JP2008286541A - Apparatus and system for inspecting cable end cores - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To enable automatic and appropriate change of criteria according to changes in types, sizes, shapes, working conditions, and inspecting conditions of wires to be inspected. <P>SOLUTION: In this invention, attributes corresponding to the external diameter of a core 2 to be inspected are measured and the criterion is sequentially updated according to the moving average deviations of a plurality of attributes and a tolerance range selected by an inspector. At the same time, the quality of a new measured core 2 is judged according to the updated criterion. This enables continuation of exact quality judgment of cores 2 since the criterion can be always updated according to changes in types, sizes, shapes, and so on of wires 1. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for inspecting the quality of a core wire exposed by removing an insulation coating from an end portion of an electric wire, and more specifically, variations in types, dimensions, and shapes of electric wires to be inspected, processing conditions, and inspection conditions. The present invention relates to a technique for improving so that a criterion can be automatically and appropriately changed following a change.

  Conventionally, an electric wire terminal processing device that removes the insulation coating from the electric wire terminal portion to expose the core wire and crimps the terminal to the core wire has been widely used. However, this device removes the insulation coating and exposes the core wire. An apparatus for inspecting whether or not the work to be performed has been performed well is provided side by side (for example, see Patent Document 1 below).

The structure of the “wire stripping inspection apparatus” described in Patent Document 1 will be outlined with reference to FIG. 6. This apparatus removes the insulation coating from the terminal portion of the electric wire 1 to remove the core wire 2. In order to inspect whether the exposure operation has been performed satisfactorily, laser light is emitted from the light emitter 3 toward the light receiver 4.
Then, when the core wire 2 of the electric wire 1 that translates in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 6 crosses the optical path of this laser light, the amount of received laser light incident on the slit 6 provided on the light receiving surface 5 of the light receiver 4 is as follows. Decrease, and the detection voltage output from the light receiver 4 changes.

FIG. 7 shows a temporal change in the detection voltage accompanying a change in the amount of received light incident on the slit 6, where the region 1 is a state before the core wire 2 crosses the optical path of the laser beam, and the region 2 is a laser beam when the core wire 2 is a laser. The state where the optical fiber has started to cross the optical path and the region 3 correspond to the state in which the core 2 is in the process of crossing the optical path of the laser light.
The device shown in FIG. 6 removes the insulation coating of the electric wire 1 when the detection voltage VD in the region 3 is between the first reference value VH and the second reference value VL for a predetermined time. Thus, it is determined that the operation of exposing the core wire 2 has been performed satisfactorily.

JP-A-6-225423

By the way, when setting the first reference value VH and the second reference value VL in the inspection apparatus shown in FIG. 6, first, the core wire 2 of the non-defective sample is passed through the inspection apparatus, and the detected voltage VD is obtained. A certain numerical value is added to obtain a first reference value VH, and a certain numerical value is subtracted to obtain a second reference value VL.
And whenever it changes the kind and dimension of the electric wire 1 to test | inspect, the 1st reference value VH and the 2nd reference value VL are set, and this is memorize | stored in the determination reference | standard memory | storage part.

However, the shape and dimensions of the core wire 2 of the electric wire 1 vary with the electric wire 1 itself, the load pressure of the roller that feeds the electric wire 1, the load pressure of the roller that takes the curl of the electric wire 1, and It is known that it varies depending on the sharpness of the blade from which the insulating coating is removed.
Further, the speed of the conveying device for passing the electric wire 1 to be inspected through the inspection device may vary when an air cylinder or the like is used as a drive source.
Furthermore, when dust adheres to the light emitter 3 and the light receiver 4 of the optical sensor used in the inspection apparatus, the light reception level fluctuates.

Thereby, even if the types and dimensions of the electric wire 1 are the same, if the inspection date is different or the processing conditions of the electric wire 1 are changed, the determination criterion stored in the determination criterion storage unit is inappropriate. Become.
For this reason, it is necessary to correct the determination criteria or to newly set it, and the reliability of the inspection becomes unstable.

  Therefore, the object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and automatically and appropriately determine the determination criteria following the variation in the type, size and shape of the electric wire to be inspected, the variation of the processing condition and the inspection condition. It is providing the core wire test | inspection apparatus and core wire test | inspection method of the electric wire terminal part improved so that it could change into.

The present invention for solving the above problems is an apparatus for inspecting the quality of the core wire exposed by removing the insulation coating of the electric wire terminal portion,
Means for measuring a characteristic value corresponding to the outer diameter of the core wire; means for calculating a moving average value of these characteristic values based on the measured characteristic values of the plurality of core wires;
Means for selecting any of a plurality of preset allowable widths;
Means for calculating and storing an allowable upper limit value and an allowable lower limit value of the characteristic value based on the selected allowable width and the moving average value;
Means for determining the quality of the core wire based on the characteristic value of the newly measured core wire, the allowable upper limit value, and the allowable lower limit value.

Further, the present invention for solving the above problems is a method for inspecting the quality of the core wire exposed by removing the insulation coating of the electric wire terminal portion,
While measuring the characteristic value corresponding to the outer diameter of multiple core wires,
Calculate the moving average value of these characteristic values based on the measured multiple characteristic values,
Calculate and store the allowable upper limit value and the allowable lower limit value of the characteristic value based on the allowable width selected from the plurality of preset allowable widths and the moving average value,
The quality of the core wire is determined based on the characteristic value of the newly measured core wire and the stored allowable upper limit value and the allowable lower limit value.

  The allowable upper limit value and the allowable lower limit value used for determining the quality of the newly measured core wire are average values (referred to as moving average values) of the characteristic values of a predetermined number of core wires measured immediately before the core wire. ).

Further, the means for measuring the characteristic value corresponding to the outer diameter of the core wire,
Means for irradiating an optical axis that is interrupted by the traversed core wire being transported;
Means for measuring a time when the optical axis is interrupted by the core wire.
In this case, the characteristic value corresponding to the outer diameter of the core wire is “time”, but the number of clock pulses of a predetermined period counted while the optical axis is blocked by the core wire can also be used.

That is, the core wire inspection device and the core wire inspection method of the present invention automatically reset the allowable upper limit value and the allowable lower limit value, which are determination criteria for the core wire quality, while following variations in various conditions. It is completely different from the conventional technology that fixes the
Therefore, in the present invention, when determining the quality of the core wire to be newly measured, the moving average value of the characteristic value corresponding to the outer diameter of the predetermined number of core wires measured immediately before this core wire is calculated, and this movement By combining the allowable range with the average value, an allowable upper limit value and an allowable lower limit value, which are determination criteria, are newly set.
The allowable width combined with the moving average value is selected by the inspector according to the type and size of the electric wire to be inspected or the inspection conditions.
And the quality of this core wire is determined based on the allowable upper limit value and the allowable lower limit value that are updated each time one core wire is measured, and the newly measured characteristic value of the core wire.
Therefore, according to the core wire inspection apparatus and the core wire inspection method of the present invention, it is possible to automatically and appropriately reset the determination reference following the variation in the type, shape and dimensions of the core wire, and variations in the processing conditions and inspection conditions. Therefore, the quality of the core wire can be reliably determined.

The plurality of permissible widths may be predetermined values having different sizes.
At this time, the allowable upper limit value may be obtained by adding a predetermined value corresponding to the selected allowable width to the moving average value.
Similarly, the allowable lower limit value may be obtained by subtracting a predetermined value corresponding to the selected allowable range from the moving average value.

The plurality of permissible widths may have a predetermined ratio with different sizes.
At this time, the allowable upper limit value may be obtained by adding a value obtained by multiplying the moving average value by a predetermined ratio corresponding to the selected allowable width to the moving average value.
Similarly, the allowable lower limit value may be a value obtained by multiplying the moving average value by a predetermined ratio corresponding to the selected allowable width and subtracting the moving average value from the moving average value.

Furthermore, the measurement of the characteristic value of the core wire used for setting the determination criterion and the calculation of the average value can be performed in advance before the actual inspection work is started, or can be performed simultaneously with the actual inspection work.
Specifically, a determination criterion for determining whether or not a certain core wire is good can be set based on a moving average value of characteristic values obtained for a plurality of core wires measured immediately before this core wire.

  As is clear from the above description, according to the present invention, the determination criterion can be automatically and appropriately changed following the variation in the type, size, and shape of the electric wire to be inspected, the variation in the processing condition and the inspection condition. Thus, it is possible to provide a core wire inspection device and a core wire inspection method for an electric wire terminal portion improved as described above.

  Hereinafter, with reference to FIG. 1 thru | or FIG. 5, one Embodiment of the core wire test | inspection apparatus and core wire test | inspection method of the electric wire terminal part which concerns on this invention is described in detail.

  First, referring to FIG. 1, the overall structure of the core wire inspection device of the electric wire terminal portion of the present embodiment will be described. The core wire inspection device 100 includes means 20 for measuring a characteristic value corresponding to the outer diameter of the core wire 2, The means 30 for calculating the moving average value of the measured characteristic values of the plurality of core wires 2, the means 40 for selecting any one of a plurality of preset allowable widths, and the selected allowable width and moving average value. Based on the means 50 for calculating and storing a determination criterion (allowable upper limit value / allowable lower limit value), a characteristic value corresponding to the newly measured outer diameter of the core wire 2 and a stored determination criterion (allowable upper limit value / allowable lower limit value) And means 60 for determining the quality of the core wire 2 on the basis of the value), and control means (not shown) for controlling the operation of each of these means.

A means 20 for measuring a characteristic value corresponding to the outer diameter of the core wire 2 is a digital value obtained by counting a sensor amplifier including a light emitting diode and a phototransistor (not shown) and a detection signal output from the sensor amplifier using an internal clock pulse. A control circuit 21 incorporating a microprocessor for conversion into
One optical fiber 22 extending from the control circuit 21 irradiates the optical axis 23 toward the core wire 2, and the other optical fiber 24 receives the optical axis 23.

When the electric wire 1 is conveyed by a conveyance device (not shown), the core wire 2 moves as indicated by an arrow in FIG. 2 and crosses the optical axis 23 vertically.
At this time, as shown in FIG. 2A, in the state before the core wire 2 crosses the optical axis 23, the light quantity of the optical axis 23 incident on the optical fiber 24 on the light receiving side can be expressed by a numerical value A, for example. .
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2C, in the state where the core wire 2 completely blocks the optical axis 23, the numerical value indicating the light amount of the optical axis 23 incident on the optical fiber 24 on the light receiving side is zero. .

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2B, since the core wire 2 blocks the optical axis 23 by half, a numerical value indicating the light amount of the optical axis 23 incident on the optical fiber 24 on the light receiving side is, for example, the light amount A described above. When the sensor amplifier is halved, the sensor amplifier in the control circuit 21 assumes that the optical axis 23 is blocked by the core wire 2 and the sensor amplifier detection signal is turned off, and the control circuit 21 starts counting the number of clock pulses. .
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 2D, the optical axis gradually advances from the state in which the core wire 2 has blocked the optical axis 23 by half to the state in which it has passed through the optical axis 23, and enters the optical fiber 24 on the light receiving side. When the numerical value indicating the amount of light 23 exceeds, for example, half of the amount of light A described above, the detection signal of the sensor amplifier in the control circuit 21 is turned on, and the control circuit 21 stops counting the number of clock pulses.
The control circuit 21 stores and holds the count value of the number of clock pulses as a characteristic value (digital value) in the internal memory every time one core wire 2 is measured.
Note that the light intensity threshold when the clock pulse count is started and stopped is not limited to 50% of the light intensity value A, and can be changed as necessary.

  The moving average value calculating means 30 always takes out the latest number of clock pulses (digital value) related to, for example, 20 core wires 2 from the memory in the control circuit 21 in the measuring means 20 in accordance with a command from the control means, and the moving average value thereof. (Av) is calculated.

As schematically shown in FIG. 3, the allowable width selecting means 40 stores different allowable widths (tl) for each of the determination levels of 1 to 15, for example, and any one of them by the operation of the inspector Judgment level can be selected.
The allowable width (tl) is a clock pulse count value (digital value) that differs for each determination level. For example, a clock pulse count value (digital value) that sequentially increases from determination level 1 to determination level 15 is set as a fixed value. And keep it in memory.

The determination criterion calculation storage means 50 determines whether the core wire 2 is good or not based on the moving average value (av) calculated by the average value calculation means 30 and the allowable width (tl) selected by the allowable width selection means 40. The allowable upper limit value / allowable lower limit value, which are the determination criteria, is calculated and stored.
As shown schematically in FIG. 3, the allowable upper limit value / allowable lower limit value is the allowable width (tl) at the selected determination level with respect to the moving average value (av) of the characteristic value corresponding to the outer diameter of the core wire 2. ) Is added / subtracted. Specifically, it is as follows.
Allowable upper limit value = moving average value (av) + allowable width (tl)
Allowable lower limit value = moving average value (av) −allowable width (tl)

  The core wire pass / fail judgment means 60 outputs a pass signal when the newly measured clock pulse count value of the core wire 2 falls within the judgment criteria determined by the allowable upper limit value and the allowable lower limit value, and deviates from the judgment criteria. Output a fail signal.

  Next, a procedure for inspecting the core wire 2 using the above-described inspection apparatus 100 will be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS. 4 and 5.

  As shown in FIG. 4, when the type and dimensions of the electric wire 1 to be subjected to terminal processing are changed, after setting and adjusting the processing conditions of the electric wire terminal processing device in step 1 (denoted as S1, the same applies hereinafter), S2 Thereafter, teaching is performed to set a determination criterion in the inspection apparatus 100.

In this teaching, the inspector selects a determination level suitable for the type and size of the electric wire to be processed in S3, and in S4, the characteristic value (clock pulse count value) related to the first core wire 2 of the non-defective sample is measured. Remember.
In S5, an allowable upper limit value / allowable lower limit value is calculated based on the allowable width corresponding to the determination level selected in S3 and the characteristic value of the core 2 measured in S4, and a temporary determination criterion is set. Store in memory.

In S6, the characteristic value related to the second core wire 2 of the non-defective sample is measured and stored, and the second core wire 2 is determined based on the stored characteristic value and the provisional determination criterion set in S5. Determine whether it is inside the reference.
If the determination result is YES, the process proceeds to S7, where the average value (avt) of the first characteristic value and the second characteristic value stored in the memory is calculated, and this average value (avt) and the selection in S3 A determination criterion is calculated based on the allowable width corresponding to the determined determination level, and stored as an updated determination criterion.
If the determination result is NO, the process returns to S3, and after reselecting an appropriate determination level, the operations after S4 are resumed.

After S7, the third, fourth, fifth. . . The same procedure is repeated in this order, and the operations of core wire 2 measurement, pass / fail judgment, and judgment criterion calculation / update are performed.
Next, in S8 and S9, measurement, pass / fail determination, and calculation / update of determination criteria for the n-th core wire 2 of a predetermined number of non-defective samples are performed, and the updated determination criteria are stored and retained. To do.
And teaching is complete | finished in S10 and it transfers to the main production which processes a lot of electric wires.
The above-mentioned number n is the number of teachings and is set to be equal to or less than the parameter of the moving average (avm) that is normally used for the quality determination of the main production.

  Next, a procedure for inspecting the core wire 2 in the main production will be described with reference to FIG.

When the main production is started in S21 in FIG. 5, the judgment criteria stored in the memory are used in teaching as shown in S22.
Thereafter, in S23, the characteristic value (clock pulse count value) relating to the first core wire 2 of the first production is measured and stored in the memory, and the measured characteristic value and the determination criterion stored in the memory in teaching are determined. Based on the above, it is determined whether or not the first core wire 2 is inside the determination criterion.
If the determination result is YES, the process proceeds to S24, and the characteristics stored for the past X core wires 2 including the characteristic value of the first core wire 2 stored in the memory and the characteristic value stored in teaching are stored. A new moving average value (av) is calculated based on the value, and a determination criterion is calculated based on the moving average value (av) and an allowable range corresponding to the determination level selected in S3, and updated. Store as a criterion.

Then, after confirming whether or not the new moving average value (av) calculated in S24 is within a predetermined allowable range, the process proceeds to S25 to determine whether or not a predetermined number of core wires 2 have been inspected. judge.
If the determination result is NO, the process returns to S23 and the measurement of the characteristic value, the pass / fail determination, the calculation of the new moving average value, the calculation of the determination criterion, and the update are repeated for the next core wire 2.
On the other hand, if the determination result is YES, the process proceeds to S26 and the production is finished.

On the other hand, if the determination result in S23 is NO and the newly measured quality of the core wire 2 is unacceptable, the process proceeds to S27 and the production is temporarily stopped.
In S28, the core wire 2 (electric wire 1) determined to be defective is removed from the inspection apparatus 100, and the characteristic value measured for the core wire 2 is erased from the memory in S29.
That is, the characteristic value measured for the core wire 2 determined to be defective is not used as the basic data of the moving average value calculated when the determination criterion is updated.
Next, the process proceeds to S30 to check the determination level, and if necessary, the determination level is updated.
When the determination level is updated in S30, the allowable range corresponding to the updated determination level is used for the calculation of the determination criterion in S24.

As mentioned above, although one Embodiment of the core wire test | inspection apparatus and core wire test | inspection apparatus of the electric wire terminal part which concerns on this invention was described in detail, this invention is not limited by embodiment mentioned above, A various change is possible. Needless to say.
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the number of clock pulses counted while the core wire 2 blocks the optical axis 23 is used as the characteristic value corresponding to the outer diameter of the core wire 2. The value of the time when the shaft 23 is blocked or the outer diameter of the core wire 2 itself can be used.
If the new moving average value (av) calculated in S24 is out of the predetermined range, the production is temporarily interrupted and the terminal processing device for the electric wire 1 is inspected / After the adjustment, the teaching work can be performed again.

The block diagram which shows the structure of one Embodiment of the core wire test | inspection apparatus of this invention. The figure which shows the state in which a core wire interrupts | blocks an optical axis. The figure which shows typically the relationship between a judgment level, an average value, an allowable upper limit value, and an allowable lower limit value. The flowchart explaining the core wire inspection method of this invention. The flowchart explaining the core wire inspection method of this invention. The figure which shows the test | inspection apparatus described in patent document 1. FIG. The graph which shows the change of the voltage signal obtained in the inspection apparatus of FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Electric wire 2 Core wire 3 Emitter 4 Light receiver 20 Measuring means 21 Sensor amplifier 22 Optical fiber on the light emission side 23 Optical axis 24 Optical fiber on the light receiving side 30 Average value calculation means 40 Allowable width selection means 50 Acceptance width calculation memory means 60 Core line pass / fail Determination unit 100 Core wire inspection apparatus according to one embodiment

Claims (7)

An apparatus for inspecting the quality of the core wire exposed by removing the insulation coating of the wire terminal portion,
Means for measuring a characteristic value corresponding to the outer diameter of the core wire; means for calculating an average value of these characteristic values based on the measured characteristic values of the plurality of core wires;
Means for selecting any of a plurality of preset allowable widths;
Means for calculating and storing an allowable upper limit value and an allowable lower limit value of the characteristic value based on the selected allowable width and the average value;
Means for determining the quality of the core wire based on the characteristic value of the newly measured core wire and the allowable upper limit value and the allowable lower limit value;
An apparatus for inspecting a core wire of an electric wire terminal portion, comprising:   The allowable upper limit value and the allowable lower limit value used for determining the quality of the newly measured core wire are calculated based on an average value of the characteristic values of a predetermined number of core wires measured immediately before the core wire. The core wire inspection device for a wire terminal portion according to claim 1, Means for measuring the characteristic value corresponding to the outer diameter of the core wire,
Means for irradiating an optical axis that is interrupted by the traversed core wire being transported;
Means for measuring a time when the optical axis is interrupted by the core wire;
The core wire inspection device for an electric wire terminal portion according to claim 1 or 2, characterized by comprising: The plurality of permissible widths are predetermined values having different sizes,
The allowable upper limit value is obtained by adding a predetermined value corresponding to the selected allowable width to the average value,
The said allowable lower limit value is a value obtained by subtracting a predetermined value corresponding to the selected allowable width from the average value, and the core wire inspection device for a wire terminal part according to any one of claims 1 to 3 . The plurality of permissible widths are predetermined ratios having different sizes,
The allowable upper limit value is obtained by adding a value obtained by multiplying the average value by a predetermined ratio corresponding to the selected allowable range to the average value,
The allowable lower limit value is obtained by subtracting a value obtained by multiplying the average value by a predetermined ratio corresponding to the selected allowable range from the average value.
The core wire inspection device for an electric wire terminal portion according to any one of claims 1 to 3. It is a method for inspecting the quality of the exposed core wire by removing the insulation coating of the wire terminal portion,
While measuring the characteristic value corresponding to the outer diameter of multiple core wires,
Calculate the average value of these characteristic values based on the measured multiple characteristic values,
Calculate and store the allowable upper limit value and the allowable lower limit value of the characteristic value based on the allowable width selected from a plurality of preset allowable widths and the average value,
A method for inspecting a wire end of an electric wire terminal section, comprising: determining whether the core wire is good or bad based on the newly measured characteristic value of the core wire and the stored allowable upper limit value and the allowable lower limit value.   The allowable upper limit value and the allowable lower limit value used for determining the quality of the newly measured core wire are calculated based on an average value of the characteristic values of a predetermined number of core wires measured immediately before the core wire. The method for inspecting a core wire of an electric wire terminal portion according to claim 6.

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