BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1)FIELD OF THE INVENTION
[0001] This invention relates to an improved method of forming wire harness for use in an
automobile, particularly, in a wiring harness assembly placed within a limited space
such as a door structure, or ceiling space in a room cabinet. As a preferred embodiment
of the present invention, an apparatus for manufacturing the wiring harness assembly
is disclosed where insulated wires are placed in a parallel alignment followed by
bonding the neigbouring wires so that the wiring harness exhibits a predetermined,
desired flattened shape.
2)DESCRIPTION OF THE PRIOR ART
[0002] The wiring harness for motor vehicle is composed of a variety of elements. Those
include groups of insulated electric wires, connectors consisting of electrical terminals
and plastic housing of connectors, grommet and outer binding materials such as clamps
and tapes. In general a design table with guide-pins is used to manufacture a set
of wire harness assembly where an approximate length of insulated electric wire with
an electrical terminal in its one end portion is wired along a drawing on the table
in which the guide-pins stand aside the trail of wire and desired numbers of wires
are set to form a harness configuration. The set of wires are then bundled together
by mean of binding materials resulting in a group of an assembled but shapeless wire
collection.
[0003] The above manual method of making an assembled wires, therefore, requires a lot of
man-hours and wires are likely to be used in excess due to its suspension between
neighbouring guide-pins caused by uneven stretching. In addition the product wire
harness assembly becomes bulky which finds difficulty when it is intend to use for
wiring in a limited space such as in a door structure. The present invention is aimed
to solve the above inefficiency in assembling operation and to reduce bulkiness of
the product by making a parallel wire alignment and by affording the product with
a predetermined specific patten through bonding the neighbouring wires in the alignment.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0004] The method of forming wire harness of the present invention comprises the steps of
selecting a group of the insulated electric wires to be assembled, clamping the starting
ends of the wires in order followed by applying a metallic terminal to each wire end
if desired, placing measured and cut wires on a forming table with a program controlled
travelling means along the Y axis which is perpendicular to the longitudinal direction
of wires X, making a parallel alignment of wires by handling them with a wiring head
which consists of a wavering guide and a press mechanism with or without grooves for
disentangling wires while the wiring head traces back along axis X, bonding the neighbouring
wires as the wiring head proceeds by either thermal fusion of the outer surface of
the insulating layer of the wire or utilizing suitable adhesives on the surface of
the wire, controlling both the movement of the wiring head along the coordinate X
and that of the forming table along the coordinate Y, the wires are shaped into any
desired flattened harness pattern which is particularly useful for wiring door harness
of motor vehicles.
[0005] An apparatus for achieving the same object is described in the preffered embodiment
of the present invention where the insulation layers an the untreated, apposite wire
ends are removed in order to apply electric terminals and connector housing.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0006]
Fig. 1 shows steps of forming wire harness of the present invention.
Fig 1(A) is a process diagram illustrating the method of the present invention.
Fig 1(B) shows a side view illustrating the wire feed.
Fig. 1(C) shows a harness pattern formed on the forming table.
Fig. 2 shows the apparatus for forming wire harness of the present invention.
Fig. 2(A) illustrates front view of the apparatus of the present invention.
Fig. 2(B) illustrates a side view of the wavering wiring head on the forming table
with index roller having grooves used in the apparatus of the present invention.
Fig. 2(C) is an enlarged front view illustrating the wiring head used in the apparatus
of the present invention.
Fig. 2(D) is an enlarged view illustrating an index roller
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PRESENT INVENTION
[0007] The preferred embodiments of the present invention is hereafter described in details.
Referring Fig. 1 a process layout for forming a wire harness for use in a automobile
door harness is explained. It is composed of a wire-forming table (2) having a travelling
mechanism along Y axis which is perpendicular to a longitudinal direction X of a group
of insulated electric wires to be assembled, and of a wiring head (3) having a wavering
mechanism and a press means with or without grooves for wires equipped with heating
means. The wiring head (3) hangs over the wire-forming table (2) and is movable along
the axis X and thus the table (2) and the wiring head (3) constitute a X-Y plotting
element. In front of the wire-forming table (2), it is located a wire supply (4),
a clamp (5) which is able to turn toward a terminal crimp machine (7), and a cutting
machine (6).
[0008] In the backside of the wire-forming table (2) there are wire-carrier (8) having clamp
mechanism for holding the starting ends of wires, A, insulation remover (9), terminal
crimper (10) and applicator for connector housing (11), both applicable to the terminating
ends, B, and terminal supplier (12).
[0009] The steps employed in the method of forming wire harness assembly of the present
invention are described as below.
[0010] A group of wires (1) are selected for a set of wiring harness to be assembled. The
selection is usually made out of the wires which share a common connector within total
harness structure. The wires are drawn out of a wire supply (4) and are held in order
by a wire clamp means (5) which is able to turn into a direction perpendicular to
the longitudinal direction X of the wires where a terminal crimp elements including
wire-insulation remover and terminal crimper (7) with terminal feeder (12) are located.
[0011] After the wires are set on the forming-table (2) in a U-shaped pattern, while holding
each of the wires in a flat, parallel alignment, the destined wire ends (B), which
is in the opposite side of the staring wire ends (A), is shifted toward Y2 and Y3
direction along axis Y. The wire ends (B) is subjected to extra steps including insulation
removal at (9), terminal crimping at (7), and connector housing is attached at (11)
and thus flat wire harness is obtained.
[0012] When necessary, the starting ends A of the wires are crimped with terminals, and
then lead along X axis while the A ends are held by the clamp (5) until it reaches
to a cutter (6). A wire carrier (8) proceeds to the cutter (6) and holds the wire
end A and the clamp (5) moves back to the original position along axis X while wires
are brought to an table end portion (13) where the wire ends A is fixed. Each of the
wires are measured by means of dancer-roller passway (14) in length according to their
anticipated distance in an assembled harness on the table (2) and is cut by the cutter
(6).
[0013] Fig. 1 (C) illustrates a harness pattern formed by the method of the present invention.
A wiring head (3) having a wavering mechanism and a press means is hanging over the
wires on the table (2). At the table end portion (13) the wiring head (3) comes down
to the table (2) and touches the wire-surfaces in its press means such as a guiding
roll (20) with or without grooves for wires.
[0014] As the wiring head (3) proceed in the direction of X, the wires (1) are disentangled
and simultaneously the neighbouring wires are bonded together by either thermal fusion
in the surfaces of their insulation or using an adhesive. The corner portions R1 and
R2 are formed by moving the wiring head (3) and the forming-table (2) into X and Y
directions respecitively according to a programmed design for an anticipated harness
pattern.
[0015] Preferred embodiment of the present invention of forming wire harness is that a both-sided
adhesive tape having larger width than that of the actual harness pattern to be traced
is placed on the wire-forming table (2) along the passage or wires before the wires
are lead on the table (2) through wire-guide (3). The tape sticks to the wire surfaces
and is useful for as a substrate maintaing the wires (1) on the predetermined position
in a parallel alignment until the neighbouring wires are become bonded. The tape can
be removed off after the harness is formed in a pattern.
[0016] It should be emphasized that a flat harness with integrating unit pattern can be
formed in which a number of branches are included in a single pattern.
[0017] In other word, a complexed flat harness is provided by integration of unit harness
elements which consist of a group of wires as described in the present invention.
[0018] An apparatus for achieving the same object of forming a flat harness with parallel
wire alignments is described referring to Fig. 2. The Figure illustrate a front view
of the device. To the wire-forming table (2) are equipped two guide rails (17A) and
(17B) along which the wire-forming table (2) can be slidably moved in a direction
of Y axis. 16A is a rotatable driving rod located in the middle and underneath the
table (2). 16B is also a rotatable driving rod to which the hanger (18) of wiring
head (3) is attached. The rod is literally the X coordinate and is parallel to the
longitudinal wire direction.
[0019] In the example illustrated in Fig. 2, to the head portion (18) the wavering wiring
head (3) and three rollers (20), (21A) and (21B) are attached. The roller (20) is
an indexing roller whose course is directed by a computer program and the other two
are ones for disentangling the wires (1) into an parallel alignment between each other.
The latter rollers (21A) and (21B) have spaced grooves for wires and are equipped
with heating means which are useful for bonding neighbouring wires by thermal fusion.
The latter two rollers follow the trail of the former roller (20).
[0020] The wires (1) are introduced into a hollow pipe (23) and are drawn to the forming-table
(2) and are disentangled and bonded together as the three rollers (20), (21A) and
(21B) pass over them. When index roller (20) has completed its programmed tracing
around an desired harness pattern, the wires (1) on the forming table (2) are aligned
in parallel showing formed flat pattern of wire harness.
[0021] As described above the wires (1) are lead into their common longitudinal direction
X by moving the wiring head (3) which is driven by rotating the driving rod (16B)
and also wires (1) are directed toward Y direction by travelling of the forming table
(2). By combing these movement along the axes X and Y any desired pattern with or
without curvature can be plotted.
[0022] According to the apparatus for forming wire harness a flat, two dimensionally plotted
wire harness is provided. When the wires are pressedly bonded while maintaining their
parallel alignment, an accurate harness pattern is achieved.
REFERENCE NUMERALS
[0023]
1---------wires
2---------wire-forming table
3---------wiring head
4---------wire supply
5---------clamp
6---------cutting machine
7---------terminal crimp machine
8---------wire-carrier
9---------insulation remover
11--------applicator for connector housing
13--------table end portion
14--------dancer-roller passway
16A 16B---driving rod
17A 17B---guide rail
18--------hanger
19--------wavering mechanism
20--------indexing roller
21A 21B--roller
23--------hollow pipe
1. Apparatus for use in the manufacture of a wire harness with flattened structure
comprising:
a wire guide having a wavering element in a wiring head attached to a transversal
axis X along longitudinal direction of wires,
a wire forming table with flat surface on the top having a travelling mechanism along
Y direction which is perpendicular to the t ransversal asix X, wire bonding means
with a wire press mechanism either by thermal fusion or by adhesion while a group
of insulated electric wires are lead by said wire guide on the forming table in a
close, parallel alignment.
2. Apparatus for use in the manufacture of a wiring harness with flattened structure
in Claim 1 wherein the wavering element in the wiring head includes a leading guide means which
traces a programmed wire pass and a wire pulling means which follows the leading guide
means.
3. Apparatus for use in the manufacture of a wiring harness with flattened structure
of Claim 1 and 2 wherein the wavering head includes a thermal press roller for bonding electric insulation
wires so that the wires in the parallel alignment becomes bonded together resulting
in a desired, flattened structure as a whole harness.
4. Apparatus for use in the manufacture of a wiring harness with flattened structure
of Claim 1, 2, and 3 wherein wire-connecting terminals are applied to the starting end portion of the
electric insulated wires before bonding.
5. Apparatus for use in the manufacture of a wiring harness of Claim 1 an address of the wavering element in the wiring head on the forming table is indicated
on the X-Y coordinates by an automatic controll means having a location program according
to the pattern of wiring harness to be formed.
6. Method of forming wire harness comprising the steps of:
selecting a group of insulated electric wires to be connected to the terminals sharing
a common connector housing;
clamping the starting end portion of each of the selected wires in order;
drawing wires out of supply means and placing the measured and cut wires in a parallel
alignment using a wavering wire guide on a forming-table which is able to travel along
rails laid in a direction Y perpendicular to the longitudinal axis X;
pressing them with roller or roll mechanism having heating means while disentangling
and bonding the neighbouring wires simultaneous either ulilizing an adhesive or suitable
softing agent or by thermal fusion of the surfaces of insulation of wires;
leading wires through the wavering wire guide while the wire guide moves in X direction
and the forming table shifts in Y direction achieving two-dimensionally plotted desired
harness pattern on the table.
7. Method of forming wire harness of the Claim 6 wherein wires are placed on a both-sided adhesive member whose opposite side is pasted
to the table surface and the adhesive member is remover from harness after wires are
formed.
8. Method of forming wire harness of Claim 6 and 7 wherein the wires are placed in an parallel alignment on the forming-table using
two types of roller means consisting of an indexing roller for guiding wires to a
position with a pre-determined, programmed address along the two dimensional way,
and of rollers for entangling wires and for bonding the neighbouring wires by thermal
fusion of wire insulation surface or by utilizing adhesive or softing agent.