GB2126186A - Crimp terminal holder strips - Google Patents

Abstract

A crimp terminal holder strip comprises a plurality of holder units (2, 2') coupled end to end to one another. Each holder unit includes a plurality of sleeves (3) for carrying crimp terminals (1), with webs (4) therebetween. Two adjacent holder units (2, 2') are coupled to each other at end webs, one of which has an opening (4a) through its thickness penetrated by the other when moulded. Said one end web also has a dovetail formation (4b) around which the other end web is moulded. <IMAGE>

Description

SPECIFICATION Crimp terminal holder The present invention relates to a crimp terminal holder carrying a plurality of crimp terminals on a strip.

These terminals are to be partly pressed by a crimping machine to be connected with electric wires. The terminals include those types at least the portion of which that are to be pressed are covered by an insulating material such as plastics.

In order to connect the terminals and wires by crimping in an efficient, continuous manner it has been a recent practice to mount the terminals in sleeves provided at suitable intervals along the strip and to feed the terminals to a crimping machine continuously and automatically. To connect the insulating sleeves receiving the terminals to one another, it is a common practice to connect them by the insulating material simultaneously with their moulding by injection.

However, there naturally is a limit to the size of an injection moulding die, and it is impossible to form a sleeve carrying strip having a considerable length suitable for mechanical feeding to the crimper. Therefore, a die is made having a certain length, a length suited to form an integral continuation of, for example, five sleeves. An end of the resulting unit length of strip is placed again in one end of the die, and a further unit length of strip is formed by injection moulding and at the same time is coupled to the already formed unit strip. By repeating this process a desired length of sleeve carrying strip is manufactured, the sleeves being fitted with the terminals subsequently.The described coupling between the two unit strips utilizes adhesion, by injection pressure and heat, of the moulding material injected in the subsequent process to faces of an end web of the preceding unit strip.

However, the coupling by the face to face adhesion between webs tends to peel off under a tensile force which acts thereon when the strip is automatically fed to the crimping machine. It has therefore been desired to obtain a strip having rigid coupling structures.

The object of the present invention is to eliminate the disadvantage of the prior art and to provide a strong continuous insulating holder for terminals.

To achieve this object, a crimp terminal holder according to the present invention is characterised in that one of the end webs includes an opening through its thickness and that the other end of the end webs penetrates the opening and extends over both faces of the one end web parallel to the sleeves.

More particularly, the opening defined in one -en web of a holder unit is entangled by one end web of another holder unit by utilizing a blow-in pressure at the time of injection moulding, whereby the portion of material which has set in the opening acts as a link pin coupling the two unit holders. The coupling thus obtained is sufficiently strong to withstand a great pulling force which acts to separate the two end webs.

Therefore the holder according to the present invention is free from the peeling separation at the couplings experienced in the prior art owing to the great pulling force occurring when the holder is continuously fed to the crimping machine to crimp connect wires to the terminals. This enables the crimping operation to be carried out in a most efficient manner.

Other advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description.

Embodiments of crimp terminal holder constructed according to this invention will now be described, by way of example, with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing part of crimp terminal holder units, Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on iine Il-Il of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a sectional view taken on line Ill-Ill df Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a side view in vertical section showing a die for moulding the holder units, Fig; 5 is a perspective view of a part of the die, Fig. 6 is a side view showing interconnected holder units being taken up on a reel, Fig. 7 is a perspective view showing a modified crimp terminal holder and how wires are connected thereto, Fig. 8 is a side view showing a first step of a crimping operation for the embodiment of Fig. 7, Fig. 9 is a side view showing a second step of the crimping operation, Fig. 10 is a side view showing a third step of the crimping operation, and Fig. 11 is a partly broken away perspective view showing a further modification of the crimp terminal holder.

Fig. 1 shows two units, 2, 2' of a crimp terminal holder carrying a row of crimp terminals 1 shown in phantom lines. As seen from Fig. 4 showing a moulding die 5, one unit 2 carries five sleeves 3 for receiving five crimp terminals 1. The terminals 1 are fitted into the sleeves 3 in a separate process from a holder unit moulding proces. Each of the holder units 2, 2' is an integral formation made of a flexible insulating material such as a thermoplastic synthetic resin by injection moulding and carries the sleeves 3 at suitable intervals and with axes Xthereof parallel to one another. The sleeves 3 are interconnected by thin and narrow webs 4 which are readily bendable to facilitate winding up of the holder on a reel after the moulding as shown in Fig. 6 and which also fit well on a guiding sprocket during the crimping operation.

The two holder units shown in Fig. 1 are coupled to each other at respective end webs 4, coupling structures being shown in Figs. 2 and 3.

Referring to Figs. 2 and 3, the end web 4 of one of the holder units 2 has an opening 4a through its thickness and defines a dovetail end 4b in plan view. These structures are derived from the shape of the die 5 as shown in the righthand end of Fig.

4 and Fig. 5. This end web 4 is kept inside the lefthand end of the die 5 after its moulding as shown in Fig. 4, and then the other unit is formed by injection moulding. At this time the material is blown into and entangles with the opening 4a thereby firmly coupling the two units 2, 2'. In other words, the portion of the material 4c setting in the opening 4a acts as a link pin coupling the two end webs 4. The material entangles with the dovetail 4b also, whereby the resulting coupling is strong against slippage axially of the sleeves 3. As seen from Figs. 1 and 2, the web at which the two holding units are coupled each other is thicker than the other webs. This is because one end web 4 extends over faces of the other end web 4 which are parallel to the axes X of the sleeves 3.

Fig. 7 shows a terminal holder according to another embodiment in which the sleeves 3 need not be used as insulators. Each of the holder units 2, 2' is manufactured in the same manner as in the foregoing embodiment. The modification consists in the following two points. In the first place, each of the sleeves 3' includes a V-groove 6 along the axis X thereof, and on a plane substantially perpendicular to the face 4d of the webs to facilitate splitting of the sleeve 3'. The second point is that the webs 4 include thick portions 4e adjacent each of the sleeves 3' and on sides thereof on which the V-groove 6 exists.

The meaning of these features will be understood in conjunction with an operation for crimp connecting wires to the crimp terminals to be described referring to Figs. 8-10. In Fig. 8, a wire 7 of Fig. 7 is inserted into the sleeve 3'. Then an upper die B is lowered towards a lower die B' whereupon its edges B1 come into contact with the thick portions 4e of the webs before its recessed inner face B2 does with the sleeve 3'.

Thus, a tensile force acts on the top of the sleeve 3' prior to the recessed inner face B2 of the upper die B presses on the sleeve 3', which results in splitting at the V-groove 6.

Thereafter, as shown in Fig. 10, the recessed inner face B2 of the upper die B presses on a sleeve portion of the crimp terminal 1' to crimp connect the wire 7 to the sleeve portion. It will be seen that in the course of this wire connecting operation the terminal holder including the sleeves 3' which are no longer used can be removed from the terminals 1'.

In the described modification it is of course necessary to determine the radius of the recessed inner face B2 of the upper die B, the radius of the sleeves 3' and the thickness of the thick portion 4e so as to bring about the above spiitting action.

Fig. 11 shows a modification of the sleeves described heretofore. This modification has large sleeves 3" receiving crimp terminals 1" therein, and therefore the sleeves 3" act as insulators after wires have been connected. As distinct from the terminals 1 and 1' in the foregoing embodiments.

the terminals 1" used in this example each include at a foremost end thereof a structure to which a plate member (not shown) secured to the wire is to be removably inserted.

Claims (7)

1. A crimp terminal holder comprising a holder unit of a flexible material integrally formed by injection moulding and including webs interconnecting a plurality of sleeves in spaced parallel relationship with one another, each of said sleeves carrying therein at least one part of a crimp terminal, and a further holder unit identical to said holder unit said further holder unit being coupled to said holder unit at respective end webs thereof at time of moulding, characterized in that one of said end webs includes an opening through its thickness and that the other of said end webs penetrates said opening and extends over at least both faces of said one end web parallel to said sleeves.

2. A crimp terminal holder as claimed in claim 1 characterized in that said one end web including said opening defines a dovetail end in plan view.

3. A crimp terminal holder as claimed in claim 2 characterized in that said webs interconnecting said sleeves are separable from said sleeves, whereby said sleeves are to be deformed together with said crimp terminals when connected to electric wires.

4. A crimp terminal holder as claimed in claim 2 characterized in that each of said sleeves includes a groove along an axis thereof and on a plane substantially perpendicular to said webs to facilitate splitting of said sleeves.

5. A crimp terminal holder as claimed in claim 4 characterized in that said webs include thick portions adjacent each of said sleeves and on sides thereof on which said groove exists.

6. A crimp terminal holder as claimed in claim 3 characterized in that said sleeves cover portions of said crimp terminals to engage said electric wires, respectively.

7. A crimp terminal holder as claimed in claim 3 characterized in that said sleeves entirely cover said crimp terminals, respectively.