Patent Application
20250233336
The present disclosure relates to a terminal assembly and more particularly to a terminal assembly having an oblong male terminal and an oblong female terminal.
Modern vehicles (for example, automobiles) rely on electrical wiring and electrical connections to facilitate communication between various electronic components within the vehicle. Connection systems (for example, connectors and terminals) play an important role in ensuring the integrity of these electrical connections and the reliability and performance of the vehicle. Some connection systems include a male terminal and a female terminal. In some situations, it is desirable to secure the male terminal with the female terminal such that the male terminal is electrically connected with the female terminal. During extended use of certain connection systems, the connection between the male terminal and the female terminal may become loose such that the female terminal may move excessively relative to the male terminal. This may result in a weak electrical connection or a loss in electrical connection between the male terminal and the female terminal. In view of the foregoing, while current connection systems have proven acceptable for their intended purpose, a continuous need for improvement remains in the pertinent art to address the challenges associated with ensuring a secure connection between mating terminals.
The background description provided here is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent it is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
One aspect of the disclosure provides a terminal assembly. The terminal assembly includes a male terminal and a female terminal. The male terminal includes a first base and a protrusion extending from the first base. The protrusion defines an oblong shape. The female terminal includes a second base and a plurality of projections extending from the second base. The second base defines a void configured to receive the protrusion. The plurality of projections are disposed around the void and collectively define an oblong shape. In an assembled configuration, the protrusion engages the plurality of projections such that the male terminal is connected with the female terminal.
Another aspect of the disclosure provides a method of assembling a terminal assembly. The method includes disposing at least a portion of a protrusion of a male terminal in a void of a female terminal. The protrusion defines an oblong shape. A base of the female terminal defines the void. The method also includes engaging a plurality of projections of the female terminal with the protrusion. The plurality of projections are disposed around the void and collectively define an oblong shape. In an assembled configuration, the male terminal is electrically connected with the female terminal.
Further areas of applicability of the present disclosure will become apparent from the detailed description, the claims, and the drawings. The detailed description and specific examples are intended for purposes of illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the disclosure.
The present disclosure will become more fully understood from the detailed description and the accompanying drawings.
In the drawings, reference numbers may be reused to identify similar and/or identical elements.
With reference to
With continued reference to
With reference to
In various implementations, the base 20 may be coupled to an electrical contact 24. The electrical contact 24 comprises one or more conductive materials. The base 20 may be secured to the electrical contact 24 via a soldering process, a reflow process, a heat press process, or a brass clad process, among others. In the assembled configuration, the electrical contact 24 is electrically connected with the electrical component 16a such that the male terminal 12 is electrically connected with the electrical component 16a.
In various implementations, the protrusion 22 forms an oblong-shaped configuration. For example, an outer (for example, peripheral) surface of the protrusion 22 may define an ellipse-shape or oval-shape protruding from the base 20 (for example, from the upper surface of the base 20). In other implementations, the protrusion 22 may form a stadium shape. While the protrusion 22 is generally illustrated as forming a hollow construct, it will be appreciated that the protrusion 22 may form a solid construct within the scope of the present disclosure.
The protrusion 22 may include a width W22 and a length L22 that is greater than the width W22. Alternatively, the protrusion 22 may include a width W22 that is greater than its length L22. In some examples, the protrusion 22 may define a width-to-length ratio of approximately 6:9 or 4:3, among others. As will be explained in more detail below, in an assembled configuration (for example,
In various implementations, the male terminal 12 comprises one or more conductive materials. For example, the male terminal 12 may comprise one or more metals and/or one or more conductive plastics, among others. In some examples, the male terminal 12 may be manufactured via a metal stamping process.
With reference to
In various implementations, the void 32 is defined by an oblong-shaped inner (for example, peripheral) surface 36 of the base 30. For example, the inner (for example, peripheral) surface 36 of the base 30 may define an ellipse-shape or oval-shape. In other implementations, the inner surface 36 of the base 30 defines a stadium shape.
The void 32 may define a width W32 and a length L32 that is greater than the width W32. Alternatively, the void 32 may define a width W32 that is greater than its length L32. In some examples the void 32 may define a width-to-length ratio of approximately 6:9 or 4:3, among others. As will be explained in more detail below, in the assembled configuration (for example,
In various implementations, the projections 34 may be disposed about the void 32 to collectively form an oblong-shaped configuration. For example, inner (for example, peripheral) surfaces 38 of the projections 34 may collectively define an ellipse-shape or oval-shape. In other implementations, the inner surfaces 38 of the projections 34 collectively define a stadium shape. A first plurality (for example, two) of the inner surfaces 38 may define a width W38, and a second plurality (for example, two) of the inner surfaces 38 may define a length L38 that is greater than the width W38. Alternatively, the width W38 may be greater than the length L38. In some examples, a ratio of the width W38 to the length L38 is approximately 6:9 or 4:3, among others. In some implementations, the length L38 is substantially equal to the length L32, and the width W38 is substantially equal to the width W32. In other implementations, the length L38 is less than the length L32, and the width W38 is less than the width W32.
In the assembled configuration (for example,
With reference to
In various implementations, the female terminal 14 comprises one or more conductive materials. For example, the female terminal 14 may comprise one or more metals and/or one or more conductive plastics, among others.
Referring now to
In various implementations, an electrical component (for example, electrical components 16a, 16b) includes one or more of a variety of configurations. For example, an electrical component may include an electrical device, an electrical component of the vehicle 18, and/or an electronics device, among others. In some examples, the electrical component 16a may include an electrical component of the vehicle 18 such as an antenna or a window defroster, among others. The additional electrical component 16b may include an electrical component of the vehicle 18 such as a radio, a telephone, or a window defroster controller, among others.
Referring now to
In various implementations, at least a portion of the protrusion 22 of the male terminal 12 is disposed in the void 32 of the female terminal 14. The protrusion 22 is in contact with the projections 34 of the female terminal 14 and the base 20 of the male terminal 12 is in contact with the base 30 of the female terminal 14 such that the male terminal 12 is electrically connected with the female terminal 14. The oblong shape collectively defined by the projections 34, the oblong shape defined by the inner surface 36, and/or the oblong shape defined by the protrusion 22 restrict the female terminal 14 from moving (for example, rotating) relative to the male terminal 12 thereby forming a robust electrical connection between the female terminal 14 and the male terminal 12. The lengths (for example, the first length L1 and the second length L2) of the projections 34 restrict the female terminal 14 from moving (for example, rotating about an axis extending in a direction of L1 and/or translating in a direction of L1) relative to the male terminal 12 thereby forming a robust electrical connection between the female terminal 14 and the male terminal 12.
In various implementations, the electrical contact 24 is connected with a surface 50 of the vehicle 18. The surface 50 may include a glass surface such as a window or a windshield of the vehicle 18. In various implementations, the terminal assembly 10 may be disposed in a housing (not shown). In some example configurations, the terminal assembly 10 may be encapsulated by a molding process.
At 712, a user may secure a base 20 of a male terminal 12 to the electrical contact 24 such that the male terminal 12 is electrically connected with the electrical component 16a. Control proceeds to 716. At 716, a user may secure at least one electrical wire 42 to a female terminal 14. Control proceeds to 720. At 720, a user may connect an additional electrical component 16b with the electrical wire 42 such that the female terminal 14 is electrically connected with the additional electrical component 16b. Control proceeds to 724.
At 724, a user may dispose at least a portion of a protrusion 22 of the male terminal 12 in a void 32 of the female terminal 14. Control proceeds to 728. At 728, a user may engage a plurality of projections 34 of the female terminal 14 with the protrusion 22 such that the male terminal 12 is connected with the female terminal 14 and the electrical component 16a is electrically connected with the additional electrical component 16b. Then control ends.
The following Clauses provide an exemplary configuration for a terminal assembly and related methods, as described above.
The foregoing description is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the disclosure, its application, or uses. The broad teachings of the disclosure can be implemented in a variety of forms. Therefore, while this disclosure includes particular examples, the true scope of the disclosure should not be so limited since other modifications will become apparent upon a study of the drawings, the specification, and the following claims. In the written description and claims, one or more steps within a method may be executed in a different order (or concurrently) without altering the principles of the present disclosure. Similarly, one or more instructions stored in a non-transitory computer-readable medium may be executed in a different order (or concurrently) without altering the principles of the present disclosure. Unless indicated otherwise, numbering or other labeling of instructions or method steps is done for convenient reference, not to indicate a fixed order.
Further, although each of the embodiments is described above as having certain features, any one or more of those features described with respect to any embodiment of the disclosure can be implemented in and/or combined with features of any of the other embodiments, even if that combination is not explicitly described. In other words, the described embodiments are not mutually exclusive, and permutations of one or more embodiments with one another remain within the scope of this disclosure.
The terminology used herein is for the purpose of describing particular exemplary configurations only and is not intended to be limiting. As used herein, the singular articles “a,” “an,” and “the” may be intended to include the plural forms as well, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise. The terms “comprises,” “comprising,” “including,” and “having,” are inclusive and therefore specify the presence of features, steps, operations, elements, and/or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, steps, operations, elements, components, and/or groups thereof. The method steps, processes, and operations described herein are not to be construed as necessarily requiring their performance in the particular order discussed or illustrated, unless specifically identified as an order of performance. Additional or alternative steps may be employed.
Spatial and functional relationships between elements (for example, between modules, circuit elements, semiconductor layers, etc.) are described using various terms, including “connected,” “engaged,” “coupled,” “adjacent,” “proximate,” “next to,” “on top of,” “above,” “below,” and “disposed.” Unless explicitly described as being “direct,” when a relationship between first and second elements is described in the above disclosure, that relationship encompasses a direct relationship where no other intervening elements are present between the first and second elements as well as an indirect relationship where one or more intervening elements are present between the first and second elements. Other words used to describe the relationship between elements should be interpreted in a like fashion (e.g., “between” versus “directly between,” “adjacent” versus “directly adjacent,” etc.). As used herein, the term “and/or” includes any and all combinations of one or more of the associated listed items.
The term “set” does not necessarily exclude the empty set—in other words, in some circumstances a “set” may have zero elements. The term “non-empty set” may be used to indicate exclusion of the empty set—in other words, a non-empty set will always have one or more elements. The term “subset” does not necessarily require a proper subset. In other words, a “subset” of a first set may be coextensive with (equal to) the first set. Further, the term “subset” does not necessarily exclude the empty set—in some circumstances a “subset” may have zero elements.
The terms first, second, third, etc. may be used herein to describe various elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections. These elements, components, regions, layers and/or sections should not be limited by these terms. These terms may be only used to distinguish one element, component, region, layer or section from another region, layer or section. Terms such as “first,” “second,” and other numerical terms do not imply a sequence or order unless clearly indicated by the context. Thus, a first element, component, region, layer or section discussed below could be termed a second element, component, region, layer or section without departing from the teachings of the example configurations.
The phrase “at least one of A, B, and C” should be construed to mean a logical (A OR B OR C), using a non-exclusive logical OR, and should not be construed to mean “at least one of A, at least one of B, and at least one of C.” The phrase “at least one of A, B, or C” should be construed to mean a logical (A OR B OR C), using a non-exclusive logical OR.
This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/620,203 filed Jan. 12, 2024, the entire disclosure of which is incorporated
| Number | Date | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 63620203 | Jan 2024 | US |
