JP7262897B2 - Tube supply device and tube supply method - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a tube supply device and a tube supply method for outputting and accommodating a plurality of tube members and supplying them to a work site where work is performed using these tube members.

In many wire harnesses, a tube member such as a corrugated tube is attached as an exterior product for protecting electric wires. In order to increase the efficiency of the manufacturing work of such wire harnesses, it has been proposed to arrange containers for various parts including tube members on the wiring board for wiring according to the work procedure. (See Patent Document 1, for example). By using such a wiring board, a worker can efficiently manufacture a wire harness by taking out a tube member from a nearby storage container and attaching it to an electric wire as appropriate.

JP-A-7-235228

Here, when manufacturing a wire harness using a wiring board as described above, prior to manufacturing, a worker appropriately selects necessary tube members from a parts shelf in which various types of tube members are stored. Preparatory work such as setting it in the receiving container of the wiring board is performed. In addition, the parts shelves need to be appropriately replenished with tube members cut out from the base material. However, such a series of preparation/replenishment work requires a certain number of man-hours, which is one of the problems from the viewpoint of further reduction of man-hours.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Accordingly, the present invention focuses on the problems described above, and an object thereof is to provide a tube supply apparatus and a tube supply method capable of supplying tube members to a work site requiring tube members while reducing the number of man-hours. and

In order to solve the above problems, the tube supply device of the present invention is capable of sequentially outputting a plurality of tube members in the feeding direction of the tube base material by repeating feeding and cutting of a long tube base material. A tube output device and an insertion/removal opening for the tube member are provided, and a plurality of housing members capable of accommodating the tube member while extending along the insertion/removal direction with respect to the insertion/removal opening are arranged in a direction intersecting the insertion/removal direction. The arrayed tube housing jigs and the tube housing jigs are detachably attached such that the inserting/removing direction is along the feeding direction, and the tube housing jigs are attached to the tube output device in the arraying direction. a moving mechanism for moving at least one of the tube output machine and the tube housing jig so as to move relative to each other; The moving mechanism is controlled so as to sequentially position the insertion/removal openings of the plurality of housing members in the tool without overlapping, and the tube member is output to the insertion/removal opening positioned at the receiving position. and a control unit for controlling the tube output device, the tube output device variably selects the tube base material from a group of base materials of different thicknesses, and feeds out the tube base material. By repeating feeding and cutting with a variable length, it is possible to output a plurality of types of tube members that are different in at least one of thickness and length. is associated with the type of the tube member to be accommodated, and the control unit outputs the plurality of types of tube members from the tube output device in the order of output, and at the time of outputting the tube members in each order, The arrangement order of the housing member in the tube housing jig in which the insertion/removal port is to be positioned at the receiving position is stored in association with each other, and the tube output from the tube output device is stored based on the stored contents. The moving mechanism and the tube output device are controlled so that the inserting/removing opening of the accommodating member corresponding to the type of member is positioned at the receiving position, and the arrangement order of the accommodating members in the tube accommodating jig However, it is characterized in that it corresponds to the order of use when the plurality of types of tube members are taken out one by one from the tube housing jig and used.

In order to solve the above-described problems, the tube feeding method of the present invention includes a mounting step of mounting the tube housing jig in the tube feeding apparatus of the present invention to the moving mechanism, and a movement control step of controlling the movement mechanism so as to sequentially position the insertion/removal openings of the plurality of housing members in the tube housing jig at positions without overlap; and an output control step of controlling the tube output device so that the tube member is output to the insertion/removal port.

According to the tube supply device and the tube supply method of the present invention, the tube members output by the tube output machine are automatically accommodated one by one in the plurality of accommodation members of the tube accommodation jig under the control of the control unit. It will happen. After that, the tube member can be supplied simply by removing the tube housing jig detachably attached to the moving mechanism and transporting the tube member to the work site where the tube member is required. As described above, according to the tube supply device and the tube supply method of the present invention, the operator only needs to start the tube supply device and carry the tube housing jig to the work site after housing the tube members. The tube member can be fed with pressure.

1 is a schematic front view of one embodiment of a tube feeder; FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the tube supply device shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the direction of arrow V11; 1. It is a schematic top view which looked at the tube supply apparatus shown by FIG. 1 from the arrow V12 direction. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a tube accommodation jig provided in the tube supply device shown in FIG. 1; For one of the tube housing jigs shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the housing member corresponds to the type of corrugated tube used in the wire harness, and the order of arrangement corresponds to the order of use in manufacturing the wire harness. It is a schematic diagram which shows an example about doing. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of a correspondence table stored in the control unit for controlling the moving mechanism and the tube output machine; 1. It is a schematic diagram which shows a mode that the attachment error of a tube accommodating jig is avoided by the detection part shown by FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows the reading process of the identifier by an input part. It is a schematic diagram which shows the attachment process of a tube accommodation jig. As an example of the movement control process, it is a schematic diagram showing how the inserting/removing opening of the containing member to contain the corrugated tubes output in the output order of "1" is positioned at the receiving position. FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing, as an example of the output control process, how the corrugated tube is output to the insertion/removal opening positioned at the receiving position following the movement control process shown in FIG. 10 ; After the corrugated tubes are accommodated in the output order of "1" shown in FIG. 11, the "5 mm diameter" corrugated tube is continuously accommodated, and then the "7 mm diameter" corrugated tube is accommodated. It is a diagram. FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing a process of moving a table portion on which two tube housing jigs are placed to a standby position in a standby control process; FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing how the two tube housing jigs are removed from the table portion by the standby mechanism portion in the standby control process. It is a figure which shows a mode that a table part is returned to the initial position in a standby control process.

An embodiment of a tube supply device and a tube supply method will be described below.

1 is a schematic front view of one embodiment of a tube feeder; FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the tube feeding device shown in FIG. 1 as seen from the direction of arrow V11, and FIG. 3 is a side view of the tube feeding device shown in FIG. 1 from the direction of arrow V12. 1 is a schematic top view as seen; FIG. FIG. 4 is a schematic perspective view of a tube accommodation jig provided in the tube supply device shown in FIG.

The tube supply device 1 of the present embodiment is a device for supplying a corrugated tube CT1, which is used as a protective material for electric wires in a wire harness, as a tube member to a wire harness manufacturing site. The tube supply device 1 includes a tube output device 10 , a tube housing jig 20 , a moving mechanism 30 , a control section 40 , a detection section 50 and an input section 60 .

First, the tube output machine 10 will be described.

The tube output machine 10 is a device that repeatedly feeds and cuts two types of long tube base materials LT1 and LT2 having different thicknesses. By this feeding and cutting, the tube output machine 10 can sequentially output a plurality of corrugated tubes CT1 in the feeding direction D111 of the respective tube base materials LT1 and LT2. In this embodiment, it is possible to output the corrugated tube CT1 from two types, a tube base material LT1 with a diameter of 5 mm and a tube base material LT2 with a diameter of 7 mm. The tube output machine 10 outputs the corrugated tube CT1 and variably selects one of the tube base materials LT1 and LT2 from these two types of base materials. Then, for the selected tube base materials LT1 and LT2, feeding and cutting are repeated so that the feeding length can be changed. The tube output machine 10 is configured to be capable of outputting a plurality of types of corrugated tubes CT1 different in at least one of thickness and length in the delivery direction D111 by such an operation.

This tube output machine 10 includes a frame 11 , a base material holding portion 12 , a feeding mechanism 13 , an upper gripping mechanism 14 and a lower gripping and cutting mechanism 15 . The base material holding part 12, the delivery mechanism 13, the upper gripping mechanism 14, and the lower gripping/cutting mechanism 15 are provided for each of the two types of tube base materials LT1 and LT2 having different thicknesses.

As shown in FIG. 1, the frame 11 is a rectangular frame elongated in the vertical direction D11 when viewed from the front, and is erected by two legs 111 at the installation location. The delivery direction D111 of the tube base materials LT1 and LT2 is the downward direction of the vertical direction D11. A base material holding portion 12 of a tube base material LT1 with a diameter of 5 mm and a base material holding portion 12 of a tube base material LT2 with a diameter of 7 mm are fixed to the rear side of the upper end. Each tube base material LT1, LT2 is accommodated in each base material holding portion 12 in a wound state. Then, the tube base materials LT1 and LT2 are pulled out from the base material holding portions 12 to the front side, pass through the suspension bar 112 provided on the front side of the upper end of the frame 11, and move toward the feeding mechanism 13 in front of the frame 11. It hangs down in the delivery direction D111.

The feeding mechanism 13 is provided on the front surface of the frame 11, one for the tube base material LT1 with a diameter of 5 mm and one for the tube base material LT2 with a diameter of 7 mm. Each delivery mechanism 13 includes a delivery rail portion 131 , a delivery slide portion 132 , and a delivery grip portion 133 . The feeding rail portion 131 is fixed to the front surface of the frame 11 so as to extend in the vertical direction D11. The delivery slide portion 132 is held by the delivery rail portion 131 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction D11. The feed-out holding part 133 is fixed to the feed-out slide part 132 via a pair of arms and is slidable together with the feed-out slide part 132, and can release the tube base materials LT1 and LT2 hanging down from the suspension bar 112. It is a part to be gripped.

In the delivery mechanism 13, the delivery gripping part 133 slides upward by a distance corresponding to the delivery length with the tube base materials LT1 and LT2 released, and then slides downward while gripping the tube base materials LT1 and LT2. That is, it is configured to return in the delivery direction D111. By this reciprocating motion of the delivery gripping part 133, the tube base materials LT1 and LT2 of the delivery length are delivered in the delivery direction D111.

The upper gripping mechanism 14 and the lower gripping/cutting mechanism 15 grip the tube base materials LT1 and LT2 at the top and bottom when the feeding gripping portion 133 slides upward, and release them when the feeding gripping portion 133 returns in the feeding direction D111. It is a part. Further, the lower gripping and cutting mechanism 15 is provided with a cutter 151 for cutting, and this cutter 151 cuts the tube base materials LT1 and LT2 after feeding. By this cutting, the tube output machine 10 outputs a corrugated tube CT1 having a pay-out length.

Next, the tube accommodation jig 20 in the tube supply device 1 will be described mainly with reference to FIG.

The tube housing jig 20 is formed by arranging a plurality of housing members 21 capable of housing the corrugated tubes CT1 in the arrangement direction D12. The tube accommodating jig 20 serves as a container for the worker to carry the corrugated tube CT1 to the manufacturing site of the wire harness after accommodating the corrugated tube CT1.

The accommodating member 21 for the corrugated tube CT1 is provided with an inserting/extracting opening 211 for the corrugated tube CT1, and is a member that can accommodate the corrugated tube CT1 in a vertical state extending along an inserting/extracting direction D13 with respect to the inserting/extracting opening 211 . Specifically, the housing member 21 is a cylindrical tubular member having an insertion/removal port 211 at one end. A plurality of housing members 21 are arranged in a row in an arrangement direction D12 that intersects with the inserting/removing direction D13.

The tube housing jig 20 includes a plurality of housing members 21 , a first holding plate 22 , a second holding plate 23 , a side plate 24 and an arm 25 . The first holding plate 22 is formed in a rectangular plate shape extending in the arrangement direction D12, and is arranged so as to block the opening of each housing member 21 on the side opposite to the insertion/removal opening 211 to hold this opening. The second holding plate 23 is also a member formed in a rectangular plate shape extending in the arrangement direction D12. The second holding plate 23 is arranged to face the first holding plate 22 at a position closer to the first holding plate 22 than the insertion/removal opening 211 of each housing member 21 . Each housing member 21 holds the insertion/removal opening 211 in a state in which the insertion/removal opening 211 is penetrated so as to protrude in the opposite direction to the first holding plate 22 . The side plate 24 is a plate member that connects the long sides of the first holding plate 22 and the second holding plate 23 that are arranged to face each other as described above. Further, the arm 25 is a portion that is hung on, for example, a wiring board or the like at the manufacturing site to hold the tube housing jig 20 when the tube housing jig 20 is transported to the manufacturing site of the wire harness. .

Further, on the back surface 22a of the first holding plate 22 of the tube accommodating jig 20, which is opposite to the installation side of the accommodating member 21, a light reflecting surface 26 is formed with a stainless steel tape. Although the details will be described later, this reflecting surface 26 detects whether or not the tube housing jig 20 is attached to the tube feeding device 1 shown in FIGS. It is for

Here, in the present embodiment, in the tube accommodating jig 20, each of the plurality of arranged accommodating members 21 is associated with the type of corrugated tube CT1 to be accommodated, which is a combination of thickness and length. . In addition, the arrangement order of the housing members 21 in the tube housing jig 20 from the arm 25 side corresponds to the order of use when the corrugated tubes CT1 of a plurality of types are taken out one by one from the tube housing jig 20 and used. there is Specifically, the housing members 21 of the tube housing jig 20 are associated with the types of the corrugated tubes CT1 used in one wire harness, and the order of their arrangement corresponds to the order of use during manufacture of the wire harness. are doing.

In this embodiment, two tube housing jigs 20 are used for housing the corrugated tube CT1 for one wire harness. At the time of manufacture, when the corrugated tubes CT1 are sequentially pulled out from the arm 25 side of one of the tube housing jigs 20 and used, the corrugated tubes CT1 are sequentially pulled out of the other tube housing jig 20 from the arm 25 side. used.

FIG. 5 shows that for one of the tube housing jigs shown in FIGS. 1 to 4, the housing members are associated with the types of corrugated tubes used in the wire harness, and the arrangement order is determined at the time of manufacture of the wire harness. is a schematic diagram showing an example of corresponding to the order of use of .

First, in the example of FIG. 5, of the two tube housing jigs 20, the tube housing jig 20 for housing the corrugated tube CT1 used in the first half of manufacturing the wire harness is illustrated. In this tube housing jig 20, the housing members 21 in the first to third rows from the arm 25 side correspond to corrugated tubes CT1 with a diameter of 5 mm and a length of 20 mm, and the housing members 21 in the fourth row have a diameter of 5 mm and a length of 10 mm. corrugated tube CT1. Further, the housing member 21 in the fifth row corresponds to the corrugated tube CT1 having a diameter of 5 mm and a length of 13 mm. The housing members 21 in the sixth and seventh rows are not shown, the housing member 21 in the eighth row corresponds to the corrugated tube CT1 with a diameter of 7 mm and a length of 10 mm, and the housing member 21 in the ninth row has a diameter of 5 mm and a length of 15 mm. It corresponds to the long corrugated tube CT1. The 10th to 11th row containing members 21 are omitted from the drawing, and the 12th row containing member 21 corresponds to the corrugated tube CT1 having a diameter of 7 mm and a length of 20 mm. The illustration of the thirteenth and subsequent columns is omitted.

FIG. 5 also shows five corrugated tubes CT1 that are sheathed in the order of use at the time of manufacture among the corrugated tubes CT1 that are used in the wire harness W1. In the example of FIG. 5, the first corrugated tube CT1 is a tube member with a diameter of 5 mm and a length of 10 mm, the second corrugated tube CT1 is a tube member with a diameter of 5 mm and a length of 13 mm, and the third corrugated tube CT1 is 7 mm. It is a tube member with a diameter of 10 mm and a length. The fourth corrugated tube CT1 is a tube member having a diameter of 5 mm and a length of 15 mm, and the corrugated tube CT1 of the fifth position is a tube member having a diameter of 7 mm and a length of 20 mm.

In the tube accommodating jig 20, these five corrugated tubes CT1 are accommodated in the accommodating members 21 corresponding to the types of the corrugated tubes CT1 to be accommodated from the arm 25 side in order of use at the time of manufacture. That is, the first corrugated tube CT1 in order of use is housed in the third row housing member 21 corresponding to the type. The second corrugated tube CT1 is housed in the fourth row housing member 21 which is farther from the arm 25 than the third row housing member 21 and has a corresponding type. The third corrugated tube CT1 is accommodated in the eighth-row accommodating member 21 which is farther from the arm 25 than the fourth-row accommodating member 21 and has a corresponding type. The fourth corrugated tube CT1 is housed in the ninth-row housing member 21 which is farther from the arm 25 than the eighth-row housing member 21 and has a corresponding type. Also, the fifth corrugated tube CT1 is housed in the housing member 21 in the twelfth row, which is farther from the arm 25 than the housing member 21 in the ninth row and has a corresponding type.

In addition, FIG. 5 illustrates a tube housing jig 20 commonly used for corrugated tubes CT1 of a plurality of types of wire harnesses using different types of corrugated tubes CT1. Therefore, in the example of FIG. 5, when accommodating the corrugated tubes CT1 used in one wire harness W1 in the order of use at the time of manufacture, the first to third rows, the sixth row, the seventh row, and the tenth row are arranged. The storage members 21 in the 11th and 11th rows remain empty. However, the tube accommodation jig 20 is not limited to such a common use type, and may be configured to be compatible with only one type of wire harness. In this case, the corrugated tubes CT1 are sequentially accommodated in the accommodating member 21 of the tube accommodating jig 20 from the first row without leaving any space between them.

With this, the description of the tube housing jig 20 is finished, and the description of other components of the tube feeding device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 will return.

First, the movement mechanism 30 of the tube feeding device 1 will be described. The moving mechanism 30 is detachably attached to the tube accommodating jig 20 and moves the tube accommodating jig 20 relative to the tube output device 10 in the arrangement direction D12 of the accommodating members 21 . 20 is a mechanism for moving. In the present embodiment, the tube output device 10 is fixedly installed at the installation location, and the moving mechanism 30 moves the tube housing jig 20 along the arrangement direction D12 to the left and right when the tube supply device 1 is viewed from the front side. It is a mechanism for sliding movement in the direction D14.

The two tube housing jigs 20 described above are attached to the moving mechanism 30 . Each tube accommodation jig 20 is attached such that the insertion/removal direction D13 with respect to the accommodation member 21 is aligned with the delivery direction D111 of the corrugated tube CT1 by the tube output device 10 . The two tube housing jigs 20 are mounted in parallel so that the housing members 21 are arranged in two rows in the front-rear direction D15 perpendicular to both the left-right direction D14 and the up-down direction D11. Of the two tube housing jigs 20, the tube housing jig 20 used in the first half of manufacturing the wire harness W1 is positioned on the front side when the tube supply device 1 is viewed from the front, and the arm 25 is positioned on the left side. installed to do so. Then, the tube housing jig 20, which is used in the latter half of the manufacturing process, is mounted on the rear side so that the arm 25 is positioned on the right side.

As will be described later, the corrugated tubes CT1 are accommodated in the accommodating members 21 of the respective tube accommodating jigs 20 generally in the order of arrangement from the arm 25 side. For this reason, the housing members 21 of the two tube housing jigs 20 aligned in the front-rear direction D15 start receiving from the arm 25 side of the tube housing jig 20 on the front side and proceed to the right generally. Then, on the right side, it is folded back to the rear side of the tube accommodation jig 20, and accommodation progresses from the arm 25 side to the left side.

The moving mechanism 30 includes a support base 31 , a table portion 32 , a transport portion 33 and a standby mechanism portion 34 . The support base 31 is erected at an installation location with four legs 311 and supports the table portion 32, the transport portion 33, and the standby mechanism portion 34 from below. The table portion 32 is a portion to which two tube housing jigs 20 are detachably attached. The table portion 32 is a substantially C-shaped metal plate that opens toward the front side in the front-rear direction D<b>15 , that is, the front side of the tube feeding device 1 . On the upper surface, which is the installation surface of the tube housing jig 20, 6 positioning pins 321 for positioning the tube housing jig 20 are erected for each tube housing jig 20, for a total of 12 pins. ing.

The conveying portion 33 is a mechanism portion that slides and conveys the table portion 32 in the horizontal direction D14 along the arrangement direction D12 of the containing members 21 in the tube containing jig 20 attached to the table portion 32. . In addition, the transport portion 33 also serves as a mechanism portion that slides and transports the table portion 32 also in the front-rear direction D15. The conveying portion 33 includes a left/right slide rail 331 , a left/right slide table 332 , and a front/rear slide rail 333 . The left-right slide rail 331 extends from one end to the other end of the support base 31 in the left-right direction D14 and is fixed to the upper surface of the support base 31 . The left-right slide table 332 is held by the left-right slide rail 331 so as to be slidable in the left-right direction D14. A pair of front/rear slide rails 333 are fixed to both ends in the left/right direction D14 on the upper surface of the left/right slide table 332 so that each extends in the front/rear direction D15. The table portion 32 is held by the pair of front and rear slide rails 333 so as to be slidable in the front and rear direction D15.

The conveying portion 33 slides the left-right slide table 332 along the left-right slide rail 331 to slide the table portion 32 in the left-right direction D14. Further, the table portion 32 is slid in the front-rear direction D15 by sliding the table portion 32 along the pair of front-rear slide rails 333 .

When all corrugated tubes CT1 to be accommodated are accommodated in the two tube accommodation jigs 20 on the table portion 32, the standby mechanism portion 34 removes the tube accommodation jigs 20 from the table portion 32 at a predetermined standby location. This is the part that is removed and held. The waiting place here is the left end of the tube supply device 1 when viewed from the front side of the tube supply device 1, as indicated by the dotted line in FIGS. It is located on the side and slightly higher than the table portion 32 . The standby mechanism portion 34 includes a vertical movement mechanism 341 and a standby table 342 . The vertical movement mechanism 341 is fixed to the left end of the front surface of the support table 31, and is a part that supports the waiting table 342 so as to be movable in the vertical direction D11. The standby table 342 is supported by the vertical movement mechanism 341 in this manner, and the upper surface of the standby table 342 supports the two tube housing jigs 20 from below. The standby table 342 is a rectangular metal plate that fits inside the open portion of the substantially C-shaped table portion 32, and has one positioning pin 342a for positioning the tube housing jig 20 on its upper surface. 4 for each tube accommodation jig 20, 8 in total.

In the standby mechanism portion 34, after the corrugated tube CT1 is accommodated, when the table portion 32 moves to the left end and forward side so that the open portion is positioned above the standby table 342, the vertical movement mechanism 341 moves the standby table 342. raise. This upward movement continues until the tube housing jig 20 is lifted off the table portion 32 and is in the position shown in dashed lines in FIGS. 1-3. By such an operation, the standby mechanism portion 34 removes the tube housing jig 20 from the table portion 32 and holds it at the standby location.

Next, the controller 40 of the tube supply device 1 will be described. The control unit 40 is a part that controls the movement of the two tube housing jigs 20 by the movement mechanism 30 and the output of the corrugated tube CT1 by the tube output machine 10 . First, regarding the moving mechanism 30, the control unit 40 overlaps the insertion/removal openings 211 of the plurality of housing members 21 of each tube housing jig 20 at the reception position where the corrugated tube CT1 outputted from the tube output machine 10 can be received. Control to position sequentially without By sequentially positioning the insertion/removal openings 211 at the receiving positions without overlapping, one corrugated tube CT1 is accommodated in each accommodating member 21 . Further, regarding the tube output machine 10, the control unit 40 controls such that the corrugated tube CT1 is output to the insertion/removal port 211 of the housing member 21 positioned at the receiving position.

Here, the control unit 40 controls the moving mechanism 30 and the tube output machine 10 so that the insertion/removal opening 211 of the housing member 21 corresponding to the type of the corrugated tube CT1 output from the tube output machine 10 is positioned at the receiving position. do. In order to perform such control, the control unit 40 stores the following correspondence table.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing an example of a correspondence table stored in the control unit for controlling the moving mechanism and the tube output machine.

The correspondence table TB1 shown in FIG. 6 includes an output order OD1 of a plurality of types of corrugated tubes CT1 from the tube output machine 10, an arrangement order AO1 of the housing members 21 in the two front and rear tube housing jigs 20, are associated with each other. The arrangement order AO1 referred to here is the arrangement order of the housing members 21 in which the insertion/removal port 211 is to be positioned at the receiving position when the corrugated tubes CT1 are output in each order of the output order OD1.

Further, in the present embodiment, the control unit 40 stores the required type of the corrugated tube CT1 in association with the identifier ID1 of each wire harness for each of the plurality of types of wire harnesses to which different identifiers ID1 are assigned. Specifically, in the correspondence table TB1, a set of the arrangement order AO1 of the housing members 21 in the tube housing jig 20, each of which corresponds to the type TY1 of the corrugated tube CT1, is associated with the identifier ID1. .

In the example of FIG. 6, for the identifier ID1 "Cd1", the output order OD1 of the corrugated tube CT1 and the arrangement order OD1 of the housing members 21 to position the insertion/removal port 211 at the receiving position are associated one-to-one. It is

Here, in the present embodiment, the output of the corrugated tube CT1 by the tube output machine 10 is performed for each of two types of tube preforms LT1 and LT2 with diameters of 5 mm and 7 mm. In addition, the corrugated tube CT1 is accommodated in the accommodation member 21 for each of the two front and rear tube accommodation jigs 20 .

That is, first, with respect to the tube housing jig 20 on the front side, the output and housing of the corrugated tube CT1 with a diameter of 5 mm are sequentially performed from the housing member 21 on the arm 25 side of the tube housing jig 20 on the front side. At this time, the order of the accommodating member 21 corresponding to the 7 mm diameter corrugated tube CT1 is skipped. When the accommodation of the corrugated tube CT1 with a diameter of 5 mm is completed, the storage member 21 for the corrugated tube CT1 with a diameter of 7 mm, whose order was skipped, is sequentially accommodated from the accommodation member 21 on the side of the arm 25. is performed on

When the accommodation of the corrugated tube CT1 in the tube accommodation jig 20 on the front side is completed in this manner, the corrugated tube CT1 with a diameter of 5 mm is accommodated in the tube accommodation jig 20 on the rear side. After that, the corrugated tube CT1 with a diameter of 7 mm is accommodated in the tube accommodation jig 20 on the rear side.

The correspondence table TB1 shown in FIG. 6 is defined to accommodate the corrugated tube CT1 described above. First, the output order OD1 of "1" is associated with the arrangement order AO1 of the "fourth row" from the arm 25 in the tube housing jig 20 on the "front" side. At this time, the example of FIG. 6 has received the example of FIG. type TY1. After that, the output order OD1 of "2" is associated with the arrangement order AO1 of "front" and "fifth column", the use order of "second", and the type TY1 of "5 mm diameter and 13 mm length". . The output order OD1 of "3" is associated with the arrangement order AO1 of "front" and "9th column", the use order of "4th", and the type TY1 of "5 mm diameter and 15 mm length". Omitting the middle, in the output order OD1 of "10", the arrangement order AO1 of "front" and "eighth column" which has been skipped so far, the order of use of "3rd" and "7mm diameter 15 mm length” type TY1 is associated. In addition, in the output order OD1 of "11", the order of "front" and "12th column" was skipped in the same way, the order of use of "5th", and the order of use of "7 mm diameter and 20 mm length". is associated with the type TY1.

At some subsequent output order OD1, the corrugated tube CT1 is accommodated in the "front" tube accommodation jig 20, and from the next output order OD1, the corrugated tube CT1 is accommodated in the "rear" tube accommodation jig 20. are contained. In the example of FIG. 6, the output order OD1 of "N1" is associated with the arrangement order AO1 of the "n1th column" from the arm 25 in the "rear" tube accommodation jig 20, omitting the middle part. The arrangement order AO1 of this "n1th column" corresponds to the order of use of "p1th column" and corresponds to the type TY1 of "5 mm diameter and 15 mm length".

Further, in the correspondence table TB1 of FIG. 6, the correspondence relationship for "Cd2" and another identifier ID1 whose description is omitted is also defined.

The control unit 40 of the tube feeding device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 stores such a correspondence table TB1, and based on the correspondence table TB1, which is the stored contents, the moving mechanism 30 and the tube output device are controlled. control 10. That is, when the controller 40 receives notification of the identifier ID1 as described later, the controller 40 refers to the correspondence table TB1 shown in FIG. 6 with the identifier ID1. Then, in this correspondence table TB1, the moving mechanism 30 is controlled so that the insertion/removal port 211 of the storage member 21 associated with each output order OD1 associated with the notified identifier ID1 is positioned at the receiving position. Then, the tube output machine 10 is controlled so that the corrugated tube CT1 of the type TY1 associated with the output order OD1 is output to the accommodating member 21 having the insertion/removal port 211 positioned at the receiving position.

Next, in the tube supply device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the detection section 50 provided for avoiding incorrect attachment of the tube housing jig 20 will be described. The detection unit 50 detects that the tube accommodation jig 20 is attached to the moving mechanism 30 in a regular attachment posture that allows the insertion/extraction openings 211 of the accommodation members 21 to be sequentially positioned in accordance with the contents (correspondence table TB1) stored in the control unit 40. detect whether or not Specifically, the detection unit 50 is an optical sensor that irradiates light and detects reflected light from an object to be irradiated, and as shown in FIG. It is installed on the upper surface of the table 332 . The detectors 50 are installed at two locations directly below the two tube housing jigs 20 on the table portion 32 via the open portion of the substantially C-shaped table portion 32 on the upper surface of the left/right slide table 332 . It is

FIG. 7 is a schematic diagram showing how the detection unit shown in FIG. 1 avoids incorrect attachment of the tube accommodation jig.

In FIG. 7, the upper diagram shows the tube housing jig 20 and the detection section 50 when the tube housing jig 20 is attached to the moving mechanism 30 in a normal mounting attitude. The figure below shows the tube housing jig 20 and the detection unit 50 when the tube housing jig 20 is attached to the moving mechanism 30 in an erroneous posture different from the normal mounting posture. As shown in FIG. 3, the normal attachment posture referred to here is a posture in which the arm 25 of the front tube accommodation jig 20 is positioned on the left side, and that of the rear tube accommodation jig 20 is a posture in which the arm 25 is positioned on the right side. On the other hand, the erroneous posture is a posture in which the arm 25 of the front tube housing jig 20 is positioned on the right side, and the arm 25 of the rear tube housing jig 20 is facing toward it. It is a posture located on the left side.

Here, as described with reference to FIG. 4, the light reflecting surface 26 is formed on the rear surface 22a of the first holding plate 22 of the tube accommodating jig 20 with a stainless steel tape. At this time, the reflecting surface 26 is provided at a position that is biased to one long side of the rectangular back surface 22a. As shown in FIG. 7, the reflecting surface 26 is positioned directly above the detection unit 50 only when the tube housing jig 20 is mounted in a normal mounting posture. It is a position where the irradiation light from the detection unit 50 is reflected. In other words, the detector 50 detects the reflected light only when the tube housing jig 20 is mounted in a proper mounting attitude. On the other hand, when the tube housing jig 20 is attached in the wrong orientation, the reflected light is not detected because the irradiated light is not reflected by the reflecting surface 26 . The detection unit 50 detects whether or not the tube housing jig 20 is attached to the moving mechanism 30 in a proper attachment posture based on such detection/non-detection of the reflected light.

Next, in the tube supply device 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the input unit 60 for receiving the identifier ID1 of the wire harness W1 to be manufactured and notifying the control unit 40 of the identifier ID1 will be described.

In this embodiment, the identifier ID1 given to the wire harness W1 is written in a barcode format on the tag attached to the wire harness W1. The input unit 60 is a bar code reader that inputs the identifier ID1 by reading the bar code. Then, the input unit 60 notifies the control unit 40 of the identifier ID1 obtained by this reading. Then, the correspondence table TB1 is referenced by the notified identifier ID1 in the control unit 40, and the correspondence of the output order OD1, the arrangement order AO1 of the containing members 21, and the type TY1 of the corrugated tube CT1, which are associated therewith. A relationship is obtained. Then, the control unit 40 controls the moving mechanism 30 and the tube output machine 10 according to this correspondence relationship.

The explanation of the tube supply device 1 is finished above, and then the tube supply method using this tube supply device 1 will be explained.

In this tube supply method, first, a reading step of the input unit 60 for the identifier ID1 of the wire harness W1 to be manufactured is executed.

FIG. 8 is a schematic diagram showing an identifier reading process by the input unit.

In this reading process, the worker Y1 causes the input unit 60, which is a barcode reader, to read the identifier ID1 from the tag W11 attached to the wire harness W1 to be manufactured. The identifier ID1 thus read is notified to the control unit 40 . Here, the description is continued assuming that the identifier ID1 of "Cd1" in the correspondence table TB1 shown in FIG. 6 has been read.

Following the reading process, the process of attaching the tube accommodation jig 20 is performed.

FIG. 9 is a schematic diagram showing a step of attaching the tube accommodation jig.

As shown in the upper diagram of FIG. 9 , at this stage of the mounting process, in the moving mechanism 30 , the table portion 32 is arranged at the initial position at the right end of the left and right slide rails 331 of the conveying portion 33 . In the mounting process, as shown in the lower diagram of FIG. 9, the operator places the two tube housing jigs 20 on the upper surface of the table portion 32 in the initial position, aligning the two tube housing jigs 20 in two rows in the front-rear direction. Attach 321 to the handle. At this time, as described above, the correct mounting posture is the posture in which the arm 25 is on the left side for the tube housing jig 20 on the front side, and the posture where the arm 25 is on the right side for the tube housing jig 20 on the rear side. is the correct mounting posture. In the mounting process, it is detected by the detector 50 provided corresponding to each tube accommodation jig 20 whether or not it is mounted in a proper mounting attitude. The detection result is notified from the detection unit 50 to the control unit 40 .

After attaching the tube housing jig 20, the operator performs an activation operation for instructing the tube supply device 1 to start outputting the corrugated tube CT1. At this time, if the detecting unit 50 does not notify the control unit 40 of the detection result indicating that the two tube housing jigs 20 have been mounted in the correct mounting posture, an alarm sound will notify the operator of the mounting error. be warned. Only when a detection result indicating that the two tube housing jigs 20 have been attached in the proper attachment attitude is notified, the corrugated tube CT1 is output.

When the output of the corrugated tube CT1 is started, in the tube supply device 1, the movement control step in which the control unit 40 controls the movement mechanism 30 and the output control step in which the tube output machine 10 is controlled are alternately and repeatedly executed. .

FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram showing, as an example of the movement control process, how the insertion/removal port of the housing member to house the corrugated tubes output in the output order of "1" is positioned at the receiving position.

The example of FIG. 10 is an example when the identifier ID1 of "Cd1" in the correspondence table TB1 shown in FIG. 6 is read. Therefore, the accommodating member 21 to accommodate the corrugated tubes CT1 output in the output order OD1 of "1" is the fourth row from the arm 25 side (left end side in FIG. 10) of the tube accommodating jig 20 on the front side. It becomes the accommodation member 21 which hits. Then, in the output control process that is subsequently executed in the tube supply device 1, the corrugated tubes CT1 of the type TY1 of "5 mm diameter and 10 mm length" are accommodated in the fourth row of accommodating members 21. FIG.

In this movement control step, the movement mechanism 30 is controlled so that the insertion/removal opening 211 of the fourth row containing member 21 in the tube containing jig 20 on the front side is positioned at the receiving position of the corrugated tube CT1 with a diameter of 5 mm. be. Under this control, the table portion 32 on which the two tube housing jigs 20 are placed is moved from the initial position shown in FIG. It is moved in the left-right direction D14 along the left-right slide rail 331 to the positioned position.

FIG. 11 is a schematic diagram showing, as an example of the output control process, how the corrugated tube is output to the insertion/removal opening positioned at the receiving position following the movement control process shown in FIG.

In the output control process here, a corrugated tube having a diameter of 5 mm and a length of 10 mm is inserted into the inserting/removing opening 211 of the housing member 21 in the fourth row in the tube housing jig 20 on the front side based on the correspondence table TB1 of FIG. CT1 is output. First, as shown in the left diagram of FIG. 11, the feeding gripping part 133 in the feeding mechanism 13 corresponding to the tube base material LT1 of "5 mm diameter" is "10 mm long" with the tube base material LT1 released. is slid upward D112 by a distance corresponding to the extension length of . At this time, the upper gripping mechanism 14 and the lower gripping/cutting mechanism 15 grip the tube base material LT<b>1 above and below the feeding gripper 133 .

Next, as shown in the right diagram of FIG. 11, the feeding gripping part 133 of the feeding mechanism 13 grips the tube base material LT1, and hits downward in the feeding direction by the above movement distance D112. Return to D111. At this time, the upper gripping mechanism 14 and the lower gripping/cutting mechanism 15 release the tube base material LT1 above and below the feeding gripper 133 . As a result, the tube base material LT1 is inserted into the insertion/removal opening 211 of the housing member 21 by the length of "10 mm." After that, the cutter 151 of the lower gripping and cutting mechanism 15 cuts the tube base material LT1 at a position 10 mm from its tip. By this cutting, the corrugated tube CT1 having a “5 mm diameter and 10 mm length” is housed in the housing member 21 .

When the accommodation of the corrugated tube CT1 is completed for the output order OD1 of "1" in the correspondence table TB1 of FIG. be done. That is, following the output order OD1 of "1", accommodation of the corrugated tube CT1 of "5 mm diameter" is continued in the tube accommodation jig 20 on the front side, and when this is completed, accommodation of the corrugated tube CT1 of "7 mm diameter" is carried out. done.

In FIG. 12, after accommodating the corrugated tubes in the output order of "1" shown in FIG. It is a schematic diagram which shows a state.

The left diagram of FIG. 12 shows how the last corrugated tube CT1 having a diameter of 5 mm is accommodated in the tube accommodation jig 20 on the front side. The right figure shows how the first "7 mm diameter" corrugated tube CT1 is subsequently accommodated.

As shown in the left diagram of FIG. 12, the two tube housing jigs 20 including the front side are moved together in the movement control process so that the last "5 mm diameter" corrugated tube CT1 can be housed. It is slid to D141. In the example of FIG. 12, this sliding movement causes the insertion/removal port 211 of the housing member 21 in the third row from the right side in the drawing to move to the receiving position for the corrugated tube CT1 with a diameter of 5 mm in the tube housing jig 20 on the front side. Positioned. Following this movement control step, the feeding gripping portion 133 of the feeding mechanism 13 corresponding to the tube base material LT1 of “5 mm diameter” moves up and down to execute the output control step, and the corrugated tube CT1 is placed in the accommodating member 21. be accommodated.

Following this, as shown in the right diagram of FIG. 12, two tube accommodation jigs 20 including the front side are installed in the movement control process to accommodate the first "7 mm diameter" corrugated tube CT1. Together, they are slid to the right D142. In the example of FIG. 12, this sliding movement causes the opening 211 of the storage member 21 in the eighth row from the side of the arm 25 (left side in the drawing), which was skipped when the corrugated tube CT1 of "5 mm diameter" was stored. It is positioned at the receiving position of the "7 mm diameter" corrugated tube CT1. Following this movement control step, the feeding gripping portion 133 in the feeding mechanism 13 corresponding to the tube base material LT2 of “7 mm diameter” moves up and down to execute the output control step, and the corrugated tube CT1 is placed in the accommodating member 21. be accommodated.

Thereafter, the same movement control process and output control process are executed for the tube housing jig 20 on the front side in accordance with the output order OD1 of the corresponding table TB1 in order to house the corrugated tube CT1 of "7 mm diameter". When both of the corrugated tubes CT1 of "5 mm diameter" and "7 mm diameter" have been accommodated in the tube accommodation jig 20 on the front side, the table portion 32 shown in FIGS. slide forward by one row. This sliding movement enables accommodation of the corrugated tube CT1 in the accommodation member 21 of the tube accommodation jig 20 on the rear side. Then, similarly to the front side, the tube accommodation jig 20 on the rear side also accommodates the corrugated tube CT1 by processing according to the output order OD1 of the correspondence table TB1.

When the accommodation of the corrugated tubes CT1 is completed for both the front and rear tube accommodation jigs 20, a standby control step is performed in which the two tube accommodation jigs 20 are removed from the table portion 32 and held at the standby place. In this standby control process, a process of moving the table portion 32 on which the two tube housing jigs 20 are placed to the standby position is performed.

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram showing the process of moving the table portion on which the two tube accommodation jigs are placed to the standby position in the standby control process.

As shown in FIG. 13, in this process, the table portion 32 is slid to the left D141 to the left end portion of the left and right slide rails 331 of the transport portion 33 . Subsequently, the table portion 32 is moved forward along the front/rear slide rails 333 on the upper surface of the left/right slide table 332 until the open portion of the substantially C-shaped table portion 32 is positioned directly above the standby table 342 of the standby mechanism portion 34 . It is slid to D151. Following these movements, in the standby control process, the standby mechanism portion 34 removes the two tube housing jigs 20 from the table portion 32 .

FIG. 14 is a schematic diagram showing how the two tube housing jigs are removed from the table portion by the standby mechanism portion in the standby control process.

In this removal, first, as shown in the left diagram of FIG. from the table portion 32. Next, as shown in the right diagram of FIG. 14, the table portion 32 is slid rearward D152 along the front-rear slide rail 333 on the upper surface of the left-right slide table 332 . Through this series of moving processes, the two tube housing jigs 20 are removed from the table portion 32 and wait on the standby table 342 until they are carried by the operator. Following this standby, in the standby control process, the table portion 32 is returned to the initial position also shown in FIG.

FIG. 15 is a diagram showing how the table portion is returned to the initial position in the standby control process.

As shown in FIG. 15, in this process, the table portion 32 from which the tube housing jig 20 has been removed slides rightward D142 to the initial position of the right end portion of the left and right slide rails 331 of the transport portion 33. be moved. The return of the table portion 32 to the initial position completes the standby control process, and the completion of the standby control process completes the series of processes of the tube supply method using the tube supply apparatus 1 .

According to the tube supply device 1 and the tube control method of the embodiment described above, under the control of the control unit 40, the corrugated tube CT1 output by the tube output machine 10 is distributed among the plurality of housing members 21 in the tube housing jig 20. will be automatically accommodated one by one. After that, the corrugated tube CT1 can be supplied simply by removing the tube housing jig 20 detachably attached to the moving mechanism 30 and transporting the corrugated tube CT1 to the work site where the corrugated tube CT1 is required. As described above, according to the present embodiment, the operator only needs to start the tube supply device 1 and carry the tube housing jig 20 to the work site after housing the corrugated tube CT1. CT1 can be supplied.

Here, in the present embodiment, the tube output machine 10 variably selects two types of tube base materials LT1 and LT2, repeats feeding and cutting with a variable feeding length, thereby producing a plurality of types of corrugated tubes CT1. can be output. Further, each accommodation member 21 of the tube accommodation jig 20 is associated with the type TY1 of the corrugated tube CT1 to be accommodated. Then, the control unit 40 controls the moving mechanism 30 and the tube output machine 10 so that the insertion/removal port 211 of the housing member 21 corresponding to the type TY1 of the corrugated tube CT1 output from the tube output machine 10 is positioned at the receiving position. do.

According to this configuration of the present embodiment, a plurality of types of corrugated tubes CT1 are housed in the corresponding housing members 21 of the tube housing jig 20 one by one. At the work site receiving this tube housing jig 20, the required corrugated tube CT1 can be efficiently used by extracting it from the housing member 21 corresponding to the type TY1.

Further, in the present embodiment, the control unit 40 associates the output order OD1 from the tube output device 10 with the arrangement order AD1 of the housing members 21 in which the insertion/removal port 211 is to be positioned at the receiving position as a correspondence table TB1. I remember. Then, the control unit 40 controls the moving mechanism 30 and the tube output machine 10 based on the correspondence table TB1 as the stored contents.

With this configuration of the present embodiment, the control section 40 can accurately and easily control the positioning of the housing members 21 according to the output order OD1 from the tube output machine 10 .

Further, in the present embodiment, the arrangement order AD1 of the accommodation members 21 in the tube accommodation jig 20 corresponds to the use order when the corrugated tubes CT1 are taken out one by one from the tube accommodation jig 20 and used.

According to this configuration of the present embodiment, at the work site where the tube housing jig 20 is received, the corrugated tubes CT1 are taken out according to the arrangement order AD1 of the housing members 21, so that each corrugated tube CT1 can be efficiently arranged according to the order of use. can be used as intended.

Further, in this embodiment, a detection unit 50 is provided for detecting whether or not the tube housing jig 20 is attached to the moving mechanism 30 in a proper attachment posture.

According to this detection unit 50, it is possible to avoid erroneous attachment of the tube housing jig 20 to the moving mechanism 30 by referring to the detection result, which is preferable.

Further, in the present embodiment, the detection unit 50 is an optical sensor, and the tube housing jig 20 is provided at a position where the irradiation light from the detection unit 50 is reflected only when it is attached to the moving mechanism 30 in a regular mounting posture. A reflective surface 26 is formed.

According to this configuration of the present embodiment, with the simple configuration of the reflecting surface 26 of the tube accommodation jig 20 and the optical sensor as the detection unit 50, it is possible to avoid mounting errors of the tube accommodation jig 20 with high accuracy. This is preferable because it can be done.

Further, in the present embodiment, the corrugated tube CT1 is used in the wire harness W1, and the control unit 40 stores the necessary types of the corrugated tube CT1 in association with the identifiers ID1 of various wire harnesses W1. there is Then, the control unit 40 receives notification of the identifier ID1 of any one of the wire harnesses W1, and controls the moving mechanism 30 so that the required type of corrugated tube CT1 associated with the identifier ID1 is output and accommodated. and control the tube output machine 10. Further, in this embodiment, an input unit 60 is provided for receiving an identifier ID1 and for notifying the control unit 40 of the identifier ID1.

According to this configuration of the present embodiment, by inputting the identifier ID1 of the wire harness W1 to be manufactured into the input unit 60, the corrugated tube CT1 of the type TY1 necessary for manufacturing the wire harness W1 is automatically accommodated in the tube. It can be accommodated in the jig 20 . Thus, according to the present embodiment, the corrugated tube CT1 necessary for manufacturing the wire harness W1 can be supplied with reduced man-hours.

Further, in this embodiment, the moving mechanism 30 transports the table portion 32 to which the tube housing jig 20 is detachably attached, and the table portion 32 in the arrangement direction D12 of the housing members 21 in the tube housing jig 20. a transport portion 33;

According to this configuration of the present embodiment, the table portion 32 as the mounting portion of the tube housing jig 20 and the transport portion 33 for transporting the table portion 32 are separately provided, thereby suppressing the complication of the structure. A moving mechanism 30 can be configured.

Further, in the present embodiment, when all the corrugated tubes CT1 to be accommodated are accommodated in the tube accommodating jigs 20 in the moving mechanism 30, the tube accommodating jigs 20 are removed from the table portion 32 and held at a predetermined standby location. A standby mechanism portion 34 is provided.

According to this standby mechanism portion 34, the tube accommodation jig 20 is removed from the table portion 32 after accommodation of the corrugated tube CT1. This removal facilitates operations such as moving the table portion 32 to the initial position in preparation for attachment of another tube housing jig 20 .

It should be noted that the above-described embodiments merely show typical forms of the tube supply device and the tube supply method, and the tube supply device and the tube supply method are not limited to this, and can be implemented in various modifications. can do.

For example, in the above-described embodiment, the tube supply device 1 and the tube supply method for accommodating the corrugated tube CT1, which is used as a protective material for electric wires in the wire harness W1, in the tube accommodation jig 20 are exemplified. However, the tube supply device and the tube supply method are not limited to this, and it is possible to arbitrarily set what kind of tube member is output and accommodated in the tube accommodation jig 20 .

In the above-described embodiment, the corrugated tube CT1 as a tube member to be output/accommodated is exemplified by the corrugated tube CT1 having specific dimensions such as "5 mm diameter and 10 mm length" or "7 mm diameter and 20 mm". It is However, the specific dimensions of the tube member to be output/stored do not matter.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, two tube housing jigs 20 having a plurality of housing members 21 arranged in a straight line are attached, and the tube supply device 1 and the tube supply device 1 for housing the corrugated tube CT1 as a tube member are attached. A method is illustrated. However, the tube supply device and tube supply method are not limited to this. For example, the tube housing jig may have a plurality of housing members arranged in an annular shape, or may have housing members arranged in a plurality of rows. Also, the number of tube accommodation jigs to be attached may be one or three or more. In this way, it is possible to arbitrarily set the arrangement shape of the housing members in the tube housing jig and the number of tube housing jigs to be attached. In this case, the transport path in the moving mechanism and the structure of the mechanism are set according to the arrangement shape of the housing members and the number of tube housing jigs to be attached.

Moreover, in the embodiment described above, the tube supply device 1 and the tube supply method are illustrated in which the corrugated tubes CT1 used in one wire harness W1 are accommodated in two tube accommodation jigs 20 . However, the tube supply device and the tube supply method are not limited to this, and for example, tube members such as corrugated tubes used in one wire harness are accommodated in one or three or more tube accommodation jigs. There may be.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the tube supplying device 1 and the tube supplying method for accommodating the corrugated tube CT1 used in the wire harness W1 in the tube accommodating jig 20 are exemplified for one wire harness W1. However, the tube supply device and the tube supply method are not limited to this. It may be a thing or the like.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the tube supply device 1 and the tube supply device 1 for outputting the corrugated tube CT1 as the tube member by the tube output machine 10 selecting the output target from the two types of tube base materials LT1 and LT2, and feeding and cutting the corrugated tube CT1. A method is illustrated. However, the tube supply device and tube supply method are not limited to this. For example, the tube output machine may output a tube member from only one type of tube base material, or may output a tube member by selecting an output target as a base material group of three or more types of tube members. There may be.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the tube supply device 1 outputs the corrugated tube CT1 by gripping/releasing or sliding movement by the delivery gripping part 133 and gripping/releasing or cutting by the upper gripping mechanism 14 and the lower gripping/cutting mechanism 15. and tube feeding methods are illustrated. However, the tube supply device and the tube supply method are not limited to this, and the specific output structure does not matter as long as the tube member is output by repeating feeding and cutting of the tube base material.

In addition, in the above-described embodiment, the tube supplying device including the moving mechanism 30 for moving the tube housing jig 20 so as to move the tube housing jig 20 relative to the tube output device 10 in the arrangement direction D12 of the housing members 21 is provided. Apparatus 1 and tube feeding method are illustrated. However, the tube supply device and the tube supply method are not limited to this, and any specific movement form is required as long as the movement mechanism moves at least one of the tube output device and the tube housing jig. not a thing

Further, in the above-described embodiment, in the tube housing jig 20, the reflecting surface 26 for the irradiation light from the detection unit 50 is provided at a position where the irradiation light is reflected only in the case of the normal mounting attitude of the tube feeding device 1. and tube feeding methods are illustrated. However, the tube supply device and the tube supply method are not limited to this, and a reflective surface is provided at a position where the irradiation light is reflected only when the tube housing jig is mounted in an incorrect posture different from the normal mounting posture. You can do it.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the tube feeding device 1 and A tube feeding method is illustrated. However, the tube supply device and tube supply method are not limited to this. That is, regardless of the type of tube member such as a corrugated tube, the insertion/removal port of the storage member may be positioned at the receiving position in order from the arrangement end of the storage member in the tube storage jig. However, as described above, by the positioning control corresponding to the type TY1 of the corrugated tube CT1, the required corrugated tube CT1 can be efficiently used by extracting it from the accommodating member 21 corresponding to the type TY1 at the work site. be.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the tube supply device 1 and the tube supply method in which the moving mechanism 30 and the tube output device 10 are controlled based on the correspondence table TB1 as the contents stored in the control section 40 are exemplified. However, the tube supply device and tube supply method are not limited to this. That is, the control unit causes the tube output device to output tube members such as corrugated tubes in a predetermined output order, and causes the moving mechanism to output the storage members in a predetermined order regardless of such output order. It may be positioned. However, as described above, the control based on the correspondence table TB1 enables accurate and easy positioning control of the housing member 21 according to the output order OD1 from the tube output machine 10. FIG.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the tube supply device 1 and the tube supply method are exemplified in which the arrangement order AD1 of the accommodation members 21 in the tube accommodation jig 20 corresponds to the use order of the corrugated tubes CT1. However, the tube supply device and tube supply method are not limited to this. That is, there may be no particular correspondence between the arrangement order of the housing members and the use order of tube members such as corrugated tubes. However, as described above, by providing such a correspondence relationship, the corrugated tubes CT1 can be efficiently taken out from the tube housing jig 20 in accordance with the order of use and used at the work site.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the tube supply device 1 and the tube supply method provided with the detection unit 50 for detecting whether or not the tube housing jig 20 is attached to the moving mechanism 30 in a regular attachment posture are exemplified. ing. However, the tube supply device and tube supply method are not limited to this. In other words, such a detector may not be provided, and the operator may be left to attach the tube accommodation jig in the proper attachment posture. However, as described above, the provision of the detection unit 50 is preferable because it is possible to avoid incorrect attachment of the tube housing jig 20 .

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the tube supply device 1 and the tube supply device 1 in which it is detected whether or not it is mounted in a regular mounting posture by reflection/non-reflection of the irradiation light of the detection unit 50 on the reflection surface 26 of the tube housing jig 20; A tube feeding method is illustrated. However, the tube supply device and the tube supply method are not limited to this. good too. However, the simple configuration of the reflecting surface 26 of the tube housing jig 20 and the optical sensor as the detection unit 50 can avoid mounting errors of the tube housing jig 20 with high accuracy, which is also preferable as described above. As I said.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the identifier ID1 of the wire harness W1 is input to the input unit 60 and notified to the control unit 40, and the tube supply device in which the corrugated tube CT1 of the type TY1 corresponding to the identifier ID1 is output/accommodated. 1 and tube feeding methods are illustrated. However, the tube supply device and tube supply method are not limited to this, and the operator may directly specify the type of tube member such as a corrugated tube to be output/stored. However, as described above, by inputting the identifier ID1 into the input unit 60, the corrugated tube CT1 of the required type TY1 can be automatically accommodated in the tube accommodating jig 20. FIG. In the present embodiment, the input unit 60 is a barcode reader that inputs the identifier ID1 by reading the barcode, but the input of the identifier is not limited to this, and may be key input or the like. good too.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the tube supply device 1 and the tube supply method in which the moving mechanism 30 includes the table portion 32 and the transport portion 33 are exemplified. However, the tube supply device and the tube supply method are not limited to this, and the specific structure of the moving mechanism is not limited. However, as described above, by separately providing the table portion 32 and the transport portion 33, the moving mechanism 30 can be configured without complicating the structure.

In the above-described embodiment, the tube supply device 1 is provided with the standby mechanism portion 34 that removes and holds the tube housing jig 20 housing the corrugated tube CT1 from the table portion 32 at a predetermined standby location in the moving mechanism 30. and tube feeding methods are illustrated. However, the tube supply device and the tube supply method are not limited to this. For example, the operator may manually remove the stored tube housing jig from the table portion and move it to a storage location. . However, as described above, provision of the standby mechanism portion 34 facilitates operations such as moving the table portion 32 to the initial position.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 tube supply device 10 tube output device 11 frame 12 base material holding portion 13 delivery mechanism 14 upper gripping mechanism 15 lower gripping and cutting mechanism 20 tube housing jig 21 housing member 22 first holding plate 22a rear surface 23 second holding plate 24 side plate 25 Arm 26 Reflective surface 30 Moving mechanism 31 Support base 32 Table part 33 Transport part 34 Standby mechanism part 40 Control part 50 Detecting part 60 Input part 131 Feeding rail part 132 Feeding slide part 133 Feeding grasping part 151 Cutter 211 Insertion opening 331 Left and right slide rails 332 Left/right slide table 333 Front/rear slide rail 341 Vertical movement mechanism 342 Waiting table CT1 Corrugated tube (tube member)
LT1, LT2 Tube base material D11 Vertical direction D12 Arrangement direction D13 Insertion and removal direction D14 Horizontal direction D15 Front-back direction D111 Feeding direction TB1 Correspondence table ID1 Identifier OD1 Output order AO1 Arrangement order TY1 Type W1 Wire harness

Claims (7)

a tube output machine capable of sequentially outputting a plurality of tube members in the feeding direction of the tube base material by repeating feeding and cutting of the long tube base material;
An insertion/removal opening for the tube member is provided, and a plurality of housing members capable of accommodating the tube member while extending along the insertion/removal direction with respect to the insertion/removal opening are arranged in a direction intersecting the insertion/removal direction. a jig;
The tube accommodating jig is detachably attached so that the inserting/removing direction is along the feeding direction, and the tube outputting machine is arranged such that the tube accommodating jig moves relative to the tube outputting machine in the arrangement direction. and a moving mechanism for moving at least one of the tube housing jigs;
The moving mechanism is controlled so as to sequentially position the insertion/removal openings of the plurality of housing members in the tube housing jig at receiving positions where the tube members output from the tube output device can be received without overlapping. a control unit that controls the tube output machine so that the tube member is output to the insertion/removal opening positioned at the receiving position;
with
The tube output machine variably selects the tube base material from a group of a plurality of types of base materials having different thicknesses, and repeatedly feeds and cuts the tube base material so that the length of the tube can be changed. It is possible to output a plurality of types of tube members in which at least one of the lengths is different from each other,
Each of the plurality of housing members arranged in the tube housing jig is associated with a type of the tube member to be housed,
The controller controls the output order of the plurality of types of tube members from the tube output machine, and the tube housing jig of the housing member to position the insertion/extraction port at the receiving position when the tube members are output in each order. and are stored in association with each other, and based on the stored contents, the insertion/removal opening of the housing member corresponding to the type of the tube member output from the tube output device is at the receiving position. controlling the moving mechanism and the tube output machine so as to be positioned;
The tube supply device, wherein the arrangement order of the accommodation members in the tube accommodation jig corresponds to the order of use when the plurality of types of tube members are taken out one by one from the tube accommodation jig and used. . a detection unit for detecting whether or not the tube accommodating jig is attached to the moving mechanism in a regular attachment posture in which the inserting/removing openings of the accommodating member can be sequentially positioned in accordance with the contents stored in the control unit; 2. The tube feeder of claim 1 , comprising: The detection unit is an optical sensor that emits light and detects reflected light from an object to be irradiated,
The tube housing jig has a position where the irradiation light from the detection unit is reflected only when the tube housing jig is attached to the moving mechanism in the normal mounting attitude, or the tube housing jig has the above-mentioned position. 3. The reflecting surface according to claim 2 , wherein a reflecting surface is formed at a position that reflects the irradiation light from said detection unit only when it is attached to said moving mechanism in an erroneous orientation different from a normal attachment orientation. tube feeder. The tube member is used as a protective material for electric wires in a wire harness,
The tube output machine variably selects the tube base material from a group of a plurality of types of base materials having different thicknesses, and repeatedly feeds and cuts the tube member so as to change the length of the tube to obtain the thickness and length. capable of outputting a plurality of types of the tube members, at least one of which is different from each other;
The control unit stores a required type of the tube member in association with the identifier of each wire harness for each of a plurality of types of wire harnesses with identifiers different from each other, and stores any one of the wire harnesses. In response to notification of the identifier of the harness, the moving mechanism and the tube are configured so that the required type of tube member associated with the identifier is output from the tube output device and accommodated in the tube accommodating jig. It controls the output machine,
The tube feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , further comprising an input section to which the identifier is input and which notifies the controller of the identifier. 5. Of claims 1 to 4 , wherein the moving mechanism comprises a table portion to which the tube housing jig is detachably attached, and a transport portion for transporting the table portion in the arrangement direction. A tube feeder according to any one of the preceding claims. The moving mechanism further comprises a standby mechanism portion that removes and holds the tube housing jig from the table portion at a predetermined standby location when all the tube members to be housed are housed in the tube housing jig. 6. The tube feeder of claim 5 , comprising: an attaching step of attaching the tube housing jig in the tube feeding device according to any one of claims 1 to 6 to the moving mechanism;
a movement control step in which the control unit controls the movement mechanism so that the insertion/removal openings of the plurality of housing members of the tube housing jig are sequentially positioned at the receiving position without overlapping;
an output control step in which the control unit controls the tube output machine so that the tube member is output to the insertion/removal opening positioned at the receiving position;
A tube supply method comprising:

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