JP2007064910A - Method of inspecting automatically backup operation function of electric product - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method of inspecting automatically a backup operation function capable of executing operation confirmation inspection as to whether a clocking means and a backup electric power source for an electric product are operated normally or not, under an unmanned condition. <P>SOLUTION: This method of inspecting automatically the operation function of the electric product provided with the backup electric power source and a clocking function has: a process for connecting a communication control means electrically to the electric product on a palette transferred along an inspection line; a process for setting a time in the electric product by the communication control means; a process for turning thereafter electric power source supply on again, after the electric power source supply is turned off for a prescribed time; a process for writing a clocked data into a rewritable memory mounted on the electric product, when the electric power source supply is turned on again; and a process for reading out the clocked data written in the memory. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2007,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an automatic inspection method for a backup operation function of an electric product equipped with a control microcomputer and equipped with a clocking function and a backup power source for a television, a recording device, an audio device and other various electric products.

  Recent electric appliances such as TVs, recording devices, audio devices, and other automatic rice cookers are usually equipped with a microcomputer to perform various controls. Many things have functions such as control. Generally, power supply for microcomputer peripheral circuits is configured to be supplied from both AC power supply and backup power supply, and even if power is temporarily not supplied due to power failure, The operation of the microcomputer is continued, and it is not necessary to set the time measuring means again (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

In addition, when an electrical product is placed on a pallet and passed on a transfer line such as a conveyor in an electrical product inspection line, an automatic inspection method is used to automatically adjust and inspect the electrical product using a contact probe. Is also known (see, for example, Patent Document 2). In this case, when the electrical product is automatically inspected, it is detected that the electrical product has moved to a predetermined inspection position, and the electrical product to be inspected is placed by a liftable stopper attached to the outer frame of the conveyor. Stops only the pallet in place at the specified inspection position, or lifts the electrical product together with the pallet from the conveyor, and connects the electrical terminals for adjustment and inspection to the electrical terminals provided on the pallet. Is going. In general, a form in which a contact probe biased by a spring is brought into contact with an electric terminal portion on a pallet is used for electrical connection.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-100059 Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-149761

  When a backup power supply is provided in an electrical product, it is necessary to check whether the backup power supply operates normally. Conventionally, for the inspection of the backup power supply, after the electrical connection for adjustment / inspection is made to the electrical products on the conveyor line, the time of the time measuring means is set with the AC power turned on. Next, the power supply was turned off for a predetermined time on the conveyor line, and then the power supply was turned on again to display the timekeeping state of the electrical product. After the power supply was turned off, the timekeeping function and the backup power supply operated normally. Whether or not a person is judging by looking at the display screen.

  For confirmation of the operation of the backup power source, it is difficult to unmanned, and a method is used that involves human intervention. For example, it is possible to automate electrical connection, AC power on / off, and time setting using an automatic inspection method disclosed in Patent Document 2, for example. However, it is necessary to rely on a person to determine whether the time measuring means and the backup power supply operate normally, and it is difficult to completely automate and unmanned. For this reason, it cannot be incorporated into other fully automated inspection processes of electrical products, which is a factor that hinders productivity improvement.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and the operation check of whether or not the time measuring means and the backup power supply operate normally is performed by the communication control means for adjusting and setting the microcomputer and the external equipment in the electric product. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic inspection method for a backup operation function of an electric product that can be easily implemented by software and unattended.

  The backup power supply automatic inspection method according to the present invention is a method for automatically inspecting an operation function of an electrical product having a backup power supply and a timekeeping function. The communication control means is provided for the electrical product on the pallet transferred along the inspection line. A step of electrically contacting and connecting, a step of setting the time of the electric product by the communication control means, a step of turning off the power supply for a predetermined time and then turning on the power supply again, and a time of turning on the power supply again. A step of writing time-measurement data in a rewritable memory mounted on the electric product, and a step of reading time-measurement data written in the memory.

  In the backup power supply automatic inspection method according to the present invention, each of the above steps can be performed at the same position on the inspection line. In addition, only the step of reading the time data written in the memory is different on the inspection line. It can also be implemented in position. Furthermore, in the backup power supply automatic inspection method according to the present invention, the step of reading the time data written in the memory may be performed at a place other than the inspection line.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to completely automate and unattended the timekeeping function and the backup power supply inspection that conventionally required human intervention. In addition, the process of reading the timekeeping data written in the final memory and judging pass / fail can be incorporated into other function adjustments / inspections and other automatic inspection processes. It becomes possible to carry out. As a result, the degree of freedom in the inspection line can be increased and the efficiency in the production line can be improved.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram including a backup power source and a clocking function for an electrical product that is the subject of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram for explaining an example in which communication control means is contact-connected to the electrical product. In the figure, 10 is a power supply device, 11 is a power supply circuit, 12 is a detection circuit, 13 is a microcomputer, 14 is a switching circuit, 15 is a backup power supply, 16 is a regulator, 17 is a timing means, 20 is an inspection line, 21 is a pallet, 22 is an electrical product, 23 is an electrical terminal, 24 is a communication connector, 25a is an electrical connection cable, 25b is an AC power cord, 26 is a communication cable, 27 is a communication control means (equipment PC), and 28 is a contact terminal device. , 29 is a power outlet, and 30 is an elevating stopper.

  For example, a power supply device 10 as shown in FIG. 1 is used in an electric product such as a television, a recording device, an audio device, and other automatic rice cookers and equipped with a microcomputer having a timekeeping function. The power supply device 10 converts an external AC power supply into a DC power supply having a predetermined voltage level by a power supply circuit 11 and is supplied as a main power supply for the microcomputer 13 in the product and an operation power supply for other circuits. The backup power supply 15 can be constituted by, for example, a large-capacitance capacitor, is charged when the power is input, and the main power is turned off, or the voltage of the main power is below a predetermined value. The power supply voltage is backed up for a predetermined time in such a form that the charged charge is discharged when the voltage drops to a low level. In addition, although a battery etc. can also be used as the backup power supply 15, since it is consumed, it is necessary to replace | exchange and replenish.

  Further, the clock means 17 is controlled by the microcomputer 13, and even when the power supply is turned off, when the microcomputer 13 is driven by the backup power source, the clock count of the clock means 17 is continued and backed up. The voltage of the main power supply (for example, DC12V) is detected by the detection circuit 12, and when the voltage is lower than a predetermined voltage (for example, 9V or less), it is determined that the main power supply is in an off state. The power supply to the microcomputer 13 is supplied from the power supply circuit 11 or the backup power supply 15 via the regulator 16 by the switching circuit 14.

  When the main power supply from the power supply circuit 11 is temporarily turned off due to a power failure or the like, the power from the backup power supply 15 is supplied and the microcomputer 13 is continuously operated. As a result, the time measuring means 17 operated by the microcomputer 13 can also time even when the power supply is turned off. When the main power supply is turned on again, the power supply from the backup power supply 15 is stopped and switched to the power supply from the power supply circuit 11 of the main power supply.

  In addition to various adjustments and inspections, the electrical product provided with the backup power supply 15 and the timing means 17 as described above operates normally when the backup power supply 15 is turned off, or the timing means 17 operates normally. A check is made to see if it is timed. 2 (A) and 2 (B) show an example of an inspection line suitable for use in the automated inspection method of the present invention, and an electrical product 22 to be inspected is formed by a belt conveyor or the like. Placed on the pallet 21 on the inspection line 20 to be transported.

  The pallet 21 is provided with an electrical terminal portion 23 for automatically connecting to an external communication control means 27, and a communication connector portion 24 for performing communication for adjustment / inspection of the electrical product 22 which is an inspected product; Electrical connection can be made in advance. In addition, when the connector part 24 for communication by the side of the electric product 22 is formed with the terminal part which can be connected automatically, the electric terminal part 23 by the side of the pallet 21 does not need to be used.

  A personal computer can be used for the communication control means 27 and is connected to the electrical terminal portion 23 on the pallet 21 by a communication cable 26 of (RS232C or UART) specification. For this electrical connection, as shown in FIG. 2B, a contact terminal device 28 composed of a number of contact probes biased by springs as used in Patent Document 2 can be used. The electrical product 22 to be inspected and the communication control means 27 are connected via the communication cable 26, the electric terminal portion 23, and the electric connection cable 25a, and are adjusted / adjusted according to a control program preset by the communication control means 27. Inspection etc. are carried out.

  In addition, it is assumed that an AC power supply for adjusting / inspecting various functions is supplied to the electrical product 22 so that the communication control unit 27 can perform on / off control. For example, the AC power cord 25 b of the electrical product 22 is connected in advance to a power outlet 29 provided on the pallet 21. Then, an AC power line may be connected to the power outlet 29, and the AC power supply may be turned on / off by the communication control means 27 via the power supply relay circuit.

  Using the inspection line 20 as described above, for example, an electric product such as a television is placed on the pallet 21 and the connection terminal 25 of the pallet 21 and the communication connector portion of the electric product 22 are connected in advance using the connection cable 25a. 24 is electrically connected. Further, AC power is supplied to the electrical product 22 from the power outlet 29 of the pallet 21 by the AC power cord 25b, and is placed on the inspection line 20. Detecting that the pallet 21 has reached a predetermined position by using a sensor (not shown) and stopping only the pallet at a predetermined inspection position by a liftable stopper 30 or the like attached to the outer frame of the conveyor, or Then, the pallet 21 is lifted up to stop the transfer of only the pallet 21 and the electrical product 22.

  Next, the contact terminal device 28 connected to the communication cable 26 is contact-connected to the electric terminal portion 23 of the pallet 21 so that the communication control means 27 and the electric product 22 placed on the pallet 21 are in electric communication. Make it possible. When the contact terminal device 28 can be contact-connected to the communication connector portion 24 of the electrical product 22, the contact terminal device 28 may be directly connected to the communication connector portion 24.

  After stopping the transfer of the pallet 21, a slight waiting time is taken, a command is transmitted from the communication control means 27, various functions of the electrical product 22 can be adjusted and set, and time setting is also performed. After setting the time of the time measuring means, the AC power supply of the electrical product 22 is turned off for a predetermined time (for example, about 10 seconds), and then the AC power supply is turned on again. If the time is measured even during the AC power off time, it indicates that the backup power supply is operating normally. If the time is not measured during the off period, it is determined that the backup power supply did not operate normally. can do. However, the determination of this operation is performed by a person confirming the time display provided on the electrical product 22 with the AC power turned on, and it has been considered difficult to fully automate (unmanned).

Next, an automatic inspection function backup method for electrical products according to the present invention will be described with reference to the schematic diagram of FIG. 2 and the flowchart of FIG. In FIG. 3, a process performed on the electric product side (displayed with a dotted line frame) and a process performed on the inspection facility side (displayed with a solid line frame) are identified and shown.
First, in step S1, the pallet 21 on which the electrical product 22 to be inspected transferred by the belt conveyor of the inspection line 20 shown in FIG. 2 is placed is detected. In addition to detecting the pallet 21, a method of directly detecting the electrical product 22 may be used. Various types of proximity sensors and image observation devices can be used to detect the pallet 21 and the electrical product 22.

  When the pallet 21 is detected, in step S2, the elevating stopper 30 for stopping the movement of the pallet 21 attached to the outer frame of the conveyor is operated to stop only the pallet at a predetermined inspection position, or the pallet Is lifted up (for example, the method disclosed in Patent Document 2) and positioned. Next, in step S3, the contact terminal device 28 connected to the communication control means 27 is contact-connected to the electrical terminal portion 23 provided on the pallet 21 or directly contact-connected to the communication connector portion 24 of the electrical product 22. . The communication control means 27 uses, for example, a personal computer as an inspection facility, and hereinafter, the communication control means 27 is abbreviated as an equipment PC.

  The connection of the contact terminal device 28 enables communication between the electrical product 22 and the equipment PC 27. Therefore, in step S4, various functions of the electrical product 22 can be adjusted and set by transmitting a command from the equipment PC 27. In the present invention, a command for setting the time setting mode is transmitted from the equipment PC 27 side. In step S5, when the electrical product 22 side returns to the equipment PC 27 that the command has been normally received, a time setting command is transmitted from the equipment PC 27 side to the electrical product 22 in step S6. At this time, in addition to transmitting actual time measurement data, it may be possible to directly set at a predetermined time (for example, 12:00) using a predetermined dedicated remote control command.

  By sending the time setting command, the time setting on the electrical product 22 side is performed in step S7, and the fact that the command has been normally received and the time setting has been made is returned to the equipment PC 27. When the facility PC 27 receives a reply that the time setting has been completed, in step S8, control is performed to turn off the supply of AC power. In step S9, the detection circuit 12 on the electric product 22 side detects that the AC power supply is turned off, and the main power supply is automatically switched to the backup power supply. In step S10, the electric appliance microcomputer 13 shifts to the low power consumption mode. To do. In this low power consumption mode, the time measuring means 17 keeps measuring time, and the time measuring data is counted without interruption.

  In step S11, after a predetermined time (for example, about 10 seconds) has passed since the supply of AC power is turned off, in step S12, the supply of AC power is resumed by the control signal of the equipment PC 27 and turned on. The When the detection circuit 12 detects that the supply of AC power has been resumed, in step S13, on the electrical product 22 side, the microcomputer 13 switches from the backup power supply to the power supply from the main power supply by the AC power supply. The power supply mode is activated. When the backup power source is switched to the AC power source, that is, when the AC power source is turned on again, the AC power source is stored in the rewritable memory (eg, EEPROM, cache memory) built in the electrical product 22 in step S14. Timekeeping data at the time of re-input is written.

  Thereafter, a read command of timing data written in the memory from the equipment PC 27 side is transmitted to the electrical product 22 at an arbitrary time (may be immediately after restarting the power supply) in step S15. In step S16, the electrical product 22 side receives this command, reads time data from the memory, and returns time data when power-on is resumed to the equipment PC 27 side. In step S17, it is possible to determine whether or not the backup power supply 15 has been normally operated by analyzing the returned timing data in the equipment PC 27.

  In other words, when the time data written in the memory is read, if the time data is a value obtained by adding the count after the AC power is turned off, the backup power supply operates normally, and the time function Also shows that it is normal. If the count after the AC power is turned off is not included in the timing data (with a little margin), the backup power supply did not operate normally or the timing function was defective. It shows.

  The timed data that has been timed is written to the memory when the power is turned on again, and can be read out from the memory, and it is only necessary to determine whether the timed data is a predetermined value. It can be easily implemented by processing. As a result, it is not necessary for a person to look at the display screen to make a determination, and the equipment PC 27 can automatically determine pass / fail, and complete automation can be realized.

  Since the operation state of the backup power supply 15 is once written and held in a rewritable memory as timing data, this timing data can be read from the memory and confirmed at any time unless the data is rewritten. It becomes possible. Therefore, it is not necessary to perform the processes after step S15 in FIG. 3 at the same position on the inspection line. After writing the time data to the memory, when performing other adjustments / inspections, such as white balance adjustment, at a position downstream of the inspection line, read out the time data in the memory by command transmission. You may make it confirm operation | movement. It is also possible to check the operation on a different inspection line at a different date and time, thereby increasing the degree of freedom of inspection and reducing the cost by increasing the efficiency of production.

It is a figure which shows an example of the electric product provided with the backup power supply and time measuring function which are the object of this invention. In this invention, it is a figure which shows an example which electrically contacts and connects the communication cable of a communication control means to an electric product. It is a flowchart explaining the backup operation function automatic inspection method of the electric product by this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Power supply device, 11 ... Power supply circuit, 12 ... Detection circuit, 13 ... Microcomputer, 14 ... Switching circuit, 15 ... Backup power supply, 16 ... Regulator, 17 ... Time measuring means, 20 ... Inspection line, 21 ... Pallet, 22 ... Electricity Product, 23 ... Electrical terminal portion, 24 ... Communication connector portion, 25a ... Electrical connection cable, 25b ... AC power cord, 26 ... Communication cable, 27 ... Communication control means (equipment PC), 28 ... Contact terminal device, 29 ... Power outlet, 30 ... Elevating stopper.

Claims (4)

A method of automatically inspecting the operation function of an electrical product having a backup power source and a timekeeping function,
A step of automatically and electrically connecting communication control means to the electric product on the pallet transferred along the inspection line, a step of setting the time of the electric product by the communication control means, and thereafter the power source A step of turning off the power supply for a predetermined time and then turning on the power supply again; a step of writing timing data to a rewritable memory mounted on the electrical product when the power supply is turned on again; and A backup power supply automatic inspection method comprising the step of reading time-measurement data written in   The backup power supply automatic inspection method according to claim 1, wherein each step is performed at the same position on the inspection line.   The backup power supply automatic inspection method according to claim 1, wherein the step of reading the timing data written in the memory is performed at different positions on the inspection line.   The backup power supply automatic inspection method according to claim 1, wherein the step of reading the timing data written in the memory is performed at a place other than the inspection line.

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