Assembly head and method for wrapping a wire harness in an automated manner

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12125609-B2
Application number	US-202017639986-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 14, 2020
Priority date	Sep 3, 2019
Publication date	Oct 22, 2024
Grant date	Oct 22, 2024

Abstract

An assembly head is used for wrapping a wire harness in an automated manner by means of a winding module. The module has a winding head which rotates about an axis of rotation and, according to a first aspect, has a total of three pressing elements with spring-mounted rollers, which, during the taping process, press a tape against the wire harness and guide the tape in a centering manner. According to a second aspect, a belt drive having a toothed belt is provided for driving the winding head. The toothed belt engages on the circumferential side only in one portion extending over a small angular range.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An assembly head extending in a longitudinal direction, a transverse direction and a vertical direction, and being configured for automatically wrapping a transversely extending wire harness, the assembly head comprising:
a winding module with
a winding head rotatably mounted about an axis of rotation extending in the transverse direction;
a drive for rotating the winding head;
a tape feed for feeding a tape;
said winding head including
an annular segment having a central winding space and a lateral insertion opening for inserting the wire harness into the winding space, and having a circumferential side, wherein the annular segment is rotatable about an axis of rotation;
a plurality of adjustable pressing elements movably mounted against the wire harness and secured on said annular segment;
said tape feed being configured for feeding a tape, to be pressed against the wire harness by said pressing elements during an operation and during a rotation of said winding head;
said drive having a belt-shaped drive element which runs along the circumferential side of said annular segment in order to drive said annular segment, said belt-shaped drive element resting against the circumferential side only sectionally in a respective section, and said section extending over an angular range of less than 90°.

2. The assembly head according to claim 1 , wherein:
said plurality of pressing elements are at least three pressing elements with resiliently mounted rollers, and said at least three pressing elements are configured to press the tape against the wire harness and to guide the tape in a centering manner.

3. The assembly head according to claim 2 , wherein, in at least some of said pressing elements, the respective roller is held on two arms, which are connected to one another in an articulated manner at the roller and are supported by respective other ends on said annular segment.

4. The assembly head according to claim 3 , wherein one of said arms is secured in a partial region of said annular segment which is at the front when viewed in the longitudinal direction and is oriented toward the insertion opening, and wherein said one arm is configured as an insertion element.

5. The assembly head according to claim 4 , wherein said insertion element is one of two oppositely disposed insertion elements.

6. The assembly head according to claim 4 , wherein said insertion element is movably mounted on said annular segment for adapting to different diameters of the wire harness.

7. The assembly head according to claim 2 , wherein said rollers include a third roller arranged in a resilient manner in a rearward region of the winding space, remote from said insertion opening.

8. The assembly head according to claim 1 , wherein the angular range over which said section extends lies in a range 30° to 45°.

9. The assembly head according to claim 1 , wherein the angular range over which said section extends is smaller than an opening angle over which said insertion opening extends.

10. The assembly head according to claim 1 , wherein said drive element rests against the circumferential side in at least two sections that are spaced apart from one another.

11. The assembly head according to claim 10 , wherein at least two guide elements, which form a guide pair, are provided for said drive element of the respective section of said at least two sections.

12. The assembly head according to claim 11 , which comprises a deflection element, along which the drive element is guided, arranged between said two guide pairs.

13. The assembly head according to claim 1 , wherein said winding module further comprises a tape collector having a gripping unit for gripping the tape, wherein said gripping unit is movable across said insertion opening.

14. The assembly head according to claim 13 , wherein said tape collector is controllable to set a tape length for a winding operation.

15. The assembly head according to claim 1 , wherein said winding module further includes a cutting unit for cutting through the tape, said cutting unit being pivotable and having a cutting element which is moved to an increasing extent against the tape as a result of a pivoting movement in order to carry out a cutting movement.

16. The assembly head according to claim 1 , wherein said winding module is secured on a guide unit and said winding module is movable in the longitudinal direction for executing a feed movement.

17. The assembly head according to claim 1 , which comprises, in addition to said winding module, at least one fixing module for fixing the wire harness, said fixing module being arranged adjacent said winding module in the transverse direction.

18. The assembly head according to claim 1 , wherein said winding module is one of two winding modules, and wherein a further module is arranged between said two winding modules in the transverse direction, said further module being a clip module for positioning a clip on the wire harness.

19. The assembly head according to claim 1 , which comprises at least one swivel joint, which extends along the longitudinal direction and by means of which the assembly head can be swung open in two parts.

20. A method for automated wrapping of a wire harness, the method which comprises:
providing an assembly head according to claim 1 ;
inserting the wire harness, which extends in a transverse direction relative to the assembly head, into the winding space of the assembly head and winding a tape around the wire harness.

21. The method according to claim 20 , which comprises the following method steps:
pulling the tape across the insertion opening by way of tape collector;
inserting the wire harness into the winding space, wherein the tape comes to rest against the wire harness and the guide rollers yield against a biasing spring force;
rotating the winding head about the axis of rotation to wind the tape around the wire harness; and
cutting the tape off with a cutting unit of the assembly head.

Assignees

• Leoni Bordnetz Sys Gmbh

Inventors

• Saule Johann

Classifications

• H01B13/0816

  Apparatus having a coaxial rotation of the supply reels about the conductor or cable · CPC title

• H01B13/01281 Primary

  Harness wrapping apparatus · CPC title