JP6078030B2 - Connector housing position detecting device and position detecting method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a connector housing position detection device and a position detection method for detecting a connector housing arranged on a fixed platen and acquiring information representing an actual position of the connector housing.

  For example, Patent Document 1 discloses a terminal insertion device that inserts a terminal into a terminal insertion hole of a connector housing positioned on a wiring board. In addition, a light irradiation unit and a television camera are provided, and before the terminal is inserted, the position shift amount of the connector housing is detected by image processing, and the terminal insertion operation is corrected.

  Patent Document 2 discloses a terminal insertion device used for manufacturing a wire harness. This terminal insertion device grips a terminal and inserts it into a cavity of a housing. Further, after the engagement confirmation mechanism inserts the terminal into the housing, it applies a force in the anti-insertion direction to the terminal to detect a displacement between the terminal and the housing by a displacement sensor. It shows that the quality of engagement is determined.

  Patent Document 3 discloses a terminal insertion device used for manufacturing a wire harness. The terminal insertion device also includes means 140 for confirming that the housing is in place. Further, this means detects the pressure of a void 137 formed in the member 135 with which the housing abuts at a predetermined position, a suction mechanism 160 for sucking air in the void, and a pipe 161 communicating with the void 137. A pressure sensor 162 is included. Then, it is determined whether or not the housing is in a predetermined position according to the pressure detected by the sensor.

JP-A-8-138826 JP 2012-186179 A JP 2013-33771 A

  For example, it is assumed that a housing receiver is disposed on a predetermined fixed plate and a terminal is inserted into a connector housing supported by the housing receiver. The terminal to be inserted is held by a predetermined terminal insertion machine and positioned at a position facing the front surface of the connector housing. In this case, the terminal can be inserted into the cavity if the cavity of the connector housing is aligned with the terminal.

  For example, by teaching a robot that is a terminal insertion machine, the reference position of the terminal insertion machine can be aligned with the reference position of the housing receiver. In addition, the dimensions of the housing receiver and the connector housing are basically known, and the position of the cavity of the connector housing is determined from the reference position of the housing receiver by calculating according to the dimensions determined on the design drawing. Can be identified. Therefore, the position of the terminal can be aligned with the position corresponding to the cavity by the terminal insertion machine.

However, the terminal insertion may fail because the actual cavity position is deviated from the calculated position. The following two can be considered as typical causes of misalignment.
(1) Since a general connector housing is a resin molded product, an error occurs in dimensions due to heat shrinkage during manufacturing. Specifically, the position of each cavity in the connector housing tends to move to a position closer to the center of the connector housing than the position on the design drawing. Note that when designing and manufacturing with dimensions that take into account the effects of thermal shrinkage in advance, the positions of the cavities may be displaced in the radial direction away from the center of the connector housing.

(2) The space of the housing receiver for housing the connector housing may be formed slightly larger than the connector housing, and a clearance (gap) may be formed between the housing receiver and the connector housing. In this case, the connector housing is positioned and fixed using a spring or the like so as to be held in a state of being shifted to one position in the width direction so that the position of the connector housing does not move relative to the housing receiver. When such a shift is performed, the actual position of each cavity of the connector housing moves to a position slightly deviated from the theoretical position calculated from the reference position of the housing receiver. Further, when a deviation occurs in the width of the connector housing, the amount of deviation of each cavity position due to the effect of shifting is also changed.

  Further, in order to suppress the displacement of the cavity of the connector housing, the housing receiver is required to have high processing accuracy. Therefore, the processing cost for processing the housing receiver is unavoidable.

  For example, when a light irradiation unit and a television camera as shown in Patent Document 1 are provided, it is possible to detect the amount of displacement of the connector housing. However, unless an expensive television camera is used or special measures are taken, it is difficult to detect the amount of positional deviation with high accuracy.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described circumstances, and a purpose thereof is a connector housing position detecting device and a position capable of detecting the actual position of the connector housing at a relatively low cost and with high accuracy. It is to provide a detection method.

In order to achieve the above-described object, a connector housing position detection device according to the present invention is characterized by the following (1) to ( 9 ).
(1) A connector housing position detecting device for detecting a connector housing arranged on a fixed platen and acquiring information representing an actual position of the connector housing,
A stationary platen on which the connector housing is disposed;
An optical detector in which an optical axis is arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to a moving direction of a moving path of the connector housing arranged on the fixed plate;
When the connector housing moves, the one end position and the other end position corresponding to the outer contour of the connector housing in the moving direction are detected based on a signal output from the optical detector, and the detected one end position and A position control unit that specifies a reference position of the connector housing by calculation based on the other end position;
With
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
The position control unit corresponds to an outline profile in the moving direction of the housing receiver using the optical detector in a state where the connector housing is removed from the housing receiver before detecting the position of the connector housing. Detecting the position of one end of the housing receiver and the position of the other end of the housing receiver, specifying the detected center position of the one end position of the housing receiver and the other end position of the housing receiver, and determining the position of the housing receiver that is grasped in the center Correct based on position ,
It is characterized by that.
(2) A connector housing position detecting device for detecting a connector housing arranged on a fixed platen and acquiring information representing an actual position of the connector housing,
A stationary platen on which the connector housing is disposed;
An optical detector in which an optical axis is arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to a moving direction of a moving path of the connector housing arranged on the fixed plate;
When the connector housing moves, the one end position and the other end position corresponding to the outer contour of the connector housing in the moving direction are detected based on a signal output from the optical detector, and the detected one end position and A position control unit that specifies a reference position of the connector housing by calculation based on the other end position;
With
The position control unit detects a center of the one end position and the other end position detected based on a signal output from the optical detector as a reference position of the connector housing;
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
The position control unit, when the connector housing is arranged at substantially the center of the housing receiver, based on the detected position of the connector housing, grasps the amount of displacement and corrects the displacement.
It is characterized by that.
(3) A connector housing position detection device that detects a connector housing arranged on a fixed platen and acquires information representing an actual position of the connector housing,
A stationary platen on which the connector housing is disposed;
An optical detector in which an optical axis is arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to a moving direction of a moving path of the connector housing arranged on the fixed plate;
When the connector housing moves, the one end position and the other end position corresponding to the outer contour of the connector housing in the moving direction are detected based on a signal output from the optical detector, and the detected one end position and A position control unit that specifies a reference position of the connector housing by calculation based on the other end position;
With
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
When the connector housing is arranged in a state of being offset with respect to the housing receiver, the position control unit grasps the amount of displacement based on the detected position of the connector housing and the effect of the offset. And correcting the positional deviation,
It is characterized by that.
( 4 ) The connector housing position detection device according to any one of (1) to (3) ,
The optical detector is a transmissive laser sensor composed of a laser light source disposed at one position with a moving path of the connector housing interposed therebetween, and a laser receiver disposed at the other position.
It is characterized by that.
( 5 ) The connector housing position detection device according to (1) or (3 ) above,
The position control unit detects a center of the one end position and the other end position detected based on a signal output from the optical detector as a reference position of the connector housing;
It is characterized by that.
( 6 ) The connector housing position detection device according to (2) or (3 ) above,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
The position control unit corresponds to an outline profile in the moving direction of the housing receiver using the optical detector in a state where the connector housing is removed from the housing receiver before detecting the position of the connector housing. Detecting the position of one end of the housing receiver and the position of the other end of the housing receiver, specifying the detected center position of the one end position of the housing receiver and the other end position of the housing receiver, Correct based on position,
It is characterized by that.
( 7 ) The connector housing position detection device according to (1) or (3 ) above,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
The position control unit, when the connector housing is arranged at substantially the center of the housing receiver, based on the detected position of the connector housing, grasps the amount of displacement and corrects the displacement.
It is characterized by that.
( 8 ) The connector housing position detection device according to (1) or (2 ) above,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
When the connector housing is arranged in a state of being offset with respect to the housing receiver, the position control unit grasps the amount of displacement based on the detected position of the connector housing and the effect of the offset. And correcting the positional deviation,
It is characterized by that.
(9) The above (1) a connector housing position detecting device according to any one of - (8),
The fixed platen includes a rotation mechanism that rotates around a predetermined rotation axis and moves the connector housing mounted on the fixed plate in a circumferential direction,
The position control unit grasps each position of the connector housing by a rotation angle of the rotation mechanism;
It is characterized by that.

According to the connector housing position detection device having the configuration (1), the optical detector only needs to detect the position of the contour when the connector housing moves and crosses the optical axis. Even if it exists, the position can be specified with high accuracy. In addition, the reference position of the connector housing specified by the position control unit is an intermediate position calculated based on the one end position and the other end position of the outer shape contour, and therefore, this reference position is affected by thermal shrinkage during manufacturing. It is difficult to be affected by the dimensional error due to the inclination of the connector housing. Further, the position of the housing receiver can be detected accurately. Therefore, even if the positioning accuracy of the housing receiver is low or the processing accuracy of the housing receiver is low, the positional deviation due to the influence is corrected in advance, and then the positional deviation of the connector housing is accurately determined. It can be detected.
According to the connector housing position detecting device having the configuration (2), the optical detector only needs to detect the position of the contour when the connector housing moves and crosses the optical axis. Even if it exists, the position can be specified with high accuracy. In addition, the reference position of the connector housing specified by the position control unit is an intermediate position calculated based on the one end position and the other end position of the outer shape contour, and therefore, this reference position is affected by thermal shrinkage during manufacturing. It is difficult to be affected by the dimensional error due to the inclination of the connector housing. Furthermore, since the center of the one end position and the other end position is determined as the reference position of the connector housing, the reference position is not easily affected by dimensional errors due to the effects of thermal shrinkage during manufacturing, and the inclination of the connector housing is reduced. Not easily affected. In addition, the displacement of the connector housing can be corrected correctly with reference to the position of the housing receiver.
According to the connector housing position detecting device having the configuration (3), the optical detector only needs to detect the position of the contour when the connector housing moves and crosses the optical axis. Even if it exists, the position can be specified with high accuracy. In addition, the reference position of the connector housing specified by the position control unit is an intermediate position calculated based on the one end position and the other end position of the outer shape contour, and therefore, this reference position is affected by thermal shrinkage during manufacturing. It is difficult to be affected by the dimensional error due to the inclination of the connector housing. Furthermore, even in a situation where the connector housing is offset with respect to the housing receiver, it is possible to correctly correct the displacement of the connector housing based on the position of the housing receiver.
According to the connector housing position detection device having the configuration ( 4 ), the position of the contour where the connector housing shields the spot-like laser light emitted from the laser light source during movement can be detected with high accuracy. In addition, position detection can be realized at low cost.
According to the connector housing position detection device having the above configuration ( 5 ), since the center of the one end position and the other end position is determined as the reference position of the connector housing, the reference position depends on the influence of heat shrinkage during manufacturing. Less susceptible to dimensional errors and less susceptible to tilting of the connector housing.
According to the connector housing position detection device having the configuration ( 6 ), the position of the housing receiver can also be accurately detected. Therefore, even if the positioning accuracy of the housing receiver is low or the processing accuracy of the housing receiver is low, the positional deviation due to the influence is corrected in advance, and then the positional deviation of the connector housing is accurately determined. It can be detected.
According to the connector housing position detection device having the above configuration ( 7 ), the displacement of the connector housing can be correctly corrected with reference to the position of the housing receiver.
According to the connector housing position detecting device having the configuration of ( 8 ), the connector housing is based on the position of the housing receiver even when the connector housing is shifted to the housing receiver. Can be corrected correctly.
According to the connector housing position detection device having the configuration ( 9 ), each position of the connector housing can be grasped as the rotation angle of the rotation mechanism. By rotating the stationary platen, it becomes easy to switch and process a large number of connector housings in order, and an efficient work can be realized in mass production.

In order to achieve the above-described object, the connector housing position detection method according to the present invention is characterized by the following ( 10 ) to ( 18 ).
( 10 ) A connector housing position detecting method for detecting a connector housing arranged on a fixed platen and obtaining information representing an actual position of the connector housing,
Utilizing a fixed plate in which the connector housing is arranged, and an optical detector in which an optical axis is arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the moving direction of the movement path of the connector housing arranged in the fixed plate,
When the connector housing moves, the one end position and the other end position corresponding to the outer contour of the connector housing in the moving direction are detected based on a signal output from the optical detector, and the detected one end position and Based on the other end position, the reference position of the connector housing is specified by calculation,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
Before detecting the position of the connector housing, with the connector housing removed from the housing receiver, using the optical detector, a housing receiver one end position corresponding to an outer shape contour in the moving direction of the housing receiver, and The position of the other end of the housing receiver is detected, the center position of the detected one end position of the housing receiver and the other end position of the housing receiver is specified, and the grasped position of the housing receiver is corrected based on the center position. ,
It is characterized by that.
(11)
A connector housing position detection method for detecting a connector housing arranged on a fixed platen and obtaining information representing an actual position of the connector housing,
Utilizing a fixed plate in which the connector housing is arranged, and an optical detector in which an optical axis is arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the moving direction of the movement path of the connector housing arranged in the fixed plate,
When the connector housing moves, the one end position and the other end position corresponding to the outer contour of the connector housing in the moving direction are detected based on a signal output from the optical detector, and the detected one end position and Based on the other end position, the reference position of the connector housing is specified by calculation,
The center of the one end position and the other end position detected based on the signal output from the optical detector is detected as a reference position of the connector housing,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
When the connector housing is arranged at substantially the center of the housing receiver, based on the detected position of the connector housing, grasp the amount of displacement and correct the displacement.
It is characterized by that.
(12) A connector housing position detection method for detecting a connector housing arranged on a fixed plate and obtaining information representing an actual position of the connector housing,
Utilizing a fixed plate in which the connector housing is arranged, and an optical detector in which an optical axis is arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the moving direction of the movement path of the connector housing arranged in the fixed plate,
When the connector housing moves, the one end position and the other end position corresponding to the outer contour of the connector housing in the moving direction are detected based on a signal output from the optical detector, and the detected one end position and Based on the other end position, the reference position of the connector housing is specified by calculation,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
When the connector housing is arranged in a state of being displaced with respect to the housing receiver, the amount of displacement is grasped based on the detected position of the connector housing and the influence of the displacement, and the displacement is determined. to correct,
And a connector housing position detecting method.
( 13 ) The connector housing position detection method according to any one of ( 10 ) to (12 ) above,
As the optical detector, a transmission type laser sensor configured by a laser light source disposed at one position with a moving path of the connector housing interposed therebetween and a laser receiver disposed at the other position is used. ,
It is characterized by that.
( 14 ) The connector housing position detection method according to (10) or (12 ) above,
A center of the one end position and the other end position detected based on a signal output from the optical detector is detected as a reference position of the connector housing;
It is characterized by that.
( 15 ) The connector housing position detection method according to the above (11) or (12) ,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
Before detecting the position of the connector housing, with the connector housing removed from the housing receiver, using the optical detector, a housing receiver one end position corresponding to an outer shape contour in the moving direction of the housing receiver, and The position of the other end of the housing receiver is detected, the center position of the detected one end position of the housing receiver and the other end position of the housing receiver is specified, and the grasped position of the housing receiver is corrected based on the center position. ,
It is characterized by that.
( 16 ) The connector housing position detection method according to (10) or (12 ) above,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
When the connector housing is arranged at substantially the center of the housing receiver, based on the detected position of the connector housing, grasp the amount of displacement and correct the displacement.
It is characterized by that.
( 17 ) The connector housing position detection method according to (10) or (11 ) above,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
When the connector housing is arranged in a state of being displaced with respect to the housing receiver, the amount of displacement is grasped based on the detected position of the connector housing and the influence of the displacement, and the displacement is determined. to correct,
It is characterized by that.
(18) A (10) - a connector housing position detecting method according to any one of (17),
The fixed platen rotates about a predetermined rotation axis, and includes a rotation mechanism that moves the connector housing mounted on the fixed plate in a circumferential direction,
Grasping each position of the connector housing by the rotation angle of the rotation mechanism;
It is characterized by that.

According to the connector housing position detection method having the above configuration ( 10 ), the optical detector is only required to detect the position of the contour when the connector housing moves and crosses the optical axis. Even if it exists, the position can be specified with high accuracy. In addition, since the reference position of the connector housing to be specified is an intermediate position calculated based on the one end position and the other end position of the outer shape contour, this reference position is influenced by the dimensional error due to the influence of thermal shrinkage during manufacturing. It is difficult to be affected by the inclination of the connector housing. Further, the position of the housing receiver can be detected accurately. Therefore, even if the positioning accuracy of the housing receiver is low or the processing accuracy of the housing receiver is low, the positional deviation due to the influence is corrected in advance, and then the positional deviation of the connector housing is accurately determined. It can be detected.
According to the connector housing position detecting method having the configuration (11), the optical detector only needs to detect the position of the contour when the connector housing moves and crosses the optical axis. Even if it exists, the position can be specified with high accuracy. In addition, since the reference position of the connector housing to be specified is an intermediate position calculated based on the one end position and the other end position of the outer shape contour, this reference position is influenced by the dimensional error due to the influence of thermal shrinkage during manufacturing. It is difficult to be affected by the inclination of the connector housing. Furthermore, since the center of the one end position and the other end position is determined as the reference position of the connector housing, the reference position is not easily affected by dimensional errors due to the effects of thermal shrinkage during manufacturing, and the inclination of the connector housing is reduced. Not easily affected. In addition, the displacement of the connector housing can be corrected correctly with reference to the position of the housing receiver.
According to the connector housing position detection method having the configuration of (12) above, the optical detector only needs to detect the position of the contour when the connector housing moves and crosses the optical axis. Even if it exists, the position can be specified with high accuracy. In addition, since the reference position of the connector housing to be specified is an intermediate position calculated based on the one end position and the other end position of the outer shape contour, this reference position is influenced by the dimensional error due to the influence of thermal shrinkage during manufacturing. It is difficult to be affected by the inclination of the connector housing. Furthermore, even in a situation where the connector housing is offset with respect to the housing receiver, it is possible to correctly correct the displacement of the connector housing based on the position of the housing receiver.
According to the connector housing position detection method having the above configuration ( 13 ), the position of the contour where the connector housing shields the spot-like laser light emitted from the laser light source during movement can be detected with high accuracy. In addition, position detection can be realized at low cost.
According to the connector housing position detection method having the above configuration ( 14 ), since the center of the one end position and the other end position is determined as the reference position of the connector housing, the reference position depends on the influence of thermal contraction during manufacturing. Less susceptible to dimensional errors and less susceptible to tilting of the connector housing.
According to the connector housing position detection method having the configuration ( 15 ), the position of the housing receiver can also be accurately detected. Therefore, even if the positioning accuracy of the housing receiver is low or the processing accuracy of the housing receiver is low, the positional deviation due to the influence is corrected in advance, and then the positional deviation of the connector housing is accurately determined. It can be detected.
According to the connector housing position detection method having the above configuration ( 16 ), it is possible to correctly correct the displacement of the connector housing with reference to the position of the housing receiver.
According to the connector housing position detection method having the configuration of ( 17 ), the connector housing is based on the position of the housing receiver even when the connector housing is offset to the housing receiver. Can be corrected correctly.
According to the connector housing position detection method having the above configuration ( 18 ), each position of the connector housing can be grasped as the rotation angle of the rotation mechanism. By rotating the stationary platen, it becomes easy to switch and process a large number of connector housings in order, and an efficient work can be realized in mass production.

  According to the connector housing position detection device and the position detection method of the present invention, it is possible to detect the actual position of the connector housing at a relatively low cost and with high accuracy. Therefore, in the process of inserting the terminals into the respective cavities of the connector housing, it is possible to suppress the occurrence of defective terminal insertion due to the displacement of the connector housing.

  The present invention has been briefly described above. Further, the details of the present invention will be further clarified by reading through a mode for carrying out the invention described below (hereinafter referred to as “embodiment”) with reference to the accompanying drawings. .

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a terminal insertion device including two parallel joint mechanisms according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the terminal insertion device according to the embodiment of the present invention. 3 (A) and 3 (B) are diagrams showing a stationary platen in the terminal insertion device of the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 (A) is a plan view of the stationary platen, and FIG. ) Is a side view. FIG. 4 is a side view showing a parallel joint mechanism in the terminal insertion device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an electric wire transporter in the terminal insertion device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 6A is a perspective view illustrating a terminal measurement sensor in the terminal insertion device according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 6B is a front view illustrating a positional relationship between a detection region by the measurement sensor and a terminal. . FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing the positional relationship between a plurality of connector housings and connector housing position sensors arranged on the fixed platen. FIG. 8 is a functional block diagram of a control system including the terminal insertion device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a front view showing the insertion surface of the connector housing and the housing receiver. FIG. 10 is a state transition diagram showing dimensions of the designed connector housing and the actual connector housing after manufacture. FIG. 11 is a front view illustrating a specific example of the positional relationship between the housing receiver and the connector housing. FIG. 12 is a front view showing the positional relationship between the connector housing position sensor, the housing receiver, and the connector housing 80. FIG. 13 is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the housing receiver and connector housing 80 and the movement locus of the detection position. FIG. 14 is a time chart showing the relationship between the laser detection signal, the servo motor angle, and the light shielding object facing the detection position. FIG. 15A is a plan view showing the connector housing arranged on the fixed platen, and FIG. 15B is an enlarged view of a main part showing a part of FIG. 15A. 16A is a front view showing the detection position of the housing receiver, and FIG. 16B is a plan view showing the detection position of the housing receiver. FIG. 17A is a front view showing the detection position of the connector housing, and FIG. 17B is a plan view showing the detection position of the connector housing. FIG. 18 is a plan view showing the positional deviation of the connector housing. FIG. 19A is a plan view showing the movement locus of the connector housing and the detection position, and FIG. 19B is an enlarged view of a main part showing a part of FIG. 19A. FIG. 20A is a perspective view showing one step of the terminal insertion process by the terminal insertion device of the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 20B is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. FIG. 21A is a perspective view showing one process of the terminal insertion process by the terminal insertion device of the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 21B is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. FIG. 22A is a perspective view showing one step of the terminal insertion processing by the terminal insertion device of the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 22B is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. FIG. 23 (A) is a perspective view showing one step of the terminal insertion process by the terminal insertion device of the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 23 (B) is an enlarged view of the main part of FIG. 23 (A). FIG. 24A is a perspective view showing one process of terminal insertion processing by the terminal insertion device of the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 24B is an enlarged view of a main part of FIG. FIG. 25A is a perspective view showing a state where the tip of the terminal is located in the detection region of the X measurement sensor and the Z measurement sensor, and FIG. 25B shows that the rotation of the terminal in the roll direction is zero. It is a perspective view which shows the state which was returned and the electric wire was arrange | positioned in parallel with the Y-axis. 26A and 26B are schematic diagrams for explaining a method of calculating the rotation angle of the terminal in the roll direction. FIG. 26A shows a case where the rotation angle is 0, and FIG. The rotation angle is θ, and FIG. 26C is a schematic diagram illustrating a calculation method of the rotation angle in the pitch direction and the rotation angle in the yaw direction of the wire gripping body 25b.

  Specific embodiments relating to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

[Outline of terminal insertion device]
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a terminal insertion device including a connector housing position detection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. The terminal insertion device according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a stationary platen 10 and a parallel joint mechanism 20. The terminal insertion device according to the embodiment of the present invention further includes an electric wire carrier 30, a terminal measurement sensor 40, and a connector housing position sensor 50 shown in FIG. Hereinafter, the fixed platen 10, the parallel joint mechanism 20, the electric wire carrier 30, the terminal measurement sensor 40, and the connector housing position sensor 50 will be described in detail.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the two parallel joint mechanisms 20 </ b> A and 20 </ b> B insert terminals into different connector housings 80 arranged on the fixed platen 10. In the case of this configuration, the electric wire transporter 30 includes two moving bodies 32A and 32B, and the moving body 32A holds one end of the electric wire 90 and the moving body 32B holds the other end of the electric wire 90. Then, the two moving bodies 32A and 32B carry the electric wire 90 in a state where one end and the other end are gripped to a predetermined position. Thus, the electric wire transporter 30 carries an electric wire per circuit line unit.

  The terminal measurement sensor 40 has two measurement sensors attached to the sensor base 41. One measurement sensor 47A measures a terminal located at the tip of an electric wire held by the parallel joint mechanism 20A, and another measurement sensor 47B measures a terminal located at the tip of the electric wire held by the parallel joint mechanism 20B. And With this configuration, the two parallel joint mechanisms 20A and 20B have one end gripping one end of the electric wire 90 and the other end holding the other end of the electric wire 90, with respect to different connector housings to which the respective end portions should be connected. Terminal insertion processing. Further, the connector housing position sensor 50 is arranged at a position where each connector housing 80 on the stationary platen 10 can be detected as shown in FIG.

  In the terminal insertion device according to the embodiment of the present invention to be described later, in order to lead to a deeper understanding, a mode in which a terminal is inserted into a connector housing by one parallel joint mechanism 20 will be described. Even if the terminals are inserted by the mechanisms 20A and 20B, the two parallel joint mechanisms 20A and 20B are driven independently, so that the terminal insertion process is the same.

[Configuration of terminal insertion device]
[Details of fixed platen 10]
3 (A) and 3 (B) are views showing a fixed platen in the terminal insertion device according to the embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 (A) is a plan view of the fixed platen, and FIG. 3 (B). Shows side views respectively. As shown in FIGS. 2, 3 (A), and 3 (B), the fixed platen 10 is a member for positioning the connector housing 80, and is attached to a flat surface of a housing support (not shown). It is done. The stationary platen 10 includes a housing receiver 11 for holding the connector housing 80, an annular rail member 12 to which the housing receiver 11 is fixed, and the rail member 12 on the upper surface 13a so that the axis of the rail member 12 is aligned. A disk member 13 to be fixed, and a motor member 14 attached to a lower surface 13b of the disk member 13 having a rotation shaft 14a set to coincide with the axis of the disk member 13.

  The motor member 14 includes a servo motor (54) described later, and can drive each connector housing 80 together with the housing receiver 11 in the counterclockwise direction in FIG. The servo motor incorporates an encoder that detects the rotational position, and can output an angle signal representing the rotational position. That is, by driving the motor member 14, each connector housing 80 can be moved in the circumferential direction and positioned at a desired position on the circumference.

  The housing receiver 11 has a recess formed with an inner surface that substantially matches the shape of the outer surface of the connector housing 80. The connector housing 80 is positioned with respect to the housing receiver 11 by being accommodated in the recess of the housing receiver 11. The housing receiver 11 is fixed to the rail member 12 via a support base 11 a that supports the housing receiver 11. A part of the support base 11 a fixed to the rail member 12 extends outside the rail member 12 along the radial direction of the rail member 12. The housing receiver 11 is fixed to a part of the support base 11a extending to the outside of the rail member 12. In addition, a plurality of housing receivers 11 are fixed to the rail member 12, and the plurality of housing receivers 11 are disposed on the annular rail member 12 at a predetermined interval. For this reason, the connector housings 80 fixed to the plurality of housing receivers 11 are arranged such that when the positions of the adjacent connector housings 80 are sequentially connected, a set of the connected line segments forms an annular shape as a whole. The Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 (A) and 3 (B), the connector housing 80 is received by the housing so that the front surface of the connector housing 80 where the opening of the cavity 81 is exposed is located outside the rail member 12. 11 is held. At this time, the extending direction of the cavity 81 in the connector housing held by the housing receiver 11 is arranged along the radial direction of the rail member 12.

  The rail member 12 is a flat annular member having a circular flat plate formed therein, and is fixed to the disk member 13 by fitting a part of the disk member 13 therein. The rail member 12 has two semicircular flat plates arranged side by side on the same plane. Preferably, the rail member 12 in a state in which the connector housing 80 is held by the housing receiver 11 is fixed to the disk member 13, and the terminal is inserted into each connector housing 80.

  The disk member 13 is a member in which three disk bodies 13c, 13d, and 13e having different diameters are stacked so that their axes coincide with each other, and these disk bodies 13c, 13d, and 13e are integrally formed. The disk body 13 c has a diameter that substantially matches the inner diameter of the rail member 12. When the disk body 13c is fitted into the rail member 12, the rail member 12 is fixed to the disk body 13c. Further, the disk body 13 d has a diameter substantially equal to the outer diameter of the rail member 12. The rail member 12 is stably held with respect to the disk member 13 by supporting the lower surface of the rail member 12 fixed to the disk body 13c by the upper surface 13a of the disk body 13d. The disk member 13e has a motor member 14 attached to the lower surface 13b. The axis of the disk body 13e coincides with the axis of the rotation shaft 14a of the motor member 14, and the disk member 13 rotates as the motor member 14 rotates. As a result, the rail member 12 fixed to the disk body 13 c of the disk member 13 also rotates about the rotation shaft 14 a as the motor member 14 rotates. For this reason, the plurality of connector housings 80 fixed to the respective housing receivers 11 also rotate in the circumferential direction of the ring formed by these housings.

  The motor member 14 is supported on the flat surface so that the rotation shaft is perpendicular to the flat surface of the housing support (not shown). When the motor member 14 is supported on the flat surface of the housing support base, the fixed platen 10 is attached to the housing support base. In the motor member 14, the rotational force of the motor is transmitted to the disk member 13 via various gears, and the disk member 13 rotates. The motor member 14 receives a control signal from a control device (not shown in FIGS. 2, 3A, and 3B) and controls the rotation of the motor. The drive control of the motor member 14 by the control device will be described in [Details of control by the control device 70] described later.

  In the terminal insertion device according to the embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of connector housings 80 are arranged in an annular shape on the stationary platen 10. For this reason, the terminal insertion device according to the embodiment of the present invention does not need to secure a wide open space in the width direction for arranging a plurality of connector housings in a row, unlike the conventional terminal insertion device. It is sufficient to secure a space having a width that can accommodate the board 10. For this reason, the structure of the fixed board 10 mentioned above contributes to size reduction of a terminal insertion apparatus.

[Details of Parallel Joint Mechanism 20]
FIG. 4 is a side view showing a parallel joint mechanism in the terminal insertion device according to the embodiment of the present invention. The parallel joint mechanism 20 is a device for inserting a terminal into the connector housing 80, and is attached to a parallel joint mechanism support (not shown). As shown in FIG. 4, the parallel joint mechanism 20 includes a base 21 attached to the parallel joint mechanism support base, three first motors 22a, 22b, and 22c installed on the base 21, and a first motor. 22a, 22b, 22c are connected to one end of each of the rotating shafts 23a, 23b, 23c, and the other ends of the arms 23a, 23b, 23c are connected to one end via a universal joint and a transmission gear. Three links 24a, 24b, 24c to be connected and a hand member 25 connected to the other end of the three links 24a, 24b, 24c via a universal joint are provided. The parallel joint mechanism 20 controls the rotation amounts of the three first motors 22a, 22b, and 22c so that the inclination angles of the arms 23a, 23b, and 23c and the angles of the links 24a, 24b, and 24c with respect to the arms 23a, 23b, and 23c are adjusted. By changing, the hand member 25 can be translated in three directions along XYZ. The parallel joint mechanism 20 receives a control signal from a control device (not shown in FIG. 4) and controls the rotation of the first motors 22a, 22b, and 22c. The translation drive control of the parallel joint mechanism 20 in the XYZ3 direction by the control device will be described in [Details of control by the control device 70] described later.

  Furthermore, the hand member 25 includes a hand base 25a connected to the other ends of the three links 24a, 24b, and 24c via a universal joint, and an electric wire attached to the hand base 25a so as to be rotatable in the roll direction. A gripping body 25b and a wire chuck 25c provided at the tip of the wire gripping body 25b that grips a part of the electric wire including the terminal connected to the tip, and a hand base 25a are attached to the wire gripping body 25b. Attached to the hand base 25a, a second motor 25f that pivots in the pitch direction (the direction around the X axis in FIG. 4) and the yaw direction (the direction around the Z axis in FIG. 4) with respect to the base 25a, A third motor 25d for turning the wire gripping body 25b with respect to the hand base 25a in a roll direction (a direction around the Y axis in FIG. 4); A pressure sensor 25g for detecting the external force acting on the click 25c. In this embodiment, the second motor 25f and the third motor 25d are provided on the hand base 25a. However, the second motor 25f and the third motor 25d may be provided on the base 21. In this case, by setting the second motor 25f and the third motor 25d to the hand base 25a via the telescopic shaft and the universal joint, the hand member 25 can turn in the pitch direction, the yaw direction, and the roll direction. . In addition, the electric wire gripping body 25b is swung in the pitch direction and the yaw direction by one second motor 25f, but two motors corresponding to the second motor 25f are attached to the hand base 25a, and one motor is The rotation may be such that the electric wire gripping body 25b is pivotable in the pitch direction, and the other motor is pivotable by the rotation of the electric wire gripping body 25b in the yaw direction.

  The wire gripping body 25b has a cylinder that feeds air into the wire chuck 25c. The wire chuck 25c is closed when air is fed from the wire gripping body 25b, and is opened when air is not fed. The parallel joint mechanism 20 receives a control signal from a control device (not shown in FIG. 4), and controls the timing at which the wire gripping body 25b sends air to the wire chuck 25c. The opening / closing drive control of the electric wire chuck 25c by the control device will be described in [Details of control by the control device 70] described later.

  Further, the electric wire gripping body 25b is driven by controlling the rotation amount of the second motor 25f, so that the posture of the electric wire gripping body 25b turns in the pitch direction and the yaw direction. The electric wire gripping body 25b has a drive shaft 25e connected to the rotation shaft of the third motor 25d, and controls the amount of rotation of the third motor 25d to move the drive shaft 25e with respect to the hand base 25a. By rotating, the posture of the electric wire gripping main body 25b can be turned in the roll direction. As a result, the electric wire held by the electric wire chuck 25c also turns in the pitch direction, the yaw direction, and the roll direction. The parallel joint mechanism 20 receives a control signal from a control device (not shown in FIG. 4) and controls the rotation of the second motor 25f and the third motor 25d. The turning drive control in the pitch direction, yaw direction, and roll direction of the electric wire gripping body 25b by the control device will be described in [Details of control by the control device 70] described later.

  The electric wire chuck 25c includes a front chuck 25c1 and a rear chuck 25c2. In the embodiment of the present invention, each of the chucks 25c1 and 25c2 is closed in a state where the outer skin portion of the electric wire is sandwiched between the chucks, whereby the electric wire chuck 25c grips the electric wire. When the electric wire chuck 25c does not have to hold the terminal 91 as described above, it is not necessary to provide a terminal chuck for holding the terminal 91 in the electric wire holding body 25b. Thereby, it leads to the weight reduction of the electric wire holding body 25b, and the weight reduction of the hand member 25 by extension. As a result, the operation speed of the parallel joint mechanism 20 can be improved and the cycle time can be shortened, and the working efficiency of the parallel joint mechanism 20 can be improved.

[Details of Electric Wire Transporter 30]
FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing an electric wire transporter in the terminal insertion device according to the embodiment of the present invention. The electric wire transporter 30 is a device that transports an electric wire 90 having a terminal 91 attached to the tip to a predetermined position. As shown in FIG. 5, the electric wire transporter 30 is a part of an electric wire 90 including a transport rail 31 extending in the X-axis direction, a movable body 32 that can slide the transport rail 31, and a terminal 91 connected to the tip. A conveyance chuck 33 provided on the moving body 32, a frame 34 that supports the conveyance rail 31, and an air chuck main body 35 that sends air to the conveyance chuck 33. In the embodiment of the present invention, the direction in which the moving body 32 moves on the transport rail 31 corresponds to the direction of the X axis.

  The moving body 32 includes a motor, and the rotational force of the motor can be converted into the propulsive force in the longitudinal direction of the transport rail 31 to slide on the transport rail 31. The moving body 32 receives a control signal from a control device (not shown in FIG. 5) and controls the rotation of the motor. The slide drive control on the transport rail 31 of the moving body 32 by the control device will be described in [Details of control by the control device 70] described later.

  The movable body 32 has an air chuck main body 35 that sends air to the conveyance chuck 33. The conveyance chuck 33 is closed when air is fed from the movable body 32, and the chuck is closed when air is not fed. Opens. The moving body 32 receives a control signal from a control device (not shown in FIG. 5) and controls the timing at which air is sent to the transport chuck 33. The opening / closing drive control of the conveyance chuck 33 by the control device will be described in [Details of control by the control device 70] described later.

  The position where the parallel joint mechanism 20 grips the electric wire 90 transported by the moving body 32 is previously determined. That is, the moving body 32 moves on the transport rail 31 and stops at a predetermined position. On the other hand, the parallel joint mechanism 20 has an electric wire transported by the moving body 32 at a predetermined position. Head to that position. As a result, the parallel joint mechanism 20 can grip the electric wire 90 conveyed by the movable body 32 with the hand member 25, while the movable body 32 itself becomes after the electric wire 90 is grasped by the parallel joint mechanism 20. The grip of the electric wire 90 is released. The electric wire 90 is supplied to the parallel joint mechanism 20 by this series of processes.

[Details of terminal measurement sensor 40]
FIG. 6A is a perspective view showing a terminal measurement sensor in the terminal insertion device according to the embodiment of the present invention. The terminal measurement sensor 40 is a device that measures the rotation angle in the roll direction of the terminal 91 located at the tip of the electric wire 90 held by the hand member 25 of the parallel joint mechanism 20 and the XZ coordinate where the tip of the terminal 91 is located. In the embodiment of the present invention, the electric wire chuck 25c of the parallel joint mechanism 20 sandwiches two portions of the outer skin of the electric wire 90, the parallel joint mechanism 20 carries the electric wire 90, and the terminal 91 is placed in the cavity 81 of the connector housing 80. insert. At this time, it must be considered that the terminal 91 is rotating in the roll direction. Furthermore, the electric wire 90 hangs down due to the weight of the terminal 91 or bounces off due to the winding curl of the electric wire. Or bounce and have to consider. The terminal measurement sensor 40 detects the rotation angle of the terminal 91 in the roll direction and the inclination of the terminal 91 with respect to the Y-axis direction due to the drooping or rebounding of the electric wire 90.

  The terminal measurement sensor 40 includes a sensor base 41, an X measurement sensor 42 that detects a position coordinate in the X-axis direction of the tip of the terminal 91 attached to the sensor base 41, and a position coordinate in the Z-axis direction of the tip of the terminal 91 attached to the sensor base 41. A Z measurement sensor 43 for detecting the sensor, a sensor base rail 44 extending in the Y-axis direction, a slider 45 that enables the sensor base 41 to slide along the sensor base rail 44, and an end of the sensor base rail 44 (FIG. 6A ), And a drive source 46 for moving the sensor base 41 forward and backward through the slider 45 provided on the left side). The direction in which the sensor base 41 moves on the sensor base rail 44 corresponds to the direction of the Y axis.

  In the X measurement sensor 42, a light emitting surface that emits a belt-shaped laser and a light receiving surface that receives the belt-shaped laser are arranged apart from each other in the Z-axis direction. Further, in the Z measurement sensor 43, the light emitting surface that emits the belt-shaped laser and the light receiving surface that receives the belt-shaped laser are arranged apart from each other in the X-axis direction. The detection area surrounded by the light emitting surface and the light receiving surface of the X measurement sensor 42 and the light emitting surface and the light receiving surface of the Z measurement sensor 43 as shown in FIG. When the shielding object is located on the surface, the distribution of the light intensity detected on the light receiving surface of the X measurement sensor 42 and the distribution of the light intensity detected on the light receiving surface of the Z measurement sensor 43 The width in the X direction, the Z direction, and the XZ coordinate can be specified. If this principle is utilized and the tip of the terminal 91 of the electric wire 90 gripped by the parallel joint mechanism 20 can be arranged in the detection region of the X measurement sensor 42 and the Z measurement sensor 43, the X measurement sensor 42 and the Z measurement sensor 43 are used. The rotation angle θ in the roll direction at the tip of the terminal 91 and the XZ coordinate can be detected from the width in the X direction and the Z direction of the terminal 91 and the XZ coordinate detected by.

  As described above, in order to dispose the tip of the terminal 91 in the detection region of the X measurement sensor 42 and the Z measurement sensor 43, the sensor base 41 moves the sensor base rail 44 in the Y-axis direction as follows. That is, the drive source 46 is driven by receiving a control signal from a control device (not shown in FIG. 6) or stops driving, and the sensor base 41 receives power from the drive source 46 and receives the Y axis. Move to any position in the direction. By the movement of the sensor base 41, the tip of the terminal 91 can be accommodated in the detection area of the X measurement sensor 42 and the Z measurement sensor 43.

  Note that the amount of drooping or rebounding of the wire 90 due to the weight of the terminal 91 increases as the location where the parallel joint mechanism 20 grips the wire 90 is further away from the terminal 91. As a result, it is conceivable that the terminal 91 does not fit in the detection area of the X measurement sensor 42 and the Z measurement sensor 43, the terminal 91 does not reach the detection area of the X measurement sensor 42 and the Z measurement sensor 43, and the like. For this reason, in determining the location where the parallel joint mechanism 20 grips the electric wire 90, the maximum displacement amount of the X-axis and the Z-axis at the tip of the terminal 91 due to the drooping or rebounding of the electric wire 90 falls within the detection region, and It is preferable that the maximum displacement amount in the Y-axis direction be within the range of the thickness of the belt-shaped laser (the thickness in the Y-axis direction) of the X measurement sensor 42 and the Z measurement sensor 43.

  As for the movement of the sensor base 41 described so far, the control device (not shown in FIG. 6) receives a signal from the encoder of the drive source 46 and outputs a control signal to the drive source 46 to control the movement of the sensor base 41. It is realized by doing. And X measurement sensor 42 and Z measurement sensor 43 will output the signal to a control device, if the X direction of the tip of terminal 91 arranged in a detection field, the width of a Z direction, and XZ coordinates are detected. The calculation method of the rotation angle θ in the roll direction at the tip of the terminal 91 and the XZ coordinate will be described in [Details of control by the control device 70] described later.

[Details of Connector Housing Position Sensor 50]
As shown in FIG. 7, the connector housing position sensor 50 is fixed at a position opposite to the movement locus of each connector housing 80 that moves in the circumferential direction as the disk member 13 rotates, and the laser projector 51 and the laser And a light receiver 52. In the example of FIG. 7, the laser projector 51 is disposed above, the laser receiver 52 is disposed below, and the optical axis of the laser light 51 a emitted from the laser projector 51 is orthogonal to the direction of the movement locus of each connector housing 80. It is in the direction to do. The laser receiver 52 is fixed at a facing position so that the laser beam 51a from the laser projector 51 can be received. Note that the vertical positions of the laser projector 51 and the laser receiver 52 may be reversed.

  When the connector housing 80 and the housing receiver 11 are not present at the position of the axis through which the laser beam 51a passes, the laser beam 51a is always received by the laser receiver 52. On the other hand, when the connector housing 80 passes the position of the laser beam 51a as the disk member 13 rotates, the laser beam receiver 52 temporarily detects the laser beam 51a because the connector housing 80 shields the laser beam 51a. It becomes impossible. Therefore, it is possible to identify whether or not the connector housing 80 passes through the position of the laser beam 51a based on whether or not the laser beam 51a is received by the laser receiver 52.

  In a state where the connector housing 80 is not disposed on the housing receiver 11, the housing receiver 11 shields the laser light 51a when the housing receiver 11 passes the position of the laser light 51a as the disk member 13 rotates. To do. Therefore, when the connector housing 80 is not present, it is possible to identify whether or not the housing receiver 11 passes through the position of the laser beam 51a based on whether or not the laser beam receiver 52 receives the laser beam 51a.

  Note that the width dimension of the housing receiver 11 at a location where the laser beam 51 a passes is smaller than the width dimension of the connector housing 80. Therefore, in the state where the connector housing 80 is disposed on the housing receiver 11, the light shielding start position and end position detected by the laser receiver 52 are not affected by the light shielding by the housing receiver 11. That is, when the connector housing 80 is present, the light shielding start position of the laser beam 51 a coincides with one end in the width direction of the connector housing 80, and the light shielding end position coincides with the other end in the width direction of the connector housing 80.

  It is assumed that the actual distance between the laser projector 51 and the laser receiver 52 is set to about 100 [cm], for example. By increasing this distance, precise optical axis adjustment of the laser beam 51a is facilitated, and physical interference with other unrelated members is facilitated.

[Control system configuration]
As described in the item [Configuration of terminal insertion device], the terminal insertion device according to the embodiment of the present invention includes the stationary platen 10 and the parallel joint mechanism 20, and further includes the electric wire carrier 30 and the terminal measurement. A sensor 40 and a connector housing position sensor 50 are provided. In order to control these equipments comprehensively, the control system including the connector housing position detection device and the terminal insertion device according to the embodiment of the present invention includes a control device 70. Actually, a programmable logic controller (PLC) is employed as the control device 70.

  FIG. 7 is a functional block diagram of a control system including the terminal insertion device according to the embodiment of the present invention. The control device 70 includes the motor member 14 of the fixed platen 10, the parallel joint mechanism 20, the moving body 32 of the wire carrier 30, the connector housing position sensor 50, the X measurement sensor 42 of the terminal measurement sensor 40, and the Z measurement sensor 43. , And the encoder of the drive source 46. The control device 70 outputs control signals to various drive sources, and signals detected by the sensors are input from various sensors.

  The laser projector 51 and the laser receiver 52 of the connector housing position sensor 50 are disposed so as to face the connector housing moving path 56. As for a signal output from the laser receiver 52 of the connector housing position sensor 50, a binary signal SG <b> 1 as a result of processing by the signal processing unit 53 is input to the control device 70. In addition, the signal processing unit 53 includes an amplifier that amplifies the level of the analog signal and a comparator that generates a binary signal SG1 by comparing its output with a predetermined threshold level. A position signal (including angle information) SG <b> 2 output from an encoder included in the servo motor 54 of the motor member 14 that drives the fixed platen 10 is also input to the control device 70. The control device 70 can capture and hold (latch) the position signal SG2 at the timing when the binary signal SG1 is switched on and off. Details will be described later. Hereinafter, a series of processes for inserting the terminal 91 into the connector housing 80 controlled by the control device 70 will be described in detail.

[Details of Control by Control Device 70]
[Positioning setting process]
Prior to a series of processes for inserting the terminal 91 into the connector housing 80, the control device 70 sets the initial position of the fixed platen 10 and the initial position of the connector housing 80 arranged on the fixed platen 10, and sets the initial state. It is necessary for the control device 70 to recognize the position of the cavity 81 of the connector housing 80 in FIG.

  By the way, the disk member 13 and the motor member 14 of the fixed platen 10 are attached to predetermined positions of the housing support base. For this reason, the position of the center of the rail member 12 attached to the disk member 13 whose shape is specified can be determined at one point on the axis of the disk member 13. The radius of the rail member 12 and the mounting position of each housing receiver 11 with respect to the rail member 12 are known. From the above, if the relative shift amount between the predetermined position in the circumferential direction of the disk member 13 and the predetermined position in the circumferential direction of the rail member 12 when the rail member 12 is attached to the disk member 13, the shift amount is known. The position of the connector housing 80 accommodated in each housing receiver 11 and the position of the opening of the cavity 81 can be set in the control device 70 based on the above.

  The relative shift amount from the predetermined position in the circumferential direction of the disk member 13 to the predetermined position in the circumferential direction of the rail member 12 can be set in the control device 70 as follows. That is, a mark is provided at a predetermined position in the circumferential direction of the disk member 13 and a predetermined position in the circumferential direction of the rail member 12, and the rail member 12 is attached to the disk member 13 so that the marks coincide with each other. . In this way, the control device 70 may be set as the deviation amount “0”. Alternatively, a scale indicating an angle in the circumferential direction of the disk member 13 or the circumferential direction of the rail member 12 is added, and the angle from the predetermined position in the circumferential direction of the disk member 13 to the predetermined position in the circumferential direction of the rail member 12 is shifted. It is also possible to set it in the control device 70 as an amount.

  Alternatively, the initial position of the disk member 13 may be set using the parallel joint mechanism 20. For example, one of the housing receivers 11 of the disk member 13 is provided with a round hole, and the electric wire chuck 25c is provided with a round bar for positioning instead of the electric wire 90. The position of the housing receiver 11 into which the round bar can be inserted into the round hole is defined as the position of the rotation angle 0 of the disk member 13. As described above, the initial position of the stationary platen 10 is set by various methods.

  Further, prior to a series of processes for inserting the terminal 91 into the connector housing 80, the control device 70 includes the initial positions of the X coordinate, Y coordinate and Z coordinate of the hand base 25a of the parallel joint mechanism 20, the wire gripping body. It is necessary to set an angle in the pitch direction of 25b, an initial angle in the yaw direction, and an initial angle in the roll direction of the wire gripping body 25b, and let the control device 70 recognize these numerical values in the initial state. The initial positions of the X coordinate, the Y coordinate, and the Z coordinate of the hand base 25 a are determined by a predetermined position of the transport chuck 33 of the wire transporter 30. That is, the initial position of the hand base 25a is such that the wire chuck 25c is a predetermined distance above the transport chuck 33 in a state where the moving body 32 holding the wire 90 is at a predetermined position where the wire should be passed to the parallel joint mechanism 20. It is determined to be located in the positive direction of the Z axis. More precisely, the initial position of the hand base 25a is such that when the electric wire chuck 25c and the conveyance chuck 33 are viewed in the Z-axis direction, the conveyance chuck 33 is sandwiched between the front chuck 25c1 and the rear chuck 25c2 of the electric wire chuck 25c. Determined in position. For this reason, when the electric wire chuck 25c holds the electric wire 90 held by the transfer chuck 33, the front chuck 25c1 and the rear chuck 25c2 hold the front and rear sides of the transfer chuck 33.

  The predetermined position at which the movable body 32 should pass the electric wire to the parallel joint mechanism 20 is provided with a stopper at a predetermined position of the transport rail 31 or is positioned by the encoder information of the motor of the movable body 32, etc. Is set in the structure. If the operator measures and sets the predetermined position in the control device 70 in advance, or if the encoder information of the motor of the moving body 32 is stored on the electric wire transporter 30 side, the control device 70 is placed at the predetermined position. Based on this, the initial positions of the X coordinate, Y coordinate, and Z coordinate of the hand base 25a of the parallel joint mechanism 20 can be set.

  The sensor base rail 44 of the terminal measurement sensor 40 is aligned with the conveyance chuck 33 in a state where the moving body 32 that holds the electric wire 90 is in a predetermined position where the electric wire should be passed to the parallel joint mechanism 20. In other words, the sensor base rail 44 is the origin of the XZ coordinates measured by the X measurement sensor 42 and the Z measurement sensor 43 by the electric wire 90 that is gripped by the conveyance chuck 33 and that extends ideally in the Y-axis direction without drooping or rebounding. It is aligned with a position that passes through O (see FIG. 6B). The initial position of the sensor base 41 of the terminal measurement sensor 40 is determined by the encoder information of the drive source 46. This initial position is a position where the tip of the terminal 91 of the gripped electric wire 90 is separated from the detection region of the X measurement sensor 42 and the Z measurement sensor 43, and a certain distance can be secured between the two members.

In summary, the following items are set as initial values in the control device 70.
The initial position of the fixed platen The initial position of the rail member 12 relative to the fixed platen The initial position of the cavity 81 of the connector housing 80 disposed on the fixed platen The X coordinate, Y coordinate and Z coordinate of the hand base 25a Initial position, initial angle of pitch direction and angle of yaw direction of wire gripping body 25b, initial angle of angle of roll direction of wire gripping body 25b, initial position of moving body 32 relative to transport rail 31 Initial position of sensor base 41

[Connector housing position correction processing]
[Reason why position correction is required]
As described above, the initial position of the cavity 81 of the connector housing 80 disposed on the fixed platen 10 can be specified in advance and set as an initial value. That is, the position of the cavity 81 can be specified by calculation based on the dimensions of each member such as the connector housing 80 on the design drawing. However, the terminal insertion may fail because the actual cavity position is deviated from the calculated position. The following two can be considered as typical causes of misalignment.

(1) Since a general connector housing is a resin molded product, an error occurs in dimensions due to heat shrinkage during manufacturing. Specifically, the position of each cavity in the connector housing tends to move to a position closer to the center of the connector housing than the position on the design drawing. In addition, when designing a mold with dimensions that take into account the effects of thermal shrinkage in advance and manufacturing a connector housing with this mold, conversely, the position of each cavity is in a radial direction away from the center of the connector housing. There may be a positional shift.

(2) The space of the housing receiver for housing the connector housing may be formed slightly larger than the connector housing, and a clearance (gap) may be formed between the housing receiver and the connector housing. In this case, the connector housing is positioned and fixed using a spring or the like so as to be held in a state of being shifted to one position in the width direction so that the position of the connector housing does not move relative to the housing receiver. When such a shift is performed, the actual position of each cavity of the connector housing moves to a position slightly deviated from the theoretical position calculated from the reference position of the housing receiver. Further, when a deviation occurs in the width of the connector housing, the amount of deviation of each cavity position due to the effect of shifting is also changed.

  Further, in order to suppress the displacement of the cavity of the connector housing, the housing receiver is required to have high processing accuracy. Therefore, the processing cost for processing the housing receiver is unavoidable.

  FIG. 9 is a front view showing the insertion surface of the connector housing and the housing receiver. FIG. 10 is a state transition diagram showing dimensions of the designed connector housing and the actual connector housing after manufacture. FIG. 11 is a front view showing a specific example of the positional relationship between the housing receiver and the connector housing.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the connector housing 80 formed of resin is disposed on the above-described stationary platen 10 via the housing receiver 11. A reference hole 11 r is formed at the reference position of the housing receiver 11.

  Since the resin molded product is thermally shrunk during manufacture, as shown in FIG. 10, the connector housing 80B after manufacture tends to be smaller than the connector housing 80A defined on the design drawing. Therefore, the dimension Xo of the connector housing 80A shown in FIG. 10 changes to the dimension (Xo−ΔX) of the connector housing 80B. That is, the position of the cavity 81 is shifted by ΔX.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 11, when the concave portion of the housing receiver 11 for arranging the connector housing 80 is formed larger than the width dimension of the connector housing 80, a biasing mechanism is provided so that the connector housing 80 does not move. The position is fixed in a state of being biased by using a spring 82 or the like. In the example of FIG. 11, the biasing mechanism 82 applies force to the right end surface 80R in the width direction of the connector housing 80 so that the left end surface 80L in the width direction of the connector housing 80 is in close contact with the left wall surface 11L of the recess of the housing receiver 11. Is added.

  Therefore, the position of the connector housing 80 is fixed at a position shifted to the left with respect to the concave portion of the housing receiver 11, and a gap 83 is formed between the right end surface 80R and the right wall surface 11R. Accordingly, the center position of the connector housing 80 is shifted from the center of the housing receiver 11 by an amount equivalent to the shift Δ shown in FIG.

[Operation to detect actual connector housing position]
FIG. 12 is a front view showing the positional relationship between the connector housing position sensor, the housing receiver, and the connector housing 80. FIG. 13 is a plan view showing the positional relationship between the housing receiver and connector housing 80 and the movement locus of the detection position. FIG. 14 is a time chart showing the relationship between the laser detection signal, the servo motor angle, and the light shielding object facing the detection position.

  As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, when the connector housing 80 moves along the connector housing moving path 56, the connector housing 80 interferes with the laser beam 51a. That is, when the connector housing 80 passes through the position of the laser beam 51a, the connector housing 80 temporarily blocks the laser beam 51a.

  The positional relationship between the actual detection position (the position of the laser beam 51a) and the connector housing 80 is determined as shown by a movement locus 56a shown in FIG. Specifically, when the spot diameter of the laser beam 51a is set to 1 [mm], a movement locus 56a at a position that has advanced from the front opening of the connector housing 80 to the inside by 1 [mm] or more in the depth direction is a laser beam. It arrange | positions so that it may correspond with the position of the light 51a.

  In addition, the shape and structure of the connector housing 80 and the housing receiver 11 are restricted so that the housing receiver 11 does not interfere with the position detection of the connector housing 80 in a state where the connector housing 80 is disposed. Further, when the connector housing 80 is removed from the housing receiver 11, the position and shape of the housing receiver 11 are determined so that a part of the housing receiver 11 shields the laser beam 51a when passing.

  Therefore, the binary signal SG1 input from the signal processing unit 53 to the control device 70 changes as shown in FIG. That is, when the connector housings 80 (1), 80 (2), 80 (3),. ), 80 (3),..., And the binary signal SG1 is switched on and off at the positions of the left end and the right end of the contour shape.

  The control device 70 takes in the position signal SG2 output from the servomotor 54, that is, the servomotor angle φ [deg] at the timing when the binary signal SG1 is switched on and off when each connector housing 80 passes. Then, the servo motor angle φ when the binary signal SG1 switches from on to off is recognized as the left end position, and the servo motor angle φ when the binary signal SG1 switches from off to on is recognized as the right end position.

[Actually detected connector housing position]
FIG. 15A is a plan view showing the connector housing arranged on the fixed platen, and FIG. 15B is an enlarged view of a main part showing a part of FIG. 15A. 16A is a front view showing the detection position of the housing receiver, and FIG. 16B is a plan view showing the detection position of the housing receiver. FIG. 17A is a front view showing the detection position of the connector housing, and FIG. 17B is a plan view showing the detection position of the connector housing.

  Since the connector housing position sensor 50 detects the connector housing 80 at a position that coincides with the laser beam 51a in the annular movement locus 56a shown in FIGS. 15A and 15B, FIG. 17A and FIG. The left end position P2L and the right end position P2R of the connector housing 80 shown in FIG. A distance L2 between the left end position P2L and the right end position P2R represents an actual width dimension (size) of the connector housing 80.

  When the connector housing 80 is removed from the housing receiver 11, the left end position P1L and the right end position P1R of the housing receiver 11 shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B can be detected. A distance L1 between the left end position P1L and the right end position P1R represents the width dimension (size) of the housing receiver 11.

[Connector housing position correction procedure]
FIG. 18 is a plan view showing the positional deviation of the connector housing. FIG. 19A is a plan view showing the movement locus of the connector housing and the detection position, and FIG. 19B is an enlarged view of a main part showing a part of FIG. 19A.

  In this embodiment, the connector housing position sensor 50 can detect not only the connector housing 80 but also the position of the housing receiver 11. Therefore, as an adjustment process before actually starting the production of the wire harness, the position of the housing receiver 11 is detected and the position is corrected. The procedure of the adjustment process is as follows.

[Adjustment process]
S11: After the connector housing 80 is removed from each housing receiver 11, the following processing is executed.

  S12: The servo motor 54 of the motor member 14 is driven to rotate the disk member 13 counterclockwise at a constant speed, and the connector housing position sensor 50 is used to acquire position information representing the position of the housing receiver 11.

  Specifically, for each of the left end position P1L and the right end position P1R of the housing receiver 11 shown in FIGS. 16A and 16B, the position signal SG2 is acquired at the timing when the binary signal SG1 is switched on and off. The angle ψo1 of the left end position P1L and the angle ψo2 of the right end position P1R are specified.

S13: Next, the center position in the width direction of the housing receiver 11 is calculated as the reference position angle ψoc according to the following equation.
ψoc = (ψo2 + ψo1) / 2 (1)

  This reference position angle ψoc corresponds to the position of a reference hole 11 r formed in the housing receiver 11, and can also be used as a reference position for the connector housing 80 disposed on the housing receiver 11. In order to detect the reference position angle ψoc with high accuracy, it is necessary to process both side surfaces in the width direction of the housing receiver 11 that shields the laser beam 51a with high accuracy.

  After completing the above processing, the production process of the product is started. In this production process, the actual position of the connector housing 80 is detected and corrected in the following “production flow”. The above-described “adjustment process” and the following “production flow” are automatically performed under the control of the control device 70.

[Production flow]
S21: The connector housing 80 is arranged and fixed on each housing receiver 11. In this state, the following processing is executed.

  S22: The servo motor 54 of the motor member 14 is driven to rotate the disk member 13 in a counterclockwise direction at a constant speed, and the position information indicating the position of the connector housing 80 is obtained using the connector housing position sensor 50.

  Specifically, for each of the left end position P2L and the right end position P2R of the connector housing 80 shown in FIGS. 17A and 17B, the position signal SG2 is acquired at the timing when the binary signal SG1 is switched on and off. The angle ψ1 of the left end position P2L and the angle ψ2 of the right end position P2R are specified.

S23: Next, the center position in the width direction of the connector housing 80 is calculated as the measured center angle ψc by the following equation.
ψc = (ψ2 + ψ1) / 2 (2)

Further, the actual measurement width h of the connector housing 80 is calculated by the following equation.
h = 2 · R · sin {(ψ2-ψ1) / 2} (3)
However,
R: radius of a circular orbit from the center axis of the disk member 13 to the optical axis position of the laser beam 51a ψ2> ψ1

S24: Using the measured width h and the width dimension ho on the design drawing of the connector housing 80 (see FIG. 10), the positional deviation amount ΔXc due to the influence of thermal shrinkage is calculated by the following equation.
ΔXc = −Xo (ho−h) / 4ho (4)
Xo: Reference position on the design drawing of any cavity

S25: Next, the shift amount ΔXψ (see FIGS. 11 and 18) of the terminal insertion coordinates of each cavity due to the effect of the shift of the connector housing 80 is calculated by the following equation.
ΔXψ = 2 · R · sin {(ψc−ψoc) / 2} to R (ψc−ψoc)
(∵ | ψc−ψoc | << 1) (5)

S26: Next, the cumulative deviation amount ΔX is calculated by the following equation.
ΔX = ΔXc + ΔXψ (6)

S27: In order to convert the influence of the accumulated deviation amount ΔX into the registered terminal insertion coordinates of each cavity, the deviation amounts Δx and Δy are calculated by the following equations.
Δx = ΔX · cos θ (7)
Δy = ΔX · sin θ (8)
−90 degrees ≧ θ ≧ 90 degrees θ: an angle representing the position of the connector housing 80 at the time of insertion

  That is, when the parallel joint mechanism 20 moves the hand member 25 and positions the tip of the terminal 91 at a position facing the connector housing 80, at which position on the movement locus 56a shown in FIG. Not determined in advance. Therefore, for example, the reference position of the coordinate system (parallel link coordinates) when the parallel joint mechanism 20 positions the terminal 91 is the position (θ = 0) in FIG. 19 and the actual insertion position is (θ = 30 degrees). ), It is necessary to convert the positional deviation at the position (θ = 30 degrees) into the deviation amount on the parallel link coordinates in consideration of the difference in the direction of the coordinate system. The shift amounts Δx and Δy on the parallel link coordinates can be calculated by the above equations (7) and (8).

S28: The terminal insertion coordinates (x, y, z, ω) registered in advance for an arbitrary cavity at the insertion destination are corrected using the results of the expressions (7) and (8). The terminal insertion coordinates (x + Δx, y + Δy, z, ω) are corrected.
ω: Servo motor angular position of the terminal gripping part of the terminal insertion machine

  In the above description, it is assumed that the connector housing 80 is disposed in close contact with the housing receiver 11, but a slight gap is formed between the recess of the housing receiver 11 and the connector housing 80. Sometimes it is done. In that case, it is necessary to perform each of the above calculations in consideration of the effect of the gap.

[Pin insertion processing]
Next, a series of processes for inserting the terminal 91 into the connector housing 80 will be described in detail. 20 (A), FIG. 21 (A), FIG. 22 (A), FIG. 23 (A), and FIG. 24 (A) each show one step of terminal insertion processing by the terminal insertion device of the embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view. 20B, FIG. 21B, FIG. 22B, FIG. 23B, and FIG. 2B are respectively the corresponding FIG. 20A, FIG. 21A, and FIG. It is a principal part enlarged view of (A), FIG. 23 (A), and FIG. 24 (A). The driving of each piece of equipment described below is in accordance with a control signal from the control device 70.

  First, as shown in FIGS. 20A and 20B, the parallel joint mechanism 20 moves the hand base 25a after the previous series of processing for inserting the terminal 91 into the connector housing 80 is completed. While moving to the initial position of X coordinate, Y coordinate, and Z coordinate, it turns so that the angle of the pitch direction of the electric wire holding body 25b and the angle of a yaw direction may be returned to an initial angle. Furthermore, it turns so that the angle of the roll direction of the electric wire holding body 25b may be returned to the initial angle.

  In addition, after the previous series of processing for inserting the terminal 91 into the connector housing 80 is completed, the stationary platen 10 receives a control signal from the control device 70 and the rail member 12 rotates, and this series of processing. Thus, the connector housing 80 into which the terminal 91 is inserted rotates around the electric wire gripping body 25b of the parallel joint mechanism 20. Such rotation driving control of the fixed platen 10 can be realized because the initial position of the connector housing 80 arranged on the fixed platen 10 is set in the control device 70 in [positioning setting processing]. Further, at the time of this circular movement, it is preferable that the connector housing 80 be circularly moved to a position where the cavity 81 into which the terminal 91 is inserted in the current series of processing is parallel to the Y axis. Such circular drive control of the fixed platen 10 can also be realized because the position of the opening of the cavity 81 in the connector housing 80 is registered in advance.

  Moreover, as shown in FIGS. 20A and 20B, in the electric wire transporter 30, the movable body 32 in a state where the electric wire is held by the conveyance chuck 33 moves to a predetermined position.

  When the parallel joint mechanism 20 completes the movement of the movable body 32 to the predetermined position, as shown in FIGS. 21 (A) and 21 (B), the hand base 25a moves downward (Z Move in the negative axis direction). Then, the electric wire chuck 25 c holds the electric wire 90 held by the transport chuck 33.

  When the electric wire 90 is gripped by the electric wire chuck 25 c of the parallel joint mechanism 20, the terminal measurement sensor 40 starts moving forward from the initial position toward the electric wire gripping body 25 b of the parallel joint mechanism 20. And if the sensor stand 41 comes to the position defined by the encoder information of the drive source 46, the movement will stop.

  When the movement of the sensor base 41 is completed, the electric wire transporter 30 opens the conveyance chuck 33 and releases the electric wire 90 as shown in FIGS. 21 (A) and 21 (B). Thereafter, as shown in FIGS. 22A and 22B, the moving body 32 moves away from a predetermined position in order to grip the next electric wire 90.

  When the movement of the sensor base 41 is completed, the tip of the terminal 91 is positioned in the detection region of the X measurement sensor 42 and the Z measurement sensor 43 as shown in FIGS. 21 (A) and 21 (B). Yes. At this time, the light intensity distribution detected by each of the X measurement sensor 42 and the Z measurement sensor 43 is input to the control device 70. The control device 70 calculates the rotation angle of the terminal 91 in the roll direction and the XZ coordinate of the tip of the terminal 91 based on the distribution of the light intensity.

  FIG. 26A is a front view showing a state where the tip of the terminal is located in the detection region of the X measurement sensor and the Z measurement sensor. As shown in FIG. 26A, the terminal 91 may be rotating in the roll direction. Furthermore, the electric wire 90 gripped by the electric wire chuck 25c may be bent back (Z-axis positive direction) and left and right (X-axis direction) with the front chuck 25c1 of the electric wire chuck 25c as a fulcrum (conversely, depending on the hanging state). Down (Z-axis negative direction) and left / right (X-axis direction). Thus, even if the terminal 91 is rotated in the roll direction and the terminal 91 is inserted into the cavity 81 of the connector housing 80 while the electric wire 90 is bounced back, the terminal 91 cannot be inserted into the cavity 81 or has been inserted. However, there is a possibility that the electric wire 90 or the terminal 91 may be damaged.

  Therefore, in the terminal insertion device according to the embodiment of the present invention, the control device 70 rotates the rotation angle of the terminal 91 in the roll direction based on the distribution of the light intensity detected by each of the X measurement sensor 42 and the Z measurement sensor 43. And the amount of sag or rebound of the electric wire 90 is quantitatively calculated. Then, the control device 70 further returns the rotation of the terminal 91 in the roll direction to 0 degrees based on the calculated numerical value, and the electric wire 90 for arranging the electric wire 90 that has dropped or bounced in parallel to the Y axis. The rotation angle in the roll direction of the grip body 25b, and the rotation angle in the pitch direction and the rotation angle in the yaw direction of the wire grip body 25b are calculated.

Here, a calculation method for calculating the rotation angle of the wire gripping body 25b in the roll direction will be described. 26 (A) and 26 (B) are front views illustrating a method for calculating the rotation angle of the terminal in the roll direction. FIG. 26 (A) shows a case where the rotation angle is 0, and FIG. This is a case where the rotation angle is θ. In the following, it is assumed that the shape of the distal end surface of the terminal 91 is a rectangle having a width a and a height b, and the length of the diagonal line is c. At this time, as shown in FIG. 26A, an angle θ0 formed by a diagonal line with one side in the width direction is given by the following equation.
θ0 = cos ⁻¹ (a / c)

Next, consider a case where the terminal 91 rotates θ in the roll direction. At this time, the light receiving surfaces of the X measuring sensor 42 and the Z measuring sensor 43 receive light having a distribution in which the intensity is partially weakened by the band-shaped laser being blocked by the terminal 91. By specifying this weakened portion, the width of the terminal 91 in the X-axis direction and the Z-axis direction is specified. In FIG. 26B, X indicates the width in the X-axis direction of the terminal 91 specified based on the distribution received by the X measurement sensor 42, and Z is specified based on the distribution received by the Z measurement sensor 43. The width in the Z-axis direction of the terminal 91 is shown. Here, as shown in FIG. 26B, when an angle θ1 formed by the diagonal line and the X-axis direction is defined, the rotation angle θ is given by the following equation.
θ = θ0−θ1 = cos ⁻¹ (a / c) −cos ⁻¹ (X / c)
With this calculation method, the rotation angle in the roll direction of the electric wire gripping body 25b is calculated.

  Next, a calculation method for calculating the rotation angle in the pitch direction and the rotation angle in the yaw direction of the electric wire gripping body 25b will be described. FIG. 26C is a schematic diagram for explaining a calculation method of the rotation angle in the pitch direction and the rotation angle in the yaw direction of the electric wire gripping body 25b. As shown in FIG. 26B, the X coordinate of the tip of the terminal 91 can be determined as the midpoint x1 of the width X described above. Similarly, the Z coordinate of the tip of the terminal 91 can be determined as the midpoint z1 of the width Z described above.

  By the way, the sensor base 41 and the sensor base rail 44 are the origin O of the XZ coordinate (refer FIG.6 (B)) by which the electric wire 90 extended ideally in a Y-axis direction is measured by the X measurement sensor 42 and the Z measurement sensor 43. ). Further, the distance l from the front chuck 25c1 of the parallel joint mechanism 20 to the detection region in the sensor base 41 advanced is known. Therefore, when the position of the front chuck 25c1 is regarded as the origin as shown in FIG. 26C, the rotation angle θ2 in the pitch direction and the rotation angle θ3 in the yaw direction of the wire gripping body 25b are given by the following equations. .

θ2 = tan ⁻¹ (z1 / l)
θ3 = tan ⁻¹ (x1 / l)
By this calculation method, the rotation angle in the pitch direction and the rotation angle in the yaw direction of the electric wire gripping body 25b are calculated.

  FIG. 25B is a perspective view showing a state in which the rotation of the terminal in the roll direction is returned to 0 and the electric wires are arranged in parallel to the Y axis. The control device 70 turns the hand base 25a and the electric wire gripping body 25b in a direction that cancels the rotation by the calculated rotation angle in the pitch direction, rotation angle in the yaw direction, and rotation angle in the roll direction. As a result, as shown in FIG. 25B, the wire gripping main body 25b can grip the wire 90 in which the rotation angle of the terminal 91 in the roll direction returns to 0 degrees and extends parallel to the Y axis.

  In the terminal measurement sensor 40, after the hand base 25a and the electric wire gripping body 25b are turned, the sensor base 41 is moved to the initial position as shown in FIGS. 123 (A) and 23 (B).

  After the sensor base 41 moves to the initial position, the parallel joint mechanism 20 drives the hand base 25a in the X-axis and Z-axis directions as shown in FIGS. 23 (A) and 23 (B), The axis center of the electric wire 90 after the rotation angle of the terminal 91 in the roll direction returns to 0 degrees and becomes parallel to the Y axis is aligned with the XZ coordinate of the opening of the cavity 81 in the connector housing 80. Then, the parallel joint mechanism 20 drives the hand base 25a in the Y-axis positive direction and inserts the terminal 91 into the cavity 81 as shown in FIGS. 24 (A) and 24 (B). At this time, the distance until the terminal 91 is locked in the cavity 81 in the connector housing 80 is set in the control device 70. For this reason, the control device 70 drives the parallel joint mechanism 20 so that the hand base 25a moves in the positive Y-axis direction by this distance. At this time, the control device 70 determines the buckling of the terminal 91 or the interference of the terminal 91 with the stationary platen 10 when the terminal 91 is not inserted into the cavity from the signal detected by the pressure sensor 25g.

  When the parallel joint mechanism 20 moves the hand base 25a in the Y-axis positive direction, the parallel joint mechanism 20 subsequently moves the hand base 25a slightly in the Y-axis negative direction. Here, the electric wire holding body 25b is provided with a pressure sensor for detecting an external force acting on the electric wire chuck 25c. When the terminal 91 is normally inserted into the cavity 81, the terminal 91 is engaged with the lance in the cavity 81. For this reason, if the terminal 91 is normally inserted into the cavity 81, the pressure sensor 25g detects a tension exceeding a certain threshold that acts on the electric wire 90 when the hand base 25a is slightly moved in the negative Y-axis direction. Should do. On the other hand, if the terminal 91 is not normally inserted into the cavity 81, the pressure sensor 25g does not detect an external force or detects a tension below a threshold when the hand base 25a is slightly moved in the negative Y-axis direction. It should be. In this way, the parallel joint mechanism 20 determines whether or not the terminal 91 has been normally inserted by slightly moving the hand base 25a in the Y-axis negative direction. When the terminal 91 is not normally inserted into the cavity 81, the parallel joint mechanism 20 moves the hand base 25a onto the dust box, and opens the electric wire chuck 25c, thereby discarding the electric wire 90 in the dust box. It may be. Thereafter, the parallel joint mechanism 20 moves the hand base 25a to the initial positions of the X coordinate, the Y coordinate, and the Z coordinate when the current series of processes for inserting the terminal 91 into the connector housing 80 is completed. It turns so that the angle of the pitch direction and the angle of the yaw direction of the electric wire holding body 25b may be returned to the initial angles. Furthermore, it turns so that the angle of the roll direction of the electric wire holding body 25b may be returned to the initial angle.

[Advantages of connector housing position detector]
According to the connector housing position detecting device described above, the connector housing position sensor 50 can detect only the position of the contour (P2L, P2R in FIG. 17) when the connector housing 80 moves and crosses the optical axis of the laser beam 51a. Since it is good, even if it is a low cost sensor, a position can be pinpointed with high precision. In addition, the reference position of the connector housing 80 specified by the control device 70 is an intermediate position calculated based on the one end position and the other end position of the outer shape contour. Therefore, this reference position depends on the influence of heat shrinkage during manufacturing. Less susceptible to dimensional errors.

  Further, since the position is detected by using the movement of the disk member 13, it is not necessary to add a special mechanism for moving the connector housing position sensor 50. Further, even if the connector housing 80 is disposed slightly inclined, the influence of the inclination is detected by detecting the center in the width direction of the connector housing 80 as a reference position using the above-described equation (2). The error of the detection position due to can be reduced.

[Modification of Connector Housing Position Detection Device]
In the connector housing position detection device described above, a transmissive laser sensor composed of a laser projector 51 and a laser receiver 52 is used as the connector housing position sensor 50, but it may be replaced with a reflective laser sensor. . However, with regard to the detection position accuracy, it is preferable to use a transmission type laser sensor rather than a reflection type laser sensor.

  In the connector housing position detecting device described above, the reference position in the width direction of the connector housing 80 (the moving direction of the connector housing) is detected using the connector housing position sensor 50. However, the height direction (Z It is also possible to detect the position of (direction). In that case, a sensor similar to the connector housing position sensor 50 is arranged so that the optical axis is parallel to the moving direction of the connector housing 80. In this case, since the connector housing 80 does not move in the vertical direction, it is necessary to detect the positions of the upper end and the lower end of the outline of the connector housing 80 while moving the sensor side in the vertical direction. Of course, when a mechanism for moving the position of the connector housing 80 in the vertical direction is added, there is no need to move the sensor.

  In the connector housing position detecting device described above, the connector housing position sensor 50 is disposed at a position adjacent to the stationary platen 10 as shown in FIG. It is also possible to install 50.

Here, the features of the terminal insertion device and the terminal insertion method of the embodiment of the present invention described above are briefly summarized in [1] to [14], respectively.
[1] A connector housing position detection device that detects a connector housing (80) disposed on a stationary platen (10) and obtains information representing an actual position of the connector housing,
A stationary platen (10) in which the connector housing is disposed;
An optical detector (connector housing position sensor 50) in which an optical axis is arranged in a direction substantially orthogonal to a moving direction of a moving path of the connector housing arranged on the fixed platen;
When the connector housing moves, one end position (P2L) and the other end position (P2R) corresponding to the outer contour of the connector housing in the moving direction are detected and detected based on a signal output from the optical detector. A position control unit (control device 70) that specifies a reference position of the connector housing by calculation based on the one end position and the other end position that are made;
A connector housing position detection device comprising:
[2] The connector housing position detection device according to [1] above,
The optical detector (50) includes a laser light source (laser projector 51) disposed at one position with a movement path of the connector housing interposed therebetween, and a laser receiver (52) disposed at the other position. A transmissive laser sensor comprising:
A connector housing position detecting device.
[3] The connector housing position detection device according to [1] above,
The position controller (70) detects a center of the one end position and the other end position detected based on a signal output from the optical detector as a reference position of the connector housing;
A connector housing position detecting device.
[4] The connector housing position detection device according to [1] above,
In a situation where the connector housing (80) is disposed on the fixed platen (10) via a predetermined housing receiver (11),
The position control unit (70) is configured so that the connector housing is removed from the housing receiver before the position of the connector housing is detected, and the outer shape of the housing receiver in the moving direction using the optical detector. Detect the housing receiver one end position (P1L) and the housing receiver other end position (P1R) corresponding to the contour, identify the center position of the detected housing receiver one end position and the housing receiver other end position, Correcting the position of the housing receiver based on the center position;
A connector housing position detecting device.
[5] The connector housing position detection device according to [3] above,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
The position control unit, when the connector housing is arranged at substantially the center of the housing receiver, based on the detected position of the connector housing, grasps the amount of displacement and corrects the displacement.
A connector housing position detecting device.
[6] The connector housing position detection device according to [1] above,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
When the connector housing (80) is arranged in a state of being justified with respect to the housing receiver (11) (see FIG. 11), the position control unit detects the position of the connector housing and the justification To determine the amount of misalignment based on the effect of and correct the misalignment,
A connector housing position detecting device.
[7] The connector housing position detection device according to any one of [1] to [6],
The fixed platen (10) includes a rotation mechanism (motor member 14, servomotor 54) that rotates around a predetermined rotation axis and moves the connector housing mounted on the fixed plate in a circumferential direction.
The position control unit (70) grasps each position of the connector housing by a rotation angle of the rotation mechanism.
A connector housing position detecting device.
[8] A connector housing position detection method for detecting a connector housing arranged on a fixed platen and obtaining information representing an actual position of the connector housing,
Utilizing a fixed plate in which the connector housing is arranged, and an optical detector in which an optical axis is arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the moving direction of the movement path of the connector housing arranged in the fixed plate,
When the connector housing moves, the one end position and the other end position corresponding to the outer contour of the connector housing in the moving direction are detected based on a signal output from the optical detector, and the detected one end position and Based on the other end position, the reference position of the connector housing is specified by calculation.
And a connector housing position detecting method.
[9] The connector housing position detection method according to [8] above,
As the optical detector, a transmission type laser sensor configured by a laser light source disposed at one position with a moving path of the connector housing interposed therebetween and a laser receiver disposed at the other position is used. ,
And a connector housing position detecting method.
[10] The connector housing position detection method according to [8] above,
A center of the one end position and the other end position detected based on a signal output from the optical detector is detected as a reference position of the connector housing;
And a connector housing position detecting method.
[11] The connector housing position detection method according to [8] above,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
Before detecting the position of the connector housing, with the connector housing removed from the housing receiver, using the optical detector, a housing receiver one end position corresponding to an outer shape contour in the moving direction of the housing receiver, and The position of the other end of the housing receiver is detected, the center position of the detected one end position of the housing receiver and the other end position of the housing receiver is specified, and the grasped position of the housing receiver is corrected based on the center position. ,
And a connector housing position detecting method.
[12] The connector housing position detection method according to [10] above,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
When the connector housing is arranged at substantially the center of the housing receiver, based on the detected position of the connector housing, grasp the amount of displacement and correct the displacement.
And a connector housing position detecting method.
[13] The connector housing position detection method according to [8] above,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
When the connector housing is arranged in a state of being displaced with respect to the housing receiver, the amount of displacement is grasped based on the detected position of the connector housing and the influence of the displacement, and the displacement is determined. to correct,
And a connector housing position detecting method.
[14] The connector housing position detection method according to any one of [8] to [13],
The fixed platen rotates about a predetermined rotation axis, and includes a rotation mechanism that moves the connector housing mounted on the fixed plate in a circumferential direction,
Grasping each position of the connector housing by the rotation angle of the rotation mechanism;
And a connector housing position detecting method.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Fixed platen 11 Housing receptacle 11r Reference hole 12 Rail member 13 Disk member 14 Motor member 15 Housing support stand 20 Parallel joint mechanism 21 Base 22a, 22b, 22c 1st motor 23a, 23b, 23c Arm 24a, 24b, 24c Link 25 Hand member 25f Second motor 30 Electric wire carrier 31 Transport rail 32 Moving body 33 Transport chuck 34 Frame 35 Air chuck main body 40 Terminal measurement sensor 41 Sensor base 42 X measurement sensor 43 Z measurement sensor 44 Sensor base rail 45 Slider 46 Drive source 50 Connector housing position sensor 51 Laser projector 51a Laser light 52 Laser receiver 53 Signal processor 54 Servo motor 56 Connector housing movement path 56a Detection position movement locus 70 Controller 80 Connector C USING 81 Cavity 82 Alignment mechanism 83 Gap 90 Electric wire 91 Terminal

Claims (18)

A connector housing position detecting device for detecting a connector housing arranged on a fixed platen and acquiring information representing an actual position of the connector housing,
A stationary platen on which the connector housing is disposed;
An optical detector in which an optical axis is arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to a moving direction of a moving path of the connector housing arranged on the fixed plate;
When the connector housing moves, the one end position and the other end position corresponding to the outer contour of the connector housing in the moving direction are detected based on a signal output from the optical detector, and the detected one end position and A position control unit that specifies a reference position of the connector housing by calculation based on the other end position;
Equipped with a,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
The position control unit corresponds to an outline profile in the moving direction of the housing receiver using the optical detector in a state where the connector housing is removed from the housing receiver before detecting the position of the connector housing. Detecting the position of one end of the housing receiver and the position of the other end of the housing receiver, specifying the detected center position of the one end position of the housing receiver and the other end position of the housing receiver, and determining the position of the housing receiver that is grasped in the center Correct based on position,
A connector housing position detecting device. A connector housing position detecting device for detecting a connector housing arranged on a fixed platen and acquiring information representing an actual position of the connector housing,
A stationary platen on which the connector housing is disposed;
An optical detector in which an optical axis is arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to a moving direction of a moving path of the connector housing arranged on the fixed plate;
When the connector housing moves, the one end position and the other end position corresponding to the outer contour of the connector housing in the moving direction are detected based on a signal output from the optical detector, and the detected one end position and A position control unit that specifies a reference position of the connector housing by calculation based on the other end position;
With
The position control unit detects a center of the one end position and the other end position detected based on a signal output from the optical detector as a reference position of the connector housing;
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
The position control unit, when the connector housing is arranged at substantially the center of the housing receiver, based on the detected position of the connector housing, grasps the amount of displacement and corrects the displacement.
A connector housing position detecting device. A connector housing position detecting device for detecting a connector housing arranged on a fixed platen and acquiring information representing an actual position of the connector housing,
A stationary platen on which the connector housing is disposed;
An optical detector in which an optical axis is arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to a moving direction of a moving path of the connector housing arranged on the fixed plate;
When the connector housing moves, the one end position and the other end position corresponding to the outer contour of the connector housing in the moving direction are detected based on a signal output from the optical detector, and the detected one end position and A position control unit that specifies a reference position of the connector housing by calculation based on the other end position;
With
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
When the connector housing is arranged in a state of being offset with respect to the housing receiver, the position control unit grasps the amount of displacement based on the detected position of the connector housing and the effect of the offset. And correcting the positional deviation,
A connector housing position detecting device. The connector housing position detection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3 ,
The optical detector is a transmissive laser sensor composed of a laser light source disposed at one position with a moving path of the connector housing interposed therebetween, and a laser receiver disposed at the other position.
A connector housing position detecting device. The connector housing position detecting device according to claim 1 or 3 ,
The position control unit detects a center of the one end position and the other end position detected based on a signal output from the optical detector as a reference position of the connector housing;
A connector housing position detecting device. The connector housing position detection device according to claim 2 or claim 3 ,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
The position control unit corresponds to an outline profile in the moving direction of the housing receiver using the optical detector in a state where the connector housing is removed from the housing receiver before detecting the position of the connector housing. Detecting the position of one end of the housing receiver and the position of the other end of the housing receiver, specifying the detected center position of the one end position of the housing receiver and the other end position of the housing receiver, and determining the position of the housing receiver that is grasped in the center Correct based on position,
A connector housing position detecting device. The connector housing position detecting device according to claim 1 or 3 ,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
The position control unit, when the connector housing is arranged at substantially the center of the housing receiver, based on the detected position of the connector housing, grasps the amount of displacement and corrects the displacement.
A connector housing position detecting device. The connector housing position detecting device according to claim 1 or 2 ,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
When the connector housing is arranged in a state of being offset with respect to the housing receiver, the position control unit grasps the amount of displacement based on the detected position of the connector housing and the effect of the offset. And correcting the positional deviation,
A connector housing position detecting device. It is a connector housing position detection apparatus as described in any one of Claims 1-8 , Comprising:
The fixed platen includes a rotation mechanism that rotates around a predetermined rotation axis and moves the connector housing mounted on the fixed plate in a circumferential direction,
The position control unit grasps each position of the connector housing by a rotation angle of the rotation mechanism;
A connector housing position detecting device. A connector housing position detection method for detecting a connector housing arranged on a fixed platen and obtaining information representing an actual position of the connector housing,
Utilizing a fixed plate in which the connector housing is arranged, and an optical detector in which an optical axis is arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the moving direction of the movement path of the connector housing arranged in the fixed plate,
When the connector housing moves, the one end position and the other end position corresponding to the outer contour of the connector housing in the moving direction are detected based on a signal output from the optical detector, and the detected one end position and Based on the other end position, the reference position of the connector housing is specified by calculation,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
Before detecting the position of the connector housing, with the connector housing removed from the housing receiver, using the optical detector, a housing receiver one end position corresponding to an outer shape contour in the moving direction of the housing receiver, and The position of the other end of the housing receiver is detected, the center position of the detected one end position of the housing receiver and the other end position of the housing receiver is specified, and the grasped position of the housing receiver is corrected based on the center position. ,
And a connector housing position detecting method. A connector housing position detection method for detecting a connector housing arranged on a fixed platen and obtaining information representing an actual position of the connector housing,
Utilizing a fixed plate in which the connector housing is arranged, and an optical detector in which an optical axis is arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the moving direction of the movement path of the connector housing arranged in the fixed plate,
When the connector housing moves, the one end position and the other end position corresponding to the outer contour of the connector housing in the moving direction are detected based on a signal output from the optical detector, and the detected one end position and Based on the other end position, the reference position of the connector housing is specified by calculation,
The center of the one end position and the other end position detected based on the signal output from the optical detector is detected as a reference position of the connector housing,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
When the connector housing is arranged at substantially the center of the housing receiver, based on the detected position of the connector housing, grasp the amount of displacement and correct the displacement.
And a connector housing position detecting method. A connector housing position detection method for detecting a connector housing arranged on a fixed platen and obtaining information representing an actual position of the connector housing,
Utilizing a fixed plate in which the connector housing is arranged, and an optical detector in which an optical axis is arranged in a direction substantially perpendicular to the moving direction of the movement path of the connector housing arranged in the fixed plate,
When the connector housing moves, the one end position and the other end position corresponding to the outer contour of the connector housing in the moving direction are detected based on a signal output from the optical detector, and the detected one end position and Based on the other end position, the reference position of the connector housing is specified by calculation,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
When the connector housing is arranged in a state of being displaced with respect to the housing receiver, the amount of displacement is grasped based on the detected position of the connector housing and the influence of the displacement, and the displacement is determined. to correct,
And a connector housing position detecting method. A connector housing position detection method according to any one of claims 10 to 12 ,
As the optical detector, a transmission type laser sensor configured by a laser light source disposed at one position with a moving path of the connector housing interposed therebetween and a laser receiver disposed at the other position is used. ,
And a connector housing position detecting method. The connector housing position detection method according to claim 10 or claim 12 ,
A center of the one end position and the other end position detected based on a signal output from the optical detector is detected as a reference position of the connector housing;
And a connector housing position detecting method. A connector housing position detection method according to claim 11 or claim 12 ,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
Before detecting the position of the connector housing, with the connector housing removed from the housing receiver, using the optical detector, a housing receiver one end position corresponding to an outer shape contour in the moving direction of the housing receiver, and The position of the other end of the housing receiver is detected, the center position of the detected one end position of the housing receiver and the other end position of the housing receiver is specified, and the grasped position of the housing receiver is corrected based on the center position. ,
And a connector housing position detecting method. The connector housing position detection method according to claim 10 or claim 12 ,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
When the connector housing is arranged at substantially the center of the housing receiver, based on the detected position of the connector housing, grasp the amount of displacement and correct the displacement.
And a connector housing position detecting method. The connector housing position detection method according to claim 10 or 11 ,
In the situation where the connector housing is arranged on the fixed plate via a predetermined housing receiver,
When the connector housing is arranged in a state of being displaced with respect to the housing receiver, the amount of displacement is grasped based on the detected position of the connector housing and the influence of the displacement, and the displacement is determined. to correct,
And a connector housing position detecting method. A connector housing position detection method according to any one of claims 10 to 17 ,
The fixed platen rotates about a predetermined rotation axis, and includes a rotation mechanism that moves the connector housing mounted on the fixed plate in a circumferential direction,
Grasping each position of the connector housing by the rotation angle of the rotation mechanism;
And a connector housing position detecting method.

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