Terminal assembly with a multi-wire planar cable

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9853280-B2
Application number	US-201615208805-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 13, 2016
Priority date	Mar 24, 2016
Publication date	Dec 26, 2017
Grant date	Dec 26, 2017

Abstract

A terminal assembly includes a multi-wire planar cable having a plurality of flat wires and a common jacket for the plurality of flat wires. The jacket has grooves between adjacent flat wires for controlled separation of the flat wires and surrounding jacket portions at an end of the multi-wire planar cable into separated jacketed wire portions extending a length of the flat wires each including an insulating sleeve and a terminating end of the flat wire. The terminating ends of the flat wires are exposed beyond the insulating sleeves. Terminals are attached to the terminating ends of corresponding flat wires.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1. A terminal assembly comprising:
a multi-wire planar cable having a plurality of flat wires and a common jacket for the plurality of flat wires, the jacket having grooves between adjacent flat wires for controlled separation of the flat wires and surrounding jacket portions at an end of the multi-wire planar cable into separated jacketed wire portions extending a length of the flat wires each including an insulating sleeve and a terminating end of the flat wire, the terminating ends of the flat wires being exposed beyond the insulating sleeves; and
terminals being attached to the terminating ends of corresponding flat wires.

2. The terminal assembly of claim 1 , wherein the terminating end of the flat wire is folded over to form a double layer portion, the double layer portion being received in a crimp barrel and crimped the terminal.

3. The terminal assembly of claim 2 , wherein the crimp barrel includes an open end, a closed end and side walls therebetween, the double layer portion being received in the crimp barrel such that edges of the flat wire face the open end and the closed end and such that flat sides of the flat wire face the side walls before being crimped.

4. The terminal assembly of claim 1 , wherein the terminating end of the flat wire is folded into a concave shape and received in the crimp barrel.

5. The terminal assembly of claim 4 , wherein the crimp barrel includes an open end, a closed end and side walls therebetween, the terminating end of the flat wire having an upper flat side, a lower flat side and opposite first and second edges therebetween, the edges being folded up to define the concave shape with both edges being provided at a top of the flat wire, the terminating end being received in the crimp barrel such that the edges face the open end of the crimp barrel before being crimped.

6. The terminal assembly of claim 4 , wherein the terminating end of the flat wire and the corresponding insulating sleeve have a width smaller than a width of the jacketed wire portion between the grooves.

7. The terminal assembly of claim 1 , wherein the jacket of the cable has a top surface and a bottom surface, the jacket having a thickness defined between the top surface and the bottom surface, the jacket being thinner at the grooves.

8. The terminal assembly of claim 1 , wherein the grooves are provided along both a top surface and a bottom surface of the jacket.

9. The terminal assembly of claim 1 , wherein each of the insulating sleeves and terminating ends of the flat wires are twisted such that the terminating ends are non-coplanar to each other.

10. The terminal assembly of claim 1 , wherein the terminal includes a top and a bottom with a terminal plane passing through the top and the bottom, the terminal being crimped to the terminating end of the flat wire with the terminal plane being parallel to a flat wire plane at the terminating end, the terminal being configured to be received in and held in a connector housing having individual cavities separated by cavity walls with each of the terminal planes being stacked parallel to each other.

11. The terminal assembly of claim 10 , wherein the flat wire at the terminating end and the corresponding insulating sleeve are twisted such that the flat wire plane of the terminating end is angled non-parallel to the flat wire plane of the flat wire rearward of the insulating sleeve.

12. The terminal assembly of claim 1 , wherein the flat wire at the terminating end and the corresponding insulating sleeve are twisted approximately 90° relative to other portions of the flat wire.

13. The terminal assembly of claim 1 , wherein the flat wire at the terminating end and the corresponding insulating sleeve are twisted approximately 45° relative to other portions of the flat wire.

14. A connector assembly for connecting to voltage sensors monitoring voltage of battery cells, the connector assembly comprising:
a connector having a housing extending between a front and a rear, the connector having a plurality of cavities defined by cavity walls, the cavities being open at the rear and being open at the front; and
a terminal assembly having a plurality of terminals received in corresponding cavities through the rear, the terminals having mating ends being configured to be mated with mating terminals of a mating connector, the terminals having terminating ends opposite the mating ends, the terminal assembly having a multi-wire planar cable having a plurality of flat wires and a common jacket for the plurality of flat wires, the flat wires being configured to be electrically connected to corresponding voltage sensors of the battery cells, the jacket having grooves between adjacent flat wires for controlled separation of the flat wires and surrounding jacket portions at an end of the multi-wire planar cable into separated jacketed wire portions extending a length of the flat wires each including an insulating sleeve and a terminating end of the flat wire, the terminating ends of the flat wires being exposed beyond the insulating sleeves for termination to the terminating ends of the terminals to electrically connect the terminals to corresponding voltage sensors of the battery cells, wherein the insulating sleeves are at least partially received in the corresponding cavities with the terminals such that the insulating sleeves are separated by the cavity walls.

15. The connector assembly of claim 14 , wherein the cavity walls increase a creepage distance between adjacent terminals with terminating ends of the corresponding flat wires in adjacent cavities.

16. The connector assembly of claim 14 , wherein the insulating sleeves exiting the cavities at the rear are twisted to a ribbon portion of the jacket rearward of the separated jacket portions.

17. The connector assembly of claim 14 , wherein the terminals includes open crimp barrels, the crimp barrels being F-crimped to the terminating ends of corresponding flat wires.

18. The connector assembly of claim 14 , wherein each terminal includes a weld tab oriented perpendicular to a plane of the cable, each terminating end being rotated 90° for welding to the corresponding weld tab.

19. The connector assembly of claim 14 , wherein each terminal includes a weld tab oriented perpendicular to a plane of the cable, each terminating end being rotated 45° for welding to the corresponding weld tab.

20. A battery system comprising:
a plurality of battery cells forming a battery module;
a carrier assembly mounted to the battery module, the carrier assembly holding a plurality of bus bars for electrically connecting adjacent battery cells of the battery module, the bus bars having voltage sensors sensing a voltage of the corresponding bus bar; and
a connector assembly held by the carrier, the connector assembly having a multi-wire planar cable having a plurality of flat wires and a common jacket for the plurality of flat wires, the flat wires being terminated to corresponding voltage sensors and extending to an end of the multi-wire planar cable, the jacket having grooves between adjacent flat wires for controlled separation of the flat wires and surrounding jacket portions at an end of the multi-wire planar cable into separated jacketed wire portions extending a length of the flat wires each including an insulating sleeve and a terminating end of the flat wire, the terminating ends of the flat wires being exposed beyond the insulating sleeves, the connector assembly having a plurality of terminals terminated to corresponding fla

Assignees

• Tyco Electronics Corp
• Tyco Electronics Japan G K
• Te Connectivity Corp

Inventors

• Zhao Weiping
• Kondo Hiroki

Classifications

• H01R4/182 Primary

  for flat conductive elements, e.g. flat cables (H01R4/01 takes precedence) · CPC title

• H01R12/592 Primary

  connections to contact elements · CPC title

• H01R4/185

  combined with a U-shaped insulation-receiving portion · CPC title

• H01R13/42

  Securing in a demountable manner · CPC title

• H01R4/023

  between cables or wires and terminals · CPC title