JP2005315653A - Mounting state inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mounting state inspection state capable of inspecting more simply the mounting state of a connector or the like. <P>SOLUTION: This device is constituted so that a prescribed circuit part constituting an RFID tag 200 can be disconnected or connected by a circuit connection/disconnection part 31. Therefore, it can be checked whether an inspection object is normally connected or not by the connection state of the RFID tag 200 in the state where mounting of the inspection object 60 is completed. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2006,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a mounting state inspection apparatus that inspects mounting states of a plurality of mounting units that can be contacted and separated, such as connectors.

Conventionally, a large number of connectors are used in various electronic devices and the like, and in order for the electronic devices and the like to work properly, the connector connection pins need to be properly connected. For this reason, in order to inspect the connection state of a connector conventionally, the technique as described in patent document 1 is disclosed.
In Patent Document 1, the quality of connection between a multi-pair connector provided at an end of a communication cable configured by twisting a large number of cable core pairs each consisting of a pair of cable cores and a cable core is inspected. A multi-connector connection inspection apparatus for the purpose is disclosed. The configuration detects the capacitance generated in the cable core pair connected to the multi-pair connector, and the absolute value of the difference between the capacitance and the standard capacitance is within a predetermined value. Capacitance detection means for outputting a connection failure signal when the connection good signal deviates from a predetermined value is provided.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 7-83982

By the way, as one method for inspecting the connection of a connector or the like, a method in which an inspector visually checks the connection is conceivable. However, when the connector is in a connected state, the connection portion of the connector cannot be seen from the outside. In some cases, there was a drawback that it could not be checked sufficiently.
Moreover, in the connector connection inspection apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1, it is necessary to set the connector on a dedicated inspection jig or the like when checking the connection state of the connector, so that the inspection is very troublesome. There were drawbacks.
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-described points, and an object thereof is to provide a mounting state inspection apparatus that can inspect the mounting state of a connector or the like more easily.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention according to claim 1 is a mounting state inspection apparatus for inspecting a state in which mounting of an object to be inspected is completed, and receives a carrier wave based on a predetermined modulation method via a loop antenna. To generate internal power and transmit / receive data between the RFID tag and the RFID tag that transmits / receives data to / from the outside, and carrier power transmission and data transmission / reception based on a predetermined modulation method via a loop antenna. It is characterized by comprising a reader / writer that performs contact, and a circuit contacting / separating means configured to cut or connect a predetermined circuit portion constituting the RFID tag.
The circuit contacting / separating means according to claim 2 is characterized in that the RFID tag is attached to the inspection object so that the RFID tag operates normally when the inspection object is completely mounted.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, the circuit contacting / separating means is provided at a dividing point where the loop antenna of the RFID tag is divided.
According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, the circuit contacting / separating means is provided in a portion where the loop antenna of the RFID tag is short-circuited.
The present invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the circuit contacting / separating means is provided so as to cut a predetermined portion of a circuit formed in the RFID tag.
The present invention described in claim 6 is characterized in that the RFID tag is provided with display means that operates when the carrier power is obtained from the reader / writer via the loop antenna.
The present invention described in claim 7 is characterized in that the inspection result of the inspection object can be constantly monitored by permanently installing the reader / writer in the vicinity of the inspection object.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, when the predetermined circuit portion constituting the RFID tag can be cut or connected by the circuit contacting / separating means, the mounting of the inspection object is completed. It is possible to check whether or not the object to be inspected is normally connected by the connection state of the circuit part of the RFID tag by the circuit contacting / separating means.
If comprised in this way, even if the connection site | part of a to-be-inspected object cannot be confirmed visually, it will become possible to fully check the connection state of to-be-inspected object.
Conventionally, when checking the connection state of the connector, it is not necessary to set a dedicated inspection jig or an inspection object on the inspection jig, so that the connection inspection can be easily performed.
According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the mounting of the inspection object is completed, since the RFID tag operates normally, it is checked whether the RFID tag is operating normally. Thus, the mounting state of the object to be inspected can be grasped indirectly.
According to the third aspect of the present invention, the circuit connecting / separating means is formed at the dividing point where the loop antenna is divided, so that it can be realized with a relatively simple configuration without changing the circuit. .
Further, according to the present invention, the circuit contacting / separating means is provided in a portion where the loop antenna of the RFID tag is short-circuited, and thus, as in the above, it is realized with a relatively simple configuration without changing the circuit. can do.
Further, according to the present invention, the circuit contact / separation means is provided so as to cut a predetermined portion of the circuit formed in the RFID tag, so that the operation of the circuit can be reliably controlled. .
According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the RFID tag is provided with display means that operates when the carrier power is obtained from the reader / writer via the loop antenna, so that the circuit contacting / separating means is provided. It is possible to visually check whether the connection is correct.
According to the seventh aspect of the present invention, it is possible to constantly monitor whether the inspection object is correctly mounted by permanently installing the reader / writer in the vicinity of the plurality of inspection objects.

Before describing the mounting state inspection apparatus as an embodiment of the present invention, the configuration of a communication system using a reader / writer, an RFID tag, and a reader / writer applied to the mounting state inspection apparatus of the present embodiment will be described below. I will explain.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the reader / writer.
A RFID (Radio Frequency IDentification) tag reader / writer 100 (hereinafter simply referred to as “reader / writer”) 100 shown in FIG. 1 is an external computer that exchanges data with the reader / writer 100 and controls the entire system ( This is read as firmware that records a procedure for operating the control device 2, and a control device 2 that controls the operation of the reader / writer 100 as a whole. A memory device 3 for storing the received data, a modulator 4 for modulating the data from the control device 2 on a carrier wave, an input device 5 for inputting an operation command, and a display device for displaying information controlled by the control device 2 6 and a power supply signal which is an AC signal from the control device 2 and a write command from the modulator 4 are increased in power. A power amplifier 7, a detector demodulator 8 that converts the carrier wave received from the loop antenna unit 9 into binary data, and a loop that exchanges data with a power carrier wave that is not shown in the figure. An antenna unit 9 is provided.
Next, before describing the operation of the reader / writer 100 according to the present configuration, the configuration of a pair of RFID tags will be described.
FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the RFID tag.
The RFID tag 200 shown in FIG. 2 includes a loop antenna unit 20 that transmits and receives data using a power carrier wave from the reader / writer 100, a transmission / reception circuit 21 that generates a write command and a read command, and a power carrier wave from the loop antenna unit 20. Power generation circuit 22 that rectifies and converts it into DC power, a memory device 23 that manages storage of control firmware and data, and a modulator 24 that modulates a transmission command from the control circuit 26 with a carrier wave. And a detector 25 for converting the carrier wave data from the transmission / reception circuit 21 into binarized data, and a control circuit 26 for controlling the overall operation of the RFID tag 200.
As modulation methods, there are ASK (Amplitude Shift Keying), PSK (Phase Shift Keying), and FSK (Frequency Shift Keying).

Next, each operation will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2 together.
When a power supply (not shown) is turned on, the reader / writer 100 starts an operation according to a program stored in the memory device 3 after the initial operation of the control device 2. First, initialization is performed. Next, the control device 2 alternately transmits a power supply signal supplied to the RFID tag 200 and a polling signal from the power amplifier 7. The signal is radiated to the outside from the loop antenna unit 9 as an electromagnetic wave. Next, when the RFID tag 200 comes close to the reader / writer 100, the loop antenna unit 20 receives the power supply signal, rectifies the carrier wave by the power generation circuit 22 and converts it to DC power, Supply to the circuit. When power is supplied and the control circuit 26 is driven, control is started in accordance with a program stored in the memory device 23.
Next, the control circuit 26 first demodulates the command from the transmission / reception circuit 21 by the detector 25, converts it to a binary signal, and analyzes the command. As a result, when it is recognized that it is called, the response is modulated by the modulator 24 and transmitted from the loop antenna unit 20 via the transmission / reception circuit 21. The reader / writer 100 receives the response of the loop antenna unit 9 and converts it into a binarized code by the detector demodulator 8 and analyzes it by the control circuit 2 to recognize that the RFID tag 200 is a tag conforming to the standard. . Thereby, polling is performed between the reader / writer 100 and the RFID tag 200 thereafter.
The mounting state inspection apparatus according to the present embodiment will be described below based on the description of the reader / writer 100 and the RFID tag 200 described above.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing a schematic structure of a mounting state inspection apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
3A includes a reader / writer 100 and an RFID tag 200. In this case, the RFID tag 200 is attached to the inspection object 61. It is attached.
The inspected object 61 is used by combining two units 61a and 61b such as a connector, for example.
The reader / writer 100 is configured as shown in FIG. 3, and transmits power to the RFID tag 200 via the loop antenna 9 and exchanges data with the RFID tag.
In addition to the control of the entire system as described above, the host computer 50 connected to the reader / writer 100 inspects the inspection result 61 of the inspection object 61 sent from the reader / writer 100 using the display 52 ( Display control for displaying OK or NG) is performed.
In the mounting state inspection apparatus 51 according to the present embodiment, the two units 61a and 61b in which the RFID tag 200 is separated into two circuit blocks 201 and 202 to form the inspected part 61. To be formed.
In this case, a loop antenna that transmits and receives signals transmitted from the reader / writer 100 is formed in the circuit block 201, and a circuit unit other than the loop antenna of the RFID 200 is formed in the circuit block 202. Between the circuit block 201 and the circuit block 202, a circuit contact / separation unit 31 that is a circuit contact / separation unit is provided.
The circuit contact / separation portion 31 is provided when the mounting of the two units 61a and 61b constituting the inspection object 61 is completed, that is, when the two units 61a and 61b constituting the inspection object 61 are normally combined. The circuit block 201 and the circuit block 202 are connected so that the RFID tag 200 functions normally.
FIG. 3B is a diagram showing the internal configuration of the circuit blocks 201 and 202 mounted on the part 61 to be inspected. In this example, both ends of the loop antenna 201a are connected to the terminals a and b in the circuit block 201, and the terminal for connecting the loop antenna of the IC circuit 202a is connected to the terminals c and d in the circuit block 202. Each terminal a, b, c, d is configured as a circuit contact / separation portion 31. That is, when the units 61a and 61b are not mounted, the terminals are separated and the IC circuit 202a does not operate because the loop antenna 201a is not connected, but when the units 61a and 61b are mounted, Each terminal is connected, and the IC circuit 202a operates because the loop antenna 201a is connected.

FIG. 4 is a view showing an example of an inspection object to which the RFID tag according to the first embodiment of the present invention is attached.
4A and 4B, a connector 71 is shown as the object 61 to be inspected.
The connector 71 includes a pair of connectable connector portions 71a and 71b, and a circuit block 201 of the RFID tag 200 is provided on the connector portion 71a. In addition, a circuit block 202 of the RFID tag 200 is provided in the connector part b71b.
The connector portion 71a is provided with a pin receiving portion (female) 72a, and the connector portion 72a is provided with a connection pin (male) 72b. The circuit block 201 is provided with a pin receiving portion 31a as the circuit contact / separation portion 31, and the circuit block 202 is provided with a connection pin 31b.
In the mounting state inspection apparatus 51 of this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 4A, the connector 71a and 71b of the connector 71 are connected as shown in FIG. Only when the pin receiving part 72a of the connector part 71a and the connection pin 72b of the connector part 71b are normally connected (contacted), the circuit block 201 and the circuit block 202 disconnected by the circuit contact / separation part 31 Are electrically connected, so that the RFID tag 200 functions normally.
Therefore, according to the mounting state inspection apparatus 51 of the present embodiment, the reader / writer 100 checks whether the RFID tag 200 is functioning normally, so that the connector 71 does not touch the connector 71 that is an object to be inspected. It will be possible to check if the connection is successful.
In particular, in the mounting state inspection apparatus 51 of the present embodiment, the connection check of the connector 71 can be easily performed even when the mounting of the connector 71 that cannot be visually confirmed is completed.
Furthermore, in the mounting state inspection apparatus 51 of the present embodiment, for example, if the reader / writer 100 is permanently installed (fixed) in the vicinity (within the communication range) of an inspection object such as a plurality of connectors 71, For example, it is possible to constantly monitor whether or not an inspection object such as the connector 71 is correctly mounted. In addition, it is possible to continuously check even when the inspection object is incorporated in an electronic device and operated.
Further, in the description so far, the case where the mounting state of the connector 71 is checked by the mounting state inspection device 51 of the present embodiment is taken as an example, but the mounting state inspection device 51 of the present embodiment is connected to other than the connector. It is also possible to check the condition.

FIG. 5 is a view showing another example of an inspection object to which an RFID tag according to a second embodiment of the present invention is attached.
The inspection object shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B is configured by a combination of a screw 81 and a screw receiving portion 82 to which the screw 81 can be attached. The screw 81 is provided with a circuit block 201, and the screw receiving portion 82 is provided with a circuit block 202. In this case, patch-like conductors 83 and 84 as shown in FIG. 5C are formed on the circuit block 201 of the screw 81, and the circuit block 202 of the screw receiving portion 82 is shown in FIG. Such concentric conductors 85 and 86 are formed. At this time, the distance from the center point x1 of the screw 81 to each of the conductors 83 and 84 is the same as the distance from the center point x2 of the screw receiving portion 82 to each of the conductors 85 and 86.
Therefore, by attaching the screw 81 to the screw receiving portion 82, the conductor 83 and the conductor 85, and the conductor 84 and the conductor 86 are electrically connected to each other.
Therefore, if comprised in this way, it will also become possible to check indirectly whether the screw 81 is normally connected to the screw receiving part 82 by the mounting state inspection apparatus 51 of this Embodiment. In FIG. 5, it is needless to say that the shape of the conductors 83 and 84 on the circuit block 201 side is not limited to the patch shape, and may be formed concentrically. Further, a concentric conductor may be provided on the screw 81, and a patch-like conductor may be provided on the screw receiving portion 82.
Of course, the inspection of the mounting state by the mounting state inspection device 51 of the present embodiment is not limited to this, and can be applied to the check of the connection state such as a rivet.
Furthermore, it is possible to perform a simple inspection as to whether the bottle lid is closed or an inspection as to whether the openable / closable lid 90 is securely closed as shown in FIG. For example, the antenna 90a is mounted on one lid, the IC circuit 90b is mounted on the other lid, and the lid 90 can detect the open / closed state by contacting and separating the terminals a, b, c, and d. .

In the mounting state inspection apparatus 51 of the present embodiment described so far, the loop antenna 20 of the RFID tag 200 is formed on one of the objects to be inspected, and the other rotating portion of the RFID tag 200 is formed on the other. However, this is only an example. If the RFID tag 200 operates normally when the inspection objects are normally combined, any circuit portion of the RFID tag 200 is formed on one of the inspection objects. It is optional. For example, it is possible to form only a part of the loop antenna 20 on one of the inspected objects 60 (see FIG. 3B).
Further, in the mounting state inspection apparatus 51 of the present embodiment, normal communication is performed between the RFID tag 200 and the reader / writer 100 when it can be confirmed that the inspected object is normally mounted. However, on the contrary, when the inspection object 60 is normally mounted, the RFID tag 200 and the reader / writer 100 can be configured not to perform normal communication. In that case, the circuit contacting / separating portion 31 may be configured so that the loop antenna 20 can be short-circuited when the inspection object 60 is normally mounted. That is, as shown in FIG. 7A, the short circuit 301 is mounted on the circuit block 300, the loop antenna 303 and the IC circuit 304 are mounted on the circuit block 302, and both ends of the loop antenna 303 are connected to the circuit contact / separation unit 31. I am doing so. Even in this configuration, the IC circuit 305 operates normally when the circuit block 300 and the circuit block 306 are separated from each other, and when the circuit block 300 and the circuit block 306 are connected, the loop antenna 307 is A short circuit is caused by the short circuit 301 to stop the operation. Accordingly, also in this case, the mounting state inspection device 51 can grasp the connection state when the mounting of the inspection object is completed.
7B, the short circuit 301 is mounted on the circuit block 300, the loop antenna 307 and the IC circuit 305 are mounted on the circuit block 306, and a part of the circuit of the IC circuit 305 is cut to connect the circuit. It is connected to the separation part 31. Even in such a configuration, when the circuit block 300 and the circuit block 306 are connected, the IC circuit 305 is short-circuited by the short circuit 301 and the operation is stopped. Therefore, the connection when the mounting of the inspection object is completed is performed. The state can be grasped by the mounting state inspection device 51.
For example, as shown in FIG. 8, a light emitting diode (LED) 309 is connected to the IC circuit 304 of the circuit block 308 as display means. When the magnetic field (carrier power) from the reader / writer 100 is received by the loop antenna 303 of the circuit block 308, the LED 309 is turned on by the IC circuit 304. With this configuration, it is visually confirmed whether or not the circuit block 300 and the circuit block 308 are correctly connected, that is, whether or not the inspection object on which the circuit blocks 300 and 308 are respectively mounted is correctly mounted. Will be able to. Needless to say, the display means can also be applied to the RFID tag 200 configured as shown in FIG.
The configuration of the mounting state inspection apparatus according to the present embodiment described so far is merely an example, and the configuration of the mounting state inspection apparatus of the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment.

It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the reader / writer applied to the mounting state inspection apparatus made into embodiment of this invention. It is the block diagram which showed the structure of the RFID tag applied to the mounting state inspection apparatus made into embodiment of this invention. It is the figure which showed schematic structure of the mounting state inspection apparatus made into this Embodiment. It is the figure which showed an example of the to-be-inspected object to which the RFID tag concerning 1st Embodiment is attached. It is the figure which showed an example of the to-be-inspected object to which the RFID tag concerning 2nd Embodiment is attached. It is the figure which showed the other structural example of the to-be-inspected object to which an RFID tag is attached. It is the figure which showed the other structural example of the circuit contact-and-separation part applicable to the mounting state inspection apparatus made into this Embodiment. It is the figure which showed the other structural example of the RFID tag applicable to the mounting state inspection apparatus made into this Embodiment.

Explanation of symbols

  31 Circuit contact / separation part, 50 Host computer, 51 Mounting state inspection device, 61 Inspected object, 52 Display, 81 Screw, 82 Screw receiving part, 100 Reader / writer, 200 RFID tag

Claims (7)

In the mounting state inspection device that inspects the state where the mounting of the inspection object is completed,
An RFID tag that generates internal power by receiving a carrier wave based on a predetermined modulation method via a loop antenna, and that exchanges data with the outside,
A reader / writer that performs transmission of carrier power and transmission / reception of data based on a predetermined modulation method via a loop antenna in a contactless manner with the RFID tag;
Circuit contacting / separating means configured to cut or connect a predetermined portion of a circuit constituting the RFID tag;
It is equipped with the mounting state inspection apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned.   2. The mounting state according to claim 1, wherein the circuit contacting / separating unit is attached to the inspection object so that the RFID tag operates normally when the inspection object is completely mounted. Inspection device.   The mounting state inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuit contact / separation unit is provided at a division point where the loop antenna of the RFID tag is divided.   The mounting state inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuit contact / separation unit is provided in a portion where the loop antenna of the RFID tag is short-circuited.   The mounting state inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the circuit contacting / separating unit is provided so as to cut a predetermined portion of a circuit formed in the RFID tag.   6. The RFID tag is provided with a display unit that operates when carrier power is obtained from the reader / writer via the loop antenna. Mounting state inspection device.   The mounting state inspection according to claim 1, wherein the inspection result of the inspection object can be constantly monitored by permanently installing the reader / writer in the vicinity of the inspection object. apparatus.

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