CA1036335A

CA1036335A - Apparatus for installing insulated conductors in insulation-piercing contacts of an electrical connector

Info

Publication number: CA1036335A
Application number: CA210,375A
Authority: CA
Inventors: John P. Nijman
Original assignee: Bunker Ramo Corp
Current assignee: Bunker Ramo Corp
Priority date: 1973-10-01
Filing date: 1974-09-30
Publication date: 1978-08-15
Also published as: JPS5061688A; SE7411910L; GB1486834A; FR2246996B1; FR2246996A1; DE2445084A1; AU7342374A; US3866293A; GB1486833A; AU501119B2

Abstract

ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE

This invention relates to a method and apparatus for terminating insulated conductors in respective insulation-piercing contacts of an electrical connector. Prior art terminating machines are rather complex and expensive, and manual insertion becomes an extremely slow and expensive process when it is necessary to terminate a large number of conductors, particularly as a continuously repetitive operation. The present invention overcomes these defects of the prior art by providing the technique of supporting the connector on a base with the conductor channels exposed to receive the respective conductors, and moving an insertion tool generally parallel to the connector to sequentially insert the conductors within the respective channels and insulation-piercing contacts. The connector may comprise a notched ridge, with each notch in communication with a respec-tive channel for alignment before insertion. The entire terminating apparatus resembles a credit card impression mechanism with a wheeled carriage supported to traverse a base in opposite directions. In one embodiment, a wire cutter, supported by the carriage, advances in front of the insertion tool to cut the ends of the wires before insertion, thereby performing the insertion operation upon return of the carriage.
In a second embodiment, the insertion tool includes the wire cutter and operates to cut the wires contemporaneously with insertion. In another embodiment, a wire cutter is carried between a wire pulling and seating member and the insertion tool, whereby the individual wires are snugged in each channel, and then cut to a predetermined length before insertion.

Description

- ~ 1036335 Thl9 lnventlon relates to a method and apparatus ~or termlnating in~ulated conductors in respectlve insulation-pierclng contacts of an electrical connector, and electrical connector constructlon whlch advantageously facilitates con-ductor lnsertion. More speciflcally, the invention relates to technlques for sequentially lnserting insulated conductors ln respective insulation-pierclng contacts of an electrical con-nector.
Termination of the ~ree ends o~ a plurality o~ con-ductors ln respectlve lnsulation-plercing contacts o~ an electrical connector is generally known in the art and ranges rrom machine insertion of a plurality o~ conductors simultane- ~-ously in respective insulation-piercing contacts to individual manual insertion of conductors. Each Or these techniques has its advantages and disadvantages. For example, a machine may be utilized to advantage to quickly insert a large number of conductors. However, such machines are rather complex and expensive. On the other hand, manual insertion is relatively inexpenslve in 8ituations where a few conductors are to be terminated, yet becomes an extremely slow and expenslve process when lt is necessary to terminate a large number of conductors, particularly as a continuously repetitive operation.
It is therefore the primary ob~ect of the invention to provide a method and apparatus for terminating a plurality o~
electrical conductors in respective insulation-piercing contacts of an electrical connector by utilizing the advantages of both machine and hand insertion techniques, while at the same time overcoming the disadvantages normally attendant to machine and manual operations.
Another ob~ect Or the invention is to provide a new and improved manually operated conductor terminating machine.
Another ob~ect of the invention is to provide an ~ -improved electrical connector construction which facilitates t, .c .

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~ 1036335 the posltlonlng Or conductors for machlne insertlon.
Another obJect of the invention is to provlde a new and lmproved manually operated conductor insertion machine whlch sequentlally terminates a plurality Or conductors ln respective insulatlon-piercing contacts disposed ln respectlve parallel allgned channels of an electrical connector.
Still another ob~ect of the lnventlon ls to provlde cuttlng apparatus operable to sequentlally cut a plurality of conductors at a predetermlned dlstance from respectlve lnsula-1~ tlon-plerclng contacts.
A manually operated conductor lnsertlon machine com-prises a base for supporting an electrical connector and a cable whose indivldual conductors are to be terminated ln the connector, and a wheeled carriage mounted on the base for move-ment therealong ln opposite dlrections. The base and carrlage are generally constructed along the lines of the well-known credlt card impression machlnes, and it will be readlly under-stood rrom the following description that such machin0s may be adapted to great advantage to practlce the present lnvention.
The carriage carrles a rotatable member in the form of a gear whose teeth are a plurality of conductor insertion tools which sequentially press and force the conductors into the insulation-piercing contacts within respective channels of the connector as the carriage is moved along the base.
In two of the embodiments of the invention specifi-cally described hereln, the gear is a circular gear mounted for - rotatlon about a vertical axls as the carriage moves along the base. In one of these two embodiments, the gear pe~forms the insertion functlon as the carriage moves in:one direction, while in the other embodiment, insertion is performed as the carriage moves in the opposite direction. In the first of these embodiments, a cutter carried by the carriage moves ahead of the insertlon gear, while in the other embodiment, the t~,~

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individual gear teeth include a cutting edge for cutting the conductors as they are being inserted.
In a third embodiment of the invention disclosed herein, a sled-like member is advanced by the carriage to snug the conductors into the respective connector channels prepara-tory for insertion, The sled-like member carries a cutter for subsequently cutting the conductors to a desired length prior to insertion by a following insertion gear, The insertion gear in this embodiment is in the form of a pivotally mounted sector gear, An electrical connector is advantageously provided with at least one ridge along the rear end thereof with a plu-rality of notches which communicate with respective ones 'of! the connector channels which have the insulation-piercing contacts mounted therein, The individual conductors may be easily posi-tioned with the aid of these notches ~or subsequent insertion and trimming operationsO
The invention is particularly directed toward an ap-paratus for terminating a plurality of free-ended insulated electrical conductors to an electrical connector having rear-wardly disposed opposite sides which support at least one row of generally parallel and aligned insulation-piercing contact portions, The apparatus has support means for supporting the electrical connector in a ,position to expose the aligned con-tact portions so that respective conductors may be positioned ~ -directly adjacent thereto, Insertion means are included for pressing the individual conductors into respective insulation-piercing contact portions, The insertion means comprises a rotatable member including a plurality of conductor insertion . . -,, ~ 30 members disposed to seque~tially enter the contact portions and ; carriage means for moving the rotatable member along the row of contact portions to sequentially terminate the conductors in the contact portions, ~' C
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Other objects, features, and advantages of the invention, its organization, construction, and operation will be best under-stood from the following detailed description of preferred embo-diments of the invention, taken in conjunction with the ac-companying drawings, on which:
FIG, 1 is a pictorial representation of a first embo-diment of a manually operated conductor terminating machine, shown during a cuttlng operation and just prior to conductor insertion;
FIG, 2 is a sectional, somewhat diagrammatic illustra-tion of the relationship of the cutting apparatus illustrated in FIG, l;
FIG, 3 is a pictorial representation of a second embo-diment of the invention, showing the utilization of a conductor aligning comb and cutting bar which is cooperable with an in-sertion gear having cutting edges on the piece thereof;

FIG. 4 ls a plctorial representatlon of a portion of the cutting bar lllustrated in FIa. 3, shown on a larger scale;
FIG. 5 1B an exploded plctorial representatlon of a third termlnating machine constructed according to the invention, speclfically showing conductor snugging sled-like members which carry wire cutting blades in advance of a sector gear insertion tool;
FIG. 6 is an elevation of a sled-like member utillzed ln the apparatus of FIG. 5;
FIG. 7 is a bottom view of the sled-like member illus-trated ln FIG. 6; .
FIG. 8 is a partial sectional view taken along the line VIII-VIII of FIG. 6; and FIG. 9 is a side view of an insertion tool which advan-'i.ageously may be utilized as the gear teeth for the apparatus illustrated in FIGS. 1, 3 and 5, shown on a greatly enlarged .
scale. :~ :
: Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a conductor terminating machine is g~nerally referenced 10 and illustrated as comprising a base 12, and a carriage 14 rollingly supported by the base 12.
At one end, the base 12 is provided with a spacing and - fastening structure 16 for securing a pair of coplanar spaced plates, or spaced legs of the same plate, 18 and 20 in a ver-- tically spaced relationship with respect to a similar plate structure (only one being shown) in the form of the plate 32 to form a longitudinal channel 34 on each side of the base 12.
~ Inasmuch as each of the embodiments of the apparatus of the invention are symmetrical, therefore the same on each side of .
the apparatus, only one side will be discussed in detail herein.
The spaced plates 18 and 20 define a channel 22 for receiving an electrical connector 24. The electrical connector 24 is provided with a groove 26 on each side thereof which receives a cutting bar 28 which is fixed to the base 12. Upon : -4-t A

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)36335 Lnsertion lnto the slot 22~ the electrlcal connector ls moved agalnst a lock stop 30 and ls locked lnto position. Another stop may be affixed to the base 12 at the other end of the con-nector 24, if necessary.
The carrlage 14 comprlses a pair of downwardly extend-lng slde plates 40 and 42 whlch carry a plurality of rollers 36 wlthin the channel 34. The rollers 36 are suitably ~ournalled to the side plate~ at 38.
The carriage 14 al~o comprises a handle 44 secured between the side plate~ 40 and 42 for moving the carriage back and ~orth along the base and carrying the cutting and insertion mechanisms. A pair of forwardly and downwardly extending arms 46 and 48 rotatably carry a shaft 50 and a palr of cutting wheels 52 and 54 therebetween. Each cutting wheel includes a grooved surface 56 for receiving the individual conductors therein and a flange 58 having a cutting edge 60 which cooper-ates with a cutting edge 62 of the cutting bar 28 to cut the lndividual conductors at a predetermined distance from their respective insulation-piercing contacts~ as the carriage is 20 advanced to the left in FIG. 1.
The carriage 14 also rotatably supports a cylindrical gear 64 having a plurality of teeth 66 which may advantageously be in the form of the insertion blade illustrated in FIG. 9.
The gear ~64 is rotatably mounted at 68 and adapted . ~ .
for movement toward and away from the connector by a mechanism illustrated at 70. This mechanism may ta~e the form of an angularly disposed slot or a lever and stop arrangement wherein the gear 64 does not function to insert the conductors in their -~ respective channels on movement of the carriage to~ard the left, but is moved toward the connector for the insertion operation as the carriage is moved in the opposite direction, This feature permits an operator to clear wire trimmings out of the way before insertion, if necessary.

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The connector 24 i~ provided with a longitudinally extending slot 72 whlch receives all of the conductors therein for guided direction into individual contact containing channels 74 by communication through respective notches 75 between the longitudinal groove 72 and the individual channels 74. This feature aids ln guiding and aligning the conductors 76 for proper cutting and insertion, and may also be advantageously utlllzed with the other embodiment 9 of the invention.
,,~ ; In operatlon, the connector 24 ls slid into the slot 22 to lock ~top 30 and the ~b~e of 78 is pressed lnto a cavlty 82 of a holder 80 through a narrower passage formed between a pair of pro~ectlons 84 and 86. The conductors are then dressed into the comb slots or notches 7~ in accordance with a desired contact termination schedule. The carrlage 14 ls then moved toward the left to push down and snug the wires within the notches 75 and to cut the individual conductors to predetermined len~ths. During thls movement, the gear 64 is laterally dis-placed away from the connector. Finally, the carriage 14 is returned in the opposite direction, during which tlme the gear 64 ls moved toward the connectors 90 that the insertlon teeth 66 promptly insert the conductors 76 into the respective insu-lation-piercing contacts mounted within the channels 74. The terminated cable and connector is then removed from the fixture.
Referring now to FIGS. 3 and 4, it is readily apparent that the base 12 and the carriage 14 are basically the same as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, and a detailed description of that apparatus will not be given here. In FIG. 3~ however, a manually operated terminating machine is generally indicated at 88 as comprising, on each side of the machine, a comb 90 having a portion 92 with an elongate ad~ustment aperture 94 therein which receives a screw 96 for permitting movement of the comb 90 toward and away from the connector 24. The comb 90 includes another portion 98 which extends into the groove 26 in a manner t~; - 6-: . -,: , ~036335 ~imllar to the cuttlng member 28 of FIGS. 1 and 2. The portlon - 98 lncludeq a plurallty of notcheq 100 between the flngers 102 of the comb, and a back edge 104 Or each notch which forms a cuttlng edge for the respectlve conductor 76.
In thls embodiment of the lnventlon, the cuttlng and - lnsertlon operations are performed ln a sequentlal, staggered sequence durlng a slngle traverse of the carrlage 14 along the connector. More speclflcally, the carrlage 14 carrles a cylin-drlcal gear 106 having gear teeth 108 wlth a sharp lower edge (edge 182 in FIG. 9) which cooperates wlth the edge 104 wlthin e~ch notch 100 to cut the conductor lmmediately prlor to lnser-tion into the respective channel. As the gear 106 traverses the connector 24, each conductor is flrst cut and then lnserted before the next conductor ls cut and lnserted.
; In operatlon, the connector 24 ls slld lnto the slot 22 ln much the same manner as in FIG. 1 to rest against a lock stop (not shown), The comb 90 may be moved laterally to permit ease of entry o~ the connector 24, or to permit different ' wldths of connectors to be terminated on the same machlne. The cable 78 i8 pressed into the holder 80 and the individual con-ductors are pressed into the notches 75 and the notches 100.
The carriage 14 ls then moved to carry the gear 106 along the connector 24 to sequentlally cut and lnsert the conductors into - , .
the slots 74. The carriage 14 is then returned to the left and the terminated cable and conductor are removed from the fixture.
Referring now to FIGS. 5-8, a thlrd embodi ent of the invention, the most preferred embodiment, is lllustrated as -' comprising a pair of cooperable sections.112 by which the base may be shaped, or which may be carried on the base of the pre-viously described apparatus. The cooperable members 111 and 113 of the apparatus 112 define a slot 122 for recei~ing the connector 24 as previously described.
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The member 113 (an~ likewise the member 111) comprlses a horizontal surface 114 and an lntegral cutting bar portion 116 having a cutting edge 118 disposed parallel to the connector ~ :
24 and partially received withln the groove 26 thereof.
The member 113 (and the member 111) includes a down-wardly and outwardly sloping surrace 120 for draping of' the conductors 76. :~.
Inasmuch as the apparatus 112 may replace or be mounted upon the upper surface 18 of the base 12 illustrated in FIGS. 1 10 and 3, a channel for recelving the rollers Or the carriage is diagrammatically illustrated at reference 34 as in the previous -rigure 8 . ~ `;
In this particular embodiment, the carriage 130 is also provlded with a plurality or rollers or wheels 36 ~ournalled at 38 to a pair of downwardly and forwardly extending slde walls 132 and 134.
The side walls 132 and 134 are spaced apart and inter-connected by a member 136 which carrles a handle 138 connected between a pair o~ spaced extendlng arms 140 and 142.
~0 The member 136 lncludes a forwardly faclng surface 144 `~.
which carrles a pair of sled-like members or boots 146 and 148, ~ . -each Or which includes a forwardly and upwardly extending rounded edged surface 150 and a cutting blade 152 mounted within a recess 166. - -; Each boot 146, 148 includes a downwardly pro~ecting wedge-like portion 154 for moving the trimmed conductors out-wardly of the connector 24 after the same have been cut from the ends of the conductors 76.
Each boot 146, 148 is designed to move along the 30 cutting edge 118 to snug the conductors into their respective notches (75 in FIGS. 1 and 3) in such a manner that the cutting blade 152 cooperates with the cutting edge 118 to cut the con-ductors. The trimrned ends of the conductors 76 are ploughed -: ~
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.utwardly by the wedge-llke portions 154 to dlsplace the same in a nonlnter~erlng relatlonshlp wlth the subsequently recelved conductor end lnsertion apparatus.
In thls embodlment, a sector gear 156 ls plvotally mounted to the member 136 rOr rotatlon about an axls, here the pin 158. The sector gear lncludes a plurallty of teeth 160, constructed as lllustrated in FIG. 9, ~or insertlng the trimmed ~ ~-conductors 75 into the respectlve channels and insulatlon-pierclng contacts of the connector 24.
A8 the carrlage 130 ls moved to the le~t ln FIG. 5, the lndivldual conductors are sequentlally snugged, then cut, and then lnserted by the teeth 160 Or the sector gear 156. In order to inltlate the lnsertlon operation, the sector gear 156 is ~ ;~
provlded wlth a hook or other means 162 for engaglng a pln 164, or the like, to lnltlate plvotal actlon about the pln 158.
Referrlng to FIGS. 6-8, one of the boots 146 ls lllus- ;
trated, partlcularly from an inslde vlew thereof, wherein a cuttlng blade 152 ls secured wlthln a recess 166 by a screw 164.
The cuttlng blade 152 includes a sharpened cutting edge 162 whlch 1~ dlsposed at an angle to create a cuttlng depth below horizontal, that 1~, below the cutting edge 118 of, for example, 0.30-0.40 lnches. This dlmension ls lllustrated by the arrows referenced 186. The angle of attack of the rounded edge surrace 150 has been found to be 15, the plough 30, ln a particular ; application, with the rounded edge being at 1/8 inch radius.
The particular blade angle found advantageous in cooperation with the other angular structure was 8, with respect to hori-zontal.
- As can be seen from FIG. 6~ and particularly from FIG. 7, a waste conductor plough 154 is provided to extend downwardly from an angle to urge the trimmed conductors out of the way Or the advancing sector gear 156.
It will be noted from the drawings that the surface _9_ :
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' 1036335 168 ls adapted to sllde over the conductors and snug the same as they are advanced between the sur~ace 150 and the cutting bar 116, severing of the conductors occurring a~ter snugglng of the same.
Re~erring to FIG. 9, an elevational view of an lnsertion tool 170 is lllustrated as comprising a conductor engaglng and pressing edge 172 having a palr of spaced pro~ectlons 174, 176 spaced to span a set of lnsulation-piercing contacts and insure botto~lng o~ the conductor wlthln the contacts. The lnsertlon , blade 170 may also lnclude a narrow edge 178 formed by mllling one or more faces of the blade, as lndicated at 180, to press the conductor into a strain release mechanlsm formed at the outermost ends of the connector, in the area of the notched ;~
rldge having the notches 75 therein, or simply to insure press-lng of the conductor within the channels and notches 74 and 75.
Although this particular insertion tool blade construction is lllustrated hereln, any other suitable tool structure may be employed for the gear teeth of the gears 64, 106, and 156 of FIGS. 1, 3 and 5.
Although I have described my invention by re~erence to ~peci~ic illustrative embodiments thereof, these illustrations have been provided as non-limiting examples of the lnvention, :: .
and many changes and modifications of the invention~may become apparent to those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. I therefore intend to include within the patent warranted hereon all such changes and modi~ications as may reasonably and properly be included within the scope of my contribution to t~e art.

Claims

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as follows:

1. An apparatus for terminating a plurality of free-ended insulated electrical conductors to an electrical connector having rearwardly disposed opposite sides which support at least one row of generally parallel and aligned insulation-piercing contact portions, said apparatus comprising: support means for supporting the electrical connector in a position to expose the aligned contact portions so that respective conductors may be positioned directly adjacent thereto;
insertion means for pressing the individual conductors into respective insulation-piercing contact portions, said insertion means comprising: a rotatable member including a plurality of conductor insertion members disposed to sequentially enter the contact portions; and carriage means for moving said rotatable member along the row of contact portions to sequentially terminate the conductors in the contact portions.

2. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said carriage means comprises a handle for manually moving said carriage.

3. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said rotatable member includes a cylindrical member having said insertion members mounted circumferentially thereabout.

4. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 3, comprising means mounting said cylindrical member for rotation along more than one line at predetermined distances from the connector for engagement between said rotatable member and the connector only when said carriage moves in one direction parallel to the connector.

5. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said rotatable member includes a sector gear member having said insertion members as sector gear teeth, said sector gear member pivotally mounted on said carriage means.

6. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 5, comprising means on said support means for engaging said sector gear member to initiate pivotal movement thereof as the sector gear member is moved along the connector.

7. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, including cutting means for cutting the conductors to a predetermined distance from the insulation-piercing contact portions.

8. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 7, wherein said cutting means includes a fixed cutter mounted on said support means and a movable cutter mounted for movement relative to said support means and cooperable with said first cutter to cut the conductors.

9. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 8, wherein said movable cutter is mounted on said carriage means in a position for movement behind said rotatable member.

10. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 8, wherein said movable cutter includes an edge on each of said insertion members.

11. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 8, wherein said fixed cutter comprises a comb-shaped member having con-ductor-receiving notches aligned with the contact portions and including a cutting edge at the rear of each notch.

12. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 11, wherein said rotatable member carries said movable cutter, said movable cutter includes a cutting edge on each of said insertion members positioned to rotate across each of said notches and the respective notch cutting edge.

13. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 8, wherein said movable cutter is mounted on said carriage means in a position for movement in advance of said rotatable member.

14. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 2, wherein said movable cutter comprises a sled-like member including a first portion for engaging and urging the conductor into the contact portions, and a cutting blade carried on said sled-like member spaced from said first portion.

15. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 14, comprising means on said sled-like member adjacent said cutting blade for displacing the cut-off conductor ends out of the path of said rotatable member.

16. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 8, wherein said movable cutter is mounted for movement along and in close proximity to said fixed cutter,

17. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 8, wherein said movable cutter includes a rotatable wheel having a first portion for rolling movement over said fixed cutter and a flange portion overhanging said fixed cutter and having a cutting edge moving along said fixed cutter.

18. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 17, wherein said first portion includes a series of axially-parallel grooves for receiving the conductors as said portion rolls thereover.

19. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 4, wherein said rotatable member is mounted for rotation about a vertical axis.

20. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 19, wherein said mounting means mounts said rotatable member for rotation about a vertical axis which is shiftable toward and away from the connector, respectively, as the carriage moves in opposite directions.

21. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said carriage has support wheels and said support means comprises means for supporting said carriage support wheels.

22. The apparatus as claimed in Claim 1, wherein said contact portions have insulation-piercing notches and said apparatus further comprises means for holding said plurality of conductors spaced apart at positions over the notches with the free ends extending beyond the notches.