US3531846A - Apparatus for making electrical connections - Google Patents

Description

APPARATUS FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Filed March '7, 1968 G. M. GURLEY Oct. 6, 1970 7 Sheets-Sheet 1 APPARATUS FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Filed March '7, 1968 G. M. GURLEY Oct. 6, 1970 7 Sheets-Sheet 2 Oct. 6, 1910 G. M. GURLEY 3,531,846

APPARATUS FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Filed March 7, 1968 7 Sheets-Sheet G. M. GURLEY 3,531,846

APPARATUS FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Oct. 6, 1970 7 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed March '7, 1968 Oct. 6, 1970 3,531,846

APPARATUSYFOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS 5;. M. GURLEY 7 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed March 7, 1968 APPARATUS FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Filed March '7, 1968 G. M. GURLEY Oct. 6, 1970- 7 Sheets-Sheet 6 APPARATUS FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Filed March '7, 1968 G. M.GURLEY Oct. 6, 1970 7 Sheets-Sheet 7 United States Patent 0 3,531,846 APPARATUS FOR MAKING ELECTRICAL CONNECTIONS Grey Manning Gurley, Clearwater, Fla., assignor to AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa. Filed Mar. 7, 1968, Ser. No. 711,411 Int. Cl. H01r 43/04 U.S. Cl. 29203 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Tool for making electrical connections has crimping die and crimping anvil which are movable relatively towards and away from each other. Crimping die is formed in two sections, each section being mounted for pivotal motion on an axis extending parallel to the direction of movement of the die towards and away from the anvil. The die sections are normally disposed with their adjacent sides facing obliquely of each other and camming means are provided for swinging these die sections into alignment during initial portion of the operating cycle. Wire cutting members are provided on the opposed sides of the die sections and means are provided for moving these wire cutting members relative to the sides of the die sections during the operating cycle. In use, wires are laced through the die cavities and past the Wire cutters so that the wires are trimmed as the die sections are moved into alignment. Thereafter, dies are moved towards the anvil and wires are swung into connectors positioned on the anvil so that the anvils will be crimped onto the trimmed wire ends.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION When wires extending axially towards each other are to be electrically connected to each other, it is sometimes desirable to trim the wire ends immediately prior to forming the electrical connector. For example, in the telephone industry, it is frequently necessary to connect the Wires contained in two telephone cables to each other. Splicing operations of this type are carried out where a new telephone cable is being installed or where a damaged telephone cable is being repaired. The ends of the cables will normally be disposed adjacent to each other so that some slack will be provided in the wires which must be removed at the time the electrical connections are being made.

One method of splicing the ends of adjacent telephone cables is to simply select wires which are to be connected to each other, trim the wire ends with a pair of wire cutters, and thereafter connect the wires by means of a connecting device or by twisting the trimmed ends together. The method is relatively slow, primarily because of the fact that it entails two separate operations, a trimming operation and a subsequent crimping operation. The conductors in telephone cables or the like can also be connected by means of a crimping tool incorporating means for trimming the wire ends concomitantly with crimping of electrical connector onto the wire ends. U.S. Pat. No. 3,328,871 shows one type of crimping tool having wire trimming means therein which forms a so-called butt splice, that is, a splice connection in which the two wires extend towards, but do not overlap, each other in the finished crimped connection. Tools of the type disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,328,871 have received wide acceptance in the telephone industiy and are being used to an increasing extent.

The present invention is directed to a tool for trimming the wire ends and substantially simultaneously crimping an electrical connector onto the trimmed wire ends as generally disclosed in the above-identified patent.

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The present invention, however, is adapted to form a lap-type splice between the wires rather than a butt splice as described above. In a lap splice, the wires extend parallel to, and past, each other in the [finished crimped connection so that a lap splice can quite often be designed to be relatively shorter than a butt-type splice.

By way of additional background information, it should be explained that the conductors in a telephone cable are usually provided as associated pairs, commonly referred to as twisted pairs. When the ends of two cables are being spliced, it is necessary to connect the corresponding wires of two pairs in each of the cable ends to each other. In my co-pending application Ser. No. 625,096, filed Mar. 22, 1967, now U.S. Pat. 3,431,621. I disclose and claim an apparatus for making butt-type electrical connections between the wires of two separate pairs of conductors in the ends of two telephone cables. The present invention is similarly directed to a tool for making lap-type splices among the conductors of two pairs of conductors rather than a single lap-type splice between two individual conductors extending towards each other.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an improved apparatus for trimming wire ends and crimping electrical connectors onto the trimmed ends. A further object is to provide an improved apparatus for forming two crimped electrical connections among four wires in a single operating cycle. A still further object is to provide an improved apparatus for making lap-type splices between wires by means of crimpable electrical connectors. A still further object is to provide an apparatus which is substantially foolproof in that it permits the accomplishment of high quality crimped connections with a minimum of operator training or skill.

These and other objects of the invention are achieved in a preferred embodiment thereof comprising a crimping die means and a crimping anvil means which are mounted for rectilinear movement towards and away from each other. The die means is formed in two parts, each section being mounted for rotation on an axis extending parallel to the path of the movement of the die means towards and away from the anvil means so that the die sections can be swung relatively outwardly when the dies are remote from the anvil to facilitate positioning of the wires in the dies. Each die section has a wire severing member mounted thereon wnich cooperates with the side of the die against which it is mounted to sever a conductor dring movement of the severing member relative to the die surface.

Wire holding and positioning members are mounted on each side of the anvil means and are adapted to receive the wires which are to be connected to each other and support these wires while their ends are being severed. The wires are positioned in the tool by lacing them through the wire holding and positioning members and between one of the severing members and one side of one of the die sections. The severing members are then moved relative to the sides of the die sections to trim the ends of the wires. The positioning members are then swung about their axes in a manner such that the trimmed wire ends are moved laterally of their axes and positioned between the sidewalls of an uncrimped connector supported on the anvil means. Thereafter, the die means moves relatively towards the anvil means to crimp the connector onto the wires. In the actual embodiment of the invention disclosed below, two crimping dies and two crimping anvils are provided so that two electrical connectors can be crimped onto four wires during a single operating cycle. However, as will be apparent from the description presented below, the principles of the invention are equally applicable to the type of tool which is adapted to crimp only a single electrical connector during each operating cycle.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the head portion of an apparatus in accordance with the invention showing the positions of the parts at the beginning of the operation cycle with the die sections in their opened positions relative to each other;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 showing the die sections in their closed positions relative to each other, the closed positions being the positions they occupy shortly after the start of an operating cycle;

FIG. 3 is a side view looking in the direction of the arrow of 3--3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but with parts of the head portion of the apparatus broken away;

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary plan view on an enlarged scale of the head portion of the apparatus with parts broken away and showing the positions of the parts after trimming of the wire ends;

FIG. 6 is a view taken along the lines 66 of FIG. 5;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are views similar to FIGS. 5 and 6 but showing the positions of the parts at an intermediate stage of the operating stroke during which the connectors are crimped;

FIGS. 9 and 10 are views similar to FIGS. 5 and 6 showing the positions of the parts at the completion of the crimping operation;

FIGS. 11 and 12 are views taken along the lines 11-11 and 12-12 of FIGS. 1 and 2 and illustrating the pivotal movement of the die sections at the beginning of the operating cycle;

FIG. 13 is a perspective view of two twisted pairs of conductors and two electrical connectors of the type crimped by the disclosed apparatus;

FIG. 14 is a perspective view of two pairs of conductors with the corresponding wires of the pairs connected to each other by crimped connections in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary perspective view, with parts broken away in the interest of clarity, of the lefthand die block of the apparatus of FIG. 1 and showing the positions of the parts at the beginning of the operating cycle;

FIG. 16 is a view similar to FIG. 15 but showing the positions of the parts after the two blocks have been swung into alignment with each other; and

FIG. 17 is a perspective view, on an enlarged scale, of an uncrimped connector.

Referring first to FIGS. 13 and 14, the conductors com monly used in the telephone industry to carry telephone voice signals are provided as pairs, usually referred to as twisted pairs, as shown at 2 and 4. The pair 2 comprises wires 6, 8 which are twisted together and the pair 4 comprises wires 10, 12 which are similarly twisted together. Conductors of this type are usually contained in telephone cables which may contain up to about 2,700 pairs of conductors or 5,600 individual conductors.

When the end of one telephone cable is to be spliced to the end of another cable, or when repairs are being made to a damaged cable, it is necessary to connect the corresponding wires of the pairs of wires in the cable ends to each other. Thus, the wire 6 of the pair 2 would be connected to the wire 10 of the pair 4 and the wire 8 of the pair 2 would be connected to the wire 12 of the pair 4.

The disclosed embodiment of the present invention is adapted to crimp electrical connectors of the type shown at 14 to form connections as indicated in FIG. 14. The connector 14 (FIG. 17) comprises a metallic channel of suitable conductive material such as brass having a web 16 and parallel sidewalls 18. A pair of tongues 20 are struck up from the web and each tongue is provided with two notches 22. The notches of the two tongues are in alignment with each other and are adapted to receive insulated conductors which are forced into the notches when the sidewalls of the connector are bent towards each other and downwardly. The edges of the notches penetrate the insulation and make electrical contact with the wire core during such movement of the wire into the notches thereby obviating the necessity of stripping insulation from the wire ends. The connector 14 is insulated with suitable tough plastic film, such as Mylar (polyethylene terephthalate) which is bonded to the external surface of the connector and which extends beyond its ends as shown at 26 and upwardly beyond the edges of the sidewalls as shown at 28. Connectors of this type are more fully described and claimed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,320,- 354, to which reference is hereby made. It should be noted, however, that the connector 14 is adapted to form a lap splice between two wires in which the wires overlap and extend beside each other. The connectors shown in the above-identified U.S. Pat. No. 3,320,354, on the other hand, are adapted to form butt splices and are, therefore, somewhat longer than the connector 14.

Referring now to FIGS. 1-4, the disclosed form of apparatus 30 in accordance with the invention is in many respects similar to the crimping apparatus fully disclosed in the above identified U.S. Pat. 3,431,621, to which reference is hereby made. Particularly, the actuating mechanism and the frame members of the disclosed form of apparatus are generally similar to the apparatus of the above-identified application and the present invention is directed primarily to the die structure, the means for trimming the wires at the beginning of the crimping cycle, and the means for positioning the trimmed wires in the connectors. Accordingly, the actuating mechanism of the hereindisclosed apparatus will be described only to the extent necessary for an understanding of the invention and recourse may be had to the above-identified co-pending application for further details of the structural features of the actuating mechanism.

The crimping apparaus 30 comprises a pair of parallel ship by an upper spacer block 36 and by a cam follower housing 38 extending between the side-plates at the lower .end of the tool. The spacer block 36 is secured to the sideplates by fasteners 40 (FIG. 3) and the cam follower housing 38 is adjustably mounted between the lower ends of the sideplates by fasteners 42 which extend through inclined slots in the sideplates. As explained fully in U.S. Pat. 3,431,621, this feature permits adjustment of the shut height of the dies, that is, the limit of movement of the dies towards the anvils, thereby permitting crimping of the electrical connectors with a high degree of precision.

The sideplates 32, 34 straddle a stationary frame structure 44 and move relatively downwardly, as viewed in FIGS. 1 and 2 with respect to this frame structure during operation. Frame structure 44 has a pair of raised bosses 45 adjacent to its upper end which are separated by a gap 45a through which the wires are laced at the beginning of the operating cycle. The rearward portion of this stationary frame structure 46 contains a cam 48 which engages a cam follower in the housing 38. The cam 48 is mounted on a shaft 50 which extends above the upper surface of the frame structure 44 and has a handle 52 secured thereto. Turning of this handle through a complete revolution causes the sideplates and the spacer member 36 to move downwardly and then upwardly as viewed in FIG. 1, and, therefore, causes the dies, described below, to move relatively towards and away from anvils which are integral with the spacer 36. A block 54 is integral with the frame part 46 on the underside thereof and has a laterally extending boss 56 by means of which the frame can be mounted on a suitable work support or stand.

The crimping dies 82, 84 are mounted on die blocks 58, 60 which, in turn, are pivotally mounted on the frame structure 44 in the manner described below. As shown in FIG. 5, both of these blocks are made in two sections, the block 58 comprising sections 58a, 59 and the block 60 comprising sections 60a, 61. These blocks and the dies 82, 84 are opposed to a pair of anvils 62, 64 which are integral with the spacer block 36 and which provide spaced-apart connector supporting surfaces to support the uncrimped connectors during the operating cycle. The uncrimped connectors are held on the supporting surfaces of the anvils 62, 64 by means of H-shaped holders 63 which are mounted on the anvils intermediate the ends thereof. Two of the arms 65 of each H-shaped holder extend over the anvil on which it is mounted and secured to the anvil. The remaining two arms extend outwardly from the connector supporting surface of the anvil on opposite sides thereof and are adapted to embrace a connector positioned on the anvil. The distance between these two arms is such that the connector is resiliently clamped by the arms with sufficient force to hold it agains falling. These H-shaped holders are relatively narrow so that they will fit between the two sections of the crimping dies and they will not, therefore, interfere with the crimping function of the dies.

Referring now to FIGS. 11 and 12, the die blocks 58, 60 are mounted on pivot pins 66, 68 which extend through these blocks and into the stationary frame portions on each side of the slot 45a. At the beginning of the operating cycle, the blocks 58, are cocked relative to each other so that their inner sides face obliquely and upwardly as shown in FIGS. 1 and 11. During the initial stages of the operating cycle, these blocks are swung about their pivotal axes 66, 68 until they are in alignment with each other as shown in FIGS. 2 and 12. This swinging of the blocks from the positions of FIG. 11 to the positions of FIG. 12 takes place early in the operating cycle and is accomplished by means of cam rollers 70, 70'. These cam rollers are mounted on pins 73, 73 supported in brackets 72, 72' which, in turn, are secured to the sideplates 32, 34. The cam rollers 70, 70 engage cam surfaces 74, 74' on the undersides of the blocks 58, 60 so that as the sideplates 32, 34 and the other movable structure of the apparatus move downwardly as viewed in FIG. 1, these rollers will move over the surfaces 74, 74. The surfaces 74, 74 are contoured such that the blocks will be swung inwardly during initial movement of the sideplates.

As shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, springs 76, 76 bear against the undersides of the blocks 58, 60 and normally bias these blocks to the position of FIG. 11. These springs are overcome and compressed during the initial stages of the cycle and then return the blocks 58, 60 to their normal positions (FIG. 11) at the end of the operating cycle. Springs 76, 76 are received in recesses in an arm 78 which is secured to the underside of the stationary frame structure 44 by a suitable fastener 80, see FIG. 4. The stationary frame section 78 also functions as a camming member for positioning the Wires in the uncrimped connectors as will be explained below.

The inner sections 59, 61 of the die blocks 58, 60 each have arms 79, 81 (FIGS. 5, 7, and 8) which project towards and face the anvil surfaces 62, 64 when the die blocks are in their closed positions. The end of these arms are provided with die cavities as indicated generally at 82 and 84. As shown best in FIG. 8, the surfaces of the arms slope towards the die cavities as shown at 86 and the sidewalls of the die cavities extend parallel to each other as indicated at and are reversely curled and intersect to form a cusp 87. It will be understood that each of the die cavities 82, 84 are adapted to crimp one of the electrical connectors indicated at FIG. 8. The central portions of the arms 79, 81 projected beyond the die cavities and form a hump 88 which functions to separate the two wires of each pair positioned in the tool.

Referring to FIGS. 5, 7, and 15, opposed slides 67, 69 of the die block sections 59, 61 slope divergently from the crimping area and each die block has a wire shearing member 90, 90' mounted against its sloping side. Since these two shearing members, and their actuating mechanisms, are identical, a description of one will sufiice for both. The same reference numerals, differentiated by prime marks, will be used to identify the corresponding structure of the two shearing members and their actuating mechanisms in the interest of clarity.

The shearing member 90, which is mounted against the sloping side 67 of the die block section 59, is generally arrow shaped with the point or tip of the arrow in alignment with the wire separator section 88 of the end of the block. Notches 96, 98 extend inwardly from the opposite sides of the head of the arrow and define ears 97, 99 which are located immediately behind these notches (i.e., leftwardly of the notches as viewed in FIG. 6). As best shown in FIG. 8, the material of these ears is not as thick as the main body of the separator 90 to that upwardly and downwardly extending shoulders or ridges are defined immediately behind the notches 96, 98. These shoulders support and guide the wires when they are laced in the tool and permit the two die blocks to be swung inwardly and against each other as shown in FIG. 5 until the wire cutters 90, 90' are substantially against each other.

The wire cutter 90 is held in assembled relationship to the block section 59 by means of a rivet having a head 100 (FIG. 5) disposed in a recess in the block section 59. The shank portion 102 of this fastener extends through an elongated slot 104 in the block section 59 which opens onto the sloping sidewall 67 of the block. The wire cutter 90 is secured to the shank portion 102 of the rivet by the upset end portion of the rivet indicated at 106. This arrangement permits the wire cutter 90 to slide relatively over the inclined surface of the block section 59 to accomplish its wire cutting function as will be described below. It should be mentioned at this point that the die block 58 is formed in two sections 58a, 59 in order to permit forming of the recess in which the enlarged head 100 of the rivet is disposed and to permit machining of other cavities and recesses in the composite die block 58 which will be described below.

The wire cutter 90 is moved relatively over the side 67 of block section 59 from the position of FIG. 1 to the position of FIG. 5 to trim the wires of the wire pair 2. This movement of the wire cutter is effected by means of a bell crank type control member generally indicated at 108 (FIGS. 5 and 15) having one arm 114 which extends through a recess in the block section 59 and into a slightly oversized opening in the lefthand end of the cutter 90 as viewed in FIG. 5. The other arm 112 of this bell crank has a bearing sphere 118 on its end which is received in a vertical slot 122 in the stationary frame sec tion 45. The arms 112, 114 have a circular cross-section and may conveniently be formed by bending a piece of common steel rod. The pivot for the bell crank control member comprises an additional short section of steel rod which is brazed or otherwise secured to the sections 112, 114 at their junction. The pivot section 110 is received in a slot 116 in the block section 58a, this slot providing sufficient clearance to permit the pivot section 110 to rotate to a limited extent about its own axis during swinging of the die block 58 from the position of FIG. 1 to the position of FIG. 5.

At this juncture it should be explained that at the beginning of the operating cycle, the parts will be in the positions of FIG. 1 with the wire severing members 90, 90 located at the limit of their upward travel relative to the sides 67, 69 of die block parts 59, 61. When the parts are in this position, the notches 96, 98 in the Wire severing member 90 and the corresponding notches of the other wire severing member 90' will be above (as viewed in FIG. 1) the forming surfaces of the crimping dies 82, 84. The two wires of the pair 2 which extends from the left in FIG. 1 are separated and the wires are laced through a wire gripping and positioning device 126 which is described in more detail below. The two wires are then led downwardly as viewed in FIG. 1 and one wire is led through each of the die cavities and through one of the notches 96, 98 in the wire severing member 90. The end portions of the wires will then extend downwardly as viewed in FIG. 1 and through the gap 45a which separates the bosses 45.

During the initial portion of the operating cycle, and while the sideplates 32, 34 are being initially moved downwardly, the die block 58, 60 are swung inwardly about their pivotal axes 66, 68 by the action of the cam rollers 70, 72 and the cam surfaces 74, 74 as described above. During this swinging of the die blocks into their aligned positions (FIG. the wire cutter members 90, 90' are moved relatively downwardly, or rearwardly, over the inclined surfaces 67, 69 of the blocks 59, 61 by the action of the bell crank control members 108, 108. This movement of the cutter members 90, 90" results in the severing of the wires in the planes of the inclined sides 67, 69 of the die block members 59, 61, the edges of the notches 96, 98 and the edges of the die cavities 82, 84, functioning as a shearing means for the wires. The wire severing member 90 is pulled rearwardly by the arm 114 of the bell crank 108 which swings in an arcuate path relative to the die block structure 58 as illustrated in FIGS. and 16. The swinging of the arm 114 is brought about by rotation of the pivot member 110 of the bell crank in a clockwise direction-as viewed in FIG. 5. The rotation of the pivot member, in turn, is brought about by the movement of the spherical ball bearing 118 on the end of the other bell crank arm 112, this ball bearing being lodged in the vertical slot 122 in the stationary frame part 45 so that it can move only vertically while the die block 58 is being swung arcuately about its pivotal axis 66. As a result of this confined vertical movement of the end of the bell crank arm 112, the pivot section 110 of the bell crank is forced to rotate about its own axis within the pivoting die block and the arm 114 is swung in a direction such that the cutting member is withdrawn leftwardly as viewed in FIG. 5. The actuating means for the other wire cutting member 90' is, of course, the same and the two cuttting members are moved downwardly relative to their die blocks during the same portion of the operating cycle.

During the initial stages of the operating cycle, the wires are held and positioned in the uncrimped connectors supported on the anvil surface 62, 64 by a pair of wire gripping and positioning members 126, 126 shown best in FIGS. 1 and 5-9. These positioning and gripping members are similar in many respects to each other. The gripping and positioning member 126 will be described first and the manner in which the positioning and gripping member 126 differs from its counterpart 126 will be explained subsequently.

The gripping and positioning member 126 is mounted on a support plate 128 (FIG. 8) which is slidably received in a recess 130 in the die block 58. This gripping and positioning member is thus moved along an arcuate path towards the center of the tool while die block 58 is swung inwardly about its pivotal axis 66. A spindle or shaft 132 extends upwardly from the end of the support plate 128 and is inclined rightwardly as viewed in FIG. 8 towards the spacer block 36. A metallic wire separator plate 138 is rotatably mounted on the spindle 132 and has a raised portion intermediate its end which functions to separate the wires. A pair of firm plastic plate members 134, 136 are bonded to the ends of the separator member 138 and have tapered projections 135 extending in the same direction as the center portion of the separator plate 138 to further assist in separating the wire when they are laced in the tool.

A camming finger 140 extends downwardly from the lower end of the wire gripping and positioning member and has an ear 142 on its upper end which is bonded to the plate 136 so that these members 142, 134, 138, and 136 will rotate as a unit with respect to the stationary spindle 132. A torsion spring 144 surrounds the spindle 132 at its lower end and has its end locked on the finger 140 so that it normally biases this finger and the plates 134, 136, and 138 in a clockwise direction as viewed from above to the position shown in FIG. 1.

The end of the support plate 128 is adapted to be engaged by a camming rod or bar 146 (FIG. 8) which extends between the sideplates immediately beneath the spacer block 36. The arrangement is such that during downward movement of the sideplates, as viewed in FIG. 1, the spacer block 36, and camming plate 146, the plate 146 pushes the support plate 128 relatively inwardly with respect to the die block 58. Such inward movement of the plate 128 brings the finger 140 against the end'of a bracket 78. This bracket 78 is secured to the underside of the stationary frame 44 by a fastener so that the finger 140 is moved relatively rightwardly by the end of the bracket 78 when the parts move from the relative positions of FIG. 8 to the positions of FIGS. 9 and 10. This movement of the finger 140 over the edge of the stationary bracket 78 causes the separator plate 138 and the rubber- like clamping members 136, 134 to be rotated in a counterclockwise direction about the axis of the spindle 132 against the biasing force of the torsion spring 144.

The operation of the wire gripping and positioning means 126 is as follows. The wires of the pair 2 are separated and one wire is located on each side of the raised center of the separator member 138. The wires are then pulled downwardly as viewed in FIG. 1 so that these wires will be gripped between the compressible plates 134, 136 and the sides of the metallic separator member 138. The ends of the wires are led through the notches 96, 98 in the wire cutter members as described before and as shown in FIG. 1. After the die blocks have been swung inwardly and the cutter member has been moved over the inner surface 67 of the die block 58 to the cut wires, the trimmed wire ends will extend obliquely towards the sloping side of the die section 59 as is shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Upon further relative movement of the sideplates and the movable structural parts towards the anvil blocks, the camming finger and the parts 142, 134, 138, 136 are rotated about the axis of the spindle 132. During such rotation of the wire positioning means, the wires will remain gripped between the sides of the plate 138 and the compressible sides of the plates 134, 136. The wires will thus be moved along an arcuate path laterally of their axes and positioned between the sidewalls of the connectors supported on the anvil supporting surfaces 62, 64. The upper wire in FIG. 6 being located between the sidewalls of the upper connector and the lower wires are located between the sidewalls of the lower connector. This movement of the wires takes place during relative movement of the sideplates towards the dies and prior to bottoming of the dies on the connectors so that the wires will be properly positioned in the connectors when the crimping operation is finally carried out.

It will be apparent from FIG. 1 that the axis of the spindle 132 on which the lefthand wire positioning and holding means is mounted slopes obliquely upwardly as viewed in FIG. 1 while the axis of the right hand spindle 132 slopes obliquely downwardly and leftwardly. It will also be apparent from FIG. 1 that the end of the bracket 78 is stepped at 77 so that the finger 140 is not in direct alignment with the finger 140' after the die blocks are swung to their closed positions, see FIG. 7. The purpose of these structural features is to permit movement of the wires into the connectors along independent paths in a manner such that the wires will not collide with each other and, further, to position the wires in side-by-side relationship in the connectors with one wire being aligned with one pair of aligned slots in each connector. Referring to FIG. 6, it can be seen that the wires which appear in this figure will be located in the lower slots of the upper connector and the lower slots of the lower connector. Since the spindle 132 on which the wire positioning and locating means 126' is mounted slants in the opposite direction from the spindle 132, the wires which are led into the tool from the right in FIG. 1 will, therefore, be positioned in the upper set of slots in each connector. The step 77 in the bracket 78 provides a slight time interval between the swinging of the two positioning members so that one pair of wires will be moved ahead of the other pair thereby further decreasing the possibility of the wires colliding with each other during their movement into the uncrimped connectors.

To briefly review the operation of the disclosed embodiment of the invention, the parts will be in the position of FIG. 1 at the beginning of the operating cycle. The pair of wires 2, which extend from the left in FIG. 1, are led over the lefthand wire gripping and positioning member 126 and the two wires of this pair are separated by the separator plate 138. The upper wire is wedged between the plate 136 and the separator plate 138 and the lower wire is wedged between the resilient plate 134 and the separator plate 138. The wires of the pair 2 are then led downwardly as viewed in FIG. 1 through the notches 96, 98 of the wire cutter 90 and through the gap which separates the bosses 45 on the upper end of the stationary frame. The pair 4, which extends from the right in FIG. 1, is similarly positioned in the right hand wire positioning and separating member, through the notches in the wire cutting member 90' and also between the gap as shown in FIG. 1. Uncrimped connectors are then placed on the supporting surfaces 62, 64 of the anvils and are held in position by the connector holding members 63. The operator then turns the handle 52 through a complete revolution to cause the movable structure including the sideplates and the spacing member 36 on which the anvils are mounted to move relatively towards and away from the fixed structure including the die. During such initial movement, the dies are swung inwardly and into alignment with each other by the action of the cam followers 70, 70 (see FIGS. 11 and 12) and the wire cutting members -90, 90 are moved rearwardly with respect to the die blocks to sever the wires. After the dies are swung into align ment with each other, the parts will occupy the positions shown at FIG. and the trimmed wire ends will extend obliquely from the wire holding positioning members 126 towards the dies. The anvils are then moved relatively towards the dies and the wires are swung laterally until the trimmed wire ends are positioned in the uncrimped connectors, see FIG. 9. During the final stages of the movement of the anvils towards the dies, the uncrimped connectors are moved relatively into the die cavities 82, 84 and the sidewalls of the connectors are bent inwardly and downwardly with respect to the web portions of the connectors thereby to crimp the connectors onto the wires. Subsequently, the sideplates and the movable structure of the apparatus are return to the starting positions and the crimped connections can be removed from the connector holders. As explained in U.S. Pat. 3,431,621, return of the parts to their starting position after the crimping operation has been carried out can be brought about by a cam follower mounted on the sideplates 32, 34 in engagement with a second cam mounted on the shaft 50' beneath the cam 48. Alternatively, if desired, suitable springs can be mounted on the movable structure including the sideplates to return the parts to their starting positions.

It will be apparent that the disclosed form of apparatus in accordance with the invention permits the achievement of crimped connections between the corresponding wires of two pairs of Wires in a single operation cycle. The lineman making the connections need only handle the pairs 2, 4 one time during the operating cycle and he deals with the separate pairs of conductors in the cable ends as pairs rather than as indivdual wires. The lacing of the wires into the apparatus is a relatively simple and straightforward operation and can be carried out in a time interval which is no greater than the time required to lace sin le wires in prior art tools. In these respects, the present invention offers the same advantages as are offered by the apparatus disclosed in my U.S. Pat. 3,431,621, referred to above. An apparatus in accordance with the present invention differs from the apparatus of U.S. Pat 3,431,621 in that the present invention is adapted to crimp a relatively short connector of the type in which the wires over lap each other in the crimped connection. In other words, the instant application is adapted to form a lap connection between the corresponding wires rather than a butt connection. Lap type connections are preferred under some circumstances because they are shorter than butt type connections and a completed cable splice between two cable ends with lap type connections does not result in as much bulk increase in the cable as does a similar splice where butt type connections are employed.

Changes in construction will occu'r to those skilled in the art and various apparently difierent modifications and embodiments may be made without departing from the scope of the invention. The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for trimming the ends of wires and crimping an electrical connecting device onto the trimmed wire ends comprising:

frame means crimping anvil means on said frame means crimping die means, on said frame means, said die means being divided in two parts along a transversely extending medial plane, said die means being movable relatively towards and away from said anvil means along a predetermined path, said parts of said die means being pivotally mounted on spaced apart axes extending parallel to said path, said parts being rotatable between an open position and a closed position when said die means is remote from said anvil means, and being movable relatively towards said anvil means when said parts are in said closed positions,

said parts having adjacent sides, severing means mounted on, and movable with respect to, said adjacent sides to sever wires extending past the planes of said sides, whereby upon positioning each of said wires on one of said parts and moving said severing means over said adjacent sides, said wires are trimmed in the planes of said sides, and upon relative movement of said die means towards said anvil, a connecting device supported on said anvil is crimped onto said wires.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 including means on said frame means for supporting said wires on each side of said path.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 including wire supporting and positioning means on said frame means on each side of said path, each wire supporting and posi tioning means being adapted to hold one of said wires during trimming thereof, and to thereafter move said one wire laterally along said path and position said one wire in a connector supported on said anvil.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein said anvil means is adapted to support two connecting devices and said die means is adapted to crimp said two connecting devices simultaneously, whereby said apparatus is adapted to form two electrical connections between four wires.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 wherein each of said severing means comprises a severing member mounted against its associated adjacent side of one of said die parts, each of said severing members being movable past an adjacent edge of its respective die part to sever one of said wires.

6. Apparatus for trimming the ends of pairs of wires extending axially towards each other and crimping an open 1 1 U-type electrical connector onto the trimmed ends, said apparatus comprising: crimping die means and crimping anvil means means for moving said die means and anvil means relatively towards and away from each other, slot means extending transversely through said die means intermediate the ends thereof,

severing means mounted on said die means, said severing means being movable through said slot means and cooperable With the sides of said slot means to cut a wire,

wire holding and swinging means beside said anvil means for swinging said wire ends about an axis extending transversely of the path of movement of said die means towards said anvil means whereby, after severing of said wires, the trimmed wire ends are positioned in an uncrimped connector supported on said anvil means and said connector is thereafter crimped onto said wires.

7. An apparatus for trimming the ends of Wires and crimping an electrical connecting device onto the trimmed wire ends comprising:

a crimping die and a crimping anvil,

means for moving said die and anvil relatively towards and away from each other along a predetermined path,

means cooperable with said die for trimming said wires during initial movement of said die relatively towards said anvil,

a pair of Wire positioning members disposed on each side of said anvil,

each of said wire positioning members having means for holding one of said wires at a location adjacent to its end, each of said wire positioning members being rotatable about an axis extending transversely of said path thereby to swing said wires arcuately towards said anvil and position said wires in an uncrimped terminal supported on said anvil.

7/1967 Over. 3/ 1969 Gurley et al.

THOMAS H. EAGER, Primary Examiner

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