Western Electric Company, Inc.

At&t Technologies, Inc.

At&t Bell Laboratories

American Telephone and Telegraph, Co.

American Telephone and Telegraph Company, At&t Technologies, Inc.

William A Elliott

Thomas J Taylor

Richard A Greene

Robert P Kennedy

Robert P Poe, Jr

William H Steece

Charles M Beatenbough

A component insertion machine having apparatus for mounting component magazines and arranged for loading components therefrom into the component insertion machine. Shuttle apparatus transversely positioned on th e mounting apparatus is arranged to receive ones of the component magazines and is slidably operable for laterally displacing one received component magazine with other received component magazines to maintain a continuous supply of components to the component insertion machine.

Component insertion machine apparatus

Apparatus for loading components into a component insertion machine. The aratus comprises structure releasably mounted on component magazine loading apparatus to retain components in component magazines received by and aligned in the component magazine loading apparatus. The structure is removable after installation of the component loading apparatus on the component insertion machine to enable components to be selected by the component insertion machine from the component magazines.

Apparatus for loading components into a component insertion machine. The apparatus comprises structure releasably mounted on component magazine loading apparatus to retain components in component magazines received by and aligned in the component magazine loading apparatus. The structure is removable after installation of the component loading apparatus on the component insertion machine to enable components to be selected by the component insertion machine from the component magazines.

A base housing unit (32), which supports a connector (48) on a bottom wall (40) thereof, includes a vertical boss (46) spaced from the connector to provide a cable receiving recess (70). An elongated slot (42) is formed through the vertical boss (46). A first end section of a flat cable (10), having accordion pleat sections (64, 66 and 68) formed therein, is threaded through the elongated slot (42). The pleat sections (64, 66 and 68) are positioned within the recess (70) and the first end section of the cable (10) is terminated on the connector (48). A cover (50) is then secured to the base housing unit (32). In response to the application of tension to a free end of the cable (10), the pleat sections (64, 66 and 68) flex to bind the cable between the connector (48) and the cover (50).

Methods of and assemblies for strain relieving connectorized flat cable

Several flat cable embodiments (10, 10', 10', 10'', 10'') are disclosed, as are methods and apparatus (30) for the selective manufacture and connectorization of same. In accordance with one preferred flat cable embodiment (10), adapted for telephone under carpet applications, two precisely offset arrays of rectangularly shaped conductors (13, 14) are separated by a center film (16), with each array being adhesively bonded through an associated adhesive coating (21 or 22) to only the respectively adjacent one of two outer films (18 or 19). The laminating apparatus (30) includes a first pair of laminating rollers (31, 32), one (31) being both internally and externally heated, and having a smooth peripheral surface formed of a layer (68) of resilient material, the other (32) having a steel peripheral surface formed with a plurality of specially dimensioned conductor-receiving grooves (72), and a second pair of finishing rollers (37, 38), each being unheated and having a smooth, peripheral surface formed of a layer (37 a or 38a) of resilient material. It has been found that by utilizing a center film (16) with no adhesive coating initially on either side thereof, and the specially constructed laminating apparatus (30), when used in conjunction with properly chosen laminating pressures, temperatures and feed rate, the resultant fabricated cable (10) exhibits excellent bond strength, and consistently and precisely maintained conductor spacings. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, isolating strips (28, 29) are at least lightly secured on opposite sides of, and extend transversely across, the center film (16) at predetermined spaced terminating points therealong so as to facilitate the termination of the cable (FIGS. 8-12), and the subsequent connectorization of the terminated conductor ends (13a, 14a) thereof to a connector (25).

Multi-conductor flat cable

Several flat cable embodiments (10, 10', 10', 10'', 10'') are disclosed, as are methods and apparatus (30) for the selective manufacture and connectorization of same. In accordance with one preferred flat cable embodiment (10), adapted for telephone under carpet applications, two precisely offset arrays of rectangularly shaped conductors (13, 14) are separated by a center film (16), with each array being adhesively bonded through an associated adhesive coating (21 or 22) to only the respectively adjacent one of two outer films (18 or 19). The laminating apparatus (30) includes a first pair of laminating rollers (31, 32), one (31) being both internally and externally heated, and having a smooth peripheral surface formed of a layer (68) of resilient material, the other (32) having a steel peripheral surface formed with a plurality of specially dimensioned conductor-receiving grooves (72), and a second pair of finishing rollers (37, 38), each being unheated and having a smooth, peripheral surface formed of a layer ( 37a or 38a) of resilient material. It has been found that by utilizing a center film (16) with no adhesive coating initially on either side thereof, and the specially constructed laminating apparatus (30), when used in conjunction with properly chosen laminating pressures, temperatures and feed rate, the resultant fabricated cable (10) exhibits excellent bond strength, and consistently and precisely maintained conductor spacings. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, isolating strips (28, 29) are at least lightly secured on opposite sides of, and extend transversely across, the center film (16) at predetermined spaced terminating points therealong so as to facilitate the termination of the cable (FIGS. 8-12), and the subsequent connectorization of the terminated conductor ends (13a, 14a) thereof to a connector (25).

Methods for the termination and connectorization of multi-conductor flat

Apparatus for the manufacture of multi-conductor flat cable

Several flat cable embodiments (10, 10',10',10'',10'') are disclosed, as are methods and apparatus (30) for the selective manufacture and connectorization of same. In accordance with one preferred flat cable embodiment (10), adapted for telephone under carpet applications, two precisely offset arrays of rectangularly shaped conductors (13, 14) are separated by a center film (16), with each array being adhesively bonded through an associated adhesive coating (21 or 22) to only the respectively adjacent one of two outer films (18 or 19). The laminating apparatus (30 ) includes a first pair of laminating rollers (31, 32) one (31) being both internally and externally heated, and having a smooth peripheral surface formed of a layer (68) of resilient material, the other (32) having a steel peripheral surface formed with a plurality of specially dimensioned conductor-receiving grooves (72), and a second pair of finishing rollers (37, 38), each being unheated and having a smooth, peripheral surface formed of a layer (37a or 38a) of resilient material. It has been found that by utilizing a center film (16) with no adhesive coating initially on either side thereof, and the specially constructed laminating apparatus (30), when used in conjunction with properly chosen laminating pressures, temperatures and feed rate, the resultant fabricated cable (10) exhibits excellent bond strength, and consistently and precisely maintained conductor spacings. In accordance with another aspect of the invention, isolating strips (28, 29) are at least lightly secured on opposite sides of, and extend transversely across, the center film (16) at predetermined spaced terminating points therealong so as to facilitate the termination of the cable (FIGS. 8-12), and the subsequent connectorization of the terminated conductor ends (13a, 14a) thereof to a connector (25).

Growing community of inventors

Reynoldsburg, OH, United States of America

William A Elliott