JP7178289B2 - Wire connection method - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to an electric wire connection method for joining conductors such as core wires and stranded wires in a plurality of covered electric wires constituting a wiring harness for an automobile.

2. Description of the Related Art An electrical device installed in an automobile or the like forms an electrical circuit by connecting to another electrical device or a power supply device via a wire harness in which a plurality of covered electric wires are bundled. At this time, the wire harness, the electrical equipment, and the power supply are connected to each other by connectors attached to them.

As a method for connecting a plurality of covered electric wires constituting the above-described wire harness or connecting objects to be joined such as conductors of the covered electric wires to terminals, for example, a wire connection device as described in Patent Document 1 is used to connect the objects to be joined. A method of ultrasonically bonding by applying ultrasonic vibration to the joint is adopted.

Specifically, the object to be welded is placed on the anvil (placement portion) which is the object receiving portion for receiving the object to be joined, and the horn (compression vibration portion) for applying ultrasonic vibration is placed on the anvil (placement portion). It is brought into contact with the bundled objects to be bonded and ultrasonically bonded.

However, in order to perform ultrasonic bonding by applying ultrasonic vibrations to the objects to be joined placed on the anvil (arrangement part), a horn (compression vibration part) must be applied to the objects to be joined under a predetermined pressure. It is necessary to bring them into contact with each other while applying pressure. Therefore, there is a possibility that the object to be ultrasonically welded is compressed and adheres to the horn (compression vibrating portion), the anvil (placement portion), or the like.

Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2000-188018

The present invention provides a wire connection method in which even if a conductive object to be joined, including a covered electric wire in which a conductor is covered with an insulating coating, is joined by a wire connection device, the object to be joined does not stick to a compression vibrating portion or an arrangement portion. intended to provide

The present invention relates to a wire connection method for connecting a conductive object to be joined, which includes at least one or more covered wires in which a conductor is covered with an insulating coating, by a wire connection device, wherein the object to be joined is connected to the wire. until the arranging step of arranging in the arranging portion of the connecting device, and the compression vibration portion applying the ultrasonic vibration of the wire connecting device reaches a predetermined relative position with respect to the object to be joined arranged in the arranging portion; a first bonding step of applying ultrasonic vibration to the bodies to be bonded while applying a substantially constant first compression force to the bodies to be bonded to bond the bodies to be bonded; and a second bonding step of bonding the objects to be bonded by applying ultrasonic vibration while maintaining the relative position and reducing the compressive force acting on the objects to be bonded to be lower than the first compressive force. do.

The conductor is, for example, a stranded wire obtained by twisting a plurality of conductive strands such as an aluminum strand, an aluminum alloy strand, a copper strand, or a copper alloy strand, or a single conductive wire. It is a concept that includes In the case of a stranded wire, it may be a stranded wire composed of strands of a single metal type, or a stranded wire in which strands of a plurality of metal types are mixed.

Conductive objects to be joined, including at least one or more of the above-described covered wires, include conductors of a plurality of covered wires, strand wires such as stranded wires constituting conductors in one covered wire, and one A combination of a conductor in a covered wire and a terminal such as a connection terminal, and a combination of a conductor in a covered wire and a tubular body such as a joint tube into which the conductor is inserted can be used.
The above-described predetermined relative position with respect to the object to be joined is a position at which the compression vibration unit applies ultrasonic vibration to the object to be joined so that ultrasonic welding can be performed.

According to the present invention, objects to be joined can be ultrasonically joined without sticking to the compressive vibration part or the arrangement part.
More specifically, in the first joining step of joining the objects to be joined, the compression vibrator whose position is controlled at a predetermined relative position with respect to the object to be joined placed in the placement portion applies a first compressive force while superimposing. The objects to be joined are ultrasonically bonded by sonic vibration, and in the second joining step, after the compressive vibration unit reaches the relative position, the relative position is maintained and the compressive force acting on the object to be joined is reduced. Since the objects to be joined are joined by applying ultrasonic vibration while lowering the compression force below the first compression force, the deformation of the objects to be joined by ultrasonic welding can be controlled, and the object to be joined is compressed with a constant compression force without position control. It is possible to ultrasonically bond the objects to be bonded without sticking to the compressive vibrating portion or the placement portion unlike in the case of ultrasonic bonding by applying ultrasonic vibration while applying ultrasonic vibrations.

In addition, since the compression vibrator ultrasonically vibrates the object to be joined by controlling the position relative to the object to be joined, the effect of material variation of the object to be joined is reduced, and the welding condition can be improved. Robustness can be improved.

Furthermore, even when objects to be joined made of metals having different melting temperatures are joined together, the compressive deformation and melting of the object to be ultrasonically welded can be controlled, and the object can be fixed to the compression vibrating portion or placement portion. can be prevented.

Specifically, when objects to be joined made of metals with different melting temperatures are ultrasonically bonded to each other, the objects to be joined made of a metal with a low melting temperature are made of a metal with a high melting temperature. Since the object to be joined melts more easily than the object to be joined, the object to be joined made of a metal with a low melting temperature is likely to be compressed during joining. The compression vibration part performs ultrasonic bonding while applying a first compression force, and in the second bonding step, the compression vibration part maintained in the relative position applies ultrasonic vibration while reducing the compression force. Since the objects to be joined are joined, it is possible to control the compressive deformation and melting of the objects to be joined by ultrasonic bonding, prevent them from sticking to the compression vibrating portion and the arrangement portion, and further improve robustness.

Further, as an aspect of the present invention, the relative position is the bonding relative position, and the body to be bonded is subjected to a second compression force greater than or equal to the first compression force, and the compressive vibration part is moved from the relative position to the body to be bonded. A compressing step of compressing while controlling the positions so that the compressed relative positions are separated may be performed before the first joining step.

According to this invention, it is possible to perform ultrasonic bonding after compressing the objects to be bonded, thereby achieving more reliable bonding.
More specifically, before the joining step, the compression vibrator pre-compresses the object to be joined with a predetermined second compression force larger than the first compression force. The first compressive force and the ultrasonic vibration can be applied to the joint relative position by the compressive vibration part whose position is controlled so as to be the joint relative position.

Therefore, compared to the case of simply applying ultrasonic vibration to the object to be joined, the temperature difference in the cross section of the compressed object to be joined, for example, the upper and lower parts, is suppressed, and the ultrasonic joining is performed reliably. be able to.

In addition, before the joining step, the objects to be joined compressed by a second compression force greater than or equal to the first compression force in the compression vibrator whose position is controlled so as to be in the compression relative position are separated from each other. Alternatively, since the elements that make up the object to be joined are in close contact with each other, the friction loss between the objects to be joined or between the elements is reduced, making it more efficient than simply applying ultrasonic vibration to the object to join. can be ultrasonically bonded, that is, with low energy.

Further, as an aspect of the present invention, after the compressing step is completed and before the first joining step, the compressive force of the compression vibrating portion acting on the object to be joined is set to a predetermined third compression force smaller than the first compressive force. power can be lowered.

According to the present invention, compressed bodies to be joined can be joined more reliably.
More specifically, the compressive vibrator is applied to the object to be joined before the first joining step after the compression step of compressing the object to be joined with a predetermined second compression force larger than the first compression force. is once reduced to a predetermined third compression force that is smaller than the first compression force, and then increased to the first compression force while applying ultrasonic vibration to the compressed object to be joined. More reliable joining can be achieved while reducing the acting load.

Further, as an aspect of the present invention, the objects to be joined are a plurality of the covered electric wires, and the arranging step includes stripping the insulating coating at the tip end portions of the plurality of the covered electric wires and placing the exposed conductors in the arranging portion. may be placed.
According to the present invention, the conductors of the plurality of covered electric wires can be reliably ultrasonically joined together without sticking to the compression vibrating portion or the arrangement portion.

In addition, even when each of the plurality of coated wires is composed of the metal conductors having different melting temperatures, the compression deformation and melting of the conductors to be ultrasonically bonded can be controlled, and the compression vibration part and the arrangement can be controlled. It can be prevented from sticking to the part.

The covered wire made of the metal conductors having different melting temperatures is insulated from the covered wire made by covering the conductor made of aluminum or aluminum alloy with an insulating coating and the conductor made of copper or copper alloy. It means that the metal species constituting the conductor of each covered electric wire is different, such as a covered electric wire configured by covering with a coating.

In another aspect of the present invention, the objects to be joined are a plurality of covered electric wires and a conductive tubular body, and the arranging step includes stripping off the insulating coating at the tip end portions of the plurality of covered electric wires to expose them. The conductor may be arranged in the arrangement portion in a state in which the conductor is inserted into the tubular body.

According to the present invention, in a state in which the conductor of the coated wire is inserted into the tubular body, the conductor and the tubular body can be reliably ultrasonically bonded without being fixed to the compression vibrating portion or the placement portion. . Even if the conductors of the plurality of covered electric wires are collectively inserted into the tubular body, the plurality of conductors and the tubular body can be ultrasonically bonded.

Further, as an aspect of the present invention, the object to be joined includes the covered wire and a terminal to be joined to the covered wire, and the arranging step includes peeling off the insulating coating at the tip of the covered wire to expose the terminal. The joint portion of the conductor and the terminal may be arranged in the arrangement portion.
According to the present invention, the conductor of the coated wire and the joint portion of the terminal can be securely ultrasonically joined without being fixed to the compression vibrating portion or the arrangement portion.

According to the present invention, even if a conductive object to be joined, including a covered electric wire in which a conductor is covered with an insulating coating, is joined by a wire connecting device, the wire does not adhere to the compression vibrating portion or the placement portion. A connection method can be provided.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of a plurality of coated electric wires to be joined; Schematic block diagram of a wire connection device. Flowchart of a wire connection method. Schematic explanatory drawing of the principal part of a wire connection apparatus. FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory diagram of the joining operation of the main parts of the wire connecting device; 4 is a graph showing the relationship between the compressive force and the relative position of the horn with respect to the conductor in the wire connection device. Explanatory drawing explaining the covered electric wire and joint pipe|tube which are joining objects. Explanatory drawing explaining the covered electric wire and terminal which are joining objects. 5 is a graph showing the relationship between the compressive force of the horn with respect to the conductor and the relative position in the wire connecting device of another embodiment;

One embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an explanatory view of a plurality of covered electric wires 1 to be joined. Specifically, FIG. 1(a) shows a plan view of a plurality of covered electric wires 1 to be joined arranged in parallel. (b) shows a plan view of a state in which the conductors 3 of a plurality of covered wires 1 arranged in parallel are bundled, and FIG. Figure shows.

2 shows a schematic block diagram of the wire connecting device 10, and FIG. 3 shows a flow chart of the wire connecting method.
FIG. 4 shows a schematic explanatory view of the main part 10a of the wire connection device 10. Specifically, FIG. A schematic perspective view is shown, and FIG. 4B shows a schematic perspective view of a state in which a plurality of coated wires 1 are arranged in the main portion 10a of the wire connection device 10. As shown in FIG.

5A and 5B are schematic explanatory diagrams of the joining operation of the main part 10a of the wire connection device 10. Specifically, FIG. FIG. 5(b) shows a cross-sectional view of a state in which the horn 12 and the restricting portion 13 are moved in a direction to approach the anvil 11 constituting the main portion 10a of the wire connecting device 10, and FIG. ) shows a cross-sectional view of a state in which the horn 12 pre-compresses the plurality of conductors 3 with the second compressive force, and FIG. showing.
FIG. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the compressive force of the horn 12 with respect to the conductor 3 and the relative position in the wire connecting device 10. As shown in FIG.

In the wire connection method of the present invention described below, a plurality of covered wires 1 each having a conductor 3 covered with an insulating coating 2 are arranged along the longitudinal direction L, and the plurality of covered wires arranged along the longitudinal direction L are arranged. A method for constructing a jointed electric wire 1a joined by a conductor joint portion 3a in which the conductors 3 of a plurality of covered electric wires 1 are joined by applying ultrasonic vibration while applying a predetermined compressive force to one conductor 3. , using a wire connecting device 10 to be described later.

The covered electric wire 1 to be joined is a covered electric wire composed of a conductor 3 which is a twisted wire obtained by twisting a plurality of wires twisted together, and an insulating coating 2 which covers the outside of the conductor 3 .
At least one conductor 3 among the plurality of covered wires 1 is a stranded wire made of aluminum alloy strands, and the conductors 3 of the other covered wires 1 are made of stranded wires made of copper alloy strands. there is In other words, the plurality of conductors 3 to be joined are joined with dissimilar metals.

In order to join the conductors 3 of a plurality of covered wires 1 configured in this way, for example, as shown in FIGS. While arranging in parallel, the covered electric wire 1 is arrange|positioned above between three covered electric wires 1, and five covered electric wires 1 are arrange|positioned in total. The conductor 3 is exposed at the tip of the covered wire 1 by stripping the insulating coating 2 from the tip of the covered wire 1 .

As shown in FIG. 1(b), the conductors 3 of the five coated wires 1 arranged as described above are bundled together, and the bundled conductors 3 are subjected to ultrasonic vibration by the wire connection device 10, which will be described later. The conductor joint portion 3a is formed by acoustic wave bonding, and the joined wire 1a is formed by electrically and physically joining a plurality of coated wires 1 via the conductor joint portion 3a.

As shown in FIG. 4A, a wire connecting device 10 that joins the conductors 3 of a plurality of covered wires 1 to form a joined wire 1a includes an anvil 11 on which a plurality of conductors 3 are arranged, and an anvil 11 on which the conductors 3 are arranged. A horn 12 that approaches the conductors 3 from above and applies ultrasonic vibration to the conductors 3, and a horn 12 that moves in the width direction W along the bottom surface of the horn 12 to regulate the width direction W of the plurality of conductors 3. It has a main portion 10 a configured with a restricting portion 13 .

Further, as shown in FIG. 2, the wire connecting device 10 includes an ultrasonic vibration generator 21 for ultrasonically vibrating the horn 12 constituting the main part 10a, a horn driving part 22 for vertically moving the horn 12, and a regulation part. 13 in the width direction W, the ultrasonic vibration generator 21, the horn driver 22 and the jaw driver 23 are connected to each other. and a timer 25 connected to the controller 24 .

The wire connecting device 10 configured as described above controls the ON/OFF of the ultrasonic vibration of the horn 12 by controlling the control unit 24, moves the horn 12 up and down at a predetermined variable pressure, and controls the movement of the horn 12. It is possible to stop the movement at the bottom dead center in the downward movement (bottom dead center during compression or bottom dead center during joining, which is a predetermined position with respect to the conductor 3), that is, control the bottom dead center.

That is, the control unit 24 causes the horn 12 to apply the second compression force to the conductors 3 bundled and arranged on the anvil 11 to compress them, or applies ultrasonic vibration while compressing the conductors 3 with the first compression force. When the horn 12 reaches a predetermined position, it is programmed to apply ultrasonic vibration while applying a predetermined compressive force to the bundled conductors 3 by the horn 12 maintained at that position.

Further, the control section 24 is connected to a clock section 25, and controls the driving of the ultrasonic vibration generating section 21, the horn driving section 22, and the jaw driving section 23 according to the time clocked by the clock section 25. can be done.

Next, a wire connection method for the covered wire 1 using the wire connection device 10 will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. In this embodiment, a case where five coated wires 1 having aluminum alloy conductors 3 and five coated wires 1 having copper alloy conductors 3 are joined will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. FIG.

In addition, in FIG. 5, the positions of the horn 12 and the restricting portion 13 in the previous process are indicated by dashed lines. 6 is a graph showing the relationship between the compressive force of the horn 12 against the conductor 3 in each step described later and the height of the horn 12 moving downward in the wire connecting device 10. In the graph of FIG. A thick line indicates the part where the ultrasonic vibration is applied.

As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5( a ), the insulation coating 2 at the tip of the covered wire 1 is stripped to expose the conductor 3 for a predetermined length, and the conductor 3 of the plurality of covered wires 1 arranged in parallel is attached to the anvil 11 . Arrange on the upper surface (step s1: arrangement step).

Then, as shown in FIG. 5B , the restricting portion 13 is moved inward in the width direction W along the bottom surface of the horn 12 , and the horn 12 is moved downward together with the restricting portion 13 so as to approach the anvil 11 .

Further, as shown in FIG. 5( c ), the restricting portion 13 is moved inward in the width direction W along the bottom surface of the horn 12 until the inner side surface in the width direction W of the restricting portion 13 abuts the side surface of the anvil 11 . While moving, the control unit 24 controls the horn driving unit 22 to operate the horn 12 together with the regulating unit 13 until the conductor 3 is compressed with a second compression force higher than the first compression force described later. (step s2: pre-compression step).

The pre-compression step (step s2) of the conductor 3 by the horn 12 is continued until the horn 12 moves to the bottom dead center during compression with respect to the conductor 3 placed on the anvil 11 (step s3: No).

When the downward movement of the horn 12 reaches the compression bottom dead center (step s3: Yes), the control unit 24 controls the horn drive unit 22 to increase the compression force (second compression force) of the horn 12 to the Decrease to a third compression force that is less than 1 compression force (see FIG. 6). As shown in FIG. 6, the horn 12 whose compressive force (second compressive force) is reduced to the third compressive force once rises from the bottom dead center during compression as the compressive force is reduced.

As shown in FIG. 6, the control unit 24 controls the ultrasonic vibration generating unit 21 and the horn driving unit 22 so that the horn 12 with the compressive force applied to the conductor 3 placed on the anvil 11 is reduced. is ultrasonically vibrated (step s4), and ultrasonic bonding is performed while compressing the conductor 3 with a first compression force lower than the second compression force and higher than the third compression force (step s5: first bonding step).

In this way, as shown in FIG. 5(d), in compression welding in which the conductor 3 is ultrasonically welded while being compressed with a first compression force lower than the second compression force and higher than the third compression force, the horn 12 is It continues until it moves to the bottom dead center at the time of joining which is a predetermined position with respect to the conductor 3 arranged on the anvil 11 (step s6: No).

When the downward movement of the horn 12 reaches the joining bottom dead center (step s6: Yes), the control section 24 controls the horn driving section 22 to stop the downward movement of the horn 12, and the timing section 25 starts timing. do. Then, until a predetermined time elapses (step s7: No), the ultrasonic vibration generator 21 and the horn driving unit 22 are controlled so that the ultrasonically vibrating horn 12 acts on the conductor 3 at the bottom dead center during bonding. The conductor 3 is ultrasonically bonded while reducing the force below the first compression force (second bonding step).

When the horn 12 is ultrasonically vibrated for a predetermined period of time while reducing the compressive force of the horn 12 at the bonding bottom dead center (step s7: Yes), the conductors 3 are ultrasonically bonded to form a conductor bonding portion 3a (see FIG. 1(c) )) can be constructed. In this manner, a bonded electric wire 1a can be formed by connecting a plurality of covered electric wires 1 via a conductor joint portion 3a in which the conductors 3 are ultrasonically welded to each other.

As described above, the wire connection method for connecting the conductors 3 of a plurality of covered wires 1 covered with the insulating coating 2 by the wire connection device 10 is to place the plurality of conductors 3 on the anvil 11 of the wire connection device 10. and a substantially constant first compressive force until the horn 12 of the wire connection device 10, which applies ultrasonic vibration, reaches the bottom dead center at the time of joining to the plurality of conductors 3 arranged on the anvil 11. A first joining step of applying ultrasonic vibration while acting on a plurality of conductors 3 to join the plurality of conductors 3, and after the horn 12 reaches the bottom dead center at the time of joining, maintaining the bottom dead center at the time of joining, and a second joining step of joining the plurality of conductors 3 by applying ultrasonic vibration while making the compressive force acting on the plurality of conductors 3 lower than the first compressive force.

In addition, the wire connecting device 10 joins the plurality of covered wires 1 arranged along the longitudinal direction L by applying ultrasonic vibrations while applying a predetermined compressive force to the plurality of covered wires 1 to perform ultrasonic bonding. includes an anvil 11 for bundling and arranging the conductors 3 of a plurality of covered wires 1 to be joined, a horn 12 for applying ultrasonic vibrations while applying a variable compressive force to the bundled conductors 3, and an ultrasonic transducer for the horn 12. An ultrasonic vibration generating section 21 for generating sonic vibration, a horn driving section 22 for driving the horn 12 with respect to the conductors 3 bundled on the anvil 11, and a control section 24 for controlling the horn driving section 22 are provided. , the control unit 24 applies ultrasonic vibration to the conductors 3 bundled and arranged on the anvil 11 while applying a first compressive force to the conductors 3, and the horn 12 is connected to the plurality of covered electric wires 1 at a predetermined bonding time. When it becomes a point, the horn 12 maintained at the bottom dead center during joining applies ultrasonic vibration while reducing the compressive force acting on the plurality of conductors 3 from the first compressive force to join the plurality of conductors 3. programmed.

Therefore, the wire connection method and the wire connection device 10 described above can reliably ultrasonically bond the plurality of conductors 3 without sticking to the horn 12 or the anvil 11 . More specifically, in the first joining step of joining the conductors 3 of a plurality of covered electric wires 1, the first compressive force is applied by the horn 12 whose position is controlled at the bottom dead center when joining the plurality of conductors 3 bundled on the anvil 11. A plurality of conductors 3 bundled by ultrasonic vibration while acting are ultrasonically bonded, and in the second bonding step, after the horn 12 reaches the bottom dead center during bonding, the bottom dead center is maintained during bonding, and a plurality of Since the plurality of conductors 3 are joined by applying ultrasonic vibration while reducing the compressive force acting on the conductor 3 from the first compressive force, the deformation of the plurality of conductors 3 to be ultrasonically joined can be controlled, and the position can be controlled. The plurality of conductors 3 can be reliably ultrasonically bonded without sticking to the horn 12 or the anvil 11, unlike in the case of ultrasonically bonding by applying ultrasonic vibration while compressing with a constant compressive force. can.

In addition, since the horn 12 is position-controlled at the bottom dead center when joining the plurality of conductors 3 and ultrasonically vibrates the plurality of conductors 3 to ultrasonically join the plurality of conductors 3, the influence of variations in the materials of the plurality of conductors 3 is reduced. The robustness of bonding conditions can be improved.

Furthermore, although a plurality of conductors 3 made of metals with different melting temperatures are joined, the compressive deformation and melting of the plurality of conductors 3 to be ultrasonically joined can be controlled, and sticking to the horn 12 or the anvil 11 can be prevented.

Specifically, when ultrasonically bonding a plurality of conductors 3 made of metals with different melting temperatures, the aluminum alloy conductor 3 with a low melting temperature is attached to the copper alloy conductor 3 with a high melting temperature. Since the conductor 3 made of an aluminum alloy with a low melting temperature is easily compressed when joining, in the first joining step, the horn 12 whose position is controlled at the bottom dead center at the time of joining is the first compression. Ultrasonic bonding is performed while applying force, and in the second bonding step, the horn 12 maintained at the bottom dead center during bonding applies ultrasonic vibration while reducing the compressive force to bond the plurality of conductors 3. Therefore, it is possible to control the compressive deformation and melting of the plurality of conductors 3 to be ultrasonically bonded, prevent them from sticking to the horn 12 and the anvil 11, and further improve robustness.

In addition, a pre-compression step of compressing the bundled conductor 3 of the plurality of coated wires 1 with a predetermined second compression force larger than the first compression force while controlling the position of the horn 12 so that it is at the bottom dead center during compression. , since it is performed before the first bonding step, the bundled conductors 3 can be compressed and then ultrasonically bonded, so that bonding can be performed more reliably.

Specifically, before the first joining step, the bundled conductors 3 are compressed with a predetermined second compression force larger than the first compression force by the horn 12 whose position is controlled so as to be the bottom dead center during compression, In the first joining step, ultrasonic vibration can be applied to the compressed conductor 3 by the horn 12 whose position is controlled so as to be at the bottom dead center during compression.

Therefore, compared to the case where the first compression force is applied to the bundled conductors 3 to perform ultrasonic bonding, the temperature difference in the cross section, for example, the upper and lower portions of the compressed conductors 3 to be bonded is suppressed, and the ultrasonic bonding is performed reliably. Can be sonic bonded.

Further, before the first joining step, the conductor 3 compressed with a predetermined second compression force larger than the first compression force by the horn 12 whose position is controlled so as to be the bottom dead center during compression constitutes the conductor 3 Since the wires are in close contact with each other, the friction loss between the wires is reduced. That is, ultrasonic bonding can be performed with low energy.

In addition, after the pre-compression step is completed and before the first joining step, the compression force of the horn 12 is once reduced to a predetermined third compression force smaller than the first compression force, so that the conductor 3 compressed in the compression step is more It can be joined securely.

Specifically, before the first joining step after the pre-compression step of compressing the bundled conductors 3 with a predetermined second compression force larger than the first compression force, the compression force of the horn 12 acting on the conductors 3 is Once reduced to a predetermined third compression force smaller than the first compression force, and then increased to the first compression force while applying ultrasonic vibration, while reducing the load acting on the compressed conductor 3, More reliable bonding is possible.

Further, at the end of the pre-compression process, only by reducing the compressive force of the horn 12 moved downward to the bottom dead center at the time of compression, the restriction of the conductor 3 by the horn 12 is not released. It is also possible to prevent the problem that the conductor 3 is separated and ultrasonic bonding cannot be performed.

Further, since the horn drive unit 22 is a position controllable drive system, a predetermined relative position (bottom dead center during compression and bottom dead center during joining) with respect to the conductor 3 of the plurality of coated wires 1 bundled and arranged on the anvil 11 ), the position of the horn 12 can be accurately controlled. Therefore, the deformation of the conductor 3 to be ultrasonically bonded can be controlled, and the melted conductor 3 can be prevented from adhering to the horn 12 and the anvil 11 .

In the above description, the conductors 3 of a plurality of covered electric wires 1 are bundled and joined, but as shown in FIG. 4 may be joined as a joining target.

7A and 7B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the covered electric wire 1 and the joint pipe 4 which are objects to be joined. Specifically, FIG. FIG. 7(b) shows a schematic perspective view of a state in which the conductors 3 of a plurality of coated wires 1 arranged in parallel are bundled and inserted into the joint pipe 4, and FIG. 7(c) shows a schematic perspective view of a state before a plurality of covered wires 1 are arranged with respect to the main portion 10a of the wire connection device 10, and FIG. 7(d) shows a plurality of covered wires 1 shows a schematic perspective view of the state in which the is arranged.

Thus, the joint pipe 4 to be joined with the conductors 3 is a metal pipe made of a conductive metal and having a space in which the conductors 3 of the plurality of covered electric wires 1 can be bundled and inserted.
In order to connect the joint pipe 4 and the conductor 3 as described above, as shown in FIG. At the same time, a plurality of covered electric wires 1 in which the conductors 3 are bundled and inserted inside the joint pipe 4 are arranged with respect to the electric wire connecting device 10 .

Specifically, as shown in FIG. 7(d), the joint pipe 4 having a plurality of bundled conductors 3 inserted therein is placed on the anvil 11 of the wire connecting device 10 together with the conductors 3 (placement step). Then, as described above, the horn 12 moves to the bottom dead center during compression of the joint pipe 4 arranged on the anvil 11 and arranged together with the conductor 3 in this way, and compresses with the second compression force. Compression step (step s2), the compression force after reaching the bottom dead center during compression is reduced to the third compression force, and the conductor 3 is ultrasonically bonded while compressing the conductor 3 with the first compression force until the bottom dead center during bonding. 1 joining step (step s5), and after reaching the bottom dead center during compression, a second joining step (step s7) of ultrasonically joining for a predetermined time while reducing the compressive force from the first compressive force is performed. Then, the plurality of conductors 3 and the joint pipe 4 are ultrasonically welded.

In this manner, the coated wire 1 and the conductors 3 exposed by stripping the insulating coating 2 at the distal ends of the plurality of coated wires 1 are placed on the anvil 11 in a state of being inserted into the conductive joint pipe 4, and the plurality of By performing the above-described steps on the conductor 3 and the joint pipe 4 with the wire connecting device 10, the conductor 3 and the joint pipe 4 are securely ultrasonically bonded without sticking to the horn 12 or the anvil 11. be able to.
Alternatively, the conductor 3 of one covered electric wire 1 may be inserted into the joint pipe 4 and the conductor 3 and the joint pipe 4 may be ultrasonically welded.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 8, the conductor 3 of the coated electric wire 1 and the connection terminal 5 may be joined as objects to be joined.
8A and 8B are explanatory diagrams for explaining the covered electric wire 1 and the connection terminal 5 to be joined. More specifically, FIG. A schematic perspective view is shown, and FIG. 8B shows a schematic perspective view of a state in which the conductor 3 of the coated wire 1 is arranged on the crimping portion 52 of the connection terminal 5 and arranged on the anvil 11 of the wire connecting device 10. .

In this way, the connection terminal 5 to be connected to the conductor 3 has a disk-shaped connection portion 51 that is connected to another connection member in plan view and a crimp portion 52 that is crimped to connect the conductor 3 and is arranged in series. It is configured. Note that the connection portion 51 is not limited to a disk shape in plan view, and may have an appropriate shape and structure such as a substantially U shape in plan view, as long as it can be connected to another connection member.

The crimping portion 52 is arranged on the side of the connecting portion 51 , and is arranged on the opposite side of the wire barrel portion 53 to the connecting portion 51 with respect to the wire barrel portion 53 for crimping the exposed conductor 3 on the tip side of the covered wire 1 to be joined. and an insulation barrel portion 54 for crimping the insulating coating 2 of the coated electric wire 1 .

The crimping portion 52 composed of the wire barrel portion 53 and the insulation barrel portion 54 is a so-called open barrel crimping portion, and is provided with barrel pieces extending upward from both sides in the width direction of the bottom surface. Although it is formed in a substantially U-shape when viewed from the rear side in the axial direction, it may be a crimping portion called a so-called closed barrel.

In order to connect the connection terminal 5 and the conductor 3 as described above, as shown in FIG. is arranged on the crimping portion 52 of the connection terminal 5 so that the insulation barrel portion 54 is arranged.
Then, as shown in FIG. 8B, the connection terminal 5 with the covered wire 1 arranged on the crimping portion 52 is arranged on the anvil 11 of the wire connecting device 10 together with the covered wire 1 (placement step).

Then, as described above, the horn 12 moves to the bottom dead center at the time of compression with respect to the connection terminal 5 arranged together with the coated wire 1 on the anvil 11 and is compressed by the second compression force. Step (step s2), reduction of the compressive force after reaching the bottom dead center during compression to the third compressive force, first bonding step of ultrasonically bonding while compressing the conductor 3 to the bottom dead center during bonding (step s5 ), and after reaching the bottom dead center during compression, a second bonding step (step s7) of ultrasonically bonding for a predetermined time while reducing the compressive force from the first compressive force is performed, and the covered wire 1 is bonded. The conductor 3 and the connection terminal 5 are ultrasonically bonded.

As described above, the conductor 3 exposed by stripping the insulating coating 2 at the tip of the covered wire 1 and the wire barrel portion 53 of the connection terminal 5 are placed on the anvil 11, and the connection terminal 5 joined to the conductor 3 is attached. On the other hand, by performing the above-described steps with the wire connecting device 10, the conductor 3 of the coated wire 1 and the wire barrel portion 53 of the connection terminal 5 are not fixed to the horn 12 or the anvil 11, and are reliably superposed. Can be sonic bonded.

In correspondence with the configuration of this invention and the above-described embodiments,
In the connection device of the present invention, the conductor in the above embodiment corresponds to the conductor 3, and so on.
The insulation coating corresponds to insulation coating 2,
The covered wire corresponds to covered wire 1,
The compression vibration part corresponds to the horn 12,
The placement part corresponds to the anvil 11,
The predetermined relative position or joining relative position corresponds to the bottom dead center during joining,
The compression relative position corresponds to the bottom dead center during compression,
The wire connection device corresponds to the wire connection device 10,
The vibration generator corresponds to the ultrasonic vibration generator 21,
Although the compression step corresponds to the pre-compression step (step s2),
The present invention is not limited only to the configurations of the above-described embodiments, but can be applied based on the technical idea shown in the claims, and many embodiments can be obtained.

For example, the horn drive unit 22 is configured with a position controllable drive system capable of moving the horn 12 to a predetermined position, and the conductor 3 is compressed by controlling the bottom dead center of the horn 12 in the pre-compression process, but the stopper Further, the horn driving section 22 for moving the horn 12 and the ultrasonic vibration generating section 21 for ultrasonically vibrating the horn 12 may be integrally formed. may
Furthermore, in the above description, the pre-compression process is performed and then the bonding process is performed. However, only the bonding process may be performed without performing the pre-compression process.

In the above description, five covered electric wires 1 are joined to constitute the joined electric wire 1a, but the number of the covered electric wires 1 is not limited, and an appropriate number of the conductors 3 of the covered electric wires 1 are joined to form the joined electric wire 1a. may be configured.
Alternatively, the wire connecting device 10 may be used to join the strands of the conductor 3 in one covered wire 1 to each other.

Furthermore, in the above description, the conductor 3 made of aluminum alloy and the conductor 3 made of copper alloy are joined together, but the conductor 3 made of another conductive metal such as the conductor 3 made of aluminum or the conductor 3 made of copper may be used. may be used. Furthermore, the conductors 3 made of three or more kinds of metals may be joined together, or the conductors 3 of the same kind of metals may be ultrasonically joined together.

Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 9, the objects to be joined may be joined by applying a different pattern of compressive force to the objects to be joined.
Specifically, in the above description, after moving to the bottom dead center at the time of compression with the second compression force and pre-compressing, once decreasing to the third compression force, the first compression is performed while ultrasonic vibration is applied. Although the first bonding step of ultrasonically bonding to the bottom dead center at the time of bonding with force was performed, as shown in FIG. A first bonding step may be performed in which the first compression force is ultrasonically bonded to the bottom dead center at the time of bonding while applying ultrasonic vibration without reducing the compression force to the third compression force.

Furthermore, in the above description, the second compression force that moves to the bottom dead center during compression and pre-compresses is greater than the first compression force that ultrasonically bonds to the bottom dead center during bonding while applying ultrasonic vibration. As shown in FIG. 9B, the compression force that moves to the bottom dead center during compression and pre-compresses, and the compression force that ultrasonically welds to the bottom dead center during bonding while applying ultrasonic vibration. may be the same compressive force.

Even if the compressive force for pre-compressing by moving to the bottom dead center during compression and the compressive force for ultrasonically bonding to the bottom dead center during bonding while applying ultrasonic vibration are the same compressive force,
After pre-compressing, the first bonding step may be performed after the compressive force is once reduced.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Coated wire 2... Insulating coating 3... Conductor 10... Wire connecting device 11... Anvil 12... Horn 21... Ultrasonic vibration generator 22... Horn driving part 24... Control part

Claims (6)

A wire connection method for connecting, by a wire connection device, a conductive joined object including at least one or more covered wires in which a conductor is covered with an insulating coating,
an arranging step of arranging the object to be joined in an arranging portion of the wire connecting device;
A substantially constant first compressive force is applied to the object to be joined until the compressive vibration portion of the wire connection device that applies ultrasonic vibration reaches a predetermined relative position with respect to the object to be joined placed in the placement portion. a first bonding step of bonding the objects to be bonded by applying ultrasonic vibration while acting on
maintaining the relative position after the compressive vibration unit reaches the relative position;
and a second joining step of joining the objects to be joined by applying ultrasonic vibration while reducing the compressive force acting on the objects to be joined from the first compressive force. Let the relative position be the joint relative position,
Compression for compressing the object to be joined with a second compression force greater than or equal to the first compression force while controlling the position so that the compression vibration part is in a compression relative position that is more distant from the object to be joined than the relative position. The wire connection method according to claim 1, wherein the step is performed before the first joining step. 2. After the compressing step is finished and before the first joining step, the compressive force of the compression vibrator acting on the object to be joined is reduced to a predetermined third compressive force smaller than the first compressive force. The wire connection method described in . The objects to be joined are a plurality of the coated electric wires,
4. The electric wire connection method according to claim 1, wherein said arranging step comprises stripping said insulating coating from tip portions of said plurality of covered electric wires and arranging said exposed conductors in said arranging portion. The objects to be joined are a plurality of covered electric wires and a conductive tubular body,
In the arranging step, the conductors exposed by stripping off the insulating coating at the distal end portions of the plurality of covered electric wires are arranged in the arranging portion in a state in which the conductors are inserted into the tubular body. 4. The wire connection method according to any one of 3. The object to be joined includes the covered wire and a terminal to be joined to the covered wire,
4. The arranging step of arranging, in the arranging portion, the conductor exposed by stripping the insulating coating from the tip portion of the covered electric wire and the joint portion of the terminal. wire connection method.

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