Sensing apparatus, piercing terminal, stamping strip and corresponding methods

A piercing terminal configured to be connected to tail ends of parallel wires of a flexible printed circuit (FPC) film, the piercing terminal comprising a barbed metal strip and a stamping strip with positioning holes therein, wherein:

• the positioning strip has a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of positioning grooves which are arranged alternately at essentially equal intervals and symmetrically on two opposite sides of the positioning strip in a lengthwise direction of the positioning strip,
• the protrusions each have an essentially same width as that of the positioning grooves, at least one of the protrusions and at least one of the positioning grooves are provided between positions on the positioning strip which correspond to two adjacent piercing terminals,
• the protrusions are essentially perpendicular to a surface of the positioning strip,
• a center distance between the at least one protrusion and the at least one positioning groove is the same as a center distance between two flat wires at the tail ends of the parallel wires of the FPC film,
• the positioning strip further comprises a plurality of positioning holes arranged at essentially equal intervals at a middle of the positioning strip in the lengthwise direction thereof, and
• at least two ones of the positioning holes, which are located between positions on the positioning strip which correspond to two adjacent piercing terminals, has a center distance therebetween that is essentially the same as that between two flat wires at the tail ends of the parallel wires of the FPC film.

A method for connecting a stamping strip to tail ends of parallel wires of a flexible printed circuit (FPC) film, wherein the stamping strip comprises a positioning strip of metal material and a plurality of piercing terminals, wherein the piercing terminals are arranged essentially in parallel to each other at essentially equal intervals and are essentially perpendicularly and fixedly connected to the positioning strip;

• wherein each of the piercing terminals comprises a barbed metal strip, the method comprising:
• stacking at least two stamping strips when a center distance between two adjacent metal strips on one of the stamping strips is greater than a center distance between two flat wires of parallel wires of the FPC film;
• causing a center distance between two adjacent metal strips on the stacked stamping strips to become essentially equal to the center distance between the two flat wires of the parallel wires of the FPC film;
• and
• connecting two adjacent piercing terminals of the two stacked stamping strips to the two flat wires at the tail ends of the parallel wires of the FPC film by a stamping process in a piercing manner.

A method of connecting a connector to tail ends of parallel wires of a flexible printed circuit (FPC) film, the method comprising:

• connecting at least one of the tail ends to a piercing terminal, the piercing terminal comprising a barbed metal strip and a stamping strip with positioning holes therein, wherein:
• the positioning strip has a plurality of protrusions and a plurality of positioning grooves which are arranged alternately at essentially equal intervals and symmetrically on two opposite sides of the positioning strip in a lengthwise direction of the positioning strip,
• the protrusions each have an essentially same width as that of the positioning grooves, at least one of the protrusions and at least one of the positioning grooves are provided between positions on the positioning strip which correspond to two adjacent piercing terminals,
• the protrusions are essentially perpendicular to a surface of the positioning strip,
• a center distance between the at least one protrusion and the at least one positioning groove is the same as a center distance between two flat wires at the tail ends of the parallel wires of the FPC film,
• the positioning strip further comprises a plurality of positioning holes arranged at essentially equal intervals at a middle of the positioning strip in the lengthwise direction thereof, and
• at least two ones of the positioning holes, which are located between positions on the positioning strip which correspond to two adjacent piercing terminals, has a center distance therebetween that is essentially the same as that between the two flat wires at the tail ends of the parallel wires of the FPC film.