US2467012A

US2467012A - Tool for making electrical connectors

Info

Publication number: US2467012A
Application number: US574911A
Authority: US
Inventors: Deuschle Fritz
Original assignee: Buchanan Electrical Products Corp
Current assignee: Buchanan Electrical Products Corp
Priority date: 1945-01-27
Filing date: 1945-01-27
Publication date: 1949-04-12
Anticipated expiration: 1966-04-12

Description

April 12, 1949. F. DEUSCHLE TOOL FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 27, 1945 mull-Him 7%? 7i fay/f4.

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2 27 Z a 7d INVENTOR. f'l fz Deas A/e j A TTOR EY A ril 12, 1949. F. DEUSCHLE IOOL FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CCNNECTORS 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 2'7, 1945 u e o h v. E. N 0 T A F. DEUSCHLE TOOL FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTORS 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Jan. 27, 1945 atenteoi Apr. 12,1949

. UNITED f STATE: PATENT oFF cs TOOL FOIggIAwKEIEgOEBLSECTBFCAL Fritz Deuschle, Martinsvill'e, N. 1., assignor to I Buchanan Electrical Products-orporation, a I corporation of New Jersey Applicationilanuary 21, 1945, Serial No. 574,911

An object of the invention is to provide a tool which will in one operation thereof produce an improved connector assembly in which the cable is not only in secure and integral locking union with the sleeve but also in which the insulating material of the cable is utilized to form a moisture proof seal barring entrance of corroding agents into the joint, thereby contributing markediy to the permanence of the lock joint.

Other objects and advantages will hereinafter appear.

The principles and features of the invention will be defined in the claim ultimately appended hereto and will be illustrated and described in 1 Claim. (01. Bio -113) the following description taken in conjunction with the annexed drawings in which Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of a connector assembly prior to the locking and sealing of the electrical cable with the terminal sleeve or sheath,

Fig. 2 is a view similar to Fig. 1 after said lockingand sealing in accordance with the invention;

Fig. 2A is a top view looking in the direction of the arrow of Fig. 2,

Fig. 3 is a sectional view on line 3-3 of Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a sectional view on line l--4 of Fig. 2, Fig. 5 is a side elevational view of one form of tool for making the connector assembly, with the parts in one position of limited movement,

Fig. 5A is a section on line 5A5A of Fig. 5, Fig. 6 is a longitudinal view, partly in section, of the tool illustrated in Fig. 5, with the parts in another position of limited movement,

Fig. 6A is a section on line liA-6A of Fig. 6, Fig. 7 is an elevational sectional view showing the die holder, dies and ring member (together with fragmentaryviews of means for effecting relative motion of the ring and die holder) of a tool in accordance with the invention and with the parts in one position of limited movement,

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on line 8-8 of Fig. '7, Fig. 9 is a sideelevational view corresponding to Fig. 7 with the parts in another position of limited movement,

Fig. 10 is a sectional view on line Ill-l0 of Fig. 11 is a view analogous to Figs. 8 and 10 showing however a connector assembly in operative position in the tool and also showing means on the tool for fixing the position of the said assembly in relation to the dies so that the im- 2 pressions or "bites in the assembly will bear a fixed and predetermined relation to certain parts of the said assembly, as illustrated in Fig. 12,

Fig. 12 isa side view of Fig. 11 looking in the direction of the arrow shown in Fig. 11,

Fig. 13 is a sectional view on line l3l3 of Fig. 14,

Fig. 13A is an end view of wing 5| showing slot 63 therein, I

Fig. 14 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a modification of the tool parts adapting it to operate on an assembly where the connector sleeve terminates in a flat ear,

Fig. 15 is a detail view of the die holder per se,

Fig. 15A is a view on line ISA-15A of Fig. 15,

Fig. 16 is a view showing the die holder and ring member, and a handle memberjoined to the ring member,

Fig. 17 is aside view showing separately a housing member for the die holder and ring member anda handle member attached to said housing,

Fig. 17A'is a view on line l'lA -l 1A of Fig. 17,

Fig.- 18 is a top view of the member shown in Fig. 17, looking in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 17,

Fig. 19 shows a die for performing the crimping operation, and

Fig. 19A is a view of the die as shown in Fig. 19, rotated through an angle of ninety degrees.

Like parts are shown by like numerals. 7

Referring to Figs. 1 to 4, the connector I has a sleeve portion 5 having walls 2 defining a socket 3 extending axially into the connector; these walls have thick and thin portions meeting at a shoulder 4. The thin portions have outer edgeportions 6. As insulated cable 1 has a strand or multiplicity of strands 8 covered with insulation 9 which extends into the socket about to the shoulder 4, the remaining part of the cable being bare. The connector may have an end portion Ii bevelled as shown or otherwise shaped to adapt it to fit into a desired socket.

In making the finished connector assembly, the parts arranged as shown in Fig. 1 are subjected to the action of a crimping tool hereinafter to be described. A first series of slots l3, spaced about the periphery and axially spaced from the edges are formed. The metal adjacent said slots is in effect cold-formed or cold-welded and locked to the bare portion of the connector.- At the same time, metal is deformed at the edges of the sleeve by the formation of a corresponding second series of slots I4. Here the metal is cold-formed or deformed not only radially but also axially and this deformation has the function-of, in,

effect, molding the insulation to form an effective seal, that is, the insulation ,is forced into and fills the spaces l5 between the bare strand and the sleeve as clearly shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4.

There is thus obtained a joint in which the cable strand becomes locked to the sleeve in substantially integral union therewith and in which an insulating seal is'provided, from the cable insulation, which seal-bars the ingress of moisture or other corroding agents into the joint.

There will now be described a tool designed, intended and constructed to simultaneously perform a plurality of functions and to produce, in one operation, the improved connector assembly above described.

The die 29 for performing the crimping is shown in various figures, see for example Fig. 9. In the tool for performing the crimping operation, a. plurality or series of these dies are carried in a die holder 2|. This is a cylindrical member having plane top and

bottom surfaces

22, 23, a cylindrical outside surface and a cylindrical bore 25 extending axially through the die holder from one plane surface to the other. A series of ports 21, one for each die, is formed in the die holder, each port extending from the axial bore to the outside cylindrical surface and having a restricted flange portion forming a shoulder or seat 28 to retain a spring 29 between said shoulder and the enlarged head 30 of the die, which spring normally biases the die for radial movement away from the central bore and in engagement with cam surfaces or stop means formed in the ring.

The ring has bearing surfaces 31 engaging the die holder, cam surfaces 38 engaging the die heads and recesses 39 which act as stops. The cam surfaces extend from the recesses to the bearing surfaces and are formed so as to provide the die members with a desired range of degree of thrust upon relative rotation of the die holder and ring. The particular degree of thrust within this range is governed by the size of the connector assembly which is inserted in the bore and held in operative relation to the dies as hereinafter more fully described. In Fig. 9 the angular extent of the cam and bearing surfaces are indicated by letters C and B, respectively.

Th drawing shows a specific embodiment of means for effecting relative movement of the ring and die holder as well as means to limit this movement in one direction. In Figs. 5, 6 and 7 to 10, the ring 36 is integrally joined to a handle member 43 and the die holder 2| is demountably joined to a similar handle member 44. by means of studs 45 having heads 46 and threaded parts 48 engaging nuts 41. The handle member includes wing portions spaced from each other and providing a housing 5| for the ring 36 and die holder 2|. This handle member 44 may be stamped from a sheet of steel to provide a strip with terminal ear members or wings 50 sepa rated by a slot and then the longitudinal edges of the strip and said ear members may be bent transversely to the plane of the strip to form said housing 5| and handle member 44. In each of the wings a hole 52 is formed aligned with the bore of the die holder to permit insertion and positioning of the connector assembly. The inside edges 53 of the hole (note Figs. 17A, 8 and 9) form a stop to engage ashoulder 54 of the connector permitting the remaining smaller diameter portion of the connector to passthrough and positioning the connector assembly so that the dies will engage it at the proper places, longi- 4 tudinally of the connector sleeve. In some cases it is also necessary to spot the slots to be formed in the connector, not only longitudinally but also radially thereof, in relation to a special configuration of the free end of the connector.

In that case a special socket member 55 (note Fig. 11) is provided on the housing 5|, said member having walls 51 defining a socket 55 into which the bevelled or otherwise shaped connector end fits and is held against turning (note Figs. 11 and 12) in a position which determines the longitudinally and radially spaced positions of the slots [2, it formed by the crimping, locking and sealing operations.

In some cases the free end 55 of the connector instead of being generally cylindrical, as in Figs. 1 and 2, has a fiat ear portion 52 joined to the cylindrical portion (note Figs. 13, 13A'and 14). In that case a slot 63 is provided in both wings of the housing member 5! and aligned with a slot 64 in the die holder, said slot being spaced from the ports carrying the dies. The edge or shoulder 55 of the eylindrical'part of the connector then bears against the inside edges 55 of the slot in one of the wings. The said slot and edges thereof thus provide a stop and positioning means holdin the connector in predetermined position in relation to the dies.

In accordance with the invention, the housing member 5| is provided generically with means to receive and properly position a connector having any desired configuration of the connector end, and the die holder may be similarly provided with means, cooperating with said means carried by the housing, to permit the insertion therethrough of said connector end.

The parts of the device may be made of heat treated steel. Prior to hardening the handle or equivalent members, the wings 50 may be bent toward each other (note Fig. 18). Then these wings may be sprung apart when the die holder 2| and ring member 36 are assembled within the housing 5|. The resulting bias of the wings toward each other aids in keeping the die holder aligned with the ring member,

The device may be and preferably is provided with means limiting the extent of radial thrust of the die members toward the bore in the die holder. As shown in the drawings the handle 54 carries a sliding stop member including a strip H positioned for sliding movement between the side walls 12. This strip H has an upstanding stop 13 adapted to engage any one of a plurality of notches 14 in the handle member 43, each notch corresponding to a given size of connector which in turn corresponds to the size or gauge of the cable. The strip H may be secured in any desired position by a threaded stud having a milled head 16 and carried by a bridge 11.

Figs. 5 to 6A show hand-operated devices and Figs. 7 to 10 devices which 'may be power operated. The die holder may be fixed and the ring member rotated or vice versa, or both die holder and ring member may be simultaneously rotated.

Figs. 5, 7 and 8 show the ring and die holder in one position of limited relative movement in which the dies are fully retracted into their res'pective ports, the die heads being stopped by the shoulders or stops 40 which partly define the recesses 39. In that position the parts are ready to receive the connector assembly, e. g., in the partly assembled form illustrated in Fig. 1. The said assembly is then inserted in the bore in proper position as indicated in Figs. 8, 10, 13 and 14 and the die holder 2| and ring 35 are given a relative I movement to a predeterminedlimit as indicated in Figs. 6 and 9, thus forcing the dies into the bore by engagement of the cam surfaces 38 with the die heads 30, in order to produce the crimping, locking and sealing operations and to obtain a locked and sealed connector assembly as illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 4.

It will be noted that each die head 30 is trun-. cated or bevelled on each side and that it is the slightly rounded edge 82 formed by the intersection of the truncated surfaces 80, 8| which rides on the cam surfaces 38. The truncations are such as to provide adequate clearance and movement of the die heads and the height 83 on one side of the head 30 is greater than the height 84 on the other side, 88 being the partwhich engages the shoulder or stop 40.

From the end of the body portion (of the die) a tongue 88 extends lying substantially in the same plane as the edge or'ridge 82. :The tongue is shaped to provide the

teeth

81, 88 adapted to form the longitudinally spaced slots illustrated in Figs. 2, 2A, 3 and 4.

In practicing the method of the invention, the cable is inserted into the connector until the end of the insulation abuts the shoulder. Then the sleeve is crimped at a first series of points (four shown in the drawings) spaced equidistant about the periphery of the sleeve 5 and axially spaced from the edges 6, thereby forcing portions of the sleeve into locking joi'nder or union with the cable and providing firm mechanical and electrical connection. The edges 8 are also crimped as described. It is this latter crimping action which forces the insulation into all interstices between the sleeve and cable to form a pressure seal.

What is claimed is:

A tool for making an electrical connector comprising a cylindrical die holder having cylindrical outside walls, topand bottom plane surfaces and cylindrical inside walls defining a cylindrical bore extending axially through said die holder from one plane surface to the other, a plurality of ports extending radially from the outside cylindrical surface of said die holder to the bore thereof,

each port being defined by cylindrical walls having an enlarged portion and a constricted portion and a shoulder at the junction of said portions;

a die member, having a cylindrical die portion and an enlarged head portion mounted in each member coaxially therewith, the ring member having interior bearing surfaces engaging the outside cylindrical surfaces of the die holder; means to effect radial movement of said die members toward the bore of the die holder, said means comprising an elongated arm having a flared portion integral with and merging into said rin member, and a second elongated arm having a flared portion terminating in laterally spaced wing portions demountably secured to said die holder and providing a housing for the ring member and die holder; the ring member having interior wall portions defining recesses to receive the head portions of said die members and the ring member also having interior cam surfaces extending from the above-mentioned bearing surfaces to said recesses, said cam surfaces being adapted to effect radial movement of said die members toward the of said ports; a spring encompassing each of said confined between and die members, said springbeing said shoulder and said enlarged head portion normally biasing said die members radially away from the bore of the die holder; a ring member,

the die holder mounted within said ring UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name, Date 201,985 Morse Apr. 2, 1878 2,002,220 Douglas May 21, 1935 2,002,502 Douglas May 28, 1985 2,079,498 Douglas May 4, 1937' 2,144,231 Schwarz Jan. 1'7, 1939 2,169,570 Ronci Aug. 15, 1939 Y 2,182,663 Eby et al. Dec. 5, 1939 2,226,849 Douglass a Dec. 31, 1940.

bore of the die holder when the above-mentioned elongated arms are moved toward each other; means normallybiasing said die members away from the bore of the die holder and normally causing the above-mentioned elongated arms to move away from each other, said means comprising the above-mentioned spring encompassing each of said die members, the above-mentioned recesses providing stops to limit said movement; and means providing selectively controlled radial movements of said die members toward the-axis of the bore of the die holder to accommodate connectors of different sizes said means comprising a stop carried by one of the above-mentioned elongated arms, said stop having a portion slideably adjustable longitudinally of said one arm and an upstanding portion extending transversely of said arms and adapted'to engage said other arm at predetermined points along the flared portion thereof.

' FRITZ DEUSCHLE.

REFERENCES CITED Thefollowing references are of record in the file of this patent:

Penfold et a1. Apr. 21, 1942