Title:

Method of determining the acceptability of the press contacting of a terminal using reference data

Document Type and Number:

United States Patent 7406764

Abstract:

A method of determining the acceptability of a press contact of a wire between press contact blades of a terminal. The method includes the steps of storing a reference data of a relationship between displacements of the press contact blades when the wire is brought into press contact with a normal press contact terminal and contact loads between the press contact blades and the core wire; inserting the wire between the press contact blades of the press contact terminal as an object to be inspected; measuring the displacement of the press contact blades caused by the insertion of the wire; and determining the acceptability of the press contact terminal as the object to be inspected by predicting the contact loads between the press contact blades of the press contact terminal as the object to be inspected based on the measured displacements and the reference data.

Inventors:

Takayama, Tsutomu (Haibara-gun, JP)
Fujimoto, Kei (Haibara-gun, JP)
Asakura, Nobuyuki (Haibara-gun, JP)
Tanaka, Shigeru (Haibara-gun, JP)

Plaque It!

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for determining acceptability of a press contact terminal by predicting contact loads between press contact blades and a core wire when an electric wire is inserted between the press contact blades or the like.

Various electronic apparatus are mounted on an automobile as a vehicle. The automobile is wired with a wire harness for transmitting a predetermined power and signal to the electronic apparatus. The wire harness is provided with a plurality of electric wires and connectors attached to end portions of the electric wires.

The electric wire includes a conductive core wire and an insulating sheath portion for covering the core wire. The connector is provided with a terminal metal piece attached to the electric wire and a connector housing containing the terminal metal piece. The terminal metal piece is made of a conductive drawn sheet or the like. The terminal metal piece is electrically connected to the core wire of the electric wire. The connector housing is made of an insulating synthetic resin and formed in a box-like shape.

The wire harness having the above-described constitution transmits a predetermined power and signal to respective electronic apparatus by coupling to wire the connector with a connector provided at the above-described electronic apparatus.

There is a case of using a press contact terminal as a terminal metal piece of the wire harness. The press contact terminal is provided with a bottom wall for positioning the core wire of the electric wire on a surface thereof, a pair of side walls erected from opposite edges of the bottom wall and press contact blades extended from respectives of the pair of side walls in directions of approaching each other. The press contact terminal is inserted with the electric wire between the press contact blades. Then, the press contact blades are brought into contact with the core wire by cutting the sheath portion. In this way, the press contact terminals are electrically connected to the electric wire, that is, brought into press contact with the electric wire. The press contact terminals are attached to the connector housing.

At this occasion, there is a case in which when the electric wire is inserted between the press contact blades, an interval between the pair of side walls of the press contact terminals is expanded after having been brought into press contact therewith. Therefore, when the electric wire is inserted between the press contact blades, the press contact blades are brought into contact with the core wire by cutting the sheath portion and therefore, in inserting the electric wire between the press contact blades, a load in a direction of hampering the insertion is generated. Therefore, in a press contact apparatus or the like for inserting the electric wire between the press contact blades, the electric wire is inserted between the press contact blades by a force exceeding the load.

When the load is excessively increased, it is conceivable that the press contact terminal is abnormally deformed or chipped off. In a state of attaching the press contact terminal to the connector housing, it is conceivable that the connector housing is destructed.

Therefore, in developing the press contact terminal, a designed press contact terminal is trially produced, the electric wire is actually inserted between the press contact blades and the load and the expansion of the interval between the side walls are measured. A relationship between the load and the expansion of the interval between the side walls is calculated and acceptability of design of the press contact terminal is determined based on the relationship.

A the time of a mass production after completing the design, the press contact terminal is brought into press contact with the electric wire and contained in the connector housing to constitute the wire harness. In order to maintain/improve quality of the wire harness, even in the case of the press contact terminal in mass production, it is desired to calculate the relationship between the expansion of the interval between the side walls and the load in bringing the electric wire into press contact therewith. It is desired to determine acceptability of the press contact terminal based on the relationship.

The loads are based on contact loads between the core wire and the press contact blades. Various measuring apparatus (refer to, for example, Patent Reference 1) have been proposed to measure the loads, that is, the contact loads.

The measuring apparatus is provided with strain gage type load cells (hereinafter, referred to as load cells) on outer sides of respectives of the pair of side walls of the trially produced press contact terminal. Front ends of the load cells are brought into contact with outer faces of the side walls of the press contact terminal before press contact. The measuring apparatus measures the contact loads by inserting the electric wire between the press contact blades and measuring loads applied on the load cells.

Patent Reference 1

JP-A-2001-183251

In an actual press contact terminal, when an electric wire is inserted between press contact blades, a pair of side walls are separated from each other. However, in the measuring apparatus, the front ends of the load cells are brought into contact with the outer faces of the side walls and therefore, even when the electric wire is inserted between the press contact blades, the pair of side walls are made to be difficult to separate from each other. Therefore, the loads applied on the load cells tend to be larger than the contact loads between the press contact blades and the core wire of the actual press contact terminal.

Therefore, when the measuring apparatus of the related art is used, the contact loads between the press contact blades and the core wire cannot accurately be measured. When the measuring apparatus of the related art is used, the side walls are made to be difficult to separate from each other and therefore, it is naturally difficult to accurately measure the expansion of the interval between the side walls. Therefore, when the measuring apparatus having the load cells is used, not only the contact loads between the press contact blades and the core wire cannot accurately be measure but also the expansion of the pair of side walls, that is, the expansion of the press contact blades cannot accurately be measured. Therefore, when the measuring apparatus provided with the load cells is used, it is difficult to accurately determine acceptability of the press contact terminal.

On the other hand, when the press contact terminals are brought into press contact with the electric wire, since the electric wire is press fit between the press contact blades, an interval between the pair of side walls of the press contact terminal may be widened.

It is conceivable that when the interval between the pair of side walls is excessively expanded, the press contact terminal is abnormally deformed or chipped off. It is conceivable that in a state in which the press contact terminal is attached to the connector housing, the connector housing is destructed.

Therefore, in developing the press contact terminal, a designed press contact terminal is trially produced, the electric wire is actually press fit between the press contact blades and expansion of the interval between the pair of side walls is measured. In order to measure expansion of the interval between the pair of side walls of the press contact terminal, there is proposed a measuring method for measuring expansion of the interval between the pair of side walls by measuring respective displacements of the pair of side walls by using, for example a laser displacement meter (refer to, for example, Patent Reference 2).

According to the measuring method, a pair of the laser displacement meters are provided. A displacement of one of the side walls is measured by irradiating laser to one of the side walls by one of the laser displacement meters. A displacement of other of the side walls is measured by irradiating laser to other of the side walls by other of the laser displacement meters. In this way, according to the measuring method, expansion of the interval between the pair of side walls is measured.

Patent Reference 2

JP-A-2001-159514

An angle made by a surface of the bottom wall and a surface of the side wall is changed before press contact and after press contact, that is, the side walls are inclined by bringing the electric wire into press contact therewith. Therefore, according to the measuring method described in the publication, a portion of the side wall on which laser impinges is shifted before press contact and after press contact. Therefore, it is conceivable that the laser displacement meter cannot accurately measure the displacement of the side wall. An incident angle and an emitting angle of laser relative to the side wall is changed before contact and after contact and therefore, it is conceivable that the laser displacement meter cannot measure the displacement of the side wall further accurately.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a method and an apparatus of determining acceptability of a press contact terminal capable of accurately determining acceptability of a press contact terminal for inserting an electric wire between press contact blades.

It is another object of the invention to provide a method and an apparatus of measuring a width of a press contact terminal in press contact capable of accurately measuring a width of a press contact terminal in which an electric wire is press fit between the press contact blades.

It is further another object of the invention to provide a method and an apparatus of grasping a press contact state of a press contact terminal capable of accurately grasping a press contact state of a press contact terminal in which an electric wire is inserted between press contact blades thereof.

In order to solve the aforesaid object, the invention is characterized by having the following arrangement.

(1) A method of determining acceptability of a press contact terminal including press contact blades which are separated from each other when the wire is inserted between the press contact blades so that a core wire of the wire is electrically connected to the press contact terminal, the method comprising the steps of:

storing a reference data showing a relationship between displacements of the press contact blades when the wire is brought into press contact with a normal one of the press contact terminal and contact loads between the press contact blades and the core wire;

inserting a detector which produces information in accordance with contact loads generated when the press contact blades are brought into contact with the core wire between the press contact blades of the press contact terminal as an object to be inspected;

acquiring a characteristic data showing a relation ship between the information in accordance with the contact loads produced by the detector and displacements of the press contact blades caused by the insertion of the detector; and

determining an acceptability of the press contact terminal as the object to be inspected based on the characteristic data and the reference data.

(2) The method according to Claim 1 , wherein a width of the detector in a direction of aligning the press contact blades is equal to or larger than an interval between the press contact blades and equal to or smaller than an outer diameter of the core wire.
(3) A method of determining acceptability of a press contact terminal including press contact blades which are separated from each other when the wire is inserted between the press contact blades so that a core wire of the wire is electrically connected to the press contact terminal, the method comprising the steps of:

inserting the wire between the press contact blades of the press contact terminal as an object to be inspected;

measuring the displacement of the press contact blades caused by the insertion of the wire; and

determining the acceptability of the press contact terminal as the object to be inspected by predicting the contact loads between the press contact blades of the press contact terminal as the object to be inspected based on the measured displacements and the reference data.

(4) An apparatus of determining acceptability of a press contact terminal including press contact blades which are separated from each other when the wire is inserted between the press contact blades so that a core wire of the wire is electrically connected to the press contact terminal, the apparatus comprising:

a storing unit which stores a reference data showing a relationship between displacements of the press contact blades when the core wire is brought into press contact with a normal one of the press contact terminal and contact loads between the press contact blades and the core wire;

a detector adapted to be inserted between the press contact blades to produce information in accordance with the contact loads between the press contact blades and the detector;

a calculating unit which calculates the contact loads based on the information produced by the detector;

a measuring unit which measures the displacements of the press contact blades caused by the insertion of the detector;

a forming unit which forms a characteristic data showing a relationship between the contact loads calculated by the calculating unit and the displacements of the press contact blades measured by the measuring unit; and

a determining unit which determines the acceptability of the press contact terminal based on the characteristic data and the reference data.

(5) The apparatus according to (4), wherein the measuring unit includes:

a light emitting portion which emits light,

an image pickup portion which picks up an image by receiving the light from the light emitting portion and positions the press contact terminal between the light emitting portion and the image pickup portion in a state that an optical axis of the light emitted by the light emitting portion and a longitudinal direction of the wire inserted between the press contact blades are in parallel with each other, and

a processing portion which calculates the displacements of the press contact blades based on an outer shape of the press contact blades, an image of which is picked up by the image pickup portion.

(6) The apparatus according to (5), wherein

the detector includes a piezoelectric element capable of being in contact with the press contact blades,

the calculating unit calculates the contact loads based on an output current from the piezoelectric element, and

a width of the piezoelectric element in a direction of aligning the press contact blades is equal to or larger than an interval between the press contact blades and equal to or smaller than an outer diameter of the core wire.

(7) The apparatus according to (5), wherein

the detector includes a rotor inserted between the press contact blades and is rotated by a drive source,

the calculating unit calculates the contact loads based on a torque of a rotation of the rotor, and

both of a minimum width and a maximum width of the rotor in a direction of aligning the press contact blades are equal to or larger than an interval between the press contact blades and equal to or smaller than an outer diameter of the core wire.

(8) An apparatus of determining acceptability of a press contact terminal including press contact blades which are separated from each other when the wire is inserted between the press contact blades so that a core wire of the wire is electrically connected to the press contact terminal, the apparatus comprising:

a storing unit which stores a reference data showing a relationship between displacements of the press contact blades when the wire is brought into press contact with a normal one of the press contact terminal and contact loads between the press contact blades and the core wire;

an inserting unit which holds the press contact terminal as an object to be inspected and inserts the wire between the press contact blades of the press contact terminal;

a measuring unit which measures the displacement of the press contact blades caused by the insertion of the wire; and

a predication determining unit which determines the acceptability of the press contact terminal by predicting the contact loads between the press contact blades of the press contact terminal as the object to be inspected and the core wire based on the displacement of the press contact blades measured by the measuring unit and the reference data stored in the storing unit.

(9) The apparatus according to (5), wherein the measuring unit includes:

a light emitting portion which emits light;

an image pickup portion which picks up an image by receiving the light from the light emitting portion and positioning the press contact terminal between the light emitting portion and the image pickup portion in a state in which an optical axis of the light emitted by the light emitting portion and a longitudinal direction of the wire inserted between the press contact blades are in parallel with each other; and

a processing portion which calculates the displacements of the press contact blades based on an outer shape of the press contact blades, an image of which are picked up by the image pickup portion.

(10) An apparatus of determining acceptability of a press contact terminal including press contact blades which are separated from each other when the wire is inserted between the press contact blades so that a core wire is electrically connected to the press contact terminal, the apparatus comprising:

an inserting unit which holds the press contact terminal as an object to be inspected and inserts the wire between the press contact blades of the press contact terminal;

a measuring unit which measures the displacement of the press contact blades caused by the insertion of the wire; and

a predication determining unit which determines the acceptability of the press contact terminal by predicting the contact loads between the press contact blades of the press contact terminal as the objected to be inspected and the core wire based on the displacement measured by the measuring unit and the reference data stored by the storing unit.

(11) An apparatus of determining acceptability of a press contact terminal including press contact blades which are separated from each other when the wire is inserted between the press contact blades so that a core wire of the wire is electrically connected to the press contact terminal, the apparatus comprising:

a storing unit which stores a reference data showing a relationship between displacements of the press contact blades and contact loads between the press contact blades and the core wire when the wire is brought into press contact with a normal one of the press contact terminal;

a holding unit which holds the press contact terminal;

a detector adapted to be inserted between the press contact blades to produce information in accordance with the contact loads between the press contact blades and the detector;

a calculating unit which calculates the contact loads between the press contact blades and the detector when the detector is inserted between the press contact blades of the press contact terminal held by the holding unit;

a measuring unit capable of measuring the displacements of the press contact blades caused by the insertion of the detector between the press contact blades and the displacements of the press contact blades caused by insertion of the wire between the press contact blades;

a determining unit which determines the acceptability of the press contact terminal as an object to be inspected based the characteristic data formed by the forming unit and the reference data stored in the storing unit;

an inserting unit which holds the press contact terminal as the object to be inspected and inserts the wire between the press contact blades of the press contact terminal; and

a prediction determining unit which determines the acceptability of the press contact terminal by predicting the contact loads between the press contact blades of the press contact terminal as the object to be inspected and the core wire based on the displacements of the press contact blades caused by the insertion of the wire between the press contact blades and the reference data stored in the storing unit.

(12) The apparatus according to (11), wherein the measuring unit includes:

a light emitting portion which emits light;

an image pickup portion which picks up an image by receiving the light from the light emitting portion and positioning the press contact terminal held by one of the holding portion and the inserting unit between the light emitting portion and the image pickup portion in a state in which an optical axis of the light emitted by the light emitting portion and a longitudinal direction of the wire inserted between the press contact blades are in parallel with each other; and

a processing portion which calculates the displacements of the press contact blades from an outer shape of the press contact blades, an image of which is picked up by the image pickup portion.

(13) The apparatus according to (11), wherein

the detector includes a piezoelectric element capable of being in contact with the press contact blades,

the calculating unit calculates the contact loads based on an output current from the piezoelectric element, and

(14) The apparatus according to (11), wherein

the detector includes a rotor inserted between the press contact blades and is rotated by a drive source,

the calculating unit calculates the contact loads based on a torque of a rotation of the rotor, and

(15) The apparatus according to (12), wherein

the detector includes an expander inserted between the press contact blades and expanded by supplying a pressurized fluid from a pressurized fluid supply source,

the calculating unit calculates the contact loads based on a pressure of the pressurized fluid supplied to the expander and the outer shape of the press contact blades, and

a maximum width of the expander in a direction of aligning the press contact blades is equal to or larger than an interval between the press contact blades and equal to or smaller than an outer diameter of the core wire.

(16) A method of measuring a width of a press contact terminal in a press contact state, wherein the press contact terminal includes a bottom wall on which a wire is to be placed, a pair of side walls erected from opposite edges of the bottom wall and opposed to each other with an interval, and press contact blades respectively extended from the side walls in directions of approaching each other, the method comprising the steps of:

acquiring an outer shape of the wire, the pair of side walls and the press contact blades viewed from a position along a longitudinal direction of the press contact terminal with which the wire is brought into press contact;

calculating a center of the wire based on the acquired outer shape; and

calculating a distance between outer faces of the pair of side walls in a direction passing the calculated center and along the bottom wall.

(17) An apparatus of measuring a width of a press contact terminal in a press contact state, wherein the press contact terminal includes a bottom wall on which a wire is to be placed, a pair of side walls erected from opposite edges of the bottom wall and opposed to each other with an interval, and press contact blades respectively extended from the side walls in directions of approaching each other, the apparatus comprising:

a light emitting portion which emits light;

an image pickup portion which picks up an image by receiving the light from the light emitting portion;

a terminal holding portion which holds the press contact terminal provided between the light emitting portion and the image pickup portion and press fit with the wire between the press contact blades in a state in which an optical axis of the light emitted by the light emitting portion and a longitudinal direction of the wire are in parallel with each other; and

a processing portion which calculates a center of the wire based on an outer shape of the press contact terminal the image of which is picked up by the image pickup portion and calculates a distance between outer faces of the pair of side walls in a direction passing the center and along of the bottom wall.

(18) A method of grasping a press contact state of a press contact terminal including press contact blades which are separated from each other when the wire is inserted between the press contact blades so that a core wire of the wire is electrically connected to the press contact terminal, the method comprising the steps of:

inserting a detector between the press contact blades to produce information in accordance with contact loads generated when the detector is inserted between the press contact blades; and

grasping the contact loads based on the information produced by the detector.

(19) The method according to (18), wherein

the press contact blades are displaced in direction separating from each other when the wire is inserted to therebetween, and

a relationship between the contact loads and the displacements is grasped by measuring the displacement of the press contact blades.

(20) The method according to (18), wherein a width of the detector in a direction of aligning the press contact blades is equal to or larger than an interval between the press contact blades and equal to or smaller than an outer diameter of the core wire.
(21) An apparatus of grasping a press contact state of a press contact terminal including press contact blades which are separated from each other when the wire is inserted between the press contact blades so that a core wire of the wire is electrically connected to the press contact terminal, the apparatus comprising:

a detector which produces information in accordance with contact loads between the press contact blades and the detector by being brought into contact with the press contact blades; and

a calculating unit which calculates the contact loads based on the information produced by the detector,

wherein the calculating unit calculates the contact loads by inserting the detector between the press contact blades.

(22) The apparatus according to (21), wherein the press contact blades are displaced in directions of separating from each other when the wire is inserted to therebetween, further comprising:

a measuring unit capable of measuring displacements of the press contact blades caused by the insertion of the detector between the press contact blades,

wherein the measuring unit grasps a relationship between the contact loads and the displacements by measuring the displacements of the press contact blades.

(23) The apparatus according to (22), wherein the measuring unit includes:

a light emitting portion which emits light;

an image pickup portion which picks up an image by receiving the light from the light emitting portion;

a holding portion provided between the light emitting portion and the image pickup portion, which holds the press contact blades in a state in which an optical axis of the light emitted by the light emitting portion and a longitudinal direction of the wire inserted between the press contact blades are in parallel with each other; and

a processing portion which calculates the displacements of the press contact blades from an outer shape of the press contact blades the image of which are picked up by the image pickup portion.

(24) The apparatus according to (21), wherein

the detector includes a piezoelectric element capable of being brought into contact with the press contact blades,

the calculating unit calculates the contact loads based on an output current from the piezoelectric element, and

(25) The apparatus according to (21), wherein

the detector includes a rotor inserted between the press contact blades and is rotated by a drive source,

the calculating unit calculates the contact loads based on a torque of a rotation of the rotor, and

(26) The apparatus according to (23), wherein

the detector includes an expander inserted between the press contact blades and expanded by supplying a pressurized fluid from a pressurized fluid supply source,

the calculating unit calculates the contact loads based on a pressure of the pressurized fluid supplied to the expander and the outer shape of the press contact blades, and

BRIEF EXPLANATION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing a constitution of a determining apparatus according to a first embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing a state in which a light emitting portion and an image pickup portion of the determining apparatus shown in FIG. 1 are positioned at a second position.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a constitution of a measuring apparatus of the determining apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 4 is an explanatory view showing a total constitution of the determining apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view showing a state in which the light emitting portion and the image pickup portion of the determining apparatus shown in FIG. 4 are disposed at the second position.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing an essential portion of an electric wire connecting portion before press contact of a press contact terminal acceptability of which is determined by the determining apparatuses shown in FIGS. 1, 47 and 56 .

FIG. 7 is a perspective view showing a state of bringing an electric wire into press contact with the electric wire connecting portion of the press contact terminal shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken along a line A-A of FIG. 6.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view taken along a line B-B of FIG. 7 .

FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing the press contact terminal having the electric wire connecting portion shown in FIG. 6 and the connector housing attached with the press contact terminal.

FIG. 11 is a perspective view of a state of attaching the press contact terminal to the connector housing shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view of the press contact terminal shown in FIG. 10.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart showing a procedure of inserting a piezoelectric element between press contact blades and determining acceptability of the press contact terminal by the determining apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a state of positioning the piezoelectric element of the determining apparatuses shown in FIGS. 1, 47 and 56 right above between the press contact blades.

FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing a state of inserting the piezoelectric element shown in FIG. 14 between the press contact blades.

FIG. 16 is a sectional view taken along a line C-C of FIG. 14.

FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken along a line D-D of FIG. 15.

FIG. 18 is an explanatory view showing an image provided at step S 2 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 13.

FIG. 19 is an explanatory view showing a binarized image provided by binarizing the image shown in FIG. 18.

FIG. 20 is an explanatory view showing an image provided by extracting an outer shape (edge) from the binarized image shown in FIG. 19.

FIG. 21 is an explanatory view showing a reference data stored to a storing portion of the determining apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory view showing the reference data shown in FIG. 21 and a characteristic data provided at step S 7 of FIG. 13.

FIG. 23 is a flowchart showing a procedure of inserting the electric wire between the press contact blades and determining acceptability of the press contact terminal by the determining apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 24 is an explanatory view showing an image provided at step S 12 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 23.

FIG. 25 is an explanatory view showing a binarized image provided by binarizing the image shown in FIG. 24.

FIG. 26 is an explanatory view showing an image provided by extracting an outer shape (edge) from the binarized image shown in FIG. 25.

FIG. 27 is an explanatory view showing a procedure of predicting a contact load at step S 16 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 23.

FIG. 28 is an explanatory view showing a constitution of a determining apparatus according to a second embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 29 is a block diagram showing a constitution of a measuring apparatus of the determining apparatus shown in FIG. 28.

FIG. 30 is an explanatory view showing a total constitution of the determining apparatus shown in FIG. 28.

FIG. 31 is a flowchart showing a procedure of determining acceptability of a press contact terminal by rotating a rotor inserted between press contact blades by the determining apparatus shown in FIG. 28.

FIG. 32 is a perspective view showing a state of positioning the rotor of the determining apparatuses shown in FIGS. 28 and 63 between the press contact blades.

FIG. 33 is a perspective view showing a state of rotating the rotor shown in FIG. 32 between the press contact blades.

FIG. 34 is a sectional view taken along a line E-E of FIG. 32.

FIG. 35 is a sectional view taken along a line F-F of FIG. 33.

FIG. 36 is a flowchart showing a procedure of determining the acceptability of the press contact terminal by inserting an electric wire between the press contact blades by the determining apparatus shown in FIG. 28.

FIG. 37 is an explanatory view showing a constitution of a determining apparatus according to a third embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 38 is a block diagram showing a constitution of a measuring apparatus of the determining apparatus shown in FIG. 37.

FIG. 39 is an explanatory view showing a total constitution of the determining apparatus shown in FIG. 37.

FIG. 40 is a flowchart showing a procedure of determining acceptability of a press contact terminal by inserting an expander between press contact blades by the determining apparatus shown in FIG. 37.

FIG. 41 is a perspective view showing a state of positioning the expander of the determining apparatuses shown in FIGS. 37 and 66 to right above between the press contact blades.

FIG. 42 is a perspective view showing a state of expanding the expander shown in FIG. 41 between the press contact blades.

FIG. 43 is a sectional view taken along a line G-G of FIG. 41.

FIG. 44 is a sectional view showing a state of inserting the expander between the press contact blades from a state shown in FIG. 43.

FIG. 45 is a sectional view taken along a line H-H of FIG. 42.

FIG. 46 is a flowchart showing a procedure of determining acceptability of a press contact terminal by inserting an electric wire between the press contact blades by the determining apparatus shown in FIG. 37.

FIG. 47 is an explanatory view showing a constitution of a measuring apparatus according to an embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 48 is a block diagram showing the constitution of the measuring apparatus shown in FIG. 1.

FIG. 49 is a flowchart showing a procedure of measuring a width of the press contact terminal by the measuring apparatus shown in FIG. 47.

FIG. 50 is an explanatory view showing an image provided at step S 2 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 49.

FIG. 51 is an explanatory view showing a binarized image provided by binarizing the image shown in FIG. 50.

FIG. 52 is an explanatory view showing an image provided by extracting an outer shape (edge) from the binarized image shown in FIG. 51.

FIG. 53 is an explanatory view showing a procedure of calculating a center of the electric wire by extracting only an outer shape of the electric wire from the image shown in FIG. 52.

FIG. 54 is an explanatory view showing a procedure of calculating a distance between outer faces of a pair of side walls passing the center of the electric wire and in a direction along a bottom wall in the image shown in FIG. 52.

FIG. 55 is an explanatory view showing a modified example of the procedure of calculating the center of the electric wire shown in FIG. 13.

FIG. 56 is an explanatory view showing a constitution of a grasping apparatus according to a fifth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 57 is a block diagram showing a constitution of the grasping apparatus shown in FIG. 56.

FIG. 58 is a flowchart showing a procedure of grasping the press contact state of the press contact terminal by the grasping apparatus shown in FIG. 26.

FIG. 59 is an explanatory view showing an image provided at step S 2 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 58.

FIG. 60 is an explanatory view showing a binarized image provided by binarizing the image shown in FIG. 59.

FIG. 61 is an explanatory view showing an image provided by extracting an outer shape (edge) from the binarized image shown in FIG. 60.

FIG. 62 is an explanatory view showing an example of a relationship between displacements of the press contact blades and contact loads grasped by the grasping apparatus shown in FIG. 56.

FIG. 63 is an explanatory view showing a constitution of a grasping apparatus according to a sixth embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 64 is a block diagram showing a constitution of the grasping apparatus shown in FIG. 63.

FIG. 65 is a flowchart showing a procedure of grasping a press contact state of a press contact terminal by the grasping apparatus shown in FIG. 63.

FIG. 66 is an explanatory view showing a constitution of a grasping apparatus according to a seventh embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 67 is a block diagram showing a constitution of the grasping apparatus shown in FIG. 66.

FIG. 68 is a flowchart showing a procedure of grasping a press contact state of a press contact terminal by the grasping apparatus shown in FIG. 66.

FIG. 69 is an explanatory view showing an image provided at step S 2 of the flowchart shown in FIG. 68.

FIG. 70 is an explanatory view showing a binarized image provided by binarizing the image shown in FIG. 69.

FIG. 71 is an explanatory view showing an image provided by extracting an outer shape (edge) from the binarized image shown in FIG. 70.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

First Embodiment

An explanation will be given of an apparatus of determining acceptability of a press contact terminal (hereinafter, simply referred to as determining apparatus) 1 according to a first embodiment of the invention in reference to FIG. 1 through FIG. 27. The determining apparatus 1 shown in, for example FIG. 1, FIG. 2 brings an electric wire 2 (shown in FIG. 10, for example) into contact with a press contact terminal 100 shown in FIG. 12 to determine acceptability of the press contact terminal 100 .

The determining apparatus 1 is stored with a relationship (shown in FIG. 21) between an expansion amount (also referred to as displacement) of a pair of side walls 109 , that is, press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c , mentioned later, when the electric wire 2 is brought into press contact with a normal one of the press contact terminal 100 , and a sum of contact loads P 1 , P 2 (shown in FIG. 9) between a core wire 3 of the electric wire 2 and the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c . The relationship between the displacement of the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c and the sum of the contact loads P 1 , P 2 shown in FIG. 21 by a bold line KD constitutes a reference data described in the specification. Hereinafter, the relationship shown in FIG. 21 by the bold line is referred to as reference data KD.

The determining apparatus 1 inserts a piezoelectric element 7 , mentioned later, between the press contact blades 111 b of the press contact terminal 100 as an object to be inspected and measures the contact loads P 1 , P 2 (shown in FIG. 17) between the piezoelectric element 7 and the press contact blades 111 b . The contact loads P 1 , P 2 which can be measured by inserting the piezoelectric element 7 between the press contact blades 111 b constitute the contact loads P 1 , P 2 between the press contact blades 111 b and the core wire 3 produced when the electric wire 2 is inserted between the press contact blades 111 b.

The determining apparatus 1 inserts the piezoelectric element 7 between the press contact blades 111 b of the press contact terminal 100 as the object to be inspected to measures an amount of separating the pair of side walls 109 from each other. The amount of separating the pair of side walls 109 from each other constitutes the displacement of the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c . The determining apparatus 1 calculates a relationship between the sum of the contact loads P 1 , P 2 and the amount of separating the pair of side walls 109 from each other which are measured and shown in FIG. 22 by a one-dotted chain line TD. The relationship between the sum of the contact loads P 1 , P 2 and the amount of separating the pair of side walls 109 from each other which are measured and shown in the drawing by the one dotted chain line TD constitutes a characteristic data described in the specification. Hereinafter, the relationship shown in FIG. 22 by the one-dotted chain line is referred to as the characteristic data TD.

The determining apparatus 1 determines acceptability of the press contact terminal 100 as the object to be inspected based on the reference data KD and the characteristic data TD.

The determining apparatus 1 brings the electric wire 2 into press contact with the press contact terminal 100 as the object to be inspected. The determining apparatus 1 measures an amount of separating the pair of side walls 109 from each other when the electric wire is brought into press contact with the press contact terminal 100 . The amount of separating the side walls 109 from each other constitutes the displacements of the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c . The determining apparatus 1 predicts a contact load Ps (shown in FIG. 27) between the core wire 3 of the electric wire 2 and the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c based on the reference data KD and a measured amount Hs of separating the pair of side walls 109 from each other (shown in FIG. 27). The determining apparatus 1 determines acceptability of the press contact terminal 100 based on the predicted contact load Ps.

The press contact terminal 100 shown in FIG. 12 is brought into press contact with the electric wire 2 and attached to a connector housing 101 to constitute a connector 120 shown in FIG. 11.

As shown in, for example, FIG. 10, the electric wire 2 is provided with the conductive core wire 3 and a sheath portion 4 for covering the core wire 3 . The core wire 3 is formed by twisting a plurality of strands comprising a conductive metal. The core wire 3 is formed in a circular shape in a sectional shape thereof intersecting with a longitudinal direction thereof. The sheath portion 4 is made of an insulating synthetic resin. The sheath portion 4 is formed in a shape of a circular tube in a sectional shape thereof intersecting with the longitudinal direction of the core wire 3 . The electric wire 2 is formed in a circular shape in a section thereof by the core wire 3 and the sheath portion 4 .

The connector housing 101 is made of an insulating synthetic resin. As shown by FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, the connector housing 101 is provided with a terminal receiving portion 113 and a cover 114 connected to the terminal receiving portion 113 via a hinge.

The terminal receiving portion 113 is provided with a plate portion 115 substantially in a rectangular shape, a plurality of terminal receiving grooves 102 and a ceil wall 116 opposed to the plate portion 115 with an interval therebetween. The plate portion 115 is provided with a lock groove or a lock arm, not illustrated, for preventing the press contact terminal 100 inserted into the terminal receiving groove 102 from drawing out.

The terminal receiving grooves 102 are respectively formed to be recessed from a surface of the plate portion 115 and aligned. The terminal receiving groove 102 is extended substantially in a linear shape. The terminal receiving groove 102 is inserted with the press contact terminal 100 along a longitudinal direction thereof. In the illustrated example, four of the terminal receiving grooves 102 are provided.

The ceil wall 116 is formed substantially in a rectangular shape in a planar shape thereof. The ceil wall 116 exposes an electric wire connecting portion 104 of the press contact terminal 100 contained in the terminal receiving groove 102 and covers an electric contact portion 103 . An edge portion of the plate portion 115 remote from the ceil wall 116 is provided with an engaging projection 117 projected in an outer direction.

The cover 114 is provided with a plurality of projected streaks 118 for holding electric wires coinciding with the terminal receiving groove 102 of the terminal receiving portion 113 . The cover 114 is provided with a cover lock arm 119 engageable with the engaging projection 117 . The cover 114 is made pivotable relative to the terminal receiving portion 113 by a hinge, not illustrated, provided at an edge portion of the ceil wall 116 .

According to the connector housing 101 , in a state before having been integrated, the terminal receiving groove 102 of the terminal receiving portion 113 and the projected streak 118 of the cover 114 are connected by a band, not illustrated, in a state of disposing opening portions thereof in the same direction. That is, the terminal receiving portion 113 and the cover 114 are connected by the band in a state of turning back the cover 114 relative to the terminal receiving portion 113 .

The press contact terminal 100 is provided by bending a conductive sheet metal. As shown by FIG. 12, the press contact terminal 100 is provided with the electric contact portion 103 and the electric wire connecting portion 104 .

The electric contact portion 103 is provided with a cylindrical portion 105 in a cylindrical shape and an elastic contact piece 106 for connecting with a male terminal, not illustrated. The cylindrical portion 105 is continuous to a bottom wall 108 , mentioned later, and side walls 109 of the electric wire connecting portion 104 . The elastic contact piece 106 is provided at inside of the cylindrical portion 105 for urging the male terminal advanced into the cylindrical portion 105 to an inner face of the cylindrical portion 105 to thereby prevent the male terminal from drawing out from the cylindrical portion 105 .

The electric wire connecting portion 104 is provided with the bottom wall 108 at which the electric wire 2 is placed on a surface 108 a (shown in FIG. 6, FIG. 7, for example) thereof, the pair of side walls 109 , a press contact portion 104 a and a pair of fastening pieces 112 . The bottom wall 108 is formed substantially in flat strip-like shape at a surface thereof. The side walls 109 are respectively continuous to opposite edges in a width direction of the bottom wall 108 . The side walls 109 are respectively erected from the side wall 108 and are opposed to each other with an interval therebetween.

The press contact portion 104 a is provided with three pairs of the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c . The three pairs of press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c are respectively erected from the bottom wall 108 . The pair of press contact blades 111 a are extended from the side walls 109 in directions of approaching each other. The pair of press contact blades 111 a are aligned along an arrow mark S in FIG. 6 with an interval therebetween.

The arrow mark S designates the direction in which the pair of side walls 109 are opposed to each other, constitutes a direction of aligning the pair of press contact blades 111 a described in the specification and is orthogonal to surfaces of the pair of side walls 109 . The pair of press contact blades 111 a are brought into contact with the core wire 3 of the electric wire 2 by cutting the sheath portion 4 of each electric wire 2 of the flat cable 2 by inserting the electric wire 2 therebetween.

The pair of press contact blades 111 b are extended from the side walls 109 in directions of approaching each other. The pair of press contact blades 111 b are aligned along the arrow mark S in FIG. 6 with an interval therebetween. The arrow mark S is the direction of opposing the pair of side walls 109 to each other, constitutes the direction of aligning the pair of press contact blades 111 b described in the specification and is orthogonal to the surfaces of the pair of side walls 109 . The pair of press contact blades 111 b are brought into contact with the core wire 3 of the electric wire 2 by cutting the sheath portion 4 of the electric wire 2 by inserting the electric wire 2 therebetween.

The pair of press contact blades 111 c are extended from the side walls 109 in directions of approaching each other. The pair of press contact blades 111 c are aligned along the arrow mark S in FIG. 6 with an interval therebetween. The allow mark S is the direction of opposing the pair of side walls 109 to each other, constitutes the direction of aligning the pair of press contact blades 111 c described in the specification and is orthogonal to the surface of the pair of side walls 109 . The pair of press contact blades 111 c are brought into contact with the core wire 3 of the electric wire 2 by cutting the sheath portion 4 of the electric wire 2 by inserting the electric wire 2 therebetween. The three pairs of press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c are electrically connected with the electric wire 2 . That is, the three pair of press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c are brought into press contact with the electric wire 2 .

An interval D (shown in FIG. 8, for example) between the pair of press contact blades 111 a and an interval D (shown in FIG. 16) between the pair of press contact blades 111 b and an interval between the pair of press contact blades 111 c are equal. The interval D between the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c is narrower than an outer diameter R (shown in FIG. 8, for example) of the core wire 3 .

The pair of fastening pieces 112 are continuous to opposite edges in the width direction of the bottom wall 108 . The pair of fastening pieces 112 are respectively erected from the bottom wall 108 . The pair of fastening pieces 112 are opposed to each other with an interval therebetween. By bending the fastening pieces 112 toward the bottom wall 108 , the fastening pieces 112 pinch the electric wire 2 between the bottom wall 108 and the fastening pieces 112 . That is, the pair of fastening pieces 112 fasten the electric wire 2 . In this way, the pair of fastening pieces 112 fix the electric wire 2 to the electric wire connecting portion 104 .

The connector 120 constituted by the connector housing 101 and the press contact terminal 100 is attached to a distal end of the electric wire 2 . In attaching the connector to the distal end of the electric wire 2 , first, the electric wire is inserted between the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c of the press contact portion 104 a of the press contact terminal 100 . Simultaneously with inserting, that is, press contacting the electric wire 2 , the fastening pieces 112 are bent toward the bottom wall 108 and the electric wire 2 is fastened by the fastening pieces 112 .

Thereafter, the press contact terminal 100 is inserted into the terminal receiving groove 102 along the longitudinal direction of the terminal receiving groove 102 . The press contact terminal 100 is fixed (attached) to the connector housing 101 in a state of being contained in the terminal receiving groove 102 . The band is removed from the connector housing 101 .

In this way, the electric wire 2 is fixed (attached) to the press contact terminal 100 . An operator rotates the cover 114 along an arrow mark K in FIG. 11 centering on the hinge. The terminal receiving portion 113 and the cover 114 are fixed to each other by engaging the cover lock arm 119 to the engaging projection 117 . In this way, the connector 120 having the constitution is integrated.

In bringing the electric wire 2 into press contact with the press contact portion 104 a , that is, the press contact terminal 100 , first, as shown by FIG. 6 and FIG. 8, the intervals between the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c and the electric wire 2 are made to be opposed to each other. The electric wire 2 is inserted into the intervals between the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c along one-dotted chain lines in FIG. 6 and FIG. 8. Then, the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c are brought into contact with the core wire 3 by cutting the sheath portion 4 of the electric wire 2 .

When the electric wire 2 is inserted between the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c , as shown by FIG. 7 and FIG. 9, the interval between the pair of side walls 109 is expanded. That is, the pair of side walls 109 are separated from each other. In this way, when the electric wire 2 is brought into press contact therewith, the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c are separated from each other. At this occasion, naturally, edges of the side walls 109 remote from the bottom 108 are separated from each other. In FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, only an essential portion of the electric wire connecting portion 104 of the press contact terminal 100 is illustrated and other portion of the press contact terminal 100 is omitted.

In the above explanation of the press contact terminal 100 and the connector housing 101 , the electric wire 2 is brought into press contact with the press contact terminal 100 before the press contact terminal 100 is received in the connector housing 101 . However, the reverse sequence is performed in some cases, that is, the electric wire 2 is brought into press contact with the press contact terminal 100 after the press contact terminal 100 has been received in the connector housing 101 . The description of this sequence will be described.

At the time of attaching the end of the wire 2 to the connector 120 , the press contact terminal 100 is firstly inserted in the terminal receiving groove 102 along the longitudinal direction thereof. The press contact terminal 100 is fixed (attached) to the connector housing 100 in a state of being receiving in the terminal receiving groove 102 .

Thereafter, the electric wire 2 is brought into press contact with the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c of the press contact portion 104 a of the press contact 100 attached to each terminal receiving groove 102 of the connector housing. At the time of bringing the electric wire 2 into press contact, the fastening pieces 112 are bent toward the bottom wall 108 thereby fastening the electric wire 2 . The band is removed from the connector housing 101 .

The terminal apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 ad the like reproduces to bring the electric wire 2 between the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c of the press contact terminal 100 as the object to be inspected by inserting the piezoelectric element 7 between the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c . The determining apparatus 1 measures a distance Ha (shown in FIG. 17 and FIG. 20) between outer faces 109 a of the side walls 109 and calculates a difference between the distance Ha and a distance h 1 (shown in FIG. 8) between the outer faces 109 a of the side walls 109 before press contact. The difference between the distance Ha and the distance h 1 constitutes displacements of the pair of side walls 109 and constitutes displacements of the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c described in the specification. Therefore, the displacements of the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c described in the specification designate an amount of expanding the interval between the outer faces 109 a of the pair of side walls 109 .

The determining apparatus 1 reproduces to press-fit the electric wire 2 into the intervals between the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c and measures the contact loads P 1 , P 2 (shown in FIG. 17, for example) between the piezoelectric element 7 and the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c . The relationship between the distance h 1 , that is, the displacements of the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c and the sum of the contact loads P 1 , P 2 , that is, the characteristic data TD shown in FIG. 22 is acquired.

The contact loads between the press contact blades 111 a and the piezoelectric element 7 , the contact loads P 1 , P 2 between the press contact blades 111 b and the piezoelectric element 7 and the contact load between the press contact blades 111 c and the piezoelectric element 7 are substantially equal. Therefore, according to the embodiment, the contact loads P 1 , P 2 between the press contact blade 111 b and the piezoelectric element 7 are measured by representing the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c.

The determining apparatus 1 measures a distance Hb (shown in FIG. 26) between the outer faces 109 a of the pair of side walls 109 , that is, the displacements of the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c by actually inserting the electric wire between the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c of the press contact terminal 100 as the object to be inspected.

As shown by FIG. 1 through FIG. 5, the determining apparatus 1 is provided with an apparatus main body 10 , a terminal holding portion 13 (shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2) as a holding portion, a measuring apparatus 5 as a measuring unit, a detector moving portion 6 , the piezoelectric element 7 as a detector, a press contact apparatus 60 , an input apparatus 14 , a display apparatus 15 , an output apparatus 16 , and a control apparatus 8 .

The apparatus main body 10 is formed in a shape of a flat plate and installed on a floor of a factory. The terminal holding portion 13 is attached at a central portion of the apparatus main body 10 . The holding portion 13 is provided between a light emitting moving portion 19 and an image picking moving portion 20 , mentioned later, of the measuring apparatus 5 . The press contact terminal 100 shown in, for example, FIG. 12 is made to be attachable and detachable to and from the terminal holding portion 13 . The terminal holding portion 13 is attached with the press contact terminal 100 in a state in which the longitudinal direction of the electric wire 2 brought into press contact with the electric wire connecting portion 104 and an optical axis of light emitted from a light emitting portion 11 to an image pickup portion 12 , mentioned later, are in parallel with each other.

The terminal holding portion 13 is attached with the press contact terminal 100 in a state in which a total of the press contact terminal 100 is disposed at inside of the light emitted from the light emitting portion 11 at a first position to the image pickup portion 12 . In this way, the terminal holding portion 13 holds the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c in the state in which the longitudinal direction of the electric wire 2 and the optical axis of the light are in parallel with each other.

As shown by FIG. 1 through FIG. 5, the measuring apparatus 5 is provided with the light emitting moving portion 19 , the image pickup moving portion 20 , the light emitting portion 11 , the image pickup portion 12 , and a processing apparatus 17 as a processing portion. The light emitting moving portion 19 is attached to an upper face of the apparatus main body 10 and moves the light emitting portion 11 along arrow marks X, Y, Z orthogonal to each other shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2.

The image pickup moving portion 20 is attached to an upper face of the apparatus main body 10 and moves the image pickup portion 12 along the arrow marks X, Y, Z orthogonal to each other shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2. The light emitting moving portion 19 is provided at one end portion of the apparatus main body 10 and the image pickup moving portion 20 is provided at other end portion of the apparatus main body 10 .

The light emitting moving portion 19 and the image pickup moving portion 20 move the light emitting portion 11 and the image pickup portion 12 from the first position positioning the terminal holding portion 13 between the light emitting portion 11 and the image pickup portion 12 as shown by FIG. 1 and FIG. 4 over to a second position positioning the press contact apparatus 60 between the light emitting portion 11 and the image pickup portion 12 as shown by FIG. 2 and FIG. 5.

The light emitting portion 11 is installed above the light emitting moving portion 19 . As shown by FIG. 3, the light emitting portion 11 is provided with a main body portion 21 , a plurality of light emitting diodes (hereinafter, described as LED) 22 as a light source provided at inside of the main body portion 21 , and an optical portion 23 .

The main body portion 21 is formed in a box-like shape and installed above the light emitting moving portion 19 . The plurality of LEDs 22 are contained at inside of the main body portion 21 and emit fluxes of light, that is, become luminescent to a diffusing unit, mentioned later, of the optical portion 23 along one-dotted chain lines in FIG. 3. The optical portion 23 is provided with the diffusing unit 24 and a collimator 25 . The diffusing unit 24 is contained at inside of the main body portion 21 for making intensities of the fluxes of light from the plurality of LEDs 22 uniform to guide to the collimator 25 along the one-dotted chain lines in FIG. 3.

The collimator 25 is attached to an outer wall of the main body portion 21 . The collimator 25 converts light from the diffusing unit 24 into parallel light to emit to outside of the main body portion 21 , that is, outside of the light emitting portion 11 along one-dotted chain lines in FIG. 3. In this way, the light emitting portion 11 emits light converted into parallel light to the image pickup portion 12 along one-dotted chain lines in FIG. 3. In this way, the light emitting portion 11 becomes luminescent.

The image pickup portion 12 is installed above the image pickup moving portion 20 . As shown by FIG. 3, the image pickup portion 12 is provided with a main body portion 26 , an optical portion 27 , an optical axis matching image pickup element 28 , and an image pickup element 29 . The main body portion 26 is formed in a box-like shape and is installed above the image pickup moving portion 20 .

The optical portion 27 is provided with a collimator 30 , a beam splitter 31 , a collimator for optical axis 32 , and a collimator for image pickup 33 . The collimator 30 is attached to an outer wall of the main body portion 26 . The collimator 30 guides light from the light emitting portion 11 into the main body portion 26 , that is, into the image pickup portion 12 along one-dotted chain lines in FIG. 3. The collimator 30 guides light from the light emitting portion 11 to the beam splitter 31 .

The beam splitter 31 is contained at inside of the main body portion 26 . The beam splitter 31 transmits a portion of light guided from the collimator 30 to guide to the collimator for optical axis 32 along one-dotted chain lines in FIG. 3. The beam splitter 31 reflects a remaining portion of the light to guide to the collimator for image pickup 32 along one-dotted chain lines in FIG. 3.

The collimator for optical axis 32 is contained at inside of the main body portion 26 . The collimator for optical axis 32 converts light transmitted through the beam splitter 31 into parallel light to guide to the optical axis matching image pickup element 28 along one-dotted chain lines in FIG. 3. The collimator for image pickup 33 is contained at inside of the main body portion 26 . The collimator for image pickup 33 converts light reflected by the beam splitter 31 into parallel light to guide to the image pickup element 29 along one-dotted chain lines in FIG. 3.

The optical axis matching image pickup element 28 is contained at inside of the main body portion 26 . The optical axis matching image pickup element 28 comprises CMOS (Complementary Metal Oxide Semiconductor) and receives light guided from the beam splitter 31 . The optical axis matching image pickup element 28 calculates a position of an optical axis of light guided from the beam splitter 31 . The optical axis matching image pickup element 28 outputs the position of the calculated optical axis of light to the processing apparatus 17 .

The image pickup element 29 is contained at inside of the main body portion 26 . The image pickup portion 29 comprises CCDs (Charge Coupled Devices) for receiving light reflected by the beam splitter 31 . The image pickup element 29 picks up images of the terminal holding portion 13 positioned between the light emitting portion 11 and the image pickup portion 12 . The image pickup element 29 outputs picked-up images G 1 a , G 1 b (shown in FIG. 18 and FIG. 24) to the processing apparatus 17 .

Images G 1 a , G 1 b provided by being picked up by the image pickup element 29 comprise intensities of respective fluxes of light at respective pixels aligned on a plane. Therefore, the images G 1 a , G 1 b provided by being picked up by the image pickup element 29 constitute plane monochrome images. In this way, the image pickup portion 29 receives light from the light emitting portion 11 and picks up an image of the press contact terminal 100 attached to the terminal holding portion 13 or a holding portion 64 , mentioned later.

Since the terminal holding portion 13 holds the press contact terminal 100 in a state in which the longitudinal direction of the electric wire 2 and the optical axis are in parallel with each other, the image pickup portion 12 at the first position picks up images of the pair of side walls 109 , the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c viewed from a position along the longitudinal direction of the press contact terminal 100 and the electric wire 2 at an interval therefrom. That is, the image pickup portion 12 at the first position acquires outer shapes of the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c viewed from the position along the longitudinal direction of the press contact terminal 100 and the electric wire 2 are disposed at an interval therefrom.

The processing apparatus 17 is a computer provided with CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read-only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory) which are well known. The processing apparatus 17 is connected with the light emitting moving portion 19 , LEDs 22 of the light emitting portion 11 , the image pickup moving portion 20 , the optical axis matching image pickup element 28 of the image pickup portion, the image pickup element 29 of the image pickup portion 12 for controlling operation of these. The processing apparatus 17 governs to control a total of the measuring apparatus 5 .

The processing apparatus 17 is stored with programs for operating the measuring apparatus 5 . The processing apparatus 17 makes the light emitting portion 11 emit light and makes the image pickup portion 12 receive light from the light emitting portion 11 before attaching the press contact terminal 100 to the terminal holding portion 13 . The processing apparatus 17 coincides an optical axis of the light emitting portion 11 with an optical axis of the image pickup portion 12 by driving the respective moving portions 19 , 20 .

The processing apparatus 17 binarizes the images G 1 a , G 1 b (shown in FIG. 18 and FIG. 24) provided by being picked up by the image pickup element 29 . As shown by FIG. 20 and FIG. 26, the processing apparatus 17 is provided with images G 3 a , G 3 b constituted by extracting outer shapes (edges) of the pair of side walls 109 and the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c of the electric wire connecting portion 104 of the press contact terminal 100 from binarized images G 2 a , G 2 b (shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 25) provided by binarization.

In the edges of the images G 3 a , G 3 b , the surface 108 a of the bottom wall 108 along the horizontal direction is extracted. Widths H 1 , H 2 . . . Hn in a direction in parallel with the surface 108 a of the bottom wall 108 are calculated and a maximum one Hmax among these is calculated. The Hmax is outputted to the control apparatus 8 as distances Ha, Hb between the outer faces 109 a of the pair of side walls 109 . The measuring apparatus 5 can measure displacements of the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c by measuring the distances Ha, Hb, h 1 . In this way, the measuring apparatus 5 can measure the displacements of the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c when the piezoelectric element 7 is inserted between the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c of the press contact terminal 100 in which the piezoelectric element 7 is held by the terminal holding portion 13 . The measuring apparatus 5 can measure the displacements of the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c when the electric wire 2 is inserted between the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c of the press contact terminal 100 held by the press contact apparatus 60 .

The detector moving portion 6 is installed above the apparatus main body 10 . The detector moving portion 6 moves the piezoelectric element 7 along arrow marks X, Y, Z in FIG. 1. The detector moving portion 6 positions the piezoelectric element 7 right above between the press contact blades 111 b of the press contact terminal 100 attached to the terminal holding portion 13 . The detector moving portion 6 makes the piezoelectric element 7 positioned right above between the press contact blades 111 b proximate to the press contact terminal 100 . The detector moving portion 6 inserts the piezoelectric element 7 between the press contact blades 111 b.

The piezoelectric element 7 is supported by the detector moving portion 6 . The piezoelectric element 7 is moved by the detector moving portion 6 along the arrow marks X, Y, Z in FIG. 1. The piezoelectric element 7 is made of, for example, a material having high rigidity and having piezoelectricity of lead titanate (PT), lead titanate zirconate (PZT), quartz. The piezoelectric element 7 is connected to the control apparatus 8 . The piezoelectric element 7 is positioned right above between the press contact blades 111 b by the detector moving portion 6 and thereafter inserted between the press contact blades 111 b.

The piezoelectric element 7 generates an electromotive force when the piezoelectric element 7 is strained and outputs an output current in accordance with the electromotive force to the control apparatus 8 . The output current constitutes information in accordance with the contact loads P 1 , P 2 described in the specification. A width W (shown in FIG. 16) in the direction (shown by an arrow mark S in FIG. 17) of aligning the pair of press contact blades 111 b of the piezoelectric element 7 is equal to or larger than an interval D (shown in FIG. 16) between the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c and equal to or smaller than an outer diameter R (shown in FIG. 8) of the core wire 3 of the electric wire 2 . In the illustrated example, the width W of the piezoelectric element 7 is equal to the outer diameter R of the core wire 3 of the electric wire 2 . In this way, when the piezoelectric element 7 is brought into contact with the press contact blades 111 b , the piezoelectric element 7 is strained and generates the output current. Therefore, when the piezoelectric element 7 is inserted between the press contact blades 111 b , the piezoelectric element 7 is brought into contact with the press contact blades 111 b and generates the output current.

The press contact apparatus 60 is attached to a central portion of the apparatus main body 10 . The press contact apparatus 60 is provided between the light emitting moving portion 19 and the image pickup moving portion 20 of the measuring apparatus 5 . The press contact apparatus 60 is aligned with the terminal holding portion 13 . The press contact apparatus 60 is provided with a main body portion 61 , a press contact blade 62 and a lifting cylinder 63 . The main body portion 61 is attached to the apparatus main body 10 . The main body portion 61 is provided with a holding portion 64 for positioning the press contact terminal 100 on a surface 64 a thereof. The surface 64 a of the holding portion 64 is flat along a horizontal direction.

The holding portion 64 is attached with the press contact terminal 100 in a state in which a total of the press contact terminal 100 is disposed at inside of light emitted from the light emitting portion 11 to the image pickup portion 12 at the second position. The holding portion 64 holds the press contact terminal 100 above the surface 64 a in a state in which the longitudinal direction of the electric wire 2 inserted between the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c is in parallel with the optical axis of light from the light emitting portion 11 . That is, the press contact apparatus 60 holds the press contact terminal 100 . Since the holding portion 64 holds the press contact terminal 100 in the state in which the longitudinal direction of the electric wire 2 and the optical axis are in parallel with each other, the image pickup portion 12 at the second position picks up images of the pair of side walls 109 , the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c viewed from the position along the longitudinal direction of the press contact terminal 100 and the electric wire 2 at an interval therefrom. That is, the image pickup portion 12 at the second position acquires outer shapes of the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c viewed from the position along the longitudinal direction of the press contact terminal 100 and the electric wire 2 at an interval therefrom.

The press contact blade 62 is formed in a blade-like shape. A longitudinal direction of the press contact blade 62 is in parallel with the longitudinal direction of the press contact terminal 100 held above the surface 64 a of the holding portion 64 , that is, the optical axis of light from the light emitting portion 11 . A thickness of the press contact blade 62 is thinner than an interval between the side walls 109 of the press contact terminal 100 before press contact. The press contact blade 62 is supported by the main body portion 61 contactably and separatably to and from the press contact terminal 100 held above the surface 64 a of the holding portion 64 . Contact and separation signifies that the press contact blade 62 becomes proximate to the press contact terminal 100 and separated therefrom. The press contact blade 62 is liftably supported by the main body portion 61 .

The press contact blade 62 positions the electric wire 2 between the press contact blade 62 and the press contact terminal 100 positioned above the surface 64 a of the holding. portion 64 . The press contact blade 62 faces (inserts) the electric wire 2 in between the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c by becoming proximate, that is, moving down to the press contact terminal 100 above the surface 64 a of the holding portion 64 . The press contact blade 62 bends the fastening pieces 112 toward the bottom wall 108 to thereby fasten the electric wire 2 by the fastening pieces 112 by becoming proximate, that is, moving down to the press contact terminal 100 of the surface 64 a of the holding portion 64 . The lifting cylinder 63 brings the press contact blade 62 into contact with the surface 64 a of the holding portion 64 and separates the press contact blade 62 therefrom. That is, the lifting cylinder 63 moves the press contact blade 62 up and down.

According to the press contact apparatus 60 having the above-described constitution, the press contact terminal 100 is attached above the surface 64 a of the holding portion 64 . The electric wire 2 is positioned between the press contact blade 62 and the press contact terminal 100 above the surface 64 a of the holding portion 64 in a state in which the press contact blade 62 is separated from the surface 64 a of the holding portion 64 , that is, in a state in which the press contact blade 62 is lifted therefrom. The press contact blade 62 becomes proximate, that is, is moved down to the surface 64 a of the holding portion 64 by the lifting cylinder 63 . The press contact blade 62 inserts (presses) the electric wire 2 between the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c and fastens the electric wire 2 by the fastening pieces 112 . In this way, the press contact apparatus 60 inserts the electric wire 2 between the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c to thereby bring the electric wire 2 into press contact with the press contact terminal 100 .

The input apparatus 14 is used for variously operating the determining apparatus 1 . The input apparatus 14 is used for inputting the reference data KD to a storing portion 34 , mentioned later, of the control apparatus 8 . As the input apparatus 14 , various record medium drive apparatus of a keyboard, a mouse, various switches, an operation button and a DVD-ROM drive apparatus which are well known can be used. In the illustrated example, a keyboard is used as the input apparatus 14 .

The display apparatus 15 displays an operating state of the determining apparatus 1 , the images G 1 a , G 1 b picked up by the pickup element 29 and a result of determination. As the display apparatus 15 , various display apparatus of a CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) display and a liquid crystal display which are well known can be used. In the illustrated example, a liquid crystal display is used as the display apparatus 15 .

The output apparatus 16 outputs the result of determination of the determining apparatus 1 , the images G 11 a , G 1 b picked up by the image pickup element 29 . As the output apparatus 16 , a well known printer for printing the result of determination and the images G 1 a , G 1 b , a DVD-ROM drive apparatus capable of writing the result of determination and the images G 1 a , G 1 b to various record media such as DVD-ROM as electronic information can be used. As illustrated example, a printer is used as the output apparatus 16 .

The control apparatus 8 is a computer provided with CPU (Central Processing Unit), ROM (Read-only Memory) and RAM (Random Access Memory) which are well known. The control apparatus is connected with the processing apparatus 17 , the detector moving portion 6 , the detector 7 , the press contact apparatus 60 , the input apparatus 14 , the display apparatus 15 and the output apparatus 16 of the measuring apparatus 5 to control operation of these. The control apparatus 8 governs to control a total of the determining apparatus 1 .

As shown by FIG. 3 through FIG. 5, the control apparatus 8 is provided with the storing portion 34 as a storing unit, a calculating portion 35 as a calculating unit, a forming portion 36 as a forming unit, a determining portion 37 as a determining unit and a prediction determining portion 38 as a prediction determining unit.

The storing portion 34 is stored with the reference data KD (shown in FIG. 21). Therefore, the storing portion 34 is stored with the relationship between the displacements of the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c and the contact loads P 1 , P 2 between the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c and the core wire 3 of the electric wire 2 when the electric wire 2 is brought into press contact with a normal one of the press contact terminal 100 . The storing portion 34 is stored with a program for operating the determining apparatus 1 .

The program stored in the storing portion 34 makes the processing apparatus 17 of the measuring apparatus 5 coincide the optical axis of the collimators 25 , 30 before positioning the light emitting portion 11 and the image pickup portion 12 at the first position and inserting the piezoelectric element 7 between the press contact blades 111 b of the press contact terminal 100 . The program makes the processing apparatus 17 pick up an image of the press contact terminal 100 when the press contact terminal 100 is attached to the terminal holding portion 13 .

The program makes the processing apparatus 17 binarize the picked up image and thereafter calculate the distance h 1 (shown in FIG. 16) between the outer faces 109 a of the pair of side walls 109 . The distance h 1 constitutes the width of the press contact terminal 100 before press contact. The control apparatus 8 temporarily stores the width h 1 to the storing portion 34 .

The program makes the detector moving portion 6 position the piezoelectric element 7 right above between the press contact blades 111 b and thereafter makes the piezoelectric element 7 gradually proximate to the electric wire connecting portion 104 of the press contact terminal 100 . When the output current is inputted from the piezoelectric element 7 , the program stops the detector moving portion 6 and makes the measuring apparatus 5 measure the distance Ha between the outer faces 109 a of the pair of side walls 109 . The program calculates a difference between the measured distance Ha and the distance h 1 to thereby calculate the displacements of the pair of side walls, 109 , that is, the press contact blades 111 b.

The calculating portion 35 calculates the contact loads P 1 , P 2 between the piezoelectric element 7 and the press contact blades 111 b based on the output current inputted from the piezoelectric element 7 . In this way, the calculating portion 35 calculates the contact loads P 1 , P 2 between the piezoelectric element 7 and the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c when the piezoelectric element 7 is inserted between the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c of the press contact terminal 100 held by the terminal holding portion 13 . The calculating portion 35 outputs the calculated contact loads P 1 , P 2 to the forming portion 36 .

The program makes the detector moving portion 6 bring the piezoelectric element 7 proximate to the electric wire connecting portion 104 of the press contact terminal 100 by a previously determined distance. That is, the program makes the detector moving portion 6 insert the piezoelectric element 7 to a further depth side between the pair of press contact blades 111 b . Thereafter, the program calculates the displacements of the press contact blades 111 b as described above and makes the calculating portion 35 calculate the contact loads P 1 , P 2 to output to the forming portion 36 .

The program makes the piezoelectric element 7 insert to the further depth side between the pair of press contact blades 111 b until positioning the piezoelectric element 7 to a predetermined position. The program calculates the displacements of the press contact blades 111 b until positioning the piezoelectric element 7 to the predetermined position and makes,the calculating portion calculate the contact loads P 1 , P 2 to output to the forming portion 36 . When the piezoelectric element 7 is positioned to the predetermined position, the program makes the detector moving portion 6 separate the piezoelectric element 7 from the electric wire connecting portion 104 of the press contact terminal 100 .

The forming portion 36 calculates the sum of the contact loads P 1 , P 2 . The forming portion 36 forms the characteristic data TD shown in FIG. 22 showing the relationship between the displacements of the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c and the sum of the contact loads P 1 , P 2 calculated based on the distances Ha, h 1 inputted from the measuring apparatus 5 . The forming portion 36 outputs the formed characteristic data TD to the determining portion 37 .

The determining portion 37 calculates differences ΔP, ΔH between the reference data KD shown by a bold line in FIG. 22 and the characteristic data TD shown in FIG. 22 by a one-dotted chain line. The determining portion 37 determines whether ΔP, ΔH, mentioned above, are equal to or larger than previously determined values. The determining portion 37 determines the press contact terminal 100 as an unacceptable product when ΔP, ΔH, mentioned above, are equal to or larger than the previously determined values. The determining portion 37 determines the press contact terminal 100 as an acceptable product when ΔP, ΔH, mentioned above, are less than the previously determined values.

In this way, the control apparatus 8 positions the light emitting portion 11 and the image pickup portion 12 at the first position and acquires the characteristic data TD shown in FIG. 22 by the one-dotted chain line. The control apparatus 8 determines acceptability of the press contact terminal 100 based on the characteristic data TD and the reference data KD.

The program stored to the storing portion 34 of the control apparatus 8 makes the processing apparatus 17 of the measuring apparatus 5 coincide the optical axes of the collimators 25 , 30 for positioning the light emitting portion 11 and the image pickup portion 12 to the second position and bringing the electric wire 2 into press contact with the press contact terminal 100 . The program makes the processing apparatus 17 pick up the image of the press contact terminal 100 when the press contact terminal 100 is held above the surface 64 a of the holding portion 64 of the press contact apparatus 60 .

The program makes the processing apparatus 17 binarize the picked-up image and thereafter calculate the distance h 1 (shown in FIG. 16) between the outer faces 109 a of the pair of side walls 109 . The distance h 1 constitutes the width of the press contact terminal 100 before press contact. The control apparatus 8 temporarily stores the width h 1 to the storing portion 34 .

After measuring the distance h 1 , the program makes the press contact apparatus 60 operate to insert the electric wire 2 between the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c . The electric wire 2 is brought into press contact with the press contact terminal 100 . After finishing to bring the electric wire 2 into press contact therewith, the program makes the measuring apparatus 5 measure the distance Hb (shown in FIG. 26) between the outer faces 109 a of the pair of side walls 109 . The program calculates the difference between the measured distance Hb and the distance h 1 and calculates the displacement Hs (shown in FIG. 27) between the pair of side walls 109 , that is, the press contact blades 111 b.

The prediction determining portion 38 predicts the contact load Ps (shown in FIG. 27) between the core wire 3 of the electric wire 2 and the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c when the displacements of the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c are the displacements of Hs. The predication determining portion 38 determines whether the predicted contact load Ps falls in a previously determined allowable range (equal to or larger than PGmin and equal to or smaller than PGmax). The prediction determining portion 38 determines the press contact terminal 100 as an acceptable product when the predicted contact load Ps is equal to or larger than PGmin and equal to or smaller than PGmax. The prediction determining portion 38 determines the press contact terminal 100 as an unacceptable product when the predicted contact load Ps is less than PGmin or exceeds PGmax.

In this way, the control apparatus 8 positions the light emitting portion 11 and the image pickup portion 12 at the second position and actually brings the electric wire 2 into contact with the press contact terminal 100 as the object to the inspected by the press contact apparatus 60 . The prediction determining portion 38 of the control apparatus 8 predicts the contact load Ps between the press contact terminals 111 a , 111 b , 111 c of the press contact terminal 100 as the object to be inspected and the core wire 3 of the electric wire 2 based on the displacement Hs of the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c measured by the measuring apparatus 5 when the electric wire 2 is inserted between the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c and the reference data KD. The prediction determining portion 38 of the control apparatus 8 determines acceptability of the press contact terminal 100 by predicting the contact load Ps.

Next, an explanation will be given of a procedure of determining acceptability of the press contact terminal 100 by the determining apparatus 1 of the above-described embodiment.

First, in determining acceptability of, for example, the designed and trially fabricated press contact terminal 100 , the light emitting portion 11 and the image pickup portion 12 are disposed at the first position shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 4. At step S 1 in FIG. 13, the control apparatus 8 makes the measuring apparatus 5 emit light from the light emitting portion 11 to the image pickup portion 12 . The control apparatus 8 makes the processing apparatus 17 coincide the optical axis of the collimator 25 of the light emitting portion 11 and the optical axis of the collimator 30 of the image pickup portion 12 based on the optical axis of light provided by receiving the light by the optical axis matching image pickup element 28 .

The press contact terminal 100 , that is, the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 are attached to the terminal holding portion 13 . At this occasion, the press contact terminal 100 , that is, the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 are attached to the terminal holding portion 13 in a state in which the longitudinal direction of the electric wire 2 inserted between the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 and the optical axis of light emitted by the light emitting portion 11 are in parallel with each other. At this occasion, the electric wire connecting portion 104 of the press contact terminal 100 is brought into a state before press contact as shown by FIG. 14 and FIG. 16.

The control apparatus 8 makes the processing apparatus 17 emit light from the light emitting portion 11 to the image pickup portion 12 and make the image pickup portion 12 pick up the image. The control apparatus 8 makes the processing apparatus 17 calculate the distance h 1 between the outer faces 109 a of the pair of side walls 109 and store the calculated distance h 1 . In this way, at step S 1 , the distance h 1 between the outer faces 109 a of the pair of side walls 109 of the press contact terminal 100 before press contact is calculated by aligning the optical axis of the light emitting portion 11 and the optical axis of the image pickup portion 12 . The operation proceeds to step S 2 .

At step S 2 , the control apparatus 8 makes the detector moving portion 6 move the piezoelectric element 7 and insert the piezoelectric element 7 gradually between the press contact blades 111 b . When the output current is inputted from the piezoelectric element 7 to the control apparatus 8 , the pair of side walls 109 , that is, the press contact blades 111 b are gradually separated from each other. The control apparatus 8 stops the detector moving portion 6 . The control apparatus 8 makes the processing apparatus 17 emit light from the light emitting portion 11 to the image pickup portion 12 and makes the image pickup portion 12 pick up the image. The image pickup portion 12 provides the image G 1 a (shown in FIG. 18) showing the outer shapes of the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c viewed from the position along the longitudinal direction of the electric wire 2 at an interval therefrom.

At this occasion, light is emitted from the light emitting portion 11 to the image pickup portion 12 and therefore, in the image G 1 a provided by the image pickup portion 12 , the terminal holding portion 13 , the pair of side walls 109 and the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c become dark by constituting shadow and the other portion becomes bright. In this way, at step S 2 , the images of the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c of the press contact terminal 100 are picked up. In this way, at step S 2 , the piezoelectric element 7 is made to be proximate to the electric wire connecting portion 104 of the press contact terminal 100 and images of these are picked up. The operation proceeds to step S 3 .

At step S 3 , the image G 1 a shown in FIG. 18 is binarized by a predetermined threshold to provide the binarized image G 2 a shown in FIG. 19. In the binarized image G 2 a shown in FIG. 19, the terminal holding portion 13 , the pair of side walls 109 and the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c shown by parallel hatched lines become black and the other portion becomes white. In this way, at step S 3 , the binarization is carried out and the operation proceeds to step S 4 .

At step S 4 , a boundary of white and black of the binarized image G 2 a , that is, the outer shapes (edges) of the pair of side walls 109 , the press contact blades 111 a , 111 b , 111 c and the terminal holding portion 13 are extracted to provide the image G 3 a shown in FIG. 20. The operation proceeds to step S 5 .

At step S 5 , the processing apparatus 17 extracts the surface 108 a of the bottom wall 108 from the extracted outer shapes (edges) calculates the widths H 1 , H 2 . . . HN of the outer shapes (edges) along the surface 108 a to calculate the maximum width Hmax. The processing apparatus 17 outputs the maximum width Hmax to the control apparatus 8 as the distance Ha between the outer faces 109 a of the pair of side walls 109 . The control apparatus 8 calculates the difference between the distance Ha and the h 1 and stores the difference as the displacements of the press contact blades 111 b.

At step S 5 , the calculating portion 38 of the control apparatus 8 calculates the contact loads P 1 , P 2 between the piezoelectric element 7 and the press contact blades 111 b based on the output current from the piezoelectric element 7 . The control apparatus 8 stores the sum of the contact loads P 1 , P 2 . In this way, at step S 5 , the distance Ha between the outer faces 109 a of the side walls 109 is calculated. The displacements of the press contact blades

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