Irradiation device

Abstract

An irradiation device (6) comprises an irradiation part (30) that emits rays of light (104) in a prescribed direction, and a reflection part (40) that reflects the rays of light. The reflection part (40) has a recess part (43) that is recessed in the prescribed direction to allow an irradiation target (103) to be disposed in a groove, and specular parts (44a, 45a) that are provided on groove inner surfaces (44, 45) of the recess part (43) to reflect the rays of light. The recess part (43) has the shape of a V-shaped groove.

Description

Irradiation device

[0001] The present invention relates to an irradiation device that irradiates an irradiation target with a light beam.

[0002] Electric wires with terminals have been proposed for use in communication between devices mounted on vehicles, power supply, etc. For example, in one conventional electric wire with terminal, a connection point between a conductor core wire of the electric wire and a terminal is covered with an anticorrosive agent to prevent the connection point from being corroded by water (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

[0003] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2019-129067

[0004] One example of a method for covering the connection between the conductor core of an electric wire and a terminal with an anticorrosion agent is to apply a liquid anticorrosion agent (hereinafter also referred to as an anticorrosion agent) to the connection and then harden the anticorrosion agent. For example, an ultraviolet-curable resin can be used as such an anticorrosion agent. When an ultraviolet-curable resin is applied to the contact point between the conductor core of an electric wire and a terminal, the resin may spread not only over the top surface of the contact point but also near the side and bottom surfaces of the contact point. In this case, simply irradiating the top surface of the terminal with ultraviolet light may not properly harden the entire resin.

[0005] An object of the present invention is to provide an irradiation device capable of irradiating an irradiation target with light rays from a plurality of directions.

[0006] In one aspect of the present invention, an irradiation device is an irradiation device that irradiates an irradiation object with a light beam, and includes: an irradiation unit that irradiates the light beam in a predetermined direction; and a reflection unit that is arranged to receive the light beam irradiated by the irradiation unit and reflects the light beam, wherein the reflection unit has a recess that is recessed in the predetermined direction so that the irradiation object can be placed in a groove, and a mirror surface that is provided on the inner surface of the groove of the recess and reflects the light beam.

[0007] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of a corrosion prevention treatment apparatus incorporating an irradiation device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a rear view of the conveying unit shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a top view of the conveying unit shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4A is a first diagram for explaining the process flow when corrosion prevention treatment is performed on an electric wire with a terminal by the corrosion prevention treatment apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4B is a second diagram for explaining the process flow when corrosion prevention treatment is performed on an electric wire with a terminal by the corrosion prevention treatment apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4C is a third diagram for explaining the process flow when corrosion prevention treatment is performed on an electric wire with a terminal by the corrosion prevention treatment apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 4D is a fourth diagram for explaining the process flow when corrosion prevention treatment is performed on an electric wire with a terminal by the corrosion prevention treatment apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the entire UV irradiation unit shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 5. FIG. 7 is a side view of part A in FIG. 5 seen from the side. FIG. 8 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 7, showing a state in which the irradiation unit and the reflection unit constituting the UV irradiation unit have each moved from their original positions to their irradiation positions. FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB in FIG.

[0008] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. For convenience of explanation, "front," "rear," "left," "right," "upper," and "lower" will be defined as shown in Fig. 1 etc. The "front-rear direction," "left-right direction," and "upper-lower direction" are mutually orthogonal.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing one embodiment of a corrosion prevention treatment device 1 incorporating an application device (application unit 5) of the present invention. The corrosion prevention treatment device 1 shown in FIG. 1 is a device that applies a coating agent (corrosion prevention agent) 101 made of an ultraviolet-curable resin (UV-curable resin) to the end of a terminal-attached electric wire 100 (a so-called workpiece; see also FIGS. 4A to 4D ). As shown in FIG. 4A , the terminal-attached electric wire 100 includes an electric wire 102 and a terminal 103 attached to the end of the electric wire 102. The electric wire 102 has a coating 102A stripped from the end to expose a conductor core 102B. The terminal 103 is crimped to the coating 102A and the conductor core 102B exposed at the end. The corrosion prevention treatment device 1 covers the connection point between the conductor core 102B and the terminal 103 with the coating agent 101, thereby preventing corrosion at the connection point between the conductor core 102B and the terminal 103.

[0010] The corrosion prevention treatment device 1 includes a conveying unit 2, an electric wire supplying unit 3 that sets the electric wire with terminal 100 on the conveying unit 2, an imaging unit 4 that images the electric wire with terminal 100 conveyed by the conveying unit 2, an application unit 5 (see also Figure 4B) that applies an application agent 101 to the end of the electric wire with terminal 100 conveyed by the conveying unit 2, a UV irradiation unit 6 (see also Figure 4C) that irradiates the applied application agent 101 with ultraviolet light 104, a control unit 7 that controls each of these units, and a display unit 8.

[0011] The above-described electric wire supply unit 3, image capture unit 4, coating unit 5, and UV irradiation unit 6 are arranged side by side in the left-right direction, that is, from right to left, the electric wire supply unit 3, image capture unit 4, coating unit 5, and UV irradiation unit 6 are arranged in this order.

[0012] The configuration of the transfer unit 2 will be described. As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the transfer unit 2 has four rear electric wire chucks 21 and four front electric wire chucks 22. The four rear electric wire chucks 21 are arranged side by side at equal intervals in the left-right direction. The four rear electric wire chucks 21 are provided so as to be movable in the left-right direction between a first position and a second position.

[0013] 2 and 3 , at the first position, the four rear electric wire chucks 21 face the electric wire supply unit 3, the imaging unit 4, the coating unit 5, and the UV irradiation unit 6 in the front-rear direction. At the second position, the rightmost rear electric wire chuck 21 faces the imaging unit 4 in the front-rear direction, the second rightmost rear electric wire chuck 21 faces the coating unit 5 in the front-rear direction, the second leftmost rear electric wire chuck 21 faces the UV irradiation unit 6 in the front-rear direction, and the leftmost rear electric wire chuck 21 is located to the left of the UV irradiation unit 6.

[0014] 3, the four front electric wire chucks 22 are arranged further forward in the front-rear direction than the four rear electric wire chucks 21 (on the side of the electric wire supply unit 3, the imaging unit 4, the coating unit 5, and the UV irradiation unit 6). The four front electric wire chucks 22 are arranged side by side at equal intervals in the left-right direction and face the electric wire supply unit 3, the imaging unit 4, the coating unit 5, and the UV irradiation unit 6 in the front-rear direction. The four front electric wire chucks 22 do not move in the left-right direction.

[0015] Next, the configurations of the rear electric wire chuck 21 and the front electric wire chuck 22 will be described. The four rear electric wire chucks 21 have the same configuration. Each rear electric wire chuck 21 has a cubic main body 23 and a pair of chucks 24, 24 that are attached to the main body 23 so as to be able to open and close freely and that clamp and hold the terminal-attached electric wire 100 from the left and right directions.

[0016] The chuck portion 24 has an arm 24A attached to the main body 23 so that a first end thereof is rotatable about an axis along the front-rear direction, and chuck claws 24B attached to a second end of the arm 24A. When the second ends of the pair of arms 24A are rotated so that they protrude in the left-right direction from the main body 23, the pair of chuck claws 24B open, releasing the hold of the terminal-attached electric wire 100. When the second ends of the pair of arms 24A are rotated so that they protrude upward from the main body 23, the pair of chuck claws 24B close, allowing the terminal-attached electric wire 100 to be clamped and held from the left-right direction.

[0017] The front wire chuck 22 has a similar configuration to the rear wire chuck 21, and therefore a detailed description of the front wire chuck 22 will be omitted here. The main body 23 of the rear wire chuck 21 is attached to a slider (not shown) that moves in the left-right direction.

[0018] The conveying operation of the conveying unit 2 configured as described above will be described. The wire supplying unit 3 sets the terminal-fitted wire 100 in the rightmost rear wire chuck 21 and front wire chuck 22 (holding it in the correct position). Next, the front wire chuck 22 is opened and moved from the first position to the second position. This causes the terminal-fitted wire 100 to be conveyed to the imaging unit 4, where it can be held by the front wire chuck 22, which is the second from the right and arranged opposite the imaging unit 4. Thereafter, the rear wire chuck 21 is opened and returned from the second position to the first position, whereby the terminal-fitted wire 100 can be held by the rear wire chuck 21, which is the second from the right. By repeating this process, the terminal-fitted wire 100 can be conveyed in order to the wire supplying unit 3, the imaging unit 4, the coating unit 5, and the UV irradiation unit 6.

[0019] The wire supply unit 3 has a work setting jig (not shown). When an operator inserts an end of the terminal-fitted wire 100 into the work setting jig and the end abuts against a positioning wall within the work setting jig, the front wire chuck 22 closes. This allows the terminal 103 of the terminal-fitted wire 100 to be positioned in the front-rear direction.

[0020] The imaging unit 4 has a camera (not shown) and a ring-shaped illumination unit (not shown) disposed below the camera. The camera is attached facing downward. When the terminal-fitted wire 100 is conveyed to the imaging unit 4 and held by the front wire chuck 22 facing the imaging unit 4 in the front-rear direction, the terminal 103 comes within the imaging range of the camera.

[0021] The applicator 5 includes a nozzle (not shown) that dispenses the coating agent 101 toward the target (terminal 103 of the terminal-attached electric wire 100), a tank (not shown) that stores the coating agent 101, and a piping (not shown) that connects the tank and nozzle. The liquid coating agent 101 stored in the tank is supplied to the nozzle via the piping and dispensed from the nozzle. The nozzle is movable left and right and front and rear by a left and right cylinder (not shown) and a front and rear cylinder (not shown). The terminal-attached electric wire 100 is transported to the applicator 5 and held by a front electric wire chuck 22 that faces the applicator 5 in the front and rear directions. The terminal 103 enters the dispensing range of the nozzle. The applicator 5 may further include an ultraviolet light source (not shown) that temporarily irradiates ultraviolet light. If the coating material 101 cannot be transported to the UV irradiation unit 6 within a predetermined time after being discharged onto the terminal-attached electric wire 100, ultraviolet rays may be temporarily irradiated from an ultraviolet source to prevent the coating material 101 from dripping.

[0022] 5, the UV irradiation unit 6 has an irradiation unit 30 that irradiates ultraviolet rays 104 (see FIG. 4C ) downward toward an irradiation target (terminals 103 of the terminal-fitted wire 100), and a reflection unit 40 that is disposed below the irradiation unit 30 and reflects the ultraviolet rays 104. A detailed configuration of the UV irradiation unit 6 will be described later. When the terminal-fitted wire 100 is transported to the UV irradiation unit 6 and held by the front wire chuck 22 that faces the UV irradiation unit 6 in the front-rear direction, the terminals 103 enter the irradiation range of the irradiation unit 30.

[0023] The control unit 7 is composed of a microcomputer that operates according to a program stored in the memory unit and controls the entire corrosion prevention treatment device 1. The control unit 7 transports the terminal-attached electric wire 100 through the electric wire supply unit 3, the imaging unit 4, the coating unit 5, and the UV irradiation unit 6 in this order, sequentially setting the terminal-attached electric wire 100 (see FIG. 4A), applying the coating agent 101 (see FIG. 4B), and irradiating with ultraviolet light (see FIG. 4C). The coating agent 101, which is made of a UV-curable resin, is cured by irradiation with ultraviolet light. The control unit 7 measures the terminal position from an image of the terminal 103 captured by the imaging unit 4, determines the application position of the coating agent 101 based on the measured terminal position, and controls the movement of the nozzle of the applicator 5 to apply the coating agent 101 to the determined application position (i.e., the position that covers the exposed conductor core wire 102B). The display unit 8 sequentially displays the control status of the corrosion prevention treatment device 1 by the control unit 7 on a monitor or the like (not shown).

[0024] Next, the configuration of the UV irradiation unit 6 will be described in more detail with reference to Figures 5 to 9. As shown in Figure 5, the irradiation unit 30 and the reflector 40 located below the irradiation unit 30, which constitute the UV irradiation unit 6, are arranged facing each other with a vertical gap between them. The irradiation unit 30 is vertically movable between an original position (see Figures 5 to 7) and an irradiation position below the original position (see Figure 8) by an upper and lower cylinder 31 (see Figure 5). The reflector 40 is vertically movable between an original position (see Figures 5 to 7) and an irradiation position above the original position (see Figure 8) by an upper and lower cylinder 41 (see Figure 5).

[0025] As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 , a substantially rectangular parallelepiped mirror arrangement section 42 is disposed in the reflecting section 40. A downwardly recessed recess 43 (see FIG. 6 ) is formed on the upper surface of the mirror arrangement section 42. The recess 43 is defined by a pair of left and right groove inner surfaces 44 parallel to the front-rear direction and a front groove inner surface 45 parallel to the left-rear direction, with the rear side open. The pair of left and right groove inner surfaces (flat surfaces) 44 are each inclined upward (so as to form a V-shape when viewed from the front-rear direction) (see also FIG. 9 ), and the front groove inner surface 45 is also inclined upward. A flat mirror 44a is detachably provided on each of the pair of left and right groove inner surfaces 44, and a flat mirror 45a is detachably provided on the front groove inner surface 45. Each of the mirrors 44a, 45a is capable of reflecting ultraviolet light 104.

[0026] 9, the UV irradiation unit 6 is further provided with a shielding plate 50 that blocks ultraviolet rays 104 leaking from a gap G (see FIG. 9) on the right side (i.e., on the coating unit 5 side) between the irradiation unit 30 and the reflection unit 40. This prevents the ultraviolet rays 104 leaking from the gap G from unintentionally hitting the terminals 103 (i.e., the terminals 103 from the previous process) of the terminal-attached electric wire 100 that is arranged opposite the coating unit 5 (see FIG. 1, etc.) in the front-to-rear direction. The configuration of the UV irradiation unit 6 has been described above.

[0027] As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 , the terminal 103 of the terminal-attached electric wire 100 transported by the transport unit 2 to the UV irradiation unit 6 is positioned within the irradiation range of the irradiation unit 30, which is between the irradiation unit 30 in its original position and the reflector 40 in its original position. Next, as shown in FIG. 8 , the irradiation unit 30 is moved downward by the upper and lower cylinders 31 from its original position to the irradiation position so as to approach the terminal 103, and the reflector 40 is moved upward by the upper and lower cylinders 41 from its original position to the irradiation position so as to approach the terminal 103. As a result, as shown in FIG. 9 , the lower part of the irradiation unit 30 is positioned adjacent to the upper side of the terminal 103, and the terminal 103 is positioned within the groove of the recess 43 of the reflector 40. Here, because the rear side of the recess 43 is open as described above, even when the terminal 103 is positioned within the groove of the recess 43, the electric wire 102 extending rearward from the terminal 103 does not interfere with the reflector 40 (more specifically, the mirror positioning unit 42). Next, ultraviolet light 104 is irradiated downward from the lower part of the irradiation unit 30 toward the upper surface of the terminal 103 (see FIG. 9 ). As a result, the liquid coating agent 101 applied to the terminal 103 is irradiated with ultraviolet light 104, and the coating agent 101 made of a UV-curable resin is cured.

[0028] Incidentally, when the liquid coating material 101 is applied to the terminals 103, the liquid coating material 101 may spread not only onto the top surfaces of the terminals 103 but also onto the side surfaces and back surfaces of the terminals 103. The UV irradiation unit 6 of this embodiment not only irradiates the top surfaces of the terminals 103 with ultraviolet light 104, but also irradiates the entire coating material 101 with ultraviolet light 104, thereby properly curing the entire coating material 101.

[0029] Specifically, in the UV irradiation unit 6 according to this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9 , the ultraviolet light 104 emitted downward from the irradiation unit 30 is directed not only toward the upper surface of the terminal 103 but also toward the pair of left and right mirrors 44a and 45a of the reflector 40. The ultraviolet light 104 irradiated toward the upper surface of the terminal 103 directly strikes the upper surface of the terminal 103. The ultraviolet light 104 irradiated toward the pair of left and right mirrors 44a and the front mirror 45a of the reflector 40 is reflected by the pair of left and right mirrors 44a and the front mirror 45a and strikes the side and rear surfaces of the terminal 103. In this manner, the ultraviolet light 104 strikes the entire outer periphery of the terminal 103. As a result, even if the liquid coating material 101 has spread to the side and rear surfaces of the terminal 103, the entire coating material 101 applied to the terminal 103 can be properly cured.

[0030] The tilt angles of the pair of left and right mirrors 44a and the front mirror 45a are set in consideration of, for example, the shape and size of the terminal 103, the irradiation angle of the ultraviolet rays 104 from the irradiation unit 30, the distance between the terminal 103 and the irradiation unit 30, and the distance between the terminal 103 and the pair of left and right mirrors 44a and the front mirror 45a, so that the ultraviolet rays 104 uniformly hit the entire outer periphery of the terminal 103 (i.e., so that the entire coating material 101 applied to the terminal 103 can be properly cured). Furthermore, although the mirrors 44a and 45a have a planar shape in this example, the mirrors 44a and 45a may have a quadratic curved surface shape in the cross section shown in FIG. 9 to improve the light-collecting performance on the terminal 103.

[0031] It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various modifications can be adopted within the scope of the present invention. For example, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and modifications, improvements, etc. are possible as appropriate. Furthermore, the material, shape, dimensions, number, location, etc. of each component in the above-described embodiments are arbitrary as long as they can achieve the present invention, and are not limited thereto.

[0032] Here, in the above-described embodiment of the present invention, the irradiation device (6) is an irradiation device (6) that irradiates an irradiation object (103) with a light ray (104), and includes: an irradiation unit (30) that irradiates the light ray (104) in a predetermined direction; and a reflection unit (40) that is arranged to receive the light ray (104) irradiated by the irradiation unit (30) and reflects the light ray (104), and the reflection unit (40) has a recess (43) that is recessed in the predetermined direction so that the irradiation object (103) can be placed in a groove, and mirror surfaces (44 a, 45 a) that are provided on the inner groove surfaces (44, 45) of the recess (43) and reflect the light ray (104).

[0033] With the above-described irradiation device, when an irradiation target (e.g., the terminal portion of a terminal-attached electric wire) is placed in the groove of the recess of the reflector and light rays (e.g., ultraviolet light) are irradiated from the irradiation unit, the irradiated light rays not only strike the irradiation target directly but also strike the irradiation target after being reflected by the mirror surface of the reflector. Therefore, the irradiation device of this configuration can irradiate the irradiation target with light rays from multiple directions.

[0034] Furthermore, the recess (43) may have a V-shaped groove shape in a cross section intersecting the direction.

[0035] According to the irradiation device having the above configuration, the recess has a V-shaped groove shape, which allows the light beam to be reflected by the mirror surface portion so as to be concentrated toward the irradiation target.

[0036] Furthermore, the irradiation device (6) may further include a shielding section (50) that blocks the light beam (104) leaking from a gap (G) between the irradiation section (30) and the reflection section (40).

[0037] According to the irradiation device having the above configuration, light rays leaking from the gap between the irradiation unit and the reflection unit are blocked by the blocking unit, which prevents the leaked light rays from unintentionally hitting the irradiation target when the irradiation target is located near the irradiation device.

[0038] This application is based on a Japanese patent application (Patent Application No. 2024-102896) filed on June 26, 2024, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

[0039] The irradiation device of the present invention is capable of irradiating an irradiation target with light rays from a plurality of directions. The present invention having this effect can be used, for example, in the production of electric wires with terminals.

[0040] 6 UV irradiation section (irradiation device) 30 Irradiation section 40 Reflection section 43 Recess 44 Groove inner surface 44a Mirror (mirror surface section) 45 Groove inner surface 45a Mirror (mirror surface section) 50 Shielding plate (shielding section) 103 Terminal (irradiation target) 104 Ultraviolet rays (light rays) G Gap

Claims

1. An irradiation device that irradiates an irradiation object with a light beam, comprising: an irradiation unit that irradiates the light beam in a predetermined direction; and a reflection unit that is arranged to receive the light beam irradiated by the irradiation unit and reflects the light beam, wherein the reflection unit has a recess that is recessed in the predetermined direction so that the irradiation object can be placed in a groove, and a mirror surface that is provided on the inner surface of the groove of the recess and reflects the light beam.

2. An irradiation device according to claim 1, wherein the recess has a V-shaped groove shape in a cross section intersecting the direction.

3. An irradiation device according to claim 1, further comprising a shielding section for blocking the light rays leaking from a gap between the irradiation section and the reflection section.

Images