The present disclosure relates generally to electrical components and in particular to fuses, such as automotive fuses.
Automobile and other female fuse assemblies commonly include a two-piece assembly having an insulating housing and an all metal one-piece female fuse secured therein. The female fuse has a pair of spaced apart female terminals that are accessible from one end of the housing, into which male terminals are inserted. The male blade-type terminals or conductors extend typically from a mounting panel or male fuse block. The female terminals are typically held tightly within walls of the insulating housing. The female fuse also includes a fuse element that extends between the female terminals. The width of the fuse element is typically narrowed to create a fuse opening portion for the fuse.
The terminals need to be inserted into the housing during manufacturing, requiring an opening on one end, which is then capped. The other end of the housing is open for engagement with the fuse block terminals. Once the housing is in position relative to the terminals, the terminals need to be restrained from moving any further in the insertion direction relative to the housing. Once the fuse opens it needs to be replaced. An operator pulls the opened fuse from the fuse block and replaces the opened fuse with a new fuse. The force needed to remove the fuse is not inconsequential given that the fuse needs to be secured under vibrating operating conditions. Likewise, the force needed to reinsert the new fuse is not inconsequential. Accordingly, an apparatus is needed that allows the terminal to be inserted into the housing in one (fuse insertion) direction but prevents the housing from being further moved in the fuse insertion direction relative to the housing once the terminals are in a desired position relative to the housing.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,929,740 (“the '740 Patent”), assigned to the assignee of the present disclosure, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference, describes one such apparatus. FIGS. 1, 8 and 17 of the '740 Patent perhaps best show what are termed “lances” 132 and 134 that secure the housing to the fuse terminals. Beginning at column 8, line 66, the '740 Patent reads as follows:
For the purpose of securing the female fuse within main portion 106 of the housing 2, the first female terminal portion 6 includes a first lance 132. The first lance is defined by a first lance cutout portion 136 on the first face portion 10 of the first female terminal portion 6, and is substantially centered between the first and second ends 14, 18 of the first face portion 10 of the first female terminal portion 6. The first lance 132 includes a first lance edge 140. Likewise, the second female terminal portion 8 further includes a second lance 134. The second lance 134 is defined by a second lance cutout portion 138 on the second face portion 12 of the second female terminal portion 8, and is substantially centered between the first and second ends 16, 20 of the second face portion 12 of the second female terminal portion 8. The second lance 134 also has a second lance edge 142. When the female fuse 4 is inserted into the main portion 108 of the housing 2, the first lance edge locks into the first interior cutout portion 120, and engages with the first cutout upper wall 126. Likewise, the second lance edge 142 locks into the second interior cutout portion 122, and engages with the second cutout upper wall 130. The cap 108 of the housing 2 is preferably transparent, and locks into the main portion 108 through well known techniques.
The bent lances 132 and 143 have in certain cases caused problems due primarily to inconsistencies in the bending process. The lances 132 and 134 are quite small, making consistent bending somewhat problematic. If the lances 132 and 134 are not bent far enough, they will not engage the cutout walls 126 and 130 properly. If the lances 132 and 143 are overly bent, they lose too much force for resistance against the terminals being pushed up into the housing.
A need therefore exists for an improved fuse housing holder apparatus.
The present disclosure addresses the above-described deficiency in the prior art. While fuses, such as female automotive fuses, provide one suitable application for the housing securing apparatus of the present disclosure, the apparatus can be applied in other electrical components, such as male blade and other types of fuses and fuse holders, circuit breakers, and electrical connectors. In one embodiment, the fuse or electrical component includes an insulating housing. A conductive member inserted into the housing until hitting a stop provided by the housing, wherein the conductive member is configured to mate with a conductive portion of a device that mates with the electrical component, the mating device thereby applying a force to the conductive portion. For example, the conductive member can include female terminals as shown in detail below, which mate with male terminals attached to a fuse block or other fuse center. The male terminals thereby apply a force, e.g., a spring-like clamping force that holds the fuse in place even under vibrating conditions. The present apparatus prevents the terminals from being pushed into the housing. The conductive member could alternatively include male blade-type terminals that mate with female terminals attached to the fuse block or center.
The conductive member includes a wall that can for example be a wall bridging the female terminals located at the bottom of the housing and a fuse element located at the top of the housing. The wall defines or provides a projection that is at least substantially coplanar with the wall. The housing includes an internal catch that flexes when the conductive member is inserted into the housing to allow the projection to move past the catch, so that the conductive member can hit the stop, at which point the catch unflexes or snaps back into locking engagement with the projection.
The conductive member in one embodiment includes first and second terminals (or terminal pairs as shown in detail below), such as first and second female terminals. The first and second female terminals each extend from first and second terminal bodies. The first and second terminal bodies in one embodiment are four-sided, each having a front wall, rear wall, inner wall and outer wall. The terminals in one embodiment extend from the inner and outer walls of the terminal bodies. The projection(s) is formed on one of the front or rear walls of the terminal body.
A fuse element extends between the terminal bodies, for example from the outer wall of the first body to the outer wall of the second body. The fuse element includes a fuse link located in one embodiment above the first and second bodies and in the approximate center of the fuse element. The fuse link is narrowed and provides a high resistance point at which the fuse opens. To this end, the fuse link can be provided with one or more spot of dissimilar, low melting temperature metal commonly termed a Metcalf spot, which aids in the opening of the fuse at the fuse link.
The stop and the catch of the housing fix the conductive member (e.g., including terminal bodies, fuse element and terminals) relative to the housing in both a (manufacturing and application) insertion direction and a direction opposite the insertion direction (e.g., opened fuse removal direction). During manufacture, the housing is initially open at its top. The conductive member is inserted into the housing and snap-fitted over the catch. The housing is then capped at its top end, that is, the end into which the conductive member is inserted into the housing before being capped. The housing is open at the opposite or bottom end, so that the fuse and housing can be inserted onto (or receive) the mating device. The mating device in one embodiment includes first and second male terminals that extend from a fuse block or fuse center. The first and second male terminals slip into the first and second female terminals (or terminal pairs) for operation.
As shown in detail below, the projection of the front or rear wall is formed by removing a section of the front or rear wall and in one embodiment a section of the front wall. The metal removal is done while the conductive member is in a flat or unbent condition, that is, before the flat is bent to form the terminal bodies having the inner, outer, front and back walls. The metal removal can be via a process selected from the group consisting of: (i) stamping; (ii) laser cutting; and (iii) wire electrical discharge machining (“EDM”). After the metal sections are removed, the projection can have a shape that is at least one of: pointed, trapezoidal and triangular.
As shown below, the projection in one embodiment includes a lower or engaging edge that engages the catch as the conductive member is inserted into the housing. The engaging edge is angled so as to gradually and increasingly flex the catch as the conductive member moves along the catch. For example, the engaging edge can have an angle of about forty-five degrees relative to a horizontal line (parallel to cap or top of the housing).
The projection can also include an upper or catching edge that comes into locking engagement with the housing, the catching edge can also be angled so as to have a directional component that opposes an insertion direction of the conductive member into the insulating housing. In this manner, the catching edge knifes up into a mating surface of the (catch of the) housing, preventing further movement of the housing in the (manufacturing and application) insertion direction relative to the conductive member.
In one embodiment, the mating surface is also angled, so as to mate with the angle of the catching or upper edge of the projection. The angle of the catching or upper edge of the projection is in one embodiment less severe (e.g., thirty degrees relative to a horizontal line) than the angle of the engaging edge of the projection, so that the projection forms a somewhat pointed, triangular or trapezoidal shape for projecting upward into the mating surface of the housing.
As seen below, the front or rear (projection) walls of the terminal bodies are bent along bendlines from the outer walls of the terminal bodies. The inner walls are bent along separate bendlines to for the box-like shape of the terminal bodies. A section of the bendline between the outer and front (or rear) wall can be removed at a top portion of the bendline (portion opposing the projection), so that the upper portion of the front or rear (projection) wall can flex or bend slightly as the projection is pulled over the catch of the housing. Such flexing or bending in combination with the flexing of the catch helps to produce the snap-fit of the housing onto the conductive member.
As mentioned above, the conductive member in one embodiment includes first and second terminal bodies, each having terminals extending downward from the bodies (to mate with separate, e.g., male terminals of a fuse box). Each of the bodies provides a projection, in which the projection is preferably formed from and thus at least substantially coplanar with one of the walls of the body. The catch flexes to accommodate each projection. Or, first and second catches are provided individually for the first and second projections so that the first and second catches can flex individually. In either case, to distribute the forces applied by the projections, the first and second projections can be: (i) disposed relative to each other so as to be adjacent to opposing sides of the housing and (ii) disposed relative to each other so as to be adjacent to diagonally spaced apart corners of the housing. It is also contemplated to form multiple projections on the same terminal body, e.g., one on the front wall and one on the rear wall of the terminal body.
It is accordingly an advantage of the present disclosure to provide an electric component including an insulating housing; a conductive member inserted into the housing and configured to mate with a conductive portion of a device that mates with the electrical component, the conductive member including a wall, the wall cut to form a projection that is at least substantially coplanar with the wall; and wherein the housing includes a catch that flexes when the conductive member is inserted into the housing to allow the projection to move past the catch, at which point the catch snaps into locking engagement with the projection.
It is another advantage of the present disclosure to provide an electric component including: an insulating housing; and a conductive member inserted into the housing and configured to mate with a conductive portion of a device that mates with the electrical component, the conductive member including a wall, the wall defining a projection that is at least substantially coplanar with the wall and that has an engaging edge angled so as to gradually and increasingly engage a portion of the housing as the conductive member is inserted into the housing, the projection eventually moving into locking engagement with the housing.
It is a further advantage of the present disclosure to provide an electric component including: an insulating housing; and a conductive member inserted into the housing and configured to mate with a conductive portion of a device that mates with the electrical component, the conductive member including a wall, the wall defining a projection that is at least substantially coplanar with the wall and that engages a portion of the housing as the conductive member is inserted into the housing, wherein at least one of the projection and the engaged portion of the housing flexes to allow the projection move eventually into locking engagement with the housing.
Additional features and advantages are described herein, and will be apparent from the following Detailed Description and the figures.
Referring now to the drawings and in particular to
Each of terminal bodies 20a and 20b includes a front wall 14, a rear wall 16, an outer wall 18 and an inner wall 22 (formed via first and second inner wall panels 22a and 22b as seen best in
Fuse element 30 includes fuse element legs 32a and 32b (each leg can have multiple extensions as illustrated in
Fuse link 34 forms a ring between legs 32a and 32b. Lower melting temperature (Metcalf) spots 36a and 36b are placed at desired areas of the ringed fuse link 34.
Projections 50 are formed during the cutting (e.g., stamping; (ii) laser cutting; or (iii) wire electrical discharge machining (“EDM”)) and bending of conductive member 10. Each projection 50 includes an engaging edge 52 and a catching edge 54. Engaging edge 52 is formed at an angle, e.g., from about forty to sixty (forty-five as illustrated) degrees, via a slot 56a cut into both inner wall panel 22a (or inner wall panel 22b) and front wall 14 (or rear wall 16). Engaging edge 52 engages a catch of the housing shown below in
Catching edge 54 is formed at an angle, e.g., between ten and thirty (twenty as illustrated) degrees, via a slot 56b cut again into both inner wall panel 22a (or inner wall panel 22b) and front wall 14 (or rear wall 16). Catching edge 54 in the illustrated embodiment has a less severe angle than does engaging edge 52, such that edges 52 and 54 and tip 58 form a trapezoidal shape. Tip 58 is alternatively rounded or at least substantially pointed, such that projection 50 is more triangular than trapezoidal. In both cases, projection 50 forms a knife or lance in which the projection is angled so as to be against the direction that the conductive member 10 is moving as the member is inserted into the housing. This angle causes the projections 50 to knife up into the housing when conductive member 10 is fully assembled to prevent the conductive member from being pushed further up into the housing, e.g., upon fuse insertion into a fuse block. In the fuse example, it is desirable to maintain space between the fuse element 30 and the top of the housing for proper operation and opening of the element. Projections 50 ensure that the space between the top of the housing and fuse element 30 is maintained.
Referring now to
Stops 114 engage the bottoms 14a and 16a (see also
Catch 112 includes a mating surface 116 and an engagement surface 118. When conductive member 10 has been inserted fully into housing 110 in the direction of the arrow of
Although not seen, catch 112 including the mating surface 116 and the engagement surface 118 are repeated on the rear wall 16 side of component 100. On the rear wall side, catch 112 extends vertically down to stop 114 at the terminal body 20b side of housing 110 as opposed to the catch 112 extending vertically downwardly to stop 114 at the terminal body 20a side of housing 110 as shown from the front in
In one alternative embodiment, catch 112 is split into separate catches, one for each projection 50. In another alternative embodiment, catch 112 is split into separate catches, one for each projection 50. In a further alternative embodiment, a projection 50 is provided for each front wall 14 and rear wall 16 of the same terminal body 20a or 20b, but for only one of the terminal bodies. In still another alternative embodiment, a projection 50 is provided for each front wall 14 and rear wall 16 of the same terminal body 20a or 20b and for both terminal bodies. In yet another alternative embodiment, only a single projection 50 is needed.
It should be appreciated that projection 50 is at least substantially coplanar with (and in the illustrated embodiment is part of the same wall as) front wall 14 or rear wall 16. In one alternative embodiment, projection 50 is welded or soldered to wall 14 or 16. Here, the weld could be a spot type weld such that the projection would not be coplanar with wall 14 or 16 but instead be abutted up against the wall, so as to be at least substantially parallel with wall 14 or 16. Given the smaller size of component 100 and the cost and precision required for such welding, however, a one-piece, coplanar projection 50 is preferred.
Referring now to
Referring now to
It should be understood that various changes and modifications to the presently preferred embodiments described herein will be apparent to those skilled in the art. Such changes and modifications can be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present subject matter and without diminishing its intended advantages. It is therefore intended that such changes and modifications be covered by the appended claims.
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