US3804603A
Expired / Lapsed
US
⏱️ 0.0 years remaining
Manual assist terminal applicator
Assignee: TE Connectivity Corp
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Filing: 1972-07-03
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Granted: 1974-04-16
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Expires: 1992-07-03
Abstract
Abstract Wires for terminal application are slid at right angles to the wire axis along a support plate with the bared end of the wire in contact with an aligning fence. The wires at their inner ends drop through a narrow slot and fall into a laterally expanded groove within the periphery of a resilient transport belt at the point where the belt is radially distorted. The belt frictionally grasps the inserted wire and moves the same beneath a terminal applicator for automatic termination. The pitch of the slot is coordinated with an intermittent drive mechanism for driving the belt such that wire loading and terminal application occurs during the dwell portion of the transport cycle. The terminal applicator is fully shielded from the machine operator with the shield also guiding the wires from the feed station to the applicator station and thence to the discharge station.
Inventors
- 👤 D Wion
Bibliographic Details
Application Number
—
Jurisdiction
US
Data Source
google_patents
Last Synchronized
2026-11-08 12:54
CPC Classifications
H; H01; H01R; H01R43/00; H01R43/04; H01R43/048; H01R43/052; Y; Y10; Y10T; Y10T29/00; Y10T29/51; Y10T29/5147; Y10T29/5148; Y10T29/5149; Y10T29/53; Y10T29/53039; Y10T29/53061; Y10T29/53065; Y10T29/5313; Y10T29/53261
Claims Analysis
Total Claims: 17
Claim 1
Independent Claim
267 words
In an apparatus for applying terminals at the ends of wires including: a crimping press having a crimping zone, said crimping zone being formed by a fixed crimping anvil and a crimping die movable towards and away from said anvil, terminal strip feeding means for feeding a strip of terminals into said zone, onto said anvil and in the path of said die, the improvement comprising: an elastomeric conveyor for transporting wires from a loading station to said crimping zone said conveyor carrying transverse longitudinally spaced slots for receiving wires therein, said conveyor being positioned to one side of said crimping zone so as to place an extended portion of each wire within said zone and in juxtaposition to the leading terminal of said strip, said elastomeric conveyor comprising an endless elastomeric belt supported by sprockets at respective ends on opposite sides of said crimping station with the leading sprocket defining said loading station and said trailing sprocket defining a discharge station, said sprockets serving to transversely expand each slot at said loading station and said discharge station to permit wire loading and unloading a wire support source surface to one side of said loading station extending laterally away from said loading station in the direction opposite to that of the crimping station, and a second fixed surface at said loading station and extending along said wire support surface and defining a wire end stop whereby wires supported on said wire support surface with their ends in contact with said end stop may be readily manually loaded onto said conveyor for subsequent presentment to said crimping station.
Claim 2
Dependent Claim
267 words
In an apparatus for applying terminals at the ends of wires including: a crimping press having a crimping zone, said crimping zone being formed by a fixed crimping anvil and a crimping die movable towards and away from said anvil, terminal strip feeding means for feeding a strip of terminals into said zone, onto said anvil and in the path of said die, the improvement comprising: an elastomeric conveyor for transporting wires from a loading station to said crimping zone said conveyor carrying transverse longitudinally spaced slots for receiving wires therein, said conveyor being positioned to one side of said crimping zone so as to place an extended portion of each wire within said zone and in juxtaposition to the leading terminal of said strip, said elastomeric conveyor comprising an endless elastomeric belt supported by sprockets at respective ends on opposite sides of said crimping station with the leading sprocket defining said loading station and said trailing sprocket defining a discharge station, said sprockets serving to transversely expand each slot at said loading station and said discharge station to permit wire loading and unloading a wire support source surface to one side of said loading station extending laterally away from said loading station in the direction opposite to that of the crimping station, and a second fixed surface at said loading station and extending along said wire support surface and defining a wire end stop whereby wires supported on said wire support surface with their ends in contact with said end stop may be readily manually loaded onto said conveyor for subsequent presentment to said crimping station.
Claim 3
Dependent Claim
43 words
The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising: means for intermittently advancing said elastomeric conveyor and wherein the spacing between respective slots is such as to present one wire at said crimping station and an unfilled slot simultaneously at said loading station.
Claim 4
Dependent Claim
79 words
The apparatus as claimed in claim 1, further comprising a hold down plate overlying said endless belt, in juxtaposition thereto, said hold down plate extending from said loading station to said crimping station and including a lip conforming to a portion of said belt in contact with the periphery of said leading sprocket and spaced slightly from the edge of the wire support surface to define a gap therebetween permitting a wire to fall into a laterally expanded slot.
Claim 5
Dependent Claim
67 words
The apparatus as claimed in claim 3, further comprising: roller means carried by said hold down plate in contact with the periphery of said belt in the area of contraction of the belt periphery as it leaves said leading sprocket, whereby, said roller means is frictionally driven by movement of said belt, and in turn, by rotating, forces an inserted wire to move downwardly within its slot.
Claim 6
Dependent Claim
77 words
The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, wherein said crimping press includes electrically energizable means for initiating movement of said movable crimping die, and said apparatus further includes: a source of electrical power and switch means responsive to sensing the dwell of said intermittently moved belt and responsive to sensing the presence of a wire within the belt slot positioned at said crimping station for completing an electrical circuit including said source and said electrically energizable means.
Claim 7
Dependent Claim
66 words
The apparatus as claimed in claim 5, further comprising: ramp means positioned between said endless conveyor belt and said fixed crimping anvil, said ramp means including a portion inclining upwardly in a direction away from said loading station towards said crimping station to raise the inner end of each wire to a position above said terminal and between and overlying the barrel portion of the same.
Claim 8
Dependent Claim
65 words
The apparatus as claimed in claim 4, further comprising a longitudinal slot within said hold down plate on the side facing said belt, and a longitudinal ridge carried by said endless conveyor belt extending radially outwardly therefrom and movable within said longitudinal slot, to prevent introduction of wires between the hold down plate and said belt at other than at one of said transverse slots.
Claim 9
Dependent Claim
125 words
The apparatus as claimed in claim 6, wherein said ramp means includes a first fixed portion intermediate of said crimping station and said loading station, and a second movable portion in line with said movable crimping die, and spring means biasing said movable portion such that its upper edge is in line with the upper edge of said fixed ramp portion, whereby; depression of said movable crimping die towards said anvil causes the wire adjacent to said die upon contact therewith, to press said movable ramp portion downwardly against the bias of the spring so as not to restrict crimping of the wire barrel portion of the terminal to said wire nor bending of the wire extending away therefrom and towards said endless conveyor belt.
Claim 10
Independent Claim
333 words
An apparatus for applying terminals onto the ends of wires, comprising, in combination: a crimping press having a crimping zone, a fixed crimping anvil and crimping die within said zone, said anvil having a supporting surface for supporting a terminal during application thereof to the end of a wire, said die being movable between open and closed position along a first path towards and away from said anvil, terminal strip feeding means for feeding a strip of said terminals along a second path which extends transversely of said first path, said second path terminating at said surface, whereby the leading terminal of said strip is located on said surface after actuation of said feeding means, a conveyor for transporting wires to said crimping zone, said conveyor having spaced-apart wire receiving slots extending transversely thereon which open onto one surface of said conveyor, a pair of sprockets mounted on each side of said crimping zone and adjacent to said press and defining a loading station and a discharge station on opposite sides of a crimping station at said crimping zone, one portion of said conveyor which extends between said sprockets defining a reference plane which includes said supporting surface of the said anvil, the conveyor being peripherally eLongated in the area of contact with said sprocket to laterally enlarge said slots and to permit loading of wires at said loading station and discharge of said wires from said conveyor at said discharge station, an extended wire supporting surface to said reference plane extending laterally of said conveyor and away from said conveyor loading station sprocket, and a fixed wire stop surface at said loading station on the same side of said conveyor as said die, said stop being located such that a wire located on said conveyor by moving across said extended wire supporting surface has its end positioned by said stop so that it will be presented to said crimping die subsequent to said movement from said loading station to said crimping station.
Claim 11
Independent Claim
333 words
An apparatus for applying terminals onto the ends of wires, comprising, in combination: a crimping press having a crimping zone, a fixed crimping anvil and crimping die within said zone, said anvil having a supporting surface for supporting a terminal during application thereof to the end of a wire, said die being movable between open and closed position along a first path towards and away from said anvil, terminal strip feeding means for feeding a strip of said terminals along a second path which extends transversely of said first path, said second path terminating at said surface, whereby the leading terminal of said strip is located on said surface after actuation of said feeding means, a conveyor for transporting wires to said crimping zone, said conveyor having spaced-apart wire receiving slots extending transversely thereon which open onto one surface of said conveyor, a pair of sprockets mounted on each side of said crimping zone and adjacent to said press and defining a loading station and a discharge station on opposite sides of a crimping station at said crimping zone, one portion of said conveyor which extends between said sprockets defining a reference plane which includes said supporting surface of the said anvil, the conveyor being peripherally eLongated in the area of contact with said sprocket to laterally enlarge said slots and to permit loading of wires at said loading station and discharge of said wires from said conveyor at said discharge station, an extended wire supporting surface to said reference plane extending laterally of said conveyor and away from said conveyor loading station sprocket, and a fixed wire stop surface at said loading station on the same side of said conveyor as said die, said stop being located such that a wire located on said conveyor by moving across said extended wire supporting surface has its end positioned by said stop so that it will be presented to said crimping die subsequent to said movement from said loading station to said crimping station.
Claim 12
Dependent Claim
143 words
The apparatus as claimed in claim 9, wherein said conveyor comprises an endless elastomeric belt rotatably carried by said sprockets, and wherein said belt in passing about the periphery of said sprockets has the outer belt periphery circumferentially stretched to laterally enlarge said transverse slots at both the conveyor loading station and the conveyor discharge station, and wherein said apparatus further comprises a hold down plate overlying the upper run of said belt and a portion of the belt which extends angularly about a portion of said sprocket at said loading station, said hold down plate being spaced slightly above said extended wire supporting surface and forming at the edge of the same closest of the belt periphery, a gap permitting a wire moving across said extended wire supporting surface to fall through the gap and into a belt slot radially aligned therewith.
Claim 13
Dependent Claim
87 words
The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, wherein said hold down plate includes roller means mounted for rotation within said plate, with the periphery of the same in contact with the periphery of the belt at the point of demarcation between the upper longitudinal run of said belt and that portion wrapped about the periphery of the leading sprocket, whereby, wires fed onto said belt properly move into a respective slot by contact with the periphery of the said roller which is frictionally driven by the belt.
Claim 14
Dependent Claim
69 words
The apparatus as claimed in claim 11, further comprising: first shielding means surrounding said crimping zone and a second shielding means overlying said hold down plate and extending away from the edge of the same and terminating in a curved portion overlying said discharge sprocket, whereby, said hold down plate and said first and second shielding means prevents the operator from contacting either said endless belt, or said die.
Claim 15
Dependent Claim
77 words
The apparatus as claimed in claim 12, wherein said extended wire support surface terminates in an inclined edge at a vertical plane defining said loading station and said apparatus further includes a second wire supporting surface lying just beneath said extended wire supporting surface and extending across the front of said apparatus from a loading station to the discharge station and generally supporting the wires extending outwardly from said conveyor belt and away from said crimping zone.
Claim 16
Dependent Claim
67 words
The apparatus as claimed in claim 13, further comprising a rectangular recess formed within said extended wire supporting surface and said second wire supporting surface to each side of the loading station, and in front and away from the front edge of said hold down plate, thereby permitting the operator to easily move a selected wire to said loading station for positioning within an expanded conveyor slot.
Claim 17
Dependent Claim
65 words
The apparatus as claimed in claim 10, further comprising a longitudinal slot within said hold down plate on the side facing said belt, and a longitudinal ridge carried by said endless conveyor belt extending radially outwardly therefrom and movable within said longitudinal slot, to prevent introduction of wires between the hold down plate and said belt at other than at one of said transverse slots.
References Cited (Backward Citations)
USPTO Annuity & Maintenance Windows
| Annuity Stage | Window Opens | Payment Deadline | Surcharge Period Until | Estimated Fee | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3.5 Years (Year 4) | 1977-04-15 | 1977-10-15 | 1978-04-16 | $2000.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 7.5 Years (Year 8) | 1981-04-15 | 1981-10-15 | 1982-04-16 | $3760.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |
| 11.5 Years (Year 12) | 1985-04-15 | 1985-10-15 | 1986-04-16 | $7700.00 | Window Closed / Lapsed |