JPH11185548A - Manufacture of wire harness and assembling device use therefor - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To improve workability at the time of inserting a wire fitted with a terminal into a multipolar connector fitted with a holder interlocking with a booster mechanism. SOLUTION: A multipolar connector C2 is displaced into a state that a holder (Ce) is down and held by a connector bearer 13 with a terminal-insertion surface opened at an upper surface while other wires fitted with terminals are inserted therein during a wiring process, and, after insertion of all the wires fitted with terminals has been completed, a wire bearer 15 capable of ascending/descending disposed near the connector bearer 13 and evacuated below a wiring route during a process for inserting the wires fitted with terminals is raised, at least, to a height position corresponding to the raised position of the holder (Ce) of the multipolar connector C2, a wire bundle of the inserted wires fitted with terminals is supported by the wire bearer 15, and then a tape is wound around the wire bundle.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a wire harness for assembling a wire harness of a predetermined form on a work board and an assembling apparatus used for the method.
An object of the present invention is to improve the operability of inserting a terminal-equipped electric wire to be inserted into a connector which is attached vertically to a wiring plane of the electric wire.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a wire harness W / H is shown in FIG.
As shown in (1), the electric wires are laid in a predetermined path by the electric wire holder 2 erected on the work plate 1 of the assembling apparatus, and the components such as the connector C are attached to a large number of branched terminals. . Since the connector C attached to the wire end is normally arranged in the same direction as the wiring plane of the wire, the direction of insertion of the wire with terminal Wa into the terminal insertion surface Ca is straight. . Therefore, the operation of inserting the terminal-equipped wire Wa into the terminal insertion surface Ca can be performed naturally without any particular difficulty. On the other hand, the terminal-equipped wire Wa introduced into the connector C is arranged between the branch point A and the connector C. It is stretched to a predetermined dimension with high precision between the wire holder 2 erected at the position.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 11, when the connector C1 is arranged with the terminal insertion surface Ca directed substantially vertically upward with respect to the wiring plane of the electric wire W due to the mounting direction with respect to the mating component. There is. In this case, a connector receiver 3 that holds the connector C1 in the above direction is used. Then, when assembling the wire harness W / H, a temporary bundling (a sub-assembly in which a part of the terminal-attached electric wire is previously inserted into the connector)
During the wiring, the connector C1 to be arranged in the above direction is held by the connector receiver 3. Accordingly, the connector C1
In the electric wire Wa with a terminal inserted in the above, a bent portion 4 turned approximately 90 ° is formed near the upper side of the terminal insertion surface Ca. In this state, another temporarily bound terminal-attached wire Wa to be wired is inserted into the connector C1 held by the connector receiving member 3.

[0004]

However, as described above, a connector arranged with the terminal insertion surface Ca oriented substantially vertically upward with respect to the wiring plane of the electric wire W is a large multi-pole connector having a large number of terminals. If the connector C2, the multi-pole connector C2
In some cases, a booster mechanism D using a lever for reducing a fitting force at the time of fitting with the mating connector C3 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 may be added. In the booster mechanism D, a lever Db having a guide groove Da into which a pin C3a provided in a mating connector C3 to be fitted is mounted on an inner wall of the housing Cd. Is linked to a holder Ce slidably mounted on the outer periphery of the housing Cd via a slide cam mechanism Dc. Then, the holder Ce is connected to the terminal insertion surface C.
By pushing down the pin C3a of the mating connector C3 by the guide groove Da by the operation of pushing down from the position raised above the position a, the fitting can be performed with a light operating force.

[0005] In the above case, when the wire harness W / H is completed, the multi-pole connector C2 slides the holder Ce above the terminal insertion surface Ca to mate the connector C2.
3 must be mounted in a posture ready for fitting. In this fitting preparation posture, the holder Ce at the ascending position becomes an obstacle, and the work of inserting the electric wire Wa with the terminal into the multi-pole connector C3 at the time of wiring is performed by the terminal insertion surface Ca located deep inside the holder Ce. It is necessary to perform an insertion operation into the device, which causes a significant reduction in workability.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and has been described in connection with assembling a wire harness on a work board.
It is an object of the present invention to improve the operability of inserting a terminal-equipped wire into a multipolar connector having a booster mechanism interlocking with the vertical movement of a holder.

[0007]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a wire harness assembling apparatus according to the present invention, in which a wire is routed along a predetermined path along a wire holder installed on a work plate of a wire harness assembling apparatus. In the process of assembling the wire harness by laying, the terminal insertion surface of the housing is arranged substantially vertically upward with respect to the wiring plane of the electric wire, and the double acting when mating with the mating connector. A method of manufacturing a wire harness, comprising a step of bending a required electric wire substantially vertically downward and inserting the same from a terminal insertion surface into a multipolar connector in which a holder interlocking with a force mechanism is slidable up and down on the outer periphery of the housing. The multi-pole connector in which a part of the electric wire with terminals is inserted in the previous process is held by a connector receiving member arranged at a regular position determined by the wiring form of the wiring harness on the work board. , By holding the connector holder, the holder is operated to be displaced to a lowered state corresponding to a mating posture with a mating connector, thereby exposing the terminal insertion surface to the upper surface, and in this state, another terminal insertion surface is removed from the terminal insertion surface. After the electric wires with terminals are inserted during the wiring process and the insertion of all electric wires with terminals into the multi-pole connector is completed, the electric wires with terminals are arranged in the wiring path of the electric wires with terminals inserted near the connector receiver. At the same time, in the process of inserting the terminal-attached electric wire, the elevable electric wire receiver retracted below the wiring route is raised at least to a height position corresponding to the ascending position of the holder of the multipolar connector and inserted. A method of manufacturing a wire harness, wherein a wire bundle of terminal-attached wires is supported by a wire receiver, and then a tape is wound around the wire bundle.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the terminal is lowered by displacing the holder at the time of holding the holder, which is in the ascending position in the posture ready for fitting with the mating connector, to the temporary holding connector receiver. The insertion surface can be exposed. Therefore, a smooth insertion operation can be performed without the holder becoming an obstacle during the insertion operation of the terminal with an electric wire in such a state. On the other hand, after completion of the terminal insertion operation, the wire receiver is raised to a height corresponding to the raised position of the holder of the multi-pole connector, so that the multi-pole connector is ready for mating with the mating connector after the wire harness is assembled. The dimensional accuracy from the branch point of the terminal-equipped electric wire in a state corresponding to the posture can be secured. At the same time, by adjusting the form of the bent portion of the electric wire with terminal introduced by tape winding, it is possible to prevent the introduced electric wire from interfering with the vertical sliding operation of the holder.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an assembling apparatus used in the method of manufacturing the wire harness according to the first aspect, wherein the assembling apparatus is erected along a wiring path of the wire harness on a work plate of the assembling apparatus. Hold the electric wire holder and the multi-pole connector to be held, with the terminal insertion surface of the housing facing substantially vertically upward with respect to the wiring plane, and erected at the regular size position from the branch point of the wire harness. And a wire receiver arranged in the wiring path of the terminal-equipped wire inserted in the vicinity of the connector receiver, the connector receiver, when the multi-pole connector is inserted, Engagement with the lever of the booster mechanism operates the holder to displace it into a lowered state corresponding to the mating posture with the mating connector, and relatively raises the terminal insertion surface to expose it to the upper surface. Polar connector , The holder is raised from the terminal insertion surface, and has an engagement pin for displacing to a posture ready for fitting to the mating connector, while the electric wire receiver is a multi-pole connector held by the connector receiver. A lifting / lowering mechanism for raising / lowering between a retracted position retracted below the wiring path of the terminal-equipped electric wire and a receiving position having a height corresponding to at least a raised position of the holder of the multipolar connector. A wire harness assembling device is provided.

Specifically, the connector receiver is,
The housing has the same shape as the housing of the mating connector of the multi-pole connector, and an engagement pin to be introduced into the guide groove of the lever of the booster is protruded from the outer surface of the box-shaped receiving portion of the connector receiving member. As described above, since the engaging pin is protruded, when the multi-pole connector is inserted into the connector receiving member, the engaging pin engages with the lever to actuate the lever to hold the holder in the lowered state. When the multipolar connector is taken out from the connector receiving member, the engagement of the lever is released by the engagement pin, and the holder is returned to the raised position.

[0011] According to the above construction, similarly to the first aspect of the invention, the workability of the operation of inserting the electric wire with the terminal in the connector holder for temporary holding can be improved, and after the insertion is completed, the branching of the electric wire with the terminal is completed. It is possible to improve dimensional accuracy from the point of view and prevent interference with the holder.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a required terminal processing unit in an assembling process of the wire harness W / H.
Is performed with the terminal insertion surface Ca directed substantially vertically upward. For this reason, the work plate 11 of the assembling apparatus 10 includes a wire holder 12 erected along a predetermined path, a connector holder 13 for holding the multi-pole connector C2 in the above-described posture, and a connector holder An electric wire receiver 15 is provided upright in the wiring route of the electric wire with terminal Wa introduced into the multi-pole connector C2 near 13.

The connector receiving member 13 holds the multipolar connector C2 in a state where the holder Ce is displaced in a lowered state corresponding to the fitting posture with the mating connector and the terminal insertion surface Ca is exposed. ing. The above connector receiver 1
The standing position of 3 is set to a wire binding position A-1 separated by a regular dimension L defined from a branch point A of the wire harness W / H.

As shown in FIG. 2, the connector receiving member 13 comprises a box-shaped receiving portion 13a for externally receiving the housing Cd of the multi-pole connector C2 and a support shaft 13b. , An engagement pin 13c that is engaged with the guide groove Da of the booster mechanism D of the multipolar connector C2 is protruded.

As shown in FIGS. 5A to 5C, the multi-pole connector C2 is engaged in the guide groove Da by operating to lower the holder Ce when holding the holder Ce on the receiving portion 13a. The mating pins 13c are fitted by being relatively retracted. This is the same as the operation via the booster mechanism D when the multipolar connector C2 is fitted to the mating connector C3. Therefore, the housing of the mating connector C3 can be modified and used as the connector receiving member 13.

The electric wire receiver 15 is shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B.
As shown in the figure, the electric wire bundle W introduced into the multipolar connector C2
Is formed from a wide U-shaped or linear support portion 15a for supporting the support member 15 at a predetermined height from below, and a support column 15b which stands the support portion 15a on the work board 11. The column 15b is moved to a receiving position 17
And the retreat position 18 at the lower end.

The receiving position 17 is located on the connector receiving member 13.
The receiving surface of the wire bundle W at the support portion 15a corresponds to a position higher than a height position when the holder Ce of the multipolar connector C2 held in the support portion 15a is at the raised position. By supporting the wire bundle W at the receiving position 17, the rising end face of the holder Ce does not interfere with the wire bundle W after the form of the wire bundle W is fixed by tape winding. On the other hand, the retracted position 18 is set at a position lower than the lowered position of the holder Ce so as not to hinder the operation of inserting the terminal-equipped wire Wa in the lowered state of the holder Ce.

As the elevating mechanism 16, for example, FIG.
As shown in (A) and (B), the configuration described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 4-99313 filed by the present applicant is employed. This means that the column 15b is slidably inserted vertically into the support cylinder 16a fixed to the work plate 11,
The groove 1b can be fixed at the receiving position 17 by the engagement between the groove 16b formed in the groove b and the cam plate 16c. On the other hand, the column 15b is pulled to rotate the cam plate 16c with the L-shaped piece 16d, thereby forming the groove 1
6b, the mechanism is lowered to the retracted position 18 by releasing the engagement with the retracted position 6b. The elevating mechanism 16 is not limited to the above-described mechanism, and various mechanisms that can fix the support portion 15b at two positions, that is, an ascending position and a descending position, can be employed.

Next, a method of manufacturing a wire harness using the connector receiving member 13 will be described. First, the temporary bundling in which the terminal-attached electric wire W is inserted into a part of the multipolar connector C2 in the previous step is attached to the electric wire holder 2. In the process of laying along
The connector holder 13 holds the multi-pole connector C2.
At this time, as shown in FIGS.
Holder Ce linked to booster mechanism D when fitted into 3a
Is lowered, the engaging pin 13b of the receiving portion 13a is relatively drawn into the guide groove Da, and the multi-pole connector C
2 is fitted and held. In this state, as shown in FIG. 6, the holder Ce descends to expose the terminal insertion surface Ca of the multi-pole connector C2 at substantially the same height as the upper edge of the holder Ce, and the terminal-equipped electric wire to be inserted later. The holder Ce does not hinder the work of inserting Wa.

Next, in the process of arranging another temporary binding, another electric wire with terminal Wa to be inserted into the multipolar connector C2 held by the connector receiving member 13 is sequentially turned from above toward the terminal insertion surface Ca. insert. At this time, as shown in FIG. 8 (A), since the wire receiver 15 is lowered to the retreat position 18, the wire length can be made longer when the wire with terminal Wa is inserted.
The insertion operation can be performed without difficulty.

After the completion of insertion of all the electric wires Wa with terminals into the multipolar connector C2, as shown in FIG. 8B, the electric wire holder 15 is raised to the receiving position 17, and the inserted electric wires Wa with terminals are inserted. Is lifted by the support portion 15a to correspond to a height position corresponding to the rising position of the holder Ce of the multipolar connector C2.

Next, while bundling the electric wires Wa with terminals introduced into the multipolar connector C2, winding a tape T around the bundles,
The bent form of the electric wire when the holder Ce is displaced to the ascending position which is the posture ready for fitting with the mating connector is maintained (FIG. 9). Thereby, the multi-pole connector C2
Can be accurately attached to the required position and direction of the wire harness W / H.

[0023]

As is apparent from the above description, in the method for manufacturing a wire harness according to the present invention and the assembling apparatus used in the method, the wiring assembly is performed to a multipolar connector having a holder interlocking with a booster mechanism. When the electric wire with terminal is inserted during the process, the workability of the insertion of the electric wire with terminal is not hindered by the holder, and the workability can be improved. Also,
Since the introduced electric wire with terminal is bound on the connector receiver in accordance with the rising position of the holder, it is possible to improve the accuracy of the dimensions and configuration of the mounted state of the multipolar connector.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view of an assembly work plate according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a connector receiver.

FIG. 3 is a schematic perspective view of a multi-pole connector.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the multi-pole connector.

FIGS. 5A to 5C are views showing a state where a multipolar connector is fitted into a connector receiving member.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a state in which a terminal-attached electric wire is inserted into a multipolar connector by a connector receiver.

FIGS. 7A and 7B are diagrams illustrating an example of an elevating mechanism of an electric wire receiver.

FIG. 8A is a diagram showing a state of insertion of a terminal-attached electric wire at a retracted position of an electric wire receiver, and FIG.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a state in which insertion of the electric wire with terminal into the multipolar connector is completed.

FIG. 10 is a diagram showing a conventional example.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 W / H Wire harness Wa Terminal wire C2 Multi-pole connector Ca Terminal insertion surface Cd Housing Ce holder D Boost mechanism Da Guide groove Db Lever 10 Assembly device 11 Work plate 12 Wire holder 13 Connector holder 13c Engagement pin 15 Wire Receiver 16 Lifting mechanism 17 Receiving position 18 Retreat position

Claims (2)

[Claims] In a process of assembling a wire harness by laying a wire along a predetermined path along a wire holding tool erected on a work plate of a wire harness assembling apparatus, the wire harness is assembled on a plane in which the wire is laid. On the other hand, a holder is disposed with the terminal insertion surface of the housing facing substantially vertically upward and a holder interlocking with a boosting mechanism that acts when fitted with a mating connector is provided on the outer periphery of the housing so as to be vertically slidable. A method of manufacturing a wire harness including a step of bending a required electric wire substantially vertically downward into a pole connector and inserting the required electric wire from the terminal insertion surface, wherein the multi-electrode in which a part of the electric wire with a terminal is inserted in a previous step. The connector is held by a connector receiver arranged at a regular position determined by the wiring form of the wire harness on the work board, and the holder is operated by the holding by the connector receiver to operate the holder. By displacing the terminal insertion surface to the upper surface by displacing the terminal insertion surface corresponding to the fitting posture with the connector, another electric wire with a terminal is inserted from the terminal insertion surface during the wiring process in this state, After the insertion of all the wires with terminals into the connector is completed, the wires are placed in the wiring route of the wires with terminals inserted near the connector receiving member. Raise the retractable wire receiver retracted to at least the height position corresponding to the raised position of the holder of the multi-pole connector, and support the wire bundle of the inserted wires with terminals with the wire receiver, and then And a method of manufacturing a wire harness, wherein a tape is wound around the wire bundle. 2. An assembling apparatus used in the method of manufacturing the wire harness according to claim 1, wherein the wire holder is erected along a wiring path of the wire harness on a work plate of the assembling apparatus. And the connector to be held, with the terminal insertion surface of the housing oriented substantially vertically upward with respect to the wiring plane and a connector erected at a regular size position from a branch point of the wire harness. A receiving member, and an electric wire receiving member arranged in a wiring path of the electric wire with a terminal inserted near the connector receiving member, wherein the connector receiving member has a boost mechanism when the multipolar connector is inserted. Engages with the lever to actuate the holder and displace it to a lowered state corresponding to the mating posture with the mating connector, raise the terminal insertion surface relatively to expose the upper surface, and attach the multi-pole connector. Removal Has an engaging pin for raising the holder from the terminal insertion surface and displacing the holder to a posture ready for fitting to the mating connector. On the other hand, the wire receiver is inserted into the multipolar connector held by the connector receiver. A lifting / lowering mechanism for lifting / lowering between a retracted position retracted below the wiring route of the terminal-equipped electric wire and a receiving position having a height corresponding to at least the raised position of the holder of the multipolar connector. Characteristic wire harness assembly equipment.