Terminal and method for retaining a component to a surface, and manufacturing method and apparatus

A clip terminal for fixedly retaining a casing is provided. The terminal may have a connector part, at least one upstanding retention clip having a first height relative to a surface of the connector part, and a shielding part. The shielding part is located on an edge of the connector part and projects upwards relative to a surface of the connector part, and has a second height relative to the surface of the connector part which is greater than the first height. Alternatively, a clip terminal comprises a connector part, at least one upstanding retention clip, and a shielding part wherein the shielding part includes an extension portion at a top end that forms a surface for interaction with a suction instrument. A method of retaining a casing relative to a circuit board is also provided. Forming a clip terminal is provided along with a corresponding apparatus.

FIELD OF INVENTION

The invention relates to removably retaining a component to a surface, in particular, to a terminal and method for the retention of a shield casing on a printed circuit board (PCB), and a manufacturing method and apparatus thereof.

BACKGROUND

In order to shield electronic components on a PCB in electronic devices against Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) or Radio Frequency Interference (RFI), shielding in the form of an electrically conductive shield casing or box is commonly placed on the PCB so as to cover the electronic components to be shielded. EMI or RFI can be caused by external influences, or by other parts of the electronic circuit itself, such as antennas or power supplies.

A method of shielding can be achieved when a closed metal can with a free rim at downwardly extending side pieces is soldered to the PCB along the entire free edge of the metal casing. A critical requirement that must be fulfilled in order to achieve good shielding is that the connection between the shield casing free edges and the PCB is well controlled. If any areas of the free edges are not in contact with the PCB creating an electrical contact, the shielding efficiency can be influenced by the largest gap between the shield casing and the PCB. A disadvantage of directly soldering the shield casing to the PCB is in the difficulty of removing the shield casing once it has been attached. Some arrangements include a soldered casing on the PCB, with a removable cap to make up the shield casing. This arrangement provides the permanent fixture of the shield casing, whilst permitting access to the PCB; however the permitted access is limited by the remaining part of the casing that is not part of the cap.

Soldering is not the only method of mounting a shield casing to a PCB; other methods include the use of shield clips fixed to the PCB, an example of which is shown inFIGS. 1 and 2which show a clip terminal500that can “pinch” the free edges of a typical shield casing510, the clip terminal applying a force to two opposite faces of a free edge of the shield casing in order to retain its position. Using shield clips provides the advantage of removably securing the shield casing to a PCB530.

Referring toFIG. 3, shield casings which are also known are typically formed from a single piece of flat conductive material512, typically metal, which is stamped, cut, or etched with four edge portions514bent upwards to a position perpendicular to the main surface to form sidewalls of shield casing520structure such as that shown inFIG. 4(note that the shield casings510and520have the same functionality but have been assigned different reference numeral because of their different appearance). With such a shield casing, gaps516can exist at the corners of the casing between each adjacent sidewall which can reduce the Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) performance of the shield casing.

U.S. Pat. No. 9,055,666 B2 relates to clip terminal soldered to and mounted on a circuit board, the terminal including a connection part bent at an angle corresponding to that of a corner of a case and at least a pair of clips connected to each other by the connection part. The connection part and the clips are integrated with each other. The connection part has a width less than or equal to that of a solder pattern of the circuit board on which the clip terminal is soldered. A lower end of the corner of a sidewall of the case is fitted into the clips. In one embodiment, support walls are provided that uprightly protrude along an outer edge. Each support wall may have a height less that of plastic pieces that form the pair of clips.

There remains a need to provide an improved removable retention of a PCB shield casing, whilst maintaining EMC performance.

There is also a need for a clip terminal that is versatile and can be used with one or more existing clip mounting techniques such as automatic pick and placement techniques from tape and reel packaging.

There is also a need to provide an improved manufacturing method and apparatus for such a clip.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

From a first aspect, the present invention provides a clip terminal for fixedly retaining a casing, the terminal being suitable for being mounted on a circuit board, the terminal comprising:a connector part having a first outwardly extending portion and a second outwardly extending portion,upstanding retention clips for gripping a side wall portion of a casing, wherein the clips are positioned on the first and/or second outwardly extending portions and have a first height relative to a surface of the connector part,a shielding part located on an outer edge of the connector part for shielding a portion of the casing, the shielding part projecting upwards relative to the surface of the connector part and having a second height relative to the surface of the connector part, wherein the second height is greater than the first height.

In an embodiment, the first outwardly extending portion is at an angle to the second outwardly extending portion. The angle may be such that the first outwardly extending portion and the second outwardly extending portion form a substantially perpendicular shape corresponding to that of a corner portion of the casing. The shielding part may shield the corner portion of the casing.

In an embodiment, each of the first portion and the second portion comprise a pair of the upstanding clips. The shielding part also acts as a guiding member for the casing in that it enables a casing to be fed in diagonal and then in a downward direction such that the casing is aligned to sit in between the upstanding retention clips that are located on the first and second portion.

In an embodiment, the pair of clips are integral with the connector part and the shielding part is integral with the connector part.

The shielding part may project upwards at an incline and not perpendicular relative to the surface of the connector part, such that the shielding part is bent inwards towards the connector part. Therefore, at least the top part of the shielding part can contact at least part of the casing to be retained by the clip terminal. The angle of the incline is such that the shielding part enables a gap in a corner of a casing to be substantially covered to reduce EMI entering the casing. As an example, the angle could be around 86 degrees relative to the surface of the connector part (which can be considered 94 degrees in the direction of bending) but the invention is not limited to this angle.

In an embodiment, the shielding part comprises a first shielding wall connected to an outer edge of the first outwardly extending portion of the connector part and a second shielding wall connected to the first shielding wall and having a planar surface axially aligned with an outer edge of the second outwardly extending portion of the connector part.

The first shielding wall has an extension portion at a top end of the wall that forms a surface which can be sufficiently interacted with and picked up by a suction instrument of a conventional clip terminal mounting machine. The surface of the extension portion may be substantially parallel to the surface of the connector part.

The second shielding wall has a top end which can be sufficiently gripped and picked up by a gripping instrument of a conventional clip terminal mounting machine.

The pair of upstanding retention clips may comprise a first clip attached to an outer edge of the connector part and a second clip attached to an inner edge of the connector part, wherein at a lower portion of the pair of clips, the first clip and second clips converge towards each other, at an upper portion the first and second clips diverge away from each other, and the first and second clip are closest at a middle portion between the lower and upper portions.

From a second aspect, the present invention provides a clip terminal for fixedly retaining a casing, the terminal being suitable for being mounted on a circuit board, the terminal comprising:a connector part having a first outwardly extending portion and a second outwardly extending portion,upstanding retention clips for gripping a side wall portion of a casing, wherein the clips are positioned on the first and/or second outwardly extending portions,a shielding part located on an outer edge of the connector part for shielding a portion of the casing, the shielding part projecting upwards relative to the surface of the connector part, the shielding part comprising a first shielding wall connected to an outer edge of the first outwardly extending portion of the connector part and a second shielding wall connected to the first shielding wall, wherein the first shielding wall has an extension portion at a top end of the wall that forms a surface which can be sufficiently interacted with and picked up by a suction instrument for placement on a circuit board.

In an embodiment, the first outwardly extending portion is at an angle to the second outwardly extending portion. The angle may be such that the first outwardly extending portion and the second outwardly extending portion form a substantially perpendicular shape corresponding to that of a corner portion of the casing. The shielding part may shield a corner portion of the casing.

In an embodiment, each of the first portion and the second portion comprise a pair of the upstanding clips. The shielding part also acts as a guiding member for the casing in that it enables a casing to be fed in diagonal and then in a downward direction such that the casing is aligned to sit in between the upstanding retention clips that are located on the first and second portion.

In an embodiment, the pair of clips are integral with the connector part and the shielding part is integral with the connector part.

The shielding part projects upwards at an incline and not perpendicular relative to the surface of the connector part, such that the shielding part is bent inwards towards the connector part. The angle of the incline is such that the shielding part enables a gap in a corner of a casing to be substantially covered to reduce EMI entering the casing. As an example, the angle could be around 86 degrees relative to the surface of the connector part but the invention is not limited to this angle.

The pair of clips can be positioned on the first and/or second outwardly extending portions and have a first height relative to a surface of the connector part, and the shielding part has a second height relative to the surface of the connector part, wherein the second height is greater than the first height.

The pair of upstanding retention clips may comprise a first clip attached to an outer edge of the connector part and a second clip attached to an inner edge of the connector part, wherein at a lower portion of the pair of clips, the first clip and second clips converge towards each other, at an upper portion the first and second clips diverge away from each other, and the first and second clip are closest at a middle portion between the lower and upper portions.

From a third aspect, the present invention provides a method for retaining a casing relative to a circuit board, comprising: providing a circuit board with electrical circuitry; providing at least one of the aforementioned clip terminals in a position proximal to the electrical circuitry on a circuit board; and receiving in the clip terminal a casing to shield the electrical circuitry by positioning the casing so as to abut the clip terminal in order to retain the casing in a position relative to the circuit.

From a fourth aspect, the present invention provides a method for manufacturing a clip terminal such as the clip terminal of the first aspect or second aspect.

From a fifth aspect, the present invention provides a method and apparatus for manufacturing a clip terminal for fixedly retaining a casing, the terminal being suitable for being mounted on a circuit board.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

A clip terminal is used to retain a shield casing (also known as a shield can) on a PCB for EMC protection. In some embodiments of the invention, a clip terminal comprises shielding means to reduce a gap that may exist in one or more corners of a shield casing after the casing has been formed, for example, from a piece of stamped material. The clip terminal may also be formed automatically using manufacturing machinery and constructed such that it can be automatically picked and placed from a first location, for example, a tape and reel packaging, to a second location, for example, the PCB where it is to be fixed. In some embodiments, the shielding means to reduce the gap is slightly inclined so that there is contact between at least a portion of the shielding means, for example, the top portion, and the shield casing.

A clip terminal100according to a first embodiment of the invention will now be described with reference toFIGS. 4 to 11.

In the first embodiment, the clip terminal100comprises a base connector part102having first outwardly extending portion104and a second outwardly extending portion106. In this embodiment, the first outwardly extending portion104is at an angle to the second outwardly extending portion. The angle is such that the first outwardly extending portion and the second outwardly extending portion form a substantially perpendicular shape corresponding to that of a corner portion of a typical shield casing520such as that shown inFIG. 9. Put another way, the first outwardly extending portion104is horizontal and the second outwardly extending portion106is vertical thus corresponding to a corner portion of the shield casing520. The angle is therefore ninety degrees but this could vary depending on the type of shield casing to be used with the clip terminal or where the clip terminal is intended to be placed relative to the casing. In some embodiments (not shown), the angle may be 180 degrees such that the first outwardly extending portion is axially aligned with the second outwardly extending portion more similar to the clip terminal arrangement shown inFIG. 1.

The clip terminal100further comprises one or more retention clips to provide a lateral spring force and grip side wall portions514a,514b(seeFIG. 9) of the shield casing520. In this embodiment, a first pair108and a second pair110of retention clips are provided on the clip terminal, however, it will be appreciated to those skilled in the art with the benefit of this disclosure that any number of retention clips can be provided to grip or contact a part of a side wall of the casing520.

The first pair of retention clips108have first and second generally upstanding clip elements112,114that are resilient spring portions connected to the first outwardly extending portion104of the connector part102. The first clip element112is connected to an outer edge of the first outwardly extending portion104. The second clip element114is located on an opposite side of first outwardly extending portion104and connected to an inner edge of the first outwardly extending portion104. At a lower portion of the first pair of clips108, the first clip element112and second clip element114converge towards each other after an initial divergence adjacent the base of the connector part102. At an upper portion of the first pair of clips108, the first clip element112and second clip element114diverge away from each other, and the first clip element112and second clip element114are closest at a middle portion between the lower and upper portions. The gripping of the side wall of the shield casing520can take place at the middle portion.

Similarly to the first pair of retention clips, the second pair of retention clips110have first and second generally upstanding clip elements116,118that are resilient spring portions but are connected to the second outwardly extending portion106of the connector part102. The first clip element116is connected to an outer edge of the second outwardly extending portion106. The second clip element118is located on an opposite side of second outwardly extending portion106and connected to an inner edge of the second outwardly extending portion106. At a lower portion of the second pair of clips110, the first clip element116and second clip element118converge towards each other after an initial divergence adjacent the base of the connector part102. At an upper portion of the second pair of clips110, the first clip element116and second clip element118diverge away from each other, and the first clip element116and second clip element118are closest at a middle portion between the lower and upper portions. The gripping of the side wall of the shield casing520can take place at the middle portion.

The first and second pair of retention clips108,110are integral with the connection part102and may be formed by bending the clips upwards from the same material as the base connector part102into the desired shape suitable for gripping.

It will be appreciated that, in other embodiments, other types of gripping means may be provided instead of the specific retention clip arrangement described and may consist of any other form of resilient elements suitable for providing the required lateral spring force.

In order to enable more complete shielding and protection of electrical components contained with the shield casing520when positioned in the clip terminal100, a shielding part130is provided on the clip terminal. In this embodiment, the shielding part130is located on an outer edge of the connector part for shielding a portion of the casing where there may be a gap in a wall of the casing520. The shielding part130projects generally upwards substantially transversely relative to a planar surface of the base connector part102. The shielding part130is integral with the connector part. It will be appreciated that the shielding part may not be integral although there are advantages to having it integral with the connector (and retention clips) and formed from the same material as the base connector part102.

The shielding part130comprises a first shielding wall132connected to an outer edge of the first outwardly extending portion104of the connector part102and a second shielding wall134that is connected to the first shielding wall132substantially along one longitudinal edge132aof the first shielding wall132such that the second shielding wall is considered to be bent or folded along the longitudinal edge132atowards an outer edge of the second outwardly extending portion106up to when it is aligned with the outer edge. In this embodiment, the second shielding wall134is bent until it forms about a ninety degree angle with the first shielding portion132. With this construction there may be a small gap135between the bottom of the second shielding wall and the outer edge of the second outwardly extending portion106.

In other embodiments (not shown), the second shielding wall is connected to an outer edge of the second outwardly extending portion of the connector part.

In this embodiment, the shielding part130and particularly the first shielding wall132projects transversely upwards at an incline and not perpendicular relative to the surface of the connector part, such that the shielding part130is bent inwards towards the connector part102. Therefore, at least the top part of the shielding part130can contact at least part of the corner of the shield casing520and to provide better shielding and retention. The angle of the incline is such that the shielding part enables a gap in a corner of a casing to be substantially covered to reduce EMI entering the casing. In this embodiment, the angle is acute and around 86 degrees relative to the surface of the connector part102however the angle can vary and is not limited to 86 degrees. Looking at the angle relative to the outside of the first shielding wall and the axis of the second outwardly extending portion106, the angle can be considered to be 94 degrees (as shown inFIG. 9).

The first shielding wall132has an extension portion136at a top end of the wall132that forms a surface which can be sufficiently interacted with and picked up by a suction instrument of a conventional clip terminal mounting machine (not shown). The surface of the extension portion136may be substantially parallel to the planar surface of the connector part102. However, it will be appreciated that such an arrangement is one example and other orientations are possible to provide a surface that enables interaction with a suction instrument.

The second shielding wall has a top end138which can be sufficiently gripped and picked up by a gripping instrument of a conventional clip terminal mounting machine and therefore may not have an extension portion.

The clip terminal can therefore be easily and automatically transported from a first location, which can be a tape and reel packaging, to a second location, which can be a PCB where it is to be fixed.

As shown in more detail inFIG. 7, in this embodiment, the shielding part130has a height HSgreater than the heights HCof the retention clips108,110. This can allow easy pick and place of the clip terminal100in particular by having a higher point for a pick and place instrument on the top of the shielding part compared to the retention clips which will also be more difficult to pick and place due to their shape. The height of the first shielding wall132is preferably the same as the second shielding wall134, however, in other embodiments they may be different without losing the functionality of providing extra shielding and allowing easy automatic pick and placement.

The shield casing520(shown inFIGS. 10 and 11) is known and in this embodiment is a conventional hollow cuboid with at least one open face so as to allow it to shield an electrical circuit on the PCB. It will be appreciated that other shield can geometries may be used with the present embodiment, for instance a hollow cube, a hollow triangular cuboid or a hollow dome shaped component could also be used, each having at least one open face so as to allow it to shield an electrical circuit on the PCB.

The shield casing/can520is made from an electrically conductive material so as to protect the shielded circuit from electromagnetic interference (EMI). In particular, the can has the ability to attenuate EMI and will contribute to protecting or shielding the circuit contained within it from receiving electromagnetic waves originating from outside the can (and also attenuate electromagnetic waves originating inside the can from exiting). The shielding part130of the clip terminal100acts as a guiding member for the casing520in that it enables a casing520to be fed in diagonal and then in a downward direction such that the casing520is aligned to sit in between the upstanding retention clips108,110that are located on the first and second portion104,106.

In some embodiments, the shield casing520may be retained to a surface such as a PCB surface using the clip terminal100provided in this application and shield casing520in combination with the clip terminal100to be secured to the surface such as the PCB surface may not be a shield against EMI, but a cover to prevent ingress of dust or water.

In a method of retaining the casing520relative to the PCB530, the PCB530comprises and is provided with electrical circuitry or some other electronic component (not shown) that requires shielding such as shielding from EMI. At least one clip terminal100, but preferably a plurality of clip terminals are positioned proximal to the electrical circuitry on the PCB, such that when the casing520is received in the terminals100the casing will shield the electrical circuitry but in particular the corners of the casing520to prevent leakage of EMI. Therefore, the clip terminals100are located in a positions that are aligned with corresponding corners (not necessarily all corners) of the casing520. The casing520is received in the clip terminal100to shield the electrical circuitry by positioning the casing520so as to abut the clip terminal100and in particular so as to abut the base of the clip terminal in order for the casing to be retained. The shielding part130may abut the corner of the casing520. The casing520can thus be retained relative to the PCB530by the clip terminal100.

It will be appreciated that the pair of upstanding retention clips on the clip terminal need not take the particular form shown inFIG. 5, and may consist of any other form of resilient elements suitable for providing the required lateral spring force on the internal and external surface of a side wall of a shield casing520. The distance between the first clip elements and second clip elements of each pair of retention clips may vary, but will be such to allow at least the middle portion of the retention clips to contact the internal and external surface of a side wall of a shield casing520and the part of the retention clips to provide a retention force on the shield casing520. This clips may be designed such that the distance may be adjusted to accommodate different types of shield casings or requirements of the application of the clip terminal100. For example, the design can be such to allow the retention force to be controlled to provide a high retention force for a permanent retention of the casing520or a low retention force for easy removal of the casing520. With removal retention of a shield casing520to a surface such as a printed circuit board, maintenance or fault finding on the surface can be aided given that the shield casing can be removed.

The first clip elements and second clip elements of each pair of retention clips can be made of any material so long as they are not overly flexible (unable to provide a sufficient biasing force) or overly rigid (immoveable through contact with a wall of a shield casing component). Although each clip element used in the pair to secure a component are shown as substantially the same, it will be appreciated by the skilled person that the clip element could have different styles and need not be identical in appearance.

It will also be appreciated that in some embodiments (not shown but derivable from the current figures), only one of the pair of retention clips in combination with the shielding part is provided to retain the shield casing. In one embodiment, only the second clip elements114,118of each pair of clip elements (i.e. the elements that are situated internal to the side wall of the shield casing520) and a shielding part130is provided on a modified clip terminal in order to retain the shield casing520(for example, one or more clip elements acting on the same or different vertical side walls of the shield casing520). The angle of the shielding part130relative to the connector part surface may be chosen to ensure contact with the external surface of the side wall of the casing520given that the shielding part130will be provided the main force for retaining the shield casing from outside the shield casing520. It will also be appreciated that the distance between the shielding part130and the upstanding clips may vary depending on the forces required.

Although an angled clip terminal with substantially a ninety degree corner is described and shown in the figures, it will be appreciated to those skilled in the art with the benefit of the present disclosure that the clip terminal could be constructed to be straight or another shape (not shown) without such an angle in which case the terminal is used with a straight edge of a shied casing rather than a corner. The terminal can thus be modified for use with different types of shield casings.

It will be appreciated that clip terminals in some embodiments may be of a suitable size to be received by a printed circuit board and to receive part of a shield casing/can. In one embodiment, the length of each the first and second outwardly extending portions is around least 5 cm, the height of the shielding part is around 5 cm and the height of the pair of upstanding clips is around 2 cm. These dimensions are provided by way of example only (the invention not being limited to such dimensions) and to demonstrate the scale of some embodiments of the invention.

Embodiments for making a clip terminal from a planar strip material will now be described. It will be appreciated that other methods of manufacturing may be used but the automated methods and apparatus disclosed herein have advantages in manufacturing such a clip terminal as disclosed herein with a complex shape and such advantages would be evident to the skilled person with the benefit of the present disclosure.

Referring toFIGS. 12 to 18, the clip terminal100in one embodiment can be formed using a manufacturing apparatus including a stripper mounted overbend former assembly200that receives a strip300which is a planar material stamped or punched such that bending of one of more parts of the material will form the clip terminal100. An example of one portion of the strip300used to make one corner clip terminal100is shown inFIG. 15; it will be appreciated that the strip300is a plurality of these portions arranged adjacent and attached to each other, ‘Stripper’ refers to the stripper plate section of the assembly and this is also referred to as a pressure plate. ‘Overbend’ refers to the forming of a part of the planar material past the required angle. The part will then spring back to the required angle. The amount of overbend is determined by the mechanical properties of the material. Both terms will be understood to the skilled person (in the stamping industry). In this embodiment, one method of automatically bending the material is provided. The assembly200comprises at least clip overbend forming section210and shield overbend forming section250.

The clip overbend forming section210can be a piece of tooling that bends a part of a planar material past 90°. The part of the material is usually formed up to 90° by conventional swipe tooling section before entering the clip overbend forming section and the conventional swipe tooling process will not be described in detail as it will be known those in the art. A discussion of conventional swipe tooling is provided later (see description related toFIGS. 19-21). SeeFIG. 16which shows an example of a clip planar material from a larger strip300with a part108athat is formed up to 90°, substantially perpendicular to the surface of the material. Then overbend tooling such as overbend forming section210forms it further so as to overbend to a position as shown by clip108(seeFIG. 5for example), that is past 90° to the surface of overbend forming section210(and an acute angle to the base surface of the clip108). As will be understood by the skilled person, ‘planar material’ refers to the flat, raw material that is punched and formed and is a portion of the strip300. The strip300moves in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the assembly200(coaxial with the axes X-X and Y-Y shown inFIGS. 13 and 14respectively).

The clip overbend forming section210is attached to a stripper block200awhich itself is attached to a punch block200b. The clip overbend forming section comprises a plurality of formers212, preferably two arranged opposite each other along the axis X-X, that when open, will be positioned either side of a clip108of clip terminal100. The formers are movable in directions A and B—that is, in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of the assembly200—and will be driven together by actuators214from punch block200b. The actuators214are mounted in the punch block200band pass through the stripper block200a. The actuators214are movable in directions C and D—that is, in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the assembly200and the direction of movement of the strip300through the assembly200. When the actuators214retract with the punch block200b, the formers212will open by means of two springs218that are in contact with the formers212. Stripper block200awill lift taking the formers212with it, and this will allow the strip300to feed and the next section of the strip300that requires overbending to enter the overbend forming section210. The formers212have replaceable inserts220which simplify adjustment and servicing. The inserts220are the tooling parts, which make contact with the part of the planar clip material of the strip300to be overbent and in particular have a surface220aon one side that is angled such that moving opposing surfaces220atowards each other will contact the outer surfaces of clip elements112,114and overbend these portions to arrive at the configuration, for example, shown inFIG. 5. It should be noted that the clip110that is formed from bending clip elements116and118can be formed using a conventional swipe tooling and overbend tooling method and will be described later but would be understood by the skilled person and can be incorporated into the assembly200. For the formation of the bending of clip110, the central axis of the clip110coincides with the axis of movement of the strip through the assembly200not requiring the same configuration as the clip overbend section210whereas the central axis of the clip108is transverse or perpendicular to the axis of movement X of the strip through the assembly200.

The shield overbend forming section250similarly to the clip overbend forming section can be a piece of tooling that bends a part of a planar material past 90°, that is, past 90° to the surface of shield overbend forming section210(and an acute angle to the base surface of the shielding part130) The part of the material is usually formed up to 90° by conventional swipe tooling before entering the shield overbend forming section and the conventional swipe tooling process will not be described in detail as it will be known those in the art but an example is described later. The section250comprises a former252, preferably an inverted U-shaped single block, that when open (i.e. the home position of the overbend tooling assembly before it is driven forward), will be positioned to the rear of the shielding part130(rear when following the direction of travel of the strip300). It will then be driven forward under the extension portion136of the clip terminal100which is used as a pick and place tab, by an actuator254from the punch block200b. The actuator is movable in direction E—that is, in a direction substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the assembly200and the direction of movement of the strip300through the assembly200. When the actuator254retracts with the punch block, the former252will open by means of one or more springs, preferably two springs (not shown but housed in former252and located either side of insert260). The stripper block200awill lift taking the former252with it, and this will allow the strip300to feed. The former252has the replaceable insert260which simplifies adjustment and servicing. The inserts260are the tooling parts, which make contact with the part of the clip material to be overbent.

As mentioned above, conventional swipe tooling can be used to form the first pair of clips108aand second pair of clips at 90° upstanding to the surface of the strip material300.FIG. 19shows one embodiment of swipe tooling section265where a pair of appropriate formers266move up from below the strip and interact with the strip to form the second pair of clips upwards to 90°. This can be achieved by pushing the clip elements116,118upwards from a flat position to the 90° position relative to the strip300as the strip moves along the direction X. A similar process and machinery although not shown is used for the first pair of clips before the first pair of clips at 90° configuration enter the clip overbend forming section210. Conventional overbend tooling section270with a pair of formers271is used to overbend the second pair of clips past 90° by applying a force from sides of the first and second clip elements116,118to form the second pair of clips110.

In addition, the shielding part130of the planar strip material is usually formed up to 90° by conventional swipe tooling section275before entering the shield overbend forming section250. An appropriate former276in the form of a member that has sufficient strength to move the strip when it interacts with it (for example a solid block but other structures can be appropriate) moves up from below the strip and interacts with the strip to form a bend in the portion of the strip material that corresponds to the second shielding wall134inwards towards the first shielding wall132(see right side ofFIG. 19). As shown inFIG. 20, swipe tooling section277, employing conventional swipe tooling, includes a first part that is used to bend the portion of the strip material that corresponds first shielding wall132upwards to 90°. The swipe tooling section277then has a second part adjacent the first part that bends the portion of the strip material that corresponds extension portion136outwards to form the lip of the extension portion. It will be appreciated the order of the conventional strip forming and overbend forming can differ and is not limited to the order described in relation toFIGS. 19 and 20.

In this embodiment, the swipe tool section265, overbend tooling section270and swipe tool section275are positioned after the clip overbend forming section210and before the shield overbend forming section250in the process path of the manufacturing apparatus. SeeFIG. 21to show the embodiment of where the swipe tooling and conventional overbend is located in a die section of the manufacture apparatus. The die section ofFIG. 21is typically a base section for the manufacturing apparatus and is located below the overbend forming assembly200shown inFIG. 12. Parts of the overbend forming assembly200can interact with the planar strip material from above whilst parts of the die section can interact with the planar strip material from below. For example, the overbend forming assembly can comprise members216(seeFIG. 12) extending downwards perpendicular to the plane of the directional path of the strip material and that interact with the strip material from above to hold parts of the strip material in place whilst a part of the die section acts on the strip material (for example, when bending is to take place). Other arrangements would be conceivable by the skilled person with the benefit of the present disclosure.

In an alternative arrangement, alternative stripper mounted farmers and actuators to those shown inFIGS. 12-14, and 17-18may be provided in the assembly200, as shown inFIGS. 21 and 22.

Referring toFIG. 22, in this modification, two overbend formers282a,282bwould be mounted to the stripper block200aofFIG. 12for example instead of formers212(seeFIG. 12-13) and are pivotable and rotational about a pivot hole or axis283through the formers282a,282bwhich may include an axle (not shown) or other fixed rod member that passes through both former282a,282b. The formers282a,282bare pivotable around the axle when a force is applied to the formers282a,282bfrom above through respective actuators284a,284bor some other members that are attached to the punch block200band move down in a direction G (that is, perpendicular to the direction of movement of the strip300) with the punch block200b. The actuators284a,284binteract with respective extension portion285a,285bof the farmers282a,282bwhich cause rotational motion of the formers about the axle. The formers282a,282balso have foot portions which contact the outer surfaces of clip elements112,114that are in a 90° configuration and overbend these portions to arrive at the configuration, for example, shown inFIG. 5When the actuators284a,284bretract, a spring (not shown) that is located on the underside of the former would rotate the former away from the clip108and this will allow the strip300to feed. As will be apparent to the skilled person with the benefit of the present disclosure, this modification uses rotational movement of the formers rather than lateral movement which is used in the embodiment inFIGS. 13 and 17.

Referring toFIG. 23, in this modification, a rotatable overbend former292would be mounted to the stripper block200ain the shield overbend forming section250instead of formers252(seeFIGS. 12 and 14) and would work in a similar way to the formers described in relation toFIG. 20. The former292is pivotable about a pivot hole293through the former292which may include an axle (not shown) or other fixed rod member that passes through both former292. The former292is pivotable around the axle when a force is applied to it from above through an actuator294or some other member that is attached to the punch block200band move down in a direction H (that is, perpendicular to the direction of movement of the strip300) with the punch block200b. The actuator294interacts with extension portion295of the formers292which causes rotational motion of the former about the axle. The formers292also has foot portions which contact the outer surface of shielding portion130that is in a 90° configuration and overbend this portion to arrive at the configuration, for example, shown inFIG. 5. When the actuator294retracts, a spring (not shown) that is located on the underside of the former would rotate the former away from the shielding part130and this will allow the strip300to feed. As will be apparent to the skilled person with the benefit of the present disclosure, this modification uses rotational movement of the formers rather than lateral movement which is used in the embodiment inFIGS. 14 and 18.

An example of a method of making the clip terminal100using the manufacturing apparatus that may comprise the overbend section shown inFIG. 12and the die section shown inFIG. 21is now described with reference toFIG. 24. As will be apparent, the overbend section can be positioned on top of the die section which can form a base for the overbend section ofFIG. 12. Reference will also be made to the features of the clip terminal100shown inFIGS. 5-6, where appropriate, for ease of explanation.

In step400, a planar strip300is provided which is a single planar material having at least one portion such as that shown inFIG. 15that forms a corner clip terminal100. The planar strip is created with stamped and/or punched sections that are to be bent and/or cut during the manufacturing process accordingly to form the clip terminal100.

In step405, the planar strip can be moved along a pathway of the manufacturing apparatus which includes the assembly200that comprises at least the clip overbend forming section210and the shield overbend forming section250. The pathway is generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of the second outwardly extending part106of the planar material that forms the clip terminal100(or from another reference point, generally parallel to the central axis of the second pair of clips110) and generally perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the first outwardly extending part104of the planar material that forms the clip terminal100(or from another reference point, generally perpendicular to the central axis of the first pair of clips108).

In step410, the first pair of clips on the first outwardly extending part104are bent upwards towards each other to be substantially formed to 90° to the surface of the first outwardly extending part of the strip material in an upstanding configuration108a(seeFIG. 16).

In step415, the first pair of clips formed in step410move to the clip overbend forming section210to be overbent as described in one example in relation to apparatus inFIGS. 13 and 17.

In step420, the strip portion with the overbent first pair of clips108moves to a section such as a conventional swipe tooling section (seeFIG. 19) that bends upwards at substantially 90° to the surface the second pair of clips110and then overbends to an overbent configuration to a similar extent to the first pair of clips108(also seeFIG. 18showing that the second pair of clips are already formed).

In step425, the portion of the strip material including the formed first pair of clips108and second pair of clips110moves to a section where the portions of the strip material that correspond to the shielding part130are formed into shape to 90° to the surface of the strip material. This can be achieved in a conventional way by bending the portion of the strip material that corresponds second shielding wall134inwards towards the first shielding wall132, bending the portion of the strip material that corresponds first shielding wall132upwards, and bending the portion of the strip material that corresponds extension portion136outwards to form the lip on the first shielding wall132. The shielding part in this configuration is at up to 90° to the surface of the strip material. An example of the process is shown inFIGS. 19 and 20described above.

In step430, the portion of strip material formed in step425moves to the shield overbend forming section210to overbend the shielding part130as described in one example in relation to apparatus inFIGS. 14 and 18.

The upstanding portions are now formed and the remaining parts of the planar strip of material not required can be removed in step435to leave the clip terminal100.

Numerous modifications, adaptations and variations to the embodiments described herein will become apparent to a person skilled in the art having the benefit of the present disclosure, and such modifications, adaptations and variations that result in additional embodiments of the present invention are also within the scope of the accompanying claims.