Patent Publication Number: US-7222415-B2

Title: Manual machine for attaching an insulation displacement type connector

Description:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION 
   The present invention relates to a manual machine for attaching an insulation displacement type connector to portions of a plurality of electric wires so as to form a wire harness, and more particularly relates to such a machine that an operator will manually place in a body of said machine both the wire portions and the connector, in order to subsequently establish an electric connection between said wires and said connector. 
   PRIOR ART 
   Wire harnesses of this structure are classified into the end type and the daisy chain type. Each insulation displacement type connector forming the end type harnesses is fixed on either or both of opposite wire ends. In contrast, each daisy chain type harness comprises a plurality of such connectors all secured to middle portions intermediate between the wire ends. Certain manual machines known in the art are useable to manufacture any harnesses, whether end type or daisy chain type. 
     FIGS. 12 and 13  shows one of the prior art manual machines that comprises a positioning device  1  for setting in place wire portions and an insulation displacement connector. The operational mode shown in  FIG. 12  is for manufacture of the end type harnesses, with the other mode shown in  FIG. 13  being for manufacture of the daisy chain type harnesses. 
   The positioning device  1  incorporated in a machine body (not shown) is capable of sliding therein. As will be seen in an exploded perspective view of  FIG. 14 , this device comprises a base plate  2  driven to reciprocate between its inoperative home position and its working position for attaching the insulation displacement type connector. The positioning device  1  further comprises a connector rest  3  fixed on the base plate  2 , and a housing stopper  4  for positioning the connector  10  (see  FIGS. 15(   a ) and  15 ( b )) supported on the rest  3 . The device still further comprises a housing holder  5  for pressing the connector  10  against an upright top barrier of the connector rest  3  so as to hold the connector in place. A set block  6  disposed adjacent to the rest  3  is a further element of device  1  such that a plurality of wires  11  (see  FIGS. 15(   a ) to  16 ( b )) may be positioned, selectively with respect to their ends or with respect to their middle portions. A wire holder  7  as a still further element is disposed adjacent to the housing holder  5 . The wires  11  to be attached to the connector will be guided and held in place, while being arranged side by side at a prescribed given pitch. 
   A set screw  8  serves to fix the housing stopper  4  on the connector rest  3 . Every connector  10  then lying on the rest  3  will have its side bearing against the stopper  4 , thus taking a correct transverse position. 
   A holder guide  12  is fixed on the base plate  2 , in such a state that the housing holder  5  retained by this guide can slide relative thereto towards and away from the connector rest  3 . Springs  14  intervening between the guide  12  and its cover  13  do urge the holder  5  towards the rest, as seen in  FIGS. 15(   a ) and  15 ( b ). The connector  10  lying on the connector rest  3  will thus be pushed to the upright top barrier so as to be held in place on this rest. A cam shaft  15  transversely penetrates the holder guide  12 , and a lever  16  protrudes perpendicularly from the side end of this shaft. This lever  16  will be operated to rotate the shaft  15  about its axis, when the housing holder  5  has to be retracted a distance from the upright top barrier of the rest  3 . At such a releasing position of housing holder  5 , the connector  10  then lying on this rest  3  is ready for removal therefrom. 
   The wire holder  7  consists of two notched plates  17  and a spacer  19  interposed between them. Each notched plate has the series of comb-like indentations  18  for arranging the wires at the given pitch, with further set screws  8  fixing this wire holder on the housing holder  5 . 
   The set block  6  comprises a wire guide  20  and a wire stopping plate  24  disposed at the rear end of this block. The wire guide  20  has an upright fore wall  21  whose upper end extends along and in alignment with the frontal face of the guide  20 , and an oblique rear wall  22  tapered down and towards the back face of said guide. A plurality of guiding grooves  23  are formed in and along a summit where the upright fore wall  21  and oblique rear wall  22  intersect one another. Those grooves  23  and the indentations  18  of wire holder  7  are arranged at the same pitch, and the wire stopping plate  24  faces these grooves. Such a set block  6  is of a versatile nature, enabling manufacture of either wire harness, end type or daisy chain type. 
   In a case of making the end type harnesses, the set block  6  will be secured to the connector rest  3  so as to take a position as shown in  FIGS. 12 ,  15 ( a ) and  15 ( b ). In this state, the front face of set block  6  is adjoined to the rear face of the rest  3 . An insulation displacement type connector  10  laid on this rest will then be pressed with the housing holder  5 , not to be rickety. A plurality of wires  11  will subsequently be guided each through one of the indentations  18  of wire holder  7  and the corresponding one of guiding grooves  23  of set block  6 . These wires  11  thus pushed into engagement with said indentations and grooves are arranged side by side at the given pitch. Forward extremities of said wires thus arranged are kept in a neat and snug contact with the stopping plate  24 . The positioning device  1  incorporated in the machine body and taking this position will subsequently be forwarded to an insulation displacing station. At this station shown in  FIGS. 15(   a ) and  15 ( b ), a punch  25  having been resting right above the connector  10  will be driven downwards so that the wires  11  are forced into the connector to thereby establish an electric connection. During this step, the upright fore wall  21  of wire guide  20  constituting the set block  6  will function as a cutter blade cooperating with the punch  25 . Forward ends  11 ′ of the wires  11  extend forwards from the connector  10  are excessive forward lengths of said wires. Therefore, the punch  25  and the wall  21  as the blade will sever them off simultaneously with the insulation displacement step as detailed above. Waste  11 ′ produced from such trimmed wires  11  will slip off the oblique rear wall  22 , for automatic disposal. 
   In another case of making the daisy chain type harnesses, the set block  6  will be secured to the connector rest  3  so as to take another position as shown in  FIGS. 13 ,  16 ( a ) and  16 ( b ). In this state, the rear face of set block  6  is adjoined to the rear face of the connector rest  3 . The wire guide  20  stands away therefrom by a remarkable distance, with the wire stopping plate  24  having been removed. Similarly to the first case of making the end type harnesses, an insulation displacement type connector  10  laid on this rest  3  will then be pressed with the housing holder  5 , not to be rickety. Also similarly to the first case, a plurality of wires  11  will subsequently be guided each through one of the indentations  18  of wire holder  7  and the corresponding one of guiding grooves  23  of set block  6 . However, each wire  11  extends a remarkable distance beyond the groove  23 . The positioning device  1  incorporated in the machine body and taking this position will subsequently be forwarded to the insulation displacing station. At this station shown in  FIGS. 16(   a ) and  16 ( b ), the punch  25  having been resting right above the connector  10  will be driven downwards so that middle portions of the wires  11  are forced into the connector  10  to thereby establish electric connection. 
   The prior art machine may be switched over from its mode of manufacturing the end type harnesses to its mode of manufacturing the daisy chain type harnesses, or vice versa. In such a case, the set block  6  should be repositioned with the front side back, or with the back side front. In addition, the stopping plate  24  should also be dismounted or remounted, thus rendering very intricate and unefficient the rearrangement of constituent members in such a prior art machine. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   An object of the present invention made in view of this problem is therefore to provide a manual machine for attaching an insulation displacement type connector such that any work for changing or rearranging its parts is not necessitated even when end type harnesses are to be made in place of daisy chain type ones, or vice versa. 
   Another object is to protect the insulation displacement type connector from taking any erroneous or wrong position when a sure and reliable electric connection is established using such a manual machine. 
   In order to achieve these objects, a manual machine provided herein for attaching an insulation displacement type connector does comprise a base plate incorporated in a machine body and capable of sliding therein to reciprocate between an inoperative home position and a working position for attaching the connector. The manual machine further comprises a connector rest fixed on the base plate, and a housing stopper for positioning the connector lying on the rest. The machine still further comprises a housing holder for pressing the connector against the connector rest so as to hold the connector in place. A set block disposed adjacent to the rest is a further element of the machine such that a plurality of wires may be positioned selectively with respect to their free ends or with respect to their middle portions. A wire holder as a still further element is disposed adjacent to the housing holder, so that the wires to be attached to the connector will be guided and held in place, while being arranged side by side at a prescribed given pitch. Characteristically, the manual machine of the invention further comprises a wire stopper that is pivoted to the set block so as to swivel between an active position close to the set block and an idle position remote therefrom. The wire stopper has a collision portion on which the wires will impinge at their free ends to be aligned one with another, and a biasing portion that will urge the wires at their middle portions towards the set block. 
   Preferably, the collision portion may be formed as an array of flat wall zones of a front face of the wire stopper. Each wall zone is defined between adjacent two of notches carved side by side at the given pitch in the front face. This feature will enable a surer positioning of the wire free ends. 
   Also preferably, the housing stopper may be composed of a fixed shoe and a movable shoe so that the connector or connectors laid on the connector rest are protected from becoming out of order in position in the direction of the given pitch. The fixed shoe is secured to one of opposite side ends of the connector rest, with the movable shoe facing the fixed one and capable of sliding along a front face of the set block. The movable shoe may comprise a vertical ear protruding therefrom for selective engagement with one of vertical grooves that are formed side by side at the given pitch in the set block front face. In this case, the movable shoe can be set at any desired incremental position, correspondingly to the number of poles of the connector, that is the number of the wires to be forced into the connector. 
   In operation, the wire stopper pivoted to the set block will swing between its active and idle positions, towards or away from the set block. Any parts need no longer be changed or rearranged when manufacture of end type harnesses is switched over to manufacture of daisy chain harnesses, or vice versa, affording efficient production thereof The free ends of electric wires forming an end type harness will merely be pushed to the collision portion of wire stopper then taking its active position, without trimming and aligning said free ends of the wires prior to insulation displacement attachment to a connector. However in case of making a daisy chain harness, the wire stopper is retracted to its idle position before the wire holder will guide and hold the wires side by side at a given pitch. Subsequent to this step, the wire stopper will be shifted to its active position where its biasing portion urges the middle portions of said wires towards the set block. Thus, the connector can efficiently be attached to the wire middle portions in the manner of insulation displacement. 
   A more precise positioning of the wire ends will be afforded, if the machine as set forth in the accompanying claim  2  is used to manufacture end type harnesses. 
   Error in position of the connector lying on the rest will be diminished in the direction of the pitch, if the machine as set forth in claim  3  is used to manufacture the harnesses of either type. Thus, any imperfect attaching of the connectors to the wires in the insulation displacement fashion will surely be avoided. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
       FIG. 1  is a perspective view of a positioning device as the principal part of a manual machine provided herein for attaching insulation displacement type connectors one by one; 
       FIG. 2  is an exploded perspective view of the positioning device; 
       FIG. 3  is an enlarged plan view of connector-positioning members included in the positioning device; 
       FIG. 4  is a perspective view of the positioning device in an operational state for holding the connector in place; 
       FIG. 5  is a perspective view of the positioning device, in which a wire stopper as one of constituent parts thereof is at its active position ready to operate; 
       FIG. 6  is an enlarged and fragmentary perspective view of the positioning device, in which wire ends for forming an end type harness have been set in place; 
       FIG. 7(   a ) is a scheme of the positioning device having moved to its working position to be ready for the insulation displacement attaching of the connector to the wire ends; 
       FIG. 7(   b ) is another scheme of the positioning device shown in its state of just attaching the connector; 
       FIG. 7(   c ) is still another scheme of the positioning device shown in its further state of having attached the connector to the wire ends; 
       FIG. 8  is a perspective view of the positioning device, in which the wires have been set in place relative to a connector that has to form a daisy chain type harness; 
       FIG. 9  is a perspective view of the positioning device, in which the wire stopper is at its active position, subsequent to thee step shown in  FIG. 8 ; 
       FIG. 10  is a perspective view of the positioning device, with the daisy chain type harness just being removed therefrom; 
       FIG. 11(   a ) is a scheme of the positioning device having moved to its working position to be ready for the insulation displacement attaching of the connector to the middle portions of wires so as to manufacture the daisy chain harness; 
       FIG. 11(   b ) is another scheme of the positioning device shown in its state that the connector is just being attached; 
       FIG. 11(   c ) is still another scheme of the positioning device shown in its further state that the connector has been attached to the middle portions of wires; 
       FIG. 12  is a perspective view of the prior art manual machine for attaching an insulation displacement type connector, in which its positioning device is being used to manufacture end type harnesses; 
       FIG. 13  is a perspective view corresponding to  FIG. 12 , in which the positioning device is being used to manufacture daisy chain type harnesses; 
       FIG. 14  is an exploded perspective view of the positioning device in the prior art machine; 
       FIG. 15(   a ) is a scheme of the prior art positioning device having moved to its working position to be ready for the insulation displacement attaching of the connector to the wire ends; 
       FIG. 15(   b ) is another scheme of the positioning device shown in  FIG. 15(   a ), but in its state of just attaching the connector; 
       FIG. 16(   a ) is a scheme of the prior art positioning device having moved to its working position to be ready for the insulation displacement attaching of the connector to the middle portions of the wires; and 
       FIG. 16(   b ) is another scheme of the positioning device shown in  FIG. 16(   a ), but in its state of just attaching the connector. 
   

   THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   Now an embodiment of the present invention will be described referring to the accompanying drawings. 
     FIG. 1  shows the machine body  30  of a manual machine for attaching to wires an insulation displacement type connector. A connector positioning device  31  mounted on the machine body is in its inoperative home position, ready to start to position the wires  11  relative to the connector  10 . The machine body  30  comprises a pneumatic press or a hand press not detailed here but driving a punch  25  (see  FIGS. 7(   a ) to  7 ( c )) up and down at a working position of said device. 
   As shown in an exploded state in  FIG. 2 , the positioning device  31  mounted on the machine body  30  is capable of sliding thereon. This device  31  comprises a base plate  32  movable between its inoperative home position and its working position, a connector rest  33  fixed on the base plate, and a pair of shoes  34 A and  34 B of a housing stopper for positioning the connector lying on the rest  33 . The positioning device  31  further comprises a housing holder  35  for pressing the connector  10  against the connector rest  33  so as to hold the connector in place. A set block  36  disposed adjacent to the rest is a further element of the device, and a wire holder  37  as a still further element is disposed adjacent to the housing holder  35 . This wire holder  37  is designed such that the wires  11  to be attached to the connector will be guided and held in place, while being arranged side by side at a given pitch (viz., the pitch at which the contacts in the connector  10  are arranged). The positioning device still further comprises a wire stopper  38  that is a versatile member used in both the cases of making end type harnesses or daisy chain type harnesses, as will be detailed below. 
   One of the shoes of housing stopper  34 A is a fixed stopper secured by a set screw  40  to one of side regions of the connector rest  33 , as is shown in  FIGS. 1 and 3 . The other shoe of housing stopper  34 B is a movable stopper facing the fixed shoe  34 A and capable of sliding on the rest  33  and along the front face of set block  36 . A vertical ear  41  protrudes from the side of movable shoe  34 B facing the fixed shoe  34 A, so as to serve as a positioning means for the movable shoe. An array of parallel vertical grooves  42  formed in the front face of the set block  36  are arranged at a certain pitch corresponding to the wire holder  37 . An elliptic aperture  43  (see  FIG. 2 ) penetrating the set block  36  fore and aft does extend transversely to receive a set bolt  44 . As seen in  FIG. 3 , the connector  10  (of the two-pole type having two contacts as exemplified in the drawings) to be attached will be laid on the rest so as to bear against the fixed shoe  34 A. Then, the movable shoe  34 B will be moved towards fixed shoe so that they firmly grip the connector between them. The vertical ear  41  of movable shoe will thus fit in one of the vertical grooves  42  that is remote from the fixed shoe a distance corresponding to the number of poles of the connector. The set bolt  44  inserted through the elliptic aperture  43  is then fastened to rigidly secure the movable shoe  34 B to the set block  36 , thus firmly fixing the connector  10  on the connector rest  33 . 
   As will be seen from  FIGS. 2 and 7(   a ) to  7 ( c ), the housing holder  35  is fixed to one ends of a pair of actuator rods  45  extending and sliding through both the connector rest  33  and set block  36 . The other ends of actuator rods  45  are connected one to another by a cam follower plate  46 . Springs  47  loosely fitted on the actuator rods  45  between the connector rest  33  and follower plate  46  do always urge elastically the housing holder  35  into a forced contact with the rest  33 . On the other hand, a guide holder  48  is fixed on the base plate  32 , and a cam shaft  49  inserted transversely through the guide holder can rotate about its own axis. In operation, a lever  50  attached to the free end of this shaft  49  will be used to rotate it an angle of 90 degrees. If and when the cam follower plate  46  is caused to take a position as shown in  FIG. 7(   c ), the actuator rods  45  will be displaced longitudinally against the springs  47 . As a result, the housing holder  35  is pushed away from the connector rest  33  so as to take a releasing position. A lid  51  covers the guide holder  48 . 
   The wire holder  37  is composed of two parallel plates  53  and a spacer  54  interposed between them. Each plate has a row of indentations  52  each defined between adjacent comb-like teeth of the plate, such that the wires  11  will be held side by side at the given pitch. Set screws  55  (see  FIGS. 7(   a ) to  7 ( c )) firmly connect the wire holder  37  to the housing holder  35 . 
   The wire stopper  38  is generally of the shape of a square column whose ends are cut out to form flanges  56  and  57 . One of the flanges  56  is pivoted by a pin  58  to one end of the rear wall of set block  36 , with a manual lever  59  attached to the other flange  57 . This lever will be operated to shift the wire stopper from its active position near the top face  36   a  of set block  36  to its idle position remote from the top face  36   a , or vice versa. A bracket  60  fixed on the other end of the rear wall of set block  36  will support the flange  57  of the wire stopper  38  then standing at its active position. 
   The front face of wire stopper  38  is formed as a collision portion  61 , with the bottom face of this stopper being formed as a biasing portion  63 . In operation, the collision portion  61  will come close to the top of connector  10  positioned on the rest  33  when the wire stopper takes its active position. Consequently, the wires  11  forming an end type harness will have their free ends abutting this portion  61 . In detail, notches  62  are carved in the front face of stopper  38  so that they are arranged side by side at the same pitch as that at which the contacts in connector  10  are arranged. The collision portion  61  is a continuous integration of flat regions each defined between the adjacent two notches  62 . However, the biasing portion  63  at the active position will face the top  36   a  of set block  36  so that middle portions of wires  11  forming a daisy chain harness are biased towards the top  36   a.    
   Wire harnesses may be produced using the present positioning device  31  mounted on a machine body  31 , in the following manner. 
   At first, the wire stopper  38  will be retracted to its idle position as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 , and a connector  10  will be set in place on the connector rest  33 . 
   In case of making an end type wire harness, the wire stopper  38  will be shifted to its active position supported by the bracket  60  as shown in  FIGS. 5 and 6 . Free ends of a plurality of electric wires (two wires in the drawings)  11  will then be caused to abut the flat regions between the notches  62  in the wire stopper collision portion  61 . On the other hand, the indentations  52  formed in the parallel plates  53  of wire holder  37  will firmly receive the wires&#39; portions near the free ends so as to arrange them at the given pitch. 
   Subsequently, the manual lever  50  will be used to move the positioning device  31  to a pressing station in the machine body  30 . At this station, the connector  10  stands right under a pressing punch  25  built in machine body as shown in  FIG. 7(   a ). This punch  25  will then be driven downwards so that the wires  11  are pressed into the connector  10  as shown in  FIG. 7(   b ) to thereby establish an electric connection. None of the wire free ends  11  kept in contact with the collision portion  61  during this step need not be trimmed thereafter. 
   After having pressed the wires  11  into the connector, the punch  25  will be lifted away from the positioning device  31 . The lever  50  will then be swiveled to cause the cam shaft  49  to rotate an angle of 90 degrees about its axis as shown in  FIG. 7(   c ). Consequently, the follower plate  46  forces back the actuator rods  45  against the springs  47 . The connector holder  35  thus removed away from the connector rest  33  will make free the connector  10 . Next, the wire stopper  38  is returned to its idle position (see  FIG. 1)  so that the thus assembled end type harness can be taken off the connector rest  33 . 
   Now,  FIGS. 8 to 11(   c ) will be referred to with respect to a case of making a daisy chain type harness. 
   Similarly to the making of the end type harness, the wire stopper  38  will be retracted at first to its idle position as shown in  FIGS. 3 and 4 . The connector  10  will then be set in place on the connector rest  33 . 
   The middle portions of wires  11  will subsequently be positioned above the indentations  52  of the plates  53  of wire holder  37  so as to be pressed therein at the given pitch. As seen in  FIG. 9 , the wire stopper  38  then taking its active position will be supported in place at its flange  57  engaging with the bracket  60 . The biasing portion  63  formed as the bottom face of this stopper  38  will urge downwards the wires&#39; middle portions extending rearwards over the connector  10 . Thus, such middle portions biased towards the top  36   a  of set block  36  are immovably set in place. 
   Subsequently, the manual lever  50  will be used to move the positioning device  31  to contact a stopper  70  (see  FIG. 9 ) so as to shift to the working position in the machine body  30 . At this position, the connector  10  stands right under a pressing punch  25  built in machine body as shown in FIG.  11 ( a ). This punch  25  will then be driven downwards so that the wires  11  are pressed into the connector  10  as shown in  FIG. 11(   b ) to thereby establish an electric connection. 
   After having pressed the wires  11  into the connector, the punch  25  will be lifted away from the positioning device  31 . The lever  50  will then be swiveled to cause the cam shaft  49  to rotate an angle of 90 degrees about its axis as shown in  FIG. 11(   c ). Consequently, the follower plate  46  forces back the actuator rods  45  against the springs  47 . The connector holder  35  thus removed away from the connector rest  33  will make free the connector  10 . Next, the positioning device  31  is returned to its inoperative home position and the wire stopper  38  is retracted to its idle position (see  FIG. 1) . The thus assembled daisy chain type harness can be taken off the connector rest  33 , as seen in  FIG. 10 . Although  FIG. 10  illustrates an example in which the sole connector is attached to the middle portions of two wires  11  to form a harness, it will be understood readily by those skilled in the art that more than two wires can successively be secured to more than two connectors one after another so as to form a wire harness of the daisy chain type. 
   It will now be apparent that the manual machine of the invention is useful to efficiently produce any of the end type and daisy chain type wire harnesses.