Electrical contact having channel with angled sidewalls and romboid knurl pattern

• US 8,622,774 B2
• Filed: 04/19/2012
• Issued: 01/07/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 11/07/2011
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Aptiv Technologies AG (Aptiv PLC)
• Original Assignee: Delphi Technologies, Inc. (BorgWarner Incorporated)
• Inventors: Seifert, Kurt P., Palm, William J., Serbin, Bruce J., Flauto, Lisa L.
• Primary Examiner(s): DINH, PHUONG K
• Application Number:
  US13/450,936
• Publication Number:
  US 20130115830A1
• Time in Patent Office: 628 Days
• Field of Search: 439/877, 439/882, 439/203
• US Class Current: 439/882
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 13/113 co-operating with pins or blades having a rectangular transverse section
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 4/185 combined with a U-shaped insulation-receiving portion
• CPC Class Codes: H01R 4/188 having an uneven wire-receiving surface to improve the contact
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49204 Contact or terminal manufacturing

Abstract

An electrical contact includes at least one grooved channel defined in an interior surface of the electrical contact along at least a portion the electrical contact disposed along a longitudinal axis. The portion is configured to axially receive a lead of a wire cable for attachment thereto and thereby allow the attached lead to at least engagingly make contact against a recessed surface of the grooved channel. The grooved channel has a depth and includes at a least one sidewall extending along the depth. The sidewall includes at least one section that angularly extends from the interior surface to a point recessed from the interior surface disposed on the sidewall along the depth.

Claims

1. An electrical contact comprising:

at least one grooved channel defined in an interior surface of the electrical contact along at least a portion of the electrical contact disposed along a longitudinal axis and configured to axially receive a lead of a wire cable for attachment thereto such that the attached lead engagingly makes contact against a recessed surface of said at least one grooved channel, wherein said at least one grooved channel has a depth and includes at least one sidewall extending along the depth and the at least one sidewall includes at least one section thereof that angularly extends from the interior surface of the electrical contact to a point recessed from the interior surface disposed on the at least one sidewall along the depth; and

a knurl pattern defined in the interior surface of the electrical contact along the portion of the electrical contact, the portion of the electrical contact configured to axially receive the lead of the wire cable for attachment thereto thereby allowing the lead to engagingly contact against the knurl pattern, the knurl pattern including a plurality of elements, each element in the plurality of elements has a shape that includes a plurality of inner corners, a first pair of opposing inner corners defining a generally axial minor distance therebetween and a second pair of opposing inner corners different from said first pair of opposing inner corners defining a major distance therebetween, wherein said generally axial minor distance is less than said major distance.

2. The electrical contact according to claim 1

wherein the knurl pattern is disposed on the interior surface intermediate the at least one grooved channel and a rearward edge of the portion.

3. The electrical contact according to claim 1, wherein said at least one section of the at least one sidewall is an inclined ramp extending in an outbound direction away from the recessed surface being disposed from said point to said interior surface so that the inclined ramp thereat is sloped at a ramp angle, and the ramp angle is in relation to a horizontal plane defined through the point and the horizontal plane has a generally parallel relationship with the interior surface, wherein the ramp angle has a value that is within a range associated with an acute angle.

4. The electrical contact according to claim 1, wherein said point is disposed at the recessed surface.

5. The electrical contact according to claim 4, wherein the at least one sidewall is an inclined ramp extending in an outbound direction away from the recessed surface being disposed from said point disposed at the recessed surface to said interior surface so that the inclined ramp is sloped at a ramp angle, and the ramp angle is in relation to a horizontal plane defined along the recessed surface and defined through the point, and said horizontal plane has a parallel relationship with the interior surface, and the ramp angle has a value that is within a range associated with an acute angle, wherein the acute angle has a maximum angular value of less than 84 degrees.

6. The electrical contact according to claim 1, wherein said at least one grooved channel has a width, and said width is disposed perpendicular to the longitudinal axis.

7. The electrical contact according to claim 1, wherein each element in the plurality of elements includes a surface having a spaced, recessed relationship to said interior surface.

8. The electrical contact according to claim 1, wherein each element in the plurality of elements includes a surface having an area that forms a rhombus shape.

9. The electrical contact according to claim 8, wherein the at least one grooved channel and the knurl pattern are formed in a two-piece die punch.

10. An electrical connection system comprising:

at least one connector that includes one or more electrical contacts and the one or more electrical contacts are in electrical connection with one or more wire cables, and the one or more electrical contacts includes,

at least one grooved channel defined in an interior surface of the-one or more electrical contacts along at least a portion of the one or more electrical contacts disposed along a longitudinal axis and the at least a portion of the one or more electrical contacts configured to axially receive a lead of a wire cable for attachment thereto such that the attached lead engagingly makes contact against a recessed surface of said at least one grooved channel, wherein said at least one grooved channel has a depth and includes at least one sidewall extending along the depth and the at least one sidewall includes at least one section thereof that angularly extends from the interior surface of the one or more electrical contacts to a point recessed from an interior surface disposed on the at least one sidewall along the depth, and

a knurl pattern defined in the interior surface of the one or more electrical contacts along the at least a portion of the one or more electrical contacts along the longitudinal axis and configured to axially receive the lead of the one or more wire cables for attachment thereto thereby allowing the lead to engagingly contact against the knurl pattern, the knurl pattern including a plurality of elements, each element in the plurality of elements has a shape that includes a plurality of inner corners, a first pair of opposing inner corners defining a generally axial minor distance therebetween and a second pair of opposing inner corners different from said first pair of opposing inner corners defining a major distance therebetween, wherein said generally axial minor distance is less than said major distance.

11. The electrical connection system according to claim 10, wherein said at least one section of the at least one sidewall is an inclined ramp extending in an outbound direction away from the recessed surface being disposed from said point to said interior surface so that the inclined ramp is sloped at a ramp angle, and the ramp angle is in relation to a horizontal plane defined through the point, and said horizontal plane has a generally parallel relationship with the interior surface, and the ramp angle has a value that is within a range associated with an acute angle.

12. The electrical connection system according to claim 10, wherein said point is disposed at the recessed surface.

13. The electrical connection system according to claim 12, wherein the at least one sidewall is an inclined ramp extending in an outbound direction away from the recessed surface being disposed from said point disposed at the recessed surface to said interior surface so that the inclined ramp is sloped at a ramp angle, and the ramp angle is in relation to a horizontal plane defined along the recessed surface and through the point, and said horizontal plane has a parallel relationship with the interior surface, and the ramp angle has a value that is within a range associated with an acute angle, wherein the acute angle has a maximum value of less than 84 degrees.

14. The electrical connection system according to claim 10, wherein each element in the plurality of elements includes a surface having a spaced, recessed relationship to said interior surface.

15. The electrical connection system according to claim 10, wherein each element in the plurality of elements includes a surface that comprises a rhombus shape.

16. The electrical connection system according to claim 15, wherein the surface that comprises the rhombus shape of each element in the plurality of elements has a spaced, recessed relationship to said interior surface.

17. The electrical connection system according to claim 10, wherein said one or more electrical contacts in electrical connection with the one or more wire cables are associated with a wiring harness disposed in a motorized vehicle.