US3628245A - Method and apparatus for forming and applying terminals - Google Patents

Method and apparatus for forming and applying terminals Download PDF

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Publication number
US3628245A
US3628245A US878714A US3628245DA US3628245A US 3628245 A US3628245 A US 3628245A US 878714 A US878714 A US 878714A US 3628245D A US3628245D A US 3628245DA US 3628245 A US3628245 A US 3628245A
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US
United States
Prior art keywords
die
terminal
crimping
strip
bending
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
US878714A
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English (en)
Inventor
Constantine George Mates
Herbert G Burkert
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
ABB Installation Products Inc
Original Assignee
Thomas and Betts Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Thomas and Betts Corp filed Critical Thomas and Betts Corp
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of US3628245A publication Critical patent/US3628245A/en
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
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Classifications

    • H—ELECTRICITY
    • H01—ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01R—ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R43/00—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing, assembling, maintaining, or repairing of line connectors or current collectors or for joining electric conductors
    • H01R43/04—Apparatus or processes specially adapted for manufacturing, assembling, maintaining, or repairing of line connectors or current collectors or for joining electric conductors for forming connections by deformation, e.g. crimping tool
    • H01R43/048—Crimping apparatus or processes
    • H01R43/0482—Crimping apparatus or processes combined with contact member manufacturing mechanism
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T29/00—Metal working
    • Y10T29/49—Method of mechanical manufacture
    • Y10T29/49002—Electrical device making
    • Y10T29/49117—Conductor or circuit manufacturing
    • Y10T29/49174—Assembling terminal to elongated conductor
    • Y10T29/49181—Assembling terminal to elongated conductor by deforming
    • Y10T29/49185—Assembling terminal to elongated conductor by deforming of terminal
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T29/00—Metal working
    • Y10T29/51—Plural diverse manufacturing apparatus including means for metal shaping or assembling
    • Y10T29/5176—Plural diverse manufacturing apparatus including means for metal shaping or assembling including machining means
    • Y—GENERAL TAGGING OF NEW TECHNOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENTS; GENERAL TAGGING OF CROSS-SECTIONAL TECHNOLOGIES SPANNING OVER SEVERAL SECTIONS OF THE IPC; TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC CROSS-REFERENCE ART COLLECTIONS [XRACs] AND DIGESTS
    • Y10—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER USPC
    • Y10T—TECHNICAL SUBJECTS COVERED BY FORMER US CLASSIFICATION
    • Y10T29/00—Metal working
    • Y10T29/53—Means to assemble or disassemble
    • Y10T29/5313—Means to assemble electrical device
    • Y10T29/532—Conductor
    • Y10T29/53209—Terminal or connector
    • Y10T29/53213—Assembled to wire-type conductor
    • Y10T29/53235—Means to fasten by deformation

Definitions

  • This process needed to be continuous, and a method of firmly retaining the terminal being crimped in place during the final assembly and cutoff operation was desirable so as not to require the machine to handle and index loose terminals during the final operating steps of the assembly process.
  • the machinery for accomplishing these objectives needed to be flexible enough to accommodate various sized terminals for crimping to various sized wires.
  • the present invention generally relates to a machine for accomplishing a process of preforming wire and insulation grips on terminals supplied from a continuous strip stock, and crimping the terminals to the ends of stripped wire segments, all in a continuous manner.
  • the machine basically comprises a fixed lower die set and a reciprocating upper die set which cooperates with the lower die set to receive precut terminals in strip form and, simultaneously and in a single step, cut a single terminal from the strip end, hold it in place while it is crimped to a conductor wire, and preform the wire grips of the next terminal on the strip to prepare it for the cutoff and crimping step in the next cycle of operation.
  • the die set Upon completion of the cut, crimp and preform operation just described, the die set is separated, the crimped terminal assembly is removed, the now completely preformed terminal is advanced to the crimping die, the next terminal is advanced to the grip preform die, a stripped wire is inserted in the crimp area, and the die set closes, repeating the simultaneous cutoff, crimp and preform operation.
  • the die sets are multisegmental and the individual segments may be varied in size and spacing to accommodate various sized terminals and wire conductors.
  • the terminal strips may be precut and in generally flat form prior to being fed to the machine of the present invention, thereby simplifying the handling, storing and feeding problems associated with the fully preformed terminals.
  • the crimping machines of the type described in the preceding description of the prior art can generally be readily converted for use in accordance with this invention so as not to require expensive retooling costs.
  • the present invention further obviates the necessity of handling loose terminals within the crimping machine, other than simply to hold the individual free terminals fixed during the crimping operation, a standard procedure associated with most crimping operations, regardless of the machine used, but here accomplished simultaneously with a cutoff, preform, and crimp operation in a unique manner.
  • FIG. 1 is a plan view of a precut and partially preformed terminal strip used in accordance with this invention
  • FIG. 2 is an elevational, cutaway, representational view of a machine including a die set of this invention and preparatory to preforming a first preforming operation on a strip terminal;
  • FIG. 3 shows the terminal grip preforming die of FIG. 2 in operation
  • FIG. 4 shows an end view of a preformed strip terminal immediately after the FIG. 3 operation
  • FIG. 5 shows the preformed strip terminal advanced to the crimping die and before the cutoff operation
  • FIG. 6 shows the die set of FIG. 2 performing a complete cutoff, crimp and preform operation on continuous strip ter' minals;
  • FIG. 7 shows a sectional end view of the crimping die taken along line 7-7 in FIG. 6 during a crimping operation.
  • FIG. 1 shows a precut, partially preformed terminal strip 10 used in conjunction with the process performed by the machine embodied by the present invention.
  • the strip 10 comprises a series of terminals 12 joined together by reduced neck portions 14, and precut from relatively thin sheet metal strip stock so as to include grip tongues 16 and 18 for respectively engaging the insulation and stripped conductor of a lead wire to which the terminal 12 is to be secured by a crimping operation.
  • the tongues l6 and 118 can be a variety of forms, but for the sake of simplicity, and clarity of depiction, they are shown here to be simply rectangular in shape and separated by a slit 20, the width of which is exaggerated somewhat in the drawings.
  • each terminal 12 At the end of each terminal 12 opposite the tongues 16, 18 is formed the desired configuration of male or female contact section; in this case, rolled flanges 22 form the desired female contact portions of each terminal.
  • the terminal 12 may be in the form of a splice terminal for crimping two wire leads.
  • various size terminals can be formed in strips similar to strip Ml, these further having various sized tongue sections for accommodating different wire sizes to which they are to be crimped.
  • the neck portion 114 obviously will be cut off from between terminals during the final forming and assembly operations to be described momentarily; suffice it to say for the moment that this neck portion 1.45 constitutes the only scrap material of the strip stock illustrated in FIG. l, and can be varied in length and breadth to suit various requirements.
  • FIG. 2 there is illustrated, somewhat schematically for the sake of clarity, apparatus embodying the present invention for preforming and applying electrical terminals 112 to wire leads.
  • the assembly shown comprises an upper and lower die set 24 and 26, respectively, the upper die set 24 being joined together for simultaneous movement up and down to coact with the lower die set 26, this being represented by line 28 and arrows 29 which depict unitary motion of the upper die set 24.
  • the lower die set 26 is held relatively fixed within a suitable machine frame or base 30.
  • the upper die set 24 includes a cutoff blade 32, a crimping die 34, a male bending die 36, and a resilient holddown pad 38 which is shown biased downwardly by spring 40 in this case to illustrate the fact that holddown pad 38 can slide somewhat in a vertical plane parallel to the plane of motion of die set 24, and with respect particularly to blade 32.
  • Crimping die 34 is generally conventional in form and includes a female bending form 40 for crimping the wire grip portions of terminals over the wire leads, as will be brought out more fully below, while the male bending die 36 simply includes a suitable male bending form 44 at its lower working end.
  • the entire die set assembly 24 can be formed compactly, with each of the elements in relatively contiguous relationship in accordance with accepted practice in this field, and are preferably multisegmental in form to enable simple adjustment of tolerances, variation of spacing between die section, and replacement of worn parts.
  • the upper, moveable die set 24 usually is mounted to a single ram unit (not shown) which provides the actuating force for moving and applying pressure to the die set during operation of the tool of this invention.
  • the lower die set 26 comprises a crimping and cutofi anvil 46 having a female crimping die form 48 at its forward end and a first cutoff or anvil edge 50 at its rearward end; a fixed die block 51 spaced rearwardly from the crimping and cutoff anvil, the die block having a forward edge 52 which serves as a second cutoff edge or anvil and a rearward edge 53 which serves as a fixed portion of the grip bending die of the assembly; and a moveable grip bending die pad 54 having a female bending form 56 at its forward end.
  • the crimping form 48 and the cutoff anvil 50 could be separated structurally, if desired, from each other; that is, each of these parts could be attached to a separate unit within the lower die set if this were deemed to be more practical. They are shown here, of course, as different parts of a single die block 46.
  • the moveable die pad 54 is shown here to be normally biased upwardly by spring 58, and pivotally secured to machine base 30 as at 60.
  • FIGS. 2, 3, and 6 are sectional views taken along a line that would longitudinally split the terminal strip along line AA as shown in FIG. 1, and for this reason only tongue 16 of the terminal is visible in these views.
  • Strip 10 having been advanced to the position shown in FIG. 2, upper die set 24 is lowered to the position of FIG. 3 where the grip tongue 16 (and tongue 18, not shown here) is bent to an upstanding position between the upper die form 44, the lower die pad form 56 and the rearward edge 53 of the fixed die block 51.
  • the lower bending die pad 54 is seen to be moveable downwardly with respect to fixed die block 51 to accomplish the bending operation on the grip tongue 16 (and 18, of course).
  • the interrelationship of upper and lower die sets and cutting blade is partially illustrated in FIG. 3, but will be more fully described in connection with the FIG. 6 view discussed below.
  • FIG. 4 illustrates an end view of the terminal 12 at the completion of the bending operation shown in FIG. 3, the terminal 12 now being completely preformed with grips I6 and 18 bent to an upright position preparatory to the final crimping operation when the grips will be secured to the conductor wire and the terminal 12 severed from the strip 10.
  • the upper die set 24 is raised, and the strip 10 is indexed forwardly as indicated by arrow 62 to a position where the forwardmost grip section 16 lies between the crimping die forms 34-46, and specifically within the cavity 48 of the lower die. This places the neck section 14 of the strip 10 directly beneath cutoff blade 32 and between the first cutofi' edge 50 of anvil 46 and the second cutoff edge 52 of fixed block 51.
  • the proportions of die sets 24-26 and strip terminals 12 are such that, with the forwardmost terminal properly positioned in the crimping area (beneath crimp die 34), the neck 14 is situated in the cutoff area (beneath blade 32) and the tongues 16 and 18 of the next succeeding terminal 12 are in the grip bending area (beneath die 36).
  • FIGS. 6 and 7 show these dies, as they approach the closed position performing, in order of occurrence.
  • the upper die set 24 is raised, the forward terminal, now crimped to its lead wire, is removed, and the strip 10 is once again indexed to the position shown in FIG. 5.
  • the cycle is then repeated in continuous fashion to perform terminal forming and crimping operations simultaneously on the forwardmost and next succeeding strip terminals, with an added provision included of a resilient holding means for restraining the terminals being crimped in a fixed position during the crimp operations.
  • Apparatus for preforming the wire grips of terminals supplied from precut strip stock and applying the terminals to lead wires comprising:
  • said die sets including:
  • a cutoff blade for severing the forwardmost terminal from the strip; a crimping die and anvil spaced forwardly of the said blade for crimping the grip of the forwardmost terminal to a lead wire; a grip bending die; the grip bending die and pad spaced rearwardly of the said blade for bending the grip of the next succeeding terminal on the strip to an upright position preparatory to the crimping operation; and the cutoff blade reaching its operative cutting position before said crimping and bending dies during each cycle of operation.
  • the apparatus of claim 1 further including:
  • indexing means for advancing the terminal strip between die set closings to place the terminal having its grip portion bent on the previous die closing in proper position beneath the crimping die preparatory to the next die closmg.
  • holddown means for holding the forwardmost terminal fixed relative to the crimping anvil during both the terminal cutofi and crimp operations.
  • Apparatus for continuously preforming and applying longitudinally aligned precut strip terminals to lead wires comprising:
  • an upper die set assembly including:
  • a lower die set assembly including:
  • a crimping anvil spaced forwardly of the first cutoff anvil; a fixed die block spaced rearwardly of the first cutoff anvil, the block having a forward edge portion constituting a second cutoff anvil, and a rearward edge portion constituting a fixed section of a bending die; and a moveable, female, grip bending die pad spaced immediately rearwardly of the rearward edge of said fixed die block; and said upper and lower die sets coacting vertically in such a manner that in the die closed position, the cutoff blade extends between the first and second cutofi' anvils; the upper crimping die fits over the lower crimping anvil; and the upper terminal grip bending male die engages the lower, moveable, female grip bending die pad to cause lowering of the latter relative to the rearward edge of the lower fixed die block.
  • the apparatus of claim 4 further including:
  • a holddown pad which is associated with and coacts with the upper die set in such a manner that in the die closed position the said holddown pad engages the top of said first cutoff anvil, the pad being located forwardly of the cutoff blade and mounted so as to be capable of slight lost motion relative to the upper die set over a small range of movement of said upper die set as the die closed position is approached.
  • strip terminals being joined longitudinally to each other by strip stock material and having grip tongues precut from the strip stock in a desired pattern;
  • the die set assembly including a cutting member, a grip bending member located behind the cutting member; the crimping member and bending member being spaced apart longitudinally a distance equivalent to the distance between terminal grips;
  • step (a)(ii) includes a holddown pad forward of the cutting member, and step (e) further includes holding down the terminal being crimped by means of a holddown pad of the die assembly during the crimping operation.

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Manufacturing & Machinery (AREA)
  • Manufacturing Of Electrical Connectors (AREA)
  • Processing Of Terminals (AREA)
US878714A 1969-11-21 1969-11-21 Method and apparatus for forming and applying terminals Expired - Lifetime US3628245A (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
US87871469A 1969-11-21 1969-11-21

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US (1) US3628245A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)
GB (1) GB1302780A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow)

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4631824A (en) * 1985-07-11 1986-12-30 Bourns, Inc. Method of manufacturing a multi-wire contact assembly
US4777720A (en) * 1986-12-24 1988-10-18 Precision Concepts, Inc. Method for manufacturing multiple-wire brush contact

Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2393355A (en) * 1942-10-10 1946-01-22 Western Electric Co Method of forming solderless electrical conductor connections
US3101765A (en) * 1956-08-09 1963-08-27 Kent Mfg Corp Machine for crimping terminals on wires
US3473219A (en) * 1967-07-10 1969-10-21 Artos Engineering Co Art of producing electrical terminals
US3550239A (en) * 1968-09-13 1970-12-29 Amp Inc Terminal applicator having means for separating dies

Patent Citations (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US2393355A (en) * 1942-10-10 1946-01-22 Western Electric Co Method of forming solderless electrical conductor connections
US3101765A (en) * 1956-08-09 1963-08-27 Kent Mfg Corp Machine for crimping terminals on wires
US3473219A (en) * 1967-07-10 1969-10-21 Artos Engineering Co Art of producing electrical terminals
US3550239A (en) * 1968-09-13 1970-12-29 Amp Inc Terminal applicator having means for separating dies

Cited By (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4631824A (en) * 1985-07-11 1986-12-30 Bourns, Inc. Method of manufacturing a multi-wire contact assembly
US4777720A (en) * 1986-12-24 1988-10-18 Precision Concepts, Inc. Method for manufacturing multiple-wire brush contact

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE2057506A1 (de) 1971-06-16
DE2057506B2 (de) 1972-09-21
GB1302780A (enrdf_load_stackoverflow) 1973-01-10

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