Arrangement for comparing wire harnesses

Abstract

The utility model provides a device for comparing wire harnesses. The apparatus (100a) comprises a table (110), two or more terminals (120a, 120b), a power supply (140), a supply device (145), one or more control units (150a, 150b), and a workstation (160). A control unit (150a) is connected to a respective terminal (120a) for sensing an electrical parameter at the respective terminal (120a). The workstation (160) is connected to the control unit (150a, 150b) by a wireless connection. The workstation (160) has a memory unit (168) and a processor (166). The processor (166) compares the sensed signals from the control units (150a, 150b) to pre-stored details of the first wire harness (300a). The processor (166) provides comparative details of the first harness (300a) and the second harness (300b) through the display (170). The equipment (100a) is easy to operate.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model provides a device for a wire harness. More specifically, the utility model provides a device for comparing two or more wire harnesses. Background Art

[0002] In general, a wiring harness is often used to provide electrical connectivity or any such connectivity and transmit signals (control signals) between functional units of devices in aircraft, spacecraft, vehicles, ships, etc. In addition, wiring harnesses are used in a wide range of applications, such as electronic devices, household appliances, home automation systems, automobiles, construction machinery, etc. In general, a wiring harness includes one or more wire segments and two or more connector ends. The two or more connector ends connect the one or more wire segments.

[0003] Currently, after a wiring harness is manufactured, it is compared to a standard wiring harness (commonly referred to as a "master circuit" in the wiring harness industry) by supplying one or more electrical parameters to the wiring harness. The electrical parameter is electromotive force (emf) or potential or charge or voltage or current or resistance or impedance or capacitance or common frequency or a combination. The measured values ​​of the electrical parameters of the wiring harness are compared to the measured values ​​of the electrical parameters of the standard wiring harness. Typically, in the wiring harness industry, this process is called "wiring harness testing".

[0004] At present, in order to test (compare) wiring harnesses, some test equipment can be used. Existing test equipment includes a workbench, a processor for comparison, and two or more terminals arranged on the workbench. The terminal is suitable for receiving one or more connector ends of the wiring harness, and each terminal is electrically connected to a power supply device. The supply device is suitable for providing one or more electrical parameters to one or more terminals when the supply device is operated accordingly. In currently available test equipment, the connection between the processor, the terminal and the supply device is wired. Due to the wired connection, the construction of the test equipment is complicated, which makes the equipment cost higher. The structure of the existing test equipment is complicated and not easy to operate.

[0005] For each new requirement (new harness to compare with standard harness), new test equipment needs to be constructed (prepared). Therefore, for each modified harness that needs to be tested, new equipment is required and additional costs are incurred. Building new equipment for each new harness increases the testing cost, which ultimately increases the overall manufacturing cost of the harness.

[0006] Currently, some test equipment has a wireless connection between terminals that couple to the connector ends of the wiring harness.

[0007] Patent document TW202036014A discloses a "wireless electronic control system". The control system cannot save the details of the standard wiring harness provided. In addition, the control system is not suitable for testing new wiring harnesses using the same workbench and related layout structure of the provided system.

[0008] Therefore, there is a need for an apparatus that overcomes the problems of the prior art. Utility Model Content

[0009] Purpose of the utility model

[0010] An object of the utility model is to provide a device for a wire harness.

[0011] An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for a wiring harness, wherein the apparatus is used for comparing two or more wiring harnesses.

[0012] Another object of the utility model is to provide a device for a wire harness, wherein the device has a simple structure compared with existing test devices.

[0013] Another object of the present invention is to provide a device for a wire harness, wherein the device reduces the testing cost of the wire harness compared with existing testing devices.

[0014] Furthermore, it is an object of the invention to provide a device for a wiring harness, wherein the device is easy to handle.

[0015] Furthermore, an object of the present invention is to provide an equipment for wiring harnesses, wherein the equipment provides various ways or modes of storing standard wiring harness details in a memory unit of the equipment for comparison with other wiring harnesses, the details of the comparison being useful for tracking errors (manual or operational errors) occurring during the test (comparison) operation.

[0016] Overview of Utility Model

[0017] The utility model provides a device for comparing wiring harnesses, the device comprising: a workbench; two or more terminals, the two or more terminals are arranged on the workbench, the two or more terminals receive connector ends of the wiring harness; a display, the display is operatively connected to the terminals; a power supply, the power supply is electrically connected to each terminal; one or more control units, the control units are connected to the corresponding terminals, the device also comprises a workstation, the workstation is connected to the control unit via a wireless connection, the workstation comprises a user interface for configuring circuit details of a first wiring harness in the wiring harness, a memory unit for storing the circuit details, and a processor connected to the display and the memory unit, the control unit senses electrical parameters at a terminal connected to a second wiring harness in the wiring harness and generates a sensing signal, and sends the sensing signal to the processor, the processor compares the sensing signal with the circuit details and outputs the comparison data to the display.

[0018] The utility model provides equipment for comparing wire harnesses, which comprises a workbench, two or more terminals, a power supply, a supply device, one or more control units and a workstation.

[0019] The terminal is disposed on a workbench. The terminal receives one or more connector ends of the wiring harness. Each wiring harness includes one or more wire segments and two or more connector ends. The connector ends connect the one or more wire segments. Each terminal is electrically coupled to a power supply. Each terminal is connected to a supply device that receives an electrical parameter. The electrical parameter is electrical continuity, electromotive force (emf) or potential or charge or resistance or impedance or capacitance or common frequency along the first wiring harness or the second wiring harness.

[0020] When the first harness is connected to the terminal, in a first supply cycle, power is supplied from the first terminal to the second terminal through the first harness. In addition, in a second supply cycle, power is supplied from the second terminal to the first terminal through the first harness.

[0021] The control unit is connected to the corresponding terminals and is adapted to sense electrical parameters at the corresponding terminals.

[0022] The workstation is connected to the control unit via a wireless connection. The workstation is a computer or a mobile device or a tablet or a smartphone or a kiosk or an IoT device. In a preferred embodiment, the wireless connection is wifi. In an alternative embodiment, the wireless connection is the internet or a radio frequency connection. In a preferred embodiment, the topology of the wireless connection is a mesh topology. In an alternative embodiment, the topology of the wireless connection can be a partially connected mesh topology, a ring topology, a dual ring topology, a star topology, an extended star topology, a tree topology, a bus topology, a hybrid topology, or a combination of the above.

[0023] The workstation has a memory unit and a processor. The memory unit stores pre-stored circuit details of the first wiring harness. The circuit details include the number of nodes, the number of line segments, the connectivity between the line segments, the electrical continuity or voltage drop along the line segments and the wiring harness. In addition, the circuit details include the charge density in the node when a predetermined amount of current is provided to the wiring harness. The workstation receives a sensing signal from the control unit. In addition, the workstation sends an actuation signal to the control unit.

[0024] In a preferred embodiment of the control unit, the control unit comprises a transceiver and a sensing unit. The transceiver communicates with the workstation. The transceiver receives signals from the workstation and sends signals to the workstation. The sensing unit senses electrical parameters at the corresponding terminals. The sensing unit is electrically connected to the terminals. The sensing unit is connected to the transceiver for transmitting the sensed signal, and the sensed signal is sent to the transceiver.

[0025] In an alternative embodiment of the control unit, the control unit further comprises a regulating unit. The regulating unit is connected to the transceiver, the supply device and the corresponding terminals. According to instructions received from the workstation at the transceiver, the control unit regulates the electrical parameters provided from the supply device to the terminals.

[0026] In a preferred embodiment, the control unit is powered by the supply means. The supply means is a battery. In a preferred embodiment, the supply means has an interface for controlling the operation of the supply means.

[0027] In a preferred embodiment, the circuit details are stored in a memory unit by connecting the first wiring harness to the corresponding terminals, and the control unit generates electrical parameters sensed at the terminals, and the sensed electrical parameters are stored as circuit details in the memory unit of the workstation. In addition, the terminals are provided with a power supply. The workstation collects information related to the electrical parameters (one or more) sensed at the terminals. The collected information is stored as circuit details in the memory unit of the workstation. When the circuit details of the first wiring harness stored in the memory unit are stored, the workstation modifies the connection between the terminals according to the first wiring harness by actuating and deactivating the corresponding control unit.

[0028] In yet another alternative embodiment, while storing the circuit details of a first wiring harness stored in a memory unit, the workstation modifies the connection between the terminals in accordance with the first wiring harness by sending the instruction to the transceiver to actuate the control unit to adjust the electrical parameters provided from the supply device to the terminals in accordance with the first wiring harness.

[0029] When the second wiring harness is connected to the corresponding terminal, the power supply is supplied to the terminal. When the second wiring harness is connected to the terminal, in a third supply cycle, the power supply is supplied from the first terminal to the second terminal through the second wiring harness. In addition, in a fourth supply cycle, the power supply is supplied from the second terminal to the first terminal through the second wiring harness.

[0030] The control unit sends the sensing signal to the workstation. The processor compares the sensing signal from the control unit with pre-stored circuit details of the first wiring harness. The processor provides the comparison details through a display connected to the processor.

[0031] In an alternative embodiment, the workstation is connected to the supply device to control the supply of power from the supply device.In an alternative embodiment, the workstation has a user interface to configure the circuit details of the first wiring harness.

[0032] In yet another alternative embodiment, the circuit details are stored in the memory unit by connecting the memory unit to an external device. The external device is a pen drive, hard drive, server, cloud, or an Internet of Things device.

[0033] In another alternative embodiment of the equipment, the equipment includes a plurality of workstations and a plurality of workbenches. The workstations are connected to a server or a cloud server, and the circuit details of the first wiring harness are updated in the corresponding memory units of the workstations. The comparison details and the comparison cycle are updated in real time in the cloud storage of the cloud server.

[0034] Furthermore, in an alternative embodiment of the device, the device is connected to an authentication system. The authentication system is adapted to provide access to the device to an authenticated user only when the authentication system is activated.

[0035] The utility model also provides a method for comparing wiring harnesses. The method includes the steps of arranging two or more terminals on a workbench. The terminals are suitable for receiving one or more connector ends of the wiring harness. Each terminal is electrically connected to a power supply. Further, one terminal is connected to a control unit in one or more control units. The control unit is connected to a workstation via a wireless network. The workstation has a memory unit and a processor. In addition, circuit details of a first wiring harness in the wiring harness are stored in the memory unit.

[0036] A second wiring harness in the wiring harness is connected to the terminal. A power supply is supplied to the terminal, thereby providing the electrical parameter to the second wiring harness. The control unit is adapted to send information related to the electrical parameter (one or more) sensed at the terminal to the workstation via a wireless network. The processor is adapted to compare the information received from the control unit with pre-stored circuit details of the first wiring harness. The processor is adapted to provide the comparison details via a display connected to the processor. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0037] Advantages and features of the present invention will be better understood by referring to the following detailed description of some embodiments and claims in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein like elements are identified by like symbols, and in the accompanying drawings;

[0038] Figure 1a A schematic block diagram of an apparatus for comparing wiring harnesses according to the present invention is shown;

[0039] Figure 1b A schematic block diagram showing an alternative embodiment of an apparatus for comparing wiring harnesses according to the present invention;

[0040] Figure 1c Shows Figure 1a and 1b A schematic block diagram of a star topology network between a control unit and a workstation of the equipment shown in FIG.

[0041] Figure 1d Shows Figure 1a and 1b Schematic block diagram of a bus topology network (alternative embodiment) between a control unit and a workstation of the equipment shown in ;

[0042] Figure 1e Shows Figure 1a and 1b A schematic block diagram of a mesh topology network (alternative embodiment) between a control unit and a workstation of the illustrated equipment;

[0043] Figure 1f Shows Figure 1a and Figure 1b Schematic block diagram of a ring topology network (alternative embodiment) between the control unit and the workstations of the illustrated equipment;

[0044] Figure 1g and Figure 1i Shows the connection to Figure 1a and Figure 1b A schematic front view and a schematic top view of a first wiring harness of a terminal of the equipment shown in ;

[0045] Figure 1h and Figure 1j Shows the connection to Figure 1a and Figure 1b A schematic front view and a schematic top view of a second wiring harness of a terminal of the equipment shown in ;

[0046] Figure 2 Shows Figure 1a A schematic block diagram of a control unit of the device shown in ;

[0047] Figure 3 Shows Figure 1b A schematic block diagram of a control unit of the device shown in ;

[0048] Figure 4 Shows Figure 1a and Figure 1b A schematic block diagram of the connection between the supply device and the control unit of the equipment shown in;

[0049] Figure 5 Shows Figure 4 A schematic block diagram of an alternative embodiment of the supply device shown;

[0050] Figure 6 Shown is the Figure 1a and Figure 1b A flow chart of the various steps performed in a method of storing circuit details in a memory unit of a workstation of the equipment shown in;

[0051] Figure 7 Shows Figure 5 , Figure 1a and Figure 1b A schematic block diagram of an alternative embodiment connection between a workstation and a supply device shown in;

[0052] Figure 8 A schematic block diagram showing an alternative embodiment of an apparatus for comparing wiring harnesses according to the present invention;

[0053] Fig. 9 A schematic block diagram showing yet another alternative embodiment of the apparatus for comparing wiring harnesses according to the present invention; and

[0054] Fig.10 A flow chart showing the various steps performed in a method for comparing wiring harnesses according to the present invention is shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0055] Embodiments of the present invention that illustrate the features of the present invention will now be described in detail. The words "comprise," "have," "include," and "include" and other forms thereof are intended to be equivalent in meaning and open ended, as one or more items following any of these words are not intended to be an exhaustive list of such one or more items or to be limited to only the one or more items listed.

[0056] The terms "first," "second," and the like herein do not denote any order, quantity, or importance, but are used to distinguish one element from another, and the terms "a" and "an" herein do not denote a limitation of quantity, but rather denote the presence of at least one of the referenced item.

[0057] The disclosed embodiments are merely examples of the present invention, which may be implemented in various forms.

[0058] The utility model provides a device for wire hardness. The device is used to compare two or more wire harnesses. Compared with the existing test equipment, the device has a simple structure. Compared with the existing test equipment, the device reduces the test cost of the wire harness. The device is easy to operate. The device provides various ways or modes for storing standard wire harness details in a memory unit of the device for comparison with other wire harnesses.

[0059] Reference Figure 1a , showing a schematic diagram of an apparatus for comparing wiring harnesses according to the present invention. Hereinafter, the apparatus is referred to as apparatus (100a). The apparatus (100a) is used for wiring harnesses (300a or 300b) ( Figure 1g , Figure 1h , Figure 1i and Figure 1j The equipment (100) comprises a workbench (110), two or more terminals (120a, 120b, 120c), a power supply (140), a supply device (145), one or more control units (150a, 150b, 150c) and a workstation (160).

[0060] Typically, the terminals (120a, 120b) are arranged on the workbench (110). In a preferred embodiment, the terminals (120a, 120b) are fixed to the workbench (110). In another embodiment, the terminals (120a, 120b) are arranged on the workbench (110) in a movable manner. The terminals (120a, 120b) are suitable for connecting one or more connector ends (302a, 304a, 302b, 304b) of the wiring harness (300a, 300b) (see Figure 1g and Figure 1h ) is received. Each wire harness (300a, 300b) includes one or more wire segments (310a, 310b) and two or more connector ends (302a, 304a, 302b, 304b). The connector ends (302a, 304a, 302b, 304b) connect one or more wire segments (310a, 310b). For example, the connector ends (302a, 304a) connect the wire segments (310a).

[0061] Each terminal (120a, 120b) is electrically connected to a power supply (140). Each terminal (302a, 304a) is connected to a supply device (145) to receive an electrical parameter from the supply device (145). The electrical parameter is electrical continuity, electromotive force (emf) or potential or charge or resistance or impedance or capacitance or common frequency along the first wiring harness (300a) or the second wiring harness (300b). For example, a current of 5 amperes and a voltage of 5 volts are supplied to the wiring harness (300a or 300b). Typically, for continuity testing, a current of several amperes is supplied to the line.

[0062] When the first wiring harness (300a) is connected to the terminals (120a, 120b), in a first supply cycle (801), the power supply (140) is supplied from the first terminal (120a) to the second terminal (120b) through the first wiring harness (300a). In addition, in a second supply cycle (802), the power supply (140) is supplied from the second terminal (120b) to the first terminal (120a) through the first wiring harness (300a). If the equipment (100a) is used for wiring harness testing operations, the first wiring harness (300a) can be standard. Typically, in industry (wiring harness industry), if the equipment (100a) is used for wiring harness testing operations, the first wiring harness (300a) is referred to as a "main circuit".

[0063] The control unit (150a or 150b) is connected to the corresponding terminal (120a, 120b). The control unit (150a, 150b) is adapted to sense an electrical parameter at the corresponding terminal (120a, 120b).

[0064] The workstation (160) is connected to the control unit (150a, 150b) via a wireless connection (164). The workstation (160) is a computer or a mobile device or a tablet or a smartphone or a kiosk, or an IoT (Internet of Things) device. In a preferred embodiment, the wireless connection (164) is wifi (wireless fidelity). In an alternative embodiment, the wireless connection (164) is the internet or a radio frequency connection. In a preferred embodiment, as Figure 1c As shown, the topology of the wireless connection (164) is a star topology (164a). In alternative embodiments, the topology of the wireless connection (164) can be a partially connected mesh topology, a ring topology (164d) (see Figure 1f ), dual ring topology, star topology (164a) (see Figure 1c ), extended star topology, tree topology, bus topology (164b) (see Figure 1d ), mesh topology (164c) (reference Figure 1e ), hybrid topology, or a combination of the above.

[0065] In addition, the workstation (160) has a memory unit (168) and a processor (166). The processor (166) is connected to the memory unit (168). The memory unit (168) stores pre-stored circuit details of the first wiring harness (300a). The circuit details include the number of nodes, the number of line segments (310a, 310b), the connectivity between the line segments (310a, 310b), the electrical continuity or voltage drop along the line segments (310a, 310b) and also along the wiring harness (300a, 300b). In addition, the circuit details include the charge density in the nodes when the wiring harness (300a, 300b) is supplied with a predetermined amount of current.

[0066] In addition, the circuit details include electrical parameters measured at each terminal (120a or 120b). In the given example, Figure 1g The circuit details of the first wiring harness (300a) shown include a supply voltage of 5V, a current of 5A, two nodes, an energy of 5J, etc. The circuit details can be modified as required by changing the supplied parameters.

[0067] The workstation (160) receives sensing signals from the control units (150a, 150b). In addition, the workstation (160) sends actuation signals to the control units (150a, 150b). Each control unit (150a, 150b) is embedded with a set of hardware and software.

[0068] In a preferred embodiment of the control unit (150a, 150b), the control unit (150a, 150b) comprises a transceiver (152a, 152b) and a sensing unit (154a, 154b) (see Figure 2 ). The transceiver (152a, 152b) includes a receiver for receiving a signal from the workstation (160). The transceiver (152a, 152b) includes a transmitter for sending a signal to the workstation (160). The transceiver (152a, 152b) receives and sends information via a wireless network (164). The sensing unit (154a, 154b) senses an electrical parameter. The sensing unit (154a, 154b) is electrically connected to the terminals (120a, 120b). The sensing unit (154a, 154b) is connected to the transceiver (152a, 152b) for sending a sensing signal to the transceiver (152a, 152b). The sensing unit (154a, 154b) can be an electrical sensor or detector or transducer.

[0069] In the control unit (150'a, 150'b) ( Figure 3), the control unit (150'a, 150'b) further comprises a regulating unit (156a, 156b). The regulating unit (156a, 156b) comprises a voltage regulator, a transformer, a diode, a relay, an electric switch, or any other functional unit suitable for regulating the power supply parameter (one or more) together or individually. The regulating unit (156a, 156b) is connected to the transceiver (152a, 152b), the supply device (145) and the corresponding terminals (120a, 120b) ( Figure 1b According to instructions received from the workstation (160) at the transceiver (152a, 152b), the control unit (150'a, 150'b) regulates the supply of electrical parameters from the supply device (145) to the terminals (120a, 120b).

[0070] In a preferred embodiment, the control unit (150a, 150', 150b, 150'b) is powered by a supply device (145) ( Figure 4 ). The supply device (145) is a battery. In another embodiment, the supply device (145) has a battery for supplying the supply device (145) ( Figure 5 ) is an interface (147) for controlling the operation of the supply device (145). The user can operate the supply device (145) through the interface (147) to supply the required electrical parameters.

[0071] Reference now Figure 6 , a flow chart of a method (210) for storing circuit details in a memory unit (168) is shown. The method (210) is a preferred method for storing circuit details in a memory unit (168). The method begins at step 210a. At step 210b, a first wiring harness (300a) is connected to corresponding terminals (120a, 120b) (see Figure 1g ). In addition, at step 210c, the terminals (120a, 120b) are provided with a power supply (140) (see Figure 1i ). At step 210d, the workstation (160) collects information related to the electrical parameters sensed at the terminals (120a, 120b). Furthermore, at step 210e, the collected information is stored as circuit details in a memory unit (168) of the workstation (160).

[0072] In an alternative embodiment, the workstation (160) has a user interface (162) ( Figure 1a) to configure the circuit details of the first wiring harness (300a). The workstation (160) has software such as electrical computer-aided design and drawing (E-CADD) software, computer-aided engineering (CAE) software, and computer-aided manufacturing (CAM) software. Using the software, the user can configure the circuit details of the first wiring harness (300a) in the workstation (160).

[0073] In yet another alternative embodiment, the circuit details are stored in the memory unit (168) by connecting the memory unit (168) to an external device (not shown). The external device (400) is a pen drive or hard drive or server or cloud, or IoT device.

[0074] When the circuit details of the first wiring harness (300a) are stored in the memory unit (168), the workstation (160) modifies the connection between the terminals (120a and 120b) according to the first wiring harness (300a) by activating and deactivating the respective control units (150a, 150b). This deactivation can be performed in Figure 1a As seen in the embodiment shown (equipment (100a)).

[0075] Although the supply device (145) supplies the power supply (140) to the terminals (120a, 120b), the control units (150a, 150b, 150c) cannot sense signals from the power supply terminals (120a, 120b) due to failure of the respective control units (150a, 150b, 150c).

[0076] In the example shown (ref. Figure 1a ), the first circuit detail includes only two or more connector ends (302a, 304a). The power supply (140) is supplied to all terminals (120a, 120b, 120c). Even if the terminals (120a, 120b, 120c) are supplied with the power supply (140), each control unit (150c) connected to the terminal (120c) can be disabled. The disabled control unit (150c) cannot sense the signal from the power supply terminal (120c).

[0077] In equipment (100b) ( Figure 1bIn another alternative embodiment of the present invention, when storing the circuit details of the first wiring harness (300a) stored in the memory unit (168), the workstation (160) modifies the connection between the terminals (120a) according to the first wiring harness (300a) by sending a command to the transceiver (152a) to activate the control unit (150'a) to adjust the electrical parameters provided from the supply device (145) to the terminals (120a) according to the first wiring harness (300a). This operation of the control unit (150'a, 150'b, 150'c) is Figure 4 When the control unit (150'a, 150'b, 150'c) adjusts the supply device (145), the power supply (140) is supplied to each terminal (120a, 120b) by the control unit (150'a, 150'b, 150'c) connected to the power supply to each terminal (120a, 120b). In the example of the wiring harness shown ( Figure 1g , Figure 1i ), when the control unit (150'c) stops the power supply (140) to the terminal (120c), the terminal (120c) can be disabled by the control unit (150'c).

[0078] In order to compare the first wiring harness (300a) (for testing the wiring harness) with the second wiring harness (300b), the second wiring harness (300b) is connected to the corresponding terminals (120a, 120b) ( Figure 1h and Figure 1j ), when the second wiring harness (300b) is connected to the corresponding terminal (120b), the power supply (140) is supplied to the terminal (120b). When the second wiring harness (300b) is connected to the terminals (120a, 120b), in a third supply cycle (803), the power supply (140) is supplied from the first terminal (120a) to the second terminal (120b) through the second wiring harness (300b). In addition, in a fourth supply cycle (804), the power supply (140) is supplied from the second terminal (120b) to the first terminal (120a) through the second wiring harness (300b).

[0079] The control unit (150a, 150b, 150á, 150b) sends the sensing signal to the workstation (160). The processor (166) compares the sensing signal from the control unit (150b) with the pre-stored circuit details of the first wiring harness (300a). The processor (166) provides the comparison details through a display (170) connected to the processor (see Figure 1b The processor (166) is embedded with a set of hardware and software to compare the first wire bundle with the second wire bundle.

[0080] Similarly, the details of the first harness (300a) are compared with the second harness (300b). For each new test requirement, the new details of the first harness (300a) are stored (modified) in the memory unit (168). A corresponding comparison (test) activity is performed on the second harness (300b) compared to the first harness (300a).

[0081] The comparison details include the difference between the electrical parameters measured along the first wiring harness (300a) and the second wiring harness (300b). In the given example, the first wiring harness (300a) has a 5A current, 5V voltage at the first end terminal (120a). The second wiring harness (300b) has a 4A current, 4V voltage at the second terminal (120b). The comparison details can be "a current difference of 1A and a voltage difference of 1V between the first wiring harness (300a) and the second wiring harness (300b)". The same details can be displayed by the display (170).

[0082] These comparison details may be used for testing the wiring harness (300a, 300b) or for manufacturing the wiring harness, or to track errors in comparison operations or for research and development activities.

[0083] Similarly, the number of terminals (120a, 120b, 120c) can be increased based on the total number of connector ends (302a, 304a, 302b, 304b) and other specifications of the wiring harness (300a, 300b). It is obvious to those skilled in the art that the number of terminals of the equipment (100a, 100b) can be configured (increased or decreased) according to the number of connector ends (302a, 304a, 302b, 304b) nodes present in the wiring harness (300a, 300b) to be compared using the equipment (100b) as needed.

[0084] In one embodiment, the workstation (160) is connected to a server (not shown) where the comparison details are updated.

[0085] In an alternative embodiment ( Figure 7 ), the workstation (160) is connected to the supply device (145) to control the power supply (140) from the supply device (145).

[0086] Now refer to Figure 8, showing another alternative embodiment of the equipment (100c). The equipment (100c) includes a plurality of workstations (160a, 160b, 160c) and a plurality of workbenches (110a, 110b, 110c). The workstations (160a, 160b, 160c) are connected to a server (500) or a cloud server, and the circuit details of the first wiring harness (300a) are updated in the corresponding memory units (168a, 168b, 168c) of the workstations (160a, 160b, 160c). The comparison details and comparison cycles are updated in real time in the cloud storage of the cloud server.

[0087] The comparison details can be used to track errors (manual or operational errors) that occurred during the test (compare) operation.

[0088] In yet another alternative embodiment of the device (100d), the device (100d) is connected to an authentication system (190) (see Fig. 9 ). The authentication system (190) is adapted to provide access to the device (100d) to the authenticated user only when the authentication system (190) is operated accordingly.

[0089] The utility model provides a method (200) for comparing wiring harnesses (300a, 300b) (see Fig.10 ).

[0090] The method (200) starts at step 201.

[0091] At step 202, two or more terminals (120a, 120b) are arranged on a workbench (110).

[0092] In step 203, the terminals (120a and 120b) are adapted to receive one or more connector ends (302a, 3024, 302b, 304b) of the wiring harness (300a, 300b). Each terminal (120a, 120b) is electrically coupled to a power supply (140). In addition, one terminal (120a, 120b) is coupled to a control unit (150a, 150b) of one or more control units (150a, 150b). The control units (150a, 150b) are coupled to a workstation (160) via a wireless network (164). The workstation (160) has a memory unit (168) and a processor (166).

[0093] Additionally, at step 204, circuit details of a first wiring harness (300a) of the one or more wiring harnesses (300) are stored in the memory unit (168).

[0094] At step 205, a second wiring harness (300b) is connected to the terminals (120a, 120b).

[0095] At step 206, the power supply (140) is supplied to the terminals (120a, 120b) so as to supply the electrical parameters to the second wiring harness (300b). The control unit (150a, 150b) is adapted to transmit information related to the electrical parameter(s) sensed at the terminals (120a, 120b) to the workstation (160) via the wireless network (164).

[0096] At step 207, the processor (166) compares the information received from the control units (150a, 150b) with pre-stored circuit details of the first wiring harness (300a).

[0097] At step 208, the processor (166) is adapted to provide the comparison details via a display (170) connected to the processor. The method (200) ends at step 209.

[0098] Therefore, the utility model has the advantage of providing equipment (100a, 100b, 100c, 100d) for wiring harnesses (300a, 300b). The equipment (100, 100b, 100c, 100d) is used to compare two or more wiring harnesses (300a and 300b). The test equipment (100, 100b, 100c, 100d) is used to compare a single standard wiring harness (300a) with a plurality of other wiring harnesses (300b) with modifications of circuit details, or vice versa. Since there is a wireless connection (164) between the control unit (150a, 150b, 150'a, 150'b) and the processor (166), the equipment (100a, 100b, 100c, 100d) is simple in construction compared with existing test equipment.

[0099] For each new test (comparison) requirement, the details of the new first wiring harness (300a) are stored (modified) in the memory unit (168). A corresponding comparison (test) activity is performed on the second wiring harness (300b) compared to the first wiring harness (300a). Therefore, no new equipment is required to meet the new requirements for comparing the new wiring harness. Therefore, compared to existing test equipment (prior art), the equipment (100) reduces the testing cost of the wiring harness (300a, 300b). The equipment (100) is easy to operate. The equipment (100a, 100b, 100c, 100d) provides various ways or modes of storing the details of the standard wiring harness (300) in the memory unit (168) of the equipment (100a, 100b, 100c, 100d) for comparison with other wiring harnesses.

[0100] The foregoing descriptions of specific embodiments of the present invention are given for the purpose of illustration and description. They are not intended to be exhaustive or to limit the present invention to the precise form disclosed, and it is clear that many modifications and variations are possible in light of the above teachings. The embodiments are selected and described in order to best explain the principles of the present invention and its practical application, so that other technical personnel in the field can best utilize the present invention and various embodiments with various modifications suitable for the intended specific use. It should be understood that various omissions and equivalent substitutions can be envisioned when circumstances may suggest or become advantageous, but such omissions and substitutions are intended to cover the present application or embodiments without departing from the scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An apparatus for comparing wiring harnesses, the apparatus comprising: Workbench (110); Two or more terminals (120a, 120b, 120c), the two or more terminals (120a, 120b, 120c) are arranged on the workbench (110), and the two or more terminals (120a, 120b, 120c) receive the connector ends (302a, 304a, 302b, 304b) of the wiring harness; a display (170) operatively connected to the terminal; a power supply (140) electrically coupled to each terminal; one or more control units (150a, 150b), said control units being connected to respective said terminals, The equipment is characterized in that the equipment also includes a workstation (160), which is connected to the control unit (150a, 150b) via a wireless connection (164), and the workstation (160) includes a user interface (162) for configuring the circuit details of the first wiring harness (300a) in the wiring harness, a memory unit (168) for storing the circuit details, and a processor (166) connected to the display (170) and the memory unit (168), the control unit (150a, 150b) senses the electrical parameters at the terminal connected to the second wiring harness (300b) in the wiring harness and generates a sensing signal, and sends the sensing signal to the processor (166), the processor compares the sensing signal with the circuit details and outputs the comparison data to the display (170).

2. The device for comparing wiring harnesses according to claim 1, characterized in that Each wiring harness includes one or more wire segments and two or more connector ends (302a, 304a, 302b, 304b), and wherein the circuit details include the number of nodes, the number of wire segments, the connectivity between the wire segments, the electrical continuity or voltage drop along the wire segments and the wiring harness, and the charge density in the nodes when a predetermined amount of current is supplied.

3. The device for comparing wiring harnesses according to claim 1, characterized in that Each terminal (120a, 120b, 120c) is connected to a supply (145) that receives an electrical parameter including electrical continuity, electromotive force, potential, charge, resistance, impedance, capacitance or common frequency transmitted through the harness.

4. The device for comparing wiring harnesses according to claim 1, characterized in that The wireless connection (164) includes one of: a mesh topology (164c), a partially connected mesh topology, a ring topology (164d), a dual ring topology, a star topology (164a), an extended star topology, a bus topology (164b), a tree topology, or a hybrid topology.

5. The apparatus for comparing wiring harnesses according to claim 1, characterized in that The circuit details are stored in the memory unit (168) by connecting the first wiring harness (300a) to the corresponding terminals, and the control unit (150a, 150b) generates electrical parameters sensed at the terminals, and the sensed electrical parameters are stored as circuit details in the memory unit (168) of the workstation (160).

6. The device for comparing wiring harnesses according to claim 5, characterized in that The control unit (150a, 150b) comprises: a transceiver (152a, 152b) that receives signals from the workstation (160) and sends signals to the workstation (160); and A sensing unit (154a, 154b), wherein the sensing unit (154a, 154b) senses an electrical parameter at the corresponding terminal, the sensing unit (154a, 154b) is electrically connected to the terminal, and the sensing unit (154a, 154b) is connected to the transceiver (152a, 152b) for transmitting the sensed signal.

7. The apparatus for comparing wiring harnesses according to claim 1, characterized in that The workstation (160) modifies the connection between the terminals (120a, 120b, 120c) by actuating the corresponding control units (150a, 150b, 150c) based on the stored circuit details of the first wiring harness (300a).

8. The device for comparing wiring harnesses according to claim 3, characterized in that The supply device (145) includes an interface (147) for controlling the operation of the supply device (145).

9. The apparatus for comparing wiring harnesses according to claim 3, characterized in that The control unit also includes: a transceiver (152a, 152b), the transceiver (152a, 152b) communicating with the workstation (160); a sensing unit (154a, 154b), the sensing unit (154a, 154b) being electrically coupled to the terminal; A regulating unit (156a, 156b) is connected to the transceiver (152a, 152b), the supply device (145) and the corresponding terminal.

10. The apparatus for comparing wiring harnesses according to claim 6, characterized in that The workstation (160) modifies the connection between the terminals based on the circuit details of the first wiring harness (300a) by sending instructions to the transceiver to activate the control unit to adjust the electrical parameters supplied to the terminals.

11. The apparatus for comparing wiring harnesses according to claim 3, characterized in that The workstation (160) controls the power supply provided by the supply device (145).

12. The apparatus for comparing wiring harnesses according to claim 1, characterized in that When the first wiring harness (300a) is connected to the terminal, in a first cycle, the power supply (140) is provided between the first terminal and the second terminal through the first wiring harness (300a); and in a second cycle, the power supply (140) is provided between the second terminal and the first terminal through the first wiring harness (300a); and when the second wiring harness (300b) is connected to the terminal, in a third cycle, the power supply (140) is provided between the first terminal and the second terminal through the second wiring harness (300b), and in a fourth cycle, the power supply (140) is provided between the second terminal and the first terminal through the second wiring harness (300b).

13. The apparatus for comparing wiring harnesses according to claim 1, characterized in that The equipment includes a plurality of workstations and a plurality of workbenches, wherein the workstations are connected to a server (500) or a cloud server, and the circuit details of the first wiring harness (300a) are updated in real time in a memory unit of the workstation and in a cloud storage.

14. The apparatus for comparing wiring harnesses according to claim 1, characterized in that The device is connected to an authentication system (190) which provides access to an authenticated user only when the authentication system (190) is activated.

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