Artos Engineering Company

James J Berres

Robert O Dusel

Harold J Keene

Ragnar Gudmestad

Gerald E Blaha

A machine including apparatus for accurately measuring and inserting into the machine almost any desired predetermined length of insulated wire, a device for cutting the wire to that length and stripping the insulation from the ends of the wire, and apparatus for attaching a terminal to one or both of the stripped ends. The measuring apparatus includes a pair of belts each reeved about a pair of pulleys. From the measuring apparatus the wire passes through a flexible tube and through two linearly aligned grippers, separated by the cutting and stripping device. Once the wire is fed to the proper length, the two grippers grip the wire, and the wire is cut and stripped, creating a lead of the predetermined length. As the wire and lead are drawn back, the stripped ends may be inspected by an inspection device so as to ensure that they are properly cut and stripped before electrical terminals are applied. Each of the two grippers then rotates in the same direction, that is, both clockwise or both counterclockwise, to align the respective end of the wire and the lead with a respective terminal attaching machine. There an electrical terminal is attached to each end unless the inspection device has determined the particular stripped end to be not properly stripped. The gripping means then rotate back to align with each other again and the wire and lead are released.

Lead making machine

A small, simple, accurate, low-cost wire cutting and stripping apparatus includes a wire feed mechanism which periodically feeds a measured length of an insulated wire strand to a wire cutter/stripper mechanism which clamps the wire strand, severs it and scores the insulation, axially separates the wire segment cut from the wire strand and strips the scored insulation during such axial separation. The wire feed mechanism is driven intermittently by a continuously rotating electric motor through an electrically-operated wire feed clutch/brake, the clutch mechanism of which engages in response to an electric signal from a timer switch (start wire feed) and which disengages in response to an electric signal from an electric wire measuring encoder (measure and stop wire feed). The wire cutter/stripper mechanism includes a stationary pair of separable clamps, a movable pair of separable bladed cutter/stripper heads and a movable pair of separable clamps. A barrel cam is periodically rotated for one revolution by the continuously rotating electric motor through a solenoid-operated one-revolution clutch in response to an electric signal from the encoder (wire feed stopped, make one cam revolution). The barrel cam has two cam tracks and drives two linkages. One (clamp/cut) linkage simultaneously closes (and subsequently simultaneously reopens) both pairs of clamps and the pair of cutter/stripper heads. The other (strip/return) linkage extends (and subsequently retracts) the movable pair of clamps and the movable pair of cutter/stripper heads so that the former moves a greater distance than the latter along the wire path.

Wire feeding, cutting and stripping apparatus having clutch-operated

Apparatus is provided for repeatedly cutting segments from a strand of wire or cable and for conveying them to work stations so that either or both ends can be processed to provide a partly or fully finished wire lead or cord. The apparatus comprises: a feed mechanism for moving the free end of the strand in incremental steps along a first path; inboard and outboard laterally spaced apart conveyor units for moving the segments in steps along a second path transverse to the first path, each unit comprising a pair of endless flexible belts having separable soft-faced confronting flights; a separator device for each conveyor unit to periodically separate and reclose the confronting flights; a set of periodically closable and reopenable wire guide members on each side of each conveyor unit and operable by the associated separator device; an independently openable elongated wire guide located between the conveyor units in alignment with the sets of wire guide members; a cutter located between the feed mechanism and the set of wire guide members on the outside of the inboard conveyor unit; and drive mechanisms and a programmable controller for operating the feed mechanism, the conveyor units and their associated separator devices and wire guides, and the cutter in synchronism.

Growing community of inventors

Milwaukee, WI, United States of America

James J Berres