Termination assembly formed by diverse angularly disposed conductors and termination method

A clock spring wiring harness comprising;

• a resilient insulated flexible flat electrical cable spirally wound in the manner of a clock spring and including an outer jacket of insulating material containing a plurality of resilient parallel spaced apart first electrical conductors, said flat electrical cable having an uninsulated strip defined by the removal of insulating material from said outer insulating jacket, said uninsulated strip extending transversely across said cable and biased to the direction of cable extent, uninsulated contact portions of said first electrical conductors and spaces therebetween being substantially entirely exposed within the confines of said uninsulated strip and defining a stepped array of uninsulated contact portions, a plurality of lead conductors having parallel spaced apart termination portions, and a terminal block for electrically connecting said termination portion of each of said lead connectors to said contact portion of a respectively associated one of said electrical conductors, said terminal block formed from dielectric material and having a base and a mating cover cooperating in assembly with said base to define a stepped series of cradle assemblies, each of said cradle assemblies including a cradle carried by said base and a cradle cap defined by said cover, said cradle having a cradle slot extending therethrough in a first direction of extent and opening through opposite sides of said cradle and toward said cover before assembly of said cover and said base for receiving and partially complementing said termination portion of an associated one of said lead conductors and maintaining said termination portion in said first direction of extent, said cradle cap defining a pressure surface for registry with said cradle slot, aligning means for positioning a contact portion of a flat electrical conductor in a second direction of extent and in overlying electrical contacting engagement with said termination portion of said associated lead conductor in a region of termination both during and after assembly of said cover with said base, and connecting members extending through said flat electrical cable generally within the confines of said strip and securing said cover in assembly with said base and said cradle cap in assembly with said cradle and continuously resiliently biasing said pressure surface toward and into engagement with said contact portion to continuously maintain electrical contacting engagement between said contact portion of said flat electrical conductor and said terminal portion of said lead conductor in said region of termination.

A method for electrically connecting one electrical conductor to another electrical conductor comprising the steps of making a cradle assembly from ultrasonically weldable dielectric material and including a cradle member and a cap member, determining a compressibility factor for at least one of the conductors to be connected, forming an outwardly open cradle slot extending axially through the cradle member and having an inner end wall substantially complementing portion of the one conductor when the one conductor is confined within the cradle slot with its axis substantially parallel to the axis of the cradle slot and a slot depth substantially equal to the height of the confined portion less an amount equal to the compressibility factor, providing a plurality of connecting posts on one of the members including the cradle member and the cap member, forming blind openings in the other of the members including the cradle member and the cap member for receiving end portions of the posts therein, forming coengagable energy directors on the post end portions and within the blind openings, placing the one conductor in its confined position within the cradle slot, positioning another conductor in overlying electrical contacting engagement with the one conductor in confined position, preassembling the cradle cap member with the cradle member with the post end portions in the blind openings and the energy directors in coengagement with each other within the openings, applying compressive force of a predetermined magnitude to the cradle assembly to urge the cap member toward the cradle member and the another conductor toward and into compressing engagement with the one conductor, applying high frequency vibratory energy to the cradle assembly while the compressive force is being applied to the cradle assembly, and ceasing the application of high frequency energy to the cradle assembly while the compressive force of predetermined continues to be applied to the cradle assembly.