Tray for automated wire harness processor and method for manufacturing wire harness

Abstract

The invention relates to a tray (100) for an automated wire harness handling machine, in which at least two housing adapters (104) for receiving plug housings (108) of wire harnesses (102) and a test line (106) having at least one test circuit (116) are arranged on the tray (100), in which the test circuit (116) extends through at least one contact (114) of each housing adapter (104), the test circuit (116) is closed when the at least two contacts (114) are connected in an electrically conductive manner via at least one line (110) of the wire harness (102), which line (110) is inserted into the plug housing (104) in a compliant manner, and wherein the test line (106) is designed to measure the test circuit (116) and to signal a state of the test circuit (116).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a tray for an automatic wire harness processing machine and a method for manufacturing a wire harness by using the tray. Background Art

[0002] The present invention will be described below mainly in conjunction with an electrical wiring harness for a vehicle.

[0003] The wiring harness can be produced in the following manner, that is, automatically cutting the electric wire into a certain length, removing the insulation of the end of the electric wire, providing the electric wire with a contact portion, and inserting the contact portion into the plug-in position of the plug housing until it is locked into the plug-in position. For example, these steps can be performed fully automatically by an automatic wire harness processing machine. A tray can be used for each wire harness. The plug housing can be positioned on the tray by a housing adapter so that the contact portion can be inserted into the plug-in position that meets the regulations by a gripper in a coordinate-controlled manner in the working area of ​​the automatic wire harness processing machine. Before the tray moves into the working area, the housing adapter can be equipped with a plug housing. During insertion, the locking of the contact portion that meets the regulations can be monitored by force-displacement detection. After inserting and locking the contact portion, the tray with the newly manufactured wire harness can be removed from the working area and replaced with another pre-assembled tray. When the next wire is connected to the plug housing in the working area, the newly manufactured wire harness can be removed from the tray, and the housing adapter on the released tray can be assembled with the plug housing again. Summary of the invention

[0004] Therefore, the technical problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide an improved tray for an automatic wire harness processing machine and an improved method for manufacturing a wire harness by using a constructionally simple manner. For example, the improvement can relate to the electrical function test of the wire harness during the manufacturing process.

[0005] This technical problem is solved by the subject matter of the independent claim. Advantageous developments of the invention are given in the dependent claims, the description and the drawings.

[0006] In the method proposed here, at least one circuit is arranged on a tray for an automatic wire processing machine, which circuit is closed by a conductor that is inserted correctly into two plug positions of a plug housing. Alternatively, the circuit can also be closed if the conductor is inserted into an incorrect plug position. The circuit is part of an electrical line. The line detects the state of the circuit and signals the circuit state to a monitoring device.

[0007] The method proposed here makes it possible to carry out a continuity test and / or a resistance measurement directly when assembling the plug housing of a wiring harness with electrical conductors. It is also possible to test conductors that have been preassembled manually, for example for technical reasons. A subsequent continuity test and / or resistance measurement in a separate test station can thus be omitted. If an incorrectly inserted conductor is detected, this can be corrected directly or the pallet with the wiring harness in question can be transferred to a designated station for rework.

[0008] In particular, the individual cores of a multi-core conductor can thus be inserted into the plug housing in a manner that prevents incorrect polarity. If a core is inserted into the wrong plug position, this can be detected directly. The incorrectly inserted core can be automatically pulled out again and pushed into another plug position. If there are more than two possible plug positions, the correct plug position can thus be searched step by step.

[0009] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a tray for an automatic wire harness processing machine is proposed, wherein at least two housing adapters for receiving plug housings of a wiring harness and a test circuit with at least one test circuit are arranged on the tray, wherein the test circuit extends through at least one contact of each housing adapter, wherein the test circuit is closed when the at least two contacts are conductively connected through at least one wire of the wiring harness that is inserted into the plug housing in accordance with regulations, wherein the test circuit is designed to measure the test circuit and to give a state of the test circuit with a signal.

[0010] According to a second aspect of the present invention, a method for manufacturing a wiring harness by using a tray according to the first aspect of the present invention is proposed, wherein a plug housing of the wiring harness is assembled to a housing adapter, and a first contact portion of at least one wire of the wiring harness is inserted into a plug-in position of one of the plug housings, and a second contact portion of the wire is inserted into a plug-in position of the other plug housing, wherein the contact portions are electrically contacted by contacts of the housing adapter when inserted in accordance with regulations and a test circuit is measured, wherein a state of the test circuit is reflected in a state signal.

[0011] A wiring harness can contain a plurality of wires. The wires can extend between at least two plug housings. The wiring harness can also have branches leading to further plug housings. The plug housing can have plug-in locations for contacts of the wires. The contacts can be electrically conductively connected to the deinsulated ends of the wires. If the contacts are pushed deep enough into the plug-in location, they can be locked into the plug-in location. The contacts can be part of an electrically conductive plug connection.

[0012] The wiring harness can be manufactured fully automatically by an automatic wiring harness processing machine. The wire can be provided as a continuous material on at least one storage roll. The wire can be unwound from the storage roll and cut into predetermined lengths. The ends of the wire can then be deinsulated. The contacts can now be mounted on the deinsulated ends. The wires of the wiring harness can be manufactured and stored one after the other.

[0013] For technical reasons, some conductors may not be inserted fully automatically. For example, the conductor may be too short to allow the contacts to be inserted successively into the specified plug-in position by the gripper. Such conductors can be pre-assembled manually or assembled manually afterwards. Likewise, only one of the contacts can be inserted by the gripper, while the second contact is then inserted manually.

[0014] The contact part can be a stamped bent part, which is connected to the deinsulated end of the conductor by a connection technology such as welding or crimping. The contact part can be a female end or a male end. The contact part can have at least one latching element, which latches on the counterpart of the plug-in position when the latching element is inserted into its plug-in position and thus prevents the contact part from being pulled back or pushed back at least until the rated force is reached.

[0015] The wiring harness can be assembled on a tray of an automatic wiring harness processing machine. The tray can have a plurality of receiving parts for the plug housing. The receiving part can be called a housing adapter. The receiving part can at least partially form the contour of the plug housing as a negative mold (negativform). The housing adapter can align the plug housing relative to the tray so that all contact parts of the wires can be inserted into the plug position of the plug housing from a common plug direction. The housing adapter can have at least one conductive contact. The contact can be arranged opposite to the plug position of the plug housing along the insertion direction. The contact can establish a conductive connection with the contact part inserted into the plug position.

[0016] The test circuit can be connected to at least two contacts on the tray. The contacts can be arranged in a common circuit. This circuit can be called a test circuit. The test circuit can apply an electrical potential between the at least two contacts. The electrical potential can be called an electrical signal. For this purpose, the test circuit can have its own power supply on the tray. The power supply can be, for example, a battery or a capacitor. Alternatively, the test circuit can be powered by an automatic wire harness processor. The test circuit can describe the state of the test circuit in a status signal. The status signal can be provided to the automatic wire harness processor via a data conductor. Alternatively, the status signal can be provided wirelessly. The test circuit can monitor and provide status when the tray is automatically assembled in the automatic wire harness processor and when it is manually pre-assembled or subsequently assembled.

[0017] The electrical conduction and / or resistance of the test circuit can be reflected as a state in the state signal. The test circuit can perform a conduction test of the test circuit. The test circuit can detect whether the test circuit is electrically conductive. The test circuit can reflect the result of the conduction test in the state signal. The test circuit can alternatively or additionally measure the resistance of the wire and / or the capacitance of the wire and reflect it in the state signal. If the state signal gives a signal that the test circuit is conductive and / or the resistance of the test circuit is within the tolerance range, the wiring harness can be recorded as complying with the regulations. The wiring harness can have an identification number. A document can be created for each wiring harness group. Manufacturing parameters and material parameters can be stored in the document. For example, the source of the individual components of the wiring harness can be recorded. Functional tests can also be recorded in the document. Electrical conduction tests or resistance measurements can be referred to as functional tests. The force and / or displacement when the contact portion is inserted into the plug position can also be recorded in the document. Automatic processes and manual processes can be recorded using the method proposed herein in the document.

[0018] The test circuit can extend through a contact pair consisting of two contacts of each housing adapter. The contacts of one of the contact pairs can be connected to each other in an electrically conductive manner. The test circuit can be connected to the contact pair of the other housing adapter. If the contact pair is electrically connected via two wires of the wiring harness inserted into the plug housing, the test circuit can be closed. By using such a test circuit, multiple wires can be tested with a test circuit that passes through more than two contacts. In the case of four contacts, one wire can be called an outgoing wire and the other wire can be called a return wire.

[0019] A diode can be connected between a pair of conductively connected contacts. When the contact portions of the two conductors are inserted into the plug-in position with the prescribed polarity, the test circuit can be closed. If the status signal signals that the test circuit is interrupted, the plug-in position on one of the plug housings can be changed. The diode only allows current to flow in one direction. Therefore, the outgoing and return wires between the contacts can be distinguished, that is, which wire is conductively connected to which contact. The two conductors can be distinguished by a clear current direction. Errors can be automatically identified and corrected. The two conductors can be twisted in particular. The twisted conductor can be, for example, a twisted data pair conductor. The twisted conductor can extend in a common sheath. The twisted conductor can be further shielded. The twisted conductor can be distinguished by color coding. By the method proposed here, the twisted conductor can also be inserted into the plug housing fully automatically.

[0020] The test line can be arranged on one of the housing adapters and connected directly to at least one contact of the housing adapter. The required wiring effort can be reduced by the adjacent arrangement. In particular, in the case of a pair of contacts in the housing adapter, two conductors per test circuit can thus be tested with little wiring effort.

[0021] The test circuit can be connected to at least one contact of at least one remote housing adapter via at least one wire bridge. An individual wire between two plug housings can be tested via the wire bridge for each test circuit. For each wire of the wiring harness, the tray can have its own wire bridge. This means that each wire can be tested using its own test circuit.

[0022] The wire bridge can extend through the back side of the tray. The wire bridge can be easily placed on the back side. The wiring of the tray can be easily maintained on the back side because the housing adapter does not get in the way.

[0023] The contacts of the housing adapter can be spring-loaded. Spring-loaded contacts can be referred to as spring contacts. The contacts can extend into unoccupied plug-in positions of the connector housing. When the contacts are inserted, the contacts can be pressed back against the increased spring force. A safe electrical connection can be achieved by the spring force. In addition, the electrical connection can be achieved before the contacts are locked in the plug-in position. Thus, incorrectly inserted contacts can be easily withdrawn and inserted into another plug-in position.

[0024] The test circuit can have a wireless module for signaling the status. Alternatively, the status can also be signaled visually, acoustically or by direct electrical connection. The wireless module can also signal the status even without a visible connection or electrical contact with the tray. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Advantageous embodiments of the present invention are explained below with reference to the accompanying drawings. In the drawings:

[0026] Figure 1 shows a tray according to an embodiment; and

[0027] Figure 2 A test circuit with a test circuit according to an embodiment is shown.

[0028] The drawings are schematic representations and serve only to explain the invention. Elements that are identical or have the same function are consistently provided with the same reference numerals. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0029] Figure 1 A diagram of a tray 100 according to an embodiment is shown. The tray can be used in an automatic wire harness processing machine for the automated production of a wire harness 102. The tray 100 can also be pre-assembled and / or subsequently assembled manually. Here, two housing adapters 104 and a test line 106 are arranged on the tray 100. Here, the test line 106 is arranged next to one of the housing adapters 104 on the tray 100. The other housing adapter 104 is arranged on the tray 100 at a distance from the test line 106.

[0030] The line group 102 is composed of at least two plug housings 108 and a conductor 110 extending between the plug housings 108. The conductor 110 has contacts 112 at both ends. The contacts 112 are inserted into a plug-in position of the plug housing 108 and locked in the plug-in position.

[0031] The housing adapter 104 is a receiving portion for the plug housing 108 of the wire harness 102. The housing adapter 104 is pre-assembled with an empty plug housing 108 and then automatically assembles the tray 100 with wires 110 in an automatic wire harness processing machine. If necessary, wires 110 that cannot be assembled automatically can be pre-assembled or post-assembled.

[0032] The automatic wire harness processing machine assembles the plug housing 108 with preassembled wires 110. The wires 110 are cut to a predetermined length, the ends of the wires 110 are deinsulated, and the contacts 112 at each end are connected to the wires 110. The automatic wire harness processing machine inserts the contacts 112 of the wires 110 into one plug position of each plug housing 108 by using a gripper until the contacts are locked in the plug housing 108. Here, the displacement and / or force during insertion can be monitored. The inserted wires 110 then extend between the plug housings 108.

[0033] In the method proposed here, a contact 114 is arranged in the housing adapter 104. When the contact portion 112 is automatically or manually inserted into the plug position, the contact 114 contacts the contact portion 112 of the wire 110. At least two contacts 114 are arranged in a test circuit 116 of the test line 106. If the contact portion 112 of at least one wire 110 is inserted into the specified plug position, the test circuit 116 is closed. If the contact portion 112 is inserted into the wrong plug position, the test circuit 116 remains interrupted. The test circuit applies a potential to the contact 114 and records the current when the test circuit 116 is closed. The test line 106 gives the electrical conductivity through the test circuit 116 with a signal through the state signal 118. In addition, the test line 106 can determine the resistance of the test circuit 116 by using the current. The resistance can also be reflected in the state signal 118. Alternatively, resistance measurement can be used to test the conductivity. Here, the resistance of the test circuit is measured, and if the resistance is less than a threshold value, it is identified as conductive. If the resistance is less than a minimum value, a measuring error can be detected.

[0034] In one embodiment, the contact 114 is supported by a spring. As a result, the contact 114 extends into the plug position of the plug housing 108 in an unloaded state. As a result, the contact 112 contacts the contact 114 before the contact 112 is locked in the plug position. The test circuit 116 can be closed before the contact 112 is locked in the plug position. If the test circuit 116 is not closed, the contact 112 can be pulled back and pushed into another plug position.

[0035] The spring-loaded contacts 114 can be used to compensate for manufacturing tolerances of the plug housing 108 and / or the contact portion 112. The contacts 114 can contact the contact portion 112 even if the contacts 114 are slightly set back within the plug housing 108.

[0036] In one embodiment, the housing adapter 104 has at least two contacts 114. The contacts 114 are connected to form contact pairs 120. In one of the housing adapters 104, the contacts 114 of the contact pair 120 are connected to one another in an electrically conductive manner. In the other housing adapter 104, both contacts 114 are connected to the test circuit 106. When the contact portions 112 of the two conductors 110 are inserted into their proper plug-in position, the test circuit 116 is closed. Thus, the two conductors 110 can be measured by the same test circuit 116.

[0037] In one embodiment, a diode 122 is connected between the contacts 114 of the contact pair 120 that is electrically connected to each other. The diode 122 allows current to flow in only one direction within a voltage range. The test circuit 116 is closed by the diode 122 only when the contact 112 of the outgoing wire 124 is inserted into its proper plugging position and the contact 112 of the return wire 126 is also inserted into its proper plugging position. In other words, in the case of the wire pair 128, the test circuit 116 is closed only when the wire pair 128 is inserted into the plug housing 108 with the proper polarity.

[0038] In one embodiment, the wire pair 128 is a data line 130 known as a twisted pair. The individual wires 110 or cores of the data line 130 are identified in color, but extend in a common jacket. When assembling the data line 130, the wires 110 or cores can only be distinguished by additional means, such as by optical methods, so that the data line 130 has only been manually pre-assembled or subsequently assembled so far. By using the method proposed here, the data line 130 can be fully automatically assembled in an automatic wire harness processing machine. For this purpose, the contact portion 112 of the data line 130 is inserted into the plug housing 108 at one of the plug positions 108, and thus contacts the contacts 114 arranged therein. At the other plug housing 108, in the plug position, the contact portion 112 is only inserted until it contacts the contact 114. If the test circuit 116 is closed, the contact portion 112 continues to be inserted until it is locked in the plug position. If the test circuit 116 is not closed, the contact portion 112 is again extracted from the plug position and replaced. The replaced contact 112 is inserted again into the plug-in position and the test circuit 116 is tested. If the test circuit 116 is closed, the contact 112 is inserted further until it locks into the plug-in position.

[0039] Alternatively, a manual, previous or subsequent installation of conductor pair 128 can be monitored and recorded. In this case, the closing of test circuit 116 can be signaled to an operator using status signal 118 , for example optically and / or acoustically.

[0040] In an alternative embodiment, the contacts 114 of the spaced-apart housing adapter 104 are connected to the test circuit 106 via a wire bridge 132. The wire bridge 132 is thus a component of the test circuit 116. When the contact 112 of the wire 110 contacts the two contacts 114, the test circuit 116 is closed. Individual wires can be tested by using the wire bridge 132. In this case, the wire bridge 132 extends over the back side of the tray 100.

[0041] Figure 2 FIG. 1 shows a diagram of a test circuit 106 with a test circuit 116 according to an exemplary embodiment. The test circuit 106 corresponds essentially to Figure 1 The two outputs 200 of the test circuit 106 are connected to the contacts 114. These contacts 114 are arranged in the same housing adapter. Two further contacts 114 are arranged in the other housing adapter. The diode 122 is connected between the two further contacts 114. If all four contacts 114 are contacted by two properly mounted wires 110, the test circuit 116 is closed. If the two contact parts 112 are inserted in an interchangeable manner, the test circuit 116 is not closed.

[0042] When test circuit 116 is closed, a current flows through test circuit 116 and the state of test circuit 116 is signaled via state signal 118 . In this case, state signal 118 is transmitted wirelessly via wireless module 202 to monitoring device 204 .

[0043] Possible embodiments of the invention are summarized again below or explained with a slightly different choice of words.

[0044] The invention proposes to carry out a production-concurrent test of twisted or manually assembled wires on an automatic wire handling machine with a tray.

[0045] In the field of automated wiring harness assembly, force-displacement measurements are used to ensure the safety of the assembly process. For example, twisted conductors could not be assembled automatically until now. Twisted conductors or conductors that are too short for automatic processing machines therefore need to be pre-assembled or assembled later manually. This requires tests accompanying the production process in the form of continuity measurements or determination of the resistance of the connections and, in the case of twisted conductors, additional electrical polarity tests.

[0046] In the method proposed here, the housing receptacle is extended by an electrical spring contact, similar to its use in test adapters, for example in end-of-line testing. The housing receptacle is electrically connected so that the polarity and resistance of the electrical connection can be determined.

[0047] Here, energy-saving, compact measuring electronics are used, which are placed directly on the tray of the automatic wire processing machine. To prevent restrictions on the process on the automatic processing machine, the measuring unit can be battery-powered. In addition, the electronics can be provided with a wireless connection so that the output can be used for process control.

[0048] The method proposed here can be used to obtain important supplementary parameters to achieve the level of partially automated / automated manufacturing processes. A consistent traceability of process parameters during assembly can be achieved. The method proposed here enables the recording of process parameters during the process, so that end-of-line tests can be omitted.

[0049] Since the devices and methods described in detail above are embodiments, a person skilled in the art can generally modify them widely without departing from the scope of the invention. In particular, the mechanical arrangements of the individual elements and the dimensional ratios to each other are only examples.

[0050] Reference numerals list

[0051] 100 Pallets

[0052] 102 Wiring Harness

[0053] 104 Housing adapter

[0054] 106 Test Circuit

[0055] 108 Plug housing

[0056] 110 Wire

[0057] 112 Contact Department

[0058] 114 Contacts

[0059] 116 Test Circuit

[0060] 118 Status signal

[0061] 120 contact pairs

[0062] 122 diode

[0063] 124 Out

[0064] 126 loops

[0065] 128 conductor pairs

[0066] 130 Data line

[0067] 132 Wire bridge

[0068] 200 Output

[0069] 202 Wireless Module

[0070] 204 Monitoring Device

Claims

1. A tray (100) for an automatic wire harness processing machine, wherein: Arranged on the tray (100) are at least two housing adapters (104) for receiving a plug housing (108) of a wiring harness (102) and a test line (106) with at least one test circuit (116), wherein the test circuit (116) extends through at least one contact (114) of each housing adapter (104), wherein the test circuit (116) is closed when at least two of the contacts (114) are electrically conductively connected via at least one wire (110) of the wiring harness (102) which is inserted into the plug housing (108) in a prescribed manner, and wherein the test line (106) is designed to measure the test circuit (116) and to output a state of the test circuit (116) using a signal.

2. The pallet (100) according to claim 1, wherein: The test circuit (116) extends through a contact pair (120) consisting of two contacts (114) of each housing adapter (104), wherein the contacts (114) of one of the contact pairs (120) are electrically conductively connected to one another, and the test circuit (106) is connected to the contact pair (120) of the other housing adapter (104), wherein the test circuit (116) is closed when the contact pair (120) is electrically conductively connected via two wires (110) of the wiring harness (102) which are properly inserted into the plug housing (108).

3. The pallet (100) according to claim 2, wherein: A diode (122) is connected between the electrically conductively connected contact pair (120).

4. A pallet (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The test line (106) is arranged on one of the housing adapters (104) and is directly connected to at least one contact (114) of the housing adapter (104).

5. The pallet (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The test line (106) is connected to at least one contact (114) of at least one remote housing adapter (104) via at least one wire bridge (132).

6. The pallet (100) according to claim 5, wherein: The wire bridge (132) extends across the back side of the tray (100).

7. A pallet (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The contacts (114) of the housing adapter (104) are supported by springs.

8. A pallet (100) according to any one of the preceding claims, wherein: The test circuit (106) has a wireless module (202) for signaling a status.

9. A method for manufacturing a wire harness (102) by using the tray (100) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, wherein: The housing adapter (104) is equipped with a plug housing (108) of the wiring harness (102), and a first contact portion (112) of at least one wire (110) of the wiring harness (102) is inserted into a plug-in position of the plug housing (108), and a second contact portion (112) of the wire (110) is inserted into a plug-in position of another plug housing (108), wherein the contact portion (112) is electrically contacted by a contact (114) of the housing adapter (104) during insertion and the test circuit (116) is measured, wherein a state of the test circuit (116) is reflected in a state signal (118).

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein: The electrical conductivity and / or resistance of the test circuit (116) is reflected as a state in the state signal (118).

11. The method according to claim 9 or 10, using a pallet (100) according to claim 3, wherein: When the contacts (112) of the twisted conductor pair (128) are inserted into a plug-in position with a specified polarity, the test circuit (116) is closed, wherein the plug-in position on the plug housing (108) is changed when the status signal (118) signals an interruption of the test circuit (116).

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