Tracked device and method for heat shrinking wire harness ends

Abstract

The present invention discloses a crawler-type device and method for heat shrinking the end of a wire harness, and belongs to the field of automation equipment. In the crawler-type device, a first synchronous belt clamping and conveying assembly and a second synchronous belt clamping and conveying assembly are located side by side on one side of a heating assembly, and the first synchronous belt clamping and conveying assembly is closer to the heating assembly, and the supporting and conveying assembly is located on the other side of the heating assembly. The device changes the horizontal spacing between the annular support and the first clamping mechanism through a first adjustment assembly; and adjusts the second synchronous belt clamping and conveying assembly in whole or in part away from the wiring harness online operation area through a second adjustment assembly, so as to make room for the wiring harness online operation that only relies on the annular support and the first clamping mechanism to be fixed. The present invention enables the device to be applicable to different types of wire harness heat shrinking through structural optimization design, thereby improving the overall heat shrinking efficiency and economy of the heat shrinking device.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the field of automation equipment, and in particular to an automation equipment for performing continuous and efficient heat shrinkage of a wire harness at the end of a heat shrink tube. The equipment has the function of quickly adjusting the equipment state according to the structure of the wire harness in a normal tooling state to achieve optimal heat shrinkage performance. Background Art

[0002] In the field of wire harness production, in actual production, one or several wires (or metal terminals) are peeled, welded, riveted and other processes are used to connect them together to form the finished wire harness required by the customer. In this process, the connections between the wires and the wires, the wires and the metal terminals, etc. need to be protected to achieve insulation and other purposes. Heat shrink protection with heat shrink tubing is an important and common protection method used in this link, and it also has a bundling effect. The heat shrink position of the heat shrink tubing is at one end or near one end of the wire, which is referred to as end heat shrinkage in the industry. In actual production, the heat shrinkage of the wire harness ends can basically be divided into two categories: for example, after the wire harness and the metal terminal are welded or riveted, heat shrink tubing is required for heat shrinkage protection. In the present invention, this type of wire harness end heat shrinkage is recorded as wire harness end heat shrinkage A (see Figure 1 ); the wiring harness and the wiring harness are welded and covered with a cap-shaped heat shrink tube for heat shrink protection. In the present invention, this type of heat shrinkage at the end of the wiring harness is recorded as the heat shrinkage at the end of the wiring harness B (see Figure 2 ).

[0003] For the above-mentioned end heat shrink wire harnesses, there are currently two corresponding heat shrink equipment: crawler heat shrink tube machine and end heat shrink tube machine.

[0004] Crawler heat shrink tube machine: Its structure is that the synchronous belts on the left and right sides are used as conveyor belts, and the middle is the heating and shrinking area, such as Figure 3 As shown. This heat shrink tube machine needs to use tooling to hook the metal terminal for heat shrink processing of the wire harness end heat shrink A. For the heat shrink B of the wire harness end, there is currently no good heat shrink solution because it cannot be well supported (see Figure 4 ). Therefore, the crawler heat shrink tube machine is inefficient and does not cover the functions for heat shrinking the ends of the wire harness;

[0005] End heat shrink tube machine: Its structure is that the heating element and the workstation plate where the wire harness is placed move relative to each other, and the heat shrink tube shrinks once it moves (see Figure 5 ). This heat shrink tube machine can shrink the ends of the wire harness, but because the wire harness needs to be placed on the work station board, moved once for heat shrinking, and then the wire harness needs to be reeled in after the heat shrinking is completed, and then the new wire harness needs to be placed on the work station board for the next heat shrinking. This has low work efficiency, and the equipment cost is relatively high compared to the crawler heat shrink tube machine, and it lags behind in terms of economy.

[0006] Based on the above characteristics, the existing heat shrink tube equipment cannot meet the efficiency and economy of heat shrinking the ends of the wire harnesses. It is urgent to provide a heat shrink tube heat shrink equipment for wire harness production that can solve these problems, so that the heat shrinkage of the ends of the wire harnesses can be continuous and efficient, and the equipment cost can be economical. Summary of the invention

[0007] The purpose of the present invention is to solve the problem that the heat shrinking equipment at the end of the wire harness in the prior art cannot meet the heat shrinking needs of different types of wire harnesses, and to provide a tracked device and method for heat shrinking the end of the wire harness, so that the same device can be used to continuously, efficiently and economically heat shrink the different types of wire harnesses currently available on the market, thereby improving the overall heat shrinking efficiency and economy of the heat shrinking equipment.

[0008] The specific technical solutions adopted by the present invention are as follows:

[0009] In a first aspect, the present invention provides a crawler-type device for heat shrinking the end of a wire harness, comprising a heating component, a first synchronous belt clamping and conveying component, a second synchronous belt clamping and conveying component, a supporting and conveying component, a first adjusting component, and a second adjusting component; the first synchronous belt clamping and conveying component and the second synchronous belt clamping and conveying component are arranged side by side on one side of the heating component, and the first synchronous belt clamping and conveying component is closer to the heating component, and the supporting and conveying component is arranged on the other side of the heating component;

[0010] The heating assembly is used to form a heating zone for heat shrinking the end of the wire harness;

[0011] The first synchronous belt clamping and conveying assembly includes a first lower synchronous belt and a first upper synchronous belt driven synchronously, and the upper and lower synchronous belts can fit together to form a first clamping mechanism for clamping the wire harness during the circling and rotating process; the second synchronous belt clamping and conveying assembly includes a second lower synchronous belt and a second upper synchronous belt driven synchronously, and the upper and lower synchronous belts can fit together to form a second clamping mechanism for clamping the wire harness during the circling and rotating process; the supporting and conveying assembly includes an annular support member that can circulate and rotate under a driving force, the annular support member is used to provide end support for the heat shrink end of the wire harness, and the annular support member can withstand the heating temperature in the heating zone;

[0012] The first adjustment component is used to change the horizontal distance between the annular support and the first clamping mechanism; the second adjustment component is used to adjust the second synchronous belt clamping and conveying component to be completely or partially away from the wiring harness upper line operation area, so as to avoid the operation space for the wiring harness upper line that only needs to be fixed by the annular support and the first clamping mechanism;

[0013] In the working state, the moving linear speeds of the first clamping mechanism, the second clamping mechanism and the annular support member are kept consistent, so that the wire harness can pass through the heating zone to complete heat shrinkage while one end is supported and fixed by the annular support member and the other end is fixed by the first clamping mechanism alone or by the first clamping mechanism and the second clamping mechanism at the same time.

[0014] Preferably, the heating assembly comprises an upper heating element and a lower heating element which are arranged at intervals, and a heating zone is formed between the upper and lower heating elements for the end of the wire harness to pass through.

[0015] Preferably, the annular support, the first lower synchronous belt, the first upper synchronous belt, the second lower synchronous belt and the second upper synchronous belt are all flexible annular members driven by a driving wheel and a driven wheel. The three driving wheels on the annular support, the first lower synchronous belt and the second lower synchronous belt have the same effective diameter and are coaxially mounted on a rotating main shaft with a sliding key and rotate synchronously; during the adjustment process of the first adjustment component, the driving wheel of the support transmission component can slide on the rotating main shaft (702) and maintain transmission with the rotating main shaft through a sliding key pair.

[0016] Preferably, the supporting and conveying assembly is integrally mounted on a first movable frame, and the adjusting driving force of the first adjusting assembly acts on the first movable frame, thereby driving the supporting and conveying assembly as a whole to change the distance between the supporting and conveying assembly and the first synchronous belt clamping and conveying assembly.

[0017] Preferably, in the second synchronous belt clamping transmission assembly, the second upper synchronous belt and the driving wheel and the driven wheel for driving the second upper synchronous belt to rotate are all installed on the second movable frame; the adjustment driving force of the second adjustment assembly acts on the second movable frame, thereby driving the second upper synchronous belt to move upward as a whole away from the second lower synchronous belt that remains stationary, thereby freeing up avoidance space.

[0018] Preferably, the first adjustment component and / or the second adjustment component adopts a screw pair adjustment component consisting of a screw, a nut and a handle, the nut is fixed on the object to be adjusted and threadedly connected to the screw, and the handle is used to rotate the screw relative to the nut, thereby outputting the adjustment driving force through the nut.

[0019] Preferably, the annular support member is a metal chain, a steel wire or a conveyor belt made of a high temperature resistant material.

[0020] Preferably, the annular support, the first clamping mechanism and the second clamping mechanism are provided with a plurality of harness installation sites, so that the crawler-type equipment can continuously perform on-line operations.

[0021] Preferably, within an adjustment stroke of the first adjustment assembly, the annular support can be driven into the heating zone.

[0022] In a second aspect, the present invention provides a method for heat shrinking a wire harness end portion using any crawler-type device as described in the first aspect, which is specifically as follows:

[0023] For the wiring harness that needs to be fixed by the first clamping mechanism, the second clamping mechanism and the annular support simultaneously, firstly, according to the distance from the heat shrink tube in the wiring harness to the end of the wiring harness on the side where the heat shrink tube is located, the horizontal spacing between the annular support and the first clamping mechanism is changed by the first adjustment component, so that when the wiring harness is put on line, the end of the wiring harness on the side where the heat shrink tube is located can be supported and fixed by the annular support, and the wiring harness body is clamped and fixed by the first clamping mechanism and the second clamping mechanism simultaneously, the heat shrink tube is located at a position that can enter the heating zone, and the wiring harness is removed after being driven through the heating zone, thereby completing the heat shrinking process;

[0024] For the wiring harness that only needs to be fixed by the first clamping mechanism and the annular support at the same time, the second adjusting component is first used to adjust the second synchronous belt clamping and transmission component as a whole or partially away from the online operation area of ​​the wiring harness to avoid the operating space required for online operation. The horizontal distance between the annular support and the first clamping mechanism is changed by the first adjusting component, so that when the wiring harness is online, the end of the wiring harness on the side where the heat shrink tube is located can be supported and fixed by the annular support, while the wiring harness body is clamped and fixed by the first clamping mechanism, and the heat shrink tube is located in a position that can enter the heating zone. After the wiring harness is driven through the heating zone, it is removed to complete the heat shrink process.

[0025] Compared with the prior art, some embodiments of the present invention have at least the following advantages and beneficial effects:

[0026] a. Convenient adjustment: The left and right movement adjustment of the chain drive support system and the lifting of the upper synchronous belt of synchronous belt b can be carried out when the equipment is working, without shutting down for cooling, which realizes convenient adjustment and ensures production efficiency;

[0027] b. The chain drive support system has a large adjustment range for left and right movement: the chain drive support system can be moved inward to the center of the heating element and outward to the outside of the heating element. This can cover the heat shrink of all wire ends and fully expand the function of the equipment.

[0028] c. High efficiency of continuous work: The use of synchronous belt crawler clamping + chain drive support realizes continuous heat shrinking. Combined with the heat shrinking time in actual production, the working efficiency of the equipment no longer limits the production capacity, and the production capacity depends entirely on the speed of manual work.

[0029] d. Heat shrink object covers super short wire: the upper synchronous belt of the outer synchronous belt b is adjusted and lifted through the screw pair to achieve heat shrinkage of the super short wire at the end of the wire harness. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0030] Figure 1It is a schematic diagram of the prior art that a heat shrink tube is required for heat shrink protection (heat shrinkage A at the end of the wire harness) after welding or riveting the wire harness and the metal terminal;

[0031] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of a wire harness and a wire harness being welded and covered with a cap-shaped heat shrink tube for heat shrink protection (heat shrinkage B at the end of the wire harness) in the prior art;

[0032] Figure 3 It is a schematic diagram of heat shrinking A of the end of a wire harness by means of a tooling heat shrinking tube machine in the conventional crawler-type heat shrinking tube machine in the prior art;

[0033] Figure 4 It is a schematic diagram of heat shrinking B of the end of a wire harness mounted on a conventional crawler-type heat shrink tube machine in the prior art;

[0034] Figure 5 It is a schematic diagram of a heat shrinkable end heat shrinkable wire harness heat shrinkable by an end heat shrinkable tube machine in the prior art;

[0035] Figure 6 It is a schematic diagram of the clamping condition of a conventional heat shrinkable wire harness on a conventional crawler-type heat shrinkable tube machine in the prior art;

[0036] Figure 7 1 is a schematic structural diagram of a crawler-type device for heat shrinking the end of a wire harness according to the present invention, wherein arrows in the figure indicate adjustment directions of two groups of adjustment components;

[0037] Figure 8 It is a schematic diagram of a state in which the second adjusting component in the device of the present invention adjusts the second upper synchronous belt upward to avoid;

[0038] Fig. 9 It is an overall schematic diagram of the crawler-type equipment with a shell in the present invention.

[0039] The reference numerals in the figures are as follows:

[0040] Figure 1 Reference numerals in the figure: metal terminal 001, cylindrical heat shrink tube 002, first type wiring harness 003;

[0041] Figure 2 Reference numerals in the figure: cap-shaped heat shrink tube 101, second type wiring harness 102;

[0042] Figure 3 , Figure 4 and Figure 6 Reference numerals in the figure: upper synchronous belt 301 of the left synchronous belt pair, lower synchronous belt 302 of the left synchronous belt pair, tooling 303, lower heating element 304, lower synchronous belt 305 of the right synchronous belt pair, wiring harness a306, upper synchronous belt 307 of the right synchronous belt pair, upper heating element 308, heat shrink tube a309, wiring harness b310, cap-shaped heat shrink tube 311, wiring harness c312, heat shrink tube b313;

[0043] Figure 5 Reference numerals in the figure: left heating element (in the original position) 501, wire laying tool 502, end heat shrink wire harness 503, right heating element (removed, heat shrink tube baking state) 504;

[0044] Figure 7 , Figure 8 and Fig. 9 Markings in the figure: supporting rotating wheel 701, rotating main shaft 702, horizontal adjustment handle 703, horizontal screw 704, horizontal screw nut 705, annular support 706, first movable frame 707, lower heating element 708, upper heating element 709, first lower synchronous belt 710, second lower synchronous belt 711, second upper synchronous belt 712, first upper synchronous belt 713, second movable frame 714, lifting screw nut 715, lifting screw 716, lifting adjustment handle 717, wire harness end heat shrink A / B 718, ultra-short wire 719. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0045] In order to make the above-mentioned purpose, features and advantages of the present invention more obvious and easy to understand, the specific implementation mode of the present invention is described in detail below in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the following description, many specific details are set forth to facilitate a full understanding of the present invention. However, the present invention can be implemented in many other ways different from those described herein, and those skilled in the art can make similar improvements without violating the connotation of the present invention. Therefore, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed below. The technical features in each embodiment of the present invention can be combined accordingly without conflicting with each other.

[0046] In the description of the present invention, it is to be understood that when an element is considered to be "connected" to another element, it may be directly connected to the other element or indirectly connected, that is, there are intermediate elements. On the contrary, when an element is said to be "directly" connected to another element, there are no intermediate elements.

[0047] In the description of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "first" and "second" are only used for the purpose of distinguishing descriptions, and should not be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of technical features indicated. Therefore, the features defined as "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of the features.

[0048] After extensive analysis and research on existing heat shrink equipment, it is found that in order to make the same heat shrink equipment meet both efficiency and economy, the main problems and defects that need to be solved can be summarized as the following two aspects: a and b:

[0049] a. Support issues at the end of the wire harness on the side where the heat shrink tube is located during heat shrinking:

[0050] a1. The end of the wire harness on the side where the heat shrink tube is located must be supported by a supporting structure to prevent it from sagging and contacting the heating element during the heat shrink process (in this case, the heat shrink tube may be burned or even catch fire);

[0051] a2. The support structure is required to move synchronously with the wiring harness to avoid two problems: the support will not be continuously heated, causing the heat shrink tubing or wire skin to be burned; there will be no sliding dislocation between the wiring harness and the support structure, affecting the state of the wiring harness during the heat shrink process;

[0052] a3. The support structure cannot cover the heat shrink tube to avoid affecting the heat shrink effect of the heat shrink tube. In addition, due to different end heat shrink wire harnesses, the distance from the heat shrink tube to the end varies. Therefore, in order to adapt to different wire harnesses, the support structure is required to be easily adjusted to support wire harness ends of different lengths while ensuring that the heat shrink tube is always in the heating zone.

[0053] a4. When there is a need for convenient adjustment of the support structure, since the working temperature of the heating element is very high (500-600℃), if it needs to be adjusted after cooling, it will inevitably affect the production efficiency. Therefore, this convenient adjustment must be able to be carried out directly under the working state.

[0054] b. Regarding the heat shrinkage problem at the end of the ultra-short line:

[0055] Under normal circumstances, the wire harness to be heat-shrunk at the end is generally long. When heat-shrinking on the current crawler-type heat shrink tube machine, there are two synchronous belts on the left and right to clamp the wire harness to achieve heat shrinkage, ensuring that the clamping is firm and the heat shrink tube will not be offset due to the pulling of the wire harness itself (see Figure 6 ). However, considering the economical efficiency of the equipment, it is also necessary to ensure that the equipment can heat shrink the ends of short ultra-short wires. Ultra-short wires often do not need two synchronous belts when shrinking, but only need a synchronous belt close to the heating area. At this time, the existence of another synchronous belt will occupy the online operation space of the ultra-short wire. Therefore, the same heat shrink equipment must ensure that the long wire is firmly clamped, and it cannot occupy space and affect the heat shrinkage of the ultra-short wire. It is necessary to realize that the outer synchronous belt can be quickly avoided.

[0056] Therefore, the present invention provides a crawler-type device for heat shrinking the end of a wire harness. The device is structurally optimized to be applicable to heat shrinking of different types of wire harnesses, while solving the above-mentioned problems and defects in aspects a and b.

[0057] like Figure 7As shown, in a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the crawler type equipment mainly includes a heating component, a first synchronous belt clamping and conveying component, a second synchronous belt clamping and conveying component, a supporting and conveying component, a first adjusting component and a second adjusting component. In the overall layout, the first synchronous belt clamping and conveying component and the second synchronous belt clamping and conveying component are arranged side by side on one side of the heating component, and the first synchronous belt clamping and conveying component is closer to the heating component, while the second synchronous belt clamping and conveying component is farther away from the heating component, and the supporting and conveying component is arranged on the other side of the heating component.

[0058] The specific structure and actuation coordination of each part are described in detail below.

[0059] In this embodiment, the heating assembly is used to form a heating zone for heat shrinking the end of the wire harness, and the heating assembly includes an upper heating element 709 and a lower heating element 708 arranged at intervals, and a heating zone for the end of the wire harness to pass through is formed between the upper and lower heating elements. The upper heating element 709 and the lower heating element 708 of this embodiment are both flat heating plates, which are arranged in parallel. The interval in the middle allows the end of the wire harness wrapped in the heat shrink tube to pass through, and the heat shrink tube can be heated during the process of passing through the heating zone to complete the heat shrink process. However, the heating assembly can also be replaced by other heat shrink process heating equipment, and is not limited to a plate-type heating plate.

[0060] In this embodiment, the first synchronous belt clamping and conveying assembly includes a first lower synchronous belt 710 and a first upper synchronous belt 713 driven synchronously, and both the first lower synchronous belt 710 and the first upper synchronous belt 713 are annular conveyor belts that can rotate around under the drive of an external driving device. Moreover, during the rotation of the first lower synchronous belt 710 and the first upper synchronous belt 713, the lower surface of the first upper synchronous belt 713 can fit with the upper surface of the first lower synchronous belt 710 to form a first clamping mechanism for clamping the wire harness. In the first clamping mechanism, the wire harness can be clamped by two tensioned belt bodies above and below, so that it moves forward with the two upper and lower synchronous belts. Similarly, the second synchronous belt clamping and conveying assembly also includes a second lower synchronous belt 711 and a second upper synchronous belt 712 driven synchronously, which are also annular conveyor belts that can rotate around under the drive of an external driving device. Moreover, during the second lower synchronous belt 711 and the second upper synchronous belt 712 are rotating around the second lower synchronous belt 711 and the second upper synchronous belt 712, the lower surface of the second upper synchronous belt 712 can be in contact with the upper surface of the second lower synchronous belt 711, forming a second clamping mechanism for clamping the wire harness. In the second clamping mechanism, the wire harness can be clamped by the upper and lower tensioned belt bodies, so that it moves forward with the upper and lower synchronous belts.

[0061] The above-mentioned first clamping mechanism and second clamping mechanism are both used to clamp the non-end position of the wire harness, and the position in the wire harness where the heat shrink tube needs to be sleeved for heat shrinkage is located at the end of the wire harness, and this end is called the end of the wire harness on the side where the heat shrink tube is located. In the present invention, the end of the wire harness on the side where the heat shrink tube is located is supported by setting a support transmission component, and the support transmission component, in addition to playing a supporting role, can also synchronize with other synchronous belt clamping transmission components to realize the forward transmission of the wire harness, thereby avoiding sliding dislocation between the wire harness and the supporting structure. In this embodiment, the support transmission component includes an annular support member 706 that can rotate around under a driving force, and the annular support member 706 is also an annular structural member. The end of the wire harness on the side where the heat shrink tube is located can be placed or detachably fixed on the annular support member 706, thereby providing end support for the heat shrink end of the wire harness. Moreover, since the end of the wire harness on the side where the heat shrink tube is located is generally very close to the heat shrink tube, the annular support member 706 will inevitably be heated during the heating process of the heat shrink tube. Therefore, the material of the annular support member 706 should be high temperature resistant material so that it can withstand the heating temperature of the heating zone in the heating component. Moreover, since the annular support member 706 also rotates in a circle, it is not continuously heated by the heating component. When it leaves the heating zone, it will gradually cool down to avoid overheating of the annular support member 706 and damage to the wire harness and the heat shrink tube. Therefore, the setting of the support transmission component solves the problems in a1 and a2 above.

[0062] In addition, in order to solve the above problems a3 and a4, the present invention introduces a first adjustment component into the device. The specific structure and function of the first adjustment component are introduced in detail below.

[0063] When there is a difference in the distance from the heat shrink tube to the end of different wire harnesses, the horizontal spacing between the annular support 706 and the first clamping mechanism can be changed by the first adjustment component, so as to meet the requirements of supporting the ends of wire harnesses of different lengths while ensuring that the heat shrink tube is always in the heating zone. The structural form of the first adjustment component is not limited, as long as it can conveniently control the annular support 706 in the support transmission component to be close to or away from the first clamping mechanism. In this embodiment, the first adjustment component includes a horizontal adjustment handle 703, a horizontal lead screw 704 and a horizontal lead screw nut 705, the horizontal lead screw nut 705 is fixed on the support transmission component, and one end of the horizontal lead screw 704 passes through the horizontal lead screw nut 705 to form a threaded pair, and the other end is connected to the horizontal adjustment handle 703. The horizontal lead screw 704 is rotated relative to the horizontal lead screw nut 705 by the horizontal adjustment handle 703, so as to control the horizontal lead screw nut 705 to move horizontally along the horizontal lead screw 704, and the adjustment driving force can be output by the horizontal lead screw nut 705 to change the distance of the annular support 706 relative to the first clamping mechanism. In order to maintain the integrity of the movement of the supporting and conveying assembly, the supporting and conveying assembly uses the first movable frame 707 as the mounting frame, the annular support 706 and the driving wheel and the driven wheel driving the annular support 706 to rotate are integrally mounted on the first movable frame 707, and the horizontal lead screw nut 705 is fixed on the first movable frame 707, so that the adjustment driving force of the first adjustment assembly also acts on the first movable frame 707, thereby driving the supporting and conveying assembly as a whole to change the spacing with the first synchronous belt clamping and conveying assembly. By setting up the first adjustment assembly, the device can solve the problem in a3 above.

[0064] It should be noted that the annular support 706, the first lower synchronous belt 710, the first upper synchronous belt 713, the second lower synchronous belt 711 and the second upper synchronous belt 712 are all components that can rotate around. The so-called rotation around means that they are guided by the guide mechanism under the drive of external force and can continuously rotate around a ring path to form a belt transmission form. The annular support 706, the first lower synchronous belt 710, the first upper synchronous belt 713, the second lower synchronous belt 711 and the second upper synchronous belt 712 in the present invention can theoretically adopt various flexible annular parts driven by the driving wheel and the driven wheel. The so-called flexible annular part means that it has a certain flexible deformation ability, so that it can be bent to a certain extent when passing through the driving wheel and the driven wheel, thereby forming a continuous rotation around. In the present invention, the annular support 706 can adopt a metal chain, a steel wire or a conveyor belt of a high temperature resistant material. The present embodiment adopts a metal chain. The first lower synchronous belt 710, the first upper synchronous belt 713, the second lower synchronous belt 711 and the second upper synchronous belt 712 can be realized by a conventional conveyor belt. Therefore, the driving wheel driving the annular support member 706 should be a supporting rotating wheel 701 having gear teeth cooperating with the chain, and its driven wheel preferably also has gear teeth, while the driving wheel and driven wheel of other synchronous belts do not need to have gear teeth.

[0065] The specific driving mechanism of the first synchronous belt clamping and conveying assembly, the second synchronous belt clamping and conveying assembly, and the supporting and conveying assembly is not limited, as long as the three groups of components can achieve synchronous transmission with the same linear speed. In this embodiment, the driving wheels of the three groups of components can be driven by the same motor and the same rotating main shaft 702. In addition, in order to ensure the same linear speed, the effective diameters of the three driving wheels on the annular support 706, the first lower synchronous belt 710, and the second lower synchronous belt 711 should remain the same, and they should be coaxially installed on the rotating main shaft 702 with a sliding key and rotate synchronously. The main function of the sliding key of the rotating main shaft 702 is to form a sliding key pair with the driving wheel of the driving annular support 706, so that during the process of the first adjustment component adjusting the spacing between the annular support 706 and the first clamping mechanism, the driving wheel of the driving annular support 706 can slide along the rotating main shaft 702, but can still maintain continuous transmission with the rotating main shaft 702 through the sliding key pair, thereby ensuring that the adjustment process will not affect the normal operation of the equipment, and there is no need to perform a shutdown operation. Through this approach, the equipment of this embodiment can solve the problem in a4 above.

[0066] Above Figure 7 The figure shows the clamping and fixing state of the wire end heat shrink A / B718 (wire end heat shrink A or wire end heat shrink B) of a general length. However, in order to solve the problem of the end heat shrink of the ultra-short wire in b above, this embodiment introduces a second adjustment component into the device. The specific structure and function of the second adjustment component are described in detail below.

[0067] When encountering an ultra-short wire with a very short harness length, the device only needs the first clamping mechanism in the first synchronous belt clamping and conveying assembly and the annular support 706 in the supporting and conveying assembly to fix the ultra-short wire at the same time. However, since the second synchronous belt clamping and conveying assembly is located on the side of the first synchronous belt clamping and conveying assembly, it will affect the operation of fixing the harness to the transmission mechanism. At this time, the second adjustment assembly can be used to adjust the second synchronous belt clamping and conveying assembly away from the harness's harness operation area, so as to avoid the operating space for the harness that only needs to be fixed by the annular support 706 and the first clamping mechanism. Through this approach, the device of this embodiment can solve the problem in b above.

[0068] It should be noted that the second synchronous belt clamping and conveying assembly can be either entirely or partially away from the wiring harness upper line operation area, as long as it can leave an operating space for the wiring harness upper line. The form of the second adjustment assembly that controls the adjustment process is not limited, as long as it can achieve the corresponding function. In this embodiment, the second adjustment assembly includes a lifting screw nut 715, a lifting screw 716 and a lifting adjustment handle 717. The lifting screw nut 715 is fixed on the second synchronous belt clamping and conveying assembly, and one end of the lifting screw 716 passes through the lifting screw nut 715 to form a threaded pair, and the other end is connected to the lifting adjustment handle 717. The lifting screw 716 is rotated relative to the lifting screw nut 715 by the lifting adjustment handle 717, so as to control the lifting screw nut 715 to move horizontally along the lifting screw 716, and the adjustment driving force can be output through the lifting screw nut 715, thereby controlling the second synchronous belt clamping and conveying assembly to be away from the wiring harness upper line operation area. In addition, since the second synchronous belt clamping transmission assembly is composed of upper and lower synchronous belts, and the driving wheel of the second lower synchronous belt 711 is coaxially arranged with other driving wheels, in order to facilitate control, such as Figure 8 As shown, this embodiment adopts an adjustment method of moving the second synchronous belt clamping transmission component part away from the upper line operation area of ​​the wire harness, that is, only controlling the second upper synchronous belt 712 to move upward as a whole, while the second lower synchronous belt 711 remains stationary, thereby freeing up an avoidance space for the ultra-short line 719 to perform the upper line operation. In order to maintain the integrity of the movement of the second upper synchronous belt 712, the second upper synchronous belt 712 uses the second movable frame 714 as a mounting frame, and the second upper synchronous belt 712 and the driving wheel and the driven wheel driving the second upper synchronous belt 712 to rotate are all installed on the second movable frame 714. The lifting screw nut 715 is fixed on the second movable frame 714, so that the adjustment driving force of the second adjustment component also acts on the second movable frame 714, thereby driving the second upper synchronous belt 712 to move upward as a whole away from the second lower synchronous belt 711 that remains stationary, thereby freeing up an avoidance space.

[0069] The first adjustment component is mainly used for horizontal sliding adjustment, while the second adjustment component is mainly used for vertical sliding adjustment. Fig. 9 As shown, in the two sets of adjustment components, both handles can be located outside the housing of the entire device for easy control.

[0070] When the above-mentioned equipment is in working state, the moving linear speeds of the first clamping mechanism, the second clamping mechanism and the annular support 706 should be kept consistent. Then the wire harness with the heat shrink tube installed can be put on line. When putting on line, one end of the wire harness is first fixed on the annular support 706, and the other end needs to make its wire harness length fixed by the first clamping mechanism alone (applicable to ultra-short wire 719), or fixed by the first clamping mechanism and the second clamping mechanism at the same time (applicable to wire harness of normal length). When the wire harness is put on line, the wire harness is driven into the heating zone between the upper heating element 709 and the lower heating element 708, and is output from the heating zone after the heat shrinking process is completed. The heat shrinking operation of the end of the wire harness can be completed by removing the wire harness.

[0071] Moreover, in order to ensure work efficiency, the heat shrinking operation of the wire harness end should be performed in a continuous manner. Therefore, multiple wire harness installation sites can be set on the annular support 706, the first clamping mechanism and the second clamping mechanism, so that the crawler type equipment can continuously perform the on-line operation. The wire harness installation sites on the annular support 706, the first clamping mechanism and the second clamping mechanism are not limited in form. Figure 1 For the wiring harness with metal terminals shown in the figure, a hook can be provided on the annular support member 706 of the present invention to hang the metal terminal at the end of the wiring harness (in this embodiment, it can be fixed on a metal chain), or it can be fixed or non-fixed in other ways, for example, for Figure 2 The wire harness without metal terminals shown can be directly placed on the annular support 706 to support and prevent the wire harness from sagging. As for the clamping mechanism composed of the synchronous belt, there is no need to set a special installation structure. The fixed transmission of the wire harness can be achieved by friction only through the clamping effect between the synchronous belts. Therefore, the specific form of the wire harness installation site can be selected according to the actual wire harness, and it is not necessary to have a special structure.

[0072] In addition, since the distance from the heat shrink tube to the end of some wiring harnesses is small, the horizontal adjustment stroke of the first adjustment component should be large enough so that the annular support 706 can be driven into the heating zone, so that the heat shrink tube can be fully heated to achieve heat shrinkage.

[0073] Based on the above crawler-type equipment, the present invention also provides a wire harness end heat shrinking method, which is as follows:

[0074] For the wiring harness that needs to be fixed by the first clamping mechanism, the second clamping mechanism and the annular support 706 at the same time, first change the horizontal spacing between the annular support 706 and the first clamping mechanism according to the distance from the heat shrink tube in the wiring harness to the end of the wiring harness on the side where the heat shrink tube is located, through the first adjustment component, so that when the wiring harness is online, the end of the wiring harness on the side where the heat shrink tube is located can be supported and fixed by the annular support 706, and the wiring harness body is clamped and fixed by the first clamping mechanism and the second clamping mechanism at the same time. The position of the heat shrink tube should be able to enter the heating zone between the upper heating element 709 and the lower heating element 708 during the subsequent transmission process. As the annular support 706, the first clamping mechanism and the second clamping mechanism move, the wiring harness is driven to pass through the heating zone between the upper heating element 709 and the lower heating element 708, and the heat shrinking process can be completed by removing the wire harness that has completed heat shrinkage.

[0075] For the wiring harness that only needs to be fixed by the first clamping mechanism and the annular support 706 at the same time, the second adjusting component is first used to adjust the second synchronous belt clamping and transmission component as a whole or partially away from the online operation area of ​​the wiring harness to avoid the operating space required for online operation. The horizontal distance between the annular support 706 and the first clamping mechanism is changed by the first adjusting component, so that the end of the wiring harness on the side where the heat shrink tube is located can be supported and fixed by the annular support 706 when the wiring harness is online, and the wiring harness body is clamped and fixed by the first clamping mechanism. The position of the heat shrink tube should be able to enter the heating zone between the upper heating element 709 and the lower heating element 708 during the subsequent transmission process. As the annular support 706 and the first clamping mechanism move, the wiring harness is driven through the heating zone between the upper heating element 709 and the lower heating element 708, and the heat-shrunk wiring harness is removed to complete the heat shrinking process.

[0076] The above-described embodiment is only a preferred solution of the present invention, but it is not intended to limit the present invention. A person skilled in the relevant technical field may make various changes and modifications without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. Therefore, any technical solution obtained by equivalent replacement or equivalent transformation falls within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A crawler-type device for heat shrinking the end of a wire harness, characterized in that: It includes a heating component, a first synchronous belt clamping and conveying component, a second synchronous belt clamping and conveying component, a supporting and conveying component, a first adjusting component and a second adjusting component; the first synchronous belt clamping and conveying component and the second synchronous belt clamping and conveying component are arranged side by side on one side of the heating component, and the first synchronous belt clamping and conveying component is closer to the heating component, and the supporting and conveying component is arranged on the other side of the heating component; The heating assembly is used to form a heating zone for heat shrinking the end of the wire harness; The first synchronous belt clamping and conveying assembly comprises a first lower synchronous belt (710) and a first upper synchronous belt (713) driven synchronously, and the upper and lower synchronous belts can fit together to form a first clamping mechanism for clamping the wire harness during the circumferential rotation; the second synchronous belt clamping and conveying assembly comprises a second lower synchronous belt (711) and a second upper synchronous belt (712) driven synchronously, and the upper and lower synchronous belts can fit together to form a second clamping mechanism for clamping the wire harness during the circumferential rotation; the supporting and conveying assembly comprises an annular support member (706) capable of circumferential rotation under a driving force, the annular support member (706) being used to provide end support for the heat shrink end of the wire harness, and the annular support member (706) being able to withstand the heating temperature in the heating zone; The first adjustment component is used to change the horizontal distance between the annular support (706) and the first clamping mechanism; the second adjustment component is used to adjust the second synchronous belt clamping and conveying component to be completely or partially away from the upper line operation area of ​​the wire harness, so as to avoid the upper line of the wire harness that only needs to be fixed by the annular support (706) and the first clamping mechanism to avoid the operation space; In the working state, the moving linear speeds of the first clamping mechanism, the second clamping mechanism and the annular support member (706) are kept consistent, so that the wire harness can pass through the heating zone to complete heat shrinkage in a state where one end is supported and fixed by the annular support member (706) and the other end is fixed by the first clamping mechanism alone or by the first clamping mechanism and the second clamping mechanism at the same time.

2. The crawler-type device for heat shrinking the end of a wire harness according to claim 1, characterized in that: The heating assembly comprises an upper heating element (709) and a lower heating element (708) which are arranged at intervals, and a heating zone is formed between the upper and lower heating elements for the end of the wire harness to pass through.

3. The crawler-type device for heat shrinking the end of a wire harness according to claim 1, characterized in that: The annular support member (706), the first lower synchronous belt (710), the first upper synchronous belt (713), the second lower synchronous belt (711) and the second upper synchronous belt (712) are all flexible annular members driven by a driving wheel and a driven wheel. The three driving wheels on the annular support member (706), the first lower synchronous belt (710) and the second lower synchronous belt (711) have the same effective diameter and are coaxially mounted on a rotating main shaft (702) with a sliding key and rotate synchronously. During the adjustment process of the first adjustment component, the driving wheel of the support transmission component can slide on the rotating main shaft (702) and maintain transmission with the rotating main shaft (702) through the sliding key pair.

4. The crawler-type device for heat shrinking the end of a wire harness according to claim 1, characterized in that: The supporting transmission component is integrally mounted on the first movable frame (707), and the adjusting driving force of the first adjusting component acts on the first movable frame (707), thereby driving the supporting transmission component as a whole to change the spacing with the first synchronous belt clamping transmission component.

5. The crawler-type device for heat shrinking the end of a wire harness according to claim 3, characterized in that: In the second synchronous belt clamping transmission assembly, the second upper synchronous belt (712) and the driving wheel and the driven wheel driving the second upper synchronous belt (712) to rotate are all installed on the second movable frame (714); the adjustment driving force of the second adjustment assembly acts on the second movable frame (714), thereby driving the second upper synchronous belt (712) to move upward as a whole away from the second lower synchronous belt (711) that remains stationary, thereby freeing up avoidance space.

6. The crawler-type device for heat shrinking the end of a wire harness according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first adjustment component and / or the second adjustment component uses a screw rod pair adjustment component composed of a screw rod, a nut and a handle. The nut is fixed on the object to be adjusted and is threadedly connected to the screw rod. The handle is rotated to rotate the screw rod relative to the nut, thereby outputting the adjustment driving force through the nut.

7. The crawler-type device for heat shrinking the end of a wire harness according to claim 1, characterized in that: The annular support member (706) is a metal chain, a steel wire or a conveyor belt made of a high temperature resistant material.

8. The crawler-type device for heat shrinking the end of a wire harness according to claim 1, characterized in that: The annular support (706), the first clamping mechanism and the second clamping mechanism are all provided with a plurality of harness installation sites, so that the crawler-type equipment can continuously perform on-line operations.

9. The crawler-type device for heat shrinking the end of a wire harness according to claim 1, characterized in that: Within the adjustment travel of the first adjustment assembly, the annular support (706) can be driven into the heating zone.

10. A method for heat shrinking the end of a wire harness using the crawler-type equipment according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: For a wiring harness that needs to be fixed by a first clamping mechanism, a second clamping mechanism and an annular support member (706) at the same time, firstly, according to the distance from the heat shrink tube in the wiring harness to the end of the wiring harness on the side where the heat shrink tube is located, the horizontal spacing between the annular support member (706) and the first clamping mechanism is changed by a first adjustment component, so that when the wiring harness is put on line, the end of the wiring harness on the side where the heat shrink tube is located can be supported and fixed by the annular support member (706), and the wiring harness body is clamped and fixed by the first clamping mechanism and the second clamping mechanism at the same time, and the heat shrink tube is located at a position that can enter the heating zone. After the wiring harness is driven through the heating zone, it is removed, and the heat shrinking process is completed; For a wiring harness that only needs to be fixed by the first clamping mechanism and the annular support (706) at the same time, the second adjusting component is first used to adjust the second synchronous belt clamping and transmission component as a whole or partially away from the wiring harness online operation area to avoid the operating space required for online operation. The first adjusting component is used to change the horizontal distance between the annular support (706) and the first clamping mechanism, so that when the wiring harness is online, the end of the wiring harness on the side where the heat shrink tube is located can be supported and fixed by the annular support (706), while the wiring harness body is clamped and fixed by the first clamping mechanism, and the heat shrink tube is located in a position that can enter the heating zone. After the wiring harness is driven through the heating zone, it is removed to complete the heat shrink process.

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