High voltage terminal

Details High voltage terminal High voltage terminal

2002-09-10

2004-07-06

Paumen, Gary (Department: 2833)

Electrical connectors

Metallic connector or contact having movable or resilient...

Spring actuated or resilient securing part

C439S887000

Reexamination Certificate

active

06758701

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a high voltage terminal used for wires on a vehicle.
In general, solderless terminals are often used for electrically connecting devices to one another in a vehicle.
A typical solderless terminal shown in FIG.
4
(
a
) has a main body
40
. A receptacle
41
is provided at one end of the main body
40
. A lug
42
is provided at the other end of the main body
40
. A pair of contactors
43
,
44
are located in the receptacle
41
to face each other. When a prong
1
of a terminal is inserted in the receptacle
41
, the contactors
43
,
44
contact the prong
1
. The lug
42
has a U-shaped cross-section with a bottom
42
b
and sidewalls projecting from the bottom
42
. Two pairs of crimp pieces
45
,
46
formed at the sidewalls. A wire
2
is placed in the U-shaped section. Then, the crimp pieces
45
,
46
are bent toward the axis of the wire
2
to crimp the wire
2
to the lug
42
. As a result, the wire
2
is electrically connected to the terminal main body
40
. After the wire
2
is coupled, the main body
40
is fitted in one of sockets
51
of a female connector housing
50
shown in FIG.
5
. The connector housing
50
is made of insulating resin. A prong
1
(not shown in
FIG. 5
) is located in each socket
51
of the connector housing
50
. The terminal main body
40
is electrically connected to the corresponding prong
1
.
In recent years, vehicles have an increasing load of electric devices. To deal with the capacitance of the electric loads, some vehicles are equipped with a 42V battery instead of conventionally used 14V batteries.
When the prong
1
is manually pulled out of the terminal main body
40
while the terminal is energized, continuous electric arc is generated between the prong
1
and the contactors
43
,
44
. Particularly, when the prong
1
and the terminal is connecting an electrical load to a high-voltage power supply, the arc is increased. The increased arc roughens the surfaces of the contactors
43
,
44
and the prong
1
. The roughened surfaces increase the contact resistance between the contactors
43
,
44
and the prong
1
. Thus, when energized, the contactors
43
,
44
produce heat due to electrical resistance. Since the female connector housing
50
is made of insulating resin, the produced heat can damage the housing
50
. Therefore, when the terminal main body
40
connects an electric load with a high-voltage power supply, the reliability of the main body
40
can deteriorate.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, it is an objective of the present invention to provide a solderless high voltage terminal that prevents generation of arc between contactors and a prong of a male terminal.
To achieve the foregoing and other objectives and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, a high-voltage terminal for connecting a high-voltage power supply with a male terminal extending from an electric component is provided. The high-voltage terminal includes an elongated hollow housing made of a conductive material, a first contactor mad of a conductive material, and a second contactor made of a conductive material. The housing includes an opened first end for receiving the male terminal, and a second end connected to the power supply. The first contactor is located in the housing. When the male terminal is inserted into the housing, the first contactor contacts the male terminal. The second contactor is located in the housing at a position closer to the first end than the first contactor is. When the housing receives the male terminal, the second contactor contacts the male terminal and is deformed by arc generated by the contact with the male terminal. When the male terminal is removed from the housing, the second contactor is deformed to separate from the male terminal after the male terminal is separated from the first contactor.
Other aspects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, illustrating by way of example the principles of the invention.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5679034 (1997-10-01), Hanazaki et al.
patent: 5707259 (1998-01-01), Ishizuka et al.
patent: 5775962 (1998-07-01), Kakuta et al.
patent: 6050862 (2000-04-01), Ishii
patent: 6095873 (2000-08-01), Muramatsu et al.

Affiliated with

Also associated with

Rating

High voltage terminal does not yet have a rating. At this time, there are no reviews or comments for this patent.

If you have personal experience with High voltage terminal, we encourage you to share that experience with our LandOfFree.com community. Your opinion is very important and High voltage terminal will most certainly appreciate the feedback.

Rate now

Comments { 0 }

Profile ID: LFUS-PAI-O-3207145