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

Claim 0:
1. 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, the feeding device including a holding device and an indexing device movable relative to the holding device to move the wires, the feeding device including an indexer operably coupled to the indexing device, the indexer moving the indexing device relative to the holding device from a retracted position to an advanced position, the indexing device moving the wires as the indexing device is moved from the retracted position to the advanced position, the indexing device moving relative to the wires as the indexing device is returned from the advanced position to the retracted position, the wire feed unit including a wire guide assembly guiding the wires through the wire feed unit, the wire guide assembly including a rear guide member and a front guide member adjacent the rear guide member, the rear and front guide members being overlapping to form wire channels receiving the corresponding wires, the wire channels forming part of the feed tracks, at least one of the rear guide member and the front guide member being movable relative to the wires as the feeding device indexes the wires through the wire feed unit;
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 first wire clamp coupled to the holding device and positioned adjacent the contact forming die, the first wire clamp having wire channels receiving the corresponding wires, the first 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;
a second wire clamp coupled to the indexing device and positioned adjacent the contact forming die, the second wire clamp having wire channels receiving the corresponding wires, the second 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.