Patent Description:
Generally, a wire harness to be mounted on a vehicle, such as an automobile, is an assembly of electric wires formed by integrally bundling a large number of electric wires of various types, and has a complicated shape. The wire harness is used to connect a power source, such as an in-vehicle battery, to various electrical components on the vehicle, or to connect a plurality of electrical components to each other. The wire harness is provided with a large number of connectors to facilitate attachment and detachment at electric wire connection positions.

For example, <CIT> discloses a wire harness manufacturing method and a wire harness manufacturing apparatus that can reduce a manufacturing cost when manufacturing wire harnesses of various configurations according to various required specifications. Further, <CIT> discloses an apparatus of manufacturing a wire harness, including a jig trestle having rails, a plurality of slide jig boards which are separable at the branch part of a subassembly wire harness and can be developed in a lateral direction on the rails, a plurality of branch retaining members stood on the slide jig boards and latched with a branch wire, and a trunk retaining member latched with a trunk. The plurality of the slide jig boards are connected through elastic expansion and contraction members at a developing time and before developing. <CIT> discloses a transportation mechanism for transporting a sub-harness from a first assembly part for assembling the sub-harness to a second assembly part for assembling a wire harness by using the sub-harness has a transportation rail extending so as to connect the first and second assembly parts, a holding tool movable along the transportation rail while holding the sub-harness, and external force transmission tools capable of applying the moving force for moving the holding tool along the transportation rail to the holding tool. By applying the external force to the external force transmission tools when a work bench of the second assembly part moves along a manufacturing line, the work bench and the holding tool are moved in synchronization. <CIT> discloses an apparatus of manufacturing the wire harness includes a jig trestle, a plurality of slide jig boards which are separable by the branching part of a subassembly wire harness and can be developed in a lateral direction on the jig trestle, a plurality of branch wire retaining members stood on the slide jig boards and clamped with the branch wire of the subassembly wire harness, and a plurality of trunk retaining members stood on the slide jig boards and latched with the trunk of the subassembly wire harness. The slide jig boards are arranged in superposition before developing. The apparatus for manufacturing the wire harness is developed to set the trunk of the subassembly wire harness to a predetermined length. <CIT> discloses a method of manufacturing a wiring harness from ready-made wires, as well as a device for carrying out this method. The method does not require any wire-laying aids to hold the harness in its form before it is tied. It is therefore possible to arrange the various connector units in a line, with the laid wires hanging down freely between the individual connector units. <CIT> aims to reduce the amount of work and time required in accordance with a wire harness structure for fitting and re-fitting the wire harness forming boards, as well as facilitating the assembly and removal of a wire harness. <CIT> aims to implement the post-working, the assembly and the inspection of a wire on only one assembly board and discloses an assembly board with a wiring jig erected thereon which is split into a plurality of pieces, which are connected to each other in an expandable manner through connection bars.

Specifically, when a wire harness that combines a base harness of a basic specification and one or more optional harnesses of selectable options is to be formed, the specification of the base harness and specifications of the optional harnesses are specified according to order information. The wire harness is manufactured by extracting a common circuit configuration included in the specifications of the optional harnesses, incorporating the extracted common circuit configuration into the specification of the base harness, removing the common circuit configuration from the specifications of the optional harnesses to manufacture a plurality of intermediate structures based on data with a rearranged common circuit configuration, and combining these intermediate structures to obtain the wire harness.

A parts manufacturer that manufactures wire harnesses manufactures a finished wire harness that satisfies requests for a specification, quantity, a delivery date, and the like, which are determined in each case by a customer such as a vehicle manufacturer, based on these requests, and delivers the finished wire harness to the customer by the specified delivery date. The parts manufacturer manufactures various types of wire harnesses, which are managed by different part numbers depending on type, grade, destination, and the like of the vehicle, according to the requests from the vehicle manufacturer and the like. The vehicle manufacturer determines a final number of deliveries for each part number several days before the delivery date, and notifies the parts manufacturer of confirmation of the order.

In consideration of human resources, securing various manufacturing apparatus, manufacturing costs, and the like related to wire harness manufacturing, the parts manufacturer may also manufacture wire harnesses overseas other than a country where the vehicle is manufactured. However, when the parts manufacturer imports the wire harness manufactured overseas to Japan and delivers it to a customer in Japan, it takes approximately two to three weeks from a time it is shipped overseas to a time it arrives in Japan.

Therefore, the parts manufacturer considers, for example, manufacturing only wire harnesses of a main part that are common to a plurality of part numbers overseas, transporting the main part wire harnesses to Japan in advance before the final number of deliveries is confirmed, and once the final number of deliveries for each part number is confirmed, assembling the main part wire harnesses with wire harnesses of different part numbers, so as to obtain wire harnesses according to required specifications and deliver them to the vehicle manufacturer.

When transporting the main part wire harnesses manufactured overseas to Japan, the wire harnesses will be accommodated in a storage box for transportation and shipped or transported by land. Then, at Japanese factories, the main part wire harnesses (referred to as "common wire harness") are taken out from the delivered storage box and placed on a jig plate. By assembling the main part wire harnesses with the wire harnesses of different part numbers (referred to as "optional wire harness"), the wire harnesses of the specifications to be delivered to the customer are completed.

However, the main part wire harnesses are made of a large number of electric wires and connectors and have a complicated shape. For this reason, there arises a problem that it takes a lot of time and effort for operators to manually accommodate the harnesses in the storage box and arrange the harnesses taken out from the storage box onto the jig plate.

The present disclosure provides an arrangement jig for wire harnesses that achieves rationalization of wire harness transfer work between bases when a wire harness manufacturing process spans a plurality of bases, and a system for part manufacturing using the arrangement jig.

Such arrangement jig for a wire harness is set out in claim <NUM>.

The present disclosure has been briefly described as above. Further, details of the present disclosure will be clarified by reading an aspect (hereinafter, referred to as an "embodiment") for implementing the disclosure to be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Specific embodiments according to the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<FIG> are explanatory diagrams of a wire harness manufactured by using an arrangement jig according to an embodiment of the present disclosure, in which <FIG> is a perspective diagram illustrating a state in which a finished wire harness obtained by assembling a common wire harness and optional wire harnesses is arranged in a vehicle, and <FIG> is a diagram illustrating a distinction between the common wire harness and the optional wire harnesses.

First, on the premise of using the arrangement jig (see <FIG>) of the present embodiment, at a parts manufacturer that manufactures the wire harness, as shown in <FIG>, the wire harnesses mounted on a vehicle <NUM> are roughly divided into two systems. A first system includes a wire harness as a common unit M, which is referred to here as a common wire harness <NUM>. A second system includes a wire harness as a differentiating unit N, which is referred to here as an optional wire harness <NUM>.

For example, a wire harness manufacturer manufactures only a main part (common unit M) of the wire harness common to a plurality of part numbers overseas, and transports the main part from overseas (a first manufacturing base) to Japan (a second manufacturing base) in advance before a final number of deliveries is confirmed. At a factory in Japan (the second manufacturing base), wire harnesses (the optional wire harnesses <NUM>) as the differentiating unit N, which are different for each part number, are manufactured. Then, once the final number of deliveries for each part number is confirmed, the common wire harness <NUM> is assembled with the optional wire harnesses <NUM>, so as to obtain wire harnesses according to required specifications (finished wire harness WH).

In such a manufacturing flow, at a stage of transporting the common wire harness <NUM> manufactured overseas to Japan, the wire harness is accommodated in a storage container for transportation or the like and is shipped or transported by land. The factory in Japan performs a process such as taking out the common wire harness <NUM> from the delivered storage container or the like and arranging the common wire harness <NUM> on a jig plate. However, the common wire harness <NUM> is made of a large number of electric wires and connectors and thus has a complicated shape. Therefore, a process of accommodating the common wire harness <NUM> in the storage container or the like and a process of arranging the common wire harness <NUM> from the storage container or the like on the jig plate are troublesome. Especially if these processes rely on labor of workers, it will take a lot of time and effort. Therefore, automation as much as possible is desired. Therefore, the arrangement jig according to the present embodiment is used.

<FIG> are diagrams illustrating a configuration of the arrangement jig according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, in which <FIG> is a perspective diagram illustrating a state in which the arrangement jig is developed, and <FIG> is a perspective diagram illustrating a state in which the arrangement jig is folded.

As shown in <FIG>, an arrangement jig <NUM> includes a plurality of blocks <NUM> each provided with a connector receiving unit <NUM> that receives each connector <NUM> (see <FIG>) of the common wire harness <NUM>. These blocks <NUM> are arranged, for example, in a plane on a developed table <NUM>, and can be put together in one place or dispersed by sliding in a certain direction on the developed table <NUM>. That is, a placement form of the plurality of blocks <NUM> can be selectively changed to either a developed form in which the plurality of blocks <NUM> are dispersed or a folded form in which the plurality of blocks <NUM> are tightly assembled in one place.

As shown in <FIG>, the developed form is a form in which each connector receiving unit <NUM> corresponds to a position of each connector of the wire harness in an actual arrangement shape. As shown in <FIG>, the folded form is a form in which the plurality of blocks <NUM> are tightly assembled for storage. To shift from the developed form to the folded form, the blocks <NUM> are slid in directions of arrows A in <FIG>. To shift from the folded form to the developed form, the blocks <NUM> are slid in directions of arrows B in <FIG>. The blocks <NUM> may be of any shape, and are preferably bar-shaped objects that are long in a direction orthogonal to a sliding direction (arrows A and B). The sliding direction can be set freely, and for example, is set so as to match a length direction (corresponding to a front-rear direction of the vehicle) of vertical and horizontal dimensions of the common wire harness <NUM>.

The number, shape and size of the blocks <NUM> are optional, and are set such that when the blocks <NUM> are in the developed form, each connector receiving unit <NUM> is arranged at the position of each connector of the wire harness in the actual arrangement shape, and when the blocks <NUM> are in the folded form, an assembled size L (an occupied dimension in the sliding direction) of the blocks <NUM> becomes as small as possible. For example, as shown in <FIG>, each block <NUM> has a shape in which side faces of each two adjacent blocks <NUM> are fitted to each other, so that the assembled size L in the folded form becomes as small as possible.

The arrangement jig <NUM> is also provided with a retaining unit that defines and retains a mutual positional relation between the plurality of blocks <NUM> so that the mutual positional relation is not broken when the placement form of the plurality of blocks <NUM> is set to the developed form. The arrangement jig <NUM> of the present embodiment includes linear flexible connecting members <NUM> having a predetermined length as the retaining unit, and the plurality of blocks <NUM> are connected by these linear connecting members <NUM>. The length of these connecting members <NUM> is set such that each connector receiving unit <NUM> of the plurality of blocks <NUM> is placed at the position of each connector <NUM> in the actual arrangement shape of the common wire harness <NUM> when the connecting members <NUM> are extended. As the connecting member <NUM>, a wire, a metal wire, a tape, a string, and the like can be selected.

The arrangement jig <NUM> is provided with a restraining member that retains the folded form by surrounding the plurality of blocks <NUM> as necessary when the plurality of blocks <NUM> are assembled so as to be in the folded form. As the restraining member, a belt, a frame, or the like can be adopted.

By using the above-described arrangement jig <NUM>, the following effects can be obtained.

That is, the above-described arrangement jig <NUM> can change the placement form of the plurality of blocks <NUM> provided with the connector receiving unit <NUM> to either the developed form or the folded form. By being changed into the developed form, the connectors <NUM> of the common wire harness <NUM> arranged in the actual arrangement shape can be attached to the connector receiving unit <NUM> provided in each block <NUM>. Therefore, when each connector <NUM> is retained by the block <NUM> respectively, even if the blocks <NUM> are moved, the entire common wire harness <NUM> can be easily returned to an original (actual) arrangement shape as long as the blocks <NUM> are returned to an original position (position in the developed form).

During transportation, the blocks <NUM> retaining the connectors <NUM> are tightly assembled in advance to be in the compact folded form and then stored in a storage container or the like. Therefore, a storage space can be reduced and transportation efficiency can be improved. After transportation, by changing the arrangement jig <NUM> taken out from the storage container from the folded form to the developed form and returning each block <NUM> to the original position, the connectors <NUM> can be returned to an original position, and a shape of the entire common wire harness <NUM> relative to the connectors <NUM> can be returned to the original arrangement shape. Therefore, it is possible to easily assemble the optional wire harnesses <NUM> to the common wire harness <NUM> that returns to the original arrangement shape.

In a folding process of the blocks <NUM> before transportation and a developing process of the blocks <NUM> after transportation, instead of manually returning the connectors <NUM> to the original position by an operator individually, all that is required is to move the blocks <NUM> retaining the connectors <NUM>. Therefore, for example, if using an automatic machine incorporated with a sliding mechanism for the blocks <NUM>, the folding process and the developing process can be automated without manual work of any operator, and rationalization by labor saving can be achieved.

According to the above-described arrangement jig <NUM>, by connecting the blocks <NUM> with the linear connecting members <NUM> as the retaining unit, a mutual position between the blocks <NUM> in the developed form is defined by the length of the connecting member <NUM>. Therefore, it is possible to easily define the mutual positional relation between the blocks <NUM> in the developed form without incurring any member cost.

According to the above-described arrangement jig <NUM>, when the plurality of blocks <NUM> are assembled so as to be in the folded form, the side faces of each two adjacent blocks <NUM> are fitted to each other. Therefore, the assembled size L of the blocks <NUM> can be reduced, the storage space of the arrangement jig <NUM> can be reduced, and the transportation efficiency can be improved.

When the plurality of blocks <NUM> are assembled so as to be in the folded form, the plurality of blocks <NUM> are surrounded with the restraining member to retain the folded form, so that stabilization during storage can be achieved.

Next, a system for part manufacturing using the above-described arrangement jig <NUM> will be described.

This system for part manufacturing, which manufactures wire harnesses with specifications required by a customer, includes a first manufacturing base and a second manufacturing base located in different regions. At the first manufacturing base located in a region such as overseas where a manufacturing cost is low, the common wire harness <NUM> commonly used for a plurality of part numbers of a vehicle is manufactured and shipped to the second manufacturing base.

The second manufacturing base is located closer to a delivery place designated by the customer than the first manufacturing base, and for example, is located in Japan. At the second manufacturing base, the common wire harness <NUM> delivered from the first manufacturing base is received, the plurality of optional wire harnesses <NUM> different for each part number are assembled with the common wire harness <NUM> to obtain the finished wire harness WH with the specifications required by the customer, and the finished wire harness WH is delivered to the delivery place.

Specifically, as shown in <FIG>, first, the common wire harness <NUM> is manufactured by using an arrangement table <NUM> or the like at the first manufacturing base such as overseas. Next, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the manufactured common wire harness <NUM> is set on the arrangement jig <NUM> in which the placement of the blocks <NUM> is changed from the folded form (a form in <FIG>) to the developed form (a form in <FIG>) in advance (see <FIG>). That is, each connector <NUM> of the common wire harness <NUM> is filled into the connector receiving unit <NUM> of each block <NUM>.

In this way, almost all the connectors <NUM> can be retained by the blocks <NUM>. Since the connector <NUM> is attached to a terminal of the electric wire constituting the common wire harness <NUM>, by retaining the connector <NUM> in this way, the entire common wire harness <NUM> is retained.

Then, as shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, with the arrangement jig <NUM> turned upside down, the blocks <NUM> are slid to the folded form as shown by the arrows A in <FIG>, and in the folded form, a plurality of sets are retained and stored together as shown in <FIG>.

By sliding the blocks <NUM> into the folded form with the arrangement jig <NUM> turned upside down in this way, the electric wire connecting the connectors <NUM> can be made hanging downward, and there is no risk that the electric wire is sandwiched between the blocks <NUM>. Therefore, the plurality of blocks <NUM> can be tightly assembled without being disturbed by the electric wire, and as a result, the assembled size of the blocks <NUM> can be reduced, storage efficiency of the arrangement jig <NUM> and the common wire harness <NUM> can be improved.

As described above, the arrangement jig <NUM> and the common wire harness <NUM> are retained and stored in the folded form, loaded on a ship S, and shipped to the second manufacturing base.

Next, at the second manufacturing base, the arrangement jig <NUM> in the folded form delivered from the first manufacturing base is developed so as to be in the developed form as shown in <FIG>. Therefore, on the arrangement jig <NUM> in the developed form, the common wire harness <NUM> and the optional wire harnesses <NUM> are assembled to obtain the finished wire harnesses WH as shown in <FIG>. The optional wire harnesses <NUM> are manufactured by using different arrangement jigs. The finished optional wire harnesses <NUM> may be assembled with the common wire harnesses <NUM> retained by the arrangement jig <NUM>, or the optional wire harnesses <NUM> may be assembled on the arrangement jig <NUM> and then combined with the common wire harness <NUM>.

As described above, according to the system for part manufacturing according to the present embodiment, since the arrangement jig <NUM> is retained and stored in the folded form and shipped to the second manufacturing base with the common wire harness <NUM> manufactured at the first manufacturing base mounted on the arrangement jig <NUM>, the common wire harness <NUM> can be efficiently transported to the second manufacturing base in a compact form. At the second manufacturing base, the common wire harness <NUM> can be returned to the original (actual) arrangement shape by developing the arrangement jig <NUM> delivered from the first manufacturing base from the folded form to the developed form. Therefore, on the arrangement jig <NUM>, the finished wire harnesses WH can be obtained by assembling the common wire harness <NUM> that is returned to the original arrangement shape and the optional wire harnesses <NUM>.

In this series of processes, in the folding process of the blocks <NUM> before transportation and the developing process of the blocks <NUM> after transportation, instead of manually returning the connectors <NUM> to the original position by an operator individually, all that is required is to move the blocks <NUM> retaining the connectors <NUM>. Therefore, for example, by adopting an automatic machine incorporated with a sliding mechanism for the blocks <NUM> in the system, the folding process and the developing process of the arrangement jig <NUM> can be automated without manual work of any operator, and the rationalization by labor saving is achieved.

According to the arrangement jig for a wire harness having the configuration in claim <NUM>, the placement form of the plurality of blocks provided with the connector receiving unit can be changed to either the developed form or the folded form. When the arrangement jig is in the developed form, the connectors of the wire harness arranged in the actual arrangement shape can be attached to the connector receiving unit provided in each block. Therefore, when each connector is retained by a block, even if the blocks are moved, the entire wire harness can be easily returned to an original (actual) arrangement shape as long as the blocks are returned to an original position (position in the developed form).

During transportation, the blocks retaining the connectors are tightly assembled in advance to be in the compact folded form and then stored in a storage container or the like. Therefore, a storage space can be reduced and transportation efficiency can be improved. After transportation, by changing the arrangement jig taken out from the storage container from the folded form to the developed form and returning each block to the original position, the connectors can be returned to an original position, and the shape of the entire wire harness relative to the connectors can be returned to the original arrangement shape. Therefore, it is possible to easily assemble other wire harnesses to the wire harness that returns to the original arrangement shape.

In a folding process of the blocks before transportation and a developing process of the blocks after transportation, instead of manually returning the connectors to the original position by an operator individually, all that is required is to move the blocks retaining the connectors. Therefore, for example, by using an automatic machine incorporated with a sliding mechanism for the blocks, the folding process and the developing process can be automated without manual work of any operator, and rationalization by labor saving is achieved.

Furthermore, by connecting the blocks with the linear connecting member as the retaining unit, mutual positions of the blocks in the developed form are defined by the length of the connecting member. Therefore, it is possible to easily define the mutual positional relation between the blocks in the developed form without incurring any member cost. Furthermore, when the plurality of blocks are assembled so as to be in the folded form, the plurality of blocks are surrounded with the restraining member to retain the folded form. Therefore, stabilization during storage can be achieved.

According to the arrangement jig for a wire harness having the configuration in claim <NUM>, when the plurality of blocks are assembled so as to be in the folded form, the side faces of each two adjacent blocks are fitted to each other. Therefore, an assembled size of the blocks can be reduced, the storage space of the arrangement jig can be reduced, and the transportation efficiency can be improved.

According to the method for part manufacturing usable for a parts manufacturer that manufactures a wire harness according to claim <NUM>, , since the arrangement jig is retained and stored in the folded form and shipped to the second manufacturing base with the common wire harness manufactured at the first manufacturing base mounted on the arrangement jig, the common wire harness can be efficiently transported to the second manufacturing base in a compact form. At the second manufacturing base, the common wire harness can be returned to the original (actual) arrangement shape by developing the arrangement jig delivered from the first manufacturing base from the folded form to the developed form. Therefore, on the arrangement jig, the finished wire harnesses can be obtained by assembling the common wire harness that is returned to the original arrangement shape and the optional wire harnesses.

In this series of processes, in the folding process of the blocks before transportation and the developing process of the blocks after transportation, instead of manually returning the connectors to the original position by an operator individually, all that is required is to move the blocks retaining the connectors. Therefore, for example, by using an automatic machine incorporated with a sliding mechanism for the blocks, the folding process and the developing process of the arrangement jig can be automated without manual work of any operator, and the rationalization by labor saving is achieved.

Furthermore, at the first manufacturing base, since the arrangement jig is retained and stored in the folded form with the arrangement jig turned upside down, although the connectors are retained by the blocks, electric wires connecting the connectors can be supported in a state of hanging downward. Therefore, there is no risk that the electric wires are sandwiched between the blocks, and the plurality of blocks can be tightly assembled without being disturbed by the electric wires. Therefore, the assembled size of the blocks can be reduced, storage efficiency of the arrangement jig and the common wire harness can be improved.

Claim 1:
An arrangement jig (<NUM>) for a wire harness (<NUM>), the arrangement jig (<NUM>) being suitable for transportation being stored in a storage container with connectors (<NUM>) of the wire harness (<NUM>) retained on it, comprising:
a plurality of blocks (<NUM>) having a connector receiving unit (<NUM>) that is configured to receive connectors (<NUM>) of a wire harness (<NUM>) so that each connector (<NUM>) is filled into the connector receiving unit (<NUM>) of each block (<NUM>), wherein the plurality of blocks (<NUM>) are configured to be arranged in a plane on a developed table (<NUM>) and configured to be dispersed in a developed form by sliding in a certain direction on the developed table (<NUM>) and to be put together in one place in a folded form by sliding in the opposite direction with the arrangement jig (<NUM>) being turned upside down, and wherein the plurality of blocks (<NUM>) have placement forms that are selectively deformable therebetween, the placement forms including: a developed form in which the connector receiving unit (<NUM>) corresponds to a position of the connectors (<NUM>) in an actual arrangement shape of the wire harness (<NUM>); and a folded form in which the plurality of blocks (<NUM>) are tightly assembled for a storage;
a retaining unit including a linear flexible connecting member (<NUM>) having a predetermined length, wherein the plurality of blocks (<NUM>) are connected via the connecting member (<NUM>), and the length of the connecting member (<NUM>) is set such that the connector receiving unit (<NUM>) of the plurality of blocks (<NUM>) is placed at the position of connectors (<NUM>) in the actual arrangement shape of the wire harness (<NUM>) when the plurality of blocks (<NUM>) are slid in a certain direction on the developed table (<NUM>) to extend the connecting member (<NUM>) by the predetermined length, and thereby defines and retains a mutual positional relation between the plurality of blocks (<NUM>) in the developed form; and
a restraining member that surrounds the plurality of blocks (<NUM>) to retain the folded form when the plurality of blocks (<NUM>) are assembled in the folded form.