Patent Application
20180351272
The invention is directed to a cartridge heater assembly. In particular, the invention is directed to a cartridge heater assembly in which a cartridge heater makes a mechanical and electrical connection to a circuit board without the need for soldering.
A cartridge heater is a heating element which includes an outer metal enclosure or sheath which contains a resistive heating element or wiring separated from the sheath by electrical insulation. The cartridge heater may be positioned in a cartridge heater assembly which includes a connector, a printed circuit board and the cartridge heater. The cartridge heater is electrically connected to the printed circuit board by means of terminals or wires which must be soldered to the printed circuit board. This can be an expensive and time consuming. In addition, the geometry of the assembly is limited due to the fact that soldering must be accommodated.
It would, therefore, be beneficial to provide a cartridge heater and cartridge heater assembly which can be easily assembled and which does not require soldering to a printed circuit board. In particular, it would be beneficial to provide a cartridge heater which has terminals or electrical contact members provided thereon which can engage and make mechanical and electrical connection with the printed circuit board utilizing press fit technology.
An embodiment is directed to a cartridge heater assembly. The cartridge heater assembly includes a cartridge heater. A first electrical contact member is provided in electrical and mechanical engagement with the cartridge heater. The first electrical contact member has first mounting legs which are dimensioned to be press fit into first openings of a circuit board. A second electrical contact member is provided in electrical and mechanical engagement with the cartridge heater. The second electrical contact member has second mounting legs which are dimensioned to be press fit into second openings of the circuit board. An insulating member is provided between the first electrical contact member and the second electrical contact member.
An embodiment is directed to an electrical connector assembly. The electrical connector assembly has a housing, a circuit board and a cartridge heater assembly. The housing has a cavity which receives the circuit board therein. The cartridge heater assembly comprising has a cartridge heater having a raised member provided at an end of the cartridge heater and a projection which extends from the end of the cartridge heater. The projection extends through, but is isolated from, the raised member. A first electrical contact member has first contact projections positioned on, and spaced periodically along, an opening in the first electrical contact member. The first contact projections are provided in electrical engagement with the raised member. The first electrical contact member has first mounting legs which are dimensioned to be press fit into first openings of the circuit board. A second electrical contact member has second contact projections positioned on, and spaced periodically along an opening in the second electrical contact member. The second contact projections are provided in electrical engagement with the projection of the cartridge heater. The second electrical contact member has second mounting legs which are dimensioned to be press fit into second openings of the circuit board. An insulating member is provided between the first electrical contact member and the second electrical contact member.
An embodiment is directed to a method of assembling an electrical connector assembly having a cartridge heater assembly. The method includes: forming the cartridge heater assembly by assembling a first electrical contact member to a cartridge heater; assembling an insulator member over the first electrical contact member; and assembling a second electrical contact member to the cartridge heater. The method also includes overmolding a housing over the cartridge heater assembly and pressing ends of the first electrical contact member and the second electrical contact member into openings of a circuit board positioned in a cavity of the housing.
Other features and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following more detailed description of the preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings which illustrate, by way of example, the principles of the invention.
The description of illustrative embodiments according to principles of the present invention is intended to be read in connection with the accompanying drawings, which are to be considered part of the entire written description. In the description of embodiments of the invention disclosed herein, any reference to direction or orientation is merely intended for convenience of description and is not intended in any way to limit the scope of the present invention. Relative terms such as “lower,” “upper,” “horizontal,” “vertical,” “above,” “below,” “up,” “down,” “top” and “bottom” as well as derivative thereof (e.g., “horizontally,” “downwardly,” “upwardly,” etc.) should be construed to refer to the orientation as then described or as shown in the drawing under discussion. These relative terms are for convenience of description only and do not require that the apparatus be constructed or operated in a particular orientation unless explicitly indicated as such. Terms such as “attached,” “affixed,” “connected,” “coupled,” “interconnected,” and similar refer to a relationship wherein structures are secured or attached to one another either directly or indirectly through intervening structures, as well as both movable or rigid attachments or relationships, unless expressly described otherwise. Moreover, the features and benefits of the invention are illustrated by reference to the preferred embodiments. Accordingly, the invention expressly should not be limited to such preferred embodiments illustrating some possible non-limiting combination of features that may exist alone or in other combinations of features, the scope of the invention being defined by the claims appended hereto.
Referring to
As best shown in
The cartridge heater 20 has a heating coil (not shown), insulation (not shown) and a sheath 30. As is known in the industry, the heating coil is the actual resistance which is where the electrical load occurs. The heating coil may be a wire which is wound around a core, with the number of spirals per inch varying according to the requested watt density. Potential from the electrical current source flows through the coiled wire, heating the wire, which in turn, heats the sheath. The insulation prevents the coil from contacting the sheath. The sheath 30 is the part of the cartridge heater which makes contact with the material or substance to be heated.
As best shown in
As best shown in
The cartridge heater engagement member 40 has a first opening 46 provided at the center thereof. First contact projections 48 are positioned on, and are spaced periodically along a wall 50 of the opening 46. The contact projections 48 extend from the wall 50 into the opening 46. The contact projections 48 form a smaller inner opening 47, as represented by the dotted line in
The printed circuit board engagement member 42 has one or more first circuit board engaging projections 52 which extend from the printed circuit board engagement member 42 in a direction away from the cartridge heater engagement member 40. The circuit board engaging projections 52 have enlarged sections 54 which are configured to be press fit into openings of a printed circuit board or other type of substrate. Securing projections 56 extend from sides of the printed circuit board engagement member 42.
When inserted onto the cartridge heater 20, the opening 46 of the cartridge heater engagement member 40 aligns with the raised circular member 32. As insertion continues, ends of the contact projections 48 of the cartridge heater engagement member 40 engage the raised circular member 32. As the inner opening 47 has a diameter which is less than the diameter of the raised circular member 32, the contact projections 48 are caused to resiliently deform, as shown in
As best shown in
With the first electrical contact member 22 properly positioned on the cartridge heater 20, the isolator member 24 is positioned over the first electrical contact member 22, as shown in
The isolator member 24 has a generally circular main portion 60 with flat positioning portion 62 extending therefrom. The isolator member 24 has a first surface 64 which engages the first electrical contact member 22 and a second surface 66 which engages the second electrical contact member 26. A raised wall 68 is provided about the perimeter of the second surface 66.
The isolator member 24 has an opening 70 provided at the center thereof. The opening 70 has a diameter which is less than the diameter of the raised circular member 32 but larger than the diameter of the threaded projection 36, thereby allowing the threaded projection 36 to be inserted therethrough.
When inserted onto the cartridge heater 20, the opening 70 of the isolator member 24 aligns with the threaded projection 36. The isolator member 24 may be made from material having the appropriate dielectric properties to prevent the flow of current between the first electrical contact member 22 and the second electrical contact member 26.
With the first electrical contact member 22 and the isolator member 24 properly positioned on the cartridge heater 20, the second electrical contact member 26 is positioned over the isolator member 24, as shown in
As best shown in
The cartridge heater engagement member 80 has a second opening 86 provided at the center thereof. Second contact projections 88 are positioned on, and are spaced periodically along, a wall 90 of the opening 86. The contact projections 88 extend from the wall 90 into the opening 86. The contact projections 88 form a smaller inner opening 87, as represented by the dotted line in
The printed circuit board engagement member 82 has one or more second circuit board engaging projections 92 which extend from the printed circuit board engagement member 82 in a direction away from the cartridge heater engagement member 80. The circuit board engaging projections 92 have enlarged sections 94 which are configured to be press fit into openings of a printed circuit board or other type of substrate. Securing projections 96 extend from sides of the printed circuit board engagement member 82.
When inserted onto the cartridge heater 20, the opening 86 of the cartridge heater engagement member 80 aligns with the threaded projection 36. As insertion continues, ends of the contact projections 88 of the cartridge heater engagement member 80 engage the threaded projection 36. As the inner opening 87 has a diameter which is less than the diameter of the threaded projection 36, the contact projections 88 are caused to resiliently deform, as shown in
As best shown in
With the first electrical contact member 22, the isolator member 24 and the second electrical contact member 26 positioned on the cartridge heater 20, the fastening member 28 is positioned on and secured to the threaded projection 36. In the embodiment shown, the fastening member is a threaded nut, but other types of fastening members may be used without departing from the scope of the invention. As shown in
When the fastening member 28 is fully inserted onto the threaded projection 36, the first electrical contact member 22, the isolator member 24 and the second electrical contact member 26 are securely maintained in position on the cartridge heater 20. This allows the cartridge heater assembly 16 to be used in environments which experience significant vibration, such as, but not limited to, an engine compartment.
In the illustrative embodiment shown, the cartridge heater assembly 16 is positioned in a mold cavity and the base housing 12 of the connector assembly 10 is overmolded onto the cartridge heater assembly 14. As best shown in
A printed circuit board 116 is positioned in the cavity. Through holes 118 of the printed circuit board 116 are provided and are positioned in electrical and mechanical engagement with the enlarged sections 54 of the circuit board engaging projections 52 of the first electrical contact member 22, the enlarged sections 94 of the circuit board engaging projections 92 of the second electrical contact member 26, and with the contact members 115 of the connector module 14. The enlarged sections 54, 94 form a frictional engagement or press fit with the through holes 118 of the circuit board 116.
With the circuit board 116 properly positioned in the cavity 114, a resin or epoxy (not shown) is positioned in the cavity 114. The resin fills the cavity 116 and seals the circuit board 116, the enlarged sections 54 of the circuit board engaging projections 52 of the printed circuit board engagement member 42 of the first electrical contact member 22, and the enlarged sections 94 of the circuit board engaging projections 92 of the printed circuit board engagement member 82 of the second electrical contact member 26 from environmental conditions.
The printed circuit board engagement member 42 has one or more circuit board engaging projections 52 which extend from the printed circuit board engagement member 42 in a direction away from the cartridge heater engagement member 40. The circuit board engaging projections 52 have enlarged sections 54 which are configured to be press fit into openings of a printed circuit board or other type of substrate. Securing projections 56 extend from sides of the printed circuit board engagement member 42.
The cartridge heater assembly as described herein can be easily assembled and does not require soldering to a printed circuit board. The use of the first and second electrical contact members provides greater flexibility in design and allows for greater modularity of the connector assembly.
While the invention has been described with reference to a preferred embodiment, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in the accompanying claims. In particular, it will be clear to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in other specific forms, structures, arrangements, proportions, sizes, and with other elements, materials and components, without departing from the spirit or essential characteristics thereof. One skilled in the art will appreciate that the invention may be used with many modifications of structure, arrangement, proportions, sizes, materials and components and otherwise used in the practice of the invention, which are particularly adapted to specific environments and operative requirements without departing from the principles of the present invention. The presently disclosed embodiments are therefore to be considered in all respects as illustrative and not restrictive, the scope of the invention being defined by the appended claims, and not limited to the foregoing description or embodiments.
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62512923 | May 2017 | US |
