Metal working – Method of mechanical manufacture – Electrical device making
Patent
1981-09-30
1984-04-24
Goldberg, Howard N.
Metal working
Method of mechanical manufacture
Electrical device making
29753, 29748, H01R 4304
Patent
active
044439369
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
One of the better ways of attaching a wire end to a pin on a socket type of contact is by crimping the contact to the wire. In some operations the contacts are individually joined to a feed belt, however a preferred method from a cost standpoint utilizes a vibratory bowl type of feeder where the contacts are placed in a bowl which is vibrated to bulk feed the contacts.
The size of the contacts may present a problem when the connectors are small. This often presents difficulty in ensuring all the wire ends enter the contact, instead of separating to leave some of the wires outside. The small contacts are also easily bent which can present problems in automatic handling.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
A vibratory bulk feed bowl automatically feeds contacts onto a track where the line of contacts are introduced one at a time into a reference hole in a guide block. A crimper is mounted above and in alignment with the reference hole. The contact in the reference hole is held in alignment by a means that is moved aside in response to a plunger that raises and holds the contact up into the crimper. A sectioned funnel mounted above the crimper guides wire ends into the contact after which the sections move apart to permit bottoming of the wire in the contact immediately before they are crimped together.
It is an object of this invention to provide an apparatus for crimping an automatically fed contact to a wire end.
It is another object of this invention to positively feed wire ends into a small size contact.
It is yet another object of this invention to keep small size contacts properly aligned during an automatic feed contact and wire crimping process.
DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of the crimping device of this invention.
FIG. 2 is a fragmented end elevational view of the crimper with a contact aligned in a guide block.
FIG. 3 is a fragmented end elevational view as in FIG. 2, but with the contact raised into the crimper head.
FIG. 4 shows a perspective view of a snap-out plug used in this invention.
FIG. 5 shows a fragmented blown up sectional view, as in FIG. 2, of the contact.
FIG. 6 shows the view of FIG. 5 with the contact being raised.
FIG. 7 shows a fragmented blown up view as in FIG. 3 with the contact into the crimper head.
FIG. 8 shows a view as in FIG. 7 with a wire end inserted in the contact.
FIG. 9 shows the view as in FIG. 8 with the inserted wire end bottomed out in the contact.
FIG. 10 shows the view as in FIG. 9 with the contact crimped to the wire.
FIG. 11 shows a fragmented plan view of the crimping unit.
FIG. 12 shows an exploded perspective view of a sectionized funnel used with this invention.
FIG. 13 shows a plan view of the funnel of FIG. 12 with the funnel sections together.
FIG. 14 shows a plan view as in FIG. 13 but with the funnel sections moved apart.
FIG. 15 shows a schematic of the controls for the crimping device of this invention.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
A crimping device 10 has a bulk feed vibratory bowl 12, for directing electrical contacts 14, into a guide block 16, where the contacts are raised up into a crimper 18, for joining to a wire end 20. The contacts are placed in the bowl, and vibration of the bowl moves the contacts up and onto a track 22. An air line 24 is located with outlet at the top of the bowl to blow those contacts that are not properly aligned back into the bowl. The contacts that are properly aligned transfer onto guide rails 26 where they are moved in line down the inclined plane of the rails and terminate inside the guide block at alignment opening or reference hole 28. The continuous feeding in combination with the inclined guide rails mean the consecutive contacts maintain a continuous feeding movement with the last contact located in the alignment opening in the guide block. A shaped gate 30, controlled by an air actuator cylinder 32 acts to hold back all the contacts, during part of the crimping cycle, other than the contact positioned in the alignment hole. The positioned contact is held in
REFERENCES:
patent: 3664173 (1972-05-01), Haucke et al.
patent: 4178679 (1979-12-01), Lichtenstein
patent: 4232443 (1980-11-01), Lichtenstein et al.
patent: 4348806 (1982-09-01), Eves et al.
Arbes Carl J.
Case Morris A.
Donahue B. A.
Goldberg Howard N.
The Boeing Company
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