JPS6315706B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for crimping electrical terminals;
With this device, electrical terminals are secured to the bare ends of flexible insulated conductor lengths (hereinafter referred to as electrical leads for convenience) by a crimping action.

For known types of devices for electronic terminal crimping,
A strip of electrical terminals is automatically fed through the device, consisting of a plurality of terminals connected end to end, and each time the device is actuated by the operator, the leading terminal of the strip is is automatically cut from the strip and crimped by the operator onto the bare end of the electrical lead, which is placed in a crimping position between the crimping dies of the apparatus. In order to achieve high productivity of terminalized electrical leads, a high degree of agility is required of the operator. Typically, the operator holds a bundle of electrical leads in one hand, and in order to sequence each electrical lead, the operator pulls one electrical lead out of the bundle and attaches the bare end of the lead to the device. Placed in a crimping position between the crimping dies and actuating the crimp device to simultaneously sever the lead terminal from the strip and clamp it to the bare end of the lead, and then to the terminalized end of the lead. from between the crimping dies before placing the other electrical leads in the bundle into the crimping position between the dies. Handling of electrical leads by the operator accounts for a large portion of the total time spent securing electrical terminals to the leads. For example, known forms of electrical terminal crimping equipment are capable of 13,500 crimping movements per hour, yet
When sequentially fed by the operator, the number of electrical leads terminated by the device per hour rarely exceeds 2000. That is, the device is operating at approximately 15% of optimum conditions. The agility of the operator handling the electrical leads is therefore a major factor in the efficiency of the termination operation.

The situation is further exacerbated when safety adjustments require guarding around the crimp die of the equipment. This is because in this case, in order to introduce the bare end of the electrical lead into the clamping position between the crimping dies, the operator must first insert the lead through the opening in the guard and the terminalized lead to move it between the crimp dies.
This is because the operator must guide the terminal lead through the opening along the slot of the guard. Thus, if a guard is employed, handling of the electrical leads during the entire termination cycle becomes more difficult and the efficiency of the termination operation is necessarily further reduced.

We have found that during the termination cycle, the majority of the time spent handling the electrical leads involves moving the termination lead a sufficient distance between the crimping dies and connecting the other lead. This means that the crimping position is located between the dies. This is because the difficulty for the operator is to move the terminalized lead from between the dies and place other leads between the dies at the same time.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide an improved electrical terminal crimping apparatus for use in crimping electrical terminals to the bare ends of electrical leads; A strip of terminals consisting of a plurality of terminals is fed to the crimping position and the device can be operated more efficiently than previously proposed crimping devices.

According to the present invention, an improved apparatus includes at least two crimping dies defining a crimping position, at least one die being forced to move toward and away from the other die;
Here, the movable die, or at least one movable die, is operatively connected to the die, and the extruder is driven to move in a substantially straight path toward and away from the crimping position, and the extrusion device is driven to move in a substantially straight path toward and away from the crimping position, and the extruder is driven to move in a substantially straight path toward and away from the crimping position. The extrusion device is adapted to extrude laterally from between the dies, such that after an electrical terminal has been crimped to the bare end of an electrical lead, when the movable die is moved away from the other dies, the extrusion device automatically actuated to move along said linear path toward the crimping position and to push the terminalized electrical lead laterally a sufficient distance from between the dies to position the bare end of the other lead between the dies; I'll do what I do.

The extrusion device is operatively connected to the movable die so that after the terminalized electrical lead is laterally extruded by the extrusion device from between the dies, the extrusion device is automatically actuated to The electrical terminal crimping apparatus preferably includes a backing plate that moves away from the crimping position in a straight path, but preferably leaves the fixed die at the crimping position, and the bare end of the electrical lead is introduced between the crimping dies. In order to limit the distance between the crimping dies, the extrusion device is operatively connected to the movable die so that the crimping device is activated again after extruding the terminalized electrical lead laterally from between the crimping dies. Preferably, the extrusion device remains in the crimping position until the movable die begins to move toward the fixed die to perform the crimping operation. By doing so, the extrusion device is used in two roles. Arranged so that the bare ends of the electrical leads are introduced against the back plate as well as as a guard which substantially reduces the risk of the bare ends of the electrical leads being introduced below the back plate and away from the crimping location. used as a table for

An electrical terminal crimping device takes the form of a leading terminal of a strip of electrical terminals connected end to end.
As the movable die moves toward the stationary die and is fed into the crimping position, portions of the extrusion device temporarily occupy the crimping position after extruding the terminalized electrical leads laterally from between the dies. Take any convenient shape and size, such as: However, it may be desirable to take some form of electrical terminal crimping device in which the leading terminal of a band of electrical terminals connected end to end is brought into a crimping position as the movable die moves away from the fixed die. The portion of the extrusion device remains in the crimping position until the crimping device is actuated again, and the portion of the extrusion device has a shape and size such that the leading terminal of the strip remains in the crimping position. below the above-mentioned part is fed to a fixed die.

The extrusion device is operatively connected to the movable die by any convenient means, but preferably the extrusion device is operatively connected to the movable die by some form of coupling mechanism, As the movable die moves away from the other die, the extrusion device is caused to move away from the crimping position along the linear path. In this case, conveniently
The extrusion device is a generally solid elongated member arranged in an axial arrangement in the straight path and having at its leading end a head of a shape and size to terminate the terminal electrical lead. and to force it laterally out between the dies and to be used as a guard and support table during the introduction of the bare ends of the electrical leads into the crimping position.

Preferably, the coupling mechanism operatively connecting the generally solid elongated member constituting the extrusion device to the movable die comprises a crank arm, the arm having a crank arm at or near one of its ends; The crimping device is rotatably disposed on the base of the crimping device near the movable die and is slidably engaged at or near the other end thereof with an elongated extrusion device, the extrusion device extending along the linear path. The arrangement is such that when the movable die moves towards the other die and performs the crimping operation, the movable die engages the crank arm and causes it to rotate in a direction. , the longitudinal extrusion device is moved far from the crimping position against the action of its associated spring, and after the movable die has moved a predetermined distance from the fixed die, the movable die The pushing device is moved along the straight path under the action of its incorporated spring to push the terminalized electrical lead laterally out of the crimping position. In a preferred arrangement, a freely rotatable roller is disposed at a location on the movable die so that it rolls along the surface of the crank arm as the movable die is moved toward and away from other dies.

In one variant, the extrusion device is constituted by a liquid-operating piston moving within a cylinder and arranged transversely in said straight path, this arrangement thus injecting liquid into the rear of the cylinder. This causes the piston to move to its forward position and forces the terminal lead from between the crimping dies, the injection being driven by a cam disposed on the drive spindle of the crimping device. under the control of a valve.
The piston is spring-loaded, so when the injection of liquid into the cylinder stops, the piston either returns to its retracted position under the action of the spring, or moves from the rear end of the cylinder to the front end of the cylinder.
By transferring the liquid injection, the piston is returned to its retracted position. In both cases, the injection of liquid is under the control of a cam-actuated valve.

A foot switch is provided for actuating the crimp device by the operator, however,
Preferably, when the crimping device includes a backing plate,
The backing plate may be made of an electrically conductive metal or alloy, or may have electrical contacts extending therethrough, and may have resilient contacts disposed on the backing plate or in front of the electrical contacts. This arrangement is such that the bare ends of the electrical leads are introduced into the crimping position and
When actuating the resilient contacts, the resilient contacts are driven against the backing plate or the electrical contacts, completing a control circuit which accomplishes the actuation of the crimping device.

In this type of electrical terminal crimping equipment, an end-to-end strip of terminals is fed into the crimping position and, by use of an extrusion device as previously described, is passed between the crimping dies to form the electrical terminals. Pushing out the leads makes handling operations performed by the operator much easier, and the continuous delivery of electrical leads to the device reduces the number of electrical leads that can be terminated by the device per hour. can be doubled or tripled.

The extrusion device as described above is cheap and simple to manufacture and can be incorporated at low cost into known forms of electrical terminal crimping devices of the type mentioned above.

The invention will be further explained with reference to the accompanying drawings, by way of example, a description of two types of devices for crimping electrical terminals.

Each clamping device shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 and shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 comprises a fixed die 1 and is arranged above the fixed die, and A movable die 2 is forced to move toward and away from a fixed die by the operation of the clamping device, and the movable die carries crimping blades 6 and 7 and a cutting blade 8. do. In both devices, a terminal strip T comprising a plurality of end-face generally U-shaped terminals linked end to end is placed in a crimping position defined by a fixed die 1 and a movable die 2.
Sent automatically.

In a first embodiment of the crimping device shown in FIGS. 1 to 5, a longitudinal extrusion arm 1
0 is shown near its tip, head 1
1, the arm 10 is forced to reciprocate in a substantially straight path. The straight path is approximately perpendicular to the direction of movement of the movable die 2. The extrusion arm 10 is forced along a straight path towards the crimping position by a coiled spring 12. Rotatably arranged in the body of the crimping device in the vicinity of the movable die 2 is a crank arm 14 which engages at its lowermost end in a slot 15 of the extrusion arm 10; It makes contact with a pin 16 extending across the slot. The freely rotatable roller 17 is disposed on the movable die 2 at a certain position, and when the movable die moves toward and away from the fixed die 1, the roller moves along the surface of the crank arm 14. It rotates.

The back plate 19 is fixedly arranged at a spaced apart position above the fixed die 1, so that the bare end L _S of the electrical lead L is connected to the crimping die 1 and 2, as shown in FIG. This limits the range that can be introduced in between and ensures that the first terminal _T1 of the strip of terminals T is sent to the fixed die 1 at the crimping position. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, electrically conductive contact studs 21 project through the back plate 19 and are connected to bushings 20 of insulating material.
is insulated from the back plate by. Arranged on the front side of the back plate 19 is a spring contact 22 which, when forced in the direction of the contact stud 21 by the bare end L _S of the electrical lead L introduced into the crimping position, A control circuit is completed, which carries out the operation of the crimping device. Electrical lead L in crimping position
To facilitate accurate positioning of the bare end L _S of the spring contact 22 , a guard 23 arranged in the back plate 19 has an opening 24 . This opening 24 is approximately aligned with the fixed die 1 in the crimping position and into which the bare end L _S of the electrical lead L is inserted. This is because it engages with the spring contact 22 to operate the control circuit. It is appreciated that the guard 23 prevents operation of the control circuit if the bare end L _S of the electrical lead L is not precisely positioned in the crimping position.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, when the movable die 2 is in the raised position and the head 11 of the extrusion arm 10 is in the crimping position, the bare end L _S of the electrical lead L is Head 1
1 and the movable die 2 and inserted through the opening 24 of the guard 23 to contact the spring contact 22 and
This is forced into contact with the contact stud 21. This is to close the control circuit and perform the operation of the crimping device. When the movable die 2 descends toward the fixed die 1, the roller 17 moves toward the crank arm 14.
along the surface of the arm, causing the arm to rotate clockwise. When the crank arm 14 rotates, the lowermost end of the crank arm 14 is inserted into the slot 1.
5, contacts the pin 16, and forces the pushing arm 10 away from the crimping position along a straight path against the action of the coil spring 12. However, this is until the arm 10 reaches the position shown in FIG. At the same time, the leading terminal _T1 of the terminal strip T, which is linked from end to end and has a generally U-shaped end face, is automatically fed to the stationary die 1, and as the movable die 2 continues to move downward. , the movable die has electrical leads L in the V-shape of the crimp blades 6, 7.
Collect the bare end L _S and attach it to the fixed die 1.
is located within the first terminal _T1 and performs the crimp operation. The cutting blade 8 further cuts the leading terminal _T1 from the terminal strip T. After the crimping and cutting operations have been performed, the movable die 2 begins to move upward away from the stationary die 1. If the movable die 2
When the V-shaped crimp blades 6 and 7 hold the terminalized end of the electrical lead L and move it, the terminalized end comes into contact with the lower surface of the back plate 19, which causes the terminalized end to be moved. is used to release the lead L, which is fixed to the die 1.
Fall back to. As the movable die 2 continues to move upward, the roller 17 rotates along the surface of the crank arm 14 and effectively holds the extrusion arm 10 against the action of its coil spring 12. However, as shown in FIG. 1, when the movable die 2 moves upwards enough,
until it is moved to the clamping position. As the movable die 2 opens the crimping position, the extrusion arm 10 is forced along a straight path under the action of the coil spring 12. While rotating the crank arm 14 counterclockwise,
This is to push out the terminal-shaped lead L laterally from the crimping position. The crimping location is now free to accept the bare end of another electrical lead.

In the case of the crimping device shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a backing plate 30 of electrically conductive metal is fixed above and spaced apart from the fixed die 1, in which position the bare ends of the electrical leads are As well as limiting the distance that can be introduced between the crimping dies, the leading terminals T of the strip of terminals are fed below the backing plate to be located at the fixed dies in the crimping position. What is arranged on the front side of the back plate 30 and is electrically insulated is:
Spring contact 31, which when driven by the bare end of the electrical lead against the front surface of the back plate, completes the control circuit which carries out the operation of the crimping device. Arranged alongside the crimping position is an air cylinder 32 in which a piston 33 is moved which has a head 34 at its free end to hold the terminalized lead for crimping. It constitutes a device that extrudes laterally from between the dies. The piston 33 is spring-loaded and driven to reciprocate in a substantially straight path, which path is substantially perpendicular to the direction of movement of the movable die and includes an air supply connected to the rear end of the cylinder 32. It is controlled by a valve (not shown) and operated by a cam located on the drive shaft of the crimping device.

Disposed around the crimping location is a guard 34' of transparent plastic material;
for introducing bare ends of electrical leads between the dies,
It has a generally vertical slot 35 and a generally horizontal slot 36 with a funnel-shaped opening 37 to facilitate lateral movement of the terminalized electrical lead.

6 and 7 show the state of the crimping device, at the start of the crimping cycle, the piston 33 is in its forward position and the head 34 is in the crimping position, so that the crimping die is closed. It is shown being used as a card and support table for the bare ends of the electrical leads inserted between them. The bare end of the electrical lead L is inserted through the vertical slot 35 and driven against the spring contact 31 into contact with the backing plate 30 to close the control circuit and operate the crimping device. When this is carried out, the movable die 2 descends toward the fixed die 1, and the cam of the crankshaft of the crimping device closes the valve and opens the cylinder 3.
Stop supplying air to the rear of 2, and
The piston 33 will now move into its retracted position under the action of the spring. The leading terminal T of the end-to-end strip of terminals is automatically fed to the stationary die 1, and as the movable die 2 continues its descent, the movable die connects the bare end of the electrical lead L to the fixed die 1. The crimp blades are gathered together in a V-shape to place the bare end within the lead terminal and perform the crimping action. After the crimping operation is performed, the movable die 2 begins to rise away from the fixed die 1. If the movable die 2 is raised and it carries the terminating end of the electrical lead within the V-shape of the crimp blades 6, 7, the terminating lead comes into contact with the underside of the backing plate 30. This backing plate is used to release the terminalized leads, so that they fall back into the fixed die 1. As the movable die 2 continues to rise, the cam of the crankshaft of the crimping device opens the valve, allowing compressed air to be sent behind the cylinder 32 and directing the piston 33 towards its forward position. The head 34 of the piston connects the terminal lead to the
Laterally from between the crimp blades, slot 3
Push out along step 6. The crimping position is then free to accept the bare ends of other electrical leads.

The invention will now be summarized.

(1) A strip of terminals used to crimp an electronic terminal to the bare end of an electrical lead, the terminal strip consisting of a plurality of terminals connected end-to-end, to a clipping position defined by at least two crimp dies. These dies are used in an apparatus for crimping electrical terminals of the type in which at least one die is driven to move toward and away from the other die, in which the movable die 2 or at least one movable die crimps the die. A reciprocating extrusion device 10, 33 operatively connected to the crimping position is driven in a substantially straight path toward and away from the crimping position in the opposite direction, and the extrusion device
The arrangement is adapted to push the terminalized electrical lead out from between the dies in a direction transverse to the direction of the electrical terminal lead, such that the electrical terminal is crimped onto the bare end of the electrical lead. When the movable die separates from the other die, the extrusion device is automatically driven to move along the straight path to the crimping position and laterally pull the terminated electrical leads from between the dies. Apparatus for crimping electrical terminals, characterized in that the bare ends of the other leads are pushed out a sufficient distance to place them between the dies.

(2) In the apparatus for crimping electrical terminals according to item 1 above, the crimping position is determined by two crimping dies 1 and 2, and these dies are arranged so that one die 2 A backing plate 19 is driven to move toward and away from the fixed die in the crimping position, and is provided to limit the distance that the bare ends of the electrical leads can be introduced between the crimping dies; After extruding the terminalized electrical lead laterally from between the dies, the extrusion device is operated until the crimping device is again actuated and the movable die begins to move toward the fixed die to perform the crimping action. A crimping device for electrical terminals, characterized in that it remains in the crimping position.

(3) The device for crimping electrical terminals referred to in paragraph 2 above:
An extrusion device is configured to advance the leading terminal of the strip of electrical terminals into a crimping position as the movable die moves away from the fixed die, and which remains in the crimping position until the crimping device is actuated again. Apparatus for crimping electrical terminals, characterized in that the leading terminal is of such shape and size that it can be fed into a fixed die under said part of the extrusion apparatus.

(4) In the apparatus for crimping electrical terminals according to item 1 or 2 above, the back plate 19 is made of an electrically conductive metal or alloy, or has an electrical contact 21 protruding through the back plate, and Alternatively, it may have a resilient contact 22 disposed on its front face, electrically insulated from the electrical contacts, such that when the bare end of the electrical lead is introduced into the crimping position and comes into contact with the resilient contact, the resilient contact 22 Apparatus for crimping electrical terminals, characterized in that the contacts are moved relative to the back plate or the electrical contacts, completing a control circuit for carrying out the operation of the crimping apparatus.

(5) The electrical terminal crimp device according to any one of paragraphs 1 to 3 above, characterized in that a foot switch is provided for actuation of the crimp device by an operator. A device for crimping electrical terminals.

(6) In an apparatus for crimping electrical terminals according to any one of the preceding headings, a reciprocating extrusion device is operatively connected to a movable die by some form of coupling mechanism so that the movable die can moving away from the die causes the extrusion device to move along said linear path towards the crimping position, and movement of the movable die towards the other die causes the extrusion device to move along said linear path towards the crimping position. Apparatus for crimping electrical terminals, characterized in that the device is adapted to move away from and in the opposite direction.

(7) In the apparatus for crimping electrical terminals according to paragraph 6 above, the reciprocating extrusion device is a substantially solid member 10 arranged axially in the straight path and a shape at the leading end thereof. and a head 11 sized to engage the terminalized electrical lead, push it laterally through the die, and use it as a guard and support table during the introduction of the bare end of the electrical lead into the crimping position. Apparatus for crimping electrical terminals, characterized in that it is suitable for crimping electrical terminals.

(8) In the apparatus for crimping electrical terminals according to paragraph 7 above, the coupling mechanism consists of a crank arm 14 which, at or near one of its ends, connects to the base of the apparatus for crimping near the movable die. rotatably disposed and slidably engaged with an elongated extrusion device 10 at or near the other end thereof;
The extrusion device is forced to move along the linear path in the direction of the crimping position by at least one associated spring 12, this row thus causing the movable die to move in the direction of the other die. , upon performing a crimping operation, the movable die engages and rotates the crank arm in a direction to move the elongated extruder away from the crimping position, against the action of its associated springs. After moving in the opposite direction and after the movable die has traveled a predetermined distance from the other die, the movable die moves the elongated extrusion device along a straight path under the action of its associated spring. Apparatus for crimping electrical terminals, characterized in that the terminald electrical lead is laterally pushed out of the crimping position in this manner.

(9) In the electrical terminal crimping device of item 1 above, the freely rotatable roller 17 is disposed at a certain position on the movable die, and as the movable die moves toward and away from other dies, the crank A device for crimping electrical terminals, characterized in that it rotates along the surface of an arm.

(10) In the apparatus for crimping electrical terminals according to any one of paragraphs 1 to 5 above, the reciprocating extrusion device is constituted by a fluid-operated piston 33 moving within a cylinder 32; , arranged so as to lie along said straight path, this arrangement thus causing the piston to move to its forward position by injecting liquid after the cylinder and forcing the terminal lead out from between the crimp dies; Apparatus for crimping electrical terminals, characterized in that the injection is under the control of a valve, which is driven by a cam arranged on the drive spindle of the crimping apparatus.

(11) The electrical terminal crimp device of item 10 above is characterized in that the piston is spring-loaded, so that when the injection of liquid in the cylinder stops, the piston returns to its retracted position by the action of the spring. A device for crimping electrical terminals.

(12) The device for crimping electrical terminals according to paragraph 10 above, characterized in that the piston is caused to return to its retracted position by transferring liquid injection from the rear end of the cylinder to the front end of the cylinder. Equipment for crimping electrical terminals.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view of a first form of apparatus for crimping electrical terminals, with an extrusion device disposed in a crimping position; 2 is a side view of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1; FIG. FIG. 3 is a front view of a first version of the device for crimping electrical terminals, with the pusher device in the withdrawal position; 4 and 5 are a cutaway front view and a plan view, respectively, of the back plate and elastic contact switch of the device shown in FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 6 is a front view of a second form of apparatus for crimping electrical terminals; And Figure 7 shows the 6th
It is a sectional view taken along the line - in the figure. 1: Fixed die, 2: Movable die, 6, 7: Crimp blade, 8: Cutting blade, Figures 1 to 5...10: Extrusion arm, 11: Head, 1
2: Coil spring, 14: Crank arm,
15: slot, 16: pin, 17: roller, 1
9: Back plate, 21: Bolt, 20: Insulating bushing, 22: Spring contact, 23: Guard, 2
4: Device, Figures 6 and 7...30: Back plate, 1: Fixed die, T: Leading terminal, 31: Spring contact,
32: Air cylinder, 33: Piston, 34: Head, 34': Guard, 35, 36: Slot, 3
7: Opening, L: Electric lead.

Claims (1)

Claims: 1. A crimping device used for crimping an electrical terminal to the bare end of an electrical lead, wherein the strip of terminals is defined by at least two crimping dies and is comprised of a plurality of terminals linked end-to-end. the dies are driven to move toward and away from the other dies, and means for ejecting the terminalized electrical leads from between the dies. is operatively coupled to at least one of said movable dies so that said discharge occurs when said movable die is moved away from the other die after an electrical terminal is crimped to the bare end of an electronic lead. An apparatus for crimping electrical terminals of the type in which the discharging means are automatically actuated, the discharging means comprising an elongated member, said elongated member extending substantially orthogonally to the direction of feeding of said group of terminals. For crimping electrical terminals, which is driven to extend and move toward and away from the crimping position in a substantially straight path, and in a direction substantially orthogonal to the feeding direction of the terminal group. Device.