JPH11329656A - Switch pin and testing part of connector testing device using same - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To detect even a failured fit of a front holder. SOLUTION: A switch pin 30 has an a-contact and a b-contact linked to each other. In a free state, a circuit is opened by the a-contact. When a press-in operation is performed in this state, first, the a-contact is connected to close the circuit, and a conducting state is thereby obtained. When a further press-in operation is performed, the b-contact is opened to open the circuit again. It is thereby made possible to take out a signal with a detection range of a time length from when the a-contact is closed till when the b-contact is opened.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a switch pin and an inspection section of a connector inspection apparatus using the same.

[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 connected to an electric wire is inserted into the cavity. Then, by connecting the mating connector from the opening side (front side) of the cavity, the terminals inserted into each connector are fitted in a state of being electrically connected. The connector and the terminal are mechanically connected by a lance type. In this lance type, a locking piece provided on one of the two is locked to a locking portion provided on the other.

[0003] As an inspection device used for inspecting the electrical wiring state and connection state of the connector, a connector holding section for holding a connector to be inspected and terminals of the held connector are provided. In general, an inspection unit having a block body to which probe pins are attached is provided, and the inspection unit is brought close to the connector to bring the probe pins into contact with the respective terminals.

In such a connector inspection apparatus,
In order to provide a switch function for detecting the quality of the connector (mainly the state of the terminal and the lance holding the terminal) at the time of inspection, the probe pin is moved relative to the block body along the direction facing the connector holding portion. Some are attached to a slider which can be displaced, and are urged toward the connector holding portion by a predetermined urging force. In this type of inspection apparatus, when the block body is brought close to the connector holding portion and the probe pins are brought into contact with the terminals, the quality of the connector can be determined based on whether or not the slider is displaced.

By the way, among the above-mentioned connectors,
There is a so-called front holder type.

FIG. 8 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a front holder type connector.

Referring to FIG. 1, a front holder type connector C is formed integrally with a cylindrical housing 1 and an inner periphery of the housing 1, and one end side is open in an opening on one end side of the housing 1. A boss tube 2 whose other end protrudes from the other end opening of the housing 1, a seal ring 3 inserted into the outer periphery of the boss tube 2 from an opening 1A of the housing 1, and A box-shaped front holder 4 which is introduced and covers one end side end surface of the boss cylinder 2.

[0008] A cavity 2A is formed in the boss cylindrical portion 2, and a plurality of electric wires with terminals are connected by inserting terminals of electric wires with terminals (not shown) from the other end. ing. Also, the front holder 4
This is for reinforcing the locking portion between the housing 1 and the terminal.

When inspecting such a front holder type connector C, the above-described slider is provided with a holder pin which comes into contact with the front holder 4. The holder pin is a movable pin that internally constitutes a contact connected with a certain load and is displaceably attached to the outer cylinder,
The contact is connected to the slider when the contact is made with the properly mounted front holder 4 during the continuity test.

Here, combinations of connection states between the holder pins and the probe pins are as shown in Table 1 below.

[0011]

[Table 1] Therefore, when all the pins are not connected as shown in a, no inspection is performed. When all pins are properly connected as shown in b, a non-defective product is connected. Only the holder pins are connected as shown in c. In this case, the terminal is defective (including both a defect such as a mechanical disconnection and an electrical defect such as a misalignment), d.
When only the probe pins are connected as in the above, it is determined that the front holder has been forgotten to be mounted.

[0012]

However, if the front holder is not sufficiently fitted into the connector and projects too far in front of the connector, the holder pins are pushed too much and the slider retreats. Therefore, in this case as well, only the holder pins are connected (the state of c in Table 1), and it cannot be identified as a terminal defect. In order to avoid such a problem, it is conceivable to further add a pin for detecting the amount of protrusion of the front holder, but in that case, the number of parts increases and the cost increases. In addition, the provision of the above-described slider itself complicates the structure of the inspection unit and causes a high cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a switch pin which enables more detailed inspection at a low cost and an inspection section of a connector inspection apparatus using the same. I have.

[0014]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an outer cylinder, which is mounted on the outer cylinder so as to be relatively displaceable along a longitudinal direction, and one end of which is mounted on the outer cylinder. While being urged so as to protrude from the opening of the contact, the other end thereof faces the contact accommodated in the outer cylinder at a predetermined distance from the contact, and the contact is A switch pin provided with a connector electrically connected to the contact by being pushed into the outer cylinder from the biased state to a certain displacement position, the switch pin being provided between the connector and the contact. And a normally closed contact that is opened by keeping the normally open contact closed when the contact is further pushed in from the displacement position by a certain amount of displacement.

[0015] In the invention including this specific matter, the conduction state between the connector and the contact is open while the contact is in the initial position. From this state, when the contact reaches a certain displacement position, the normally open contact is first closed, so that the connector and the contact are electrically connected through the normally closed contact. And
When the contact is further pushed in from the displaced position and the displacement amount exceeds a certain value, the normally closed contact is opened this time, so that the contact and the connector are electrically disconnected again. As a result, from the initial displacement position where the normally open contact closes,
It is possible to extract a signal whose detection range is only the displacement amount up to the displacement position when the normally closed contact opens.

Another aspect of the present invention is a connector inspection apparatus for inspecting a front holder type connector in which a terminal is fixed in a cavity and a front holder is mounted on an opening side of the cavity. A probe pin for inspecting the continuity of the terminal of the connector, and a holder pin for inspecting a front holder attached to the connector at the time of the continuity inspection by the probe pin. 2. The inspection section of the connector inspection apparatus which inspects the connector by displacing the holder pin into the holder pin.
A connector comprising the switch pin described above, and set so that both contacts of the switch pin are pushed into a closed state only when the switch pin comes into contact with a properly mounted front holder at the time of inspection. This is the inspection unit of the inspection device.

According to the invention including this specific matter, similarly to the conventional holder pin, it is possible to detect whether or not the holder pin is connected at the time of the continuity test. By opening the normally closed contacts in a state where the normally open contacts of the constituent switch pins are closed, it is possible to detect even a defective front holder.

[0018]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a connector inspection apparatus A and a connector C to be inspected according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In the following description, the same type of connector as that described with reference to FIG. 8 is employed, and therefore, the same reference numerals are given to the connectors, and the description thereof is omitted.

First, referring to FIG. 1, a connector inspection apparatus A according to this embodiment has a pair of rails 12 integrally formed on a resin base 11 formed in a substantially rectangular shape in plan view in parallel with the longitudinal direction. A connector receiving portion 13 for holding and positioning the housing 1 of the connector C is fixed to one end of the rail 12, and an inspection portion 14 is provided at the other end so as to be relatively displaceable with respect to the connector receiving portion 13. Has been arranged. The inspection section 14 has probe pins 15 corresponding to the number of poles of the connector C to be inspected, and the probe pins 15 are close to the housing 1 held by the connector receiving section 13 so that the internal It is slidably mounted on the rail 12 so that it can be displaced between an inspection position (see FIG. 2) in contact with the terminal and an open position (see FIG. 1) away from the connector housing 1. Further, a toggle lever 16 is provided at the other end of the base 11.
The inspection unit 14 is displaced between an inspection position and an open position by rotating around a pin PV passing through a mounting plate portion 17 extended from the base 11 to perform a continuity inspection in the same manner as a known device. Is available.

In the illustrated embodiment, the inspection unit 14
Has a block body 21 extending vertically. The block body 21 is a resin molded product formed in a substantially rectangular parallelepiped,
It has a main body 21A and a front member 21B fixed to the front end face of the main body 21A. In the following description, the inspection section 14 is described assuming that the connector receiving section 13 side is a front side.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the connector inspection apparatus A according to the embodiment of FIG.

Next, referring to FIG.
One main body portion 21A defines a rectangular accommodating portion 23 at the front. On the other hand, the front member 21B is a rectangular frame member having an opening portion whose opening width is smaller than that of the housing portion 23.

The probe pin 15 for inspecting the continuity of the terminal T of the connector C and the connector C
And a holder pin 30 for detecting the front holder 4.

The probe pin 15 is fixed so as to penetrate the main body 21A back and forth. When the block body 21 is displaced to the inspection position close to the connector C as shown in FIG. The continuity test can be performed by bringing the pin portion 15A of the portion into contact with the terminal T of the connector C.

The holder pin 30 is embodied as a switch pin which is the gist of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a schematic configuration of the holder pin according to the embodiment of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 shows the holder pin of FIG. 3, and FIG. Is a cross-sectional side view, and (B) is a circuit diagram showing a circuit configuration of the holder pin.

Referring to these drawings, holder pin 30 according to the illustrated embodiment has a metal outer cylinder 31. The outer cylinder 31 is formed by connecting a front sleeve 31a made of a conductive material disposed on the front side and a rear sleeve 31b made of a conductive material disposed on the rear side linearly and concentrically with an annular insulating collar 31c. is there. The insulating collar 31c is a resin cylinder having a positioning flange 31d at the center, and its front end is press-fitted into the inner periphery of the rear end of the front sleeve 31a to be integrated with the front sleeve 31a. In addition, the rear end portion is pressed into the inner peripheral portion of the front end of the rear sleeve 31b to be integrated. Further, the front sleeve 31a and the rear sleeve 31b are electrically insulated by the insulating collar 31c.

A plunger 32 as a contact is disposed in the front sleeve 31a so as to be relatively displaceable in the longitudinal direction. The plunger 32 has a front end 32a.
Project from the front sleeve 31a to constitute a contact in the illustrated embodiment. A flange portion 32b electrically connected to the plunger 32 by sliding contact with the plunger 32 in the front sleeve 31a.
And an inward flange 31e formed at the front end of the front sleeve 31a.
By contacting the front sleeve 31a, separation from the front sleeve 31a is prevented.

The flange 32b and the insulating collar 31c
The coil spring 34 is disposed between the coil spring 34 and the plunger 32. The plunger 32 is constantly urged forward by the urging force of the coil spring 34. In this state, the plunger 32
The rear end portion slightly enters the inner peripheral portion of the insulating collar 31c.

Next, an intermediate plunger 35 is disposed at a front portion in the rear sleeve 31b. The front end 35a of the intermediate plunger 35 is
By being introduced into 1 c and facing the rear end of the plunger 32, a normally open contact (a contact) is formed with the plunger 32. Also, the intermediate plunger 35
A flange 35b electrically connected to the rear sleeve 31b by sliding contact with the rear sleeve 31b is integrally formed. The flange 35b abuts on the rear end of the insulating collar 31c. In the free state, the interval (displacement amount S)
1) is specified. The flange portion 35b is urged forward by a coil spring 37 disposed between the flange portion 35b and a fixed collar 36 fixed to an intermediate portion of the rear sleeve 31b.

The fixed collar 36 is formed by superposing two conductive annular members in a set and integrating them, and is fixed by a throttle 31f formed on the outer periphery of the rear sleeve 31b.

Next, a sliding pin 38 which constitutes a b contact (normally closed contact) together with the fixed collar 36 is disposed behind the fixed collar 36. The sliding pin 38 is slidably disposed within a resin sleeve 39 disposed near the rear end of the rear sleeve 31b, and is formed by a coil spring (not shown) accommodated in the resin sleeve 39. Its tip is pressed against the fixed collar 36.
Further, the resin sleeve 39 includes a rear sleeve 31.
connection probe 40 as a connector protruding to the rear end side
And is always electrically connected to the sliding pin 38.

In order to open the contact b, the fixed collar 36 is opened.
An insulating pin 41 is arranged on the inner periphery of the sliding pin 38. The rear end of the insulating pin 41 faces the sliding pin 38 at a predetermined distance (displacement amount S2). The insulating pin 41 is integrated with the intermediate plunger 35, and as described later, the intermediate plunger 35 retreats to abut on the sliding pin 38 and push the sliding pin 38 rearward to fix the fixed collar. 36.

In the holder pin 30 described above, the plunger 32 and the intermediate plunger 35
(A contact) is open and the fixed collar 3
6 and the sliding pin 38 remain connected.

When the plunger 32 is pushed by the displacement S1 from the free state shown in the figure, the plunger 32 electrically connected to the front sleeve 31a is moved.
The connection to the intermediate plunger 35 closes the a contact. In this state, the fixed collar 36 and the sliding pin 3
The contact b by 8 is kept closed.

Next, the plunger 32 is moved by the displacement S1.
When the plunger 32 is further pushed rearward after the displacement of the intermediate plunger, the intermediate plunger 35 retreats integrally.
The insulating pin 41 fixed to the intermediate plunger 35
Causes the sliding pin 38 to retract, so that the sliding pin 38 and the fixed collar 36 are opened, so that the b-contact opens while the a-contact remains closed.

Referring to FIGS. 4A and 4B, in the illustrated embodiment, a discriminating circuit 50 is provided to detect the connection state of holder pin 30, and this discriminating circuit 50 is connected to front sleeve 31a. , The rear sleeve 31b and the connection state of the connection pin 40 at three points. As described above, the sleeves 31a and 31b are electrically insulated by the insulating collar 31c, the plunger 32 is electrically connected to the front sleeve 31a, and the intermediate plunger 35 is electrically connected to the rear plunger 31b. Thus, the connection of the a contact (connection between the plunger 32 and the intermediate plunger 35) can be detected based on whether or not the two are electrically connected. On the other hand, the fixed collar 36 is always electrically connected to the rear plunger 31b, and the sliding pin 38 is retracted to the inner peripheral portion of the resin sleeve 39 when the b-contact is opened, thereby providing an electrical connection. Since the insulating state with the rear sleeve 31b is maintained, the connecting sleeve 40 which is always in conduction with the sliding pin 38
The connection of the contact b (the connection between the fixed collar 36 and the sliding pin 38) can be detected depending on whether or not the rear sleeve 31b and the rear sleeve 31b are conducting.

Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. 2 and FIGS. 5 to 7 are schematic sectional views showing the operation of the embodiment of FIG. Table 2 below shows combinations of continuity tests according to the above-described embodiments.

[0041]

[Table 2] In the above configuration, in the free state before the inspection shown in FIG. 1, as shown in column a of Table 2, each probe pin 15 is not connected and the contact a of the holder pin 30 is open. , While the contact b is in a closed state.

In this state, when the regular connector C is inspected as shown in FIG. 2, each probe pin 15 comes into contact with its terminal T, and the plunger 32 of the holder pin 30 is displaced to the front holder 4 by a predetermined displacement. It will be pushed by the amount S1. As a result, as shown in column b of Table 2, while the probe pin 15 is connected,
Both a and b contacts of the holder pin 30 are in a closed state.

In the case of a terminal failure shown in FIG.
Since the probe pins 15 are not electrically connected and the holder pins 30 detect the front holder 4 (both a and b contacts are closed), the state shown in column c of Table 2 is obtained. This makes it possible to detect a defect in the terminal T.

Next, as shown in FIG. 6, when the connector C is inspected when the front holder 4 protrudes from the normal position, the front holder 4 causes the holder pin 30 to be moved to a predetermined dimension (the displacement amount S1). ), The contact b of the holder pin 30 is opened while the probe pin 15 remains connected. As a result, Table 2
As shown in the column d, the probe pin 15 is connected and the contact b of the holder pin 30 is opened while the contact a is closed. By detecting this state, it is possible to detect a poor fitting of the front holder 4 which could not be determined conventionally.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, if the user forgets to attach the front holder 4, the probe pin 15 is connected and the contact a of the holder pin 30 is opened. This makes it possible to detect that the user has forgotten to attach the front holder 4.

As described above, in the holder pin (switch pin) 30 according to the above-described embodiment, only the displacement amount from the initial displacement position at which the contact a closes to the displacement position at the time when the contact b opens is detected. Can be taken out, it is possible to set a range where there is no excess or deficiency when performing position detection with a simple combination of contacts.

According to the inspection section 14 of the connector inspection apparatus A employing such a holder pin 30, when the front holder 4 is defective and protrudes from the connector housing beyond a prescribed size, The holder pin 3
The combination of the a-contact and the b-contact of the switch pin constituting 0 makes it possible to detect the defect as shown in column d of Table 2, so that an inexpensive configuration that does not require a movable member such as a slider. It is possible to perform a detailed inspection.

The above embodiments are merely examples of preferred specific examples of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments. It goes without saying that various design changes are possible within the scope of the claims of the present invention.

[0049]

As described above, according to the switch pin of the present invention, a signal whose detection range is only the displacement from the initial displacement position at which the normally open contact closes to the displacement position at which the normally closed contact opens is taken out. This makes it possible to set a range with no excess or deficiency when performing position detection with a simple combination of contacts.

According to the inspection section of the connector inspection apparatus of the present invention, when the front holder is defective and protrudes from the housing of the connector beyond a prescribed size,
The combination of the contact points of the switch pins constituting the holder pin makes it possible to detect this, so that a detailed inspection can be performed with a low-cost configuration that does not require a conventional slider.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a connector inspection apparatus and a connector to be inspected according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic sectional view of the connector inspection device according to the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a partially omitted perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a holder pin according to the embodiment of FIG. 1;

4A and 4B show the holder pin of FIG. 3, wherein FIG. 4A is a side view in which a part of the holder pin is sectioned, and FIG. 4B is a circuit diagram showing a circuit configuration of the holder pin.

FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view showing the operation of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a schematic sectional view showing the operation of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a schematic sectional view showing the operation of the embodiment of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a partially cutaway perspective view showing a front holder type connector.

[Explanation of symbols]

 4 Front Holder 14 Inspection Unit 15 Probe Pin 30 Holder Pin 31 Outer Tube 32 Plunger (Contact) 35 Intermediate Plunger 36 Fixed Collar 38 Sliding Pin 39 Resin Sleeve 40 Connection Probe (Connector) 41 Insulation Pin A Connector Inspection Device C Connector

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. An outer cylinder, which is mounted so as to be relatively displaceable along the longitudinal direction with respect to the outer cylinder, one end of which is urged to protrude from an opening of the outer cylinder, and The end of is opposed to the contact housed in the outer cylinder at a predetermined distance from the contact, and is pushed into the outer cylinder from the biased state to a certain displacement position. Thereby, in the switch pin including the contact and the connector electrically connected, the switch pin is provided between the connector and the contact, and the contact is pushed further from the displacement position by a certain displacement amount or more. A switch pin comprising a normally-closed contact that opens while the normally-open contact remains closed. 2. A connector inspection device for inspecting a front holder type connector in which a terminal is fixed in a cavity and a front holder is mounted on an opening side of the cavity. A probe pin for inspecting the continuity of the terminal, and a holder pin for inspecting the front holder attached to the connector at the time of the continuity inspection by the probe pin, by displacing the block body and the connector relatively, In the inspection unit of the connector inspection device for inspecting the connector, the holder pin is constituted by the switch pin according to claim 1, and both contacts of the switch pin only when the holder pin comes into contact with a properly mounted front holder at the time of inspection. Characterized in that the connector is set to be pushed into a closed state Inspection of the 査 apparatus.