Wire Harnesses and Robots

Abstract

This wire harness comprises a branch cable having a branch section formed by peeling off the sheaths of a first cable and a plurality of second cables and connecting the exposed core wires, and a cover member disposed at the branch section and capable of closing the opening of a predetermined space capable of accommodating the branch section, wherein the cover member has a plurality of through holes that pass through the sheaths of the first cable on both sides of the branch section and all of the second cables, respectively, and the space between each through hole and the sheath that passes through the through hole is sealed.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a wire harness and a robot. [Background technology]

[0002] When wiring multiple connectors provided on a motor, a method is known in which a composite cable is used up to the vicinity of the motor, and then the cable is separated into individual wires that are then connected to the motor connectors (see, for example, Patent Document 1).In this method, a hollow housing is prepared to which an intermediate-side connector that is connected to the motor-side connector is fixed, and the individual wires are arranged inside the hollow housing. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent Publication No. 2021-36740 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, even when a relay connector is not required, there are cases where it is necessary to protect the branched portion of the cable. Even in this case, simply covering the loose wires with acetate tape or heat-shrink tubing does not provide sufficient water resistance. If a cable with a sheath is prepared for each connection destination to avoid branching, the number of cables will increase dramatically, increasing costs and making installation difficult. Therefore, it is desirable to effectively improve the water resistance of the branched portion of the cable while suppressing increases in cost. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] One aspect of the present disclosure is a branch cable having a branch portion configured by peeling off the sheaths of a first cable and a plurality of second cables and connecting the exposed core wires together, and a cover member disposed at the branch portion and capable of closing an opening of a predetermined space capable of accommodating the branch portion, wherein the cover member covers the first cable and all of the second cables on both sides of the branch portion. Lu The present invention provides a method for manufacturing a semiconductor device, comprising: providing a plurality of through holes for passing through the semiconductor device; The first cable and all of the second cables The space between the The through-holes of the cover member are arranged in a row, the branching portion is disposed at a position spaced apart from the row of through-holes along the surface of the cover member, and the through-hole is disposed vertically below the branching portion when used. It is a wire harness.

[0006] Another aspect of the present disclosure is a robot including a robot body and at least one of the above-described wire harnesses attached to the robot body. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0007] [Figure 1] 1 is a partial longitudinal cross-sectional view showing a wire harness according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [Figure 2] 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a boot member used in the wire harness of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] 2 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which an opening of a case is closed by a cover member of the wire harness of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 4] 1. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a modification of the wire harness of FIG. 1, illustrating an example of the positional relationship between a branch portion and a through hole. [Figure 5] 5 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view showing an example of a posture in which the wire harness of FIG. 4 is attached to a robot. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 5 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view showing a modified example of the wire harness of FIG. 4, in which a support member for supporting a branch portion is provided. [Figure 7] FIG. 7 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view showing a part of the wire harness of FIG. 6. [Figure 8] FIG. 7 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view showing an example of a posture in which the wire harness of FIG. 6 is attached to a robot. [Figure 9]7 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view showing the wire harness of FIG. 6 attached to a recess of a robot. [Figure 10] 2 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view showing two wire harnesses of FIG. 1 attached to a single case. FIG. [Figure 11] 1. FIG. 5 is a partial vertical cross-sectional view of a modified example of the wire harness of FIG. 1, showing a state in which a through hole of a cover member is closed with putty. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0008] A wire harness 1 and a robot 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIG. 1, the wire harness 1 according to this embodiment is a cable assembly connected to each motor of the robot 100, and includes a branch cable 2 and a cover member 3.

[0009] The branch cable 2 includes a branch section 23 that branches from one first cable 21 into multiple second cables 22. The branch section 23 is configured by dividing the multiple electric wires 24 that make up the first cable 21 into multiple bundles of one or more electric wires, and connecting the electric wires 24 of each bundle to the electric wires 25 of each second cable 22 with a crimp terminal 26 or the like.

[0010] At branch portion 23, sheaths 27, 28 are stripped from one end of first cable 21 and second cable 22, respectively, and the insulating coatings of internal electric wires 24, 25 are stripped and the exposed core wires are connected to each other. In this embodiment, branch portion 23 is covered with covering member 29 having insulating and liquid-proof properties, such as acetate tape or heat-shrink tubing, in the same manner as in the conventional case.

[0011] The cover member 3 is a flat plate member, and its size and shape are configured so that it can close the opening 61 described below. Any material can be used for the cover member 3, as long as it is waterproof and has a certain degree of strength, such as metal or resin. The cover member 3 is provided with a through hole 31 through which the first cable 21 passes and a through hole 32 through which the plurality of second cables 22 pass together, penetrating in the plate thickness direction.

[0012] Additionally, boot members 4 each having a cylindrical portion 41 surrounding the through holes 31, 32 are fixed to the cover member 3 at the positions of the through holes 31, 32. As shown in Fig. 2, each boot member 4 has a flange portion 42 at one end of the cylindrical portion 41, and the flange portion 42 is fixed to the surface of one side of the cover member 3 by a fastener such as a screw (not shown). The boot member 4 is a liquid-proof flexible member made of, for example, rubber, and the gap between the surface of the cover member 3 and the flange portion 42 is sealed with a sealing material such as an adhesive.

[0013] The first cable 21 and the second cable 22 that pass through the through holes 31, 32 pass through the tubular portion 41 of the boot member 4 at the portions covered by the sheaths 27, 28, respectively. In this state, the other end of the tubular portion 41 of the boot member 4 is fastened with a binding device 5 such as a nylon band, as shown in Fig. 1, thereby tightly sealing the inner surface of the boot member 4 against the outer surfaces of the sheaths 27, 28. This simply seals the inner surface of the boot member 4 against the outer surfaces of the sheaths 27, 28, thereby sealing the gaps between the through holes 31, 32 and the sheaths 27, 28.

[0014] That is, according to the wire harness 1 of the present embodiment, the boot member 4 is disposed on one side of the cover member 3, and the branch portion 23 of the branch cable 2 is disposed on the other side.

[0015] The operation of the wire harness 1 according to this embodiment configured as above will be described. To attach the wire harness 1 according to this embodiment to the robot body 110 of the robot 100, for example, the connector 21a provided at the other end of the first cable 21 is connected to a distribution board (not shown), and the connectors 22a provided at the other ends of the plurality of second cables 22 are connected to the motor. The branch portion 23 arranged on one side of the cover member 3 is housed in a predetermined space, and the opening 61 of that space is closed in a sealed state by the cover member 3. In this way, the robot 100 is configured with the wire harness 1 attached to the robot body 110.

[0016] The predetermined space is provided by any member having a volume capable of accommodating the branch portion 23 and having an opening 61 that can be closed by the cover member 3. 3, the wire harness 1 may include a case 6 that defines a predetermined space, and an opening 61 of the case 6 may be sealed by attaching a cover member 3 with a sealing material 62 such as packing sandwiched therebetween. In the drawing, reference numeral 7 denotes a mounting bracket for attaching the cover member 3 to the case 6.

[0017] In this case, the wire harness 1 according to this embodiment is provided in a form in which the branch portion 23 is housed in a case 6 in which an opening 61 is closed by a cover member 3. By fixing the cover member 3 or the case 6 to a robot body 110 with screws or the like, a robot 100 equipped with the wire harness 1 can be configured.

[0018] According to the wire harness 1 of the present embodiment configured as described above, the branch portion 23 including the connection portion of the electric wires 24, 25 from which the sheaths 27, 28 have been stripped is disposed in a simply sealed space, thereby effectively improving the drip-proof property of the branch portion 23 of the branch cable 2. That is, by sealing the branch portion 23 in a space in addition to protection by the covering member 29 such as acetate tape, the branch portion 23 does not need to be exposed to the outside even in a robot 100 in which the servo motor is exposed to the outside.

[0019] Therefore, the robot 100 can be operated while maintaining sufficient drip-proofing even in a wet environment where cutting fluid etc. is splashed. Also, it is not necessary to prepare cables with sheaths 27 and 28 for each connection destination, which reduces the number of cables and prevents increases in costs.

[0020] 4, the through holes 31, 32 of the cover member 3 may be formed in a line, and the branch portion 23 may be disposed at a position along the surface of the cover member 3 away from the line of the through holes 31, 32. In this manner, the branch portion 23 can be disposed above the through holes 31, 32 in the direction of gravity. This has the advantage that the cover member 3 disposes the through holes 31, 32 vertically below the branch portion 23, making it difficult for droplets to reach the branch portion 23 even if they enter the space in which the branch portion 23 is disposed through the through holes 31, 32, and also allows the liquid to be drained from the space through the through holes 31, 32.

[0021] Furthermore, although the through holes 31, 32 of the cover member 3 are illustrated as being arranged in a line, the present invention is not limited to this and may be arranged in a line. For example, when three or more through holes 31, 32 are provided, at least one of the through holes 31, 32 is arranged vertically below the branching portion 23 and above or below the other through holes 31, 32, and all of the through holes 31, 32 do not necessarily have to be arranged in a straight line.

[0022] 5, when the cover member 3 is installed on the robot 100, the cover member 3 may be positioned so that the end of the boot member 4 fastened by the binder 5 faces downward or diagonally downward. This causes the first cable 21 and the second cable 22, which pass through the through holes 31 and 32 and extend to the side opposite the branch portion 23, sandwiching the cover member 3 therebetween, to face downward or diagonally downward as they move away from the through holes 31 and 32, which has the advantage of facilitating drainage of liquid from within the space through the through holes 32, as shown by the arrow in FIG.

[0023] 5, through holes 63 for fixing to the robot 100 are provided in the case 6 that defines the space, and the cover member 3 can be fixed in an oblique position by fastening screws or the like to predetermined mounting positions on the robot 100. Alternatively, through holes for fixing to the robot 100 may be provided on the cover member 3 side.

[0024] In this case, as shown in Figures 4 and 5, first cable 21 and second cable 22 are curved and arranged in the space, thereby preventing the positional relationship between branching portion 23 and through holes 31, 32 from changing. Alternatively, as shown in Figures 6 to 8, a support member (fixing portion) 8 may be provided that supports branching portion 23 in a predetermined position. Support member 8 is a flat member fixed to cover member 3, and has a hole 81 through which branching portion 23 passes.

[0025] That is, by providing the cover member 3 with the support member 8 having the hole 81 through which the branch portion 23 passes, it is possible to more reliably maintain the branch portion 23 in a state where it is positioned above the through-holes 31 and 32 in the direction of gravity. In Figures 6 to 8, two other boot members 4 are further disposed on the support member 8, and the branch portion 23 is protected by these two boot members 4. This provides multiple protection for the branch portion 23.

[0026] Furthermore, in the present embodiment, the opening 61 of the case 6 that houses the branching portion 23 is closed by the cover member 3. Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 9, a recess 120 capable of forming a space may be provided in a mechanical component of the robot main body 110, and the opening 121 of the recess 120 may be closed by being brought into close contact with a seat 122 provided around the opening 121. In this case as well, it is preferable that the position of the branching portion 23 is maintained above the through-holes 31, 32 in the direction of gravity, and the cover member 3 is fixed so that the tip of the boot member 4 faces downward or diagonally downward.

[0027] In addition, in the present embodiment, a case where a single branch portion 23 is arranged in the space has been exemplified. Alternatively, as shown in Fig. 10, openings 60a may be provided at both ends of a cylindrical case 60, and the two branch portions 23 of the two branch cables 2 may be sealed in the space by cover members 3 that can close the openings 60a.

[0028] In each of the above embodiments, the cover member 3 is a flat plate-shaped member, but this is not limited thereto, and a cover member 3 of any shape that can close the openings 60a, 61, 121 may be used. Furthermore, the first cable 21 and all of the second cables 22 branching off from the first cable 21 are made to pass through two through holes 31, 32 provided in the cover member 3, respectively. Alternatively, three or more through holes 31, 32 may be provided, and multiple second cables 22 may be divided and passed through the through holes 32.

[0029] Furthermore, although a cable assembly connected to each motor of the robot 100 is employed as the wire harness 1 according to the present embodiment, a cable assembly connected to an optional cable may be employed instead.

[0030] In addition, in the present embodiment, the portions of the first cable 21 and the second cable 22 that are covered with the sheaths 27 and 28 are passed through the through holes 31 and 32, respectively, but this is not limited to this. Instead, the first cable 21 and the second cable 22 may have the sheaths 27 and 28 peeled off to expose the electric wires 24 and 25, which are passed through the through holes 31 and 32.

[0031] In addition, in this embodiment, a boot member 4 is used to seal between the through holes 31, 32 and the sheaths 27, 28, but as shown in Figure 11, the through holes 31, 32 may be blocked with putty (e.g., clay, etc.) 50 to seal between the through holes 31, 32 and the sheaths 27, 28.

[0032] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described in detail above, the present disclosure is not limited to the individual embodiments described above. Various additions, substitutions, modifications, partial deletions, etc. are possible to these embodiments without departing from the gist of the invention or the idea and intent of the present invention derived from the content of the claims and their equivalents. For example, in the above-described embodiments, the order of each operation and the order of each process are shown as examples and are not limited to these.

[0033] The following additional notes are provided regarding the above-described embodiment and modifications. (Appendix 1) a branch cable having a branching section formed by stripping the sheaths of a first cable and a plurality of second cables and connecting the exposed core wires together; a cover member that is disposed at the branching portion and that can close an opening of a predetermined space that can accommodate the branching portion, the cover member has a plurality of through holes through which the sheath portions of the first cables on both sides of the branching portion and all of the second cables pass, A wire harness in which a seal is formed between each of the through holes and the sheath that passes through the through hole.

[0034] (Appendix 2) 2. The wire harness according to claim 1, comprising a case defining the predetermined space therein and having the opening.

[0035] (Appendix 3) a tubular boot member made of a liquid-proof flexible material is fixed to the cover member and surrounds each of the through holes; The wire harness according to Appendix 1 or Appendix 2, wherein the through hole and the first cable and all of the second cables are sealed by tightening the boot member with a binder from the outside, through which the first cable and all of the second cables passing through the through hole are inserted.

[0036] (Appendix 4) The wire harness according to claim 1 or 2, wherein each of the through holes of the cover member is sealed with putty, thereby sealing between the through holes and the first cable and all of the second cables.

[0037] (Appendix 5) The through holes of the cover member are arranged in a row, 5. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the branch portion is arranged at a position spaced apart from the row of through holes along the surface of the cover member.

[0038] (Appendix 6) 6. The wire harness according to claim 5, further comprising a fixing portion that fixes the branch portion at the position.

[0039] (Appendix 7) 7. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the branch portion is further covered with a liquid-proof covering member.

[0040] (Appendix 8) The robot body, At least one wire harness according to any one of Supplementary Note 1 to Supplementary Note 7 attached to the robot body.

[0041] (Appendix 9) The robot body, at least one wire harness according to claim 1; The robot body includes at least one recess that defines the predetermined space, and a seat that tightly fits each of the cover members around each of the openings of each of the recesses.

[0042] (Appendix 10) 10. The robot according to claim 8 or 9, wherein the cover member is fixed to the robot body in a position in which the through hole is positioned vertically below the branch portion.

[0043] (Appendix 11) The robot according to any one of Appendix 8 to Appendix 10, wherein the cover member is fixed to the robot body in such a position that the first cable or the second cable, which passes through the through hole and extends to the opposite side of the branch portion across the cover member, faces vertically downward or diagonally downward as it moves away from the through hole. [Explanation of symbols]

[0044] 1 Wire harness 2-way cable 3 Cover material 4 Boot material 5 Binding tool 6,60 cases 8 Support member (fixed part) 21 First Cable 22 Second Cable 23 Branch 27,28 Sheath 29 Covering materials 31, 32 Through holes 50 pâté 60a, 61, 121 Opening 100 robots 110 Robot body 120 recess 122 seat

Claims

1. a branch cable having a branch portion formed by stripping the sheaths of a first cable and a plurality of second cables and connecting the exposed core wires together; a cover member that is disposed at the branching portion and that can close an opening of a predetermined space that can accommodate the branching portion, the cover member has a plurality of through holes through which the first cables on both sides of the branching portion and all of the second cables pass, a seal is formed between each of the through holes and the first cable and all of the second cables passing through the through holes; The through holes of the cover member are arranged in a row, the branched portion is disposed at a position along the surface of the cover member away from the row of through holes, The wire harness is used in a state where the through hole is disposed vertically below the branch portion.

2. The wire harness according to claim 1 , further comprising a case defining the predetermined space therein and having the opening.

3. a tubular boot member made of a liquid-proof flexible material is fixed to the cover member and surrounds each of the through holes; 3. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the through hole and the first cable and all of the second cables are sealed by tightening the boot member with a binder from the outside, through which the first cable and all of the second cables passing through the through hole are inserted.

4. 3. The wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the through holes of the cover member are closed with putty to seal between the through holes and the first cable and between the through holes and all of the second cables.

5. The wire harness according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a fixing portion that fixes the branch portion at the position.

6. The wire harness according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the branched portion is further covered with a liquid-proof covering member.

7. The robot body, and at least one wire harness according to claim 1 or 2 attached to the robot body.

8. The robot body, At least one wire harness according to claim 1; The robot body includes at least one recess that defines the predetermined space, and a seat that tightly fits each of the cover members around each of the openings of each of the recesses.

9. The robot according to claim 7 , wherein the cover member is fixed to the robot body in an orientation such that the through-hole is positioned vertically below the branch portion.

10. 8. The robot according to claim 7, wherein the cover member is fixed to the robot body in such a position that the first cable or the second cable, which passes through the through hole and extends across the cover member to the opposite side of the branch portion, faces vertically downward or diagonally downward as it moves away from the through hole.

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