Wire Termination Thermal Sensing for Crimp Defect Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing crimp quality monitoring systems are inaccurate in detecting defective wire terminations, as they rely solely on crimp height or force measurements, which can fail to identify issues such as insulation or incorrect wire types, leading to unsatisfactory connections being passed as acceptable.
Innovation Solution
A wire termination monitoring system that utilizes thermal sensors to monitor and analyze the thermal properties of the termination process, comparing collected thermal data to stored profiles to determine the quality of the termination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If crimp height measurement is used to monitor crimp quality, then the monitoring system is simple to implement, but it fails to detect defective connections that have correct crimp height
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces thermal characteristics as an intermediary measurement parameter between the crimping process and quality assessment. By measuring temperature changes during crimping, the system gains additional information about the actual connection quality that is not captured by crimp height alone, thereby improving detection accuracy without significantly increasing system complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the measurement parameter from purely geometric (crimp height) to include thermal properties (temperature characteristics during crimping). This parameter expansion allows the system to detect defects that do not manifest in dimensional measurements, such as insulation presence or incorrect wire types, while maintaining a relatively simple monitoring approach
2Measurement precision
If force profile analysis is used to detect defective crimps, then the system can identify some connection issues, but it is inaccurate for certain wire types like aluminum and falsely identifies good crimps as defective
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces thermal characteristics as an intermediary measurement that complements force profile analysis. By measuring temperature changes during crimping, the system obtains material-specific thermal signatures that are more reliable for distinguishing between good and defective crimps, particularly for aluminum wires where force variation is minimal
Solution Approach 2:
The patent partially replaces the mechanical force measurement approach with thermal measurement. Instead of relying solely on force-displacement data, the system uses thermal characteristics to assess crimp quality, which provides more consistent and reliable information across different wire types and termination conditions
3Measurement precision
If thermal sensor monitoring is implemented to accurately assess termination quality, then defective connections can be reliably detected, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs the thermal monitoring system to serve multiple functions: detecting insulation in the barrel, identifying incorrect wire types, verifying proper wire insertion, and assessing overall connection quality. This multi-functionality justifies the added complexity by providing comprehensive quality assessment from a single thermal measurement system
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces complex mechanical measurement systems with thermal sensing. Instead of using multiple sensors and complex force-displacement analysis, the system uses thermal characteristics to assess crimp quality, which simplifies the overall measurement approach while improving detection accuracy across different wire types and defect conditions
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 approach allows for accurate assessment of wire termination quality, distinguishing between satisfactory and defective connections, even in cases where force measurements are inconclusive, such as with aluminum wires, thereby ensuring reliable electrical and mechanical connections.
Implementation Method 1
monitoring the thermal properties of the termination with one or more thermal sensors
Data Source
AI summary
A wire terminating apparatus and method which allows for determining the quality of a wire termination. The method includes terminating the wire, monitoring the thermal properties of the termination with one or more thermal sensors and comparing the monitored thermal properties to stored thermal properties to determine if the termination is defective. If the termination is defective, the termination is discarded. The apparatus includes a wire termination zone. A thermal sensor is mounted on the wire terminating apparatus proximate the wire termination zone. The thermal sensor monitors the thermal properties of the termination to determine if the termination is defective.