Patent Application
20130241571
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a high voltage testing device which uses a coaxial cable as an object to be inspected and applies a high voltage between a center conductor (a core wire) and a shield conductor of the coaxial cable to carry out a test of an electric insulation state and a high voltage testing method of the high voltage testing device.
2. Description of the Related Art
For instance, when an input of a radio device such as a radio or a television is connected to an antenna, a coaxial cable is ordinarily used. Such kind of coaxial cable is formed with a center conductor having a prescribed thickness and a shield conductor arranged in a tubular form so as to surround the periphery of the center conductor with a prescribed insulating material sandwiched between the shield conductor and the center conductor. When an input of a broadcasting radio receiver mounted on a vehicle is connected to an antenna, such a coaxial cable is also used.
As disclosed in JP-A-2001-202836, a capacitor may be sometimes inserted into a part of a center conductor of a coaxial cable.
On the other hand, when a user employs an electric wire such as this kind of coaxial cable for various uses, the user needs to carry out an electric inspection to ensure a safety or a quality of the electric wire. Specifically, the user recognizes that insulation is ensured between the center conductor and the shield conductor of the coaxial cable. Then, the user applies a DC high voltage (for instance, 1000 V) to a part between them to measure an insulation resistance or applies an alternating voltage (for instance, an amplitude is 1000 V) of a frequency (for instance, 50 Hz) the same as that of a commercial AC power to recognize that a problem does not arise in withstand voltage.
Further, for instance, JPA-2005-265684 discloses an insulation monitor which monitors a deterioration of an electric insulator of an electric wire in a switchboard. Namely, a technique is disclosed that an electromagnetic wave radiated due to a partial discharge caused by the deterioration of the insulation is detected and monitored by using an antenna arranged in the switchboard.
For instance, when an insulation resistance of an ordinary coaxial cable is measured, two electrodes of an insulation resistance tester are connected to a center conductor and a shield conductor of the coaxial cable as an object to be inspected and a prescribed voltage is applied to the electrodes so that a test may be simply carried out.
However, as described above, when the coaxial cable having the capacitor inserted into a part of the center conductor is tested, various problems may possibly arise. Namely, since one end and the other end of the coaxial cable in the longitudinal direction thereof cable are separated from each other in a direct current by the capacitor, when the two electrodes of the insulation resistance tester are merely connected to the center conductor and the shield conductor in the one end of the coaxial cable, only a range from the one end of the coaxial cable to one end of the capacitor can be tested. Accordingly, after the test of the one end side of the coaxial cable is finished, the two electrodes of the insulation resistance tester are reconnected to the center conductor and the shield conductor in the other end of the same coaxial cable to carry out a test again.
Further, when an insulation resistance test or a withstand voltage test is carried out, a high voltage of about 1000 V is ordinarily applied. A withstand voltage of the capacitor itself built in the coaxial cable is ordinarily about 50 V at the most. Accordingly, when an operator makes an erroneous connecting operation during the test or when there is a problem in an insulation property of the coaxial cable itself, the capacitor of the coaxial cable may be possibly broken by applying an excessively high voltage.
The present invention is devised by considering the above-described circumstances, and it is an object of the present invention to provide a high voltage testing device which can carry out a test of an entire part of a cable by a simple operation without breaking a capacitor even when a coaxial cable having a capacitor built therein is tested.
In order to achieve the above-described object, a high voltage testing device and a high voltage testing method according to the present invention is characterized by below-described (1) to (8).
(1) In a high voltage testing device which uses as an object to be inspected a coaxial cable including a central conductor and a shield conductor arranged so as to surround a periphery of the central conductor with a prescribed insulating material sandwiched between the central conductor and the shield conductor and applies a high voltage between the central conductor and the shield conductor of the coaxial cable to carry out a test of an electric insulation state, the high voltage testing device includes: a cable connecting part that respectively connects two electrodes of an output of a tester which outputs a high voltage to the central conductor and the shield conductor of the coaxial cable as the object to be inspected, and the cable connecting part includes a core wire short-circuiting part which electrically short-circuits between one end and the other end the longitudinal direction of the central conductor of the coaxial cable and a shield wire short-circuiting part which electrically short-circuits between one end and the other end in the longitudinal direction of the shield conductor of the coaxial cable.
(2) A high voltage testing device according to the above-described (1) further includes a time constant circuit that is connected between the output of the tester and an input of the cable connecting part and that has at least one resistor and at least one capacitor.
(3) In a high voltage testing device according to the above-described (2), the time constant circuit has a surge removing circuit which absorbs an abnormal high voltage.
(4) In a high voltage testing device according to the above-described (1), the cable connecting part includes two or more coaxial connectors which are respectively connected to two connectors provided in one end side and the other end side in the longitudinal direction of the coaxial cable as the object to be inspected.
(5) A high voltage testing method of a high voltage testing device, includes the steps of: providing, as an object to be inspected, a coaxial cable including a central conductor and a shield conductor arranged so as to surround a periphery of the central conductor with a prescribed insulating material sandwiched between the central conductor and the shield conductor; connecting two electrodes of an output of a tester which outputs a high voltage to the central conductor and the shield conductor of the coaxial cable respectively; electrically short-circuiting between one end and the other end in the longitudinal direction of the central conductor of the coaxial cable and electrically short-circuiting between one end and the other end in the longitudinal direction of the shield conductor of the coaxial cable: and applying a high voltage between the central conductor and the shield conductor of the coaxial cable to carry out a test of an electric insulation state.
(6) The high voltage testing method according to (5), further includes a step of moderating a leading edge and a trailing edge of a wave form of the output of the tester by a time constant circuit.
(7) The high voltage testing device according to (6), further includes a step of absorbing an abnormal high voltage by a surge removing circuit of the time constant circuit.
According to the high voltage testing device having the structure of the above-described (1), even when a capacitor is provided in the coaxial cable as the object to be inspected, the high voltage can be prevented from being applied between terminals of the capacitor. Further, the voltage for a test is applied to both the ends of the coaxial cable at the same time through the core wire short-circuiting part. Accordingly, an entire part of the coaxial cable can be tested by the test of one time without carrying out the tests individually two times. Even when the length of the coaxial cable as the object to be inspected is relatively large, the voltage applied between the terminals of the capacitor can be restrained from increasing.
According to the high voltage testing device having the structure of the above-described (2), a change speed of the high voltage applied to the coaxial cable as the object to be inspected from the tester can be moderated. Thus, an influence of an inductor component in the coaxial cable is mitigated. Accordingly, even when the length of the coaxial cable as the object to be inspected is relatively large, the voltage applied between the terminals of the capacitor can be restrained from increasing.
According to the high voltage testing device having the structure of the above-described (3), when an abnormal high voltage is temporarily applied due to any cause, the surge removing circuit absorbs the abnormal high voltage. Accordingly, the voltage applied between the terminals of the capacitor can be restrained from increasing.
According to the high voltage testing device having the structure of the above-described (4), when both the ends of the coaxial cable as the object to be inspected are merely connected to the two coaxial connectors of the cable connecting part, the test can be safely carried out. Namely, an excessively high voltage can be prevented from being applied to the capacitor in the coaxial cable by a mal-operation.
The present invention is briefly explained as described above. Further, when mode for carrying out the invention described below is read by referring to the attached drawings, a detail of the present invention will be more clarified.
The above objects and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent by describing in detail preferred exemplary embodiments thereof with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein:
Now, a specific exemplary embodiment of a high voltage testing device of the present invention will be described below by referring to the drawings.
The wire harness 10 for an antenna is used, as shown in
Specifically, the harness side connector is a JASO plug adapted to a standard of Japanese Automotive Standards Organization (JASO). Further, the harness side connector 13 is a high frequency connector (HFC) for the coaxial cable.
The coaxial cable 11 has a core wire 11a which is an electrical conductor having a prescribed thickness in its central part. An outer periphery of the core wire 11a is covered with a prescribed electrically insulating material. Further, in an outer side of the electrically insulating material, a shield conductor 11b formed in a cylindrical configuration is arranged so as to surround the core wire 11a. Namely, the core wire 11a and the shield conductor 11b are coaxially arranged and the core wire and the shield conductor are insulated from each other by the electrically insulating material. Further, an outer side of the shield conductor 11b is covered with a suitable sheath (an insulator).
The capacitor 14 provided in the harness side connector 12 serves to match the coaxial cable with a signal source of an antenna system (for instance, in
Further, an electrode 12b of an outer periphery of the harness side connector 12 is connected to the shield conductor 11b in the one end 11A of the coaxial cable 11. A central electrode 13a of the harness side connector 13 is connected to the core wire 11a in the other end 11B of the coaxial cable 11. An electrode 13b of an outer periphery is connected to the shield conductor 11b in the other end 11B of the coaxial cable 11.
When the wire harness 10 for the antenna shown in
The jig for the high voltage test 20 shown in
The core wire short-circuiting part P1 is connected to a terminal 24 through the jig circuit 23. The shield wire short-circuiting part P2 is connected to a terminal 25 through the jig circuit 23. The terminals 24 and 25 of the jig circuit 23 are respectively connected to output electrodes 31 and 32 of an insulation resistance/withstand voltage tester 30.
The insulation resistance/withstand voltage tester 30 has a function for carrying out an insulation resistance test using a DC high voltage and a withstand voltage test using an AC high voltage. Namely, under a state that the DC high voltage (for instance, 1000 V) is applied between the output electrodes 31 and 32, the insulation resistance of the object to be inspected can be measured. Further, under a state that a high voltage (for instance, 1000 V) of a low frequency alternating current (for instance, 50 Hz) is applied between the output electrodes 31 and 32, whether or not an electric breakdown is generated in the object to be inspected can be identified.
The time constant circuit 23a is provided to moderate a leading edge and a trailing edge of a wave form of the DC voltage when an on/off of the DC voltage outputted by the insulation resistance/withstand voltage tester 30 are switched. In a structural example shown in
The surge removing circuit 23b is provided to protect an entire part of a system. Namely, the surge removing circuit 23b removes a surge voltage so that parts of the circuit are not respectively destroyed when an abnormally high voltage (the surge voltage) is temporarily applied due to any cause. In this structural example, the surge removing circuit 23b is formed with two diodes connected in series with polarities in reversed direction to each other. Since the surge removing circuit 23b is prepared for protection for the worst, the surge removing circuit may be omitted.
C1: an electrostatic capacity corresponding to the capacitor 14 in the harness side connector 12
R: the insulation resistance between the core wire 11a and the shield conductor 11b
C2: a floating capacity between the core wire 11a and the shield conductor 11b
L: an inductor component existing in the core wire 11a
Accordingly, the equivalent circuit of the wire harness 10 for the antenna includes the components C1, C2 and L respectively as shown in
As shown in
The equivalent circuit of the wire harness 10 for the antenna immediately after the DC voltage for the test is applied is represented as shown in
Vc1=(applied voltage)×C2/(C1+C2) (1)
Further, the equivalent circuit of the wire harness 10 for the antenna after the DC voltage for the test is applied, and then, a sufficient time elapses is represented as shown in
Namely, even when one end and the other end of the wire harness 10 for the antenna are short-circuited at the core wire short-circuiting part P1 by using the jig for the high voltage test 20, the voltage expressed by the above-described equation (1) is temporarily applied to the capacitor 14. When a level of the voltage exceeds a withstand voltage (for instance, 50 V) of the capacitor 14, the capacitor 14 may be possibly broken down.
On the other hand,
As a result, even during a period of a transient state, the voltage Vc1 appearing at both the ends of the capacitor 14 (C1) is lowered to a level as low as noise.
In
Specifically, at the time of the insulation resistance test of the wire harness 10 for the antenna, even when the DC high voltage (for instance, 1000 V) outputted by the insulation resistance/withstand voltage tester 30 is abruptly switched on and off, if the time constant circuit 23a is mounted on the jig for the high voltage test 20, the high voltage exceeding the withstand voltage can be prevented from being applied between the terminals of the capacitor 14 in the transient state. When a change of the voltage outputted from the insulation resistance/withstand voltage tester 30 is gentle, or when the influence of the inductor component L is low as in the case of the coaxial cable 11 having a relatively small length, there is a possibility that even when the time contact circuit 23a is not provided, a problem does not arise.
(Modified Example)
The harness side connector 42 is a JASO plug. The harness side connector 45 is a high frequency connector (HFC). The harness side connector 44 is a JASO mini-plug. In the harness side connector 42, a capacitor 46 is built.
A jig for a high voltage test (a high voltage testing device) 20B shown in
Further, at a core wire short-circuiting part P3, a central electrode of the tester side connector 51, a central electrode of tester side connector 52 and a central electrode of the tester side connector 53 are electrically and commonly connected. Further, at a shield wire short-circuiting part P4, an outer periphery side electrode of the tester side connector 51, an outer periphery side electrode of the tester side connector 52 and an outer periphery side electrode of the tester side connector 53 are electrically and commonly connected.
Accordingly, under a connected state as shown in
As described above, the high voltage testing device of the present invention can be used when an insulation resistance test or a withstand voltage test of, for instance, an antenna cable mounted on a vehicle is carried out. Especially, even when the cable as an object to be inspected has the capacitor built therein, the entire part of the cable can be completely tested only by the operation of one time, which contributes to an improvement of a working property. Further, since the test can be started only by connecting the connectors, an excessively high voltage can be prevented from being applied to the capacitor by a wrong connecting operation. Further, since the time constant circuit is mounted, an excessively high voltage can be prevented from being applied to the capacitor in a temporary transient state.
The present invention is described in detail by referring to the specific exemplary embodiment, however, it is to be understood to person with ordinary skill in the art that various changes or modifications may be added without deviating from the spirit and scope of the present invention.
According to the present invention, even when the coaxial cable in which the capacitor is built is tested, the entire part of the cable can be tested by a simple operation without breaking down the capacitor.
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010-246474 | Nov 2010 | JP | national |
This application is a continuation of PCT application No. PCT/JP2011/075303, which was filed on Nov. 2, 2011 based on Japanese Patent Application (No. 2010-246474) filed on Nov. 2, 2010, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Parent | PCT/JP2011/075303 | Nov 2011 | US |
| Child | 13875428 | US |
