Insert moulded product and method of manufacture thereof
AssigneeSumitomo Wiring Systems, Ltd.
InventorsKazunori Yamashita, Mitsuhiro Fujitani
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A wiring member 20 is provided in a housing 10, has a round cross-section, and has integral tab shaped contact members 21 at the ends thereof. The wiring member 20 is bent into a specified shape before the contact members 21 are formed. The wiring member 20 is then fixed in a first moulding and encapsulated by insert moulding of a cover. Since the wiring member 20 is cross-sectionally round, it can be bent in any direction. Consequently, there is a high degree of freedom of design and the bending operation can be carried out easily. Further, as the process for forming the contact members 21 is carried out after the bending process, the accuracy is improved.
Claims10
An insert moulded part having a plastic body and an elongated, electrical metal conductor encapsulated therein, the conductor being a one piece member with at least one end thereof protruding from said plastic body and an elongated medial section encapsulated in said plastic body, said protruding end having a flat tab shape to form an electrical contact member, and said elongated medial section having a substantially circular cross-section and being bent into a plurality of segments with a longitudinal axis of a first segment lying in a first plane and a longitudinal axis of a second segment lying in a second plane which is parallel to said first plane such that the first and second segments are not coplanar.
A method of making an insert moulded part including an encapsulated electrical conductor, the method comprising the steps of
- a) moulding a base having a pre-defined conductor receiving path, said path having bends defining discrete segments which are not coplanar;
- b) bending a one-piece, elongated metal conductor having a generally circular cross section into a pre-defined path having a plurality of segments with a longitudinal axis of a first segment of said conductor lying in a first plane and a longitudinal axis of a second segment of said conductor lying in a second plane which is parallel to said first plane such that the first and second segments of the conductor are not coplanar;
- c) forming at least one end of the conductor into an electrical contact member having a flat tab shape after the bending of the conductor;
- d) placing said bent conductor in said base so that said conductor follows said pre-defined conductor receiving path;
- and
- e) encapsulating said conductor by moulding a cover over said base, said tab end of said conductor being permitted to protrude from said base.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.