Electrical wire transport pallet

Abstract

This invention provides a wire transport pallet that can be used with both single-strand and twisted wires, and that prevents bending when gripping single-strand wires. [Solution] The electric wire transport pallet 10 is equipped with a first gripping section 1, a second gripping section 2, and a third gripping section 3 for gripping electric wires. The first gripping section 1 and the second gripping section 2 are arranged side by side in the lateral direction (arrow X direction), and the third gripping section 3 is arranged offset front to back (arrow Y direction) from the first gripping section 1 and the second gripping section 2. The third gripping section 3 is provided so that its position can be changed in the lateral direction, and is provided so as to be slidable from an intermediate position between the first gripping section 1 and the second gripping section 2 to a position aligned front to back with the second gripping section 2. When gripping twisted electric wires, the third gripping section 3 is positioned at an intermediate position between the first gripping section 1 and the second gripping section 2. When gripping single wires, the third gripping section 3 is positioned at a position aligned front to back with the second gripping section 2.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a wire transfer pallet for transferring a wire while holding it.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, in a wire harness manufacturing apparatus composed of a plurality of processing units, a wire transfer pallet has been used. The functions of this wire transfer pallet include transferring the wire to each processing unit, holding the wire in a posture that is easy to transfer, positioning the wire, etc. In each processing unit, wire length measurement and cutting, wire stripping, rubber plug insertion, terminal crimping, crimping quality confirmation, insertion of terminals into a connector housing, etc. are performed.

[0003] Also, Patent Document 1 discloses a wire harness manufacturing apparatus including a plurality of wire transfer pallets for gripping single wires, and these plurality of wire transfer pallets are sent to each processing unit by a conveyor belt.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0004]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] The single-wire wire transfer pallet disclosed in Patent Document 1 has only one wire gripping portion for one wire, so it cannot grip a twisted wire whose ends are divided into two. Therefore, when transferring a twisted wire, a wire transfer pallet for a twisted wire has been used. The wire transfer pallet for a twisted wire includes a rear gripping portion that grips the portion where two wires are twisted, and two front gripping portions that grip each of the two wires divided at the ends.

[0006] While it is possible to grip a single wire with one of the front gripping sections and the other rear gripping section of a wire transport pallet designed for twisted wires, the front and rear gripping sections are not coaxial. Therefore, gripping a single wire would cause it to bend, which presented a problem.

[0007] Due to the circumstances described above, when manufacturing wire harnesses containing both solid and twisted wires using wire harness manufacturing equipment, separate wire transport pallets were required for solid wires and twisted wires. Furthermore, if the number of circuits for solid and twisted wires varied depending on the type of wire harness, the arrangement of the wire transport pallets had to be rearranged, which was extremely time-consuming.

[0008] Specifically, as shown in Figure 6, in Pattern 1, which alternately transports single wires and twisted wires, single wire transport pallets and twisted wire transport pallets are arranged alternately and set on the transport belt, etc. Next, when switching to Pattern 2, which transports in the order of single wire - single wire - twisted wire - twisted wire, it was necessary to rearrange the order of the wire transport pallets to match the order of Pattern 2. There is also a method of sending some wire transport pallets empty (the × marks in Figure 6 indicate empty) without rearranging the order of the wire transport pallets from Pattern 1 to Pattern 2, as shown in the example, but this method has the problem of increasing the cycle time.

[0009] Therefore, the present invention aims to provide a wire transport pallet that can be used for both single wires and twisted wires, and that does not cause bending when gripping single wires. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The present invention relates to a wire transport pallet comprising a first gripping section, a second gripping section, and a third gripping section for gripping electric wires, wherein the first and second gripping sections are arranged side by side in the lateral direction, the third gripping section is arranged offset from the first and second gripping sections in the front-to-back direction, and the position of the third gripping section is provided so that it can be changed in the lateral direction. [Effects of the Invention]

[0011] According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a wire transport pallet that can be used for both single wires and twisted wires, and that does not cause bending when gripping single wires. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0012] [Figure 1] This is a schematic diagram of a wire transport pallet according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] This is a diagram showing the side view of the slide pin in Figure 1. [Figure 3] This figure shows the third gripping part of Figure 1 in a state where it has slid laterally. [Figure 4] This figure shows the state in which twisted electric wires are gripped by the electric wire transport pallet shown in Figure 1. [Figure 5] This figure shows the wire transport pallet in Figure 3 gripping a single wire. [Figure 6] This diagram illustrates the problems with conventional wire harness manufacturing equipment that uses wire transport pallets. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0013] A "wire transport pallet" according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 5.

[0014] The wire transport pallet 10 shown in Figure 1 is used, for example, in a wire harness manufacturing apparatus as a means of transporting wires to each processing unit. The wire transport pallet 10 comprises a first gripping part 1, a second gripping part 2, a third gripping part 3 for gripping wires, a slide pin (sliding means) 5, a spring (stopping means) 4, and a pallet body 7 to which these are attached. The pallet body 7 is set on a transport belt or the like of the wire harness manufacturing apparatus.

[0015] The first gripping part 1 and the second gripping part 2 are arranged side by side in the lateral direction (arrow X direction), while the third gripping part 3 is positioned offset from the first gripping part 1 and the second gripping part 2 in the front-to-back direction (arrow Y direction).

[0016] The first gripping portion 1 includes a pair of gripping pieces 11 and 12 that sandwich an electric wire therebetween, and a holding portion 13 that holds the pair of gripping pieces 11 and 12 in an openable and closable manner. The first gripping portion 1 grips the electric wire in a state where the electric wire is directed in the direction of the dashed line P1. In this example, a pair of gripping pieces 11 and 12 are urged in a direction approaching each other (closing direction) using a mechanical element part such as a spring. When separating (opening) the pair of gripping pieces 11 and 12 against this urging force, a robot arm or the like is used. In addition to this, an actuator such as an air cylinder or a motor may be used to separate (open and close) the pair of gripping pieces 11 and 12.

[0017] Similar to the first gripping portion 1, the second gripping portion 2 includes a pair of gripping pieces 21 and 22 that sandwich an electric wire therebetween, and a holding portion 23 that holds the pair of gripping pieces 21 and 22 in an openable and closable manner. The second gripping portion 2 grips the electric wire in a state where the electric wire is directed in the direction of the dashed line P2.

[0018] Similar to the first gripping portion 1, the third gripping portion 3 includes a pair of gripping pieces 31 and 32 that sandwich an electric wire therebetween, and a holding portion 33 that holds the pair of gripping pieces 31 and 32 in an openable and closable manner. Further, the third gripping portion 3 is provided such that its placement location can be changed in the lateral direction. In this example, the third gripping portion 3 is provided slidably in the lateral direction over a position from the intermediate position between the first gripping portion 1 and the second gripping portion 2 shown in FIG. 1 to a position arranged in front of and behind the second gripping portion 2 shown in FIG. 3. The third gripping portion 3 arranged at the intermediate position between the first gripping portion 1 and the second gripping portion 2 grips the electric wire in a state where the electric wire is directed in the direction of the dashed line P3. The third gripping portion 3 arranged at the position arranged in front of and behind the second gripping portion 2 grips the electric wire in a state where the electric wire is directed in the direction of the dashed line P2.

[0019] The slide pin 5 is for sliding the third gripping portion 3 in the lateral direction (arrow X direction), and is moved back and forth (arrow Y direction) by a pusher 6 provided in a wire harness manufacturing apparatus or the like. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the slide pin 5 has side surfaces 52 and 53, and a tapered surface 54. A recess 51 into which the tip 61 of the pusher 6 fits is formed on the side surface 52 side.

[0020] The spring 4 is for stopping the third holding part 3 at a position arranged in the front and back with the second holding part 2.

[0021] The holding part 33 of the third holding part 3 has a tapered surface 33b where the tapered surface 54 of the slide pin 5 contacts, a side surface 33a where the side surface 53 of the slide pin 5 contacts, and a side surface 33c biased by the spring 4.

[0022] In the state shown in FIG. 1, the slide pin 5 has retreated, and the third holding part 3 is arranged at the left end of its movable range, that is, at the intermediate position between the first holding part 1 and the second holding part 2. When the slide pin 5 advances from the state of FIG. 1 (moves in the direction of arrow D1 in FIG. 3), the third holding part 3 slides to the right against the biasing force of the spring 4 (moves in the direction of arrow D2 in FIG. 3). In the state shown in FIG. 3, the side surface 53 of the slide pin 5 contacts the side surface 33a of the holding part 33, and due to the biasing force of the spring 4, the third holding part 3 is arranged at the right end of its movable range, that is, at a position arranged in the front and back with the second holding part 2. When the slide pin 5 retreats from the state of FIG. 3, the third holding part 3 slides to the left due to the biasing force of the spring 4.

[0023] As shown in FIG. 4, the wire conveying pallet 10 can also hold the twisted wire 90, and as shown in FIG. 5, it can also hold the single wire 93.

[0024] When holding the twisted wire 90, as shown in FIG. 4, arrange the third holding part 3 at the intermediate position between the first holding part 1 and the second holding part 2. Then, hold the twisted part of the two wires 91, 92 with the third holding part 3, hold one of the wires 91 separated into two at the terminal with the first holding part 1, and hold the other wire 92 with the second holding part 2.

[0025] When gripping a single wire 93, as shown in Figure 5, the third gripping part 3 is positioned front to back and side to side with the second gripping part 2. The front of the single wire 93 (the end where the terminal is crimped) is gripped by the second gripping part 2, and the rear of the single wire 93 is gripped by the third gripping part 3. In this case, the single wire 93 is gripped in a straight line, so no bending occurs.

[0026] In the example shown in Figure 4, the third gripping part 3 grips the twisted portion of the two electric wires 91 and 92, but this twisted portion may be covered with a sheath, braid, metal foil, etc. Furthermore, the first gripping part 1, the second gripping part 2, and the third gripping part 3 can grip electric wires of various types and sizes.

[0027] Thus, the wire transport pallet 10 can be used for both single-strand and twisted wires, and does not cause bending when gripping single-strand wires. Therefore, when manufacturing wire harnesses containing both single-strand and twisted wires in a wire harness manufacturing machine, a wire transport pallet dedicated to single-strand wires is not necessary, and only the wire transport pallet 10 can be used. Furthermore, when using only the wire transport pallet 10, even if the number of circuits for single-strand and twisted wires changes depending on the type of wire harness, there is no need to rearrange the order of the wire transport pallets 10.

[0028] In the embodiment described above, the third gripping portion 3 was provided so as to be slidable in the lateral direction from an intermediate position between the first gripping portion 1 and the second gripping portion 2 to a position aligned front to back with the second gripping portion 2. The present invention is not limited to this, and the third gripping portion 3 may be provided so as to be slidable in the lateral direction from an intermediate position between the first gripping portion 1 and the second gripping portion 2 to a position aligned front to back with the first gripping portion 1. Alternatively, the third gripping portion 3 may be provided so as to be slidable in the lateral direction from a position aligned front to back with the first gripping portion 1 to a position aligned front to back with the second gripping portion 2, and may be provided so as to be fixed at any position.

[0029] In the above-described embodiment, a slide pin 5 was used as the sliding means for the third gripping part 3, and a spring 4 was used as the stopping means for the third gripping part 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and actuators such as air cylinders or motors may be mounted on the pallet body 7 to slide and stop the third gripping part 3.

[0030] The embodiments described above merely represent typical forms of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to these embodiments. That is, it can be implemented with various modifications without departing from the core principles of the present invention. As long as such modifications still possess the configuration of the present invention, they are of course included within the scope of the present invention. [Explanation of Symbols]

[0031] 1 1st grip part 2 Second grip part 3 Third grip part 4. Spring (stopping mechanism) 5. Slide pin (sliding mechanism) 10 Electric wire transport pallets 90 Twisted Wire 93 Single track

Claims

1. It is equipped with a first gripping part, a second gripping part, and a third gripping part for gripping electric wires, The first gripping portion and the second gripping portion are arranged side by side in the lateral direction. The third gripping portion is positioned offset from the first gripping portion and the second gripping portion in the front-to-back direction. The third gripping portion is provided so that its position can be changed in the lateral direction. A wire transport pallet characterized by the following features.

2. The third gripping portion is provided so as to be slidable in the lateral direction from a position between the first gripping portion and the second gripping portion to a position aligned front to back with either the first gripping portion or the second gripping portion. The wire transport pallet according to feature 1.

3. A sliding means for sliding the third gripping portion in the lateral direction, The device includes a stopping means for stopping the third gripping portion in a position where it is aligned front to back with either the first gripping portion or the second gripping portion. The wire transport pallet according to feature 2.

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