JPH0727082U - Connector and its inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Abstract] [Purpose] It is possible to inspect the mounting failure of terminal fittings with high reliability.
Moreover, a connector inspection device capable of preventing damage to the lance is provided. [Structure] The lance 14 of the connector housing 11 includes:
A conductive portion 16 for detecting a mounting failure of the terminal fitting 13 is formed from a portion that comes into contact with the terminal fitting 13 that is inserted in the regular position to a front end surface portion that faces the front opening of the connector housing 11. The inspection device 20 has a connector holder 22
Lance 1 of the connector 10 provided with and held therein
A lance contact pin 28 extending toward 4 is provided so as to be movable in the lance direction. The lance contact pin 28 is connected to the continuity inspection circuit of the wire harness. If the terminal fitting 13 is in the regular position, the terminal fitting 13 and the lance contact pin 28 are electrically connected via the conductive portion 16, and if the terminal fitting 13 is not in the proper position, the conductive portion 16 does not contact the terminal fitting 13.
No continuity can be obtained.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a connector inspection device for detecting a mounting failure of a terminal fitting inserted in a connector housing.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 A connector is generally configured by mounting a terminal fitting crimped onto the end of an electric wire inside a plastic connector housing, and the terminal fitting is secured by a lance (elastic locking claw) provided integrally in the connector housing. To be When the terminal fitting is inserted into the connector housing, the lance once bends toward the bending space, and when the terminal fitting is inserted to the proper position where the lance engages with the lance (hereinafter referred to as "regular position"), It is elastically restored and comes to engage with the terminal fitting, which prevents the terminal fitting from coming off. When this type of retaining structure is adopted, some frictional force acts on the terminal when the terminal is inserted to the point where the lance is bent, so the terminal is in a pseudo retaining state. Therefore, the worker who is inserting the terminal metal fitting may mistakenly think that it has been completely inserted and stop the work in the middle.

However, if the terminal fitting is not completely inserted into the “regular position” where it is completely engaged with the lance of the connector housing, the terminal fitting may come off during use. Defects need to be checked and corrected in advance. Therefore, various types of connector inspection devices have been conventionally developed for detecting defective mounting of terminal fittings, and an example thereof is disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 62-47093. This has a connector holder that holds the connector at a predetermined position, and a lance contact pin is provided in a protruding shape so as to face the lance of the connector held by the connector holder. It extends toward the flexible space of the terminal and comes into contact with the tip of the lance located in the flexible space when the terminal fitting is in a poorly mounted state. According to this configuration, when the connector is set in the connector holder and the lance is positioned in the bending space due to a poor mounting of the terminal fitting, the lance contact pin hits the tip of the lance and the connector Since it can no longer be set, it is possible to find the mounting failure.

[0004]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, in the above configuration, if the connector is forcibly set in the state where the terminal fitting is not properly attached, the tip of the lance contact pin may hit the lance strongly, which may deform the plastic lance. It was In the unlikely event that such deformation occurs, the connector will be set in the connector holder in the same way as in the normal case, so it will not be possible to find the mounting failure of the terminal metal fittings, and moreover the lance will be damaged and the connector will be damaged. Disable it. Such damage to the lance is particularly likely to occur in a device in which the lance contact pin is forcibly advanced into the connector housing by using a cam mechanism or the like, which hinders mechanization of inspection. It was

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

[0006]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 In order to achieve the above object, the connector according to the invention of claim 1 is such that a terminal fitting inserted into a plastic connector housing is locked by a lance integrally molded with the connector housing. It is characterized in that a conductive part for detecting a mounting failure of the terminal fitting is formed in a portion that comes into contact with the terminal fitting inserted in the regular position. The conductive portion may be formed from a portion that comes into contact with the terminal fitting to a tip portion that faces the front opening of the connector housing (claim 2).

Further, the inspection device for inspecting the connector may be configured to include a lance contact which is provided so as to project toward the lance side of the connector and is capable of contacting the conductive portion of the lance (claim 3). Devised). Further, the lance contact may be connected to the continuity inspection circuit of the wire harness (invention of claim 4), and the lance contact is supported so as to be movable in the extension direction thereof and is connected to the lance side by a spring. It is desirable to adopt a configuration for urging the device (claim 5).

[0008]

[Action]

 When the terminal fitting is inserted into the connector housing to the proper position, the terminal fitting contacts the conductive part of the lance of the connector housing. Therefore, by inspecting whether or not the conductive portion and the terminal fitting are electrically connected to each other, the mounting failure of the terminal fitting can be reliably detected. Moreover, since it is sufficient to lightly contact a contact such as an electrode with a part of the conductive portion, there is no possibility of damaging the lance. In particular, as in the invention of claim 2, in the case where the conductive portion is formed from the portion that comes into contact with the terminal fitting to the tip portion that faces the front opening of the connector housing, a contact such as an electrode is provided through the front opening of the connector housing. Can be inserted into the connector housing.

According to a third aspect of the connector inspection device of the present invention, the connector having the above-mentioned configuration is inspected. If the terminal fittings of the connector are mounted at proper positions, the lance contactor contacts the conductive portion of the lance. Then, it is possible to easily inspect whether or not the electrical connection with the terminal fitting is obtained, that is, whether or not the terminal fitting is mounted in the proper position. In the connector inspection device according to claim 4, wherein the lance contact is connected to a continuity inspection circuit of a wire harness, not only is each terminal metal fitting inserted into a proper position of the cavity, but it is mounted in the wrong cavity. It will be inspected at the same time if it is not done. Further, if the lance contact is biased toward the lance by a spring, when the tip of the lance contact comes into contact with the lance, the lance contact retracts while compressing the spring.

[0010]

[Effect of device]

 As described above, according to the present invention, by electrically inspecting whether or not the terminal fitting is in contact with the conducting portion provided on the lance of the connector housing, it is possible to easily install the terminal metal fitting of the connector. In addition, it has an excellent effect that the inspection can be performed surely and the lance of the connector housing is not damaged. Further, according to the connector inspection device of claim 4, it is rational that it can be inspected at the same time whether or not each terminal fitting is mounted in the correct cavity, and according to the inspection device of claim 5, Since the lance contactor that comes into contact with the lance is automatically retracted, it is possible to more reliably prevent excessive pressure from acting on the lance and more reliably prevent damage to the lance.

[0011]

【Example】

 <First Embodiment> A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 7. First, the structure of the connector 10 to be inspected by using the inspection apparatus 20 of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 6. The connector housing 11 is made of plastic and is molded to have a rectangular shape as a whole, and a plurality of cavities 12 (only one is shown) are formed inside. Each of the cavities 12 has a shape penetrating in the front and rear direction, and a terminal fitting 13 is inserted into the cavity 12 from the rear side (the left side in FIG. 1). It is provided in.

The lance 14 is in the form of an elastically deformable cantilever having an engaging portion 14a near the tip thereof, and has a bending space 12a in the cavity 12 for allowing the elastic deformation of the lance 14 upward. It is formed using the die-cutting space. Further, the terminal fitting 13 is of a well-known structure in which a wire 15 is crimped to the left end of the terminal fitting 13 which is a female shape which makes a pair with a male terminal fitting of a mating connector (not shown) in this embodiment. When the terminal fitting 13 is inserted into the cavity 12 from the state shown in FIG. 4, as shown in FIG. 6, the tip of the terminal fitting 13 first comes into contact with the lance 14 and elastically moves it toward the bending space 12a. When the terminal fitting 13 is deformed and is inserted to the "regular position" at the innermost portion of the cavity 12, the lance 14 that has been elastically deformed during the insertion encounters the engaging hole 13a of the terminal fitting 13. Then, as shown in FIG. 6, the locking portion 14a of the lens 14 is engaged with the engaging hole 13a, and the terminal fitting 13 is in the retaining state.

Now, of the surface of the lance 14, the tip facing the opening on the front surface of the connector housing 11 from the lower surface of the front end of the locking portion 14a, which is the portion that comes into contact with the terminal fitting 13 inserted in the regular position. The conductive portion 16 is formed in layers in the L-shaped region extending to the surface portion. The conductive portion 16 is formed by applying a conductive paint in this embodiment.

Next, an inspection device 20 for inspecting the connector 10 will be described. The inspection device 20 has two substrates 21 facing each other in such a size that the connector housing 11 is sandwiched from above and below, and a connector holder 22 is formed by utilizing this. The left end portion of the lower substrate 21 is bent downward to form a mounting portion 23 at the lower end, and a lock claw 24 is guided by the guide member 25 at the bent portion and is held so as to be vertically movable. The upper end of the lock claw 24 is formed with a slope 24a on the connector insertion side (left side in the drawing) and is constantly urged upward by a compression spring 24b. When the connector 10 is inserted into the connector holder 22 from the left side in the drawing, the lock claw 24 is pushed down by the inclined surface 24a of the lock claw 24 and the connector 10 is advanced, and the lock claw 24 is moved upward in the fully inserted state. The connector 10 is restored and the connector 10 is prevented from being pulled out. Further, when the lock releasing portion 26 attached to the lock claw 24 is pulled down, the lock claw 24 is pulled down and the connector 10 can be pulled out.

A checker holder 27 is provided between the substrates 21, and a lance contact pin 28 is provided at the tip of each lance 14 provided in the connector housing 11 of the connector 10. There is. It is electrically conductive, and is constantly urged forward by the spring 30 so as to come into contact with the tip surface of the lance 14 of the connector housing 11 mounted on the connector holder 22. The lance contact pin 28 is connected to the continuity inspection circuit 32 of the wire harness via the lead wire 31, and the electrical connection relationship of one terminal fitting 13 is as shown in FIG. Here, the continuity inspection circuit 32 inspects whether or not the terminal fittings 13 at both ends of each wire are inserted into the correct cavity 12 of the connector housing 11 in the assembled state as a wire harness. It is a well-known configuration in which a power source for a continuity test is provided and a test is performed based on whether or not a current flows between the predetermined terminal fittings 13 of the two connectors 10 at both ends of the wire harness.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. In advance, the terminal fitting 13 crimped to the tip of each electric wire 15 is inserted into a predetermined cavity 12 of the connector housing 11, and a large number of electric wires 15 are bundled by taping or the like to be assembled into a wire harness. As described above, the mounting failure inspection and the continuity inspection of the terminal fitting 13 are performed. Here, the wire harness to be inspected is placed on a predetermined inspection plate, and its connector 10 is set in the connector holder 22 of the connector inspection device 20 (see FIG. 1). Then, the tip of the lance contact pin 28 of the inspection device 20 comes into contact with the tip surface portion of the lance 14 of the connector housing 11, and is electrically connected to the conductive portion 16 formed there. At this time, as shown in FIG. 1, if the terminal fitting 13 of the connector 10 is in the "regular position" where the terminal fitting 13 of the connector 10 engages with the lance 14 of the connector housing 11, the conductive portion 16 of the lance 14 contacts the terminal fitting 13. And is electrically conducting. Therefore, the lance contact pin 28 is electrically connected to the terminal fitting 13 via the conductive portion 16, and the terminal fitting 13 is in the "regular position" by the continuity inspection circuit 32. It is confirmed that it is mounted in the predetermined cavity 12.

However, as shown in FIG. 2, when the terminal fitting 13 does not reach the “regular position” in which the terminal fitting 13 engages with the lance 14 and is in the half-inserted state, the tip of the locking portion 14 a of the lance 14 is the terminal. The conductive portion 16 of the lance 14 contacts the metal fitting 13 and is separated from the terminal metal fitting 13 to be electrically insulated. As a result, even if the lance contact pin 28 comes into contact with the conductive portion 16, the conduction between the lance contact pin 28 and the terminal fitting 13 cannot be obtained. Is detected.

When the terminal fitting 13 is completely inserted into the cavity 12 as shown in FIG. 3, the lance 14 does not bend to the lance bending space 12a side, so that the lance contact pin 28 does not move. Although the tip contacts the conductive portion 16 of the lance 14, the conductive portion 16 is not in contact with the terminal fitting 13, so that conduction between the lance contact pin 28 and the terminal fitting 13 cannot be obtained. Therefore, also in this case, the continuity check circuit 32 detects that there is an abnormality in the terminal fitting 13 portion.

Even if the terminal fitting 13 is inserted in the proper position as shown in FIG. 1, when the terminal fitting 13 is inserted into the wrong cavity 12 of the connector housing 11, the entire wire harness is Since no continuity is established, an abnormality is detected in the continuity inspection circuit 32.

By the way, when the lance contact pin 28 comes into contact with the conductive portion 16 of the lance 14 as described above, a certain amount of pressure acts on the lance 14, but the pressure acts on the lance contact pin 28 and the conductive portion 16. It suffices to ensure that the electric conduction of the lance 14 can be obtained. Therefore, a slight pressure is enough and the lance 14 is not damaged at all. Further, in particular, as in the present embodiment, since the lance contact pin 28 is configured to be movable and biased forward by the spring 30, when the lance contact pin 28 abuts the lance 14, Since the spring 30 is compressed and the lance contact pin 28 retracts so as to escape from the lance 14, it is possible to reliably prevent an excessive pressure from acting on the lance 14.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, since the mounting failure of the terminal fitting 13 is detected based on the electrical continuity between the conductive portion 16 of the lance 14 and the terminal fitting 13, the conventional inspection device is used. As compared with the above, the mounting failure of the terminal fitting 13 can be detected more reliably, and the reliability of the inspection becomes higher. In addition, since the contact pressure between the lance contact pin 28 and the lance 14 can be a small value, excessive pressure does not act on the lance 14, and damage to the lance 14 can be reliably prevented. Further, particularly in this embodiment, since each lance contact pin 28 is connected to the continuity inspection circuit 32 of the wire harness, each terminal can be operated by one work of setting the connector 10 in the connector holder 22 of the inspection device 20. It is possible to confirm whether or not the metal fitting 13 is in the “regular position” and whether or not each terminal metal fitting 13 is mounted in the predetermined cavity 12 at the same time, which makes the inspection work rational. Can be streamlined.

Second Embodiment FIG. 8 shows a second embodiment of the present invention. The basic difference from the first embodiment is that the connector inspection device 20 is mechanically moved toward the connector 10. Since other configurations are the same as those of the first embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the same portions in order to omit duplicate description, and only different portions will be described in detail. A holder 40 that holds the lance contact pins 28 is provided on the substrate 41 so as to be movable in the left-right direction in the figure, and a cam handle 42 that is provided on the substrate 41 so as to be rotatable about a shaft 42a can be rotated. It is designed to move. The lance contact pin 28 provided here has the same structure as that of the first embodiment.

On the other hand, a connector holder 43 is fixedly provided on the left end portion of the board 41 in the drawing. This is composed of a U-shaped support block 44 and a U-shaped back plate 45 which is also detachably attached to the U-shaped support block 44, and a connector fixing groove 46 whose upper side is open is formed between them. A ridge (not shown) protruding from the outer surface of the connector housing 11 is fitted into the connector fixing groove 46 from above, so that both ridges are vertically guided to sandwich the connector housing 11 between the support blocks 44. The connector housing 11 can be held in a positionally fixed state, and in that state, the connector housing 11 cannot move in the left-right direction.

In this configuration, first, the connector 10 is picked up, and the connector 10 is set by fitting it into the connector holder 43 from above. When the cam handle 42 is rotated in the direction of the arrow to move the holder 40 to the left side in the drawing, the lance contact pin 28 advances to the connector 10 side, and the tip of the lance contact pin 28 is moved to the same position as in the above embodiment. Since the lance 14 contacts the conductive portion 16 of the lance 14, the mounting check and the connection check of the terminal fitting 13 are performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and the same effects as those in the above-described embodiment can be obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and the following modifications are possible, for example.

(A) In each of the above embodiments, the conductive portion of the lance is formed by applying a conductive paint, but the invention is not limited to this, and metal vapor deposition, sputtering, electroplating, chemical plating, or hot metal foil is used. It may be formed by a stamp or the like. Further, the conductive portion is not necessarily formed in a layered manner, and for example, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a conductive piece formed of a conductive material is formed on the tip of a lance 51 integrally molded with a plastic connector housing 50. It may be configured by connecting 52. As the connecting structure in this case, a connecting slit 51a may be formed on the tip surface of the lance 51, and the connecting protrusion 52a provided on the conductive piece 52 may be press-fitted into the slit 51a to be fixed. In addition to this, adhesion, welding, and caulking may be used. Although not shown, a conductive tube may be fitted to the tip of the plastic lance and used as a conductive portion. Even if the conductive portion is formed by any of the above methods, it is formed on the lance. It goes without saying that the present invention includes the concept of the conductive portion as long as it contacts the terminal fitting inserted in the proper position.

(B) The lance contact may be biased by the spring 30 as necessary, and is not essential in the present invention. Further, even if the lance contact is biased toward the tip side, not only the coil spring 30 of the above-described embodiment but also a leaf spring or rubber (including conductive rubber) can be used.

(C) The conductive portion is not necessarily formed on the tip end surface portion of the lance, and is formed, for example, from each lance to the outer surface portion of the connector housing so that the connector inspection device is electrically connected to the conductive portion of the outer surface portion of the connector housing. In other words, all conductive parts, which are formed in the portion of the lance that comes into contact with the terminal fitting inserted in the proper position to detect a defective mounting of the terminal fitting, are referred to as "conductive parts" in the present invention. It is included in the concept of “part”.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing a connector and its inspection device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing how to inspect a connector in which the terminal fitting is not properly mounted.

[FIG. 3] Same as above

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the connector.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the connector in a state different from that of FIG.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the connector in a state different from that of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a circuit diagram showing a relationship with a continuity check circuit.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view of an inspection apparatus showing a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an exploded sectional view showing another embodiment of the connector of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the connector of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Connector 11 ... Connector housing 13 ... Terminal metal fitting 14 ... Lance 16 ... Conductive part 20 ... Connector inspection device 22 ... Connector holder 28 ... Lance contact pin (lance contact) 32 ... Continuity inspection circuit

Claims (5)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A terminal fitting, which is inserted into a plastic connector housing, is retained by a lance integrally molded with the connector housing. When the terminal fitting is inserted into a regular position of the lance, the terminal fitting is in contact with the terminal fitting. A connector, wherein a conductive portion for detecting a mounting failure of the terminal fitting is formed in a portion. 2. A terminal fitting, which is inserted into a plastic connector housing, is retained by a lance integrally formed with the connector housing, and contacts the terminal fitting that is inserted into a regular position of the lance. A connector, wherein a conductive portion for detecting a mounting failure of the terminal fitting is formed from a portion to a tip portion facing the front opening of the connector housing. 3. A terminal fitting inserted into a plastic connector housing is retained by a lance integrally molded with the connector housing, and the terminal is provided at a portion of the lance that comes into contact with the terminal fitting. What is claimed is: 1. A connector for inspecting a connector having a conductive portion for detecting a mounting failure of a metal fitting, comprising a lance contact provided so as to project toward the lance side of the connector and capable of contacting the conductive portion of the lance. Connector inspection device. 4. The connector inspection device according to claim 3, wherein the lance contact is connected to a continuity inspection circuit of a wire harness. 5. The connector inspection device according to claim 3, wherein the lance contact is movably supported in the extension direction and is biased toward the lance by a spring. .