Method for manufacturing terminal-equipped wire

Abstract

An outer terminal (20) is placed between the crimper and the anvil. Then, the crimp and anvil are closed to an intermediate position and the bobbin (22) is deformed inwardly to form an insertion guide (G) for the inner housing (11) by the bobbin. Next, the inner housing (11) is inserted along an insertion guide (G) formed by the bobbin (22) until the inner housing (11) reaches an inner predetermined position of the end cylindrical portion (21) of the outer terminal (20). Then, the crimp and anvil are further closed to swage the bobbin (22) onto the electric wire (W).

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a method for manufacturing a wire with a terminal, wherein a terminal for a shielded wire including an inner housing and an outer terminal is attached to an end of a shielded wire (eg, a high-frequency cable, a multi-core cable, a coaxial cable). Background Art

[0002] A shielded electric wire is known in which a wire core including a conductor for signal transmission is covered with a shield conductor such as a braid, and the outside of the shield conductor is covered with a sheath. The terminal attached to the end of such a shielded electric wire generally includes an inner housing and an outer terminal provided on the outer periphery of the inner housing. The inner housing is a component including an inner terminal that is conductively connected to the conductor of the wire core, and the outer terminal provided outside the inner housing is a component that is conductively connected to the shield conductor.

[0003] During the assembly process, the inner housing accommodating the inner terminal is inserted into the tubular body of the distal end portion of the outer terminal from the rear and is attached to the end of the wire in advance. In the end processing of the wire, the core conductor exposed by removing the sheath is conductively connected to the inner terminal in the inner housing. After the inner housing is inserted, the shield conductor exposed at the end portion of the stripped sheath is conductively connected to the outer terminal by swaging the wire barrel of the outer terminal.

[0004] When such a terminal including an inner housing and an outer terminal is attached to the end of an electric wire by an automatic machine, a series of steps includes a step of inserting the inner housing attached to the end of the electric wire into the distal tubular portion of the outer terminal from behind.

[0005] However, when an attempt is made to insert the inner housing pre-attached to the end of the wire into the outer terminal by an automatic machine, unless the positioning is very accurate, the distal end of the inner housing hits the entrance of the distal tubular portion of the outer terminal, making it impossible to insert the inner housing into the outer terminal and causing the wire to bend.

[0006] In view of this, it is possible to consider inserting the inner housing into the outer terminal while positioning the inner housing with high precision using a positioning mechanism. However, as the terminal becomes miniaturized, the size of the positioning mechanism needs to be reduced, which makes the equipment more complicated and difficult to provide a positioning mechanism. In addition, if a positioning mechanism is provided, the operation time required for positioning may increase, resulting in problems such as a longer cycle time of the terminal attachment step.

[0007] Patent Document 1 describes a similar example of an automatic assembly apparatus for terminals of such shielded electric wires.

[0008] Patent document 1 describes an example in which an insulating component (partition) corresponding to the inner housing is inserted from the front of the outer terminal, and an inner terminal attached to the end of the wire is inserted from the rear of the outer terminal. However, both the insertion of the inner housing and the insertion of the inner terminal require precise positioning relative to the outer terminal, and as the terminal becomes smaller, insertion becomes more difficult to achieve.

[0009] Reference List

[0010] Patent Literature

[0011] Patent document 1: JP3456422B Summary of the invention

[0012] Technical issues

[0013] As described above, in the prior art, a positioning mechanism needs to be provided separately when inserting the internal component into the external terminal. However, as the terminal becomes smaller, it is difficult to achieve insertion using the same mechanism.

[0014] The present invention is proposed in view of the above situation, and its purpose is to provide a method for manufacturing an electric wire with a terminal, by which the positioning of the inner shell when inserting the outer terminal can be achieved without using a special positioning mechanism. Therefore, even when the terminal is miniaturized, the method can be easily implemented.

[0015] Solution to the problem

[0016] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a method for manufacturing an electric wire with a terminal according to the present invention is characterized as follows.

[0017] A method for manufacturing an electric wire with a terminal obtained by attaching an outer terminal to the outer periphery of an inner housing, the method comprising:

[0018] In the first step, the outer terminal is placed between a crimper and an anvil, and the crimper and anvil are used to swage a wire barrel disposed at a rear end portion of the outer terminal;

[0019] In a second step, the crimper and the anvil are closed to the first stage and the wire barrel is deformed inwardly to form an insertion guide for the inner housing through the wire barrel;

[0020] The third step is to insert the inner housing attached to the end of the electric wire along the insertion guide formed by the wire barrel until it reaches a predetermined position inside the distal tubular portion of the outer terminal; and

[0021] In a fourth step, after the inner housing is inserted into a predetermined position, the crimper and the anvil are further closed to swage the wire barrel to the wire extending rearward from the inner housing.

[0022] Advantageous Effects of the Invention

[0023] According to the present invention, the swaging operation of the wire barrel for swaging the external terminal by the crimper and the anvil is temporarily stopped at an intermediate position, thereby forming the wire barrel into an insertion guide. Therefore, the inner housing can be smoothly inserted into the external terminal along the insertion guide formed by the wire barrel without the need for a separate positioning mechanism. Therefore, it is advantageous in that a separate guide mechanism can be omitted in addition to the crimper and the anvil required for swaging the wire barrel. That is, since a separate guide mechanism is not required, the device is not complicated, and the assembly work of the inner housing relative to the external terminal can be easily completed without increasing costs or requiring additional operating time.

[0024] The present invention has been briefly described above. Further, the details of the present invention can be clarified by reading the following mode for carrying out the present invention (hereinafter referred to as "embodiment") described with reference to the accompanying drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0025] Figure 1 is a perspective view showing steps of a manufacturing method according to an embodiment of the present invention.

[0026] Figure 2 is along Figure 1 Cross-sectional view taken along the center line A1-A1.

[0027] Figure 3 It is shown Figure 1 A perspective view of the step following the step shown.

[0028] Figure 4 is along Figure 3 A cross-sectional view is taken along the center line A2-A2.

[0029] Figure 5 It is shown Figure 2 A perspective view of the step following the step shown.

[0030] Figure 6 It is along Figure 5 Cross-sectional view taken along the center line A3-A3.

[0031] Figure 7 It shows execution Figure 1 and Figure 2 The steps shown are schematic side views of the operation of the assembly mechanism.

[0032] Figure 8 It shows execution Figure 3 and Figure 4 The steps shown are schematic side views of the operation of the assembly mechanism.

[0033] Fig. 9 It shows execution Figure 5 and Figure 6The steps shown are schematic side views of the operation of the assembly mechanism. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0035] Figures 1 to 6 are schematic diagrams illustrating steps of the manufacturing method according to this embodiment, Figures 7 to 9 They are schematic side views illustrating the operation of the assembly mechanism when performing each step.

[0036] In the method for manufacturing a wire with a terminal of the present embodiment, when the inner housing 11 and the outer terminal 20 are Figure 1 When the form shown is supplied to the assembly equipment (also called processing equipment) described later, assembly begins. That is, the inner housing 11 is pre-attached to the end portion of the wire W in the previous step and supplied to the assembly equipment in the form of the wire 10 with the inner housing.

[0037] In this case, the electric wire W includes the outermost sheath W1, the braid W2 as a shielding conductor in the sheath W1, and the wire core (not shown) in the braid W2. For the electric wire W, in the end processing of the previous step, the wire core conductor exposed by removing the sheath W1 is conductively connected to the inner terminal (not shown) in the inner housing 11. In addition, the braid W2 exposed by stripping the sheath W1 is trimmed, folded and overlapped on the outer periphery of the sleeve 30, which is installed on the outer periphery of the end portion of the sheath W1. Therefore, the electric wire 10 with the inner housing is prepared in advance in the previous step. An impedance matching component (not shown) can be attached to the end of the electric wire W together with the inner housing 11.

[0038] The outer terminal 20 is formed by stamping to include a tubular portion (distal tubular portion) 21 at the distal end side and a wire barrel 22 at the rear end side which is swaged and crimped to the electric wire W, and is connected to a carrier (not shown) in a chain-like manner. The wire barrel 22 is provided with a front barrel 23 and a rear barrel 24 at the rear of the front barrel 23. The front barrel 23 is to be swaged and crimped to the shielded conductor portion (i.e., the portion where the folded braid W2 overlaps on the outer periphery of the sleeve 30) at the rear side of the inner housing 11, and includes a pair of swaging pieces 23a, 23a which extend diagonally upward and outward from the left and right side edges of the base portion 25 extending rearward from the tubular portion 21. The rear barrel 24 is to be swaged to the position of the sheath W1 at the rear side of the shielded conductor portion, and similarly to the front barrel 23, the rear barrel 24 includes a pair of swaging pieces 24a, 24a which extend diagonally upward and outward from the left and right side edges of the base portion 25.

[0039] Then, the configuration of an assembling device that performs assembling will be briefly described.

[0040] like Figure 7As shown, the assembly apparatus is provided with a wire conveying mechanism 50 that clamps the wire 10 with the inner housing and moves up and down, front and back, and left and right, and an applicator 80 that performs a swaging process on the wire barrel 22 of the outer terminal 20. The wire conveying mechanism 50 moves the wire W by clamping a part of the sheath of the wire W with the wire conveying chuck 51. The applicator 80 is a unit equipped with an anvil 61 and a crimper 62 that constitute a swaging die 60, and is configured to swage and fix the wire barrel 22 of the outer terminal 20 to the wire W by pressing the crimper 62 to close the anvil 61 and the crimper 62.

[0041] The applicator 80 is equipped with a support stopper 70 that presses the outer terminal 20 by a spring 71 together with the crimper 62. The applicator 80 is equipped with a servo pressing mechanism (not shown) that lowers and raises the crimper 62 and the support stopper 70.

[0042] In the manufacturing method according to this embodiment, by sequentially performing the following first to fourth steps, a product as shown in FIG. Figure 5 The illustrated electric wire 1 with a terminal has a terminal 3 of a shielded electric wire attached to the end of the electric wire W.

[0043] First, in the first step, if Figure 7 As shown, the outer terminal 20 is placed between the anvil 61 and the crimper 62, which is used to swage the wire barrel 22 provided at the rear end portion of the outer terminal 20. Then, the wire W is clamped by the wire transfer chuck 51, and the inner housing 11 attached to the distal end of the wire W is set above the rear end portion of the outer terminal 20 (as shown in FIG. Figure 7 Then, as indicated by arrow S1 in FIG. Figure 1 As shown, at least the front end portion of the inner housing 11 is lowered toward the wire barrel 22 of the outer terminal 20 (by Figure 7 At this time, as indicated by the arrow S2 in FIG. Figure 2 As shown, the bobbin 22 in the outwardly opened state guides the inner housing 11 to move downward.

[0044] Next, in the second step, if Figure 8 As shown, the crimper 62 and the anvil 61 are closed to the first stage (by Figure 8 The arrow S5 in the middle indicates the operation of closing the crimper 62 to the middle position), and as Figure 3 and Figure 4 As shown, the swaging pieces 23 a , 24 a of the wire barrel 22 are deformed inwardly to form an insertion guide G for the inner housing 11 through the wire barrel 22 .

[0045] Next, in the third step, the inner housing 11 attached to the end of the wire W is inserted along the insertion guide G formed by the wire barrel 22 until it reaches a predetermined position inside the distal end tubular portion 21 of the outer terminal 20 (defined by the inner housing 11). Figure 3 and Figure 8 The operation indicated by the arrow S3).

[0046] Next, in the fourth step, after the inner housing 11 is inserted into a predetermined position, Fig. 9 As shown, the crimper 62 and the anvil 61 are further closed (by Fig. 9 The operation indicated by the arrow S6 in FIG. Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown, the wire barrel 22 is swaged and fixed to the electric wire W extending backward from the inner housing 11 (main swaging). That is, the front barrel 23 is swaged and crimped to the shield conductor portion on the rear side of the inner housing 11 (i.e., the portion where the folded braid W2 overlaps the outer periphery of the sleeve 30). The rear barrel 24 is swaged and fixed to the position of the sheath W1 on the rear side of the shield conductor portion. Thus, the terminal-attached electric wire 1 including the inner housing 11 and the outer terminal 20 is obtained.

[0047] When the above steps are performed, the movement of the outer terminal 20 in the front-to-back direction is restricted by the carrier (not shown). At the same time as the final main swaging, the carrier is cut by the shear blade to separate the outer terminal 20, but until just before swaging, the outer terminal 20 is positioned in the front-to-back direction by the carrier. However, since there is no restriction in the up-down direction, the tubular portion 21 of the outer terminal 20 may move up and down. Therefore, after the first step, the outer terminal 20 is pressed and held by the support stopper 70 from above until the end of the fourth step. This allows the inner housing 11 to be easily and accurately inserted.

[0048] As described above, according to the method for manufacturing a terminal-equipped electric wire of the present embodiment, the wire barrel 22 of the outer terminal 20 is swaged by the crimper 62 and the anvil 61 and stopped at an intermediate position, and the inner housing 11 attached to the end of the electric wire W is inserted into the distal tubular portion 21 of the outer terminal 20, while the wire barrel 22 is deformed inwardly to be inserted into the guide G. Therefore, without providing a separate guide mechanism for the operation of inserting the inner housing 11 into the outer terminal 20, the inner housing 11 can be smoothly inserted into the outer terminal 20.

[0049] Therefore, it is advantageous in that a separate guide mechanism can be omitted in addition to the crimper and anvil required for swaging the wire barrel. That is, without the need for a separate guide mechanism, the convenience of assembly can be improved by slightly changing the steps while keeping the structure of the related applicator unchanged. Therefore, the assembly equipment does not become complicated, and the assembly work of the inner housing 11 relative to the outer terminal 20 can be performed without increasing the cost.

[0050] Furthermore, by using the support stopper 70 , the inner housing 11 can be easily inserted into the outer terminal 20 in a state where the outer terminal 20 is pressed and does not move.

[0051] The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and modifications, improvements, etc. may be made as appropriate. In addition, as long as the present invention can be realized, the materials, shapes, sizes, quantities, arrangement positions, etc. of the components in the above-mentioned embodiments may be freely selected without limitation.

[0052] Here, the features of the method for manufacturing an electric wire with a terminal according to the embodiment of the present invention described above are briefly summarized and listed as follows [1] and [2].

[0053] [1] A method for manufacturing a terminal-equipped electric wire (1), the terminal-equipped electric wire (1) being obtained by attaching an outer terminal (20) to the outer periphery of an inner housing (11), the method comprising:

[0054] In the first step, the outer terminal (20) is placed between a crimper (62) and an anvil (61), and the crimper (62) and anvil (61) are used to forge a wire barrel (22) disposed at a rear end portion of the outer terminal (20);

[0055] In a second step, the crimper (62) and the anvil (61) are closed to the first stage, and the wire barrel (22) is deformed inwardly to form an insertion guide (G) for the inner housing (11) through the wire barrel (22);

[0056] In a third step, the inner housing (11) attached to the end of the electric wire (W) is inserted along an insertion guide (G) formed by a wire barrel (22) until it reaches a predetermined position inside the distal tubular portion (21) of the outer terminal (20); and

[0057] In the fourth step, after the inner housing (11) is inserted into a predetermined position, the crimper (62) and the anvil (61) are further closed to swage the wire barrel (22) to the wire (W) extending rearward from the inner housing (11).

[0058] According to the configuration of [1] above, the swaging of the wire barrel (22) of the external terminal (20) by the crimper (62) and the anvil (61) is temporarily stopped at an intermediate position. Then, the inner housing (11) attached to the end of the wire (W) is inserted into the distal tubular portion (21) of the external terminal (20), and the wire barrel (22) is deformed inward to form an insertion guide (G). Therefore, the inner housing (11) can be smoothly inserted into the external terminal (20) without providing a separate guide mechanism for inserting the inner housing (11) into the external terminal (20). Therefore, its advantage is that, in addition to the crimper (62) and the anvil (61) required for swaging the wire barrel (22), a separate guide mechanism can be omitted. That is, since a separate guide mechanism is not required, the assembly equipment is not complicated, and the assembly work of the inner housing (11) relative to the external terminal (20) can be easily completed without increasing costs or requiring additional operating time.

[0059] [2] The method for manufacturing an electric wire with a terminal according to [1] above, wherein:

[0060] The outer terminal is pressed and held by the support stopper after the first step until the fourth step is completed.

[0061] According to the configuration of [2] above, the inner housing (11) can be easily inserted into the outer terminal (20) in a state where the outer terminal (20) is pressed and does not move.

[0062] This application is based on the Japanese patent application (No. 2022-170102) filed on October 24, 2022, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0063] Reference numerals list

[0064] 1: Wire with terminal

[0065] 3: Terminal

[0066] 11: Inner shell

[0067] 20: External terminal

[0068] 21: Distal tubular part

[0069] 22: Spool

[0070] 61: Anvil

[0071] 62: Crimper

[0072] W Wire

[0073] G: Insert guide.

Claims

1. A method for manufacturing an electric wire with a terminal, the electric wire with a terminal being obtained by attaching an outer terminal to the outer periphery of an inner housing, the method comprising: The first step is to place the outer terminal between a crimper and an anvil, wherein the crimper and the anvil are used to swage a wire barrel disposed at a rear end portion of the outer terminal; The second step is to close the crimper and the anvil to the first stage and deform the wire barrel inwardly to form an insertion guide for the inner housing through the wire barrel; The third step is to insert the inner housing attached to the end of the electric wire along the insertion guide formed by the wire barrel until reaching a predetermined position inside the distal tubular portion of the outer terminal; as well as In a fourth step, after the inner housing is inserted into the predetermined position, the crimper and the anvil are further closed to swage the wire barrel to the wire extending rearward from the inner housing.

2. The method for producing an electric wire with a terminal according to claim 1, wherein: The outer terminal is pressed and held by the support stopper after the first step until the fourth step is completed.

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