US3550239A

US3550239A - Terminal applicator having means for separating dies

Info

Publication number: US3550239A
Application number: US759578A
Authority: US
Inventors: George William Rider
Original assignee: AMP Inc
Current assignee: TE Connectivity Corp
Priority date: 1968-09-13
Filing date: 1968-09-13
Publication date: 1970-12-29
Anticipated expiration: 1987-12-29

Description

G, w. RIDER TERMINAL APPLICATOR HAVING MEANS FOR SEPARATING DIES Filed Sept. 13, 1868 Dec. 29, 1970 6 Shets-Shent 1 (5. W. RIDER Dec. 29, 1970 TERMINAL APPLICATOR HAVING MEANS FOR SEPARATINQDIES 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Sept. 13

Dec. 29, 1970 G. w. RIDER NAL APPLICATOR HAVING MEANS FOR SEPARA'IING DIE TERMI 6 Sheets-Sheet Filed Sept. 13, 1968 G. W. RIDER Dec. 29, 1970 TERMINAL APPLICATOR HAVING MEANS FOR SEPARA'I'ING DIES 6 Sheets-Sheet 4.

Filed Sept. 13. 1968 Dec. 29, 1910 G. w. RIDER 3,550,239

TERMINAL APPLICATOR HAVING MEANS FOR SEPARATING DIES 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Sept. 13. l968 I37 2:? I78 0 ms 239 G. W. RIDER Dec. 29, 1970 TERMINAL APPLICATOR HAVING MEANS FOR SEPARATING DIES 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Sept. 13, 1968 United States Patent 3,550,239 TERMINAL APPLICATOR HAVING MEANS FOR SEPARATING DIES George William Rider, Harrisburg, Pa., assignor to AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa. Filed Sept. 13, 1968, Ser. No. 759,578 lint. Cl. H011 43/04; B21d 11/04, 31/02 US. Cl. 29-203 6 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Terminal applicator for applying terminals to wires has fixed crimping die and movable crimping die. Movable die is connected by a lost motion coupling to the ram of a press and is resiliently biased, with respect to the ram, towards the fixed die. Means are provided for manually raising the movable die, when the movable die is at the upper limit of its stroke, against the force of the biasing spring in the lost motion connection thereby to permit servicing or changing of the terminal strip or belt in the applicator. Raising of the movable die also has the effect of raising a guide plate which extends over the terminal strip and opening a switch to de-energize the control circuitry for the press.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to apparatus for crimping electrical connectors onto the ends of wires and is related to my copending application Ser. No. 738,326 filed June 19, 1968.

It is now common practice in the electrical terminal art to crimp terminals onto wires by means of automatic or semi-automatic applicators which have feeding means for feeding a terminal strip or belt towards the operating zone of the machine and crimping dies for crimping the leading terminal of the strip or belt onto an inserted wire. The term strip as used above is intended to refer to a length of connected terminals which were manufactured by stamping from a continuous length of strip metal so that the adjacent terminals of the strip are connected by integral metal slugs or by an integral carrier strip. At the time of crimping, the individual terminals are removed from the strip, usually by shearing, and the connecting portions of the strip (the slugs or the carrier strip) are discarded as scrap. The term belt as used above is intended to refer to a continuous length of plastic film having individual terminals mounted thereon at spaced intervals. At the time of crimping, the individual terminals are removed from the belt and the plastic belt is usually discarded as scrap. The technique of mounting individual terminals on a belt is used for those types of terminals which can not be conveniently manufactured as a continuous strip, for example, high quality terminals which must have their entire surfaces plated with tin or gold. A strip terminal, even if plated, will inevitably have an unplated surface portion which is exposed when the terminal is sheared from the strip.

The present invention is addressed generally to the achievement of an improved applicator for terminals in the form of a continuous strip or belt which permits changing of the strip or belt in a short time by an unskilled operator, which can be easily and quickly serviced, and which has improved safety features.

A preferred embodiment of the invention comprises a terminal applicator having fixed and movable crimping dies and belt feeding means for feeding a belt having terminals thereon towards the dies. The movable crimping die has a lost motion coupling to a press ram and is resiliently biased towards the fixed die. Means are provided for manually raising the movable die, when it is 3,550,239 Patented Dec. 29, 1970 ICE in its remote position with respect to the fixed die, against the biasing force of the spring in the lost motion connection and for simultaneously opening an electrical switch which prevents actuation of the press ram. At the same time, a guide plate, which normally extends over the belt, is raised. The arrangement is such that the operator need only shift the position of a lever to raise the movable crimping die, de-energize the press motor, and raise the guide plate so that one belt may be removed from the applicator and another belt installed.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a sectional side view of a preferred form of terminal applicator mounted in a crimping press in accordance with the invention, this view showing the positions of the parts at the beginning of the operating cycle;

FIG. 2 is a side view, on an enlarged scale, of the applicator portion of the apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a front view of the applicator portion of the apparatus showing the positions of the parts at the beginning of the operating cycle;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of the applicator showing the terminal belt feed mechanism and the crimping dies, the upper crimping dies being elevated from their normal positions in the interest of clarity;

FIG. 5 is a sectional side view taken along the lines 55 of FIG. 3 but showing the positions of the parts immediately after the leading terminal of the belt has been crimped onto a wire and prior to removal of the crimped terminal from the belt;

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 5 but showing the positions of the parts after the belt has been moved away from the crimping zone to break the crimped termination away from the belt;

FIGS. 7 and 8 are views taken along the lines 7-7 and 88 of FIG. 2 and showing respectively the drive sprockets for the belt feed mechanism and the actuating means for these drive sprockets;

FIG. 9 is a view taken along the lines 9-9 of FIG. 3 showing details of a lifting mechanism for raising the upper or movable crimping dies away from the lower or fixed dies for servicing or threading purposes, this view showing the positions of the parts when the dies are in their lowered or normal positions; and

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 showing the positions of the parts when the movable crimping dies are in their raised positions.

Referring first to FIG. 4, a typical form of terminal belt 2 comprises a relatively wide strip 4 of suitable plastic such as Mylar (polyethylene terephthalate) and a relatively narrow strip of the same material 6 which extends along one edge of the wide strip. The ring tongue portions 8 of the terminals are held against the surface of the wide plastic strip 4 by the narrow strip 6 which is bonded as by welding at discrete locations surrounding the terminal tongues 10. The neck portions 12 of the terminals extend laterally beyond the plastic strip 4 and merge with the barrel portions 14 of the terminals. The wide strip 4 of plastic has spaced-apart perforations 11 along its one side which are adapted to be engaged by suitable teeth of the feeding mechanism when the strip or belt is placed in an applicator. The barrel portions of the terminals are adapted to be crimped onto the exposed core 16 and the insulation 18 of a wire during the crimping operation. During the interval between crimping operations, the belt is fed towards the crimping zone of the applicator to locate an uncrimped terminal between the crimping dies. It will be understood that a wide variety of types of terminal devices (including splices) are commercially available in belt form although the details of the different types of terminals will differ from those shown in the drawing. The term terminals is used as a matter of convenience a herein and is intended to include all types of connecting devices.

Referring now to FIG. 1, the disclosed embodiment of the invention comprises a press having a suitable housing 22 with a channel-shaped casting 24 mounted against one side thereof and defining a gap 26 within which the applicator for crimping the terminals onto the wires is mounted. The applicator is supported on an additional frame member 28 having a face portion 30. The press ram 32 is slidably mounted in a guide means above the gap 26 and is coupled by means of a link 34 to one arm 36 of a bell crank. This bell crank is pivoted at its elbow 38 in the press housing and has a rearwardly extending arm 40 which is coupled by means of a ball-joint 42 to a connecting rod 44. The lower end of this connecting rod is coupled by means of a bell-joint 46 to a plate 48 which is eccentrically mounted on a shaft 50, a conventional electrically activated single revolution clutch 52 being provided on the shaft to drive it through a single revolution when a suitable switch is energized. The shaft has a flywheel 54 on its end which is coupled by means of a belt 56 to electric motor 58. It will thus be apparent that the motor and the flywheel rotate continuously and that during each operating cycle, the technician causes the clutch 52 to be engaged thereby to rotate the plate 48 and move the connecting rod 44 downwardly as viewed in the drawing, then upwardly. It should be mentioned at this point, that at the beginning of the operating cycle, the ram 32 is in a partially lowered position rather than in its raised position for reasons which will be explained as this description proceeds.

The terminal belt 2 is fed through the gap 26 of the apparatus by means of a pair of spaced-apart sprocket wheels 60, 62 (FIG. 3 and 7) mounted on parallel spacedapart shafts 68, in

recesses

64, 66 of a mounting block 72, this mounting block being rearwardly movable as will be described below. The right hand sprocket as viewed in FIG. 7, 62 is driven in a manner which will be described below and the two sprockets are coupled by means of a feed belt 74 which passes through a recess 76 on the upper side of the block 72. Feed belt 74 has internal teeth 78 on its underside which are engaged with the sprocket teeth 80 of the two sprocket wheels. Belt 74 also has relatively large spaced-apart teeth 82 on its external surface which are adapted to enter the spaced-apart perforations 11 of the terminal belt 2 and pull the belt through the crimping zone during operation. As will be apparent from FIG. 7, a relatively large number of the teeth 82 are in engagement with the terminal belt 2 at all times so that the danger of a breakdown as a result of tearing or an imperfection in the terminal belt 2 is minimized.

The sprocket 62 is mounted on the shaft 70 by means of a one-way clutch 86 (FIG. 8) and the shaft 70 has a drive sprocket 84 mounted on this clutch immediately behind the driven sprocket 62. The drive sprocket is intermittently indexed by means of a detent 88 mounted in a recess 90. This recess is provided in the cross-member of a yoke 92 (FIG. 4), the detent 88 being resiliently biased towards the drive sprocket by means of a suitable leaf spring 96 on the external surface of the yoke 92. The yoke 92 has an arm 100 which extends behind the rearwardly facing surface of the block 72 and a pin 102 mounted in this block extends through an opening in the arm 100, the arrangement being such as to permit rearward motion of the block 72 in a manner which will be described below.

As shown best in FIG. 2, a pin 102 is mounted in, and extends from, the arm 100 of yoke 92 and a clevis block 98 is pivotally mounted on this pin. A connecting rod 104 is pivoted to the block 98 and extends downwardly towards the base of the press. The lower end of this connecting rod is pivotally connected at 106 to a lever 108, this lever being pivoted intermediate its ends at 110 to a bracket 112 secured to the side of the press housing. The rearwardly extending arm of the lever 108 is pivoted at 114- to an upwardly extending connecting rod 116 and the upper end of this rod, in turn, is connected by a weldment 117 to a feed actuator arm 118 (FIGS. 1, 2 and 3). The feed actuating arm 118 is pivoted at 120 to a bracket 122 secured to the side of the press housing. This arm, 118, extends leftwardly as viewed in FIG. 3 through the press housing and has a bearing block 124 secured to its inner end. A rod 126 extends slidably downwardly through an opening in block 124 and has a clevis 128 on its upper end by means of which it is pivotally connected at 130 to the arm 40 of the previously identified bell crank. A spring 132 surrounds the rod 126 and bears against the clevis 128 and against the surface of the block 124 to permit overtravel of the rod 126 when the arm 118 moves against an adjustable stop 134 mounted on the frame casting 24.

At the beginning of the operating cycle, the bell crank arm 40 will have swung through a clockwise are from its upper limit of travel, the upper crimping dies will be partially lowered, and the arm 118, will be against the stop 134. During the crimping cycle, the arm 40 moves further downwardly and the rod 126 is moved downwardly through the block 124, the spring 132 being compressed during this portion of the cycle. When the bell crank arm 40 subsequently moves upwardly as viewed in FIG. 1, after the terminal has been crimped, the spring 132 returns to its normal position and the arm 118 is then swung through a slight arc about its pivotal axis 120. Connecting rod 116 is moved upwardly as a result of such upward movement of arm 118 and the arm 104 is moved downwardly (see FIG. 2) thereby to index the drive sprocket 84 and the feed sprocket 62. As will be explained more fully below, after the arm 40 reaches the upper limit of its travel and then moves downwardly until the feed arm 118 is again located against the stop 134. Feeding of the belt thus takes place during the final portion of the operating cycle but before the cycle is completed.

During each operating cycle, the terminal belt 2 is advanced over the upper surface of the block 72 by an amount equal to the spacing between the individual terminals on the belt. Advantageously, an apron 136 is provided on the front edge of the block 72 and this apron extends rightwardly and laterally in FIG. 4 beyond the edge of the block as indicated at 139 so that the belt, from which the terminals have been removed, will be led away from the operating or crimping zone of the apparatus. It will also be noted from FIG. 4 that a guide means for guiding the belt towards the operating zone is provided in the form of a bent rod secured to a bracket 137 which is fixed to the front face of block 72.

The terminal belt 2 is held against the upper surface of the apron 136 by means of a retaining plate or guide plate 138 having a groove 140 on its underside which is adapted to receive the upper edges of the teeth 82 of the feed belt. The retainer plate 138 normally occupies the position shown in FIG. 5 but is pivotally mounted at its right-hand end as viewed in FIG. 5 by means of arms 142 which extend on each side of the upstanding ears 144 of a bracket 146. When the applicator is deactivated for servicing purposes, or to thread a new section of terminal tape through the feed mechanism, this plate is raised in a manner which will be described below.

The block 72 has a rearwardly extending recess 158 on its underside which is lined with a suitable wearresistant material 163 as shown in FIG. 4 and which straddles a fixed support or guide block 160. The rearward end of this support block is, in turn, supported on a block 162 and secured and positioned by a fastener 166 which extends through the

blocks

160, 162 and into an applicator base block 164. The applicator base block, in turn, is mounted on the upper surface of the frame section 28. The left-hand end of. the support block is supported on the upper surface 168 of a support block 170 which is mounted on the frame member 28 and has forwardly extending feet 172 which are secured to the plate 30 by means of suitable fasteners 174. The lower or fixed crimping die 176 for crimping the barrel portion of a terminal onto the insulation of a wire and the wire barrel crimping die 178 are secured on the upper surface of the support block 160 and fixed by means of a fastener 182 to a rightwardly extending arm 180 of an additional tooling support block 184, this block being mounted on and secured to the previously identified support block 170.

The feed support block 72 is slidably mounted on the fixed block 160 and moved rightwardly as viewed in FIGS. and 6, during each operating cycle, to separate a crimped terminal from the terminal tape. Such rightward movement of the block 72 is achieved by means of a connecting rod 148 which is pivotally mounted between ears on the bracket 146 and which extends through an opening in the frame section 24 as shown in FIG. 1. The right-hand end of the connecting rod 148 is pivotally connected at 150 to a lever 152 which extends upwardly as viewed in FIG. 1 and is pivoted to a' bracket 153 fixed to the frame. The upper end of the lever 152 has a cam roller 154 thereon which is adapted to be engaged by a cam plate 156 mounted on the periphery of the plate 48, which, as noted above, is secured to the shaft 50. It will be apparent from FIG. 1 that during each complete revolution of the shaft 50, the cam plate 156 will cause the lever 152 to swing through a slight counterclockwise arc about its pivotal axis thereby moving the connecting rod 148 rightwardly and moving the feed mechanism support block 72 from the position of FIG. 5 to the position of FIG. 6. Since the guide plate 138 is mounted on the support block 72 by means of a bracket 146, it also moves rightwardly during this interval.

As also shown in FIG. 5, the feed mechanism support block 72 is normally biased leftwardly, that is, to its forward position relative to the front of the applicator, by means of a spring 155 having one end secured to a pin 157 mounted in the base plate 164 and having its other end secured to a pin 159 which extends downwardly from a bracket 161, this bracket being integral with the block 72 and extending downwardly besides the fixed support block 160. As will be explained more fully below, rightward movement of the feed mechanism support block 72 takes place while the dies are in their closed positions and the crimped terminal is being held between the fixed and movable dies so that the terminal will be broken away from the rightwardly moving (as viewed in FIG. 5) belt.

The upper or movable crimping dies 186, 188 are mounted by means of a fastener 190 on the face of a die mounting block 192 which has a lost motion connection with the press ram 32. This lost motion connection comprises a pair of upwardly extending arms 194 on each side of the die mounting block which are slidably received in vertical slots 196 on the sides of the ram 32. Transversely extending slots 200 are provided on the ram sides intermediate the ends of the slots 196 and pins 198 extend through the arms 194 and into these slots thereby to permit a limited amount of lost motion between the die mounting block and the press ram. The die mounting block is normally biased downwardly to the position shown in FIG. 4 by means of a coil spring 202 which extends into aligned recesses on the lower surface and upper surface respectively of the press ram of the die mounting block. During downward movement of the ram, this spring is compressed as shown in FIG. 5 and the pins 198 move relatively upwardly in the slots 200 until the lost motion has been taken up.

As previously noted, FIG. 3 shows the positions of the parts at the beginning of the operating cycle at which time an uncrimped terminal will be contained between the fixed and movable crimping dies and the ram 32 will be in a partially lowered position. During the operating cycle, the ram 32 will move relatively downwardly from the position shown in FIG. 2 until the spring 202 is compressed as explained above, and the pins 198 are at the upper limit of their relative motion within the slots 200. It is desirable, however, to be able to move the die mounting block 192 upwardly independently of the ram thereby to raise the movable crimping dies when it is necessary to thread a new terminal tape into the apparatus or for other servicing purposes. This is accomplished by means of a pin 204 extending laterally from the side of the die mounting block 192 above a reduced end 206 of an arm 208. Referring to FIG. 9, the arm 208 extends rearwardly and is pivotally mounted at 210 on a bracket 212 secured to the right hand (as viewed in FIG. 3) side of the press frame. Arm 208 is raised by means of a roller or bearing 214 which extends through a horizontally extending slot 216 in the arm 208 and which is eccentrically mounted on a short shaft 218. The shaft 218 is rotatably mounted in the bracket 212 and is provided with a forwardly extending handle 220. It will be apparent that when the handle is moved upwardly from the position of FIG. 9 to the position of FIG. 10, the reduced end 206 of the arm 208 will engage the pin 204 and raise the tool mounting block relative to the press ram.

In the disclosed embodiment, 2. depending hook 224 is provided on the arm 208 and is interengaged with a similar hook 226 on the upper surface of the belt guide plate 138. It will thus be apparent that when the tool mounting block 192 is raised, the retaining plate 138 will also be raised so the operator can thread a new belt through the apparatus by merely laying its surface against the upper surface of the block 72.

The disclosed embodiment is also provided with a safety feature in the form of a switch 221 (FIG. 2) mounted on the previously identified bracket 212 and having a switch arm 222 in engagement with the surface of the shaft 218. In the immediate vicinity of the switch arm, the surface of the shaft is ground fiat so that the switch arm occupies its normal position when the handle 220 is in the position of FIG. 2, that is, when the applicator is being operated. When the handle 220 is raised, however, switch arm 222 is swung inwardly by the shaft 218 to open the switch 221 which is suitably wired in with the control circuits for the applicator in a manner such that the motor is de-energized when the handle 220 is raised.

The single revolution clutch 52, which is engaged for each operating cycle of the apparatus, can be actuated by a suitable foot switch if desired, however, it is preferable to provide a switch device which is energized immediately when the wire end is inserted and properly located between the crimping dies. In the disclosed embodiment, a switch device of the type fully described in U.S. Pat. 3,289,445 is provided comprising a metallic wire end detector 225 which is contained in an insulating block 227. This block is secured to an arm 229 which, in turn, is mounted on a transversely extending arm of an L-shaped bracket 233. The bracket 233 extends rearwardly, as viewed in FIG. 5, beyond and above the ears 144 of the bracket 146 and is pivotally connected at 235 to a vertically extending plate 237, this plate being fixed to the right hand ends, as viewed in FIG. 5, of the

blocks

160, 164 by fasteners 239. An electrical cable 231 is contained in the arm 229 and has its end connected to the sensing conductor 225. This cable extends rightwardly as viewed in FIG. 5 to the circuitry described in U.S. Pat. 3,289,445. The arrangement is thus such that when a wire end is located between the upper and lower crimping dies with its end contacting the sensing conductor 225, the single revolution clutch 52 will be energized to operate the apparatus for a single cycle.

The wire end detecting means is raised, when the handle 220 is raised, by virtue of the fact that the arm 229 extends above the guide plate 138. When the guide plate is swung upwardly about its pivotal axis, it moves against the underside of the arm 229 and raises this arm, and the bracket 233 about the pivotal axis 235.

It is desirable to provide a resilient biasing means for holding the wire end detecting means in its lowered position to insure that the metallic sensing means 225 will be precisely located behind the dies when the parts are in their normal positions. In the disclosed embodiment, a leaf spring 244 is provided for this purpose which is mounted on a plate 248 secured by fasteners 250 to the bracket 233. The free end of the leaf spring extends into a recess on the underside of the tooling block 192 and is held in this recess by a pin 246. When the ram and the tooling block are in their normal positions at the beginning of an operating cycle, this spring is resiliently flexed downwardly so that it biases the pivoted bracket 233 to the limit of its counterclockwise travel as viewed in FIG. 5. When the bracket is so located, the metallic sensing means 225 will be located accurately with respect to the crimping dies. When the ram and the tooling block move to their lowermost positions, during crimping of a terminal onto a Wire, the leaf spring 244 will be flexed downwardly by an additional amount but the wire end detecting assembly will not move.

After the leading terminal of the belt has been crimped onto the wire, and after the upper or movable dies have been raised from the position of FIGS. and 6, the crimped termination is ejected laterally by means of an ejector arm 228 pivotally connected by pin 230 between the ears of an arm 232 which is secured to a pivot pin 234. The pivotal mounting of the arm 228 on the boss 232 permits the arm itself to be moved laterally or forwardly away from the crimping zone, again for purposes of servicing or repair. The pin 234 extends through the tool mounting block 170 and has a plate 236 secured to its rearward end. This plate extends past an arm 242 of the previously identified yoke member and has an elongated slot which receives the pin extending from the arm 242, the arrangement being such that during downward movement of the connecting rod 104, the ejector arm 228 is moved along an arcuate path in a clockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 3 to push the completed termination laterally away from the crimping zone. The convenience and importance of this feature will be apparent from a description of the operating cycle which follows.

At the beginning of the operating cycle, the parts will be in the position of FIGS. 2 and 3 with an uncrimped terminal located between the partially closed dies. The die holder 192 will be in its lowered position relative to the press ram 32 as, indicated by positions of the pins 198 in FIG. 3 and by the fact that the spring 202 is in its extended condition. The operator first inserts the stripped end 16 of a wire 18 into the terminal. The wire end detector is energized by the wire thereby to engage the clutch 52 and drive the eccentric plate 48 through a single revolution. During the initial portion of the stroke, the ram moves relatively downwardly until the lost motion between the ram and the die holding block 192 is taken out. Thereafter, the ram moves a further portion of its downward stroke to crimp the ferrule of the terminal onto the wire. During this interval, and while the crimped termination is being held between the fixed and movable dies (FIGS. 5 and 6), the connecting rod 148 is moved rightwardly under the influence of the cam plate 156 thereby to move the belt feed support block 72 from the position of FIG. 5 to the position of FIG. 6. Since the terminal is being held firmly between the dies 176, 178, and 186, 188, the belt is pulled away from the terminal so that the tongue portion of the terminal is broken away from the belt. The block 72 then returns to its starting position and, in fact, the terminal may be reinserted into the belt between the strips 4, 6 although it will not be gripped tightly since the weldments 10 will have been broken. Thereafter, as the ram 32 moves upwardly, the arm 228 moves through a clockwise arc to eject the completed termination from the crimping zone and the belt feed mechanism is actuated by the connecting rod 104 to advance the belt and position an un- 8 crimped terminal between the crimping dies. During the final portion of the cycle, the ram descends partially until the dies surround the uncrimped terminal and the parts return to the positions of FIG. 3.

Whenever it is necessary to change the belt 2, or when it is desired to change the type of terminal being applied, it is merely necessary to raise the handle 220, remove the one belt from the applicator and locate the new belt on the plate 139 with its perforation 11 on the teeth 82. These operations can be carried out quickly by an unskilled operator so that the down time of the applicator is kept to an absolute minimum.

Changes 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. The matter set forth in the foregoing description and accompanying drawings is offered by way of illustration only.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for crimping electrical terminals onto wires comprising:

first and second crimping members disposed in an operating zone, a reciprocable actuator ram, said first crimping member being fixed, said second crimping member having a lost motion connection to said actuator ram,

resilient means effective between said actuator ram and said second crimping member biasing said second crimping member towards said first crimping member, and

means for manually moving said second crimping member relatively away from said first crimping member against the force of said resilient means and holding said second crimping member in a remote position with respect to said first crimping member thereby to clear said operating zone for servicing purposes.

2. Apparatus for crimping electrical terminals onto wires comprising:

first and second crimping members, disposed in an operating zone, a reciprocable ram, motor means for actuating said ram, switch means for controlling said motor means,

said first crimping member being fixed, said second crimping member having a lost motion connection to said ram,

resilient means interposed between said second crimping member and said ram, said resilient means biasing said second crimping member relatively towards said first crimping member with respect to said ram, and

deactivating means for manually moving said second crimping member away from said first crimping member against the force of said resilient means and for concomitantly opening said switch means thereby to clear said operating zone for servicing and prevent activation of said ram during servicing.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein said deactivating means comprises a pivotally mounted lever having a free end which is engageable with said second crimping member, and including means for moving said lever along an arcuate path to move said second crimping member away from said first crimping member.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 wherein deactivating means comprises a lever pivoted at one end and having a free end in engagement with said second crimping member, eccentric means for swinging said lever in a direction to move said second crimping member away from said first crimping member, said switch means being disposed adjacent to said eccentric means, said eccentric means being adapted to open said switch means when said second crimping member is moved away from said first crimping member by said lever.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 including wire sensing means, for energizing said motor means, on one side of, and in alignment with, said dies, and means con- References Cited meeting said lever and said wire sensing means whereby UNITED STATES PATENTS said W1re sensing means 15 moved from said operating one by said leven SFOIZ 6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 including guide r 3,184,950 5/1965 sltZ means for guiding a strip of terminals through said oper- 3,386,153 6/1968 Lau 6t 31 29-203 ating zone, and means connecting said lever and said guide means whereby said guide means is moved from said operating zone by said lever.

THOMAS H. EAGER, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 72307, 331