Exterior material installation device

Abstract

To provide a device for attaching sheathing material to electrical wires in a stable state by suppressing positional deviations at the leading and trailing ends and variations in overall length.SOLUTION: The outer sheath installation device 1 comprises: an outer sheath feeding section 11 that feeds a twisted tube W12 (outer sheath) along an electrical wire W11 from an arbitrary starting position P11 in the feeding direction D12 such that the electrical wire W11 is accommodated inside; a wire direction movement section 13 that moves the outer sheath feeding section 11 in the wire direction D14; and a control unit 15 that controls the outer material feeding section 11 and the wire direction movement section 13 such that, in coordination with the feeding of the twisted tube W12 (outer material) by the outer material feeding section 11, the wire direction movement section 13 moves the outer material feeding section 11 in the opposite direction to the feeding direction D12 from the starting position P11.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sheathing attachment device for attaching a tubular sheathing to an electric wire. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, in the manufacture of wire harnesses, for example, to protect electric wires, tubular exterior materials such as twisted tubes and corrugated tubes are widely used, which are attached to electric wires while holding the electric wires inside through slits provided in the peripheral wall. In many cases, such exterior materials are attached by pushing the electric wires through the slits in the peripheral wall, and a device for performing such a task has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1). The device described in Patent Document 1 has a guide for pushing the electric wires through the slits. This device guides the work while attaching the exterior material. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-225815 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Here, the exterior material may be a member made of a soft material, such as a twisted tube. In the device described in Patent Document 1, a slight load is applied to the exterior material in a stretching direction. When an exterior material made of a soft material is used in this device, the extension of the exterior material or shrinkage due to rebound after installation may cause a misalignment of the leading or trailing edge of the exterior material, or a change in the overall length.

[0005] Therefore, the present invention focuses on the above-mentioned problems and aims to provide an exterior material attachment device that can attach an exterior material to an electric wire in a stable state by suppressing positional deviations of the leading and trailing ends and fluctuations in the overall length. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, an external material mounting device includes an external material feed unit that feeds out an external material that is tubular and attached to an electric wire while containing the electric wire inside through a slit provided in a peripheral wall, in a feed direction along the electric wire from an arbitrary start position toward one end of the electric wire so that the electric wire arranged in a straight line is contained inside the external material through the slit; an electric wire direction moving unit that moves the external material feed unit in the electric wire direction along the electric wire; and a control unit that controls the external material feed unit and the electric wire direction moving unit so that the electric wire direction moving unit moves the external material feed unit from the start position in a direction opposite to the feed direction in accordance with the feeding of the external material by the external material feed unit. [Effects of the Invention]

[0007] According to the above-described external material attachment device, it is possible to attach an external material to an electric wire in a stable state by suppressing positional deviations of the leading and trailing ends and fluctuations in the overall length. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0008] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view showing an external material mounting device according to one embodiment. [Figure 2] 2 is a side view of the external mounting device shown in FIG. 1, as seen from the direction of arrow V11 in FIG. [Figure 3] 2 is an enlarged view of a conveying section in an exterior material delivery section of the exterior material mounting device shown in FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] 4 is a diagram showing the first stage of feeding out a twist tube, which is performed under the control of a control unit, in the exterior attachment device shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. [Figure 5]4 is a diagram showing a second stage of feeding out the twist tube, which is performed under the control of the control unit, in the exterior attachment device shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. [Figure 6] 4 is a diagram showing a third stage of feeding out the twist tube, which is performed under the control of the control unit, in the exterior attachment device shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a comparative example to the external material mounting device shown in FIGS. 1 to 6. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0009] An embodiment of the exterior material mounting device will be described below.

[0010] Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an external material mounting device according to one embodiment, and Fig. 2 is a side view of the external material mounting device shown in Fig. 1, as seen from the direction of arrow V11 in Fig. 1. Also, Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of a conveying section in an external material delivery section of the external material mounting device shown in Fig. 1.

[0011] The external material attachment device 1 of this embodiment is a device that automatically attaches a twist tube W12 to an electric wire W11 as an external material for protection, etc., in the manufacture of a wire harness W1. The twist tube W12 is a resin member formed by rolling a sheet-like material into a tube shape so that the circumferential ends overlap, and the gap between the overlapping ends serves as a slit provided in the peripheral wall for accommodating the electric wire W11 inside. The twist tube W12 is attached to the electric wire W11 while accommodating the electric wire W11 inside through the slit in the peripheral wall.

[0012] This exterior material attachment device 1 is also a device for attaching a twist tube W12 to an electric wire W11 that is arranged linearly in a vertical direction D11 along the force of gravity. On the electric wire W11 side, at the feed destination of the twist tube W12, a tape winding mechanism M1 is installed to secure the feed end of the twist tube W12 to the electric wire W11.

[0013] The external packaging material mounting device 1 includes an external packaging material feeding section 11 , a moving section 12 for moving toward and away from the wire, a moving section 13 for moving in the electric wire direction, a device frame section 14 , and a control section 15 .

[0014] The outer casing material delivery unit 11 delivers the twisted tube W12 in a delivery direction D12 from an arbitrary start position P11 along the electric wire W11 toward one end of the electric wire W11 so that the electric wire W11 is housed inside through the slit. The outer casing material delivery unit 11 includes a receiving unit 111 and a conveying unit 112. The receiving unit 111 receives the twisted tube W12 from a supply device (not shown), and the conveying unit 112 delivers the twisted tube W12 in the delivery direction D12 by rotation of conveying rollers 112a.

[0015] The approaching and separating moving unit 12 is a mechanical part that moves the external sheathing material feed-out unit 11 in the following approaching and separating direction D13. The approaching and separating direction D13 is a direction that moves the external sheathing material feed-out unit 11 toward or away from the external sheathing material W11, perpendicular to both the electric wires W11 that are linearly arranged in the up-down direction D11 and the rotation axis of the conveying roller 112a. With the approaching and separating moving unit 12 bringing the external sheathing material feed-out unit 11 close to the electric wire W11, the twist tube W12 is fed out and attached to the electric wire W11. After attachment, the approaching and separating moving unit 12 moves the external sheathing material feed-out unit 11 away from the electric wire W11. The approaching and separating moving unit 12 has an approaching and separating rail unit 121 attached to the electric wire direction moving unit 13 described below, and an approaching and separating movable unit 122 held by the approaching and separating rail unit 121 in a state that allows it to slide in the approaching and separating direction D13. The exterior material delivery section 11 is attached to a slidable approaching and separating movable section 122 .

[0016] The electric wire direction moving unit 13 moves the sheathing material feeding unit 11 in an electric wire direction D14 (the same direction as the up-and-down direction D11 in this embodiment) along the electric wire W11. The electric wire direction moving unit 13 has an electric wire direction rail unit 131 that extends in the electric wire direction D14 and is attached to the device frame unit 14, and an electric wire direction movable unit 132 that is slidably held on the electric wire direction rail unit 131. The approaching and separating moving unit 12 is attached to the slidable electric wire direction movable unit 132.

[0017] The device frame unit 14 is installed at a predetermined installation location and is a metal frame on which the outer jacket material feeding unit 11, the approaching and separating movement unit 12, the electric wire direction movement unit 13, and the control unit 15 are mounted. This device frame unit 14 is configured by combining multiple rectangular columnar frame members 141. In this embodiment, the outer jacket material feeding unit 11 is attached to the approaching and separating movement unit 12, which is attached to the electric wire direction movement unit 13. This electric wire direction movement unit 13 is then attached to one of the frame members 141 in the up-down direction D11 of the device frame unit 14. That is, in this embodiment, the outer jacket material feeding unit 11 is mounted on the device frame unit 14 via the approaching and separating movement unit 12 and the electric wire direction movement unit 13, and the approaching and separating movement unit 12 is mounted on the device frame unit 14 via the electric wire direction movement unit 13. The electric wire direction movement unit 13 is directly mounted on the device frame unit 14.

[0018] The control unit 15 is a computer part that controls the movement of each component of the external material mounting device 1. In particular, with regard to the feeding of the twist tube W12, the control unit 15 controls the external material feeding unit 11 and the electric wire direction moving unit 13 as follows: That is, the control unit 15 controls the external material feeding unit 11 and the electric wire direction moving unit 13 so that the electric wire direction moving unit 13 moves the external material feeding unit 11 from the start position P11 in the reverse direction D15 that is the opposite direction to the feeding direction D12 in accordance with the feeding of the twist tube W12.

[0019] Figure 4 is a diagram showing a first stage of twist tube feeding performed under the control of the control unit in the exterior mounting device shown in Figures 1 to 3. Figure 5 is a diagram showing a second stage of twist tube feeding performed under the control of the control unit in the exterior mounting device shown in Figures 1 to 3. Figure 6 is a diagram showing a third stage of twist tube feeding performed under the control of the control unit in the exterior mounting device shown in Figures 1 to 3.

[0020] In the first stage (step S11) shown in Fig. 4, the twist tube W12 starts to be fed in the feeding direction D12 from the outer casing material feeding section 11, which has been positioned at the start position P11 by the approaching / separating moving section 12 and the electric wire direction moving section 13. At this time, in this embodiment, prior to feeding the twist tube W12 in the first stage (step S11), the tape M11 is wound around the electric wire W11 at a predetermined tape winding position P12 by the tape winding mechanism M1. The start position P11 for feeding the twist tube W12 is below the tape winding position P12 by the tape winding mechanism M1. More specifically, this start position P11 is the position at which the feeding end W121 of the twist tube W12 reaches the tape winding position P12 when the outer casing material feeding section 11 feeds out the twist tube W12. In the first stage (step S11), the twist tube W12 is fed from the outer casing material feed-out unit 11, which is positioned at this start position P11, until the feed-out end W121 reaches the tape winding position P12. In this first stage (step S11), under the control of the control unit 15, the electric wire direction moving unit 13 does not move the outer casing material feed-out unit 11, and the outer casing material feed-out unit 11 continues to remain at the start position P11. The twist tube W12 fed at this time contains the electric wire W11 inside, and also contains part of the tape M11 wound around the electric wire W11 inside the feed-out end W121 that has reached the tape winding position P12. This tape M11 exits through the slit W122 in the feed-out end W121 to the outside and reaches the tape winding mechanism M1. When the feeding of the twisted tube W12 in this first stage (step S11) is completed, the control unit 15 notifies the tape winding mechanism M1 of this fact, and causes the outer packaging material feeding unit 11 to temporarily stop feeding of the twisted tube W12.

[0021] 5 following the first stage (step S11), the tape winding mechanism M1, upon receiving a notification from the control unit 15, winds the tape M1 around the delivery end W121 of the twist tube W12. By winding the tape M1, the delivery end W121 of the twist tube W12 is tape-wrapped and fixed to the electric wire W11 at the tape winding position P12. In this second stage (step S12), under the control of the control unit 15, the jacket material delivery unit 11 continues to remain at the start position P11, as in the first stage (step S11). When the tape winding and fixing in the second stage (step S12) is completed, the tape winding mechanism M1 notifies the control unit 15 of this fact. In the initial stages of delivery, the first stage (step S11) and the second stage (step S12) described above, the twisted tube W12 delivered by the outer casing delivery section 11 has the delivery end W121 fixed to the electric wire W11 by wrapping it with tape.

[0022] 6 (step S13) following the tape-wrapping and fixing of the feed-out end W121, the control unit 15, upon receiving a notification from the tape winding mechanism M1, causes the outer jacket material feed-out unit 11 to resume feeding of the twist tube W12. The control unit 15 then controls the outer jacket material feed-out unit 11 and the electric wire direction moving unit 13 so as to move the outer jacket material feed-out unit 11 in the opposite direction D15 relative to the feed-out direction D12 in accordance with this feeding. This control causes the outer jacket material feed-out unit 11 to move in the opposite direction D15 while feeding the twist tube W12 in the feed-out direction D12. As a result, the twist tube W12, whose feed-out end W121 is fixed to the electric wire W11 by the tape M11, is attached so as to extend in the opposite direction D15 while containing the electric wire W11 inside. Then, in this third stage (step S13), even after the twist tube W12 has been fed out of the external packaging material feed-out unit 11, the external packaging material feed-out unit 11 continues to move in the reverse direction D15 under the control of the control unit 15. This movement in the reverse direction D15 continues until the external packaging material feed-out unit 11 reaches a retracted position P13 that is a predetermined distance L1 away from the attached twist tube W12 that has been fed out of the external packaging material feed-out unit 11 and attached to the electric wire W11. When this movement to the retracted position P13 is completed, under the control of the control unit 15, the approaching and separating movement unit 12 moves the external packaging material feed-out unit 11 away from the electric wire W11 to which the twist tube W12 has been attached in the approaching and separating direction D13, and the external packaging material attachment device 1 enters a standby state in preparation for the next attachment.

[0023] Figure 7 is a diagram showing a comparative example to the exterior material mounting device shown in Figures 1 to 6. In Figure 7, components equivalent to those shown in Figures 1 to 6 are assigned the same reference numerals as in Figures 1 to 6 only for those components necessary for explanation, and duplicate explanations of these equivalent components will be omitted below. Figure 7(A) shows a first comparative example, and Figure 7(B) shows a second comparative example.

[0024] In the first comparative example shown in FIG. 7A, while the twist tube W12 is being fed, the outer jacket material feeding section 51 remains at the feeding position P51, and the conveying roller 112a is rotated in the rotation direction D51 to feed the twist tube W12 in the feeding direction D12. In this first comparative example, a load is applied to the twist tube W12, which is made of a soft material, in the feeding direction D12. This load may cause the twist tube W12 to collapse in the feeding direction D12, resulting in wrinkles W12-1. If wrinkles W12-1 occur during feeding, the leading end W121 may not reach the target tape winding position P12, resulting in a shift in the leading end position, or the twist tube W12 may shrink, causing a change in its overall length. Furthermore, the twist tube W12 may become misaligned at its terminal end due to wrinkles returning after installation.

[0025] In the second comparative example shown in FIG. 7(B), the twist tube W12 is unwound by the outer jacket material unwinding section 52 moving in the opposite direction D15 relative to the unwinding direction D12 without actively unwinding the twist tube W12. At this time, the unwinding end W121 of the twist tube W12 is secured to the electric wire W11 by tape winding using the tape winding mechanism M1. With the unwinding end W121 secured by tape, the outer jacket material unwinding section 51 moves in the opposite direction D15, pulling out the twist tube W12 in the unwinding direction D12 and attaching it. In this second comparative example, the unwinding end W121 must be firmly secured by, for example, tape winding. Furthermore, in the second comparative example, a load is applied in the opposite direction D15 to the twist tube W12, which is made of a soft material, and this may cause the twist tube W12 to stretch during unwinding. As a result, the overall length of the twist tube W12 may change, causing a positional shift at the end position, and the end position of the twist tube W12 may further shift due to the return of stretch after installation.

[0026] In contrast to these comparative examples, according to the external material attachment device 1 of the above-described embodiment, the external material delivery section 11 is moved from the delivery start position P11 in the direction opposite to the delivery direction D12 in accordance with the delivery of the twist tube W12. Delivery while moving in the opposite direction reduces the load on the twist tube W12 in the delivery direction D12. This load reduction effect reduces wrinkling and stretching even when attaching the soft twist tube W12 to the electric wire W11, and reduces misalignment of the leading and trailing ends and fluctuations in the overall length, allowing the twist tube W12 to be stably attached to the electric wire W11.

[0027] In this embodiment, the electric wire W11 is arranged linearly in the vertical direction D11, and the electric wire direction moving unit 13 moves the outer casing material feeding unit 11 in the vertical direction D11 as the electric wire direction D14. According to this configuration, the twist tube W12 can be suitably attached to the electric wire W11 that is arranged linearly in the vertical direction D11, such that the installation area along the horizontal plane is significantly smaller than when the electric wire is placed horizontally, for example.

[0028] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the control unit 15 controls the external packaging material feeding unit 11 and the electric wire direction moving unit 13 to move the external packaging material feeding unit 11 in the reverse direction D15 to a retracted position P13 that is a predetermined distance L1 away from the attached twist tube W12. According to this configuration, after the twist tube W12 is fed, the external packaging material feeding unit 11 moves in the electric wire direction D14 to the retracted position P13, and therefore, thereafter, the external packaging material feeding unit 11 can be moved away from the electric wire W11 while suppressing interference with the attached twist tube W12.

[0029] In this embodiment, the twist tube W12 has the feed end W121 fixed to the electric wire W11 by wrapping tape around it in the initial stage of feeding. The control unit 15 controls the outer jacket material feed unit 11 and the electric wire direction movement unit 13 so that the outer jacket material feed unit 11 moves in the reverse direction D15 after the feed end W121 is fixed. With this configuration, the twist tube W12 is fed out while the outer jacket material feed unit 11 moves in the reverse direction D15 with the feed end W121 fixed by wrapping tape, so that the twist tube W12 can be fed out with positional deviation further suppressed.

[0030] Furthermore, in this embodiment, the electric wire W11 is wrapped with the tape M11 at a predetermined tape winding position P12 prior to feeding out the twist tube W12. The control unit 15 positions the jacket material unwinding unit 11 at a start position P11, where the unwinding end W121 reaches the tape winding position P12. When the unwinding end W121 of the twist tube W12 fed out at this start position P11 is wrapped around the electric wire W11 with the tape, the jacket material unwinding unit 11 is moved in the reverse direction D15. With this configuration, the start position P11 is set so that the unwinding end W121 reaches the tape winding position P12 where the tape M11 is wrapped around the electric wire W11, and therefore the unwinding end W121 can be effectively wrapped around the electric wire W11.

[0031] It should be noted that the above-described embodiment merely shows a typical form of the external material mounting device, and the external material mounting device is not limited to this and can be implemented in various modifications.

[0032] For example, in the above-described embodiment, an external material attachment device 1 that attaches a twisted tube W12 as an external material to an electric wire W11 is exemplified as an example of an external material attachment device. However, the external material attachment device is not limited to this. The external material to be attached may be any other external material, such as a corrugated tube, as long as it is tubular and can be attached to the electric wire while containing the electric wire inside through a slit provided in the peripheral wall.

[0033] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, as an example of an exterior material mounting device, an exterior material mounting device 1 is given in which each component part is mounted on a device frame part 14 made up of a combination of multiple frame members 141. However, the exterior material mounting device is not limited to this, and any specific mounting configuration for each component part can be adopted.

[0034] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, as an example of an external material attachment device, an external material attachment device 1 in which the electric wire direction movement unit 13 moves the external material feeding unit 11 in the electric wire direction D14 along the electric wire W11 arranged in the vertical direction D11 is exemplified. However, the external material attachment device is not limited to this, and the external material attachment device may also be one in which the electric wire direction movement unit moves the external material feeding unit in the electric wire direction along the electric wire arranged horizontally along a horizontal plane. However, as described above, by arranging the electric wire W11 in the vertical direction D11 and moving the external material feeding unit 11 accordingly, it is possible to satisfactorily attach the twist tube W12 to the electric wire W11 arranged so as to significantly reduce the installation area.

[0035] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, an external material mounting device 1 is exemplified as an example of an external material mounting device in which the control unit 15 moves the external material feeding unit 11 in the reverse direction D15 to a retracted position P13 away from the attached twist tube W12. However, the external material mounting device is not limited to this, and the external material feeding unit 11 may be kept at the feeding end position of the twist tube W12. However, as described above, by moving the external material feeding unit 11 in the reverse direction D15 to the retracted position P13, it is possible to move the external material feeding unit 11 away from the electric wire W11 while suppressing interference with the attached twist tube W12.

[0036] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, an external material attachment device 1 is exemplified in which the control unit 15 moves the external material delivery unit 11 in the reverse direction D15 after fixing the feed end W121 of the twist tube W12. However, the external material attachment device is not limited to this, and the external material delivery unit 11 may be moved in the reverse direction D15 while the feed end of the twist tube is left free without being fixed to the electric wire. However, as described above, moving the external material delivery unit 11 after fixing the feed end W121 allows for stable delivery of the twist tube W12.

[0037] Furthermore, in the above-described embodiment, as an example of an external material attachment device, an external material attachment device 1 is exemplified in which the position where the feeding end W121 reaches the tape winding position P12 of the electric wire W11 around which the tape M11 is previously wound is set as the feeding start position P11. However, the external material attachment device is not limited to this, and the feeding end of the twist tube may be tape-wrapped and fixed to the electric wire without specifically wrapping tape around the electric wire. However, as described above, by directing the feeding end W121 toward the tape winding position P12 of the electric wire W11 that has previously been wrapped with tape and then performing the tape-wrapping and fixing, the tape can be effectively wrapped and fixed. [Explanation of symbols]

[0038] 1. Exterior material installation device 11 Exterior material delivery section 12 Approaching and Separating Moving Section 13 Wire direction moving part 14 Device frame 15 Control Unit 111 Receiving Department 112 Conveyor 112a Conveyor roller 121 Approaching and Separating Rail Section 122 Contact and separation movable part 131 Wire direction rail section 132 Wire direction movable part 141 Frame material D11 Vertical direction D12 Sending direction D13 Approach / Separation Direction D14 Wire direction D15 Reverse direction P11 Start position P12 Tape winding position P13 Evacuation position L1 Predetermined distance M1 Tape winding mechanism M11 Tape W1 Wire harness W11 Electric wire W12 Twisted Tube W121 Outlet end W122 slit

Claims

1. an exterior material feeding unit that feeds out a tubular exterior material to be attached to the electric wire while containing the electric wire inside through a slit provided in a peripheral wall, in a feeding direction from an arbitrary start position along the electric wire toward one end side of the electric wire so that the electric wire arranged in a straight line is contained inside the exterior material through the slit; an electric wire direction moving unit that moves the outer jacket material feeding unit in an electric wire direction along the electric wire; a control unit that controls the exterior material feeding unit and the electric wire direction moving unit so that the electric wire direction moving unit moves the exterior material feeding unit from the start position in a direction opposite to the feeding direction in accordance with the feeding of the exterior material by the exterior material feeding unit; An exterior material mounting device comprising:

2. The electric wires are arranged linearly in the vertical direction along the gravity, 2. The external material mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the electric wire direction moving section moves the external material feeding section in the vertical direction along the electric wire direction.

3. 2. The external material attaching device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the external material feeding unit and the electric wire direction moving unit so as to move the external material feeding unit in the reverse direction to a retracted position that is a predetermined distance away from the external material that has been fed from the external material feeding unit and attached to the electric wire.

4. The sheathing material fed by the sheathing material feeding section has a feeding end portion wound with tape and fixed to the electric wire at an initial stage of feeding, The external material mounting device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit controls the external material feeding unit and the wire direction moving unit so as to move the external material feeding unit in the reverse direction after the feeding end portion is fixed.

5. The electric wire is wound with tape at a predetermined tape winding position before the sheathing material is fed out by the sheathing material feeding section, 5. The external material attaching device according to claim 4, wherein the control unit positions the external material feed unit to a start position, the start position being a position where the feed end reaches the tape winding position, and controls the external material feed unit and the wire direction moving unit so as to move the external material feed unit in the reverse direction when the feed end of the external material fed from the external material feed unit at the start position is fixed by tape around the electric wire at the tape winding position.

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