[go: up one dir, main page]

WO2025126127A1 - Procédé et dispositif pour la production d'un faisceau de fils ou de câbles fini - Google Patents

Procédé et dispositif pour la production d'un faisceau de fils ou de câbles fini Download PDF

Info

Publication number
WO2025126127A1
WO2025126127A1 PCT/IB2024/062618 IB2024062618W WO2025126127A1 WO 2025126127 A1 WO2025126127 A1 WO 2025126127A1 IB 2024062618 W IB2024062618 W IB 2024062618W WO 2025126127 A1 WO2025126127 A1 WO 2025126127A1
Authority
WO
WIPO (PCT)
Prior art keywords
cables
wires
wire
cable
end piece
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Pending
Application number
PCT/IB2024/062618
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Flavio BLUM
Adrian Muther
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Komax Holding AG
Original Assignee
Komax Holding AG
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Komax Holding AG filed Critical Komax Holding AG
Publication of WO2025126127A1 publication Critical patent/WO2025126127A1/fr
Pending legal-status Critical Current
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical

Links

Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01B—CABLES; CONDUCTORS; INSULATORS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR CONDUCTIVE, INSULATING OR DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
    • H01B13/00—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing conductors or cables
    • H01B13/012—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing conductors or cables for manufacturing wire harnesses
    • H01B13/01236—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing conductors or cables for manufacturing wire harnesses the wires being disposed by machine
    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01B—CABLES; CONDUCTORS; INSULATORS; SELECTION OF MATERIALS FOR THEIR CONDUCTIVE, INSULATING OR DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES
    • H01B13/00—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing conductors or cables
    • H01B13/012—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing conductors or cables for manufacturing wire harnesses

Definitions

  • the invention relates to a method and a device for manufacturing a finished wire or cable harness (1) from prepared wires or cables (2) bearing cable end piece or housing (3) or the like.
  • the cable end piece (3) or the like and with them the prepared wires or cables (2) are temporarily mounted in a transport pallet (5) which transport pallet (5) is used in a wired wire harness preparation machine or wire or cable inserting machine to provide cable end pieces or housings (3) for the insertion process.
  • prepared wires or cables refer to a semifinished wire harness product which includes wires or cables which with at least some of the wire or cable ends inserted in cable end pieces. Such, end pieces are typically connectors (housings), sensor devices (also in the form of housings) or the like.
  • Robots Using these standards as a basis, wiring harness manufacturers can then convert their process chains piece by piece to full automation of production. One particularly big challenge in this regard is the final assembly of wiring harnesses on the assembly board. One obvious way of automating this process step is to use robots.
  • the applicant supported harness bundling in layering boards/assembly boards by providing machines to produce preprepared wires and cables (inserted wires or cables or wired wire harnesses) connected with connectors and the like. Such machines are produced e.g. under the well-known brand Omega.
  • the wired wire preparation machine Omega type 8x0 delivers wires or cables with cable end pieces (connectors) for finished wire or cable harness bundling, whereby the connectors and their housings respectively are held in housing holders which are mounted on a transport pallet.
  • the function of this transport pallet is to receive the housings and transport them inside the wired wire preparation machine, where the wires or cable are inserted. After that production step the transport pallet moves back again, so that the wired wire harness can be removed. After removal from said transport pallet the wired wire harness is typically transported on simple carriers to a wiring board for completing the finished wire or cable harness.
  • transport pallets were used to have all prepared wires or cables in a proper transport means (transport pallet).
  • Said transport pallets are typically used to hold the cable end piece holders and to transport the cable end pieces (sometimes they are named housings) together with the connected cables or wires within those machines (inserting machines), where the cable endpieces have been fixed to the ends of the cables or wires and to a position at said machines where the wired wire harness can be removed from the transport pallet.
  • the prepared (inserted) cables or wires are typically further transported to wiring boards in order to allow wiring personnel or robots to take the prepared wires or cables off the carriage and position them properly onto the wiring board.
  • Such transport pallets and wired wire harness preparation machines are disclosed also in US2002144395A1 with the title: Method and apparatus for equipping plug housings with fitted-out cable ends of a cable.
  • Such transport pallets per se are hence well known in the art.
  • the holder has wire feed wheels and a severing mechanism therein which may be used with a choice of dispensers in order to use different color or size wire.
  • pivoted platforms on wire jigs eject wire scraps from around lacing posts fixed on the jigs.
  • Such a device does not utilize the output of automatized complex wire inserting apparatuses like OMEGA but basically substitutes manual work with robotic activity at the wiring board.
  • WO2018105375A1 of Sumitomo a wire harness assembling device is used to perform processing such as bundling processing on the wiring member extending from a connector (terminal portion).
  • the banding process is a process of binding the wiring member extending from the connector at a position away from the connector as it is typical for all common binding processes.
  • the wire harness assembling device includes an electric wire holding jig, a support member that supports the electric wire holding jig, and a drawing board 60 shown in Fig. 13 and 14 of this prior Art.
  • the wire harness assembling apparatus includes a first robot as a wire drawing mechanism, a second robot as a binding mechanism, an imaging unit as a state information acquiring unit, and a processing control unit.
  • these rather complex and highly automated apparatus needs to be filled with new inserted cables/wires with their housings one by one and an integration/close relation with wire inserting apparatuses is not suggested.
  • This prior art device substitutes on one hand manual work by robots, which wire harnesses on a wiring board, as humans would do on the other hand a further integration with wire inserting machines is not provided or suggested.
  • the US7024760B2 of the applicant KOMAX ® discloses a wire inserting apparatus (like OMEGA) where an equipping unit (inserting unit) takes over the cable ends (wire ends) in succession and positionally correct at the second transfer station and introduces the cable ends into the corresponding plug housings/terminal portions.
  • the plug housings/terminal portions are arranged each in a housing holder of a transport pallet.
  • the transport pallet collects - so to say -the final product of such wire inserting machine and finally executes a movement, wherein the stocking of the pallet with the housings and the removal of the cable equipped housings can be carried out manually or automatically as described above.
  • KOMAX ® process exists performed at a machine called: KTL 10 of Komax Taping GmbH & Co. KG, where a taping machine on which a cable end piece connected to wires or cables can be inserted in a movable holding jig whereby the other end of said wires and cables are to be hold by hand of an operator.
  • a taping machine on which a cable end piece connected to wires or cables can be inserted in a movable holding jig whereby the other end of said wires and cables are to be hold by hand of an operator.
  • the holding jig is moveable in axial direction of the wires or cables. By doing so the length of the taping on the wires or cables can be controlled by the taping machine.
  • This machine does not give any hint as to how to utilize a transport pallet of a wired wire harness preparation machine in the process of wire harness bundling.
  • the wire harness manufacturing process is there roughly divided into two process steps, for example, a circuit forming process (wire inserting process) and an assembly process (harness wiring).
  • the circuit forming step is a step of forming a circuit by connecting the ends of a plurality of electric wires having a predetermined length to a predetermined connector (terminal portion).
  • the assembly process is a process in which the wiring body on which the circuit is formed is assembled into a shape to be mounted on a vehicle or the like.
  • Such wiring bodies comprise basically wires and terminal portions.
  • This manufacturing method for a wire harness is a method for manufacturing a finished wire harness by bundling a wiring body before forming branch in the wire harness, the method comprising a step for moving, in a predetermined extraction direction, a terminal holding part by means of a holding part moving part in a size adjustment mechanism while the one terminal part in the size adjustment mechanism is held on the terminal holding part, and performing size measurement a region from the one terminal part to the position of one branch place.
  • a tape winding mechanism is provided to tape wires together which are held hanging from a holding jig into which the wires have been brought by taking them out of a terminal holding jig.
  • the terminal holding jig includes a plurality of holding portions. The plurality of holding portions are provided side by side in a line.
  • the closest prior Art uses a particular pallet which on the one hand delivers end pieces into an automatic cable processing and terminating machine (wired wire harness preparation machine) and on the other hand delivers the processed and terminated cables together with its endpieces (wired wire harness) to a place of said cable processing and terminating machine where it can be removed and transported further to be finished elsewhere. From there conventional wiring boards are used to wire the wired harness. Sumitomo does not show such transport pallets and such functionality and could not use such transport pallets in their racks in the same manner, as these racks do not belong to automatic cable processing and terminating machines.
  • the task of the invention is to find an integrated and more efficient way of producing wire harnesses with wires and terminal portions as they are produced and put together to a wired wire harness in an automatic wire inserting machine.
  • a possibility for a direct integrated combination of wire inserting machines and finished wire harness preparation machines is sought.
  • a wire harness semifinished product which has connectors previously connected to one another by an electric wire (electric wire bundle), and two connectors among the connectors constituting the semifinished product are held at a position where the electric wire bundle connecting the connectors to each other is tensed linearly. Further, a connector other than the connectors is held at a predetermined position.
  • a movable slide clip a fitted to the electric wire bundle at a position nearby the connector is slid along a length of the electric wire bundle to be moved up to a place (branch part) where the electric wire bundle branches off toward the connector, and then a slide clip is fixed not to move. Consequently, the branch part of the wire harness is formed.
  • FURUKAWA avoids using a wiring board and utilized automatically controlled grippers - like fingers of a human to lay the bundles "in the air” because the bundle of wires are held between two grippers and taped in between etc.
  • the connectors - before they are taken by the grippers are hold in a store line similar to the devices of SUMITOMO.
  • the main inventive step of the invention is thereby to utilize and integrate the transport pallet in/into the harness bundling process and not only use it as a transportation means with respect to the wired wire harness preparation machine (like OMEGA). That reduces the need of extra holding jigs for holding the terminal portions and wires as suggested by Sumitomo.
  • the transport pallet of KOMAX ® gets a second task independent from the existing task as transport means within the wired wire harness preparation machine and it becomes part of the harness bundling machine (finished wire harness production machine).
  • the task of the invention is solved by a method for manufacturing a finished wire or cable harness from prepared wires or cables bearing cable end pieces (terminal portions) or the like (wired wire harnesses)
  • the cable end piece or the like and with them the processed wires (cut and strip e.g.) or cables are - as a first step - temporarily mounted in a transport pallet which transport pallet is temporarily held in a take-over position. In a second step and continuously using such pallets.
  • the transport pallet is used as a jig for holding housings and cables/wires at one end, while the other end of said cables or wires are held by different grippers or the like and removed from said transport pallet.
  • the transport pallet most preferably would be assembled by an inserting machine, like OMEGA, but certainly the invention may also be performed in the way of manually feeding a pallet with housings of connectors and inserted wires or by inserting such housings with wires or cables by a robot into a transport pallet. whereafter those bundled related wires or cables which should be bundled together with other bundled related wires or cables or other related wires or cables are taken off the clamps and straightened/combed again together with the other bundled related wires or cables or other related wires or cables and bundling them together thereby building desired knots and branches of the harness one by one as long as the desired finished wire or cable harness is completed.
  • the finished wire or cable harness is deposited in a finished wire or cable harness deposit tray.
  • the transport pallet is returned from the take-over position and without utilizing a wiring bord/assembly board or the like.
  • an inventive device has a small floor space compared to known wiring boards or the like.
  • the invention avoids distributing the whole wired harness in two dimensions over a large area. That reduces floor space in the workshop and reduces manipulation costs.
  • a further advantage is that (compared to wiring board) the cable end pieces and their wires can be moved in the room by grippers but this also allows for more space for following bundling operations. Due to the invention, it is also possible to tightly tape knots without manual taping activity.
  • An improved method for manufacturing a finished wire or cable harness from prepared wires or cables bearing cable end piece or the like wherein the cable end piece or the like are held in cable end piece holders which are temporarily held in housing interfaces of said transport pallet - provides that when one cable end piece or the like after the other are removed from the transport pallet together with the related wires or cables, they are removed by temporarily removing the cable end piece holders together with the cable end piece and
  • a very good integration of devices is ensured, when the transport pallet is automatically delivered from a wire/cable inserting machine (wire inserting machine or wired wire harness preparation machine) to a wire or cable harness bundling machine (or finished wire or cable harness production machine) and wherein after delivery of the finished wire or cable harness to the finished wire or cable harness deposit tray the transport pallet is automatically returned to said wire/cable inserting machine.
  • a wire/cable inserting machine wire inserting machine or wired wire harness preparation machine
  • wire or cable harness bundling machine or finished wire or cable harness production machine
  • a useful variant of the invention suggests the removal and returning of one cable end piece after the other from the transport pallet together with the related wires or cables and/or together with the related cable end piece holder is performed by a first automatic gripper device of a first linear drive or of a first robot.
  • a straightening/combing said related wires or cables is performed by said first automatic gripper device according to claim 5 or by a second automatic gripper device of another linear drive or of another robot, in which alternative case the second automatic gripper device cooperates with the first automatic gripper device of the first linear drive or of the first robot in order to straighten/comb said related wires or cables.
  • the bundling of the related wires or cables and/or bundling in order to build desired knots and/or branches is performed by an automatically controlled bundling module especially an automatically controlled taping module or by an automatically controlled binding (taping) module.
  • the finished wire or cable harness is deposited in a finished wire or cable harness deposit tray by gravitation force.
  • the deposit tray may be used as a collector.
  • the finished wire or cable harness is weighed by a scale as a quality control measure. This allows to instantly detect certain failures in the overall process. E.g. when housings got lost or when taping was incomplete or the like.
  • This weighting step of ready produced wired harnesses is an independent invention as such. It can be further developed by providing an intelligent Software - eventually supported by Al which diagnoses and indicates automatically which failure happened, so that a repair could be easily performed.
  • optical pattern recognition systems may be provided in connection with the finished wire or cable harness deposit tray for quality control of the wired harnesses.
  • the transport pallet is in a vertical position and the housing holders and housing/connectors/end pieces are held in a horizontal position.
  • the wires/cables are hanging down because of and according to their flexibility whereby the wires or cables are hanging from the transport pallet and whereby the linear drives or robots are straightening/combing in a horizontal plane.
  • FIG. 6 such vertical plane is shown symbolic with 19 (instead of 18).
  • the transport pallet 5 would be in a vertical plane and the wires 2 would be hanging downwards from it but the operation with the wires would be in a horizontal plane - like parallel to the drawing plane.
  • the pallet is temporarily positioned in a horizontal position.
  • Fig.6 such vertical plane is shown symbolic with 18. In that case the pallet 5 would be hanging up and the wires 2 would be hanging downwards from it. So Fig. 6 has two ways of interpretation. Depending on the spatial orientation of the transport pallet in the room.
  • a safe way of connecting and disconnecting housings from housing holders of transport pallets is suggested when a transport pallet is employed wherein the transport pallet contains interfaces to receive cable end piece holders which interfaces are adapted to receive cable end piece holders at a certain lower insertion force (23) and to release cable end piece holders at a certain higher release force and wherein the certain release force is chosen at least 110% or preferably at least 150% of the certain insertion force which is necessary to properly insert cable end piece holders into said interfaces .
  • the invention covers also a wire or cable harness bundling machine for utilizing the method for manufacturing a finished wire or cable harness from prepared wires or cables bearing cable end piece or housing.
  • the cable end pieces and with them the processed wires or cables are temporarily mounted in a transport pallet which transport pallet is temporarily held in a take-over position and wherein a pallet receptor for temporarily holding a pallet is provided and spatially fixed with regard to automatic grippers of linear drives or of robots and a respective controller for controlling said automatic grippers.
  • said automatic grippers may automatically detach cable end pieces and/or cable end piece holders from the transport pallet together with the related wires or cables in order to thereby straightening/combing said related wires or cables and allowing for bundling especially taping or binding.
  • a further developed wire or cable harness bundling machine provides an automatic bundling module which is controlled by the controller such that it is also in a defined spatial relationship to said transport pallet and can be positioned along the wires in order to tape them.
  • the wire or cable harness bundling machine may also have a controller which contains a length adjustment module which controls the movement of the automatic grippers in order to leave proper space for the bundling module to bundle the wires or cables or harness branches built from them.
  • the pallet receptor is thereby connected with a rail with said wired wire harness preparation machine, so that a transport pallet can move on said rail from said wired wire harness preparation machine to said wire or cable harness bundling machine and back on the same rail or on another rail as the case may be.
  • the invention covers also a transport pallet and cable end piece holders for a wire or cable harness bundling machine as disclosed above wherein the transport pallet contains interfaces for temporarily receiving cable end piece holders, which cable end piece holders are temporarily removable from said interfaces together with plugs/housings inserted in said cable end piece holders, wherein the cable end piece holders have a particular outside geometry adapted to be hold by particular automatic grippers of said linear drives or of said robots.
  • Said transport pallet is further developed when said interfaces are adapted to receive cable end piece holders at a certain low insertion force and to release cable end piece holders at a certain higher release force. Further the interfaces might have a defined spatial relationship to said pallet receptor when the pallet is received by said pallet receptor. This in turn ensures that the grippers or robots easily get grip on the holders.
  • the invention claims also a set of transport pallet and housing holders for cable end pieces or housings respectively to be used in a wire inserting machine for receiving different housings of different prepared wires or cables wherein said housing holders have different proper interfaces for respective different housings to be inserted into said housing holders and for being usable in one of the above described methods wherein all housing holders have a particular common outside geometry adapted to be held by particular automatic grippers of linear drives or of robots so that these grippers may take any and all of those housing holders in the same manner and for that reason in a defined spatial relationship.
  • Fig. la an overview of a first example of the invention without certain carrier elements and without most of the drives, in order to allow a better view on more important parts of the device;
  • Fig. lc the most important parts of the same example in a top view - disclosing that the whole device is basically very small compared to a wiring board which would be at least double in size for the same type of finished wire or cable harness;
  • Fig. Id a detail view on a Y-double portal with two gripper means of a novel harness bundling machine - particulary of the same example;
  • Fig. le a detail view on a second Y-double portal of the same bundling machine with two gripper means;
  • Fig. 2a a cable end piece housing in a cable end piece housing holder
  • Fig. 2b a transport pallet with two arrays of cable end piece housing holders, which are by chance shown with only one size of housings - which in reality could be different - however with a uniform outer dimension of the housing holders;
  • Fig. 3 a detail of intermediate clamps and moveable pins for wires, cables and branches of the same example
  • Fig. 4a a detail of a straightening unit/combing unit with opened jaws/rollers
  • Fig. 4b the same straightening unit/combing unit but with closed jaws/rollers;
  • Fig. 5 a holding unit with grippers of the same example; ...
  • Fig. 6a-6l a symbolic bundling process for a finished wire or cable harness
  • Fig.7 one set of wires or cables straightened - by holding the housing holder at one end and with a straightener module combing the wires or cable on their other end and prepared for taping by a taping module of the same example;
  • Fig. 8 the same set of wires straightened but now already taped (bundled) with a taping module of the same example and with handling grippers holding the wires/cables instead of the straightener unit on the other side;
  • Fig. 9 the same set of wires and another set of wires of the same harness straightened and taped (forming a branch) but hanging down with their end pieces - instead of being laid out in x-y direction on a wiring board - as known from prior art.
  • the finished wire or cable harness is produced on a wire or cable harness finishing machine or wire or cable harness bundling machine 12 by the use of a transport pallet 5 on which housing holders 31 are fixed.
  • Each housing 3 terminal end piece
  • the housing holders 31 may be exchanged in the transport pallet 5 according to the particular shape of the respective housing 3.
  • the housing holders 31 however have in a preferred embodiment generally always the same outer shape (independent from the shape of the housings 3), which is adapted to be easily gripped by automated handling grippers 4e.
  • the transport pallet 5 allows a flexible position of the housing holders 31 as it contains an array of holes 11 to fix the detachable housing holders 31.
  • Holes however are standard for such transport pallets.
  • the housing holder 31 has an internal interface 17 for temporarily and stable holding the housing 3 and an external interface which fits to the holes 11 in the pallet 5 or in an interface 22 for temporarily and stable holding the housing holders 31 in/on the transport pallet 5. (see fig. 2a and 2b) This guarantees a stable and repeatable position of the housing 3 relative to the transport pallet 5.
  • the housing holder 31 contains an additional interface 26 on which it can be taken and picked up and connected and disconnected from the holes 11 or the interface 22 of the transport pallet 5.
  • a locking mechanism 34 is provided to fix the housing holders 31 in the holes 11 or in the interface 22 of the transport pallet 5. Said mechanism 34 can be preferably released or locked by a lock 36 in order to allow removal of the housing holders 31 or fixing the housing holders 31 in the holes 11 or in the interface 22 of the transport pallet 5.
  • the housing holder 31 contains an internal mechanism to lock or release (eject) the housing 3 from the housing holder 31, as was already provided in the prior Art of KOMAX ® (OMEGA and transport pallet).
  • the transport pallet 5 can be built such, that the housing holders 31 are held on the surface of the pallet 5 with respective housing holder fixation means (11, 22, 34) (as shown in Fig, 2b e.g.).
  • housing holder fixation means 11, 22, 34
  • Such housing holders would have also releasable locking means so that they can be temporarily fixed in and released from said holes of said modified pallets.
  • housings 3 are releasably inserted in respectively sized holes of the pallet 5 and the outer shape of these housings fit with the gripper means. This would avoid the use of housing holders 31 but would still allow for preparing finished wire or cable harnesses 1 by the assistance of a transport pallet 5 and by an inventive herein described wire or cable harness bundling machine 12
  • the transport pallet 5 is held in a fixed spatial position 9 (Fig. lc) within the wire or cable harness bundling machine 12.
  • a pallet receptor 38 is provided on which the pallet 5 is temporarily fixed. (Fig. lb, lc, 2b).
  • the wired wire harness preparation machine or inserting machine is inserting the single wires or cables 2 into the housings 3.
  • the fixation is typically achieved using a primary and often an additional secondary lock inside the housings 3.
  • the contact or the housing 3 have a locking lug, which locks into place during the assembly process in the inserting machine (e.g. OMEGA from KOMAX ®). This avoids an unwanted slip out of the single wires 2 of their housings 3.
  • the transport pallet 5 is moving or brought to the new wire or cable harness bundling machine 12. This can be done manually or preferred automatically along rails along a transfer mechanism or through any kind of robot arms or the like.
  • the wire or cable harness bundling machine 12 employs several modules such as taping modules 16, straightener modules 4c (comb modules and a similar module 4a on the bundling see Fig. le) and another module 4a, 4c, handling grippers 4a, d-f and holding modules 4b. Some of those have different functions they may hold/grip and/or straighten/comb e.g. modules 4a and 4c. It has also a receiving station (pallet receptor) 38 for receiving and holding a transport pallet 5 in a spatially fixed position relative to the wire or cable harness bundling machine 12 and its modules.
  • taping modules 16 straightener modules 4c (comb modules and a similar module 4a on the bundling see Fig. le)
  • another module 4a, 4c handling grippers 4a, d-f and holding modules 4b. Some of those have different functions they may hold/grip and/or straighten/comb e.g. modules 4a and 4c.
  • It has also a receiving station (pallet receptor) 38 for receiving
  • the taping module's 16 function is to create and fix the form of the final finished wire or cable harness (to bundle the single wires or cables 2 into branches 7 of the wire or cable harness 1). This can be achieved - as already known - by spot tapes, spiral tapes or cable ties or other similar fixation means for cables or wires which are wound or clipped around a selected bundle of single wires 2.
  • the straightener module's 4c function is to collect single wires 2 to a wire branch 7 and straighten the single wires 2 and the branch 7 respectively to a certain position and to pull them so that the respective single wires 2 lie in parallel as much as possible and as wanted.
  • Handling grippers 4e can pick up housing holders 31 or collect wire branches 7 and position them spatially within the machine 12.
  • the handling grippers 4, particularly 4e could grip and remove housings 3 from the pallet 5. That means they are adapted to grip the housings 3 directly.
  • the handling gripper 4 is adapted to remove housing holders 31 only. In this case the outer appearance of said housing holders 31 is the same, so that the grippers 4, particularly 4e could grip them safely.
  • housing holders 31 or housings 3 may be gripped and removed from the pallet.
  • the housing holder 31 can be removed from the housing 3 and put back to the pallet 5.
  • the invention covers also a system wherein the handling grippers 3 may temporarily remove housing holders 31 from the transport pallet 5 and insert them in different positions at the transport pallet 5. This allows to have the housings 3 in different positions for forming of harnesses 1 compared to filling the pallet 5 with housings 3 and wires 2 respectively in an earlier process. By doing so the bundling of the wired wire harness 1 may be easier as the case may be. Of course, after such bundling with relocated housing holders 31 and after the removal of the housings 3 from their respective housing holders 31 the removed housing holders 31 would need to be put back to its original position, so as to keep the pallet 5 fit for use in the harness preparation machine/wire inserting machine. This can be done by the same handling grippers 4.
  • each handling gripper 4d, 4e has at least two sets of cl amps/ interfaces 35d, 35e, one 35e for the housing holder 31 and eventually also for the cable bundle (combination clamps) and one 35d for the cable bundle eventually also a separate clamp/interface for the housing holders 31.
  • the difference in those clamps/interfaces 35d, 35e is their interface/shape which is adapted to be connected with the good to be gripped and held properly.
  • a pneumatic cylinder 20 with a gear is provided on top of the grippers 4d and 4e in order to allow a rotation of about 180 degrees, so that the spatial position of the grippers 4d and 4e can be switched, in order to either take and hold a housing holder 31 or to hold wires or cables 2 or branches 7 etc.
  • the holding module 4b of Fig.3 can store semi-finished branches 1 and put two or more branches 1 together for an additional taping by the taping module 16 in order to create a new thicker branch 1 see e.g. lc in Fig. Ik.
  • the handling gripper 4a is picking up a detachable housing holder 31 from the holes of the transport pallet 5 or from the housing holder fixation position respectively (see e.g. Fig. 6e).
  • the handling gripper 4a has a detaching mechanism to interact with the locking mechanism of the housing holder 31 in order to release the housing holder from the holes 11 of the transport pallet 5.
  • the handling gripper 4a is moving afterwards to a predefined position so that the housing holder 31 is held in a spatial relationship with the bundling/taping module 16 and the wire or cable harness bundling machine 12 respectively.
  • an additional handling gripper is taking over the wire branch 2a and keep the tension and position of the wire branch 2a until the bundling is finished.
  • the handling gripper 4e holds only one end of the single wire(s) 2a (the housing and/or housing holder) while the other end of the wire(s) 2a is(are) still held by another housing holder 31 in the pallet 5 as mentioned above.
  • the other end might also be held by another handling gripper 4e, eventually also in its branch point.
  • the single wires are typically held by a cable holder 4b as shown in Fig. 3 e.g.
  • the secured branch (secured by spot or spiral taping or the like) is placed into the holding module 4b.
  • the holding gripper 4e triggers the internal release mechanism of the housing holder 31 to eject or release the housing 3.
  • the handling gripper 4e returns the empty housing holder 31 to the transport pallet 5 and stores the housing holder 31 in its original position on the pallet 5 or at any other position (defined by the respective holes 11) of said pallet 5 which is useful for the following wired wire harness preparation process.
  • the electronic controller 21 of the wire or cable harness bundling machine 12 is connected with the electronic control device of the wired wire harness preparation/wire inserting machine.
  • controller 21 it is mentioned that in the drawings it is shown behind a metal sheet housing. However, the controller 21 can be placed anywhere, eventually also outside the wire or cable harness bundling machine 12. Eventually it could be even the controller of the wired wire or cable harness preparation machine (Wire inserting machine) which is taking over the controller function for the wire or cable harness bundling machine - especially in case they are integrated.
  • wired wire or cable harness preparation machine Wire inserting machine
  • a second branch is formed in the similar way as described above.
  • a branch point 6 is a point in the wired wire harness (or in the finished wire or cable harness respectively) from which at least two taped branches 7 stand out.
  • the branches 7 are thereby pushed together with two movable pins 4f of the holding module 4b.
  • the 1 st handling gripper 4e takes the branches with its 2 nd set of clamps 35e and moves to a starting point. Again, the straightening unit 4c catches the wires 2 and the section of the wire harness stretched and straightened to its desired length.
  • the 2 nd handling gripper 4e takes the wires from the straightening unit 4c Now the taping unit 16 can set the spot tapes and / or cover the section of several branches with tape.
  • the combined branch lc is put back to the holding module 4b3 for setting the next branch point 6a.
  • Fig. 4a shows a gripping module 4a, as it might be mounted on a taping module 16 as seen in Fig. le.
  • This gripping module 4a is moveable relative to the taping module 16 and may hold wires or cables 2 during the process of taping close to the tape.
  • this gripping module may also be used as a straightening module before taping is performed That way the taping module 16 (and its gripper 4a) is of flexible useability.
  • the same or a similar gripper 4c is mounted on the other side of the taping module 16 (see Fig. le) and on a separate linear drive 13c.
  • the characteristic of such gripper 4a or 4c is that they have four rollers 35c shown when open in Fig. 4a and when closed - to grip wires or cables 2 shown in Fig. 4b.
  • the holding mechanism is of advantage for a good guiding of clamped wires or cables 2 and it reduces friction by rolling movements of the rollers 35.
  • the wire or cable harness bundling machine 12 prepares the next branches 1 and combines them with the existing structure to gradually process the entire finished wire or cable harness 1.
  • the inventive wire or cable harness bundling machine may have further modules for applying spot tapes, spiral tapes or cable ties, cable clips, or other similar fixation means for cables or wires which are wound or clipped around a selected bundle of single wires or cables 2. It may further include modules to fix further devices to the finished wire or cable harness like sensors, markings, tags, RFID-chips or the like.
  • the finished wire harness 1 is - preferably by one of the grippers 4 - put in a wire or cable harness deposit tray 8 below for an operator or for an out take device to take out for delivery.
  • some parts of the wire or cable harness 1 are held by the holding module 4b (Fig.6d-6h) in order to reduce tension in the wires 2 during processing and to reduce the workload of the holding grippers 4 and to assist combing/straightening etc.
  • the bundling/taping module 12 is also able to alternatively to tapes affix mounting clamps or set cable ties or the like onto the wires or cables 2.
  • a taping module separately provided alternative modules/units e.g. cable tie module or a mounting element installation module. Such modules can be mounted and used as the taping module 16 is shown in the drawings e.g. Fig. le.
  • Finished wire or cable harness (la-ld) indices refer to branches (parts) of the finished wire or cable harness
  • 2 wires or cables (2, 2a-2d) indices refer to selected groups of wires/cables which are typically transferred into branches lx
  • 3 cable end piece/housing (3, 3a-3g) this could be terminals, plugs, connectors, sensors, any kind of devices which are connected to the ends of the cables or wires. The latter are inserted into said end pieces. Often they are referred to as housings.
  • transport pallet (5) could be also named terminal holding jig, as this is its function within the wire or cable harness bundling machine (12)
  • automatic gripper device 15 automatic gripper device (15a-15b) refers un-specifically to automatic grippers 4.
  • An automated gripper device may have one or more automated grippers 4 according to this invention.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Installation Of Indoor Wiring (AREA)

Abstract

L'invention concerne un procédé et un dispositif (12) pour la finition d'un faisceau de fils ou de câbles (1) constitué de fils ou câbles préparés (traités) (2) portant des pièces ou des boîtiers d'extrémité de câble (3) ou analogues, les pièces/boîtiers d'extrémité de câble (3) ou analogues et avec eux les fils ou les câbles traités (2) étant temporairement montés dans une palette de transport (5), laquelle palette de transport (5) est utilisée dans une machine de préparation de faisceau de fils ou une machine d'insertion de fils ou de câbles pour fournir des pièces ou des boîtiers d'extrémité de câble (3) pour le processus d'insertion. Dans l'invention, une telle palette de transport (5) est nouvellement utilisée en outre pour maintenir des séquences de fils ou de câbles préparés (2) par rapport à une machine de regroupement de nouveau faisceau de fils ou de câbles (12) de telle sorte que ladite machine de regroupement de fils ou de câbles colle des fils ou des câbles (2) à des branches (7) à partir de ladite séquence. L'avantage repose sur le fait que le nouveau dispositif évite de grandes planches à câbles et a donc besoin d'un petit espace au sol, mais permet toujours une production complètement automatisée de faisceaux de fils ou câbles finis.
PCT/IB2024/062618 2023-12-15 2024-12-13 Procédé et dispositif pour la production d'un faisceau de fils ou de câbles fini Pending WO2025126127A1 (fr)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
EP23217266.8A EP4571793A1 (fr) 2023-12-15 2023-12-15 Procédé et dispositif de fabrication d'un faisceau de câbles ou de fils finis
EP23217266.8 2023-12-15

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
WO2025126127A1 true WO2025126127A1 (fr) 2025-06-19

Family

ID=89223318

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
PCT/IB2024/062618 Pending WO2025126127A1 (fr) 2023-12-15 2024-12-13 Procédé et dispositif pour la production d'un faisceau de fils ou de câbles fini

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP4571793A1 (fr)
WO (1) WO2025126127A1 (fr)

Citations (9)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4593452A (en) 1985-02-26 1986-06-10 Amp Incorporated Robotic harness maker
EP0661721A1 (fr) * 1993-12-28 1995-07-05 Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd. Procédé et dispositif pour enrouler un ruban
US20020144395A1 (en) 2001-04-10 2002-10-10 Louis Soriano Method and apparatus for equipping plug housings with fitted-out cable ends of a cable
JP5583064B2 (ja) 2011-03-28 2014-09-03 古河電気工業株式会社 ワイヤハーネスの製造方法
WO2016158339A1 (fr) 2015-03-31 2016-10-06 株式会社オートネットワーク技術研究所 Procédé de fabrication de faisceau de fils électriques, et dispositif de support de parties de retenue de connecteur
WO2017038477A1 (fr) 2015-09-03 2017-03-09 株式会社オートネットワーク技術研究所 Gabarit de maintien de connecteurs, et barre de connecteurs
WO2017090435A1 (fr) 2015-11-25 2017-06-01 株式会社オートネットワーク技術研究所 Barre de connexion, support de connecteur et procédé de fabrication de faisceau électrique
WO2018105375A1 (fr) 2016-12-09 2018-06-14 株式会社オートネットワーク技術研究所 Procédé de fabrication de faisceau de câbles
WO2020255508A1 (fr) 2019-06-17 2020-12-24 株式会社オートネットワーク技術研究所 Procédé et dispositif de fabrication de faisceau de câbles

Patent Citations (10)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4593452A (en) 1985-02-26 1986-06-10 Amp Incorporated Robotic harness maker
EP0661721A1 (fr) * 1993-12-28 1995-07-05 Sumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd. Procédé et dispositif pour enrouler un ruban
US20020144395A1 (en) 2001-04-10 2002-10-10 Louis Soriano Method and apparatus for equipping plug housings with fitted-out cable ends of a cable
US7024760B2 (en) 2001-04-10 2006-04-11 Komax Holding Ag Method and apparatus for equipping plug housings with fitted-out cable ends of a cable
JP5583064B2 (ja) 2011-03-28 2014-09-03 古河電気工業株式会社 ワイヤハーネスの製造方法
WO2016158339A1 (fr) 2015-03-31 2016-10-06 株式会社オートネットワーク技術研究所 Procédé de fabrication de faisceau de fils électriques, et dispositif de support de parties de retenue de connecteur
WO2017038477A1 (fr) 2015-09-03 2017-03-09 株式会社オートネットワーク技術研究所 Gabarit de maintien de connecteurs, et barre de connecteurs
WO2017090435A1 (fr) 2015-11-25 2017-06-01 株式会社オートネットワーク技術研究所 Barre de connexion, support de connecteur et procédé de fabrication de faisceau électrique
WO2018105375A1 (fr) 2016-12-09 2018-06-14 株式会社オートネットワーク技術研究所 Procédé de fabrication de faisceau de câbles
WO2020255508A1 (fr) 2019-06-17 2020-12-24 株式会社オートネットワーク技術研究所 Procédé et dispositif de fabrication de faisceau de câbles

Non-Patent Citations (1)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Title
KOMAX WIRE: "Zeta630 Harness Manufacturing", 24 June 2016 (2016-06-24), pages 1 - 7, XP093163995, Retrieved from the Internet <URL:https://unitek-elektrik.com/Images/Product/210/20160729150412849.pdf> *

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
EP4571793A1 (fr) 2025-06-18

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
JP7675996B2 (ja) モジュール式ワイヤ加工センター
US11195642B2 (en) System and method for the automated production of a cable set
JP3056353B2 (ja) ワイヤハーネスのセット式製造方法および製造装置
US5363546A (en) Apparatus for making armatures for electrodynamic machines
JP2780883B2 (ja) 導電性ワイヤー又は光ファイバーのセクションの端部をコンポーネントレセプタクルに自動的に接続する方法及びその装置
CN111315543B (zh) 开关设备结构中的电子组件的使用电缆序列进行电气布线的方法以及相应的机器人布置
US5606909A (en) Apparatus for winding tape
US11550304B2 (en) System and method for the automated production of a wiring harness
JP2011100711A (ja) 電線端末処理装置及び電線端末処理方法
US7024760B2 (en) Method and apparatus for equipping plug housings with fitted-out cable ends of a cable
JP7584181B2 (ja) ケーブル加工センター
CA1257465A (fr) Systeme souple de fabrication automatisee
EP4571793A1 (fr) Procédé et dispositif de fabrication d&#39;un faisceau de câbles ou de fils finis
JP6738864B2 (ja) 作業盤
CN210528066U (zh) 智能线束机
JP2018060643A (ja) ワイヤーハーネスの製造方法及びワイヤーハーネス製造用装置
RU2785573C1 (ru) Способ проводного монтажа электрических компонентов расположенного на монтажной плате электрического коммутационного устройства
JP3013657B2 (ja) 電線受渡し機構及びこれを含んだ電線受渡し装置
US20250157698A1 (en) Wire harness manufacturing apparatus
US20250037907A1 (en) Harness assembly system and method of assembling a harness
JP6738861B2 (ja) 作業装置
GB2290040A (en) Making armatures for electrodynamic machines
WO1997036304A1 (fr) Procede automatise pour l&#39;enrubannage de harnais de cables et machine pour realiser ce procede
IT202000028505A1 (it) Macchina e metodo per produrre connessioni elettriche ibride
JPH0765653A (ja) ワイヤーハーネスの製造方法およびその方法を実現するためのワイヤーハーネス製造装置

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
121 Ep: the epo has been informed by wipo that ep was designated in this application

Ref document number: 24833373

Country of ref document: EP

Kind code of ref document: A1