GB2030061A - Electrical lead transfer apparatus - Google Patents
Electrical lead transfer apparatus Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- GB2030061A GB2030061A GB7933931A GB7835952A GB2030061A GB 2030061 A GB2030061 A GB 2030061A GB 7933931 A GB7933931 A GB 7933931A GB 7835952 A GB7835952 A GB 7835952A GB 2030061 A GB2030061 A GB 2030061A
- Authority
- GB
- United Kingdom
- Prior art keywords
- length
- insulated conductor
- machine
- coil spring
- measuring
- Prior art date
- Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
- Granted
Links
- 239000004020 conductor Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 137
- 238000005520 cutting process Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 84
- 238000009413 insulation Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 9
- 238000003780 insertion Methods 0.000 claims abstract description 6
- 230000037431 insertion Effects 0.000 claims abstract description 4
- 239000012858 resilient material Substances 0.000 claims abstract description 3
- 230000000694 effects Effects 0.000 claims description 9
- 239000012777 electrically insulating material Substances 0.000 claims description 6
- 230000001360 synchronised effect Effects 0.000 claims description 6
- 239000011810 insulating material Substances 0.000 claims description 2
- 238000004519 manufacturing process Methods 0.000 description 3
- 238000002788 crimping Methods 0.000 description 2
- 238000010292 electrical insulation Methods 0.000 description 1
- 239000000463 material Substances 0.000 description 1
Classifications
-
- H—ELECTRICITY
- H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
- H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
- H01R43/00—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing, assembling, maintaining, or repairing of line connectors or current collectors or for joining electric conductors
- H01R43/28—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing, assembling, maintaining, or repairing of line connectors or current collectors or for joining electric conductors for wire processing before connecting to contact members, not provided for in groups H01R43/02 - H01R43/26
Landscapes
- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
- Manufacturing Of Electrical Connectors (AREA)
- Installation Of Bus-Bars (AREA)
Abstract
Electrical lead transfer apparatus 1 for use with a measuring, cutting and insulation stripping machine 21 comprises a flexible conveyor consisting of a length of coil spring 2 of resilient material arranged in an endless loop. The spring is constrained to travel intermittently a limited distance in the direction if its length from the machine to other processing machines, viz. a terminating machine 31 and an insulating machine 41. The coils of the spring 2 constitute a multiplicity of transversely extending resilient grippers which receive cut lengths of insulated conductor from an insertion device 5 coupled to the measuring and cutting machine. An ejecting device 4 consisting of a flanged pulley is provided for ejecting each length of insulated conductor from the spring. <IMAGE>
Description
SPECIFICATION
Electrical lead transfer apparatus
Electrical leads for use with many kinds of electrical apparatus each comprise a predetermined length of flexible insulated conductor to at least one end of which an electrical termination is secured. In the manufacture of such electrical leads a flexible electically insulated conductor is fed to a first machine (hereinafter referred to as a measuring and cutting machine) which measures a predetermined length of the insulated conductor and cuts the insulated conductor to said predetermined length.Another machine or other machines is or are employed to secure an electrical termination to a stripped end of each of said predetermined lengths of insulated conductor to form an electrical lead and, in some instances, to apply a preformed housing of electrically insulating material to the or each electrical termination of each electrical lead.
To facilitate a high rate of production of such electrical leads, it is the practice to mount these machines alongside one another with their cycles of operation synchronised and to employ apparatus which automatically transfers each cut predetermined length of insulated conductor in turn from the measuring and cutting machine to the other machine or to each of the other machines in succession, such automatic transfer apparatus hereinafter, for convenience, being referred to as "electrical lead transfer apparatus". Electrical lead transfer apparatus that have hitherto been proposed and used are complicated and expensive and it is an object of the present invention to provide improved electrical lead transfer apparatus which is simple in design and inexpensive to manufacture.
According to the invention we provide, for use with a measuring and cutting machine and other machine or machines for effecting an operation on a predetermined length of insulated conductor, electrical lead transfer apparatus comprising a flexible conveyor which has mutually spaced along its length a multipicity of transversely extending resilient parts between any adjacent pair of which a predetermined length of insulated conductor can be resilient gripped and which is constrained to travel in the direction of its length from the measuring and cutting machine to the other machine or machines; a device coupled to the measuring and cutting machine for inserting a cut predetermined length of insulated conductor between an adjacent pair of said transversely extending resilient parts of the flexible conveyor so that the length of insulated conductor is gripped therebetween; means for causing the flexible conveyor to travel intermittently a limited distance in the direction of its length; and, downsteam of said other machine or of the last of said other machines, means for ejecting a predetermined length of insulated conductor from between an adjacent pair of transversely extending resilient parts of the flexible conveyor.
The measuring and cutting machine may also strip the insulation from each predetermined length of insulated conductor at one or each of its ends, or the first of said other machines may be a machine for this purpose.
The other machine or the second of the other machines (hereinafter referred to as a terminating machine) is employed to secure an electrical termination to a stripped end of each cut predetermined length of insulated conductor to form an electrical lead. In some circumstances, the last of said other machines may be a machine for applying a preformed housing of electrically insulating material to a terminated end of an electrical lead or for inserting a terminated end of an electrical lead into a preformed housing of electrically insulating material.
Preferably, the flexible conveyor is a length of coil spring of resilient material arranged in an endless loop, the coils of the spring constituting the multiplicity of transversely extending resilient parts for gripping predetermined lengths of insulated conductor. Since a length of coil spring is highly flexible in all directions radial to the longitudinal axis of the spring, the use of a length of coil spring as the flexible conveyor has the important advantage that the positioning of the or each machine relative to the measuring and cutting machine is not critical and, in travelling between the measuring and cutting machine and the last machine, the length of coil spring may travel in more than one rectilinear or curvilinear direction and need not be constrained to travel in a single plane.Another advantage arising from the use of a length of coil spring as the flexible conveyor is that, at any operating station, by appropriate deflection of the part of the coil spring carrying a predetermined length of insulated conductor, an end of the conductor can be introduced into the bore of a tubular terminal or a terminated end of the conductor can be introduced into a bore of an insulating housing.
Where the measuring and cutting machine includes a cutting head which moves towards or away from a length of insulated conductor when fed through the machine, the device for inserting a cut predetermined length of insulated conductor between adjacent coils of the coil spring or between adjacent transversely extending resilient parts of another flexible conveyor preferably is directly or indirectly carried by the cutting head and is of such a form that, as the cutting head completes its movement towards the length of insulated conductor being fed to the measuring and cutting machine and cuts a predetermined length of insulated conductor, the device inserts the cut length, or causes the cut length to be inserted, between said adjacent coils or other transversely extending resilient parts to be gripped therebetween.In its simplest form, the conductor-insertion device may be a bifurcated finger which straddles the length of coil spring or other flexible conveyor and pushes the cut predetermined length of insulated conductor between a pair of adjacent coils or other transversely extending resilient parts.
Where the measuring anc cutting machine also strips the insulation at one or each end of a cut length of insulated conductor and such stripping operation is effected by moving the cut length of insulated conductor in the direction of its length with respect to the cutting head, preferably the conductor-insertion device is operatively coupled to the cutting head and is of such a form that, as the cutting head effects the cutting operation, the device first lightly grips the cut length of insulated conductor to permit relative lengthwise movement between the gripping device and the length of insulated conductor during the stripping operation, the device then tightly grips the length of insulated conductor as the device effects the operation of inserting the cut length of insulated conductor between a pair of adjacent coils or other transversely extending resilient parts and and, after the length of insulated conductor has been inserted between adjacent coils or other resilient parts, the device releases its grip on the length of insulated conductor. In this case, the device may be operatively coupled to the movable cutting head by mechanical means, but, preferably, the device is fluid-operated under the control of the movable cutting head.
Any suitable means for causing the length of coil spring to travel a limited distance in the direction of its length after insertion of each successive cut length of insulated conductor may be employed but, where it is desired to cause the length of coil spring to travel in the same direction as the cutting head when effecting the cutting operation, preferably a spring-loaded pawl is directly or indirectly carried by the cutting head in such a way that, as the cutting head moves in such a direction as to effect the cutting operation, the pawl engages a coil of the length of coil spring and moves the coil spring a limited distance in the direction of its length until another adjacent pair of coil springs underlies the length of insulated conductor being fed to the measuring and cutting machine and, as the cutting head moves in the opposite direction after cutting a predetermined length of insulated conductor, the pawl trips over the coils of the length of coil spring.
The means for ejecting each electrical lead from between adjacent coils of the length of coil spring may take any convenient form but, preferably, it comprises a pulley wheel around which the length of coil spring is constrained to travel and which has a flange or flanges of such depth that, as the length of coil spring with electrical leads gripped between spaced adjacent coils of the coil spring travels partway around the pulley wheel, the or each flange pushes each electrical lead in turn out of the length of coil spring.
Operation of the other machine or each of the other machines to which the length of coil spring or other flexible conveyor conveys cut lengths of insulated conductor for a terminating or other operation, may be controlled by a microswitch which is actuated by the length of coil spring or other flexible conveyor or by a length of insulated conductor carried by the coil spring when the coil spring or other flexible conveyor is stationary and the conductor is positioned in the terminating or other operating station of the machine.Preferably, the cycles of operation of the measuring and cutting machine and of the other machine or machines are so synchronised that the operations of measuring, cutting and stripping an end or ends of a length of insulated conductor, inserting the cut length of insulated conductor between adjacent coils of the length of coil spring or between adjacent transversely extending resilient parts of another flexible conveyor, terminating an end of a length of insulated conductor, and applying a preformed housing of insulating material to a terminated end of a length of insulated conductor are effected concurrently under a single overall control.
When it is desired to strip the insulation from and to terminate each end of a cut predetermined length of insulated conductor, two electrical lead transfer apparatus as herein before described may be employed, one associated with the leading end of a cut predetermined length of insulated conductor in the mesuring and cutting machine and the other associated with the trailing end of said cut length of insulated conductor in the machine, the coil springs or other flexible conveyors being arranged to travel alongside but spaced from one another with end parts of each cut length of insulated conductor being gripped by adjacent coils of the two coil springs or adjacent transversely extending resilient parts of the two other flexible conveyors. In this case, movement of the coil springs or other flexible conveyors and operation of the other machine or machines of each electrical lead transfer apparatus are synchronised so that the terminating and other operations on the ends of each cut length of insulated conductor are effected concurrently. Although the two lengths of coil spring or other flexible conveyor may be arranged to extend substantially parallel to one another, preferably they are arranged to converge towards their downstream ends so that there is substantially no risk that a length of insulated conductor gripped by the two springs or other flexible conveyors will be subjected to such a tension that it will be caused to move transversely with respect to the coil springs or other flexible conveyors and will not be correctly positioned in the terminating or other operating station.In this latter case, preferably one coil spring has a left hand lay and one coil spring has a right hand lay and they are so arranged that the coils of each coil spring lie substantially parallel to the direction in which a length of insulated conductor is fed to the measuring and cutting machine.
The invention will be further illustrated by a description, by way of example, of the preferred form of electrical lead transfer apparatus and of modified forms of the transfer apparatus with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, in which:
Figure 1 is a schematic lay-out of the preformed form of electrical lead transfer apparatus;
Figures 2 and 3, respectively, are front and top views of the device, in the apparatus shown in Fig. 1, for inserting a cut predetermined length of insulated conductor between adjacent coils of the length of coil spring;
Figure 4 is a front view of an alternative device for inserting a cut predetermined length of insulated conductor between adjacent coils of a length of coil spring, and
Figure 5 is a schematic lay-out of an alternative form of electrical lead transfer apparatus.
Referring to Fig. 1, electrical lead processing apparatus comprises a measuring, cutting and stripping machine 21, a terminating machine 31, an insulating machine 41 for applying preformed housings of electrically insulating material to the terminated ends of electrical leads and, for transferring cut predetermined lengths of insulated conductor in succession from the measuring, cutting and stripping machine to the terminating machine and from the terminating machine to the insulating machine, the preferred form of electrical lead transfer apparatus 1.
The measuring, cutting and stripping machine 21 includes a shaft 22 of substantially square cross section along which a block 23 carrying clamping jaws 24 can be caused to reciprocate and, at a cutting and stripping station 25, two opposed heads 26 on which are carried three diametrically opposed pairs of cutters 27. In each cycle of operation of this known machine the jaws 24 of the block 23 clamp onto the leading end of electrically insulated conductor C being fed to the machine and pull the insulated conductor through the machine until a predetermined length of insulated conductor extends between the block and the cutting and stripping station 25. The three cutters 27 then cut the insulated conductor at each of three longitudinally spaced positions.The central pair of cutters sever the insulated conductor to form an electrical lead whose leading end is held in the clamping jaws 24; each of the other pairs of cutters cuts through the electrical insulation but not through the conductor itself, the short length of severed insulation on each side of the central cut being subsequently stripped from the conductor by appropriate movement of the block 23. The clamping jaws then release the electrical lead and move back to grip the leading end of the insulated conductor at the cutting and stripping station 25.
Operation of the reciprocating block 23 and clamping jaws 24 and the cutting and stripping mechanism is controlled by the motor driven shaft 22 in a manner not material to the present invention. If the predetermined length of insulated conductor required cannot be obtained by a single stroke of the block 23, the block and jaws 24 can be caused to reciprocate several times until the required length is obtained when the cutter blades 27, whose operation has been overriden during reciprocation of the block, are brought into operation.
The terminating machine 31 has a main shaft 32 on which is carried a pair of crimping blades (not shown) which, on the down stroke, crimp an electric termination being fed to the machine on to a stripped end of an electrical lead positioned at the terminating station 33, the crimped termination being released from the crimping blades on the first part of the up stroke.
The insulating machine 41 has a reciprocating finger 42 which intermittently pushes the leading preformed housing of a chain of preformed housings linked end-to-end (not shown) on to a terminated end of an electrical lead positioned at the insulating station 43.
The electrical lead transfer apparatus 1 comprises a length 2 of coil spring in the form of an endless loop which is constrained to travel in the direction of its length around spaced pulley wheels 3 and 4, the pulley wheel 3 being on the side of the measuring, cutting and stripping machine 21 remote from the terminating machine 31 and the pulley wheel 4 being on the side of the insulating machine 41 remote from the terminating machine 31. As will be seen and for a reason that will be explained, the axes of the pulley wheels 3 and 4 are so inclined that the part of the coil spring 2 returning from the pulley wheel 4 to the pulley wheel 3 is not immediately below the part of the coil spring travelling from the pulley wheel 3 to the pulley wheel 4.Operatively coupled to one of the heads 26 is a device 5 for inserting a cut predetermined length of insulated conductor between adjacent coils of the coil spring 2, and a spring-loaded pawl 6 for causing the coil spring to travel a limited distance in a direction towards the terminating machine 31.
Associated with the terminating machine 31 is a microswitch 34 which, when actuated by a cut predetermined length of insulated conduc tor positioned at the terminating station 33, effects operation of the terminating machine.
Likewise, associated with the insulating machine 41 is a microswitch 44 which, when actuated by a cut predetermined length of insulated conductor positioned at the insulating station 43, effects operation of the reciprocating finger 42 to apply a preformed insulating housing to the terminated end of the length of insulated conductor. The rim of the pulley wheel 4 is bounded by a -pair of flanges 7 of such a depth that, as a part of the coil spring 2 carrying an electrical lead passes around the pulley wheel, the flanges push the electrical lead from between adjacent coils of the coil spring.
As will be seen on referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the device 5 for inserting a cut predetermined length 50 of insulated conductor between adjacent coils of the length 2 of coil spring comprises a bifuracted resilient gripper 51 which is mounted on a pneumatically operated piston 52 working in a cylinder 53 positioned below the insulated conductor C being fed between the heads 26 of the machine 21. Each finger of the bifurcated resilient gripper 51 is slotted to receive a cut length of insulated conductor, the conductorreceiving slots 54 being off-set so that a length of conductor gripped by the gripper lies subtantially parallel to the underlying adjacent coils of the length 2 of coil spring between which it is to be inserted.Alternatively, the length 2 of coil spring can be constrained to move in a direction such that the coils of the length of coil spring between which a cut length of insulated conductor is to be inserted lie substantially parallel to the direction in which insulated conductor C is fed to the machine 21.
The reciprocating motion of the piston 52 is under the control of a changeover valve 28 which, in one position feeds air under pressure to the rear end of the cyliner 53 and, in the other of its two positions, feeds air under pressure to the forward end of the cylinder.
The changeover valve 28 is actuated and deactuated by one of the heads 26 carrying the cutters 27.
In operation, as the heads 26 move inwardly to cause the cutters 27 to cut a predetermined length of insulated conductor
C, the changeover value 28 is deactuated and air is fed to the rear of the cylinder 53 to cause the piston to move to its forward position in which position, as shown in Fig. 2, the gripper 51 lightly grips the cut predetermined length 50 of insulated conductor. Stripping of the insulation from the cut ends of the insulated conductor is then effected, the light grip of the gripper 51 being such that the cut length 50 can move lengthwise with respect to the gripper. As the heads 26 then move away from one another, the changeover valve 28 is actuated to feed air to the forward end of the cylinder 53 to cause the piston 52 to withdraw to its retracted position.As the piston 52 retracts, the gripper 51 is carried downwardly towards the length 2 of coil spring passing between the fingers of the bifurcated gripper and passes through an aperture 56. The side faces of the gripper 51 have cam surfaces 55 which engage the boundary surfaces of the aperture 56 to cause the gripper 51 to grip the cut length 50 of insulated conductor tightly as it is inserted between adjacent coils of the length 2 of coil spring.As the gripper 51 emerges from the aperture 56, the grip on the cut length of insulated conductor is released and, after another length of insulated conductor has been measured by the measuring, cutting and stripping machine 21 and as the heads 26 move to cause the cutters 27 to cut it, the spring-loaded pawl 6 engages the length 2 of coil spring and causes it to move a limited distance towards the terminating machine 31 and the changeover valve 28 is deactuated to cause air to be fed to the rear of the cylinder 53 to drive the piston 52 forward and cause the gripper 51 to grip lightly the next cut length of insulated conductor. This sequence of operations is repeated for each measured and cut length of insulated conductor.
Fig. 4 shows an alternative device 5 for inserting cut lengths of insulated conductor between adjacent coils of a length 2 of coil spring, parts that are similar to those of the device shown in Figs. 2 and 3 being given the same reference. In the device shown in
Fig. 4, the bifurcated resilient gripper 51 is carried by a member 61 couped to two levers 63 of toggle mechanism 62 whose other levers 64 are secured to the heads 26 of the machine 21. The arrangement is such that as the heads 26 move towards one another to cause the cutters 27 to cut a length of the insulated conductor C, the toggle mechanism 62 raises the gripper 51 to cause it to grip lightly the cut length of insulated conductor.
After stripping of the cut ends of insulated conductor, the heads 26 move apart and the toggle mechanism 62 moves the gripper 51 downwardly through the aperture 56, the cam surfaces 55 operating as previously described.
The alternative electrical lead transfer apparatus shown in Fig. 5 is employed with electrical processing apparatus comprising a measuring and cutting machine 121, associated with which are two stripping machines 122, two terminating machines 131 and two insulating machines 141. One stripping machine 122, one terminating machine 1 31 and one insulating machine 141 are associated with the leading end of a measured and cut length of insulated conductor and one stripping machine, one terminating machine and one insulating machine are associated with the trailing end of a measured and cut length of insulated conductor. Each set of stripping, terminating and insulating machines has an associated transfer apparatus 101.
Each transfer apparatus 101 comprises a length 102 of coil spring arranged in the form of a closed loop and constrained to move at intervals around a pair of spaced pulleys (not shown) by a spring loaded pawl (not shown) similar to that described with reference to Fig.
1. Operatively coupled to the cutting heads 1 26 of the measuring and cutting machine 121 are two bifurcated fingers 105, one included in each transfer apparatus, which serve to push one end of a cut length of insulated conductor between adjacent coils of the associated coil spring 102 as the cutting heads move to effect cutting of the insulated conductor being fed through the machine 121. At each stripping machine 122, when an end of a cut length of insulated conductor carried by the coil spring is positioned in the stripping station 123, a pushing device 1 24 actuated by a microswitch 1 25 serves to push the coil spring away from the stripping machine so that the cut insulation is stripped from the end of the insulated conductor. The terminating and insulating machines 131 and 141 operate as described with reference to
Fig. 1. Operation of the machines and movement of the coil spring of both transfer apparatus are synchronised so that the ends of each cut predetermined length of insulated conductor are terminated and insulated concurrently.
Claims (19)
1. For use with a measuring and cutting machine and other machine or machines for effecting an operation on a predetermined length of insulated conductor, electrical lead transfer apparatus comprising a flexible conveyor which has mutually spaced along its length a multiplicity of transversely extending resilient parts between any adjacent pair of which a predetermined length of insulated conductor can be resiliently gripped and which is constrained to travel in the direction of its length from the measuring and cutting machine to the other machine or machines; a device coupled to the measuring and cutting machine for inserting a cut predetermined length of insulated conductor between an adjacent pair of said transversely extending resilient parts of the flexible conveyor so that the length of insulated conductor is gripped therebetween; means for causing the flexible conveyor to travel intermittently a limited distance in the direction of its length; and, downstream of said other machine or of the last of said other machines, means for ejecting a predetermined length of insulated conductor from between an adjacent pair of transversely extending resilient parts of the flexible conveyor.
2. For use with a measuring and cutting machine and other machine or machines for effecting an operation on a predetermined length of insulated conductor, electrical lead transfer apparatus comprising a flexible conveyor consisting of a length of coil spring of resilient material arranged in an endless loop, the coils of the spring constituting a multiplicity of transversely extending resilient parts between any adjacent pair of which a predetermined length of insulated conductor can be resiliently gripped and the coil spring being constrained to travel in the direction of its length from the measuring and cutting machine to the other machine or machines; a device coupled to the measuring and cutting machine for inserting a cut predetermined length of insulated conductor between an adjacent pair of coils of the spring so that the length of insulated conductor is gripped therebetween; means for causing the coil spring to travel intermittently a limited distance in the direction of its length; and, downstream of said other machine or the last of said other machines, means for ejecting a predetermined length of insulated conductor from between an adjacent pair of coils of the spring.
3. Electrical lead transfer apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 in which the measuring and cutting machine includes a cutting head which moves towards and away from a length of insulated conductor when fed through the machine, wherein the means for causing the coil spring to travel intermittently a limited distance in the direction of its length comprises a spring-loaded pawl directly or indirectly carried by the cutting head in such a way that, as the cutting head moves in such a direction as to effect the cutting operation, the pawl engages a coil of the length of coil spring and moves the coil spring a limited distance in the direction of its length until another adjacent pair of coils underlies the length of insulated conductor being fed to the measuring and cutting machine and, as the cutting head moves in the opposite direction after cutting a predetermined length of insulated conductor, the pawl trips over the coils of the length of coil spring.
4. Electrical lead transfer apparatus as claimed in Claim 2 or 3, wherein the means for ejecting each electrical lead from between adjacent coils of the coil spring comprises a pulley wheel around which the length of coil spring is constrained to travel and which has a flange or flanges of such depth that, as the length of coil spring with electrical leads gripped between spaced adjacent coils of the coil spring travels partway around the pulley wheel, the or each flange pushes each electrical lead in turn out of the length of coil spring.
5. Electrical lead transfer apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims in which the measuring and cutting machine inlcudes a cutting head which moves towards or away from a length of insulated conductor when fed through the machine, wherein the device for inserting a cut predetermined length of insulated conductor between adjacent coils of the coil spring or between adjacent transversely extending resilient parts of another flexible conveyor is directly or indirectly carried by the cutting head and is of such a form that, as the cutting head completes its movement towards the length of insulated conductor being fed to the measuring and cutting machine and cuts a predetermined length of insulated conductor, the device inserts the cut length, or causes the cut length to be inserted, between said adjacent coils or other transversely extending resilient parts to be gripped therebetween.
6. Electrical lead transfer apparatus as claimed in Claim 5, wherein the conductorinsertion device is a bifurcated finger which straddles the length of coil spring or other flexible conveyor and pushes the cut predetermined length of insulated conductor between a pair of adjacent coils or other transversely extending resilient parts.
7. Electrical lead transfer apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the measuring and cutting machine also strips the insulation from each predetermined length of insulated conductor at one or each of its ends.
8. Electrical lead transfer apparatus as claimed in Claim 7 in which the stripping operation of the measuring and cutting machine is effected by moving the cut length of insulated conductor in the direction of its length with respect to the cutting head, wherein the conductor insertion device is operatively coupled to the cutting head and is of such a form that, as the cutting head effects the cutting operation, the device first lightly grips the cut length of insulated conductor to permit relative lengthwise movement between the gripping device and the length of insulated conductor during the stripping operation, the device then tightly grips the length of insulated conductor as the device effects the operation of inserting the cut length of insulated conductor between a pair of adjacent coils or other transversely extending resilient parts and, after the length of insulated conductor has been inserted between adjacent coils or other resilient parts, the device releases its grip on the length of insulated conductor.
9. Electrical lead transfer apparatus as claimed in Claim 8, wherein the conductor
insertion device is fluid-operated under the control of the movable cutting head of the measuring and cutting machine.
1 0. Electrical lead transfer apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, wherein the other machine or the second of the other machines is a terminating machine for securing an electrical termination to a
stripped end of each cut predetermined length
of insulated conductor.
11. Electrical lead transfer apparatus as claimed in Claim 10, wherein the last of said other machines is a machine for applying a preformed housing of electrically insulating material to a terminated end of a cut predetermined length of insulated conductor or for inserting a terminated end of a cut predetermined length of insulated conductor into a preformed housing of electrically insulating material.
1 2. Electrical lead transfer apparatus as claimed in Claim 10 or 11, wherein operation of the other machine or each of the other machines is controlled by a microswitch which is actuated by the length of coil spring or other flexible conveyor or by a length of insulated conductor carried by the coil spring or other flexible conveyor when the coil spring or other flexible conveyor is stationary and the conductor is positioned in the operating station of the machine.
1 3. Electrical lead transfer apparatus as claimed in any one of Claims 10 to 12, wherein the cycles of operation of the measuring and cutting machine and of the other machine or machines are so synchronised that the operations of measuring, cutting and stripping an end or ends of a length of insulated conductor, inserting the cut length of insulated conductor between adjacent coils of the length of coil spring or between adjacent transversely extending resilient parts of another flexible conveyor, terminating an end of a length of insulated conductor, and applying a preformed housing of insulating material to a terminated end of a length of insulated conductor are effected concurrently under a single overall control.
1 4. For use with a measuring and cutting machine and other machine or machines for effecting an operation on a predetermined length of insulated conductor, which measuring and cutting machine also strips the insulation from each predetermined length of insulated conductor at each of its ends, two electrical lead transfer apparatus as claimed in any one of the preceding Claims, one apparatus associated with the leading end of a cut predetermined length of insulated conductor and the other apparatus associated with the trailing end of said cut length of insulated conductor in the measuring and cutting machine, the coil springs or other flexible conveyors being arranged to travel alongside but spaced from one another so that end parts of each cut length of insulated conductor can be gripped by adjacent coils of the two coil springs or adjacent transversely extending resilient parts of the two other flexible convey-ors and movement of the coil springs or other flexible conveyors and operation of the other
machine or machines of each electrical lead transfer apparatus being synchronised so that the terminating and other operations on the
ends of each cut length of insulated conductor are effected concurrently.
1 5. Electrical lead transfer apparatus as claimed in Claim 14, wherein the two coil springs or other flexible conveyors are arranged to converge towards their downstream ends.
1 6. Electrical lead transfer apparatus as claimed in Claim 15, wherein one coil spring has a left hand lay and one coil spring has a right hand lay and they are so arranged that the coils of each coil spring lie substantially parallel to the direction in which a length of insulated conductor is fed to the measuring and cutting machine.
1 7. For use with a measuring and cutting machine and other machine or machines for effecting an operation on a predetermined length of insulated conductor, electrical lead transfer apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figs. 1 to 3 of the accompanying drawings.
1 8. For use with a measuring and cutting machine and other machine or machines for effecting an operation on a predetermined length of insulated conductor, electrical lead transfer apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figs. 1 to 4 of the accompanying drawings.
19. For use with a measuring and cutting machine and other machine or machines for effecting an operation on a predetermined length of insulated conductor, electrical lead transfer apparatus substantially as hereinbefore described with reference to and as shown in Figure of the accompanying drawings.
Priority Applications (2)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB7931083A GB2033788A (en) | 1978-09-07 | 1979-09-07 | Improved tool for forming louvres and the like |
| GB7931082A GB2030499A (en) | 1978-09-07 | 1979-09-07 | Improved punch assembly |
Applications Claiming Priority (1)
| Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB7838995 | 1978-10-02 |
Publications (2)
| Publication Number | Publication Date |
|---|---|
| GB2030061A true GB2030061A (en) | 1980-04-02 |
| GB2030061B GB2030061B (en) | 1984-05-31 |
Family
ID=10500053
Family Applications (1)
| Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| GB7933931A Expired GB2030061B (en) | 1978-09-07 | 1978-09-07 | Electrical head transfer apparatsu |
Country Status (6)
| Country | Link |
|---|---|
| JP (1) | JPS5549874A (en) |
| CA (1) | CA1126770A (en) |
| DE (1) | DE2939775C2 (en) |
| FR (1) | FR2438356A1 (en) |
| GB (1) | GB2030061B (en) |
| IT (1) | IT1119868B (en) |
Cited By (2)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB2121328A (en) * | 1982-04-29 | 1983-12-21 | Inarca Spa | Terminal forming apparatus |
| EP3949035A1 (en) * | 2019-03-29 | 2022-02-09 | Metzner Maschinenbau GmbH | Device and method for assembling an electrical plug connector |
Families Citing this family (1)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JPH04318259A (en) * | 1991-04-16 | 1992-11-09 | Mitsubishi Motors Corp | Oil-cooled multi-cylinder engine |
Family Cites Families (4)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NO128638B (en) * | 1969-04-08 | 1973-12-17 | Amp Inc | |
| US3964142A (en) * | 1974-02-20 | 1976-06-22 | Shin Meiwa Industry Co., Ltd. | Apparatus for cutting and stripping insulated wire |
| US3872584A (en) * | 1974-02-27 | 1975-03-25 | Amp Inc | Method and apparatus for processing a plurality of wire leads |
| US4055889A (en) * | 1976-02-18 | 1977-11-01 | Molex Incorporated | Connector harness assembly machine |
-
1978
- 1978-09-07 GB GB7933931A patent/GB2030061B/en not_active Expired
-
1979
- 1979-10-01 DE DE2939775A patent/DE2939775C2/en not_active Expired
- 1979-10-02 FR FR7924539A patent/FR2438356A1/en active Granted
- 1979-10-02 JP JP12647479A patent/JPS5549874A/en active Granted
- 1979-10-02 CA CA336,811A patent/CA1126770A/en not_active Expired
- 1979-10-02 IT IT50434/79A patent/IT1119868B/en active
Cited By (3)
| Publication number | Priority date | Publication date | Assignee | Title |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GB2121328A (en) * | 1982-04-29 | 1983-12-21 | Inarca Spa | Terminal forming apparatus |
| EP3949035A1 (en) * | 2019-03-29 | 2022-02-09 | Metzner Maschinenbau GmbH | Device and method for assembling an electrical plug connector |
| US12107376B2 (en) | 2019-03-29 | 2024-10-01 | Metzner Holding GmbH | Device and method for assembling an electrical plug connector |
Also Published As
| Publication number | Publication date |
|---|---|
| JPS5549874A (en) | 1980-04-10 |
| FR2438356A1 (en) | 1980-04-30 |
| DE2939775A1 (en) | 1980-04-10 |
| IT7950434A0 (en) | 1979-10-02 |
| FR2438356B1 (en) | 1983-02-25 |
| GB2030061B (en) | 1984-05-31 |
| DE2939775C2 (en) | 1984-06-07 |
| JPS6110950B2 (en) | 1986-04-01 |
| IT1119868B (en) | 1986-03-10 |
| CA1126770A (en) | 1982-06-29 |
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Legal Events
| Date | Code | Title | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| PCNP | Patent ceased through non-payment of renewal fee |
Effective date: 19921001 |