# US 12,470,033 B2 · Method of manufacturing an electric connector

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- Number: US 12,470,033 B2
- Document ID: US12470033B2
- Status: Granted
- Kind: B2
- Application number: 17/934,092
- Filed: 2022-09-21
- Published: 2023-06-29
- Granted: 2025-11-11
- Earliest claimed: 2021-12-25
- Assignees: Drapho Electronics Technology.,Ltd
- Applicants: Drapho Electronics Technology., Ltd
- Inventors: ChangYao Chen; ZhuPing Wu; ZhiHong Fang
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US12470033B2

## CPC

- H01R 43/16: for manufacturing contact members, e.g. by punching and by bending
- H01R 43/20: for assembling or disassembling contact members with insulating base, case or sleeve
- H01R 13/03: characterised by the material, e.g. plating, or coating materials
- H01R: ELECTRICALLY-CONDUCTIVE CONNECTIONS; STRUCTURAL ASSOCIATIONS OF A PLURALITY OF MUTUALLY-INSULATED ELECTRICAL CONNECTING ELEMENTS; COUPLING DEVICES; CURRENT COLLECTORS

## Abstract

A method of manufacturing an electric connector includes: providing a metal strip and stamping on the metal strip at a stamping station to obtain a terminal set; packaging and conveying the terminal set to an electroplating station; electroplating and conveying the terminal set to an assembling station; bending and assembling the terminal set into the insulator. The bending operation of the terminal set is transferred to be carried out on the assembling station after the electroplating operation, and is prevented from being carried out at the stamping station. On the one hand, the structure of the terminal set can be kept flat after stamping, which can improve the packaging efficiency and the packaging quantity. On the other hand, the relatively flat structure of the terminal set is more conducive to electroplating treatment, which can improve the electroplating quality and prevent the terminal from deforming.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of manufacturing an electric connector, comprising the following steps:
providing a metal strip, and stamping on the metal strip at a stamping station to obtain a terminal set;
packaging the terminal set and then conveying the terminal set to an electroplating station;
electroplating the terminal set at the electroplating station, and then conveying the terminal set to an assembling station; and
bending the terminal set at the assembling station, and then assembling the terminal set into an insulator;
wherein during stamping, a head part of the terminal set is integrally connected to the metal strip, and a tail part of the terminal set is cut off to be separated from the metal strip and is raised upwards; and
wherein during assembling, the head part of the terminal set is located in the insulator for electric plugging, and the tail part of the terminal set is located outside the insulator for welding.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of manufacturing the electric connector according to claim 1, wherein stamping on the metal strip at a stamping station to obtain a terminal set specifically comprises: stamping on the metal strip to obtain at least one pair of mutually symmetric terminal sets, each of the terminal sets comprising a plurality of terminals, wherein each of the terminals is provided with a horizontal main arm, and the main arm is slender.

### Claim 3 (depends on 2)

The method of manufacturing the electric connector according to claim 2, wherein packaging the terminal set and then conveying the terminal set to the electroplating station specifically comprise: packaging a plurality of terminal sets jointly, the main arms of the plurality of terminal sets being arranged in a stack.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The method of manufacturing the electric connector according to claim 3, wherein bending the terminal set on the assembling station specifically comprises: bending the main arm of each of the terminal sets, so that the main arm is bent to be L-shaped to form a horizontal contact arm and a vertical welding arm.

### Claim 5 (depends on 4)

The method of manufacturing the electric connector according to claim 4, wherein assembling the terminal set into an insulator specifically comprises: inserting the terminal set into the insulator from a rear side of the insulator, thus enabling the contact arm to enter the insulator while enabling the welding arm to be exposed outside the insulator.