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CN-115275660-B - Shielded electrical terminal with knurling on inner contact wall

CN115275660BCN 115275660 BCN115275660 BCN 115275660BCN-115275660-B

Abstract

A shielded electrical terminal (100) is presented. The shielded electrical terminal (100) includes a fixed portion (102) configured to be attached to an outer shielded conductor of a shielded cable and a cylindrical mating portion (104) having an inner surface (106) configured to make electrical contact with a corresponding cylindrical shielded terminal inserted within the mating portion (104). The inner surface (106) of the mating portion defines a plurality of protrusions (110) extending from the inner surface (106).

Inventors

  • J. Morero
  • J.M. Lenny

Assignees

  • 安波福技术有限公司

Dates

Publication Date
20260508
Application Date
20220429
Priority Date
20210429

Claims (20)

  1. 1. A shielded electrical terminal (200), comprising: A securing portion (202) configured to attach the shielded electrical terminal (200) to an outer shielded conductor of a shielded cable, and A cylindrical mating portion (204) having an inner surface (206) configured to make electrical contact with a corresponding cylindrical shield terminal inserted within the mating portion, wherein the inner surface (206) defines a plurality of protrusions (210) extending from the inner surface (206), Wherein the mating portion (204) is formed from a first sheet of metal, the securing portion (202) is formed from a second sheet of metal, and wherein the first sheet of metal has a thickness that is less than the thickness of the second sheet of metal, Wherein the fixing portion (202) is configured to provide a crimp wing and is attached to the mating portion (204), wherein the attachment of the mating portion (204) to the fixing portion (202) is located between a plurality of recesses (208) and the crimp wing and along a longitudinal axis (X) of the shielded electrical terminal (200), Wherein the inner surface (206) defines a knurled surface having the plurality of recesses (208), and wherein the plurality of protrusions (210) are disposed on a periphery of the plurality of recesses (208), wherein each recess of the plurality of recesses (208) is diamond-shaped.
  2. 2. The shielded electrical terminal (200) of claim 1, wherein the plurality of protrusions (210) are non-uniform in height.
  3. 3. The shielded electrical terminal (200) of claim 1, wherein a long axis of a plurality of diamond-shaped recesses is aligned parallel to a longitudinal axis (X) of the shielded electrical terminal (200), and wherein a short axis of the plurality of diamond-shaped recesses is aligned perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (X) of the shielded electrical terminal (100).
  4. 4. The shielded electrical terminal (200) of claim 1 wherein the outer wall of the mating portion (204) is continuous and does not define an aperture extending therethrough.
  5. 5. The shielded electrical terminal (200) of claim 1, wherein an outer wall of the mating portion (204) defines an axial slit (220) aligned parallel to a longitudinal axis (X) of the shielded electrical terminal (200).
  6. 6. A shielded electrical terminal (300), comprising: a securing portion (302) configured to attach the shielded electrical terminal (300) to an outer shielded conductor of a shielded cable, and A cylindrical mating portion (304) having an inner surface (306) configured to make electrical contact with a corresponding cylindrical shield terminal inserted into the mating portion, wherein the inner surface (306) defines a plurality of protrusions (310) extending from the inner surface (306), wherein the mating portion (304) and the securing portion (302) are formed from sheet metal material, and the sheet metal material forming the mating portion (304) is of equal thickness as the sheet metal material forming the securing portion (302), Wherein the fixing portion (302) and the mating portion (304) are arranged along a longitudinal axis (X) of the shielded electrical terminal (300), wherein the fixing portion (302) is provided at a first end of the shielded electrical terminal (300), the mating portion (304) is provided at a second end of the shielded electrical terminal (300) opposite to the first end, Wherein the inner surface (306) defines a knurled surface having a plurality of recesses (308), and wherein the plurality of protrusions (310) are disposed on a periphery of the plurality of recesses (308), Wherein each recess of the plurality of recesses (308) is diamond-shaped.
  7. 7. The shielded electrical terminal (300) of claim 6, wherein the plurality of protrusions (310) are non-uniform in height.
  8. 8. The shielded electrical terminal (300) of claim 6, wherein a long axis of a plurality of diamond-shaped recesses (308) is aligned parallel to a longitudinal axis (X) of the shielded electrical terminal (300), and wherein a short axis of the plurality of diamond-shaped recesses (308) is aligned perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (X) of the shielded electrical terminal (300).
  9. 9. The shielded electrical terminal (300) of claim 6, wherein the outer wall of the mating portion (304) is continuous and does not define an aperture extending therethrough.
  10. 10. The shielded electrical terminal (300) of claim 6, wherein the outer wall of the mating portion (304) defines an axial slit aligned parallel to a longitudinal axis (X) of the shielded electrical terminal (300).
  11. 11. A method (400) of forming a shielded electrical terminal (300) having a mating portion (304) configured to make electrical contact with a corresponding cylindrical shielded terminal inserted within the mating portion (304) and a securing portion (302) configured to attach the shielded electrical terminal (300) to an outer shielded conductor of a shielded cable, the method comprising: a) Forming a terminal preform (324) from a first sheet of metal; b) Forming a plurality of protrusions (310) in a surface (306) of the terminal preform (324), such that the plurality of protrusions (310) extend from the surface (306); c) Rolling the terminal preform (324) into a cylindrical shape, thereby forming the mating portion (304), the mating portion having an inner surface (306) configured to make electrical contact with a corresponding cylindrical male shield terminal inserted into the mating portion (106), wherein the surface is the inner surface of the mating portion (304), and D) Forming a fixing portion (302) from the first metal sheet, wherein the thickness of the mating portion (204) is equal to the thickness of the fixing portion (302), wherein the fixing portion (302) and the mating portion (304) are arranged along a longitudinal axis (X) of the shielded electrical terminal (300), wherein the fixing portion (302) is provided at a first end of the shielded electrical terminal (300), the mating portion (304) is provided at a second end of the shielded electrical terminal (300) opposite to the first end, Wherein step b) of forming a plurality of protrusions (310) on the surface of the terminal preform such that the protrusions extend from the surface further comprises: e) A plurality of recesses (308) are formed in the surface such that the plurality of protrusions (310) are disposed on a periphery of the plurality of recesses (308), wherein each recess of the plurality of recesses (308) is diamond-shaped.
  12. 12. The method (400) of claim 11, wherein the plurality of protrusions (310) are formed such that they are non-uniform in height.
  13. 13. The method (400) of claim 11, wherein the plurality of protrusions and the plurality of recesses are formed using a knurling process.
  14. 14. The method (400) of claim 12, wherein the plurality of recesses (308) are formed such that long axes of the plurality of diamond-shaped recesses (308) are aligned parallel to a longitudinal axis (X) of the shielded electrical terminal (300), and wherein the plurality of recesses (308) are formed such that short axes of the plurality of diamond-shaped recesses (308) are aligned perpendicular to the longitudinal axis (X) of the shielded electrical terminal (300).
  15. 15. The method (400) of claim 11, wherein the outer wall of the mating portion is continuous and does not define an aperture extending therethrough.
  16. 16. The method of claim 11, wherein an outer wall of the mating portion (304) defines an axial slit aligned parallel to a longitudinal axis (X) of the shielded electrical terminal (300).
  17. 17. The method (400) of claim 11, further comprising: g) Inserting a respective cylindrical shield terminal into the mating portion (304), wherein the plurality of protrusions (310) are sized, shaped, and arranged to minimize an air gap formed between the inner surface (306) of the mating portion (304) and the respective cylindrical shield terminal.
  18. 18. A method (400) of forming a shielded electrical terminal (200) having a mating portion (204) configured to make electrical contact with a corresponding cylindrical shielded terminal inserted therein and a securing portion (202) configured to attach the shielded electrical terminal (200) to an outer shielded conductor of a shielded electrical cable, the method comprising: a) Forming a terminal preform from a first metal sheet; b) Forming a plurality of protrusions (210) in a surface (206) of the terminal preform such that the protrusions extend from the surface (206); c) Winding the terminal preform into a cylindrical shape to form the mating portion (204), the mating portion having an inner surface (206) configured to make electrical contact with a corresponding cylindrical male shielding terminal inserted into the mating portion (206), wherein the surface (206) is the inner surface (206) of the mating portion (204), and D) Forming a fixing portion (202) from a second metal sheet, the fixing portion being configured to provide a crimp wing, wherein a thickness of the first metal sheet forming the mating portion (204) is smaller than a thickness of the second metal sheet forming the fixing portion (202) and attaching the fixing portion (202) to the mating portion (204) formed in step c), wherein attachment of the mating portion (204) to the fixing portion (202) is located between a plurality of recesses (208) and the crimp wing and is arranged along a longitudinal axis (X) of the shielded electrical terminal (200), Wherein a plurality of protrusions (210) are formed in a surface (206) of the terminal preform (224), the step b) of extending the protrusions from the surface (206) further comprising: e) Forming a plurality of recesses (208) in the surface such that the plurality of protrusions are disposed on peripheral edges of the plurality of recesses (208), Wherein each recess of the plurality of recesses (208) is diamond-shaped.
  19. 19. The method (400) of claim 18, wherein the plurality of protrusions) are formed so as to be non-uniform in height.
  20. 20. The method (400) of claim 18, wherein the plurality of protrusions and the plurality of recesses are formed using a knurling process.

Description

Shielded electrical terminal with knurling on inner contact wall Technical Field The present application claims priority from U.S. patent application Ser. No. 17/243,844, filed on 4/29, 2021, which is incorporated herein by reference. The present application relates to a shielded electrical terminal adapted for electrical interconnection with a shielded electrical cable, and more particularly to a shielded electrical terminal having knurls on an inner contact wall. Background Electrical contact between terminals, such as shield electrical terminals for terminating shield conductors of a shielded cable (e.g., coaxial cable), is typically accomplished in dependence upon the generation of a contact force between the terminals. Shielded electrical terminals typically use one or several spring contact arms to provide a contact force between the terminals. However, such an arrangement typically provides several small electrical contact points between the male and female shield terminals. Furthermore, mechanical vibrations between the respective components may cause abrasion at the contact points, eventually leading to loss or degradation of the electrical contact as the conductive material is worn out at several small electrical contact points, e.g. increasing the electrical resistance. To prevent this problem, the complex geometry associated with the electrical contacts may be utilized to ensure additional contact points. However, the additional complexity increases the time and cost associated with manufacturing the electrical contacts. It would be beneficial to develop an electrical contact that provides a cost effective system to increase the number of contact points between respective terminals while maintaining electrical contact in the presence of mechanical vibration/abrasion and minimizing air gaps between the respective terminals. Disclosure of Invention According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, a shielded electrical terminal includes a fixed portion configured to attach the shielded electrical terminal to an outer shielded conductor of a shielded cable and a cylindrical mating portion having an inner surface configured to make electrical contact with a corresponding cylindrical shielded terminal inserted within the mating portion. The inner surface defines a plurality of protrusions extending from the inner surface. In one or more embodiments of the shielded electrical terminal according to the previous paragraph, the heights of the plurality of protrusions are non-uniform. In one or more embodiments of the shielded electrical terminal according to any of the preceding paragraphs, the inner surface defines a knurled surface having a plurality of recesses, and wherein the plurality of protrusions are disposed on a periphery of the plurality of recesses. In one or more embodiments of the shielded electrical terminal according to any of the preceding paragraphs, each of the plurality of recesses is diamond-shaped. In one or more embodiments of the shielded electrical terminal of any of the preceding paragraphs, a major axis of the plurality of diamond-shaped recesses is aligned substantially parallel to a longitudinal axis of the shielded electrical terminal, and a minor axis of the plurality of diamond-shaped recesses is aligned substantially perpendicular to the longitudinal axis of the shielded electrical terminal. In one or more embodiments of the shielded electrical terminal according to any of the preceding paragraphs, the outer wall of the mating portion is continuous and does not define an aperture extending therethrough. In one or more embodiments of the shielded electrical terminal according to any of the preceding paragraphs, the outer wall of the mating portion defines an axial slit aligned parallel to the longitudinal axis of the shielded electrical terminal. In one or more embodiments of the shielded electrical terminal according to any of the preceding paragraphs, the mating portion and the securing portion are formed from sheet metal. The thickness of the metal sheet forming the fitting portion is equal to the thickness of the metal sheet forming the fixing portion. In one or more embodiments of the shielded electrical terminal according to any of the preceding paragraphs, the mating portion is formed from a first metal sheet and the securing portion is formed from a second metal sheet. The thickness of the first metal sheet is less than the thickness of the second metal sheet. In one or more embodiments of the shielded electrical terminal according to any of the preceding paragraphs, the plurality of protrusions are sized, shaped, and arranged to minimize an air gap formed between an inner surface of the mating portion and the inserted corresponding cylindrical shielding terminal when inserted within the mating portion. According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, a method of forming a shielded electrical terminal is presented. The shielded electrical term