Patent ID: 8578597

Claim:
A feed mechanism for a terminal crimping machine that crimps a terminal to a wire, the terminal crimping machine having a crimping zone, said feed mechanism comprising: a feed finger configured to move along a feed stroke, the feed finger being configured to move along the feed stroke in a feed direction to feed the terminal into the crimping zone and a retract direction; a cam having a lift profile, the lift profile of the cam comprising a surface that extends along an entire length of the cam; a push rod comprising a cam follower engaged with the cam, the cam follower being configured to travel along the lift profile of the cam such that the push rod moves in a lift direction, the push rod being mechanically connected to the feed finger and being configured to move the feed finger along the feed stroke in the feed direction when the push rod moves in the lift direction; and a biasing mechanism operatively connected to the push rod to exert a biasing force on the push rod that biases the cam follower of the push rod into engagement with the cam such that the cam follower remains engaged with the cam during an entirety of the feed stroke of the feed finger, wherein the cam follower remains engaged with the surface of the lift profile during an entirety of the movement of the cam both in a direction away from the crimping zone and in a direction towards the crimping zone.