Method and apparatus of automatically positioning wire ends for multi-mode end processing

A method of automatically positioning opposite ends of each of wires successively cut off from a wire source for multi-mode wire-end processing, which comprises the steps of

• (a) clamping a leading end portion of a wire extending in a predetermined direction and having a leading end thereof resting at a predetermined position;
• (b) pulling the clamped end portion substantially in a semi-circle with a predetermined radius while turning the same clamped end portion by 180 degrees about a fixed center such that said leading end reaches a position symmetrical to the predetermined position relative to the center of said semicircle and the wire is placed in a hair-pin configuration;
• (c) paying out said wire by a predetermined distance to follow the pulling movement;
• (d) gripping the wire at two intermediate portions near the leading end and the predetermined position;
• (e) cutting the wire at said predetermined position to form a trailing end of a cut-off wire;
• (f) releasing said clamping of the wire;
• and
• (g) moving the two gripped portions of the cut-off wire perpendicularly to the predetermined direction in a step-wise manner by the distance between the leading end and the trailing end of the wire placed in the hair-pin configuration.

An apparatus for automatically positioning opposite ends of a wire cut off from a wire source for multi-mode wire-end processings which comprises

• (a) means for repeatedly paying out a wire from wire source by a predetermined distance, said wire having a leading end;
• (b) a wire reversing body provided above said paid-out wire and adapted for 180 degree stepwise rotations in a horizontal plane, said wire reversing body having wire clamping means for clamping a leading end portion of the paid-out wire at a distance spaced from said leading end and having a centerline perpendicularly crossing an axis of paid-out wire, said stepwise rotations of the reversing body and the paying out operations being adapted to take place alternately to place the wire in a hair-pin configuration;
• (c) wire gripping means for gripping the paid-out wire at two intermediate portions near to and spaced from said leading end thereof and the crossing point of the centerline and the wire axis;
• and
• (d) wire cutting means for cutting the paid-out wire at said crossing point to form a trailing end, of a wire cut-off from the paid-out wire, said clamping means being adapted to release the clamping of the wire after the cutting operation of the wire cutting means.

An apparatus for automatically positioning opposite ends of each of wires successively cut off from a wire source for multi-mode wire-end processings which comprises

• (a) means for repeatedly paying out a wire from a wire source by a predetermined distance;
• (b) a wire reversing body provided above said paid-out wire and adapted for 180 degree stepwise rotations about a fixed center in a horizontal plane, said wire reversing body having wire clamping means for clamping a leading end portion of the paid-out wire and having a centerline perpendicularly crossing an axis of paid-out wire, said stepwise rotations of the reversing body and the paying out operations being adapted to take place alternately to place the wire in a hair-pin configuration;
• (c) wire gripping means for gripping the paid-out wire at two intermediate portions near a leading end thereof and the crossing point of the centerline and the wire axis;
• and
• (d) wire cutting means for cutting the paid-out wire at said crossing point to form a trailing end of a wire cut off from the paid-out wire,
• said clamping means being adapted to release the clamping of the wire after the cutting operation of the wire cutting means and said wire gripping means being adapted for movement in a direction perpendicular to the paid-out wire after the release of the clamped wire in a stepwise manner by the distance between the leading end and the trailing end of the wire placed in said hair-pin configuration.