The present application claims priority to and incorporates by reference the entire contents of Japanese Patent Application No. 2020-161643 filed in Japan on Sep. 28, 2020.
The present invention relates to an electrical cable manufacturing method and an electrical cable manufacturing apparatus.
A conventional technique is known that uses ultrasonic waves to join core wires of electrical cables. Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2007-185706 discloses an ultrasonic joining method that sandwiches core wires of two electrical cables among a plurality of electrical cables between a pair of molds and then applies ultrasonic vibration to one of the paired molds, thereby joining the core wires of the two electrical cables.
When a plurality of core wires including core wires having different diameters are joined, it is preferable to properly arrange the core wires. For example, core wires aligned in a direction parallel with an ultrasonic vibration plane may cause incomplete joining.
An object of the present invention is to provide an electrical cable manufacturing method and an electrical cable manufacturing apparatus that can properly join a plurality of core wires including core wires having different diameters.
In order to achieve the above mentioned object, an electrical cable manufacturing method according to one aspect of the present invention includes setting an interval between a first facing surface and a second facing surface in a first direction to a first distance, in a joining device including the first facing surface and the second facing surface facing each other in the first direction, and a pressing member and a vibrating member facing each other in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction; placing a plurality of core wires between the first facing surface and the second facing surface having the interval set at the first distance; and joining the core wires by using the vibrating member to apply ultrasonic vibration to the core wires while sandwiching the core wires between the pressing member and the vibrating member, wherein the core wires include core wires having outer diameters having mutually different values, and the first distance is larger than a maximum value between values of outer diameters of the core wires and smaller than a sum of the maximum value and a minimum value between the values of the outer diameters of the core wires.
According to another aspect of the present invention, in the electrical cable manufacturing method, it is preferable that the electrical cable manufacturing method further includes setting a value of the first distance in the joining device, wherein the core wires are tied together, and an information recording medium on which information about the first distance is recorded is attached to the core wires, and at the setting the value of the first distance, the joining device acquires the information recorded on the information recording medium and sets the value of the first distance.
In order to achieve the above mentioned object, an electrical cable manufacturing apparatus according to still another aspect of the present invention includes a first facing surface and a second facing surface facing each other in a first direction; a pressing member and a vibrating member facing each other in a second direction orthogonal to the first direction; a controller configured to acquire a first distance corresponding to outer diameters of a plurality of core wires to be joined; and a driving mechanism configured to vary an interval between the first facing surface and the second facing surface in the first direction, wherein the first distance is larger than a maximum value between values of the outer diameters of the core wires and smaller than a sum of the maximum value and a minimum value between the values of the outer diameters of the core wires, the electrical cable manufacturing apparatus is configured to receive the core wires in a gap between the first facing surface and the second facing surface with the interval set at the first distance, and join the core wires by ultrasonic vibration applied to the core wires by the vibrating member while sandwiching the core wires between the pressing member and the vibrating member.
The above and other objects, features, advantages and technical and industrial significance of this invention will be better understood by reading the following detailed description of presently preferred embodiments of the invention, when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings.
An electrical cable manufacturing method and an electrical cable manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. Note that this embodiment should not be construed to limit this invention. Furthermore, constituents of the following embodiment include constituents that can be easily conceived by those skilled in the art or that are substantially the same.
An embodiment will be described with reference to
As illustrated in
The anvil 4 and the horn 5 face each other in a second direction Y. The second direction Y is a direction orthogonal to the first direction X and is, for example, the vertical direction. The anvil 4 and the horn 5 are, for example, flat-plate members. The anvil 4 is a member to sandwich a plurality of core wires 7 between the anvil 4 and the horn 5. The anvil 4 presses the core wires 7 against the horn 5. The horn 5 is vibrated by an ultrasonic oscillator and thus generates ultrasonic vibration. The anvil 4 includes a third facing surface 4a. The horn 5 includes a fourth facing surface 5a. The third facing surface 4a and the fourth facing surface 5a face each other in the second direction Y. The third facing surface 4a and the fourth facing surface 5a are flat and extend in parallel with each other, for example.
As illustrated in
The controller 10 includes a control circuit, such as an integrated circuit. The controller 10 can execute a computer program controlling each of the constituents of the electrical cable manufacturing apparatus 1. The controller 10 outputs a command signal to the driving mechanism 20. The controller 10 outputs, for example, a target value of the interval Lx between the first facing surface 2a and the second facing surface 3a as a command signal. In response to this command signal, the driving mechanism 20 controls the position of the gliding jaw 2 to set the interval Lx to the target value. The controller 10 outputs, for example, a target value of pressing strength with which the anvil 4 presses the core wires 7, as a command signal. In response to this command signal, the driving mechanism 20 controls the position of the anvil 4 and strength applied to the anvil 4 to set the pressing strength to the target value.
The reading device 30 is a device to read information recorded on an information recording medium 40. As illustrated in
The reading device 30 is, for example, a scanner scanning the two-dimensional barcode 41. The reading device 30 can communicate with the controller 10. The reading device 30 is connected to the controller 10 via a communication line so as to communicate with the controller 10 through wire, for example. The reading device 30 outputs the information read from the information recording medium 40, to the controller 10.
As illustrated in
The exemplified electrical cable bundle 60 includes a first electrical cable 6A and a second electrical cable 6B. In the following description, the core wire 7 of the first electrical cable 6A is referred to as a first core wire 7A, and the core wire 7 of the second electrical cable 6B is referred to as a second core wire 7B. The first core wire 7A has a diameter D1, and the second core wire 7B has a diameter D2. The diameter D1 of the first core wire 7A is larger than the diameter D2 of the second core wire 7B. The diameter D1 has a value twice as much as the diameter D2, for example. In the electrical cable bundle 60, the core wires 7 are tied together so as to be adjacent to each other.
An electrical cable manufacturing method according to the present embodiment will now be described. The electrical cable manufacturing method includes a positioning process, a placing process, and a joining process.
Positioning Process
At the positioning process, the interval Lx between the first facing surface 2a and the second facing surface 3a is set to the first distance L1. At the positioning process, an operator causes the reading device 30 to read the information recorded on the information recording medium 40. The controller 10 determines the first distance L1 on the basis of the information acquired from the reading device 30.
The first distance L1 in the present embodiment has a value falling within a range indicated by the following expression (1). A maximum diameter Dmax indicates a maximum value between values of diameters D of the core wires 7. In the case of the electrical cable bundle 60 exemplified in
Dmax<L1<Dmax+Dmin (1)
The information recorded on the information recording medium 40 may be a value of the first distance L1 itself. The aforementioned information may be a value of the maximum diameter Dmax and a value of the minimum diameter Dmin of the core wires 7 included in the electrical cable bundle 60. In this case, the controller 10 calculates the first distance L1 using a predetermined computational expression on the basis of the acquired maximum diameter Dmax and minimum diameter Dmin.
The aforementioned information may be values of the diameters D of all the core wires 7 included in the electrical cable bundle 60. In this case, the controller 10 determines the maximum diameter Dmax and the minimum diameter Dmin from a set of the acquired values of the diameters D and calculates the first distance L1.
The controller 10 issues, to the driving mechanism 20, a command to set the interval Lx between the first facing surface 2a and the second facing surface 3a in the first direction X to the first distance L1. As illustrated in
Placing Process
At the placing process, the core wires 7 are placed between the first facing surface 2a and the second facing surface 3a having the interval Lx set at the first distance L1. As illustrated with an arrow AR1 in
As a result, as illustrated in
Joining Process
At the joining process, ultrasonic vibration is applied to the core wires 7 to join the core wires 7. The controller 10 starts the joining process in response to the command from the operator. At the joining process, the controller 10 causes the driving mechanism 20 to move the anvil 4 to a facing position. As illustrated in
The controller 10 issues, to the ultrasonic oscillator, a command to start ultrasonic vibration. The ultrasonic oscillator vibrates the horn 5 with ultrasonic waves in response to the command from the controller 10, thereby applying ultrasonic vibration to the first core wire 7A and the second core wire 7B. The first core wire 7A and the second core wire 7B are joined to each other by the ultrasonic vibration and the pressing strength. After a lapse of a predetermined period of time, the controller 10 issues, to the ultrasonic oscillator, a command to end the ultrasonic vibration and issues, to the driving mechanism 20, a command to move the anvil 4 and the gliding jaw 2.
As illustrated in
The first distance L1 may be determined in the following manner, for example.
The first distance L1 may be determined so that, for example, the minimum value θ1 of the inclination angle θ is 30°. The first distance L1 may be determined so that the minimum value θ1 of the inclination angle θ is 45°. The first distance L1 may be determined so that the minimum value θ1 of the inclination angle θ is 60°.
The first distance L1 may be determined so that the second core wire 7B comes into contact with either of the anvil 4 and the horn 5.
The number of the electrical cables 6 of the electrical cable bundle 60 is not limited to two. The electrical cable bundle 60 may include three or more electrical cables 6. For example, as illustrated in
D1<L1<D1+D2 (2)
With the interval Lx between the first facing surface 2a and the second facing surface 3a set at the first distance L1, the four core wires 7 are placed in the gap 101. Even if the thickest first core wire 7A and the thinnest second core wire 7B are adjacent to each other, the first distance L1 determined as in the expression (2) prevents the first core wire 7A and the second core wire 7B from being aligned in parallel with the first direction X.
As described above, the electrical cable manufacturing method according to the present embodiment includes the process of setting the interval Lx to the first distance L1, the process of placing the core wires 7, and the process of joining the core wires 7. The process of setting the interval Lx to the first distance L1 is performed in the joining device 100. The joining device 100 includes the first facing surface 2a and the second facing surface 3a that face each other in the first direction X, and the anvil 4 and the horn 5 that face each other in the second direction Y. The second direction Y is orthogonal to the first direction X. The anvil 4 is an example pressing member. The horn 5 is an example vibrating member.
The process of placing the core wires 7 is performed by, for example, an operator. The operator places the core wires 7 between the first facing surface 2a and the second facing surface 3a having the interval Lx set at the first distance L1.
The process of joining the core wires 7 is performed by the joining device 100. The joining device 100 uses the horn 5 to apply ultrasonic vibration to the core wires 7 to join the core wires 7 while sandwiching the core wires 7 between the anvil 4 and the horn 5.
The core wires 7 includes the first core wire 7A and the second core wire 7B having outer diameters (diameters) having mutually different values. The first distance L1 is larger than the maximum value D1 between the values of the outer diameters of the core wires 7 and smaller than the sum of the minimum value D2 and the maximum value D1 of the outer diameters of the core wires 7. The electrical cable manufacturing method according to the present embodiment prevents the core wires 7 from being aligned in a direction parallel with the fourth facing surface 5a of the horn 5. Thus, the electrical cable manufacturing method according to the present embodiment can properly join the core wires 7 including the core wires 7 having different diameters.
The electrical cable manufacturing method according to the present embodiment further includes the process of setting the value of the first distance L1 in the joining device 100. The core wires 7 are tied together, and the information recording medium 40 on which the information about the first distance L1 is recorded is attached to the core wires 7. At the process of setting the first distance L1, the joining device 100 acquires the information recorded on the information recording medium 40 and sets the value of the first distance L1.
The electrical cable manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment includes the first facing surface 2a and the second facing surface 3a, the anvil 4 and the horn 5, the controller 10, and the driving mechanism 20. The first facing surface 2a and the second facing surface 3a are surfaces facing each other in the first direction X. The anvil 4 is an example pressing member, and the horn 5 is an example vibrating member. The anvil 4 and the horn 5 face each other in the second direction Y orthogonal to the first direction X. The controller 10 acquires the first distance L1 corresponding to the outer diameters of the core wires 7 to be joined. The driving mechanism 20 varies the interval Lx between the first facing surface 2a and the second facing surface 3a in the first direction X.
The first distance L1 is larger than the maximum value between the values of the outer diameters of the core wires 7 and smaller than the sum of the minimum value between the values of the outer diameters of the core wires 7 and the maximum value. With the interval Lx set at the first distance L1, the electrical cable manufacturing apparatus 1 receives the core wires 7 in the gap 101 between the first facing surface 2a and the second facing surface 3a. The electrical cable manufacturing apparatus 1 uses the horn 5 to apply ultrasonic vibration to the core wires 7 to join the core wires 7 while sandwiching the core wires 7 between the anvil 4 and the horn 5. The electrical cable manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment can properly join the core wires 7 including the core wires 7 having different diameters.
Note that the information recorded on the information recording medium 40 is not limited to the two-dimensional barcode 41. The information recording medium 40 may be, for example, an IC tag. In this case, the reading device 30 reads the information recorded on the information recording medium 40 through wireless communications.
Information on vibrating time during which ultrasonic vibration is applied at the joining process may be recorded on the information recording medium 40. For example, optimum vibrating time for the material and the diameters D of the core wires 7 is recorded on the information recording medium 40. The controller 10 issues the acquired vibrating time to the ultrasonic oscillator.
Information on the material of the core wires 7 may be recorded on the information recording medium 40. In this case, the controller 10 may be configured to calculate the vibrating time corresponding to the material of the core wires 7. The controller 10 may, for example, set different vibrating times between a case where all the core wires 7 are made from the same material and a case where the core wires 7 include core wires 7 made from different materials. The controller 10 may be configured to calculate the first distance L1 corresponding to the material of the core wires 7.
An operator may perform input operation of the first distance L1 to the joining device 100. In this case, for example, information, such as a numerical value, on the first distance L1 is recorded on the information recording medium 40. The operator reads the information recorded on the information recording medium 40 and inputs the information to the joining device 100. The joining device 100 sets the first distance L1 on the basis of the input information. Once the first distance L1 is set, it is valid until changed by the operator, for example.
The first direction X is not limited to the horizontal direction and may be, for example, the vertical direction. The second direction Y is not limited to the vertical direction and may be, for example, the horizontal direction. The joining device 100 may move the horn 5, instead of the anvil 4, in the second direction Y.
The operator may insert the core wires 7 in the gap 101 of the joining device 100 in predetermined order. The core wires 7 are placed in the order of, for example, a thick copper core wire 7, a thin copper core wire 7, a thick aluminum core wire 7, and a thin aluminum core wire 7 from the horn 5 toward the anvil 4 in the second direction Y.
The content disclosed in the above-described embodiment may be appropriately combined and implemented.
The electrical cable manufacturing method according to the embodiment includes the process of placing the core wires between the first facing surface and the second facing surface having the interval set at the first distance. The first distance is larger than the maximum value between the values of the outer diameters of the core wires and smaller than the sum of the minimum value between the values of the outer diameters of the core wires and the maximum value. The electrical cable manufacturing method according to the embodiment achieves an effect of properly joining the core wires including the core wires having different diameters.
Although the invention has been described with respect to specific embodiments for a complete and clear disclosure, the appended claims are not to be thus limited but are to be construed as embodying all modifications and alternative constructions that may occur to one skilled in the art that fairly fall within the basic teaching herein set forth.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2020-161643 | Sep 2020 | JP | national |