Molex Corporation

Steven F Wright

Eric J Stenstrom

Peter Ingwersen

Robert A Klemmer

Robert W DeRoss

Thomas P Pellegrino

Hasmukh Shah

Ronald Dudek

Stephen R Berry

Joseph Wolyn

Robert William Lucenta

John G Cameron

Burke J Crane

Christopher D Wanha

Jack F Funcik

Douglas L Heisner

Kevin J Urness

Robert A Suthard

Vito A Fusco

Robert E Erklin, Sr

Hans G Krause

Arturo Cervantes

Jerome Dolan

Ove Christian Carlsen

Larry Kurek

Joseph E McGurk

A wire harness handling and storage system particularly suitable for use in connection with automated harness making machines includes a harness unloading mechanism that unloads a completed wire harness from the harness-making machine and a storage cart that receives a plurality of completed wire harnesses in a plurality of storage racks maintained at different elevations on the storage cart. The handling and storage system is adaptable to handle both short wire harnesses about 6 inches in length) to longer wire harnesses (about 10 feet in length) without tangling or damage to connectors applied to the wires of the wire harnesses. For unloading and placing the longer wire harnesses, a gripping mechanism is provided that picks up the wire harnesses and places on the storage cart in a controlled movement. The unloading and gripping mechanisms are linked with a controller knows the length of the storage areas of the cart for proper, high-density loading thereof.

Wire harness handling and storage system

An apparatus for preparing the free ends of individual wires of a multi-conductor cable is disclosed. The apparatus includes a wire nest for separating the individual wires into distinct multiple wire sets and each wire of the wire sets includes multiple conductive strands. A wire stripper is provided in alignment with the wire nest to grip outer insulative coverings of the wires in each set and strip a preselected length of the covering therefrom. A wire twister is provided generally adjacent the wire stripper to engage and twist the multiple strands of each wire and a trimming knife cuts the exposed, twisted wires after they have been twisted.

Wire end preparation apparatus and method

A machine for producing wire harnesses of the type having multiple connectors terminated to the wires of the harness, the connectors being arranged in serial order along the length of the wire harness and some of the connectors being of two-piece construction is disclosed. The machine includes a reciprocating carriage and a nest that retains a lead connector in place during termination and subsequent advancement of the harness wires. The carriage is received within a termination assembly which has different termination members for different connectors.

Wire harness termination apparatus for programmable connectors

A system for manufacturing wire harness assemblies is provided. Each wire harness includes a shielded cable having a plurality of insulated conductors therein, with each conductor being terminated at its respective opposed ends and with the terminated ends being mounted in connector housings. The system includes a plurality of pallets that are movable along a conveyor to work stations at which various assembly steps are carried out. A first station is provided for mounting the cables to the pallet, such that the wires at the opposed ends are mounted in fixtures. A second station may selectively deposit drop wires into fixtures on the pallets. A third station trims and strips the ends of the wires and aligns the drop wires with the cable wires. A fourth station sequentially crimps terminals to the ends of the wires, with the pallet being indexable between successive crimps. The crimp apparatus adjusts to the required crimp height depending on the presence or absence of drop wires and the presence or absence of grounding clips. A fourth station tests for the presence of the terminals and inserts the terminated wires into housings.

Electrical harness assembly apparatus

An apparatus and a process are provided for assessing the quality of crimped electrical terminations of a terminal to a wire. The apparatus includes a strain gauge incorporated into a crimp press for measuring the strain generated in the press during each crimping cycle. The strain gauge is operatively connected to a controller which generates appropriate signals in response to strain measurements that are not within an acceptable range. The crimp press may further be operative to selectively adjust the crimp height or the length of the crimp stroke. The adjustment may be operatively connected to the controller, such that the crimp press is self-adjustiong and accommodates the gradual wearing of the crimp tools.

Crimp height monitor

An improved lead insertion apparatus for randomly inserting crimped wire leads one at a time into a multicircuit connector includes a pair of elongate insertion jaws for longitudinally surrounding and gripping a crimp terminated wire lead. The insertion jaws are actuable by a gripper control between a first open position, a second intermediate gripping position wherein the jaws are axially slideable along the gripped wire lead and a third closed position wherein the jaws firmly grip the lead in a non-slideable manner. The jaws and their gripper control are mounted for axial movement along the wire lead into the insertion station. A drive for the jaws moves the jaws in their intermediate wire gripping position along the wire segment until a proximity sensor senses the tips of the jaws abutting the rear end of the crimp terminal. In response to the sensor the gripper control changes the jaws to their closed position on the wire prior to insertion. The insertion jaws push on the rear end of the terminal and do not rely on the column strength of the wire during insertion of the lead into the connector housing cavity. In a preferred embodiment a programmable housing index module moveable along X, Y and Z axes and a terminal guide jaw assembly are provided for use with the insertion jaws to provide an apparatus capable of randomly inserting the leads into the housing cavities in any order.

Method of inserting a terminated wire lead into a connector cavity

A terminal dereeling apparatus is provided for permitting efficient feeding of terminals into a terminating press. The terminal dereeling apparatus includes a terminal reel mount for permitting the unwinding of a terminal reel with substantially uniform tension throughout the unwinding. A take-up reel is provided in proximity to the terminal reel for efficiently winding the interleaf material disposed between adjacent layers of the terminal strip wound onto the terminal reel. A sensing apparatus, such as a photo-optical sensor is provided in spaced relationship to the terminating press for monitoring the feeding of terminals on the strip of terminals into the terminating press. The sensing apparatus is operative to interrupt the terminating process in response to a variation of the terminal feeding from a specified terminal feeding sequence.

Terminal dereeling apparatus

Automated crimped wire harness fabricator

An improved apparatus and method for feeding a large volume of electrical components to a vision controlled robotic placement apparatus is provided. Electrical components in a reeled pocketed carrier tape are indexed along a dereeling component feeder to a pick up station. Forward advance of the carrier is stopped when an optical sensor in the feeder senses that a depending pocket in the carrier tape is generally positioned at the pick up station. The vision control system on the robot is relied upon to locate the pocket at the pick up station and to locate the individual components presented in the pocket. The components are robotically unloaded from the carrier one at a time and placed on a printed circuit board assembly at a second station with the guidance of the vision control system. As the last component is picked up for placement, the vision control system signals the carrier tape drive to index the next pocket to the pick up station. In accordance with the invention, multiple parts may be presented in each pocket. The carrier tape and feeder are less precise and much less expensive because the vision system is relied upon to perform the location functions required for accurate robotic parts acquisition and placement.

Component feeder apparatus and method for vision-controlled robotic

Disclosed is a method and apparatus for discharging serial arrays of solid components contained in a three dimensional matrix of feeding positions, into a delivery track, one serial array at a time. The matrix of feeding positions is comprised of trays each having a row of component containing channels. The trays are stacked one on top of another, and loaded in a box-like container. The container is lowered, presenting one tray at a time to a plurality of funnel-shaped discharge openings. A shuttle, capable of selectively blocking the discharge openings, is aligned with one opening at a time, and is operative to receive a serial array of components contained in a channel aligned with that opening. Upon receiving the components, the shuttle returns to a home position in alignment with the delivery track, whereupon it discharges the components into the track. The shuttle is indexed along a row of channels, one channel at a time, until the tray is emptied. Thereafter, an adjacent tray containing another row of channels is brought into alignment with the funnel-shaped apertures. The indexing of the shuttle and the trays is repeated until the entire matrix of components is unloaded into the delivery track.

Apparatus for unloading a container having a matrix of storage positions

Several embodiments of a method and apparatus for accurately positioning solid components for a robotic pickup mechanism having a floating gripper head, are described. In a first arrangement, connectors are transported along a guide track, with linear arrays of solid projections depending from each connector received in slots formed in the track. Conveyance of the connector is completed when a leading projection contacts an accurately positioned stop wall located in one of the projection receiving slots. An alignment bar, generally coextensive with the linear array of solid projections, presses the projections against a track wall communicating with the slot. In a second arrangement, a gauge block is elevated to receive the solid projections of the connector, and is thereafter translated to a final loading position adjacent a robotic pickup mechanism. In a third embodiment, a shuttle mechanism for use with a gauge block is disclosed. The shuttle mechanism includes latching arms for retaining the connector against the upper movement of the gauge block, the latch arms being pivotable to clear the top surface of the connector, allowing presentation of the connector to a component pickup apparatus.

Accurate positioning of solid components for a robotic pickup

Disclosed is an improved for dispensing solid members, such as electrical connectors, having extended rigid projections inserted in a penetrable flexible substrate sheet material. The apparatus for dispensing the solid members includes a rotatable drum having a solid surface. The sheet material containing the solid members is pulled across the drum surface by a frictional drive roller, thereby pulling the sheet material radially inwardly past the solid projections, creating a gap between the solid members and the sheet material. Wedge-like finger members are inserted in the gap, to complete removal of solid projections from the sheet material, thereby releasing the solid members for slideable movement along the finger members to a remote work station.

Apparatus for dispensing solid components from a flexible substrate

A terminal crimping machine which, after crimping a terminal onto a wire lead, inserts the terminated wire lead into a terminal receiving recess of connector housing. The machine generally includes a press and die assembly mounted on the press. The die assembly includes a crimp station whereat terminal is crimped onto a wire lead, and insertion station whereat a terminated wire lead is presented, and a housing indexing assembly for supporting a plurality of connector housings and indexing a terminal receiving recess thereof at the insertion station. An insertion assembly is provided for inserting the terminated wire lead into a terminal receiving recess at the insertion station. The improvement in the insertion assembly includes a push member for engaging a terminal crimped on the end of a wire lead and inserting the terminal into the terminal receiving recess and providing guide means mounted on the punch holder above the insertion station for guiding a terminal into a terminal receiving recess.

Crimping and wire lead insertion machine having improved insertion means

A connector assembly machine accepts wires having terminals attached thereto which are loaded manually by an operator, and inserts the terminated wires into predetermined positions, in a multi-cavity connector housing. The housing is indexed to a predetermined sequence of positions relative to an insertion assembly, and wires are arranged in bins adjacent a loading station in an array corresponding to the insertion sequence. Loading of each terminated wire initiates a cycle of operation wherein the terminated wire is gripped at the loading station, transferred to the insertion station, and inserted into the proper housing cavity.

Growing community of inventors

Glen Ellyn, IL, United States of America

Steven F Wright