JPH07130441A - Connector inspecting device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To securely detect fixing deficiency of a terminal metal fitting. CONSTITUTION:A lance check pin 22 to be inserted into a punching space 34 of a cavity 32 is projected on a unit block 21. In the case where a terminal metal fitting 40 is inserted deeply to 'a normal position' and a lance 41 is intruded into the punching space 34, the lance check pin 22 is brought into contact with the lance 41 to form a conducted state, which shows the completely inserted state of the terminal metal fitting 40. In the case where the terminal metal fitting 40 does not reach 'the normal position' and the lance 41 is not intruded into the punching space 34, the lance check pin 22 is not brought into contact with the lance 41, which indicates the semi-inserted state of the terminal metal fitting 40. An inspection result cannot be adversely influenced even if bending rigidity of an electric wire 43 fixed to the terminal metal fitting 40 is high.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a connector inspection device for detecting a defective insertion of a terminal fitting inserted in a connector housing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A connector is generally constructed by mounting a terminal fitting fixed to the tip of an electric wire in a plastic connector housing, and the terminal fitting is a lance (locking claw) provided in the terminal fitting or the connector housing. It is locked by the stopper. In this type of connector, if the terminal metal fittings are not installed in the proper positions that engage the lances of the connector housing, the terminal metal fittings may come off during use. Need to check and fix. Therefore, various connector inspection devices have been conventionally developed for detecting a mounting failure of terminal fittings, and as an example thereof, for example, Jitsuko Sho 53-18545.
There is one described in the publication. This is, in principle, configured as shown in FIG. 7, in which an inspection unit 4 having push-out pins 3 facing the respective terminal fittings 1 facing the connector housings 2 in which the terminal fittings 1 are mounted is provided. And the inspection unit 4 is moved in a direction in which the inspection units 4 approach each other.

Since the terminal fitting 1 shown on the upper side of FIG. 1A is fully inserted from the left side of the figure to the proper position, its lance 1a engages with the locking portion 2a of the connector housing 2 and comes off. It is in a stopped state. However, since the lower terminal fitting 1 is insufficiently inserted, the lance 1a is not engaged with the locking portion 2a of the connector housing 2 and is in a poorly mounted state. Therefore, when the inspection unit 4 is moved to the connector housing 2 side from the state of FIG. 7 (A), the upper terminal metal fitting 1 is in a retaining state, so that the push-out pin 3 corresponding thereto compresses the spring 3a. By doing so, the inspection unit 4 is retracted (see FIG. 7B). On the other hand, since the lower terminal fitting 1 is not in the retaining state, it is easily moved by the push-out pin 3, and the terminal fitting 1 is pushed back from the connector housing 2 while bending the electric wire 5. As a result, a mounting failure is detected, and the worker mounts the terminal fitting 1 on the connector housing 2
It is possible to perform a correction work such as completely inserting it in a predetermined position.

[0004]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention
Is fixed to the electric wire 5, the actual condition of the electric wire 5 has a great influence on whether or not the improperly mounted terminal fitting 1 is reliably pushed back. For example, when the electric wire 5 is thick and has high rigidity, or when a plurality of electric wires 5 are taped in a bundled state, the electric wire 5 is less likely to be deformed. Even if it is pushed by the push-out pin 3, it will not move in the direction of coming out of the connector housing 2. This means that even if there is a mounting failure, it cannot be detected, and the reliability of the inspection becomes low. Therefore, improvement in this respect has been conventionally demanded. In order to avoid this, it is conceivable to increase the spring force of the spring 3a. However, since a large force acts on the terminal fitting 1 during the inspection, the terminal fitting 1 is likely to be deformed.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a highly reliable connector inspection apparatus capable of reliably detecting a mounting failure of a terminal fitting.

[0006]

As a means for solving the above problems, the present invention provides a lance provided with a terminal fitting inserted in a predetermined position of a connector housing, as described in claim 1. Is a device for inspecting the connector that is locked in place by contacting the lance of the terminal fitting that is in the locked position at the regular position and is projected so as to face the lance of the connector held in the inspection position. The present invention is characterized in that it is provided with a lance check pin and an insertion detecting means for judging the insertion state of the terminal fitting based on the presence or absence of electrical conduction between the lance check pin and the lance.

According to a second aspect of the invention, in the invention according to the first aspect, the insertion detecting means is constituted by connecting the lance check pin to a continuity inspection circuit of the wire harness, and at the same time as the insertion inspection, the continuity of the wire harness is conducted. It is characterized in that the inspection is performed.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, a probe is provided which abuts on the terminal fitting of the connector held at the inspection position, and the insertion detecting means is provided by connecting the lance check pin and the probe. It is characterized in that it is configured.

The invention according to claim 4 is characterized in that, in the invention according to claim 3, the probe is connected to a continuity inspection circuit of the wire harness.

[0010]

[Function] When the terminal fitting is inserted in the proper position and is in the removal preventing state, the lance and the lance check pin come into contact with each other and become electrically conductive, and this is detected by the insertion detecting means so that the terminal fitting is fixed. It is determined that it is inserted in the regular position. If the terminal fitting is not inserted to the proper position and is in the semi-inserted state, the lance check pin does not contact the lance, so there is no electrical continuity, and this is detected by the insertion detector, and the terminal fitting is placed in the proper position. It is determined that it has not been inserted.

In the invention according to claim 2, whether or not the lance check pin and the lance are electrically connected is detected by the continuity inspection circuit. When the terminals are conducting, it is determined that the terminal fitting has been correctly mounted in a predetermined mounting position in the connector housing and has been inserted to the regular position in the mounting position. When there is no continuity, there are two cases: the terminal fitting is installed in the wrong place and the wire harness has poor continuity, and the terminal fitting is improperly inserted and the lance check pin and the lance are not in contact. There are two possible states, but if you reinsert the terminal and confirm that it is in the proper insertion state, and then inspect it again, you can tell which state it was in. That is, if the wire harness is still not conductive in the re-inspection, it can be understood that the mounting position of the terminal metal fitting was incorrect and the wire harness was in a poor conduction. It can be seen that the metal fitting was in a semi-inserted state in which it was not inserted to the regular position.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the probe is brought into an electrically conductive state by contacting the terminal fitting regardless of the inserted state of the terminal fitting. When the lance check pin and the lance come into contact with each other, the lance check pin, the lance, the terminal fitting, and the probe are electrically connected to each other, so that it is understood that the terminal fitting is inserted in the proper position. When the lance check pin and the lance do not come into contact with each other, there is no continuity in the above path, so it can be seen that the terminal fitting is in the half-inserted state.

In the invention according to claim 4, the inspection of the insertion state of the terminal fitting and the inspection of the conduction state of the wire harness can be performed independently of each other.

[0014]

As described above, according to the present invention, unlike the conventional device, the terminal fitting is not pushed out to detect the improper mounting, but the lance check pin and the lance are electrically connected. Since the mounting failure is inspected depending on the presence or absence of the wire, there is an effect that an accurate inspection can be performed without being affected by an electric wire fixed to the terminal fitting, and there is no fear of deforming the terminal fitting.

According to the second aspect of the invention, both the inserted state of the terminal fitting and the conductive state of the wire harness can be inspected, and the means for performing both inspections is common. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the cost by reducing the number of parts.

According to the invention of claim 3, it is possible to reliably inspect only the inserted state of the terminal fitting.

According to the invention of claim 4, the probe is used as a common member in both the inspection of the insertion state of the terminal fitting and the inspection of the conduction state of the wire harness, so that the number of parts is small and the cost is reduced. Can be achieved.

[0018]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS A first embodiment embodying the present invention will now be described with reference to FIG.
It will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the structure of the connector 30 that is inspected by using the inspection apparatus 10 of this embodiment will be described. The connector housing 31 is made of plastic and is molded to have a rectangular shape as a whole, and a plurality of cavities 32 are formed inside in two stages.
Each of the cavities 32 has a shape penetrating forward and backward, and the terminal fitting 40 is inserted into the cavity 32 from the rear side (left side in FIGS. 2 and 3). The terminal fitting 40 is formed with an elastically deformable lance 41 which projects obliquely rearward by cutting and raising one surface thereof to the outside. On the other hand, the cavity 32
A locking portion 33 is provided inside of which a lance 41 is locked in order to hold the terminal fitting 40 in a non-pullable state. The locking portion 33 is formed by recessing the inner wall of the cavity 32.
It is opened to the front end face side of the connector housing 31 via.

When the terminal fitting 40 is inserted into the cavity 32, the lance 41 is located on the rear side of the locking portion 33 of the cavity 32 from the start of insertion until the terminal fitting 40 reaches the "regular position". By hitting the inner wall, the terminal metal 40 is kept elastically deformed. Then, when the terminal fitting 40 reaches the regular position, the lance 41 is disengaged from the inner wall surface of the cavity 32 and enters the die-cutting space 34 by the elastic restoring force to be locked in the locking portion 33. 40 cannot be removed.

In order to show the above-mentioned state of the lance 41, the terminal fitting 40 drawn on the upper stage of the connector 30 in FIG. 3 is in the “half insertion position” which does not reach the “regular position”, and the lance 41 is engaged. A defective insertion state in which the terminal 33 is not locked to the stopper 33 is shown. Regarding the terminal fitting 40 drawn in the lower stage, the lance 41 is inserted to the “regular position” and the lance 41 is removed.
It shows a completely inserted state in which it is inserted and locked in the locking portion 33.

Next, an inspection apparatus 10 for inspecting the connector 30 will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. On the board 11 of the inspection device 10, a connector holder 12 is fixedly provided near the end. The connector holder 12 includes a U-shaped support block 13 and a U-shaped back plate 1 detachably attached to the support block 13.
4, a connector fixing groove 15 having an open top is formed between the two. In this connector fixing groove 15,
A ridge 31b protruding from the outer surface of the connector housing 31
Is fitted from above, and accordingly, the two protrusions 31b can be guided vertically to hold the connector housing 31 in the positioning state in the support block 13, and in this state, the connector housing 31 cannot move in the left-right direction. .

A connector holder 12 is provided on the board 11.
When the cam handle 16 provided on the board 11 is rotated, the inspection unit 20 is provided so as to be movable in the left-right direction so as to face the inspection unit 20, and the inspection unit 20 approaches the connector holder 12 and moves away from the connector holder 12. It is designed to move to and from the standby position. The unit block 21 of the inspection unit 20 includes a support block 1
Lance check pins 22 corresponding to the respective terminal fittings 40 of the connector 30 fixed to 3 are provided so as to project toward the connector 30 side. The lance check pin 22 is made of a conductive material, is free to move in the contacting / separating direction with respect to the connector housing 31, and has an extremely weak force due to the elasticity of the compression coil spring 24 mounted in the housing chamber 23 of the unit block 21. It is in a protruding direction, that is, in a state of being urged toward the connector 30 side, and by this urging, the collar 25 of the lance check pin 22 is always held at the most protruding position in contact with the inner end surface of the accommodation chamber 23.

When the inspection unit 20 moves to the inspection position, the tip portion of the lance check pin 22 of the inspection unit 20 is removed from the die-cutting space 34 of each cavity 32 of the connector housing 31.
It is designed to be inserted inside. At this time, when the terminal fitting 40 is in the “half-insertion position” and the lance 41 is not in the die-cutting space 34, the lance check pin 22 is at the most protruding position and the tip thereof is the locking portion 33. When the terminal fitting 40 is inserted up to the "regular position" and the lance 41 is in the die-cutting space 34, the lance check pin 22 moves to the opposite position. The tip end is brought into contact with the lance 41, and is pushed by the lance 41, so that it is retracted from the most protruding position.

Further, a lead wire 26 is connected to the rear end of the lance check pin 22, and this is a continuity inspection circuit 2.
7 is connected to the continuity check circuit 27,
An electric wire 43 fixedly attached to the rear end of the terminal fitting 40 is connected, and the insertion detecting means 45 is constituted by this.
FIG. 4 shows the electrical connection relationship for the combination of one terminal fitting 40 of the insertion detecting means 45 and the lance check pin 22. Here, the continuity check circuit 27
Is for inspecting whether or not the correct terminal fitting 40 is inserted in each cavity 32 of the connector 30 assembled as a wire harness, and is equipped with a power source for continuity inspection inside and at both ends of the wire harness. This is a well-known configuration in which inspection is performed based on whether or not an electric current flows between the predetermined terminal fittings 40 of the two connectors 30. In the continuity inspection circuit 27, the electric wire 43, the terminal fitting 40, the lance 4
1. The presence or absence of electrical continuity in a path that sequentially passes through the lance check pin 22 and the lead wire 26 is detected, and the result is displayed by a display method (not shown) such as lighting of a lamp.

Next, the operation of the first embodiment will be described. In advance, the terminal fitting 40 is fully inserted into the predetermined cavity 32 of the connector housing 31, and a large number of electric wires 43 are bundled by taping or the like to be assembled into a wire harness as follows.
A 0 mounting test and a continuity test are performed. Here, the wire harness to be inspected is placed on a predetermined inspection plate, and the connector 30 of the wire harness is set in the inspection device 10 provided near the inspection plate.

First, the connector housing 31 is picked up with a finger, the ridge 31b is inserted into the connector fixing groove 15 of the connector holder 12, and the connector 30 is set so as to be fitted into the connector holder 12 from above. After the connector 30 is set in the connector holder 12, the cam handle 16 of the inspection device 10 is operated to inspect the inspection unit 20.
Is advanced to the inspection position, and each lance check pin 22 of the inspection unit 20 is inserted into the die-cutting space 34 of the cavity 32 of the connector 30. At this time, the terminal fitting 4
0 is inserted to the “regular position” as shown in the lower part of FIG. 3, and when the lance 41 enters the die-cutting space 34 and is locked by the locking portion 33, the lance 41
The lance check pin 22 comes into contact with the lance check pin 22 and is slightly retracted. By the contact between the lance check pin 22 and the lance 41, it is detected in the continuity inspection circuit 27 that there is electrical continuity, and "the terminal fitting is completely inserted in the regular position in the predetermined cavity". Is displayed. The terminal fitting 40 is not inserted to the "regular position" as shown in the upper part of FIG.
4 does not come into contact with the lance 41, the continuity inspection circuit 27 detects that there is no electrical continuity, and the "insertion of the terminal metal fitting is performed correctly." A message saying "I have not been broken" is displayed. At this time, the terminal fitting 40 is pushed further inward so that the terminal fitting 40 is inserted to the "regular position", and then the inspection is performed again. You can confirm that the message "Yes" is displayed. Even in this re-inspection, if the continuity inspection circuit 27 still displays "Insert the terminal fitting is not inserted correctly", the terminal fitting 40 is inserted in the wrong cavity 32 and the continuity is not good. Because it means there is
Correction processing such as reinserting the terminal fitting 40 into the correct cavity 32 may be performed.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the terminal fitting is not pushed back from the inside of the cavity as in the conventional device to detect the improper mounting, but the lance check pin 22 and the lance 41 are electrically connected to each other. Since the installation failure is inspected depending on the presence or absence of the
Even when the terminal metal fitting 40 is difficult to be pushed back due to the bending deformation, it is possible to perform an accurate inspection without being affected by it. Further, since the spring force for urging the lance check pin 22 contacting the lance 41 can be set to be extremely weak, there is no fear that the lance 41 is deformed or broken by the urging force of the lance check pin 22.

In particular, in this embodiment, a continuity test is performed to determine whether or not the terminal fitting 40 is inserted into the correct cavity 32, and whether or not the terminal fitting 40 is inserted to the "regular position" and is in a completely inserted state. Both of the insertion inspections can be performed, and the inspection work is rationalized and streamlined. Moreover, since the means for performing both inspections is common, cost reduction is achieved by reducing the number of parts.

Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The terminal fitting 40 and its lance 41 and lance check pin 22 have the same construction as in the first embodiment. In the second embodiment, the probe 50 that moves integrally with the lance check pin 22 is connected to the terminal fitting 4 in an inspection unit (not shown).
It is provided so as to project so as to face 0. In the state where the inspection unit is moved to the inspection position, in the probe 50, the terminal metal fitting 40 has the “half insertion position” and the “regular position”.
It is designed to come into contact with the tip surface of the terminal fitting 40 regardless of the position of the terminal fitting 40. The probe 50 is biased in the protruding direction by a compression coil spring 51, and is pushed into the inspection unit when it comes into contact with the terminal fitting 40. The probe 50 and the lance check pin 22 are both connected via lead wires 26 and 52 to an insertion inspection circuit 53 for detecting the presence / absence of conduction, and the insertion inspection circuit 53, the lance check pin 22, and the lance 4 are connected.
1, the terminal metal fitting 40 and the probe 50 constitute an insertion detecting means 55.

When the terminal fitting 40 is inserted up to the "regular position", the lance check pin 22 contacts the lance 41 and the probe 5 as shown in FIG. 5B.
Since 0 contacts the terminal fitting 40, the insertion detection means 55 detects that there is continuity, and the insertion inspection circuit 53.
The lamp (not shown) lights up and the buzzer sounds,
It is informed that "the terminal metal fittings have been completely inserted". When the terminal fitting 40 is not inserted to the “regular position”, the probe 50 is in contact with the terminal fitting 40, but the lance check pin 22 is not in contact with the lance 41, as shown in FIG. 5C. Therefore, the insertion detecting circuit 55 detects that there is no continuity, and the insertion inspection circuit 53.
It can be seen that the terminal fittings are in the half-inserted state because the lamp and buzzer in 3 do not operate.

Next, a third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In the third embodiment, the configurations of the terminal fitting 40, the lance 41, the lance check pin 22, the probe 50, and the insertion inspection circuit 53 are the same as those in the second embodiment. In this embodiment,
The probe 50 is connected to the continuity inspection circuit 56 of the terminal fitting 40 so that the insertion inspection and the continuity inspection can be performed independently. That is, the insertion inspection circuit 53 includes the lance check pin 22, the lance 41, the terminal fitting 40, and the electric wire 4.
The insertion state is inspected on the basis of the continuity of the path passing through 2, and the continuity inspection circuit 56 determines that the terminal fitting 4 is based on the continuity of the path passing through the wire 42, the terminal fitting 40 and the probe 50.
Conduct a 0 continuity check. As described above, in this embodiment, both the inserted state and the conductive state of the terminal fitting 40 can be inspected, and furthermore, the terminal fitting 40 and the probe 50 are used as members common to both the inspections. Compared with the case where separate members are used, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above and shown in the drawings, and various modifications can be carried out without departing from the scope of the invention.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an external perspective view of a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway side view of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view showing the inspection state of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of the insertion detecting means of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of the insertion detecting means of the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of the insertion detecting means of the third embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a partially cutaway side view of a conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 30 ... Connector 31 ... Connector housing 10 ... Inspection device 40 ... Terminal fitting 41 ... Lance 22 ... Lance check pin 45 ... Insertion detection means

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A device for inspecting a connector in which a terminal fitting inserted into a predetermined position of a connector housing is locked by a lance provided in the terminal fitting, the device facing a lance of the connector held at the inspection position. Based on the presence or absence of electrical continuity between the lance check pin and the lance, the lance check pin coming into contact with the lance of the terminal fitting which is provided in a protruding position in the regular position and is in the retaining state. A connector inspection device comprising insertion detection means for determining the insertion state of the terminal fitting. 2. The insertion detecting means is constituted by connecting a lance check pin to a continuity inspection circuit of the wire harness, and the continuity inspection of the wire harness is performed simultaneously with the insertion inspection. 1. The connector inspection device according to 1. 3. A probe provided in contact with a terminal fitting of a connector held at an inspection position is provided, and the insertion detecting means is constituted by connecting a lance check pin and the probe. Connector inspection equipment. 4. The connector inspection device according to claim 3, wherein the probe is also connected to a continuity inspection circuit of the wire harness.