Patent ID: 6079547
Filing Date: 2000-06-27
Classification: H01R

Abstract:
A connector supplying method comprising the steps of:providing a rail member having a shifting passage for guiding the movement of a plurality of connectors in a connector shifting direction;providing a pair of vertically movable forward and rear stoppers operative to determine the position of said connectors along said shifting passage in response to the raising and lowering of said stoppers with respect to said shifting passage;spacing said stoppers apart by a selected distance in the connector shifting direction along said shifting passage;supplying to said shifting passage a plurality of connectors mutually joined in end-to-end relation;shifting said plurality of connectors into engagement with said stoppers along said shifting passage by applying a blown air stream thereto;controlling the raising and lowering of said stoppers in sequence to selectively position said connectors along said shifting passage;separating a desired number of precedent connectors of said plurality of connectors from succeeding connectors thereof; andsensing the existence of connectors in said shifting passage adjacent an upstream side of each of said stoppers to determine the successful separation of said connectors.