Electrical connection to Litz wire
AssigneeTE Connectivity Solutions GmbH
InventorKurt Allan Randolph
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
An electrical connector assembly includes a Litz wire having multiple wire strands. Each wire strand has a conductor and an insulator. The electrical connector assembly includes an electrical contact having a contact portion at a mating end and a Litz wire termination portion at a terminating end. The contact portion is configured to make an electrical connection with a mating contact. The Litz wire termination portion is crimped to an end of the Litz wire. The Litz wire termination portion is heated by an induction heating device after being crimped to the end of the Litz wire to heat the wire strands and melt away the insulators of the wire strands to electrically connect the conductors at the end of the Litz wire to make an electrical connection with the individual wire strands of the Litz wire.
Claims12
An applicator device for connecting an electrical contact to a Litz wire, the applicator device comprising:
- a terminator having a forming die and an anvil at a crimp zone, the forming die being operably coupled to a press, the press moving the forming die along a crimping stroke during a crimping operation, wherein the Litz wire is loaded into a Litz wire termination portion of the electrical contact and positioned on the anvil in the crimp zone, the forming die being pressed toward the anvil during the crimping operation to crimp the Litz wire termination portion to the Litz wire to form an electrical contact assembly;
- and
- an induction heating device proximate to the terminator, the induction heating device having an induction heating coil including an induction heating zone, wherein the electrical contact assembly is positioned in the induction heating zone, the electrical contact assembly heating the Litz wire termination portion and the Litz wire to heat wire strands of the Litz wire and melt away insulators of the wire strands to electrically connect conductors of the wire strands to make an electrical connection between the Litz wire termination portion and the individual wire strands of the Litz wire.
A method of connecting an electrical contact to a Litz wire, the method comprising:
- loading an end of the Litz wire into a Litz wire termination portion of the electrical contact;
- positioning the Litz wire termination portion and the end of the Litz wire into a crimp zone of a terminator having an anvil and a forming die operably coupled to a press configured to move the forming die along a crimping stroke during a crimping operation;
- crimping the Litz wire termination portion to the end of the Litz wire by pressing the forming die toward the anvil during the crimping operation to compress insulators and conductors of wire strands of the Litz wire in the Litz wire termination portion to form an electrical contact assembly, wherein the insulators of the wire strands are located between the conductors of the wire strands in a bundle;
- heating the Litz wire termination portion and the wire strands of the Litz wire received in the Litz wire termination portion with an induction heating device proximate to the terminator having an induction heating coil including an induction heating zone, wherein the electrical contact assembly is positioned in the induction heating zone, the induction heating coil operated to heat the wire strands of the Litz wire and melt away the insulators of the wire strands between the conductors of the wire strands and between the conductors and the Litz wire termination portion to electrically connect the conductors of the wire strands to each other and the Litz wire termination portion to make an electrical connection between the Litz wire termination portion and the individual wire strands of the Litz wire and the Litz wire termination portion.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.