US3573625A

US3573625A - Apparatus for trimming and splicing wires

Info

Publication number: US3573625A
Application number: US776199A
Authority: US
Inventors: Colin David Kindell; Terence Robert Raynor
Original assignee: AMP Inc
Current assignee: TE Connectivity Corp
Priority date: 1968-11-15
Filing date: 1968-11-15
Publication date: 1971-04-06
Anticipated expiration: 1988-04-06

Abstract

A crimping tool carries out both trimming and splicing operations in a single stroke so that the wires are trimmed between the ends of a connector; the wires do not sag and the trimmed wire ends lie within the connector. The tool has a pair of wire-trimming blades mounted for rotation on either side of the path of a movable die, which blades cooperate with trimming edges extending along such path. Each wire is oriented so as to be within the path of movement of one trimming blade and outside the path of movement of the other.

Description

United States Patent 13573525 [72] Inventors Colin David Kindell References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,965,957 l2/l960 Packard Bushey;

Terence Robert Raynor, London, England [211 App]. No. 776,199 [22] Filed Nov. 15,1968 3,436,820 4/1969 Reem et [45] Patented Apr. 6, 1971 Primary Examiner-Thomas l-l. Eager AttorneysCurtis, Morris and Safford, Marshall M.

Holcombe, William l-lintze, William J. Keating, Fredrick W. Raring, John R. Hopkins, Adrian J. La Rue and Jay L. Seitchik Great Britain Continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.

772,987, Nov. 4, 1968, now Patent No.

ABSTRACT: A crimping tool carries out both trimming and splicing operations in a single stroke so that the wires are trimmed between the ends of a connector; the wires do not sag [54] APPARATUS FOR TRIMMING AND SPLICING and the trimmed wire ends lie within the connector. The tool M w en men nml mm Mum AHN u w M m s m o M n H B has a pair of wire-trimming blades mounted for rotation on either side of the path of a movable die, which blades cooperate with trimming edges extending along such path. Each wire is oriented so as to be within the path of movement of one trimming blade and outside the path of movement of the other.

.m u m F mm" 3 m m .m u n w m m h. 8 m m m L f. Eh C RC M 0 hk w HIV... 1]] 2 0 555 628, 203 (DT), 203 (DTX), 203 (H) Patented April 6, 1971 3,573,625

4 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS CouN DAvw Kmueu. TERENCE PQBERT RAYNOIZ Patented April 6, 1971 1 3,573,625

4 Sheets-Sheet 2 XE\ (YE INVE'NTOES COLIN DAvm Kmoeu. TEQENQE. Rouse-r RAvNoR 8v ZZm 9 im Patented April 6, 1971 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOES Couw Dnvm Kmoau. Taeewce Poaam EPNNOR t, ix;

APPARATUS FOR TRIMMING AND srucnvc wmns CROSS REFERENCE TO A RELATED APPLICATION This application is a continuation-in-part application of Ser. No. 772,987 filed Nov. 4, 1968, now U.S. Pat. No. 3,539,707.

In the telephone industry, it is frequently necessary to connect the ends of telephone cables each of which may comprise several hundred wires. The individual wires of the cable ends must not only be spliced in such a way that after the splicing operation, the spliced wires do not sag, but it must also be ensured that bare wire ends do not project from the spliced connections, since although the maximum normal voltage (the ringing voltage) that the cables" must carry does not usually much exceed 60 volts, this voltage may at times surge to 1,000 or more volts.

Apparatus according to the invention, for trimming and splicing wires, comprises a first connector-crimping die movable through a working stroke towards a second connectorcrimping die to crimp an essentially U-section electrical connector disposed between the dies to a pair of wires within the connector, a pair of wire-trimming edges extending lengthwise of and beside the path of movement of the first die, and a wiretrimming blade associated with each wire-trimming edge and being rotatable relative to the edge to trim' one of the wires in cooperation with the edge and between the ends of the connector, prior to the connector being engaged between the dies.

Since the apparatus carries out both trimming and splicing operations in a single stroke and since the wires are trimmed between the ends of the connector, an object of the invention is that the apparatus is capable of rapid operation to splice a pair of wires so that they do not sag and so that the trimmed wire ends lie within the connector.

Another object of the invention is that the connector may be supported prior to the working stroke, adjacent the first die, for example, by the blades or by a strip of connectors of which the connector may form a part; otherwise the connector may be supported on the second die prior to the working stroke.

An additional object of the invention is that the apparatus may comprise a pair of wire-gripping members each positioned to support one of the wires so that its end portion intersects the path of movement of one of the blades but lies beyond the scope of the other blade. Each wire-gripping member may have a wire-receiving slot extending transversely of the path of movement of the first die, the slots being of different depths and each being disposed beyond the scope of the adjacent blade.

A further object of the invention is that the wire-trimming edges may be formed on a wire-trimming block disposed between the blades, the blades being rotatable about a common axis, or about the axes displaced from one another transversely of thepath of movement of the first die. The blades may be driven in rotation by projections on the first die, against the action of return springs.

Still a further object of the invention is that the wiretrimming blades may extend at right angles to the .path of movement of the first die prior to its working stroke and preferably have wire-gathering projections extending in the direction of the path in this position of the blades.

A still additional object of the invention is that when the connector is initially supported adjacent the first die and forms part of a strip of connectors, the connector may be sheared from the strip by a shear blade mounted adjacent the path of movement of the first die and against which the strip of connectors id is driven by the first die to shear the connector from the strip during the working stroke in cooperation with an edge of the first die.

Still another object of the invention is that the strip of connectors may be advanced to position 'the leading connector of the strip adjacent the first die by a feed finger which engages in a first hole in the strip of connectors prior to the working stroke of the first die, the strip being moved towards the second die by the first die during its working stroke to disengage the feed finger from the hole. In this case, the feed finger is retracted during the working stroke of the first die so as to engage in a second hole in the strip upstream of the first hole and is advanced when the return stroke has been completed to advance the leading connector. The advance of the leading connector may conveniently be limited to by a stop plate on the opposite side of the first die to the feed finger. The feed finger may be carried by an arm rotatably mounted on a frame, the arm being moved away from the first die by a projection thereon against the action of a return spring during the working stroke of the first die. The strip of connectors may be guided by a guide tube having a hole through which the first die can pass with clearance, the guide tube having an open side to allow the strip of connectors to be moved towards the second die by the first die.

Still a further object of the invention is that the first die may be driven by an electric motor which is preferably an alternating-current induction motor where the apparatus is to be employed for splicing wires in a manhole or other site where explosive gases may accumulate.

' Other objects and attainments of the present invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon a reading of the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the drawings in which there is shown and described an illustrative embodiment of the invention; it is to be understood, however, that this embodiment is not intended to be exhaustive nor limiting of the invention but is given for purposes of illustration in order that others skilled in the art may fully understand the invention and the principles thereof and the manner of applying it in practical use so that they may modify it in various forms, each as may be best suited to the conditions of a particular use.

For a better understanding of the invention, referencewill now be made by way of example to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a partially exploded perspective view of apparatus for trimming and splicing wires;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged diagrammatic front elevational view of part of the apparatus;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged diagrammatic side view of the part of the apparatus shown in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged perspective view of an electrical crimping ferrule;

FIG. 5 is an enlarged end view of an electrical connector for use with the apparatus and comprising the ferrule of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged fragmentary bottom plan view of part of a strip of electrical connectors comprising connectors according to FIG. 5;.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged elevational view of part of the strip of connectors; and

FIG. 8 is an enlarged part cross-sectional view of the connector of FIG. 5 crimped to wires between dies of the apparatus.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. I to 3. The apparatus comprises a housing 1 (only part of which is shown) containing an electric motor-(not shown), preferably an alternatingcurrent induction motor, coupled to a ram 2 through a oneshot device (not shown) to drive the ram 2 through a working and a return stroke upon actuation of a switch (not shown). A first crimping die 3 is movable with the ram 2 for cooperation with a second crimping die 4 having a constant cross section crimping recess 5 for receiving the lower (as seen in FIGS. 1 to 3) end of the die 3. The recess 5 comprises a pair of arcuateforming surfaces 6 cooperating to define a central cusp 7. The die 4 is fixedly mounted in a frame 8 formed integrally with the housing 1.

The die 3 is formed with a channel 10 receiving a rib 12 on the frame 8 so that the die 3 is guided for axial movement towards and away from the die! under the action of the ram 2. The die 3 has a cam surface 14 (FIG. 1) for cooperation with a corresponding camsurface 16 on a connector feedarm 18 mounted on the frame 8 to swing about a pin 20 and being biased by a return spring 22 in an anticlockwise (as seen in FIG. 1) sense of rotation about the pin 20. A pair of buffer pins 21 extend from the lower (as seen in FIG. 2) surface of the die 3, which surface is flat. A feed finger 24, the tip of which is chamfered at 25 (FIG. 2) extends from the arm 18.

A connector strip shear plate 26 fixed to the left-hand (as seen in FIG. 1) side of the frame 8 by screws 28 (only one of which is shown) has integrally formed therewith a rectangular shear blade 30 projecting towards the die 3.

A first wire-trimming blade 32 is mounted on the left-hand (as seen in FIG. 1) side of the frame 8, between the plate 26 and the frame 8, for rotation about a pin 34 extending through the frame 8 and upon which is also rotatably mounted a second wire-trimming blade 36 disposed on the opposite side of the frame 8 to the blade 32. Each

blade

32 and 36 has a wire-gathering projection 38. A wire-trimming block 40, fixed to the frame 8, extends between the

blades

32 and 36 which are biased by return springs 42 (only one of which is shown) in an anticlockwise (as seen in FIG. 3) sense of rotation about the pin 34. The block 40 has wire-trimming

edges

39 and 41 extending lengthwise of and beside the path of movement of the die 3, and lying between the ends of the die 4.

A connector strip stop plate 44 is fixed to the frame 8 on the right-hand (as seen in FIG. 1) side of the blade 36. A connector strip guide tube 46, formed for example from sheet metal and only part of which is shown, has a flange 48 engaging the right-hand (as seen in FIG. 1) side of the stop plate 44, the tube 46 having a recess 50 through which the die 3 can pass with clearance. The tube 46, which is bottomless at least over the length shown, has in its upper wall, a slot 51 receiving the feed finger 24. The position of the tube 46 is indicated in broken lines in FIG. 2.

Resilient wire guide blocks 52 and 54, made for example of rubber or a soft plastic material, are fixed to the frame 8 by screws (not shown) on either side of the die 4. The

blocks

52 and 54 have transverse wire-guiding

slots

56 and 58 respectively, the slot 56 being deeper than the slot 58. The

slots

56 and 58 terminate in wire-locating

holes

60 and 61 respectively. The

holes

60 and 61 lie substantially beyond the path of movement of the

blades

32 and 36 respectively. As shown diagrammatically in FIG. 3, the

holes

60 and 61 are spaced from one another laterally but are spaced from the die 4 by approximately the same distance.

A strip of electrical connectors for use with the wire-splicing apparatus will now be described with reference to FIGS. 4 to 7. An essentially U-shaped metal-crimping ferrule 62, for example of brass, comprises a base 64 having struck therefrom two upstanding tongues 66. Each tongue 66 has a pair of spaced notches 68 opening into its upper (as seen in FIGS. 4 and edge which has inclined surfaces 70 and 72 forming wire-guiding mouths, the notches 68 defining a central wire guide 71. The sidewalls of the ferrule 62 have bent-in ribs 74 and struck-out tongues 76, the free ends 78 of which overlap the ribs 74. As shown in FIG. 5, the outer surface of the ferrule 62 is covered by a an insulating film 80 which may in the interests of economy be of vulcanized paper. The film 80 has portions 82 which overlap the free longitudinal edges 84 of the ferrule 62 and extend within the ferrule 62 and between the tongues 76 and ribs 74. The tongues 76 have been bent towards the ribs 74 so that the free longitudinal marginal parts 86 of the film 80 are gripped between the tongues 76 and ribs 74. The film 80 is thus retained tightly wrapped about the ferrule 62 to form an insulated electrical splice connector 87. As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a series of the connectors just described are joined together in end to end axially aligned relationship by slugs 88 of the film 80 (which has slots 92 between the individual ferrules 62) to form a strip 89 of con nectors. Each slug 88 has a central hole 90 to receive the feed finger 24.

The strip 89, which will normally comprise several hundred of the connectors 87, is wound about a rotary spool (not shown) which may for example be mounted on the frame 8.

The free end of the strip 89 is led into the guide tube 46 with I the bases of the connectors directed upwardly so that the leading connector 87A of the strip 89 passes under the die 3 and engages the stop plate 44 (FIG. 2), the feed finger 24 engaging, through the slot 51, in the hole 90 between the connector 878 next adjacent the leading connector 87A, and the connector 87C next adjacent the connector 87B. A spring-loaded pressure pad (not shown) acts upon the strip 89 to urge the bases of the connectors 87 against the tube 46.

The end portion XE of a first wire X of a pair of wires X and Y to be spliced is positioned to extend beneath the blade 32 within the path of movement thereof, the wire X being inserted through the slot 58 of the guide block 54 and thence into the hole 61 thereof to hold the wire X in position. The other wire Y of Y of the pair is positioned with its end portion YE beneath the blade 36 and within the path of movement of the blade 36 being inserted through the slot 56 into the hole 60 of the guide block 52.

The switch is now actuated to cause the ram 2 to drive the die 3 through its working stroke. As the die 3 descends, the die 3 engages the leading connector 87A so that the leading connector and the adjacent part of the strip 89 are moved by the die 3 towards the die 4, against the action of the pressure pad so that the slug 88 between the

connectors

87A and 87B of the strip is sheared between the blade 30 and the adjacent edge of the die 3, and so that the feed finger 24 is withdrawn from the hole 90. The buffer pins 21 on the die 3 drive the

blades

32 and 36 in clockwise (as seen in FIG. 1) rotation in front of the leading connector 87A so that the projections 38 of the

blades

32 and 36 gather the wire end portions XE and YE so that the

blades

32 and 36 sever them from the wires X and Y in cooperation with the

adjacent edges

39 and 41 of the block 40. The wires X and Y are thus trimmed within the length of the leading connector 87A. As the die 3 continues its working stroke, the leading connector 87A is moved down over the trimmed ends of the wires X and Y so that the trimmed ends engage the surfaces 70 and 72 of the tongues 66 within the ferrule 62 of the connector 87A, the connector 87A being driven by the die 3 into the crimping recess 5 so that the sidewalls of the ferrule 64 of the connector 87A are curled over by the forming surfaces 6 of the die 4. Since in practice less than an inch of the end portion of each wire will project beyond its guide block after the wires have been trimmed, the end portion of the wire will not droop. By virtue of the lateral spacing between the

holes

60 and 61 each wire is aligned by the wire guides 71 with the two notches 68 on one side of the connector 87A, so that each tongue 76 drives one of the wires into two of the notches 68 to produce a electrical contact between the electrically conductive core of the wire and the walls of the notches 68, as shown in FIG. 8. Also as shown in FIG. 8, the marginal parts 86 of the film 80, which remain gripped between the tongues 76 and ribs 74 are carried down over the notches 68 and continue to hold the film firmly about the ferrule 64, portions 94 of the film engaging one another centrally of the ferrule 64 of the connector 87A and throughout its length.

Also during the working stroke of the die 3, the surface 14 of the die 3 engages the surface 16 of the arm 18 to rotate the arm 18 in a clockwise (as seen in FIG. 1) sense against the action of the spring 22, the feed finger 24 having been withdrawn from the hole between the

connectors

87A and 87 B. As the ram 2 is moved through its return stroke, the die 3 is retracted so that the connector 87A crimped to the wires X and Y can be removed from the die 4, the

blades

32 and 36 are returned to the position of FIGS. 1 to 3 by the springs 42, and the surface 14 is disengaged from the surface 16 so that the arm 18 is returned to the position of FIGS. 1 to 3 by the spring 22 and the feed finger 24 engages in the hole 90 between the connector 87C and the next adjacent connector in the upstream direction. When the die 3 has finished its return stroke, the strip 89 is advanced under the action of the spring 22 so as to drive the connector 878 beneath the die 3 which is now clear of the connector 87B andagainst the stop plate 64 in tion into the die 4, so that the connector 87A does not fall under its own weight, or the die 3 may incorporate a guide (not shown) for the leading connector. This guide may comprise a guide plate (not shown) extending axially from the die 3 towards the die 4 and being retractable into the die 3 on engaging the die 4, against the action of a spring (not shown). The guide plate may'also be spring biased towards the leading connector 87A so as to urge it against the block 40. The apparatus may otherwise, however, be oriented in use to avoid the connector 87A falling, e.g.,' the apparatus may be disposed horizontally, or at a slight angle with respect to the horizontal, or with the die 4 uppermost.

To ensure that each of the wires X and Y is correctly located in a different pair of the notches 68 of the leading connector at each crimping operation, the leading wire guide 71 a of each connector 87 may be made somewhat higher than the trailing wire guide 71 so that the wire X is pushed towards the reader (as seen in FIG. 2) at an early stage so that the wire X cannot lodge against the far (as seen in FIG. 2) side of the trailing wire guide 71.

The guide blocks 52 and 54 may be made of a rigid instead of a soft material. In this case, however, the

blocks

52 and 54 should be movable away from the die 3 against the action of springs to reduce the strain on the wires X andY during the final part of the crimping operation.

The electric motor could, for example be replaced by a fluid-operated piston-and-cylinder unit for example a hydraulic piston-and-cylinder unit for example a hydraulic pistonand-cylinder unit or the ram 2 could be operated through a linkage by means of a rotatable handle or handles.

According to a modification of the apparatus, the rotary wire-trimming blades are rotatable about axes which are displaced from one another transversely of the path of movement of the die 3 (the wire-trimming edges also being preferably displaced in the same direction as'the blades in accordance with the displacement of the axes), so that each wire can be positioned within the scope of one of the blades without the wires being crossed as described with reference to FIG. 2.

According to another modification of the apparatus, the die 3 is provided with forming surfaces similar to the die 4, the die 4 having a flat surface similar to that of the die 3. In this case, the strip of connectors is fed to the lower or fixed die instead of the upper or movable die so that the base of the leading connector of the strip is slid onto the fiat surface of the fixed die. The forming surfaces of them the movable die serve to gather in the trimmed ends of the wires to position them within the leading connector on the fixed die. The shear plate 26 and shear blade 30 are replaced by a shear plate fixed to the movable die to shear the slug 88 from between the leading connector and the next adjacent connector of the strip in cooperation with the adjacent end surface of the fixed die, the arm 18 and feed finger 24 being replaced for example by a conventional feed finger arranged to engage the tongues 66 of the connectors and being driven for example by the ram 2 or by separate means for example a pneumatic motor.

The apparatus may be designed either as a hand tool or as a bench or rack mounted machine.

It will, therefore, be appreciated that the aforementioned and other desirable objects have been achieved; however, it should be emphasized that the particular embodiment of the invention, which is shown and described herein, is intended as merely illustrative and not as restrictive of the invention.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for trimming and splicing wires, the apparatus comprising a first connector-crimping die movable through a working stroke towards a second connector-crimping die to crimp an essentially U-section electrical connector disposed between the dies to a pair of wires within the connector, a pair of wire-trimming edges extending lengthwise of and beside the path of movement of the first die, and a wire-trimming blade associated with each wire-trimming edge and being rotatable relative to the edge to trim one of the wires in cooperation with the edge and between the ends of the connector, prior to the connector being engaged between the dies.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, which comprises a pairof wire-gripping members each positioned to support one of the wires so that its end portion intersects the path of movement of one of the blades but lies beyond the path of movement of the other blade.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, in which each wiregripping member has a wire-receiving slot extending transversely of the path of movement of the first die, the slots being of different depths and each being disposed beyond the path of movement of the adjacent blades.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which the wiretrimming edges are provided on a wire-trimming block disposed between the blades, the blades being rotatable about a common axis, or about axes displaced from one another transversely of the path of movement of the first die, the blades being driven in rotation by projections on the first die, against the action of return springs.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which the wiretrimming blades extend at right angles to the path of movement of the first die prior to its working stroke, said wiretrimming having wire-gathering projections extending in the direction of this path when the blades extend at right angles to the path of movement of the first die.

6. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which the connector forms part of a strip of connectors arranged in end-to-end strip form, the connector being arranged to be sheared from the strip by a shear blade mounted adjacent the path of movement ofthe first die and against which the strip of connectors is arranged to be driven by the first die to shear the connector from the strip during the working stroke in cooperation with an edge of the first die.

7. Apparatus according to claim 6, in which the strip of connectors is arranged to be advanced to position the leading connector of the strip adjacent the first die by a feed finger which engages in a first hole in the strip of connectors prior to the working stroke of the first die, the strip being moved towards the second die by the first die during its working stroke to disengage the feed finger from the hole, the feed finger being retracted during the working stroke of the first die so as to engage in a second hole in the strip upstream of the first hole and being advanced when the return stroke of the first die has been completed, to advance the leading connector.

8. Apparatus according to claim 7, in which the advance of the leading connector is limited by a stop plate on the opposite side of the first die to the feed finger.

9. Apparatus according to claim 7, in which the feed finger is carried by an arm rotatably mounted on a frame of the apparatus, the arm being moved away from the first die by a projection thereon against the action of a return spring during the working stroke of the first die.

10. Apparatus according to claim 6 in which the strip of connectors is guided by a guide tube having a hole through the which the first die can pass with clearance, the guide tube having an open side to allow the strip of connectors to be moved towards the second die by the first die.

Claims

1. Apparatus for trimming and splicing wires, the apparatus comprising a first connector-crimping die movable through a working stroke towards a second connector-crimping die to crimp an essentially U-section electrical connector disposed between the dies to a pair of wires within the connector, a pair of wiretrimming edges extending lengthwise of and beside the path of movement of the first die, and a wire-trimming blade associated with each wire-trimming edge and being rotatable relative to the edge to trim one of the wires in cooperation with the edge and between the ends of the connector, prior to the connector being engaged between the dies.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1, which comprises a pair of wire-gripping members each positioned to support one of the wires so that its end portion intersects the path of movement of one of the blades but lies beyond the path of movement of the other blade.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2, in which each wire-gripping member has a wire-receiving slot extending transversely of the path of movement of the first die, the slots being of different depths and each being disposed beyond the path of movement of the adjacent blades.

4. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which the wire-trimming edges are provided on a wire-trimming block disposed between the blades, the blades being rotatable about a common axis, or about axes displaced from one another transversely of the path of movement of the first die, the blades being driven in rotation by projections on the first die, against the action of return springs.

5. Apparatus according to claim 1, in which the wire-trimming blades extend at right angles to the path of movement of the first die prior to its working stroke, said wire-trimming having wire-gathering projections extending in the direction of this path when the blades extend at right angles to the path of movement of the first die.

6. Apparatus according to Claim 1, in which the connector forms part of a strip of connectors arranged in end-to-end strip form, the connector being arranged to be sheared from the strip by a shear blade mounted adjacent the path of movement of the first die and against which the strip of connectors is arranged to be driven by the first die to shear the connector from the strip during the working stroke in cooperation with an edge of the first die.