SK278831B6 - System for production of bunched wires - Google Patents

Abstract

This patent describes system for production of bunched wires (8), while each of the bunches (8) is created based on many wires (4), and this equipment consists of the mechanised transporter (23) having the input and output part (25, 26) and a lot of working places (15) in a longitudinal direction of it, used for subsequent creation of the bunched wires (8), from the initial to the final state, while the transported (23) contains facilities for the subsequent catching of the initial bunch (8a) and a motion of it, while these facilities fixed to this transporter. The equipment also consists of the facilities, located at some of working places at least (15) used for preparation supplying of wires (4), the finished wires (4) included, applied for completing of bunches (8) and it also consists of the chute (50), at one side of the transporter (23) at least, in a longitudinal direction closed to at least one input part (25), while wires (4) of the initial bunch (8a) are placed in the transversal direction over the transporter (23) and they are forcing after the wide of it in the chute (50).

Description

Technical field

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for producing harnesses, each harness comprising a plurality of conductors, comprising a mechanized conveyor with an inlet and an outlet portion and a plurality of workstations along it for sequentially forming the harnesses from seed to end. means for further attaching and moving the seed bundle. 10

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Wire harnesses are produced in many forms and with many techniques, starting with intensive manual work and ending with a relatively high level of automation. Manual production can only be accepted if automation requires significant capital investment and is relatively inflexible. The production of high-quality, inexpensive driver harnesses for motor vehicles can be a complex problem, especially when high initial equipment costs and variations in driver harnesses for different car models serve as an argument against a high degree of automation. 25 However, the relatively high cost of manual labor argues against the inefficient use of this work.

While it may be necessary to maintain manual labor during manufacturing for flexibility of production, it is important that the processes and machinery used are effective and efficient so that production is competitive.

In earlier harness systems, different persons or workers have performed different operations at different locations, i. j. one cut the conductors, the other carried out the assembly work on the 35 pins and another overall assembly. More recently, it has been improved by a continuous manufacturing process in which one worker could do more operations, such as cutting wires, preparing subassemblies, and preparing for final assembly. However, this technique was time consuming and the physical effort of the worker or operator. In addition, a lot of time required the training of a worker to do all these operations.

Since the connection of a plurality of conductors in different pre-arrangements is at the core of the production of conductor bundles, efficient processing of these conductors during the manufacturing process is particularly important.

In the manufacture of harnesses and other harnesses of longitudinal objects, it is often necessary to keep the harnesses compact when wrapping the tape around them. In the case of the wire harness faces, it was customary to do the wire harness wrapping manually. Depending on the size of the bundle, the type of tape and the time to perform this operation, this activity is extremely strenuous and even painful for the person doing it. Therefore, the winding was started on a motor-driven wrapping machine, that is, the mechanical wrapping of the harnesses.

Typical wrapping machines include a base frame or housing, a drive motor, and a housing-driven mechanism that carries the motor and carries with it a spool of tape for orbiting the wire harness. To allow entry and exit of the wiring harness into the central region of the machine, it was customary to provide one part of the machine with a permanently open mouth to the central region. An example of such a machine is ISOTAP BABY 040, which is offered for sale by Design Equipments Representation of France Intemational (DERFI) of Cormeilles en Parisis, France. This machine can be suspended on a rope or slidably mounted on rails for the necessary transverse movement along the wire harness.

While such wrapping devices may generally be sufficient, further improvements to the wrapping devices are required that would contribute to facilitating the efficiency and accuracy of the wrapping of wire harnesses or other similar harnesses.

When conducting circuitry, it is often necessary or desirable to connect many conductor wires to the same potential. This is often done by connecting these wires to a common connector or common connector. The common connector may further comprise a plurality of terminals to which the individual conductors that are terminated are connected. Such a connection of a plurality of terminated conductors to a common connector is often accomplished in forming wire harnesses, such as wire harnesses for self-propelled vehicles.

The operation of connecting the terminated conductors to the respective terminals of the common connector was often done manually, especially when it was one of the operations in forming the conductor bundle, in particular using manual work. The manual connection of terminated wires to the terminals of the common connector proves to be strenuous for the operator, especially when it is necessary to exert a high contact force when connecting the terminals. It may further be complicated in that the positions of the terminals on the connector are close to each other so that the manual insertion of the terminal is prevented or complicated.

Some of the previously known types of wire harness production processes have used so-called braiding tables, which are adapted to facilitate the formation of wire harness parts. These entanglement tables typically include different armrests on them in a pattern that assists in forming the wire harness. These entanglement tables are generally long, strong and serve to create a workstation or station and can be located in different parts of the production area.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the invention to provide a device which facilitates the assembly and handling of wire harnesses, in particular in forming subassemblies in the production of wire harnesses.

It is a further object of the invention to provide a device that forms an effective combination with an improved overall harness production system.

Finally, it is an object of the present invention to provide a device that facilitates the assembly and handling of wire harnesses during forming operations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

These tasks are accomplished by a device for producing harnesses, each harness comprising a plurality of wires, consisting of a mechanized conveyor with an inlet and an outlet section and a plurality of jobs along it to gradually form the harnesses from seed to end, the conveyor comprising means thereon. fastened to further attach and move the seed bundle according to the invention, further comprising means for at least some wire preparation and supply workplaces, including terminated bundles to be bundled, and a tray at least one side a conveyor along at least an inlet portion thereof, wherein the seed bundle wires are laid transversely across the conveyor and extend beyond its width into the trough. According to a preferred embodiment, the attachment means of the bundle consist of at least one pair of fingers extending upwardly from the conveyor, the fingers of the pair being spaced apart in the direction of movement of the conveyor.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the conveyor is provided with a plurality of pairs of fingers which are spaced thereon in the direction of travel of the conveyor.

Furthermore, it is suitable that the trough hangs from the conveyor at a distance greater than the width of the conveyor to accommodate a substantial portion of the wire harness.

It is also suitable if the conveyor is provided with first and second troughs, the first trough being located at one side of the conveyor and the second trough at its other side, with a portion of the seed bundle in each trough.

According to a further preferred embodiment, each of the pair of fingers is adapted to attach and carry the seed bundle and the seed bundle is disposed across the U-shaped conveyor so that the two U-shaped arms are attached by two pairs of fingers, the U-shaped base is located in one trough and ends U are located in the second trough.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the means for preparing and supplying the conductors consists of means for temporarily storing a plurality of conductors at different workstations, said conductors being pre-cut to different suitable lengths, each of the storage means comprising a plurality of grooves placed on the carriage. . It is convenient when most of the trucks are mobile. It is furthermore advantageous for the grooves to be U-shaped and open at the end to allow manual access for removing the conductors in the longitudinal direction of the groove.

Preferably, each groove comprises a base and a pair of opposing walls, the base connecting the side walls 15 being straight to facilitate the distribution of the conductors in the groove. In this case, it is advantageous if at least some of the trolleys have horizontal shelves on several floors, the respective troughs being arranged freely horizontally on these shelves on different floors.

It is also suitable that the grooves are oriented vertically on at least a few carriages and the wires located in the grooves extend beyond the upper edge of the grooves and hang down therefrom to facilitate their manual removal.

The grooves are preferably provided with clamping means attached to them near their upper end for releasably holding the conductors in the grooves in a position for easy manual access.

According to a further preferred embodiment, the device according to the invention comprises one or more entanglement tables at a respective work station to facilitate the production of a multi-conductor subset of the harness, to merge into a conductor harness at the respective work station. In this case, it is preferred that one or more of the entanglement tables are rotatably mounted to optionally move between the work surface at rest.

The entanglement table preferably comprises a platform and a plurality of conductor support members mounted on the platform, for accommodating and preparing the conductors of the multi-conductor sub-assemblies.

Suitably, the platform is horizontal and each of the support members protrudes upwards and is bifurcated at its upper end for receiving the conductors. Conveniently, the conveyor is equipped with a frame supporting structure and the entanglement tables are rotatably attached thereto.

The advantage of the device according to the invention is that it facilitates the assembly and manipulation of wire harnesses, particularly in forming subassemblies in the production of wire harnesses, forms an effective combination with an improved overall wire harness production system and is a device which facilitates the assembly and handling of wire harnesses during operations. their formation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The invention will now be described in more detail with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which: FIG. 1 schematically shows a plan view of a device for producing wire harnesses according to the invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an input portion of the harness assembly of FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a carriage with U-shaped grooves for storing and supplying conductors used in the cable harness production apparatus of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is an enlarged detail of two grooves connected by the hinge of FIG. 3, FIG. 5 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of the carriage and grooves of FIG. 4, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a portion of the harness assembly of FIG. 1 showing a rotary entanglement table, FIG. 7 is a front elevation of a terminal assembly tool used in the harness assembly of FIG. 1, FIG. 8 is a plan view of the terminal assembly tool of FIG. 7 showing the terminated conductors and the common connector before connection, FIG. 9 is an enlarged perspective view of a portion of FIG. 8 showing the jig, terminated conductors and a common connector, FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a portion of the harness assembly of FIG. 1 showing the wrapping machine in a wrapping device, FIG. 11 shows the wrapping machine of FIG. 10 seen from the inlet side and FIG. 12 is a partial cross-sectional view of a wrapping machine according to line 12-12 of FIG. 11th

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In FIG. 1 is a schematic plan view of a device 10 or a harness production system according to the invention. Typically, the device 10 is situated on a common area with at least a first area 11 for certain preparatory operations and a second area 12 in which the harness production operations are carried out. It may also include the test area 13.

Preliminary preparatory operations carried out in the first region 11 include cutting or shearing and terminating the wires 4, largely by cutting or shearing the wires 4 to predetermined lengths, stripping the insulation and inserting and clamping with the crimped terminals 6 (see the next figure) for one or both ends of the conductors 4. All this is done on conventional machinery 14 which cuts the conductors 4, pulls off the insulation and fastens the terminals 6, for example of the Komax 40S type. The machine 14 can prepare one or both ends of the conductor 4 before inserting the terminal 6 or other termination without actually performing the termination. The operation of the shearing and ending machine 14 is controlled by the operator 15. These shearing and ending operations can be performed in batches.

Near the shearing and ending machinery 14, an initial storage capacity is provided for temporarily storing the wires 4 which are cut. This storage is accomplished by means of storage racks 18. The sheared and terminated conductors 4 housed in rack 18 are housed in troughs 20, which will be described in more detail below. The cut and terminated conductors 4 are placed in respective grooves 20 according to their length, standard and / or type of termination.

A mechanized conveyor system 22 is shown in the second region 12 of the wire harness manufacturing apparatus 22. The conveyor system 22 consists of one or most of the multiple conveyors 23 arranged in series or continuous form. More specifically, the conveyors 23 are arranged to form a continuous mechanized conveying line from the inlet end 25 to the outlet end 26. The conveyors 23 are mostly conventional, including a frame support structure 27 (see FIGS. 2 and 3), conveyor belts 28 and the like and attached. motors 29 for shifting the belts 28 of the desired row. The motors 29 are usually controlled by a controller of known design, which is programmed to perform the desired control operations. These controls usually also have the ability to switch to manual operation when necessary.

Several local jobs are located along the conveyor 23 of the conveying system 22. Since the wire harness production apparatus 10 described in principle relies on a plurality of workers 15 cooperating with different types of tools and machines along the conveyor system 22, these workstations or stations, in the present case, will be indicated by the same symbols or reference numerals designating the worker 15. however, it is clear that the work station 15 may also be represented in certain limited examples by a machine capable of automatic operation and / or a manually operated machine to which the worker 15 moves from another work station.

Each work station 15 is equipped with equipment of different types and abilities for producing wire harnesses depending on whether it is to perform one or more functions.

Such equipment are accessories 30 for removing and crimping terminals 6, stacking or traveling trolleys 32, which carry a plurality of grooves 20, which in turn comprise respective cut and terminated conductors 4, fixed work tables, so-called mesh tables 36, which are rotatable , one or more wrapping machines 38 and various cartridges 40 containing respective parts to be part of the harness at this location. Certain types of mounting tools, such as the tool 42 for mounting the terminals 6, may also be located at the mounting locations 15 on the respective work table 34.

In this connection, it should be noted that the arrangement of workstations 15 along the conveyor system 22 and the work operations performed therein are designed to minimize or eliminate the need for a worker to move at workstation 15 more than a step or two. In many cases, the worker 15 may sit at the workstation. In some cases, it may be necessary for the worker 15 to take one or two steps to perform a particular operation, but this movement is generally completely restricted. This characteristic is given because most of the equipment 5 required at the work station 15 is arranged close to the work station on one or both sides of the conveyor 23 and beyond, since the conveyor belt 28 is moved only periodically to move the product from one jobs to another.

The production of the bundles 8 of conductors 4 at each work station 15 takes place, generally speaking, at rest. For this reason, it should be noted that the spacing between successive workstations 15 along the conveyor 23 is substantially the same in all cases. However, it is clear that in these spacings certain changes may be made to accommodate the work of two workers, at one or two workstations 15 carrying out operations on the same harness 8 of the conductors 4, but at the opposite ends thereof. In the illustrated system 20, the spacing between workstations 15 is approximately 2-3 meters, the number of workstations 15 is in the range of 8-12, and the conveyor belt 28 is moved from one workstation 15 to another at intervals of several minutes.

It will be appreciated that optimum efficiency is achieved when each worker ends the assigned operations at the respective work station 15 immediately before the conveyor belt 28 is displaced. This, however, requires careful balancing of the number and types of operations performed at the job 15, as well as consideration of the abilities of the worker on the job. Since many of the workstation accessories 15 are mobile or relatively light, they can easily move from one workstation 15 to another while the harness production apparatus 10 is operating.

However, it is the aforementioned flexibility of the wire harness production apparatus 10 described above that allows its use for the economical production of wire harnesses 8 of various sizes and configurations at different times. Although the described apparatus 10 relies substantially on an acceptably cheap workforce, it reduces the large capital costs and inflexibility of the more automated system. Furthermore, the work program and equipment used guarantee the required economy and flexibility.

In Figure 1, the harness 8 is shown in its complete embodiment at or near the exit end 26 of the conveyor 23. The harness 8 begins at the inlet end 25 of the conveyor 23 where its initial, "seed" form is referred to as the harness 8a. . The wire harness 8 gradually assumes the final shape with every detail at successive workstations and is therefore progressively denoted by the additional letters of the alphabet attached to the reference numeral 8. In addition, the representation of the wire harness production device 10 in Figure 1 shows the conveyor 23 just as it moves from one location 15 to another. Thus, the harness 8 of the wires in each work station 15 is shown in a situation representing the completion of 0θ of the work done at that work station 15.

When the finished wire harness 8 reaches the exit end 26 of the conveyor 23, the operator 15 unloads it from the conveyor 23 and transfers it to a suitable test table 43 in the test area 13 where it is subjected to e05 for electrical accuracy and integrity. In the embodiment shown, the finished wire harness 8 is synonymous with an unused sign.

The finished wire harness 8 often contains 200-300 wire 4 and can be more than two meters long. The bundle 8 usually consists of a plurality of different "arms" or "branches", each consisting of a different number of conductors 4. These branches are usually physically, though not electronically, concentrated in a common area represented by a junction box 44 through which most circuits pass. The connecting box 44 can sometimes also be referred to as the "head" of the bundle 8.

Many of the branches are finished wire harnesses 8 terminated at their opposite ends by a respective multiple terminal connector 46 of various types and designs. It should be appreciated that the seed bundle 8a has a connecting box 44 and relatively few conductors 4 and is therefore relatively flexible, deformable and lightweight. On the other hand, as its formation progresses, it becomes heavier and relatively less flexible.

In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 it can be seen that the conveyor system 22 is provided with at least a primary trough 50 and, in addition, a secondary trough 52 on opposite sides of the conveyor 23 along its inlet portion 25 in which a bundle 8a, 8b, 8c, etc. is formed. drivers. The trays 50, 52 are positioned along the inlet portion 25 of the conveyor 23 to allow the embedding of the seed bundle 8a, 8b, and so on. across the U-shaped or curved conveyor belt 28, in which part of the bundle 8a, 8b, etc. They extend beyond the sides of the conveyor 23 until they hang in the troughs 50, 52. It has been found that it is best to arrange the first two or three workstations 15 on one side of the conveyor 23 and arrange the primary trough 50 along this side.

The primary trough 50 is generally U-shaped in cross-section and may generally extend 1.5 to 1.66 meters below the surface of the conveyor belt 28. The primary trough 50 is wide enough to accommodate the large connecting box 44 that rests therein as shown on the 2. The trough 50 is further wide and smooth enough to facilitate sliding of the seed bundle 8a, 8b and the associated junction box 44 therein as the conveyor belt 28 is displaced. The depth of the primary trough 50 is sufficiently shallow so that the various portions of the seed bundle 8a, 8b and / or the components to be attached to the bundle may lie at the bottom of the trough 50 and are thus within reach of the operator 15.

Furthermore, the vertical walls within the trays 50 and 52, particularly the walls at the conveyor 23, are relatively smooth and expediently continuous to prevent the support structure 27 of the conveyor 23 from contacting the seed bundle 8a and the connecting box 44 when the conveyor belt 28 is moved. the friction of the bundle 8a against the troughs 50, 52 was prevented.

The secondary trough 50 on the opposite side of the conveyor 23 is not as necessary as the primary trough and serves to facilitate the smooth advancement of the germline bundle 8a, 8b as it moves along the conveyor 23. The trough 52 further serves to "retain" some components that may accidentally loosen Since it has been determined that the larger germline elements 8a of the conductor bundle 8a than the connecting box 44 will be guided in the trough 50, the secondary trough 52 need not be as wide as the primary trough 50.

The gutters 50 and 52 may be formed of any suitable material, such as sheet metal, plastic or glass fibers, which is formed into a suitable shape. The gutters 50 and 52 are secured to the frame support structure 27 in a suitable manner, for example by screws, bolts and / or supports, so that they are held at the level of the smooth passage of the germline 8a, 8b from the conveyor belt 28 into and out of the gutters 50, 52. the gutters 50, 52 should be made with curved edges at the uppermost ends to prevent friction and cutting of the bundles 8a, 8b and / or the workers 15.

At the beginning of the formation of the wiring harnesses 8a, the connecting box 44 is removed from the magazine 40 on the inlet side 25 of the conveyor 23. Different wires 4 are removed from the various grooves 20 on the carriage 32, the carriage 32 being also positioned at the inlet end 25 of the conveyor 23. The conductors 4 are then connected to the connecting box 44 by the first worker 15 to form the seed bundle 8a. It is clear that the additional operations on the wire harness 8a at the workstation may involve attaching the additional terminals 6 to one or more conductors 4 by means of a machine 30 which engages and clamps the terminal 6. One or more containers 40 at the inlet end 25 of the conveyor 23 may contain different types of terminal connectors 46 for connection to terminals 6 at opposite ends of some conductors 4 connected to a junction box 44.

Since the seed bundles 8a, 8b can be arranged across the conveyor belt 28 and thus compressed in the longitudinal direction, the entire length of the bundle 8a is conveniently within reach of one worker 15 at the respective work station. Thus, one worker 15 can perform working operations over the entire length of the seed bundle 8a without the need to move over a longer distance at one work station. Moreover, the longitudinal extent of the conveyor belt 28, which occupies the seed bundle 8a, 8b, etc. it is smaller than will be required in further stages distant towards the outlet end 26.

Because portions of germinal bundles 8a, 8b, etc. are disposed across the conveyor belt 28, it has been suggested as useful to provide the surface of the conveyor belt 28 with bundle retaining members 8a to assist in determining its position during operation and further with its movement with the conveyor belt 28 as it is displaced. These attachment elements may be in the form of a pair of fingers 54 clearly visible in Figure 2. Each pair of fingers 54 is secured at its base to the conveyor belt 28 by a suitable fastening means and / or mechanical clamp, the fingers 54 being spaced apart in the direction of movement. conveyor belt 28.

In this way, a portion of the bundle 8a positioned across the conveyor belt 28 is inserted between the retaining fingers 54. Each pair of fingers 54 may be of rubber or the like and the dimensions and designs of the fingers 54 are such that the bundle 8a resiliently attaches to each other. The spacing between the individual pairs of fingers 54 may be about 0.5 meters. Since the essential advantage of the described finger pairs 54 relates to the seed bundle phase 8a, 8b, 8c, etc., they need no longer be realized on the conveyor belt 28 towards the outlet end 26 when the conveyor system 22 is formed by multiple separate conveyors 23 with respective conveyor belts 28, which is a typical case.

Next, attention will be paid to the construction and function of the grooves 20 and the stands or trolleys 32 on which the grooves 20 are mounted with reference to Figures 3 to 5. Each groove 20 has sheared conductors 4 of different types and lengths stored therein. Thereby, the conductors 4 of different types are not mixed in one groove 20. The grooves 20 are U-shaped, longitudinal and open at least at one end, preferably at both ends. The grooves 20 may have different lengths depending on the length of the conductors

SK 278831 Β6

4 to be stored therein, with most length ranges between 1 to 2 meters, or may be shorter or longer. While the classic rounded U-shape of continuous curvature is a suitable contour for the cross-section of the grooves 20, as shown in FIG. 3 on the example of groove 20a, it has been found to be advantageous to use a modified U-shape with a flattened bottom and substantially vertical walls, most of which grooves 20 are shown in the various figures.

This straight-U-shaped arrangement seems more suitable for a more even distribution of the wires 4 located therein and reduces the occurrence of entanglement that could cause problems in removing the individual wires 4 from the groove 20. The rounded cross-section of the groove 20a leads to more wires 4 in the center of the groove. 20a sometimes contributing to their involvement. The grooves 20 are made of any suitable, relatively rigid and durable material, such as metal, plastic or glass fibers.

When the conductors 4 in one groove 20 are terminated at only one end, it is the terminated end that faces the operator 15 when the groove 20 is carried in a position on the carriage 32 near the respective work station. It should be noted that the supported troughs 20 may be located on one or both sides of the conveyor system 22 with respect to the location of a worker 15 who will pull the wires 4 of these troughs 20. The most common arrangement that allows the worker 15 to access the relatively large number of troughs 20 most easily is one in which the trolley 32 carrying the troughs 20 is positioned opposite the worker 15 downstream of the conveyor 23, as seen particularly in Figures 2 and 6.

In some cases where the length of the conductor 4 is unusually long and greatly exceeds the length of the individual grooves 20, a pair of these grooves 20 may be connected at their respective front ends by a suitable connector, such as a hinge 55 to form a double groove 20, see FIG. In this case, one part of each long conductor 4 is housed in one and the remaining part in the second groove 20, with the passage of the conductors 4 between the grooves 20 just beyond the front ends of the grooves 20 in the hinge region 55 so that the worker 15 can easily pull them out. . The coupling hinge 55 is a conventional means for joining two grooves 20 forming a combined double groove 20 for easy handling during loading and transport.

The stands or trolleys 32 carrying the various grooves 20 may have a simple shape and unpretentious construction. In a few cases, the stands 32 may be permanently stationary.

However, in most cases, it has been found that the stands or carriages 32 need to be mobile, and therefore the rollers 57 on the base of the carriage 32 are provided with rollers or wheels 56. In some cases, it may be necessary to reduce or "abolish" the crossbar profile 57 and the wheels 56 by making them adjustable by the struts 59 in the manner shown in dashed line in Figure 3.

The grooves 20 rest on the transverse arms 58 or floors that form part of the rigid frame structure of the carriage 32. The straight base of the groove 20 may rest on the flat surface of the horizontal transverse arm 58. In the case of a curved U-shaped groove 20a that is used it may be desirable to make a curved recess on or in the transverse arms 58 to receive the curved base of these grooves 20a, or alternatively, the curvilinear arms 58 may be attached to the transverse arms 58.

To provide adequate support for the groove 20, it is necessary that a pair of transverse arms 58 be positioned at the front and rear of the carriage 32 so as to support the groove 20. Multiple grooves 20 may be disposed side by side on each transverse arm 58, 58 on several floors to accommodate 10 not grooves 20 at these different heights.

Although the carts 32 described are realized with the horizontal adjustment of the associated grooves 20, the cart 32 may be constructed such that the grooves 20 are mounted thereon in an almost vertical position as shown in FIG. 5. These racks or carts 32 may be somewhat simpler construction as the carriages 32, and since they have a vertical channel pattern 20, they may occupy less floor space. On the other hand, in this vertical orientation, however, it is generally preferred to have only one row 20 of the grooves 20 and their length will be limited appropriately to the height of the worker 15.

It has been found that at least on the grooves 20 which are intended for vertical orientation, it is advisable to attach the resilient clamps 60 to hold the front or top ends of the conductors 4 in a position readily accessible to the operator 15. More specifically, the resilient clamps 60 may be mounted on the lower surfaces grooves 20 at or at the front, top, or outlet end to attach the bundles of 3θ conductors 4 that hang over this end of the groove 20.

In this way, the conductors 4 are secured from falling down into the groove 20 when it is in a vertical position and the ends are usually thus prepared for easier removal.

During the formation of the wiring harness 8, it is sometimes necessary or desirable to provide an additional work surface to connect the wires 4 to the connectors 46 to form various subassemblies and to facilitate the assembly of these subassemblies into the main harness 8 present on the conveyor belt 28 at the work site 15. In some cases, such work may be carried out on individual fixed workbenches 34 when positioned sufficiently close to the worker 15. An additional work surface may also be formed by the entanglement tables 36 and 36 '.

Each entanglement table 36 and 36 'comprises a plurality of jigs 62 carrying the conductors 4 or bundles 8 attached to its top surface, in a predetermined pattern to assist in forming the bundle 8 or a more suitable subgroup or branch to be part of the main bundle 8. The jigs 62 typically consist of a base 63 which is attached to the entanglement table 36 or 36 'and a vertical support 64 extending upwardly from the base 63 and bifurcating at its upper end into a pair of support fingers 65 on the wire harness.

The arrangement of the fixtures 62 on the entanglement tables 36 and 36 'is such that it determines the multiple loading of the conductors 4 and the winding branches during the formation of the bundle 8 or its subgroups. The entanglement tables 36 'are typically on wheels to allow their position to change in the region 60 of the conveyor 23. In the schematic representation of FIG. 1, the movable entanglement tables 36 'are positioned sufficiently close to the conveyor 23 so that the worker 15 has to perform relatively few steps to move the bundle 8 or a subset thereof between the conveyor 23 and the respective entanglement table 36'.

It should be noted that the mesh table 36 'on wheels 6

The duck is capable of general movement in the area of the workstation and can in fact be so positioned that the workstation / worker 15 is positioned between the entanglement table 36 'and the conveyor 23.

The entanglement table 36 may even be closer to the conveyor 23 and is capable of some limited displacement by the operator 15 than the rotation between the working position and the rest position, as shown in Figures 1 and 6 in the wire harness 8f. In Figure 6, the entanglement table 36 is shown in its rest position in solid lines and dashed in its work surface. In this case, the working position of the entanglement table 36 is closely adjacent and parallel to the conveyor 23, wherein the rest position is reached when the table 36 rotates approximately 90 ° from the conveyor 23 about a pivot axis 66 that is distant from the worker 15 and generally near conveyor 23.

In its working position, the entanglement table 36 is positioned for easier access by workers 15 to perform various working operations on the bundle 8 or its subgroups as needed. When this work is completed, the bundle 8 or its subset is usually removed from the entanglement table 36 and placed on the conveyor belt 28, and the entanglement table 36 is rotated to its rest position, giving the worker 15 more space to carry out further operations on the entanglement table. your own job.

It has been found that it is particularly advantageous to attach the mesh table 36 to the frame support structure 27 of the conveyor 23 for rotational movement about the axis of rotation 66. More precisely, a hinge 68 may be mounted on the frame support structure 27, into which a hinge pin 69 extends from above. From the underside of the entanglement table 36, pivot axes 66 form in the hinge 68.

It may also be desirable to take the form of a locking or clamping or a stop at the pin 69 and hinge 68 to hold the table 36 at a selected position about the pivot axis 66. One relatively simple way of realizing the stop is to provide a pin or pawl projecting radially from the hinge pin 69, near its upper end of the hinge 68 a stop recess is formed on the pin 69 in the desired pivoted position.

Referring to FIG. 7 to 9, attention is paid to a mounting tool which is a terminal mounting tool 42. The tool 42 is designed to easily and precisely achieve the connection of a plurality of terminated conductors 4 to a common connector 70. A common connector 70 is used to connect these multiple conductors 4 to a common electrical potential, such as B + or ground in the electrical system of self-propelled vehicles. In fact, the current carrying capacity of the conductors 4 which are connected to the common connector 70 is usually greater than that of many other conductors 4 in the bundle 8.

The terminals 6 at the ends of the respective conductors 4 are of the plug-type type and are adapted to receive the plug terminals 71 of the connector 70. The common connector 70 in the illustrated embodiment comprises three such plug terminals 71 protruding forward from the common base 72 substantially coplanarly parallel. From each end of the common base 72 of the connector 70, the lateral or end fingers 73 protrude forward.

In the connector 70 shown, each plug terminal 71 extends from the common base 72, wherein the end fingers 73 are formed by a respective 90 ° bend of the edges of the base 72 and are positioned in planes perpendicular to the plane of the base 72 from which the male terminals protrude. 71. The end fingers 73 may then be placed in electrical connection with other conductive members.

The terminal assembly tool 42 assists in precisely positioning the terminals 6 to the plug terminals 71 of the common connector 70, and further contributes not only to the easy connection of these elements but also to the removal of the connected terminals 6 and 71 from the tool 42. Tool 42 consists of first and second jigs 75 and 77. The first jig 75 is designed to accommodate the terminated ends of a plurality of conductors 4. The second jig 77 is designed to receive a common connector connector 70 oriented in a substantially horizontal position.

The fixtures 75 and 77 are secured to the base 78 in a manner allowing one of the fixtures 75, 77 to move towards and away from the other fixture 75, 77 between a relatively near position and a relatively distant position corresponding to the coupled position and the insertion / selection position. In this embodiment, the first jig 75 remains stationary and the second jig 77 has the ability to move linearly across the base 78.

A pneumatic actuator 80, such as a piston with a cylinder, is coupled to the base 78 and the second jig 77 to act and control the movement of the second jig 77 to the first jig 75. The power rod 81 of the drive 80 is connected to the second jig 77 directly by screwing and the like; to directly control the second jig 77. The drive cylinder 80 is rigidly mounted on the second jig 77, to which the lacquer provides great lateral stability. The degree of this lateral stability of the second jig 77 must be ensured by providing a groove as a guide in the base 78 to ensure alignment of the second jig 77 with the first jig 75.

A cavity 82 is provided at the front end of the second jig 77 and is open in forward and upward directions. The cavity 82 is adapted to locate the common connector 70 from above and is open at its front end to allow connection with the terminals 6 carried in the first jig 75. With the common connector 70 disposed in parallel there is a clearance below the lower faces of the male connectors 71 allowing them to be inserted into the female terminals 6.

The first jig 75 comprises a plurality of longitudinal grooves 83 in its upper surface for accommodating the respective conductors 4. More precisely, the grooves 83 have side walls that are undercut at their front ends to form the seats 85 on the terminals 6. The undercut walls 84 are such that the seats 85 contain the terminals 6, which, when inserted therein, are guided in the vertical and lateral directions and tightly attached thereto, as shown in Figures 8 and 9.

7 to 9, the second jig 77 is shown in its insertion / withdrawal position spaced from the first jig 75. The terminal 6 of the terminated conductor 4 is inserted into the jig 75 so that it extends over its front end, moving the terminal 6 with the conductor 4. downwards until the terminal 6 is at the level of the seat 85. The return 4 of the conductor 4 then settles the terminal 6 in the seat 85. The same procedure is repeated with the other two terminated conductors (not shown) with respect to the other two grooves 83 in the first jig 75.

Similarly, the common connector 70 is positioned

The rear and side walls of the second formulation 77, which define the cavity 82, are sized and arranged to position the common connector 70 so that its male terminals 71 are still aligned in alignment with the cavity 82. The actuation of the second jig 77 by the drive 80 serves to engage the plug terminals 71 into engagement with the plug terminals 6, thereby completing the connection.

At the front end of the second jig 77, retaining elements 86 are formed by a pair of short protrusions extending transversely to each other to form a partial closure at the front end of the cavity 82. More precisely, retaining elements 86 extend across the front ends of the end fingers 73 of the common connector 70. of their wires 4 to the common connector 70, drive 80 pulls the piston rod 81, thereby moving the second jig 77 back to the insertion / removal position. During this movement, the retaining elements 86 on the fixture 77 carry the end fingers 73 as well as the common connector 70 backwards. This backward movement of the common connector 70 will pull out the female terminals 6 from their seated position in the first jig 75, thereby facilitating removal of the connected wires 4 and connector 70 from the tool 42 simply by lifting up several wires 4 simultaneously to remove the connector 70 from the cavity 82.

At various stages of forming the wire harness 8, it is desirable and necessary to gather and tie certain conductors 4 to form branches in the harness 8. In some cases, these branches will be terminated in connectors or other types of electrical terminals. Binding or wrapping with an adhesive tape in a helical pattern around the wire collection 4 has usually been used to tie the strands of the wire harness 8 to form a branch.

In some cases, the tape was wound all over by hand, but in other cases mechanized equipment was used. In the present system or apparatus 10, there is shown an improved wrapping apparatus disposed at a work station comprising a wrapping machine 38 in which a wire harness 8i is disposed. The wrapping machine 38 and the wrapping apparatus of which the machine 38 is a part are improved as will be described below with reference to FIG. 10 to 12.

In FIG. 10 shows a wrapping machine 38 mounted to move along a pair of rails 87 that are attached to the platform 88. The platform 88 is rotatably attached to the frame support structure 27 of the conveyor 23 in the same manner as the rotary entanglement tables 36, i. j. by means of a hinge 68 and a hinge pin 69 as previously described. The work platform 88 may be long and narrow, of a hard material such as metal, wood or plastic. Mounted at one end of the platform 88 is a double-fingered support 65 of the same type as the twist table 36. Relatively close to the other end of the work platform 88 is a clamping mechanism 89 for clamping or clamping the wire harness 4.

The clamping mechanism 89 is fixedly mounted on the platform 88 and is directed upwardly, and is intended to releasably clamp the bundle of wires 4 that form the bundle branch 8i to allow use of the force to tension the bundle branch 8i during its wrapping. The clamping mechanism 89 may be of any suitable design and typically includes a pair of jaws 90a, 90b, one or both of which are vertically movable between the clamping and disengaging positions by the hand lever 91.

Typically, the lower jaw 90a is fixed and the higher jaw 90b is movable in the vertical direction by the action of the control lever 91 in a vertical plane about the horizontal axis of rotation. The control arm 91 can be pivoted down from its release position shown in Figure 10 to a certain eccentric locked position in which the jaws 90a and 90b firmly grip the bundle branch 8i between them. The jaws 90a, 90b may have a concave ob10 feature of generally circular shape according to the bundle branch 8i. Furthermore, a spring or other resilient element may be attached to one or both of the jaws 90a, 90b so that the bundle branches 8i of different diameters are clamped resiliently.

The spring 88 serves as a mounting frame for parallel rails 87, which slide carries a wrapping machine 38 on the slide support 92, which slides on rails 87 between a pair of adjustable stops 93 located at opposite ends of the rails 87. The stops 93 may be located only on one of the rails. The rails 87 and are adjustable by hand by means of finger-tightened screws.

Referring to Figure 11, an overwrapping machine 38 is shown in detail. Generally, a overwrapping machine 38 25 comprises a two-part cover 94, a reversing disc or a plate 95, to a tape supplying device such as a spool 97 with wound tape affixed to the reversing plate 95 by a spindle. 98th

The orbiting plate 95 is driven by a motor 96 through a pinion 100 that engages a helical rim 99 at the face of the plate 95. The orbiting plate 95 has a circular central opening 102 through which the strand of wire harness 8i is to be wound during winding operation. . The plate 95 may be of a suitable 55 material such as a metal, plastic or composition.

Although the orbital plate 95 could be made without an opening, it should be appreciated that the bundle branch 8i to be bound should be able to be retracted and extended in the axial direction through the central opening 40 102. However, this can be difficult and limit the size of the connectors that can be pre-connected to the end of this branch. Therefore, as shown in Figure 11, the cover 94 and the orbiting plate 95 are formed in two pieces, and the cover 94 is provided with a hinge which allows 45 to open both pieces and at the front end of the mouth 104 to insert the bundle branch 8i into the center. and then removed therefrom without the need for axial movement thereof.

In the illustrated embodiment, both the lower portion 50 of the housing 94 and the circulating plates 95 are angularly coextensive and have an angular range of less than 180 ° while their respective upper portions have an angular range of greater than 180 °. The lower part of the housing 94 is connected to the upper part by the hinge mechanism 106. This hinge 55 mechanism 106 is in turn connected to the pneumatic actuator 108 by means of a link 109. The actuator 108 serves to move the lower portion of the housing 94 up and down between the closed and open positions.

As best seen in FIG. 12, the cover 94 has a C-shape 60 in cross section to cover the two-piece circulating groove of the orifice plate 95 that circulates therein. The outer circumference of the two-piece circulating plate 95 is narrow enough to be housed in the housing 94, but also wide enough to provide a plurality of 65 radial recessed grooves on the periphery for mounting several respective ball bearings 110. The ball bearings 110 are mounted at the desired position on the respective pins 112. which are mounted in the plate 95 in the axial direction. The ball bearings 110 provide a basic abutment contact between the housing 94 and the orbital plate 95.

Further, to hold each circulating plate 95 tightly in a respective part of the cover 94 when the cover 94 is open, notches 116 are formed on the opposite side walls of the circulating plate 95, into which the retaining pins 114 are secured to the opposite side walls of the cover 94. in Figure 11, two portions of the housing 94 bridged by a connecting bracket 118 that is provided with a slot wedge groove 119 in which a sliding guided wedge (not shown) is connected to one of the portions of the housing 94 for guiding relative opening and closing movements between the two portions.

Of course, even if the orbital plate 95 is made of two complementary portions, the portion that is driven by the pinion 100 at any time serves to drive or push the second portion of the plate 95 that follows it. The pinion 100 drives both halves of the orbiting plate 95 through both contact surfaces between them. When the two housing halves 94 are closed, as shown in Figure 11, dashed, the motor 96 is driven by a pinion 100, which in turn drives the orbiting plate 95 to orbitally move the spool 97 with the tape around the wiring harness branch 8i located in the central opening 102. after the first attachment of the adhesive surface of the tape to the strand of the wire harnesses, the orbital movement of the ribbon spool 97 will wrap it around the strand.

To ensure that during operation of the wrapping machine 38 the cover 94 remains closed, a clamping hinge is provided on the cover 94 such that a drawer clamping member 120 is fastened on one edge of the cover 94 and a locking pin 121 operated by a pneumatic actuator 122 mounted on the other. The actuator 122 controls the movement of the locking pin 121 into and out of the receptacle clamp member 120.

For the wrapping machine 38 to work properly, it is important that both parts of the circulating plate 95 stop at positions that coincide with the two halves of the cover 94 when the wrapping machine 38 is to be opened. Then, it is guaranteed that the opening of the mouth 104 is relatively wide and further that there is little or no likelihood that portions of the orbital plate 95 will separate from respective portions of the housing 94. To achieve this, provision has been made for sensing the angular rotation of the orbital plate 95 cover 94 and to stop rotation of the plate 95 at exactly the right angle.

The rotation angle sensing is accomplished by an inductive sensor 124 mounted on the housing 94, which senses a respective angular position at the periphery of the orbital plate 95. This position can be detected by attaching a piece of metal 125 to a portion of the orbital plate 95. This type of sensing is particularly suitable for using a plate 95 made of a non-magnetic material.

In combination with the sensor 124, a pneumatic cylinder 126 located on the top of the housing 94 operates. The cylinder 126 exerts a braking / locking force on the upper portion of the orbital plate 95 to stop and lock it in the correct angular position sensed by the sensor 124. a locking member in and out of the braking and / or locking engagement with the orbital plate 95.

The motor 96 and the actuators 108, 122 and 126 are preferably pneumatically driven and controlled by an electrical programmed control performed by an OMRON C28K controller (not shown) in a manner consistent with the present disclosure. The inputs of this control are the START / STOP and OPEN / CLOSE control buttons (not shown) operated by the operator 15 and additionally the electrical input from the inductive sensor 124.

By pressing the OPEN / / CLOSE control buttons appropriately, the wrapping machine 38 is opened or closed by the drive 108 and the locking pin 121 in the fastening member 120 is released or locked by the pneumatic actuator 122. which is wound onto the strand of the wire harness by pressing the STOP button, the encoder 124, the motor 96 and the cylinder 126 stop the orbital plate 95 in the correct position.

In order to achieve the wrapping of the bundle of wire harness 8i, the working platform 88 is usually rotated to the position at the conveyor belt 28 and one of the branches to be wrapped is clamped into the clamping mechanism 89. Then the harness branch 8i is moved through the open mouth 104 of the wrapping machine. 38 into the central aperture 102 and the other end of the branch can then rest against the bifurcated support fingers 65. The operator 15 will manually tension the bundle branch 8i against the clamping force of the clamping mechanism 89. The wrapping machine 38 then closes, the tape is fed into the bundle branch 8i 96 is activated to start the wrapping operation. The wrapping machine 38 moves manually on the rails 87 from one stop 93 to the other to perform the tape wrapping operation. Upon reaching the second stop 93, the worker 15 presses the STOP button, then cuts the tape, for example with a knife, and opens the wrapping machine 38 to allow the bundle branch to be removed and returned to the conveyor belt 28.

Although the invention has been illustrated and described in one exemplary embodiment, it is easy for a person skilled in the art to make various variations so as not to depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention.

Claims (15)

PATENT CLAIMS An apparatus for producing wire harnesses, each wire harness consisting of a plurality of wire wires, comprising a mechanized conveyor (23) with an inlet and an outlet part (25, 26) and a plurality of workstations (15) along it for progressively forming the harnesses the germinal to final conductors, wherein the conveyor (23) comprises means mounted thereon for further retention and movement of the germinal bundle (8a), further comprising means at at least some of the preparation stations (15); supplying conductors (4), including terminated conductors (4) to merge into bundles (8), and from a trough (50) at at least one side of the conveyor (23) along at least its inlet portion (25), the seed bundle conductors (4) (8a) are laid transversely through the conveyor (23) and extend beyond its width into the trough (50). Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the attachment means of the bundle (8a) consist of at least one pair of fingers (54) protruding 9. 6 of the conveyor (23), the fingers (54) of the pair being spaced apart in the direction of movement of the conveyor (23). Apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the conveyor (23) is provided with at least two pairs of fingers (54) disposed thereon at intervals in the direction of movement of the conveyor (23). Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the trough (50) hangs from the conveyor (23) at a distance greater than the width of the conveyor (23) to accommodate a substantial part of the wire harness (8a). 5 position. Apparatus according to claim 15, characterized in that the entanglement table (36) comprises a platform and a plurality of support members (64) for conductors (4) mounted on the platform, for storing and preparing the wiring. Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the conveyor (23) is provided with first and second troughs (50, 52), the first trough (50) being located on one side of the conveyor (23) and the second trough (52). ) on its other side, wherein a portion of the seed bundle (8a) of the conductors (4) is located in each trough (50, 52). Apparatus according to claim 2a, characterized in that each of the pair of fingers (54) is adapted to attach and carry the seed bundle (8a) and the seed bundle (8a) is disposed across the U-shaped conveyor (23) such that the two U-shaped arms are attached by two pairs of fingers (54), the U-shaped base is located in one trough (52) and the U-shaped ends are located in the other trough (50). Device according to claim 1, characterized in that the means for preparing and supplying the conductors (4) consists of means for temporarily storing a plurality of conductors (4) pre-cut to various suitable lengths at different workstations (15) each it comprises at least two grooves (20) disposed on the trolley (32, 32 '), the conductors (4) being of various functional types. Device according to claim 7, characterized in that most of the carriages (32, 32 ') are mobile. Apparatus according to claim 7, characterized in that. The grooves (20) are U-shaped and open at the end to allow manual access to the conductors (4) in the longitudinal direction of the groove (20). 10 wires (4) of multiconductor subgroups. Device according to claim 16, characterized in that the platform is horizontal and each of the support members (64) protrudes therefrom and is bifurcated at its upper end for receiving the conductors (4). Device according to claim 9, characterized in that each groove (20) comprises a base and a pair of opposing walls, the base connecting the side walls being straight to facilitate the distribution of the conductors (4) in the groove (20). Apparatus according to claim 9, characterized in that at least some of the carriages (32) have horizontal racks on several floors, the respective troughs (20) being positioned freely horizontally on these racks on different floors. Device according to claim 9, characterized in that the grooves (20) are oriented vertically on at least a few carriages (32 ') and the conductors (4) located in the grooves (20) extend beyond the upper edge of the grooves (20) and hang of them down to facilitate their manual removal. Device according to claim 12, characterized in that the grooves (20) are provided with clamping means (60) attached thereto near their upper end for releasably holding the conductors (4) in the grooves (20) in a position for easy manual access. Apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that it comprises one or more entanglement tables (36, 36 ') at a respective workstation (15) for facilitating the production of a multiconductor subset of the bundle (8) for merging into a bundle (8) wire (4) at the respective work station (15). Apparatus according to claim 14, characterized in that one or more of the entangling tables (36, 36 ') is rotatably mounted for selectively moving between the operating position and the rest position. Device according to claim 15, characterized in that the conveyor (23) is provided with a frame support structure (27) and the entanglement tables (36) are rotatably attached thereto.