US-12627081-B2 - Electrical connector with coating piercing electrical contact

US12627081B2US 12627081 B2US12627081 B2US 12627081B2US-12627081-B2

Abstract

An electrical connector assembly includes a generally planar metallic substrate having a surface with an electrically nonconductive coating and an electrical connector having a contact tab extending therefrom that is in mechanical and electrical contact with the metallic substrate. The contact tab defines two sharp points that are formed by two triangular portions of the contact tab that pierce the electrically nonconductive coating. An electrical shield incorporating the contact tab and a method of forming the electrical shield are also provided herein.

Inventors

Michael L. Mellott

Assignees

Aptiv Technologies AG

Dates

Publication Date: 20260512
Application Date: 20230217

Claims (16)

1 . An electrical connector assembly, comprising: a generally planar metallic substrate having a surface with an electrically nonconductive coating; and an electrical connector having a contact tab extending from a connector body, the contact tab being in mechanical and electrical contact with the metallic substrate, the contact tab forms a V-shaped configuration defining an apex and two non-coplanar triangular portions, each triangular portion terminating at a respective outwardly facing sharp point, a clamping force applied at the apex causes the sharp points to move laterally away from one another to scrape through the electrically nonconductive coating, thereby establishing electrical contact between the electrical connector and the metallic substrate.
2 . The electrical connector assembly in accordance with claim 1 , wherein the two triangular portions are arranged at an oblique angle to each other.
3 . The electrical connector assembly in accordance with claim 2 , wherein the two triangular portions are arranged symmetrically about a centerline of the contact tab.
4 . The electrical connector assembly in accordance with claim 2 , wherein the two triangular portions are formed by a V-shaped fold in the contact tab.
5 . The electrical connector assembly in accordance with claim 4 , wherein the connector body is attached to the metallic substrate and in contact with the apex of the V-shaped fold in the contact tab.
6 . The electrical connector assembly in accordance with claim 5 , wherein the clamping force applied to the apex of the V-shaped fold in the contact tab causes the two sharp points formed by the two triangular portions of the contact tab to move away from one another.
7 . The electrical connector assembly in accordance with claim 5 , wherein a clamping force applied to the apex of the V-shaped fold in the contact tab causes the two sharp points formed by the two triangular portions of the contact tab to move an equal distance from a centerline of the contact tab.
8 . The electrical connector assembly in accordance with claim 1 , wherein a contact force applied to the contact tab is evenly distributed to each of the two sharp points.
9 . An electrical shield formed of sheet metal, comprising: a contact tab extending from the electrical shield, the contact tab being in mechanical and configured to be in electrical contact with a metallic substrate, wherein the contact tab forms a V-shaped configuration defining an apex and two non-coplanar triangular portions, each triangular portion terminating at a respective outwardly facing sharp point, wherein a clamping force applied at the apex causes the sharp points to move laterally away from one another to scrape through an electrically nonconductive coating on a metallic substrate, thereby establishing electrical contact between the electrical shield and the metallic substrate.
10 . The electrical shield in accordance with claim 9 , wherein the two sharp points formed by the two triangular portions are arranged at an oblique angle to each other.
11 . The electrical shield in accordance with claim 10 , wherein the two triangular portions are arranged symmetrically about a centerline of the contact tab.
12 . The electrical shield in accordance with claim 10 , wherein the two triangular portions are formed by a V-shaped fold in the contact tab.
13 . The electrical shield in accordance with claim 9 , wherein a contact force applied to the contact tab is evenly distributed to each of the two sharp points.
14 . A method of forming an electrical shield from sheet metal, comprising: forming a rectangular contact tab extending from the electrical shield and integral to the electrical shield; and bending the contact tab at a centerline such that the contact tab defines a V-shaped configuration defining an apex and two non-coplanar triangular portions, each triangular portion terminating at a respective outwardly facing sharp point, the two sharp points are configured to pierce an electrically nonconductive coating on a metallic substrate applying a clamping force at the apex which causes the sharp points to move laterally away from one another to scrape through the electrically nonconductive coating, thereby establishing electrical contact between the electrical connector and the metallic substrate.
15 . The method in accordance with claim 14 , wherein the two triangular portions are arranged at an oblique angle to each other.
16 . The method in accordance with claim 14 , wherein the two triangular portions are arranged symmetrically about a centerline of the contact tab.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims benefit of priority to U.S. Provisional Application No. 63/317,150 filed on Mar. 7, 2022, the entire disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference. FIELD OF THE INVENTION This disclosure is directed to an electrical connector having an electrical contact configured to pierce through an electrically nonconductive coating on a metallic substrate and establish an electrical connection with the metallic substrate. BACKGROUND Electric vehicle manufacturers typically utilize electrocoated sheet metal for high voltage battery cases. Electrocoating is a tough non-conductive paint that prevents corrosion. It is difficult to pierce through the electrocoating to make electrical contact with the conductive sheet metal substrate. Prior contact designs are limited in focusing the high forces necessary to scratch through or pierce the electrocoating. These contacts 100, 200, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, typically have a single sharp point 102, 202 on each contact feature 104, 204. The high clamping force and resulting unbalanced lateral forces cause these contacts 100, 200 to shift in a direction that is opposite of the intended scraping direction, thereby reducing or negating the scraping force applied by the sharp point 102, 202 and reducing the effectiveness of the contact 100, 200 to pierce the electrocoating. BRIEF SUMMARY According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, an electrical connector assembly includes a generally planar metallic substrate having a surface with an electrically nonconductive coating and an electrical connector having a contact tab extending therefrom that is in mechanical and electrical contact with the metallic substrate. The contact tab defines two sharp points formed by two triangular portions of the contact tab that pierce the electrically nonconductive coating. In some aspects of the electrical connector assembly according to the previous paragraph, the two sharp points are formed by two triangular portions arranged at an oblique angle to each other. In some aspects of the electrical connector assembly according to any one of the previous paragraphs, the two triangular portions are arranged symmetrically about a centerline of the contact tab. In some aspects of the electrical connector assembly according to any one of the previous paragraphs, the two triangular portions are formed by a V-shaped fold in the contact tab. In some aspects of the electrical connector assembly according to any one of the previous paragraphs, the electrical connector assembly further includes a connector body attached to the metallic substrate and in contact with an apex of the V-shaped fold in the contact tab. In some aspects of the electrical connector assembly according to any one of the previous paragraphs, a clamping force applied to the apex of the V-shaped fold in the contact tab causes the two sharp points formed by two triangular portions of the contact tab to move away from one another. In some aspects of the electrical connector assembly according to any one of the previous paragraphs, a clamping force applied to the apex of the V-shaped fold in the contact tab causes the two sharp points formed by two triangular portions of the contact tab to move an equal distance from a centerline of the contact tab. In some aspects of the electrical connector assembly according to any one of the previous paragraphs, the two triangular portions are non-coplanar. In some aspects of the electrical connector assembly according to any one of the previous paragraphs, a contact force applied to the contact tab is evenly distributed to each of the two sharp points. According to one or more aspects of the present disclosure, an electrical shield formed of sheet metal includes a contact tab extending from the electrical shield and integrally formed of the sheet metal with the electrical shield. The contact tab defines two sharp points formed by two triangular portions of the contact tab that are configured to pierce an electrically nonconductive coating on a metallic substrate. In some aspects of the electrical shield according to the previous paragraph, the two sharp points are formed by two triangular portions arranged at an oblique angle to each other. In some aspects of the electrical shield according to any one of the previous paragraphs, the two triangular portions are arranged symmetrically about a centerline of the contact tab. In some aspects of the electrical shield according to any one of the previous paragraphs, two triangular portions are formed by a V-shaped fold in the contact tab. In some aspects of the electrical shield according to any one of the previous paragraphs, two triangular portions are non-coplanar. In some aspects of the electrical shield according to any one of the previous paragraphs, a contact force applied to the contact tab is evenly distributed to each of the two sharp points. According to one or more as