Work holders – Holder inserted within work aperture
Reexamination Certificate
1998-12-15
2001-10-02
Hail, III, Joseph J. (Department: 3723)
Work holders
Holder inserted within work aperture
C269S903000, C269S2540CS, C269S303000, C269S310000, C269S066000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06296240
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector holder, and more particularly, to a connector holder for use in the process of assembling a wiring harness, and a subassembly (hereinafter generally referred to as a “wire assembly”).
2. Description of Background Information
In general, a wire assembly consists of a circuit having a cable constructed of a plurality of wires, several connectors connected to the wires, the wires surrounded by protection material such as flexible tubes, corrugated tubes, and the like. Normally, the wire assembly is arranged in a tree configuration containing a trunk line and branch wires branching from the trunk line, wherein a terminal connector is connected to a respective branch wire. In such a wire assembly manufacturing process, several connector holders are vertically mounted on a work bench, called a wiring board, then the wires are arranged on the wiring board in a predetermined configuration by connecting a wire with a respective connector mounted on the connector holder. Protection material such as flexible tubing is then mounted onto a predetermined area about the wires of the cable and fastened to the cable by means of taping or the like.
Recently, the dimensional accuracy required for the construction of wire assemblies has become extremely high. High dimensional accuracy is also required for areas of wires contacting connectors, as well as for the mounting position of the protection materials with respect to the wires (particularly, the distance between the termination of the protection material and the connector).
However, protection materials are usually visually and manually installed, i.e., the installer positions the material solely by intuition, which causes variations that result in positioning error, thereby making it difficult to meet the recently-required positioning accuracy of wire assemblies.
The present invention solves the above problems, and the subject of the present invention is to provide a connector holder capable of increasing the positioning accuracy of protection material when manufacturing wire assemblies.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention provides a connector holder for use in conjunction with a wiring board when assembling wire assemblies. The wiring board has at least one cable to be connected with a connector, each cable comprising one or more wires. The wiring board additionally has protection material such as flexible tubing for arrangement about the wires of the cable, and a support member such as a pillar is provided for mounting the invention to the wiring board. The invention includes a holder portion which houses a connector in an insertable and removable manner in such a condition that the wires can be connected thereto, and a positioning member which is integrally provided with the holder portion and assists in the positioning of protection material about cable wires connected to the connector.
In the present invention, a connector to be connected with cable wires is positioned by insertion into the holder portion. Additionally, the present invention enables protection material to be accurately positioned about the cable at a predetermined distance from the positioned connector.
According to one aspect of the invention, that the positioning member may be adjustably fastened to the holder portion and is changeable according to the direction of the cable wire connected with the connector. The vertical mounting of the connector holder of the present invention to a wiring board more easily facilitates the manufacture of the connector holder and wire assembly, because the positioning member allows change in accordance with the direction onto which a wire connected with the connector is arranged. It is thus easier to use the connector holder of the present invention for a wide variety of wire assembly tasks.
In another aspect of the invention, the positioning member may be a pin capable of positioning protection material arranged around the periphery of a cable in such a condition that at least two wires of the cable connected with a connector is arranged on both sides of the positioning member. Since the wires are arranged on both sides of the pin, protection materials may be more easily and accurately positioned on the cable, even when the protection material is constructed of soft material. Additionally, interference between the cable wires connected with the connector and the pin is more readily avoided, thereby reducing the possibility of wiring failures.
In an additional aspect of the invention, the holder portion may hold a connector with a connector-regulating member which positions the side of a connector where the cable is to be inserted therein, so that the cable connected with the connector is disengageable. According to further aspects of the invention, a resilient member, such as a regulating tool, which resiliently presses the connector against the connector-regulating member may be provided, and may further include a base portion which is integrally provided with the connector-regulating member and holds the lower surface of the connector to be mounted.
In other aspects of the present invention, the side of a connector where the cable is to be inserted may be positioned by a connector regulating member. The connector may be pressed against the connector regulating member by a resilient member so that the lower surface of connector is further retained by a base portion. The connector may also be detached from the holder so that the connector is wholly disengaged therefrom. In addition, the resilient member may have an aperture for providing the adjustment of the distance between the pressing area of the resilient member and the connector-regulating member, thereby allowing the invention to accommodate connectors of varying size.
In a further aspect of the invention, the above-mentioned positioning member and a holder may be configured in such a manner that the interval between the front-end face and the back face (referred to as “protection material regulating dimension”) of the positioning member is relatively adjustable, thereby providing the invention with increased flexibility and versatility when mounting protection material.
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Patent Abstract of Japan, vol. 097, No. 009, published Sep. 30, 1997.
Patent Abstract of Japan, vol. 096, No. 004, published Apr. 30, 1996.
A Japanese Language abstract of JP 10-106368.
A Japanese Language abstract of JP 10-144157.
Kawamura Hiroshi
Nakai Masaki
Shimomura Yukio
Greenblum & Bernstein P.L.C.
Hail III Joseph J.
Shanley Daniel
Sumitomo Wiring Systems Ltd.
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