Brazed Ground Terminal for Non-Ferrous Vehicle Components

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016261071-A1
Application number	US-201514634950-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Mar 2, 2015
Priority date	Mar 2, 2015
Publication date	Sep 8, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

A method of manufacturing a grounding connection is disclosed that comprises assembling a non-ferrous grounding connector to a non-ferrous part, and melting brazing material between the grounding connector and the part to secure the grounding connector to the part. The step of assembling the connector to the part may be performed by clinching the connector to the part. The ground connector may comprise a nut secured to the vehicle body by a clinch joint and a deposit of braze metal applied to the nut at the location of the clinch joint. Alternatively, the ground connector for a vehicle body may comprise a nut defining an opening for receiving a fastener and a deposit of brazing material attaching the nut to the vehicle body.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A method of manufacturing a grounding connection comprising:
assembling a non-ferrous grounding connector to a non-ferrous part; and melting a brazing material between the grounding connector and the part to secure the grounding connector to the part.

2 . The method of claim 1 wherein the step of assembling the connector to the part is performed by clinching the connector to the part.

3 . The method of claim 1 wherein the non-ferrous part is a heat treated aluminum alloy, and the brazing material has a melting point of between 700° and 900° F.

4 . The method of claim 1 wherein the grounding connector further includes a plurality of feet formed of the brazing material that melt during the melting step.

5 . The method of claim 1 wherein the grounding connector has a plurality of sides that define a plurality of channels, respectively, and wherein the brazing material is melted to flow through the channels.

6 . The method of claim 5 wherein the channels extend from an outer surface of the grounding connector to a surface of the grounding connector that is attached to the part.

7 . The method of claim 1 further comprising a braze washer inserted between the ground connector and the part, and wherein the braze washer provides the brazing material that melts in the melting step.

8 . The method of claim 1 wherein the melting step is performed by feeding a wire electrode toward an area between the grounding connector and the part and supplying electrical current to melt the wire electrode.

9 . The method of claim 1 wherein the melting step is performed by heating the braze material with a torch.

10 . The method of claim 1 wherein the step of melting the braze material is performed by heating the braze material in a resistance welding operation.

11 . A ground connector for a vehicle body comprising:
a nut secured to the vehicle body by a clinch joint; and a deposit of braze metal applied to the nut at a location of the clinch joint.

12 . The ground connector of claim 11 wherein the nut and vehicle body define an interstitial gap that is filled by the braze metal.

13 . A ground connector for a vehicle body comprising:
a nut defining an opening for receiving a fastener; and a deposit of brazing material attaching the nut to the vehicle body.

14 . The ground connector of claim 13 wherein the opening is a non-threaded opening and the fastener is a self-tapping screw.

15 . The ground connector of claim 13 wherein the brazing material is an aluminum alloy having a melting point of between 700° and 900° F.

16 . The ground connector of claim 13 wherein the nut is an aluminum nut and the vehicle body is a heat treated aluminum body.

Assignees

• Ford Motor Co

Inventors

• Forsyth Matthew

Classifications

• H01R4/023

  between cables or wires and terminals · CPC title

• B23K1/00 Primary

  Soldering, e.g. brazing, or unsoldering (B23K3/00 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01R43/0214

  Resistance welding (H01R43/0228 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01R4/646 Primary

  for cables or flexible cylindrical bodies · CPC title

• H01R2201/26

  for vehicles · CPC title