Apparatus for assembling a component of parts comprising terminations, conductor leads and enclosures

Claim 2

Apparatus for connecting a conductor to an enclosure including in combination a support for holding the enclosure with a termination having part of its length over the enclosure and part of its length extending beyond the enclosure, a crimper operable along a course adjacent to the support and that crimps the extending part of the termination to a conductor placed thereon, and means that bend the extending portion of the termination downward beyond the end of the enclosure and then inward and upward under the part of the termination that is over the enclosure.

Claim 3

The apparatus described in claim 1 characterized by the enclosure having a plurality of terminations thereon in generally parallel relation to one another and each having a part of its length over the enclosure and a part extending beyond the enclosure, said crimper being operable to crimp a different conductor to each termination, and the means for bending being operable to bend all of the terminations in similar fashion.

Claim 4

The apparatus described in claim 1 characterized by a cutter that severs from the end of the conductor excess material that extends beyond the portion of the conductor which is to be crimped to the termination, and means for operating the cutter during the crimping of the terminal to the conductor.

Claim 5

The apparatus described in claim 1 characterized by the conductor being on top of the termination for the crimping operation, an anvil between the termination and the conductor, and the cutter being a knife that moves on its cutting stroke toward the anvil and that presses the conductor against the anvil for the cutting operation.

Claim 6

The apparatus described in claim 1 characterized by the support being movable between a crimping station and a forming station, the means that bend the terminations being at the forming station, and means holding the enclosure and terminations on the support during movement of the support between stations and while being operated on at the stations.

Claim 7

The apparatus described in claim 1 characterized by the means that bend the extending portion Of the termination down being a first former and the means that bend the extending portion inward and upward being a different and second former that operates sequentially of the first former.

Claim 8

The apparatus described in claim 6 characterized by the first former including a first tool, a guide in which the tool moves up and down through a stroke, said first tool having an open window opening through a side thereof located above the lower end of the first tool and facing the termination after the termination has been bent downward by the first tool, the second former including a second tool that moves in a stroke transversely of the stroke of the first tool and that moves through the window into contact with the termination, and cam means that move with the first tool for operating the second tool.

Claim 9

The apparatus described in claim 5 characterized by the support being a spring loaded nest, a slide by which the nest is carried, a guideway on which the slide moves to shift the nest between the crimping station and the forming station, the stations being spaced apart along the guideway by an unobstructed space in which the enclosure with the conductors attached can be removed from the nest when the slide is operated, after the forming operation, to bring the slide to an intermediate station that locates the nest between the crimping and forming stations.

Claim 10

The apparatus described in claim 2 characterized by the enclosure having a plurality of terminations thereon in generally parallel relation to one another, and each having a part of its length over the enclosure and a part extending beyond the enclosure, openings in the top surface of the enclosure, hooks on the end of each termination that engage one side of one of the opening to prevent movement of the terminations parallel to the top surface of the enclosure in a direction toward the extending parts of the terminations, a retaining plate that moves in over the enclosure and over the parts of the terminations that are over the enclosure for holding the terminations down on the enclosure, and a carriage movable toward and from the enclosure in the direction in which the terminations extend and by which the retaining plate is carried.

Claim 11

The apparatus described in claim 9 characterized by the support being movable between a crimping station and a forming station, the means that bend the terminations being at the forming station, means holding the enclosure and the terminations on the support during movement of the support between stations and while being operated on at the stations, the support being a spring loaded nest, a slide by which the nest is carried, a guideway in which the slide moves to shift the nest between the crimping station and the forming station, the stations being spaced apart along the guideway by an unobstructed space in which the enclosure with the conductors attached can be removed from the nest when the slide is operated, after the forming operations, to bring the slide to an intermediate station that locates the nest between the crimping and forming stations, the means that bend the extending portions of the terminations down being a first former and the means that bend the extending portions inward and upward being a second former that operates sequentially of the first former, the first former including a first tool and a guide in which the tool moves up and down through a stroke, said first tool having an open window opening through a side thereof and located above the lower end of the first tool and facing the terminations after they have been bent downward by the first tool, the second former including a second tool that moves in a stroke transversely of the first tool and that moves through the window into contact with the terminations, and cam means that move in a direction to operate the second tool.