Patent Publication Number: US-6990730-B2

Title: System for mounting terminals with electric wires in a connector housing

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
   This is a division of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/513,333, filed Feb. 25, 2000, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,612,026,the contents of which are expressly incorporated by reference herein in its entirety. 

   BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
   1. Field of the Invention 
   The present invention concerns improvements in or relating to mounting terminals with electric wires into connector housings. The invention has particular, but not exclusive application, for connecting terminals with electric wires and then inserting the terminals with electric wires into connector housings from the back. 
   2. Description of Background Information 
   Press-connecting and press-clamping are mainly adopted for connecting electric wires with connector terminals in a wire harness and the like. 
   A press-connecting connection (hereinafter, merely referred to as press-connecting) is shown in  FIG. 27 . The press-connecting terminals t are loaded in the cavities s of a connection housing C. Press-connecting blade guides  1  are matched with the connector housing C ( FIG. 27(   a )), and electric wires a are supplied ( FIG. 27(   b )), and pressed and connected in the terminals t by press-connecting blades  2  ( FIG. 27(   c )). Namely, the press-connecting presses and loads the electric wires a into a connector housing C from above. 
   A press-clamping connection (hereinafter, merely referred to as press-clamping) successively press-clamps the connecting pieces of the terminals on the bare conductors after removing the covering of the electric wires. Accordingly, in general, the press-clamping press-clamps the terminals to every electric wire, chucks pick up the terminals one by one with a hand  3  and insert them into the cavities s of the connector housing C from the back (terminal-inserting inlet) as shown in  FIG. 29  (refer to Japanese Patent Publication (unexamined) Hei No. 9-115642 and the like). 
   In the above-mentioned press-connecting, for example, in the case of the connector housing C having the cavities s of two stages in a wire harness, the connector housing C is conventionally divided into an upper housing C 1  and a lower housing C 2  in order to press the electric-wires in from the upper face of each housing C 1 , C 2  as shown in  FIG. 28 . After the terminals t and the electric wires a are respectively loaded on the upper housing C 1  and the lower housing C 2  (from  FIG. 28(   a ) to  FIG. 28(   b )), cover b is closed and both C 1  and C 2  are integrally connected together ( FIG. 28(   c )) (refer to Japanese Patent Publication (unexamined) Hei No. 10-335037 and the like). 
   The conventional press-connecting requiring two housings C 1  and C 2  has further many working steps and it causes an increase in cost. Further, the walls e between the cavities may be bent outwards and the housings swollen by pressing power during press-connecting. As a result, it can happen that the cover b is not successfully closed and the upper housing C 2  and the lower housing C 1  are not successfully united. Further, from the viewpoint of reducing the bending problems of the cavity walls e, this type of connector C for press-connecting has terminals t in all of the cavities. However, it was found that mounting terminals t in the cavities s to which electric wires a are not press-connected did not avoid the problems. Further, dismantling of both housings C 1  and C 2  is required for newly press-connecting electric wires a in empty cavities s. As a result the press-connecting is virtually impossible. 
   In the press clamping on the other hand, the terminals t with the electric wires a are mounted in the cavities s one by one from the back. As a result, only one connector housing C (not divided) is required in place of the two stage type connector C as described above. However it is necessary to connect the electric wires a on the terminals t one by one, and it has a problem in workability. In addition, the connection of the terminals t one by one is apt to cause a chucking miss. Further, since the electric wires a are inserted while being held, the electric wires a are apt to buckle as shown by the chain line of  FIG. 29 , and such buckling causes a mounting miss. 
   Further, in the case of the connector housing C having the cavities s of two stages or more, there is a connector housing which mounts the terminals t in the cavities s of the upper and lower stages so that their backs face each other. In this case, after the electric wires a are chucked with the hand  3  as shown in  FIG. 30(   a ), the terminals t are inserted in the rotational jig D as shown in  FIG. 30(   b ), rolled in the direction of the arrow mark under a condition in which the chucking is released and chucked again to be inserted in the cavities s as shown in  FIG. 30(   c ). The rolling action occasionally results in causing a twisting force on the electric wires a, and there is a risk that the terminals t cannot be straightforwardly re-chucked and a smooth insertion cannot be obtained. 
   The present invention aims to provide a solution to the problems and disadvantages of the known press-connecting and press-clamping connections described above. 
   SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
   According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided a process for mounting press-connecting terminals with electric wires into a connector housing characterized by loading the terminals into a terminal-connecting jig, connecting the electric wires with the terminals, removing terminals with electric wires from the terminal-connecting jig, and inserting the terminals with electric wires from the back into cavities of the connector housing. 
   By the present invention, a process of connecting the electric wires to the terminals can be achieved which enables the terminals to be inserted and loaded with electric wires in the cavities of the connector housing from the back. As a result, a cost saving can be obtained. 
   In order to do so, if press-connecting terminals are firstly loaded in the jigs, the electric wires can be loaded from the upper surface of the jig for press-connecting in a manner similar to the conventional process. In this way the press connecting terminals with electric wires can be obtained by press-connecting without any trouble. 
   Then, if the press-connecting terminals with electric wires are removed from the press-connecting jigs and loaded in the connector housing, the press-connecting terminals can be inserted in the cavities of the connector housing from the back in like manner to the press-clamping terminals of  FIG. 29 , and workability is greatly improved. 
   If press-clamping is carried out in place of press-connecting, for example, if press-clamping terminals are loaded in the jigs and the electric wires, after peeling, are press-clamped on the terminals, the press-clamping terminals can be inserted in the connector housing according to a similar action, and workability is again greatly improved. 
   Preferably, the steps of loading the terminals into the terminal connecting jig, connecting the electric wires with the terminals, removing the terminals with the wires from the terminal-connecting jig, and inserting the terminals with electric wires from the back into cavities of the connector housing are sequentially carried out automatically. 
   In the case where the housing has two stages, an upper stage and a lower stage, the housing is preferably rolled (inverted) for inserting the terminals with electric wires from the back into cavities of the upper and lower stages. 
   Advantageously, the terminals with electric wires are transferred to a terminal-inserting jig from the terminal-connecting jig, and the terminals with electric wires are inserted into the cavities of the connector housing from the terminal-inserting jig. 
   The terminals with electric wires may be conveniently loaded into cavities in the connecting jig and are preferably prevented from falling out by protrusions on spring plates below the cavities. 
   Preferably, the terminals with electric wires are transferred from the connecting jig to the inserting jig by pins of a pushing-out jig pushed up through holes below the terminals in the connecting jig. 
   Advantageously, each terminal with electric wire is transferred by two pins which contact the terminal in a longitudinal direction before and behind the electric wire connecting area. 
   Preferably, the terminals with electric wires are transferred from the connecting jig to cavities in the inserting jig and are preferably prevented from falling out of the cavities by a shutter. The terminals may be conveniently guided when pushed out of the inserting jig by guides on the shutter and a clearance is preferably provided in the shutter for the pins. 
   Advantageously, the terminals with electric wires are guided when transferred to the inserting jig by transfer guides on both sides of the cavities. 
   Preferably, the terminals with electric wires are transferred from the inserting jig to the cavities of the connector housing by members which push out the terminals in a longitudinal direction and support rear end faces of the terminals. 
   In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a method of mounting terminals with electric wires into connector housings includes:
         (a) providing a connector jig having one or more cavities for receiving a terminal;   (b) inserting at least one terminal in a cavity of the connector jig;   (c) connecting a wire to the at least one terminal located in the cavity;   (d) providing an inserting jig having one or more cavities for receiving a terminal with a wire connected thereto;   (e) relatively moving the connector jig and the inserting jig to position the connector jig below the inserting jig to align the cavity with the terminal and electric wire connected thereto in the connector jig with a cavity in the inserting jig;   (f) transferring the at least one terminal with the wire connected thereto from the connector jig to the inserting jig by applying a force to an underside of the terminal to displace the terminal with the wire connected thereto upwards into the cavity in the inserting jig;   (g) providing a connector housing having one or more cavities for receiving a terminal with a wire connected thereto;   (h) relatively moving the inserting jig and the connector housing to align the cavity with the terminal and wire connected thereto in the inserting jig with a cavity in the connector housing; and   (I) transferring the at least one terminal with the wire connected thereto from the cavity in the inserting jig to the connector housing.       

   According to a second aspect of the present invention there is provided a system for mounting press-connecting terminals with electric wires in a connector housing characterized by a mounting machine for mounting the terminals on a connecting jig, electric wire-measuring and wire-connecting machines for connecting wires to the terminals, and a terminal-mounting machine for removing the terminals with electric wires from the press-connecting jig and inserting the terminals with electric wires from the back into cavities of the connector housing. Preferably, the machines are sequentially installed along guide rails. 
   Advantageously, an inserting jig is provided to receive the terminals with electric wires from the connecting jig and insert the terminals with electric wires into the cavities in the connector housing. Preferably, a mechanism is provided for inserting the terminals with electric wires into the cavities of the connector housing by pushing out the terminals. 
   In one arrangement, the mechanism has a plurality of blades movable in an inserting direction for inserting respective terminals with electric wires into the cavities of the connector housing. The blades may be independently movable. Alternatively, a selection mechanism may be provided for moving selected blades as a unit. 
   Advantageously, a roll over mechanism is provided for supporting the connector housing in either one of two positions to present selected cavities for inserting the terminals with electric wires. For example, the connector housing preferably has upper and lower stages and the roll over mechanism includes a frame for mounting the connector housing and means for rotating the frame through 180° to roll over (invert) the connector housing whereby the connector housing is supported in a first position to present the cavities of the upper stage for inserting the terminal and is rolled over and supported in a second position to present the cavities of the lower stage for inserting the terminal. 
   Preferably, the connecting jig has cavities for mounting the terminals arranged in parallel on an upper face and provided with penetration holes for pushing-up pins which contact a lower face of the terminals and strip off the terminals so that the terminals on which the electric wires are connected are capable of being stripped off upwards from the cavities. 
   Advantageously, the terminals are loaded from the front of the cavities in the connecting jig, contacted with the back of the cavities, and hooked on protrusions of spring plates arranged under the cavities to prevent the terminals falling out. In this way, the terminals are stabilized in the cavities and the action of attaching the wires such as the press-connecting or the like is stabilized. 
   More particularly, after the terminals are loaded in the respective cavities of the connecting jig, the electric wires are press-connected or press-clamped on the respective terminals from above, the pushing-up pins are raised through the penetration holes from below, and the terminals with electric wires attached are ejected from the cavities. Accordingly, the terminals are received and mounted in the connector housing. At this time, if the receiving of the terminals can be unified, a unified mounting can be carried out. 
   When the above-mentioned terminals are press-connecting terminals, the electric wires can be loaded from the top of the connecting jigs in like manner as a conventional process. The press-connecting terminals with electric wires can be obtained by press-connecting without any trouble if the press connecting terminals are loaded in the connecting jigs and the electric wires are press connected on the press-connecting terminals. In this case it is designed to remove the terminals with electric wires from the connecting jigs and load them in the connector housings. Thus, the press-connecting terminals can be inserted in the cavities of the connector housings from the back in like manner as the press-clamping terminals of  FIG. 29 , and workability is greatly improved. The press clamping can be also carried out on the retaining jigs. Preferably, a mechanism is provided for transferring the terminals with electric wires from the cavities of the connector jig into the cavities of the inserting jig by pushing out the terminals. 
   In one arrangement, the connecting jigs can be provided with pushing-up pins. Thus, the pushing-up pins may be arranged under a condition capable of protrusion through respective penetration holes in a lower face of the cavities. For example, the pushing-up pins may be provided on a pushing-up plate freely movable on the base of the connecting jig with the pushing-up plate pushed up and elevated from the underside of the base by an actuator. Thus, when the arrangement of cavities in the connector housing is changed and the connector jigs only need to be changed to correspond to the change. Namely, the actuator to carry out the pushing-up action can be used in common with the connecting jigs of different modes. 
   Preferably, springs are arranged on the base of the connecting jigs for moving the pushing-up plate in the return direction in which the pushing-up pins retreat from the cavities. As a result, the return action such as by self-weight of the pushing-up plates or the like, or the return action by the actuator or the like becomes unnecessary. In this way, the return action becomes positive and the cost can be reduced. 
   Advantageously, two penetration holes are arranged in correspondence with the longitudinal direction of the terminals received in the cavities of the connector jig, and the pushing-up pins are arranged in correspondence with the penetration holes. As a result, the pushing-up pins are pushed up in the longitudinal direction of the terminals before and after the electric-wire connecting part of the terminals. In this way, the pushing-up action becomes stable because the pushing-up pins provide two contact points. 
   More particularly, the two contact points support the load caused by the self-weight of electric-wires and, because the two points are before and after the connecting parts, the load caused by the self-weight of electric wires is steadily supported. Accordingly, the pushing-up action becomes more stable. 
   In another preferred embodiment of the present invention there is provided an apparatus for mounting terminals with connector wires into connector housings including:
         (a) a connector jig having an upper surface;   (b) at least one cavity in the upper surface for receiving a terminal;   (c) at least one hole penetrating the cavity from below;   (d) pin mechanism for insertion in the at least one hole for displacing the terminal in an upwards direction;   (e) mechanism for connecting a wire to the terminal in the connector jig cavity;   (f) an inserting jig having a lower surface;   (g) at least one cavity in the lower surface for receiving a terminal;   (h) mechanism for aligning the at least one cavity in the upper surface of the connector jig with the at least one cavity in the lower surface of the inserting jig whereby the terminal with the wire connected thereto can be transferred from the connector jig to the inserting jig by actuation of the pin mechanism;   (I) a connector housing having a rear surface;   (j) at least one cavity in the rear surface for receiving a terminal;   (k) mechanism for aligning the at least one cavity in the lower surface of the inserting jig with the at least one cavity in the connector housing; and   (l) mechanism for transferring the terminal with the wire connected thereto from the inserting jig to the connector housing.       

   Preferably, the connector jig has a plurality of cavities in the upper surface, the inserting jig has a plurality of cavities in the lower surface, and the connector housing has a plurality of cavities in the rear surface whereby one or more terminals with wires attached thereto can be transferred from the connector jig to the connector housing via the inserting jig. 
   Advantageously, a plurality of connector housings are provided and the inserting jig is operable to transfer terminals with wires connected thereto from the connector jig to the connector housings in a pre-determined manner. 

   
     BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
     The present invention is further described in the detailed description which follows, in reference to the noted plurality of drawings by way of non-limiting examples of certain embodiments of the present invention, in which like numerals represent like elements throughout the several views of the drawings, and wherein: 
       FIG. 1  is a schematic perspective view of an apparatus embodying the present invention; 
       FIG. 2  is a left side view partially in cross-section of the terminal-mounting part of the apparatus shown in  FIG. 1 ; 
       FIG. 3  is a partial front view of the terminal-mounting part shown in  FIG. 2 ; 
       FIG. 4  is a plan view of the hand part of the terminal-mounting part shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 ; 
       FIG. 5  is a front view partially in cross-section, of the hand part shown in  FIGS. 2 and 4 ; 
       FIG. 6  is a bottom view of the hand part shown in  FIGS. 2 to 5 ; 
       FIG. 7  is a plan view of a jig pallet; 
       FIGS. 8(   a ) and  8 ( b ) are perspective and cross-sectional views, respectively, of the terminal press-connecting jig; 
       FIG. 9  is a detailed perspective view of part of the terminal mounting part shown in  FIG. 3 ; 
       FIG. 10  is a schematic view of the terminal-mounting action of the apparatus; 
       FIG. 11  is an exploded perspective view of the delivery action from the press-connecting jig to the inserting jig; 
       FIGS. 12(   a ),  12 ( b ) and  12 ( c ) show the delivery action from the press-connecting jig to the inserting jig; 
       FIGS. 13(   a ) and  13 ( b ) show the terminal-inserting action; 
       FIG. 14  shows a further detail of the terminal-inserting action; 
       FIGS. 15(   a ) and  15 ( b ) show a comparison of the terminal-inserting action of the present invention and the prior art; 
       FIGS. 16(   a ) and  16 ( b ) are schematic cross-section and exploded perspective views, respectively, of the retention-rolling part of the connector housing; 
       FIGS. 17(   a ) and ( b ) show schematically the terminal-mounting action to the connector housing; 
       FIGS. 18(   a ),  18 ( b ) and  18 ( c ) show the terminal-mounting in more detail; 
       FIG. 19  shows an alternative terminal-mounting; 
       FIG. 20  is a flow chart of the operation of the apparatus; 
       FIG. 21  is an example drawing of a wire harness manufactured by the apparatus; 
       FIGS. 22(   a ) and  22 ( b ) show an alternative connecting jig before and after transfer of the terminals to the inserting jig; 
       FIGS. 23(   a ) and  23 ( b ) show another detail of the connecting jig shown in  FIGS. 22(   a ) and  22 ( b ); 
       FIGS. 24(   a ) and  24 ( b ) show the delivery action from the connecting jig to an alternative inserting jig; 
       FIGS. 25   a ),  25 ( b ) and  25 ( c ) show details of the delivery action to the inserting jig of  FIG. 24 ; 
       FIG. 26  shows a further detail of the delivery action to the inserting jig; 
       FIGS. 27(   a ),  27 ( b ) and  27 ( c ) show a press-connecting action according to the prior art: 
       FIGS. 28(   a ),  28 ( b ) and  28 ( c ) show another press-connecting action according to the prior art; 
       FIG. 29  shows the mounting action of a press-clamping terminal according to the prior art; and 
       FIGS. 30(   a ),  30 ( b ) and  30 ( c ) show further details of the mounting action according to the prior art. 
   

   DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS 
   One example of apparatus for producing wire harnesses in which terminals with electric wires are mounted in a connector housing according to the present invention is illustrated in  FIG. 1 . 
   The apparatus has guide rails  11  equipped on a base stand  10 . A mounting machine  20  for terminals t, a measuring machine  30  for electric wires a, a press-connecting machine  40 , an inspection device  50  and a terminal-mounting machine  60  are arranged along the guide rails  11 . 
   As disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication (unexamined) Hei No. 10-241473, and Japanese Patent Applications Hei No. 10-337249 and No.10-350013, the respective disclosures of which are herein expressly incorporated by reference in their entireties, a jig pallet  12  is moved from left to right by a conveyor as shown by the chain line arrow mark on the afore-mentioned guide rail  11 . The jig pallet  12  descends downward by an elevator arm (not illustrated) when the pallet reaches the right end, is similarly moved to the left end by the conveyor, and is similarly positioned at the left end of the guide rail  11  by the elevator arm. Namely, the jig pallet  12  circulates the route (chain line arrow mark), and carries out the loading of the terminals t, the press-connecting of the wires a, and the delivery of the terminal. 
   The jig pallet  12  is a pallet in which six press-connecting jigs (blocks)  14  with cavities  14   a  supporting the terminals t are arranged in parallel on a base  13  as shown in  FIG. 7 . The numbers of the jigs  14  and the cavities  14   a  are arbitrary, and they are generally determined by the number of connector housings mounting the press-connecting terminals t by one jig pallet  12  and the number of the cavities  14   a . For example, this example is a case of producing the wire harnesses W wiring electric wires a as shown in  FIG. 21  and the like. The number of connector housings C is three, and the cavities of the connector housings have upper and lower stages with five cavities in each stage. Therefore, as described later, the group number of the press-connecting terminals mounted from the one jig pallet  12  is 3×2=6, and since the number of terminals in the group is five, the jigs  14  are six, and the cavities  14   a  are five. For example, all of the jigs  14  can be constituted in a body. 
   In the jigs  14 , as shown in  FIG. 8(   b ), strip spring pieces  15   b  of spring blades  15  are arranged in the respective cavities  14  under plate  16  to which the base parts  15   c  of the respective spring blades  15  are fixed to the lower face with screws unifying the respective spring pieces  15   b.    
   When the terminals t are inserted in the cavities  14   a  from the arrow mark direction, the terminals t are positioned by plates  16 , and protrusions  15   a  of the spring plates  15  are deflected as shown by the chain line and hook on the terminals t to prevent extraction of the terminals t. The terminals can also be mounted from above. 
   The floating-up of terminals t is prevented by providing stiffening plates  17  on the plates  16 . The stiffening plates  17  are installed on the base  13  and are designed to be removed during the transfer of terminals t described later (during pushing up). The plates  17  are usually biased downward by springs and can be moved upward against the resistance of the springs to allow upward movement of terminals t. Two penetration holes  18  pass through the respective cavities  14   a  from the lower face of the jigs  14 . 
   The terminal-mounting machine  20  mounts the terminals t in the respective cavities  14   a  of the above-mentioned jigs  14  by selectively cutting the various terminals t one by one from the terminal belt of terminal reels T 1 –T 4 , as described in, for example, Japanese Patent Publication (unexamined) Hei No. 10-208844, the disclosure of which is herein expressly incorporated by reference in its entirety. At this time, the mounting of the terminals t on the connector housing C is carried out by a unit of one jig  14 , therefore the terminal t corresponding to the inserted terminal sequence is mounted on the respective jigs  14  in the sequence. Accordingly, there is a case of having empty cavities  14   a  on the way. The terminal reels T 1 –T 4  properly move in the direction of the arrow mark ( FIG. 1 ), and correspond to the position accepting the terminal belt of the terminal-mounting machine  20 . 
   The electric wire-measuring machine  30  selects and sends the required electric wires a from a plurality of supplies S, measures the requisite length of a plurality of wires a at one time or one by one, and chucks the end of the wire with hand  31  to transfer the wire to the press-connecting machine  40  of the next stage, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (unexamined) Hei No. 10-154423, and Japanese Patent Applications Hei No. 10-349947, No. 10-337042, the respective disclosures of which are herein expressly incorporated by reference in their entireties, and the above-mentioned Japanese Patent Application Hei No. 10-337249. 
   The hand  31  goes back and forth in the direction of the arrow mark ( FIG. 1 ) between the electric wire exit of the measuring machine  30  and the position of the press-connecting machine  40 . The hand  31  may include one arm (refer to Japanese Patent Applications Hei No. 10-337042 and No. 10-337249). Alternatively, hands including two arms alternately delivering both hands to the measuring machine  30  and the press-connecting machine  40  to transfer the wires may be provided (refer to Japanese Patent Application Hei No. 10-349947). 
   The press connecting machine  40  press-connects the electric wires a one by one, or selectively press-connects a plurality of wires, transferred by the hand  31 , in the requisite terminals t in the jig  14 , as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publications (unexamined) Hei No. 10-241473, No. 10-106370, No. 10-106371, the latter two disclosures of which are herein expressly incorporated by reference in their entireties, and the above-mentioned respective applications which are not yet opened. At this time, the jig pallet  12  moves left and right, the terminal t at the requisite position is positioned at the press-connecting position, and the press-connecting is carried out. 
   Accordingly, the press-connecting of various kinds of wiring arrangements can be carried out on the jig pallet  12 , as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (unexamined) Hei No. 10-241473. For example, as shown in  FIG. 1  and  FIG. 18 , the jigs  14  are paired one after another in the direction of travel and the electric wires are only wired to the mutual pairs. 
   Alternatively, as shown in  FIG. 19 , various kinds of wiring arrangements such as an arrangement of arbitrarily wiring the electric wires between the respective jigs  14  can be carried out. The mode of wiring in  FIG. 19  becomes the wire harness W shown in  FIG. 21  in which the electric wires are crossed. Therefore, the electric wires are wired on the respective jigs  14  in accordance with the wiring arrangements of wire harness W. 
   Further, when the jigs  14  are made of a hard metal such as steel or the like, the walls between the cavities  14   a  are not bent by the pressing power of the press-connecting on the jigs  14 . Accordingly, in case of jigs  14  made of a hard metal, there is no problem for inserting the terminals in the subsequent processes or the like, even if empty cavities without terminals are provided. 
   Further, when the shapes of the cavities are the same, the press-connecting on the jigs  14  is carried out by the same jigs  14  irrespective of the shapes of connector housings. For example, the electric wire-measuring and press-connecting can be carried out by a robot uniting the electric wire-measuring machine  30  and the press-connecting machine  40  described in the fore-mentioned Japanese Patent Publication (unexamined) Hei No. 10-106370. 
   The inspection device  50  is a machine which picks up a condition of press-connecting the electric wires into the respective terminals t by a CCD camera and judges whether the press-connecting is proper or not based on the images. For example, the machine judges the normal press-connecting condition in comparison with an abnormal condition. The judgement may be carried out by a person or automatically. 
   As shown in  FIG. 10 , the terminal-mounting machine  60  is a machine in which the jig pallet  12  with terminals in which the electric wires a are press-connected moves as the arrow mark. When the pallet  12  comes to the terminal-inserting position  0 , the terminals t are taken out from the respective jigs  14 , and the terminals t are mounted in the housings C on the connector housing retaining plates (pallet)  61  which move left and right. The details are shown in FIG.  1 – FIG. 6 . 
   Namely, an air cylinder  82  elevating a terminal-protruding jig  81  ( FIGS. 2 and 10 ) is arranged in the base stand  10  under the terminal-inserting position O. A hand  70  having a terminal inserting jig  71  is arranged above while keeping free elevation. The terminal-inserting jig  71  and the terminal-protruding jig  81  have the numbers of the terminals t which the I jig  14  can hold, the terminal-inserting jig  71  and pins  83  corresponding with the I jig  14  on the pallet  12 . Terminal-inserting jig  71  has cavities  72  ( FIG. 11 ) for the terminals t and grooves  72   a  in which blades  73  (described later) are to be inserted extend upward from the cavities  72  (refer to  FIG. 11 ). Further, a shutter  84  installed on the hand  70  is capable of passing under terminal inserting jig  71 , and the pins  83  pass through holes  84   a  of the shutter  84 . 
   Accordingly, as shown in  FIG. 12(   a ), when the terminal-protruding jig  81  is elevated against the jigs  14  at the inserting position, the respective pins  83  protrude through the penetration holes  18  of the jigs  14  and transfer the terminals t in the cavities  14   a  to the inserting jig  71  as shown in  FIG. 12(   b ) and  FIG. 12(   c ). At the protrusion, the pins  83  contact the press-connecting member of the terminals t fore and aft in the longitudinal direction at two points p and q ( FIG. 14)  and protrude the terminals t. 
   Further, as shown in  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 13 , selected blades  73  (described later) preliminary proceed against other blades  73  and ends  73   b  contact end faces of the terminals t to which the electric wires a are connected. Therefore, even though the terminals are being pulled backward by the weight of the electric wires a, the terminals t are transferred (received) within the jigs  71  without being inclined. 
   The delivery is carried out at the cavities  14   a  and  72  between the jigs  14  and  71 . Therefore, the pick-up miss (delivery miss) decreases remarkably, and the terminal insertion miss of subsequent processes decreases remarkably. It is preferable to carry out the protrusion at two points p and q ( FIG. 14 ) with two pins  83 , but one pin may be sufficient, or three or more may be used. In either case, the terminals t protrude the position to be transferred without being inclined. 
   As shown in  FIG. 2 , the hand  70  is supported under free elevation on upper frame  91  of slide cylinder  90  on the base stand  10  through supporting plate  78  and slider  79 , and transfers back and forth at the waiting position and the mounting position by the movement of the frame  91  in the direction of the arrow mark by the slide cylinder  90 . The elevation of the supporting plate  78  is carried out by the actuator  92  provided on the frame  91 , and the supporting plate  78  elevates to three positions such as the waiting position at the highest position, the inserting position at the lowest position and the mounting position at the middle position. 
   The above-mentioned terminal-inserting jig  71  is arranged on the lower face of the edge of the hand  70 , and the above-mentioned shutter  84  is arranged adjacent. A cylinder  85  advances and retreats the shutter  84  and, when delivery from the above-mentioned jig  14  to the inserting jig  71  finishes, the shutter  84  is sent to the lower face of the jig  71  by the cylinder  85  and falling of the terminals t from the jig cavities  72  is prevented by providing the shutter  84  at the front and back of the lower face of the terminals t during the elevation of the hand  70 . 
   Further, gaps required for delivering the shutter  84  between the jigs  14  and  71  may be formed during the above-mentioned descent of the hand  70  but, after the protrusion of the terminals by the pins  83 , the gaps may be formed together with the pins  83 , or by elevation by the gaps of grooves of the hand  70 . For example, when the jigs  14  and  71  approach closer, or preferably contact with each other, the delivery becomes more positive. 
   As shown in  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 13(   a ), the requisite number (five in the present mode of operation) of the insertion blades  73  are arranged in parallel on the insertion hand  70 . Air cylinders  74  are respectively equipped on the respective blades  73 . Selected insertion blades  73  are protruded by a requisite length (code r) in comparison with other blades by selectively driving the air cylinders  74 . 
   Lock pins  75  are protruded with air cylinder  76  under the condition, and are passed through holes  73   a  of the respective blades  73 . After the hand  70  approaches nearby the connector housing C under the condition, all the blades  73  proceed by the air cylinder  77 , and only the selected blades  73  push the terminals t and insert them in the cavities s of the connector housing C as shown in  FIG. 13(   b ). In  FIG. 5  and  FIG. 6 ,  74   a  are coil springs for returning the blades  73 . 
   Further, as shown in  FIG. 5  and  FIGS. 13(   b ) and  13 ( c ), the end parts  73   b  of the selected blades  73  engage the end faces of the corresponding terminals t to which the electric wires a are connected. The terminals t are supported by the end parts  73   b  and, therefore, even though they are being pulled backward by the weight of the electric wires a, the terminals t are transferred without being inclined. 
   As shown in  FIG. 4  and  FIG. 5  at this time, member  86  having the terminal-inserting jig  71  and member  87  with which the rod of the cylinder  77  is connected are arranged to freely slide through the sliders  86   a  and  87   a  in back and forth directions along the rails  70   a  of the hand base, and are connected with the expand shafts  88 . 
   One end of the shafts  88   a  of the expand shafts  88  is supported by one side of a protrusion part of the member  86  under free advancing and retreating, and the other end is fixed by penetration through a protrusion part of the member  87 . Coil springs  88   b  are fitted on the shafts  88   a , lock rings  88   c  are fixed on the shafts  88   a  to provide abutments for one end of the springs  88   b.    
   Accordingly, when the rod  77   a  of the cylinder  77  advances, both members  86  and  87  advance until one part of member  86  contacts with an adjustment screw  89 , and after that, the other part of the member  87  proceeds against the biasing of the spring  88   b . The blades  73  advance against the inserting jig  71 , and push out the terminals t and insert them into the connector housings C. 
   Further, it may be better to guide the terminals t during the insertion. For this, as shown in the chain line of  FIG. 11 , guide protrusions  84   b  may be formed on the shutter  84  and at the insertion of the terminals t, stabilizers t′ at both sides of the terminals t cross the guide protrusions  84   b . Namely, the shutter  84  may preferably guide the insertion of terminals t. Thus, the terminals t are smoothly inserted without vibrating in a crosswise direction. 
   The selecting action of the respective blades  73  when inserting the terminals t in the connector housing C is the same as the selecting action of the respective press-connecting blades described in Japanese Patent Publication (unexamined) Hei No. 10-106371. 
   Thus, as shown in  FIG. 15(   a ), when the terminals t are inserted by pushing out the blades  73 , closer spacing of the terminals t becomes possible by the cavities s of the connector housing C ( FIG. 15(   a )) having smaller pitch than the pitch ( FIG. 15(   b )) of the cavities s for inserting the press-clamping terminals t of  FIG. 26 , because no hand  3  (as in the prior art,  FIG. 29)  is required. 
   Further, as shown in  FIG. 26 , when a plural number of the terminals t are simultaneously mounted, the assembly time is remarkably shortened in comparison with the case of mounting the terminals one by one with the hand. For example, the assembly is limited by one by one mounting, and in addition, a mounting miss caused by a chucking miss is apt to occur. 
   Further, when the intervals of the cavities s are the same according to the selecting mechanism of the respective blades  73 , housings C having different sizes and housings C having lock parts can be corresponded, and when the intervals of the cavities s are different, the appropriate array of insertion blades may be selected in the manner illustrated in  FIGS. 13(   a ) and ( b ). 
   As shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3 , the above-mentioned connector housing retention plate  61  is supported to freely slide in left and right directions by guides  69  arranged on the base stand  10 . One end of the plate  61  is fixed on moving part  64   a  of slide actuator  64  arranged on the base stand  10  and moves to left and right as shown in the chain line of  FIG. 3 . The migration positions are  6  points in total including  3  points at which housing retention frames  62  described later correspond respectively with the terminal-mounting position  0 , and  3  points from which they retreat at a requisite distance. 
   As shown in  FIG. 3  and  FIG. 9 , the connector housing retention plate  61  is equipped with the housing retention frames  62  capable of free rotation. The housing retention frames  62  have protrusions  65  which support the housings C by pushing and springs  65   a  which bias the protrusions  65 . After stop rings  66  of the protrusions  65  are pulled and the housing C is fitted on the retention frames  62 , the housings C are pushed by the springs  65   a  by removing the protrusions  65  (the stop rings  66 ) and positively fixed. The pressing power is regulated by the thrusting amount of the stop rings  66 . The protrusions  65  are fitted in the regulators  66   a  and provide the housing retention frames  62  at the mounting position, the cavities s of the I stage of the housing C become the terminal-inserting position. 
   As shown in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 16 , the upper frame of the base stand  10  at the rear of the connector housing-retaining plate  61  is equipped with rotary cylinder  63  at the insertion position  0 . When a drive part  63   a  of the rotary cylinder  63  rotates while being fitted in a drive hole  62   a  of the housing-retaining frames  62 , the connector housing C rotates by 180 degrees as from ( a ) to ( b ) of  FIG. 17 , and is inverted (rolled). This operation is carried out for the respective retention frame of the retention plate  61 . 
   At this time, concerning the rotation of the rotary cylinder  63  as shown in  FIG. 9 , when the protrusions  65  are fitted in the regulators  66   a , the cavities s of the I stage becomes the inserting position by the fitting as afore-mentioned, but when it is rolled, the rotation position is regulated by the cylinder  63  itself so that the cavities s of the other stage becomes the inserting position. 
   Accordingly, the terminals t facing the connector housings C by the above-mentioned hand  70  are inserted in the cavities s of the housings C at the insertion position  0  from the back in accordance with the advancing of the blades  73  and mounted. 
   When the terminals t are inserted in the I stage of the I housing C, the retention plate  61  moves by a requisite amount to left or right, the insertion hand  70  transfers to a motion of inserting the next terminals t with electric wires. The retreat of the afore-mentioned inserted housings C is carried out for preventing the entanglement of the electric wires a at receiving. 
   After completion of the inserting, the retention plate  61  moves so that the I housing C becomes the insertion position, then the I housing C is rolled and the insertion of the terminals t is carried out again. At this time, the insertion hand  70  is elevated in accordance with the migration of the retention plate  61 , is positioned so that it does not interfere with the rolling action, and transfers to the inserting position by descending after the roll of the housings C. 
   As shown in  FIGS. 18(   a ), ( b ) and ( c ), these actions insert the terminals t of the jigs  14  in the pallets  12  in sequence so that terminals t of jig a are inserted into the upper stage a of the I housing C, then the terminals t of jig b are inserted into the lower stage b of the I housing, and successively, the terminals t of jigs c, d, e and f of the pallet  12  are inserted into the II housing C and the III housing C. The order of insertion is properly changed considering the wiring specification, the degree of entanglement and the like. 
   After completion of mounting the terminals t with electric wires into all of the connector housings C, the retention plate  61  moves to the right end, the connector housings C are removed from the retention frames  62  by a person or a robot and new connector housings C are mounted on the retention frames  62 . On the other hand, the jig pallet  12  is transferred to the terminal-mounting machine  20 . The flow chart of the actions above is shown in  FIG. 20 . 
   Thus, the reason why the terminals t are inserted by rolling the connector housings C is to mount the terminals t arranged on the jig pallets  12  in parallel to the same direction so that the backs of the upper terminals and lower terminals face each other. When the directions are the same, the rolling is unnecessary. For example, the insertion of the terminals t whose backs face each other has been carried out after rolling. Further, the cavities are not limited to two stages, one stage may be used, and three stages or more may also he used. In the respective cases the motion of the elevation of the insertion hand  70  and the like corresponds with the number of stages. 
   For example, according to the above-mentioned terminal-mounting, the wire harness W shown in  FIG. 21  can be obtained. This is the wire harness in which the terminals t are inserted from the back of the cavities s in like manner as the wire harness W by the press-clamping terminals. Accordingly, when a mode of operation capable of mounting the press-clamping terminals t in the connector housings C for the press-clamping terminals is set, the press-clamping terminals and the connector housings C can be used in common. Further, when there are the empty cavities s, not only the press-connecting terminals but also the press-clamping terminals can be also inserted (mounted) in the empty cavities s. 
   Other examples of the retaining jigs  14  are shown in  FIG. 22  and  FIG. 23 . In this arrangement the jigs  14  are provided with the protruding pins (pushing-up pins)  83 . Namely, recesses  14   b  are formed under the jig base  14 ′, and pushing-up plates (protruding jigs)  81  with the above-mentioned pins  83  are fitted in the recesses  14   b  under a condition of free elevation. The plates  81  are designed to be pushed up by the air cylinders  82 , and the pins  83  are designed to be retracted from the cavities  14   a  by the biasing of springs  86 . 
   In this mode of operation, the pushing-up plates  81  and the pins  83  are pushed up by the elevation of the piston rods  82 ′ of the air cylinders  82  as shown in  FIG. 22(   b ), and the terminals t are pushed out (protruded) from the cavities  14   a  by the pins  83  and delivered to the inserting jig  71 . 
   Even if the cavities s of the connector housings C are changed from  FIG. 23(   a ) to  FIG. 23(   b ) (even if the width of the cavities is changed from A to B (A&lt;B)), by installing the pins  83  on the retaining jigs  14  like this, only changing the jigs  14  is required to correspond with the connector housings C. 
   By contrast with the mode of operation of  FIG. 12  not only must the jigs  14  be changed but also the pushing-up plates (protruding jigs)  81  with the pins  83  from the air cylinders  82  must be changed. This requires a tool-changing mechanism. It becomes a working in the base stand in hand-working, and troublesome. 
   Another example of the inserting jig  71  is shown in  FIG. 24  and  FIG. 25 , in which transfer mounting guides  72   b  are provided on the lower face of the jig  71  on both sides of the cavities  72 . As shown in  FIG. 26 , in the absence of the guides  72   b , the presence of the shutter  84  creates gaps between the connector jig  14  and inserting jig  71 . If a twisting force is generated in the electric wires when the terminals t are pushed up from connector jig  14  by the pins  83 , the terminals t are subject to rolling by the twisting force as shown by the arrow mark and there is a risk this may cause a delivery miss. However, as shown in  FIG. 24  and  FIG. 25 , the terminals t are guided by the guides  72   b  during the transfer from the connector jig  14  to the inserting jig  71 . In this way, the terminals t are smoothly transferred from the cavities  14   a  of the connector jig  14  to the cavities  72  of the inserting jig  71  without rolling. 
   Further, if the width of the cavities  14   a  of the connector jigs  14 , the width of the cavities  72  of the inserting jig  71 , and the width of the cavities s of the housings C are selected to be enlarged in this order, the terminals t having a narrowed transverse width are inserted in the broader cavities in turn, and the inserting action becomes smooth. 
   Further, if the press-clamping can be carried out in the retaining jigs  14 , a similar effect as the above-mentioned press-connecting can be obtained in the press-clamping terminals. 
   As the present invention is the retaining jigs above, the press-connecting and the like are carried out in the jigs and the terminals can be mounted on the connector housings, the press-connecting terminals and the press-clamping terminals can be mounted on the I connector housing, and the common-usability of the housing and reduced costs can result. Thus, the costs of electric wires with a connector, for example, a wire harness, can be reduced. 
   It is noted that the foregoing examples have been provided merely for the purpose of explanation and are in no way to be construed as limiting of the present invention. While the present invention has been described with reference to certain embodiments, it is understood that the words which have been used herein are words of description and illustration, rather than words of limitation. Changes may be made, within the purview of the appended claims, as presently stated and as amended, without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention in its aspects. Although the present invention has been described herein with reference to particular means, materials and embodiments, the present invention is not intended to be limited to the particulars disclosed herein; rather, the present invention extends to all functionally equivalent structures, methods and uses, such as are within the scope of the appended claims. 
   The present disclosure relates to subject matter contained in priority Japanese Application Nos. HEI-11-048767, filed on Feb. 25, 1999, HEI-11-143090, filed on May 24, 1999, HEI-11-143463, filed on May 24, 1999, HEI-11-143212, filed on May 24, 1999, and HEI-11-143448, filed on May 24, 1999, which are herein expressly incorporated by reference in their entireties.