JP7393381B2 - Twist machine and twist processing method - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a twisting machine and a twisting method.

2. Description of the Related Art Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose techniques for creating twisted wires (twisted wires, paired twisted wires) by twisting two wires together. In the twisted cable manufacturing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, a rod of a biasing cylinder is attached to a clamp device that rotates by gripping both ends of two electric wires extending in the horizontal direction, and the twisting of the electric wires progresses and the length of the electric wires increases. As the length becomes shorter, the pressure on the rod side surface is controlled to be constant. According to this twisted cable manufacturing apparatus, the tension applied to the wires during twisting can be controlled to be constant. The twisted wire manufacturing apparatus described in Patent Document 2 includes an electric wire twisting unit and an electric wire lifting unit, and the electric wire lifting unit twists the electric wires in a state where the U-turn part that occurs in the middle of the electric wires is suspended by hanging the electric wires. match. According to this twisted wire manufacturing device, the installation space of the device can be reduced by securing the space necessary for manufacturing the twisted wire above.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2015-220070 JP2017-220320A

According to the device of Patent Document 1, since a biasing cylinder is used to control the tension applied to the wires at a constant level during twisting, the longer the length of the twisted wires, the more the stroke of the rod is required, and the equipment becomes longer. Become. Furthermore, if a spring is provided in place of the biasing cylinder in a clamping device that rotates while gripping both ends of two electric wires, the longer the twisted wire length becomes, the longer the spring is required, and the equipment becomes longer. On the other hand, according to the device of Patent Document 2, the length of the twisted wire can be changed by moving the wire hanging part up and down, but in Patent Document 2, as the twist progresses, the wire length becomes shorter and the tension of the twisted wire decreases. No consideration is given to countermeasures against change.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a twisting machine that can adjust the tension of electric wires to a constant level during twisting, without increasing the size of the equipment, regardless of the length of the twisted wire. and a twist processing method.

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a twisting machine and a twisting method according to the present invention are characterized by the following (1) to ( 5 ).
(1) One end holding part that holds one end side of two electric wires;
an other end holding part that holds the other end sides of the two electric wires and rotates about the extending direction of the two electric wires;
a first moving part on which the other end holding part is mounted and movable along the extending direction;
a second moving part movably connected to the first moving part along the extending direction;
a twist processing moving mechanism that moves the other end holding part to separate the one end holding part and the other end holding part from each other such that the distance is a distance corresponding to the length of the two electric wires; ,
a driving section that drives the second moving section;
a detection unit that detects a movement amount of the first movement unit with respect to the second movement unit;
a control unit that controls at least the drive unit according to the amount of movement,
The first moving section moves following the second moving section,
The first moving part and the second moving part are connected via an elastic member,
The drive unit drives the second moving unit via a belt,
A part constituting a part of the second moving part is attached to a part of the belt,
In a range in which the repulsive force of the elastic member generated by the movement of the first moving section is smaller than the frictional force acting between the component and the belt and related to the attachment of the component to the belt, the component is By not moving relative to the belt, the second moving section does not move without following the movement of the first moving section, and as a result, the amount of movement is detected and the movement of the first moving section is detected. When the repulsive force of the elastic member generated by the above exceeds the frictional force, the second moving section follows the movement of the first moving section by moving the component relative to the belt. and move,
twist machine.
(2) the control unit controls the rotation of the other end holding unit, and stops the rotation of the other end holding unit when the amount of movement exceeds a predetermined range;
The twisting machine described in (1) above.
(3) the control unit controls the drive unit so that the second moving unit moves in a direction that complements the increase/decrease in the amount of movement;
The twisting machine according to (1) or (2) above.
( 4 ) The detection unit is
a gauge having a plurality of comb teeth provided in the second moving part;
an optical sensor provided at a position corresponding to the gauge of the first moving part,
Detecting the amount of movement by counting the number of comb teeth of the gauge with the optical sensor;
The twisting machine according to any one of (1) to ( 3 ) above.
( 5 ) one end holding part that holds one end side of the two electric wires;
an other end holding part that holds the other end sides of the two electric wires and rotates about the extending direction of the two electric wires;
a first moving part on which the other end holding part is mounted and movable along the extending direction;
a second moving part movably connected to the first moving part along the extending direction;
a twist processing moving mechanism that moves the other end holding part to separate the one end holding part and the other end holding part from each other such that the distance is a distance corresponding to the length of the two electric wires; In a twisting machine equipped with ,
When holding and rotating the other end sides of the two electric wires by the other end holding part,
driving the second moving section by a driving section;
detecting the amount of movement of the first moving section with respect to the second moving section by a detection section;
According to the amount of movement, at least the drive unit is controlled by a control unit to move the first moving unit to follow the second moving unit ,
The first moving part and the second moving part are connected via an elastic member,
The drive unit drives the second moving unit via a belt,
A part constituting a part of the second moving part is attached to a part of the belt,
In a range in which the repulsive force of the elastic member generated by the movement of the first moving section is smaller than the frictional force acting between the component and the belt and related to the attachment of the component to the belt, the component is By not moving relative to the belt, the second moving section does not move without following the movement of the first moving section, and as a result, the amount of movement is detected and the movement of the first moving section is detected. When the repulsive force of the elastic member generated by the above exceeds the frictional force, the second moving section follows the movement of the first moving section by moving the component relative to the belt. and move,
Twist processing method.

According to the twisting machine having the configuration of (1) above and the twisting method having the configuration of ( 5 ) above, when the wires are twisted together and the wire length becomes short, the first movable part equipped with the other end holding part is attached to the one end holding part. being pulled to the side. At this time, the amount of movement of the first moving section with respect to the second moving section is detected, and the second moving section is moved by the control section and the driving section according to the amount of movement. With this configuration, the other end holding portion can be moved toward the one end holding portion as the wire length becomes shorter as the wires are twisted more, so the tension applied to the wires can be adjusted within a certain range.
In addition, the tension applied to the wire is adjusted by controlling the drive unit according to the amount of movement detected by the detection unit, so even if the twisted wire length is long, the equipment involved in tension adjustment can be extended (large (change).
Furthermore, by detecting the amount of contraction of the elastic member, the amount of movement of the first moving section relative to the second moving section can be detected.

According to the twisting machine having the configuration (2) above, when the tension exceeds a predetermined range (when the tension becomes abnormal), the drive section is stopped, thereby making it possible to avoid the occurrence of wire elongation, breakage, etc.

According to the twisting machine configured in (3) above, the second moving part moves in a direction that complements the amount of movement of the first moving part with respect to the second moving part, so the tension applied to the wire can be adjusted to a constant value. .

According to the twisting machine having the configuration ( 4 ) above, the amount of movement of the first moving section relative to the second moving section can be detected with a simple configuration.

According to the present invention, the tension related to the electric wires can be adjusted to a constant value during twisting without increasing the size of the equipment, regardless of the length of the twisted wires.

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

FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an electric wire processing apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing an example of instruction information by the data instruction section. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view of the wire holding section shown in FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 4 is a partially enlarged view of the electric wire transfer section shown in FIG. 1, and is a diagram showing how the electric wire transfer section takes out the electric wire. FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged view of the twist processing section shown in 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 the tension adjustment mechanism of the twist processing section. FIG. 8 is a diagram for explaining the operation of the tension adjustment mechanism. FIG. 9 is a side view of the tension adjustment mechanism, showing a state in which no tension is applied to the electric wire. FIG. 10 is a side view of the tension adjustment mechanism, showing a state in which tension is applied to the electric wire. FIG. 11 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the sensor shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. FIG. 12 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the sensor. FIG. 13 is an enlarged side view showing the vicinity of the sensor of the tension adjustment mechanism according to the modification, and shows a state where no tension is applied to the electric wire. FIG. 14 is a side view of a tension adjustment mechanism according to a modified example, and is a diagram showing a state in which tension is applied to the electric wire. FIG. 15 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the sensor according to the modification.

Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to each figure.

(Configuration of wire processing equipment)
FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of an electric wire processing apparatus according to an embodiment. The wire processing device includes a data instruction section 10 (instruction section, control device) that instructs twist processing conditions, a wire holding section 20 (rod) that holds a plurality of electric wires of different lengths and sizes, and a wire holding section 20 (rod) that transfers and loads electric wires. The electric wire transfer unit 30 includes an electric wire transfer unit 30 for twisting two electric wires together to create a twisted wire. The wire processing device processes wires with terminals, including twisted wires, of different wire types, sizes, and lengths into wire harness circuits (subharnesses). Hereinafter, for convenience of explanation, as shown in FIG. 1, "front-back direction", "left-right direction", and "up-down direction" will be defined. The "front-back direction", the "left-right direction", and the "up-down direction" are orthogonal to each other.

(Data instruction section 10)
The data instruction section 10 is a control device having a storage section and a calculation section. The data instruction unit 10 generates instruction information indicating the twist processing conditions such as the length of the twisted wire and the number of rotations, as well as the position for taking out the electric wire and the position for inserting the twisted wire in the electric wire holding unit 20, and generates instruction information for the electric wire transfer unit 30 and The twist processing section 40 is instructed. FIG. 2 shows an example of instruction information by the data instruction section 10 when creating five sets of twisted lines No. 1 to No. 5. The instruction information from the data instruction unit 10 includes the twist processing conditions, the take-out positions of the two electric wires (rod take-out positions A and B) in the wire holding unit 20, and the driving positions of the twisted wires (rod drive positions A and B). including. The conditions for the twisting process include, for example, the twisting rotation speed, the untwisting rotation speed, the twisting rotation speed, the twist pair retreat position, the twist pair primary retreat position, the twist pair retreat speed, and the twist pair adjustment conveyance speed. The data instruction unit 10 does not need to include part of the twist processing conditions, for example, the twist pair adjustment conveyance speed in the instruction information. Further, the instruction information of the data instruction section 10 may include the wire type name, wire size name, wire length, etc. The data instruction unit 10 instructs the wire transfer unit 30 to take out the two electric wires and the twist wire insertion position in the electric wire holding unit 20, and instructs the twist processing unit 40 to perform twist processing conditions. Further, the data instruction section 10 controls each section constituting the twist processing section 40.

(Electric wire holding part 20)
As shown in FIG. 3, the wire holding unit 20 includes a holding stand 21 and a rod extending in the left-right direction, which is detachably held by the holding stand 21 and has a plurality of wire clips 22 on its upper part. are doing. The wire clips 22 are arranged adjacent to each other in the left-right direction of the rod, and are supported and fixed to the holding base 21. The wire clip 22 has a pair of clamping pieces that are elastically biased in the clamping direction, and these clamping pieces clamp both ends of the terminal-equipped electric wires W1 and W2 (hereinafter also referred to as electric wires W1 and W2). The wire holding unit 20 holds one end W1a, W2a and the other end W1b, W2b of the two wires W1, W2 in the order of one end W1a, one end W2a, the other end W1b, and the other end W2b. are doing. This electric wire holding section 20 holds the electric wires W1, W2 so that the electric wire clips 22 respectively hold the portions near both ends of the electric wires W1, W2, so that both ends thereof face in the same direction and form a U-shape. . Since the electric wire holding section 20 holds both ends of the electric wire with the electric wire clips 22, it can hold a plurality of types of electric wires having different lengths and sizes, and can also hold twisted wires created by the twist processing section 40. Further, in the wire holding section 20, terminal-equipped electrical wires including twisted wires of different wire types, sizes, and lengths are held on the rod, so that these terminal-equipped wires can be transported together with the rod to the next process. Therefore, it is possible to reduce incidental operations such as bundling, unbundling, capping, and capping of wires, which are necessary when transporting wires.

(Wire transfer section 30)
The wire transfer section 30 includes a transfer head 31 (one end gripping section) that grips one end portions W1a and W2a of the two electric wires W1 and W2, and a transfer head 31 (one end gripping portion) that grips the other end portions W1b and W2b of the two electric wires. It includes a head 32 (another end gripping part) and a moving mechanism 33 that moves the transfer heads 31 and 32 in the left-right direction.

The moving mechanism 33 includes a mounting plate 331 that extends in the vertical and horizontal directions and has the transfer heads 31 and 32 attached thereto, and two parts that are fixed to the rear surface of the mounting plate 331 and that move the mounting plate 331 in the left and right directions. It has a moving section 332. The moving mechanism 33 includes two shafts 333 that are inserted into the moving part 332 and extend in the left-right direction, and two support plates 334 that extend in the front-rear direction and the up-down direction and fixedly support both ends of the shaft 333. . The support plate 334 is fixed to the floor via a support frame. The transfer heads 31 and 32 are attached to the attachment 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 disposed between above the wire holding section 20 and above the twisting section 40 and moves the transfer heads 31 and 32 between the wire holding section 20 and the twisting section 40.

As shown in FIG. 4, the transfer heads 31 and 32 are arranged in parallel on the front surface of the mounting plate 331 with an interval left and right. The transfer head 31 has a spacer 311 and grip pieces 312 provided on the left and right sides of the spacer 311, and is configured to be movable in the vertical direction with respect to the mounting plate 331 by a mechanism such as an air cylinder. . The spacer 311 has a width in the left-right direction of the lower end 311a that is the distance between adjacent wire clips 22 (between the intermediate position of both gripping pieces of one wire clip 22 and the width of both 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, and between the left and right gripping pieces 312 and the lower end 311a of the spacer 311, one ends W1a, W2a of the electric wires W1, W2 are connected. grasp each. The left and right gripping pieces 312 have an opening 312a at the center in the front-rear direction. The openings 312a allow the wire clips 22 and the gripping parts 412, 422 to be attached when the wires W1 and W2 are taken out from the wire holding part 20, driven into the wire holding part 20, and transferred to the twist processing part 40. interference can be avoided.

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

The electric wire transfer unit 30 moves the transfer heads 31 and 32 using the moving mechanism 33 so that the transfer head 31 is located above the electric wire W1 and W2 extraction positions of the electric wire holding unit 20 in accordance with the instruction from the data instruction unit 10. move left and right. Above the electric wires W1 and W2 extraction positions, the transfer head 31 descends to grip one end portions W1a and W2a, and then rises. Next, the moving mechanism 33 moves the transfer heads 31 and 32 in the left-right direction so that the transfer heads 32 are positioned above the electric wires W1 and W2 take-out positions, and the transfer heads 32 are lowered and the other end Grasp W1b and W2b and ascend. The electric wire transfer unit 30 moves the transfer heads 31 and 32 holding the electric wires W1 and W2 to the left and stops them above a predetermined position of the twist processing unit 40, and then lowers them (see FIG. 6). ), the electric wires W1 and W2 are delivered to the twisting section 40 (fixed clamp 41, rotating clamp 42). The wire transfer unit 30 transfers the wires W1, W2 to the wires while the wires W1, W2 maintain a U-shape by having the transfer heads 31, 32 grip both ends of the wires W1, W2 as described above. It can be taken out from the holding section 20 and delivered to the twisting section 40. Further, the electric wire transfer section 30 receives the electric wires W1 and W2 from the twisting section 40 and holds them in the electric wire holding section 20 (drives them) by an operation opposite to the above.

(Twist processing section 40)
The twist processing section 40 includes a fixed clamp 41 (one end holding section), a rotating clamp 42 (another end holding section), and moving mechanisms 43 and 45. The fixed clamp 41 holds one end portions W1a and W2a of the two electric wires W1 and W2 passed from the transfer head 31. The rotation clamp 42 holds the other ends W1b, W2b of the two electric wires W1, W2 passed from the transfer head 32. The moving mechanism 43 moves the rotary clamp 42 in the front-back direction so that the distance between the fixed clamp 41 and the rotary clamp 42 is a distance corresponding to the lengths of the two electric wires W1 and W2. Separate. The moving mechanism 45 moves the fixed clamp 41 in the front-back direction and rotates it within a horizontal plane including the front-back direction and the left-right direction. In the initial state of the twist processing section 40, the fixed clamp 41 and the rotating clamp 42 are arranged adjacent to each other in the left-right direction (first direction), as shown in FIG.

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

The fixed clamp 41 is connected to the 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 includes 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. The moving mechanism 45 also includes an L-shaped mounting plate 452 having a horizontal portion 452a and a vertical portion 452b, which is arranged to cover the right side and lower side of the cylinder 451, and a holding portion 453 that holds the cylinder 451. has. The rotation drive unit 450 has an upper portion connected to a 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 a 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 a support frame.

The rotation clamp 42 includes a holding plate 421, a gripping part 422, a spacer 423, a mounting plate 424, and a driving part 425. The holding plate 421, gripping part 422, spacer 423, mounting plate 424, and driving part 425 of the rotating clamp 42 are the same as the holding plate 411, gripping part 412, spacer 413, mounting plate 414, and driving part 415 of the fixed clamp 41. and have equivalent configurations and functions. The size of the fixed clamp 41 and the rotating clamp 42 in the left-right direction substantially matches the size of the transfer heads 31 and 32 of the wire transfer section 30 in the left-right 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 left-right direction, and is separated from the fixed clamp 41 by connecting two electric wires W1, It rotates around the extending direction (front-back direction) of W2.

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

The fixed clamp 41 and the rotating clamp 42 are arranged in parallel at the rear end of the rail 431 with the gripping parts 412 and 422 facing rearward, as shown in FIG. 5, when the twisting part 40 starts operating. . The positions of the fixed clamp 41 and 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-back direction (the second direction intersecting the first direction). The moving mechanism 43 includes a rail 431 extending in the front-rear direction and a tension adjustment mechanism TU. The rail 431 is fixed to the floor via a support frame.

(Tension adjustment mechanism TU)
The tension adjustment mechanism TU adjusts the tension of the electric wires W1 and W2 held by the fixed clamp 41 and the rotating clamp 42 by moving the rotating clamp 42 along the rail 431 and changing the position of the rotating clamp 42 in the front-rear direction. (tension). That is, the tension adjustment mechanism TU can maintain the tension of the electric wires W1 and W2 constant by changing the distance between the fixed clamp 41 and the rotating clamp 42.

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, the tension adjustment 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 connection 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 servo motor that drives the front pulley via a belt 62 that is stretched between the pulley 61 and the front pulley disposed near the front end of the left side of the rail 431. The signal is transmitted to the slider 63 attached to the slider 62. The slider 63 has a lower surface fixed to the left side of the upper surface of the mounting plate 64 extending in a horizontal plane. A slider 65 is fixed to 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, the belt 62, the pulley 61, the slider 63, and the mounting plate 64, and is moved in the front-rear direction along the rail 431.

A U-shaped block 66 is arranged above the stage ST and in front of the mounting plate 64, and is fixed to the upper surface of the stage ST. The U-shaped block 66 has two side plates 661 that extend in the vertical direction and the front-back direction, and an upper plate 662 that connects the 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 whose upper surface is 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 disposed within the U-shaped block 66 . A disk portion having an outer diameter 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 coming off from the through hole. A spring 70 is disposed between the first plate 67 and the second plate 68, and a shaft 69 is inserted into the spring 70. In the U-shaped block 66, a slider 71 is fixed to the upper surface of the upper plate 662. The slider 71 is movable along the rail 431.

When moving the rotary clamp 42 forward from the initial position, a driving force is transmitted by the driving source M to the slider 63 via the front pulley, the pulley 61, and the belt 62. Then, the mounting plate 64, second plate 68, and 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). It will be done. As the first plate 67 moves forward, the U-shaped block 66, stage ST, and slider 71 fixed directly or indirectly to the first plate 67 are moved forward. As stage ST moves forward, rotation clamp 42 held on stage ST by rotation mechanism RU moves forward. In this way, the stage ST (first moving section) on which the rotating clamp 42 is mounted moves following the second moving section 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-rear direction and a horizontal portion 72b extending in the front-rear direction above the comb teeth 72a. The gauge 72 is fixed to the mounting plate 64 via an L-shaped connecting 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 left-right 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 to the end of movement relative to the gauge 72. The number of comb teeth 72a counted by the sensor 74 represents the amount of movement of the stage ST, the U-shaped block 66, and the slider 71 (first moving section) with respect to the sliders 63, 65 and the mounting plate 64 (second moving section). The sensor 74 detects the amount of movement each time the first moving section 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 amount of movement to complement the amount of movement of the slider 63. Move it like this. The control device may be integrated into the data instruction section 10, for example, or may be provided separately from the data instruction section 10.

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

The data instruction section 10 instructs the wire transfer section 30 and the twist processing section 40 about the length and rotation speed of the twisted wire, the take-out position of the wire, and the insertion position. The electric wire transfer unit 30 descends from above the take-out position in the electric wire holding unit 20 according to instructions from the data instruction unit 10, and uses the transfer heads 31 and 32 to take out the electric wires W1 and W2. The wire transfer unit 30 moves the transfer heads 31 and 32 to the left as shown in FIG. It is stopped above the fixed clamp 41 and rotating clamp 42 of 40. At this time, the fixed clamp 41 is located directly below the transfer head 31, and the rotating clamp 42 is located directly below the transfer head 32.

Referring to FIGS. 5 and 6, the operation of transferring the electric wires W1 and W2 from the electric wire transfer section 30 to the twisting section 40 will be described. The transfer heads 31 and 32 of the wire transfer unit 30, which have been taken out from the wire holding unit 20 and moved to the left above the fixed clamp 41 and rotating 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 connect the electric wires W1 and W2 between the two gripping parts 412 and the spacer 413 of the fixed clamp 41 and between the two gripping parts 422 and the spacer 423 of the rotating clamp 42. Deploy. The electric wires W1 and W2 are placed on the upper edges 414a and 424a. In this state, the gripping parts 412 and 422 close (the two gripping parts 412 approach the spacer 413 from the left and right directions, and the two gripping parts 422 approach the spacer 423 from the left and right directions), and the electric wires W1 and W2 is held by a fixed clamp 41 and a rotating clamp 42. After that, the transfer heads 31 and 32 open the gripping parts 412 and 422 (the two gripping parts 412 are separated from the spacer 413, and the two gripping parts 422 are separated from the spacer 423), and rise to return to the original height. (directly above the fixed clamp 41 and rotating clamp 42). In this way, the transfer heads 31 and 32 transfer the electric wires W1 and W2 to the fixed clamp 41 and the rotating clamp 42.

Next, a twisting method in the twisting section 40 will be explained. The fixed clamp 41 and the rotary clamp 42 to which the wires W1 and W2 are passed from the wire transfer unit 30 are moved so that the rotary clamp 42 is moved forward by the moving mechanism 43 (in the direction of arrow YA shown in FIG. 5), and the fixed clamp 41 is moved forward and backward by the moving mechanism 43. is moved a distance slightly greater than the length of . Next, the fixed clamp 41 is rotated by 180 degrees in the direction of arrow YB shown in FIG. 5 by the moving mechanism 45 so that the mounting plate 414 faces forward, and rightward (in the direction of arrow YC shown in FIG. 5) , and the fixed clamp 41 is placed directly below the position where the rail 431 extends 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 in a U-shape between the fixed clamp 41 and the rotating clamp 42. Retained. The fixed clamp 41 does not move from this position while the electric wires W1 and W2 are twisted together.

Thereafter, the rotating clamp 42 is moved forward by the moving mechanism 43 and stopped at the twisting start position (the position shown by the dashed line in FIG. 1). When the rotating clamp 42 is at the twisting start position, the distance between the rotating clamp 42 and the fixed clamp 41 corresponds to the lengths of the electric wires W1 and W2.

The rotating clamp 42 is placed at the twisting start position and is driven by the motor 55 to rotate when the electric wires W1 and W2 are not under tension as shown in FIG. 9, thereby twisting the electric wires W1 and W2. Start. As shown in FIG. 8, the wire length is shortened by twisting the wires W1 and W2, and a pulling force is applied rearward (in the direction of arrow Y1) to the rotary clamp 42 and the stage ST that holds the rotary clamp 42. By applying a rearward force to stage ST, slider 71 fixed to stage ST via U-shaped block 66 is moved rearward. The first plate 67 fixed to the U-shaped block 66 is moved rearward and compresses the spring 70 between it and the second plate 68 (see arrow Y2).

The second moving section (sliders 63, 65, mounting plate 64) is connected to the first moving section (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-back 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 as shown in FIG. 10). The amount of movement of the sensor 74 with respect to the gauge 72 (see arrow Y4 in FIG. 11) corresponds to the amount of contraction of the spring 70. According to this amount of movement, the control device controls drive source M to move stage ST in a direction that complements this movement (direction of arrow Y3 shown in FIG. 8).

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

In this way, the tension adjustment mechanism TU including the sensor 74 and the drive source M twists the electric wires W1 and W2 according to the shrinkage of the twisted wires, so that the tension of the electric wires W1 and W2 (twisted wires) is kept within a certain range. Can be adjusted. Furthermore, since the tension can be adjusted by controlling the drive of the stage ST that holds the rotary clamp 42, the apparatus does not need to be enlarged.

The twist processing section 40 grips the electric wires W1 and W2 with a fixed clamp 41 and a rotating clamp 42, and twists them while adjusting the tension to create twisted wires. The rotating clamp 42 that grips the other ends of the twisted electric wires W1 and W2 is moved rearward by a moving mechanism 43. The fixed clamp 41 that grips one end of the twisted electric wires W1 and W2 is moved to the left and rotated 180 degrees. In this way, the fixed clamp 41 and the rotating clamp 42 return to their initial positions. The transfer heads 31 and 32 of the wire transfer section 30 descend from above the fixed clamp 41 and the rotating clamp 42 (initial state height), and twist the wires W1 and W2 by an operation opposite to that when transferring them. Receive (grasp) a line. After the transfer heads 31 and 32 holding the twisted wire are raised, they are moved to the right by the moving mechanism 33 to above the wire holding section 20 (above the driving position instructed by the data instruction section 10). The transfer heads 31 and 32 descend and drive (hold) one end portion W1a, W2a and the other end portion W1b, W2b of the twisted wire into the wire clip 22 at the driving position of the wire holding portion 20.

The wire holding section 20 holds a plurality of electric wires including the twisted wire created by the twist processing section 40 on the rod, so by transporting the rod, the plurality of electric wires including the twisted wire can be easily transferred to the next process. Can be transported. Therefore, it is possible to reduce incidental operations such as bundling, unbundling, capping, and capping of wires, which are required when transporting wires.

As explained 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 transferred from the state held by the electric wire holding part 20 (pole) to the twist processing part by the electric wire transfer part 30. 40, processed into a twisted wire, and driven into the wire holder 20. That is, electric wires with terminals including twisted wires can be processed into a wire harness circuit state (sub-harness). Therefore, the twisted wire can be transported along with the rod to the next process such as the terminal insertion process. Therefore, incidental operations such as bundling, unbundling, capping, and removing caps from the twisted wire processing step to the terminal insertion step can be reduced. Further, since the space required for incidental work between the twist wire processing step and the terminal insertion step is no longer required, the space required for wire harness processing can be reduced.

Further, in the electric wire processing apparatus of this embodiment, when the electric wires W1 and W2 are twisted together and the electric wire length is shortened by the rotation of the rotational clamp 42 in the twisting section 40, the stage ST on which the rotational clamp 42 is mounted moves to the fixed clamp 41. being pulled to the side. At this time, the amount of movement of the first moving part (stage ST, U-shaped block 66, and slider 71) with respect to the second moving part (sliders 63, 65 and mounting plate 64) is detected by the sensor 74, and the amount of movement is complemented. The second moving section is moved by the control device and the drive source M as shown in FIG. With this configuration, the distance between the rotating clamp 42 and the fixed clamp 41 can be adjusted in accordance with an increase or decrease in the tension of the electric wires W1, W2, so the tension applied to the electric wires can be adjusted within a certain range. Therefore, regardless of the length of the twisted wires, the tension applied to the wires W1 and W2 during twisting can be adjusted to a constant level without increasing the size of the equipment. In addition, 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, so even if the twisted wire length is long, the tension can be adjusted easily. There is no need to increase the length (large size) of such equipment.

Note that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and can be modified, improved, etc. as appropriate. In addition, the material, shape, size, numerical value, form, number, arrangement location, etc. of each component in the embodiments described above are arbitrary as long as they can achieve the present invention, and are not limited.

(Modified example)
Modifications of the tension adjustment mechanism TU of the twisting section 40 will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 to 15. While the gauge 72 of the above embodiment had a plurality of comb teeth 72a, the gauge 72A of the modified example does not have comb teeth 72a, and has a rectangular recess 72Ab between two rectangular parts 72Aa. has. In a modification, sensor 74 detects the presence or absence of gauge 72. In a state where no tension is applied to the electric wires W1 and W2 as shown in FIG. 13, the sensor 74 is located at the rectangular portion 72Aa and detects the gauge 72A (detects the presence of the gauge 72A). On the other hand, when the electric wires W1 and W2 are under tension as shown in FIG. 14, the sensor 74 is located in 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 the sensor 74 drives the drive source M when the sensor 74 is located in a predetermined range (the range indicated by arrow Y6) shown in FIG. , continue normal operation. On the other hand, when the sensor 74 is located outside the predetermined range, that is, when it detects that the gauge 72A is present, the control device stops the drive source M and the motor 55. In this way, when the position of the sensor 74 is out of the predetermined range (when abnormal tension occurs), by stopping the drive source M, it is possible to avoid the occurrence of wire elongation, breakage, etc.

Here, the features of the twisting machine and the twisting method according to the embodiment of the present invention described above will be briefly summarized in [1] to [6] below.
[1] One end holding part (fixed clamp 41) that holds one end side of two electric wires,
the other end holding part (rotation clamp 42) that holds the other end side of the two electric wires and rotates about the extending direction of the two electric wires;
a first moving part (stage ST, U-shaped block 66, slider 71) on which the other end holding part is mounted and movable along the extending direction;
a second moving part (sliders 63, 65, mounting plate 64) movably connected to the first moving part along the extending direction;
a drive unit (drive source M) that drives the second moving unit;
a detection unit (sensor 74, gauge 72, 72A) that detects the amount of movement of the first movement unit with respect to the second movement unit;
a control unit (data instruction unit 10) that controls at least the drive unit according to the amount of movement;
The first moving unit moves following the second moving unit,
Twist machine (twist processing section 40).
[2] The control section controls the rotation of the other end holding section, and stops the rotation of the other end holding section when the amount of movement exceeds a predetermined range.
The twisting machine described in [1] above.
[3] The control unit controls the drive unit so that the second moving unit moves in a direction that complements the increase or decrease in the amount of movement;
The twisting machine according to [1] or [2] above.
[4] The first moving section and the second moving section are connected via an elastic member (spring 70).
The twisting machine according to any one of [1] to [3] above.
[5] The detection unit includes:
a gauge (72) provided in the second moving part and having a plurality of comb teeth (72a);
an optical sensor (74) provided in the first moving part at a position corresponding to the gauge;
Detecting the amount of movement by counting the number of comb teeth of the gauge with the optical sensor;
The twisting machine according to any one of [1] to [4] above.
[6] One end holding part (fixed clamp 41) that holds one end side of two electric wires;
the other end holding part (rotation clamp 42) that holds the other end side of the two electric wires and rotates about the extending direction of the two electric wires;
a first moving part (stage ST, U-shaped block 66, slider 71) on which the other end holding part is mounted and movable along the extending direction;
A twisting machine (twist processing section 40) comprising a second moving section (sliders 63, 65, mounting plate 64) movably connected to the first moving section along the extending direction,
When holding and rotating the other end sides of the two electric wires by the other end holding part,
driving the second moving unit by a drive unit (drive source M);
Detecting the amount of movement of the first moving part with respect to the second moving part by a detection part (sensor 74, gauge 72, 72A),
According to the amount of movement, at least the driving section is controlled by a control section (data instruction section 10) to move the first moving section following the second moving section;
Twist processing method.

10 Data instruction section (instruction section, control device)
20 Wire holding section 21 Holding stand 22 Wire clip 30 Wire transfer section 31, 32 Transfer head 33 Moving mechanism 40 Twist processing section (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 section 57 Mounting plates 63, 65, 71 Slider 64 Mounting plate 66 U-shaped block 67 First plate 68 Two plates 70 Spring 72, 72A Gauge 72a Comb tooth 72Aa Rectangular part 72Ab Recessed part 72b Horizontal part 73 Connection plate 74 Sensor M Drive source RU Rotation mechanism ST Stage TU Tension adjustment mechanism W1, W2 Electric wire W1a, W2a One end part W1b, W2b Other end Department

Claims (5)

one end holding part that holds one end side of two electric wires;
an other end holding part that holds the other end sides of the two electric wires and rotates about the extending direction of the two electric wires;
a first moving part on which the other end holding part is mounted and movable along the extending direction;
a second moving part movably connected to the first moving part along the extending direction;
a twist processing moving mechanism that moves the other end holding part to separate the one end holding part and the other end holding part from each other such that the distance is a distance corresponding to the length of the two electric wires; ,
a driving section that drives the second moving section;
a detection unit that detects a movement amount of the first movement unit with respect to the second movement unit;
a control unit that controls at least the drive unit according to the amount of movement,
The first moving section moves following the second moving section,
The first moving part and the second moving part are connected via an elastic member,
The drive unit drives the second moving unit via a belt,
A part constituting a part of the second moving part is attached to a part of the belt,
In a range in which the repulsive force of the elastic member generated by the movement of the first moving section is smaller than the frictional force acting between the component and the belt and related to the attachment of the component to the belt, the component is By not moving relative to the belt, the second moving section does not move without following the movement of the first moving section, and as a result, the amount of movement is detected and the movement of the first moving section is detected. When the repulsive force of the elastic member generated by the above exceeds the frictional force, the second moving section follows the movement of the first moving section by moving the component relative to the belt. and move,
twist machine. The control unit controls rotation of the other end holding unit, and stops rotation of the other end holding unit when the amount of movement exceeds a predetermined range.
A twisting machine according to claim 1. The control unit controls the drive unit so that the second moving unit moves in a direction that complements an increase or decrease in the movement amount.
A twisting machine according to claim 1 or 2. The detection unit includes:
a gauge having a plurality of comb teeth provided in the second moving part;
an optical sensor provided at a position corresponding to the gauge of the first moving part,
Detecting the amount of movement by counting the number of comb teeth of the gauge with the optical sensor;
A twisting machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . one end holding part that holds one end side of two electric wires;
an other end holding part that holds the other end sides of the two electric wires and rotates about the extending direction of the two electric wires;
a first moving part on which the other end holding part is mounted and movable along the extending direction;
a second moving part movably connected to the first moving part along the extending direction;
a twist processing moving mechanism that moves the other end holding part to separate the one end holding part and the other end holding part from each other such that the distance is a distance corresponding to the length of the two electric wires; In a twisting machine equipped with ,
When holding and rotating the other end sides of the two electric wires by the other end holding part,
driving the second moving section by a driving section;
detecting the amount of movement of the first moving section with respect to the second moving section by a detection section;
According to the amount of movement, at least the drive unit is controlled by a control unit to move the first moving unit to follow the second moving unit ,
The first moving part and the second moving part are connected via an elastic member,
The drive unit drives the second moving unit via a belt,
A part constituting a part of the second moving part is attached to a part of the belt,
In a range in which the repulsive force of the elastic member generated by the movement of the first moving section is smaller than the frictional force acting between the component and the belt and related to the attachment of the component to the belt, the component is By not moving relative to the belt, the second moving section does not move without following the movement of the first moving section, and as a result, the amount of movement is detected and the movement of the first moving section is detected. When the repulsive force of the elastic member generated by the above exceeds the frictional force, the second moving section follows the movement of the first moving section by moving the component relative to the belt. and move,
Twist processing method.

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