Patent Publication Number: US-9847591-B2

Title: Electric terminal assembly

Description:
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS 
     This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 62/027,361, filed Jul. 22, 2014, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference. 
    
    
     BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates in general to a female electric terminal assembly. More specifically, this invention relates to a female electric terminal assembly that includes features to protect contact arms of the female electric terminal from damage. 
     Electric connectors are used in a variety of situations where it is desirable to have an electric connection between components. For example, electric connectors are used to complete electrical circuits between components in a power distribution box or to connect a wiring harness to an electrical device. 
     Electric connectors typically include resilient, electrically conductive terminals that are adapted to engage a corresponding terminal. In some cases, it is desirable to prevent accidental contact with the terminals in order to prevent damage to the terminals and to avoid unintended grounding of electric current. It would be advantageous to have an improved type of terminal protection. 
     SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
     This invention relates to an electric terminal assembly. The electric terminal assembly includes a conductor. The conductor has a conductor body and a plurality of contact arms that extend from the conductor body in an outward direction to respective arm ends. The contact arms are located around a terminal axis. The electric terminal assembly also includes a cap fixed relative to the conductor. The cap is located farther from the conductor body in the outward direction than the arm ends. The cap defines a cap opening that the terminal axis extends through. The cap is located farther from the conductor body in the outward direction than the arm ends and the cap is closer to the terminal axis than the arm ends. 
     Various aspects of this invention will become apparent to those skilled in the art from the following detailed description of the preferred embodiment, when read in light of the accompanying drawings. 
    
    
     
       BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS 
         FIG. 1  is a perspective view of an electric connector assembly that includes a plurality of electric terminal assemblies. 
         FIG. 2  is an enlarged perspective view of one of the electric terminal assemblies in the electric connector assembly shown in  FIG. 1 . 
         FIG. 3  is an exploded, perspective view of the electric terminal assembly shown in  FIG. 2 . 
         FIG. 4  is an enlarged perspective view of a conductor portion of the electric terminal assembly shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . 
         FIG. 5  is an enlarged perspective view of a spring portion of the electric terminal assembly shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . 
         FIG. 6  is a perspective view of a cap portion of the electric terminal assembly shown in  FIGS. 2 and 3 . 
         FIG. 7  is an end elevational view of the cap portion shown in  FIG. 6 . 
         FIG. 8  is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the assembled electric terminal assembly illustrated in  FIG. 2  and  FIG. 3  initially engaging a corresponding terminal. 
     
    
    
     DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
     Referring now to the drawings, there is illustrated in  FIG. 1  an electric connector assembly, indicated generally at  10 . The electric connector assembly  10  includes a housing  12  that is connected by a wire bundle  14  to a component, such as a power source (not shown). The illustrated housing  12  is made of plastic, but may be made of any desired material. The electric connector assembly  10  is adapted to connect the component to powered equipment (not shown) in a conventional manner. The illustrated electric connector assembly  10  includes a plurality of terminal houses  16 , each of which defines a terminal opening  17 . The illustrated terminal houses  16  are made of plastic, but may be made of any desired material. Each of the terminal houses  16  contains an electric terminal assembly, not shown in  FIG. 1  but indicated generally at  18  hereinafter and which will be described in detail below. Each of the electric terminal assemblies  18  is electrically connected to a wire (not shown) in the wire bundle  14 . The electric connector assembly  10  illustrates one environment in which the electric terminal assembly  18  described herein may be used. However, the electric terminal assembly  18  may be used in any desired application. 
     Referring now to  FIG. 2 , the electric terminal assembly  18  is shown. An exploded view of the electric terminal assembly  18  is shown in  FIG. 3 . The electric connector assembly  10  includes a plurality of identical electric terminal assemblies  18 , and only one will be described in detail. However, the electric connector assembly  10  may include electric terminal assemblies  18  having different dimensions or configurations, if desired. The electric terminal assembly  18  includes a conductor portion indicated at  20 , a spring portion indicated at  22 , and a cap portion indicated at  24 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 4 , the conductor portion  20  is shown in greater detail. The illustrated conductor portion  20  is made from folded sheet copper, but may be made of any desired material or process. The conductor portion  20  includes a conductor body  26  and an attached termination portion  28 . A wire (not shown) is crimped to the termination portion  28 . However, the wire may be attached to the termination portion  28  by any desired fastener or method. The illustrated conductor body  26  has a generally square cross-sectional shape and defines a terminal axis  30 . The conductor body  26  may have any other desired shape. The conductor portion  20  includes a plurality of contact arms  32  that extend from the conductor body  26  in an outward direction  34 . The illustrated contact arms  32  extend from all four sides of the generally square-shaped conductor body  26 , but may be arranged to extend from the conductor body  26  in any desired configuration. The contact arms  32  are disposed around the terminal axis  30  and are adapted to engage a corresponding terminal, as will be described below. The contact arms  32  extend from the conductor body  26  in the outward direction  34  to respective arm ends  60 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 5 , the spring portion  22  is shown in greater detail. The illustrated spring portion  22  is made from folded sheet stainless steel, but may be made of any desired material or process. The spring portion  22  includes a spring body  36  that has a generally square cross-section shape. The spring body  36  is adapted to fit around the conductor body  26  when the electric terminal assembly  18  is assembled. Thus, the interior of the illustrated conductor body  26  generally corresponds to the dimensions of the exterior of the conductor body  26 . However, the spring body  36  may have any desired shape. The spring portion  22  includes a plurality of spring arms  38  that extend from the spring body  36  in the outward direction  34 . The illustrated spring arms  38  extend from all four sides of the generally square-shaped spring body  36 , but may be arranged to extend from the spring body  36  in any desired configuration. The spring arms  38  are adapted to engage the contact arms  32  and bias them toward the terminal axis  30 . The spring portion  22  serves in increase the force with which the contact arms  32  engage the corresponding connector. 
     The illustrated electric terminal assembly  18  also includes a shroud  40 . The illustrated shroud  40  is an integral part of the spring portion  22  and is made of stainless steel. However, the shroud  40  may be part of the conductor portion  20  or may be a separate component if desired, and may be made of any desired material. The illustrated shroud  40  has a generally square cross-sectional shape, but may have any desired shape. The shroud  40  defines a shroud opening  42  and the terminal axis  30  passes through the shroud opening  42 . The shroud  40  extends farther from the spring body  36  in the outward direction  34  than the spring arms  38 . The shroud  40  is connected to the spring body  36  by a plurality of side walls  44 . The illustrated spring includes four side walls  44 , but may include any desired number of side walls  44 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 , the cap portion  24  is shown in greater detail. The illustrated cap portion  24  is made from molded plastic, but may be made of any desired material or process. The cap portion  24  includes a cap body  46  that has a generally circular cross-sectional shape, though the cap body  46  may have any desired shape. The cap body  46  defines a cap opening  48  and the terminal axis  30  passes through the cap opening  48 . The cap portion  24  includes a plurality of cap guides  50  on the cap body  46 . The cap guides  50  serve to assist with proper alignment of the cap portion  24  with the spring portion  22  when the terminal assembly  18  is assembled, as will be described below. The illustrated cap portion  24  includes four cap guides  50 , but may include any desired number of cap guides  50 . The illustrated cap guides  50  are bosses that extend from the cap body  46  opposite the outward direction  34 . 
     Referring to  FIG. 7 , an end view of the cap portion  24  is shown looking along the terminal axis  30  in the outward direction  34 . The illustrated cap guides  50  include outer cap guide surfaces  52  that define have arcuate surfaces. The outer surfaces  52  of the cap guides  50  cooperate to define a generally square-shaped configuration that corresponds to the interior shape of the shroud  40 . When the terminal assembly  18  is assembled, a cap guide  50  is positioned in each corner of the shroud  40 , and each cap guide surface  52  engages the shroud  40 . Each of the cap guides  50  includes a tapered end surface  54 . The end surface  54  extends from the respective cap guide surface  52  toward to the terminal axis  30  to respective guide ends  55 . 
     The cap portion  24  also includes a plurality of cap mounts  56  that serve to retain the cap portion  24  on the spring portion  22  when the terminal assembly  18  is assembled. The illustrated cap portion  24  includes four cap mounts  56 , but the cap portion  24  may include any desired number of cap mounts  56 . The illustrated cap mounts  56  are resilient hooks that extend from the cap body  46  opposite the outward direction  34 . The illustrated cap mounts  56  are adapted to initially be deflected by and then engage the shroud  40  when the terminal assembly  18  is assembled. It should be appreciated that while the cap portion  24  has been illustrated as a separate component that is attached to the spring portion  22 , the cap portion  24  may be integral with the spring portion  22  if desired. Additionally, it should be appreciated that the cap portion  24  may be attached to the spring portion  22  using any desired fastener or method. 
     Referring back to  FIG. 2 , the assembled terminal assembly  18  is shown. The spring body  36  of the spring portion  22  is disposed around the conductor body  26  of the conductor portion  20 , and the spring arms  38  are engaged with contact arms  32 . Each of the illustrated spring arms  38  applies are applying a force on the respective contact arms  32  to bias them toward the terminal axis  30 . Because the spring body  36  is fixed to the conductor body  26 , the shroud  40  is fixed relative to the conductor portion  20 . The cap portion  24  is attached to the spring portion  22 , with the cap mounts  56  engaged with the shroud  40 . Therefore, the cap portion  24  is also fixed relative to the conductor portion  20 . 
     Referring now to  FIG. 8 , a cross-sectional view of the terminal house  16  including the terminal assembly  18  is shown. A corresponding terminal  58  is also shown initially engaging the terminal assembly  18 . The illustrated corresponding terminal  58  has a cylindrical shape. However, the corresponding terminal  58  may have any desired shape. As shown, the terminal assembly  18  disposed within the terminal house  16  such that the cap portion  24  is located in the terminal opening  17  defined by the terminal house  16 . As best seen in  FIG. 1 , the terminal opening  17  is generally circular in shape, and the cap opening  48  is co-axial with the terminal opening  17 . However, the terminal opening  17  may have any desired shape. As shown in  FIG. 7  the cap opening  48  has an opening diameter  48   a  and as shown in  FIG. 8 , the corresponding terminal  58  has a terminal diameter  58   a . The opening diameter  48   a  is slightly larger than the terminal diameter  58   a . It should be appreciated that the shape and size of the cap opening  48  may be different from that shown in order to accommodate the desired corresponding terminal  58 . 
     The cap portion  24  serves as a guide for the corresponding terminal  58  when it engages the terminal assembly  18  and provides protection for the contact arms  32 . The shroud  40  is located farther from the conductor body  26  in the outward direction  34  than the arm ends  60 . Additionally, the cap portion  24  is located farther from the conductor body  26  in the outward direction  34  than the arm ends  60 . Because the corresponding terminal  58  initially passes through the cap opening  48 , the corresponding terminal  58  is aligned with the terminal axis  30  and is less likely to engage one of the outer ends  60  of the contact arms  32 . Additionally, as shown in  FIG. 8 , the cap portion  24  extends toward the terminal axis  30  such that the cap portion  24  is closer to the terminal axis  30  than the arm ends  60 . This helps to prevent the corresponding terminal  58  from engaging one of the arm ends  60 . 
     As best shown in  FIG. 6  and  FIG. 7 , each of the cap guides  50  also includes a pin guide surface  57 . The pin guide surfaces  57  are the surfaces of the respective cap guides  50  that are closest to the terminal axis  30 . As best seen in  FIG. 7 , each of the pin guide surfaces  57  has a circumferentially extending arcuate shape, and opposed pin guide surfaces  57  are separated from each other by a distance equal to the opening diameter  48   a . Each of the illustrated pin guide surface  57  extends from the cap opening  48  to the respective guide ends  55 . The pin guide surfaces  57  serve to keep the corresponding terminal  58  aligned with the terminal axis  30 . It should be appreciated that when the corresponding terminal  58  is inserted into the cap portion  24 , movement that would take the corresponding terminal  58  out of alignment with the terminal axis  30  will be resisted by the corresponding terminal  58  engaging one or more of the pin guide surfaces  57 . As shown in  FIG. 8 , the illustrated guide ends  55  are located closer to the conductor body  26  in the outward direction  30  than the arm ends  60 . Thus, the pin guide surfaces  57  guide the corresponding terminal  58  past the arm ends  60  when the corresponding terminal  58  is mated with the terminal assembly  18 . 
     The illustrated cap portion  24  also provides protection against unintended grounding for the conductor portion  20 . If an object other than the corresponding terminal  58  engages the conductor portion  20 , there may be an unintended grounding of an electric voltage carried by the conductor portion  20 . Referring back to  FIG. 1 , it should be appreciated that the conductor is located between the terminal house  16  and the terminal axis  30 . When the electric connector assembly  10  is assembled, the conductor portion  20  may be contacted by an object inserted through the terminal opening  17 . The illustrated plastic cap portion  24  is located within the terminal opening  17  and reduces the available space for an object to enter the terminal house  16 . Therefore it reduces the size of objects that may inadvertently contact the conductor portion  20 . Additionally, since the illustrated cap portion  24  is made of electrically non-conductive plastic, contact with the cap portion  24  will not cause unintended grounding. 
     The principle and mode of operation of this invention have been explained and illustrated in its preferred embodiment. However, it must be understood that this invention may be practiced otherwise than as specifically explained and illustrated without departing from its spirit or scope.