US3641647A

US3641647A - Terminal applicator

Info

Publication number: US3641647A
Application number: US44113A
Authority: US
Inventors: John D Balmer
Original assignee: Berg Electronics Inc
Current assignee: Berg Electronics Inc
Priority date: 1970-06-08
Filing date: 1970-06-08
Publication date: 1972-02-15
Anticipated expiration: 1989-02-15

Abstract

A terminal applicator in which the lead terminal of a chain of terminals is positioned above a circuit board between a punch and a tool adjacent the board. The tool is raised to sever the terminal from the strip, and the punch is moved toward the tool to engage the terminal prior to severing. The punch and tool, with the terminal confined therebetween, then move toward the circuit board and the terminal is staked to the board. While the punch and tool both move toward the circuit board, the punch moves faster than the tool so that the terminal is moved past the tool and is bent to a desired configuration. The terminal is positively held during the severing, bending and staking operations.

Description

United States Patent Balmer [451 Feb. 15, 1972 [s41 TERMINAL APPLICATOR 72 Inventor: John D. Balmer, New Cumberland, Pa. Eager I V Attorney-Thomas Hooker [73] Assignee: Berg Electronics, Inc., New -Cumberland, 1

Pa. [57] ABSTRACT Filed: J 1970 v A terminal applicator in which the lead terminal of a chain of 21 A N 113 temiinals is positioned above a circuit board between a punch I pp 0 v and a tool adjacent the board. The tool is raised to sever the terminal from the strip, and the punch is moved toward the [52] US. Cl. ..29/203 8, 29/203 DTS, 29/625 tool to engage h terminal prior to severing. The punch and I [51] Int. Cl ..H0lr43/04,l-l05k 3/00" 00], with the en-[final confined therehetween the move [58] Field ofSearch ..29/625, 203 B, 203 D, 203 R toward the circuit board and the tel-mind i staked to the l board. While the punch and tool both move toward the circuit [56] Retem Cited board, the punch moves faster than the tool so that the ter- UNITED STATES PATENTS minal is moved past the tool and is bent to a desired configuraa tion. The terminal is positively held during the severing; bending and staking operations 3,524,240 8/ 1970 Walker et al.. .29/203 B 3,566,464 3/ l 971 Bakermans ..29 /625 13 Claims, 22 Drawing Figures i 5 IO 26\ I a 74 is i 106 1" 45 re l I 50 e6 ||L- T6 77 w O l IB :0 so 52 H H "2: 'I 86 v\ .26 a i 72 66 2o 2 --.'r e, m In. "L11 k a jluymmn hqa I 1 s 91 l a s fi 93 I I ll I j i 1 A m- 84- il 14 68 I mitmmms m I 3.641.647

SHEET 1 0F 6 INVENTOR. JOHN D. BALMER THOMAS HQOKER,

His Ad'or'nev.

RATENTED FEB 15 I972 SHEET 2 [IF 6 INVENTOR. U 0 H N D. BALM ER THOMAS HOOKER,

His Arcorncg PAIENTEBFEB 15 I972 SHEET 3 OF 6 INVENTOR. JOHN D. BALMER THOMAS HOOKER His Aitornex PATENTEUFEB 1 5 I972 3,641,647

' SHEET '4 0F 6 I T I54 I 156 I52 1? PREsssluRRliEFLUlD 72 INVENTOR. JOHN D. BALMER THOMAS HOOK ER,

His AttorneL' PATENTEDFEB 15 I972 SHEET 5 BF 6 INVENTOR. JOHN D. BALMER THOMAS HOOKER,

His A'Hzornu SHEET, 6 BF 6 7 INVENTOR. JOHN D. BALMER THOMAS HOOKE R,

His Aflorneq TERMINAL APPLICATOR The invention relates to an improved terminal applicator for securing extruded lug-type terminals to a circuit board. The

terminals are fed to the applicator on a carrier strip with the lead terminal of the strip positioned between a punch and a cutting and bending tool. A circuit board is located below the tool with a terminal-receiving hole in alignment with the punch. An extruded hollow body portion of the terminal extends towards the tool from a flat strip portion of the terminal formed by a pair or lateral tabs. The end of one tab is joined to the tab ofthe adjacent terminal in the strip.

Upon activation of theapplicator, both the punch and the tool move toward the terminal. The tool first engages the terminal and moves it toward the approaching punch to sever it from the carrier strip. During the severing operation, the terminal is confined between the tool and a portion of the punch to prevent misalignment ofthe terminal.

After the cutting step has been completed, the punch continues its movement and movement of the tool is reversed so that it too moves toward the circuit board but at a slower rate so that the punch passes the tool. At this time the punch moves the terminal through a recess in the tool to bend the terminal tabs up through an approximate 90.

After the bending step has been performed, the punch continues its movement to position the lead end of the terminal body in the circuit board hole. Subsequent to bending and until the terminal is positioned in the circuit board hole, it is confined between the punch and the tool. As the punch moves to the bottom of the stroke it moves the terminal past the tool, seats the terminal on the circuit board and brings the portion of the terminal body extending into the circuit board into engagement with an anvil, so as to deform the same and stake the terminal to the circuit board.

Severing of the lead terminal from the remainder of a strip of extruded lug terminals is complicated because the strip has a depth equal to the length of the extruded body portions. The adjacent tabs which are to be severed are at the top of the terminal strip so that the edge at the bottom of the feed path cannot be used in the severing operation. The cutting must be done at the top of the feed path in order that the terminal strip and lead terminal not be deformed.

In prior art terminal applicators used to secure extruded lug-type terminals to circuit boards, the lead terminal is severed from the terminal strip at the top of the feed path by pivoting the end portion of the terminal feed path down past a fixed cutting and wiping tool. This operation is performed during the descent of the ram so that a punch engages the body portion of the lead terminal and, after severing, moves the terminal past the fixed tool to bend the tabs.

The pivoted portion of the feed track is normally held against a stop by a spring to permit indexing of the terminal strip and positioning of the lead terminal over the top of the tool. During the severing operation a post on the press ram is lowered into engagement with the pivoted feed track to pivot it down against the spring and sever the terminal from the strip. One type of conventional cutoff device is disclosed in Landman US. Pat. No. 3,500,709, which is assigned to the assignee of the present application.

In a conventional terminal there is a problem because of the large impact when the pivoted portion of the feed track is returned against the stop by the spring. With time these impacts may result in the breakage and misalignment of parts. The problem is aggravated in certain instances where a heavy return spring is required.

Also, after the lead terminal has been severed from the strip it is moved past the fixed tool in order to bend up the terminal tabs. Because the tool is fixed the applicator requires a rela tively long punch stroke to move the terminal past the tool. The length of the stroke necessitates a relatively large press.

The terminal applicator disclosed herein utilizes an improved terminal severing and bending mechanism. In this mechanism a movable cutting and bending tool is provided so that there is no need to pivot the end portion of the terminal feed in order to sever the lead terminal from the strip at the top of the feed path. High impact forces associated with severing the lead terminal are eliminated.

During the terminal-bending operation the tool moves with the punch from a position slightly above the top of the feed path toward the circuit board. Movement of the tool is slower than movement of the punch so that the punch carries the terminal past the tool and bends the terminal tabs up through 90 until they are parallel with the sides of the punch. The bending is completed just prior to positioning the terminal body por tion in the circuit board hole. This construction enables the stroke of the press to be reduced considerably from that of conventional terminal applicators. For example, the work stroke of the disclosed terminal applicator may be a 60 percent reduction over the stroke of a conventional applicator used to apply the same terminal.

During the severing, bending and staking steps which are performed on the terminal, the terminal is at all times positively confined between either the punch and the tool or the punch and the circuit board. In this way it is not possible for the terminal to become misaligned. This is important in production applications where the terminal applicator is operated at a high rate of speed over extended periods of time.

Other objects and features on the invention will become apparent as the description proceeds, especially when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings illustrating the invention, of which there are six drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. I is a front elevational view of terminal applicator;

FIG. 2 is a partially broken away sectional view taken along line 2-2 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view illustrating the electrical circuitry of the applicator;

FIG. 5 is a schematic view illustrating the pneumatic circuitry of the applicator;

FIG. 6 is a side elevational view of a strip of terminals used by the applicator;

FIG. 7 is a top view taken along line 77 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of a circuit board to which the applicator applies the terminals of FIGS. 6 and 7; and

Paired FIGS. 9 and 10, 11 and 12,13 and 14, I5 and 16, I7 and 18, 19 and 20, and 21 and 22 illustrate the operation of the applicator during a cycle of operation. The odd numbered figures illustrate the operations performed on the terminal, while the even numbered figures illustrate the movement of a pivot lever.

Terminal applicator 10 is adapted to stake extruded lugs or terminals 12 illustrated in FIGS. 6 and 7 to circuit board 14 of FIG. 8. Each terminal 12 includes a generally square hollow extruded body 16 and a pair of tabs 18 which extend to either side of the open end body 16. The tabs 18 of adjacent terminals are joined together at severable connections 22 to form chain 20.

Circuit board 14 is provided with two rows of terminalreceiving holes 24. During each staking cycle of applicator 10, a terminal 12 is secured to one hole of each row in the board. During the staking operation the tabs 18 are bent upwardly so that they project from the board as shown in FIG. 14, and the body portion 16 is fitted in a hole 24 with the lower portion of the body flared outwardly so as to secure the terminal to the board.

Applicator 10 includes a press 26 having a base 28,'a crank 30 and a drive motor 32. The drive motor is connected to the crank through a pulley and belt drive 34 and solenoid controlled one revolution clutch 36. Ram 38 is connected to the crank so that with rotation of the crank the ram is moved toward and away from plate 28.

Shoe or plate 40 is mounted on a pair of posts 42, only one of which is shown, which extend upwardly from base 28. This shoe is secured to ram 38 so that rotation of the crank 30 moves the plate 40 toward and away from the base.

Applicator 10 is adapted to stake two terminals simultaneously to the circuit board during a single operation of the applicator. This is achieved by providing like staking assemblies at each side of the center of applicator. FIGS. 1, 2 and 3 illustrate the staking assembly 44 on the right-hand side of the applicator. A similar assembly 46, which is not illustrated in full, is provided on the left hand side of the applicator. This staking assembly is identical to staking assembly 46 with the exception that assembly 44 is located on the right of the applicator and assembly 46 is located on the left of the applicator. Only the right-hand assembly 44 will be described in detail.

Staking assembly 44 includes a terminal feed 48 and a cutoff and staking unit 50. Assembly 46 includes a terminal feed 52 and a cutoff and staking unit 54. A common cam and pivot lever assembly 56 is used in conjunction with both the

units

50 and 54. This assembly is best illustrated in FIGS. 2 and 3.

Terminal feed 48 includes a feed block 58 mounted on base 28. The block is provided with a T-shaped feed groove 60 formed in the top face thereof which extends along the length of the block. A terminal strip is positioned within the groove and a flat cover plate 62 is held against the top of block 58 to confine the strip in the groove. Springs 64 on pins 66 hold the plate 62 against block 58. The strip 20 has a sliding fit within groove 60 so that it may be fed along the groove to move the lead terminal to a work position. A plate lifter 68 is provided in order to lift the plate 62 from the block 58 when desired. The strip 20 is moved toward the cutoff and staking unit 50 by feed finger 70. One end of lever 72 is pivotally mounted on

block

58 and 74, and the other end is secured to piston rod 76 of air cylinder 78. End 77 of cylinder 78 is rotatably secured to support 80. Feed finger 70 is attached to lever 72 at 81 and the other end is provided with a tip 82 which extends through a slit in plate 62 so as to engage the strip 20 confined in groove 60. Spring 84 biases the tip 82 into engagement with the strip. An adjustable stop 86 is provided to limit extension ofair cylinder 78.

A conventional backup latch 88 extends through a slit in plate 62 to engage the terminal strip 20 and prevent movement of the strip upstream or away from the cutoff and staking unit 50 during reciprocation of the feed finger 70. When the air cylinder 78 is in the extended position of FIG. 1, the lead terminal 90 of strip 20 is positioned in the work position, as illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 9. A hardened cutting block 92 is mounted on the end of block 58 over the end of feed groove 60, as shown in FIG. 2. The block 58 is rigidly secured to the plate 28 so that it and strip 20 does not move toward plate 28 during the operation of the applicator.

Staking assembly 50 will now be described. A circuit board support 94 is slideably mounted on base 28 so that it may be moved to the right or to the left as viewed in FIG. 2. A circuit board 14 may be accurately located on tray 94 with one end of the board flush against shoulder 96, and with the other end of the board confined between locating pins 98. When the board is positioned on the tray, terminals 12 may be staked to the board in holes 24. Normally the board 14 is supported above the bottom surface of plate 94 by a number of spring-backed pins 100, which are best illustrated in FIGS. 19 and 21.

A mounting plate 102 is attached to the lower surface of plate 40 and supports a pair of

terminal punches

104 and 106 on the front face thereof and a control cam 108 on the rear face. Punch 104 is part of unit 50 and punch 106 is part of unit 54. Each punch includes a spring-backed terminal locating pin 110, which normally projects from the bottom end 112 of the punch, which is generally square in cross section. When terminal 90 is in the work position, it is axially aligned with punch 104, as illustrated in FIG. 9.

The cam and lever bar assembly 56 will now be described. Cam 108 extends down from plate 40, as illustrated in FIG. 2, and includes a number of cam surfaces 114, 116 and 118 on the side thereof facing away from the front of the applicator. Pivot lever 120 is rotatably mounted on pin 122, the ends of which extend into mounting

blocks

124 and 126. These blocks are secured to base 28. Cam 108 extends into recess 128 in lever 120 so that cam follower 130, which is mounted on pin I32, engages the cam surfaces 114, 116 and 118 during the reciprocation of plate 40. The pin 132 extends through holes formed in arms 134 of lever 120. Springs 136 are each secured to an end of the pin 132 and to a fixed pin 138 so as to hold the follower 130 in contact with cam 108 as the cam moves up and down.

A pair of cutoff and bending tools 140 are secured to the end of lever

adjacent punches

104 and 106. A recess 142 is provided in end 141 of each tool to permit the passage of punch end 112 through the recess during lowering of plate 40. The recess is best illustrated in FIG. 9. The upper recess corners 144 are rounded to facilitate bending of the terminal tabs 18 during the stroke of the punch. Sharp corner 146 of tool 140 cooperates with corner 148 of the cutoff bar 92 to sever lead terminal 90 from strip 20.

When the applicator is in the rest position, follower engages cam dwell surface 114 so that the end 141 of tool is positioned below the lead terminal 90. This relationship is illustrated in FIGS. 1, 2 and 9. Lowering of the punch rotates lever 120 about pin 122 as illustrated in FIGS. 10, 12, I4, 16, 18, 20 and 22 so as to move the tool 140 up and then down relative to the fixed terminal feed path. During this movement the tool cooperates with plate 92 to sever the lead terminal 90 from the strip and then with punch 104 to bend terminal tabs 18. Continued lowering of the punch stakes the terminal 90 to the circuit board.

As illustrated in FIGS. 19 and 21, a staking anvil 150 is positioned in the bottom surface of circuit board support 94 beneath each terminal-receiving opening 24 in the circuit board. During the staking operation, the extruded body portions 16 of the lead terminals are seated in the holes 24 and are staked by anvils 150 so as to secure the terminals to the circuit board.

FIG. 4 illustrates the electrical circuitry of applicator I0.

Leads

152 and 154 are connected to an electrical power source. On and off switch 156 is provided in lead 152. The drive motor 32 is connected to the leads I52 and 154 so than when switch 156 is closed, the motor is energized. Normally open foot switch 158 and the solenoid 160 of one-revolution clutch 36 are connected in series between

leads

154 and 156. Normally open microswitch 162 and solenoid 164 of control valve 166 are also connected in series between

leads

152 and 154. A cam 168 is mounted on one end of crank 30 so that during operation of the crank, a cam surface on the cam engages the trigger of switch 162 and closes the switch.

FIG. 5 illustrates the pneumatic circuitry of applicator 10. Pressure lead 170 connects pressure fluid source 172 to an inlet port of solenoid controlled valve 166. Lead 174 is connected to one port of valve 166 and also to both feed cylinder 78 and feed cylinder 176 illustrated only in FIG. 5. Lead 178 is connected to another port of valve 166 and also to feed

cylinders

78 and 176. The valve 166 is provided with a spring return 180. When switch 162 is open spring 180 shifts the valve so that lead 178 is connected to the pressure fluid sources and lead 174 is connected to vent 182. In this position of the valve, the

feed cylinders

78 and 176 are extended and, as in FIG. 1, the lead terminal 90 of each terminal chain 20 is positioned in the work position in alignment with

punches

104 and 106. When switch 162 is closed solenoid 164 overcomes spring 180, and shifts valve 166 to connect lead 174 to the pressure fluidsource and lead 178 to vent 182 so as to retract

cylinders

78 and 176 and move the terminal feed fingers upstream relative to the held terminal strips 20.

OPERATION OF THE APPLICATOR In describing the operation of the applicator, reference will be made only to the operation of the right-hand half of applicator 10 since both halves of the applicator operate in the same manner.

With the applicator in the rest position of FIG. I, the lead terminal 90 is located in the work position above the tool 140 and below punch 104. The terminal body 16 is in axial alignment with the punch and is located immediately above tool recess 142. In the rest position the plate 40 is located at the upper extremity of its travel during an entire revolution of crank 30. Crank 30 is stopped at top dead center. The relative positions of the terminal 90, tool 140 and punch 104 at the start position are illustrated in FIGS. 9 and 10. Follower 130 engages cam dwell surface 114. g

The operator prepares for the staking cycle of the applicator by positioning the board support 94 so that an opening 14 in circuit board 14 is located in axial alignment with punch 104 immediately below the body portion 16 of terminal 90. With the circuit board so located and on-off switch 156 closed, the operator then closes switch 158 to initiate the cycle of operation. Closing of switch 158 energizes solenoid 160 so that clutch 36 engages and the crank 30 will rotate 360 before the clutch automatically disengages. Upon engagement of the clutch, the crank is rotated in a direction to lower plate 40. As the plate is lowered, both cam 108 and punch 104 move down at the same rate.

As the cam lowers dwell surface 114 is moved past follower 130 until the follower engages cam surface 116. Further downward movement of the plate 40 moves the follower along the relatively steep cam surface 166 and rotate lever 120 in the direction of arrow 184 of FIG. 12 so that the tool 140 is moved up relative to the fixed terminal 90. When the tool end 14] engages the terminal tabs 18, as illustrated in FIGS. 11 and 12, and prior to severing of the terminal from the terminal strip, the punch 104 has been lowered so that the end of pin 110 is just above the recess in body 16.

Further downward movement of plate 40 brings follower 130 up onto the crest between

cam surface

116 and 118, as illustrated in FIG. 14, so that the tool end 141 is moved up past the bottom of cutoff bar 92 and carries the terminal 90 up so that

corners

146 and 148 cooperate to sever the terminal from the strip 120. At the time of severing, the punch 104 has moved down sufficiently so that the pin 110 is seated in the body of terminal 190. In this way the terminal is positively confined during severing from the terminal strip and is held in the desired orientation.

As the punch descends and the tool end 141 is moved up to the position of FIG. 13, the pin 110 hits the bottom of body 16 and moves up slightly in the punch against the action of spring 1 1 1.

During the time when follower 130 rides up the steep cam surface 116, tool end 141 is moving up so that after severing the terminal 90 is moved up to meet the punch. The punch and terminal meet when the follower 130 contacts the crest defined by the cam surfaces 116 and 118. The terminal 90 is confined between the lower end 112 of the punch and tool ends 141. Tabs 18 are flush on too] end 141.

As plate 40 continues to descend, shallow cam surface 118 is moved past follower 130 so that the lever 120 is rotated slowly in the direction of arrow 186 of FIG. 16. The slope of surface 118 is opposite that of surface 116 so that the direction of rotation of lever 120 in FIG. 16 is opposite to the direction of rotation in FIG. 12. Because the cam surface 118 is not as steep as surface 116, the lever 120 is rotated slower when follower 130 engages surfaces 118 than when it engages surface 116. Thus, during the time the follower is on surface 118, tool 140 is moving down slower than punch 104 is moving down. This relationship enables the punch to overtake and pass the tool end 141 and force terminal 90 through recess 142. As the terminal is moved through the recess, the tabs 18 thereof are wiped past rounded corners 144 so that they are bent through 90 and parallel the sides of punch end 112. The

bending of the tabs is illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16.

Continued downward movement of plate 40 moves punch 104 and terminal 90 through tool recess 142 until the lead end of terminal body 16 extends into the aligned hole 24 of circuit board 14. The body enters hole 24 before the tabs 18 are moved entirely past the sides of recess 142 so that the terminal 90 is confined and cannot fall away from punch end 112 before it is positioned in the circuit board hole.

Further lowering of plate 40 moves the punch 104 down to seat tenninal against the upper surface of circuit board 14 as illustrated in FIGS. 19 and 20. The lower end of body 16 extends past the bottom of the circuit board and is adjacent the staking anvil 150 in support 94. When the terminal is seated against the board, the punch end 112 has moved past tool end 141 and end 190 of cam 108 rests flush against the top of circuit board 14. The board 14 is supported by spring-backed pins in support 94.

The plate 40 continues to move down from the position illustrated in FIGS. 19 and 20 to the position illustrated in FIGS. 21 and 22 so that the punch 104 moves terminal 90 and circuit board 14 down against pins 100 to engage the exposed end of body 16 with anvil 150, thereby staking the terminal to the circuit board. At this time the cam 108 also bottomed the board against support 94 so as to provide added stability and prevent warping of the board. The press is at the bottom of its downstroke.

After the terminal is staked to board 14, continued rotation of the crank raises plate 40 to top dead center and then lowers the plate back to the start position at top dead center. The one-way clutch then disengages. During the return of the press to the start position, cam 108 is moved past the follower 130 so as to rotate the lever about pin 122. This movement returns the cam and lever to the start position, illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 9.

The lobe portion of cam 168 has an extent of 120 with the lobe first engaging trigger of switch 162 at bottom. Thus, after the terminal is staked on the board and crank 30 starts to move up, switch 162 is turned on to energize solenoid 164 of valve 166.

When the solenoid 164 is energized, the valve is shifted against spring 180 to communicate line 174 with pressure fluid source 172 and to vent line 178 through lead 182. In this position of the valve, the

feed cylinders

78 and 176 are retracted from the extended position of FIG. 1 so that the strip-engaging portions of the feed fingers are moved upstream relative to the strips 20 in the

feed units

46 and 48. During retraction of the cylinders, the two back latches prevent upstream movement of the terminal strips.

When the crank has rotated to a position just past 60 before top dead center, the lobe of cam 168 moves past the trigger of switch 162 so that the switch opens and solenoid 164 is deenergized. This allows spring 180 to shift valve 166 so that lead 174 is vented and lead 178 is pressurized. With the valve in this position, the

feed cylinders

78 and 176 are extended. The feed fingers engage the strips and move them downstream so that the new lead terminals 90 are fed to the work positions between the ends of tools 141 and the two

punches

104 and 106. When the terminals are fed, the plate 40 has moved up sufiiciently so that follower engages flat dwell surface 114 and the tools are positioned below the carrier strips 20 and do not interfere with the feeding of the lead terminals to the work position.

Punches

104 and 106 are above strips 20. The follower remains on surface 114 while the crank continues to rotate to top dead center, at which time clutch 36 disengages and the cycle of operation is completed.

The operator may then position circuit board support 94 so that another pair of terminal-receiving holes 24 in the circuit board are in alignment with the

punches

104 and 106 and terminals 90. When the board is so aligned, the next cycle of operation may be begun by closing foot switch 128. Automatic circuit board indexing means and automatic cycling means may be provided so that after the operator positions a circuit board on support 94 the applicator automatically applies terminals to all holes 24 in the board.

While terminal applicator 10 is intended to apply extruded lug type terminals on to a circuit board it is not intended that the invention be limited to an applicator for use with such terminals. Obviously the applicator and method may be used with other type terminals including those not having a portion extending laterally from the terminal chain.

While I have illustrated an described a preferred embodiment of my invention, it is understood that this is capable of modification, and 1 therefore do not wish to be limited to the precise detail set forth, but desire to avail myself of such changes and alterations as fall within the purview of the following claims.

What I claim my invention is:

l. A terminal applicator for applying terminals to a circuit board or the like comprising a base including a circuit board support, a punch movable toward said support, feed means on said base including a terminal feed path, with the end of said path adjacent said support being fixed relative to said base whereby a terminal strip may be fed along the path to position a lead terminal between said punch and support when separated, means operable in response to movement of the punch toward the circuit board support for severing the lead terminal from the terminal strip and then for confining the severed terminal relative to the punch during movement of the punch and terminal toward said support, and punch drive means for moving said punch toward the support, past the end of the feed path and into close engagement with the support whereby the punch engages the lead terminal and moves the same into contact with a circuit board on the support, said means including a tool normally positioned adjacent said end of the feed path between the lead terminal and the support and tool drive means for moving the tool away from the support and past the end of the feed path to sever the terminal strip against the edge of the feed path away from the support.

2. A terminal applicator as in claim 1 wherein said tool drive means includes means for moving the tool toward the support following severing ofthe strip.

3. A terminal applicator as in claim 2 wherein said tool includes a terminal-bending surface and said tool drive means moves the tool toward the support slower than the punch drive means moves the punch toward the support so that the punch moves part of the terminal past the bending surface to bend the same to a desired configuration.

4. A terminal applicator as in claim 3 wherein said tool drive means includes a cam movable with said punch and a lever bar pivotally mounted on said base, said tool being secured to said bar away from the pivot point, a cam follower upon said bar away from the pivot point and engageable with said cam, said cam including a first cam surface sloping in the first direction for moving said tool away from said support and a second cam surface sloping in a direction opposite said first direction for moving said tool toward said support.

5. A terminal applicator for applying terminals to a circuit board or the like comprising a base including a circuit board support, a punch movable toward said support, punch drive means for moving said punch toward said support to pick up a terminal in a work position and move the same into contact with a circuit board on the support, feed means secured to said base including a terminal strip feed path for positioning a lead terminal of a strip of terminals in a work position between the punch and support, a tool normally located between the circuit board support and the terminal work position adjacent the end of the feed path, and tool drive means for moving said tool away from the support so that the tool and the end of the feed path cooperate to sever the lead terminal from the terminal strip and, during movement of the punch toward the base, for moving the tool toward the support, said punch and tool cooperating to confine the severed terminal therebetween during movement toward the support.

6. A tenninal applicator as in claim 5 wherein said punch drive means includes a cam actuated drive operable upon movement of said punch toward said support.

7. A terminal applicator as in claim 6 including a member movable with said punch by said punch drive means, and wherein said tool drive means includes a cam on either said member or said base extending toward the other of said member or base, and a drive connection on the other of said member or base, said drive connection being connected to said tool and including a cam follower engageable with said cam whereby movement of said member toward said support moves the cam past the follower to move said tool.

8. A terminal applicator as in claim 7 wherein said drive connection includes a bar pivotally mounted on said other of said member or base.

9. A terminal applicator as in claim 5 wherein said tool drive means moves said tool toward the support at a rate different than the rate said punch moves toward the support whereby terminal is confined between the punch and tool and is subjected to a deforming operation.

10. A terminal applicator for applying terminals to a circuit board comprising a base including a circuit board support, a member movable toward and away from said base, a punch on said member extending toward said support, member drive means for moving the member toward and away from the base whereby the punch picks up a terminal and moves the same into contact with a circuit board on said support, a cam on said member extending toward said base, a lever bar pivotally mounted on said base including a cam follower engaging the surface of said cam, a tool on said bar, said tool including a cutting edge and a surface for confining a terminal against the punch during movement ofthe punch toward the support, and feed means for feeding a lead terminal ofa strip of terminals to a work position between said feed and support when said member is away from said support, said cam including a first cam surface for pivoting the lever in a first direction and moving the tool away from the support to sever the lead terminal from the terminal strip and a second cam surface for pivoting the lever in second direction opposite to said first direction and moving the tool toward the support to confine the severed terminal between the tool and punch during movement toward the support.

11. A terminal applicator as in claim 10 wherein the slope of said second cam surface is sufficiently shallow so that said tool is moved toward said support slower than said punch whereby the punch carries the terminal past said tool to perform a deforming operation upon part of the terminal.

12. The method of applying a terminal to a circuit board comprising the steps of feeding a lead terminal of a strip of terminals to a work position between a punch and a circuit board, severing the terminal from the strip while the terminal engages the punch, moving the punch and terminal toward the circuit board to bring the terminal into contact with the circuit board, and deforming the terminal during movement of the punch toward the circuit board by moving a tool engaging the terminal toward the circuit board at a rate different than the rate the punch moves toward the circuit board.

13. The method of claim 12 including the step of moving the tool away from the circuit board to sever the lead terminal from the strip of terminals.

Claims

1. A terminal applicator for applying terminals to a circuit board or the like comprising a base including a circuit board support, a punch movable toward said support, feed means on said base including a terminal feed path, with the end of said path adjacent said support being fixed relative to said base whereby a terminal strip may be fed along the path to position a lead terminal between said punch and support when separated, means operable in response to movement of the punch toward the circuit board support for severing the lead terminal from the terminal strip and then for confining the severed terminal relative to the punch during movement of the punch and terminal toward said support, and punch drive means for moving said punch toward the support, past the end of the feed path and into close engagement with the support whereby the punch engages the lead terminal and moves the same into contact with a circuit board on the support, said means including a tool normally positioned adjacent said end of the feed path between the lead terminal and the suPport and tool drive means for moving the tool away from the support and past the end of the feed path to sever the terminal strip against the edge of the feed path away from the support.

2. A terminal applicator as in claim 1 wherein said tool drive means includes means for moving the tool toward the support following severing of the strip.

6. A terminal applicator as in claim 5 wherein said punch drive means includes a cam actuated drive operable upon movement of said punch toward said support.

10. A terminal applicator for applying terminals to a circuit board comprising a base including a circuit board support, a member movable toward and away from said base, a punch on said member extending toward said support, member drive means for moving the member toward and away from the base whereby the punch picks up a terminal and moves the same into contact with a circuit board on said support, a cam on said member extending toward said base, a lever bar pivotally mounted on said base including a cam follower engaging the surface of said cam, a tool on said bar, said tool including a cutting edge and a surface for confining a terminal against the punch during movement of the punch toward the suPport, and feed means for feeding a lead terminal of a strip of terminals to a work position between said feed and support when said member is away from said support, said cam including a first cam surface for pivoting the lever in a first direction and moving the tool away from the support to sever the lead terminal from the terminal strip and a second cam surface for pivoting the lever in second direction opposite to said first direction and moving the tool toward the support to confine the severed terminal between the tool and punch during movement toward the support.