Breakout dock for a wire harness assembly system

Claim 2

A breakout dock for holding individual wire ends separated from a wire harness bundle, the dock being adapted for robotic assembly of the wire harness and comprising: (a) a support allowing separation of the wire from the bundle, the support including a bearing surface having means for precisely positioning the wire at a predetermined location and predetermined height; (b) a clamp positioned adjacent to and associated with the support for receiving and retaining the separated wire; and (c) at least one position indicator for allowing a robot to determine the location and orientation of the support and the clamp.

Claim 3

The dock of claim 1 further comprising: (a) a base having a plurality of slots arranged in pairs, each pair including a support slot for the support and a clamp slot for the clamp; and (b) means for mounting the base to a formboard.

Claim 4

The dock of claim 2 wherein the positioning means of the support includes a V-shaped concave notch on one side, the notch defining the bearing surface and having the point of the "V" define the predetermined location and predetermined height.

Claim 5

The dock of claim 2 wherein the clamp includes opposed spring leaves.

Claim 6

The dock of claim 4 wherein each leaf of the spring includes a pad attached to the inner surface of the leaf.

Claim 7

The dock of claim 4 wherein the support includes a V-shaped concave notch on one side, the notch defining the bearing surface and the "V" defining the positioning means.

Claim 8

The dock of claim 6 wherein the notch is faced with a non-abrasive material.

Claim 9

The dock of claim 6 wherein the support slot and the clamp slot of each pair are offset transversely across the base.

Claim 10

The dock of claim 8 further comprising means for securing the support and the clamp in their respective slots.

Claim 11

The dock of claim 8 wherein the clamp includes a mouth formed by diverging, bent upper ends of the spring leaves.

Claim 12

The dock of claim 10 wherein the "V" of the notch is below the bottom of the mouth of the clamp.

Claim 13

A breakout dock for holding individual wire ends separated from a wire harness bundle, the dock being adapted for robotic assembly of the wire harness and comprising: (a) a base having a plurality of slots arranged in pairs, each pair including a support slot for receiving a support and a clamp slot for receiving a clamp, the support slot being offset transversely across the base from the clamp slot of each pair; (b) means for mounting the base to a formboard; (c) means for robotic determination of the precise location and orientation of the base on the formboard and, thereby, the precise location and orientation of the slots in the base; (d) at least one support having a foot sized for being received in the support slot of the base, a concave notch along one edge, and means associated with the notch, for precisely positioning the wire at a predetermined height; and (e) a clamp having a foot sized for being received in the clamp slot of the base in the pair, having opposed spring leaves attached to the foot, and having a mouth formed by diverging, bent, upper ends of each leaf.

Claim 14

A breakout dock for holding individual wire ends separated from a wire harness bundle, the dock being adapted for robotic assembly of the wire harness and comprising: (a) a base having a plurality of slots arranged in pairs, each pair including a support slot for receiving a support and a clamp slot for receiving a clamp, the support slot being offset transversely across the base from the clamp slot of each pair; (b) means for mounting the base to a formboard; (c) means for robotic determination of the precise location and orientation of the base on the formboard and, thereby, the precise location and orientation of the slots in the base; (d) at least one support having a foot sized for being received in the support slot of the base, a concave notch along one edge, and means associated with the notch, for precisely positioning the wire at a predetermined height; and (e) a clamp having a foot sized for being received in the clamp slot of the base in the pair, having opposed spring leaves attached to the foot, and having a mouth formed by diverging, bent, upper ends of each leaf.

Claim 15

The dock of claim 12 further comprising means for securing the slot and the clamp in their respective slots.

Claim 16

The dock of claim 12 further comprising pads attached to the opposing surfaces of the leaves.

Claim 17

The dock of claim 14 wherein the robotic determination means includes a plurality of position indicators attached at predetermined locations on the base.

Claim 18

The dock of claim 14 wherein the notch is faced with a non-abrasive material.

Claim 19

The docks of claim 16 wherein the pads are recessed from the edges of the leaves.

Claim 22

The method of claim 18 wherein the step of clamping comprises the substeps of: (a) wedging opposed leaves of a spring-leaf clamp apart with the substantially vertical downward movement of the wire routing tool; and (b) moving the wire routing tool horizontally out from between the leaves to clamp the leaves onto the wire.

Claim 23

The method of claim 19 wherein the step of wedging includes moving the wire routing tool vertically downward along one edge of the clamp to spread the leaves of the spring-leaf clamp.