Microcomputer assisted electrical harness fabrication and testing system
First Claim
1. A computerized test system for testing a harness comprising a plurality of connectors, each having a plurality of pins thereon, and connecting wires, said system comprising:
- a computer for transmitting a test pulse of known electrical characteristics,a plurality of transponders, each coupled to one of said connectors, each transponder coupled to said computer and under control of said computer for the coupling of said transmitted pulse to a first selected pin of a first selected connector, and for the coupling of a received pulse from a second selected pin of a second selected connector to said computer, said computer acting to select said first and second pins and connectors, andmeans under control of said computer for receiving said test pulse, for measuring the electrical characteristics of said received test pulse, said electrical characteristics being representative of the resistance of the path taken by said pulse, and for communicating the measurement of said electrical characteristics to said computer,whereby said computer operates to determine from said measurement the resistance of the path taken by said test pulse from said first selected pin through a connecting harness wire to said second selected pin to test said harness.
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Accused Products
Abstract
A microcomputer based system which provides a fast, error-free method of electrical harness fabrication and testing. Each connector into which the harness will be wired is mounted on a receptacle containing a multiplex transponder, a plurality of which are in turn connected in parallel through a common data cable to a controlling computer. A video display is provided for interaction between the operator and the computer. As each wire is connected between the appropriate connector pins, the computer, through the common cable and multiplex transponders, measures the connection resistance. Error messages and wiring information are displayed. Each multiplex transponder comprises a plurality of analog multiplexer/demultiplexer parts for connecting a common transmit data line in the connecting ribbon cable to any predetermined connector pin, and for connecting any connector pin to the common receive line of the connecting cable to allow testing the resistance between any electrical points. As a system initialization step, the computer automatically codes each multiplex transponder with a unique address so that a plurality of otherwise identical multiplex transponders on the formboard may be identified by the computer.
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Citations
20 Claims
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1. A computerized test system for testing a harness comprising a plurality of connectors, each having a plurality of pins thereon, and connecting wires, said system comprising:
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a computer for transmitting a test pulse of known electrical characteristics, a plurality of transponders, each coupled to one of said connectors, each transponder coupled to said computer and under control of said computer for the coupling of said transmitted pulse to a first selected pin of a first selected connector, and for the coupling of a received pulse from a second selected pin of a second selected connector to said computer, said computer acting to select said first and second pins and connectors, and means under control of said computer for receiving said test pulse, for measuring the electrical characteristics of said received test pulse, said electrical characteristics being representative of the resistance of the path taken by said pulse, and for communicating the measurement of said electrical characteristics to said computer, whereby said computer operates to determine from said measurement the resistance of the path taken by said test pulse from said first selected pin through a connecting harness wire to said second selected pin to test said harness. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
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7. A computerized fabrication and test system for use by an operator for producing a harness comprising a plurality of connectors and connecting wires, said system comprising:
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a formboard on which said harness is fabricated and tested, means on said formboard for indicating the positions of the harness wires and connectors on said formboard, identification means for identifying to said operator a wire designated to be installed in said harness, and the specific connector pins on which the ends of said wire are to be terminated, a computer for transmitting to said identification means the identification of said wire, and its associated connector pins, to be installed in said harness and for transmitting a test pulse of known characteristics, means under control of said computer for receiving said test pulse, for measuring the electrical characteristics of said received test pulse, said electrical characteristics being representative of the resistance of the path taken by said pulse, and for communicating the measurement of said electrical characteristics to said computer, and a plurality of transponders, each coupled to one of said connectors, under computer control, for selective coupling of said transmitted pulse to a first selected pin of a first selected connector, and for the coupling of said received pulse from a second selected pin of a second selected connector to said computer to enable said computer to determine the resistance of the path taken by said test pulse. - View Dependent Claims (8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14)
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15. The method of testing a harness comprising a plurality of connectors and connecting wires, each wire connecting a first pin of a first connector and a second pin of a second connector, said method comprising the steps of:
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generating a test pulse of known electrical characteristics, transmitting said test pulse through a transmitter multiplexer to said first pin of said first connector, coupling said test pulse from said first pin through the associated connecting wire to said second pin of said second connector, coupling said test pulse through a receiver multiplexer to a computer, using said computer to determine the electrical characteristics of said received test pulse to determine the total resistance of the path taken by said test pulse. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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18. The method of fabricating and testing a harness comprising a plurality of connectors and connecting wires, said method comprising the steps of
indicating a first pin of a first connector and a second pin of a second connector to be connected by a designated wire, providing a formboard to indicate the position of said connectors and the path of said wire to be connected therebetween, connecting said connector pins with said wire, said wire being positioned along the indicated path, generating a test pulse of known electrical characteristics, transmitting said test pulse through a transmitter multiplexer to said first pin of said first connector, coupling said test pulse from said first pin through the associated connecting wire to said second pin of said second connector, coupling said test pulse through a receiver multiplexer to a computer, using said computer to determine the electrical characteristics of said received test pulse to determine the total resistance of the path taken by said test pulse.
Specification