JPH05131883A - Flat wire harness wiring-fixing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide flat wire harness excellent in adaptability to an automatic manufacturing process and high in reliability while preventing the disconnection of electric wires in the method of fixing the electric wires to circuit conductors in each junction circuit plate at the time of manufacturing the flat wire harness used for the electrical wiring of a vehicle. CONSTITUTION:Covered wires 7 are arranged between plural junction circuit plates 18, each of which is provided with plural circuit conductors therein and a connector at one end thereof, so as to form flat wire harness. In this case, the covered wire 7 is pressure contacted to a pressure contact terminal 19 in the junction circuit plate 18, and a laser beam 17 is radiated from a laser gun 16 so as to fix the covered wire 7 to the pressure contact terminal 19 by welding.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention, when manufacturing a flat wire harness used for electric wiring of a vehicle, includes an electric wire arranged between relay circuit boards constituting the flat wire harness, and a circuit conductor in the circuit board. The invention relates to a method of fixing to an electric wire connection terminal portion provided on the.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In order to reduce the thickness and weight of a conventional wire harness, to improve the assemblability to a vehicle body, and to automate the production, the applicant has proposed a flat wire harness (special feature) as shown in FIG. 12 and FIG. He proposed a proposal of Heihei 2-115827).

In FIG. 12, a plurality of relay circuit boards 2, 2 ₁ , 2 ₂ ... Are fixed as relay circuit bodies at a predetermined interval on a long insulating plate 1 formed along an arrangement route in a vehicle. Has been done. Each relay circuit board is formed by press-fitting and fixing a junction bar 4 as an internal circuit conductor in a plurality of slits 3a arranged in parallel on a circuit board 3, as represented by reference numeral 2 in FIG. The junction bar 4 has tabs 4a formed at both ends or one end, and a pressure contact terminal portion 4b having a slot 4c at one side edge thereof is provided in a protruding manner. 5, 5'is
The connector attached to the tab 4a is shown, and is constructed by inserting the female-female relay terminal 6 into the terminal accommodating chamber 5b in the connector housing 5a.

[0004] Electrical connection of the relay circuit plates is known by an automatic wiring machine 10 of the structure, the slot 4c of the pressure contact terminal portion shown one end of a covered electric wire 7, for example in the relay circuit board 2 _first code 4b ₁ After the pressure contact with ₁ , the adjacent relay circuit board 2 ₂
To the slot 4 of the pressure contact terminal 4b ₂ there.
It is press-fitted into c ₂ and cut here, or is routed to the adjacent relay circuit board 2 ₃ without cutting. Thereafter, this wiring is repeated in sequence to form a circuit that is electrically connected to the connectors 5 and 5 '.

In the above-mentioned electrical connection, the coated electric wire is simply mechanically press-fitted into the slot of the press-connecting terminal portion, so that the coated electric wire may fall off from the press-connecting terminal due to mechanical vibration or the like. .. So, in the conventional case like this,
It has been proposed to prevent the electric wire 7 press-fitted into the slot 12a from falling off by combining the compression fitting 11 and the pressure contact terminal 12 as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15.

The structure of the compression fitting 11 is such that the compression fitting fixing notch 11 is provided on the upper portion of the compression contact terminal compression parts 11a and 11a '.
b and 11b 'are provided, and the fixing projections 12b and 12b' of the press-contact terminal 12 into which the covered electric wire 7 is press-fitted are fitted and fixed to the compression fitting fixing notches 11b and 11b '. We are trying to prevent 7 from falling off. However, when the compression fitting 11 is put on the pressure contact terminal 12 into which the covered electric wire 7 is press-fitted, the protrusion 12b for fixing the pressure contact terminal,
12b 'comes into contact with the pressure contact terminal compression portions 11a, 11a' to compress the slot 12a and tighten the covered electric wire 7, but as shown in FIG. 15, the fixing projections 12b, 12b 'are provided.
When is fitted into the compression fitting fixing notches 11b and 11b ', the compressed slot 12a acts in the opposite direction in a slightly opening direction, so that there is a disadvantage that the press-fitted covered electric wire 7 is easily loosened.

[0007]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, a laser irradiation nozzle is incorporated in a cable laying machine for laying an electric wire in a relay circuit body which constitutes a flat wire harness, so that the electric wire pressed against a pressure contact terminal is prevented from falling off. At the same time, it is an object of the present invention to provide a flat wire harness that has excellent compatibility with an automatic manufacturing process, improves productivity by reducing the number of parts, and has high reliability.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention comprises a plurality of circuit conductors inside and a connector which is electrically connected to the circuit conductors at least at one end as described in claim 1. When a flat wire harness is formed by arranging a plurality of relay circuit boards formed at predetermined intervals and connecting electric wires between the relay circuit boards and connecting them to desired circuit conductors, the relay circuit boards are provided on the circuit conductors. By inserting the electric wire supplied from the cable gun equipped with the laser gun in the vicinity of the electric wire supply nozzle into the slot of the press-connecting terminal portion and irradiating the laser beam from the laser gun into the slot into which the electric wire has been inserted. An electric wire is welded and fixed to the press contact terminal portion (hereinafter referred to as the first invention).

A second aspect of the present invention provides a plurality of relay circuit boards having a plurality of circuit conductors therein and at least one end of which has a connector electrically connected to the circuit conductors. When a flat wire harness is formed by arranging electric wires between the relay circuit boards and connecting them to a desired circuit conductor at a predetermined interval, and a board portion of an electric wire connection terminal portion provided on the circuit conductor. A terminal pressing part of a cone-shaped laser nozzle which supplies an electric wire between the projecting pieces, has a laser irradiation opening in the central shaft part, and has a terminal pressing part formed by a concave surface at the tip part, and the electric wire from above the electric wire. The electric wire is clamped and crimped to the electric wire connecting terminal portion by pressing and bending the protruding piece of the connecting terminal portion, and the electric wire connecting terminal portion is irradiated with a laser beam from the laser nozzle. Weld and fix It is characterized in.

[0010]

According to the present invention, the electric wire which is pressed or crimped to the electric wire connecting terminal portion is irradiated with the laser beam to weld and fix the electric wire to the electric wire connecting terminal portion, so that the electric wire connecting terminal portion and the electric wire are securely connected. Also, since the laser nozzle is provided in the vicinity of the electric wire supply nozzle of the installation machine, the electric wire can be welded almost simultaneously with the installation.

[0011]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of a cable laying machine 13 equipped with a laser beam irradiation apparatus according to the first invention.
The laser light generated by the laser oscillation unit 14 is guided by the optical fiber 15 into the laser head 16 provided alongside the installation head 13a of the installation machine 13, and inside the laser holder 16a provided below the laser head 16. The laser beam 17 is converged to form the laser beam 17, and the laser beam 17 is irradiated toward the pressure contact terminal 19 which is the electric wire connection terminal portion of the circuit conductor arranged in the relay circuit board 18. In addition, the electric wire supply nozzle 13 is provided below the installation head 13a in proximity to the laser holder 16a.
c is provided so that the covered electric wire 7 such as an enamel wire is routed.

An XY table 13b, which can be freely driven in the vertical and horizontal directions, is provided below the installation head 13a. An insulating plate 21 is placed on the XY table 13b, and a predetermined plate is placed on the insulating plate 21. The relay circuit boards 18 are arranged at intervals, the XY table 13b is moved so that a predetermined pressure contact terminal 19 is aligned with the electric wire supply nozzle 13c, the covered electric wire 7 is routed from the electric wire supply nozzle 13c, and the pressure contact terminal 19 is arranged. In addition, I try to make pressure contact.

Then, as shown in the enlarged explanatory view of FIG.
The laser gun 1 provided below the laser holder 16a in the slot 19b portion of the pressure contact terminal 19 where the covered electric wire 7 is pressure contacted.
By irradiating the laser beam 17 from 6b, the covered electric wire 7 and the pressure contact terminal 19 are welded and fixed. Since the laser holder 16a and the electric wire supply nozzle 13c are provided close to each other, it is possible to irradiate the laser beam 17 substantially at the same time as the pressure contact of the covered electric wire 7, and this operation is repeated for each pressure contact terminal. The relay circuit board 18
Fixing work for mutual wiring can be performed quickly and reliably.

As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of relay circuit boards 18 are provided in a case 18A consisting of a box-shaped lower case 18a molded of a synthetic resin material and a plate-shaped upper case 18b having a press contact hole 18c. A pressure contact terminal 19 is provided and a connector 20 is provided at at least one end. Then, as shown in FIG. 4, in order to electrically connect the press contact terminal 19 and the connector 20, the covered electric wire 7 is connected between the connector terminal 21 and the press contact terminal 19 housed in the connector 20.

The pressure contact terminal 19 is formed by pressing and bending a single conductive metal plate, and the substrate portion 19 is formed.
a, a pair of main wire press-contact parts 1 standing upright on both ends thereof
9b, a sub electric wire pressure contact portion 19c standing upright on one side, and a clip-like locking claw 19d running downward on the other side.
And the locking hole 1 of the bottom wall 18d of the lower case 18a.
It is fixed by engaging the locking claw 19d with 8e.
The main wire press contact portion 19b and the sub wire press contact portion 19c are provided with wire press fitting slots 19e and 19f, respectively, and a height difference is provided between the main wire press contact portion 19b and the sub wire press contact portion 19c to cover them. The electric wires 7 can be connected by crossing each other vertically, and the bottom of the slot 19f is one step larger than the bottom of the slot 19e (larger than the outer diameter of the electric wire).
Formed low.

On the other hand, in the structure of the connector terminal 21, the electric contact portion 21b for the mating terminal is provided at one end of the substrate portion 21a, and the wire pressure contact portion 21c having the slot 21d is provided at the other end. One end of the press-fitted wire and the other end of the covered electric wire 7 to the slot 19f of the press-contact terminal 19.
By press fitting into the press contact terminal 19 and the connector terminal 2
1 and 1 are electrically connected. The electrical contact portion 21b of the connector terminal 21 is housed and locked in the terminal housing chamber 20b formed in the connector housing 20a by a known means to electrically connect the press contact terminal 19 and the connector 20.

Since the relay circuit board 18 employs the above-described structure, it is possible to omit a wasteful circuit conductor in the case, and the weight of the relay circuit board can be remarkably reduced. The present invention is not limited to the relay circuit board 18 having the above structure,
It can also be applied to the relay circuit board 2 in which the junction bar 4 provided with the pressure contact terminal portion 4b is accommodated as a circuit conductor as shown in FIG. In addition, the monitor cable (not shown) provided in the laser head 16 is connected to the monitor cable 2
By connecting to a monitor screen far away through 2, the irradiation state of the laser beam 17 is observed and a series of operations such as adjustment of the focal length of the laser beam 17 and adjustment of the position and height of laser welding are managed. You can also do it.
Further, the laser cannon 16b is configured to be able to move slightly in the X, Y, and Z axis directions, and fine adjustments can be made after the position of the XY table 13b is determined.

Next, an embodiment of the second invention will be described. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a relay circuit board 24 having a plurality of junction bars 23 provided with terminals for laser welding. The relay circuit board 24 includes a lower case 25a formed of a synthetic resin material in a thin box shape and an upper case 25b formed in a plate shape.
As shown in FIG. 5, which is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.
The junction bar 23 is housed in the slit 25c formed in the lower case 25a. Further, in order to prevent the covered electric wire 7 to be crimped from deviating, a protrusion 25d is provided, and the upper case 2
It is made to project from the wiring hole 25e formed in 5b.

As shown in the perspective view of FIG. 7, the junction bar 23 is made of a metal plate formed into a narrow strip by press working, and has an electric wire connection terminal portion 26 at one side edge. This electric wire connection terminal portion 26 is connected to the junction bar 2
3 includes a base plate portion 26a that is folded back so as to be folded at a right angle to the side surface 23a of the third base plate 23a, and a protruding piece 26b that stands upright. In order to ensure the crimping of the covered electric wire 7, it is preferable that the substrate portion 26a is slightly curved to provide the recess 26c.

In order to route and fix the covered electric wire 7 to the electric wire connecting terminal portion 26 of the junction bar 23, the laying machine 13 as shown in FIG. 1 is used. Instead, a wiring head 27 as shown in the schematic side view of FIG.
Installation and laser beam irradiation.

The routing head 27 has a feed roller 28.
An electric wire supply nozzle 28 for arranging the covered electric wire 7 supplied from a to the electric wire connection terminal portion 26 is provided.
In the vicinity of 8, a terminal pressing portion 29a formed with a concave surface at the tip portion
A cone-shaped laser nozzle 29 having a is attached. A hydraulic cylinder 29c is provided above the laser nozzle 29,
The laser nozzle 29 can be driven up and down, and
Laser light is guided into the laser nozzle 29 by the optical fiber 29d.

On the other hand, the electric wire supply nozzle 28 is adapted to be capable of performing delicate position adjustment via a straightening lever 28b connected to a straightening lever driving cylinder 28c.
Further, an oyster top 30 is provided in the vicinity of the electric wire supply nozzle 28 for separating the arranged electric wires, and the covered electric wires 7 arranged as necessary are expanded to open electric wire connection terminals. The covered electric wire 7 can be reliably connected to the portion 26. The rake top 30 is driven by a parallel chuck 30a for scraping provided on the top.

Next, a process of arranging and fixing the covered electric wire 7 on the relay circuit board 24 by the above-mentioned arranging head 27 will be described. FIG. 9 is a sectional view similar to FIG. 6, and shows a state in which the laser nozzle 29 is positioned on the covered electric wire 7 supplied onto the electric wire connection terminal portion 26.

Next, by lowering the laser nozzle 29 from above the wire connecting terminal portion 26, the projecting piece 26b of the wire holding portion is slid against the concave surface of the terminal pressing portion 29a and pressed, as shown in FIG. Then, the covered electric wire 7 is bent so as to wrap it, and the covered electric wire 7 is sandwiched and crimped between the substrate portion 26a and the protruding piece 26b. Almost at the same time as the crimping, the portion to which the covered electric wire 7 is crimped is irradiated with a laser beam from the laser beam irradiation port 29b provided in the central axis portion of the laser nozzle 29 to weld and fix the covered electric wire 7 and the protruding piece 26b. To do. After welding, the coated electric wire 7 can be cut by changing the laser mode, if necessary.

As shown in FIG. 11, the size of the welded portion 31 due to the laser beam irradiation is approximately the same as the irradiation diameter d of the laser beam 32 whose focal length is adjusted, but the laser nozzle 27 is adversely affected. It is preferable to set the diameter smaller than the diameter D of the laser beam irradiation port 29b so as not to give

In the above-described embodiment, since it is not necessary to form the slot for press-fitting the covered electric wire 7 in the electric wire connection terminal portion 26, welding can be performed regardless of the diameter of the covered electric wire 7. The number of parts can be reduced because there is no need to prepare many types of pressure contact terminals with different slot widths. Further, the covered electric wire 7 is the substrate portion 2 of the electric wire connection terminal portion 26.
Since it is sandwiched between 6a and the protruding piece 26b and welded in a state of being protected and covered, there is no risk of the strength of the welded portion decreasing, and the reliability of electrical connection improves.

[0027]

According to the present invention, since the covered electric wire is welded and fixed to the electric wire connecting terminal portion by the irradiation of the laser beam, the connection is reliable and the electric wire attached to the pressure contact terminal as in the prior art. Since it is not necessary to use a metal fitting for preventing falling off, it is possible to achieve weight reduction by reducing the number of parts, productivity by shortening the process, and improvement in compatibility with an automatic manufacturing process. Also, since the wire can be welded and fixed to the wire connection terminal that does not have a slot for press-fitting the wire, welding can be performed regardless of the diameter of the wire, and the slot width etc. have been changed. It is not necessary to prepare many types of pressure contact terminals, and there is an advantage that productivity is significantly improved by reducing the number of parts.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view of a process of fixing a wiring wire of a flat wire harness showing an embodiment of the first invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a laser beam irradiation state of FIG.

3 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the relay circuit board of FIG. 1. FIG.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram showing an internal structure of FIG.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a relay circuit board used in another embodiment of the second invention.

6 is a sectional view taken along line XX of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view of the junction bar of FIG.

8 is a schematic side view of a routing head that routes the relay circuit board of FIG.

9 is an explanatory diagram of an operation process of the routing head of FIG.

FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram of a step subsequent to that of FIG. 9.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a welding state according to the process of FIG.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional flat wire harness.

13 is an exploded perspective view of the relay circuit board of FIG.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of a conventional compression fitting and a pressure contact terminal for preventing a wire from falling off.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a state in which the compression fitting of FIG. 14 is covered on the press contact terminal.

[Explanation of symbols]

 7 Coated Wire 13c Wire Supply Nozzle 16a Laser Cannon 17 Laser Beam 18 Relay Circuit Board 19 Pressure Contact Terminals 19e, 19f Slot 20 Connector 24 Relay Circuit Board 26 Wire Connection Terminal 26a Board 26b Projection Piece 29 Laser Nozzle 29a Terminal Press

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A plurality of relay circuit boards each having a plurality of circuit conductors inside and at least one end of which is provided with a connector electrically connected to the circuit conductors are provided at predetermined intervals, and electric wires are provided between the relay circuit boards. When a flat wire harness is formed by arranging and connecting to a desired circuit conductor, the flat wire harness is supplied from the arranging machine equipped with the laser gun in the vicinity of the electric wire supply nozzle to the slot of the pressure contact terminal provided on the circuit conductor. A flat wire harness is characterized in that the electric wire is press-fitted and the slot into which the electric wire is press-fitted is irradiated with a laser beam from the laser gun to fix the electric wire by welding to the press-connecting terminal portion. Fixing method. 2. A plurality of relay circuit boards, each having a plurality of circuit conductors inside thereof, and at least one end thereof provided with a connector electrically connected to the circuit conductors, are provided at predetermined intervals, and electric wires are provided between the relay circuit boards. When forming a flat wire harness by arranging and connecting to a desired circuit conductor, an electric wire is supplied between the board portion and the protruding piece of the electric wire connection terminal portion provided on the circuit conductor, and the laser is provided on the central shaft portion. Equipped with irradiation port,
The electric wire connecting terminal portion is formed by pressing a projecting piece of the electric wire connecting terminal portion from above the electric wire with a terminal pressing portion of a conical laser nozzle having a terminal pressing portion formed with a concave surface at its tip end and bending the electric wire connecting terminal portion. A wire fixing method for a flat wire harness, characterized in that the electric wire is sandwiched and crimped on the electric wire, the laser beam is irradiated from the laser nozzle to the electric wire connecting terminal, and the electric wire is welded and fixed to the electric wire connecting terminal portion.