Illumination – Light source and modifier – Adjustable or repositionable light source or light source...
Reexamination Certificate
2000-10-06
2003-03-11
O'Shea, Sandra (Department: 2875)
Illumination
Light source and modifier
Adjustable or repositionable light source or light source...
C362S033000, C362S089000, C362S287000, C269S011000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06530677
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method of manufacturing a wire harness and to a work-performing instruction apparatus therefor.
2. Description of Background Information
In manufacturing a wire harness, a plurality of electric wires is wired on a work table called a wiring plate to connect connectors to a bundle of the wired electric wires, tape them, and mount protective components thereon. The wire harness may have a complicated configuration, a large number of components may be installed on the wire harness, and the processing stages may be diverse. Therefore, various display techniques for displaying a work procedure have been proposed.
Disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 9-147641 is a technique for instructing the order of wiring the electric wires on a wiring plate and component installing positions by using visible light such as laser beams. Generally speaking, the display technique utilizes a guide apparatus capable of emitting visible light onto the wiring plate in an XY-direction to illuminate a wiring path and holding jigs of a wire harness with the visible light, in accordance with the order the electric wires are to be wired on the wiring plate. As apparent from the description in the above noted Japanese the publication, a predetermined work position is illuminated with the visible light. After the work at the displayed work position terminates, a subsequent work position is illuminated with the visible light. This procedure is repeatedly performed until the wiring harness work is completed.
However, the emission of the visible light according to the work order necessitates detection of termination of the operator's work at each stage. Thus, a troublesome switching operation must be performed, which requires a switching detection device to have a complicated construction.
That is, in the event that there are N necessary stages for manufacturing the wire harness on the wiring plate, it is necessary to emit the visible light for each of N irradiation positions. In this case, it is necessary to detect whether the operator's work is progressing in each stage and to input data of the progress of the work to a control unit to switch the illumination positions. Therefore, many sensors for detecting the termination of the work in each stage are required, and the detection process is complicated. That is, the conventional construction is not suitable for a wire harness that requires manufacture through many work stages.
It is conceivable to switch the illumination position with a timer. But in this case, it is necessary to set/alter switching times for each stage, which becomes complicated. In addition, if a switching time is set for each stage, a time lag may occur between an operator's actual work time and the set time.
Further, a process for performing wiring work by use of a timer may be burdensome and unpleasant for the operator and may not necessarily improve work efficiency.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention has been made in view of the above-described disadvantages. Thus, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method of manufacturing a wire harness and a work-performing instruction apparatus capable of displaying a manufacturing procedure of many stages with a simplest possible construction.
To achieve the above object, there is provided a method of instructing a procedure for manufacturing a wire harness by wiring electric wires on a wiring plate with visible light. A to-be-processed portion of the wire harness related to the procedure and a component part-accommodating portion related thereto are simultaneously illuminated in pairs with the visible light.
In the present invention, by emitting the visible light to a plurality of assembly positions simultaneously, the assembly order of each display position can be displayed. Thereby, it is possible to display the order of assembly without detecting the progress of an operator's work at each stage. In the present invention, the word “simultaneously” is not necessarily used in the strict sense of the word, but may be used in a sense that seeing the linear locus of the visible sight, the operator understands that the to-be-processed position and a component receptacle have been displayed at the same time.
As the mode of illuminating the assembly position with the visible light, it is preferable that a plurality of positions are scanned and illuminated with a single light source. In this case, a plurality of assembly positions can be displayed simultaneously. Accordingly, an operator can perform an assembly operation without being restricted by time, and a display condition can be appropriately altered according to the progress of the operator's work.
In another aspect of the present invention, the to-be-processed portion of the wire harness and the component part-accommodating receptacle may be illuminated simultaneously in pairs with visible light emitted by a plurality of light sources.
As another embodiment of the present invention, the visible light may be emitted by a light source to a required portion in only a standard assembly time period set in correspondence with the procedure.
As still another embodiment of the present invention, the visible light may be emitted simultaneously linearly by pivoting a light source. In this manner, the to-be-processed portion of the wire harness and the component part-accommodating portion can be illuminated in pairs with visible light of a single light source. Thus, it is possible to embody the present invention with an illumination apparatus having a comparatively simple construction.
According to a further aspect of the present invention, there is provided a work-supporting instruction apparatus having a light source emitting visible light, a first holder pivotally mounting the light source on a first axis, and a light source-driving member is provided on the first holder to pivot the light source on the first axis. A second holder is provided that pivotally mounts the first holder on a second axis orthogonal to the first axis, a second holder-driving member is provided for pivoting the first holder on the second axis, and a controller is provided that controls the light source-driving member and the second holder-driving member such that a to-be-processed portion of a wire harness related to a work procedure and a component part-accommodating portion related thereto are simultaneously illuminated in pairs with the visible light.
In other aspects of the work-supporting instruction apparatus of the present invention, the to-be-processed portion may include either a portion of a wire harness or a cavity of a connector. Additionally, the apparatus may also include at least one jig mounted on a work plate to receive the connector and hold the same in a fixed position, and the jig may be operatively connected to the controller in order to feed back information to the controller regarding assembly of the component and the connector.
In this apparatus, the to-be-processed portion of the wire harness related to the work procedure and the component part-accommodating portion related thereto are illuminated simultaneously in pairs with the visible light. Therefore, the assembly order of each display position can be displayed. Preferably, an elastic member for preventing a backlash of a reduction gear connected to the light source-driving member is provided between the first holder and the light source.
In this construction, to pivot the light source, the light source-driving member is installed on the first holder, and the second holder is provided to pivotally mount the first holder thereon through the light source-driving member. Thus, the light source-driving member is cantilever-mounted on the holder-driving member. Consequently, the second holder-driving member receives the load of the light source-driving member and that of the first holder held by the second holder through the light source-driving member. Therefore, it is unnecessary to provide the
Mori Hiroto
Taniguchi Yoshikazu
DelGizzi Ronald E.
Greenblum & Bernstein P.L.C.
O'Shea Sandra
Sumitomo Wiring Systems Ltd.
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