Data processing: measuring – calibrating – or testing – Testing system – Of circuit
Reexamination Certificate
2002-05-30
2004-02-03
Bui, Bryan (Department: 2863)
Data processing: measuring, calibrating, or testing
Testing system
Of circuit
C702S118000, C702S119000, C702S121000, C702S122000, C702S123000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06687639
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a processing system for a wiring harness, a method for testing electrical connection of a wiring harness, a computer-readable storage medium storing a computer program and a wire connection assisting system.
2. Description of the Related Art
A wiring harness is an electrical wiring system that forms a complicated network, and an electrical connection test is conducted during its production process to determine whether the constructed network is satisfactory.
Processing systems for wiring harnesses are disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications Nos. 6-258371 and 10-132885 and Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 6-72066. These known systems have a master unit with an electrical connection testing function and connector units to be connected with the wiring harness to enable a multiplexing communication.
In such a prior art, the wiring harness and the master unit are electrically connected via adapters provided between the wiring harness and the connector units. The multiplexing communication between the master unit and the connector unit is conducted by a so-called CSMA/CD (carrier sense multiple access with collision detection) method, and “survival arbitration” is adopted in the case that data are simultaneously outputted from a plurality of units for making a judgment based on bit lengths of two signals. The respective connector units are provided with a microprocessor to enable such a communication control and electrical connection tests.
A demand has existed in recent years to test an electrical connection of the wiring harness every time a harness-forming wire is connected during the production of the wiring harness. In this regard, a harness-forming wire is a subassembly of a wiring harness, and may be a wire cut to a specified length and having terminals connected with the opposite ends or a subassembly connected with connector(s). An electrical connection test must be conducted in real time every time an operator connects the harness-forming wire.
The survival arbitration based on the CSMA/CD method has been adopted as a communication method for electrical connection tests conducted by the above testing device. Thus, communication conditions must be established between the master unit and the connector units. Further, there is a waiting time when there is a collision of the signals. Accordingly, a response time between the end of the connecting operation and the end of the electrical connection test becomes longer, and the operator must wait longer. Therefore, the above communication method was not practical.
An attempt could be made to process the signals from the master unit and the connector units by a method other than the multiplexing communication. However, signal lines for the electrical connection test cannot physically be laid on an assembling board, and it is impossible to perform connecting operations on a compact assembling board for the large wiring harnesses that have been demanded in recent years.
More and more electronic equipment is being installed in vehicles, and wiring harnesses for the vehicles are getting larger and have complicated branch wires. Thus, wiring harnesses generally are produced by dividing the wiring harness into several subassemblies that are assembled into the wiring harness on a wire laying board.
A wire connection assisting system is known for carrying out the above-described assembly method. The system has a plurality of wire supplies for accommodating wires that have been cut to specified lengths. Terminals are connected with the opposite ends of the insulated wires in the wire supplies, and the terminated wires are sorted according to type. The terminated wires taken from the wire supplies are connected on assembling boards. More particularly, connector holders extend from the assembling boards and are adapted to hold connectors that are to be connected with the terminal-provided wires taken from the wire supplies. A wire connection instructing mechanism for identifying the wires that are to be connected with contacts of the connectors held in the respective connector holders.
The number of circuits of the subassembly to be formed has been increased (e.g. 200 to 300 circuits or 960 points or contacts) in recent years. Accordingly, there has been a demand to distribute the wire supplies to a plurality of stations and to convey the assembling boards from upstream stations to downstream stations. Wire connection instruction means need to be distributed to the stations as the wire supplies are distributed, and the wire connection instruction means at the respective stations need to identify a wire connection in cooperation with detecting elements of the connector holders.
To realize such cooperation, a master unit has been provided for each wire supply and is connected with the respective detecting elements of the connector holders via an interface connector on the assembling board. However, in such a case, it is cumbersome to connect and disconnect the interface connector, and poor operability results.
A mixed production produces many kinds of wiring harnesses in the same conveyor line. For these situations, it has been necessary to input pieces of production information of the respective wiring harnesses in all the master units at the respective wire supplies and to renew these pieces of information. Thus, a considerable amount of operation has been necessary to prepare for the mixed production.
The master units are at the wire supplies. Thus, a problem, such as a defective product, on any assembling board adversely affects the connecting operations on the other assembling boards unless problem information is transmitted to the respective master units. Accordingly, a system for enabling communication between the master units has been required.
It would be desirable to provide the master unit on the assembling board and to enable information of a single database built in this master unit to be shared by the respective connection instructing means. However, it has been necessary to establish a protocol between the master unit and the respective connection instructing means in a general multiplexing communication system. Thus, it has taken time to transmit data and, a problem of being incapable of executing practical controls has been unavoidable.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
In view of the problems in the prior art, an object of the present invention is to improve operability of producing wiring harnesses by enabling electrical connection tests to be performed within a practical response time when the electrical connection test is conducted substantially every time a harness-forming wire is connected on a compact assembling board and by allowing easy, precise and continuous operations of connecting wires of a wiring harness to form a large-scale circuitry on the same assembling board.
The invention is directed to a processing system for a wiring harness in a production line for producing the wiring harness by conveying a connection board from one to another of a plurality of stations and connecting harness-forming wires to form the wiring harness on the connection board. The processing system functions to test an electrical connection at least part of a network of the wiring harness, including the connected harness-forming wire, substantially every time the harness-forming wire is connected. The system comprises a master unit for conducting an electrical connection test for the wiring harness being produced. The processing system also comprises connector units that are connected at least temporarily with the master unit to enable a multiplexing communication. The connector units also can exchange signals with at least part of the wiring harness. The processing system also comprises a multiplexing communication path for connecting the master unit and the respective connector units to enable the multiplexing communication therebetween. Different node addresses are set for the master unit and the respective connector units. Each of the
Mori Setsurou
Taniguchi Yoshikazu
Bui Bryan
Casella Anthony J.
Hespos Gerald E.
Sumitomo Wiring Systems Ltd.
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