JP7680175B2 - Extra twist device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a twisting device that twists together the untwisted ends of a twisted wire in which a pair of electric wires are twisted together.

Conventionally, various twisted wire manufacturing devices have been proposed for producing twisted wire by twisting two electric wires together. For example, Patent Document 1 describes the following twisted wire manufacturing device. The twisted wire manufacturing device described in Patent Document 1 includes a first intermittent rotor having a clamp on three circumferential faces for fixing one end of a pair of electric wires, a second intermittent rotor having a clamp on three circumferential faces for fixing the other end of the pair of electric wires and a motor for rotating the clamp in the circumferential direction, and a drive means for intermittently rotating the first and second intermittent rotors by 1/3 revolution each. The three faces are composed of an electric wire setting surface, an electric wire twisting surface, and a twisted wire tape winding/paying surface.

JP 2012-28197 A

Typically, twisted wires manufactured using the manufacturing equipment described in Patent Document 1 have untwisted sections at both ends. If the length of the untwisted sections is too long, the noise characteristics of the twisted wire will be degraded.

The manufacturing device described in Patent Document 1 has a rotor between a first intermittent rotor and a second intermittent rotor, and the wires are twisted by a twist rod that the rotor has. As a result, the length of the untwisting section is required to be the length of the rotor, and it is difficult to shorten the untwisting section in the manufacturing device described in Patent Document 1.

In view of the above problems, the present invention aims to provide a twisting device that can increase the twisted portion at the end of a twisted wire by twisting the untwisting portion.

The invention made to solve the above problem is an additional twisting device that includes a twisted wire having a twisted section where a pair of electric wires are twisted together and an untwisted section where the pair of electric wires are not twisted together, a first gripping section that grips the untwisted section, a second gripping section that grips the boundary between the twisted section and the untwisted section, and a rotation drive section that rotates the first gripping section in the direction of twisting the untwisted section so that it is continuous with the twisted section.

According to the present invention, the untwisted portion at the end of the twisted wire can be twisted further, thereby improving the noise characteristics of the twisted wire.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an additional twisting device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the additional twisting device shown in FIG. 1 from a different angle. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the twisting device shown in FIG. 1 with a chuck portion in an open state. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a chuck portion of the first gripping device shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a front view of a chuck portion of the first gripping device shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a chuck portion of the second gripping device shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a front view of a chuck portion of the second gripping device shown in FIG. 1 . 2 is a flowchart of an additional twisting operation of the additional twisting device shown in FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the state before additional twisting. FIG. 13 is a diagram showing the state after additional twisting. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram for explaining calculation of the wire length of one pitch.

One embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Figs. 1 to 3 are perspective views of an additional twisting device according to one embodiment of the present invention. Figs. 1 and 2 are views showing a state in which a chuck portion, which will be described later, is closed, and Fig. 3 is a view showing a state in which the chuck portion is open.

First, the twisted wire 2, which is increased in twisting by the additional twisting device 1 according to this embodiment, will be described. As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 9 described later, the twisted wire 2 before processing by the additional twisting device 1 is composed of a portion where the electric wires 2a and 2b are twisted (twisted portion ts) and an untwisted portion (untwisted portion yh). The untwisted portion yh is connected to the twisted portion ts and is formed at the end of the twisted wire 2. In this embodiment, additional twisting refers to twisting the untwisted portion yh to make the length of the untwisted portion yh shorter than before processing.

The twisting device 1 shown in FIG. 1 etc. includes a first gripping device 10 that grips the untwisted portion yh of the twisted wire 2, which will be described later, a second gripping device 30 that grips the boundary portion between the untwisted portion yh and the twisted portion ts, which will be described later, of the twisted wire 2, and a control device 50.

The first gripping device 10 includes a bracket 11, a motor 12, a drive pulley 13, a driven pulley 14, an endless belt 15, a support 16, a slide portion 17, and a chuck portion 18.

The bracket 11 secures the motor 12 and also secures the drive pulley 13 and driven pulley 14 so that they can rotate freely.

The motor 12 is fixed to the bracket 11 and rotates the drive pulley 13. An endless belt 15 is stretched between the drive pulley 13 and the driven pulley 14. Therefore, when the drive pulley 13 rotates, the driven pulley 14 also rotates due to the endless belt 15. When the driven pulley 14 rotates, the chuck portion 18 also rotates, as described below. In other words, the motor 12 functions as a rotation drive portion that rotates the chuck portion 18 (first gripping portion) in the direction of twisting so that the untwisting portion yh is continuous with the twisted portion ts.

A support 16 is attached to the driven pulley 14. The support 16 rotates in conjunction with the rotation of the driven pulley 14. A slide portion 17 is provided at the tip of the support 16. The slide portion 17 is formed in a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a groove is formed on the surface opposite to the surface that is joined to the support 16. The gripping members 19 and 20 of the chuck portion 18 are engaged with the groove, and the gripping members 19 and 20 can be slid in directions that move them toward and away from each other (moving closer and further away). The gripping members 19 and 20 slide against each other via the slide portion 17, opening and closing the chuck portion 18. The opening and closing of the chuck portion 18 is controlled by a control device 50.

As described above, the chuck portion 18 includes the gripping member 19 and the gripping member 20. The gripping member 19 and the gripping member 20 are shown in Figs. 4 and 5. Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the gripping member 19 and the gripping member 20, and Fig. 5 is a front view of the gripping member 19 and the gripping member 20.

The gripping member 19 has a front portion 19a, a rear portion 19b, an electric wire gripping member 19c, and a rib 19d. The front portion 19a has a surface 19a1 that constitutes the front surface of the chuck portion 18 (the side facing the second gripping device 30), and a surface 19a2 that is formed on the back side of the surface 19a1 (the side that contacts the electric wire gripping member 19c). The surface 19a1 is formed in a substantially W-shape, and the surface 19a2 is formed in a substantially M-shape. Therefore, the apex of the W shape of the front portion 19a and the apex of the M shape alternately protrude toward the gripping member 20.

Like the front portion 19a, the rear portion 19b also has a surface formed in a substantially W-shape and a surface formed in a substantially M-shape. The rear portion 19b is disposed at a distance from the front portion 19a.

The electric wire gripping member 19c is arranged so as to be sandwiched between the front part 19a and the rear part 19b. In this embodiment, the electric wire gripping member 19c is made of urethane and is formed into a roughly rectangular parallelepiped shape. This allows force to be applied evenly to both electric wires, and prevents a situation in which force is applied to the first of a pair of electric wires to be gripped due to an error in the electric wire diameter, etc., causing the grip of the other wire to become loose.

The rib 19d fits into the groove of the slide portion 17, allowing the gripping member 19 to slide in the extension direction of the slide portion 17.

The gripping member 20 has the same configuration as the gripping member 19. The gripping member 20 has a front portion 20a, a rear portion 20b, an electric wire gripping member 20c, and a rib 20d. The front portion 20a has a surface 20a1 that constitutes the front surface of the chuck portion 18 (the side facing the second gripping device 30), and a surface 20a2 that is formed on the back side of the surface 20a1 (the side that contacts the electric wire gripping member 20c). The surface 20a1 is formed in a substantially W-shape, and the surface 20a2 is formed in a substantially M-shape. Therefore, the apex of the W shape and the apex of the M shape of the front portion 19a alternately protrude toward the gripping member 19.

Like the front portion 20a, the rear portion 20b also has a surface formed in an approximately W-shape and a surface formed in an approximately M-shape. The rear portion 20b is disposed at a distance from the front portion 20a.

The electric wire gripping member 20c is sandwiched between the front portion 20a and the rear portion 20b. The electric wire gripping member 20c is made of urethane and has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape, similar to the electric wire gripping member 19c.

The rib 20d fits into the slide portion 17, allowing the gripping member 19 to slide freely in the extension direction of the slide portion 17.

The chuck portion 18 positions the electric wires 2a, 2b in the two W-shaped valley portions 20a3 of the front portion 20a of the gripping member 20, and the W-shaped portion and the M-shaped portion of the gripping member 19 and the gripping member 20 mesh with each other to grip the electric wires 2a, 2b with the electric wire gripping members 19c, 20c.

As is clear from the above description, the chuck portion 18 functions as a first gripping portion that grips the untwisting portion yh of the twisted wire 2. In addition, the chuck portion 18 grips the pair of electric wires 2a, 2b simultaneously (collectively).

As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the second gripping device 30 includes a base 31, a rail 32, a moving part 33, a support 34, a sliding part 35, and a chuck part 36.

The base 31 is formed in a flat plate shape. The base 31 is provided with rails 32. A pair of rails 32 are provided extending on the base 31 so that the moving part 33 can move freely in the direction of approaching and separating from the first gripping device 10.

As described above, the moving part 33 is movable on the rail 32. A support 34 is erected on the moving part 33. A slide part 35 is provided at the upper end of the support 34. The slide part 35 is formed in a flat rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a groove is formed on the surface opposite to the surface that is joined to the support 16. The gripping members 37 and 38 of the chuck part 36 are engaged with the groove, and the gripping members 37 and 38 can be slid in directions toward and away from each other. The gripping members 37 and 38 slide against each other using the slide part 35, opening and closing the chuck part 36. The opening and closing of the chuck part 36 is controlled by the control device 50.

As described above, the chuck portion 36 includes the gripping members 37 and 38. The gripping members 37 and 38 are shown in Figs. 6 and 7. Fig. 6 is a perspective view of the gripping members 37 and 38, and Fig. 7 is a front view of the gripping members 37 and 38.

The gripping member 37 includes a comb-shaped portion 37a and a rib 37b. The comb-shaped portion 37a has multiple comb teeth arranged in the extension direction of the twisted wire 2, and each comb tooth has a V-shaped groove formed therein. The comb-shaped portion 37a positions the twisted wire 2 in the V-shaped groove.

The rib 37b fits into the groove of the slide portion 35, allowing the gripping member 37 to slide in the extension direction of the slide portion 35.

The gripping member 38 has the same configuration as the gripping member 37. The gripping member 38 has a comb-shaped portion 38a and a rib 38b. The comb-shaped portion 38a has multiple comb teeth arranged in the extension direction of the twisted wire 2, and each comb tooth has a V-shaped groove formed therein. The comb-shaped portion 38a positions the twisted wire 2 in the V-shaped groove.

The comb portions of the comb-shaped portion 37a of the gripping member 37 and the comb portions of the comb-shaped portion 38a of the gripping member 38 are alternately interlocked to grip the twisted wire 2.

The rib 38b fits into the groove of the slide portion 35, allowing the gripping member 38 to slide in the extension direction of the slide portion 35.

As is clear from the above description, the chuck portion 36 functions as a second gripping portion that grips the boundary portion of the twisted portion ts with the untwisted portion yh. In addition, the moving portion 33 is movable so as to move the chuck portion 36 (second gripping portion) closer to the chuck portion 18 (first gripping portion).

The control device 50 is configured with a control device equipped with, for example, a microcomputer. The control device 50 controls the opening and closing of the chuck portions 18 and 36. The control device 50 also calculates the number of rotations (number of additional twists) of the chuck portion 18 based on the length of the untwisted portion yh of the set twisted wire 2, and rotates the motor 12 by the calculated number of rotations.

Next, the additional twisting operation of the additional twisting device 1 configured as described above will be explained with reference to the flowchart in Figure 8.

First, the twisted wire 2 is set (step S1). The control device 50 opens the chucks 18 and 36. Then, the tip of the untwisting portion yh of the twisted wire 2 to be additionally twisted is set in the chuck 18, and the twisted portion ts is set in the chuck 36. Here, when setting in the chuck 36, it is preferable to position the boundary portion (also called the untwisting intersection) between the twisted portion ts and the untwisting portion yh at the front of the comb-shaped portions 37a and 38a (the side facing the first gripping device 10). Note that an imaging unit may be provided above the additional twisting device 1, and the untwisting intersection may be detected based on an image captured by the imaging unit.

In addition, step S1 may be set manually, but it may also be set automatically by a conveying device or the like from another position in the twisted wire 2 manufacturing device. When automatically conveying, it is preferable to apply back tension to the twisted wire 2.

Next, the electric wire is chucked (step S2). The control device 50 closes the chuck units 18 and 36 to grip the untwisted portion yh and the twisted portion ts. After the twisted portion ts is gripped by the chuck unit 36, no back tension is applied to it.

Next, the control device 50 calculates the number of rotations of the chuck portion 18 (step S3). The calculation of the number of rotations will be described in detail later. This number of rotations is the number of times that the chuck portion 18 is rotated to perform additional twisting at the same twist pitch as the twisted portion ts.

Next, the control device 50 operates the motor 12 to rotate the chuck portion 18 by the number of rotations calculated in step S3 (step S4). Then, the electric wires 2a, 2b between the chuck portion 18 and the chuck portion 36 are twisted (additionally twisted) by the rotation of the chuck portion 18. At this time, the chuck portion 36 moves closer to the chuck portion 18 in response to the twist. In other words, the chuck portion 36 is pulled by the twisting force, and the moving portion 33 moves on the rail 32 in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1. In other words, the moving portion 33 is movable so that the chuck portion 36 (second gripping portion) approaches the chuck portion 18 (first gripping portion) as the chuck portion 18 (first gripping portion) rotates.

Then, the chuck of the electric wire is released (step S5). The control device 50 opens the chuck portions 18 and 36. Then, the twisted wire 2 that has been further twisted is moved to the next process, such as terminal crimping. As with step S1, the movement to the next process may be performed manually or automatically.

The method for calculating the number of rotations described in step S3 will now be described with reference to Figures 9 to 11. Figures 9 and 10 show the wires 2a and 2b (twisted wire 2) held by the chucks 18 and 36 of the additional twisting device 1. Figure 9 shows the wires before additional twisting, and Figure 10 shows the wires after additional twisting.

Here, A is the gripping position of the chuck portion 18, and indicates the distance from the tip of the electric wires 2a, 2b to the front portions 19a, 20a. F indicates the distance from the tip of the electric wires 2a, 2b to the single wire chuck. The single wire chuck is a device that chucks the electric wire when it is moved by, for example, an automatic conveying device, and is the distance A plus the distance required to grip the electric wires 2a, 2b before and after the additional twisting operation. A and F are values that are known in advance from the configuration of the device. If a single wire chuck is not used, F may be considered as equal to A.

G is the pitch between the wires in the chuck portion 18. G is a value that is known in advance based on the configuration of the chuck portion 18. P (see FIG. 10) is the length per pitch of twisting (twisting pitch). In this embodiment, this P is the central value of the predetermined tolerance. Y (see FIG. 10) is the length of the untwisting portion yh (untwisting length). Y is a fixed value set by the standard. L (see FIG. 9) is the distance from the chuck portion 18 to the chuck portion 36. L is also a value that is known in advance based on the configuration of the additional twisting device 1.

The above values are used as input values to calculate the following values: First, the length La of the electric wire from the chuck portion 18 to the chuck portion 36 (see FIG. 9) is calculated. La is calculated by the following formula (1).

Next, calculate the total wire length Lb (see FIG. 9) of the untwisted portion including the portion held by the chuck portion 18. Lb is calculated by the following formula (2).

Next, the length Yt (see FIG. 10) of the untwisted portion yh after additional twisting based on the above input values is calculated using the following formula (3).

Next, the electric wire length Pt per pitch is calculated based on the above input values. Pt is calculated using the following formula (4). In formula (4), d is the outer diameter of the electric wire. Here, the calculation of the electric wire length per pitch will be explained with reference to FIG. 11. The left side of FIG. 11 shows one pitch of the twisted wire 2. At this time, the center of the electric wire when twisted is wound around a cylinder with a radius of d/2 (center of FIG. 11). When the cylinder in this state is unfolded, the wound part becomes a diagonal line (right side of FIG. 11). Therefore, the electric wire length per pitch is calculated by calculating the length of the diagonal line.

Next, the length Lt of the wire to be twisted is calculated by the following formula (5).

Next, the number of twists Nt' is calculated using the following formula (6).

Next, Nt' calculated by formula (6) is converted to an integer. The converted twist number is defined as Nt. This conversion is performed by rounding off the first decimal place, for example. This conversion is performed because the smallest unit of rotation of the chuck portion 18 is one rotation.

Next, the untwist length Ys is calculated from the integer number of twists. This untwist length Ys is calculated by the following formula (7).

Next, the number of twists is recalculated using the untwisting length Ys calculated using equation (7). That is, Ys is used instead of Yt in equation (5), and the result is substituted into (6). The number of twists Nt' calculated using equation (6) is then converted into an integer to calculate the number of twists Nts. Here, in relation to the untwisting length Ys calculated using equation (7) being the input value of the untwisting length Y, if Ys>Y, then Nts=Nt'+1, and if Ys≦Y, then Nts=Nt' is set to calculate the number of twists Nts.

Then, add 1 to the calculated twist number Nts and set the resulting value as the rotation speed Nr of the chuck portion 18.

In this way, the control device 50 functions as a calculation unit that calculates the number of times to rotate the chuck portion 18 (first gripping portion). The control device 50 calculates the number of times to rotate the chuck portion 18 based on the untwist length Y and the twist pitch P.

According to this embodiment, the additional twisting device 1 includes a chuck unit 18 that grips the untwisted portion yh of the twisted wire 2, which has a twisted portion ts where a pair of electric wires 2a, 2b are twisted together, and an untwisted portion yh where the pair of electric wires 2a, 2b are not twisted together. In addition, the device includes a chuck unit 36 that grips the boundary portion of the twisted portion ts with the untwisted portion yh, and a motor 12 that rotates the chuck unit 18 in the direction of twisting the untwisted portion yh so that it is continuous with the twisted portion ts.

By configuring the twisting device 1 as described above, the untwisted portion yh at the end of the twisted wire 2 can be twisted further, thereby increasing the portion of the twisted portion ts and improving the noise characteristics of the twisted wire 2.

The second gripping device 30 also has a moving part 33 that can move the chuck part 36 closer to the chuck part 18 as the chuck part 18 rotates. In this way, it is possible to twist at an appropriate pitch. If back tension is applied to the twist part ts, a narrow pitch is likely to be formed, so even if it is rotated at the calculated number of rotations Nr, the untwisted length may be longer than the standard. As in this embodiment, the second gripping device 30 has a moving part 33, and by controlling the movement of the moving part 33 so that back tension is not applied, it is possible to twist at an appropriate pitch.

In addition, the chuck portion 18 grips the pair of electric wires 2a, 2b together, eliminating the need for separate gripping portions and making it easy to adjust the gripping position of the electric wires, etc.

The device also includes a control device 50 that calculates the number of times the motor 12 rotates the chuck portion 18, and the control device 50 calculates the number of times based on the untwisting length Y and the length per pitch of the twist P. In this way, the number of times the chuck portion 18 rotates can be determined based on known information.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. In other words, a person skilled in the art can implement various modifications according to conventional knowledge without departing from the gist of the present invention. As long as such modifications still include the configuration of the twisting device of the present invention, they are of course included in the scope of the present invention.

1 Additional twisting device 2 Twisted wire 10 First gripping device 12 Motor (rotation drive unit)
18 Chuck portion (first gripping portion)
30 Second gripping device 32 Rail 33 Moving part 36 Chuck part (second gripping part)
50 Control device (calculation unit)
ts Twisted part yh Untwisted part

Claims (4)

a first gripping portion for gripping an untwisted portion of a twisted wire, the untwisted portion including a twisted portion in which a pair of electric wires are twisted together and an untwisted portion in which the pair of electric wires are not twisted together;
A second gripping portion that grips a boundary portion of the twisted portion with the untwisted portion;
A rotation drive unit that rotates the first gripping unit in a direction in which the untwisting unit is twisted so as to be continuous with the twisted unit;
An additional twisting device comprising: The twisting device according to claim 1, characterized in that it has a moving part that can move the second gripping part closer to the first gripping part as the first gripping part rotates. The twisting device according to claim 1, characterized in that the first gripping portion grips the pair of wires simultaneously. A calculation unit that calculates the number of times that the rotation drive unit rotates the first grip unit,
The calculation unit calculates the number of times based on a length of the untwisting portion and a length per pitch of twisting.
2. The twisting device according to claim 1 .