9, and the payout rod 8c and the housing payout plate 8d move in the housing holder 1 in the payout direction. As a result, the connector housing 20 that has been in contact with the housing dispensing plate 8d is pushed and moves in the dispensing direction, and the connector housing 20 is automatically dispensed from the connector housing holding device without requiring manual operation by an operator.

As shown in FIG. 7, the connector housing holding device H5 is in a state where the discharge of the connector housing 20 is completed. The dispensing cylinder 7 has a drive shaft 7a.
And the drive shaft 7a pushes the entire sliding portion 8 including the stopper 8a in the dispensing direction. Then, the connector housing 20 is completely discharged from the housing holder 1 and does not stay in the housing holder 1. Thereafter, the dispensing cylinder 7 retracts the drive shaft 7a again, and prepares to insert the next connector housing.

That is, the housing holder 1 can immediately proceed to the next connector housing fitting step.
The new connector housing to be inserted into the housing holder 1 is brought into contact with the housing dispensing plate 8d at a protruding position by a handling robot (not shown) or the like, and is further inserted into the housing holder 1 while pressing the housing dispensing plate 8d. Thereby, the sliding portion 8 returns to the initial standby position shown in FIG.

As described above, in the connector housing holding device of the present embodiment, the dispensing cylinder 7 is provided at a position away from the rotary actuator 6 and the rotary shaft 10. Also,
The rotatable housing holder 1 has a stopper 8a provided integrally with the housing dispensing plate 8d at a position away from the housing dispensing plate 8d. Further, a slidable drive shaft 7a built in the dispensing cylinder 7 is disposed at a position where it can be brought into contact with the stopper 8a. Moreover, the drive shaft 7a and the stopper 8a are not integrated with each other, but are separated from each other.
The rotation of the housing holder 1 is not obstructed.
Is made possible.

In the above description, the dispensing cylinder 7 retracts only the drive shaft 7a after the housing holder 1 dispenses the connector housing 20, but when the drive shaft 7a is retracted in the direction opposite to the dispensing direction, for example, The drive shaft 7 is connected by a suitable means such as a hook.
It is also possible that a catches the stopper 8a, moves the entire sliding portion 8 in the retracting direction, and returns the sliding portion 8 to the initial standby position.

[0031]

As described above, in the connector housing holding method and apparatus according to the present invention, the dispensing mechanism for disengaging the held connector housing by releasing the housing holder is provided. As a result, the payout process of the connector housing can be automated, and the manual payout process performed by the operator, which has been conventionally performed, can be eliminated, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced by reducing the number of work steps. In addition, since the connector housing is automatically dispensed in the direction opposite to the direction in which the wires are inserted into the connector housing, poor contact due to positional displacement of the inserted connection terminals and disconnection of the connection terminals, which occurred during the dispensing work by the operator, etc. Can be eliminated, and the quality can be improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing one embodiment of a connector housing holding device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory view showing a state before the connector housing is inserted.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a state after insertion of the connector housing.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a housing holder is inverted after an electric wire is inserted into one terminal accommodating chamber.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view showing a state in which after the insertion of the electric wire into the terminal accommodating chamber is completed, the housing holder is turned over again and the connector housing is discharged.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view showing a completed state of connector housing payout.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a conventional connector housing holding device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 H Connector housing holding device 1 Housing holder 2 Lock lever 2a Support shaft 3 Lock cylinder 4 Housing guide 5 Housing guide 6 Rotating actuator 7 Discharge cylinder 7a Drive shaft 8 Sliding portion 8a Stopper 8b Guide rod 8c Discharge rod 8d Housing discharge plate 8e Support plate 9 Front hanging part 9a Through hole 10 Rotating shaft 11 Base 11a Support post 12a Working fluid inlet 12b Working fluid outlet 20 Connector housing 20a Terminal accommodating chamber 20b Terminal accommodating chamber 20c Locking projection α Connector housing insertion direction β Connector housing Dispensing direction

Claims (6)

(57) [Claims] 1. A housing holder for holding a connector housing, comprising a vertical portion for mounting the connector housing, a housing guide for positioning the connector housing, and a lock lever for fixing the connector housing. A method of holding a connector housing, comprising: a dispensing mechanism for dispensing the connector housing held by releasing the housing holder. 2. The connector housing holding method according to claim 1, wherein the connector housing is pushed out by the dispensing mechanism in a direction opposite to a fitting direction of the connector housing. 3. A housing holder for holding a connector housing, comprising: a vertical portion on which the connector housing is mounted; a housing guide for positioning the connector housing; and a lock lever for fixing the connector housing. A holding mechanism for holding the connector housing, wherein a dispensing mechanism for dispensing the connector housing held by releasing the housing holder is provided in the housing holder. 4. A dispensing mechanism comprising: a sliding portion that abuts on the connector housing and slides in the insertion direction of the connector housing and in the opposite direction, and a dispensing cylinder that is a driving source of the sliding portion. The holding device for a connector housing according to claim 3, wherein the holding device is configured. 5. The connector housing holding device according to claim 4, wherein the dispensing cylinder includes a drive shaft that moves in and out. 6. The slide unit is provided at a front end thereof with a stopper that abuts on the drive shaft by the drive movement of the drive shaft and a housing ejection plate that abuts on the connector housing, and is connected to the stopper via a support plate. The holding device for a connector housing according to claim 4, wherein the holding device comprises a dispensing rod.