Wire deploying apparatus

Abstract

 Wire deploying apparatus comprises a templet (26) having a wire supporting working surface in which are formed a plurality of justaposed, elongate wire depressing recesses, and a wire pressing member (44) arranged to be moved in a given direction across the wire supporting surface longitudinally of the recesses and towards one end thereof, to press wires (2) extending between the supporting surface and the pressing member (44) into the recesses for correctly aligning the wires with the recesses, a wire controller member (54) is movable across the supporting surface in the given direction in unison with, and in advance of, the pressing member (44) in juxtaposed but spaced relationship thereto, the controller member (54) presenting a wire deflecting surface position above the wire supporting surface, to deflect parts of the wires (2), which parts are adjacent to the pressing member (44), away from the supporting surface so as to align each such part with a recess.

Description

[0001] This invention relates in general to the wire handling art and in particular to wire deploying apparatus.

[0002] We have described for example in our United States Patent Specification No. 3,891,013, wire deploying apparatus comprising a templet having a wire supporting working surface in which are formed a plurality of juxtaposed, elongate wire deploying recesses, and a wire pressing member arranged to be moved in a given direction across the wire supporting surface, longitudinally of the recedses and towards one end thereof, to press wires extending between the supporting surface and the pressing member into the recesses.

[0003] It s sometimes the case that the wires are not disposed in orderly mutual relationship on the templet, for example as a result of a cable, of which the wires initially formed part, having been bent. Also, the wires may no correctly align themselves with the recesses if the wires we of very small gauge or are very stiff. The invention primarily directed to the problem of properly orient ng the wires, in such case, to allow each wire to be prened into its correct recess by the pressing member, so that the danger of the wires being severed between the presing member and the edges of the recesses is avoided.

[0004] The invenion proceeds from the realization that each wire can be 'ade to align itself with its corresponding recess by causing he wire to be tensioned slightly prior to its engagement the wire pressing member.

[0005] According to the invention therefore, wire deploying apparatus as defined in the second paragraph of this specification are characterised by a wire controller member movable across the supporting surface in the given direction in unison with, and in advance. of, the pressing member in juxtaposed but spaced relationship thereto, the controller member presenting a wire deflecting surface positioned above the wire supporting surface, to deflect parts of the wires, which are adjacent to the pressing member, away from the supporting surface so as to align each such part with a recess.

[0006] Apart from affording a solution to the problem outlined above, the invention has the further advantage that the wire controller member can be arranged to co-operate, as described in detail below, with the wire pressing member to untwist portions of the wires where these are arranged, as is usual for example in the telephone industry, as twisted pairs of wires, the recesses being formed with branches each for receiving an untwisted wire portion.

[0007] Apparatus according to the invention can conveniently be provided with means for inserting the deployed wires into wire receiving portions, usually in the form of slotted plates, of electrical terminals, the deployment of the wires being such as to separate them in conformity with the spacing between the terminals.

[0008] The general state of the.art at this time is also exemplified by the following United States Patent Specifications, 3,881,246, 3,939,933, 4,043,017, 3,739,818 and 3,779,290.

[0009] For a better understanding of the invention two embodiments thereof will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure 1 is a perspective view of apparatus, according to a first embodiment of the invention, for deploying electrical wires and being provided with means for inserting the deployed wires into wire receiving portions of electrical terminals of an electrical connector, the parts of the apparatus being shown as positioned at the beginning of a cycle of operation of the apparatus;

Figure 2 is a perspective view of an electrical connector for use with the apparatus;

Figure 3 is a plan view of a wire deploying templet of the apparatus;

Figure 4 is a sectional view taken along the lines IV - IV of Figure 3;

Figures 5 and 6 are views similar to Figure 4 but showing the positions of the parts during respective successive stages during the cycle of operation;

Figure 7 is an exploded, fragmentary, perspective view showing a portion of the templet and a wire contrcller member of the apparatus;

Figure 8 is a fragmentary vertical section with parts shown in phantom form, illustrating wire insertion toolin: of the apparatus, and actuating means for such tooling;

Figure 9 is a perspective view of wire deploying apparaus, according to a second embodiment of the invention, the parts of the apparatus being shown in their pisitions at the beginning of an operating cycle of the apparatus;

Figure 10 is a view similar to that of Figure 9 but showing the positions of the parts at a subsequent stage of the :perating cycle;

Figure 11 is a diagrammatic side view showing the positings of the principle parts of the apparatus of Figures 9 and 10 at the beginning of the operating cycle

Figures 12 and 13 are views similar to that of Figure 11 but showing the positions of the parts at respective successive stages of the operating cycle; and

Figure 14 is a perspective view of an end portion of an electrical cable comprising four twisted pairs of wires for deployment by means of the apparatus of Figures 9 to 14.

[0010] Apparatus according to the first embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to Figures 1 to 8. The apparatus is arranged to deploy, by spreading apart, a plurality of wires and is provided with means for locating end portions of the wires in alignment with wire receiving portions of electrical terminals cf an electrical connector which is generally referenced 6, and which, is best seen in Figure 2. Since the connector 6 is described in detail in our United States Patent Specification No. 3,760,335 it will be described here only to an extent necessary for an understanding of the apparatus. The wire receiving portions of the termenals (not shown) are in the form of slotted plates into the slots of which insulated wires 2 can be forced, to onnect the electrically conductive cores of the wires to tie terminals. The terminals are disposed in a row in spaced compartments 4, in an insulating housing 3 of the connector 6, the row extending transversely betweel the ends of the housing 3 and the compartments 4 being defined by barrier walls 7 spaced from a peripheral flange 9 which extends about the housing 3 between its for ard face 11 and its rearward face 13, the face 11 havin a channel 5 to receive a plug portion of a mating ele trical connector (not shown). The connector 6 has a further and similar row of compartments containing terminal; opposite to that described above, and which is not sfown.

[0011] As shown in Figure 1, apparatus comprises a manually operated bench press having a press frame consisting of a vertical neck portion 10, a horizontal arm 12 and a base 14. A ram 16 slidably received in the arm 12 is movable towards and away from the base 14 by means of a handle 18 coupled to a shaft 20 extending transversely through the frame, and an end portion of which is shown in Figure 1. When the handle 18 is swung through a clockwise (as seen in Figure 1) arc, the shaft 20 is rotated in a clockwise (as seen in Figure 1) sense, so that a gear wheel (not shown) keyed to the shaft 20 and contained in the arm 12 meshes with a rack bar (noc shown) on the ram 16 to depress the ram 16 through a working stroke. A bench press of this general type is described in detail in our United States Patent Specification No. 4,013,017.

[0012] A rectangular mounting plate 21 clamped to the base 14 by neans of clamping blocks 22 slidably carries a support: block 24, which in turn carries a templet 26 in the form of a flat plate having a wire supporting working surface 27 facing the arm 12. The templet 26 has, as best seen in Figure 3, a plurality of wire receiving, elongate recesses; formed in the working surface 27 and having parallel portions 28 extending from the outer end 30 of the templet 26 towards its inner end 32, and portions 34 which diverge, intermediate the ends 30 and 32, toward the end 32. The portions 34 are spaced from one another at the end 32 by distances corresponding to the spring between the compartments 4 of the connector housin

i.e. to the terminal spacing. As best seen in Figure 4, the inner end 32 of the templet 26 is spaced from the inner end face 39 of the templet support block 24, a

of spaced barriers 40 (see Figure 1) extending from a chamfered surface 38 of the block 24 and having parts

projecting inwardly beyond the end face 39. Each barrier

has an undercut edge 41 facing the end 32 of

the 26, to define, in co-operation therewith, a notch 36. The spacing between adjacent barriers 40 is the same as the maximum spacing between the portions 34 of the wire receiving recesses of the templet 26, at the end 32 thereof, so that parts of wires disposed in the portions 34 will also be received between adjacent barriers 40.

[0013] The individual wires 2 are arranged to be pressed into the portions 28 and 34 of the recesses in the templet 26 by a wire pressing member in the form of a bar-shaped roller 44 which in its position of Figure 4 is spaced above the portions 28. The roller 44 has reduced diameter ends 48 received in the arms 46 of a yoke 50 on the lower (as seen in Figure 1) end of a lever 52 extending from the interior of the arm 12 of the press frame. The upper end of the lever 52 is coupled (by means not shown) to the lower end of the ram 16 in a manner described in United States Patent Specification No. 4,043,017, the coupling being such that as the ram 16 is depressed from the position of Figure 1, the roller 44 descends until it abuts the templet 26 whereas upon further downward movement of the ram 16, the lever 52 swings through a clockwise arc (as seen in Figure 1) so that the roller 44 sweeps across the surface of the templet 26 as shown in Figures 5 and 6 in the longitudinal direction of the recesses 28, 34. These movements of the roller 44 during the working stroke of the ram are achieved by means of a cam type coupling (not shown) between the upper end of the lever 52 and the ram 16.

[0014] A wire controller assembly 53, comprises as shown in Figure 7, a wire controller member in the form of a circular cross-section cylindrical bar 54 of much smaller diameter than the roller 54. The bar 54 is arranged to sweep across the surface of the templet 26 in advance of the roller 44, that is to say, between the roller 44 and the inner end 32 of the templet 26, and in the longitudinal; direction of the recesses 28, 34. The ends of the bar 54 are mounted (preferably rotatably) in a carrier in the fcrm of spaced carriage blocks 56 which are disposed agains: the sides of the block 24 as best seen in Figure 1. The bar 54 presents a wire deflecting surface 54' which is positioned above the working surface 27. Notches 58 in the upwardly facing surfaces of the blocks 56 are dimensioned to receive end portions of the roller 44 as shown in Figure 5 so that the assembly 53 is carried along with the roller 44. Pivot pins 60 on the inner faces 59 of the blocks 56 are received in guide channels 62 deined between overhanging lateral edge portions 61 of the templet 26, and ledges 63 on the sides of the blocd 24, as shown in Figure 7. The channels 62 have innei ends 64 spaced from the inner end face 39 of the blocd 24 to limit the leftward (as seen in Figures 4 to 6) thvel of the pins 60 and thus of the bar 54. As show. in Figure 5, when the end portions of the roller 44

received in the notches 58, such end portions bear against the left hand edges of the notches 58 so that the controller assembly 53 is moved by the roller 44 frorm the position of Figure 5 towards that of Figure 6. Where the

60 reach the ends 64 of the channels 62, the

movement of the roller 44 imparts a moment to the controller assembly 53 so that the entire assembly

swings

an anticlockwise (as seen in Figures 5 and 6) sense about the pivot pins 60, whereby the bar 54 drops into the

36 and the roller 44 continues its leftward movement, as shown in Figure 6.

[0015] The opetation of the parts described above will now be described in detail with particular reference to Figures 4 to 6. At the beginning of an operating cycle of the apparatus the parts thereof are positioned as shown in Figures

and 4. The operator places the wires 2, as shown in Figure 4, so as to extend between the working surface 27 of the templet 26 and the roller 44, the wires projecting beyond the inner end 32 of the templet 26 and past a connector 6 positioned in connector locating means described below. The operator swings the handle 18 through its clockwise arc to cause the ram 16 to descend to lower the roller 44 to its vertical position of Figure 5 in abutment with the working surface 27 of the templet 26, whereby the wires 2 are pressed against such surface and the end portions of the roller 44 engage in the notches 58. Upon further downward movement of the press ram 16, the roller 44 is caused to advance from the position of Figure 5 to that of Figure 6, the roller 44 carrying with it for part of its advance movement, the assembly 53. The assembly 53 advances along the templet 26 and the support block 24 until the pins 60 abut the inner ends 64 of the channels 62 at which time, the bar 54 drops into the notches 36 as described above, and the roller 44 continues its advance until it is superposed with the upper edges of the barriers 40 as shown in Figure 6. During such movement of the rollers 44, the wires 2 are pressed into the recesses 28, 34 in accordance with the teaching of our United States Patent Specification No. 3,891,0/3.

[0016] During the said part of the advance of the roller 44 from the position of Figure 5 towards that of Figure 6, the wires extend from beneath the roller 44 over the wire deflecting surface 54' of the bar 54, the parts 2' of.each wire 2 which lie between the bar 54 and the roller 44 being lifted by the surface 54', as shown in Figure 5, above the working surface 27 of the templet 26. During the advance of the assembly 53, the bar 54 maintains the parts 2ⁱ of the wires 2 above the working surface 27 and approximately aligns each pait 2' with the recess in the templet 26 into which it is to be pressed by the roller 44. Specifically, the bar 14, in lifting the wires 2, tends to flox the patris 2' of the wires 2 so that the parts 2' arc stressed semewhat, and have a tendency to return towanrds the working sw-face 27. In other words the parts 3' are resiliently biased downwardly as seen in figure 5. Alos, the wires tend to loccate themsolves in juxtaposed relationship in the vicinity of the bar 54 and the roller 44 so that the wires are theroby dressed, so as to be in approximate alignment with the iecesses of the templet 26, particularly while the roller 44 and the bar 54 are moving across the parallel portions 28 of these recesses, such effect continuing as the roller 44 and the bar 54 move across the divvergent portions 34 of the recesses, Misplacing of the wires is thereby avoided.

[0017] When the wires 2 are initialy in orderly mutual relationship, the roller 44 serves to ensure proper placing of the wires 2 in the recesses 28, 34. Under some circumstances (for example where the cable has been bent or where the wircs are very fine or very stiff), the wires 2 may be in dissaray or they may cxtend laterally in front of the roller 44 and under such circumstances, the bar 54 prevents misplacing of the wires in the recesses 28, 34. As the roller 44 sweeps across working surface 27 of the templet 26, the mere fact that the parts 2' of the wires 2 arc raised by the bar 54 will, in part, bring them into alignment with the recesses of the templet and the bar 54 additionally strves in effect to isolate the part 2' of each wire, which lies between the bar 54 and the roller 44, so that it will be subject to the desired influence of the roller 44.

[0018] The positioning means, mentioned above, for the connector 6 comprises, as shown in Figures 4 to 6, to a positioning block 66 mounted on the inner end of the plate 20, and having a face 70 which is spaced from, and is directed towards, the end face 39 of the block 24, the spacing between the faces 70 and 39 being such that the connector 6 can be positioned therebetween as shown in Figures 4 to 6. The upper ends (as seen in Figures 4 to 6) of the barrier walls 7 of the connector housing 3 are located against the downwardly (as seen in Figures 4 to 6) facing surfaces of the projecting parts 42 of the barriers 40. The connector 6 is also located by means of a plate 68 secured to the upper (as seen in Figures 4 to 6) surface of the block 66. The plate 68 extends rightwardly (as seen in Figures 4 to 6) over the frontal portion of the connector and has a depending flange 72 disposed between the rearwardly facing surface of the flange 9 of the connector 6 and he barrier walls 7 thereof. Slots 74 (Figure 1), in the plate 68 extend through the flange 72 thereof in alignment with the spaces between the barriers 40, the inner ends of the slots 74 serving as fixed wire shearing edges for co-operation with movable wire shearing adges 75 on a row of wire shearing and insertion punches 75 (best seen in Figure 1), described below. In general, the wire insertion means, the connector positioning means, and the wire shearing means (for trimming the wires 2) may be in accordance with the teachings of out United States Patent Specification No. 3,760,335.

[0019] After the wires 2 have been deployed by the roller 44 and the bar 54, as described above the free ends of the wires 2 extending as shown in Figure 6, over the upper surface of the plate 68, with each individual wire 2 in alignment with a terminal of the connector 6, the wires 2 are trimmed and inserted info the terminals by means of the punches 76. These punches 76 extend from a block 78 secured to a tool holder 79 (Figures 1 and 8) in turn secured to a cross-head 80 slidably mounted on posts 81 extending from the block 56. The cross-head 80 is resiliently biased upwardly to the position of Figures 1 and 8 by springs 83 acting between the block 66 and the cross-head 80.

[0020] The cross-head 80 and the punches 76 are depressed through a working stroke during the final portion of the working stroke of the ram 16, by means of a lever 82 (Figure 8) having an end portion whjch extends into a recess 84' in the cross head 80 and is receivable in an aligned recess 85 in the tool holder 79. The lever 82 is fixed by a pin 87 to a shaft 84 journaled in a bearing (not shown) fixed to the press frame. The shaft 84, extends from the neck portion 10 of the press frame as shiwn in Figure 1, one end of a link 88 being pinned to thc shaft 84 (Figure 1). The other end of the link 88 is pivoted to one end of an adjustable length link 90 the other end of which is pivoted to an arm 92 extending from a bearing block 94 through which the shaft 20 extends. The snaft 20 is freely rotatable in the block 94 so that the watter is not rotated or otherwise moved as the shaft 20 rates. A disc 96 is keyed to the shaft 20 adjacent to the block 94, a pin 98 extending from the disc 96 for .engagement with the arm 92. During the final stages of the, working stroke of the ram 16, the pin 98 engages the arm 92 and swings it through a slight clockwise (as seen Figure 1) arc. This clockwise movement of the arm 92 is translated into clockwise movement of the link 88 whit, in turn, causes the shaft 84 to rotate in a clockwase direction thereby swinging the arm 82 downwardly from the position of Figure 8.

[0021] it will thus be apparent that after the wires 2 have been deployed on the templet 26 and aligned with the terminal of the connector 6, the insertion punches 76 will be noved through their working stroke during the final portion of the working stroke of the ram 16 so that the wires are trimmed and inserted into the terminals of the connector 6.

[0022] The ram 16 can then be returned to its raised position by returning the lever 18 to the position of Figure 1. After the connector 6 has been removed from the positioning means, the wire controller assembly 53 c'an be returned to its starting position and the apparatus, prepared for a further cycle of the operation. The removal of the connector 6 with the wires 2 extending therefrom is accomplished hy sliding the block 24 away from the block 66 to provide clearance for the wires 2 (which are now attached to the connector 6), so that the connector 6 can be slid out laterally from its positioning means (i.e. in a directjon at right angles to the plane of Figures 4 to 6 and 8). The conrector 6 can be inserted into its positioning means by reversing this procedure.

[0023] Although, as mentioned above, the connector 6 has two rows of terminals, only one such row is connected to wires by means of the apparatus. The terminals of the other row may be connected to wires by means of other tooling, for example, a hand tool.

[0024] The apparatus may be adapted for use, or example, with connectors of the type disclosed in our United States Patent Specification No. 4,043,017, which have but a single row of terminals.

[0025] The apparatus according to the secnd embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference to Figures 9 to 14.

[0026] The apparatus serves to deploy our twisted pairs 102 of insulated electrical wires of in electrical cable 108 having an insulating jacket 110 .n which the wires are disposed in coplanar juxtaposed relationship as best seen in Figure 14. As shown in Fieures 9 and 10, the apparatus comprises a base plate 14 having legs 116 extending from its underside for upporting the plate 114 above the surface of a work benc (not shown). A generally rectangular frame blok 118 fixed to the upper (as seen in Figures 9 and 10) surface 120 of the plate 114 has a pair of opposed ribs 122 extending from its lateral surfaces 124 for the full length thereof. The block 118 has a flat surface 126 facing away from the base plate 114. A camming bar 128 having a flla'c upper surface 129 is mounted on the upwardly (as seen in Figures 9 and 10) facing surface 132 of each rib 122 and extend? from the left hand end (as seen in Figure 9) of the block 118 to a position intermediate the ends thereof, at which position the rib 128 has an end ramp 13₀ which is inclined towards the adjacent surface 132 to provide a camming ramp for a purpose to be explained below.

[0027] A rectangular templet 134, in the form of a flat plate, fixedly mounted on the surface 126, has a forward end 136 which is adjacent to, and is positioned slightly beyond, the ramps 130. The rearward end 138 of the templet 134 is located near the rearward end of the frame block 118. A wire supporting working surface 140 of the templet 134, facing away from the surface 126, is formed with four shallow recesses 139 extending between the ends 136 and 138, each recess 139 being dimensioned to receive a twisted pair 102 of wires along the greater part of its length and to receive the two individual wires 104 and 106 of the pair 102 along a part of its length adjacent to the end 136 of the templet 134. As best seen in Figure 9, each recess 139 has a first rectilinear portion 142 which extends from the end 138 of the templet 134 to a position intermediate the ends 136 and 138 thereof, the portions 142 of the recesses 139 being arranged in parallel juxtaposed relationship, a second intermediate portion 144 which diverges from the portion 142 towards the end 136 of the templet 134, and a third, forward end, portion comprising a pair of individual spaced grooves 146 and 148 which extend from the portion 144 to the end 136 of the templet 134. The grooves 146 and 148 are each dimensioned to receive a single individual wire 104 or 106, rather than a twisted pair 102.

[0028] The twisted pairs 102 of wires are pressed into the recesses 139 by means of a wire pressing member in the form of a first roller 150 in accordance with the teaching of our United States Patent Specification No. 3,891,013. The roller 150 is rotatably mounted between the upper ends of arms 154 of a yoke having a cross-member 156 provided with an operating handle 158, which member 156 spans the frame block 118 and the working surface 140 of the templet 134. The lower ends of the arms 154 are swingably mounted on pivot pins 160 which in turn are mounted in upstanding flanges 162 of actuating means in the form of a slide 163. The flanges 162 extend from side plates 164 of the i slide 163 which plates are located on each side of the E frame member 118 and extend below the base plate 114. A bottom plate 166 extends beneath the base plate 114 and is secured to the side plates 164 by fasteners 167. The plates 164 are guided for movement between the ends of the frame block 118 by rollers 168 which are received between the undersides of the ribs 122 and the surface 120 of the base plate 114. The rollers 168 are rotatably mounted on pins 170 which extend inwardly from the side plates 164.

[0029] A wire controller member in the form of a second roller 152 having a wire deflecting surface 152' is provided to facilitate the placing of an individual twisted pairs 102 of wires in the portions 142 and 144 of the recesses 139 and to untwist the end portion of each twisted pair 102 as described below. The roller 152 comprises, in the present example, a cylindrical bar located in advance of the roller 150 and the ends of which are rotatably mounted in supports in the form of bell crank plates 172 disposed on each side of the frame block 118 and between the frame block 118 and the side plates 164 of the slide 163. Each plate 72 is mounted on a pivot pin 174 passing through the respective side plate 164 and is provided with a third, cam follower, roller 176 at its left hand (as seen in Figures 9 and lO) or leading end portion, such roller 176 bearing against the upwardly (as seen in Figure 10) facing surface 132 of the adjacent rib 122. The plates 172 are biased downwardly (as seen in Figures 9 and 10) by springs 178 each of which is secured to a pin 180 in the associated side plate 164 at one end and to a pin 182 extending from the outer surface of the adjcent plate 172 at the other end. This arrangement permits the plates 172 to be raised through a slight clockwise (as seen in Figures 9 and 10) arc during operation, as will be described below, against the action of the springs 178.

[0030] The operation of the apparatus of the second embodiment will now be described in detail with particular reference to Figures 10 to 13.

[0031] When it is desired to separate the four twisted pair 102 of the cable 108 and to untwist an end portion of each twisted pair 102, the cable jacket 110 is cut away to expose the twisted pairs 102 of wires as shown in Figure 14. The slide 163 of the apparatus is then moved to its rearward position (Figure 9) up to the end 138 of the templet 134 and the yoke 154, 156 is swung by depressing the handle 158, to raise the roller 150 above the surface 140 (Figure 11). The four twisted pairs 102 of wires are then threaded through the space between the roller 140 and the upper surface of the roller 152 (Figure 11) and the leading edge 184 of the cable jacket 110 is located against the end 138 of the templet 134. The yoke 154, 156 i3 then swung, by raising the handle 158, to move the roller 150 onto the surface 140 of the templet 134 so as to prass portions of the individual twisted pairs 102 into the portions 142 of the recesses 139, adjacent to the end 138. The individual twisted pairs 102, then extend from beneath the roller 150 and over the surface 152' of the roller 152. The slide 163 is then advanced from the position of Figure 9 towards that of Figure 10 by means of the handle 158 which is used also to hold the roller 150 againct the working surface 140 of the templet 134 during such movement of the slide 163. During this stage of the operating cycle of the apparatus (see Figure 12) the roller 152 is spaced from the roller 150 by a distance exceeding the transverse dimension of an individual twisted pair 102 (the sum of the diameters of the two wires 104 and 106 of a twisted pair 102). Also during this movement of the slide 163, the rollers 176 run along the surfaces 132 of the ribs 122. The roller 152 serves the purpose, during its advance during this portion of the cycle of operation of the apparatus, of approximately aligning each twisted pair 102 with the portions 142 and 144 of one of the recesses 139 into which portions such twisted pair is to be placed. If the twisted pairs 102 should extend laterally e.g. by reason of curvature in the cable 108, the roller 152 will serve, by its deflection of a part 102' of the twisted pair 102 away from the surface 140, to locate that part of each twisted pair 102, which part is adjacent to the roller 150, in alignment with the said portions 142 and 144 of the recesses 139 and will thus prevent misplacing of the individual twisted pairs 102.

[0032] The action of the wire controller member 152 is the same as that of the wire controller member 54 discussed above.

[0033] When the rollers 176 on the plates :.72 of the slide 163 reach the ramps 130 and are raised thereby as the slide 163 is advanced, the plates 172 are swung in a clockwise (as seen in Figures 9 and 10) sense about their pivot pins 174 and against the action of the springs 178, to move the rollers 152 relatively towards the roller 150, i.e. to retard the advance of the roller 152. Thus, when the rollers 176 move up the ramps 130, the spacing betweer the rollers 150 and 152 is reduced as shown in Figure 13. The spacing between the rollers 150 and 152 which remains after the rollers 176 have moved onto the surfaces 129 of the camming bars 128 is substantially equal to the diameter of an individual wire 104 or 106 of a twisted pair 102, so that the twisted pairs cannot pass between the adjacent surfaces of the rollers 150 and 157 as these rollers move in unison towards the end 136 of the templet 134. The end portions of the twisted pairs

are therefore untwisted from each other and one of these end portions is positioned in each of the groove: 146 and 148 by the rollers 150, the roller 152 finally dropping from the end 136 of the templet 134 down onto the surfaces 129 of the bars 128. Figure 10 illustrates the positions of the parts of the apparatus immediatly before the arrival of the roller 152 at the end 136 of the templet 134 and accordingly shows the two wires 104 and 106 of each pair positioned in side-by- side spacf relationship. It will be apparent that the camming bas 128, the bell crank plates 172, and the rollers

function as a positioning means for changing and controlling the distance between the rollers 150 and 152.

[0034] When the wire end portions have been untwisted as described above, the roller 150 is raised again and the slide 163 is returned to its starting position in preparation for a further cycle of operation of the apparatus.

[0035] The principale, which is applied in the apparatus, of untwisting the pairs of wires can be illustrated by grasping a twited pair of wires adjacent to its end between the

and forefinger (representing the rollers 150 and 152) and then pulling the pairs of wires axially. Such confining and pulling of the pair of wires causes the wires to untwist in order to permit their passage through the construction formed by the thumb and forefinger.

[0036] It will also be apparent that the roller 152 serves a dual purpose, in that during the first part of the operating cycle and while the twisted pairs 102 of wires are being placed in the portions 142 and 144 of the recesses 139, the roller 152 approximately aligns each twisted pair 102 with the recess portion into which it is to be placed, whilst during the final portion of the operating cycle, the roller 152 co-operates with the roller 150 to bring about the untwisting of the end portions of the wires 104 and 106 of each pair 102 so that the roller 150 can then roll the untwisted end portions of the wires into the grooves 146 and 148. This dual function of the roller 152 requires that its position relative to the roller 150 should change during the final portion of the operating cycle in that the roller 152 is then moved relatively closer to the roller 150 as illustrated in Figure 13.

[0037] The apparatus of the second embodiment serves to deploy and locate the several twisted pairs of wires and to untwist the end portions of the wires of each pair, and can thus be used to prepare the wire ends for further operations which may be carried out subsequently to the deploying and untwisting operations. The apparatus can be incorporated, for example in a lead making machine (not shown) for installing electrical terminals on the ends of cables. In such case, the apparatus would be employed to deploy and untwist the wire pairs as described above, immediately prior to the formation by the machine of electrical connections bbetween the wires and the terminals, these being part of an electrical connector, for example.

[0038] As described with reference to Figures 9 to 14, the cable 108 contains only four twisted pairs 102 of wires, these being disposed in juxtaposed coplanar relationship in the cable jacket 110 as mentioned above. The apparatus can, however, be used to deploy and untwist twisted pairs of wires in a cable (not shown) containing a greater number than four twisted pairs of wires with the pairs of wires bundled in the cable jacket so that the cable has a circular rather than a flat cross-section. In such case the bundle of pairs of wires, will be flattened when the roller 150 is moved downwardly and against the wires (Figures 11 and 12) and the individual pairs of wires will be located in the recesses in the templet, these being of the same number as the twisted pairs of the cable.

[0039] The wire pressing member (roller 150) and the wire controller member (roller 152) need not essentially be in the form of rollers. These members are, however, advantageously rotatably mounted in order to reduce friction and to minimize the amount of force required to accomplish the deploying and untwisting operations.

Claims

1. Wire deploying apparatus comprising a templet (26 or 134) having a wire supporting working surface (27 or 140) in which are formed a plurality of juxtaposed, elongate wire deploying recesses (28, 34 or 139), and a wire pressing member (44 or 150) arranged to be moved in a given direction across the wire supporting surface (27 or 140), longitudinally of the recesses (28, 34 or 139) and towards one end thereof, to press wires (2 or 102) extending between the supporting surface (27 or 140) and the pressing member (44 or 150) into the recesses (28, 34 or 139), characterised by a wire controller member (54 or 152) movable acioss the supporting surface (27 or 140) in the given direction in unison with, and in advance of, the pressing member (44 or 150) in juxtaposed but spaced relationship thereto, the controller member (54 or 152) presenting a wire deflecting surface (54' or 152') positioned above the wire supporting surface (27 or 140), to deflect parts (2' or 102') of the wires (2 or 102), which parts (2¹ or 102') are adjacent to the pressing member (44 or 150), away from the supporting surface (27 or 140) so as to align each such part (2¹ or 102') with a recess (28, 34 or 139).

2. Apparatus according to Claim 1, characterised in that the pressing and the controller members are in the. form of parallel bars (44 and 54 or 150 and 152).

3. Apparatus according to Claim 2, characterised in that each of the bars (44 and 54 or 150 and 152) is in the form of a roller having an axis of rotation extending parallel to the supporting surface (27 or 140).

4. Apparatus according to Claim 1, 2 or 3, characterised in that the controller member (54 or 152) is displaced below the supporting surface (27 or 140) after the controller member (54 or 152) has reached the one end (32 or 136) of the recesses (28, 34 or 139).

5. Apparatus according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, characterised in that the controller member (54) is mounted on a carrier (56) movable in the given direction, the pressing member (44) engaging and driving the carrier (56) a predetermined distance lengthwise of the recesses (28, 34) and thereafter displacing the carrier (56) with respect to the supporting surface (27); and in that the carrier (56) is pivotable about an axis (60) extending parallel to the supporting surface (27) and transversely of the recess (28, 34), the pressing member (44) serving to tilt the carrier (56, 60) about such axis (60), when the carrier (56) has traversed the predetermined distance, to release the pressing member (44) from the carrier (56, 60) and to displace the controller member (54) from the path of the pressing member (44).

6. Apparatus according to Claim 5, characterised in that the pressing member (44) is driven by a press ram (16) for actuating tooling (76) for connecting the wires (2) to electrical terminals, the pressing member (44) being lowered from a position above the working surface (27) to engage the carrier (56) during the initial portion of the working stroke of the ram (16) and being thereafter driven lengthwise of the recesses (28, 34) as the working stroke of the ram (16) progresses.

7. Apparatus according to any one of Claims 1 to 4, characterised in that each recess (139) has one portion (142, 144) which is dimensioned to receive a twisted pair (102) of wires and another portion consisting of a pair of juxtaposed grooves (146 and 148) diverging from one another in the given direction from the one.end of the one portion (142, 144) of the recess (139), each groove (146, 148) being dimensioned to receive but a single wire (104 or 106) of the twisted pair (102); positioning means (130, 132, 172, 176) being arranged to maintain the pressing and the controller members (150 and 152) spaced by a distance greater than the transverse dimension of the twisted pair (102) of wires whilst the pressing member (150) is passing over the one portion (142, 144) of the recess (139) and to maintain the pressing and the controller members (150 and 152) spaced by a distance substantially equal to the diameter of a single wire (104 or 106) of the pair (142) whilst the pressing member (150) is passing over the grooves (146 and 148), whereby portions of the wires (104 and 106) of the twisted pair (102) are untwisted between the pressing and the controller members (150 and 152) to allow each untwisted wire portion to be pressed into one of the grooves (146 and 148) by the pressing member (150).

8. Apparatus according to Claim 7, characterised by a slide (163) which is movable relative to the templet (134), in the longitudinal direction of the recesses (139), the pressing member (150) being mounted on the slide (163) for movement towards and away from the supporting surface (140) and the controller member (152) being mounted on the slide (163) for movement relatively towards the pressing member (150) during the movement of the slide (163) in the given direction.

9. Apparatus according to Claim 7, characterised in that the positioning means comprise cam surfaces (129, 130, 132) fixed relative to the templet'(134) and a co-operating cam follower (176) connected to the controller member (152), the controller member (152) being carried by a support (172) which is mounted for eccentric pivotal movement on the slide (163), the cam follower (176) being provided on the support (172) which is resiliently biased to urge the cam follower (176) against the cam surfaces (129, 130, 132).

10. Apparatus according to Claim 7, characterised in that a cam surface (130) beside the recess (139) and in alignment with the one end of the one portion (144) of the recess lies in the path of movement of a cam follower (176) connected to the controller member (152), the cam surface (130) being mountable by the cam follower (176) to retard movement of the controller member (152) in the given direction.

Drawing