Device and method for manufacturing a cable harness

Abstract

Device (1) for manufacturing a cable harness (2), comprising at least one baseboard (4) on which a plurality of fork-shaped cable holders (5, 6) are arranged, which are designed to support electrical conductors (3) between their starting points and end points and which are movable relative to the baseboard (4) between a holding position in which several cable holders (5, 6) together form at least one routing path for the conductors (3) and a stowing position in which the cable holders (5, 6) are arranged at least partially outside the routing path, wherein the cable holders (5, 6) can be individually controlled by a computer-aided control device (15) such that at least one stowage cable holder (6) from the plurality of cable holders (5, 6) can be moved into the stowage position, while the cables (3) are still supported by the remaining cable holders (5) along the laying path, characterized by that the fork-shaped stowage cable receptacle (6) has an actuator (13, 14) that can be actuated by the computer-aided control unit (15) and is configured to move into the stowage position, and wherein the actuator (13, 14) has at least one selectably energizable electrical coil (20, 21) and a retaining element (18, 19) that can be moved by the electrical coil (20, 21) and that releases or moves the stowage cable receptacle (6) into the stowage position.

Description

Technical area

[0001] The present invention relates to a device, in particular a cable laying aid, for producing a cable harness, in particular for a vehicle. Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for producing such a cable harness. State of the art

[0002] Devices and methods for producing cable harnesses, in particular cable harnesses for a vehicle, are already known from the prior art.

[0003] For example, EP 0 419 524 A1 discloses a method for producing a cable harness from pre-assembled electrical cables, i.e., cables provided with plug-in connectors or the like. During the laying of individual cables, the plug-in connectors are arranged in a line in plug-in housing receptacles, with the already laid cables hanging freely between the plug-in connectors attached at the starting and end points. The cables are then tied off by a tying tool grasping the cable harness formed by the cables at the plug-in connector and tying it off. The tying tool is then moved along the cable harness a certain distance to the first branching point of the cable harness, where another tying operation takes place. The disadvantage of this method is that the cables hang down between the starting and end points, which means that tying off the cables is only possible to a limited extent.

[0004] Furthermore, from DE 10 2015 011 822 A1 or the generic US 4 625 858 A, a device for cable harness production according to the preamble of claim 1 is known. Although this simplifies cable harness production, there is a desire for further improvement regarding the tying of the cables.

[0005] Other devices for wire harness production with wire receptacles are known from JP H11-144 538 A, US 5 478 060 A, US 2001 / 0 019 478 A1, and DE 35 23 308 A1. Further devices for wire harness production are known from JP 2015-220 067 A and DE 10 2012 203 571 B3. Description of the invention

[0006] An object of the invention is therefore to create a possibility for the ergonomically improved and ideally time-efficient tying of cables using means that are as simple as possible in terms of construction.

[0007] The object is achieved by the subject matter of the independent claims. Advantageous developments of the invention are specified in the dependent claims, the description, and the accompanying figures.

[0008] A device according to the invention for producing a wiring harness, which is particularly suitable for a vehicle, has at least one construction board on which a plurality of cable receptacles are arranged. The cable receptacles are designed to support electrical cables between their starting points and end points. Furthermore, the cable receptacles are movable relative to the construction board between a receiving position, in which several cable receptacles together form at least one laying path for the cables, and a stowed position, in which the cable receptacles are arranged at least partially outside the laying path. The construction board can preferably be arranged horizontally, while the fork-shaped cable receptacles protrude vertically therefrom. The cables are thus held up by the cable receptacles or supported at a distance from a construction board surface predetermined by the cable receptacles.The installation path can be straight, but can also contain branches or similar.

[0009] According to the invention, the cable receptacles can be individually controlled by a computer-aided control device such that at least one stowage cable receptacle, i.e. at least one individual cable receptacle, from the plurality of cable receptacles can be moved into the stowage position while the cables are still carried by the remaining cable receptacles on the installation path. In other words, one or more individual cable receptacles are moved out of the installation path in a targeted and forced manner, either automatically or remotely, in order to create free space or more space around the cables in certain sections. Nevertheless, the cables continue to be carried by a number of cable receptacles that remain in the receptacle position, i.e. continue to form the installation path. The one or more stowage cable receptacles can, for example, be arranged between two cable receptacles that remain in the receptacle position.

[0010] The device therefore offers the advantage that, for example, for tying off the cables to a cable harness section, individual cable holders, namely the stowage cable holders, can be moved far enough out of the laying path to allow for easier and undisturbed tying thanks to the space created. This improves ergonomics when using construction boards, as more space is available for tying off. In addition, higher quality tying can be achieved with improved time efficiency. In particular, tying off with the aid of a tying device can be carried out more effectively. Tying off is also frequently carried out using a wrapping tape, which can be carried out more easily and with improved wrapping quality thanks to the additional space created.

[0011] To enable coordinated forced or remote control of the stowage cable receptacle, it is advantageous if the control device is connected to a higher-level production system that is configured to send an activation signal to the control device before or upon the construction board reaching a binding station. For example, several construction boards can be monitored and / or controlled simultaneously by the production system, with information on the vehicle-specific or customer-specific wiring harness to be manufactured being stored in the production system. When the respective construction board reaches a binding station where the binding assembly step is carried out, the production system causes the control device to stow the one or more individual cable receptacles.

[0012] To create sufficient space for tying, especially wrapping, it is advantageous if the controlled cable storage receptacle is selected based on whether it is located in a cable section that is to be tied. This means that cable receptacles are removed from the routing path precisely where tying actually takes place. This information is recorded in the production drawings for the cable harness and is also available in the production system.

[0013] The cable storage holder can be easily moved out of the installation path if it can be pivoted or lowered into the stowed position. For this purpose, the cable storage holders can be equipped with a pivoting or lowering device.

[0014] In order to move the cable holder(s) out of the laying path, the stowage cable holder has an actuator that can be actuated by the control device and is designed to move or release into the stowage position.

[0015] The actuator comprises at least one electrical coil that can be selectively energized, and a retaining element that can be moved by the coil and releases or moves the stowed cable receptacle into the stowed position. The stowed cable receptacle can, for example, be preloaded in a lowering direction by a spring element and held in this preloaded position by the retaining element engaged therewith. When the coil is energized, the retaining element is released from engagement with the pivotable or lowerable part of the stowed cable receptacle, causing the latter to then move out of the installation path. It is also conceivable that no spring element is provided, but rather a movement induced by gravity.

[0016] The invention also relates to a method for producing a wiring harness, particularly for a vehicle. The method provides: - Providing at least one construction board on which a plurality of cable receptacles are arranged. A production system can also have several construction boards, which can move through a production hall, for example, via a conveyor system. The cable receptacles are fork-shaped. - Arranging electrical cables in the cable receptacles, which together form at least one laying path for the cables in a receptacle position. - Controlling at least one stowage cable receptacle, i.e., a cable receptacle to be stowed from the receiving position, from the plurality of cable receptacles by a computer-aided control device in such a way that the stowage cable receptacle is moved out of the installation path into a stowage position while the cables are still being supported by the remaining cable receptacles on the installation path. This means that one or more individual cable receptacles are moved out of the installation path while the others continue to support the cables. This creates space between the cable-supporting cable receptacles. - Tying off the cables in a section of the cable that has been at least largely exposed by the cable storage device.

[0017] The cable storage holder can be remotely or automatically controlled for storage, for example, if the control device receives a trigger signal from a connected, higher-level production system, whereupon the cable storage holder is moved out of the installation path. For example, manufacturing data or design data for the respective cable harness are stored in the production system, making it easy to determine which cable sections require more space for subsequent assembly steps.

[0018] In order to first define a complete installation path for upstream steps of the cable harness production, but then to facilitate the tying at the appropriate time by creating the free space between the supporting cable holders, the trigger signal can be sent by the production system before or when the construction board reaches a tying station.

[0019] For maximum ease of operation, just enough cable storage supports can be moved out of the installation path to ensure that the section of cable to be tied off is at least largely freely accessible. This allows a plurality of cable storage supports to be moved out of the installation path, even among the total number of cable supports available.

[0020] The device can be designed in a simple manner by pivoting or lowering the cable storage holder out of the installation path. Returning it to the storage position can be done manually or automatically, using a motor, or similar means. Short character description

[0021] An advantageous embodiment of the invention is explained below with reference to the accompanying figures. They show: Fig. 1 a perspective side view of a device according to the invention with a plurality of cable receptacles, all of which are in a receiving position Fig. 2 a perspective side view of the device from Fig. 1 with a tied-off cable section, with a cable receptacle in a stowed position, Fig. 3 a half-section through a device according to the invention, in which a cable receptacle is in a stowed position, and Fig. 4 a roughly schematic representation of a device with several construction boards which are controlled by a production system superordinate to a control device.

[0022] The figures are merely schematic representations and serve only to illustrate the invention. Identical or equivalent elements are provided with the same reference numerals throughout.

[0023] Fig. Figure 1 shows a highly simplified side view of a device 1 according to the invention, which is suitable for producing a wiring harness 2. The wiring harness 2 is shown here only as a partial section in the form of a cable section with several electrical wires 3. However, the principle shown can be applied to a complete wiring harness 2 with a plurality of wires 3 and contact parts attached thereto (not shown here).

[0024] The device 1 has a construction board 4 on which a plurality of cable receptacles 5, 6 are arranged, here only two by way of example. The cable receptacles 5, 6 are identical to one another and are designed in a fork-like manner, i.e. as so-called fork receptacles. Accordingly, the cable receptacles 5, 6 each have a receiving section 7, 8 which essentially forms the fork shape, a holding section 9, 10, and a fastening section 11, 12 for attachment to the construction board 4. Furthermore, the cable receptacles 5, 6 also interact with an electrical actuator 13, 14 arranged thereon, which is designed to actuate, release, or similarly act on the holding section 9, 10. To control the respective actuator 13, 14, a control device 15 (shown only schematically here) is provided, which is arranged, for example, on the construction board 4.The computer-aided control device 15 is connected to the actuators 13, 14 via one or more control lines 16.

[0025] As from Fig. 1, the two cable receptacles 5, 6 (shown here as an example) are in a receiving position in which the cables 3 are received in the respective receiving section 7, 8 and are thus supported at a distance defined by the cable receptacles 5, 6 above the side of the construction board 4 facing them. In this receiving position, the cable receptacles 5, 6 define a laying path for the cables 3, which are supported by a plurality of the cable receptacles 5, 6 between their longitudinal ends, to which, for example, contact parts (not shown here) are attached. The laying path is straight in the partial section shown here, but can also be angled, curved, etc. Typically, at least one or more branches will be provided in the cable harness 2.

[0026] In Fig. 2, which shows the device 1 in a perspective view, it can be seen that the cable receptacles 5, 6 can also be brought or moved from the receiving position into a stowed position. This is shown here as an example for the cable receptacle 6, which in the stowed position can accordingly also be referred to as the stowed cable receptacle 6. The stowed position can be reached from the receiving position in particular by folding it away or, as shown here as an example, by lowering it. This means that the receiving section 8 is moved away from the cables 3 relative to the construction board 4 and the fastening section 12 attached thereto by releasing the holding section 10. Stowing away is carried out individually by controlling the respective actuator 13, 14 by the control device 15.

[0027] By stowing the individual cable receptacles 6, an installer working on the construction board 4 is provided with additional free space between the cable receptacles to tie off the cables 3 section by section, for example, using a tying element 17, such as cable ties or a wrapping tape, as shown here as an example for one cable section. It is noteworthy that only the one cable receptacle 6, designated as the stowed cable receptacle, is lowered, while the other cable receptacle 5 continues to support the cables 3. Accordingly, with multiple cable receptacles, multiple stowed cable receptacles can be lowered, and multiple cable receptacles remaining in the holding position can continue to fulfill the supporting function for the cables 3.

[0028] In Fig. Figure 3, which shows a half-section of the device 1, shows the mode of operation for holding and lowering the cable receptacles 5, 6. A holding element 18, 19 extends from the respective actuator 13, 14 into the holding section 9, 10 of the respective cable receptacle 5, 6. For example, the holding element 18, 19 here is a pin element. A cylindrical (not further designated) section of the cable receptacle 5, 6 can slide relative to the holding section 9, 10 and is held in position in the receiving position by the holding element 18, as is the case here with the cable receptacle 5. Each actuator 13, 14 has an electric coil 20, 21 which can be energized by the control device 15 and thereby pulls the holding element 18, 19 out of engagement with the holding section 9, 10.In the illustrated embodiment, the respective cable receptacles 5, 6 are lowered by gravity, although spring preload toward the stowed position or similar is also conceivable. Furthermore, . Fig. 3 shows that the fastening section 11, 12 extends through the construction board 4 and is secured on the side of the construction board 4 facing away from the receiving section 7, 8 with a fastening element, which here is designed, for example, as a screw nut. This holds the cable receptacle 5, 6 to the construction board 4.

[0029] Fig.4 shows the device 1 with an exemplary arrangement of several construction boards 4, which are moved in a production hall and each have a schematically indicated plurality of cable receptacles 5, 6, actuators 13, 14, and control devices 15, which can assume both the receiving position and the stowed position. It can be seen that the device 1 has a production system 22 that is higher-level than the respective control device 15 or interacts with it. The production system 22 is connected to the control device 15, for example via a radio connection, and is configured to send an activation signal 23 to the respective control device 15, in response to which the respective actuator 13, 14 is actuated or controlled by the control device 15. During the manufacture of the cable harness 2, the construction boards 4 pass through several (production or assembly) stations, at least one of which is provided as a binding station 24.It is indicated by the reference numerals 5 and 6 that all cable receptacles are in the receiving position (reference numeral 5) before reaching a tying station 24, at which the section-by-section tying of the cables 3 takes place, and only then are they brought into the stowage position (reference numeral 6).

[0030] At the tying station 24, the above-mentioned tying of the cables 3 takes place, which is realized here with the winding tape 17. The production system 22 has design and / or manufacturing data for the respective cable harness 2, so that it is known or determinable which cable sections of the cable harness 2 are to be tied at which time. Accordingly, the production system 22 controls the control devices 15 in good time before reaching the tying station 24 so that the control device 15 controls the actuators 13, 14 to stow one or more cable receptacles 5, 6. Tying then takes place with more free space between the remaining, supporting cable receptacles 5, 6, which are still in the receptacle position. This is done here with a tying device that is moved to the exposed cable section to be tied.After passing through the tying station 24, the stored cable holders are manually returned to the holding position by the fitter.

[0031] Starting from the illustrated embodiment, the device 1 according to the invention and the method carried out therewith can be modified in many ways. For example, it is possible for the cable receptacles 5, 6 to have a folding mechanism for folding away instead of lowering. Accordingly, the holding element 18, 19 and the actuator 13, 14 can also be configured to release or actuate the folding mechanism. It is also conceivable for the actuator 13, 14 to be configured to automatically return the cable receptacles 5, 6 from the stowed position to the receiving position. In addition, the cable harness 2 can also have several spaced-apart, i.e., non-adjacent, cable sections, each of which is to be tied off separately. For this purpose, one or more cable receptacles 5, 6 can be stowed, with cable receptacles 5, 6 occasionally remaining in the receiving position between them. LIST OF REFERENCE SYMBOLS 1 device 2 wiring harness 3 electrical cables 4 building boards 5 (storage) cable receptacle(s) 6 (storage) cable receptacle(s) 7 recording section(s) 8 recording section(s) 9 stopping section(s) 10 stopping section(s) 11 fastening section(s) 12 fastening section(s) 13 actor(s) 14 actor(s) 15 control device(s) 16 control lines 17 Binding element (e.g. wrapping tape) 18 holding element(s) 19 holding element(s) 20 electric coil(s) 21 electric coil(s) 22 Production system 23 Activation signal 24 binding station

Claims

[1] Device (1) for producing a cable harness (2), with at least one construction board (4) on which a plurality of fork-shaped cable receptacles (5, 6) are arranged, which are designed to carry electrical cables (3) between their starting points and end points and which are movable relative to the construction board (4) between a receiving position in which several cable receptacles (5, 6) together form at least one laying path for the cables (3), and a stowage position in which the cable receptacles (5, 6) are arranged at least partially outside the laying path, wherein the cable receptacles (5, 6) can be individually controlled by a computer-aided control device (15) such that at least one stowage cable receptacle (6) from the plurality of cable receptacles (5, 6) can be moved into the stowage position, while the cables (3) are still carried by the remaining cable receptacles (5) on the laying path, characterized by, that the fork-shaped stowage cable receptacle (6) has an actuator (13, 14) which can be actuated by the computer-aided control device (15) and which is designed to move into the stowage position, and wherein the actuator (13, 14) has at least one electrical coil (20, 21) which can be selectively energized and a holding element (18, 19) which can be moved by the electrical coil (20, 21) and which releases or moves the stowage cable receptacle (6) into the stowage position. [2] Device (1) according to claim 1, characterized by that the control device (15) is connected to a higher-level production system (22) which is designed to send an activation signal (23) to the control device (15) before or when the building board (4) reaches a binding station (24). [3] Device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized bythat the controlled stowage line receptacle (6) is selected according to whether it is arranged in a line section to be tied off. [4] Device (1) according to one of the preceding claims, characterized by that the storage cable holder (6) can be pivoted or lowered into the storage position. [5] Method for producing a wiring harness (2), comprising the steps: - providing at least one construction board (4) on which a plurality of fork-shaped cable receptacles (5, 6) are arranged, - arranging electrical cables (3) in the cable receptacles (5, 6), which in a receptacle position together define at least one laying path for the cables (3), - controlling at least one stowage cable receptacle (6) from the plurality of cable receptacles (5, 6) by a computer-aided control device (15) such that the stowage cable receptacle (6) is moved out of the laying path into a stowage position, while the cables (3) are still carried by the remaining cable receptacles (5, 6) on the laying path, wherein the fork-shaped stowage cable receptacle (6) has an actuator (13, 14) which can be actuated by the computer-aided control device (15) and which is designed to move into the stowage position, and wherein the actuator (13, 14) has at least one selectively energizable electric coil (20, 21) and a holding element (18, 19) which can be moved by the electric coil (20, 21) and which releases or moves the stowage cable receptacle (6) into the stowage position, and - tying off the cables (3) in a section of the cable which is at least largely exposed by the storage cable holder (6). [6] Method according to claim 5, characterized by that the control device (15) receives a trigger signal (23) from a higher-level production system (22) connected thereto, whereupon the stowage cable holder (6) is moved out of the laying path. [7] Method according to claim 6, characterized by that the trigger signal (23) is transmitted by the building board (4) before or when a binding station (24) is reached. [8] Method according to claim 6 or 7, characterized by that the production system (22) determines which and / or how many storage cable receptacles (6) are moved on the basis of design or manufacturing data for the cable harness (2). [9] Method according to one of claims 5 to 8, characterized by that exactly as many storage cable holders (6) are moved out of the laying path so that the cable section to be tied off is at least largely freely accessible. [10] Method according to one of claims 5 to 9, characterized by that the storage cable holder (6) is pivoted or lowered out of the laying path.

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