BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The subject matter herein relates generally to hand crimp tools.

Crimping machines are used to crimp terminals to wires. Various crimping machines are electrically actuated using a motor to drive the crimper to crimp the terminal to the wire. Such machines use a device to automatically position the wire in the crimp zone by controlling the position of the end of the wire in the crimp zone. Other various crimping machines are hand tools used to crimp the terminal to the wire. Such hand tools are hand crimped by squeezing the tool by hand. The wire is typically held in one hand of the operator and the tool is squeezed by the operator's other hand. However, the wire may be inconsistently positioned, leading to variations in the manufactured assemblies. Additionally, if the wire is inserted with too little force, the terminal may be improperly crimped to the wire and may be inoperable leading to waste.

A need remains for a hand crimp tool that repeatably and reliably positions the wire in the crimp zone during the crimping operation.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In one embodiment, a hand crimp tool is provided including a handle including an upper handle and a lower handle movable relative to each other to open and close the hand crimp tool. The upper handle includes an upper handgrip and the lower handle includes a lower handgrip. The upper handgrip and the lower handgrip are configured to be hand squeezed to close the hand crimp tool. The hand crimp tool includes a head having an upper jaw operably coupled to the upper handle and a lower jaw operably coupled to the lower handle. The head includes a crimp zone between the upper jaw and the lower jaw. The lower jaw includes an anvil configured to hold a terminal and the upper jaw includes a crimper configured to crimp the terminal between the anvil and the crimper when the hand crimp tool is closed. The hand crimp tool includes a wire inserter coupled to the head. The wire inserter includes a carriage movable between an advanced position and a retracted position. The wire inserter has a wire clamp holding a wire in the carriage and the wire inserter moves the wire relative to the head to position and hold the wire in the terminal during crimping of the terminal between the anvil and the crimper.

In another embodiment, a hand crimp tool is provided including a handle including an upper handle and a lower handle movable relative to each other to open and close the hand crimp tool. The upper handle includes an upper handgrip and the lower handle includes a lower handgrip. The upper handgrip and the lower handgrip are configured to be hand squeezed to close the hand crimp tool. The hand crimp tool includes a head having an upper jaw operably coupled to the upper handle and a lower jaw operably coupled to the lower handle. The head includes a crimp zone between the upper jaw and the lower jaw. The lower jaw includes an anvil configured to hold a terminal and the upper jaw includes a crimper configured to crimp the terminal between the anvil and the crimper when the hand crimp tool is closed. The hand crimp tool includes a wire inserter coupled to the head. The wire inserter includes an end piece and guide rails extending from the end piece to the head. The guide rails are coupled to the head. The wire inserter includes a carriage slidable along the guide rails between an advanced position and a retracted position. The carriage is closer to the head in the advanced position than in the retracted position but the carriage is closer to the end piece in the retracted position than in the advanced position. The carriage holds a wire and moving the wire relative to the head to position the wire in the terminal during crimping of the terminal between the anvil and the crimper.

In one embodiment, a hand crimp tool is provided including a handle including an upper handle and a lower handle movable relative to each other to open and close the hand crimp tool. The upper handle includes an upper handgrip and the lower handle includes a lower handgrip. The upper handgrip and the lower handgrip are configured to be hand squeezed to close the hand crimp tool. The hand crimp tool includes a head having an upper jaw operably coupled to the upper handle and a lower jaw operably coupled to the lower handle. The head includes a crimp zone between the upper jaw and the lower jaw. The lower jaw includes an anvil configured to hold a terminal and the upper jaw includes a crimper configured to crimp the terminal between the anvil and the crimper when the hand crimp tool is closed. The hand crimp tool includes a terminal locator coupled to the head proximate to the anvil. The terminal locator has a terminal channel configured to receive the terminal oriented relative to the anvil. The terminal locator has a terminal lock configured to lock the terminal in the terminal channel. The hand crimp tool includes a wire inserter coupled to the head. The wire inserter includes a carriage movable between an advanced position and a retracted position. The wire inserter has a wire clamp holding a wire in the carriage and the wire inserter moves the wire relative to the head to position and hold the wire in the terminal during crimping of the terminal between the anvil and the crimper.

