High-precision hexahedral tooling and system for sensor testing

Abstract

The application discloses a kind of high-precision hexahedron tool and system for sensor test, system includes at least one electric dog and one hexahedron type body framework, body framework is driven under electric dog and realizes overturning;Data carrier plate for installing at least one sensor to be measured is arranged in body framework;First female head magnetic attraction contact is arranged on each outer surface of body framework;Electric dog has openable and closable clamping arm, and the inner side surface of clamping arm is provided with the first male head magnetic attraction contact corresponding to first female head magnetic attraction contact;Wherein, when the clamping arm of electric dog is closed to hold body framework, first male head magnetic attraction contact is contacted with first female head magnetic attraction contact, to transmit electric energy from electric dog to sensor to be measured in body framework interior.The application is flexible in structure, and power supply is provided by magnetic attraction type wireless cable, which greatly improves the reliability and automation level of dynamic test.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of sensor testing technology, and specifically discloses a high-precision hexahedral tooling and system for sensor testing. Background Technology

[0002] In modern electronics manufacturing, accurate performance testing of inertial measurement units (IMUs) such as accelerometers and gyroscopes, or other sensors or components requiring attitude change testing, is a crucial step in ensuring product quality. This type of testing typically requires placing the sensor under test in multiple different spatial attitudes to detect its response in different directions and angles.

[0003] Currently, the existing technologies for achieving this goal mainly include the following solutions and their shortcomings: Existing calibration tests usually involve manually flipping the hexahedron. However, during manual flipping, the orientation that has already been calibrated is often forgotten, leading to repeated or missed calibrations, which in turn reduces the accuracy of the calibration. Traditional wiring harness connection: This is the most common method, connecting the sensor under test to external power supply and data acquisition equipment via flexible cables or wiring harnesses. However, when the test fixture needs to rotate the sensor at large angles and with multiple turns, the wiring harness is prone to tangling, twisting, and pulling. This not only limits the rotation angle and speed of the fixture but may also lead to cable fatigue breakage or momentary connector disconnection, causing unexpected power loss to the sensor, resulting in test failure and wasting a significant amount of time.

[0004] Step-by-step contact testing: To address wiring harness issues, some devices employ a "flip-stop-contact-test" mode. The fixture flips the sensor to one side, stops, and a set of probes extend to contact the sensor's contacts for testing. After completion, the probes retract, and the fixture flips to the next side. This approach avoids wiring harness tangling, but the process is discontinuous, inefficient, and cannot provide continuous power supply and monitoring during dynamic rotation.

[0005] Slip ring solution: Slip rings are a classic technology for solving the problem of power and signal transmission in rotating parts. They allow power to be transferred from stationary components to rotating components. While slip rings can achieve uninterrupted power supply during continuous rotation, their structure is relatively complex and costly. More importantly, slip rings lack reliability in harsh high and low temperature environments (-40-125℃), and during rotation, contact resistance fluctuations and electrical noise may occur due to the contact friction between the brushes and the ring track. This can interfere with test signals and affect the accuracy of test results, especially for high-precision, low-noise sensor testing. Furthermore, the physical wear of the brushes also determines their limited lifespan.

[0006] Therefore, the industry urgently needs a new solution that can automate the testing process and achieve high-precision flipping, completely avoid the problem of wire harness tangling, and provide stable, reliable, and low-noise power supply throughout the dynamic testing process. Summary of the Invention

[0007] This invention provides the following technical solutions: A sensor testing system includes at least one electric gripper and a hexahedral body frame, which is flipped under the drive of the electric gripper. The body frame has a data carrier board inside for mounting at least one sensor to be tested; each outer surface of the body frame is provided with a first female magnetic attraction contact. The electric gripper has an openable gripping arm, and a first male magnetic contact corresponding to the first female magnetic contact is provided on the inner surface of the gripping arm. When the gripping arm of the electric gripper closes to grip the main body frame, the first male magnetic contact comes into contact with the first female magnetic contact to transmit electrical energy from the electric gripper to the sensor under test inside the main body frame.

[0008] Furthermore, both the first female magnetic contact and the first male magnetic contact are magnetic contacts, and when the clamping arm clamps the main body frame, an electrical connection is achieved through magnetic attraction.

[0009] Furthermore, the main body frame includes a modular structure, including a base and at least one frame structure that can be stacked on the base; each frame structure contains the data carrier board.

[0010] Furthermore, precise positioning is achieved between adjacent frame structures, or between the frame structure and the base, through mutually cooperating positioning pins and positioning holes.

[0011] Furthermore, internal magnetic contacts for data transmission are provided between adjacent frame structures or between the frame structure and the base.

[0012] Furthermore, the system includes two electrically powered grippers that cooperate with each other to perform multi-pose flipping tests on the main body frame by alternately gripping and rotating it.

[0013] Furthermore, the system includes an electric gripper and a rotary table, the electric gripper and the rotary table cooperating with each other to realize multi-position flipping tests on the main body skeleton.

[0014] Furthermore, the first female magnetic contact is electrically connected to the sensor under test on the data carrier board via an internal circuit.

[0015] A sensor testing fixture for any of the above-described systems, comprising: The main body skeleton consists of at least one modular frame structure; The data carrier board, which is set inside the frame structure, is used to carry the sensor under test. A first female magnetic contact point for receiving electrical energy from the outside is disposed on the outer surface of the main body frame. The first female magnetic contact is electrically connected to the sensor under test on the data carrier board via an internal circuit.

[0016] Furthermore, the data carrier board integrates a microcontroller unit, which communicates with the sensor under test via a serial peripheral interface (SPI) and exchanges data with the host computer software via a controller area network (CAN) bus.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are: (1) Extremely high power supply reliability: The innovative magnetic contact connection method completely replaces the traditional external power supply harness. When the clamping arm drives the sensor to perform complex flipping movements at any angle, the power supply connection remains stable, fundamentally eliminating the risk of test interruption caused by harness entanglement, pulling or fatigue breakage.

[0018] (2) Simplified structure and low maintenance cost: Compared with the complex slip ring solution, the magnetic contact solution of the present invention has a simpler structure, no sliding friction parts, and no mechanical wear problems, thus having a longer service life and lower maintenance cost. At the same time, the noise generated by its electrical connection is also much lower than that of traditional brush slip rings.

[0019] (3) High efficiency and high precision automation: The integrated electric clamping arm and rotating shaft realize the full-process automation of sensor loading and unloading, positioning, clamping, powering and multi-face flipping test, providing a reliable physical benchmark for high-precision sensor testing. Attached Figure Description

[0020] Figure 1 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the test system in Embodiment 1 of the present invention, showing the combination relationship between the electric gripper and the main body frame; Figure 2 is a schematic diagram of the electric gripper part in this invention; Figure 3 is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the hexahedral body skeleton in this invention; Figure 4 is a schematic diagram of the structure of a modular component within the main body skeleton of this invention; Figure 5 is a structural schematic diagram of the frame structure in this invention; Figure 6 is a schematic diagram of data transmission during the testing of the sensor under test in this invention; Figure 7 is a detailed schematic diagram of the circuit board design for testing the sensor under test in this invention; Figure 8 is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the test system in Embodiment 2 of the present invention; In the figure: 1. Body skeleton, 1-1. Frame structure, 1-1-1. Positioning pin, 1-1-2. Positioning hole, 1-1-3. Second female magnetic contact, 1-1-4. Second male magnetic contact; 1-2, base; 1-3, first female magnetic contact; 1-4, data carrier board; 1-5, pressure plate; 2. Electric gripper; 2-1. Machine body; 2-2. Gripping arm; 2-3. Rotating head; 2-4. First male magnetic contact point; 2-5. Limiting hole. 3. Rotary table. Detailed Implementation

[0021] The present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, it should be noted that these embodiments are not intended to limit the present invention. Equivalent changes or substitutions in function, method, or structure made by those skilled in the art based on these embodiments are all within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0022] Example 1 Please see Figures 1 to 7 The present invention provides a sensor testing system. In this embodiment, the system includes a hexahedral tooling (i.e., the main body frame 1) and two electric grippers 2.

[0023] The composition and assembly of tooling, such as Figures 3 to 5 As shown, the main frame 1 of the hexahedral tooling is a hollow cubic structure. Its core feature is its modular design. It consists of a base 1-2 and multiple modular components that can be stacked upwards.

[0024] Each modular component includes a frame structure 1-1, a data carrier board 1-4 mounted at the bottom of the frame structure, and a pressure plate 1-5 mounted at the top. The data carrier board 1-4 is used to mount the sensor under test (SUT) and establish a communication connection with the SUT via SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface). The pressure plate 1-5 securely presses the SUT onto the data carrier board 1-4 using screws or other fasteners to prevent displacement during flipping.

[0025] To achieve rapid, precise positioning and secure connection between modules, each frame structure 1-1 is equipped with a positioning component and a magnetic attraction component. In this embodiment, as shown... Figure 5As shown, the positioning components consist of a positioning pin 1-1-1 extending from one end of the frame and a positioning hole 1-1-2 at the corresponding position on the other end. The magnetic attraction components are represented by a second female magnetic attraction contact 1-1-3 and a second male magnetic attraction contact 1-1-4. These contacts are used not only for physical attraction between modules, but also for signal or power transmission between stacked layers.

[0026] The assembly process is as follows: First, install the sensor under test on the data carrier board 1-4 and press it firmly with the pressure plate 1-5. Then, take a frame structure 1-1 with the sensor installed, align the positioning pin 1-1-1 at its bottom with the positioning hole 1-1-2 on the base 1-2 or the positioning hole 1-1-2 on the top of another frame structure, and insert it. After insertion, the built-in magnetic contacts will automatically align and strongly attract, firmly combining the two modules together. By repeating this process, multiple frame structures can be quickly stacked and combined to form a complete and robust hexahedral skeleton, securely enclosing the sensor under test. This modular design allows for flexible adjustment of the internal space of the fixture by changing the number of frame structures to accommodate different numbers and sizes of products under test.

[0027] On each outer surface of the main body frame 1, there are first female magnetic contacts 1-3 for connecting to external devices. These contacts are connected to the power pins on each data carrier board 1-4 via internal wires to form a unified external power supply interface.

[0028] The structure and workflow of the testing system are as follows: Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, the testing system also includes two electric grippers 2. Each electric gripper mainly consists of a body 2-1, a pair of openable gripping arms 2-2, and a rotating head 2-3 connected to the body. The ends of the gripping arms 2-2 are connected to the limiting holes 2-5 in the rotating head 2-3, and can slide along the radial direction of the limiting holes to achieve the opening and closing action driven by the motor within the body 2-1. The rotating head 2-3 itself can be driven by a motor to rotate, thereby causing the entire gripping arm to flip.

[0029] Crucially, on the inner surface of each gripping arm 2-2, there is a first male magnetic contact 2-4 corresponding to the first female magnetic contact 1-3 on the tooling. These contacts are connected to the power supply inside the electric gripper body 2-1.

[0030] The complete workflow of this embodiment is as follows: Clamping and positioning: Place the assembled hexahedral body skeleton 1 of the sensor under test in the designated position of the test station (e.g., in the environmental chamber).

[0031] Clamping and Power-On: The host computer system issues a command to control the two electric grippers 2 to move towards each other and close, clamping the main body frame 1 from opposite sides. During the clamping process, the first male magnetic contact 2-4 on the gripping arm and the first female magnetic contact 1-3 on the main body frame 1 automatically and precisely align and are strongly attracted by magnetic force. This instantly forms a stable and reliable electrical connection, transmitting the electrical energy from the electric grippers to all the sensors under test inside the main body frame 1 without loss. The sensors are powered on and enter standby test state.

[0032] Flipping Test: After the test program starts, the two electric grippers 2 work together. For example, the left electric gripper keeps clamped, supplies power to the fixture, and controls its rotating head 2-3 to drive the fixture to perform a precise angular flip (e.g., a 90-degree rotation); simultaneously, the right electric gripper releases and retracts. After the left gripper has rotated to its position, the right gripper moves forward again, clamping the other side of the fixture. Subsequently, the left gripper can release, and the right gripper is responsible for clamping, supplying power, and subsequent flipping. Through the alternating cooperation of the two grippers, the fixture can be flipped at any angle in three-dimensional space, thus enabling comprehensive performance testing of the six faces and more orientations of the sensor under test. Since one gripper is always clamping the fixture and supplying power, the power supply is continuous and stable throughout the entire dynamic flipping process, without any risk of interruption.

[0033] Material unloading: After all tests are completed, the gripping arms of the two electric chucks release and retract in sequence, allowing operators or automated equipment to easily remove the tested main body frame 1.

[0034] Data transmission and processing, such as Figure 6 and Figure 7 As shown, the data transmission and processing system of this invention is well-designed, ensuring the real-time performance and reliability of test data. Data transmission adopts a layered architecture. At the physical interface layer, the product carrier board (i.e., part of the aforementioned data carrier boards 1-4) can simultaneously accommodate multiple products under test (product 1 to product N). Each product establishes a communication connection with the data processing board through a standardized SPI interface. The data processing board, acting as a data aggregation and processing center, integrates multiple microcontroller units (MCU1 to MCUN). Each MCU is responsible for receiving, processing, and buffering data information from one or more products. Subsequently, each MCU sends the processed data to the host computer software via a high-speed, interference-resistant CAN (Controller Area Network) bus, enabling parallel monitoring and data management of all products.

[0035] At the circuit design level, such as Figure 7As shown, the data processing board employs a multi-level power management and signal conversion architecture. Power from the outside, received via magnetic contacts, is regulated and supplied as 3.3V to the product under test (DUT) at the product carrier board connector. Upon receiving the 3.3V voltage, the data processing board directly powers the MCU with one portion, and boosts the other portion to 5V via a DC-DC converter, specifically providing power to the CAN transceiver. The CAN transceiver converts the TTL / CMOS level signals output by the MCU into differential signals conforming to the CAN bus standard. Driven by a 12V power supply (possibly provided by another DC-DC converter or directly externally), it ensures high-quality signal transmission over long distances on the bus. The entire circuit board design fully considers electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) and signal integrity, providing a solid hardware foundation for efficient and reliable testing of the fixture.

[0036] Example 2 Please see Figure 8 This embodiment demonstrates another simplified yet equally efficient implementation of the invention. The main difference from Embodiment 1 is that this testing system uses an electric chuck 2 in conjunction with a precision rotary table 3 to perform calibration testing on the six faces of the hexahedral tooling 1.

[0037] In this system, the hexahedral fixture 1 is first placed on a rotary table 3 that can rotate about the vertical axis (Z-axis). The electric chuck 2 then clamps the fixture from the side. Its workflow can be as follows: The rotary table 3 is responsible for rotating the fixture in the horizontal plane. For example, it can be rotated sequentially by 0°, 90°, 180°, and 270° to align the four vertical sides of the fixture with a certain test reference.

[0038] The electric chuck 2 is responsible for clamping the fixture and rotating it around a horizontal axis (e.g., the X-axis) via its own rotating head 2-3. For example, after testing all four sides, the electric chuck 2 can rotate the fixture 90 degrees so that its top or bottom surface is facing up, and then the rotary table 3 can perform the test.

[0039] By combining one degree of freedom of the rotary table 3 with at least one rotational degree of freedom of the electric gripper 2, full coverage testing of all six sides of the fixture can also be achieved. This solution may be more compact in structure and may also be less expensive. Except for the different configuration of the motion mechanism, the modular structure of the fixture, the magnetic cableless power supply method, and the internal data transmission architecture are all the same as in Embodiment 1.

[0040] Finally, it should be noted that the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention, and not to limit them. Although the present invention has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that modifications can still be made to the technical solutions described in the foregoing embodiments, or equivalent substitutions can be made to some or all of the technical features therein. Such modifications or substitutions do not cause the essence of the corresponding technical solutions to deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0041] Furthermore, it should be understood that although this specification describes embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. This narrative style is merely for clarity. Those skilled in the art should consider the specification as a whole, and the technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

Claims

1. A sensor testing system, characterized in that, It includes at least one electric gripper (2) and a hexahedral body frame (1), which is flipped under the drive of the electric gripper (2); The main body frame (1) is provided with a data carrier board (1-4) for mounting at least one sensor under test; each outer surface of the main body frame (1) is provided with a first female magnetic contact point (1-3). The electric gripper (2) has an openable gripping arm (2-2), and a first male magnetic contact (2-4) corresponding to the first female magnetic contact (1-3) is provided on the inner surface of the gripping arm (2-2). When the clamping arm (2-2) of the electric gripper (2) closes to clamp the body frame (1), the first male magnetic contact (2-4) contacts the first female magnetic contact (1-3) to transmit electrical energy from the electric gripper (2) to the sensor to be tested inside the body frame (1). The main body frame (1) contains a modular structure, including a base (1-2) and at least one frame structure (1-1) that can be stacked on the base (1-2); each frame structure (1-1) contains the data carrier board (1-4). Internal magnetic contacts for data transmission are also provided between adjacent frame structures (1-1) or between the frame structure (1-1) and the base (1-2).

2. The sensor testing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: Both the first female magnetic contact (1-3) and the first male magnetic contact (2-4) are magnetic contacts. When the clamping arm (2-2) clamps the main body frame (1), they achieve electrical connection through magnetic attraction.

3. The sensor testing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: Precise positioning is achieved between adjacent frame structures (1-1), or between the frame structure (1-1) and the base (1-2), through mutually cooperating positioning pins (1-1-1) and positioning holes (1-1-2).

4. The sensor testing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The system includes two electric grippers (2), which cooperate with each other to perform multi-pose flipping tests on the main body frame (1) by alternately gripping and rotating it.

5. The sensor testing system according to claim 1, characterized in that: The system includes an electric gripper (2) and a rotary table (3). The electric gripper (2) and the rotary table (3) cooperate with each other to realize multi-posture flipping tests on the main body skeleton (1).

6. The sensor testing system according to claim 1, characterized in that, The first female magnetic contact (1-3) is electrically connected to the sensor under test on the data carrier board (1-4) through an internal circuit.

7. A sensor testing fixture for the system according to any one of claims 1 to 6, characterized in that, include: The main body skeleton consists of at least one modular frame structure (1-1); The data carrier board (1-4) is set inside the frame structure (1-1) to carry the sensor under test. First female magnetic contact (1-3) is disposed on the outer surface of the main body frame for receiving electrical energy from the outside. The first female magnetic contact (1-3) is electrically connected to the sensor under test on the data carrier board (1-4) through an internal circuit.

8. The test fixture according to claim 7, characterized in that: The data carrier board (1-4) integrates a microcontroller unit, which communicates with the sensor under test through a serial peripheral interface (SPI) and exchanges data with the host computer software through a controller area network (CAN) bus.

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