JPH10284207A - Inspection portion for connector inspection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To inspect lances comparatively individually, while to avoid the damage of the lances in incomplete locking states. SOLUTION: An inspection portion is provided in a connector inspection device that inspects a connector in which plural terminal metal fittings are fixed by a lance method. Probe pins 22 for conduction inspection are formed into one set of two poles and the supported by a resin made slider 21. Members 23 for detecting the locking failure of lances C2 are integrally molded with the slider 21 corresponding to he supported probe pins 22. Accordingly, the lance inspection members 23 can be positioned on the lances C2 without providing any detent for the probe pins 22. Comparing with a case where all probe pins 22 are supported, remarkably individual failure detection can be conducted. Further, the damage of the lance C2 resulting from material can be prevented.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

The present invention relates to an inspection section of a connector inspection apparatus.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In general, a connector used for an electric wiring system such as a wire harness and a subassembly (hereinafter, collectively referred to as a "wire assembly") constituting the wire harness has a plurality of cavities in a resin housing. A terminal fitting connected to the electric wire is inserted into the cavity. The terminal fitting and the cavity are fixed by a so-called lance method. In this lance system, the tongue-shaped lance formed on one (mainly a connector) is locked in a locking hole formed on the other, thereby preventing the terminal fitting from coming out of the cavity. .

In the manufacturing process of the above-mentioned wire assembly, continuity inspection of the electrical wiring state and connection state of the connector, and inspection of the stationary state of the terminal fitting and the housing are strictly performed. Various inspection units of a connector inspection device capable of simultaneously performing such a continuity inspection and a stationary state inspection have been proposed. The inspection unit of the connector inspection device usually has a connector holder for holding the connector and a relatively close / closed connector.
The inspection unit includes a block body serving as a main body member, and a probe pin that is provided in the block body, enters a cavity of the connector, and can be electrically connected to the terminal fitting. ing. In order to inspect the stationary state of the terminal fitting and the housing, various improvements have been proposed for the probe bin and the block.

For example, in the prior art disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. H7-113836, the block body and the probe pin are connected by a spring so as to be elastically approachable / separable from the terminal fitting. At the tip of the probe pin, there is provided an incomplete insertion detecting portion which can abut a lance which is incompletely locked from the cavity. According to this prior art, in the case of a regular connector, the probe pin and the terminal fitting come into contact with each other, thereby electrically closing the circuit of the inspection unit and performing a continuity inspection. When the lance is incomplete, the spring is compressed due to the incomplete insertion detecting portion coming into contact with the lance, so that the probe pin does not reach the terminal fitting, and the continuity test becomes impossible, so that it is possible to detect a defect in the lance fixed state. It has become.

In the prior art described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 8-320355, which has been previously proposed by the present applicant, a slider made of resin is provided integrally with the probe pin, and the probe pin is elastically attached to the terminal fitting. In addition to this, the lance check pin similar to the above-mentioned incomplete insertion detecting portion is integrally formed with the slider so that a locking failure of the lance can be detected. The slider integrally carries all pins corresponding to the number of poles of the terminal fitting.

[0006]

In the case of the former probe pin structure, although the lance can be inspected for each terminal fitting, the incomplete insertion detecting portion is a metal member formed integrally with the probe pin. If the lance that is incompletely locked collides with the incomplete insertion detection unit, the lance may be damaged. In addition, it is necessary to provide a detent mechanism on the probe pin in order for the incomplete insertion detection unit to maintain the lance in a proper posture that can be inspected, which increases the number of components and complicates the structure. Was.

On the other hand, in the latter configuration, all the lance check pins are integrally formed on the same slider.
In addition to not being able to inspect the lance for each terminal fitting, and because all the lance check pins are integrally formed on the same slider, the load on the spring that biases the slider increases, resulting in incomplete locking. If the lance that abuts against the lance check pin, a large load acts on the lance, and the lance may be damaged.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and a connector inspection apparatus capable of relatively independently inspecting a lance while avoiding damage to a lance that is incompletely locked. It is an object to provide an inspection unit.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is provided in a connector inspection apparatus for inspecting a connector in which a plurality of terminal fittings are fixed by a lance method. A probe pin for inspecting continuity, a lance inspection member provided to be capable of being integrally displaced with the probe pin, and capable of inspecting incomplete locking of a lance fixing a terminal fitting corresponding to the probe pin, and a lance inspection member And a slider that integrally carries the probe pins and a block body that carries the probe pins via the slider so as to be displaceable relative to the connector held by the connector inspection device. Portion, the slider integrally carries adjacent probe pins as a pair of two poles,
An inspection section of a connector inspection apparatus, wherein a lance inspection member corresponding to a probe pin carried by the slider is integrally provided.

[0010] In the invention including this specific matter, since the slider carries the probe pins in a pair of two poles, the lance inspection member can be positioned on the lance without providing a stopper for the probe pins. . Further, since the probe is a pair of two poles, it is possible to detect failures much more individually than in the case where all the probe pins are carried. Moreover, since the lance inspection member is formed integrally with the slider, which is a separate member from the probe pin, the material of the lance inspection member can be freely selected, and damage to the lance due to the material can be prevented.

In a preferred embodiment, the slider and the lance inspection member are resin molded products. In the invention including this specific matter, since the slider and the lance inspection member are resin molded products, the slider and the lance inspection member are not only made of a material capable of preventing damage to the lance, but also can reduce the manufacturing cost.

[0012]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail. FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an inspection unit 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are cross-sectional views showing the operation of the inspection unit 10 in the embodiment of FIG.

Referring to these drawings, the illustrated embodiment has a block body 11 extending vertically. The block body 11 is a resin molded product formed in a substantially “convex” shape in plan view. The block body 11 defines a rectangular accommodating portion 13 on a front end surface (the surface shown in FIG. 1) 12 and a rear end. A step portion 14 is defined on the side, and the step portion 14 is attached to a lever mechanism of a connector inspection device (not shown), and an inspection position where the connector C (FIGS. 2 and 3) held by the connector inspection device can be inspected. And a release position for releasing the connector C.

A pin unit 20 (only one set is shown in the figure) serving as the gist of the present invention is accommodated in the accommodating portion 13, and a rectangular frame-shaped cover member fixed to the front end surface 12 with screws 16. By 15, the detachment from the storage section 13 is prevented. As best shown in FIG.
Reference numeral 0 denotes a slider 21 which is formed in a rectangular shape and can be displaced back and forth in the accommodation portion 13, and is integrally carried on the slider 21.
It has a probe pin 22 for conducting a conduction test of the terminal fitting T of the connector C, and a projection 23 provided on the slider 21 as a lance inspection member. In the illustrated embodiment, a pair of reciprocating rods 24
Is installed.

The advance / retreat rod 24 is disposed on an inner peripheral side of the outer cylindrical portion 24A fixed to the block body 11 and an inner peripheral shaft portion 24B which is relatively displaceable from the outer cylindrical portion 24A. And a compression coil spring 24C housed in the outer cylindrical portion 24A to bias the inner circumferential shaft portion 24B. The slider 21 is usually elastically moved by the pair of reciprocating rods 24. It is urged forward, that is, in a direction approaching the terminal fitting T of the connector C. Although not shown in the drawing, the outer peripheral cylindrical portion 24A is connected to the inner peripheral shaft portion 24A.
In order to prevent B from coming off, a stopper (for example, an outer flange and an inner flange) similar to a known so-called two-probe pin structure is formed on both members 24A and 24B.

On the other hand, the slider 21 and the projection 23 are integrally formed of resin. The projection 23 is inserted into the cavity C1 of the connector C, thereby the connector C
The lance C2 is set to have an outer shape and dimensions that can be brought into contact with the lance C2 only when the lance C2 is defective. Is configured to be detectable.

What is notable in this embodiment is that a slider 21 is formed by using two adjacent probe pins 22 and 22 as a pair of two poles.
1 in that the projections 23, 23 corresponding to 1 are integrally formed. Next, regarding the operation in the above-described embodiment,
This will be described with reference to FIGS.

Referring to FIG. 2, when connector C to be inspected is legitimate, lance C2 is properly inserted into terminal fittings T accommodated therein.
The lance C2 does not protrude into the cavity. In this state, when the connector C is inspected by the inspection unit 10 of the illustrated embodiment, the protrusion 23 integrally formed on the slider 21
Since the slider 21 enters the inside of the connector C without abutment with the lance C2, the slider 21 is extended to a position where the slider 21 can be brought into contact with the terminal fitting T by the urging force of the compression coil spring 24C of the advance / retreat rod 24. As a result, the terminal fitting T and the probe pin 22 are electrically connected, so that a continuity test can be performed, and the locked state of the lance C2 is also determined to be normal.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 3, when one of the lances C2 has a locking failure, the block 11
When the block 23 comes into contact with the connector C when the block body 11 and the connector C are brought close to the regular inspection position, the slider 21 moves relative to the block body 11. And the probe pin 22 does not contact the terminal fitting T. As a result, the continuity test cannot be performed, so that the inspection operator can detect a lance defect by first checking the lance for abnormalities.

FIGS. 4 and 5 are sectional views showing another embodiment of the present invention. In these embodiments, a compression coil spring 25 is arranged on the outer periphery of the probe pin 22 in place of the above-described advance / retreat rod 24, and biases the slider 21 forward. In this embodiment, the same operation as described above can be achieved. As explained above,
In each of the above-described embodiments, since the slider 21 carries the probe pin 22 in a pair of two poles, the protrusion 23 can be positioned on the lance C2 without providing a stopper for the probe pin 22 or the like. . In addition, since a pair of two poles is provided, it is possible to detect failures much more individually than when all the probe pins 22 are carried. In addition, the protrusion 23 is
Since it is integrally formed with the slider 21 which is a separate member from
The material (resin in the illustrated embodiment) of the projection 23 can be freely selected to prevent the damage of the lance C2 due to the material. In addition, since the slider 21 and the projection 23 are formed of resin, not only can the lance C2 be prevented from being damaged, but also the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Therefore, in the above-described embodiment, while the lance C2 can be inspected relatively individually, a remarkable effect that damage to the lance C2 which is incompletely locked can be avoided. To play. Each of the above embodiments is merely an example of a preferred specific example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. It goes without saying that various design changes are possible within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

[0022]

As described above, according to the present invention, the lance inspection member can be positioned on the lance without providing a stopper for the probe pin, etc.
Compared to the case where all the probe pins are carried, it is possible to detect failures much more individually, and to prevent damage to the lance due to the material. Therefore,
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, while the lance can be inspected relatively individually, there is a remarkable effect that damage to the lance that is incompletely locked can be avoided.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view of an inspection unit according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing an operation of an inspection unit in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the operation of the inspection unit in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 C connector C1 cavity C2 lance T terminal fitting 10 inspection part 11 block part 20 pin unit 21 slider 22 probe pin 23 projection (lance inspection member) 24 advance / retreat rod 25 compression coil spring

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A connector inspection apparatus for inspecting a connector in which a plurality of terminal fittings are fixed by a lance method, a probe pin for inspecting continuity of terminal fittings of the connector, and a probe pin provided so as to be integrally displaceable with the probe pin. A lance inspection member capable of inspecting incomplete locking of a lance fixing a terminal fitting corresponding to the probe pin; a slider integrally supporting the lance inspection member and the probe pin; In the inspection section of the connector inspection device, comprising: a connector held by the connector inspection device; and a block body which is relatively displaceably held, the slider comprises: A lance inspection member that is integrally supported as a set and that corresponds to the probe pin that the slider is carrying. An inspection unit of the connector inspection device, wherein the inspection unit integrally includes 2. The inspection section of the connector inspection apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the slider and the lance inspection member are resin molded products.