JP3257341B2 - Wire harness continuity tester - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001] The present invention relates to a continuity inspection of a wire harness.
About the vessel.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a wire harness for an automobile, a connector is generally attached to an end. This connector is used for connection between wire harnesses and for connection between wire harnesses and other electrical components, and has a housing and terminal fittings mounted on the housing. There are male and female connectors, and the male and female housings are fitted together to form a terminal fitting mounted on the male housing and a terminal mounted on the female housing. The metal fittings come into contact with each other so that an electrical connection between the male and female connectors is achieved.

[0003] Therefore, in the connector, if the terminal fitting is forgotten to be mounted on the housing, or if the terminal fitting is not correctly mounted, the electrical connection between the interconnected connectors is not achieved, and the connector is mounted. Malfunctions or the like occur in the electrical components. For this reason, in the final stage of the manufacture of the wire harness, it is necessary to sufficiently inspect whether or not the terminal fitting is correctly and securely mounted on the housing. Since this inspection is to check the electrical continuity of the wire harness via a connector, it is conventionally called a continuity inspection, and is performed using a continuity inspection device.

[0004] For example, there are the following methods for conducting a continuity test. That is, when the wire harness is wired, a connector that is actually fitted to the connector to be inspected attached to the end of the wire harness is used as an inspection connector in a part of the inspection device, and the inspection connector and the above In this method, a connector to be inspected is fitted, and conduction between the two is checked. Many connectors used in this manner are usually directly attached to a circuit board as shown in FIG.

Referring to FIG. 3, such a connector comprises:
The housing 1 includes a housing 1 whose front side is open, and a number of terminal fittings 2 provided on the housing 1. The housing 1 has a bottom plate 1a and a side plate 1b surrounding the bottom plate 1a. The internal space surrounded by the bottom plate 1a and the side plate 1b constitutes a housing space EA in which a connector to be inspected is housed. The terminal fitting 2 is fixed to the bottom plate 1a while penetrating the bottom plate 1a substantially vertically. The front end of the terminal fitting 2 forms a connector 2c projecting from the bottom plate 1a into the accommodation space. On the other hand, the rear side of the terminal fitting 2 forms a connection lead terminal 3 extending to the back side of the bottom plate 1a. This connection lead terminal 3 is directly attached to, for example, a printed circuit board BC. By cutting the connection lead terminal 3 so that the amount of protrusion to the back side of the bottom plate 1a is equal to a predetermined amount (indicated by a solid line in the drawing), the connector is used as an inspection connector TC. Can be.

In order to actually perform the continuity test, the continuity test is performed as shown in FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view schematically showing a state where the connector C1 is inspected by the continuity inspection device K equipped with the inspection connector TC. Reference numeral 6 denotes a connector receiving portion, and the connector C1 to be inspected is held in a positioned state. Reference numeral 7 indicates an inspection unit. The inspection unit 7 is slidable in the left and right direction in the figure with respect to the held connector C1. Reference numeral SW indicates a spring, which is urged rightward in a state where the inspection unit 7 is close to the connector receiving unit 6.

[0007] The continuity test will be generally described. First, the test connector TC is mounted on the continuity test section 7.
Further, the connector C1 to be inspected is held by the connector receiving portion 6. Then, the inspection section 7 is slid to the left, and the connector C1 is fitted to the inspection connector TC as shown in the figure. In this state, the quality of conduction between the connector C1 and the inspection connector TC is checked, and if good conduction can be obtained, the terminal fitting 4a included in the connector C1 and
The terminal fittings (connectors) 2 included in the inspection connector TC are in good contact with each other.
1, it is possible to detect that the terminal fitting 4a is accurately and reliably inserted into the housing 4. That is, the wire harness as the inspection target can pass the continuity inspection. On the other hand, if good conduction cannot be obtained between the terminal fitting 4a and the terminal fitting 2, the connector C1 is not correctly attached, that is,
It is possible to detect that the terminal fitting 4a has been forgotten to be attached to the housing 4 or that the terminal fitting 4a is not properly attached.

The connector C1 and the inspection connector T
A good conduction state with C is confirmed by extracting an electric signal from the terminal fitting 2 of the test connector TC. Therefore, a lead wire 5 for extracting a signal is connected to the terminal fitting 2. Conventionally, the connection between the lead wire 5 and the terminal fitting 2 is fixedly connected by soldering the core wire 5a of the lead wire 5 to the rear end of the terminal fitting 2 as shown in the figure. Then, the fixed portion between each terminal fitting 2 and the lead wire 5 is covered with, for example, a heat-shrinkable tube to protect the fixed portion and prevent a short circuit between the fixed portions adjacent to each other.

In the above description, the connector C1 to be inspected has been described as a male connector and the inspection connector TC has been described as a female connector.

[0010]

If the continuity test is repeatedly performed, there is a possibility that the terminal fitting (connector) 2 of the test connector TC may have some trouble. More specifically, when the continuity test is repeatedly performed, the connector C1 to be tested is fitted only once or at most several times with the test connector TC, but the test connector TC should be tested. The connector C1 is fitted in order. For this reason, while the continuity tester K is used, the terminal fitting 2 of the test connector TC may rattle against the housing 2a or may be worn and possibly deteriorated. what if,
If such rattling of the terminal fitting 2 occurs, there is a possibility that an accurate continuity test cannot be performed. Therefore, it is preferable that the terminal fitting 2 be replaced periodically in order to perform an accurate inspection.

When the terminal fitting 2 is replaced, the entire inspection connector TC may be replaced. That is, the inspection connector TC may be removed from the continuity inspection device K and replaced with a new one. However, in order to replace the test connector TC with a new one, the lead wire 5 is soldered to the rear end of the terminal fitting 2, so the lead wire 5 is removed and replaced with a new test connector TC. It is necessary to solder the lead wire 5 to the terminal fitting 2 again.

This soldering operation cannot be easily performed. Because each terminal fitting 2 to which the lead wire 5 is soldered is constituted by the connecting lead terminal 3 directly attached to the circuit board BC, each terminal fitting 2 is thin and dense. The spacing is very narrow. Therefore, the work of soldering the lead wires 5 to the ends of the dense and thin terminal fittings 2 is a very fine work. In addition, depending on the type of the connector to be inspected, the number of poles, that is, the number of terminal fittings is very large. In the inspection connector TC adapted to such a connector, the interval between the terminal fittings 2 is further reduced, and the work of soldering the lead wires 5 to the individual terminal fittings 2 without short-circuiting between the terminal fittings 2 is performed. Is a more detailed task. For this reason, there has been a problem that it takes a very long time and effort to replace the terminal fitting 2.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a wire harness continuity tester in which the connector to be inspected is used as an inspection connector and the inspection connector can be easily replaced.

In order to solve the above problems, a continuity tester according to the present invention is provided with a connector receiving portion for holding a connector to be inspected attached to an end of a wire harness, and a connector receiving portion disposed opposite to the connector receiving portion. A wire harness continuity tester, which has a test portion whose distance to the portion can be approached / separable from each other and is attached to the test portion with a mating connector fitted with the connector to be tested as the test connector. A housing for detachably holding the connector, a connection probe attached to the casing and arranged corresponding to the terminal fitting of the inspection connector, and a lead wire electrically connected to the connection probe. The connector has a bottom plate, and a housing having a front surface opened vertically extending from the bottom plate and having a side plate surrounding the bottom plate, Provided on the Ujingu, and inspected
Front so that it is electrically connected to the terminal fittings of the connector
And a plurality of terminal fittings extending toward a plurality of terminal fittings are secured to the bottom plate through the bottom plate substantially vertically,
The rear end is cut so that the amount of protrusion of the bottom plate toward the rear side is constant.

[0015]

[0016]

According to the continuity tester of the present invention, when the test connector is attached to the casing of the test section, each terminal fitting of the test connector contacts one end of the connection probe. As a result, each terminal fitting is electrically connected to a signal extraction lead wire. That is, it is possible to electrically connect the lead wire and the terminal fitting via the connection probe without performing troublesome soldering work between the lead wire and the terminal fitting. Moreover, by removing the inspection connector from the casing, the terminal fitting is separated from the connection probe.

[0017]

[0018]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the continuity tester A according to one embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, in this continuity tester A, a terminal fitting C2 (see FIG. 1) included in a connector C attached to an end of a wire harness W is accurately and securely mounted on a housing C1. Wire harness W through connector C to check whether
Is used to check the quality of the electrical continuity.

The continuity tester A is mounted on a base member 10 on which a rail 11 is formed, a connector receiving portion 20 mounted at a predetermined position on the rail 11, and slidably along the rail 11. , An inspection unit 30 disposed opposite to the connector receiving unit 20, and the inspection unit 30
Has a lever device 40 (see FIG. 2) that slides along the rail 11 to change the distance between the inspection unit 30 and the connector receiving unit 20, thereby bringing the two into and out of contact with each other. The inspection section 30 is fixed, and the connector receiving section 20 is fixed.
May be slid.

The connector receiving portion 20 is for receiving and holding the connector C to be inspected from above in a positioned state. Here, the connector C is
A plurality of terminal fittings C2 attached to the ends of the wire bundle W1 constituting the wire harness W and crimped to each wire end of the wire bundle W1 (only two are shown in FIG. 1 for simplicity). ) And the housing C in which these are inserted.
And 1. The connector receiving portion 20 has a receiving portion main body 21 and a positioning plate 22 attached to a front surface of the receiving portion main body 21.

The receiving portion main body 21 is formed in a block shape having a substantially U-shaped cross section. The shape of the inner peripheral surface of the receiving portion main body 21 is formed in accordance with the side peripheral surface shape of the housing C1 of the connector C to be inspected. The positioning plate 22
It is fastened to the receiving part main body 21 using a screw 22a.
The positioning plate 22 contacts the end surface of the housing C1 (the end surface on the side where the wire bundle W1 extends) when the connector C is accommodated in the receiving portion main body 21, and positions the housing C1. A substantially central portion of the positioning plate 22 is provided with a notch groove portion 22b cut downward from the upper edge.
Are formed, whereby the positioning plate 22 is formed in a substantially U-shape. When the connector C is accommodated in the connector receiving portion 20, the notch groove portion 22b
1 is passed through. An accommodation space 23 for accommodating the connector C is defined by the inner peripheral surface portion of the receiving portion main body 21 and the positioning plate 22.
The accommodation space 23 can exactly accommodate the connector C so as not to move.

The inspection section 30 is for establishing electrical continuity with the connector C by being fitted with the connector C housed in the connector receiving section 20. Inspection unit 30
Has a casing 31 having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape as a whole and having a concave portion 31a opened on the front surface;
1a, and an inspection connector CT removably fitted to 1a. The inspection connector CT is connected to the inspection housing 32.
And a terminal fitting 33 provided on the inspection housing 32.

In this embodiment, the inspection connector CT is a connector directly attached to a circuit board to be connected when the wire harness W is wired, and the connector C to be inspected is actually fitted. The connector has the required processing. This inspection connector CT
A housing 32 having an open front surface and a housing 3
2, and a plurality of terminal fittings 33 (only two are shown in FIG. 1 for simplicity).

The housing 32 has a bottom plate 32a and side plates 32b surrounding the bottom plate 32a. Side plate 32b
Extends perpendicularly to the bottom plate 32a. The space surrounded by the bottom plate 32a and the side plate 32b constitutes a housing space EA in which the connector C to be inspected is housed. The terminal fitting 33 penetrates the bottom plate 32a substantially vertically, and is fixed to the bottom plate 32a. The distal end of the terminal fitting 33 forms a connector projecting from the bottom plate 32a into the accommodation space EA. The connector contacts the terminal fitting C2 to achieve electrical continuity when the connector C is housed in the inspection housing 32.

On the other hand, the rear end of the terminal fitting 33 is
It slightly extends to the back side of 2a. This terminal fitting 3
The rear end side of 3 is constituted by connection lead terminals of a connector directly attached to the circuit board. More specifically, a connector directly attached to a circuit board includes a connection lead terminal directly raised from the circuit board, and the connection lead terminal passes through the housing of the connector and also serves as a terminal fitting 33. ing. The inspection connector CT according to the present embodiment is obtained by cutting each of the connection lead terminals so that the amount of protrusion from the bottom plate 32a is uniform. That is, the rear end side of the terminal fitting 33 is configured by the connection lead terminal.

The inspection connector CT is connected to the casing 31.
In this embodiment, a key 36 is employed as a means for fixing the key 36 to the key. That is, a through groove (not shown) is provided in the side surface portion 31b of the casing 31 so as to penetrate the casing 31 and reach the concave portion 31a. On the other hand, a key groove (not shown) corresponding to the key 36 is formed in the inspection housing 32 of the inspection connector CT fitted into the recess 31a. The key 36 is inserted through the through groove and fitted into the key groove (the state shown in FIG. 2), thereby preventing the inspection connector CT from falling out of the recess 31a. However, the inspection connector CT is connected to the casing 3
The means for fixing the test connector CT to the test connector CT is not limited to the case where the key 36 is used.
After being fitted into the casing a, a positioning plate 22 attached to the connector receiving portion 20 is attached to the front surface 31d of the casing using screws or the like, whereby the inspection connector CT comes off from the recessed portion 31a. Can also be prevented.

A lead wire 34 for taking out an electric signal when conduction between the terminal fitting 33 and the terminal fitting C2 is achieved is connected to a rear end of the terminal fitting 33 via a contact probe 50. Have been. This lead wire 34
Is the other equipment required to perform the continuity test (not shown)
It is connected to the. The distal end 50a of the contact probe 50 and the terminal fitting 33 are in contact with each other, and the rear end 50b of the contact probe 50 and the lead wire 34 are electrically connected.

More specifically, the contact probe 5
0 is a publicly known one, and is a so-called one probe type. The contact probe 50 is
1 and a contact 52. The contact 52 is connected to the main body 5.
The contact element 52 is slidable in the axial direction with respect to 1. The contact element 52 is always elastically urged in a direction protruding from the main body 51. The contact probe 50 is a terminal fitting 33
(In FIG. 1, only two are shown for simplicity), and a casing 31 is provided.
Is supported in a positioning state. The lead wire 34 is connected to a rear end 50b which is to be one electrode of the contact probe 50. This connection can be achieved, for example, by soldering.

The contact probe 50 is connected to the casing 31.
In the state where the contact probe 50 is mounted on the casing 31, the tip 50 a serving as the other electrode of the contact probe 50 is
1a. Further, by attaching the inspection housing 32 to the casing 31, the terminal fittings 33 are provided.
And the corresponding tip 50 of the contact probe 50
a contacts. Since the contact 52 of the contact probe 50 always protrudes toward the terminal fitting 33, the distal end 50 a of the contact probe 50 elastically contacts the terminal fitting 33 while being constantly pressed. Thereby, each terminal fitting 33 and the corresponding lead wire 3
4 is always electrically connected.

According to such a connection structure of the lead wires 34, the inspection connector CT can be easily and easily replaced. This is because the terminal fitting 33 and the lead wire 34 achieve electrical continuity by abutment between the two, and regardless of the presence of the lead wire 34, the attachment / detachment of the key 36 causes the inspection connector CT to be mounted on the casing 31 with respect to the casing 31. This is because attachment and detachment can be performed freely.

Referring to FIG. 2, lever device 40 has cam lever 41 and spring 42. Cam lever 41
Is rotatably attached to an end of the base member 10 via a pin P. When the cam lever 41 is turned upright in the direction of the white arrow, the cam portion 41 a of the cam lever 41 is pressed against the inspection unit 30, and the inspection unit 30 is moved along the rail 11 toward the connector receiving unit 20. Further, the spring 42 is interposed between the connector receiving portion 20 and the inspection portion 30 and constantly urges the inspection portion 30 in a direction for separating the inspection portion 30 from the connector receiving portion 20. Therefore, if the cam lever 41 is erected against the urging force of the spring 42, the inspection unit 3
0 approaches the connector receiving portion 20. When the cam lever 41 is tilted, the inspection section 30 is separated from the connector receiving section 20 to the original position by the force of the spring 42.

According to the continuity tester A having the above configuration,
The following operational effects are obtained. Connector C to be inspected by connector receiving portion 20
, And by rotating the cam lever 41, the inspection unit 30 and the connector C are fitted to each other, and a required conduction test of the connector C can be performed. By the way, this continuity test is performed by using the terminal fitting C2 of the connector C and the test housing 32.
Since the terminal fitting 33 is brought into contact with the terminal fitting 33, if the conduction test is repeated a predetermined number of times, the terminal fitting 33 may be deteriorated. For this reason, in the continuity tester A,
It is preferable to periodically update the terminal fitting 33.

Terminal fitting 33 and contact probe 5
0 means that the test connectors CT are simply replaced because they are only in contact with each other. That is, by removing the key 36 and taking out the inspection connector CT from the inspection unit 30, the terminal fitting 33 is separated from the contact probe 50 and can be removed together with the inspection housing 32. Then, by replacing the inspection connector CT with a new one, the terminal fitting 33 together with the inspection housing 32 is provided.
Can be updated.

Further, by attaching the inspection connector CT to the inspection section 30, the updated terminal fitting 33 and the contact probe 50 come into contact with each other.
When updating the terminal fittings, the electrical connection between the terminal fittings 33 and the lead wires 34 can be achieved without troublesome soldering work, and the updating work of the terminal fittings 33 can be performed very easily. .

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment.
The inspection housing 32 may be directly attached to the rail 11. In this case, a required bracket can be provided on the inspection housing 32, and the contact probe 50 can be attached thereto. Further, as the inspection connector CT, a connector in which terminal fittings are fixed in advance to the housing can be manufactured instead of the connector attached to the circuit board. In addition, various design changes can be made within the scope of the present invention.

[0036]

As described above, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the terminal fitting comes into contact with the connection probe in a state where the inspection connector is attached to the casing of the inspection section, and the connection fitting is connected via the connection probe. The terminal fitting and the lead wire are electrically connected. Further, by removing the inspection connector from the casing, the terminal fitting can be easily separated from the connection probe. Therefore, the terminal fitting can be easily updated without a troublesome work of soldering the terminal fitting and the lead wire by a simple operation of replacing the inspection connector detachable with the casing with a new one. .

[0037]

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a continuity tester according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view of a main part of a continuity tester.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the inspection connector as viewed obliquely from behind.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a conventional continuity tester, showing a connection structure between a terminal fitting and a lead wire.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List A continuity tester W wire harness C connector CT test connector C1 housing C2 terminal fitting EA housing space 20 connector receiving section 30 testing section 31 casing 32 test housing 32a bottom plate 32b side plate 33 terminal fitting 34 lead wire 50 contact probe

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) G01R 31/02-31/04 H01R 13/64 H01R 43/00

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] A connector receiving portion attached to an end of the wire harness for holding a connector to be inspected, and an inspection portion disposed opposite to the connector receiving portion and capable of approaching / separating from the connector receiving portion. In a wire harness continuity inspection device attached to the inspection section with a mating connector fitted with the connector to be inspected as an inspection connector, a casing for detachably holding the inspection connector, and a casing attached to the casing; For terminal fittings of inspection connectors
It has a connection probe arranged correspondingly and a lead wire electrically connected to the connection probe. The inspection connector extends vertically from the bottom plate and surrounds the bottom plate. A housing having an open front surface having a side plate; and terminals of a connector provided in the housing and to be inspected.
And a multiple <br/> number of terminal fittings extending toward the front to be connected to bracket and electrically, a plurality of terminal fittings are secured to the bottom plate through the bottom plate substantially vertically, the rear end Is a continuity tester for a wire harness, which is cut so that the amount of protrusion of the bottom plate to the rear side is constant.