Patent ID: 11862920
Assignee: TE CONNECTIVITY SOLUTIONS GMBH
Field: Electrical machinery, apparatus, energy (Electrical engineering)
Classification: CPC H  Y | IPC H

Claim 16:
17. An electrical connector assembling machine for assembling an electrical connector including a connector housing manufactured from a connector strip that is a continuous extruded dielectric material and contacts manufactured from continuous wires, the electrical connector assembling machine comprising:
a connector strip feed unit including a connector strip feed track receiving the connector strip, the connector strip feed unit including a connector strip feeding device configured to index the connector strip through the connector strip feed track in successive feed strokes; and
a contact loading assembly adjacent the connector strip feed track to load contacts in the connector strip, the contact loading assembly comprising:
a wire distribution unit including reel cradles for holding reels of the wires;
a wire feed unit including feed tracks receiving the wires from the reels at the wire distribution unit, the wire feed unit including a feeding device configured to simultaneously index the wires through the corresponding feed tracks in successive feed strokes;
a contact forming unit receiving the wires from the wire feed unit, the contact forming unit having a forming die pressed into the wires to form tapered ends of the contacts from the wires, the contact forming unit having a wire cutter for separating the contacts from the wires;
a wire clamp positioned adjacent the contact forming die, the wire clamp having wire channels receiving the corresponding wires, the wire clamp having support surfaces defining the wire channels, the support surfaces engaging the wires at supported segments of the wires to resist shape changes of the wires at the supported segments when the forming die presses the wires to form the tapered ends of the contacts from the wires; and
a contact loading device loading the contacts made from the wires into the connector strip as the connector strip is advanced through the electrical connector assembling machine.