Insulated Wire Terminal with Piercing Crimp and Protective Cap
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connecting terminals for insulated wires require a separate process of crimping and subsequent insulation with heat shrinking or plastic sleeves, making the process complex and labor-intensive.
Innovation Solution
A connecting terminal with a terminal body featuring a toothed structure for piercing through insulation layers and an insulating cap that provides insulation, allowing for simultaneous crimping and insulation in a single step, simplifying the assembly process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a separate crimping process followed by separate insulation process is used, then reliable electrical connection and insulation are achieved, but the manufacturing process becomes complex and labor-intensive
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the crimping function and insulation function into a single integrated terminal structure. The terminal body with toothed structures performs both electrical connection (crimping) and insulation simultaneously, eliminating the need for separate heat shrinking or plastic sleeving steps. This merging of functions directly resolves the contradiction by maintaining reliability while reducing process complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The terminal body is designed to perform multiple functions: the toothed structures provide both mechanical crimping force for electrical connection and form the insulation barrier. This multi-functional design allows a single component to replace what previously required multiple components and steps, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process while ensuring reliable connection and insulation.
2Reliability
If a separate crimping process followed by separate insulation process is used, then reliable electrical connection and insulation are achieved, but labor consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
By merging crimping and insulation into one simultaneous operation using the integrated terminal structure, the patent reduces the number of manufacturing steps from two separate processes to one. This directly improves productivity and reduces labor consumption while maintaining the reliability achieved through proper crimping and insulation design.
3Reliability
If toothed structures pierce through insulation layers during crimping, then electrical connection is achieved, but sharp edges may be exposed creating safety hazards
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal body integrates both the toothed crimping structures and the insulation layer into a single component. The insulation layer completely covers the toothed structures after crimping, so the same structure that achieves electrical connection also provides protection against sharp edge exposure. This eliminates the safety hazard while maintaining reliable electrical connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the potentially harmful exposed sharp edges into a beneficial fully enclosed structure. The insulation layer that was added as a separate step in traditional designs is now an integral part of the terminal body, transforming the safety hazard into a protective feature that encloses the sharp toothed structures while maintaining their crimping function.
Data Source
AI summary
A connecting terminal is adapted to connect a plurality of insulated wires together and includes a terminal body and a cap. The terminal body defines a receiving cavity having an inner wall. The inner wall includes a toothed structure adapted to pierce through insulation layers of the insulated wires in response to crimping of the terminal body. The cap is sleeved over the terminal body and is adapted to insulate the terminal body from an external environment.