US 4,363,167 A · Method of terminating leading ends of a plurality of wires

Abstract

Method and apparatus for cutting and stripping a plurality of wires, applying terminals to the ends of the wires, and inserting wires en masse into the cavities in a connector housing. A shuttle having telescoping tubes which contain the wires therein is attached to carriage which travels on a rail and delivers wires axially at a first fixed spacing on a linear path to an operating zone, insertion station, and strip and shear station. Tubing collapses to extrude wire into operating zone where wires are compensated by deflecting laterally of their axes various amounts such that subsequent rolling into a template will restore the wire ends to a straight array so they can be terminated to a strip of terminals at a second fixed spacing. Tubes expand to draw terminated wires therein as shuttle retreats, then connector housing is delivered onto linear path and shuttle advances to insert terminated wires therein. Shuttle retreats over stationary wires until they are exposed to strip and shear blades remote from housing.

Claims11

Dependent claims

Apparatus for terminating the leading ends of a plurality of wires to a like plurality of terminals comprises:

an operating zone having a terminating station therein;
a wire delivery shuttle which is reciprocable on a first path from said operating zone to a point remote therefrom, said shuttle having a leading end closest to said operating zone,
said shuttle having a like plurality of elongated wire guide tubes in a planar parallel array, said guide tubes having a first fixed spacing, each guide tube having two telescoping parts, the innermost part extending to the leading end of the shuttle, each guide tube closely accommodating a single wire, said shuttle having releaseable wire gripping means effective to hold the wires stationary with respect to the outermost of the telescoping parts, whereby,
said shuttle may reciprocate on said path toward and away from said operating zone and deliver said leading ends of said wires to said operating zone in a planar array at said first fixed spacing, said leading ends being extruded from the guide tubes into the operating zone for termination by stopping the leading end of the shuttle at the operating zone and collapsing the telescoping parts by continued movement of the shuttle while the wire gripping means hold the wires stationary with respect to the outermost of the telescoping parts.

1 more element

A method of terminating the ends of a plurality of wires to a like plurality of terminals having a second fixed spacing in a linear array and inserting the terminated ends into a like plurality of cavities having a first fixed spacing in a linear array in a connector housing comprises the steps of:

gripping said wires in a planar parallel array at said first fixed spacing at portions thereof remote from said ends and delivering said ends to a terminating station, said wires being gripped so that the ends are in a rectilinear array when the wires are parallel between said gripped portions and said ends.
deflecting said wires transversely of the planar array at a point between said terminating station and said gripped portions, the innermost wires being deflected more than the outermost wires, said ends thereby being modified to an arcuate array when the wires are parallel between said gripped portions and said ends,
spreading said ends to a second fixed spacing in a planar guide template having grooves therein, said grooves having first portions at said first fixed spacing remote from said terminating station and second portions at said second fixed spacing adjacent to said terminating station, said second spacing being sufficient to align ends to a rectilinear array when the wires are spread into the grooves, said wires being spread into the grooves by a wiper assembly which wipes the wires into the grooves from the first portions toward the second portions,
positioning a like plurality of terminals at said second fixed spacing at said terminating station adjacent said ends and terminating said ends to said terminals,
restoring said ends to said first fixed spacing and inserting said ends into cavities in a connector housing at an insertion station, said ends being inserted by relative axial movement between the ends and the housing.

2 more elements

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.

Method of terminating leading ends of a plurality of wires

Life of this patent

Method of terminating leading ends of a plurality of wires

Life of this patent

Abstract

Claims11