Source: http://www.google.com/patents/US5790651?dq=6,332,126
Timestamp: 2015-02-27 21:23:11
Document Index: 59839525

Matched Legal Cases: ['Application No. 3', 'art 102', 'art 102', 'art 102', 'art 102', 'art 102', 'art 120', 'art 120', 'art 120', 'art 120', 'art 120', 'art 120', 'art 120', 'art 120', 'art 102', 'art 102', 'art 120', 'arts 542', 'art 543', 'arts 542', 'art 70', 'art 60', 'art 60', 'art 70', 'arts 542', 'arts 542']

Patent US5790651 - Automatic line distribution equipment and connection-pin inserting-and ... - Google PatentsSearch Images Maps Play YouTube News Gmail Drive More »Sign inAdvanced Patent SearchPatentsAutomatic distribution equipment for connecting and disconnecting lines includes a frame body, a plurality of matrix-switch-board units arranged in the frame body in a stack formation, and a robot provided in a side of the frame body. Each of the matrix-switch-board units has two wiring-pattern arrays...http://www.google.com/patents/US5790651?utm_source=gb-gplus-sharePatent US5790651 - Automatic line distribution equipment and connection-pin inserting-and extracting apparatusAdvanced Patent SearchPublication numberUS5790651 APublication typeGrantApplication numberUS 08/662,011Publication dateAug 4, 1998Filing dateJun 12, 1996Priority dateNov 14, 1995Fee statusLapsedAlso published asCN1129085C, CN1153953A, CN1389962A, DE19623470A1, DE19623470C2, US6138345Publication number08662011, 662011, US 5790651 A, US 5790651A, US-A-5790651, US5790651 A, US5790651AInventorsToshihiro Suzuki, Naoto Kaneko, Eiichi Kakihara, Koichi Shimamura, Yasunori Hachiyama, Hirofumi Oosawa, Hitoshi IsobeOriginal AssigneeFujitsu LimitedExport CitationBiBTeX, EndNote, RefManPatent Citations (9), Referenced by (15), Classifications (21), Legal Events (5) External Links: USPTO, USPTO Assignment, EspacenetAutomatic line distribution equipment and connection-pin inserting-and extracting apparatus
US 5790651 AAbstract
Automatic distribution equipment for connecting and disconnecting lines includes a frame body, a plurality of matrix-switch-board units arranged in the frame body in a stack formation, and a robot provided in a side of the frame body. Each of the matrix-switch-board units has two wiring-pattern arrays which are respectively formed in opposite sides of each of the units so as to be electrically isolated from each other and to cross each other, wherein when a connection pin is inserted into one of through holes formed at cross points of the two wiring-pattern arrays, respective wiring patterns of the two wiring-pattern arrays are connected to each other. The robot moves between two of the matrix-switch-board units, and inserts-and-extracts the connection pin into-and-from a designated through hole to connect-and-disconnect designated lines.
1. Automatic distribution equipment, comprising:a frame body; a plurality of matrix-switch-board units arranged in said frame body in a stack formation, each of the matrix-switch-board units having two wiring-pattern arrays which are respectively formed in opposite sides of each of the units so as to be electrically isolated from each other and with respective wiring patterns of the two arrays crossing each other at corresponding cross points, each cross point having a through hole associated therewith such that when a connection pin is inserted into a selected through hole formed at an associated cross point, the respective wiring patterns, of the two wiring-pattern arrays which cross each other at the selected through hole, are connected to each other; and a robot, movably connected to each of opposite sides of said frame body, which moves between two of said matrix-switch-board units and inserts a connection pin into a selected through hole thereby to connect the respective wiring patterns, of the two wiring-pattern arrays, which form the associated cross point, and extracts a connection pin from a selected through hole thereby to disconnect the respective wiring-patterns, of the two wiring-pattern arrays, which form the associated cross point. 2. The automatic distribution equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein said robot comprises:an elevator part moving in a front space of said frame body in a first direction in which said matrix-switch-board units are stacked; an arm part which extends from said elevator part over a selected matrix-switch-board unit and is selectively accommodated in a side space of said frame body, adjacent said matrix-switch-board units; and a head part, provided on said arm part, releasably holding a connection pin; wherein when said elevator part moves in said first direction, said arm part moves in said side space, between respective side ends of said matrix-switch-board units and a side wall, of said frame body. 3. The automatic distribution equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein said robot comprises:an elevator part moving in a front space of said frame body in a first direction in which said matrix-switch-board units are stacked; an arm part which extends from said elevator part over a selected one of said matrix-switch-board units and is selectively accommodated in said front space of said frame body; and a head part, provided on said arm part, for holding said connection pin; wherein when said elevator part moves in said first direction, said arm part moves in said front space of said frame body. 4. The automatic distribution equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein said robot comprises first and second head parts for inserting a connection pin into said matrix-switch-board unit in upward and downward directions, respectively, successive adjacent said matrix-switch-board units alternately having a first space and a second space therebetween, said robot not being movable in the first space and being movable in the second space and a height of said first space being less than a height of said second space.
5. The automatic distribution equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein said robot comprises a rotatable head rotatable between first and second positions for selectively inserting a connection pin into said matrix-switch-board unit in upward and downward directions, respectively, successive, adjacent said matrix-switch-board units alternately having a first space and a second space therebetween, said robot not being movable in the first space and being movable in the second space and a height of said first space being less than a height of said second space.
6. The automatic distribution equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein said matrix-switch-board unit comprises:a main board having a first unit input-and-output terminal; and a plurality of matrix switch boards, each matrix switch board including said two wiring-pattern arrays respectively formed in opposite sides of the matrix switch board so as to be electrically isolated from each other and to cross each other at corresponding cross points having said respective through holes formed at said cross points, respective wiring patterns of said two wiring-pattern arrays being selectively connected to each other at said cross points by connection pins inserted into the respective through holes; and said plurality of matrix switch boards being connected to said main board through connectors and being connected to said first unit input-and-output terminal through internal wires formed in said main board. 7. The automatic distribution equipment as claimed in claim 6, wherein said first unit input-and-output terminal is formed as one body in one side of said matrix-switch-board unit.
8. The automatic distribution equipment as claimed in claim 6, wherein said matrix-switch-board unit further comprises a second unit input-and-output terminal having substantially the same connecting structure as that of said first unit input-and-output terminal.
9. The automatic distribution equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein said matrix-switch-board unit is constructed with one board, comprising:a plurality of matrix switch parts, each matrix switch board including said two wiring-pattern arrays respectively formed in opposite sides of the matrix switch part so as to be electrically isolated from each other and to cross each other at corresponding cross points and having said respective through holes formed at said cross points, respective wiring patterns of said two wiring-pattern arrays being selectively connected to each other at said cross points by connection pins inserted into the respective through holes; and switch-part input-and-output terminals respectively corresponding to said matrix switch parts; and a first unit input-and-output terminal providing an interface with external devices, said switch-part input-and-output terminals being connected with said first unit input-and-output terminal in use of said matrix-switch-board unit. 10. The automatic distribution equipment as claimed in claim 9, wherein said first unit input-and-output terminal is formed as one body in one side of said matrix-switch-board unit.
11. The automatic distribution equipment as claimed in claim 9, wherein said matrix-switch-board unit further comprises a second unit input-and-output terminal having substantially the same connecting structure as that of said first unit input-and-output terminal.
12. The automatic distribution equipment as claimed in claim 1, said matrix-switch-board unit further comprising an exchangeable pin-supplying board accommodating a supply of connection pins.
13. The automatic distribution equipment as claimed in claim 1, wherein said matrix-switch-board unit has a two-layer structure, a pair of adjoining wiring patterns in each of said wiring-pattern arrays is allocated to one of said lines, and when the designated line is connected and disconnected, two pairs of said adjoining wiring patterns in said opposite sides wiring-pattern arrays are substantially simultaneously connected and disconnected by said connection pin.
14. The automatic distribution equipment as claimed in claim 13, wherein said connection pin comprises two connecting members electrically isolated from each other, said two connecting members being simultaneously inserted-and-extracted into-and-from two respective said through holes.
15. The automatic distribution equipment as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a control unit controlling said robot in a side wall in said frame body, and a power-supply unit for supplying power to said robot and said control unit positioned higher in the frame body.
16. The automatic distribution equipment as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a control unit controlling the robot to perform plural connection pin inserting-and-extracting operations in succession, starting from a through hole nearest a present position of the robot when beginning the successive said inserting-and-extracting operations for a plurality of through holes.
Such a matrix switch board, as shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3C, is constructed with a printed wiring board having 4 conductive layers. In general, a connection between the subscriber and the switching system is wired by two wires, designated A line and B line, and for high efficiency, the two wires are simultaneously connected. Therefore, the prior-art matrix switch board has the subscriber-side wires provided with the two layers (the A-line X layer and B-line X layer) and the switching-system-side wires provided with the two layers (the A-line Y layer and B-line Y layer), wherein the two groups of wires cross at substantially a right angle. At each cross point of these wires, a hole penetrating the printed wiring board is provided. In the prior-art matrix switch board, an interval of distance between adjacent holes in the printed wiring board is approximately 1.5 mm.
FIG. 6 shows a perspective view of a second prior-art automatic MDF. The second prior-art automatic MDF is disclosed in Japanese Laid-Open Patent Application No. 3-104397. In the second prior-art automatic MDF, a plurality of matrix switch boards 1' are positioned in a vertical direction, and are arranged in a horizontal direction. A robot 3' which is movable in the vertical and horizontal directions is installed on the outside of the automatic MDF. Therefore, when the robot 3' inserts the connection pin into the matrix switch board 1' to carry out the connecting operation, the designated matrix switch board 1' having a designated cross-point hole is extracted out of the MDF, and in that condition, the connection pin is inserted into the cross-point hole.
Further, in the above-discussed first and second prior-art automatic distribution equipment, the matrix switch board including 4-layer wiring patterns is used. This matrix switch board is complex, and the manufacturing yield is degraded (i.e., low). There is a problem in that the matrix switch board is expensive.
It is an object of this invention to provide automatic distribution equipment which efficiently connects a large number of lines to each other in a short time and at a low cost, and in which the disadvantages described above are eliminated.
The object described above is achieved by automatic distribution equipment for connecting and disconnecting lines comprising: a frame body; a plurality of matrix-switch-board units arranged in the frame body in a stack formation, each of the matrix-switch-board units having two wiring-pattern arrays which are formed in opposite sides of each of the units so as to be electrically isolated from each other and to cross each other, wherein when a connection pin is inserted into one of through holes formed at cross points of the two wiring-pattern arrays, respective wiring patterns of the two wiring-pattern arrays are connected to each other; and a robot, provided in a side of the frame body, which moves between two of the matrix-switch-board units, and inserts-and-extracts the connection pin into-and-from a designated through hole to connect-and-disconnect designated lines.
FIG. 1 shows an illustration for explaining a typical function of a main distributing frame (MDF);
In the following, descriptions will be given of automatic distribution equipment and a connection-pin inserting-and-extracting apparatus having a connection-pin holding device, in that order.
In each matrix switch board 106, as shown in FIG. 19A, a wire pattern A and a wire pattern B are alternatively arranged as a wiring-pattern array. On opposite sides of the matrix switch board 106, the wiring-pattern arrays are respectively formed so as to electrically be isolated from each other and to cross each other at a right angle. At cross points of the wiring-pattern arrays in both sides, through holes (cross-point holes) are formed. When a connection pin is inserted into a selected through hole, the wiring patterns, of the arrays formed on opposite sides of the board, crossing at the associated cross point, are connected to each other. The two wiring-pattern arrays are respectively connected to a subscriber-side line and a switching-system-side line. Therefore, by inserting the connection pin into a designated through hole, one of the subscriber-side lines may be connected to one of the switching-system-side lines.
In this equipment, a robot 102 is further provided in a side face of the frame 100. The robot 102 is constructed with a head part 102a for inserting the connection pin into the designated through hole of the matrix-switch-board unit 104, an arm part 102b for supporting the head part 102a, and an elevator part 102c for supporting the arm part 102b.
Different from the robot 102, the arm part 120b of the robot 120 is rotatable, about a rotation point with the elevator part 120c, toward the elevator part 120c. Namely, the head part 120a and the arm part 120b can be accommodated in a front space of the frame 100. Further, the head part 120a and the arm part 120b accommodated in the front space are vertically movable with the elevator part 120c in a front side (i.e., portion) of the frame 100. After the elevator part 102c arrives at the designated matrix-switch-board unit 104, the robot 120 opens the arm part 102b (i.e., by rotation) and moves the head part 120a to the position of the designated through hole.
A matrix-switch-board unit 150 shown in FIG. 13A is constructed with a board 151 and a plurality of matrix switch boards 152 mounted on the board 151 through press-fit connectors 153. In each matrix switch board 152, two pairs of the wiring-pattern arrays are formed in opposite sides (top and bottom sides) of the board 151 so as to electrically isolated from each other and to cross each other. Further, at cross points of the wiring-pattern arrays formed in both sides of the board, associated through holes (cross-point holes) are formed. When the connection pin is inserted into the through hole, the wire patterns associated therewith, and formed in both sides of the board, are connected to each other. The matrix switch board 152 is connected to an input-output connector 155 and a link connector 156 through internal wires 154 formed in the board 151.
FIG. 17 shows a case where the input-output connector 155a of the matrix-switch-board unit 150a is connected with external cables through a side wall of the frame 100. In this way, by providing the input-output connector in the side of the matrix-switchboard unit, the connection between each matrix-switch-board unit and the cables of external equipment may efficiently be carried out.
In a prior-art control method of the robot, every time an individual inserting and extracting operation is finished, the robot returns to a predetermined position. On the contrary, in the control method of the robot according to the present invention, the robot is controlled to stop at the current position thereof, when the current inserting and extracting operation is finished. Further, when the robot next starts to operate, the operation is carried out beginning at the unit, or stage, nearest the robot. In the above-discussed robot control, a time for the inserting and extracting operation of the connection pin may be reduced.
The connection-pin holding mechanism 51 has a sleeve 54 positioned at the center, and a pair of swinging members 55 arranged so as to face each other on both sides of the sleeve 54. As shown in FIG. 24, in one end of the sleeve 54, a plurality of slits 541 and nail parts 542 are formed. The other end of the sleeve 54 is fixed to the frame 53 through a fixing part 543.
Each swinging member 55 has a hook 551 and a lever 552 in both sides, and the center part of the swinging member 55 is supported so as to be movable against the frame 53. The pair of swinging members 55 are pushed by a twisting coil spring 553 mounted between the swinging members 55 and the frame 53 so as to always open the hooks 551.
As shown in FIG. 24, the slits 541 provided in the one end of the sleeve 54 have a shape so that the connection-pin body 41 can be inserted with pressure into the sleeve 54. The hooks 551 provided in bottom ends of the swinging members 55 are arranged so as to support a lower end of the cross-shaped connection-pin body 41 when the hooks 551 are closed.
The driving mechanism 52, as shown in FIG. 23B, includes a push rod 56 inserted into the frame 53 and the sleeve 54, an armature 57 which is made of a magnetic substance and is provided in a swinging manner in one end of the push rod 56, an electromagnet 58 fixed to the frame 53 so that a magnetic pole 581 of the electromagnet 58 faces the armature 57 at a given distance, and a pressing coil spring 59 always pushing the push rod 56 so as to separate the armature 57 from the electromagnet 58.
Before holding the connection pin 40, a bottom end of the push rod 56 inserted into the sleeve 54 extends to a position of the nail parts 542. As shown in FIG. 25, when the connection pin 40 is inserted into the sleeve 54, the push rod 56 moves, and the armature 57 contacts the electromagnet 58.
Further, when the push rod 56 moves, a projection 561 provided in the middle part of the push rod 56 pushes the lever 552. By the lever 552 being pushed, the swinging members 55 rotate so as to close the hooks 551. As a result, the connection pin 40 is held between the hooks 551.
At this time, when the electromagnet 58 is supplied with power from a power supply to draw the armature 57, the connection-pin holding mechanism 51 keeps holding the connection pin 40. When the power supply for the electromagnet 58 is turned off, the armature 57 is released from the electromagnet 58 by an operation of the pressing coil spring 59, and, thus, the holding condition is released.
The connection-pin holding device 50, as shown in FIG. 23A, is mounted on the bracket 80 movable in the X-, Y-, and Z-axial directions through the slider part 70. A moving mechanism of the bracket 80, as shown in FIG. 26, has, for example, a moving frame which is moved by motor driving.
In FIG. 26, a first moving frame 81 moves in the Z-axial direction by the driving of a motor 83 fixed to a fixed frame 82, a second moving frame 84 moves in the Y-axial direction by the driving of a motor 85 fixed to the first moving frame 81. The bracket 80 also moves in the Y-axial direction by the driving of a motor 86 fixed to the second moving frame 84.
As shown in FIG. 23A, the connection-pin holding device 50 is further provided with the position detecting part 60 detecting a position of the through holes 91 into which the connection pin 40 is inserted or extracted. The position detecting part 60 includes an image pickup device (not shown) detecting an image on the matrix switch board 90 as an electrical signal.
As discussed above, the connection-pin holding device 50 is mounted on the sliding member 72 of the slider part 70 of which the rail 71 is fixed to the bracket 80. The connection-pin holding device 50 and the sliding member 72 are always pushed toward the matrix switch board 90 by the pressing coil spring 73.
When the connection pin 40 contacts the matrix switch board 90, the sliding member 72 moves on the rail 71 against the pressing coil spring 73. When a reaction force of the pressing coil spring 73 exceeds a strength required for inserting the connection pin 40, the sliding member 72 is pushed out and the connection pin 40 is inserted into the through holes 91.
Still further, by providing the slits 541 in the sleeve 54, the nail parts 542 formed in the one end of the sleeve 54 may have elasticity. Therefore, even if the position of the sleeve 54 shifts from the position of the connection pin 40, the position shift may be compensated for by flexibility of the nail parts 542. Accordingly, the frame 53 does not need to have a double structure, and, thus, miniaturization and cost reduction of the connection-pin holding device are further expected.
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