JPH07282951A - Device and method for confirming insertion of terminal - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To sequentially detect whether or not a terminal with a wire is securely inserted into a connector housing. CONSTITUTION:A device is provided with a turnable wire holder 8, a terminal holder, which can be turned and elevated, a connecting rod 17, which is fixed to any one of the wire holder and the terminal holder and of which tip contacts with the other thereof, and a pressure sensor 23, which abuts on the wire holder in the direction opposite to the terminal inserting direction. Spring members 20, 22 for energizing the wire holder and the terminal holder in the direction opposite to the terminal inserting direction are provided. Elevating cylinders 13, 14 are respectively connected to the wire holder and the terminal holder through pins 7, 11. The pressure sensor 23 is made to abut on the terminal holder 12, and the residual pressure of a wire 3 between the terminal and the wire holder 8 is detected by the pressure sensor 23 when the secondary insertion of the terminal is finished. At the time of primary insertion, the interference load of the terminal and the connector housing is transmitted from the terminal holder 12 to the pressure sensor 23 through the connecting rod 17, and the interference load at the time of secondary insertion is transmitted from the wire holder 8 to the pressure sensor 23, and the abnormal condition on the way of insertion of the terminal is detected.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a terminal insertion confirmation device and a terminal insertion confirmation method capable of detecting defective insertion of a terminal over time in a step of automatically inserting an electric wire with a terminal into a connector housing.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art FIG. 8 shows a conventional terminal insertion confirmation device described in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-130078.
This device 47 has an electric wire gripping tool main body 49 having a pair of electric wire gripping hands 48, a terminal gripping tool main body 51 having a pair of terminal gripping hands 50 capable of moving up and down along the gripping tool main body 49, and the terminals. An elevating cylinder 52 for elevating and lowering the grip tool main body 51, and an inner frame 53 fixed to the wire grip tool main body 49.
An outer frame 55 movable in the front-rear direction (terminal insertion / removal direction) via a coil spring 54 to the inner frame 53;
And a sensor 56 fixed to the outer frame 55 so as to face the above.

The entire device (insertion head) 47 can be moved back and forth, left and right and up and down by a drive mechanism (not shown).
The electric wire gripping hand 48 and the terminal gripping hand 50 receive the electric wire 2 with a terminal from a clamp rod (not shown), and the terminal 4
With the tip of the connector 2 being inserted into the opening 24a of the connector housing 24, the terminal gripping hand 50 is raised as shown in the figure, and the electric wire 2 with terminal is inserted into the connector housing 24 only by the wire gripping hand 48.

After the terminal is inserted, the outer frame 55 is moved in the direction opposite to the terminal insertion as shown by the arrow A, and the wire gripping hand 4
The inner frame 53 integrated with 8 is biased in the same direction by the compressive force of the coil spring 54, and a certain tensile force is applied to the terminal 4 to confirm the insertion. Here, when the insertion of the terminal 4 is incomplete (when the locking lance 25 of the connector housing 24 is not engaged with the terminal 4), the terminal 4 is pulled out rearward and the half insertion of the terminal is detected. . When the terminal 4 is completely inserted, the sensor 56 contacts the inner frame 53 and it is determined that there is no abnormality.

However, in the above-mentioned conventional structure, it is only possible to detect whether or not the terminal 4 is completely inserted, and it is not possible to detect a problem that the terminal 4 interferes with the connector housing 24 in the insertion process. It was
In addition, the insertion tact increases due to the addition of the step of pulling the electric wire with terminal 2 rearward, and should the coil spring 54
There is a concern that the locking lance 25, the connecting portion between the electric wire 3 and the terminal 4, and the like will be adversely affected if the set spring force is high. Furthermore, if the terminal 4 is pulled out backward after confirming the insertion, there is a problem that it takes time to insert the terminal 4 again.

[0006]

In view of the above points, the present invention can detect the interference with the connector housing in the process of inserting the terminal, can reduce the time for detecting the incomplete insertion, and can be locked. An object of the present invention is to provide a terminal insertion confirmation device and a terminal insertion confirmation method capable of completely inserting a terminal in a short time after detecting an incomplete insertion without adversely affecting a lance or a connection portion between an electric wire and a terminal. And

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an electric wire gripping tool having an electric wire gripping hand,
In a terminal insertion device comprising a terminal gripping tool having a terminal gripping hand and capable of moving up and down, the wire gripping tool, the terminal gripping tool, and the wire gripping tool and the terminal gripping tool that are rotatably provided. The terminal insertion confirmation device is basically provided with a connecting rod fixed to either one of the above and having a tip end in contact with the other, and a pressure sensor abutting against the terminal insertion opposite side of the wire gripping tool.

A terminal insertion confirming device comprising a rear spring member for urging the wire gripping tool in the terminal insertion opposite direction and a front spring member for urging the terminal gripping tool in the terminal insertion opposite direction, and A terminal insertion confirmation device in which an elevator cylinder is connected to the wire gripping tool and the terminal gripping tool via pins is also effective.

Further, the terminal gripping tool and the wire gripping tool grip the wire with the terminal, the tip of the terminal of the wire with the terminal is primarily inserted into the connector housing, and the terminal gripping tool is retracted to the wire gripping tool. In the terminal insertion method for secondarily inserting the electric wire with terminal into the connector housing, a pressure sensor is brought into contact with the terminal gripping tool, and when the secondary insertion of the electric wire with terminal is completed, the pressure sensor and the terminal A terminal insertion confirmation method is also adopted in which the residual pressure of the electric wire between the electric wire gripper and the electric wire gripper is detected to judge whether the secondary insertion is completed correctly or not.

Then, the terminal gripping tool and the electric wire gripping tool are connected by a connecting rod, and an interference load between the terminal and the connector housing at the time of primary insertion is passed from the terminal gripping tool through the connecting rod to the pressure sensor. A terminal insertion confirmation method for detecting an abnormality during terminal insertion by transmitting the interference load between the terminal and the connector housing at the time of secondary insertion from the wire gripper to the pressure sensor is also effective.

[0011]

If the terminal and the connector interfere with each other during the primary insertion of the tip of the terminal into the connector housing, the interference load is transmitted from the terminal gripping tool to the wire gripping tool through the connecting rod and detected by the pressure sensor. . Further, if there is interference during the secondary insertion in which the terminal is inserted only by the wire gripping tool, the interference load is transmitted from the wire gripping tool to the pressure sensor, and an abnormality is detected. When the secondary insertion is completed, the residual pressure of the wire is transmitted from the wire gripper to the pressure sensor,
It is detected whether the terminal has been completely inserted.

The wire gripping tool and the terminal gripping tool rotate to transmit a load to the pressure sensor, and each spring member biases each gripping tool toward the pressure sensor in an initial state to apply a preload to the pressure sensor. Each gripping tool rotates about a pin that fixes the lifting cylinder as a fulcrum. At the time of secondary insertion, the terminal gripping tool is independently raised and avoided by the lifting cylinder, and the contact of the tip end of the connecting rod is cut off. As a result, the load on the connecting rod is removed during the secondary insertion, and only the wire gripper urges the pressure sensor.

[0013]

1 to 6 show one embodiment of a terminal insertion confirmation device according to the present invention in the order of operation, and FIG. 7 is a flow chart thereof. As shown in FIG. 1, the terminal insertion confirmation device 1 includes an electric wire gripping hand 5 for gripping an electric wire 3 of an electric wire 2 with a terminal.
Has a lower part, and the wire gripper body (chuck cylinder) 6
Of the electric wire 2 with a terminal, which is arranged in parallel in front of the electric wire gripping tool 8 and is rotatable in the front-back direction (terminal insertion / removal direction) with the upper end of the electric wire supported by a pin 7. 4 has a terminal gripping hand 9 for gripping 4, and a terminal gripping tool 12 which is rotatable in the front-rear direction with a pin 11 pivotally supporting the upper end of a terminal gripping tool body (chuck cylinder) 10.

The tips of the rods 15 and 16 of the vertically elevating cylinders 13 and 14 are fixed to the pins 7 and 11, respectively, and the wire gripping tool 8 and the terminal gripping tool 12 are independent of each other by the elevating cylinders 13 and 14. It is possible to move up and down. The lifting cylinders 13 and 14 are fixed to the main body of the device (not shown).

A connecting rod 17 is projectingly provided on the lower end of the front wall 6a of the wire gripping tool main body 6, and a roller 18 is rotatably and pivotally provided on the distal end of the connecting rod 17. The roller 18 is brought into contact with the rear wall 10b of the terminal gripper body 10. Further, a front spring member 20 is provided between the front wall 10a of the terminal gripping tool body 10 and the fixed wall 19 of the apparatus body in a slightly compressed state, and the front wall 6a of the wire gripping tool body 6 is provided.
A rear spring member 22 is provided in a slightly compressed state between and and the front wall 21a of the inverted concave fixing frame 21 of the apparatus body.

A pressure sensor 23 is fixedly mounted on the rear wall 21b of the inverted concave fixing frame 21 behind the wire gripping tool body 6, and the detection boss 23a of the pressure sensor 23 has a detection boss 23a. It is in contact with the rear wall 6b. The detection boss 23
a is located concentrically with the connecting rod 17. In the initial state, the pressure sensor 23 is urged by the total spring load of the front spring member 20 and the rear spring member 22. These spring members 20 and 22 act so that both gripping tool bodies 6 and 10 are always brought into contact with the pressure sensor 23 integrally.

The entire device (insertion head) 1 can be moved in the front-rear direction by a drive mechanism (not shown). The connecting rod 17 may be provided not on the wire gripping tool body 6 but on the rear wall 10b of the terminal gripping tool body 10, in which case the roller 18 contacts the front wall 6a of the wire gripping tool body 6 and will be described later. 3, the roller 18 may be separated from the wire gripping tool body 6 when the terminal gripping tool body 10 is lifted. The state of FIG. 1 corresponds to the pre-primary insertion position (31) of the flowchart shown in FIG. 7.

From the state of FIG. 1, the entire device 1 is moved forward as shown in FIG. 2 by a drive mechanism (not shown), and the tip of the terminal 4 of the electric wire with terminal 2 is inserted into the connector housing 24. If the tip 4a of the terminal 4 collides with the front end 24a of the connector housing 24, the collision load passes from the terminal gripping hand 9 through the terminal gripping tool body 10, the roller 18, and the connecting rod 17 to the wire gripping tool. It is transmitted from the main body 6 to the pressure sensor 23 and detected as an abnormality. Pressure sensor 2
Reference numeral 3 is connected to a control device (not shown), and the control device uses the signal from the pressure sensor 23 that has detected an abnormality.
To stop. These operations correspond to the primary insertion start (32) -abnormal load (33) -primary insertion abnormality processing (34) in the flowchart.

When the primary insertion is smoothly performed in FIG. 2 and the pressure sensor 23 does not detect any abnormality, the terminal gripping hand 9 opens the terminal as shown in FIG. 3, and the lifting cylinder 14 is compressed to grip the terminal. The tool body 10 rises. As a result, the terminal gripping tool main body 10 is connected to the roller 18 of the connecting rod 17.
In the free state, the biasing force of only the rear spring member 22 on the wire gripper body 6 side acts on the pressure sensor 23 in the free state. Secondary insertion is started in that state. These operations correspond to the primary insertion end position (35) -terminal hand retract (36) -secondary insertion start (37) in the flowchart. The elevated terminal gripping tool body 10 contacts a stopper (not shown), and is prevented from rotating toward the wire gripping tool body 6 side.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4, a device (insertion head) 1
The entire unit advances and the terminal 4 is secondarily inserted only by the wire gripping hand 5. During the secondary insertion, for example, when the terminal 4 engages with the locking lance 25 in the connector housing 24, and a pressure higher than the normal pressure value when the terminal 4 is inserted into the connector housing 24 is detected. The abnormal pressure is transmitted from the terminal 4 to the pressure sensor 23 through the electric wire 3, the electric wire gripping hand 5, and the electric wire gripping tool main body 6, and the device is stopped. These operations correspond to the abnormal load existence (38) to the secondary insertion abnormality processing (39) in the flowchart.

If the load applied to the pressure sensor 23 during the secondary insertion is within the range of the normal pressure value in the storage device (not shown), the terminal 4 is connected to the connector housing 24 as shown in FIG.
It is completely inserted in the inside and the secondary insertion is completed. In this state, the electric wire 3 between the electric wire gripping hand 5 and the terminal 4 is bent and bent by the pushing of the electric wire gripping hand 5, and has a repulsive force (residual pressure) that pushes the electric wire gripping hand 5 backward.

By transmitting this residual pressure from the wire gripping hand 5 to the pressure sensor 23 via the wire gripping tool body 6, it is judged whether or not the secondary insertion of the terminal is completed. That is, if the residual pressure is within the range of the predetermined value in the storage device, it is determined that the secondary insertion is completed, and if it is less than the predetermined value, it is determined that the insertion is incomplete (semi-insertion). When the insertion is incomplete, the entire device (insertion head) 1 is advanced by the signal from the control device to move the terminal 4 to the normal insertion area. As a result, the terminal half-insertion is corrected to full insertion. These operations are performed by the secondary insertion end position (40) to the residual pressure confirmation (4
This corresponds to 1) to half fitting process (42). By this detection step, half insertion is detected without pulling the electric wire 2 with a terminal as in the conventional case.

When the residual pressure is judged to be normal, the wire gripping hand 5 releases the wire 3 as shown in FIG.
By the compression operation of 3, the wire gripping tool body 6 is pulled up, and the insertion cycle is completed. This operation corresponds to the electric wire hand withdrawal (43) to insertion completion (44) in the flowchart.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, when the terminal is first inserted, the terminal gripping tool and the electric wire gripping tool are continuous through the connecting rod and the load is transmitted to the pressure sensor. It is possible to detect the collision of the terminal to the terminal, and avoid the terminal gripping tool from the connecting rod during secondary insertion, and only the wire gripping tool transmits the load to the pressure sensor.
For example, it is possible to detect an abnormality until the terminal is completely inserted, such as incomplete fitting between the locking lance and the terminal in the connector housing. Further, when the secondary insertion is completed, the residual pressure of the electric wire (repulsive force of the curved electric wire) is transmitted to the pressure sensor, which can detect whether the terminal has been completely inserted or not.

This eliminates the step of detecting the incomplete insertion of the terminal by pulling the electric wire with a terminal as in the prior art, which speeds up the insertion tact, and the locking lance in the connector housing and the wire and the terminal. The fear of adversely affecting the connection part and the like is avoided. Further, when incomplete insertion (semi-insertion) of the terminal is detected, the insertion stroke is extended so that the terminal is completely inserted, which is efficient and does not take time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view in an initial state showing an embodiment of a terminal insertion confirmation device and a terminal insertion confirmation method according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state at the time of primary insertion of the terminal as well.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing a state in which the terminal gripper avoids rising and the secondary gripping of the terminal is started by the wire gripper.

FIG. 4 is a side view showing a state when the terminal is secondarily inserted.

FIG. 5 is a side view showing a state where secondary insertion is completed.

FIG. 6 is a side view showing a state in which the wire insertion tool is lifted up after the complete insertion of the terminal is detected.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart showing the insertion process.

FIG. 8 is a side view showing a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Terminal Insertion Confirmation Device 2 Wire with Terminal 3 Wire 4 Terminal 5 Wire Grip Hand 7, 11 Pin 8 Wire Grip Tool 9 Terminal Grip Hand 12 Terminal Grip Tool 13, 14 Lifting Cylinder 17 Connecting Rod 20 Front Spring Member 22 Rear Spring Member 23 Pressure sensor 24 Connector housing

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. An electric wire gripping tool having an electric wire gripping hand,
In a terminal insertion device comprising a terminal gripping tool having a terminal gripping hand and capable of moving up and down, the wire gripping tool, the terminal gripping tool, and the wire gripping tool and the terminal gripping tool that are rotatably provided. 2. A terminal insertion confirmation device, comprising: a connecting rod fixed to either one of the above and contacting the other end at its tip end; and a pressure sensor abutting on the opposite side of the wire gripping tool from which the terminal is inserted. 2. The terminal insert according to claim 1, further comprising a rear spring member for urging the wire gripping tool in a direction opposite to the terminal insertion direction and a front spring member for urging the terminal gripping tool in a direction opposite to the terminal insertion. Confirmation device. 3. The lifting cylinder is connected to the wire gripping tool and the terminal gripping tool via pins, respectively.
2. The terminal insertion confirmation device described in 2. 4. An electric wire with a terminal is gripped by a terminal gripping tool and an electric wire gripping tool, and the tip of the terminal of the electric wire with a terminal is primarily inserted into a connector housing, and the terminal gripping tool is retracted to allow the electric wire gripping tool. In the terminal insertion method for secondarily inserting the electric wire with terminal into the connector housing, a pressure sensor is brought into contact with the terminal gripping tool, and when the secondary insertion of the electric wire with terminal is completed,
A method for confirming terminal insertion, characterized in that the pressure sensor detects the residual pressure of the electric wire between the terminal and the electric wire gripping tool to judge whether the secondary insertion is completed or not. 5. The pressure sensor, wherein the terminal gripping tool and the electric wire gripping tool are connected by a connecting rod, and an interference load between the terminal and the connector housing at the time of primary insertion is passed from the terminal gripping tool through the connecting rod. 5. The abnormality load during the terminal insertion is detected by transmitting the interference load between the terminal and the connector housing at the time of secondary insertion from the wire gripping tool to the pressure sensor. Terminal insertion confirmation method.