Mold electrical tester for molded cords

Claim 2

Apparatus for molding a termination on a multiconductor electrical cable which has connector elements at one end thereof joined to the respective conductors within the molded termination, including in combination a mold having a cavity shaped to mold said termination, a holder for each of the connector elements, each holder having electrical contact means in position to establish electrical continuity with a connection element placed at that holder while the termination is being molded, each holder and its electrical contact means being electrically insulated from any other holder and its contact means, and separate leads from the electrical contact means of the holders for establishing a different electric circuit from the connector element each holder to a fault detector.

Claim 3

The apparatus described in claim 1 characterized by the holders and their electrical contact means for each of the connector elements being also insulated from the walls of the mold cavity.

Claim 4

The apparatus described in claim 1 characterized by the mold being a multicavity mold with an entrance for a different electrical cable at one end of each mold cavity, holders for the connector elements of each cablE termination associated with the mold for that termination.

Claim 5

The apparatus described in claim 3 characterized by the holders and electrical contact means for each of the mold cavities being also insulated from the holders and electrical contact means of the other mold cavities.

Claim 6

The apparatus described in claim 3 characterized by all of the mold cavities having electrically conductive walls and all of the mold cavities being insulated from one another and having conductive circuits for connecting the walls with a fault detector.

Claim 7

The apparatus described in claim 5 characterized by the mold cavities being part of an injection mold apparatus, a passage for supplying plastic and branch passages through which plastic for molding the terminations is supplied to all of the mold cavities simultaneously.

Claim 8

The apparatus described in claim 1 characterized by the connector elements being blades having portions that are to extend as prongs beyond the end of the termination that is to be molded over the conductors of the cable and over the portions of the blades that are connected to the conductors of the cable, a frame having depressions therein lined with electrical insulation and with said holders held in the insulation, each of the holders being a slotted electrode with its slot in position to receive the prong portion of one of the blades.

Claim 9

The apparatus described in claim 7 characterized by a housing on the sides of the electrodes opposite the mold, the electrical contact means being contacts in the housing in contact with the electrodes, each of said contacts being in a different circuit for connecting with a fault detector.

Claim 10

The apparatus described in claim 7 characterized by a holddown bar extending across the upper ends of the slots in the electrodes for holding the connector elements down in said slots, the holddown bar being secured to a movable part of the mold and being movable away from the electrodes when the movable part of the molds move into a position to open the mold cavity, the holddown bar including heat-resistant electrical insulation that spans the open upper ends of the slots.

Claim 11

The apparatus described in claim 9 characterized by the mold being a multicavity mold with two depressions in the frame and two slotted holders for each mold cavity, the holddown bar extending across all of the slots in the electrodes.

Claim 12

The apparatus described in claim 10 characterized by the slotted electrodes having ejector pins in their lower ends extending into the lower ends of the slots for ejecting the prongs from the slotted holders when the mold opens.

Claim 13

The apparatus described in claim 1 characterized by the separate lead for each of the holders and its electrical contact means including resilient means holding the electrical contact means against the holder, a housing by which said electrical contact means are carried, a fault detector, and conductor means for connecting each electrical contact means to the fault detector.

Claim 14

The apparatus described in claim 12 characterized by a housing having cylindrical sockets therein with one socket for each electrical contact means, a high-temperature insulation sleeve slidable axially in each socket, the electrical contact means being carried by the sleeve at the end of the sleeve which is nearer to its associated holder, the electrical contact means projecting beyond the end of the sleeve and being movable as a unit therewith, an electrical coil spring in each of the cylindrical sockets at the end of the sleeve remote from the electrical contact means and urging the contact means toward its associated holder for firm electrical contact therewith, and a conductor from each electrical contact with insulation around it and extending through an opening in the insulation sleeve and through a larger opening in the housing to a raceway in which the conductors from different contact means extend on their way to the fault detector.

Claim 15

The combination with a mold for molding a termination on stranded conductors of a multiconductor cable including, in combination, a mold cavity with an electrically conductive wall that contacts with any loose strand of a stranded conductor which projects through the outside surface of the molded termination at a location where no conductor or strand thereof should be present, electrical contact means electrically insulated from the wall of the mold and in electrical continuity with the intended end portions of the respective conductor cables and a fault detector connected with the wall of the mold cavity and with said contact means.

Claim 16

The combination with a mold for molding a termination on stranded conductors of a multiconductor cable including, in combination, a mold cavity with an electrically conductive wall that contacts with any loose strand of a stranded conductor which projects through the outside surface of the molded termination at a location where no conductor or strand thereof should be present, electrical contact means electrically insulated from the wall of the mold and in electrical continuity with the intended end portions of the respective conductor cables and a fault detector connected with the wall of the mold cavity and with said contact means.