JPS62272484A - Method and apparatus for transferring bushing - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention 3. Detailed Description of the Invention Industrial Field of Application The present invention is directed to a method in which a large number of rubber bushings continuously supplied from a supply source are connected to an insertion device holding a vinyl-covered electric wire by air. 6. Prior Art Vinyl-coated electric wires are used for interconnection of various electrical components and for electrical connection between power supply terminals and electrical components. It is used for a variety of purposes. As a recent trend, the vinyl coating of the ends of the electric wires is removed by a predetermined length to expose the core wires, and metal connection terminals of various shapes are crimped and fixed to the core wires.

In various electrical devices that use vinyl-coated wires with metal terminals crimped and fixed as mentioned above, water droplets may form inside the device depending on the location where the device is used or changes in the surrounding environment (for example, due to the temperature of the location where the machine is installed). changes suddenly)
. In such a case, if water droplets travel on the vinyl coating of the wire and reach the crimp terminal where the core wire is exposed, it may cause electrical insulation failure, causing a malfunction or causing an electrical leak inside the machine. poses a risk of

Therefore, recently, as shown in FIG. 8, a rubber bushing (hereinafter referred to as "bushing") 14 is inserted into the end of the vinyl-coated electric wire 19 in advance, and then a metal connection terminal 2 of a desired shape is crimped. There is a trend toward adoption of electrical wires with a drip-proof structure that prevents water droplets from entering the crimping part. In this case, conventionally, the bushing 14 is attached to the vinyl covering part of the electric cable and lX19.
Since the work of inserting and inserting the parts was done manually, the efficiency of the work was extremely poor, and labor costs increased, resulting in an increase in costs. Therefore, in order to automate the insertion and insertion of bushings and improve production efficiency, an insertion device for automatically inserting bushings into the vinyl-coated portion of electric wires has been developed. In this case, in order to supply the bushing to the insertion device.

The bushing coming from the bushing supply device is mechanically grasped by a kind of robot hand, and then this hand is rotated to bring the bushing to the insertion device.

Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the above-mentioned apparatus that uses the robot hand to transfer a bushing, there are many sequential mechanical operations such as gripping the bushing by the hand, turning the hand, and releasing the bushing. Therefore, the biggest drawback of this device is that it takes time to take out the bushing from the supply device and transfer it to the insertion device, making it impossible to speed up one operation. Further, unless the bushing is reliably supplied to the fixed position of the insertion device, it will not be possible to fit it into the vinyl-coated end of the electric wire, so the operation of the robot hand must be reliable. Therefore, the manufacturing cost increases and the mechanism is complicated, which has the disadvantage of being prone to failure.

Purpose of the Invention The present invention has been proposed in order to suitably solve the above-mentioned drawbacks inherent in the conventional bushing transfer method. The purpose is to speed up the transfer work using inexpensive means and dramatically improve production efficiency.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and achieve the intended purpose, a bushing transfer method according to the present invention continuously supplies a large number of bushings from a bushing supply source, and
The bushings are taken out and held one by one by a transfer device connected to an air supply source, and the taken out and held bushings are made to face one opening of the pipe body, and at that timing, high pressure air from the air supply source is supplied to the transfer device. The bushing facing the opening is transported into the pipe by the high-pressure air and is supplied to a bushing insertion device connected to the other end of the pipe.

In addition, in order to suitably carry out the above-mentioned method, a bushing transfer device according to another invention of the present application includes a bushing supply source that continuously supplies bushings, and a bushing supply source that is disposed on a plate fixed on a base. positioning means for stopping bushings continuously supplied from the plate at a fixed position; and above the positioning means, the bushings are rotatably disposed on the plate.

a holding device that removably holds the bushing stopped at a fixed position; an air supply source that is communicatively connected to the holding device; and one end opening to a connecting member attached to the plate;
a flexible tube whose other end is communicatively connected to a fitting device for fitting the bushing into an electric wire; and a flexible tube body for rotating the holding device between the positioning means and the opening of the connecting member. It is characterized by comprising a rotating means.

EXAMPLE Next, the bushing transfer method according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, giving examples of an apparatus that can suitably carry out this method. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the arrangement of a transfer device according to an embodiment of the present invention, an accompanying bushing supply source, and a fitting device. The transfer device 10 shown in the figure is equipped with a basic structure for air transfer of bushings as described later, and this bushing transfer device 10 is mounted on a common base 11.
The bushing supply source 13 and the bushing insertion device 20 are arranged in an appropriate positional relationship.

(About the bushing supply source) The bushing supply source 13 includes a known parts feeder 23 that stores a large number of bushings in a circular saucer, aligns the bushings by electromagnetic vibration, and sequentially feeds them in one direction. The supply path 24 extends horizontally in the tangential direction from the circular tray of the parts feeder 23.

A long groove 24a is formed along the longitudinal direction on the upper surface of the horizontal supply path 24.
is formed, and one end of the supply path extends toward a plate 12 vertically disposed on the metal bar 11. As can be seen from FIG. 6(a), the bushing 14 is formed of a large diameter portion 14b having an annular constriction on the outer periphery and a small diameter portion 14c forming a neck. The paper is placed in the long groove 24a of the horizontal supply path 24 in an inverted position and is transported in the - column toward the transfer device 10, which will be described later.

(Regarding the transfer device) A bushing guide 15 that functions as a positioning means is horizontally extended and fixed to a plate 12 that is arranged upright on a substrate 11, and the free end of this bushing guide 15 comes into contact with the end of the horizontal feeder 24. positioned. As shown in FIG. 1, the bushing guide 15 includes a bushing 1.
A groove 15a for stopping the bushings 14 at a fixed position is bored, and the bushings 14 conveyed in a line on the feeder 24 finally arrive at this groove 15a and are positioned.

Further, a holding device 16 for removing, holding, and transferring the bushing 14 is disposed directly above the bushing guide 15 horizontally arranged on the plate 12. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, this holding device 16 is fixed to the output shaft of a rotating means 22 (preferably a rotary actuator) disposed on the opposite side of the plate 12, and is used for the positioning. It can be pivoted between the means 15 and an opening of a connecting member 33, which will be described later. That is, the rotary actuator 22 fixed to one side of the plate 12 has its output shaft 22a protruding to the other side of the plate 12 (the side facing the bushing guide 15). A rectangular plate member 25 is fixed to the tip of the output shaft 22a, and is vertically pivotable at a required central angle under the biasing action of the actuator 22.

An L-shaped angle member 26 is located near the upper end of the plate material 25.
is fixed, and a pneumatic cylinder 27 is fixed to a portion of the angle member 26 that extends horizontally with respect to the plate member 25. As shown in FIG. 2, the central axis of the cylinder 27 is the output shaft 2 of the rotary actuator 22.
The piston rod 27a of the cylinder 27 is perpendicular to the axis of the cylinder 2a and is arranged upside down so as to point downward. A block-shaped slider 28 is screwed onto the tip of the piston rod 27a, and is driven up and down by the operation of the cylinder 27. A pair of guide members 29.29 are disposed on the plate material 25 with a parallel interval set to approximately the same width as the slider 28, and the slider 28 is guided upward and downward by the guide members 29. It is designed to be slidably guided and held.

As clearly shown in FIG. 3, the slider 28 is provided with an L-shaped through hole 28a with one opening oriented horizontally and the other opening oriented downward. Hole 2
An air tube 17 is connected to the one opening of 8a. The other end of the air tube 17 is connected to an air supply source 18 consisting of an air compressor, so that high-pressure air can be supplied into the through hole 28a of the slider 28. Further, a cylindrical holder 30 having a through hole 30a is replaceably attached to the other opening portion of the through hole 28a directed downward. The holder 3
As shown in Figure 1, the through hole 30a of O is formed of three parts whose inner diameter gradually decreases as it goes downward, and a flange part 32 of a pin 31, which will be described later, is fitted into the intermediate inner diameter part of Q. has been done.

The pin 31 fitted into the holder 3o is connected to the bushing 1
The pin 31 is forcibly inserted into a through hole 14a drilled in the pin 4 by an operation described later, and a cylindrical flange portion 32 is formed in the intermediate body portion of the pin 31. As shown in FIG. 3, this flange 32 is provided with a plurality of through holes 32a parallel to the central axis of the pin 30. Therefore, when the pin 31 is fitted and attached to the intermediate inner diameter portion of the holder 30, the air supplied to the through hole 28a of the slider 28 is transferred to the maximum inner diameter portion 30a of the holder 30 and the pin 3.
The liquid reaches the minimum inner diameter portion of the holder 30 through the through hole No. 1, and is ejected downward from there. Note that pin 31
extends further downward through the smallest inner diameter of the holder 30,
The pin diameter is set to be slightly larger than the bushing through hole 14a, so that the bushing 14 can be held securely when the pin 31 is inserted into the through hole 14a.

Next, on the upright plate 12, a pipe connecting member 33 is arranged and fixed, which has an opening 33a oriented in the horizontal direction and having an inner diameter that allows the bushing 14 to pass therethrough. The connecting member 33 is made of a block material as shown in FIGS. 1 and 6, and is connected to the plate at a position 1a displaced perpendicularly to the vertical axis of the pin 31 disposed on the holding device 16 in its normal position. It is arranged on 12. Then, the holding device 16 is moved from the position shown in FIG. 6(a) to the position shown in FIG. 6(d) by the rotary actuator 22.
), the pin 31 of the holding device 16 is oriented toward the opening 33a of the connecting member 33.

Further, one end of a flexible tubular body 21 such as a hose that allows the passage of the bushing 14 is connected to the opening 33a of the connecting member 33, and the other end of the tubular body 21 is connected to an insertion device to be described later. It is designed to be connected to 2o. Note that for the plate 12.

The retaining device 16 is connected to the bushing guide (positioning means) 15
When the pin 31 of the holding device 16 is rotated reciprocatingly (90' in this case) in the range between the opening 33a of the bushing 14 and the opening 33a of the connecting member 33, the pin 31 of the holding device 16 is
Stoppers 34 and 34 are respectively provided at appropriate positions for stopping the openings 33a of the openings 34 and 3 in a state where they are accurately oriented.

(About the insertion device) The insertion device 20 inserts the air-transferred bushing 14 into
This is a mechanical means for automatically inserting the vinyl-covered end of the electric wire 19, and this device basically consists of a base 36 arranged and fixed on the base 11, and a base 36 arranged and fixed on the base 36. a slider 38 that slides on the rail 37, a pipe 39 connected to the slider 38, and a pair of bushing clamps 40, 40 arranged on the opposite side of the slider 38 to the pipe connection side. , a pair of wire guides 41.41 disposed in front of the bushing clamp 40.40, and a clamp means 42 for gripping the vinyl coating of the electric wire into which the bushing 14 is to be inserted.

That is, as shown in FIG. 4, a rail 37 of a predetermined length is fixed to the base 36 along the longitudinal direction of the base 36, and a slider 38 is slidably disposed on the rail 37. ing.

Further, a plate 43 is provided upright at the right end of the base 36, and two cylinders 44, 45 are arranged and fixed to the plate 43 at the slider 38 and the flat plate. The piston rod 45a of the cylinder 45 is attached to the slider 38 on the left side of the plate 43, and functions to move the slider 38 forward and backward. This slider 38
A through hole 38a is bored along its longitudinal direction,
One end of the pipe 39 inserted through the hole in the plate 43 is connected to the through hole 38a. In addition, at the other end of the pipe 39, there is a pipe body 2 connected to the transfer device @10.
1 are connected in series. Therefore, the bushing 14 passes through the tube body 21 and from the transfer device 10 to the insertion device 20.
It will be transferred to

At one end of the slider 38, that is, the end opposite to the end to which the pipe 39 is connected, there is a pair of bushing clamps 40, 40 that are driven to open and close by a cylinder 54.
is attached so that the small diameter portion 14c of the bushing 14, which is air-transferred from the transfer device 10, can be clamped. As shown in FIG. 5, the slider 38 includes:
In front of the bushing clamp 40.40, a lever 46.46 for attaching an L-shaped wire guide 41°41 that clamps the clamp 40.40 is pivotally supported via a pin 47.47. A guide pin 48.48 is provided protruding from the lever 46.46, and this guide pin 4
A spring 49 is elastically stretched between the levers 46 and 48, and always biases the levers 46 and 46 in the direction of opening. Further, a lever opening/closing slide 50 is arranged movably between the guide pins 48 and 48, and by moving the opening/closing slide 50 forward and backward, the levers 46 and 46 are opened and closed. The lever opening/closing slide 50 is driven under the biasing action of a cylinder 44 fixed to the plate 43.

As shown in FIG. 4, the wire guide 41 is provided with a semicircular groove 41a and a semiconical groove 41b communicating with the groove 41a and expanding outward. That is, when the pair of wire guides 41, 41 are closed, a cylindrical groove 55 and a conical through hole 56 are formed, and the air is transferred from the transfer device 10 into this cylindrical groove 55. The large diameter portion 14b of the bushing 14 comes into contact.

The bushing 14 is positioned. Furthermore, since the conical through hole 56 widens outward, the electric wire 19 can be reliably guided into the through hole 14a of the positioned bushing 14.

In the insertion device 20, a clamp means 42 for gripping the electric wire 1″9 into which the bushing 14 is to be inserted is arranged in front of the wire guide 41.41. and multiple link rods 5
2 and wire clamps 53 and 53, and by energizing the cylinder 51, the electric wire 19
It is designed to grip and release the

(Function of the bushing transfer device) Next, regarding the function of the bushing transfer device according to the present invention,
This will be explained in relation to the transfer method.

As shown in FIG. 1, a large number of bushings 14 fed in a line from the parts feeder 23 through the long grooves 24a of the horizontal feeder 24 arrive at the bushing guide 15, where they are stopped and positioned. At this time, the pin 31 of the holding device 16 located above the bushing guide 15 is
), the pin 31 is oriented vertically downward.
The bushing 14 is located directly below the extension of the central axis of the bushing 14, with its through hole 14a facing upward.

Next, above the positioned bushing 14, the cylinder 27 of the holding device 16 is energized, and the piston rod 27a extends. As a result, as shown in Figure 6(b), the slider 28 attached to the tip of the piston rod 27a descends while being guided by the guide members 29 and 29. The pin 31 provided on the slider 28 is
It is inserted into the through hole 14a of the bushing 14. At this time, since the diameter of the pin 31 is set to be slightly larger than the diameter of the through hole 14a, the pin is forcibly press-fitted, and the bushing 14 is securely held.

Note that the holder 30 on which the pin 31 is arranged is replaceably attached to the slider 28.

When changing the dimensions of the bushing 14, the change can be made immediately by simply replacing the holder 30.

After the bushing 14 is held by the pin 31, the piston rod 27a is retracted, and the slider 28 is retracted to its original position (FIG. 6(C)).

Next, as shown in FIG. 6(d), the rotary actuator 22 is energized to rotate the holding device 16 by 90° counterclockwise in the figure. After this rotation, the holding device 1
6 is fixed in position by abutting against the stopper 34 disposed on the plate 12, and the bushing 14 held by the pin 31 as described above is held at the opening of the tube support member 33 disposed on the plate 12. 33a.

Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 6(e), the cylinder 27
The slider 28 is moved between the guide members 29 and 29 under the biasing action of
The bushing 14 holding the pin is inserted into the opening 33a of the tube connecting member 33. Also, at this timing, high pressure air is supplied to the slider 28 from the air supply source. Through hole 28 of this slider 28
As shown in FIG. 3, the air supplied to the bushing 14 reaches the smallest inner diameter part through the largest inner diameter part of the holder 30 and the through hole 32a of the pin 31, and is ejected downward from there. is pumped into the tube body 21. Since the inner diameter of the tubular body 21 is set to a size that allows the passage of the bushing 14 as described above, the bushing 14 is transferred together with air at high speed through the tube to the insertion bag @20.

As shown in FIG. 7(a), the bushing 14 fed by air from the transfer device 10 is transferred to the wire guide 41.
It is positioned by coming into contact with the bottom of the cylindrical groove 55 formed in the cylindrical groove 55, and is clamped by the bushing clamp 40 at this timing. Next, the bushing insertion cylinder 45 is energized, and the slider 38 slides on the rail 37.

Note that the lever opening/closing cylinder 44 is also energized, and the slider 3
While the lever 8 is sliding, the levers 46 and 46 are controlled so as not to open.

In front of the wire guide 41.41, the electric wire 19 is held in advance by a wire clamp 53.53 so that its end is directed toward the wire guide 41.41. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 7(b), the slider 3
By advancing the wire 19 along the rail 37, the wire 19 is guided into the conical groove 56 formed by the wire guides 41, 41, and the bushing clamp 40.
Through hole 14a of bushing 14 clamped to 40
is inserted smoothly. This completes the insertion of the bushing 14 into the electric wire 19.

After the bushing 14 is inserted into the electric wire 19, the wire guide cylinder 44 is energized as shown in FIG.
The wire guides 41 and 41 are opened by pulling them out from between the wire guides 41 and 41. Bushing clamps 40,40 are also opened by cylinder 54. Then, the cylinder 45 is energized to move the slider 38 backward. At this time, the lever 46
．． A lever opening/closing slide 50 is inserted between the guide pins 48 and 48 protruding from the wire guides 41 and 46, respectively.
41 is closed and it is in a state of waiting for the transfer of the primary bushing 14 (FIG. 7(d)).

Effects of the Invention As described above, according to the method for transferring bushings according to the present invention, the bushings are quickly transferred through the pipe by air, not by mechanical movements like conventional robot hands. A faster cycle is achieved, and therefore production efficiency can be dramatically improved.

In addition, since the mechanical movement required to transfer the bushing is reduced, failures caused by this are reduced, and since the transfer device and insertion device are directly connected by the tube, the bushing can be positioned reliably. This eliminates insertion errors. Moreover, since complicated and expensive equipment such as robots is not used, beneficial effects such as reduction in equipment costs can be obtained.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawings show a device for suitably implementing the bushing transfer method according to the present invention, and FIG. 1 schematically shows the arrangement relationship among a bushing supply source, a transfer device, and a fitting device. A perspective view, Figure 2 is a vertical sectional side view of the transfer device, Figure 3 is a vertical side view of the transfer device.
The figures are a vertical cross-sectional view of a holder used in the bushing transfer method according to the present invention, FIG. 4 is a vertical cross-sectional side view of the insertion device, and FIG.
The figure is a plan view of the insertion device, FIGS. 6(a) to (e) are explanatory diagrams showing the operation of the transfer device over time, and FIGS. 7(a) to (d)
8 is an explanatory diagram showing the operation of the insertion device over time, and FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a vinyl-coated electric wire that has been subjected to drip-proof treatment by inserting a bushing. 1o... Transfer device 11... Base 12...
Plate 13...Bushing supply source 14...
・Bushing 15...Positioning means 16...
Holding device 18...Air supply source 19...Electric wire 20...Fitting device 21...Flexible tube 21a...Through hole 22...Rotating means Patent applicant Tokai Denko Co., Ltd. FIG, 2 FIG, 3 FIG, 8 FIG, 6 +a+ FIG, 6 (bl FIG, 6 (C1 FIG, 6 (dl

Claims (1)

[Claims] [1] A transfer device (10) that continuously supplies a large number of bushings (14) from a bushing supply source (13) and connects the bushings (14) to an air supply source (18). Take out and hold the bushings (14) one by one with the
At the same time, high-pressure air from the air supply source (18) is supplied to the transfer device at that timing, and the bushing (14) facing the opening is transferred into the pipe by the high-pressure air. A method for transferring a bushing, characterized in that the bushing is supplied to a bushing inserting device (20) that is connected to the other end of the tube (21). [2] A bushing supply source (13) that continuously supplies bushings (14); positioning means (
15), a holding device (16) that is rotatably disposed on the plate (12) above the positioning means (15) and removably holds the bushing (14) stopped at a fixed position; An air supply source (
18), and a connecting member (3) with one end attached to the plate (12).
3), the other end of which is communicatively connected to a fitting device (20) for fitting the bushing (14) into the electric wire (19); and the holding device. A bushing transfer device characterized in that it comprises a rotating means (22) for rotating the bushing (16) between the positioning means (15) and the opening (33a) of the connecting member (33). . [3] The holding device (16) includes a cylinder (27) attached via an angle member (26) to the plate (25) that is rotated by the rotation means (22).
), and guide members (29, 2) disposed opposite to the plate material (25).
9), and is slidably held by the cylinder (2).
a slider (28) having a through hole (28a) that is moved forward and backward by the urging force of the slider (28) and is connected to the air supply source (18); and a holder (31) at one end of the slider (28). 3. The bushing transfer device according to claim 2, further comprising a pin (30) that is attached through the bushing (30) and inserted through the hollow portion of the bushing (14).