Wire harness handling and storage system
US6042323A · kind A · utility
Assignee
Inventors
Key dates
| Filing date | Sep 9, 1997 |
| Grant date | Mar 28, 2000 |
| Priority date | — |
| Expiry date | Sep 9, 2017 |
Classification
- Technology area (CPC Y)Emerging Cross-Sectional Technologies
- CPC primaryY10T29/53261
- WIPO fieldElectrical machinery, apparatus, energy
- WIPO sectorElectrical engineering
Abstract
A wire harness handling and storage system particularly suitable for use in connection with automated harness making machines includes a harness unloading mechanism that unloads a completed wire harness from the harness-making machine and a storage cart that receives a plurality of completed wire harnesses in a plurality of storage racks maintained at different elevations on the storage cart. The handling and storage system is adaptable to handle both short wire harnesses about 6 inches in length) to longer wire harnesses (about 10 feet in length) without tangling or damage to connectors applied to the wires of the wire harnesses. For unloading and placing the longer wire harnesses, a gripping mechanism is provided that picks up the wire harnesses and places on the storage cart in a controlled movement. The unloading and gripping mechanisms are linked with a controller knows the length of the storage areas of the cart for proper, high-density loading thereof.
Source: USPTO / EPO open patent data. Objective bibliographic and citation counts.