Patent Grant
10581213
The subject matter herein relates generally to crimp tooling for terminal crimping machines for crimping electrical terminals to a wire.
Terminal crimping machines have long been used in the connector industry to effect high-speed mass termination of various cables. It is common practice for the terminal crimping machine to have an interchangeable tooling assembly called an applicator. In general, such terminal crimping machines are referred to as a terminator or press; however, other types of terminal crimping machines may similarly be used, such as a lead maker, a bench machine, or a hand crimping tool. The terminal crimping machines include crimp tooling, such as an anvil and a wire crimper attached to movable ram that is moved relative to the anvil during a crimping stroke to crimp a terminal or connector to an end of a wire. The wire is typically held by a wire clamp during the crimping operation.
However, these known terminal crimping machines are not without disadvantages. For instance, the wire crimper may be slightly offset relative to the anvil during crimping. The offset may lead to poorly crimped terminals, such as due to flashing of the terminal during crimping or mis-forming of the terminal. In some instances, the offset may cause damage to the wire crimper or the anvil.
A need remains for a terminal crimping machine that accommodates and corrects mis-alignment of the wire crimper and the anvil.
In one embodiment, crimp tooling is provided for crimping a crimp barrel of an electrical terminal to a wire that includes an anvil and a wire crimper. The anvil includes a base and a tip with a cradle at the tip for supporting the terminal. The anvil has first and second anvil guide surfaces located relative to the cradle. The wire crimper is configured to be driven by a ram of a terminal crimping machine. The wire crimper has first and second legs on opposite sides of a crimp slot that receives the cradle and the terminal supported by the cradle. The wire crimper defines a crimp profile in the crimp slot configured to form the terminal during crimping. The first and second legs have first and second wire crimper guide surfaces, respectively. The first and second wire crimper guide surfaces are configured to engage the first and second anvil guide surfaces, respectively, to guide a position of the wire crimper relative to the anvil.
In another embodiment, crimp tooling for crimping a crimp barrel of an electrical terminal to a wire is provided that includes an anvil and a wire crimper. The anvil has a front block and a rear block. The front block has a base and a tip with a cradle at the tip for supporting the terminal. The rear block has a channel receiving the front block and a locating surface engaging the front block to locate the front block relative to the rear block. The rear block has first and second anvil guide surfaces located relative to the cradle. The wire crimper is configured to be driven by a ram of a terminal crimping machine. The wire crimper has first and second legs on opposite sides of a crimp slot that receives the cradle and the terminal supported by the cradle. The wire crimper defines a crimp profile in the crimp slot configured to form the terminal during crimping. The first and second legs have first and second wire crimper guide surfaces, respectively, configured to engage the first and second anvil guide surfaces, respectively, of the rear block to guide a position of the wire crimper relative to the front block.
In a further embodiment, crimp tooling is provided for crimping a crimp barrel of an electrical terminal to a wire that includes an anvil and a wire crimper. The anvil has a base and a tip with a cradle at the tip for supporting the terminal. The anvil has first and second anvil guide surfaces located relative to the cradle, which face each other across a gap. The wire crimper is configured to be driven by a ram of a terminal crimping machine into the gap. The wire crimper has first and second legs with corresponding inner edges defining a crimp slot that receives the cradle and the terminal supported by the cradle. The wire crimper defines a crimp profile in the crimp slot configured to form the terminal during crimping. The first and second legs have first and second wire crimper guide surfaces, respectively, on outer edges of the first and second legs. The first and second wire crimper guide surfaces are received in the gap and are configured to engage the first and second anvil guide surfaces, respectively, to guide a position of the wire crimper relative to the anvil.
A terminal feeder 104 is used to feed terminals 120 to a crimping zone 106. In the illustrated embodiment, the terminal feeder 104 is an electrically actuated feeder; however other types of feeders, such as pneumatic feeders, cam and linkage feeders, and the like, may be used depending on the type of terminal crimping machine. A wire feeder (not shown) may be used to feed a wire 122 to the crimping zone 106.
The applicator 102 is coupled to a frame 112 of the terminal crimping machine 100. Crimp tooling 114 is coupled to the applicator 102 or directly to the frame 112 for crimping the electrical connectors or terminals 120 to an end of the corresponding wire 122 in the crimping zone 106. The applicator 102 may be removed and replaced with a different applicator, such as when a different size/type of terminal 120 is to be terminated, when a different size/type of wire 122 is to be terminated, when the applicator 102 is worn or damaged, or when an applicator having a different configuration is desired. As such, multiple applicators 102 may be used with each terminal crimping machine 100, and the different applicators 102 may have different set-up configurations.
In an exemplary embodiment, the crimp tooling 114 includes a wire crimper 126 and an anvil 128. The anvil 128 supports the terminal 120 and the wire 122 during the crimping process and the wire crimper 126 forms the terminal 120 around the wire 122 to mechanically and electrically connect the terminal 120 to the wire 122 during the crimping process. During operation, the wire crimper 126 is actuated or driven through a crimp stroke by a driving mechanism or actuator 130 (
The wire crimper 126 is movable in an advancing direction and a retracting direction relative to the anvil 128 during the crimp stroke. The wire crimper 126 is cyclically driven through the crimp stroke from a released position at a top of the crimp stroke to the crimping position, such as through a bottom dead center position at a bottom of the crimp stroke, then returning to the released position. The crimp stroke has both an advancing or downward component and a return or upward component. Optionally, the wire crimper 126 may include both a conductor crimper for crimping the terminal 120 to the conductor of the wire 122 and an insulation crimper for crimping the terminal 120 to the insulation, such as the jacket, of the wire 122.
During operation, the wire crimper 126 is advanced downward toward the anvil 128 to an initial contact position, in which the wire crimper 126 initially contacts the terminal 120. The wire crimper 126 continues downward in the advancing direction to the bottom dead center position. As the wire crimper 126 is advanced from the initial contact position to the bottom dead center position, the wire crimper 126 moves through a crimp forming stage of the crimp stroke. The terminal 120 is formed around the wire 122 during the crimp forming stage. The crimp tooling 114 changes the shape of the terminal 120 around the wire 122 during the crimp forming stage. The crimping of the terminal 120 to the wire 122 occurs during the downward component of the crimp stroke. The wire crimper 126 then returns upward to the released position at the top of the crimp stroke. At some point during the releasing stage of the crimp stroke, the wire crimper 126 separates from the terminal 120, referred to as the separation position of the wire crimper 126. Due to the elastic nature of the metal material of the terminal 120 and the wire 122, the terminal 120 and the wire 122 have some slight spring back after the wire crimper 126 releases from the bottom dead center position. In the released position, the wire crimper 126 is positioned away from the anvil 128 and from the terminal 120.
The wire crimper 126 includes a main body 134 at a top 136 of the wire crimper 126. The main body 134 is configured to be coupled to the ram 132 (shown in
The crimp slot 140 is defined by first and second legs 144, 146 on opposite sides of the crimp slot 140. The legs 144, 146 have inner edges 148 that bound the crimp slot 140 and define a crimp profile 150 adjacent a top of the crimp slot 140. The legs 144, 146 have outer edges 152 opposite the inner edges 148. The inner edges 148 may generally face each other across the crimp slot 140 while the outer edges 152 may face away from each other.
The crimp profile 150 forms the terminal 120 during crimping and defines the shape of the crimped terminal. For example, the inner edges 148 engage the walls of the terminal and form the walls against the crimp profile 150 during the crimping process. The walls of the terminal 120 may be folded over during the crimping process and pressed into the wire 122. The crimp profile 150 may be shaped to form an open barrel crimp, such as an F-crimp, along the terminal 120. In an exemplary embodiment, the inner edges 148 may be formed by an electric discharge machining (EDM) or a wire EDM process to define a precision crimp profile 150. The inner edges 148 may be formed by other removal processes, such as milling or grinding or by 3D printing or forging of the wire crimper 126.
The anvil 128 is used to support the terminal 120 and/or the wire 122 during the crimping process. In an exemplary embodiment, the anvil 128 is a multi-piece structure assembled together to form the anvil 128. Alternatively, the anvil 128 may be a single piece structure. In the illustrated embodiment, the anvil 128 includes a front block 160 and a rear block 162. The front block 160 supports the terminal 120 during the crimping process and the rear block 162 locates and holds the front block 160. The rear block 162 is configured to be coupled to the frame 112. Having the front block 160 removably coupled to the rear block 162 allows replacement of the front block 160, such as when damaged or when used to support a different terminal.
The rear block 162 includes a channel 164 that receives the front block 160. The rear block 162 includes one or more locating surfaces 166 for locating the front block 160 relative to the rear block 162. For example, the locating surfaces 166 may define one or more walls of the channel 164. In an exemplary embodiment, the rear block 162 includes a top plate 168 coupled to the top of the rear block 162. The top plate 168 may be used to support a portion of the terminal 120 and/or the wire 122. For example, the top plate 168 may support the mating end of the terminal but is not used to support the portion of the terminal being crimped. The top plate 168 is removable from the rear block 162 to allow replacement of the top plate 168, such as when damaged or when used to support a different terminal.
In an exemplary embodiment, the rear block 162 includes first and second anvil guide surfaces 170, 172. Optionally, the anvil guide surfaces 170, 172 may be positioned near the top of the rear block 162; however, the anvil guide surfaces 170, 172 may be located at other positions in alternative embodiments. The anvil guide surfaces 170, 172 face each other across a gap 174. The anvil 128 receives the wire crimper 126 in the gap 174. In an exemplary embodiment, a portion of the front block 160 is positioned in the gap 174.
The anvil guide surfaces 170, 172 are used for guiding the wire crimper 126 during the crimping process. The anvil guide surfaces 170, 172 are used to center or orient the wire crimper 126 relative to the anvil 128, such as relative to the front block 160. If the wire crimper 126 is off-center during crimping, the wire crimper 126 may engage one or both of the anvil guide surfaces 170, 172, which served to re-center the wire crimper 126 relative to the anvil 128. During some crimps, the wire crimper 126 may engage only one of the anvil guide surfaces 170 or 172. During other crimping processes, the wire crimper 126 may be appropriately positioned relative to the anvil 128 such that the wire crimper 126 does not engage either anvil guide surface 170 or 172. For example, the first and/or second wire crimper guide surfaces 154, 156 may engage the first and/or second anvil guide surfaces 170, 172, respectively, to position the wire crimper 126 relative to the anvil 128 during initial set-up of the crimp tooling 114 and the crimp tooling may generally maintain relative positions during subsequent crimps without the need for alignment.
The front block 160 includes a base 180 at a bottom 182 of the front block 160 and a tip 184 at a top 186 of the front block 160. The base 180 is configured to be coupled to the rear block 162. For example, the base 180 may be received in the channel 164. The base 180 may engage one or more of the locating surfaces 166 to locate the base 180 relative to the rear block 162. The tip 184 includes a cradle 188 at the top 186 for supporting the terminal 120. The cradle 188 holds a portion of the terminal 120 during the crimping process. The terminal 120 is pressed against the cradle 188 during the crimping process. Optionally, the cradle 188 may be concave; however, the cradle 188 may be flat or convex in alternative embodiments.
The front block 160 includes outer surfaces 190 between the cradle 188 and the base 180. Optionally, the outer surfaces 190 may be generally parallel to each other near the cradle 188 and are flared outward near the base 180. The outer surfaces 190 may have other shapes in alternative embodiments.
In an exemplary embodiment, the wire crimper 126 includes first and second wire crimper guide surfaces 154, 156 configured to interact with the anvil guide surfaces 170, 172, respectively, to guide a position of the wire crimper 126 relative to the anvil 128. In the illustrated embodiment, the wire crimper guide surfaces 154, 156 are provided along the outer edges 152 of the first and second legs 144, 146, respectively. Optionally, the wire crimper guide surfaces 154, 156 may be parallel to each other. As the wire crimper 126 is received in the gap 174 between the anvil guide surfaces 170, 172, the wire crimper guide surfaces 154, 156 may engage the corresponding anvil guide surfaces 170, 172 to position the wire crimper 126 relative to the anvil 128 (for example, side-to-side positioning). The wire crimper 126 is configured to be shifted in a first direction when the first wire crimper guide surface 154 engages the first anvil guide surface 170 and the wire crimper 126 is configured to be shifted in a second direction, opposite the first direction, when the second wire crimper guide surface 156 engages the second anvil guide surface 172.
In an exemplary embodiment, the outer edges 152 of the legs 144, 146 include lead-ins 158 at the bottoms of the legs 144, 146. The lead-ins 158 are positioned below the wire crimper guide surfaces 154, 156. The width of the wire crimper 126 at the lead-ins 158 is less than the width of the wire crimper 126 along the wire crimper guide surfaces 154, 156. In an exemplary embodiment, the rear block 162 includes lead-ins 176 to the gap 174 at the top of the rear block 162. The lead-ins 176 are positioned above the anvil guide surfaces 170, 172. The width of the gap 174 at the lead-ins 176 is greater than the width of the gap 174 along the anvil guide surfaces 170, 172. The lead-ins 158, 176 prevent stubbing of the wire crimper 126 as the wire crimper 126 is advanced into the gap 174. In an exemplary embodiment, the first and second anvil guide surfaces 170, 172 are separated by a first distance and the first and second wire crimper guide surfaces 154, 156 are separated by a second distance. Optionally, the second distance may be slightly greater than the first distance to prevent binding of the crimp tooling 114.
The wire crimper 126 is constrained from shifting left or right by the anvil 128. For example, the anvil guide surfaces 170, 172 are positioned immediately outside of the wire crimper guide surfaces 154, 156 to prevent lateral shifting of the wire crimper 126. As such, the crimp profile 150 at the top of the crimp slot 140 is properly centered above the cradle 188 of the anvil 128. Flashing of the terminal 120 during the crimping process is reduced by having the wire crimper 126 properly centered above the anvil 128.
The anvil 128 includes the anvil guide surfaces 170, 172 on the front block 160. In the illustrated embodiment, the anvil guide surfaces 170, 172 are provided on the outer surfaces 190 of the tip 184. For example, the outer surfaces 190 include planar areas 194 parallel to each other defining the anvil guide surfaces 170, 172. The anvil guide surfaces 170, 172 are located near the base 180. The cradle 188 is positioned above the anvil guide surfaces 170, 172. The anvil guide surfaces 170, 172 face away from each other.
The wire crimper 126 includes the wire crimper guide surfaces 154, 156 on the inner edges 148 of the first and second legs 144, 146. For example, the wire crimper guide surfaces 154, 156 may be provided near the bell mouth 142. The wire crimper guide surfaces 154, 156 may be planar surfaces oriented parallel to each other. The wire crimper guide surfaces 154, 156 face inward toward each other.
When the wire crimper 126 is advanced toward the anvil 128, the tip 184 of the anvil 128 is received in the crimp slot 140 between the first and second legs 144, 146. The wire crimper guide surfaces 154, 156 on the inner edges 148 of the legs 144, 146 engage the anvil guide surfaces 170, 172 on the outer surfaces 190 of the tip 184 to guide a position of the wire crimper 126 relative to the anvil 128. If the wire crimper 126 is off-center relative to the anvil 128, the anvil guide surfaces 170 and/or 172 may be used to shift the wire crimper 126 to one side or the other 2 center of the wire crimper 126 relative to the anvil 128.
It is to be understood that the above description is intended to be illustrative, and not restrictive. For example, the above-described embodiments (and/or aspects thereof) may be used in combination with each other. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from its scope. Dimensions, types of materials, orientations of the various components, and the number and positions of the various components described herein are intended to define parameters of certain embodiments, and are by no means limiting and are merely exemplary embodiments. Many other embodiments and modifications within the spirit and scope of the claims will be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reviewing the above description. The scope of the invention should, therefore, be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. In the appended claims, the terms “including” and “in which” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms “comprising” and “wherein.” Moreover, in the following claims, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. are used merely as labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements on their objects. Further, the limitations of the following claims are not written in means—plus-function format and are not intended to be interpreted based on 35 U.S.C. § 112, sixth paragraph, unless and until such claim limitations expressly use the phrase “means for” followed by a statement of function void of further structure.
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