Electric wire transport device

Abstract

To provide an electric wire transport device capable of transporting an electric wire having a sheath material without bending the sheath material.SOLUTION: In an electric wire transport device 1, a transporting mechanism 14 holds and transports a one-end side connector holding part 11 and a sheath material holding part 13. The one-end side connector holding part 11 holds a one-end side connector W15, and when the sheath material holding part 13 holds a corrugated tube W12 (sheath material), an electric wire W11 is turned to a bent state. The sheath material holding part 13 includes a pressing part 134 configured to stretch the corrugated tube W12 (sheath material) into a straight line by being pressed onto an outer peripheral surface of a peripheral wall of the corrugated tube W12 (sheath material) inside a bent when the electric wire W11 is turned to the bent state.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 6

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an electric wire conveying device for conveying electric wires.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, a wire harness in which an electric wire is passed through a tubular exterior material and a connector is connected to the end has been widely used. At this time, for further protection or the like, a protector formed in a tubular shape along the routing shape of the wire harness with a hard resin and storing the electric wire inside may be assembled in some cases (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In recent years, the automation of wire harness manufacturing operations has been progressing. At this time, when manufacturing a wire harness with a protector as described in Patent Document 1, the protector is divided into a trough-shaped portion and a cover portion, and first, the wire for the harness is stored in the trough-shaped portion, and then the cover portion may be attached or the like. When automating such work, an electric wire conveying device having a conveying mechanism such as a robot arm may be made to perform an operation of conveying an electric wire with an exterior material and storing the electric wire in the trough-shaped portion of the protector set on a jig plate. Here, although the end portion or the like of the exterior material may be stored in the trough-shaped portion of the protector together with the electric wire, if the exterior material during conveyance is bent, it may be difficult to store it in the trough-shaped portion, which hinders automation.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention focuses on the above problems and aims to provide a wire conveying device that can convey a wire with an outer covering material without bending the outer covering material.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0006] In order to solve the above problems, a wire conveying device includes: an end - side connector gripping portion that grips an end - side connector of a wire passed through a tubular outer covering material and having a connector connected to at least one end side, for the conveyance of the wire; a mechanism portion that grips the outer covering material for the conveyance of the wire, which is brought close to the outer covering material in an approaching direction approaching the peripheral wall of the outer covering material and grips the outer covering material in an outer - covering gripping direction intersecting the approaching direction and along the diameter of the peripheral wall; a mechanism portion that holds and conveys the end - side connector gripping portion and the outer - covering material gripping portion, wherein the holding position of the end - side connector gripping portion is separated from the holding position of the outer - covering material gripping portion in a separation direction intersecting both the approaching direction and the outer - covering gripping direction and is located on the rear side in the approaching direction, and when the end - side connector gripping portion grips the end - side connector and the outer - covering material gripping portion grips the outer covering material, the wire is bent in a bent state from the outer covering material to the end - side connector and is bent toward the rear side in the approaching direction; and a conveying mechanism. The outer - covering material gripping portion includes an outer - covering material gripping main body portion that grips the outer covering material with a pair of gripping pieces, and a pressing portion that is erected on the outer - covering material gripping main body portion so as to project in the separation direction at a position between the pair of gripping pieces at the base side of the pair of gripping pieces, and when the wire is in the bent state, the outer covering material is linearly extended in the separation direction by being pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall inside the bend.

Advantages of the Invention

[0007] According to the above - described wire conveying device, a wire with an outer covering material can be conveyed without bending the outer covering material.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0008]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Embodiments for Carrying out the Invention

[0009] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the wire conveying device will be described.

[0010] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a wire conveying device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a side view of the wire conveying device shown in FIG. 1 as viewed from the direction of arrow V11 in FIG. 1.

[0011] The wire conveying device 1 of this embodiment is a device for conveying a wire W11 passed through a corrugated tube W12 as a tubular exterior material and having connectors connected to both ends thereof in order to manufacture a wire harness W1 with a protector W13. This wire conveying device 1 conveys the wire W11 so as to house the end portion of the corrugated tube W12 together with the wire W11 in the gutter-shaped portion W131 of the protector W13 where the cover portion W132 is removed and which is installed on the jig plate W14. The wire conveying device 1 includes a one-end-side connector gripping portion 11, a the-other-end-side connector gripping portion 12, an exterior material gripping portion 13, and a conveying mechanism 14. In FIG. 2, among the other-end-side connector gripping portion 12 and the exterior material gripping portion 13 arranged side by side in the direction of arrow V11, the wire conveying device 1 is shown in a state where the other-end-side connector gripping portion 12 is removed so that the exterior material gripping portion 13 on the back side can be seen.

[0012] The one-end-side connector gripping portion 11 is a mechanism portion that grips the one-end-side connector W15 of the wire W11 for conveying the wire W11. The one-end-side connector W15 has a rectangular block-shaped appearance, and the one-end-side connector gripping portion 11 grips it in the one-end-side gripping direction D11 along the width of the one-end-side connector W15 with two pairs of gripping pieces 111.

[0013] The the-other-end-side connector gripping portion 12 is a mechanism portion that grips the the-other-end-side connector W16 different from the one-end-side connector W15 for conveying the wire W11. The the-other-end-side connector W16 has a rectangular block-shaped appearance, and the the-other-end-side connector gripping portion 12 grips it in the the-other-end-side gripping direction D12 along the width of the the-other-end-side connector W16 with two pairs of gripping pieces 121.

[0014] The exterior material gripping portion 13 is a mechanism portion that grips the corrugated tube W12 for conveying the wire W11. The exterior material gripping portion 13 grips the corrugated tube W12 in the exterior gripping direction D13 along the diameter of its peripheral wall W121 with a pair of gripping pieces 131.

[0015] The conveying mechanism 14 is a mechanism part that holds and conveys the one-end-side connector gripping part 11, the other-end-side connector gripping part 12, and the exterior material gripping part 13, and is a multi-joint robot arm. The one-end-side connector gripping part 11, the other-end-side connector gripping part 12, and the exterior material gripping part 13 are held at the tip movable part 141 of this conveying mechanism 14 in the following positional relationship.

[0016] The tip movable part 141 of the conveying mechanism 14 includes a first holding plate 141a that holds the other-end-side connector gripping part 12 and the exterior material gripping part 13, and a second holding plate 141b that holds the one-end-side connector gripping part 11. On the first holding plate 141a, the other-end-side gripping direction D12 and the exterior gripping direction D13 are in the same direction as each other, and the other-end-side connector gripping part 12 is held so as to be adjacent to the exterior material gripping part 13 in the arrangement direction D14 along the other-end-side gripping direction D12 and the exterior gripping direction D13. The first holding plate 141a is a rectangular plate extending in the arrangement direction D14 so as to enable such holding. When causing the exterior material gripping part 13 and the other-end-side connector gripping part 12 to perform gripping, the conveying mechanism 14 moves the first holding plate 141a in the approaching direction D15 of facing each gripping target and approaching the gripping target. As a result, the exterior material gripping part 13 is brought closer to the corrugated tube W12 in the approaching direction D15 approaching the peripheral wall W121 of the corrugated tube W12. Then, at a position where it is sufficiently close, the exterior material gripping part 13 grips the corrugated tube W12 in the exterior gripping direction D13 intersecting the approaching direction D15 and along the diameter of the peripheral wall W121. Similarly, the other-end-side connector gripping part 12 also grips the other-end-side connector W16 in the other-end-side gripping direction D12 intersecting the approaching direction D15 and along the width of the other-end-side connector W16.

[0017] At the second holding plate 141b of the distal end movable part 141 of the transfer mechanism 14, the one-end side connector gripping part 11 is held such that the holding position P11 of the one-end side connector gripping part 11 has the following positional relationship with respect to the holding position P13 of the exterior material gripping part 13. That is, the holding position P11 of the one-end side connector gripping part 11 in the second holding plate 141b is separated from the holding position P13 of the exterior material gripping part 13 in the first holding plate 141a in a separation direction D16 that intersects both the approaching direction D15 and the exterior gripping direction D13. Further, the holding position P11 of the one-end side connector gripping part 11 is located on the rear side of the approaching direction D15 with respect to the holding position P13 of the exterior material gripping part 13. To perform such holding, the second holding plate 141b is a rectangular plate that extends in a state inclined from the holding side of the exterior material gripping part 13 in the first holding plate 141a toward the rear side in the separation direction D16 and the approaching direction D15. The one-end side connector gripping part 11 is held at the holding position P11 on the extending end side of the second holding plate 141b. In the present embodiment, the inclination angle θ11 of the second holding plate 141b is approximately 45° with respect to the first holding plate 141a on the rear side in the separation direction D16 and the approaching direction D15. And the first holding plate 141a and the second holding plate 141b are integrally formed together with a connecting block 141c connecting the two to constitute the distal end movable part 141.

[0018] The transfer mechanism 14 holds the one-end side connector gripping part 11, the other-end side connector gripping part 12, and the exterior material gripping part 13 by the distal end movable part 141 described above, and transfers them as follows to cause each gripping part to grip each gripping target.

[0019] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a state in which the transfer mechanism shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 transfers the one-end side connector gripping part and the exterior material gripping part to cause each gripping part to grip each gripping target.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 3, in this embodiment, the electric wire W11 with the corrugated tube W12 is held by the electric wire holding mechanism 2 in a state of being linearly extended in the vertical direction D17 along gravity. The electric wire W11 is linearly held with one end connector W15 on the upper side and the other end connector W16 (not shown in FIG. 3) on the lower side, and the corrugated tube W12 attached to an intermediate position of the electric wire W11 is also held together with the upper and lower connectors. The gripping of each part of the electric wire W11 held in this way is first performed in the order of gripping of the one end connector W15 by the one end connector gripping part 11 (step S11) and gripping of the corrugated tube W12 by the exterior material gripping part 13 (step S12).

[0021] At the stage of step S11, the transport mechanism 14 moves the tip movable part 141 so that the second holding plate 141b faces the one end connector W15 to be gripped. Then, the one end connector gripping part 11 is moved in the approaching direction D15 to the gripping position of the one end connector W15. When the gripping position is reached, the one end connector gripping part 11 moves the two pairs of gripping pieces 111 to grip the one end connector W15.

[0022] At the stage of step S12, the transport mechanism 14 rotates the tip movable part 141 in the rotation direction D18 toward the rear side in the approaching direction D15 to remove the one end connector W15 from the electric wire holding mechanism 2 and direct the exterior material gripping part 13 in the direction along the approaching direction D15. The rotation of the tip movable part 141 is performed at approximately 45° according to the inclination angle θ11 of the second holding plate 141b. Along with this rotation, the transport mechanism 14 moves the tip movable part 141 in the vertical direction D17 to align the exterior material gripping part 13 to the optimum position for gripping the corrugated tube W12 in the vertical direction D17. Then, the exterior material gripping part 13 is moved in the approaching direction D15 to the gripping position of the corrugated tube W12. When the gripping position is reached, the exterior material gripping part 13 moves the pair of gripping pieces 131 to grip the corrugated tube W12.

[0023] After step S12, the tip movable part 141 is lowered rearward in the approaching direction D15 by the transport mechanism 14, and the corrugated tube W12 is removed from the wire holding mechanism 2. Further, in the vertical direction D17, the tip movable part 141 descends to a position where the first holding plate 141a faces the other end connector W16, and at that position, the other end connector W16 is gripped by the other end connector gripping part 12 (not shown). Through the gripping of the other end connector W16 and the removal from the wire holding mechanism 2, the wire W11 is held in a U-shaped bent state by the wire transport device 1 and transported to the jig plate W14 as shown in FIG. 1.

[0024] At this time, due to the above-described positional relationship between the holding position P11 of the one-end connector gripping part 11 and the holding position P13 of the exterior material gripping part 13, the wire W11 gripped by these two gripping parts is in the following state. That is, the wire W11 at this time (step S12) is in a bent state bent from the corrugated tube W12 to the one-end connector W15 and rearward in the approaching direction D15. When the wire W11 is in the bent state, a force to bend the corrugated tube W12 in the same manner as the wire W11 is applied. As described above, in the present embodiment, the corrugated tube W12 is carried by the wire transport device 1 to the trough-shaped portion W131 of the protector W13 set on the jig plate W14, and its end is accommodated in the trough-shaped portion W131 together with the wire W11. At this time, if the corrugated tube W12 being transported is bent, it may be difficult to accommodate it in the trough-shaped portion W131, which becomes an obstacle to the automation of the manufacturing operation of the wire harness W1. In order to eliminate such an obstacle and promote automation, in the present embodiment, the corrugated tube W12 is extended linearly by the following configuration in the exterior material gripping part 13.

[0025] FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view showing an enlarged exterior material gripping part shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 5 is a view showing a vicinity portion of a pair of gripping pieces in the exterior material gripping part shown in FIG. 4, together with the corrugated tube to be gripped, as a top view seen from the direction of arrow V12 in FIG. 4 and a front view seen from the direction of arrow V13.

[0026] The exterior material gripping part 13 includes a pair of gripping pieces 131, a gripping piece driving part 132, a conveyance connecting part 133, a pressing part 134, an approaching direction insertion plate 135, and a pair of gripping direction insertion plates 136. Among these, the pair of gripping pieces 131, the gripping piece driving part 132, and the conveyance connecting part 133 constitute an exterior material gripping main body part 137 that grips the corrugated tube W12 with the pair of gripping pieces 131.

[0027] The pair of gripping pieces 131 are a pair of arm parts that intersect the approaching direction D15 to the corrugated tube W12 and grip the corrugated tube W12 in the exterior gripping direction D13 along the diameter of its peripheral wall W121. Each gripping piece 131 has a bent shape that is recessed rearward in the exterior gripping direction D13 midway, and grips the corrugated tube W12 so as to accommodate it in this midway recess. The gripping piece driving part 132 is a driving mechanism that holds the pair of gripping pieces 131 and moves these pair of gripping pieces 131 in the exterior gripping direction D13 to perform gripping. The conveyance connecting part 133 is a rectangular block-shaped part that connects the gripping piece driving part 132 to the first holding plate 141a of the tip movable part 141 of the conveyance mechanism 14.

[0028] The pressing portion 134 plays a role of extending the corrugated tube W12 linearly when the electric wire W11 is in a bent state in the exterior material gripping portion 13. The pressing portion 134 is erected on the exterior material gripping main body portion 137 so as to protrude in the separation direction D16 that intersects both the approaching direction D15 and the exterior gripping direction D13 at a position between the pair of gripping pieces 131 on the base side of the pair of gripping pieces 131. When the electric wire W11 is in the above-mentioned bent state, this pressing portion 134 presses against the outer peripheral surface W121a of the peripheral wall W121 of the corrugated tube W12 inside the bend, thereby extending the corrugated tube W12 linearly in the separation direction D16. The pressing portion 134 is an L-shaped metal piece, and the portion hitting the horizontal bar of the L-shape is screwed and fixed to the exterior material gripping main body portion 137 via the approaching direction insertion plate 135. And the portion hitting the vertical bar of the L-shape in the pressing portion 134 is a rib-shaped portion that intersects the approaching direction D15 and extends in the separation direction D16. The outer wall surface 134a on the front side in the approaching direction D15 in this rib-shaped portion presses against the outer peripheral surface W121a of the corrugated tube W12.

[0029] The approaching direction insertion plate 135 is a plate portion fixed to the gripping piece driving portion 132 so as to project in a rectangular plate shape toward the front side in the approaching direction D15 on the base side of the pair of gripping pieces 131. The corrugated tube W12 is a bellows-shaped member in which the mountain portions W121b and the valley portions W121c are continuous in the axial direction D19 on the outer peripheral surface W121a. When the pair of gripping pieces 131 grip this corrugated tube W12, the edge portion 135a on the front side in the approaching direction D15 in the approaching direction insertion plate 135 is inserted into the valley portion W121c on the outer peripheral surface W121a of the corrugated tube W12 in the approaching direction D15. By inserting the edge portion 135a of this approaching direction insertion plate 135, the displacement in the axial direction D19 of the corrugated tube W12 is suppressed. Further, the edge portion 135a of the approaching direction insertion plate 135 intersects the approaching direction D15 and extends linearly, and has a tapered shape in which the plate thickness gradually decreases toward the front side in the approaching direction D15, and is guided and inserted into the valley portion W121c by this tapered shape.

[0030] The pair of holding-direction insertion plates 136 are plate portions fixed to each of the pair of holding pieces 131 so as to protrude forward in the outer holding direction D13 from each of the pair of holding pieces 131. When the pair of holding pieces 131 hold the corrugated tube W12, the edge portion 136a on the forward side in the outer holding direction D13 is inserted into the groove portion W121c on the outer peripheral surface W121a of the corrugated tube W12 in the outer holding direction D13. In the present embodiment, the displacement of the corrugated tube W12 in the axial direction D19 is also suppressed by the insertion of the edge portions 136a of the pair of holding-direction insertion plates 136. Further, the edge portion 136a of each holding-direction insertion plate 136 extends in a bent shape that intersects the outer holding direction D13 and is recessed rearward in the outer holding direction D13 midway. Furthermore, each edge portion 136a has a tapered shape in which the plate thickness gradually decreases toward the forward side in the outer holding direction D13. When the pair of holding pieces 131 hold the corrugated tube W12, the edge portion 136a is guided and inserted into the groove portion W121c by the tapered shape while accommodating the corrugated tube W12 in the middle recess in the edge portion 136a of the pair of holding-direction insertion plates 136.

[0031] According to the wire conveying device 1 described above, with the one - end connector W15 being gripped by the one - end connector gripping portion 11 and the corrugated tube W12 being gripped by the exterior material gripping portion 13, the wire W11 with the corrugated tube W12 is conveyed. Then, due to the positional relationship between the holding position P11 of the one - end connector gripping portion 11 and the holding position P13 of the exterior material gripping portion 13, the wire W11 is bent rearward in the approaching direction D15 from the corrugated tube W12 to the one - end connector W15, resulting in a bent state. At this time, the pressing portion 134 provided on the exterior material gripping portion 13 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface W121a of the corrugated tube W12 inside the bend. By this pressing, the corrugated tube W12 is extended linearly, and the conveyance of the wire W11 is carried out in a state where the corrugated tube W12 is extended linearly in this way. In the automated manufacturing operation of the wire harness W1, the end portion of the corrugated tube W12 conveyed in this linearly extended state is received in the trough - shaped portion W131 of the protector W13 on the jig plate W14.

[0032] Here, for example, there may be cases corresponding to a plurality of product numbers where the distances between the one - end connector W15 and the corrugated tube W12 are different from each other. In such cases, the gripping positions of the one - end connector W15 and the corrugated tube W12 for appropriately bending the wire W11 while extending the corrugated tube W12 linearly are positions corresponding to the above - mentioned distances in each product number.

[0033] FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state where the one - end connector and the corrugated tube are each gripped when the distance between the one - end connector and the corrugated tube in the wire is a predetermined first distance. Further, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a state where the one - end connector and the corrugated tube are each gripped when the distance between the one - end connector and the corrugated tube in the wire is a second distance shorter than the first distance shown in FIG. 6.

[0034] In the wire conveying device 1 of the present embodiment, in the case of the first distance L1 shown in FIG. 6, there is a margin in the length of the wire W11 between the holding positions of the one-end connector W15 and the corrugated tube W12. In this case, when the one-end connector holding portion 11 holds the one-end connector W15 and the exterior material holding portion 13 holds the corrugated tube W12 and the wire W11 is bent rearward in the approaching direction D15, the wire W11 is in a bent state curved between the holding positions. On the other hand, in the case of the short second distance L2 shown in FIG. 7, if the holding positions of the one-end connector W15 and the corrugated tube W12 are the same as those in FIG. 6, the margin in the length of the wire W11 between them becomes small. Since the corrugated tube W12 is extended linearly by the pressing portion 134, the wire W11 is bent at the end of the corrugated tube W12 and is in a bent state extending substantially linearly to the one-end connector W15. When the distance between the one-end connector W15 and the corrugated tube W12 becomes too short compared to the example of FIG. 7, after the one-end connector holding portion 11 holds by the conveying mechanism 14, the position of the exterior material holding portion 13 is appropriately adjusted in the vertical direction D16. By this adjustment in the vertical direction D16, the corrugated tube W12 is held so as to extend the corrugated tube W12 linearly while bending the wire W11 appropriately. Also, conversely, when the distance between the one-end connector W15 and the corrugated tube W12 becomes too long, the position of the exterior material holding portion 13 is adjusted, and again, the corrugated tube W12 is extended linearly while bending the wire W11 appropriately.

[0035] The adjustment of the distance between such one-end-side connector W15 and the corrugated tube W12, that is, the adjustment according to the product number, is made possible by the following configuration in the wire conveyance device 1 of the present embodiment. That is, in the present embodiment, due to the above-described positional relationship between the one-end-side connector gripping portion 11 and the exterior member gripping portion 13, the gripping of the one-end-side connector W15 by the one-end-side connector gripping portion 11 and the gripping of the corrugated tube W12 by the exterior member gripping portion 13 are not performed simultaneously but individually. By this individual gripping, the conveyance mechanism 14 transports the one-end-side connector gripping portion 11 and the exterior member gripping portion 13 to positions corresponding to each distance, thereby appropriately bending the wire W11 while extending the corrugated tube W12 linearly and transporting it.

[0036] As described above, according to the wire conveyance device 1 of the present embodiment, the wire W11 with the corrugated tube W12 can be conveyed without bending the corrugated tube W12.

[0037] Here, in the present embodiment, the outer wall surface 134a of the rib-shaped portion of the pressing portion 134 is pressed against the outer peripheral surface W121a of the corrugated tube W12. According to this configuration, the pressing portion 134 is pressed against the outer wall surface 134a of the rib-shaped portion. By pressing on this surface, the corrugated tube W12 can be stably extended linearly as compared with, for example, the case where a rod-shaped portion is pressed with a line.

[0038] Also, in the present embodiment, the exterior member gripping portion 13 includes an approaching-direction insertion plate 135. When the exterior member gripping portion 13 grips, the edge portion 135a is inserted into the valley portion W121c of the corrugated tube W12 by the approaching-direction insertion plate 135 to suppress the displacement in the axial direction D19 of the corrugated tube W12. According to this configuration, by suppressing the displacement during gripping by the approaching-direction insertion plate 135, the pressing portion 134 can be stably pressed against the outer peripheral surface W121a of the corrugated tube W12.

[0039] Further, in the present embodiment, the edge portion 135a of the approaching-direction insertion plate 135 is linear and tapered. According to this configuration, the edge portion 135a of the approaching-direction insertion plate 135 is effectively guided to the trough portion W121c of the corrugated tube W12 and inserted therein.

[0040] Also, in the present embodiment, the exterior material gripping portion 13 includes a pair of gripping-direction insertion plates 136. When the pair of gripping-direction insertion plates 136 are gripped by the pair of gripping pieces 131 of the exterior material gripping portion 13, the edge portion 136a is inserted into the trough portion W121c of the corrugated tube W12 to suppress displacement in the axial direction D19 of the corrugated tube W12. According to this configuration, by suppressing displacement during gripping by the pair of gripping-direction insertion plates 136, the pressing portion 134 can be stably pressed against the outer peripheral surface W121a of the corrugated tube W12.

[0041] Also, in the present embodiment, each edge portion 136a of the pair of gripping-direction insertion plates 136 is bent and tapered. According to this configuration, the edge portion 136a of each of the pair of gripping-direction insertion plates 136 is effectively guided to the trough portion W121c of the corrugated tube W12 and inserted therein.

[0042] Also, in the present embodiment, the transport mechanism 14 holds a connector gripping portion 12 for gripping the other end connector W16 so as to be adjacent to the exterior material gripping portion 13 in the arrangement direction D14 along the exterior gripping direction D13. According to this configuration, by gripping both ends with the one-end connector gripping portion 11 and the other-end connector gripping portion 12 and gripping the middle with the exterior material gripping portion 13, the corrugated tube W12 can be effectively extended linearly while bending the electric wire W11 into a U shape suitable for transport.

[0043] Note that the embodiments described above merely show typical forms of the electric wire transport device. The electric wire transport device is not limited to this and can be implemented with various modifications.

[0044] For example, in the above-described embodiment, as an example of the wire conveying device, a wire conveying device 1 is illustrated in which an end portion of a corrugated tube W12 as an exterior material attached to a wire W11 is housed together with the wire W11 in a gutter-shaped portion W131 of a protector W13 on a jig plate W14. However, the wire conveying device is not limited to this, and the conveyance destination can be arbitrarily set as long as it requires conveying the exterior material without bending it.

[0045] Further, in the above-described embodiment, as an example of the wire conveying device, a wire conveying device 1 that conveys a wire W11 to which a corrugated tube W12 is attached as an exterior material is illustrated. However, the wire conveying device is not limited to this, and the exterior material attached to the wire to be conveyed may be another exterior material such as a twist tube or the like as long as it is a tube-shaped exterior material.

[0046] Also, in the above-described embodiment, as an example of the pressing portion, a pressing portion 134 is illustrated in which an outer wall surface 134a of a rib-shaped portion is pressed against an outer peripheral surface W121a of a corrugated tube W12 (exterior material). However, the pressing portion is not limited to this, and for example, a rod-shaped portion may be pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the exterior material, and the specific shape and the like are not questioned. However, according to the pressing portion 134 against which the outer wall surface 134a of the rib-shaped portion is pressed, as described above, the corrugated tube W12 can be stably extended linearly by pressing on the surface.

[0047] Also, in the above-described embodiment, as an example of the exterior material gripping portion, an exterior material gripping portion 13 including an approaching-direction insertion plate 135 in which an edge portion 135a is inserted into a valley portion W121c of a corrugated tube W12 is illustrated. However, the exterior material gripping portion is not limited to this, and it may be possible not to particularly provide an approaching-direction insertion plate for suppressing axial displacement. However, as described above, by providing the approaching-direction insertion plate 135 to suppress axial displacement, the pressing portion 134 can be stably pressed against the outer peripheral surface W121a of the corrugated tube W12.

[0048] In the above-described embodiment, as an example of the approaching-direction insertion plate, the approaching-direction insertion plate 135 with the edge portion 135a being linear and tapered is illustrated. However, the approaching-direction insertion plate is not limited to this, and as long as it can be inserted into the trough portion of the corrugated tube, the specific shape of the edge portion and the like are not questioned. However, by making the edge portion 135a of the approaching-direction insertion plate 135 linear and tapered, the edge portion 135a can be effectively guided and inserted into the trough portion W121c of the corrugated tube W12, as described above.

[0049] In the above-described embodiment, as an example of the exterior material gripping portion, the exterior material gripping portion 13 including a pair of gripping-direction insertion plates 136 into which the respective edge portions 136a are inserted into the trough portion W121c of the corrugated tube W12 is illustrated. However, the exterior material gripping portion is not limited to this, and it may be possible not to particularly provide a pair of gripping-direction insertion plates for suppressing axial displacement. However, by providing a pair of gripping-direction insertion plates 136 to suppress axial displacement, the pressing portion 134 can be stably pressed against the outer peripheral surface W121a of the corrugated tube W12, as described above.

[0050] In the above-described embodiment, as an example of the pair of gripping-direction insertion plates, the pair of gripping-direction insertion plates 136 with the respective edge portions 136a being bent and tapered are illustrated. However, the pair of gripping-direction insertion plates are not limited to this, and as long as they can be inserted into the trough portion of the corrugated tube, the specific shape of the edge portion and the like are not questioned. However, by making the respective edge portions 136a of the pair of gripping-direction insertion plates 136 bent and tapered, the respective edge portions 136a can be effectively guided and inserted into the trough portion W121c of the corrugated tube W12, as described above.

[0051] In addition, in the above-described embodiment, as an example of the wire conveying device, a wire conveying device 1 is exemplified which includes an other-end connector gripping portion 12 that is held by a conveying mechanism 14 so as to be arranged adjacent to the exterior material gripping portion 13 and grips the other-end connector W16. However, the wire conveying device is not limited to this, and as the connector gripping mechanism, it may include only the one-end connector gripping portion. However, by providing the above-described other-end connector gripping portion 12, as described above, the corrugated tube W12 can be effectively extended linearly while bending the wire W11 into a U-shape suitable for conveyance.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0052] 1 Wire conveying device 11 One-end connector gripping portion 12 Other-end connector gripping portion 13 Exterior material gripping portion 14 Conveying mechanism 111, 121, 131 Gripping pieces 132 Gripping piece driving portion 133 Conveying connection portion 134 Pressing portion 134a Outer wall surface 135 Approach-direction insertion plate 135a, 136a Edge portions 136 Gripping-direction insertion plate 137 Exterior material gripping main body portion 141 Tip movable portion 141a First holding plate 141b Second holding plate 141c Connecting block D11 One-end side gripping direction D12 Other-end side gripping direction D13 Exterior gripping direction D14 Arrangement direction D15 Approach direction D16 Separation direction D17 Vertical direction D18 Rotation direction D19 Axial direction L1 First distance L2 Second distance P11 and P13 maintain their positions W1 wire harness W11 electric wire W12 corrugated tube (outer covering material) W13 protector W14 jig plate W15 one - end side connector W16 other - end side connector W121 peripheral wall W121a outer peripheral surface W121b crest portion W121c trough portion W131 gutter - shaped portion W132 cover portion θ11 inclination angle

Claims

1. For the conveyance of an electric wire passed through a tubular outer covering material and having a connector connected to at least one end side, an end-side connector gripping portion that grips the end-side connector of the electric wire, and a mechanism portion that grips the outer covering material for the conveyance of the electric wire, the mechanism portion being brought closer to the outer covering material in an approaching direction approaching the peripheral wall of the outer covering material, and gripping the outer covering material in an outer-covering gripping direction that intersects the approaching direction and extends along the diameter of the peripheral wall, an outer-covering material gripping portion; a mechanism portion that holds and conveys the end-side connector gripping portion and the outer-covering material gripping portion, the holding position of the end-side connector gripping portion being separated from the holding position of the outer-covering material gripping portion in a separation direction that intersects both the approaching direction and the outer-covering gripping direction, and being located on the rear side in the approaching direction, and when the end-side connector gripping portion grips the end-side connector and the outer-covering material gripping portion grips the outer covering material, the electric wire is bent toward the rear side in the approaching direction by being hung from the outer covering material to the end-side connector, a conveyance mechanism; and comprising the outer-covering material gripping portion an outer-covering material gripping main body portion that grips the outer covering material with a pair of gripping pieces, and a pressing portion that is erected on the outer-covering material gripping main body portion so as to project in the separation direction at a position between the pair of gripping pieces at the base side of the pair of gripping pieces, and presses against the outer peripheral surface of the peripheral wall inside the bend when the electric wire is in the bent state, thereby extending the outer covering material linearly in the separation direction. An electric wire conveyance device, characterized by comprising the above.

2. The pressing portion has a rib-shaped portion that intersects the approaching direction and extends in the separation direction, and the outer wall surface on the front side in the approaching direction at the portion is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the outer covering material. The electric wire conveyance device according to claim 1, characterized by this.

3. The outer covering material is a bellows-shaped corrugated tube having ridges and valleys continuously formed in the axial direction of the outer peripheral surface, and the outer-covering material gripping portion further includes an approaching-direction insertion plate that projects in a plate shape toward the front side in the approaching direction at the base side of the pair of gripping pieces, and when the pair of gripping pieces grip the outer covering material, the front-side edge portion is inserted into the valley portion on the outer peripheral surface in the approaching direction, thereby suppressing the axial displacement of the outer covering material. The electric wire conveyance device according to claim 1, characterized by this.

4. The approaching-direction insertion plate according to claim 3, wherein the edge portion extends linearly intersecting the approaching direction, and has a tapered shape in which the plate thickness gradually decreases toward the front side in the approaching direction.

5. The exterior member is a bellows-shaped corrugated tube having ridges and valleys continuously formed in the axial direction of the exterior member on the outer peripheral surface. The exterior member gripping portion projects forward from each of the pair of gripping pieces in the exterior gripping direction. When the pair of gripping pieces grip the exterior member, the front edge portions are inserted into the valleys on the outer peripheral surface in the exterior gripping direction, thereby further comprising a pair of gripping-direction insertion plates for suppressing the axial displacement of the exterior member. The wire conveying device according to claim 1.

6. Each of the pair of gripping-direction insertion plates has an edge portion that extends in a bent shape that intersects the exterior gripping direction and is recessed rearward in the exterior gripping direction midway, and has a tapered shape in which the plate thickness gradually decreases toward the front side in the exterior gripping direction. The wire conveying device according to claim 5.

7. Connectors are connected to both ends of the wire. For the conveyance of the wire, it further comprises a connector gripping portion for gripping the other end connector different from the one end connector. In the conveying mechanism, the other end connector gripping portion is held adjacent to the exterior member gripping portion in the arrangement direction along the exterior gripping direction. The wire conveying device according to claim 1.

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