Block and retainer for wire-connected terminals and wire connection process line using the same

To position a wire-connected terminal TW and cope with a multitude of kinds of wire-connected terminals TW, a block 30 is provided for each wire-connected terminal TW. The block 30 includes recesses 34, 37 for detachably accommodating the wire-connected terminal TW. A part of the accommodated wire-connected terminal TW is exposed such that it can be gripped by hands 51, 52. The block 30 also includes a positioning means 38 for positioning the terminal TW accommodated in the recesses 34, 37 with respect to the hands 51, 52. Since the terminal TW is securely positioned in a transferring step of transferring the wire-connected terminal TW to the hands 51, 52, the succeeding step performed by the hands 51, 52 can be securely performed.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
1. Field of the Invention 
The present invention relates to a block and a retainer for wire-connected 
terminals, and to a wire connection process line using the block and 
retainer. The retainer accommodates a terminal-connected wire which is 
juxtaposed with a terminal inserting unit that automatically inserts 
terminals mounted on wires into a connector housing to form a wiring 
harness for an automotive vehicle or for a copier. 
2. Description of the Prior Art 
The prior art includes processes for automatically manufacturing a wire 
assembly, such as a wiring harness for an automotive vehicle, a copier or 
the like. The prior art process for automatically manufacturing a wiring 
harness includes steps for producing a terminal-connected wire. These 
prior art process steps include cutting a wire to a predetermined length, 
peeling the insulation coating at the opposite ends of the cut wire, 
connecting terminals to the peeled ends of the wire and inserting the 
terminals of the terminal-connected wires into a connector housing. Prior 
art systems that perform these steps along a single production line are 
disclosed, for example in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publications Nos. 
57-170409, 58-25014, 5-234659 and 6-260260. The connecting process for 
inserting the terminals of the wire-connected terminals into connector 
housings requires a long time as compared with the producing process for 
producing the wire-connected terminals. Accordingly, the production 
efficiency of wiring harnesses is disadvantageously restricted in the 
prior art systems where the producing process and the connecting process 
are performed on a single production line. 
The prior art also includes wire harness producing systems in which the 
producing process and the connecting process are performed at separate 
lines. This prior art process includes a transfer step in which wires with 
terminals mounted thereto are gripped and transferred to hands or clamps 
of a terminal inserting unit. 
An example of a prior art system that uses separate lines for the producing 
process and the connecting process is disclosed in Japanese Unexamined 
Patent Publication No. 6-223646. This prior art system enables the 
mounting of special terminals to wires, such as the mounting of specially 
sized terminals or the connection of a plurality of wires with the same 
terminal. The prior art system shown in Japanese Unexamined Patent 
Publication No. 6-223646 requires two separate terminal mounting lines: 
one for mounting standardized terminals and the other for mounting special 
terminals. This prior art system then performs a transferring step in 
which the wire-connected terminals are temporarily placed on a stock 
carriage, and subsequently are manually transferred to an inserting 
station upstream of the terminal mounting line. FIGS. 7 and 13 of Japanese 
Unexamined Publication No. 6-223646 show the inserting station for 
performing the transferring step. As part of this transferring step, the 
opposite ends of the wires are manually placed on a wire setting table, 
gripped by a pair of hands or clamps, and forcibly inserted into teeth of 
a comb-like wire grip. 
The above described prior art transferring step requires precise 
positioning of the terminal portions of the wire-connected terminals with 
respect to the hands or clamps in order to securely perform a succeeding 
step by the hands (e.g. a step of inserting the terminal portions of the 
wire-connected terminals into a connector). However, the wire setting 
table of the aforementioned prior art is mainly adapted to transfer the 
wires to the hands when the wires are forcibly inserted into the teeth of 
the comb-like wire grip and, therefore, cannot position the terminal 
portions. Further, it is a common practice to process a plurality of kinds 
of terminals at one production line in order to manufacture a wire 
assembly. Thus there is a desire to produce many kinds of wire-connected 
terminals in small quantity by easily changing the kind and the 
combination of kinds of wire-connected terminals partly locked during the 
transferring step. 
Prior art wire harness producing systems in which the producing process and 
the connecting process are performed at separate lines, are not well 
suited to automation because it is difficult to transfer the terminals of 
the terminal-connected wires to the terminal inserting unit while manually 
positioning them. Therefore, it is necessary to make an undesirable 
compromise of manually inserting the terminals into the connector housing 
as disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 6-223646. 
In view of the above problems, an object of the invention is to provide a 
block and a retainer for wire and/or terminals, in particular 
wire-connected terminals, using the same and a wire connection process 
line using the same, which are capable of easily positioning the wire 
and/or terminals, in particular wire-connected terminals, to be retained 
and changing the kinds thereof. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
According to the invention there is provided a block for retaining a 
wire-connected terminal in which an end of a wire is connected with a 
terminal. The block comprises at least one recess for detachably 
accommodating at least a terminal portion and/or a wire portion of the 
wire-connected terminal. The block further comprises positioning means for 
positioning the terminal portion and/or the wire portion accommodated in 
the recess. 
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, a part of the 
wire-connected terminal is exposed in the recess of the block such that it 
can be gripped by hands or clamping means of a separately provided 
terminal inserting unit. 
Preferably, the block further comprises a slit for permitting lateral 
insertion of the terminal and/or terminal portion and/or wire portion into 
the recess by permitting the insertion of the terminal-connected wire or 
wire-connected terminal or at least the wire section adjacent to the 
terminal portion and/or of the wire portion. 
Further preferably, the positioning means positions the terminal portion 
along the vertical direction or substantially along a direction of the 
longitudinal axis of the terminal portion and/or wire portion. The 
positioning means may comprise a pin insertable into an engaging or 
contact hole of the terminal portion and/or of the wire portion. The 
positioning means may comprise a positioning surface for positioning the 
bottom surface of the terminal portion and/or for positioning of a rubber 
plug integrally or unitarily connected or mounted on the terminal portion 
and/or of the wire portion. 
Most preferably, the positioning means positions the terminal portion 
and/or the wire portion along the forward and backward directions or along 
a direction substantially normal to the longitudinal axis of the terminal 
portion and/or wire portion. In particular the positioning means may 
comprise a positioning surface for coming into contact with a rear surface 
of the terminal portion and/or wire portion accommodated in the recess to 
position the terminal portion and/or wire portion. 
According to a further preferred embodiment, the recess of the block 
comprises at least one rotation restricting surface for restricting the 
terminal of the accommodated terminal-connected wire or wire-connected 
terminal so as not to rotate around its longitudinal axis. 
Preferably, the rotation restricting surface is defined by a piece formed 
by a member separate from the block, wherein preferably the rotation 
restricting surface comprises a pair of side surfaces for holding the 
terminal substantially from opposite sides. The piece forming the rotation 
restriction surface may define an aperture for substantially exposing a 
front surface of the terminal. 
Still further preferably, the piece defines at least one insertion opening 
in the front surface of the terminal which substantially is necessary and 
sufficient to permit the insertion of the wire, in particular of the wire 
section adjacent to the terminal portion and/or of the wire portion. 
Each block may comprise a single member or portion or section for retaining 
a single wire-connected terminal or a plurality of integrally or unitarily 
connected members for retaining a plurality of wire-connected terminals. 
According to the invention there is further provided a retainer for a 
wire-connected terminal, comprising: one or more blocks according to the 
invention, and a frame for selectively arranging the blocks, so as to 
arrange one or more wire-connected terminals, in particular side by side. 
The blocks may be of one or more kinds for arranging one or more different 
kinds of wire-connected terminals. Additionally the blocks may be 
integrally or unitarily connected. 
Preferably, the respective blocks are arranged such that the center axes of 
the respective wire-connected terminals are substantially aligned at 
specified intervals, regardless of the kinds of the terminals to be 
positioned by the blocks. 
As an alternate to the above construction with a frame and a plurality of 
blocks, the invention may comprise a single block including a plurality of 
sets of recesses, positioning surfaces and slits. Each recess is for 
accommodating the corresponding terminal-connected wire while being opened 
such that it can grip a part of the terminal. Each positioning surface is 
continuous with the corresponding recess, and is adapted to position the 
bottom surface of the terminal accommodated in the recess. Each slit for 
permitting the insertion and withdrawal of the terminal into and from the 
recess by permitting the terminal-connected wire to pass therethrough. 
Thus there is provided a retainer for a terminal-connected wire which 
facilitates the automation of a connecting process. 
In this latter construction, the recesses for accommodating the terminals 
of the terminal-connected wires are opened such that they can grip parts 
of the terminals, and the slits for permitting the insertion and 
withdrawal of the terminal-connected wires into and from the recesses are 
provided. Accordingly, the terminal-connected wires can be manually 
detachably set in the block. Further, since the bottom surfaces of the 
terminals are positioned by the positioning surfaces, it is possible to 
position the accommodated terminals and to grip them by insertion hands. 
According to the invention there is still further provided a wire 
connection process line for producing and/or processing wire-connected 
terminals, in particular for inserting the wire-connected terminals into a 
connector housing. The processing line may comprise at least one block 
according to the invention and/or at least one retainer according to the 
invention. The block may be at an upstream end of the wire connection 
process line. The processing line may further include insertion clamps for 
inserting the terminals into a connector housing. 
According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the wire connection 
process line is separated from a manufacturing process line. The 
manufacturing process line is operative for cutting and/or peeling a wire 
and/or mounting a terminal on the wire, and is adapted to supply the 
wire-connected terminals to be transferred to the insertion clamps of the 
wire-connecting process line. 
Accordingly a synchronization of the wire-connection process line and of 
the manufacturing process line is made possible, even though the latter 
has a higher processing speed than the former. Thus a complete 
automatization is advantageously possible. 
Preferably, the block and/or the retainer is detachably secured by mount 
means to a conveyance means, comprising, in particular, a conveyance disk 
and/or conveyance line for conveying wire-connected terminals to insertion 
clamps of an inserting unit. 
These and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention 
will become more apparent upon a reading of the following detailed 
description and accompanying drawings.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the schematic construction of a 
retainer 10 for wire-connected terminals according to one embodiment of 
the invention. With reference to FIG. 1, the retainer 10 includes a mount 
frame 20 detachably secured to a terminal hand or gripper or clamp 51 of 
an inserting unit 50 for inserting a wire-connected terminal TW into a 
connector housing (not shown) and to a supply apparatus (not shown) for 
supplying the wire-connected terminal TW to a wire hand or gripper or 
clamp 52. The retainer 10 also includes a plurality of blocks 30 
detachably arranged side by side on the mount frame 20. 
The wire-connected, terminal TW, as shown e.g. in FIG. 4(B), is of a known 
type, and includes a terminal T' mounted or provided at a peeled end of an 
insulated wire. The wire-connected terminal TW includes a terminal portion 
T and a wire portion W. The terminal portion T comprises the terminal T' 
and a section of a wire end that has been substantially peeled. The wire 
portion W includes a portion of the wire neighboring or adjacent to the 
terminal T'. Preferably the terminal T' comprises (FIG. 4(B)) an engaging 
or contact hole or recess T2 to be described later. 
With reference to FIGS. 1 and 2, the mount frame 20 includes a main body 21 
having a substantially rectangular parallelepipedic shape and a guide 
member 22 secured to the main body 21. The main body 21 is made of, e.g., 
aluminum alloy and is formed with a first groove 21A for immovably 
accommodating a nut 23 for fastening the block 30 and a second groove 21B 
for immovably accommodating a nut 24 for securing the guide member 22. The 
grooves 21A, 21B extend substantially in parallel with the longitudinal 
direction of the main body 21, communicating one end of the main body 21 
with the other end thereof. Normally, the grooves 21A, 21B are selectively 
closed by a cover member 25 (see FIG. 1). The first groove 21A 
accommodates the nut 23 such that the center axis of the nut 23 is 
substantially normal to a surface 21C for fastening the block 30 
(hereafter, this surface is assumed to be a front surface), whereas the 
second groove 21B accommodates the nut 24 such that the center axis of the 
nut 24 is substantially normal to the bottom surface of the main body 21. 
A stepped portion 21E for aligning the blocks 30 is formed on the front 
surface 21C of the main body 21. The blocks 30 are arranged along the 
longitudinal direction of the main body 21 while being seated on the 
stepped portion 21E, and are detachably secured by bolts 26 formed with 
hexagonal holes which threadedly engage the nuts 23. 
The guide member 22 is a plate-like member secured to the bottom surface of 
the main body 21 by bolts 24A to which the nuts 24 are spirally fitted. At 
the front of the guide member 22, there are formed tooth-shaped guide 
grooves 22A so as to correspond to the blocks 30 to be described later. 
The guide grooves 22A extend forward from the main body 21, and guide the 
wire portions W of the wire-connected terminal TW to be accommodated in 
the respective blocks 30. 
With reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, the blocks 30 are metal members made of 
e.g. aluminum alloy, and hold the wire-connected terminals TW in alignment 
by being arranged side by side on the stepped portion 21E of the mount 
frame 20. The blocks 30 to be arranged here may accommodate the same kind 
of wire-connected terminals TW or different kinds of wire-connected 
terminals TW. Such a combination is easily realizable by preparing a 
plurality of kinds of blocks 30 having the same outer dimension L1 and 
formed with accommodation recesses 37 for accommodating the terminal 
portions T which recesses have different shapes in conformity with the 
shapes of the desired wire-connected terminals such that the center axes C 
of the wire-connected terminals TW to be positioned (terminal pitch) are 
at specified intervals H. 
The block 30 has a seating surface 31 to be seated on the stepped portion 
21E formed on the main body 21 of the mount frame 20. The seating surface 
31 includes a bottom surface portion 31A to be placed on the bottom 
surface of the stepped portion 21E and a rear surface portion 31B joined 
with the front surface 21C of the main body 21. 
Where the bottom surface portion 31A is formed, there are a pair of first 
substantially rectangular projections 32, 33 extending forward and facing 
each other in the transverse direction (in FIG. 4(A)). A guide groove 34 
for guiding the wire portion W of the wire-connected terminal TW is 
defined between the projections 32, 33. On the other hand, where the rear 
surface portion 31B is formed, there are a pair of second projections 35, 
36 extending forward. The recess 37 for accommodating the terminal portion 
T of the wire-connected terminal TW is defined between the projections 35 
and 36. Between the first projection pair 32, 33 and the second projection 
pair 35, 36, there is defined an open space S1 for exposing the terminal 
portion T for the terminal clamp 51 of the inserting unit 50. 
Above the pair of first projections 32, 33, there is formed a stepped hole 
34A through which a threaded rod of the bolt 26 is inserted until a head 
thereof comes into engagement with the stepped portion. The block 30 is 
detachably secured to the mount frame 20 by threadedly fitting the bolt 26 
to the nut 23 accommodated in the main body 21 of the mount frame 20. 
The second projections 35, 36 are spaced apart by a distance L at least 
sufficient to mount and detach the wire-connected terminal TW along the 
forward and backward directions. Thus, the wire-connected terminals TW are 
immovably accommodated in the recess 37, i.e. are held in the same 
position. Further, as shown in FIG. 2, where the bottom of the recess 37 
is formed, there is provided a pin 38 as a positioning means along the 
vertical direction which projects forward into the recess 37. The pin 38 
is inserted into a contact or engaging hole T2 opened when a contact or 
engaging member T1 of the terminal portion T is formed, with the result 
that the terminal TW is accurately positioned along the vertical 
direction. A surface 38A on which the pin 38 is provided acts to position 
the terminal portion T along the forward and backward directions. 
Between the first projection pair 32, 33 and the second projection pair 35, 
36, there is formed a positioning surface 39 projecting forward so as to 
be flush with the surface 38A. The positioning surface 39 is also designed 
to position the rear surface of the terminal portion T of the 
wire-connected terminal TW. 
As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, an accommodation hole 36A is formed in one of the 
second projections 35, 36 (in the projection 36 in the shown example) in 
order to prevent the terminal portion T of the wire-connected terminal TW 
accommodated in the recess 37 from coming out, and a ball plunger 40 
including a ball 41 and a compression coil spring 42 is accommodated in 
the hole 36A (see FIGS. 3 and 4(A)). The ball plunger 40 is confined in 
the hole 36A by the wall surface of the block 30 (i.e. the projection 35) 
abutting against the projection 36. In order to prevent the ball plunger 
40 from disengaging from the projection 36 of the last one of the arranged 
blocks 30, a sealing positioning member 53 is, similar to the blocks 30, 
secured to the mount frame 20 next to the last projection 36. By acting as 
a reference in the arrangement direction of the blocks 30, the positioning 
member 53 is designed to position the blocks 30. 
In the above construction, by accommodating the wire-connected terminal TW 
in the recesses (guide groove 34, recess 37) of the block 30 and 
positioning the terminal portion T with respect to the clamps 51, 52 of 
the inserting unit 50 along the longitudinal direction (vertical direction 
in FIG. 2) by the pin 38 and along the forward and backward directions by 
the positioning surfaces 38, 39, the terminal portion T of the 
wire-connected terminal TW can be detachably accommodated while being 
exposed such that it can be gripped by the respective clamps 51, 52 of the 
inserting unit 50. As a result, in the transferring step of transferring 
the wire-connected terminal TW to the clamps 51, 52 of the inserting unit 
50, the wire-connected terminal TW can be remarkably accurately gripped by 
the clamps 51, 52 so that the succeeding step can be securely performed. 
Particularly, since the members for directly positioning the terminal T 
(pin 38, positioning surfaces 38A, 39) are adopted as the positioning 
means in the above construction, the wire-connected terminal TW can be 
accurately positioned along the vertical direction. As a result, there is 
an advantage that the wire-connected terminal TW can be more securely 
transferred to the clamps 51, 52. 
Further, in the above construction, by selecting the blocks according to 
the kinds of the wire-connected terminals TW to be retained and arranging 
them side by side on the mount frame 20, a desired combination of desired 
wire-connected terminals TW can be retained and arranged side by side. 
Accordingly, even in the case of producing different kinds of 
wire-connected terminals TW in small quantity, the kinds of the 
wire-connected terminals TW can be advantageously easily changed by 
changing the combination of the blocks 30. 
Furthermore, in the above construction, since the center axes C of the 
wire-connected terminals TW are aligned at the specified intervals H 
regardless of the kinds of wire-connected terminals TW to be retained, a 
control for the clamps 51, 52 can be simplified. This results in a shorter 
time to exchange the blocks 30, since the control routine or sequence can 
be shortened. Thus, a multitude of kinds of wire-connected terminals can 
be more effectively produced in small quantity. 
The foregoing embodiment is nothing but the illustration of a preferred 
specific example of the invention, and the invention is not limited to the 
foregoing embodiment. 
FIGS. 6A and 6B show another embodiment of the invention, wherein FIG. 6A 
is a section of this embodiment when a normal wire-connected terminal TW 
is retained and FIG. 6B is a section thereof when a wire-connected 
terminal TW having a portion between a terminal portion T and a wire 
portion W sealed by a rubber plug R is positioned. FIG. 7 is a perspective 
view of an essential portion of the embodiment of FIGS. 6A and 6B. 
As shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the positioning means may adopt a method for 
placing the bottom surface of the terminal portion T (FIG. 6A) or placing 
the bottom surface of the rubber plug R (FIG. 6B) on the upper surface of 
the first projections 32, 33. When this construction is adopted, the pin 
38 and the ball plunger 40 may be omitted. 
Further, as shown in detail in FIG. 7, guide members 122' e.g. in the form 
of forked pieces separately provided for the respective wire-connected 
terminals TW may be adopted . The guide members 122' are fitted in 
positioning grooves 27A formed in the bottom surface of the main body 21 
of the mount frame 20 via a mount member 27, and are detachably fastened 
by bolts 28 formed with hexagonal holes. In the shown example, each guide 
member 122' is made of resin, and includes a groove 122' A into which the 
wire portion W of the wire-connected terminal TW is pressed and a pair of 
holes 122' B for causing a portion of the guide member 122' where the 
groove 122' A is formed to elastically deform. Each groove 122' A is 
gradually widened at its leading end so as to facilitate the insertion of 
the wire portion W. The wire-connected terminal TW is positioned by 
pressing the wire portion W into the groove 122' A and by retaining the 
wire portion W such that a tensile force acts between the groove member 
122' and the bottom surface of the terminal portion T or rubber plug R. 
The mount member 27 is secured by threadedly fitting the bolts 24A to the 
nuts 24 provided in the main body 21. 
It should be appreciated that a variety of design changes are possible 
within the scope of the invention as defined in claims. 
FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view partly in section of a retainer 120 
for terminal-connected wires or wire-connected terminals according to one 
further embodiment of the invention and a mount arm 139. The retainer 120 
is detachably secured, via the mount arm 139, to a conveyance disk 134 for 
conveying terminal-connected wires TW to insertion hands or grippers or 
clamps 151, 152 of an inserting unit 150. 
The mount arm 139 is an angle member including a fixed portion 139A secured 
to the disk 134 by bolts 301 substantially along a tangential direction of 
the disk 134, a first arm 139B extending from one end of the fixed portion 
139A along a radial direction substantially normal to the fixed portion 
139A, and a second arm 139C extending from the other end of the fixed 
portion 139A substantially in parallel with the first arm 139B. The fixed 
portion 139A, first arm 139B and second arm 139C are in particular 
integrally or unitarily formed. A plurality of mount arms 139 are secured 
to the periphery of the disk 134 at specified intervals along the same 
circumferential direction. 
The retainer 120 includes a first block 121 mounted on the first arm 139B 
and a second block 122 mounted on the second arm 139C, and is adapted to 
retain the terminal-connected wires TW. Each terminal-connected wire TW 
has a terminal T' at its one end accommodated in a corresponding recess 
201 formed in the first block 121 and has a terminal T' at its other end 
accommodated in a corresponding recess 201 formed in the second block 122, 
with the result that it hangs down in a U-shape between the blocks 121 and 
122. 
The respective blocks 121, 122 have bottomed engaging holes 121A, 122A 
formed in their lower surfaces. On the arms 139B, 139C, positioning pins 
139E, 139F corresponding to the engaging holes 121A, 122A of the 
corresponding blocks 121, 122 stand upright. By fitting the pins 139E, 
139F into the engaging holes 121A, 122A of the respective blocks 121, 122, 
the blocks 121, 122 can be positioned with respect to the respective arms 
139B, 139C. Further, securing members 139G are mounted on the respective 
arms 139B, 139C to detachably connect the blocks 121, 122 and the arms 
139B, 139C. Screws may be adopted as securing members 139G, or permanent 
magnets may also be adopted in the case that the blocks 121, 122 are made 
of magnetic material. 
FIG. 9 is a perspective view enlargedly showing an essential portion of the 
blocks 121, 122. The blocks 121, 122 each include recesses 201 for 
unrotatably accommodating the terminals T' of the terminal-connected wires 
TW while being opened such that the leading ends of the terminals T' are 
retained, positioning surfaces 202 which are continuous with the 
corresponding recesses 201 and are adapted to position the bottom surfaces 
of the terminals T' accommodated in the recesses 201, and slits 203 for 
permitting the insertion and withdrawal of the terminals T' into and from 
the recesses 201 by permitting the terminal-connected wires TW to pass 
therethrough. 
Each recess 201 defines a rotation prevention surface 204 for preventing 
the rotation of the terminal T'. In the example of FIG. 9, the rotation 
prevention surface 204 is realized by forming the upper part of the recess 
201 so as to have a substantially rectangular contour in conformity with 
the outer shape of the terminal T'. 
The slits 203 have a width W1 at least necessary and sufficient for the 
insertion of the terminal-connected wires TW, and extend over the entire 
height He of the blocks 121, 122. Thus, an operator grips the terminal T' 
of the terminal-connected wire TW, inserts the wire TW through the slit 
203, and then lowers the terminal T', causing its bottom surface to be 
seated on the positioning surface 202. In this way, the terminal T' can be 
retained in the recess 201. Since the recesses 201 unrotatably accommodate 
the terminals T' of the wires TW by the rotation prevention surfaces 204 
and position the bottom surface of the terminal T' by the positioning 
surfaces 202, the terminals T' can be securely retained in the same 
position. 
The rotation prevention surfaces 204 may be realized by members different 
from the blocks 121, 122. In such a case, the configuration of the blocks 
121, 122 can be simplified. 
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of another embodiment of the invention. 
Rotation prevention is realized in this embodiment by pieces 123 on the 
upper surfaces of the blocks 121, 122. In particular rotation prevention 
is achieved by a pair of side surfaces 231, 232 for holding the terminal 
T' from opposite sides, and the piece 123 is formed with openings 233 for 
exposing the front surfaces of the terminals T'. In this construction, 
since the rotation of the terminal fitting is prevented by holding the 
terminal T' by the pair of side surfaces 231, 232 exposing the front 
surface of the terminal T', the shape of the rotation prevention surface 
can be simplified. In the example of FIG. 10, the piece 123 is stepped by 
height H1 in order to avoid the interference of the terminal T' with a 
stabilizer T1. 
FIG. 11 is a perspective view of still another embodiment of the invention. 
In the construction of FIG. 11, a piece 124 as a member different from the 
blocks 121, 122 is formed with the rotation prevention surfaces 204 each 
including a pair of side surfaces 241, 242 for holding the terminal 
fittings from opposite sides, and insertion openings 243 which 
substantially expose the front surfaces of the accommodated terminals T' 
and communicate with the slits 203. The insertion openings 243 have a 
width necessary and sufficient to permit the insertion of a wire section 
adjacent to the connector T' or of the terminal-connected wires or 
wire-connected terminal TW. In this construction, the terminals T' are 
held between the pairs of side surfaces 241, 242 exposing the front 
surfaces of the terminals T', and the rotation of the terminals T' is 
prevented by portions of the piece 124 where the insertion openings 243 
are formed. 
When the terminal-connected wires TW are mounted, the blocks 121, 122 
already carrying the terminal-connected wires TW are mounted on the 
respective arms 139B, 139C manually or using a conveyance robot (not 
shown). By intermittently rotating the disk 134 by a specified or 
predetermined or predeterminable angle, the terminal-connected wires TW 
can be conveyed to the succeeding unit. 
As described above, in the aforementioned construction, the terminals T' of 
the terminal-connected wires TW can be securely and uniformly positioned 
even by manual operation, and the positioned terminals T' can be gripped 
and taken out by the insertion clamps 151, 152. Accordingly, even in the 
case that the producing process and the terminal inserting process are 
performed at separate production lines, the terminals T' of the 
terminal-connected wires TW can be easily transferred to the insertion 
clamps 151, 152 while being positioned, thereby making the automation 
easily realizable. 
In the case that the pieces 123 or 124 are adopted, the configuration of 
the blocks 121, 122 can be simplified. Accordingly, the production cost of 
the blocks 121, 122 can be advantageously reduced. 
Further, in the case that the construction of FIG. 10 is adopted, the shape 
of the rotation prevention surfaces 204 can be simplified. Accordingly, 
the production cost of the blocks 121, 122 can be advantageously reduced. 
On the other hand, in the case that the construction of FIG. 11 is adopted, 
the terminals T' are held by pairs of side surfaces 241, 242, and the 
rotation of the terminals T' can be prevented by the portions of the piece 
124 where the insertion openings 243 are formed. Thus, the terminals T' 
can be positioned with an improved precision. 
The foregoing embodiments are nothing but preferred specific examples of 
the invention, and the invention is not limited to these embodiments. 
For example, a construction of FIG. 12 may be adopted as a block for 
supplying terminal-connected wires to be transferred to the insertion 
clamps of the wire-connection process line. In an embodiment of FIG. 11, 
the rotation prevention surfaces 204 are deleted. With this embodiment, 
the terminal-connected wires TW can be manually gripped and transferred to 
the insertion clamp 151, 152 (see FIG. 8). 
It should be appreciated that a variety of design changes are possible 
within the scope of the invention as defined in claims.