Apparatus for inserting displation type terminals into cavities

Claim 1

Apparatus for inserting a displation type contact terminal into a cavity in a housing when a wire extends across the open end of said cavity so that said wire moves into the wire receiving slot in said terminal during movement of the terminal into the cavity, said apparatus being of the type having strip feeding means for feeding a strip of said terminals along a first path which extends towards the insertion zone of said apparatus, wire trimming means and terminal insertion means reciprocable along a second path extending towards and away from said zone, shearing means for shearing a terminal from said strip in said zone, and fixture means for holding a workpiece in said zone, said apparatus comprising: first and second slide assemblies which are reciprocable parallel to said second path from retracted positions towards and away from said insertion zone, camming means effective between said first slide assembly and said strip feeding means and between said first slide assembly and said shearing means whereby during reciprocation of said first slide assembly, said strip is fed towards said zone and the leading terminal of said strip is severed from said strip, guide tube means forming part of said second slide assembly, said guide tube means being yieldably coupled to said second slide assembly so that upon arrival of said guide tube means in said insertion zone and against a workpiece on said fixture means said guide tube means comes to rest and said second slide assembly continues to move along said second path, said wire cutter means and said inserter means being movable with said guide tube means, said inserter means and said wire cutter means being yieldably coupled to said second slide assembly independently of said guide tube means whereby during a final portion of said work stroke of said second slide assembly, said inserter means pushes said severed terminal into said workpiece and said wire trimming means trim said wire.