Electrical capped contact stud and method of fastening an electrical contact
First Claim
1. An electrical contact system for receiving an electrical earth contact, the system comprising:
- a shank having an external thread;
a contact flange adjoining the shank, the contact flange having a contact face facing the shank; and
a polymeric cap nut having an internal thread adapted for self locking with the external thread of the shank;
wherein a maximum torque of 4 Nm applied to the cap nut is operable to engage the contact between the cap nut and the contact flange.
1 Assignment
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Accused Products
Abstract
A device and method for creating an electrical contact region between an electrical contact shoe and a stud is provided. The stud includes a flange having a contact face facing a threaded shank. A welding portion extending from the flange faces opposite to the contact face. The welding portion is stud welded to a metal sheet having a thickness of 0.6 mm or less. A cap nut made of a plastic material is fastened to the stud, the plastic material permitting self-locking. To prevent deformation of the metal sheet, a maximum torque of 4 Nm is applied to the cap nut. The cap nut serves a first function of sealing against paint penetration into the electrical contact region and a second function of creating electrical contact between the contact shoe and the stud.
18 Citations
46 Claims
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1. An electrical contact system for receiving an electrical earth contact, the system comprising:
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a shank having an external thread;
a contact flange adjoining the shank, the contact flange having a contact face facing the shank; and
a polymeric cap nut having an internal thread adapted for self locking with the external thread of the shank;
wherein a maximum torque of 4 Nm applied to the cap nut is operable to engage the contact between the cap nut and the contact flange. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10)
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11. A method for creating an electrical earth contact to electrically couple a contact shoe to an electrical contact stud using a polymeric material cap nut, the method comprising:
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creating an external thread on a shank of the stud;
fixing a contact flange to the stud such that the contact flange faces the shank;
threading the cap nut onto the shank until the cap nut engages the contact flange; and
applying a maximum torque of 4 Nm to the polymeric material cap nut to electrically engage the contact shoe between the cap nut and the flange. - View Dependent Claims (12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22)
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23. A method for applying a polymeric cap nut to fasten an electrical earth contact having an external thread and a contact face, the method comprising:
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creating each of a thread orifice, an internal thread and a sealing flange for the polymeric cap nut;
threading the internal thread of the polymeric cap nut onto the external thread of the electrical earth contact; and
applying a maximum torque of 4 Nm to the polymeric cap nut to engage the sealing flange against the contact face of the electrical earth contact. - View Dependent Claims (24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37)
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38. A method for connecting an electrical contact to a contact stud pre-mounted to a vehicle using a cap nut, the contact stud including a shank having external threads facing a contact flange, the method comprising:
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aligning a contact face of the contact flange facing the shank;
stud welding the contact stud to the vehicle;
creating internal threads in the cap nut;
inclining the internal threads of the cap nut different from the external threads of the shank to operably permit the cap nut to self-lock with the contact stud;
positioning the electrical contact adjacent the contact face;
threading the cap nut onto the external threads of the shank until the cap nut engages the electrical contact with the contact face; and
applying a maximum torque of 4 Nm to the cap nut. - View Dependent Claims (39, 40, 41)
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42. A method for limiting a torque load applied to a paintable workpiece when an electrical contact is connected to the workpiece, the electrical contact having an electrical contact area including a contact flange of a stud and a contact face of a non-conductive cap nut, the method comprising:
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welding the stud to the workpiece;
preliminarily tightening the cap nut onto the contact stud using a torque of approximately 1 Nm to operably seal the contact flange against the contact face;
painting the workpiece including an external surface of the cap nut;
partially unscrewing the cap nut from the contact stud;
intermediately placing the electrical contact between the contact flange and the contact face; and
applying a torque to the cap nut of up to 4 Nm. - View Dependent Claims (43, 44, 45, 46)
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Specification