Self-Aligning Cylindrical Terminal for PCB Solder Wetting
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing process of connecting a terminal with an electric wire to a printed wiring board often results in poor solder wetting due to misalignment, leading to unstable mechanical and electrical connections, which requires additional man-hours to ensure proper fitting.
Innovation Solution
A terminal with a body portion formed in a major arc or overlapping cylindrical shape, equipped with a locking portion and projecting portions, ensures proper fitting and alignment by standing on its own within the through hole, facilitating capillary action for solder wetting and forming a stable connection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the terminal with the electric wire is fitted into the through hole without additional holding measures, then the fitting process is simple and fast, but the terminal may become inclined and solder wetting becomes poor
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal body is designed with elastic properties and a specific major arc cylindrical shape that enables it to automatically align itself with the through hole wall during insertion. The elasticity allows the terminal to deform slightly and then recover, creating a self-aligning mechanism that ensures proper positioning without requiring external holding devices or additional manual intervention, thus maintaining both high productivity and precise alignment
Solution Approach 2:
The terminal body's elastic modulus and dimensional parameters are specifically designed to allow controlled deformation during insertion. The major arc cylindrical shape with a central angle of 180-360 degrees provides optimal elastic recovery characteristics, enabling the terminal to automatically correct any inclination and achieve precise alignment with the through hole wall during the fitting process
2Manufacturing precision
If additional holding measures are taken to prevent terminal inclination during soldering, then solder wetting improves, but additional man-hours are required
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal's elastic body automatically maintains itself in the correct position within the through hole, serving as its own holding mechanism. This eliminates the need for external holding fixtures or additional manual operations, thereby preventing solder inclination issues while avoiding any loss of time or additional man-hours
Solution Approach 2:
The terminal body is pre-designed with elastic properties and geometric features that enable it to automatically establish proper alignment and contact with the through hole wall before the soldering process begins. This preliminary self-positioning action ensures optimal solder wetting conditions are already in place, eliminating the need for subsequent holding operations
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution enables stable mechanical and electrical connections by ensuring the terminal stands on its own within the through hole, allowing for effective solder wetting and forming a strong bond between the terminal and the mounting member.
Implementation Method 1
a body portion (110) having conductivity and elasticity, and being formed in a major arc cylindrical shape
Implementation Method 2
the body portion including the projecting portion of the terminal with the connected object comes into contact with a wall (311) constituting the through hole (310) and is fitted into the through hole (310) with a predetermined fitting force. Therefore, in the fitting step, the terminal with the connected object stands on its own relative to the mounting member (300), and a gap between the body portion of the terminal with the connected object and the wall constituting the through hole is ensured by the projecting portion. Accordingly, in the soldering step, capillary action or the like facilitates the wetting of solder in the gap
Data Source
AI summary
A terminal includes a body portion formed in a major arc cylindrical shape in which a gap is formed between two edges in the circumferential direction or an overlapping cylindrical shape in which the two edges in the circumferential direction overlap each other, such that a cylindrical space is formed inside the body portion, and locking portions disposed on at least one side out of the back side and the front side in the insertion direction of the body portion and having base pieces that extend from the body portion toward the back side in the insertion direction or the front side in the insertion direction and locking pieces that are provided on the base pieces. The body portion has at least one projecting portion projecting toward the outside. A connection structure includes the terminal, a connected object and a mounting member. It is possible to cause the terminal to which the connected object is attached to stand on its own relative to the mounting member, and to ensure the thickness of a solder layer between the terminal with the connected object and a through hole.