JP3428862B2 - Wire harness manufacturing equipment - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a wire harness manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly to a wire harness manufacturing apparatus for terminating connectors having different pitches at both ends of a wire. 2. Description of the Related Art As a connector of this type, a wire harness manufacturing apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as an apparatus) disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 4-1708 is known. This device 100 includes a flat cable 102 as shown in FIG.
The connector 104 is terminated at the tip of the
Is drawn to the downstream side by the measure clamp 106, that is, to the right in the drawing. Connector 1
The opposite end of the flat cable 102 terminated at 04 is cut by cutting blades 108,108. A slit 112 penetrates through the cable 102 to divide the wires. When the measure clamp 106 is pulled further downstream from this state, the end of the cable 102 is divided into wires by slits 112 and aligned at a predetermined pitch by the right pitch converter 110. Next, the right clamp 114 and the pitch converter 110 are moved rightward, and the stuffer 116 connects the wire to the connector 118.
And the wire harness is completed. [0004] In the above-mentioned conventional example, the cable is a flat cable that is continuously continuous, and the pitch of the flat cable is expanded in accordance with the pitch of the connector 118 to be connected. Only. Therefore, the pitch of the connectors connected to both ends of the wire is always the same, and it is not possible to automatically and continuously terminate connectors having different pitches. In addition, when performing manually, it is necessary to alternately replace the pitch conversion unit, and to perform.
Efficient production was difficult. The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a wire harness manufacturing apparatus for efficiently and continuously producing connectors having different pitches at both ends of a wire having a predetermined length. Aim. According to the present invention, there is provided a wire harness manufacturing apparatus, comprising: a pitch converter for converting a plurality of individual wires into a predetermined pitch; and a connector connected to both ends of the wire having a predetermined length. in the wire harness manufacturing apparatus and a connection portion, the front Symbol pitch conversion unit, while being disposed on the upstream side of the connecting portion, the single cam plate or comb member
The wire is reversibly set to a different pitch with a plurality of guides that are driven differently, whereby connectors of different pitches are respectively connected to both ends of the wire. Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view showing the appearance of a wire harness manufacturing apparatus (hereinafter simply referred to as an apparatus) 1 of the present invention. This device is an improvement of the harness manufacturing device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 5-120934 filed by the present applicant, and a detailed description of its basic structure and operation will be omitted here. Hereinafter, an outline of the device 1 will be described. The apparatus 1 includes a length measuring unit 4 for gripping and measuring a part of a plurality of separated individual wires 90 supplied from an electric wire supplying unit (not shown) existing in the left direction in the figure. The wires 9 are connected to connectors 50 and 60 (FIGS. 4 to 12) described later.
0 is provided. The measuring section 4 is a wire 90
And has a measure clamp 8 which moves while grasping. Further, two applicators 10 and 12 for press-connecting the connector are arranged in the connection portion 6 along the axial direction of the wire 90. The applicators 10 and 12 are supplied with connectors 60 and 50 (see FIG. 10) having different contact (not shown) pitches, respectively, and press-fit to both ends of a wire 90 cut to a predetermined length as described later. Is done. A pitch converter 14 is mounted on the frame of the apparatus 1 on the upstream side of the connecting portion 6, that is, on the left side in the figure. The operation principle of the pitch converter 14 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is a schematic view showing an embodiment of the pitch conversion section 14. FIG. 2A shows a state in which guide plates 16 for guiding the wires 90 are arranged at a narrow interval of, for example, 1.5 mm. (B) shows a state where they are arranged at a wide interval of 2 mm pitch, for example. (C) and (D)
Shows the structure of the pitch converter 14. First, referring to FIG. 1A, a groove 18 is formed in the upper portion of the guide plate 16, and a wire 90 extending in a direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing is arranged and guided in the groove 18. The guide plates 16 are arranged in contact with each other. At this time, the interval between the wires 90, that is, the pitch P1 is 1.5 mm. A cover 20 for preventing the wire 90 from coming off or jumping out is disposed on the guide plate 16. Next, referring to FIG. 2B, the pitch of the guide plates 16 is changed while being separated from each other, and the pitch P2 of the wires 90 is 2 mm. FIG. 2C is a front view of the pitch converter 14. The plurality of guide plates 16 are configured to be slidable in two directions perpendicular to the plane of the drawing by two upper and lower guide shafts 22. The guide plate 16 guides the wire 90 by the groove 18 at the upper end thereof, and covers the upper end by the cover 20. A pin 24 protrudes from a side edge 17 of the guide plate 16.
A cam groove 28 of a cam plate 26 is engaged with the pin 24 .
The cam plate 26 is driven to slide up and down by a cylinder 30, for example. The structure of the cam plate 26 is shown in FIG. A plurality of cam grooves 28 are formed in a substantially fan shape on the rectangular cam plate 26, and the corresponding pins 24 of the guide plate 16 slide in the respective cam grooves 28. That is, when the cam plate 26 is moved upward by the cylinder 30, the pin 24 located at the upper end of the cam groove 28 relatively moves to the lower end of the cam groove 28 and narrows its pitch. As a result, the guide plate 16 moves along the guide shaft 22 so as to reduce the interval. Conversely, when the cam plate 26 is moved downward, the interval between the guide plates 16 is increased. In this embodiment, when the pin 24 is at the upper end of the cam groove 28, the pitch P2 is set to 2 mm, and when the pin 24 is at the lower end, the pitch P1 is set to 1.5 mm. This corresponds to FIGS. 2A and 2B, respectively. Next, another embodiment of the pitch converter 14 will be described with reference to the schematic diagram shown in FIG. In FIG. 3, parts similar to those in FIG.
FIG. 3A is a side view showing a guide block 32 holding wires 90 at a narrow pitch and a comb (comb-tooth) member 34 for widening the pitch of the guide block 32.
(B) is a diagram of these as viewed from the front. First, FIG.
Referring to (A), a plurality of guide blocks 32 are arranged in contact with each other, and are urged by a spring 36 from the left. At the upper end of each guide block 32, a groove 18 'is formed in the same manner as the above-mentioned guide plate 16, and a wire 90 is guided through the groove 18'. A cover 20 ′ is similarly placed on the upper end of the guide block 32 to prevent the wire 90 from coming off. Grooves 38 extending vertically are formed on both side surfaces of each guide block 32. When adjacent guide blocks 32 come into contact with each other, the grooves 38 cooperate to form holes 40.
Is composed. The comb member 34 located below the guide block 32 has a blade 42 inserted into the hole 40 described above. The blade 42 is formed integrally with the base 44 by gradually decreasing its height from the long blade 42a at the right end to the short blade 42f at the left end. These blades 42a, 42b, 42
The intervals between c, 42d, 42e, and 42f are wider than the intervals between the guide blocks 32. For example, the pitch of the guide blocks 32 is set to 1.5 mm, and the pitch of the blades 42 is set to 2.0 mm. When the comb member 34 is raised toward the guide block 32a, the blade 42a engages with the groove 38 on the right end, moves the guide block 32a slightly to the left, and then the blade 42b enters the hole 40. Blocks 32a and 32b
Apart. This operation is performed in sequence, and all the blades 42
Is inserted into the hole 40, the pitch of the guide block 32 becomes 2 mm. To separate the blocks 32, the blade 4
2 may be wider than the hole 40, or each block 32 may be moved by providing a taper at the root of the blade 42. When the comb member 34 is lowered, the guide block 32 returns to the original narrow pitch state by the spring 36. Referring to FIG. 3B, guide block 3
In 2, a guide shaft 22 'is arranged on both sides of the groove 38. Groove 38 or hole 4 of guide block 32
0, for example, the cylinder 3
Driven up and down by 0 '. Thereby, the pitch of the guide block 32 is converted, for example, between 1.5 mm and 2.0 mm. Next, referring to the schematic diagrams of FIG. 4 to FIG.
A process of manufacturing the wire harness by terminating the connector 1 at both ends of the wire 90 will be described. FIG. 4A is a front view showing the pitch converter 14 and a connector 50 having a small pitch, for example, 1.5 mm pitch, which is terminated to a wire 90 passing therethrough. In the figure, reference numeral 52 denotes a portion of the guide plate 16 or the guide block 32, which are collectively referred to simply as a guide 52. At this time, five wires 90 are used as an example. FIG. 4B is a plan view seen from above FIG.
Shown in The connector 50 uses five contacts corresponding to five wires 90, that is, a five-pole connector. The guide 52 has a 1.5 mm pitch, and the distal end of each wire 90 is connected to the connector 50 by pressure contact at a 1.5 mm pitch. This connector 50
It is arranged at a position corresponding to the applicator 10 (FIG. 1). Next, as shown in FIG.
The pitch is expanded to mm and converted. FIG. 6 is a front view showing a state in which the wire 90 near the connector 50 is gripped by the clamp 54 from the state shown in FIG. 5 and the length is measured rightward from the position of the connector 50 shown by the broken line. At this time, the pitch on the upstream side of the clamp 54 is maintained at 2 mm. The clamp 54 has jaws 54a, 5
4b. The connector 50 is located downstream of the other connector 60 pressed against the other end of the wire 90. Here, the connector 60 is arranged corresponding to the applicator 12 downstream of the applicator 10. (See FIG. 10) FIG. 7 is a plan view of FIG. As can be seen from this figure, the wires 90 are arranged at intervals of 2.0 mm between the clamp 54 and the guide 52. Next, the 2 mm pitch alignment member 56 of the applicator 12 descends and overlaps the wire 90, and FIG. 8 shows a front view of this state. The connector 60 is arranged on a support 58 having a cutting blade 62. The alignment members 56 maintain the alignment of the wires 90 at a pitch of 2 mm. FIG. 9 is a plan view seen from arrow B in FIG. In the drawing, the aligning member 56 is connected to each wire 90 for convenience.
Only the alignment blade 56a inserted therebetween is shown. Next, the guide 52 is converted into a 1.5 mm pitch and the applicator 10 has a 1.5 mm pitch alignment member 6.
4 is superimposed on the wire 90. This state is shown in the front view of FIG. In FIG. 10, reference numeral 66 denotes a press-contact blade for press-connecting the connector 60. At this time, the press-contact blade is still above the wire 90. Connector 5 for the next wire harness
0 'has already been supplied to the support 68 of the applicator 10. FIG. 11 is a plan view seen from the arrow C in FIG. It can be seen that the portions of the wire 90 pressed against the connector 60 are aligned at a 2 mm pitch, and the portions of the wire 90 pressed against the connector 50 'are aligned at 1.5mm. Here, the alignment member 64 is provided for the sake of convenience.
Only 4a is shown. Referring again to FIG. 10, the press contact blade 66 of the applicator 12 is lowered to connect the wire 90 to the 2 mm pitch connector 60 by press contact. At this time, the press contact blade 66 and the cutting blade 62 cooperate to cut the wire 90. As a result, a wire harness is obtained in which the connector 50 is terminated at the right end of the wire 90 and the connector 60 is terminated at the left end. Referring now to the partial front view of FIG. 12, the cut wire 90 is pulled back upstream by the clamp 70 on the left. The tip of the wire 90 is the applicator 1
0, and the press-contact blade 77 of the applicator 10 is lowered to manufacture the next wire harness.
It is press-connected to 0 '. This is the same as the initial state shown in FIG. 4A, and the takeover process is repeated to continuously manufacture a wire harness. Although the preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail, the present invention is not limited to this embodiment, and various modifications can be made. For example, the connectors at both ends of the wire can be used at the same pitch unless the pitch conversion unit is activated. Further, a tapered hole may be provided in each guide block of the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, and a blade may be inserted into this hole. The wire harness manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention has the following advantages because the wires are individual wires and the pitch conversion unit for setting a different pitch upstream of the connection between the wire and the connector is provided. . That is, connectors having different pitches at both ends of the wire can be efficiently and continuously produced. A wire harness with a wide application range can be obtained by combining low-cost connectors with different pitches. It is also possible to manufacture connectors with the same pitch, and it is possible to flexibly respond to the types of wire harnesses.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view showing the appearance of a wire harness manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view showing a pitch conversion unit;
(A) shows a guide plate in a narrow pitch state, (B) shows a guide plate with an enlarged pitch, (C) shows a front view of the conversion unit, and (D) shows a cam plate. FIG. 3 is a partially enlarged view showing a pitch converter according to another embodiment. FIG. 3 (A) shows a guide block and a comb member combined therewith, and FIG. 3 (B) shows a front view thereof. FIG. 4A is a front view showing an initial state in which a connector is terminated to a wire, and FIG. 4B is a plan view thereof. FIG. 5 shows a state where the pitch of the guide is enlarged,
It is a top view similar to (B). FIG. 6 is a front view showing a state where a wire is measured by a measure clamp. FIG. 7 is a plan view seen from an arrow A in FIG. 6; FIG. 8 is a view showing a state in which the alignment member overlaps the wire;
It is a front view similar to. 9 is a plan view similar to FIG. 7, as viewed from the arrow B in FIG. 8; FIG. 10 is a front view similar to FIG. 8, showing a state in which the alignment members of the two applicators overlap the wire. FIG. 11 is a plan view similar to FIG. 9 as viewed from an arrow C in FIG. 10; FIG. 12 is a partial front view showing a state in which a wire is pulled back. FIG. 13 is a conventional wire harness manufacturing apparatus. [Description of Signs] 1 Wire harness manufacturing device 6 Connection unit 14 Pitch conversion units 50, 50 ', 60 Connector 90 Wires P1, P2 Pitch

Claims (1)

(57) [Claim 1] A wire harness having a pitch conversion section for converting a plurality of individual wires into a predetermined pitch, and connection sections for connecting connectors to both ends of the predetermined length of the wire. In the manufacturing apparatus, the pitch conversion unit is arranged on the upstream side of the connection unit , and is driven by a single cam plate or a comb member.
A wire harness manufacturing apparatus , comprising: a plurality of guides for reversibly setting the wires at different pitches, whereby connectors having different pitches are respectively connected to both ends of the wires.