Patent GB-1176104-A (GB)
Title: Apparatus for Electrically Connecting Wires.
IPC: H01R43/042
Filed: 1968-03-11
Abstract: 1,176,104. Making electrical connections; jointing by stamping; welding by pressure; shearing. AMP Inc. 11 March, 1968 [22 March, 1967], No. 11673/68. Headings B3A, B3Q, B3R and B3W. [Also in Divisions B8 and H2] Apparatus for crimping a pair of connectors 1 simultaneously to connect the corresponding ends of two pairs of wires W1, W2, W3, W4 comprises a pair of adjacent anvils 38, 40 arranged to co-operate with a pair of grooved dies 70, 70<SP>1</SP> which are movable from a wire loading position, Fig. 2, to a connecting position, Fig. 3. Each die has a pair of grooves 73, 73<SP>1</SP> into which the wires are placed with their trailing ends WX extending from the grooves. The anvils are formed integrally with a block 36 which is moved towards the dies by a cam 58a which engages a cam follower in an end block 48 connected to the anvil block by side plates 28, 30. The anvil block is moved away from the dies by a further cam (58b), Fig. 12 (not shown), which engages a cam follower (58c). The cams are mounted on a common shaft (58) and the position of the cam followers is adjustable to alter the length of the crimping stroke by screws 61 which clamp the block 48. The shaft (58) is manually rotated by a handle 68 to effect one crimping stroke. Each die has an extension arm 82, 82<SP>1</SP> and is pivoted to a fixed block 46. The arms 82, 82<SP>1</SP> each have cam surfaces 84<SP>1</SP>, 86<SP>1</SP> which are engaged by rollers 88<SP>1</SP> fixed to the side plates so that upon initial movement of the side frames and towards the end of the cycle the dies are pivoted inwards to and outwards from the position in which the grooves are aligned respectively. A wire trimming blade 106 is also fixed to one of the side plates and is moved between the dies to sever the wire ends as the anvils and dies are moved towards each other. The dies are resiliently biased towards each other by polyurethane spacers (100), (100<SP>1</SP>), Fig. 11 (not shown), to provide good contact with the blade 106. The blade 106 has an extension 110 which follows the contour of the block 36 to maintain the crimped connectors in the recesses 143 of the chain conveyer 42 and an extension 111 to keep the connectors in the recesses before crimping and separation from the supporting strips (2), (3), Fig. 1A (not shown). The chain conveyer comprises trapezoidal blocks 144 joined by links 142 which co-operate to form the recesses 143. The anvils each have a slot for the passage of the links so that the connectors can be placed on the anvils. The chain is indexed one pitch on the downstroke and the return-stroke by a sprocket 139 mounted on a shaft (118), Fig. 14 (not shown), extending between the side plates 28, 30. The shaft has a ratchet wheel (136) engaged by a pair of pawls (132), (134) rigid with arms (122), (124), Fig. 18 (not shown). The arms are engaged by rollers (126), (128) on the block 46 so that the relative movement of the side plates and the block 46 causes the cams to pivot about the shaft. The ratchet and pawl is arranged so that the shaft is rotated through 90 degrees on both the forward and return stroke. The shearing mechanism for separating the metal connectors from the polyethylene teraphthalate, side strips (2), (3), Fig. 21 (not shown), comprises a pair of blades (150), (152) pivoted about a spindle (154) by a roller (160) engaging in a cam slot (166) on the blade (156). The roller is mounted on the block 46 and the spindle connected to the side plates. In operation one rotation of the handle causes the anvil block 36 to be moved towards the dies during the first half revolution and to return during the second half. The chain is indexed and pitch on each half-revolution and the blades (150), (156) act twice every cycle. The connected wires 1<SP>1</SP> are transported away from the crimping station by the conveyer. In an alternative embodiment, Fig. 22, the dies are pivoted about an axis 170 and the wires trimmed by a blade 106a. The anvils 38a, 40a are connected to side plates 28a, 30 and reciprocated as in the first embodiment. The crimping dies could be replaced by rotatable welding electrodes. Reference has been directed by the Comptroller to Specification 1,102,949.