JP2005077240A - Seal inspection apparatus, seal apparatus used for the same and spacer tube used together with the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a seal inspection apparatus for accurately inspecting a sealing property between a wire bundle and a grommet by hermetically sealing an end of sheathed wires connected to separated terminals, a seal apparatus used for it and a spacer tube used together with it. <P>SOLUTION: The seal apparatus 15 is provided with an exterior member 24 for sealing pressurized air, a silicone tube 25 included in the exterior member 24 and having a bottom and an upper end for introducing the sheathed wires 3 connected to the separated terminals 7 constituting the other end of the wire bundle 4 and opening outside the exterior member 24, and a pressurized air supplying source 35 for supplying the pressurized air to an air chamber K formed between the silicone tube 25 and an inner circumference the exterior member 24. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a seal inspection device that inspects a sealing property between a covered wire bundle and a grommet.

  Generally, a wire harness includes a covered electric wire bundle, terminals connected to the ends of the covered electric wires, a connector housing that accommodates each terminal, and a grommet that is sheathed on the middle portion of the covered electric wire bundle. The grommet is in close contact with the outer peripheral portion of the covered wire bundle and has a sealing property with the covered wire bundle. As an apparatus for inspecting the sealing property between the covered electric wire bundle and the grommet in this type of wire harness, a sealing property inspection apparatus as disclosed in Patent Document 1 is known.

The sealing property inspection device seals the air tank by inserting a grommet while inserting one end of the wire harness into the air tank, and seals the connector housing at the other end of the wire harness with a sealing device. In this state, compressed air is supplied into the air tank, and the flow rate of the compressed air is measured to inspect the amount of leaked compressed air between the grommet and the covered wire bundle. The sealing device is fitted into the outer peripheral portion of the connector housing and accommodates the tip portion thereof, so that the compressed air flows out from the air tank through the space between the covered portion of the covered electric wire connected to the connector housing and the core wire. The air is blocked inside.
JP 2001-13031 A

  By the way, in the manufacturing process of a wire harness, the terminal of a wire harness may not be inserted in the connector housing at the time of the test | inspection of the sealing performance with a grommet (henceforth this terminal is called a rose terminal). When the cross-sectional area of the covered electric wire connected to the loose terminal is relatively small, the amount of leaked compressed air between the covered portion of the covered electric wire and the core wire is small. There was little effect on the results.

  However, with the recent increase in electric power of electrical components, it is required to use a covered electric wire having a much larger cross-sectional area than the conventional one for a wire harness. When such a covered electric wire is connected to a bulk terminal, the amount of compressed air leakage between the covered portion of the covered electric wire and the core wire becomes so large as to affect the result of the seal inspection. In order to suppress the leakage, it was necessary to seal the end of the covered electric wire.

  On the other hand, in the sealing device of patent document 1 which accommodated the front-end | tip part of a connector housing and block | closed the compressed air which leaks from a covered electric wire inside, the terminal of the covered electric wire connected to the bulk terminal Since the compressed air leaks from the air tank through the covered electric wire, the sealability between the wire harness and the grommet cannot be accurately inspected.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and seals that can accurately inspect the sealing performance between the wire bundle and the grommet by sealing the end of the covered wire connected to the bulk terminal. It is an object of the present invention to provide an inspection device, a seal device used therefor, and a spacer tube used together therewith.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention of claim 1 has a wire bundle in which covered wires are bundled and a grommet sheathed on the wire bundle, and at one end portion of some covered wires. It is provided corresponding to the wire harness to which the loose terminal before being inserted into the connector is connected, and is a sealability inspection device for inspecting the sealability between the wire bundle of the wire harness and the grommet,
An air tank that seals from the other end of the wire harness to the grommet;
An air supply source for supplying pressurized air to the air tank;
Means for discriminating whether the electric wire bundle and the grommet are sealed based on the flow rate of the supplied pressurized air;
And a sealing device for sealing the end of the covered electric wire to which the bulk terminal is connected.

The invention of claim 2 has a wire bundle in which covered electric wires are bundled and a grommet sheathed on the electric wire bundles, and one end of some of the covered electric wires is loose before being inserted into the connector. A sealing device that is provided corresponding to the wire harness to which the terminal is connected, and seals the end of the covered wire to which the loose terminal is connected when inspecting the sealability between the wire bundle of the wire harness and the grommet. And
An exterior member that seals pressurized air;
A bottomed flexible tube that opens to the outside of the exterior member for introducing a covered electric wire that is incorporated in the exterior member and that is connected to the bulk terminal that constitutes the other end of the wire bundle;
A pressurized air supply source for supplying pressurized air to an air chamber formed between the flexible tube and the inner periphery of the exterior member;
By reducing the diameter of the flexible tube containing the covered electric wire to which the bulkhead terminal is connected by the pressurized air from the pressurized air supply source, the outer periphery of the covered electric wire and the inner periphery of the flexible tube It is characterized by sealing between the parts.

  A spacer tube used in combination with the above sealing device, which is formed in a C-shaped cross section and is externally attached to the covered electric wire so as to reduce the difference between the outer dimension of the loose terminal and the outer shape of the covered electric wire when sealing the loose terminal. It is preferred that

  According to the present invention, when inspecting the airtightness of the grommet of the wire harness having the bulk terminal, the terminal portion of the covered electric wire to which the bulk terminal is connected is sealed, so when supplying pressurized air to the air tank, Even if a part of the wire enters the inside of the covered electric wire, the air does not leak out from the terminal portion to which the loose terminal is connected. For this reason, only the air leak which arises between a grommet and an electric wire bundle can be detected reliably.

  Further, according to the sealing device of the present invention, the loose terminal can be sealed in the flexible tube by introducing compressed air into the exterior member to reduce the diameter of the flexible tube. The airtightness at the end of the covered electric wire to which the loose terminal is connected instantaneously by the operation can be maintained.

  Furthermore, when the spacer tube of this invention is employ | adopted, an outer dimension difference with a bulk terminal becomes as small as possible by covering a spacer tube with a covered electric wire. As a result, when sealing the end of the covered electric wire, it is possible to reduce the undulation that occurs between the bulk terminal and the covered portion of the covered electric wire, and to improve the airtightness.

  Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

  FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an overall configuration of a seal inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing a grommet and an electric wire bundle to be inspected by the seal inspection apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged plan view showing the bulk terminal of FIG.

  Referring to each drawing, a wire harness 2 to be inspected by the seal inspection apparatus 1 includes an electric wire bundle 4 composed of a plurality of covered electric wires 3, a grommet 5 sheathed on the electric wire bundle 4, and the electric wire bundle 4. A connector housing 6 connected to the end portion and a loose terminal 7 connected to the end of the covered electric wire 3 are provided.

In the present embodiment, each of the covered electric wires 3 includes a plurality of small-diameter wires 3a having a relatively small cross-sectional area (0.3 to 1.25 mm ² ) and a cross-sectional area (about 8 mm) that is much larger than the small-diameter wire 3a. ^Two large diameter wires 3b having ² ) are included. Terminals (not shown) are connected to both ends of the small-diameter wire 3a, and these terminals are respectively inserted into the connector housing 6. The loose terminal 7 is connected to one end of the large-diameter wire 3b, while the other end is disposed on the other side of the wire bundle 4 via the grommet 5, and a terminal (not shown) The terminals are inserted into the connector housing 6. The connector housing 6 is formed with an unillustrated opening that opens the terminal so that the accommodated terminal can be connected to the terminal of another connector housing.

  Referring to FIG. 3, the loose terminal 7 includes a covered barrel 7a and a core wire barrel 7b that press-contact the covering portion H and the core wire S of the large-diameter wire 3b individually, and the axial direction of the covered wire 3 from these barrels 7a and 7b. And a connecting portion 7c connected along the line. The width L1 of the connecting portion 7c is set to about 2 to 3 times the diameter L2 of the large diameter wire 3b.

  Referring to FIG. 2, a sealing material (not shown) such as silicone resin is introduced between each covered electric wire 3 in the middle of the wire bundle 4, and each covered electric wire 3 is taped together with this sealing material. Wound by T1. The flow of gas passing between the respective covered electric wires 3 in the tape T1 is regulated by the sealing material and the tape T1. A grommet 5 is externally provided in the middle of the covered electric wire bundle 4 around which the tape T1 is wound. This grommet 5 is an annular member formed of a synthetic resin having elasticity. The grommet 5 includes a pair of cylindrical portions 8 and 9 that are in close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the wire bundle 4 (tape T1), and a main body portion 10 that is formed between the cylindrical portions 8 and 9. Tape T2 is wound around the outer peripheral surface of one cylindrical portion 9, and this tape T2 extends beyond the end of tape T1 to the outer peripheral portion of electric wire pair 4, and the outer peripheral surface of tape T1 and electric wire pair 4 It is wound around each of the outer peripheral portions. The tape T2 restricts the flow of gas passing between the inner peripheral surface of the grommet 5 and the outer peripheral surface of the tape T1, and the grommet 5, the tape T1, and the wire pair 4 are fixed in a positioned state. ing. The main body 10 is attached to an insertion hole formed in a wall surface of an engine room or the like, so that the wire bundle 4 is inserted into the wall surface with a predetermined airtightness. It has. The seal inspection apparatus 1 inspects the amount of gas leakage between the covered electric wires 3 wound with the tape T1 and the amount of gas leakage between the inner peripheral surface of the grommet 5 and the outer peripheral surface of the wire bundle 4. It has become.

  Referring to FIG. 1, the seal inspection apparatus 1 includes an air tank 12 that houses one end of the wire harness 2, an air supply unit 13 that can supply compressed air into the air tank 12, and the loose terminal 7. And a sealing device 15 that seals the terminal of the covered electric wire 3 connected to each other.

  The air tank 12 includes a substantially cylindrical hollow container 16, a lid 18 attached to the hollow container 16 by a hinge 17 so as to be openable and closable, and a diagram for fixing the lid 18 in a closed position with respect to the hollow container 16. And an approximately fixing member. The hollow container 16 is provided with an insertion hole 16a for fitting the sealing groove 11 of the grommet 5 in order to seal from one end of the accommodated wire bundle 4 to the grommet 5 within the hollow container 16. The lid 18 holds an open position (indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1) where the grommet 5 can be attached to and detached from the insertion hole 16a and the upper surface of the main body 10 of the grommet 5 attached to the insertion hole 16a. It is configured to be displaceable between a closed position (shown by a solid line in FIG. 1). In addition, the lid 18 includes a clearance groove 18a formed so as to hold the wire bundle 4 in the process of being displaced to the closed position.

  The air supply unit 13 adjusts the pressure of the compressed air sent from the air supply source 19 by the pressure control valve 20 and supplies the compressed air into the hollow container 16 through the air pipe 13 a and the communication hole 16 b formed in the hollow container 16. It is supposed to do. In this embodiment, the pressure control valve 20 sets the pressure of compressed air to about 0.3 MPa. The air supply unit 13 is provided with a flow meter 21 capable of measuring the flow rate of the compressed air between the air supply source 19 and the hollow container 16. The flow meter 21 includes a grommet according to the measurement result. A determination unit 22 composed of a leak tester or the like for determining whether or not the sealability test between 5 and the wire bundle 4 is good is connected. Further, a release valve 23 is provided between the air supply source 19 and the hollow container 16 to open the pressurized hollow container to atmospheric pressure.

  4 is an enlarged perspective view of the sealing device 15 of FIG. 1, FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the sealing device 15 of FIG. 4, and FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the sealing device 15 of FIG. FIG.

  Referring to the drawings, a sealing device 15 includes an exterior member 24 that seals pressurized air, a cylindrical silicone tube (flexible tube) 25 that is housed in the exterior member 24, and the silicone tube 25. A pressurized air supply unit 26 that supplies pressurized air is provided between the exterior member 24 and the exterior member 24.

  The exterior member 24 includes a cylindrical main body 27, a bottom plate portion 28 that closes the lower end portion of the cylindrical main body 27, a top plate portion 29 that is fixed to the upper end portion of the cylindrical main body 27, and a fixed top on the top plate portion 29. The protection member 30 is provided.

  The bottom plate portion 28 includes a bottom plate 34 made of metal and formed in a disk shape, and a nipple 31 erected on the bottom plate 34. The bottom plate 34 is fixed in a state in which a sealing material (not shown) is sandwiched between the lower surface of the cylindrical main body 27. The nipple 31 is externally fitted in a state where the lower end portion of the silicone tube 25 is retained, and closes the lower end portion of the silicone tube 25 (that is, the bottom portion of the silicone tube 25 is configured).

  The top plate portion 29 is made of metal and includes an annular top plate 32 having a tapered hole 32a penetrating vertically, and a fixing member 33 fitted into the tapered hole 32a. The top plate 32 is fixed by four bolts B <b> 1 in a state where a sealing material (not shown) is sandwiched between the upper surface of the cylindrical body 27. As shown in FIG. 6, one end of the top plate 32 extends in the radial direction and opens on the outer peripheral surface of the top plate 32, and the other end extends in the axial direction and opens on the lower surface of the top plate 32. A connecting hole 32b is formed, and gas communication is allowed between the inside and the outside of the cylindrical body 27 by the connecting hole 32b. The tapered hole 32a is a hole having an inner peripheral surface that is tapered downward. The fixing member 33 is set to have an outer diameter that is tapered downward so that the fixing member 33 can be fitted into the tapered hole 32a of the top plate 32, and has a cylindrical shape having an inner peripheral surface 33a. It is a metal member. The fixing member 33 is fitted into the tapered hole 32a with the upper end portion of the silicone tube 25 covered. Thereby, an airtight state is formed between the outer peripheral surface of the fixing member 33 and the inner peripheral surface of the tapered hole 32a, and the inside of the silicone tube 25 is exposed to the outside of the exterior member 24 via the inner peripheral surface 33a of the fixing member 33. It is open.

  The protective member 30 is formed of a relatively flexible synthetic resin in order to suppress breakage of the bulk terminal 7 introduced into the silicone tube 25 as will be described later. The protection member 30 is an annular member having an introduction hole 30a that vertically penetrates at a position corresponding to the inner peripheral surface 33a of the fixing member 33, and is fixed to the top plate 32 by a bolt B2. The introduction hole 30 a is set to have substantially the same diameter as the inner peripheral surface 33 a of the fixing member 33.

  Thus, the exterior member 24 opens the upper end part (introduction port) to the outside and houses the silicone tube 25 with the lower end part closed. As a result, an air chamber K that seals pressurized air is defined between the outer peripheral portion of the silicone tube 25 and the inner peripheral portion of the exterior member 24. The air chamber K communicates with the connecting hole 32b, and a pressurized air supply unit 26 is connected to the connecting hole 32b via an air joint E.

  The pressurized air supply unit 26 includes a pressurized air supply source 35 capable of supplying compressed air into the air chamber K, a pressure adjusting means 38 for adjusting the pressure of the compressed air from the pressurized air supply source 35, A three-way cock 36 is provided that can supply / stop the compressed air from the pressure adjusting means 38 into the air chamber K and can open the air chamber K to atmospheric pressure. In the present embodiment, the pressure adjusting means 38 adjusts the pressure of the compressed air to about 0.5 MPa. The three-way stopcock 36 has a sealed state in which the air chamber K and the pressurized air supply source 35 are communicated with each other by rotating a plug body 36a that opens in three directions with respect to the main body 36b, and a pressurized air supply source 35. And the compressed air supply passage is adjusted between an open state in which the air chamber K is opened to atmospheric pressure.

  When the sealing property between the grommet 5 and the wire bundle 4 is inspected using the seal inspection device 1 configured as described above, the following operations are performed.

  First, referring to FIG. 1, the end of the wire harness 2 on the unconnected side of the loose terminal 7 is inserted into the air tank 12, and the grommet 5 is attached to the insertion hole 16 a of the air tank 12. Next, the lid 18 of the air tank 12 is displaced to the closed position, and the lid 18 is fixed by a fixing member (not shown) to seal the inside of the air tank 12. The loose terminal 7 of the wire harness 2 mounted in this way is disposed outside the air tank 12, and the terminal of the covered electric wire 3 to which the loose terminal 7 is connected is sealed with the sealing device 15.

  FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing the operation of the sealing device 15 for sealing the end of the covered electric wire 3, (a) is a state before insertion of the covered electric wire 3, and (b) is a state where the covered electric wire 3 is put into the silicone tube 25. The inserted state, (c), shows the state where the end of the covered electric wire 3 is sealed.

  With reference to FIG. 7A, when sealing the end of the covered electric wire 3 with the sealing device 15, first, the spacer tube 37 is externally attached to the covered electric wire 3. The spacer tube 37 is made of a synthetic resin formed in a C-shaped cross section having a slit 37a and a diameter dimension substantially the same as the width dimension L1 (see FIG. 3) of the connecting portion 7c of the bulk terminal 7. It is a tube. The operator inserts the covered electric wire 3 into the spacer tube 37 while expanding the slit 37a. Next, a lubricant such as grease is applied to the outer peripheral surface of the spacer tube 37. This lubricant is for improving the slidability between the outer peripheral surface of the spacer tube 37 and the inner peripheral surface of the silicone tube 25 and the adhesion between the spacer tube 37 and the silicone tube 25. The covered electric wire 3 with the outer space of the spacer tube 37 is introduced into the silicone tube 25 from the loose terminal 7 side through the introduction hole 30a of the protection member 30.

  With reference to FIG. 7B, the covered electric wire 3 is introduced into the silicone tube 25 to a position where the loose terminal 7 comes into contact with the upper surface of the nipple 31 of the exterior member 25. In this state, the three-way cock 36 of the pressurized air supply unit 26 is sealed to supply pressurized air into the air chamber K.

  With reference to (c) of FIG. 7, when pressurized air is supplied, the pressure in the air chamber K becomes higher than the pressure (atmospheric pressure) in the silicone tube 25, and the silicone tube 25 is reduced in diameter. Will be. The reduced diameter silicone tube 25 brings the inner spacer tube 37 into a circular cross section, that is, a state in which the slit 37 a is closed, and comes into close contact with the outer peripheral surface of the spacer tube 37. At this time, the inner peripheral surface of the spacer tube 37 is in close contact with the outer peripheral portion of the covered electric wire 3, and as a result, the space between the inner peripheral surface of the silicone tube 25 and the spacer tube 37 and the inner space of the spacer tube 37. Gas circulation between the peripheral surface and the outer peripheral surface of the covered electric wire 3 is blocked.

  Referring to FIG. 1 again, after sealing the end of the covered electric wire 3 as described above, the pressure control valve 20 is operated to supply compressed air from the air supply source 19 into the air tank 12, and the grommet 5 The inspection of the sealing property with the wire bundle 4 is started. When the inside of the air tank 12 is pressurized, the compressed air in the air tank 12 passes through an opening (not shown) of the connector housing 6 and the core wire S and the covering portion in the covered electric wire 3 to which the loose terminals 7 are connected. Although it tries to flow out to the outside of the air tank 12 through the space between H and the bottom of the silicone tube 25 (the portion sealed by the nipple 31) between the silicone tube 25 and the spacer tube 37. It will be blocked in space. In this state, the flow meter 21 measures the amount of compressed air leaked between the grommet 5 and the wire bundle 4 and between each covered wire 3, and the determination unit 22 determines the wire harness being inspected according to the measurement result. It is determined whether 2 is a non-defective product. Next, the inside of the air tank 12 is opened to the atmospheric pressure by the release valve 23 and the air chamber K is opened to the atmospheric pressure by opening the three-way cock 36 to complete the leak inspection.

  In the above embodiment, the cylindrical silicone tube 25 is used. However, instead of this configuration, as shown in FIG. 8, one oval tube 125 having an oval cross section is used. A plurality of covered electric wires 3 may be simultaneously inserted into the oval tube 125 to reduce the diameter of the oval tube 125, so that the ends of these covered electric wires 3 may be sealed at the same time.

  As described above, according to the seal inspection device 1, when inspecting the airtightness of the grommet 5 of the wire harness 2 having the loose terminal 7, the terminal portion of the covered electric wire 3 to which the loose terminal 7 is connected is sealed. Therefore, when pressurized air is supplied to the air tank 12, even if a part thereof enters the inside of the covered electric wire 3, the air does not leak from the terminal portion to which the loose terminals 7 are connected. For this reason, only the air leak which arises between the grommet 5 and the wire bundle 4 is reliably detectable.

  Further, according to the sealing device 15, the loose terminal 7 can be hermetically sealed in the silicone tube 25 by introducing pressurized air into the exterior member 24 to reduce the diameter of the silicone tube 25. Thus, airtightness at the end of the covered electric wire 3 to which the loose terminal 7 is connected can be maintained instantaneously.

  Furthermore, when the spacer tube 37 is employed in the sealing device 15, the outer dimension difference from the bulk terminal 7 becomes as small as possible by covering the spacer tube 37 with the covered electric wire 3. As a result, when sealing the end of the covered electric wire 3, the undulation generated between the bulk terminal 7 and H of the covered portion of the covered electric wire 3 can be reduced, and the airtightness can be improved.

It is the schematic which shows the whole structure of the seal inspection apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a partial schematic cross-sectional view showing an enlarged view of a grommet and a wire bundle to be inspected by the seal inspection apparatus of FIG. 1. It is a top view which expands and shows the rose terminal of FIG. It is a perspective view which expands and shows the sealing device of FIG. It is a disassembled perspective view of the sealing device of FIG. FIG. 2 is a partial schematic cross-sectional view showing the sealing device of FIG. It is the schematic which shows operation | movement of the sealing apparatus which seals the terminal of a covered electric wire, (a) is the state before insertion of a covered electric wire, (b) is the state which inserted the covered electric wire in the silicone tube, (c) is covering The state which sealed the end of the electric wire is shown, respectively. It is a perspective view which shows the ellipse tube which concerns on another embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Seal inspection apparatus 2 Wire harness 4 Wire bundle 5 Grommet 7 Bulk terminal 12 Air tank 15 Sealing device 19 Air supply source 21 Flowmeter 24 Exterior member 25 Silicone tube 35 Pressurized air supply source 37 Spacer tube 125 Oval tube K Air chamber

Claims (3)

It has a wire bundle in which covered wires are bundled and a grommet sheathed on this wire bundle, and a bulk terminal before being inserted into the connector is connected to one end of some of the covered wires. A sealability inspection device that is provided corresponding to the wire harness and inspects the sealability between the wire bundle of the wire harness and the grommet,
An air tank that seals from the other end of the wire harness to the grommet;
An air supply source for supplying pressurized air to the air tank;
Means for discriminating whether the electric wire bundle and the grommet are sealed based on the flow rate of the supplied pressurized air;
A seal inspection device comprising: a sealing device for sealing a terminal of a covered electric wire to which the bulk terminal is connected. A wire having a bundle of covered wires and a grommet sheathed on the bundle of wires, and having one end of a part of the covered wires connected to a bulk terminal before being inserted into the connector A seal device that is provided corresponding to a harness and seals the end of a covered wire to which the loose terminal is connected when inspecting the sealing property between the wire bundle and the grommet of the wire harness,
An exterior member that seals pressurized air;
A bottomed flexible tube that opens to the outside of the exterior member for introducing a covered electric wire that is incorporated in the exterior member and that is connected to the bulk terminal that constitutes the other end of the wire bundle;
A pressurized air supply source for supplying pressurized air to an air chamber formed between the flexible tube and the inner periphery of the exterior member;
By reducing the diameter of the flexible tube containing the covered electric wire to which the bulkhead terminal is connected by the pressurized air from the pressurized air supply source, the outer periphery of the covered electric wire and the inner periphery of the flexible tube A sealing device characterized by sealing between the two parts. A spacer tube used in combination with the sealing device according to claim 1 or 2,
A spacer tube which is formed in a C-shaped cross section and is sheathed on a covered electric wire so as to reduce a difference between an outer dimension of the loose terminal and the outer shape of the covered electric wire when sealing the loose terminal.

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