Electrical connector
AssigneeRaychem Corporation
InventorJacques Delalle
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A device 1 for forming an electrical connection between a plurality of electrical conductors comprises an electrically insulating sleeve (3), a metallic connecting element (4) located within the sleeve and a quantity of solder (8) for forming a permanent electrical connection between the conductors. The connecting element (4) has an external surface that is uneven so that a significant proportion of any radiation that is radially inwardly directed onto the external surface of the element will be reflected at least twice by the external surface of the element. This uneveness enables the response of the device to heating by infrared radiation to be significantly improved. The connecting element may be formed for example by coiling a wire having a polygonal, e.g. square, cross-section into a frusto-conical helix.
Claims11
A device for forming an electrical connection between a plurality of electrical conductors, which comprises an electrically insulating sleeve wherein the sleeve is dimensionally heat-recoverable, a metallic connecting element and a quantity of solder for forming a permanent electrical connection between the conductors, wherein the connecting element is located within the sleeve and has an external surface that is sufficiently uneven that a significant proportion of any radiation that is radially inwardly directed onto the external surface of the element will be reflected at least twice by the external surface of the element.
A method of forming an electrical connection between a plurality of electrical conductors, which comprises:
- (i) positioning about the conductors a device which comprises an electrically insulating sleeve, a metallic connecting element and a quantity of solder, wherein the connecting element is located within the sleeve and has a tapering internal surface with a screw thread, and has an uneven external surface;
- (ii) twisting the device about the conductors to hold them in the connection element;
- and
- (iii) applying infrared radiation radially inwardly to heat the device and so cause the solder to melt and form a permanent connection between the conductors;
- wherein a significant proportion of the radiation is reflected at least twice by the external surface of the connecting element.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.