US-12627124-B2 - Wire bundle forming apparatus

US12627124B2US 12627124 B2US12627124 B2US 12627124B2US-12627124-B2

Abstract

A wire bundle forming apparatus including a wire bundle form board having a plurality of mounting structure couplings, and at least one wire bundle mounting structure configured to couple with the plurality of mounting structure couplings for removably coupling the at least one wire bundle mounting structure to the wire bundle form board in a predetermined pattern corresponding to a predetermined configuration of a wire bundle. The at least one wire bundle mounting structure has a wire receiving portion. The at least one wire bundle mounting structure is common to both arranging at least one wire in the predetermined configuration for formation of the wire bundle, and, when removed from the wire bundle form board with the wire bundle coupled to the at least one wire bundle mounting structure, a fixture for coupling the wire bundle to a structure.

Inventors

Jesse A. Laplante
Robert T. Johnson
Jin-Seog Seo
Jacky-Vy C. Chau

Assignees

THE BOEING COMPANY

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20220608

Claims (20)

1 . A wire bundle forming apparatus comprising: a wire bundle form board having a plurality of mounting structure couplings; and at least one wire bundle mounting structure configured to couple with the plurality of mounting structure couplings for removably coupling the at least one wire bundle mounting structure to the wire bundle form board in a predetermined pattern corresponding to a predetermined configuration of a wire bundle, the at least one wire bundle mounting structure comprising: a wire receiving portion in which wires, forming the wire bundle, are placed and coupled to the at least one wire bundle mounting structure; quick connect mounting features that couple with both the plurality of mounting structure couplings and a spanner bar of a fixture; and quick connect strap retention features; and a wire bundle retention strap comprising: a first end pivotally coupled to the at least one wire bundle mounting structure; and a second end having mating quick connect strap retention features that mate with the quick connect strap retention features of the at least one wire bundle mounting structure to couple the second end to the at least one wire bundle mounting structure, the at least one wire bundle mounting structure is common to both; arranging the wires in the predetermined configuration for formation of the wire bundle, and, when removed from the wire bundle form board with the wire bundle coupled to the at least one wire bundle mounting structure, the fixture for coupling the wire bundle to a structure.
2 . The wire bundle forming apparatus of claim 1 , further comprising a robot configured to at least couple the at least one wire bundle mounting structure to the wire bundle form board in the predetermined pattern.
3 . The wire bundle forming apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the at least one wire bundle mounting structure includes a plurality of wire bundle mounting structures, and the plurality of mounting structure couplings of the wire bundle form board form a plurality of wire bundle mounting recesses, the plurality of wire bundle mounting recesses being arranged in a grid where each wire bundle mounting recess is configured to couple with a respective one of the plurality of wire bundle mounting structures.
4 . The wire bundle forming apparatus of claim 1 , wherein at least one of the at least one wire bundle mounting structure includes stackable coupling features, the stackable coupling features being configured to couple at least two wire bundle mounting structures to each other in a stacked configuration.
5 . The wire bundle forming apparatus of claim 1 , where the at least one wire bundle mounting structure is selectable from a number of different wire bundle mounting structures, at least one of which has a different wire bundle interface surface than another of the different wire bundle mounting structures.
6 . The wire bundle forming apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the spanner bar includes mating quick connect mounting features configured to mate with the quick connect mounting features of the at least one wire bundle mounting structure for coupling the at least one wire bundle mounting structure to the spanner bar.
7 . The wire bundle forming apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the quick connect mounting features of the at least one wire bundle mounting structure include at least one protrusion, and the mating quick connect mounting features include flexure members configured to snap over and retain the at least one first protrusion.
8 . The wire bundle forming apparatus of claim 6 , wherein the quick connect mounting features of the at least one wire bundle mounting structure include at least one protrusion, and the mating quick connect mounting features include a recess into which the at least one protrusion is received, where the coupling between the recess and the at least one protrusion forms a fulcrum of the quick connect mounting features.
9 . The wire bundle forming apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the wire bundle retention strap further comprises a pivot axle and a strap portion extending from the pivot axle, wherein the at least one wire bundle mounting structure further comprises an axle bearing surface and a retention strap aperture through the axle bearing surface, the retention strap aperture being configured to receive the strap portion of the wire bundle retention strap and the axle bearing surface couples with the pivot axle so as to prevent passage of the pivot axle through the retention strap aperture.
10 . The wire bundle forming apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the wire bundle retention strap and the at least one wire bundle mounting structure form a wire bundle passage loop through which one or more wire bundles extend.
11 . The wire bundle forming apparatus of claim 1 , where the quick connect strap retention features and the mating quick connect strap retention features form a ratchet coupling.
12 . The wire bundled forming apparatus of claim 1 , wherein each of the at least one wire bundle mounting structure includes a frame having a first mounting structure end and a second mounting structure end, and the quick connect mounting features include at least one protrusion disposed at each of the first mounting structure end and the second mounting structure end.
13 . A wire bundle forming apparatus comprising: a wire bundle form board having mounting structure couplings; and at least one wire bundle mounting structure configured to couple with the mounting structure couplings, the at least one wire bundle mounting structure comprising: a wire receiving portion configured to receive wires, which form the wire bundle, configured to couple to the at least one wire bundle mounting structure; quick connect mounting features that couple with the mounting structure couplings and a spanner bar of a fixture; and quick connect strap retention features; and a wire bundle retention strap comprising: a first end pivotally coupled to the at least one wire bundle mounting structure; and a second end having mating quick connect strap retention features that mate with the quick connect strap retention features of the at least one wire bundle mounting structure to couple the second end to the at least one wire bundle mounting structure.
14 . The wire bundle forming apparatus of claim 13 , further comprising a robot configured to at least couple the at least one wire bundle mounting structure to the wire bundle form board in the predetermined pattern.
15 . The wire bundle forming apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the at least one wire bundle mounting structure includes a plurality of wire bundle mounting structures, and the plurality of mounting structure couplings of the wire bundle form board form a plurality of wire bundle mounting recesses, the plurality of wire bundle mounting recesses being arranged in a grid where each wire bundle mounting recess is configured to couple with a respective one of the plurality of wire bundle mounting structures.
16 . The wire bundle forming apparatus of claim 13 , wherein at least one of the at least one wire bundle mounting structure includes stackable coupling features, the stackable coupling features being configured to couple at least two wire bundle mounting structures to each other in a stacked configuration.
17 . The wire bundle forming apparatus of claim 13 , where the at least one wire bundle mounting structure is selectable from a number of different wire bundle mounting structures, at least one of which has a different wire bundle interface surface than another of the different wire bundle mounting structures.
18 . The wire bundle forming apparatus of claim 13 , wherein the spanner bar includes mating quick connect mounting features configured to mate with the quick connect mounting features of the at least one wire bundle mounting structure for coupling the at least one wire bundle mounting structure to the spanner bar.
19 . The wire bundle forming apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the quick connect mounting features of the at least one wire bundle mounting structure include at least one protrusion, and the mating quick connect mounting features include flexure members configured to snap over and retain the at least one first protrusion.
20 . The wire bundle forming apparatus of claim 18 , wherein the quick connect mounting features of the at least one wire bundle mounting structure include at least one protrusion, and the mating quick connect mounting features include a recess into which the at least one protrusion is received, where the coupling between the recess and the at least one protrusion forms a fulcrum of the quick connect mounting features.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS This application is a divisional of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/972,984 filed on May 7, 2018, now U.S. Pat. No. 11,394,184, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND 1. Field The exemplary embodiments generally relate to wire bundling and more particularly to apparatus to form wire bundles and couple the wire bundles to a structure. 2. Brief Description of Related Developments Generally wire bundles for vehicles, such as aircraft, are formed using a form board into which pegs are manually inserted. Wires that form the wire bundle are then placed on the form board around the pegs so as to form the wire bundle into a predetermined configuration. Once the wires forming the wire bundle are placed on the form board and routed around the pegs, the wires are tied together, such as by wrapping the wires with a tape, coupling the wires together with tie wraps, etc. Generally each form board, and the pegs coupled thereto, is specific to a respective wire bundle predetermined configuration. As such, a manufacturer of wire bundles generally has to store at least one form board for each predetermined configuration of wire bundle the manufacturer produces. This storage of the form boards occupies floor space that could otherwise be put to use for more profitable operations of the manufacturer. Further, the wire bundles that are formed are generally coupled to structures using metal or composite spanner bars. These metal spanner bars have nut runners extending therefrom to couple the spanner bars to the structure and to provide mounting locations for the wire bundles. Generally installation of the nut runners onto the spanner bar requires accessing fasteners from a back side of the spanner bars (e.g., a side of the spanner bar opposite the side on which the nut runners are located). As such, the spanner bars are manufactured with pass throughs (e.g., spaces between the spanner bar and the structure to which the spanner bar is coupled). These pass throughs increase the distance between the structure and the wire bundles. With the spanner bars installed on the structure the wire bundles are coupled to the nut runners using tie wraps. Installation of the spanner bars and wire bundles in this manner may be time consuming as tools are needed to both install the spanner bars and couple the wire bundles to the nut runners of the spanner bars. In addition, the metal spanner bars and nut runners increase the weight of the vehicle which may reduce fuel efficiency of the vehicle. SUMMARY Accordingly, apparatuses and methods, intended to address at least one or more of the above-identified concerns, would find utility. The following is a non-exhaustive list of examples, which may or may not be claimed, of the subject matter according to the present disclosure. One example of the subject matter according to the present disclosure relates to a fixture for coupling wire bundles to a structure, the fixture comprising: at least one wire bundle mounting structure, the at least one wire bundle mounting structure having quick connect mounting features, and quick connect strap retention features; a spanner bar having mating quick connect mounting features that mate with the quick connect mounting features of the at least one wire bundle mounting structure for coupling the at least one wire bundle mounting structure to the spanner bar; and a wire bundle retention strap having a first end pivotally coupled to the at least one wire bundle mounting structure, and a second end having mating quick connect strap retention features that mate with the quick connect strap retention features of the at least one wire bundle mounting structure to couple the second end to the at least one wire bundle mounting structure. Another example of the subject matter according to the present disclosure relates to a fixture for coupling wire bundles to a structure, the fixture comprising: a plurality of wire bundle mounting structures, each wire bundle mounting structure including a frame, quick connect mounting features coupled to the frame, quick connect strap retention features coupled to the frame, a wire bundle retention strap having a first end pivotally coupled to the frame, and a second end having mating quick connect strap retention features that mate with the quick connect strap retention features; and a longitudinally extended spanner bar having a plurality of wire bundle mounting recesses spaced along a longitudinal length of the spanner bar, each wire bundle mounting recess including mating quick connect mounting features that mate the quick connect mounting features of a respective wire bundle mounting structure for coupling the at least one wire bundle mounting structure to the spanner bar. Still another example of the subject matter according to the present disclosure relates to a method of coupling wire bundles to a structure, the method comprising: coupling