Tape application machine and wire processing system

Abstract

To provide a tape applicator and an electric wire processing system each having high versatility, by which it is possible to reduce a burden of a tape winding operation on an electric wire bundle obtained by twisting two or more electric wires.SOLUTION: A tape applicator includes a hand 11 and a movement mechanism for moving the hand 11. The hand 11 holds one end part of a tape T that includes an adhesive surface and has a predetermined length. The hand 11 is moved by the movement mechanism so that the adhesive surface of the tape T can be pressed against an outer peripheral surface of an electric wire bundle W that rotates around an extending direction.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a tape application machine and an electric wire processing system. [Background technology]

[0002] A wire harness to be installed in a vehicle includes a twisted wire in which at least two electric wires are twisted together. Both ends of the twisted wire are wrapped with tape to prevent fraying. After at least two electric wires are twisted together in a twisting machine to produce a twisted wire, a worker moves to one end of the twisted wire and wraps tape around it. After that, the worker moves to the other end of the twisted wire and wraps tape around the other end.

[0003] As a technique for improving the workability of tape winding, Patent Document 1 proposes a tape supplying unit that is attached to the twisting unit of a twisted wire manufacturing device. This tape supplying unit has a tape supplying section, a tape application section that applies a part of the tape to a predetermined position of two electric wires, and an application holding section that assists in application of the remaining part of the tape while the two electric wires are rotated and twisted by the operation of the twisting unit. With this tape supplying unit, tape winding can be performed by utilizing the rotation when twisting the electric wires. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2016-225282 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] However, the tape supply unit of the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 is incorporated in a twisted wire manufacturing device, and therefore cannot be applied when manufacturing twisted wires with a general twisting machine.

[0006] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a tape application machine that can reduce the burden of winding tape around a bundle of electric wires formed by twisting two or more electric wires together, and that is highly versatile. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the tape application machine and the electric wire processing system according to the present invention are characterized by the following (1) to (4). (1) a holding portion for holding one end of a predetermined length of tape having an adhesive surface; A moving mechanism that moves the holding part, The holding unit is moved by the moving mechanism so as to press the adhesive surface of the tape against an outer circumferential surface of the electric wire rotating about an axis in the extending direction. In the tape has a non-adhesive side opposite the adhesive side; the moving mechanism causes a first portion of the holding portion, which holds the one end of the tape by adhesion of the adhesive surface of the one end of the tape, to contact the adhesive surface of the other end of the tape with the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire, and then causes a second portion of the holding portion to bring the holding portion close to the electric wire so as to press the tape against the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire to which the adhesive surface of the other end of the tape is attached. Tape Applicator . (2) a holding portion for holding one end of a predetermined length of tape having an adhesive surface; A moving mechanism that moves the holding part, In the tape application machine, the holding portion is moved by the moving mechanism so as to press the adhesive surface of the tape against an outer circumferential surface of the electric wire rotating about an axis in the extending direction, the tape has a non-adhesive side opposite the adhesive side; the holding portion has a first portion and a second portion that can approach the first portion and move away from the first portion, the holding portion is moved by the moving mechanism to a predetermined position near the electric wire in a state in which the first portion contacts the adhesive surface, the second portion contacts the non-adhesive surface, and the one end of the tape is sandwiched between the first portion and the second portion. Te Tape application machine. (3) The holding portion separates the first portion and the second portion at the predetermined position, the moving mechanism brings the holding portion closer to the electric wire so that the first portion brings the other end of the tape into contact with the outer circumferential surface of the electric wire and the second portion presses the tape against the outer circumferential surface of the electric wire. A tape application machine as described in (2) above. (4) A tape applicator according to any one of (1) to (3) above, a tape cutter that supplies the tape to the tape application machine; An electric wire processing system comprising: an electric wire processing machine that rotates the electric wire around an axis in the extension direction, The electric wire is an electric wire bundle including two or more electric wires, The wire processing machine rotates the wire bundle around an axis corresponding to the extending direction, the holding portion of the tape application machine presses the adhesive surface of the tape against the outer peripheral surface of the bundle of electric wires rotated by the electric wire processing machine. Wire processing system. Effect of the Invention

[0008] According to the present invention, it is possible to reduce the burden of winding a tape around a bundle of electric wires formed by twisting two or more electric wires together, and it is also possible to provide a highly versatile tape applicator.

[0009] The present invention has been briefly described above. Furthermore, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading the following description of the embodiment of the present invention (hereinafter, referred to as "embodiment") with reference to the accompanying drawings. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a tape cutter and a tape applicator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which the hands of the tape applicator are open. [Diagram 3] FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a twisting machine and a tape applicator according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the tape application process using a tape applicator. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0011] Specific embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. An example of an electric wire processing system will be described below in which, when two electric wires are twisted together by a twisting machine to produce a twisted wire, the rotation of the electric wires is utilized to automatically wind tape on one end of the electric wire by a tape applicator.

[0012] Fig. 1 is a schematic perspective view of a tape cutter 30 and a tape applicator 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention. Fig. 2 is a perspective view showing a state in which a hand 11 of the tape applicator 10 is open. Fig. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a twisting machine 50 and a tape applicator 10 according to one embodiment of the present invention.

[0013] The electric wire processing system of this embodiment includes a tape application machine 10, a tape cutter 30, and a twisting machine 50 (see FIG. 3). The tape cutter 30 cuts a rolled tape to a predetermined length to supply a rectangular tape T. The predetermined length is a length at which the start and end of the tape T overlap when the tape T is wound around the outer periphery of an electric wire bundle W including two electric wires, and is, for example, about 1.2 times the outer periphery of the electric wire bundle W. The tape application machine 10 applies the tape T to one end of a twisted wire manufactured by twisting two electric wires together. The twisting machine 50 manufactures a twisted wire by twisting two electric wires together. In the electric wire processing system, a twist processing machine 50 bundles two electric wires together and rotates them around an axis along the extension direction of the electric wires, and a tape application machine 10 presses the adhesive surface of a tape T against the outer peripheral surface of the rotating electric wire bundle W, thereby winding the tape T around one end of the twisted wire.

[0014] The tape cutter 30 shown in Figure 1 has a main body 31 placed on a support stand, a turntable 32 arranged on the upper part of the main body 31 so as to be rotatable in a horizontal plane, and a tape holding unit 33 that supplies strips of tape T to the turntable 32. The turntable 32 rotates relative to the main body 31 to hold a plurality of tapes T supplied from the tape holding unit 33 at regular intervals, and supply them to the tape application machine 10 in sequence. The tape holding unit 33 holds a roll of tape, cuts the tape to a predetermined length with a cutter (not shown), and supplies the tape T so that one end of the cut tape T adheres to the outer periphery of the turntable 32. The roll of tape has an adhesive surface on one side and a non-adhesive surface on the opposite side. The strips of tape T are held to the edge of the turntable 32 by the adhesive force of the adhesive surface.

[0015] 3 is an example of an electric wire processing machine that bundles and processes two or more electric wires. The twist processing machine 50 has a rail extending in one direction, a rotating electric wire chuck 51 that holds one end of an electric wire bundle W including two electric wires and is movable along the rail, and a fixed electric wire chuck (not shown) that holds the other end of the electric wire bundle W and is fixed to the rail.

[0016] The rotating wire chuck 51 is rotated by the drive unit around an axis corresponding to the extension direction of the electric wire bundle W, and moved to an arbitrary position on the rail. The electric wire bundle W is arranged along the rail with one end held by the rotating wire chuck 51 and the other end held by the fixed wire chuck. By rotating the rotating wire chuck 51, the electric wire bundle W is rotated around an axis corresponding to the extension direction, and the two electric wires are twisted together. The twisting machine 50 may rotate the electric wire bundle W while adjusting the tension with an ELECYLINDER or the like.

[0017] The tape applicator 10 includes a hand 11 (holding portion) that holds one end of a tape T, and a movement mechanism 12 that moves the hand 11, as shown in FIGS.

[0018] The hand 11 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped base 111, a first part 112 and a second part 113 provided on one side of the base 111, and prismatic opening / closing parts 114, 115 which attach the first part 112 and the second part 113 to the base 111 so that they can be opened and closed.

[0019] The base 111 includes two rectangular plate materials and is attached to the arm tip 121 of the movement mechanism 12 with a gap between the two rectangular plate materials. One end side of the opening / closing units 114, 115 is accommodated in the gap. The opening / closing units 114, 115 are attached between the two rectangular plate materials so as to be rotatable by a drive unit such that the other end sides of the opening / closing units 114, 115 approach and move away from each other.

[0020] The first portion 112 includes a substantially rectangular flat plate portion 1121 and an upright portion 1122 extending in the normal direction from one end edge portion in the longitudinal direction of the flat plate portion 1121. The first portion 112 is disposed such that the flat plate portion 1121 faces the second portion 113. The other end side of the opening / closing portion 114 is fixed to the lower surface of the flat plate portion 1121.

[0021] The second portion 113 is a member in which one side of a substantially rectangular parallelepiped block is rounded, and includes a flat portion 1131 and a curved portion 1132. The second portion 113 is configured so as to be able to approach the first portion 112 and move away from the first portion 112. The flat portion 1131 extends in the longitudinal direction from an edge portion on the base portion 111 side on one surface (hereinafter also referred to as the lower surface) of the block facing the first portion 112, and has a larger longitudinal size than the flat plate portion 1121 of the first portion 112. The curved portion 1132 extends in a curved manner from an edge portion of the flat portion 1131 on the opposite side to the base portion 111 to an upper surface facing the lower surface of the block. The other end side of the opening / closing portion 115 is inserted and fixed from the flat portion 1131 side to the base portion 111 side of the second portion 113.

[0022] The first portion 112 and the second portion 113 are opened by driving the opening / closing portions 114, 115 to move away from each other, and are in the open state shown in Fig. 2. The first portion 112 and the second portion 113 are closed to each other by driving the opening / closing portions 114, 115 to move closer to each other, and are in the closed state shown in Fig. 1. In the closed state, the end portion 1122a of the standing portion 1122 of the first portion 112 abuts against the flat portion 1131 of the second portion 113.

[0023] The moving mechanism 12 is a vertical-arm type four-axis robot arm placed on a support base. The moving mechanism 12 has a base 123 placed on the support base, and an arm body 122 provided rotatably about an axis in the vertical direction with respect to the base 123. The arm body 122 can move an arm tip 121 located at the end opposite to the connection point with the base 123 to any position in a vertical plane via three joints and two links. A base 111 of the hand 11 is attached to the arm tip 121. The moving mechanism 12 moves the hand 11 between a predetermined position in the vicinity of the tape cutter 30 and a predetermined position in the vicinity of the electric wire bundle W held by the rotating electric wire chuck 51. The predetermined position in the vicinity of the tape cutter 30 is a position where the hand 11 can grip the tape T supplied to the turntable 32 (see FIG. 1). The predetermined position in the vicinity of the electric wire bundle W is above the electric wire bundle W whose both ends are held by the twisting machine 50, and above the application position on the electric wire bundle W where the tape T is to be applied.

[0024] The end 1122a of the first portion 112 of the hand 11 contacts the adhesive surface of the tape T, and the second portion 113 contacts the non-adhesive surface of the tape T. The hand 11 is moved by the moving mechanism 12 to a predetermined position near the electric wire bundle W held by the rotating-side electric wire chuck 51 in a state in which one end of the tape T is sandwiched between the end 1122a of the first portion 112 and the flat portion 1131 of the second portion 113. In this manner, one end of the tape T is gripped by the hand 11, and the hand 11 is moved by the moving mechanism 12, so that the tape T can be prevented from falling off during movement.

[0025] Next, an example of the operation of bundling and twisting two electric wires to produce a twisted wire and winding tape on both ends of the twisted wire in the electric wire processing system configured as above will be described. Fig. 4 is an explanatory diagram of the tape application process by the tape application machine 10.

[0026] In an initial state, the rotating wire chuck 51 of the twisting machine 50 is disposed adjacent to the fixed wire chuck. Both ends of the wire bundle W are held by the rotating wire chuck 51 and the fixed wire chuck, respectively. The tape applicator 10 is disposed such that the arm of the moving mechanism 12 is folded and the open hand 11 faces the turntable 32 of the tape cutter 30. At least one tape T is supplied to the turntable 32 in the tape cutter 30.

[0027] When the start button is pressed, the twisting machine 50 and the tape applicator 10 start operating. In the tape application machine 10, the hand 11 moves toward the tape cutter 30, pinches one end of the tape T (see FIG. 1), and moves upward to peel off the tape T from the turntable 32. At this time, the hand 11 is in a closed state in which the first portion 112 contacts the adhesive surface of the tape T and the second portion 113 contacts the non-adhesive surface of the tape T, pinching one end of the tape T between the first portion 112 and the second portion 113.

[0028] Meanwhile, in the twisting machine 50, the rotating wire chuck 51 is moved along the rail so as to be separated from the fixed wire chuck, the wire bundle W is placed along the rail, and the rotating wire chuck 51 starts to rotate. The hand 11 gripping one end of the tape T is moved by the moving mechanism 12 from the tape supply position of the tape cutter 30 to a predetermined position in the vicinity of the wire bundle W held by the twisting machine 50 (see FIG. 3). Since the hand 11 grips and moves the tape T, it is possible to prevent the tape T from falling off during movement.

[0029] As shown in Fig. 3 and Fig. 4(a), the hand 11 gripping one end of the tape T approaches the electric wire bundle W rotating in the direction of arrow A about the axis of the extension direction of the electric wire bundle W so that the extension direction of the electric wire bundle W and the extension direction of the tape T are perpendicular to each other (see arrow B in Fig. 4(a)). The hand 11 waits above the electric wire bundle W. Just before attaching the tape T to the electric wire bundle W, as shown in Fig. 4(b), the hand 11 opens and starts to descend so as to bring the tape T closer to the electric wire bundle W (see arrow C).

[0030] As shown in Fig. 4(c), when the hand 11 descends (see arrow D), one end of the tape T, the other end of which is held by the adhesive layer at the end 1122a, adheres to the outer circumferential surface of the rotating electric wire bundle W. Then, the adhesive surface of the tape T moves away from the end 1122a. As shown in Fig. 4(d), when the hand 11 descends further (see arrow E), the second portion 113 comes into contact with the non-adhesive surface of the tape T and presses the tape T toward the electric wire bundle W.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 4(e), when the hand 11 is pressed downward (see arrow F), the adhesive surface of the tape T is pressed against the outer peripheral surface of the rotating bundle of electric wires W, and the rotation of the bundle of electric wires W is utilized to wrap the tape T around the entire outer peripheral surface of the bundle of electric wires W.

[0032] When winding of the tape T around the bundle of electric wires W and twisting of the bundle of electric wires W are completed, as shown in FIG. 4(f), the hand 11 moves in a direction away from the bundle of electric wires W (see arrow G) and returns to its initial position.

[0033] Thereafter, the worker winds tape around the other end of the wire bundle W near the fixed wire chuck, thereby twisting the wire bundle W and completing a twisted wire with tape wound on both ends.

[0034] As described above, according to the electric wire processing system of this embodiment, the tape applicator 10 winds the tape T around the electric wire bundle W by utilizing the rotation of the electric wire bundle W by the twisting machine 50. Therefore, the tape can be wound in a shorter time than when the tape is wound around the electric wire removed from the electric wire processing machine after the processing by the electric wire processing machine is completed. In this way, the tape applicator 10 can reduce the burden of the tape winding work around the electric wire bundle W in which two or more electric wires are twisted together.

[0035] In addition, the tape application machine 10 is configured separately from the twist processing machine 50, and since the hand 11 can be brought close to the rotating bundle of electric wires to wind the tape T around it, the machine is applicable to bundles of electric wires rotated by various types of electric wire processing machines and is highly versatile.

[0036] Furthermore, since the other end of the tape T can be attached and wound while the electric wire bundle W is being rotated by the twist processing machine 50, it is not necessary to keep the electric wire bundle W stationary without rotating until a part of the tape is attached to the electric wire bundle W. This improves workability.

[0037] The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be modified, improved, etc. as appropriate. In addition, the material, shape, size, numerical value, form, number, arrangement location, etc. of each component in the above-described embodiment are arbitrary as long as they can achieve the present invention, and are not limited. For example, in the above embodiment, the twist processing machine 50 that twists two electric wires to produce a twisted wire rotates the electric wire bundle W around an axis, but an electric wire processing machine that twists three or more electric wires may be used as the electric wire processing machine that rotates the electric wire.

[0038] Here, the features of the tape application machine and the electric wire processing system according to the above-mentioned embodiment of the present invention will be briefly summarized and listed below in [1] to [4]. [1] A holding part (hand 11) for holding one end of a predetermined length of tape (T) having an adhesive surface; A moving mechanism (12) that moves the holding portion, The holding portion is moved by the moving mechanism so as to press the adhesive surface of the tape against an outer peripheral surface of an electric wire rotating about an axis in the extension direction. [2] The tape has a non-adhesive side opposite the adhesive side, The holding unit (hand 11) has a first portion (112) and a second portion (113) that can move toward and away from the first portion, the holding portion is moved by the moving mechanism to a predetermined position near the electric wire in a state in which the first portion contacts the adhesive surface, the second portion contacts the non-adhesive surface, and the one end of the tape is sandwiched between the first portion and the second portion. 1. A tape application machine as described in [1] above. [3] The holding portion separates the first portion and the second portion at the predetermined position, The tape application machine described in [2] above, wherein the moving mechanism brings the holding portion closer to the electric wire so that the first portion brings the other end of the tape into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire and the second portion presses the tape against the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire. [4] A tape applicator (10) according to any one of the above [1] to [3], a tape cutter (30) for supplying the tape to the tape applicator; and a wire processing machine (twist processing machine 50) that rotates the electric wire around an axis in the extension direction, The electric wire is an electric wire bundle (W) including two or more electric wires, The wire processing machine rotates the wire bundle around an axis corresponding to the extending direction, the holding portion of the tape application machine presses the adhesive surface of the tape against the outer peripheral surface of the bundle of electric wires rotated by the electric wire processing machine. Wire processing system.

[0039] According to the configuration [1] above, the adhesive surface of the tape T cut to a predetermined length corresponding to the outer periphery of the electric wire bundle W is pressed against the outer periphery of the rotating electric wire bundle W, thereby winding the tape T around the outer periphery of the electric wire bundle W. Thus, the tape can be automatically wound around the electric wire bundle rotated by an electric wire processing machine such as a twisting machine that bundles and rotates two or more electric wires. In this way, the tape application machine 10 can reduce the burden of the tape winding operation around the electric wire bundle W in which two or more electric wires are twisted together. The tape applicator 10 is configured separately from the twisting machine 50, and can wrap the tape T by bringing the hand 11 close to the rotating electric wire bundle W and pressing the tape T against the outer circumferential surface of the electric wire bundle W. Therefore, the tape applicator 10 can apply the tape T to electric wire bundles rotated by various electric wire processing machines, and is highly versatile.

[0040] According to the above configuration [2], the holding portion (hand 11) grips and moves the tape T, so that the tape T can be prevented from falling off during movement.

[0041] According to the above configuration [3], the other end of the tape T attached to the first portion 112 comes into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire bundle W, and the second portion 113 abuts against the non-adhesive surface of the tape to press the tape T against the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire bundle W. Therefore, by the second portion 113 of the hand 11 pressing the non-adhesive surface of the tape T against the electric wire bundle W, the tape T is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire bundle W in order from the other end as the electric wire bundle W rotates.

[0042] According to the configuration [4] above, the tape T is wound around the bundle of electric wires W by utilizing the rotation of the twist processing machine 50. This makes it possible to wind the tape around the bundle of electric wires W in a shorter time than when the tape is wound around the electric wires (bundle of electric wires) that have been removed from the electric wire processing machine after processing by the electric wire processing machine has been completed. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 10 Tape application machine 11 Hands 12 Moving mechanism 30 Ribbon cutting machine 31 Main unit 32 Turntable 33 Tape holding part 50 Twist processing machine 51 Rotating wire chuck 111 Base 112 Part 1 113 Part 2 114, 115 Opening and closing section 121 Arm tip 122 Arm body 123 Foundation 1121 Flat plate part 1122 Standing part 1122a End 1131 Plane section 1132 Curved surface part T-Tape W Wire bundle

Claims

1. a holding portion for holding one end of a predetermined length of tape having an adhesive surface; A moving mechanism that moves the holding part, In the tape application machine, the holding portion is moved by the moving mechanism so as to press the adhesive surface of the tape against an outer circumferential surface of the electric wire rotating about an axis in the extending direction, the tape has a non-adhesive side opposite the adhesive side; the moving mechanism causes a first portion of the holding portion, which holds the one end of the tape by adhesion of the adhesive surface of the one end of the tape, to contact the adhesive surface of the other end of the tape with the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire, and then causes a second portion of the holding portion to bring the holding portion close to the electric wire so as to press the tape against the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire to which the adhesive surface of the other end of the tape is attached. Tape applicator.

2. A holding portion for holding one end of a predetermined length of tape having an adhesive surface; A moving mechanism that moves the holding part, In the tape application machine, the holding portion is moved by the moving mechanism so as to press the adhesive surface of the tape against an outer circumferential surface of the electric wire rotating about an axis in the extending direction, the tape has a non-adhesive side opposite the adhesive side; the holding portion has a first portion and a second portion that can approach the first portion and move away from the first portion, the holding portion is moved by the moving mechanism to a predetermined position near the electric wire in a state in which the first portion contacts the adhesive surface, the second portion contacts the non-adhesive surface, and the one end of the tape is sandwiched between the first portion and the second portion. Tape applicator.

3. The holding portion separates the first portion and the second portion at the predetermined position, 3. The tape application machine according to claim 2, wherein the moving mechanism brings the holding portion closer to the electric wire so that the first portion brings the other end of the tape into contact with the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire and the second portion presses the tape against the outer peripheral surface of the electric wire.

4. A tape application machine according to any one of claims 1 to 3, a tape cutter that supplies the tape to the tape application machine; An electric wire processing system comprising: an electric wire processing machine that rotates the electric wire around an axis in the extension direction, The electric wire is an electric wire bundle including two or more electric wires, The wire processing machine rotates the wire bundle around an axis corresponding to the extending direction, the holding portion of the tape application machine presses the adhesive surface of the tape against the outer peripheral surface of the bundle of electric wires rotated by the electric wire processing machine. Wire processing system.

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