US3766622A

US3766622A - Automatic apparatus for attaching wires to terminals

Info

Publication number: US3766622A
Application number: US00230820A
Authority: US
Inventors: R Brehm; R Long; W Over
Original assignee: AMP Inc
Current assignee: TE Connectivity Corp
Priority date: 1972-03-01
Filing date: 1972-03-01
Publication date: 1973-10-23
Anticipated expiration: 1990-10-23
Also published as: YU54773A; RO65569A; DD103996A5; BG24414A3; CA980549A; PL98284B1; HU167083B; CS187369B2

Abstract

Apparatus for inserting wires into wire-receiving portions of terminals in an electrical connector comprises wire severing and inserting means for trimming the wire end and inserting the trimmed end into wire receiving portion of a terminal. The connector, in which the terminals are contained, is held on a carriage which is indexed during each operating cycle so that each terminal is presented to the inserting means for reception of a wire.

Description

United States Patent [1 1 Brehm et' al.

[ 1 Oct. 23, 1973 AUTOMATIC APPARATUS FOR ATTACHING WIRES TO TERMINALS lnventors: Ronald Carl Brehm, Carlisle;

Robert Alyin Long, Harrisburg; William Roderick Over, Ham'sburg, al] of Pa.

Assignee: AMP Incorporated, Harrisburg, Pa.

Filed: Mar. 1, 1972 Appl. No.: 230,820

u.s. Cl. 29/203 MW lnt.Cl..... ..H0lr 43/04 Field of Search, 29/203 MW, 203 H,

29/203 HC, 203 HM, 203 MM, 203 D References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS Brehm 29/203 H Primary ExaminerThomas H. Eager Attorney-William J. Keating et al.

{57] ABSTRACT Apparatus for inserting wires into wire-receiving portions of terminals in an electrical connector comprises wire severing and inserting means for trimming the wire end and inserting the trimmed end into wire receiving portion of a terminal. The connector, in which the terminals are contained, is held on a carriage which is indexed during each operating cycle so that each terminal is presented to the inserting means for reception of a wire.

11 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures Brown 29/278 mammwz ms SHEET UIUF 10 PATENTEDMT 23 I923 SHEET OH 0! 10 wmm mimsuomsm 3.766622 SHEET 100F10 1 AUTOMATIC APPARATUS FOR A-TTACIIING WIRES TO TERMINALS BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to apparatus for trimming the ends of wires and inserting the trimmed wire ends into a wire receiving'portion of an electrical terminal which is contained in an electrical device such as a multicontact electrical connector. The present invention is related to the inventions disclosed and claimed in the following applications.

Serial No. Title 147,569 Pre-Loaded Electrical Connector 147.578 Apparatus For Securing Wires To Terminals In Connectors 189,571 Apparatus For Trimming and Inserting Wires Application Ser. No. 147,569 discloses and claims a multi-contact electrical connector which is pre-loaded in the sense that as supplied to the user, it contains electrical contact terminals although wires are not connected to the terminals. The user inserts the ends of the wires into wire receiving portions of the terminals when the connector is put to use. Connectors of this type are convenient for use under many circumstances particularly in the telephone industry since a multi-conductor cable can be cut to the required lengthfor a specific installation terminated at the work site. In other words, it is unnecessary to manufacture the cable and to apply the connectors to the ends of the cable in a factory where soldering operationscan be carried out.

I Application Ser. No. 147,578 discloses and claims a manually operated tool for trimming the ends of a plurality of wiresand simultaneously inserting the trimmed wires into the terminal receiving portions of the connector. Tools in accordance with the teaching of application Ser. No. 147,578 are useful for cable termination operations carried out in the field or at a work site. Application Ser. No. 189,571 discloses and claims a compact hand tool for inserting a single wireinto the wire receiving portion of a terminal and is. convenient for use where circuit changes in pre-existingcables are being carried out and/or for cable repairing operations.

There remains a need for an efficientsemi-automatic or automatic wire trimming and inserting apparatus having power assist means which can beused when relatively large numbers of cables are being terminated. The instant invention is directed tothe achievement of such a powered wire apparatus in accordance with some of the broad general teachings of the aboveidentified application Ser. No. 189,571. While the specific embodiment of the invention disclosed herein is intended for use with multi-contact electrical connectors of the general type disclosed in application Ser. No. 147,569, it will be apparent that the principles of the invention can be employed in alternative embodiments intended for use with other types of connectors or with other electrical devices which contain terminals having wire receiving portions.

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide an improved apparatus for trimming the ends of wires and inserting the trimmed ends into the wire receiving portions of electricalterminals. It is a further object to provide a wire trimming and inserting apparatus which is adapted for use with a two-row multi-contact electrical connector. A further object isto provide a semiautomatic wire insertion apparatus which is convenient and efficient and which permits rapid inserting of wires into the wire receiving portions of an electrical connector. A further object is to provide an apparatus which can be operated by an operator with limited training and which will ensure accurate placement of the wires in the electrical device.

These and other objectsof the invention are achieved in a preferred embodiment thereof which is briefly described in the foregoing abstract, which is described in detail below, and which is shown in the accompanying drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary perspective view, with parts exploded, of a multi-contact electrical connector of the type with which the disclosed embodiment of the invention is intended for use.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a preferred form of apparatus in accordance with the invention, this view showing the apparatus with cover plates in position and illustrating the manner in which a cable is held on the apparatus during a cable termination operation.

FIG. 3 is a top plan view of the apparatus with the cover plates removed.

FIG. 4 is a sectional side view taken along the lines 4-4 of FIG. 3, this view showing the connector carriage at the limit of its rearward travel.

FIG. 5 is a fragmentary view similar to FIG. 4 but showing the position of the carriage at the beginning of a series inserting operations for a connector.

FIG. 6, 7, and 8 are views taken along the lines 66, 7-7 and 88 of FIG. 4.

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary view on an enlarged scale similar to FIG. 6 showing the positions of the wire inserting rams and the wire clamping ram at the beginning of an operating cycle of the apparatus.

FIG. 10 is a view similar to FIG. 9 showing the positions of the parts at the end of the inserting operation.

FIG. 11 is a view taken along the lines 1 l 11 of FIG. 6.

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary view looking in the direction of the arrows 12l2 of FIG. 9 showing the positions of the wire insertion ram and the wire stops at the beginning of the insertion operation.

' FIGS. 13 and 14 are views similar to FIG. 12 but showing the positions of the parts at intermediate stages of the operating cycle.

The herein disclosed embodiment of the invention is intended to insert an insulated wire 2 into the terminal receiving portion 8 of each one of a plurality of electrical terminals 4 contained in an electrical connector 6. Connectors and terminals as disclosed in FIG. 1 are fully described in application Ser. No. 147,569 however, some structural features of the connector and the terminal must be'described here for an understanding of the present invention. The wire receiving portion 8 of each terminal is generally U-shaped having spaced apart parallel plate-

like sections

10, 12 which are connected by a bight section 14. A slot extends through the bight at 15 and into the plate-like sections at 16 so that when the wire is forced downwardly and to the slot, the edges of the slot will penetrate the insulation of the wire and establish electrical contact with the conducting core thereof.

The terminal 4 further comprises a flat shank 18 extending from plate section 12 and an offset contact portion 20 which has a laterally extending ear 21 on its end. A plurality of cavities 22 extend through the connector housing from the rearward side 24 thereof and open into a trough 26 in the forward or mating side 28 of the housing. These cavities and recesses 29 on the sides of the trough 26 are contoured to receive the terminals 4. The connectors shown are adapted to be mated with a complementary connector as disclosed in application Ser. No. 147,569. Barriers 30 are provided on the connector housing adjacent to the rearward face 24 between adjacent cavities 22. It should also be noted that a flange 32 extends outwardly from the housing between the rearward and mating faces and a rearwardly facing surface 34 and ledge 35 are defined by the rearwardly facing side of this flange.

Turning now to FIGS. 24, an apparatus 36 in accordance with the invention has a static frame structure comprising a base plate, parallel sidewalls 38, 38' a front endwall 40, a rear endwall 46, and transversely extending

intermediate frame walls

41, 42, and 44. These endwalls and the

transverse walls

41, 42, 44 are recessed and are provided with openings at appropriate locations for the accomodation of the moving structure described below. A carriage 48 is mounted on the upper side of the frame structure between spaced apart parallel rails 50, 50' which extend from the endwall 46 leftwardly in FIG. 3 for the full length of the apparatus and beyond the endwall 40 past a head section 66 described below. The carriage 48 has ears or

ribs

52, 52 on its sides (FIG. which are received in grooves 54 on the opposed sides of the rails 50, 50' to guide the carriage along the rails between the position of FIGS. 4 and 5. The ends of the

rails

50, 50 are secured to each other by

spacer blocks

51 and 53 and fasteners at the rearward and forward ends as shown best in FIG. 4. Advantageously, a stop block 55 is also provided at the forward ends of the rails against the spacer block 53 and is held in position by a fastener 56 which extends through the block 53 and into the block 55. The rightwardly facing side of this stop block 55 defines the limit of leftward movement of the carriage and the location of the carriage and of this stop is critical as will be apparent from the description which follows. The precise location of the side of the stop block 55 can be changed by interposing suitable shims between the

blocks

53 and 55.

A connector 6 is mounted in a cavity 60 on the upper side of the carriage 48 and is precisely positioned by means of

ears

62, 64 extending from the upper side of the carriage. These ears bear against the surface 34 of the connector 6 and against the ends 37 of the ledge 39 on the rearward side of the'connector. When the connector 6 is properly mounted on the carriage, the wire receiving portions 8 of the terminals thus face in opposite directions laterally of the carriage as is apparent from FIG. 3.

The individual wires are inserted into the wirereceiving portions 8 of the terminals at an insertion head 66 on the left hand side of the apparatus as viewed in FIGS. 3 and 4. During each operating cycle, two wires are placed in this head on theopposite sides of a guide member 126. The two wires are trimmed during the cycle and inserted into a terminal. The carriage is indexed during each cycle by an indexing mechanism described below so as to present each terminal in the connector to the insertion station.

As shown in FIG. 6, the insertion head is substantially symmetrical about the vertical center line of this Figure, the structure on the lefthand side of the drawing which inserts a wire into a terminal on the lefthand side of the connector being duplicated on the righthand side of the drawing. Accordingly, only the structure shown on the lefthand side of FIG. 6 will be described in detail and the same reference numerals, differentiated by prime marks, will be employed to denote corresponding structural elements on the two sides of the insertion head 66.

Centrally of the head 66, an L-shaped bracket 68 (FIG. 4) is secured to the transversely extending wall 40. This bracket has a forwardly extending arm 70 which is beneath, and which supports, the projecting forward ends of the

rails

50, 50.

On the lefthand side of the rails, a flange 72 (FIG. 1 1) extends forwardly of, and is integral with, the frame plate 40.

U-shaped ram housings

74, 76 are secured to flange 72 by

fasteners

78, 80 as best shown in FIG. 11, on the upper and lower sides thereof. An insertion ram 82 is slidably contained between the sidewalls of the upper housing 74 for movement towards and away from a connector held on the carriage as shown in FIG. 10. A fixed shear blade 84 is disposed between the lower side of insertion ram 82 and the upper surface of the flange 72 and is held in position by a pin 86 which extends into flange 72. A clamping ram 88 is slidably contained between the sidewalls of the lower ram housing 76 beneath the flange 72 and functions to clamp a wire during the trimming and inserting operations. The actuating means for the

rams

82, 88 is described below.

A wire stop 90 is mounted in the housing 74 above the insertion ram 82 and is interfitted with the inserting ram by a heel portion 91 which is received in a recess 114 on the insertion ram. The wire stop 90 has a rightwardly facing shoulder 116 which is opposed to a leftwardly facing shoulder 118 on the ram 82 to limit relative movement of the stop with respect to the ram. Additionally, a spring 120 is interposed between the inner end of the stop 90 and the wall 121 of the recess and a pin 122 extends from the guide and into the spring to maintain the parts in the position. This spring normally biases the wire stop rightwardly with respect to the insertion ram. It should also be noted that the free end of the stop is normally in engagement with the free end 124' of the stop 90'. These two stops serve to assist in locating the wires in alignment with the terminal receiving portions of the slots but must move apart, as will be described below, when the carriage is indexed.

The end of the insertion ram 82 has a transversely extending recess 92, the width of which as viewed in FIG. 10 is sufficient to receive the wire receiving portion 8 of the terminal. Additionally, a narrow insertion pin 94 is mounted by means of a mounting pin 96 in the ram and extends into the recess 92. This pin is dimensioned to enter the slot 15 in the bight portion 14 of the terminal to push the wire into the inner stop portions 16.

The shear plate 84 has an inner end 102 which is disposed against the

surfaces

34, 35 of a connector mounted on the carriage and has an opening 104 adjacent to its end for reception of a wire. The righthand end of this opening defines an edge 106 which functions as a fixed shearing edge in cooperation with the lower edge 107 of the insertion ram 82 to shear the wire immediately prior to insertion as is shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. It should be noted that the opening 104 extends to the forwardly facing edge of the fixed shear plate as shown in FIG. 3 so that a wire can be moved laterally of its axis into this opening to the position of FIG. 9.

The insertion ram 82 is in many respects similar, to the insertion rail disclosed in application Ser, No. 189,571, andfis in accordance with the teachings of that application;

The clamping ram 88 has a rubber pad 108 on its face and is adapted to move into a recess 110 on the outwardly facing side of the rail 50 to clamp the wire 2 during trimming and insertion. In order to assist in positioning' of the wire, it is advantageous to provide a downwardly and outwardly inclined groove 112 in the rail 50 immediately above the recess 110. Clamping of the wire during trimming and insertion is desirable in order to prevent substantial relative movement of the wire with respect to the insertion ram during the inserting operation.

A wire separator 126 (FIGS. 2, 3, and 8) having a generally triangular cross-section is mounted on the upper sides of the rails '50 and assists the operator in separating the two wires of a pair so that he can position each wire in alignment with the insertion and clamping rams contained in the heads. It will be apparent from FIG. 2 that the operator need only select a wire pair from the bundle 298, separate the pair, and move the wires inwardly'and into alignment with the insertion and clamping rams on the opposite sides of the carriage. Additional guiding of the wires is achieved by guideblocks 128, 128' on each side of the separator 126. These .guide blocks have surfaces 130 which extend beside the separator 126 and which function to guide the two wires and confine them during leftward movement as viewed in FIG. 2 until they are in alignment with the insertion and clamping rams.

The apparatus is electrically actuated by two switches 134, 134' mounted beneath the wire inserting and trimming mechanisms (FIG. 8). These switches have switch arms 132, 132' which are engaged by the wires to close the switches when the wires are properly positioned by the operator. The switches are wired in series in a manner such that the apparatus is cycled only when both switches are closed.

Asnoted above, the carriage 48 is movable between the extreme positions shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The carriage is normallybiased to the position of FIG. 5, its position at thebeginning of an insertion cycle for a connector, and is moved to the'position of FIG. 4 during the complete cycle. The biasing means for biasing the carriage leftwardly to the position of FIG. comprises a cable 148 which is secured to a pin 150 mounted in a central recesson the underside of the carriage. This cable extends leftwardly through a slot 151 in the underside of the carriage 48, through a slot 152 in a block 208 described below, and over a pulley 154 mounted on a pin 156 journaled in the

rails

50, 50 adjacent to the transverse frame member 44 as shown in FIG. 3. The cable extends rearwardly from the pulley 154 to a spring powered reel 158 which is mounted at 160 on an L-shaped bracket structure 162, the ends of which are supported on the

frame members

44 and 38 as best shown in FIG. 3.

Carriage 48 is fed rightwardly during each individual operating cycle by a short stroke feed pawl 164 which is engageable with rack teeth 204 on the underside of the carriage, the pitch of these teeth being equal to the spacing between adjacent terminals in the connector 6. Rightward movement of the carriage is controlled by a stop pawl 166 which is engageable with teeth 206 on an adjustable mounting bar 208 in the carriage. This stop pawl in cooperation with the teeth 206 prevents rapid return of the carriage under the influence of the return reel 158. Finally, a long stroke feed pawl 168 is provided which moves the carriage to the extreme rightward limit of its travel after the last wire has been inserted into the connector.

The actuating means for the feed pawl 164 comprises a vertically extending lever 172 to the'upper end of which the feed pawl 164 is pivoted at 170. The pawl is normally biased in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 4 by a spring 171, the upper end of which is anchored to a pin 173extending from the pawl arm and the lower end of which is anchored to a pin 175 mounted in the lever 172. Lever 172 is pivoted intermediate its ends at 174 to a bracket 176 extending leftwardly-from the fixed frame member 41. The lower end of the lever 172 has a pivotal connection with a pin 178 extending from a ball joint on the end of a connecting rod 182. As shown in FIG. 8, the pin 179 has a relatively close-fit in a hole in the lower end of the lever while the pin 228 which extends from the opposite side of the joint 180 has a pin-slot connection to lever 214. The reason for this difference is described below.

The connecting rod 182 is pivotally connected by a ball joint 184 to a bell crank 186 in the form of a pair of spaced apart plates, the eye of the joint extending between these plates to receive a pin 185 as shown. The bell crank 186 has a fixed pivot 188 on its lower end as viewed in FIG. 7 and a cam follower 192 is mounted on a pin 194 which extends between the plates adjacent to the connecting rod eye 166. Bell crank 186 is normally biased in a clockwise'direction as viewed in FIG. 4 by a spring 190 which extends from the bell crank to a pin 191 mounted in the base plate so that the cam follower 192 is held against the contoured surface of a cam 196 mounted on the main shaft 136.

Shaft 136 is suitably journaled in transversely extending

frame members

41, 42, and 44 and is coupled, through a single revolution clutch 138, to the output shaft 140' of an electric motor 142. The clutch 138, which may be of any suitable single revolution type, is controlled by an arm 146 which in turn is controlled by a solenoid 144 mounted in a bracket which is anchored to the base plate. As previously noted, the switches 134, 134' are wired in series in a manner such that when both switches are'closed, solenoid 144 is energized to engage the clutch 138- and drive the shaft through a single revolution.

The cam 196 is keyed to the shaft 136 by a key 197 so that'during each complete revolution of the shaft 136, cam 196 will be carried through a complete revolution to oscillate the lever 172 first in a clockwise direction and then in a counterclockwise direction. The clockwise movement of the lever feeds the carriage 48 a distance which isslightly greater than the spacing between adjacent cavities or terminals in the connector and the lefthand movement of the lever 172 returns the pawl to its normal position.

The previously identified locking pawl 166 is mounted on a pin 198 which also extends between the rails 50, 50'. This pawl is biased upwardly, in a counterclockwise direction as viewed in FIG. 4, by a spirng 200 which is received in a recess in block 202 fixed to the transverse frame member 42. The spring is also received in a recess on the underside of the pawl so that the pawl can move downwardly during feeding of the carriage but will be returned to its initial position to lock the carriage after incremental feeding has been carried out. The teeth 206 with which the pawl 166 cooperates are provided on a rack bar 208 which is adjustably secured to the carriage by fasteners 210 to permit precise location of the connector on the carriage. Finally, it should be mentioned that the pawl 166 serves as a positioning pawl in that it determines the precise position of the carriage after each incremental feeding step. After the carriage has been fed by feed pawl 164 a distance slightly greater than the distance between adjacent cavities in the connector, the carriage is returned by the cable 148 until the stop pawl lodges against one of the teeth 206 to precisely position the carriage.

After the last pair of wires have been inserted into the wire-receiving portions of the terminals at the lefthand end of a connector 6 mounted on the carriage, that is after the wires have been connected to all of the terminals, it is desirable to move the carriage to the rightward limit of its travel (FIG. 4) in order to facilitate removal of the connector from the carriage and the mounting of another connector in the carriage. This final feeding operation of the carriage is accomplished by a long stroke pawl 168 which is pivotally mounted on the upper end of the lever 214. The pawl 168 is biased in a counterclockwise direction with respect to its pivot 212 by means of a spring 220 anchored at its upper end to a pin 222 mounted in the pawl and anchored at its lower end to a pin 224 mounted in the lever. The lever is pivoted at 216 to a bracket 218 which extends from the transverse frame member 41 beside the previously described bracket 176, see (FIG. 8). It will be noted from FIG. 4 that the pivot pin 216 is located a substantial distance below the pivot pin 174. The lower end of the lever 214 is provided with an elongated slot 226 through which the pin 228 extends from the ball joint 180. The lever 214 is thus oscillated during each operating cycle by the cam 196, the bell crank 186, and the connecting rod 182. However, by virtue of the fact that pivot pin 216 is relatively close to the ball joint 180, the stroke of the lever 214 is considerably longer than the stroke of the lever 172.

The pawl 168 on the end of the lever 214 engages a single tooth 230 which is located leftwardly (as viewed in FIG. 4) of the rack section 204 on the underside of the carriage. The tooth 230 is on the opposite side of the carriage from the rack section 204 so that during incremental feeding of the carriage by the pawl 164, that is during the short feed strokes which take place at the end of each wire inserting cycle, the pawl 168 oscillates but does not engage the tooth 230. The tooth 230 is located such that it is engaged by the pawl 168 after insertion of wires into the terminals at the lefthand end of the connector and the long stroke of this pawl imparts a final feeding motion to the carriage which moves it to the rightward limit of its travel. The oversized slot 226 in the lower end of the lever 214 is required to permit relative motion of the pin 228 with respect to the lower end of the lever, this motion being required to prevent binding of the pin 226 in the lever.

It is necessary to disengage the three

pawls

168, 164, 166 from the underside of the carriage at the beginning of each operating sequence for a new connector when the carriage is moved leftwardly from the position of the FIG. 4 to the position of FIG. 5. The pawls are disengaged by means of a lever 232, FIG. 7, which extends beside the rail 50 between the

plate members

40 and 44 and which is offset at 236 from the rail. This lever extends through an opening in plate 44, is pivotally mounted at 238 in a bracket secured to the rightwardly facing side of frame plate 44 and has a rightwardly extending end which is pivoted at 242 to the end of a plunger 244 of a solenoid 246. The lefthand end 234 of the leveris received in a slot for guiding purposes, in a bracket 235 secured to the transverse frame plate 40. The portion of the lever 232 which is beside the pawl 166 has a laterally extending flange 248 that overhangs a pin 250 extending from the pawl. The portion of the lever 232 which is adjacent to the pawl 168 has a similar flange 260 which overhangs a pin 258 mounting in th pawl 168. A generally L-shaped arm extends from the lever 232 between the

flanges

248, 260 and the forwardly extending section 254 of arm 256 overhangs a pin 252 extending from the pawl 164.

It will be apparent that upon upward movement of the plunger 244, the lever 232 will be swung through a slight counter-clockwise arc about its pivot axis 238 as viewed in FIG. 4 so that the

flanges

248 and 260 and the arm 254 will move downwardly. These flanges and this arm engage the

pins

250, 252, and 258 and swing the pawls downwardly about their respective pivotal axes so that they are disengaged from the carriage.

The solenoid 246 is energized by pressing a button 247 on the front of the apparatus, the circuitry including a conventional holding circuit to ensure that the so lenoid remains energized for a period of sufficient time duration to permit the carriage to move to the position of FIG. 5.

Under some circumstances, it may be necessary to manually disengage the

pawls

164, 166, 168 from the carriage. This can be done by a thumb-piece 233 which extends from the lever 232.

Turning now to FIGS. 3 and 6, the insertion ram 82 is actuated by a cam 290 keyed to the main shaft 136 through a linkage as follows. The lefthand end of the ram 82 is pivoted at 262 at parallel links 264 which in turn are pivoted at 266 to a crank arm 267. This crank arm is keyed at 268 to a jack shaft 270 which extends rearwardly through frame section 40 to the frame section 42 and which is journaled in these sections at 274 and 272. An additional arm 276 is secured on the shaft 270 adjacent to the transverse frame section 242 and extends inwardly towards the center of the apparatus. Arm 276 is slotted at its end for the reception of an eye 278 on the end of an adjustable connecting rod 280, a suitable pin extending through this eye and having its ends supported in the arm. The connecting rod 280 extends downwardly as viewed in FIG. 6 and has an eye on its end through which a pivot pin 282 extends. This pin is mounted on the end of a lever 284 which is pivoted at its end 286 to an ear which is integral with the frame section 41. A cam follower 288 is supported on the lever between the

pivotal connections

282, 286 and is received in cam track of a circular cam 290 which is keyed to the shaft 136. The contour of the cam track 292 is such that during each complete revolution of the shaft 136, the lever 284 will be oscillated thereby to oscillate the jack shaft 270 and the crank arm 267. Oscillation of the crank arm causes the insertion ram 82 to move inwardly to insert a wire into the terminal receiving portion of the terminals and to return to its normal position.

designed to'bring about the retraction of the ram to the position of FIG. 14 in order to. open the wire stops 90 as will be explained below.

'T he clamping ram 88-is, like the insertion ram 82,

and clamping rams 82' 88'. are actuated by the'track on the side which faces rightwardly in FIG. '3. The levers 284,284 arethus pivoted on opposite sides of the center line as viewed in FIG. 6.

OPERATION At the beginning of the operating procedure'or sequence of steps for a connector 6, a carriage will be in the position of-FIGS. 3 and 4. The operator locates the connector 6 on the upper side of the carriage beneath the

ears

62, 64 and he then clamps the cable 293 against the upper'surface of an ear 294 which is adjacent to the connector. The cable sheath is clamped to the ear bya suitable clamp as shown and the wire bundle, comprising the pairs of conductors in the cable, is dressedupwardly and rearwardly as shown in FIG. 2. The operator'then depresses the button 247 to disengage the

pawls

164, 166, 168 from the carriage so that the carriage is'permitted to move leftwardly to the position of FIG. under the influence to the spring reel 158. The operator then selects an individual pair of wires from the bundle and pulls them downwardlyover the separator 126 and then pulls the wires inwardly against the wire stops 90, 90' whichare resiliently biased against each other. These stops90, 90" assist in locating the wires in alignment with the wire-receiving grooves 112 of the "railsQWhen' the switch arms 132, 132' are depressed by the wires, the control circuit causes the solenoid 144to be energized thereby engaging the single revolution clutch 138 so that the shaft 136is rotated through a single revolution. The cams on the shaft 136 are timed such that the

rams

82, 88, 82 88 move inwardly from the positions of FIG. 9 to the positions of FIG. 10, the clamping rams 88 arriving at their inner positions prior to the insertion rams so that the wires 2, 2' will be clamped during the severing and insertion operation. As the insertion rams 82, 82 move inwardly, the wires are trimmed in'the planes defined by the upper surfaces of the fixed shear plates 84, 84' when the edges 107, 107f move past the edges of the fixed shear plates. The leading ends of the insertion rams capture the trimmed wires and push them into the wire-receiving positions of the terminals, the insertion punches 94, 94' entering the terminals as shown in FIG. 10 at the time of complete insertion when the rams are at the inner limits of their strokes. After insertion of the wires has been accomplished, the

rams

82, 88,82, 88' are retracted until the insertion rams reach the positions of FIG. 14. During retraction of these insertion rams, the

shoulders

118, 118" of the rams engage the

shoulder

116, 116 on the inner ends of the wire stops and the wire stops are moved apart by a distance to permit passage of the wires 2, 2' therebetween.

During a very brief dwell of the insertion rams 82, 82

I in their retracted positions, the lever 172 is swung into a slight clockwise arc to feed the carriage a distance equal to the spaced between adjacent terminals thereby to locate the second set of terminals in alignment with the rams.

The operator repeats the foregoing wire handling procedures for each pair of wires of the bundle until wires have been inserted into a wire receiving portions of all of the terminals. After wires have been inserted into the two terminals on opposite sides of the connector at the extreme lefthand end thereof, a pawl 168 will feed the carriage rightwardly until it reaches the limit of its travel as shown in FIG. 5 and the connector having wires attached to the terminals can be removed.

What is claimed is:

1. Apparatus for trimming the end of a conductor and inserting the trimmed .end into the wire-receiving portion of a terminal in an electrical device such as an electrical connector, said electrical device having a plurality of said terminals therein with said conductorreceiving portions arranged in a row, said apparatus comprising:

supporting means for supporting said electrical device in a predetermined position,

indexing means for feeding said supporting means along a supporting means feed path which extends in the direction of said row, said indexing means being effective to feed said supporting means a distance equal to the spacing between adjacent terminal receiving portions in said row,

conductor trimming and insertion ram means on side of said supporting means feed path, said trimming and insertion ram means being reciprocable along an insertion ram path towards and away from said supporting means, said insertion ram means being effective to trim a conductor extending between said ram means and said supporting means and insert the trimmed conductor into a conductorreceiving portion of one of said terminals,

conductor stop for locating a conductor with its axis extending transversely of said insertion ram feed path, said conductor stop normally extending transversely of said supporting means feed path and normally being in spaced relationship to an electrical device held on said supporting means, said stop being movable away from said path to permit movement of a conductor therepast and actuating means for actuating said ram means and said indexing means and for concomitantly moving said stop means form its normal position away from said path whereby,

upon positioning a connector on said supporting means and upon locating a conductor against said stop means with its axis extending between said ram means and said supporting means and upon energizing said actuating means, said conductor is trimmed and inserted into the conductor-receiving portion of one of said terminals, and said stop means is thereafter moved from said supporting means feed path, and said supporting means is indexed to position the next adjacent conductor-receiving portion in said electrical device in alignment with said ram means.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1 including conductor clamping ram means, said clamping ram means being reciprocable along a clamping ram path towards and away from said electrical device, said clamping ram path being beside said insertion ram path, said clamping ram means being effective to clamp said conductor during trimming thereof and insertion of said conductor into a conductor-receiving portion of said electrical device.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 2 including a fixed shear member between said insertion ram means and said clamping ram means, said fixed shear member being cooperable with said insertion ram means to trim said conductor.

4. Apparatus for trimming the ends of each wire of a pair of wires and inserting the trimmed wire ends into wire-receiving means on an electrical connector or the like, said connector having two parallel rows of said wire receiving means, said wire receiving means of said two rows facing in opposite directions, said apparatus comprising:

connector supporting means for supporting said connector in a predetermined position,

first and second wire trimming and inserting rams,

said rams being disposed on opposite sides of said supporting means and being reciprocable along first and second paths respectively towards and away from a connector supported on said supporting means,

pair splitting and wire guide means disposed in alignment with said supporting means, said splitting and guide means being effective, upon movement therepast of a wire pair transversely of the axis of the pair, to split said pair and locate one wire of said pair in a predetermined position with its axis extending transversely of said first and second paths and between said rams and said connector supported on said supporting means, whereby, upon location of the wires of a pair in said predetermined positions and upon movement of said rams towards said supporting means, the end portions of said wires are trimmed and the trimmed wires ends are inserted into wire receiving means in said connector, and indexing means for indexing said supporting means along a third path a distance equal to the spacing between adjacent wire receiving means in said rows, said third path extending transversely of said first and second paths whereby after insertion of a pairs of wires into wire-receiving means on said connector, the next adjacent wirereceiving means are moved into alignment with said wire-trimming and inserting rams.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 including a pair of clamping rams, one of said clamping rams being beside each of said insertion rams, said clamping rams being movable with said insertion rams to clamp said wires during severing and insertion thereof.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 including wire stop means for locating said wires in said predetermined positions, said wire stop means normally extending transversely of said third path and in spaced relationship to a connector on said supporting means, said wire stop means being movable away from said third path to permitmovement of said wire therepast during indexing of said supporting means.

7. Apparatus as set forth in claim 6 wherein said wire stop means comprises a pair of wire stops, each of said wire stops being associated with, and extending beside, one of said wire trimming and insertion rams, said stops being movable away from said third path with said trimming and insertion rams during movement of said insertion rams away from said connector.

8. Apparatus for trimming the ends of each wire of a pair of wires and connecting the trimmed wires to the wire receiving portions of electrical terminals contained in an electrical device such as an electrical connector, said electrical device having two rows of wirereceiving portions on oppositely facing sides thereof, said apparatus comprising:

indexing means for indexing said supporting means in one direction along a supporting means feed path which extends in the direction of said rows a distance equal to the spacing between adjacent wirereceiving portions in said rows,

first and second wire'trimming and inserting rams on two opposite sides of said supporting means feed path, said wire-trimming and inserting rams being reciprocable towards and away from said feed path,

first and second fixed shear members, each of said shear members being beside one of said wiretrimming and inserting rams,

first and second wire-stops on opposite sides of said path, said wire-stops normally extending across said path in spaced relationship to said supporting means, each of said stops being effective to locate a wire with its axis extending transversely of said feed path, past an electrical device on said supporting means and between said electrical device and one of said trimming and insertion rams and said electrical device,

said wire stops being latrally movable away from said path to permit movement of wires therepast which have been connected to wire-receiving portions in said rows whereby,

upon locating one wire of said pair on each side of said feed path and against stop means with each wire axis extending between an insertion ram and said support means thence between one of said fixed shear members and said support means, and upon movement of said rams towards said support means, said wires are trimmed and connected to wire-receiving portions of said terminals, and upon movement of said wire stops away from said path and indexing of said supporting means, said connector is moved along said path to locate adjacent wire-receiving portions of said terminals in alignment with said trimming and insertion rams.

9. Apparatus as set forth in claim 8 including electrical means for actuating said indexing means, said wiretrimming, and said inserting rams, and for controlling movement of said wire stops, and switch means for energizing said electrical means, said switch means comprising a pair of switches which are engageable by said wires to energize said electrical means when said wires are located against said wire stops.

10. Apparatus as set forth in claim 9 including static wire pair guide means, said guide means being aligned with said supporting means and having guide surfaces for guiding said wires towards said wire stops.

11. Apparatus as set forth in claim 10 including first and second clamping rams disposed beside said first and second wire-trimming and insertion rams respectively, said clamping rams being movable towards and away from said supporting means and being effective to clamp said wires during trimming and insertion thereof. l l

Claims

1. Apparatus for trimming the end of a conductor and inserting the trimmed end into the wire-receiving portion of a terminal in an electrical device such as an electrical connector, said electrical device having a plurality of said terminals therein with said conductor-receiving portions arranged in a row, said apparatus comprising: supporting means for supporting said electrical device in a predetermined position, indexing means for feeding said supporting means along a supporting means feed path which extends in the direction of said row, said indexing means being effective to feed said supporting means a distance equal to the spacing between adjacent terminal receiving portions in said row, conductor trimming and insertion ram means on side of said supporting means feed path, said trimming and insertion ram means being reciprocable along an insertion ram path towards and away from said supporting means, said insertion ram means being effective to trim a conductor extending between said ram means and said supporting means and insert the trimmed conductor into a conductor-receiving portion of one of said terminals, a conductor stop for locating a conductor with its axis extending transversely of said insertion ram feed path, said conductor stop normally extending transversely of said supporting means feed path and normally being in spaced relationship to an electrical device held on said supporting means, said stop being movable away from said path to permit movement of a conductor therepast and actuating means for actuating said ram means and said indexing means and for concomitantly moving said stop means form its normal position away from said path whereby, upon positioning a connector on said supporting means and upon locating a conductor against said stop means with its axis extending between said ram means and said supporting means and upon energizing said actuating means, said conductor is trimmed and inserted into the conductor-receiving portion of one of said terminals, and said stop means is thereafter moved from said supporting means feed path, and said supporting means is indexed to position the next adjacent conductor-receiving portion in said electrical device in alignment with said ram means.

4. Apparatus for trimming the ends of each wire of a pair of wires and inserting the trimmed wire ends into wire-receiving means on an electrical connector or the like, said connector having two parallel rows of said wire receiving means, said wire receiving means of said two rows facing in opposite directions, said apparatus comprising: connector supporting means for supporting said connector in a predetermined position, first and second wire trimming and inserting rams, said rams being disposed on opposite sides of said supporting means and being reciprocable along first and second paths respectively towards and away from a connector supported on said supporting means, pair splitting and wire guide means disposed in alignment with said supporting means, said splitting and guide means being effective, upon movement therepast of a wire pair transversely of the axis of the pair, to split said pair and locate one wire of said pair in a predetermined position with its axis extending transversely of said first and second paths and between said rams and said connector supported on said supporting means, whereby, upon location of the wires of a pair in said predetermined positions and upon movement of said rams towards said supporting means, the end portions of said wires are trimmed and the trimmed wires ends are inserted into wire receiving means in said connector, and indexing means for indexing said supporting means along a third path a distance equal to the spacing between adjacent wire receiving means in said rows, said third path extending transversely of said first and second paths whereby after insertion of a pairs of wires into wire-receiving means on said connector, the next adjacent wire-receiving means are moved into alignment with said wire-trimming and inserting rams.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4 including wire stop means for locating said wires in said predetermined positions, said wire stop means normally extending transversely of said third path and in spaced relationship to a connector on said supporting means, said wire stop means being movable away from said third path to permit- movement of said wire therepast during indexing of said supporting means.

8. Apparatus for trimming the ends of each wire of a pair of wires and connecting the trimmed wires to the wire receiving portions of electrical terminals contained in an electrical device such as an electrical connector, said electrical device having two rows of wire-receiving portions on oppositely facing sides thereof, said apparatus comprising: supporting means for supporting said electrical device in a predetermined position, indexing means for indexing said supporting means in one direction along a supporting means feed path which extends in the direction of sAid rows a distance equal to the spacing between adjacent wire-receiving portions in said rows, first and second wire-trimming and inserting rams on two opposite sides of said supporting means feed path, said wire-trimming and inserting rams being reciprocable towards and away from said feed path, first and second fixed shear members, each of said shear members being beside one of said wire-trimming and inserting rams, first and second wire-stops on opposite sides of said path, said wire-stops normally extending across said path in spaced relationship to said supporting means, each of said stops being effective to locate a wire with its axis extending transversely of said feed path, past an electrical device on said supporting means and between said electrical device and one of said trimming and insertion rams and said electrical device, said wire stops being latrally movable away from said path to permit movement of wires therepast which have been connected to wire-receiving portions in said rows whereby, upon locating one wire of said pair on each side of said feed path and against stop means with each wire axis extending between an insertion ram and said support means thence between one of said fixed shear members and said support means, and upon movement of said rams towards said support means, said wires are trimmed and connected to wire-receiving portions of said terminals, and upon movement of said wire stops away from said path and indexing of said supporting means, said connector is moved along said path to locate adjacent wire-receiving portions of said terminals in alignment with said trimming and insertion rams.

9. Apparatus as set forth in claim 8 including electrical means for actuating said indexing means, said wire-trimming, and said inserting rams, and for controlling movement of said wire stops, and switch means for energizing said electrical means, said switch means comprising a pair of switches which are engageable by said wires to energize said electrical means when said wires are located against said wire stops.

11. Apparatus as set forth in claim 10 including first and second clamping rams disposed beside said first and second wire-trimming and insertion rams respectively, said clamping rams being movable towards and away from said supporting means and being effective to clamp said wires during trimming and insertion thereof.