US3186074A

US3186074A - Apparatus for making electrical connections

Info

Publication number: US3186074A
Application number: US358261A
Authority: US
Inventors: Cobaugh Robert Franklin
Original assignee: AMP Inc
Current assignee: TE Connectivity Corp
Priority date: 1964-04-08
Filing date: 1964-04-08
Publication date: 1965-06-01
Anticipated expiration: 1982-06-01

Description

June 1, 1965 COBAUGH APPARATUS FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS 7 Filed April'8, 1964 s Shets-Sheet 1 June 1, 1965 R. F. COBAUGH APPARATUS FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Filed April 8, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 June 1,1965 GH 3,186,074 I A CAL Filed April 8, 1964 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 United States Patent O This invention relates to an improved apparatus for making an electrical connection between a" conductor and a terminal post by means of a terminal clip which is adapted to embrace the post and to hold the conductor against a surface of the post.

In my copending application Serial No. 171,074, filed February 5, 1962 for Electrical Connections, I disclose and claim a method and apparatus for connecting a conductor to a terminal post by means of a clip which is axially movable onto the post and which holds the conductor against the surface of the post. The clip is of generally channel-shaped cross-section and has a web portion with sidewalls extending from each side of the web portion. In accordance with one embodiment of the invention of application Serial No. 171,074, I provide a mandrel which conforms to the internal cross-section of the clip and means, in the form of a reoiprocable push rod, for pushing the clip over the mandrel and onto the terminal post. An opening is provided in the mandrel intermediate its ends which is adapted to receive the end of the wire so that as the clip moves past this opening, its leading end engages the wire and drags the end portion of the wire over the mandrel and onto the post. The terminal clip remains on the post and functions to hold the wire against its surface to establish an electrical connection. Alternative and improved tools for making electrical connections in this manner are disclosed, for example, in copending application Serial No. 282,092 and application Serial No. 299,377.

It has been found in the practice of the invention of application Serial No. 171,074, that under some circumstances, difiiculties are encountered in controlling the movement of the clip over the mandrel and in controlling the engagement of the leading end of the clip with the wire as it passes the opening in the mandrel. The wire should be positioned in the opening with an orientation such that as the clip moves past the opening, the center of the clip will move against the center of the wire with the wire centrally located between the two sidewalls of the clip. It has been found in practice that it is sometimes difficult to achieve substantially perfect centering of the wire, particularly if a clip is of a relatively small size. If the axis of the wire is displaced to one side or the other of the clip axis, there is a possibility that one of the sidewalls of the clip will move against the wire and a possibility that the clip will become jammed on the mandrel. Even if jamming does not occur under these circumstances, the wire may not be properly centered with respect to the clip in the finished electrical connection so that the results achieved will be less than optimum.

An additional problem which has sometimes been noted is that the clip may not be perfectly axially aligned with the post during its movement onto the post and may not be symmetrically arranged on the post after it has come to rest. Such nonsymmetrical application of the clip to the post also may have the result of degrading'the electrical and mechanical connection between the wire and the post.

The present invention relates to specific improvements in apparatus for making clip type electrical'connections which improvements are directed to the problems of assuring engagement of the clip-with the wire under controlled conditions which will assure substantially perfect centering of the wire with respect of the clip during its move- "icement over the mandrel and in the finished electrical connection. The present invention is also directed to the problem of maintaining the alignment of the clip with respect of the terminal post and controlling the movement of the clip in a'manner such that an optimum electrical connection will be achieved.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to'provide an improved tool for making an electrical connection between aconductor and a terminal post by means of a terminal clip. A further object is to provide a clip applying tool having means for assuring engagement of the clip with'the wire during its movement over the mandrel in a precisely controlled manner such that the wire is centered with respect to the clip. It is still a further object of the invention to provide a clip applying tool having means for reforming the sidewalls in the clip during its application to the post in a manner which will assure its being symmetrically arranged on the post after application thereby to achieve optimum electrical and mechanical results in the finished connection.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved in one preferred embodiment comprising a mandrel having a generally T-shaped cross-section, the head of which conforms to the internal dimensions of the terminal clip. Means are provided for moving a clip over the mandrel, past a wire extending into an opening of the mandrel and onto a terminal post in a manner such that the clip drags the wire from the opening and onto the post. The mandrel is so shaped that as the clip moves towards the opening in the mandrel, the sidewalls of the clip are spread apart so that when the clip moves against the wire, the axis of the wire will extend between the spread-apart sidewalls. The wire will thus be captured between the underside of the web of the clip and the surface of the mandrel end will be dragged from the opening over the mandrel and onto the post. A reforming fixture is provided on the mandrel at a location downstream, relative 'to the direction of clip movement, from the wire receiving opening, this reforming fixture having forming surfaces on each side of the head of the mandrel. As the clip moves past the wire and between these reforming surfaces the sidewalls of the clip are bent inwardly under carefully controlled conditions. As a result, the precise shape of the clip is determined during the final portion of its movement onto the terminal post and it is reformed in a manner which assures maximum electrical characteristics and mechanical stability in the finished connection.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a mandrel which forms part of a tool for making clip type electrical connections, the mandrel of this figure having a reforming fixture in accordance with the invention mounted thereon;

FIGURE 2 is a side view showing the mandrel and the reforming fixture of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a plan view of the mandrel and reforming fixture of FIGURE 2; V v

FIGURE 4 is a frontal view of the mandrel and reforming fixture of FIGURE 2;

FIGURE 5 is a view taken along the lines 5-5 of FIG- URE 2; p

7 FIGURE 6 is a fragmentary view on an enlarged scale showing the front of the reforming fixture;

FIGURE 7 is a side view of a clip pusher, forming a part of the tool of FIGURE 1, which pushes the individual terminal clips over the mandrel and onto the terminal post; t

FIGURE 8 is a perspective view of a short section of strip composed of end-to-end connected terminal clips;

FIGURE 9 is a perspective view of an electrical connection between a terminal post and a conductor made by means of a clip of the type. shown in FIGURE 8;

FIGURE 10 is a sectional view taken along the lines lit-d of FIGURE 9;

FIGURE 11 is an end view of a terminal clip of the type shown in FIGURE 8;

FIGURES 12 and 13 are fragmentary transverse crosssectional views illustrating the reforming of the terminal clip during application to the terminal support in accordance with the present invention.

Referring first to FIGURES 8-11, a typical terminal clip 2 for making an electrical connection between a conductor and a terminal post has a web 4 from which sidewalls 6 extend. The marginal portions 8 of these sidewalls are reversely curled towards each other and towards the web so that the edges 10 of the sidewalls are opposed to the underside of web 4. The disclosed form of clip is thus of generally rectangular cross-section and has an axially extending open seam on one side thereof. Advantageously, a pair of struck-up ears 12 are provided on the leading end of each clip which function as an insulation support for holding and supporting the insulation of the conductor 24 as shown best in FIGURE 9. The leading edges of these ears are tapered towards the clip axis as shown at 14 for assistance in centering the conductor with respect to the clip during movement of the clip onto the post 18. A- tongue 16 is struck-up from the web at a location adjacent to the ears 12 and functions as an inclined lead-in surface for guiding the strands of the conductor along a gently sloping radius from the insulation support to the underside of the web. The particular form of clip disclosed has a pair of inwardly directed protrusions 7 on each of its sidewalls 6 which assist in aligning the axis of the clip with respect to the axis of the post. After application of the clip to the post, the strands 22 are held against the surface of the post by the clip which is fitted to the post with sufficient tightness to establish a low resistance electrical connection between strands and the surface of the post.

For optimum electrical and mechanical performance of the electrical connection of FIGURES 9 and 10, it will be apparent that the clip 2 should be symmetrically arranged on the post with the edges 10 of the clip sidewalls equally spaced from the sides of the post and with the wire strands centered within the pocket of the web of the clip as shown in FIGURE 10. Where clips of the type shown in FIGURE 8 are used, optimum results will not be achieved if either of the sidewalls 6 deviate from the parallelism shown or if the clip is cocked relative to the post. The present invention is then directed to the attainment of maximum electrical and mechanical reliability in clip type electrical connections by means of careful control of the clip during the final stages of its application to the post.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, the known types of hand tools for applying terminal clips to terminal posts are provided with a mandrel generally indicated at 28 and a clip pusher 34 which is movable over and beyond the end of the mandrel to push the terminal clip over the mandrel and onto the post. Tools of this general type are disclosed in the following copending applications: Serial No. 171,074, cited above, Serial No. 282,092, filed May 21, 1963, by Robert F. Cobaugh and Serial No. 299,377, filed August 1, 1963, by Robert A. Long. Since the present invention is limited to improvements to the mandrel 28 and to a reforming fixture 54 mounted on the mandrel, it is not deemed necessary to describe the structure of the entire tool. Reference is made rto the above cited copending patent applications for a more complete disclosure of the actuating means for the clip pusher 34, the clip feeding means, the manner of delivering the individual clips to the clip pusher and other details of construction.

The mandrel 28 extends from the upper side of a generally triangular mandrel block 26 which is mounted on the forward end of the tool and comprises a rib portion 30 and a head 32 which projects laterally on each side of the rib. The clip pusher 34 (FIGURE 7) comprises an elongated arm which is reciprocated by means of a pneumatic piston-cylinder or other suitable actuating means and is of generally channel-shaped crosssection whereby it is adapted to straddle and move over the head 32 of the mandrel. A recess 38 is provided in the leading end of the clip pusher which conforms to the external dimensions and shape of the clip. The clip is thus nested in this recess with the leading end of the clip disposed adjacent to the forward end of the recess.

An opening 40 extends transversely through the mandrel intermediate its ends for reception of the end portion of the wire which is to be connected to a terminal post. The portion of the rib 30 which lies to the right of this opening has parallel sides as shown at 31 which extend towards the right-hand end of the mandrel. These sidewalls taper convergently towards each other at the extreme right-hand side of the mandrel as shown at 42. The width of the mandrel head 28 is slightly less than the distance between the sidewalls 6 of the clip while the thickness of the portion 31 of the mandrel rib is somewhat greater than the normal distance between the edges 10 of the clip sidewalls.

As explained in greater detail below, the sidewalls of the clip are sprung apart slightly during movement of the clip over the mandrel for the purpose of assuring engagement of the leading end of the plate with the wire positioned in the transverse opening 4-0. In other words, if the wire is not exactly centered with respect to the longitudinal axis of the mandrel, the spread-apart clip sidewalls will nevertheless straddle the wire and drag it leftwardly over the mandrel.

The portion of the head 32 of the mandrel which lies on the left of the opening 40 (as viewed in FIGURE 2) is provided with a groove 46 which slopes upwardly from the opening 40 towards the upper surface of the mandrel. In the embodiment shown, the portion 47 of this groove which is adjacent to the opening 40 has an arcuate surface produced by circular grinding or milling tool. This arcuate section of the groove merges with an upwardly inclined plane portion 48 which in turn merges with the upper surface of the head of the mandrel. The edges 74 of the mandrel head on each side of the groove 46 are advantageously relatively sharp so that as the clip pushes the wire against the groove, the insulation of the wire will be pressed against these edges 74 and pinched between these edges and the leading end of the clip. As the clip moves further along the mandrel head, the wire insulation is circumferentially severed and the strands are withdrawn from the insulation leaving a short section of insulation in the opening 40.

The rib which supports the mandrel head 32 is not continuous on the left-hand side of the opening 40 as best shown in FIGURE 5. The head is supported immediately adjacent to the opening 40 by means of a relatively short rib section 50 and the left-hand portion of the head is supported by relatively narrow rib portion 52. The head 32 of the mandrel thus spans the section extending between the

rib portions

50, 52 for reasons which will be apparent as this description proceeds.

A clip reforming fixture 54 is mounted on the forward end of the mandrel block by means of fasteners 64. This reforming fixture comprises a solid nose or end projection 56 which extends forwardly from the end of the mandrel head 28 on each side thereof and a pair of parallel side plates 58 which overlie the sides of the mandrel block on each side and through which the fasteners 64 extend. Side plates 58 project upwardly beyond the upper edge of the mandrel block and have their upper edges slightly below the upper surface of the head 28 of the mandrel. These side plates thus provide :formingsurfaces 64, 66 on each side of the left-hand end of the mandrel as viewed in FIGURE 2. The portions of these forming surfaces which are nearest to the opening 40 of the mandrel are convergent towards the mandrel axis as shown at 64 while the adjacent portions 66 extend parallel to the mandrel head on each side thereof as best shown in FIGURE 3. Advantageously, a short constricted section 65 is provided between the sidewall portions 64, 66. The distance between the opposed sides of these parallel sections 66 of the forming surfaces is equal to the. desired spacing between the surfaces of the 'sidewalls of the clip after the clip has been applied to the post.

- A channel68 .extendsinw'ardly on the upper side of the nose portion of the fixture in alignment'of the -mandrel and a rib '70 extends axially from the front of this channel. This rib is in alignment with the rib portion 52 of the mandrel as best shown in FIGURE 5 and its end 72 is located adjacent to the end of the head of the mandrel. By virtue of this arrangement, the end 67 of the mandrel head prov-ides a shoulder against which the end of the post can be seated when a clip is applied to the post.

In use, the end of the wire is positioned in the opening 40, and the tool is positioned in alignment with the terminal post 18 with the upper end of the post disposed against the end 67 of the mandrel head. The clip pusher is then actuated to push a terminal clip onto the mandrel portion 44, and over the mandrel until the clip engages the wire disposed in the opening. Prior to its movement onto the mandrel, the sidewalls of the clip wilI extend substantially parallel to each other as shown in FIGURE 11. As the clip moves onto the mandrel, the curled surface portions 9 of the sidewalls come into engagement with the divergent surfaces 42 of the mandrel rib so that the sidewalls are each bent outwardly, as shown in FIGURE 12, and the distance between the curled sidewall portions h is increased. As the clip moves up to the opening 4tl, the leading end of the clip moves against the wire in a manner such that the axis of the wire will extend between the opposed surfaces 9 of the sidewalls. Inasmuch as the sidewalls 6 of the clip will have been spread apart when the clip moves against the wire, the wire will be captured between the sidewalls even if the wire is off-center with respect to the path of movement of the clip. As the clip moves past the opening 49 it presses the wire against the left-hand side of this opening as viewed in FIGURE 2 and the insulation of the wire is forced against the edges 74 of the mandrel head. Upon further movement of the clip, this insulation is circumferenti'ally severed and the Wire strands are withdrawn from the severed section of insulation, dragged through the groove 46 and onto the terminal post to pro-.

duce the electrical connection of FIGURE 9.-

' During the portion of the cycle described above, the clip will be subjected to substantial deformation and stressing by the wire as the wire is dragged over the sloping surface 47 of the groove. Furthermore, the sidewalls of the clip will have been sprung apart by the rib portion 30 so that it is desirable, during'the final portion of the travel of the clip over the mandrel, to reform and reset the clip in a manner such that it will be capable of holding the wire onto the post at the conclusion of its movement. To this end, the reforming surfaces 64, 66 come .into play and bend the clip sidewalls inwardly towards each other. The sidewalls of the clip are held in a precisely predetermined position by the parallel forming surfaces 66 of the reforming fixture while the wire is being dragged through the portion of the groove 47 in the mandrel head.

It will be appreciated that as the wire is dragged by the clip through this upwardly sloping groove, the Clip is stressed to an increasingly high level and, since the sidewalls of the clip are now held by theforming surfaces 66, the web portion 4 of the clip will be outwardly deformed to accommodate the increasing area of wire cross-section; As the clip moves from the end of the mandrel onto the terminal post, the sidewalls of the clip continue to be held against outward movement by the sidewalls of the groove or channel 68 in the nose portion of the reforming fixture. The clip thus moves par- 6. tially over the post while the sidewalls are constrained against outward flexing so that deformation of the clip is prevented during this final stage of its movement.

From the foregoing description it will be apparent that a salient advantage of the invention is that the clip is givenits final cross-sectional configuration as regards the sidewallso and particularly their angular rela: tionship to the web 4 during the final stages of its movement on the mandrel on the post. As a result, the

amount of contact pressureexerted on the wire and by the clip can be closely control-led and the precise orientation of the clip is accurately predetermined. The present invention facilitates the use of a single size of mandrel, clip and post with a reh tively Wide variety of wire sizes. Where a wire having a relatively large diameter is used with a clip of a given size, the web of the clip will be deformed outwardly as the clip drags the wire over the mandrel head. Relatively severe deformation of the web under these circumstances is not, however, harmful since the sidewalls of the clip are bent inwardly by the reforming fixture after the web of the clip has'been deformed. In eifect, then, the clip is adjusted to the size of the wire while the two are moving over the mandrel.

It will be realized that the principles of the invention are applicable to alternative forms of terminal clips and under alternative operating conditions. For example, in accordance with one embodiment of my invention as disclosed in application, Serial No. 171,074, the wire insulation is not removed from the wiring but is axially slit to expose the conducting core of the wire. Terminal clip type connections are also made with wires having varnish type insulation rather than conventional plastic insulations as in the embodiment shown. The principles of the invention are also particularly useful where the clip has curled sidewall portions 9 which are initially disposed in contact with each other or closely adjacent to each other. My copending application, Serial No. 338,663, discloses clips having either circular or generally rectangular cross-sections in which the sidewalls are against or closely adjacent to each other in the finished connection. The reforming fixture of the present invention can be employed to close the gap bet-ween the sidewalls in clips of this type in the manner herein explained.

Change in construction will occur to those skilled in the art and various apparently different modifications and embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. going description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only. The actual scope of the invention is intended to be defined in the following claims when viewed in their proper perspective against the prior an.

I claim:

1. Apparatus of the type intended for applying a terminal clip to a terminal post to form an electrical connection between said post and an electrical conductor, said clip having an open seam extending axially along one side thereof, said apparatus comprising, a mandrel conforming to the internal cross-section of said clip, clip moving means for moving said clip over said mandrel, past a transversely extending conductor, and onto said post, means for spreading said clip along said open seam during movement thereof over said mandrel and prior to engagement of said clip with said conductor, clip re- 'forming means for closing said seam after engagement of said clip with said conductor, said clip reforming means comprising convergent surfaces on opposite sides of said mandrel and being disposed downstream, relative to the direction of clip movement, from said spreading means whereby, upon movement of a clip past said spreading means, said clip is spread apart along said open seam and said clip moves straddling past said conductor and drags said conductor over said mandrel, and upon movement of said clip past said convergent surfaces of said clip reforming means, said open seam is at least partially The matter set forth in the fore closed to set said clip in conforming embracing relationship to said conductor and said post thereby to establish a low resistance electrical connection between said conductor and said post.

2. Apparatus of the type intended for applying a terminal clip to a terminal post to form an electrical connection between said post and an electrical conductor, said apparatus comprising, a mandrel conforming to the internal cross-section of said clip, means for moving said clip over said mandrel, past one end of said mandrel, and onto a terminal post, and clip reforming means on each side of said mandrel at said one end, said clip reforming means comprising convergent surfaces engageable with the sides of said clip whereby upon movement of said clip past said one end of said mandrel, said surfaces set said clip in embracing relationship with said post and said conductor whereby said clip tightly embraces said conductor and said post to establish a low resistance electrical connection therebetween.

3. Apparatus for applying a terminal clip to a terminal post to form an electrical connection between said post and an electrical conductor, said clip having a web portion and having sidewalls extending from opposite sides of said web whereby said clip is adapted to embrace said post and to hold said conductor against the surface of said post, said apparatus comprising, a mandrel having an elongated head and having a rib portion supporting said head, means for moving said clip over, and beyond one end of, said mandrel with said clip straddling said mandrel head and with said sidewalls disposed on opposite sides of said rib, an opening extending into said head intermediate the ends thereof for reception of said conductor, said mandrel rib having divergent sides upstream, relative to the direction of clip movement, from said opening, and clip reforming means disposed downstream from said opening, said clip reforming means comprising convergent forming surfaces on opposite sides of said mandrel head whereby, upon initial movement of said clip over said mandrel, said sidewalls are spread apart by said divergent sides of said rib and said conductor is captured between said spread-apart sidewalls as said clip moves past said opening, said conductor being thereafter dragged from said opening, over said mandrel head, and onto a terminal post disposed in axial alignment with said mandrel head, said convergent forming surfaces functioning to bend said sidewalls inwardly towards each other after movement of said clip past said opening whereby, said sidewalls are set in conforming relationship to said wire and said post and said clip holds said wire against said post to establish a low resistance electrical connection.

4. Apparatus of the type intended for applying a terminal clip to a terminal post, said clip having a web portion, sidewalls extending from each side of said web portion and having an open seam extending axially therealong on the side opposite to said web portion, said tool comprising; a mandrel having an elongated rib and having a head to form a T-shaped cross-section, a conductor-receiving opening extending into said head and transversely of the axis of said mandrel, means for moving a clip over said mandrel, past said opening, and beyond one end of said mandrel, and clip reforming means on each side of said rib at said one end of said mandrel for bending said sidewalls of said clip towards each other during movement of said clip whereby, upon positioning of said mandrel in axial alignment with said terminal post and upon movement of said clip over said mandrel and onto said post, said clip engages a conductor in said opening and drags said conductor onto said post, said sidewalls of said clip being bent inwardly towards each other by said clip reforming means after engagement of said clip with said conductor whereby said clip tightly embraces said conductor and holds said conductor against said post.

5. Apparatus of the type intended for applying a terminal clip to a terminal post, said clip having a web portion, sidewalls extending from each side of said web portion and having an axially extending open seam on the side opposite to said web, said apparatus comprising, a mandrel having an elongated head conforming to the internal cross-section of said clip, supporting means for supporting said head, clip moving means for moving said clip over, and beyond one end of, said mandrel, and clip reforming means disposed adjacent to one end of said mandrel, said reforming means being effective to bend said sidewalls inwardly and towards each other whereby, upon movement of a terminal clip past a transversely extending conductor, over said mandrel, past said one end of said mandrel, and onto a terminal post disposed in alignment with said mandrel, said clip drags said conductor over said mandrel and onto said post, and said sidewalls are bent inwardly towards each other during movement of said clip past said reforming means whereby said clip tightly embraces said conductor and holds said conductor against said post.

6. Apparatus of the type intended for applying a terminal clip to a terminal post, said clip having a web portion, sidewalls extending from each side of said web portion and having an axially extending open seam on the side opposite to said one side, said apparatus com prising, a mandrel having an elongated head conforming to the internal crosssection of said clip, supporting means for supporting said head, clip moving means for moving said clip over, and beyond one end of, said mandrel, convergent clip reforming surfaces beside said mandrel and adjacent to said one end, said reforming surfaces being effective to bend said sidewalls inwardly and towards each other whereby, upon movement of a terminal clip past a transversely extending conductor, over said mandrel, past said one end of said head, and onto a terminal post disposed in alignment with said mandrel, said clip drags said conductor over said mandrel and onto said post, and said sidewalls are bent inwardly towards each other during movement of said clip past said reforming surfaces whereby said clip tightly embraces said conductor and holds said conductor against said post.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 810,065 1/06 Lissak 29-211 1,992,596 2/35 Bangel 81-43 2,780,794 2/57 Cresson 339-276 2,885,764 5/59 Schulters et al 29-203 3,040,150 6/62 Ruegcr 339 X 3,074,155 1/ 63 Cootes et al. 29--206 WHITMORE A. WILTZ, Primary Examiner.

THQMAS H. EAGER, Examiner.

Claims

1. APPARATUS OF THE TYPE INTENDED FOR APPLYING A TERMINAL CLIP TO A TERMINAL POST TO FORM AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID POST AND AN ELECTRICAL CONDUCTOR, SAID CLIP HAVING AN OPEN SEAM EXTENDING AXIALLY ALONG ONE SIDE THEREOF, SAID APPARATUS COMPRISING, A MANDREL CONFORMING TO THE INTERNAL CROSS-SECTION OF SAID CLIP, CLIP MOVING MEANS FOR MOVING SAID CLIP OVER SAID MANDREL, PAST A TRANSVERSELY EXTENDING CONDUCTOR, AND ONTO SAID POST, MEANS FOR SPREADING SAID CLIP ALONG SAID OPEN SEAM DURING MOVEMENT THEREOF OVER SAID MANDREL AND PRIOR TO ENGAGEMENT OF SAID CLIP WITH SAID CONDUCTOR, CLIP REFORMING MEANS FOR CLOSING SAID SEAM AFTER ENGAGEMENT OF SAID CLIP WITH SAID CONDUCTOR, SAID CLIP REFORMING MEANS COMPRISING CONVERGENT SURFACES ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID MANDREL AND BEING DISPOSED DOWNSTREAM, RELATIVE TO THE DIRECTION OF CLIP MOVEMENT, FROM SAID SPREADING MEANS WHEREBY, UPON MOVEMENT OF A CLIP PAST SAID SPREADING MEANS, SAID CLIP IS SPREAD APART ALONG SAID OPEN SEAM AND SAID CLIP MOVES STRADDLING PAST SAID CONDUCTOR AND DRAGS SAID CONDUCTOR OVER SAID MANDREL, AND UPON MOVEMENT OF SAID CLIP PAST SAID CONVERGENT SURFACES OF SAID CLIP REFORMING MEANS, SAID OPEN SEAM IS AT LEAST PARTIALLY CLOSED TO SET SAID CLIP IN CONFORMING EMBRACING RELATIONSHIP TO SAID CONDUCTOR AND SAID POST THEREBY TO ESTABLISH A LOW RESISTANCE ELECTRICAL CONNECTION BETWEEN SAID CONDUCTOR AND SAID POST.