Grounding Terminal Stepped Portion Water Seal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing grounding terminals in vehicle wire harnesses face issues with inconsistent water sealing performance due to insufficient coverage of the water sealing agent, leading to potential water infiltration and looseness of the bearing surface when exposed to high-pressure washing, as the agent may hang down and interfere with the connection to the grounding surface.
Innovation Solution
A grounding terminal design featuring a crimp portion for electric wire fixation, a fastened portion for grounding surface connection, and a stepped portion between them, where a heat-shrinkable tube with a water sealing agent is thermally shrunk to ensure adequate coverage and limit the hanging-down length of the agent within the stepped portion, preventing interference with the fastened connection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a heat-shrinkable tube with water sealing agent is used to cover the connection portion, then water sealing performance is improved, but the water sealing agent may hang down and cause looseness of the bearing surface
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal fitting is divided into distinct functional portions: a crimp portion for wire connection, a bearing surface for fastening, and a stepped portion that acts as a barrier. This segmentation prevents the water sealing agent from flowing down to the bearing surface while maintaining water sealing effectiveness at the crimp portion.
Solution Approach 2:
The stepped portion serves as an intermediary structure between the crimp portion and the bearing surface. It acts as a physical barrier that stops the water sealing agent from hanging down, thereby mediating between the need for water sealing and the need for reliable fastening.
2Reliability
If the water sealing agent is melted to ensure coverage, then water sealing performance is improved, but the agent may flow down and block the fastening connection
Solution Approach 1:
The stepped portion is pre-formed on the terminal fitting before the water sealing agent is applied and melted. This preliminary structural feature ensures that when the agent is melted and flows down due to gravity, it is automatically stopped at the stepped portion, preventing it from reaching the bearing surface.
3Manufacturing precision
If a jig is used to control adhesive filling, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The stepped portion structure enables the water sealing agent to self-regulate its flow and distribution. The agent naturally flows down when melted but is automatically stopped by the stepped portion, eliminating the need for complex external jigs or devices to control the agent distribution.
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 design ensures reliable water sealing and prevents looseness of the bearing surface by visually confirming sufficient agent distribution, maintaining high water sealing performance and stable ground connections even under high-pressure washing conditions.
Implementation Method 1
a covering layer that is formed by thermally shrinking a heat-shrinkable tube including, on its inner circumferential portion, a water sealing agent
Implementation Method 2
melting the water sealing agent, the water sealing agent is distributed up to the front side with respect to the covering layer
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a grounding terminal comprising a terminal fitting including a crimp portion, and a fastened portion that is provided on the front lower side of the crimp portion and is to be connected to a grounding surface using a fastening member, the terminal fitting being provided with a stepped portion between the crimp portion and the fastened portion. A covering layer is configured to be formed on the grounding terminal by thermally shrinking a heat-shrinkable tube including, on its inner circumferential portion, a water sealing agent to be used to cover at least the crimp portion of the terminal fitting and seal the electric wire from water. A water sealing agent is configured to be distributed up to the front side with respect to the covering layer as viewed from above, and a hanging-down length d of a water sealing agent is within the range of the stepped portion.