Patent Application
20100087104
Crimping terminals onto wires provides strong electrical and physical connections to the wire. However, various corrosion products that accumulate on the surface of the terminal and/or wire can impede the electrical connection and weaken the physical connection. This may be especially true if the wire and/or terminal are formed from aluminum or aluminum-based materials. Various methods are employed to overcome these impediments, but few are successful in high volume applications. Making an electrically stable contact with the wire for long periods of time and over many different environmental factors, generally includes breaking through the corrosion products to expose non-corroded portions of the wire, removing the corrosion products on the surface of the terminal, and electrically connecting the non-corroded portions of the wire and terminal to one another in a manner that will be physically stable over time, temperature, and other environmental changes. This is extremely difficult when the wire has traditional serration patterns in the crimp area of the terminal because the hardness of the aluminum is low and the corrosion products are often much harder and tenacious. In addition, the aluminum in the wire tends to extrude out of the ends of the terminal resulting in less contact force with the surface of the terminal. As a result, the wire does not maintain adequate contact with the terminal.
Accordingly, a terminal is needed that can provide a strong electrical and physical connection to the wire, even if the wire is formed from aluminum or an aluminum-based material.
A cable includes a terminal crimped onto a wire. The terminal defines a knurl having a first portion in contact with the wire and a second portion integrally formed with the first portion and in contact with the wire. The first portion is wider than the second portion.
In addition, the terminal includes a material having a unitary configuration and configured to be crimped onto the wire, and a plurality of knurls integrally formed with the material, wherein each of the plurality of knurls defines the first portion and the second portion, wherein the first portion is wider than the second portion.
Moreover, a method includes deforming the terminal to have a substantially U-shaped knurl, wherein the U-shaped knurl has the first portion and the second portion, and deforming the second portion of the U-shaped knurl such that the first portion is wider than the second portion.
A cable includes a wire crimped to a terminal that defines a plurality of knurls having a first portion that is wider than a second portion. A method of forming each knurl includes deforming a terminal to have a substantially U-shaped knurl and deforming the second portion of the U-shaped knurl such that the first portion is wider than the second portion. This resulting knurl has a dovetail-type shaped cross-section in the crimp area of the terminal, similar to the shape of the upper case Greek letter omega (Ω). When the wire is forced into the omega-shaped knurl via the crimping operation pressure, it is held tightly against the terminal itself. In addition, surface oxides or other corrosion products on the wire are broken during crimping. Furthermore, the wire will not be able to move away from the terminal because of the knurl, which results in a highly stable electrical contact over time, temperature, and other environmental changes. Moreover, this method does not crush or reduce the cross-sectional area of the wire. Because the electrical and mechanical functions of the terminal are opposed to each other in a pressure contact, this method will enable both to occur in an operational range. In one exemplary approach, the cable, terminal, and method described herein may be used with aluminum or aluminum-based wires.
A method of forming a knurl pattern with an omega-shaped cross-section on a terminal 10 is illustrated with reference to
Once deformed, in one exemplary approach, the first portion 18 is wider than the second portion 20, and the sides of the second portion 20 are no longer substantially parallel. To do this, as illustrated in
The two substantially V-shaped knurls 22 may deform the terminal 10 simultaneously or in sequence by the deforming tool 16. It is to be appreciated that the U-shaped knurls 14 and V-shaped knurls 22 need only have a U-shaped or V-shaped cross-section or configuration from a side view. For example, the V-shaped knurl 22 may alternatively be pyramid-shaped. In fact, the U-shaped knurls 14 and V-shaped knurls 22 may have any configuration so long as the resulting knurl has the first portion 18 wider than the second portion 20.
Moreover, multiple knurls may be defined by the terminal 10. For example, as illustrated in
Referring to
Referring now to
The above description is intended to be illustrative and not restrictive. Many alternative approaches or applications other than the examples provided would be apparent to those of skill in the art upon reading the above description. The scope of the invention should be determined, not with reference to the above description, but should instead be determined with reference to the appended claims, along with the full scope of equivalents to which such claims are entitled. It is anticipated and intended that future developments will occur in the arts discussed herein, and that the disclosed systems and methods will be incorporated into such future examples. In sum, it should be understood that the invention is capable of modification and variation and is limited only by the following claims.
The present embodiments have been particularly shown and described, which are merely illustrative of the best modes. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that various alternatives to the embodiments described herein may be employed in practicing the claims without departing from the spirit and scope as defined in the following claims. It is intended that the following claims define the scope of the invention and that the method and apparatus within the scope of these claims and their equivalents be covered thereby. This description should be understood to include all novel and non-obvious combinations of elements described herein, and claims may be presented in this or a later application to any novel and non-obvious combination of these elements. Moreover, the foregoing embodiments are illustrative, and no single feature or element is essential to all possible combinations that may be claimed in this or a later application.
All terms used in the claims are intended to be given their broadest reasonable constructions and their ordinary meanings as understood by those skilled in the art unless an explicit indication to the contrary is made herein. In particular, use of the singular articles such as “a,” “the,” “said,” etc. should be read to recite one or more of the indicated elements unless a claim recites an explicit limitation to the contrary.
