DE69513046T2 - DEVICE FOR PRODUCING WIRING HARNESSES - Google Patents

Description

Background of the invention

[0001] The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing wire harnesses, in particular to an improved apparatus for manufacturing wire harnesses with cam drives for controlling its main components when measuring and cutting predetermined lengths of wires and when crimping connectors to the opposite ends of the laterally parallel, measured and cut wires.

Description of the state of the art

[0002] Electrical wire harnesses are well known in the art and a number of proposals have been made for improving the harnesses and devices. The main components of such wire harness manufacturing devices (see, for example, EP-A-0 531 912) perform the following steps: (1) stripping and measuring wires from wire supply drums; (2) stretching and cutting the stripped and measured wires; (3) terminating the wires at one end or opposite ends of the cut-to-length, laterally parallel wires; and (4) discharging the terminated harnesses to a downstream stage where they are their electrical properties are tested. These main components of such known devices for the manufacture of cable harnesses are driven by associated pneumatic cylinders which operate wire feeders, cutting and stripping blades, pressing rams and discharge rod means, although alternatively non-pneumatic drives are also used as drive means.

[0003] Primary and secondary wire chucks are used to stretch electrical wires between them while the wires are being cut from the supply drum and to separate cut lengths of wires from the remaining wires leading away from the supply drum. The primary and secondary wire chucks are located at stationary locations and operate by opening and closing jaws to hold and release the electrical wires.

[0004] In cases where connectors are crimped to a group of ends of parallel wires, the wire insulation is removed from the opposite ends of the wires, a composite blade assembly comprising a wire slitting blade and an insulation stripping blade is used which allows the insulation stripping blade to cut a line in the wire insulation at the time of slitting each wire spaced from the line, whereupon the wires are stripped by being displaced towards the insulation stripping blade.

[0005] As described above, it is known that all the main components for moving the primary and secondary wire feeds, for cutting the electrical wires, for terminating electrical connectors and for discharging electrical harnesses are driven by associated pneumatic cylinders. A disadvantage of this is that subsequent pneumatic operations cannot be started until it is confirmed that the preceding pneumatic operations have been completed. There is a delay in receiving a signal indicating the completion of the preceding pneumatic operation. This delay time is cumulative for all essential operations and this accumulation prevents the time required to manufacture harnesses from being reduced below a certain limit.

[0006] When relatively long wires (about 1500 mm long) are stretched between the primary and secondary wire chucks, the wires tend to droop or become tangled, causing the wires to be arranged at irregular intervals at their ends to be gripped by the secondary chuck. There is a fear that the secondary chuck may incorrectly grip selected wires by their insulation, resulting in faulty cable harnesses.

[0007] In addition, if the discharge rods for expelling the cable harnesses are pneumatically driven, one expelling rod guides the other expelling rod, with the result that the cable harnesses are driven obliquely to a subsequent testing device in which they may assume an incorrect position for the testing process, preventing them from being properly tested.

[0008] The use of the two-blade structure in stripping electrical wires also limits the shortest Stripping length to the total thickness of the insulation stripping blade and the wire slitting blade, thereby preventing selection of the stripping length below the wire slitting blade, which is thick relative to the insulation stripping blade.

Summary of the invention

[0009] According to the present invention, it is provided:

an apparatus for making wire harnesses, each wire harness having a plurality of elongated wires extending between first and second electrical connector elements coupled to opposite first and second ends of the wires, the apparatus comprising:

a supply of veins;

a first means for feeding a plurality of wires from the wire supply into the device so that the wires entering the device are arranged in a predetermined spaced order;

means for advancing the wires along a harness processing feed path of the device and measuring a predetermined length of the wires corresponding to a final desired wire length of an assembled harness;

means disposed along the device input path for cutting the wires to define the predetermined length of the wires after measuring them, the wire cutting means defining opposite first and second ends of the predetermined length of wires;

a first means for holding the wires in the predetermined spaced order during advancement of the predetermined length of wires along the device feed path and during measuring and cutting, the first wire holding means predetermined length of wires near the first ends thereof;

a first means for attaching a first electrical connector element to the first ends of the wires while the wires are engaged by the first wire retaining means;

a second means for holding the predetermined length of wires in the predetermined spaced order during advancement of the predetermined length of wires along the device feed path during and after cutting the wires to length, the second wire holding means holding the predetermined length of wires in the vicinity of the

second ends thereof; second means for attaching a second electrical connector element to the second ends of the wires while the wires are engaged by the second retaining means to provide an assembled wiring harness; and

means for discharging the assembled wire harness from the apparatus to a subsequent stage of operation by contacting the first and second connector elements at the opposite ends of the assembled wire harness;

the device being characterized in that:

the first and second wire gathering means, the wire elongating means, the first and second connector attaching means and the harness discharging means are all driven by respective independent cam drive means.

[0010] The first wire holding means can be provided so that it runs along the wires into the area of the second wire holding means, beyond the wire lengthening means, after measuring of the wires before the second wire holding means engages the wires, thereby enabling the first wire holding means to hold the wires in their spaced order.

[0011] The harness discharging means may include elongated discharging rods for discharging all assembled harnesses by pushing the connectors terminated at their opposite ends, the discharging rods being driven synchronously with each other by the corresponding cam drive means.

[0012] Also according to the present invention, it is provided:

an apparatus for assembling wire harnesses, each wire harness having at least one electrically conductive wire of a predetermined length, and first and second electrical connector elements attached to the wire at opposite ends of the wire harness, the first and second connector elements engaging the first and second free ends of the wire, respectively, the apparatus comprising:

a wire supply, means for feeding the wire from the wire supply into the device, a wire inlet for guiding the wire into the device in a predetermined sequence, wire measuring means including a wire measuring chuck which selectively engages the wire behind the wire inlet and draws a predetermined length of wire from the supply, the wire measuring chuck being driven along a mounting path of the device which extends longitudinally along the device, a wire lengthening pliers which is driven by a first drive so as to be movable back and forth into and out of the mounting path of the device in order to cut the wire to define a opposite first and second free ends of successively predetermined lengths of wire along the assembly path of the device, a primary wire chuck for engaging the predetermined length of wire near its first free end and for locking the wire length in the predetermined sequence as it is processed in the device along the assembly path, the first wire chuck being driven by a second drive along the assembly path of the device, first and second presses for terminating respective first and second electrical connector elements at the first and second free ends of the predetermined lengths of wire as they move along the assembly path of the device, the first press being reciprocally driven into and out of the assembly path of the device by a third drive, the first press being located behind the wire inlet and in front of the wire slitting pliers, the second press being located behind the wire slitting pliers and the primary wire chuck and further reciprocally driven into and out of the assembly path of the device by a fourth drive a secondary wire chuck arranged behind the primary wire chuck and the wire length pliers for engaging the second free end of the wire length and for holding the wire length in the predetermined sequence, the secondary wire chuck being driven by a fifth drive for reciprocation along the assembly path of the device, the secondary wire chuck further being spaced from the primary wire chuck, the device being characterized in that the first, second, third, fourth and fifth drives consist of cam drives which are operated independently of one another.

[0013] Preferably, a wire stripping tool is provided, which has two wire stripping blades spaced from the wire sizing pliers and further spaced from the primary and secondary wire chucks, the wire stripping tool being driven reciprocally into and out of the mounting path of the device by a seventh independent cam drive, the two wire stripping blades engaging the first and second free ends of the predetermined length of wire.

[0014] Embodiments of the present invention will be clearly understood from the detailed description given below.

Short description of the drawings

[0015] In the course of these descriptions, reference is often made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a schematic operational diagram showing the main components of a first embodiment of a wire harness manufacturing assembly constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and identifying their respective drive means used in the modes of operation;

Fig. 2 is a schematic operating diagram of the harness device of Fig. 1, showing how the measuring chuck of the device incoming wires and begins measuring the wires coming from their wire supply reels;

Fig. 3 is a schematic operational diagram of the harness device of Fig. 1, showing the completion of the measurement of the wires;

Fig. 4 is a schematic operational diagram of the harness apparatus of Fig. 1 showing how the secondary chuck engages the extending wire supply;

Fig. 5 is a schematic operational diagram of the harness device of Fig. 1, showing how the device cuts the wires drawn from their wire supply reels to define a wire set;

Fig. 6 is a schematic operational diagram of the harness device of Fig. 1, showing how the device separates the cut set of wires and extends the remaining wires from their wire supply reels;

Fig. 7 is a schematic operational diagram of the harness device of Fig. 1, showing how the device terminates connectors onto the first set of wires;

Fig. 8 is a schematic operational diagram of the wire harness apparatus of Fig. 1, showing how the apparatus completes assembly of a wire harness;

Fig. 9 is a schematic operational diagram of the harness device of Fig. 1, showing how the device retracts the measuring chuck;

Fig. 10 is a schematic operational diagram of the harness device of Fig. 1, showing how the measuring chuck returns to its initial position;

Fig. 11 is a timing chart showing the movements of the main components of the harness device of Fig. 1 in the operational movements shown in Figs. 2 to 10;

Fig. 12 is a schematic operational diagram showing a second embodiment of a wire harness forming apparatus constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention and further showing the application of a stripping blade to a set of wires drawn from their wire supply reels;

Fig. 13 is a schematic operational diagram of the harness device of Fig. 12 showing the stripping of insulation from the ends of the first set of wires;

Fig. 14 is a schematic operational diagram of the harness device of Fig. 12 showing the upper stripping blade in a raised or retracted position;

Fig. 15 is a schematic operational diagram of the harness device of Fig. 12 showing the lower stripping blade in a lowered or retracted position;

Fig. 16 is a schematic operational diagram of the harness device of Fig. 12, showing how the measuring chuck returns to an initial position after stripping the wires;

Fig. 17 is an elevational view of the harness device of Figs. 1 and 12 showing the wire inlet section thereof;

Fig. 18 is a view taken along line 17-17 of Fig. 17 showing a guide roller used in the wire inlet section of Fig. 17;

Fig. 19 is an elevated view of the harness device of Figs. 1 and 12 showing the primary chuck section thereof;

Fig. 20 is a plan view of the secondary lining suitable for use in the embodiments of Figs. 1 and 12;

Fig. 21 is an end view of the secondary chuck as indicated along arrow Q in Fig. 20;

Fig. 22 is a side view of the secondary lining seen along arrow P in Fig. 20;

Fig. 23 is an elevated view of the measuring chuck of the cable harness device of the embodiment according to Fig. 1 and Fig. 12;

Fig. 24 is an elevated end view of the measuring chuck of the harness tool of Fig. 23, viewed in the direction indicated by arrow T;

Fig. 25 is a plan view of the wire gripping and releasing section of the measuring chuck;

Fig. 26 is an elevated view of the wire gripping and releasing portion of the gauge chuck taken along lines 26-26 in Fig. 25;

Fig. 27 an elevated view of the vein length components and the preceding and connector termination components located behind it for the embodiment of the wiring harness device shown in Fig. 1 to 11;

Fig. 28 is an elevational view of the wire harness discharge section of the wire harness apparatus shown in Figs. 1 to 11;

Fig. 29 is a plan view of the wire harness discharge section of the embodiment of the wire harness apparatus shown in Figs. 1 to 11;

Fig. 30 is an elevational view of the wire harness transfer section of the embodiment of the wire harness apparatus shown in Figs. 1 to 11;

Fig. 31 is a plan view of the movement when removing a cable harness from the device; and

Fig. 32 is a perspective view of a partially completed wire harness, as an example of the type of wire harnesses produced by the apparatus of Figs. 1 and 12.

Description of the preferred embodiments

[0016] Referring to Figures 1 to 11, there is shown in diagrammatic form a first embodiment of a wire harness making apparatus constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention. The apparatus is designed to permit the measuring and cutting of electrical wires W of any length in parallel arrangement and the terminating of electrical connectors C1 and C2 at opposite ends of the measured and cut wires while they are so arranged in parallel. Figure 1 is a diagrammatic block diagram of the wire harness apparatus, and Figures 2 to 10 show the operating steps of the apparatus, namely: measuring and cutting a plurality of electrical wires W; terminating connectors C1 and C2 at opposite ends of the measured and cut wires; as well as the delivery of the finished cable harnesses A to a downstream work stage.

[0017] Referring to Fig. 1, the apparatus for producing wire harnesses comprises: a core supply section 1 consisting of a group of core supply reels for unwinding a plurality of cores W therefrom; a core inlet section 2 for laterally, parallel arranging and guiding the cores W from their supply reels; and a pair of core chucks with primary and secondary chuck sections 3 and 4 for holding the cores in their parallel arrangement. The secondary chuck section 4 is arranged behind the primary chuck section 3, namely in the direction in which the electrical cores W travel during processing. The wire harness apparatus further comprises: a core measuring section 5 for drawing out a predetermined length from each of the cores W; a core lengthening section 6 for cutting the cores W to length between the primary and secondary chuck sections 3 and 4 while the wires W are being stretched through the primary and secondary chuck sections 3 and 4; in front of and behind them, pressing sections 7 and 8 for terminating electrical connectors C2 to a set of free ends of the cut wires (which are separate from the remaining wires protruding from the wire supply spool section 1) and for terminating electrical connectors C1 to the free ends of the remaining wire extensions; and a wire harness delivery section 9 for feeding assembled wire harnesses A, each consisting of wires of predetermined length with connectors terminated at their opposite ends, to a downstream operation stage. Near the electrical wire harness delivery section 9, a wire harness transfer section 10 and a test section 11 are arranged. A connector feed section 12 and 13 is assigned to the pressure stamp of each of the front and rear pressure sections 7 and 8.

[0018] Fig. 32 shows a partially completed wire harness 200 of the type typically produced by the apparatus of Figs. 1 and 12. It can be seen that the wire harness 200 includes four conductive wires 202-208 arranged laterally parallel to each other and having internal conductive portions 210 which are exposed during a stripping process. The wires 202-208 include two opposite sets of free ends 212, 214, one of which is shown as exposed and the other as terminated with an electrical connector element C1 of a type having parallel wire-receiving cavities 113 with a plurality of insulation-displacing terminals 115 arranged therein. These insulation-displacing terminals are of the type which upright prongs or the like with a channel therebetween to receive the wires. When the wires are pushed into these insulation-displacing terminals, the prongs pierce the wires and cut or slide into the outer insulation of the wire and come into contact with the inner conductive portions 210 to make a reliable electrical connection.

[0019] Referring now to Figs. 17 to 31, the main parts of the wire harness manufacturing apparatus will be described below. Referring particularly to Fig. 17, a first embodiment of the wire inlet section 2 comprises a base plate 21 and a wire inlet roller 22 mounted on one end of the base plate 21. A series of guide rollers 23, 24 and 25 are arranged at regular intervals in the direction behind, and wire tension rollers 26 and 27 are arranged between adjacent guide rollers 23, 24 and 25 as shown. A crimping device 28 is arranged behind the guide rollers 23, 24 and 25. All of these rollers 22 to 27 preferably include a series of circumferential grooves 241, 242, the number of which corresponds to the number of parallel wires intended for assembly in a cable harness, as can be seen in Fig. 18, which shows the roller 24 as an example.

[0020] Referring particularly to Fig. 19, the primary wire chuck section 3 includes means for gripping and releasing an array of wires W arranged parallel to one another with a regularly maintained spacing between adjacent wires. The primary chuck section 3 comprises a base plate 31, a chuck arm 32 and a plurality of wire threading tubes or pipes 33 arranged parallel to one another. are arranged laterally along the base plate 31 and are mounted on the base plate 31 below the chuck arm 32 which is pivotally mounted about a central pivot point 34. An associated actuator, such as the pneumatic piston and cylinder 35, 36 shown, is positioned thereon with its piston 36 abutting one end of the chuck arm 32. When the piston 36 moves upward to raise one end of the chuck arm 32, the chuck arm 32 pivots about 34 and lowers the other end of the chuck arm 32, thereby contacting the wires emerging from the wire threading tubes 33 by forcing them into the base plate 31. Retraction of the piston 36 causes the chuck arm 32 to release the electrical wires W.

[0021] The primary chuck section 3 is attached to a slider 373 which is designed to slide on rails 372 mounted on a support bed 371. A cam 374 is operatively connected to an associated force transmission link 375. Rotation of the cam 374 transmits motion through the link 375 to the primary chuck section 3, thereby moving the primary chuck section 3 toward the secondary chuck section 4. The slider 373 is biased by a spring toward its home position, allowing the primary chuck section 3 to retract until the abutting end 378 of the slider 373 is abutted against a stopper 377.

[0022] Referring to Figs. 20, 21 and 22, the secondary chuck section 4 comprises means for gripping and releasing a plurality of parallel arranged wires W, means for displacing the means for gripping and releasing the wires in the area of the wires W and means for moving the entire chuck section back and forth along the wire feed line. As best seen in Fig. 22, the means for gripping and releasing wires comprises first a pair of opening and closing arms 41 and 42 pivotable about 43 and 44 and a pair of links 45 and 46 operatively connected to the rear ends of the arms 41 and 42. A pneumatic cylinder 48 having a piston 47 is operatively connected to the links 45 and 46. Both arms 41, 42 preferably include a wire chuck head 491, 492 attached to their ends. These wire chuck heads 491, 492 extend transversely from the ends of the arms 41, 42 and form the front edges 493 and 494 of the chuck section 4. Secondly, as best seen in Fig. 20, the means for displacing the wire gripping and releasing means into the area of the electrical wires W comprises a pair of pneumatic cylinders 412, 413, the pistons 414, 415 of which are connected to a frame 411 on which the wire gripping and releasing means are mounted.

[0023] These pneumatic cylinders 412, 413 are attached to a sliding base plate 423 which slides on rails 422, 423 extending horizontally between opposing posts 421. Rotation of cam 424 imparts motion to the sliding base plate 423 via an associated link mechanism 425, thereby moving the sliding base plate 423 and its associated wire gripping and releasing means back and forth.

[0024] Referring to Figs. 23-26, an example of the device suitable for use with the present invention is shown. Chuck Section 5. Referring first to Figs. 25 and 26, a means for holding and releasing wires is shown as including a pair of opening and closing arms 51 and 52 pivotally mounted at 55 and 56, a pair of links 57 and 58 operatively connected to the rear ends of the arms 51 and 52, and a pneumatic cylinder 50 having a piston 59 operatively connected to the ends of the links 57 and 58. Advancement of the piston 59 causes the pointed ends 53, 54 of the arms 51 and 52 to open, while retraction of the piston causes the pointed ends 53, 54 of the arms 51 and 52 to close. The means for gripping and releasing wires is fixed to a movable base plate 514 (best shown in Fig. 23) which is moved back and forth on a fixed base plate 511 by a servo motor 512 which may be operatively connected to a threaded shaft 513 as shown.

[0025] Referring now to Fig. 27, a wire cutting section 6 suitable for use with the present invention is shown. Section 6 has upper and lower cutting blades 62 and 66 mounted on respective opposite blade holders or knife support arms 61 and 65. Rotational movements of the two drive cams 63 and 67 are transmitted to these blade holders 61 and 65 via associated power transmission members 64 and 68. Each of the associated upstream and downstream pressure sections 7 and 8 has an upper punch and a lower pressure plate. Punches 72 and 82 are mounted on two upper punch holders 71, 81 and are driven by the rotation of one set of drive cams 73, 83 (shown at the top of Fig. 27). which are operatively connected to the punch holders via associated links 74 and 84. Accordingly, pressure plates 76 and 86 are attached to the lower holder sets 75, 85, and rotary motion of the other set of drive cams 77 and 87 is transmitted to these pressure plate holders 75, 85 via links 78 and 88.

[0026] Referring next to Figures 28 and 29, there is shown in detail an example of a harness delivery section 9 suitable for use with the present invention. As can be seen in these drawings, the delivery section 9 includes a movable rack 91 and a fixed rack 92 which are operatively connected to each other via an intervening pinion member 93. Rotational movement of a drive cam 94 is transmitted via a first link 95 to the pinion member 93 and then to second links 96 and 97, whereby the rack 91 can move forward and backward in response to the rotation of the drive cam 94. A pair of harness delivery rods 98 are arranged below the movable rack 91 and are in contact with the assembled wire harness A in their operative movement. The carry-out rods 98 impart movement to the assembled wire harness by coming into contact with the connectors terminated on the opposite sides of the wire harness. These wire harness push rods 98 are preferably operated synchronously in order to evenly advance the opposite connectors C1, C2 of all assembled wire harnesses A in their carry-out movement, since the wire harnesses would otherwise run transversely.

[0027] Figures 30 and 31 show a transfer section 10 suitable for use with the present invention for transporting assembled wire harnesses A to a downstream inspection section 11. A transfer stage 101, as shown in Figure 30, has a plurality of shuttle members 102 at regular intervals. These shuttle members 102 appear partially on the transport line, opposite the connectors C1 and C2 of all assembled wire harnesses A at the opposite ends thereof. The transfer stage 101 is attached to an underlying endless conveyor belt 104 via an intervening movement block 103, whereby the transfer stage 101 can move back and forth along the path indicated in Figures 30 and 31. The intervening block 103 can move between front and rear stops 105 and 106, thereby limiting the stroke of the transfer stage 101 and thus the need for the shuttle parts 102.

[0028] Referring again to Fig. 2-11, the manner in which wire harnesses A are manufactured in the described apparatus will now be explained.

[0029] Fig. 2 shows the state in which a work or harness assembly cycle is just beginning, after completion of the previous work cycle. The measuring chuck 5 is closed and then the wires W protruding from the wire supply drums are clamped, as can be seen in Fig. 11. As shown in Fig. 26, the opening and closing chuck arms 51 and 52 are then connected together to grip the wires W in their parallel arrangement. This is done in essentially one work step. In the following step, the primary chuck section 3 is opened. As can be seen in Fig. 19, the chuck arms 32 are opened to allow the measurement of the wires W. In a third step, the required measurement of the wires is therefore carried out by the measuring chuck section 5. As can be seen in Fig. 23, the servo motor 512 rotates the threaded shaft 513 to drive the movable base plate 514 until the wires are pulled out from the closed tips 53, 54 of the wire pulling chuck arms 51 and 52 by the desired, predetermined length.

[0030] Fig. 3 shows the state in which the wire measurement by the measuring chuck 5 is completed in the four consecutive steps described above.

[0031] As best seen in Fig. 4, in a fifth step, the primary chuck section 3 advances toward the secondary chuck section 4 and beyond the cutting line of the wire cutting section 6 (indicated by the dashed line extending between the knife blades 6 shown therein). In Fig. 19, rotational motion from cam 374 is transmitted through the power transmission member 375, allowing the slider 373 to move forward along its associated rails 372. Then the chuck arms 32 of the primary wire chuck section 3 are opened, allowing the primary chuck section 3 to advance into proximity to the secondary chuck section 4 without further pulling the wires W. All the measured wires are thus guided through the wire threading tubes 33 of the primary wire feed section 3 so that they assume a predetermined parallel arrangement in which adjacent wires are spaced at regular intervals. Thanks to this feature, there is no fear of wires being passed through the secondary feed section 4 be squeezed and damaged as it works in subsequent steps. Such undesirable squeezing would be the result if all the wires stretched out in this way were not arranged laterally at regular intervals.

[0032] In a sixth step, the secondary wire chuck section 4 starts its work. As can be seen in Figs. 21 and 22, when the pneumatic cylinders 412 and 413 are activated, their pistons 414 and 415 move and the frame 411 moves. After the means for gripping and releasing wires is placed in the correct position, the pneumatic cylinder 48 retracts its piston 47, thus closing the opening and closing arms 41, 42 and allowing their nails 491 and 492 to close and grip the wires W. Since all of the extended wires are arranged parallel to each other or laterally at regular intervals, the nails 491 and 492 do not crush the insulation of selected wires, which could result in short circuits or incorrect termination of connectors on the wires.

[0033] In the seventh step, the primary wire chuck section 3 returns to the predetermined position as shown in Fig. 5. As can be seen in Fig. 19, the cam 374 starts its return movement, causing the primary wire chuck section 3 to return to the predetermined position under the influence of a return spring 376.

[0034] In an eighth step, the primary wire chuck section 3 closes. More precisely, the pneumatic cylinder 35 lifts its piston and thus causes the chuck arm 32 pivots about its pivot point, whereby the wires W are clamped. In a subsequent ninth step, the wire length section 6 is released and cuts the measured wires W to length.

[0035] As can be seen from Fig. 27, rotations of the cutting section driving cams 63, 67 are transmitted to the upper and lower cutting blades 62 and 66 via their associated transmission members 64 and 68, thereby activating cutting blades 62 and 65 to come into contact with all of the wires W and cut them to their measured lengths.

[0036] As can be seen in Fig. 6, in a tenth step, the primary and secondary wire chuck sections 3 and 4 are separated from each other. Looking at Fig. 19, the cam 374 returns to its original position and the primary wire chuck section 3 accordingly returns to the rear position behind the preceding pressure section 7 under additional force from the return spring 376. While the secondary wire chuck section 4 advances beyond the rear pressure section 8, the measuring chuck section 5 is synchronously advanced by the servo motor 512.

[0037] One or more connectors C1 can be terminated at the forward, exposed free ends of the wires W on the side of the primary feed section 3, while a connector C2 can also be terminated at the rear ends of the wires W on the side of the secondary feed section 4. As an eleventh step, the upper and lower cutting blades 62, 66 open, and then, in twelfth and thirteenth steps, the front and rear printing sections 7 and 8 begin their respective printing work.

[0038] As seen in Fig. 27, in the front pressing section 7, rotational movement of the pressing section pressing plate cams 73 and 77 is transmitted to the punch 72 and the pressing plate 76 via their associated transmission members 74, 78, whereby a connector C1 is pressed onto the forward end of the wires W, while at the same time in the rear pressing section 8, rotational movement of the second pressing section driving cams 83, 87 is transmitted via the connection members 84 and 88 to the punch 82 and the pressing plate 86, whereby a connector C2 is pressed onto the rear ends of the wires W.

[0039] Fig. 7 shows the states in which the pressing-in of the connectors onto the wires is completed in a fourteenth step and the secondary chuck section 4 opens in a fifteenth step.

[0040] Fig. 8 shows that in a sixteenth step, after crimping the connectors C1, C2 to the opposite ends of the wires W, the punches 72, 78 of the front and rear pressing sections 7 and 8 are raised. In a seventeenth step, the connector clamp of the front pressing section 7 is released, and then, in an eighteenth step, the electric wire harness A is discharged.

[0041] Figures 28 and 29 show an example of a harness removal mechanism suitable for use with the present invention. In operation, rotational movement of the cam 94 to the drive links 956 and 97 via the power transmission member 95 so that the pinion 93 is rotated. In Fig. 28, the pinion 93 is meshed with the fixed rack so as to rotate clockwise, and the clockwise rotation of the pinion 93 causes the movable rack 91 to advance in the direction indicated by the arrow. A pair of harness-out rods 98 and 98 thereafter advance to push the electric harness A by engaging its connectors C1, C2. It should be noted that, as can be seen in Fig. 29, the discharge rods 98 and 98 simultaneously push the opposite connectors C1 and C2 of the electrical harness A, thereby eliminating the possibility of the assembled harnesses becoming skewed along their path to a downstream test stage where the harness can assume its correct position, thus allowing unhindered testing of the assembled harnesses.

[0042] Figs. 30 and 31 show an example of the transfer section 10. In operation, the conveyor belt 101 carries the movable base plate 101, allowing the transport heads 102 to push wire harnesses A in serial order, one after the other, to a downstream test section 11, where the assembled wire harnesses A are subjected to conditioning and other electrical property tests.

[0043] Referring again to Fig. 9, the pressure plates 76 and 86 of the front and rear pressure sections 7 and 8 are lowered as a nineteenth step, and, in a twentieth step, the connector clamp of the processing pressure plate 76 closes. As a twenty-first step the secondary chuck section 4 returns to its home position and in a twenty-second step the measuring chuck section 5 begins to measure the wires for a subsequent assembly cycle. As can be seen in Fig. 10, as a twenty-third step, electrical connectors C1 and C2 are fed from a connector feed section 12 to both the front and rear pressure plates 76 and 86 and in a twenty-fourth step the measuring chuck section 5 returns to its home position, returning the apparatus to its standby state shown in Fig. 2 in which another, subsequent cycle of manufacturing a wire harness can begin.

[0044] As is apparent from the wire harness manufacturing cycle just described, the main components of the device include the cam drive with electrical connector pressure stages, i.e.: (1) the step where the primary wire chuck section 3 advances near the secondary wire section 4 just before the wires are clamped by the secondary wire chuck section 4; (2) the step where the primary and secondary wire chuck sections 3 and 4 are displaced after the wires are cut to length by the wire cutting section 6 to separate one end or segment of the cut wires toward the primary wire chuck section 3 and the other end of the cut wires toward the secondary wire chuck section 4; (3) the step where the punch 62 and the pressure plate 66 are operated in the cutting section 6; and (4) the step where the punch and the pressure plate are operated in the front and rear pressure sections 7 and 8.

[0045] The use of the cam drive thus significantly reduces the time required for assembly of the harnesses compared to the known system using pneumatic cylinders to perform all the essential connector pressure steps, in that in known pneumatically driven equipment for manufacturing harnesses, the operation of the pneumatic cylinders in a subsequent step cannot begin until there is confirmation that the operation of the pneumatic cylinders in the previous step has been completed, thereby adding a short delay corresponding to the waiting time for each of these confirmations, thus preventing the shortening of the harness manufacturing cycle below a certain limit. The cam drive of the associated components described above thus allows subsequent steps to be started without confirmation that all previous steps have been completed, thereby significantly shortening the harness manufacturing cycle, at least by the total waiting time described above that occurs with pneumatically driven equipment.

[0046] If it is desired that a connector is crimped only onto one set of free ends of the parallel wire arrangement, it is also sufficient to omit the pressing operation at the front pressing section.

[0047] Referring to Figs. 12-16, there is shown a second embodiment of a wire harness making apparatus constructed in accordance with the principles of the present invention wherein a connector is terminated at one end of the parallel wire array while the wires are stripped at the other opposite ends. The termination of the connector C1 at one end of the parallel core array, measuring the cores, cutting the cores to length, and separating the two parts of the cut cores by the primary and secondary chucks 3 and 4 are carried out in the same manner as in the wire harness manufacturing apparatus according to the first embodiment (see Fig. 2-6). However, in a fifty-second step, as shown in Fig. 12, the upper and lower stripping blades 14 are brought into contact with the cores and cut into the insulations of the cores W near their free ends.

[0048] In a twenty-seventh step (Fig. 13), the primary chuck section 3 moves backward, and in a twenty-eighth step, the cut insulation pieces R are removed by an air stream, thereby exposing the conductors S from the insulation ends of the parallel cores. As twenty-ninth and thirtieth steps, Figs. 14-16, the upper and lower stripping blades 14 return to their initial positions. The remaining components except for the remaining stripping blades 14 function in the same manner as in the first embodiment, particularly in subsequent thirtieth, thirty-second, thirty-third, thirty-fourth, thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth steps.

[0049] As previously described, the stripping blades 14 are spaced apart from the cutting blades 62 and 66 as shown in Fig. 27. Since stripping occurs at a position separate from the cutting position and at this step independent of the cutting step, it is therefore possible for the shortest possible amount of insulation to be removed from the parallel wires can be removed. In known apparatus for producing wire harnesses, the relatively thick cutting blades and the relatively thin stripping blades are arranged one on top of the other, and the cutting and stripping are carried out simultaneously. Therefore, the insulation of a length or lengths of wires shorter than the thickness of the cutting blade cannot be removed from the wires. In contrast, in an apparatus for producing wire harnesses constructed according to the second embodiment of the present invention, the insulation of wire lengths corresponding to the thickness of the stripping blades can be easily removed from the free ends of the cut wires.

[0050] As will be apparent from the foregoing, a harness manufacturing apparatus according to the invention can operate with the shortest possible cycle time since it is not necessary to wait for confirmation of completion of the preceding operation. The primary wire chuck is caused to advance beyond the cutting position to the vicinity of the secondary chuck section, holding a plurality of parallel wires at regular intervals, ensuring that the insulation of selected wires is not pressed and damaged by undesired indentation when the secondary wire chuck clamps the parallel wires. When discharging assembled harnesses, the simultaneous engagement of the opposing connectors terminated on the harnesses by the opposing harness discharging push rods ensures that no harnesses come across on their way to the subsequent test section, thereby ensuring that all harnesses assume a correct position for testing. Finally, in the In the second embodiment of the invention described above, the stripping can be carried out at a position remote from the cutting position and as a step independent of the wire cutting step. Insulation of a possible shortest length corresponding to the thickness of the stripping blade can thus be removed from parallel wires.

Claims (18)

1. Apparatus for producing wire harnesses (A), each wire harness (A) having a plurality of elongated wires (W) extending between first and second electrical connector elements (C1, C2) coupled to opposite first and second ends (212, 214) of the wires (W), the apparatus comprising: a core supply (1); a first means (2) for feeding a plurality of wires (W) from the wire supply (1) into the device, so that the wires (W) entering the device are arranged in a predetermined spaced order; means (5) for advancing the wires (W) along a harness processing feed path of the device and measuring a predetermined length of the wires (W) corresponding to a final desired wire length of an assembled harness; means (6) disposed along the device feed path for cutting the wires to define the predetermined length of the wires (W) after measuring them, the wire cutting means (6) defining opposite first and second ends (212, 214) of the predetermined length of wires (W); a first means (3) for holding the wires (W) in the predetermined spaced order during the advance of the predetermined length of wires (W) along the device feed path and during measuring and cutting, the first wire holding means (3) engaging the predetermined length of wires (W) near the first ends thereof; a first means (7) for attaching a first electrical connector element (C1) to the first ends (214) of the wires (W) while the wires (W) are engaged by the first wire holding means (3); a second means (4) for holding the predetermined length of wires (W) in the predetermined spaced order during advancement of the predetermined length of wires (W) along the device feed path during and after cutting the wires (W), wherein the second wire holding means (4) holds the predetermined length of wires (W) in the vicinity of the second ends (214) thereof; second means (8) for attaching a second electrical connector element (C2) to the second ends (212) of the wires (W) while the wires (W) are engaged by the second holding means (4) to provide an assembled wiring harness (A); and means (9) for discharging the assembled wire harness (A) from the device to a subsequent work stage (10, 11) by contacting the first and second connector elements (C1, C2) at the opposite ends (212, 214) of the assembled wire harness (A); the device being characterized in that: the first and second wire gathering means (3, 4), the wire elongating means (6), the first and second connector attaching means (7, 8) and the harness ejecting means (9) are all driven by respective independent cam drive means (374, 424, 63, 67, 73, 77, 83, 87 & 94). 2. A wire harness assembly device according to claim 1, characterized in that the first and second wire holding means (3, 4) respectively contain a primary and secondary wire chuck (3, 4) spaced apart from one another, the primary and secondary chucks (3, 4) each containing two opposing surfaces (31, 32, 493, 494) which engage the wires (W) along a path transverse to the device feed path and hold them in the predetermined spaced order. 3. A wire harness assembly apparatus according to claim 2, characterized in that the wires (W) are held in a generally parallel sequence. 4. A wire harness assembly apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the first and second connector attachment means (7, 8) and the wire elongation means (6) are driven by respective sets of independent drive cams (73, 77, 6), the first and second connector attachment means (7, 8) and the wire elongation means (6) being driven by other ones of the independent drive cams (73, 77, 6) in directions generally transverse to the apparatus feed path 5. Cable harness assembly device according to claim 1, characterized in that the wire measuring means (5) is arranged in the device behind the first wire holding means (3) and contains a wire measuring chuck (5) which is driven to move back and forth along the device feed path. 6. A wire harness assembly apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the first and second connector attachment means (7, 8) include opposing upper tool members and lower tool members (72, 76, 82, 86) disposed on opposite sides of the wire elongation means (6), the opposing upper tool members and lower tool members (72, 76, 82, 86) engaging the wires (W) along a path generally transverse to the apparatus feed path to attach the first and second ends of the predetermined length of wires (W). 7. A cable harness assembly device according to claim 2, characterized in that the opposing primary chuck surfaces (31, 32) contain opposing jaw members which selectively engage the wires (W). 8. Wire harness assembly device according to claim 1, characterized in that means (14) are provided for stripping the ends of the predetermined length of wires (W), the wire stripping means (14) being operatively associated with the wire lengthening means (6), the wire lengthening means (6) having a pair of opposing lengthening blades (62, 66) and the wire stripping means (6) having a pair of opposing lengthening blades spaced from the lengthening blades (62, 66) and further being operable separately therefrom. 9. Cable harness assembly device according to claim 1, characterized in that the wire extension means (2) has a wire inlet section with a plurality of wire feed rollers (23-25), the rollers (23-25) having a plurality of spaced channels (241, 242) which receive the wires (W) from the wire supply and feed the wires (W) into the wire measuring means. 10. Wire harness assembly apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that the assembled wire harness discharging means (9) includes first and second reciprocating push rods (98), each of the push rods (98) only contacting the first and second electrical connector elements (C1, C2) at the opposite ends of each assembled wire harness (A) to thereby apply a uniform discharging force to each assembled wire harness. 11. A harness assembly apparatus according to claim 1, characterized in that means (10) are provided for transporting the assembled harnesses (A) out of the apparatus feed path, the harness transport means (10) including pairs of harness engaging heads (102) which engage the assembled harnesses (A) and advance the assembled harnesses (A) stepwise through the apparatus. 12. Apparatus for assembling wire harnesses (A), each wire harness (A) having at least one electrically conductive wire of predetermined length, and first and second electrical connector elements (C1, C2) attached to the wire at opposite ends of the wire harness (A), the first and second connector elements (C1, C2) respectively engaging the first and second free ends (212, 214) of the wire (W), the apparatus comprising: a wire supply (1), means (2) for feeding the wire from the wire supply into the apparatus, a wire inlet for guiding the wire into the device in a predetermined sequence, wire measuring means including a wire measuring chuck (5) which selectively engages the wire (W) behind the wire inlet and draws a predetermined length of wire from the supply (1), the wire measuring chuck (5) being driven along a mounting path of the device which extends longitudinally along the device, a wire slitting pliers (6) which is driven by a first drive (63, 67) to be movable back and forth into and out of the mounting path of the device in order to cut the wire (W) to define opposite first and second free ends (212, 214) from successively predetermined lengths of wire (W) along the mounting path of the device, a primary wire chuck (3) for engaging the predetermined length of wire (W) near its first free end (214) and for locking the wire length in the predetermined sequence as it is guided in the device along the assembly path, the first wire chuck (3) being driven by a second drive (374) along the assembly path of the device, a first and second press (7, 8) for connecting respective first and second electrical connector elements (C1, C2) to the first and second free ends (212, 214) of the predetermined lengths of wire (W) as they move along the assembly path of the device, the first press (7) being driven reciprocally into and out of the assembly path of the device by a third drive (73, 77), the first press (7) being arranged behind the wire inlet and in front of the wire slitting pliers (6), the second press (8) being arranged behind the wire slitting pliers (6) and the primary wire chuck (3) and further being driven reciprocally into and out of the assembly path of the device by a fourth drive (83, 87), a behind the primary wire chuck (3) and the wire cutting pliers (6) arranged secondary wire chuck (4) for engaging the second free end (212) of the wire length and for holding the wire length in the predetermined sequence, the secondary wire chuck (4) being driven by a fifth drive (424) for reciprocation along the assembly path of the device, the secondary wire chuck (4) further being spaced from the primary wire chuck (3), the device being characterized in that the first, second, third, fourth and fifth drives consist of cam drives which are operated independently of one another. 13. Device according to claim 12, characterized in that the secondary wire chuck (4) moves back and forth along the assembly path of the device between a position approximately behind the wire slitting pliers (6) and a position approximately behind the second press (8). 14. Device according to claim 12, characterized in that a discharge mechanism (9) for assembled wire harnesses is provided, which includes a pair of elongated push rods (98) aligned with the connector elements (C1, C2) connected to opposite ends (212, 214) of the wire harness (A), the push rods (98) being driven in a reciprocating motion by a sixth independent cam drive. 15. Device according to claim 12, characterized in that a wire stripping tool (14) is provided which has two wire stripping blades spaced from the wire length pliers (6) and further spaced from the primary and secondary wire chucks (3, 4), the wire stripping tool (14) being movable back and forth into the mounting path of the device and is driven out of it, wherein the two wire stripping blades engage the first and second free ends (212, 214) of the predetermined length of wire. 16. Device according to claim 12, characterized in that the predetermined length of wire contains a plurality of spaced wires (W), the primary and secondary wire chucks (3, 4) holding the wires (W) in the predetermined order. 17. Device according to claim 12, characterized in that the second and fifth cam drives (374, 424) drive the primary and secondary wire chucks (3, 4) respectively in such a way that the secondary wire chuck (4) is always spaced from and located behind the primary wire chuck (3). 18. Device according to claim 12, characterized in that the secondary wire chuck (4) is arranged in front of the wire measuring chuck (5) and engages the predetermined length of wire near its second free end (212) while the wire measuring chuck (5) moves along the assembly path of the device after the wire cutting pliers (6) have cut the predetermined length of wire so as to keep the predetermined length of wire in the predetermined sequence.