Wire harness checker and wire harness checking method

• US 7,495,452 B2
• Filed: 06/01/2004
• Issued: 02/24/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 06/02/2003
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Sumitomo Wiring Systems Limited (Sumitomo Corporation), OHT (Shanghai), Inc. (V Technology Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sumitomo Wiring Systems Limited (Sumitomo Corporation), OHT (Shanghai), Inc. (V Technology Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Onishi, Hideo, Taniguchi, Yoshikazu, Hayashi, Mishio, Yamaoka, Shuji, Nurioka, Akira
• Primary Examiner(s): Dole; Timothy J
• Assistant Examiner(s): Baldridge; Benjamin M
• Application Number:
  US10/558,683
• Publication Number:
  US 20070184686A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,729 Days
• Field of Search: 324/538
• US Class Current: 324/538
• CPC Class Codes: G01R 31/69 of terminals at the end of a cable or a wire harness; of plugs; of sockets, e.g. wall sockets or power sockets in appliances
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 43/20 for assembling or disassembling contact members with insulating base, case or sleeve

Abstract

Disclosed is a wire harness checker and a wire harness checking method, which are capable of determining whether a terminal of a terminal-fitted wire is adequately inserted in a connector housing, without contact with the wire and the terminal, objectively and reliably. Each of three pairs of sensor plates (20a, 20b; 30a, 30b; 40a, 40b) are disposed adjacent to an outer wall surface of a connector housing 10 in opposed relation to one another. An AC inspection signal is supplied to a terminal to be inserted into the connector housing 10, and detected from the terminal by each of the pairs of sensor plates (20a, 20b), (30a, 30b), (40a, 40b), to detect an insertion position of the terminal in the connector, in accordance with a relative value of each detection signal from the sensor plates, so as to determine adequacy of the insertion position.

Claims

1. A wire harness checker for inspecting a state when and after a terminal of a terminal-fitted wire having an end fixedly fitted with said terminal is inserted into a connector housing to form a wire harness, comprising:

AC inspection signal supply means for supplying an AC inspection signal to said terminal-fitted wire at least when said terminal thereof is inserted in said connector housing;

at least one pair of electrically-conductive plates disposed adjacent to said connector housing and adapted to detect the AC inspection signal from said terminal of said terminal-fitted wire inserted into said connector housing; and

determination means for determining a position where said terminal of said terminal-fitted wire supplied with the AC detection signal from said AC inspection signal supply means is inserted in said connector housing, in accordance with a relative detection value of each detection signal of said pair of electrically-conductive plates.

2. The wire harness checker as defined in claim 1, wherein said determination means is operable to convert each detection signal of said pair of electrically-conductive plates into said relative detection value, on the basis of a distance between said electrically-conductive plates, so as to cancel a variation in the AC inspection signal supplied to said terminal-fitted wire.

3. A wire harness checking method for use in a wire harness checker which includes:

a plurality of wire support members each adapted to support, with respect to each of a plurality of insertion locations of said connector housing, a corresponding one of a plurality of terminal-fitted wires to be sequentially attached to a connector housing, and provided with a signal supply portion adapted to achieve capacitive coupling for each of said terminal-fitted wires;

inspection signal feeding means for feeding an AC inspection signal to one of said wire support members which supports one of said terminal-fitted wires to be attached to said connector housing, so as to supply the AC inspection signal to said terminal-fitted wire; and

at least one pair of electrically-conductive plates disposed adjacent to an outer surface of said connector housing in opposed relation to one another, comprising;

detecting each of the AC inspection signals from said electrically-conductive plates;

determining a location where one of said terminal-fitted wires is attached to said connector housing, in accordance with a relative detection value of each of said detected AC inspection signals; and

allowing checking on whether one of said terminal-fitted wires supplied with the AC inspection signals corresponds to said determined location of said attached terminal-fitted wire.

4. An apparatus for inspecting a position where a terminal supplied with an AC inspection signal is inserted in a connector housing, comprising:

at least one pair of electrically-conductive plates disposed adjacent to an outer surface of said connector housing in opposed relation to one another and adapted to detect the AC inspection signal from said terminal inserted into said connector housing; and

determination means for determining an insertion position of said terminal in said connector housing, in accordance with an AC-inspection-signal detection result from each of said electrically-conductive plates, said determination means being operable to determine an insertion position of said terminal in said connector housing, in accordance with a relative detection value of each detection signal of said pair of electrically-conductive plates, so as to inspect said insertion position of said terminal in said connector housing.

5. The apparatus as defined in claim 4, wherein, given that said pair of electrically-conductive plates are defined, respectively, as n1 and n2, said determination means is operable to determine an insertion position of said terminal in said connector housing by comparing between a value obtained from the following formula:

(Vn2)/(Vn1+Vn2), wherein Vn1 and Vn2 are, respectively, signal values detected from said terminal by said pair of electrically-conductive plates, and a reference value obtained from the following formula;

(Vn2)/(Vn1+Vn2), wherein Vn1 and Vn2 are, respectively, signal values detected by said pair of electrically-conductive plates when disposed at a predetermined reference position, so as to inspect said insertion position of said terminal in said connector housing.