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CA3091271A1 - Modular electrical connector system for wire harnessess and cable assemblies - Google Patents

Modular electrical connector system for wire harnessess and cable assemblies Download PDF

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Publication number
CA3091271A1
CA3091271A1 CA3091271A CA3091271A CA3091271A1 CA 3091271 A1 CA3091271 A1 CA 3091271A1 CA 3091271 A CA3091271 A CA 3091271A CA 3091271 A CA3091271 A CA 3091271A CA 3091271 A1 CA3091271 A1 CA 3091271A1
Authority
CA
Canada
Prior art keywords
molded
wire
connector
cables
cable
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
CA3091271A
Other languages
French (fr)
Inventor
Rajeev Kumar
Rakesh Kumar
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Individual
Original Assignee
Individual
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Individual filed Critical Individual
Priority to CA3091271A priority Critical patent/CA3091271A1/en
Publication of CA3091271A1 publication Critical patent/CA3091271A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • HELECTRICITY
    • H01ELECTRIC ELEMENTS
    • H01RELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS
    • H01R31/00Coupling parts supported only by co-operation with counterpart
    • H01R31/005Intermediate parts for distributing signals
    • BPERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60RVEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R16/00Electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for; Arrangement of elements of electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for
    • B60R16/02Electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for; Arrangement of elements of electric or fluid circuits specially adapted for vehicles and not otherwise provided for electric constitutive elements
    • B60R16/0207Wire harnesses

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  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Connector Housings Or Holding Contact Members (AREA)

Abstract

A modular connector system and method for assembling a wire harness or cable assembly includes at least one Molded Connector, at least two Molded Cables, and one or more Molded Covers.

Description

TITLE: Modular Electrical Connector System For Wire Harnesses and Cable Assemblies TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to a modular connector system and method for assembling wire harnesses and cable assemblies, and particularly to a modular connector system and method for assembling wire harnesses and cable assemblies for automotive applications.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A typical motor vehicle has a wire harness for supplying a power to various electrical parts, such as various lamps, devices and motors from a battery. A conventional wire harness includes a plurality of electrical wires and cables, a plurality of terminals each fitted to an end of each electrical cable, connector housings accommodating the terminals, etc.
Modern cars have a large additional number of on-vehicle electronic components, which require hundreds of additional electrical cables. Thus, a wire harness for a modern car tends to be of a complex shape and configuration and incorporates a large number of electrical cables.
In spite of increasing automation, the current technology for making wire harnesses continues to rely on hand manufacture as the primary method of production in general, due to the many different processes involved in making a wire harness. Typically, for assembling a wire harness, a plurality of sub-harnesses are assembled, each with a plurality of electrical cables and connectors.
Thereafter, these sub-harnesses are combined with one another to complete the wiring harness.

Date Recue/Date Received 2020-08-27 A typical assembly line for wire-harnesses is generally custom designed for one particular type of wire-harness, involving numerous electrical wires and cables of various lengths being press-fit or crimped to each other at predetermined points.
The current methods for making wire-harnesses have insufficient flexibility and prove difficult to adapt to making frequently changing wire-harnesses that come with many various possible combinations of options that may be ordered.
There is an unmet need in the market for a flexible modular system for making wire-harnesses that would enable the fast assembly of complex and variable wire-harness designs.
There is also a need for such system to incorporate sturdy connections which can resist various pulling forces that a wire-harness might experience in use, to ensure that harnesses are consistently effective and safe.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention responds to this unmet need in the market by introducing a flexible modular system for making wire-harnesses. The present invention comprises a modular system and method for assembling wire-harnesses, accommodating any simple or complex wiring configuration.
According to the present invention, a wire-harness consists of individual modules which are assembled as needed. A typical module of the present invention consists of at least one Molded Connector, a Molded Cover (with locking mechanism) and Molded Cables. Each Molded Cable, according to the present invention, consists of a least one electrical wire, with at least one electrical terminal fitted to an end of the electrical wire and with an insulating molding formed over the terminal at the molded end of the Molded Cable.
2 Date Recue/Date Received 2020-08-27 The insulated molding at the end of the Molded Cable is adapted to matingly engage a corresponding (male/female, respectively) molded port on the Molded Connector, whereby the electrical terminal fitted to the end of the electrical wire will make electrical contact with a corresponding terminal fitted inside the molded port of the Molded Connector. To ensure that the mating engagement of the Molded Cable with the Molding Connector does not come apart upon the application of a pulling force onto the harness, a Molded Cover is applied on top of the Molded Connector when matingly engaged with the Molded Cable.
According to the present invention, the Molded Cover is preferably of a clamshell design, whereby, in the open position, the Molded Cover comprises at least two half-shell parts which can then fold over each other to close the Molded Cover; locking means (such as locking tabs, or frictional means, or equivalent) are also fitted to the two half-shells so that the Molded Cover can be firmly locked in the closed position.
The Molded Cover is adapted to wrap around with close tolerances and enclose the molded end of the wire and the Molded Connector when matingly engaged with the Molded Cable;
certain retaining means are pre-formed into the inside surface of the Molded Cover, which retaining means are adopted to engage matching retaining means formed on the outside surface of the Molded Connector and of the molded end of the Molded Cable, so that, when the Molded Cover is applied and locked in place, the Molded Cable(s) cannot be pulled apart from its mating engagement with the Molded Connector by any reasonable amount of pulling force.
By using multiple-branch Molded Connectors and multiple Molded Cables of appropriate lengths (and, optionally, multiple separate strands of wires), a virtually infinite number of configurations and
3 Date Recue/Date Received 2020-08-27 geometrical designs can be achieved for any given cable assembly or wire-harness assembled according to the present invention.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
The novel features which are believed to be characteristic of the present invention, as to its structure, functionality, use and method of operation, together with further objectives and advantages thereof, will be better understood from the following drawings in which a presently preferred embodiment of the invention will now be illustrated by way of example. It is expressly understood, however, that the following drawings are for the purpose of illustration and description only, and are not intended as a definition of the limits of the invention. In the accompanying drawings:
Figure 1 is a front view of a preferred embodiment of this invention, showing a module of a wire-harness or cable assembly with all components disconnected (one Molded Connector 1, four Molded Cables 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d and one Molded Cover 3);
Figure 2 is a front view of the same embodiment from Fig. 1, whereby the four Molded Cables are connected with the Molded Connector (the Molded Cover is not yet applied in Figure 2).
Figure 3 is a front view of the same preferred embodiment from Figs. 1 and 2, whereby half of the Molded Cover has been applied to the Molded Connector/Molded Cable assembly, but the Molded Cover is still in the open position (not yet closed);
Figure 4 is a front view of the same preferred embodiment from Figs. 1, 2 and 3, whereby the Molded Cover is closed in its operative position (with one half shell locked over the other half-shell), fully enclosing and securing the Molded Connector/Molded Cable assembly.
Figures 5, 6 and 7 are, respectively, front views of an alternative embodiment of this invention, with one Molded Connector, five Molded Cables and one Molded Cover; Figure 5 shows all
4 Date Recue/Date Received 2020-08-27 components disconnected, Figure 6 shows the five Molded Cables connected to the Molded Connector (without the Molded Cover applied), while Figure 7 shows the fully assembled module with the Molded Cover applied and locked in place over the Molded Connector/Molded Cable assembly.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION AND ITS PREFERRED METHOD OF USE
A preferred embodiment of this invention is a wire-harness module comprising the following main components (all reference numbers below correspond to the reference numerals from the attached drawings):
- one Molded Connector 1;
- Molded Cables 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d;
- Molded Cover 3;
- The Molded Cables 2a, 2b, 2c and 2d each have a molded end 2a1, 2b1, 2c1, 2d1, whereby each molded end of a wire is fitted inside with at least one electrical terminal fitted to an end of an electrical wire inside the cable. Each of the molded ends 2a1, 2b1, 2c1, 2d1 of the Molded Cables is adapted to matingly engage to a corresponding (male/female, respectively) molded port la, lb, lc and id on the Molded Connector, whereby the electrical terminal fitted to the end of the electrical wire will make electrical contact with a corresponding terminal fitted inside the molded port of the Molded Connector, so that the electrical circuit will be routed according to the internal electrical design of the Molded Connector. (Note:
there is a fifth molded port on the Molded Connector 1, which remains unused and un-mated in Figures 1-4, because a situation with only four Molded Cables is illustrated in the embodiment depicted in Figures 1-4);
- Figures 5, 6 and 7 show an alternative preferred embodiment of this invention, with one Molded Connector, five Molded Cables and one Molded Cover.
Date Recue/Date Received 2020-08-27 The process of preparing the wire-harness assembly according with the present invention involves a first step of cutting the prescribed number of electrical insulated wires or cables to the prescribed length, affixing electrical terminals to the end of the wires, connector(s) (if needed) and then finalizing the Molded Cables by forming the molded end of each Molded Cable, whereby each molded end of a Molded Cable is adapted to matingly engage to a corresponding (male/female, respectively) molded port on the Molded Connector, whereby the electrical terminal fitted to the end of the electrical wire will make electrical contact with a corresponding terminal fitted inside the molded port of the Molded Connector.
Referring now to the invention in more detail, Figure 1 is a front view of a preferred embodiment of this invention, showing a module of a wire-harness at the preassembly stage, with all components disconnected (one Molded Connector 1, four Molded Cables 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d and one Molded Cover 3).
From the configuration shown in Figure 1, an assembly worker will proceed to firmly and fully insert molded ends 2a1, 2b1, 2c1, and 2d 1 of the respective Molded Cables into the corresponding molded ports la, lb, lc and id on the Molded Connector. Preferably, each molded port la, lb, lc and id has a different geometric profile so as to be able to only matingly engage with the molded end of the correct Molded Cable, to prevent an unwanted connection with the wrong Molded Cable. When all four Molded Cables 2a, 2b, 2c, 2d are connected with the Molded Connector 1, the configuration looks like Figure 2.

Date Recue/Date Received 2020-08-27 From the configuration shown in Figure 2, an assembly worker will proceed to place the Molded Connector/Molded Cable assembly inside the half-shell of an open Molded Connector 3, achieving the intermediate configuration depicted in Figure 3.
From the configuration shown in Figure 3, an assembly worker will proceed to close the Molded Cover 3 with locking systems (by bringing the two half-shells together), and to engage the locking means between the two half-shells, which will keep the Molded Connector closed until the need to disassemble arises. This is the final (operative) configuration depicted in Figure 4, with the Molded Connector 3 fully closed and enclosing the Molded Connector/Molded Cable assembly inside, which confers to the entire assembly a good resistance to any pulling forces that may want to pull apart the Molded Cables from the Molded Connector.
By using multiple-branch Molded Connectors and multiple Molded Cables of appropriate lengths (and, optionally, multiple separate strands of wires), a virtually infinite number of configurations and geometrical designs can be achieved for any given wire-harness assembled according to the present invention, including any main branches and side-branches of a harness and the attachments therebetween. Any known type of Molded Connector can be used for this invention (connector, splitter, jointer, etc.) as per the requirements. Aside from automotive wire harnesses, this invention can be applied to any known field of electrical technology which requires wire-harnesses, cable wiring harnesses, electrical connectors and cables/wires.
As for materials of construction, any material known in the art of making Molded Connectors and Molded Cables and Molded Covers can be employed for the present invention.
Preferably, the Molded Covers according to this invention will have a clam-shell design, with two or more half-shells attached in a hinged configuration and with locking means to lock in place once in the closed position.

Date Recue/Date Received 2020-08-27 While the foregoing written description of the invention enables one of ordinary skill to make and use what is considered presently to be the best mode thereof, those of ordinary skill will understand and appreciate the existence of variations, combinations, and equivalents of the specific embodiment, method, and examples herein. The invention should therefore not be limited by the above described embodiment, method, and examples, but by all embodiments and methods within the scope of the claims attached herewith.

Date Recue/Date Received 2020-08-27

Claims

We claim:
1. A modular connector assembly for a wire-harness or cable assembly comprising - At least one Molded Connector fitted with two or more molded ports;
- At least two Molded Cables, each Molded Cable fitted with at least one molded end;
- One or more Molded Covers.

Date Recue/Date Received 2020-08-27
CA3091271A 2020-08-27 2020-08-27 Modular electrical connector system for wire harnessess and cable assemblies Abandoned CA3091271A1 (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA3091271A CA3091271A1 (en) 2020-08-27 2020-08-27 Modular electrical connector system for wire harnessess and cable assemblies

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
CA3091271A CA3091271A1 (en) 2020-08-27 2020-08-27 Modular electrical connector system for wire harnessess and cable assemblies

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
CA3091271A1 true CA3091271A1 (en) 2022-02-27

Family

ID=80628111

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
CA3091271A Abandoned CA3091271A1 (en) 2020-08-27 2020-08-27 Modular electrical connector system for wire harnessess and cable assemblies

Country Status (1)

Country Link
CA (1) CA3091271A1 (en)

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Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
FZDE Discontinued

Effective date: 20240228