Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
~'hi~ ~n~-en+uion rela-tes to a proces~ and ~pparatus where~
b~ a pl~ralit~ o~ wires may be handled simul-taneou~ly ~or
their termination, ~or example to a multi;pin connec+or.
One of the principal problem~ a~sociated with the lab
rication of any wiring system o~ substantial complex-lt~ is the
necessity ~or the termination of individual T.rire~ to co~nec~ors
and other similar electrical componentsO ~aturally, when cach
wire must be indi~idually soldered to the a.pp~opriate ter~lnal
p~n, the labor cost associatea ~Tith ~he fabrication or ~vhe
electrical ~stem becomes of major importance. ~urthe~, the
indi~idual soldering operations can o~ten resull i~ mi~ake~
and defective terminations simply becau~e o~ the number of in~
di~idual operations in~ol~red. ~he proper placement o~ e~ch wire
~elative to the appropriate pin, the ex~ct location o. the ~older
bead and the preYention of electrical paths bet~een adjace~t ~iires
and pins ar~ important requirema~ts ~or each ~ire termination. I'
is ~urther advantageous to ~ave terminal sleeves asæocia~ed ~ith
each terminal connection ~or strength, insula~ion9 protection
ana ~i~ormity o~ the connection. All of these conditions pre-
ferably sho~d be met ~or each termina~ created~ ~hus~ each ~ire
~erm-'.nation must be accurately and yet rapidl~ perlormed i~l order
that a competitive and reliable system may ~e created~
~he present invention assists in accurate and simultaneous
prep2ration o~ a plurality of wires and provides for more e~act
positio~in~ o~ each individual wire with its proper terminal pinO
~urth~r, the system provides, if reguired, for the use o~ individ~
ual '~e~minal sleeYes abo~ each wire termination~ This proceduYe
~or the termination o~ ~ pluralit~ of wires ~rith a multi~pln
con~ector or other elec~r~cal compo~ent help~ r~duce the labor
~03ts, asse~bly time, possibility o~ errors during asse~bly, and
possibility o~ de~ective terminationsO ~urther, terminal sleeves
may be employed without causin~ ~rayin~ and buckling o-~ the wire
ends during the ~ositioning o~ the wires within the sleeves.
More speci~ically, the process and apparatu~ o~ the in~en~
tion allow the po~itionin~ o~ a pluralit~ o~ ter~i~al ~leeves ~or
the receipt o~ individual wires be~ore these wires are cut to
the appropria~e length and ~tripped~ Once the wi~es are posit:io~
ed within the sleeves~ they may be sirnultaneousl~ or indi~idually
cut and stripped i~ preparation for ~ermination with a m~ti~
pl~ connector. When the te~minal ends o~ the indi~idual wires
have been preparedS the wires and ~leeves ma~ be transported to~
~5 gether to a positio~ adjacent ~o the mul-ti~pin con~ector~ The
sIeeves mag then be wiped over the terminal ends o~ the wires
and moved onto the connector pins in a single mot10n. In this
wiping process, the ~ilaments o~ eac;l str~pped wire are dra~m
~ogether withi~ the sleeve and held with the appropria~e pi~.
~he slee~es ma~ be heat shrinkable and each contain a solder
beaa. Such terminal slee~es are disclosed in the ~.ietmore
~ited States ~etters Patent ~o. 3~243~211. ~hus, soldered
and insulated terminations may be createdO
To accomplish this ~imult~neous handling o~ a large ~umber o~
~5 wires, a block hereinafter re~erred to as an "identification bloc~'~
i~ pro~ided i~ which each wire is positioned so that it is ready
~or ali~nment with a desired pin o~ a multi pin connector -Irhen
~(3~
required~ ~h~ iden~i~ication block i~ adapted to accept and
retain terminal sleeves through ~Jhich the wires may pas~O Onc~
the wires ~re positioned9 the~ ~ay be cut to length~ stripped of
a l~ngth o~ insul~tion ~nd po~itioned adjacent the appropriate
connector pins or other connector device~. ~n entire set of
wires can be simultaneously subjected to these step~ becau~e o~
the prior po~itioning of the wires in the identifioation blockO
~urther, t~e identificatlon block can be u~ed ~imultaneou~l~ to
~ipe the pl~ality o~ ter~linal ~lee~es al~ng the wi~a to the cut
an~ stripped end~ ~hereo~ and over the connector pin~ o~ the
multi-pin connector. ~ wire clamp is also inclucled to work
conjunc~ion ~Jith ~he identificatio~ block to re~ist lon~ituclina~
mo~ement of th~ wires through the identi*ication block in one
direction and to p~omote relati~e longitudinal moYement of the
~ires through the identi~i~atio~ block i~ ~he other di~e~tionO
~ccoraingly, the pre~ent inventio~ pro~ides a method ~or the
texmin2tio~ of a pluralit~ o~ insula~ed ~ires ~o a plurality of
conductive elements in~luding the steps o~
threading the wires through a plurality o~ ter~inæl sleeves
r~tained in fixed position~ relative to o~e anot~er so ~hat the
ends o~ the ~ire~ e~tend be~ond ~he sleeve~;
cu~ting the extendi~g end~ of the wires at a distance ~rom
~he ter~ln~l ~lee~es;
~tripping a length o~ ins~ation from the ends of ~he wire;
po~itio~ir~g the wires 50 ~hat the stripped ends are capable
o~ jlL~taposition ~ith individual elements to ~Ihich they are to
be termi~ate~; a~d
5 ~:~
~ovin~r t!le te~mlnal ~leaves ~lm~ltaneou~ly onto the
elements while maint.ainin~ the position o~ the wir0s to ~uY.ta-
position of the stripped ends of the wires witk the elements
~or ~he termin~tion o~ the wires to the elements in the
~e~minal slee~esO
~he invention ~urther provides an iden~l~ication blocl~ ~o
aid in the termination o~ a plurality o~ wires ~lth a mul-tl-p~n
co~nector, comprisîng
a ~irst elongate member h~ g a ~ir3t reoes~ o~ o~e
sur~ace thereo~;
~eoond elo~ate member ~aving a ~econd rec~ss on one
~ur~ac~ thereo~;
mea~s for ~oining said ~irs~ and ~con~ elo~gate membe~s
togethe-r su~h that the ~irst and second reces~es are a~taposed,
the rece~ses together ~orming a cavity ~or receiving terminal
sleeve~; a~d
mea~s ~or positioning the terminal slee~es wi~hin the
c~v~ uch that the termi~al slee~es may be moved simul~a~e~
~usl~ onto the connector pins o~ a multi--pin connector9
One ~orm o~ apparatu3 constructed i~ accordance with t~e
~vent~'Qn, and a process ~o~ its use i~ accordance with the
in~e~tion, will now be described, b~ ~ay of example only, with
reference ~o the accompa~ying dra~ings9 i~ which:
~igure 1 is a ~ront elevation o~ an iden~ification block o~
2~ the present inventionO
Figure 2 is a ~ront elevation D~ a ~ire ~lamp o~ the
present i~re.ntion~
.
.
- 5 -
~igur~ ~ is a top~iew o~ the laenti~ication blo~k and ~Jire
clamp o~ ~ig~res 1 and 2, as~embled together with a plurali~y
o~ wires positioned therein.
~i~uu~e 4 i~ a cross-sectional side view talren along line
4-4 o~ ~igpre 3.
Fi~ure 5 is a plan ~iew o~ the ide~ti~ication block o~
~igure 1 with terminal ~leeves and wires .in place and with the
upper member thereof remo~ed.
~igure 6 i~ a plan ~iew o~ a holder employsd ~o position
1~ the identification block o~ ~igure 1 and clamp of Fi~re 2 ~or
~ipint-~ o~ the ~ermi~al sleeve~ onto a multi-pin co~ector.
~igure '7 ~s a oross-sectional æide ~iew taken alo~g line
? 7 o~ ~igure 6 with the upper me-m'~er of the ide~ti~ication
block rotated out o~ the -way~
Tu~nin~ now to the dra~Jin~s, and speci~ically to ~igure 1,
an identi~ication block, generall~ d~ignated 10? is disclo~ed~
~he identification bloc~ 10 includes an upper elongate member
12 and a lo~Jer elonga~ed member 1~ hinged together about a pin
16. I~ ~igure lg the ide~ti~ication block 10 iSi sho~n ~n the
closed position~ The upper elo~gate mel~ber 12 iæ illustrated
in the open position by phantom line~ 18. The lower elongate
member 14 i~ a relatively thin, substantially rectangular bar
ha~ing a lug 20 e~tending upwardly therefrom to accommodate the
p~n 16. The lower surface of the lower member 14 is slightly
be~relled at 22 as bes~ ~een in ~igure 4 to ~acilitate the
posi~ioning of the identificat~on bloc~ 10 into a ~re cutter or
~tr~pper a~ ~llustrated in co~pending ~pplication
Serial NoO 219~3.
In that application, there is provided a mechanism ~or
cutting and stripping a pluraiit~ of wireæ by means o~ a
single lever ~Ihlch is movable ~n a ~ir~t direction to cut
the plurality of ~ires and in a second direction to strip a
length of insulation ~rom the cut ~ires. ~he mechanj.æm
includes a ba~e su~port and a carriage plvotally mou~ted
~heretoO The carria~e supports the wire ~life and anvil,
~he s~ipper Xnive~, à cam a~rangement ~r actuati~g the
~ire ~nife a~d stripper kni~cs and the contrQl lever. ~n
automatic loGk i~ provided which prevents the carriage fro~
pivoting to strip the wires when the cutting operation is
being performed and also prevents return o~ the ~ire ~i:~e
~nd strippe~ knife ~Jhen the stripping operation i~ being
c~rried out. The mecha~ism may be provided with ~ire
positioning and cl,~mping means~ in which an a~sembly is used
~~ to str~ss the clampin~ me~s to i~sure ~he rete~tio~ o~ the
~ires held ~hereinO
~he lug 20 ext nd3 l~erally beyond the end o~ ~h~
~0 lower member 14 to ~orm ~ locating ton~ue 24~
The upper elon~ate me~ber 12 i~ also a substantialltJ
rectangular block having clevis lugs 26 a~d 28 e~tending ~o
c~operate wit,h pin 16. ~he lug 20 as~ociated with the lo~Jer
member 14 is ~ized to ~it be~Jee~ the cle~ lugs 26 and 28 to
2~ ~orm the hinge between the upper member 12 and the lo~er member
14. ~t the other end of the upper member 12, a slot 30 is prov~-
ded centrally within the uppar member 12 to receive a latching
~ 7
assemblyp ~e~erally d~si~nated 32~ ~hus~ mean~ ~or ~oinin.g the
upper and low~r ~'ongate members 12 and 14 are provided. The
810~ 30 e~tends beyond the latchin~ a~sembly 32 to ~orm a groove
capable o~ receiving a locating tongueO
The latchin~ assembly ~2 includes a latch ~4 pivotally
mounted on a pin ~6 extending across the notch 30 through the
u~per member 12~ The pi~ 36 allo~Js pivo~al motion o~ the latch
~4 in order that a hook 3~s formed on the 10~Jer end of the latch
34, might engage the lower member 14. ~ sprin~ 40~ sized to ~it
~ithin a recess 42 in the slot 30~ biases the latch 34 toward the
clo~ed ~o~21tionO ~he spring 40 e~tends ~rom the recess 42 to
a holo 44 proviaed ~n the upper member 120 '~he latch ~ exte~ds
up~ardly ~rom the slot 30 ~o allow m~nual actuation o~ the
latcl~ assembly 32.
~he matin~ sur~aces o~ the upper and lower members 12 a~d
14 are generally planar and are in 3u~taposition when the identi-
-- ~ic~tio~ block 10 is closedr Provided in each mating surface
a recess~ The recesses are aligned and together ~o~m a cavity
~or receivi3:lg and holding terminal sleevesO T~e recess conii~-
rat~on~ are bex~ seen in ~igures ~ and 5O In the lower member 1
a rec~Gangular recess 46 egtends acro~ the ~?ire recei~ing por~ion
o~ the lo~er member 14 and is open to the rear o~ tha lower
member 14~ The terminal sleeves simply re~t ~ithin this
rectangular recess 46 a~ best seen ~n ~igure 5. The terminal
~5 ~leeves are prevented ~rcm moving forward relati~e to the
i~ent~ica-,ion block 10 by th~ ~ron~ ~rall 48 o~ the rectangular
~ecess 45O Semicylindrical cha~nel~ 50 e~tend forward ~rom the
ti~
irorlt ~11 43 o:e the recta~ lar rece~s 46 to the ~ro:r~t
sux~ace o~ the lo~er member 14. ~he channels 50 receive
wires inserted through the id~ntificatio~ block 10 a~
will be described below. ~ chan~lels 5C) are ~lared at
52 ~o ~acili~at.e the e~try o~ the wire s into the chaILnels
~Oc
~he upper rectangular recess S~ ls substant~ally
iden~lc~l to the lower rectan~lar recess ~6. ~Iowever9
~ ~calloped ~idge 5~ extends :Erom the sur:~ace o:E the upper
re~tangul~r rece~s 54. The ~call~ped ridge 56 ~clude~
arcllate ~ concave 3l~r~ace~ extendi~g i~ ~erie~ acro~s the
uppeX rectaxl~,ular recess 5~ hese arCuate ~ aces recel~e
the ~everal ~erminal slee~e~ to allow ~heir accurate
positioniYl,g la~erally within ~he ',ol;al ca~ity ~ormed by the .
upper and lower recesse~ thereby providing mea~s ~or
positloning termin~l slee~es in the eavlty. The size o~
-~ the reoesses 46 and 54, the 3lumber of channels 5û a~d
~he n~ber9 ~izP and
., g ~
~5~
~pacing o~ the arcuate sur~aces o~ t~e scalloped rldge 56
ar~ designed with the multi-pin connector~ in mind~ As will
be ~een below~ the terminal sleeves are to be positioned
so that th~y may be i~erted simultaneously o}~to a row o~
~onnector pin~ ~ithout indiv.idual realignment o~ the term~nal
sleeves.
A wire id~nti~ication card 58 pre~e~ably o~ an
i~e~pensive and easily machined pla~ti~ ma-terial is positioned
on the fro~ o~ th~ upper membe~ 12 as see~ in ~igures ~ and
4. ~he ~ixe identification card 58 iS inset into the upper
member 12 i.n order that it will not æ~tend ~orwa~d beyond
the front sur~ace o~ t~e identiflcation block 10~ ~he wire
identi~ication ca~d 58 is ~imply and removabl~ ~a~tened to
the upper member 12 by conventiol~al ~astening means 60. ~.
r~ce~s 62 r.~ay conve~iently be pro~ided in the ~ace o~ the
wi~e lde~-tification card 58 in which color coded ~i~es 64 a~e
positionedO Holes e~.te~ding through the lower portio~ o~ t'~e
identi~ication card 58 receive the color coded ~ires 640
Gorrespo~ding holes are provided partiallv through the upper
~o por~ion o~ the iden~ification card 58 to ~imilarly receive
the opposite end~ of the color coded ~ires 64~ hi~ way9
Y~rious i~de~ing patterns ~ay be pro~ided using the same
identi~icatio~ block 10. ~he card 58 can be easily removed
~rom the ide~ti~ication block 10 and the wire~ either replaced
or a new pre~iousl~ assembled ~denti~icatio~ card 58 substituted
~here~or. The positioning of the color coded wire~ 64 is such
-- 1 0 ~
~3
~hat e~ch correspond to a circul&r passageway ~ormed b~
~atin~ channel~ 50 located in both the upper and lc~7er
members 12 ancl 14. It rem2ins fo~ the operator to ~imply
match -~he color co~ing o~ the wires 64 when threading an
identi~ication block~
~ ~ire clamp~ generally designated 66 is illustrated
i~ Fig~e 2~ ~he wire clamp 66 i3 ~onstructed i~ a ~ashion
similar t~ tha~ o~ the idellti~ication block lOo An upper
jaw 68 ~d a lower jaw 70 a~e hinged a~ pi.n 72. ~he upper
Ja~ G8 i5 shown open i~ phan~om in Fi~ure ~ A lu~ 74
e~ends upwardly ~rom thc lower jaw 70 to cooperate wi~h
clevi~ lu~s 7~ and 78 about pin 72 to form a hi~u,eO- The lug
7~ e~tends in a tongue 80 laterally from the end o~ the wire
cl~mp 66 to provide p~acement o~ the ~ire clamp 66 as will be
described belowO ~ ~ubstantially identiGal lat~hing a~sem~ly
~2 to the latching assembly 3~ ~f the.ide~ifica~ion b10ct~
10 ts employed ~ith the wire clamp 66~ The latching assemblg
82 incl~des a latch 84 pivo~ed about a pin 86 eæt~nding
across a groove 88 in the upper j~w ~8. ~ ~iasin~ spring ~0
biases the latch 84 into the locked positio~ as shown in
~igur~ 2~
~o clamp wire~ ~etween the jaws 68 and 70, ~a~ities
ar¢ provided i~ each mating suL~ace o~ the Jaws 68 a~d 70
~or ~ecei~ing resilient clamping elements g2 a~d ~4. These
clampi~g elements ~2 a~d 94 nay be o~ a resilien~ rub~er or
plæs~ic materi~l. Polyurethane i~q e~ployed in the pre~erTed
embodimen~. ~he ~esilie~lt clamping elements ~2 and ~4 are
~5 ~ ~ 8 ~
~f ~u~icie~t thickness -to provide resilienc~ ~o~ the
~lampi~g o~ wire~ therebetween~ Ho~7ever, the~ must al~o
provide su~ficient compressive ~esis~ance a~ais$ the wires
po~itioned ~herebet~7een to prevent longitudinal movement
o~ the ~dividual wires during stripping o~ the lnsulatio~
~om one end~ ~he ~idth of -the re~ilient olampi~g element~
92 and 94 ~s intended to be su~icient ~or the clampin~ o~
the e~ire ~an developed in using the correspondin~ ident:i-
~icatlon block 10. Channels 96 and ~8 are cu~ ~rom eith~r
jaw 68 a~a 70 to pro~ide unobstructed passage o~ the wlres
into and a~a~ ~rom the resilient ~la~pin~ elomen~ 92 and
~o
~he ide~ti~ica~ion block 10 v~ ~igure 1 and the
~re cla~p 66 o~ ~îgure 2 are designed to be posi~loned side
~y side a~ seen in ~igures 3 a~d 4~ ~ locatin~ p~n 100 ~
prov~ded through the uppe~ 3a~ 68 o~ the ~ire ¢lamp 65~ ~he
-- pi~ 100 exte~d~ ~rom the ~ur~ace a~jacent the îdenti~ication
block 1~ and is rece~ved b~ hole 10~ e~tendîng through the
upper member 12 o~ the identi~îcation blGc~ 10~ ~he ~d~ti~i-
c~tion block lo and the wlre clam~ 66 are al~o retained rela-
tive to one anothal~ b~ the wi~e~ which e~te~d through sa~h
m~ch~ni~mO The coo~eration ~e~ee~ the wire cl~p 66 which
tightly reta~ns the ~ires and the ide~ti~icat~on bloc~ 10
which allow~ free long~tudlnal moveme~t o* the wire.s through
2~ the terminal ~lee~es make~ it possîble ~or the wi~e~ to be
ii~ed relative to the identificatio~ blo~k 10 ~he~ ten~ile
i58R
loadi~s are placed o~ the end~ o~ the wi~e~ egtendi.~g ~rom
the back side o~ the identifi~ation bloc~ lOo ~t the same
time9 the ider~tification block lO may be moved directly a~ay
f~om the wire clamp 66 such that the terminal slee~es will wipe
~oward the end o~ $he wires e~tending therefromO
~he terminal sleeve~ 104 are, ~ the presant pre~erred
embodimerl~7 o~ heat shrinkable material ~ormed into
substan~ially cylindrical hollow tubes~ I~ the presen~ embod.~-
men~, the terminal ~leeves 10~ are trans:~ently adherent to a
t~pe lO&o The -~ape 106 aimply eætenas a.¢ross the sur~ace o~
the lower rectang~ilar reces8 46 as ~een in ~igure~ 4 and 50
~he loading o~ the termi~al ~leeves 104 in this marLner greatly
~acilitate~ the operation of the identi~ication block lO ~n
that indiviaual placement Ol each terminal sleeve 104 is
~5 ~ot re~uired~ Naturally, other co~*iguration~ ~or holdi~g
the termi~al sleeves 104 in a ca~ette are also appl~cabl~ to
~ the pr~sent invention~ Specific channels and rece3ses mag
be proYidsd ~or æuch cassettes i~ either the uPper or lo~er
member o~ the identification block lO where the ~as~ette
cannot iit withi~ the space pro~ided in the preæent embodime~t~
The termin~l sleeve~ 104 are generally sub~ta~tiall~
cylindrical i~ shape and are holl~w to recei~e the wire~. In a
pre~erred em~odiment, the termi~al ~leeves ~4 are made o~ heat
shrinkable material and are provided in-an axpanded ~tate~
- 13 -
A cyl-~ndrical ring o~ ~older 108 is pre~erably employed i~ thc
termin~l sleeves 104 of the present in~ention~ I~ this
~ay, a hot air gun or other heating source may be employed
to both ~hrink the te~ninal sleeves 104 and melt the solder
lO~ about a ~ire terminal as will be la~er discussedO Suc~
heat shrinkable termi~al sleeves 104 including solder rings
are disclosed i~ Wetmore, United ~tates ~etters Patent NoO
3,~43921~
~he procedure ~or properl~ conditionin~ a.lld placing
a pluralit~ o~ wires ~or a~sembly ~ith ~ multi pin connector
employ~ ~he idon~i~icatio~ block lO and the wire clamp 66~
Th~ identi~ication block 10 i~ ~irst loaded with a plurælity
o~ texminal æleeves 104. ~he terminal sleeves are positio~ed
~ithin the lower rectallgular recess 46 adjacent the ~ront
wall 48 thereof~ ~he upper member 12 is then closed and is
held by the latch àsse~bly ~2~ ~he te~inal sleeves 104
--- mag be i~spected during clos~lre o~ the upper member 12 to
insur~ that the terminal ~leeves 104 properly meet with the
sGalloped ridge 56. Once the upper and lower members 12 and
14 are locked together, ~u~icient resistan~e betwee~ the
- terminal sleeve~ 104 a~d the scalloped ridge 56 e~st~ to
preve~t longitudinal motion o~ the term~nal sleeves relati~c
to the ide-nti~ication block lO. The te~mi~al sleeves are
positivel~ prev~nted ~rom movin~ ~orward relat~Ye to the
~dentificat~on block because o~ the front wall 48 of the
recessesO
14 - -
~5)~ ~ 5 ~ ~
Once ~he term~lal ~lee~e~ 104 are positioned within
the identi~ication block 10 and the proper wire identi~ica-
tion card 58 is asse~bled with the identification block 10
a partially stripped cable 110 ma~ be positioned i~ front o~
-.5 the identi~ication block 10 and the appropriate wires 112
thr~aded t~lrough the channels 50 corresponding with si~ rlg
coded ~ires 64. B~ positioning the wires 112 through t~e
channels 50, the ~lires also pas~ through individual terminal
sleeves 1040 ~ wire Ian as depicted in ~igure 3 will be
~ormed~ It is not important that the wixes be o~ uni~orm
len~th at this ti~e. Consequentl~ a~y convenient length
or lengths may De emplo~ed that ~lill pass well through the
~denti~ication block 10. ~urther, the wires n~ed not be
stripped at this time~ I~ the wires are no~ stripped7 the
1~ wires will ~ot f~ay and buckleO This.i~ the onl~ ~ime i~
the ~erm-i~ation pro~ess when the ends o~ the wires are su~
jected to compressive~longituainal loadin~., Conse~uently~
a~ter the wires are cut and stripped they w~ll not be sv.b~
jected to ~raying and bucklin~.
~o Once the wires are properl~ positioned through the
identi~i~ation block la, the wires 112 axe pulled ~ight and
the wire clamp 66 is employed. The wire clamp 66 ma~ be
positioned adjacent to the ident.i~icatio~ block 10 ~hile open.
In this wa~, the locating pin 1~0 may be i~serted i~ the hole
102 in the ide7lti~ication ~loc~ 10 without disturbing the
~ire ~an~ Once positioned ~ith the ide~ti~ication bloc~ 10
S ~
tho wi.~e c~np S6 ma~ ba clo~ed and locked by means of
the latch as~embly ~20 O~ce both the identi~ication block
10 and ths wire clamp 66 ~re loc~ed9 the wires 112 are
una~l~ to,move relati~e to the wire clamp 66 a~d can move
only longitudinall~ relative to the identi~ication block
10~ Purther, because the clamp 66 rest~ against the iden-
ti~ication block 10, the wires are ~labls to move longitudi-
~ally uhrough the id~nti~iqatlon block 10 toward ths back
gia~ the~eo~. On the other hand, thc wire clamp 66 and the
wires 112 m~y be mo~ed ~orward a~ay ~ro~ the identi~icatio~
~loc~ ~OO
Once the ~ eB 112 ~re held by the identi~ication
block 30 a~d ~he wire clamp 6~9 the enas of the wires 112 may
be conditioned ~or a~sembly ~Iith a ~lti~pin con~ector~ The
15 - positioning ~ the wire~ 112 through the ide~ti~i.¢ation block
10 ~s accomplishad be~ore the wire~ 112 are conditio~ed by
-- cut~ing and stripping. Once positioned as sho~n in ~igure
~, ~he in~ividual wire~ ~12 may be conditioned ~or assembly
~ith a mNlti-pi~ co~nector by cut~ing the wires at a *irs~
2~ distance ~rom the identi~ication block and the sleeve~
positioned thereinO The wires arc typicailg cut in a straight
lineO ~uch a uni~orm cut mz~ be take~ along li~ 114 o~
Figure 3. Followlng the uni~orm cutting o~ the wires 112~
the ~Jires must be stripped o~ a length o~ insulation. This
~5 ma7 be accompli~hed by i~dividually stripping the ~Jires 112
or by using a stripper designed ~o strip many wires at o~e
16 ~
i5J8~
time~ ~ai~r one ~uch cutter-stripper is disclosed in ~he
copendil~g applioation No. 219993. Becau~e the wire clamp 66
pr~ve~s the wire~ 112 from moving longitudlnally through
~he identification block 10 i~ a direction a~ay ~rom
the cabl~ 1109 t~e wires ca~ be ~tripped ~y cutting a~d
pulling the inæulatio~ ~rom the end o~ the wire~ ~he ~ension
indueed in the wires 112 by the str~pping operation is
resi~ted by ~he wire clamp 66 which is held b~ the identi~
~ioation block 10. In order that the wire~ can be
stripped~ the ide~ti~ication block 10 must be held so a8 not
~o mo~e with the ~tripper blædes.
Once conditioned, the wires 112 appear a~ illustrated
in Fig~res 4 and 5. At thi~ time, the wires 112 may be
located for assem`Dl~ with a multi-pin conn~ctorO ~he
~5 pre~ent in~e~tion allows the positioning o~ the co~ditione~
wires 112 ~ithout requiring t~eir removal ~rom the identifi~
~ ~atio~ block 10. hu~, the tedious ta~k o~ inde~ing ths
- ~ires a ~eco~d time ~o meet the proper connector pin~ i~
not required. ~he positioning of the conditioned wire~
2Q 11~ relative to a multi-pi~ connector is illustrated in
~igure 6 D F~u~e 6 ill~strate~ a sophiæticated guide means
for positioning t~Le wires 112 and wipi~g the term~nal
sleeves 104 onto con~ector pins. Naturally, a more
rudimentary guide system may be employedO
17
8~
~he ~uid~ m2an3 ~ generally desi~nated 116 includes a
ba~e 118, a co~lector clamp 120 b~lted thereto b~ mean~ o~
~aste~eræ 122 an~ a plurality o~ guide~ ~or positioning the
identificatioll block 10 and the wire clamp 66~ ~ire clamp
guides 124 and 126 are ~i~ed relati~e to the base 118. ~he
~ire clamp guide 1~ includes a slot 128 ~or ~eceivin~
~he wire clamp ton~ue 80. ~he slot 128 is termi~ate~ to
position the wire clamp 6~ ~ertically wi~hin the ~ire clamp
guide slot 1280 ~t the other e~d o~ the wir~ clamp 66, the
wire clamp ~uide 126 pro~ide~ a locking tongue 130 recei~in~
the e~tended notch 88 o~ the ~rire clamp 66. The locki~
tongue 130 ~e~ates in a broader b~se positioned belo~
the e~te~sions o~ the wirs clamp 6~ to ~ertically po~ition
the wire clamp 66 o~ the locking tong~e 130. In this ~ay, .
the wire cla~p 6~ i~ locked relative to the base 118 yet iæ
æu~ported at an ele~ated pOSl~iOn abo~e the sul~æce o~ t~e
-~ base 118.
~he ide~ti~icatio~ block 10 is similarly associated
~ith i.de~ti~ication bloc~ guide~ 132 and 1~4. ~ slot 136
is provided to receive the locati~g tongue 2~. o~ the iden-
ti~ication b~oc~ 10~ ~he identificatlon block guide 134
includes a locating tongue 138 for cooperating with the
identi~i~ation block n~tch ~00 A support block 140 position~
the identification ~lock 10 ver~ically relati~e to the locating
tongue 138 and include a pin 141 which cooperate~ with a
hole on th~ l~nder3ide o~ the lo~e~ member 14 to pre~er~
mo~iorl of the lo~iJer member 1!~ wnen the upper ~ember 12 i~
~8
opened~ Unl~k~ th~ wir~ clamp g~des 124 a~d 126~ the
identi~icati~ bloc~ guides 132 and 134 are located on a
horizon-tal beam 142 which i~ slidably mounted to the guide
means base ~U8g ~he horizontal beam 142 is positioned to
~lide o~ rai~ed ~lide pad~ 144 near either ~nd thereo~O ~he
slide p~ds 144 axe preferably o~ a low ~rictio~, high r~
æist~nce ~e~r materialO Cent~all~ located beneath the hor-
i~o~al beam 142 is a driv~ mem~er 146~ ~he drlvi~g member
~46 i~ flxad to a ~u~hill~ whioh r~de8 o~ a sha~t (~ot ~ho~m)
which is par~llel to ~he ~lid~ pad~ leve~ 148
extellds ~cro~ the base 118 in a ca~lty pro~ided tharefor~
~he lever 14B ~ pivotally mounted to the drivi~g member 146
and continues to a pi~ot point o~ the ~ar side o~ the base
llBo ~ moving the le~er 1~8 to and ~ro~ the horizun~l beam
142 u~ll be moved parallel to th~ sli~e pads 144. ~his wi.~l
in turn cause ~he ide~ificatio~ bloo~ 10 to move to~rd or
-~ a~a~ ~rom the wire clamp 66~
~ multi~pin ~onn~ctor 150 is illustrated ;~ position
in the connector ~lamp 120. ~ulti~pin connectors 150 typi-
2~ oally ha~e ears 152 e~tending from either end thereo~
'~hese ears 152 a~e held ~y the con~ector ~lamp 120 in slots
154~ h compression clamp 156 ~orces the multi-pin co~nector
15~ against the opposite side of each of the s ot~ ~54~ ~he
~lots 1~4 are ~lightly larger than the ears 152 on the mult~-
2~ p~n connectox 1520 ~his allows easy placement o~ the m~.ti-
pi~ connec~or 150 and provides some resiliPncy to the system
. - 19 ~
.~3~ S ~ ~
~hs~ the ide~ti~lcation block 10 is ru~ agalnæt the multi-
pin connector 1~0. In the deplcted em~odiment9 the multi-,
p~ co~nector 1~0 includes t~o r~ws o:e olosel;y spaced
c~nector pins 158.
When p~sitioDing the identi~ication block 10 and
th~ wir~ clamp 66 ~ith the ~7ires 112 o~ the guide means 116
th~ identi~iQation block 10 and the wir~ clamp 66 are held
to~ether. ~he lever 1~8 i~ moved to a position such that
th~ hori~ntal beam 142 and corr~pond~n~ly th~ identi~ication
~0 bloc~ ~u~de~ 132 and 134 are positioned adjacent the wi~e
cla~p ~uid~s 12~ and 1~6. q`he idanti~ication bl~ck 10 a~d
~he wira clamp 66 may then be easil~ po~itioned on ~he
tongue~ and slots associated with the guide mean~ 116. ~n
cu~ting the wire~ 112 to length9 it i8 advantageous that
~5 the relative dimensio~s o~ the g~ida mean~ be k~pt in mind.
~ci~i~ally9 ~ke~ ~he wires 11~ ~re pr~p~rly cut to length
~~ ~he~ the identi~ication block and the wire clamp ~6 are
poslt~.on~d o~ ths guide mea~s 116, the ends o~ the wires will
be capable o~ being in jugtaposition with th~ ap~rop~ate
con~ec-~or pins 158. ~hi~ ~pacing i8 iIlu~trated in ~igure 70
~hen ~ir~t positio~ed on g~ide means, it iæ not important
that the wires 112 be straight in order that $he~ lead d~rec~ly
to the appropriate connector pi~ 1580 Howe~er9 the wires 112
~houla, when straightened, be positioned ~lith ~he stripped
2~ portio~ o~ $he wire 112 ~mmediatel~ adjacen~ tke appropriate
.
~o~nec~or pin 1580
- 20
~ 5 ~
Onee th~ wi~re~ enti~lcation block ~nd wire
clamp a~e posi-~ioned, the le~er 148 ma~ be moved to draw
~ha identification bloc~ 10 away ~rom the wire clamp 56~
:E3ecause the wire cla~np 66 holds the wire~ 112 ~i~mly, 'che
identi*ication ~lo~k 10 w~ll move relati~e to the wire3 112
towa~d the multi-pin connector l~Oo ~y properly dimen~io~ing
the identi~ication block lOs ~he guide mean~ 116 and the
multi-pi~ conMeotor 1~0~ the mo~eme~t o~ the identi~ication
block 10 will be such7 under the in~luence o-~ the lever 148,
that the terminal slee~e~ 104 ~ill wipe along the indi~idual
wires 112 o~to the appropriate aonnector pin~ 1~8~ Such a
co~ditio~ is illu~trated in ~igure 7.. Thu~, regardles~ o~
the condition o~ the stripped ~ires 112~ they will be wi.ped
into strai~h~ path~ leadin~ directly to the appropriate
~5 connector pins 158. ~cGo~dingly, ~th one simple motion o~
the lever 148~ the ~irs~ 112 are st~aightened and i~de~ed t~
~he approp~iate connector pin 1580 ~urther~ ths terminal
slee~e 104 is ~aused to be positioned o~er the ju~taposed
~ire a~d con~ecto~ pi~o ~he tedio~s9 repetiti~e and o~te~
improper inde~ing and soldering individually of the various
connector pins is thereby avoidedO
~n the present ~mbodiment, the t~rmknal ~leevs~
10~ arc both heat shrinka~le and contain a ~older ri~g 108,
a~nse~ue~ly9 ence the terminal sleeves 104 are positioned
2~ over the ~u~tapo~ed wires 112 and connector pl~s 158t the
upper member 12 o~ ~he identi~ication block 10 may be raised~
- 21
exposing the ~er~nal sleeves 104. A hot air gun 160 may
then be used to heat the terminal 31ee~es 104 to a tempera-
~ure which uill both shrink the heat ~hrinkable material
about the wire 112 and connector pin 158 and melt the solder
ri~g 108 in order that it ~igl1t ~low to create a soldered
connectionO The lo~er member 14 o~ the identification block
10 acts a~ a heat re~lector to aid the ~.hrinking and
soldering process.
Once the solder and terminal sleeve have cooled~ the
wire clamp 66 ma~ be unloc~ed and the wire ~lamp 669 the
identi~ication block 10, the multi-pin connector 150 ~nd
~he now a~ociated wires 112 may be r~mo~ed ~rom the guide
means ll~o The ~everal steps outlined above may then be
repeatea ~or a sec;ond set o~ wires 112~ ~hese wirea may
1~ ~hen be associ2ted ~ith the second row of closely spaced
con~ector pins 1~ using the guide means 116~ It can be
~een in ~ ure 7 that both the wire ~lam~ 66 ana th~ iaenti-
~icatio~ block 10 are held i~ the gulde means in suoh a way
that ~paces are provided beneath each o~ the mechanism3.
~he already attached wires 112 may be positioned beneath the
lower j~w 7û o~ the wire clamp 56 and the lowsr mem~er 14 of
the identi~ication block l~o The multi-pin connector 150
would be turned over ~or this ~econd attaching o~ wires 112
~heretc. ~oth the lower ja~ 70 o~ the ~lire clamp 66 and the
2~ lo~er member 14 o~ the identi~ication block 10 are relatively
thin in order tkat they may fit between the two ~ows o~ wlre~
~ 2~ -
-
~5 ~
l2 leadi!~g t~ the two l~OW~ o~ conrlector pins 158. ~gain7 ~nce
the wires 112 are associated with the second row of cor~Lector pins
1589 the hot air gun 160 may be used to ~hrink the terminal sleeve~
104 and melt the solder r~l~s 108 ~o complete ~he a~sembly o~ the
individual terminals. OrLce comple~ted7 the wire clamp 66 and the
identi~ication block lO ar~ slid ~rom between the two rows o~ wlre~
112~ ~ this time, the operator ~ould start over ~ith a new cable,
cartrid~e o~ terminal sleeves 104 and multi-pin connector 150~
~hu~, a method and appara~us are disclosed which pro~ide ~or
~h& conditionil~g and pl~ceme~t o~ a plurality of wires resulting
~ the æimultaneouæ assembl~ o~ a termi~al. In this ~ay, the
assembly o~ terminals ca~ be accompliæhed more i~Le~pensively with
~reater accurac~ and reliabilit~0
~hile ~us ~ar predominant emphasis hkas been placed upo~ the
pre~erred embodiment o~ this invention, in ~h;ch ter~inal ~leeves
are em~loyea to e~fec~ te~3inations o~ plural ~Yires to multi-pin
connectors~ it will be appreciated that the i~ention is appliGa~
ble to numerous other employment~. ~or one, the identi~ication
bloc~ may se~v~, ~ithout terminal sleeves, as a spacing number
to bring stripped wire end~ lnto juxtaposition with the pin~ to
~hich they are to be tPrminated, ~herea~ter the ~taposed
elements can be bared and a per~1ane~t termina~ion otneI~Jise made7
a~ with a soldering gun. Indeed~ the inven~ion can be employed to
ef~ect terminations to many conductive elements other ~h~,n the
~5 pillS 0~ connectors, e.g~ terminal posts borne by electronic
~eYices~ etcO Agæin~ the invention may be employed to splice
~he ends o~ individual wires~ one to another~ simply
b~ passing wir~ intended ~or s~liced ~oinder ~hrough
. - 2~ ~
indivi~ual ones o~ the passages through the ~acer mem~er
or th~ou~h terminal sleeves disposed in an identification
bloc~9 cutting 2nd stripping the ends as be~ore, and movi~g
the spacing me~ber relati~e to the w~res toward their ~tripped
ends ~o as to bring into jux~aposition the stripped ends o~
each of tho~e wires disposed in a single passage o~ ~he spacer
block. I~ so ~ apo~ed within the passa~es9 the spacer bloc~
may`then be ope~ed and, b~ whate~er mean~, a permanent splice
e~ected. Alternativel~, the spacer ~lock rnay be moved onl~ so
~ar for~ard the stripped endæ o~ the wire~ as to pe~mit their
ready id~nti~ica-tion a~ ends intended for connec~ion~ one to
another, wherea~ter the ends may be connected in any co~-
Yentional ~ashionO 0~ course, as will be apparent to those
skillsd in the art frorn the foregoir~g9 d~sposition o~ plural
1~ wireæ within a single pas~age through the identi~icztion o~
spacing block is not limi-ted in application to the ~ormatio~
-- o~ splices, etc. ~hus, for example, plural wir~ can so be
terminated to æingle co~ductive elements~
~ ~4 -
