Description:PREAMBLE TO THE DESCRIPTION:
[0001] The following specification particularly describes the invention, and the manner in which it has to be performed:

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Technical field of the invention

[0002] The present invention relates to an electronic controller device and more particularly to a printed circuit board terminal to provide an interface to a conductor by providing secure connection to an external circuit and having low track length, higher mechanical strength and high electrical conductivity.
Background of the invention
[0003] The printed circuit board (PCB) terminals are modular and insulated devices which are mounted on printed circuit boards, where the PCB terminals secure two or more wires together. The PCB terminal is used for various connectors and a plurality of terminals are arranged in a comb shape by punching a flat sheet-like metal substrate. The PCB terminals provide good electrical conductivity when the male terminal is mated with the female terminal, and provide a convenient way to connect wires to the printed circuit board.
[0004] The existing PCB terminals have additional link plates wherein the PCB terminals are molded at top and bottom to provide strength. The current from the PCB terminal is transferred to an external circuit where the PCB terminals are fixed to the printed circuit board with external support of the upper strip to create a fixed assembly. The PCB terminals require seals at top and bottom and a seal in the connector region. These assemblies require terminal studs and a large number of fasteners to secure the PCB terminals on the printed circuit board. Additionally, the existing PCB terminals transfer the force applied on the terminal to complete the connection, leading to damage to the printed circuit board structure where to avoid the external mechanical force developed during terminal tightening and other operating conditions.
[0005] Further, in the existing systems, additional copper strips are used to transfer the power from the terminal to the external circuit, requiring additional components. Also, use of additional components creates high resistance because of the external circuit. The additional support increases the size of the ECU.
[0006] In order to overcome the drawbacks of the existing systems, several technologies were developed over the decades to provide a PCB terminal with strong insulation and support.
[0007] The Patent Application No. JP7079016B2 entitled “PCB terminal manufacturing method and PCB terminal” discloses a PCB terminal that has excellent abrasion resistance properties, electrical conductivity, slidability, and low frictional properties, and that enables reduction in the usage amount of gold, which is expensive; and a production method therefor. This method is for producing a comb-like PCB terminal having a plurality of male terminals of a substantially square pillar shape, and is characterized by comprising: a first step for applying nickel plating on a metal substrate formed in the shape of the PCB terminal, and forming a nickel plating layer across the entire surface of the male terminals; a second step for applying a masking treatment to the front surface and the rear surface of the male terminals so as to form a masking layer thereon; a third step for, after applying the entire surface of the male terminals with a resist, removing the masking layer and curing the resist so as to form a resist layer on both lateral surfaces of the male terminals; and a fourth step for performing a gold plating treatment on the male terminals to form a gold plated layer on the front and rear surfaces of the male terminals, and then removing the resist layer.
[0008] The Patent Application No. JP2005158337A entitled “Terminal for electric connector” discloses a terminal for an electric connector which gives electrical stability to a contact and does not cause a whisker even in the front and rear face of the terminal with a large plating area, and can be provided inexpensively. The terminal for the electric connector includes a terminal base material provided with a side face part formed by a cutting face of punched thin metal plate and having at least one contact and a flat face part formed by the remained front and rear faces after punching the thin plate, a nickel plated layer to cover the terminal base material, a tin-nickel alloy plated layer to cover the nickel plated layer, and a tin plated layer to cover only above the side face part of the terminal base material covered by the nickel plated layer and by the tin-nickel alloy plated layer.
[0009] The Patent Application No. JP2003031333A entitled “Terminal manufacturing method” discloses a terminal manufacturing method capable of plating a soldering part by plating specifications of a soldering part side and a terminal connecting part by plating specifications of a terminal connecting part side without using a partial plating technique, and capable of preventing exposure of a matrix in the soldering part side. The terminal manufacturing method has a punching process of punching out a shape of terminals from a plate material and a plating process of plating the shape punched out in the punching process by electroplating. In the punching process, the shape has one or more terminals and a carrier holding the terminals, and each terminal is punched out in a state connected with the carrier so that its terminal connecting part is located in a carrier side and its soldering part is separated from the carrier.
[0010] Hence, there is a need for a device that overcomes the drawbacks of the existing systems and the prior arts, to provide a terminal assembly with high durability and with more surface area to make connection with the printed circuit board. Further, there is a need for a terminal assembly to achieve electric conductivity where the force is not dissipated on the printed circuit board due to connection of the terminal assembly.
Summary of the Invention
[0011] The present invention overcomes all the drawbacks of the existing systems to disclose a terminal assembly to be mounted on a printed circuit board device, wherein the terminal assembly exerts minimum force on the Printed Circuit Board (PCB) during establishment of connection.
[0012] The terminal assembly comprises of at least one link plate in L shaped form, wherein the bottom of the link plate comprises of grooves to provide support to the terminal assembly and restrict the movement of the terminal assembly from the PCB. The link plate contains a vertical section and a horizontal section which are perpendicular to each other, wherein the extreme end of the vertical section comprises a hole for attachment of phase wire. The horizontal section is shorter compared to the vertical section, wherein the bottom of the horizontal section comprises of grooves.
[0013] According to the present invention, the terminal assembly comprises a right link plate and a left link plate, wherein the hole on the vertical section of the right link and left link plate corresponds with each other. The terminal assembly provides more area of contact, wherein the horizontal section of the right link plate and the left link plate has lesser thickness, thus provides more area for mounting onto the printed circuit board. The grooves present on the bottom of the horizontal section provides better contact surface, thus restricting the movement of the terminal assembly. The right link plate and the left link plate of the terminal assembly are mounted on the printed circuit board, wherein the horizontal section of the right link plate and the left link plate are soldered on the stud of the printed circuit board.
[0014] There are several advantages of the present invention including exertion of minimum stress or load on the solder joint of the printed circuit board and elimination of additional parts used in mounting the terminal assembly to the printed circuit board. Further, the elimination of additional parts including the bus bar and linking components, reduces the length of the copper wire used and the reduces the resistance caused by the copper wire. The larger surface area provided by the terminal assembly ensures a proper sealing arrangement with Ingress Protection (IP) sealing.
Brief description of the drawings
[0015] The foregoing and other features of embodiments will become more apparent from the following detailed description of embodiments when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, like reference numerals refer to like elements.
[0016] Figure 1 illustrates the isometric view of the terminal assembly.
[0017] Figure 2 illustrates the exploded view of the terminal assembly.
[0018] Figure 3 illustrates the isometric view of the electronic controller assembly disclosing the terminal fastening arrangement.
[0019] Figure 4 illustrates the isometric view of the electronic controller assembly with the terminal sealing.
[0020] Figure 5 illustrates the isometric view of the electronic controller assembly with the terminal cover.
Detailed description of the invention
[0021] Reference will now be made in detail to the description of the present subject matter, which are shown in figures. Various changes and modifications obvious to one skilled in the art to which the invention pertains are deemed to be within the spirit, scope and contemplation of the invention.
[0022] The present invention discloses a terminal assembly mounted on a printed circuit board in the electronic controller assembly, wherein the terminal assembly does not exert load on the printed circuit board when a connection is established with an external circuit.
[0023] Figure 1 illustrates the isometric view of the terminal assembly. The terminal assembly (100) comprises a left link plate (101) and a right link plate (102), wherein the bottom surface of the terminal assembly (100) comprises grooves that provides support to the assembly (100). The left link plate (101) and the right link plate (102) further comprises a hole (103) to facilitate connection with the phase wire.
[0024] Figure 2 illustrates the exploded view of the terminal assembly. The terminal assembly (100) comprises a left link plate (101) having a vertical section (101a) perpendicular to a horizontal section (101b), wherein the extreme end of the vertical section (101a) comprises of a first hole (103a). The bottom of the horizontal section (101b) comprises of grooves.
[0025] Further, the right link plate (102) discloses a vertical section (102a) perpendicular to a horizontal section (102b), wherein the extreme end of the vertical section (102a) comprises of a second hole (103b). The bottom of the horizontal section (101b) comprises of grooves to provide support to the terminal assembly (100). The horizontal section of the link plate (101b and 102b) provides more area of contact to the terminal assembly (100), which is mounted on the printed circuit board. The grooves present on the bottom of the horizontal section (101b and 102b) restricts the movement of the terminal assembly (100) from the printed circuit board.
[0026] Figure 3 is the isometric view of the electronic controller assembly disclosing the terminal fastening arrangement. In one embodiment, the terminal assembly (100) is mounted on the printed circuit board (103) wherein the terminal assembly (100) is soldered using welding method or extrusion process. The electronic controller assembly discloses a heat sink (104) to facilitate passive heat exchange that transfers the heat generated by the electronic controller to an air or a liquid coolant, wherein the heat is dissipated away from the electronic controller assembly allowing temperature regulation.
[0027] The left link plate (101) and the right link plate (102) of the terminal assembly (100) are mounted on the printed circuit board (103) through soldering process, wherein the soldering process of the terminal assembly (100) requires the left link plate (101) and the right link plate (102) to be welded together by maintaining them in parallel position. While maintaining the parallel position of the left link plate (101) and the right link plate (102), the first hole (103a) and the second hole (103b) are maintained in parallel position.
[0028] Another process of mounting the terminal assembly (100) on the printed circuit board (104) is through an extrusion process. The extrusion process requires the left link plate (101) and the right link plate (102) to be welded together to create a single unit of the terminal assembly (100). The extrusion process is highly advantageous as the open strips of the link plates are bent into two different lengths and the strips are cut into two different plates. The cut strips are welded to create the left link plate (101) and the right link plate (102).
[0029] According to the present invention, the top cover (106) for the printed circuit board (104) comprises a terminal seal holder (106a) through which the vertical section of the terminal assembly (100) passes through. In one embodiment, a nut is attached to the hole (103) of the terminal assembly (100) and is tightened with the bolt. While tightening the lug nuts from the top of the terminal assembly (100), the connection with the external circuit is established.
[0030] The terminal assembly (100) facilitates establishment of connection from the sideways, where the nut and bolt are attached on both ends of the hole (103). The establishment of connection through sideways does not transfer the force on the printed circuit board (104). The force transferred from the terminal assembly (100) to the printed circuit board (104) is supported with additional structures of the terminal assembly (100), wherein all the force exerted on the terminal assembly (100) from right side is transferred to left side. The lug nut is placed on the hole (103a) of the left link plate (101), and is fastened from the right side i.e., through the hole (103b) of the right link plate (102), through the hex key. The terminal assembly (100) eliminates the additional forces transferred to the printed circuit board (104).
[0031] Figure 4 is the isometric view of the electronic controller assembly with the terminal sealing. The electronic controller assembly (107) discloses a terminal seal holder (106a) through which the vertical section of the terminal assembly (100) passes through and the terminal assembly (100) is sealed securely through the seal fastening provision (106b). The lug nut and bolt are used to fix in the hole (103) of the terminal assembly (100) creating the terminal seal (106c). The phase wire (108) is attached to the terminal seal (106c) where the terminal fastener (109) is used for axial tightening.
[0032] According to the present invention, the electronic controller assembly (107) with terminal sealing, wherein the top end of the terminal assembly (100) with the phase wire (108) is exposed to the external environment. The terminal assembly (100) has insulated surface, providing protection from external environment.
[0033] Figure 5 is the isometric view of the electronic controller assembly with the top cover for terminal sealing. The electronic controller assembly (107) is protected from the external environment to using the top cover (110), wherein the electronic controller assembly (107) is attached with a housing (111) to which the top cover (110) is attached with the help of plurality of fasteners. The phase wire (108) attached to the terminal assembly (100) exits from the housing (111), wherein a cable gland (112) is attached to the outer surface of the housing (111).
[0034] The primary advantage of the present invention is that the force is not transferred from the terminal assembly (100) to the printed circuit board (104) due to the horizontal sections of the L-shaped link plates (101 and 102). The terminal assembly (100) ensures exertion of minimum stress or load on the solder joint of the printed circuit board (104). Further, the terminal assembly (100) offers less resistance when attached to the external circuit and the elimination of additional parts including the bus bar and additional linking components, reduces the length of the copper wire used and the resistance caused by the copper wire. The elimination of the additional parts reduces the size of the terminal assembly (100) after sealing.
[0035] Another advantage of the present invention is that the terminal assembly (100) provides larger surface area for attachment with the printed circuit board (104), ensuring a proper sealing arrangement with Ingress Protection (IP) sealing. Further, the additional top cover (110) is used to seal the terminal assembly (100), wherein the terminal sealing arrangement protects the terminal assembly (100) from the external environment from the damage caused due to water or air.
Reference numbers
Components Reference Numbers
Terminal assembly 100
Left link plate 101
Vertical section 101a
Horizontal section 101b
Right link plate 102
Vertical section 102a
Horizontal section 102b
Hole in the terminal assembly 103
First hole 103a
Second hole 103b
Printed circuit board 104
Heat sink 105
Top cover of the PCB 106
Terminal seal holder 106a
Seal fastening provision 106b
Terminal seal 106c
Electronic controller assembly 107
Phase wire 108
Terminal fastener 109
Top cover of the ECU 110
A housing 111
Cable gland 112

, Claims:We Claim:
1. A terminal assembly for an electronic controller, the assembly (100) comprising:
a. a left link plate (101) and a right link plate (102) to be attached to a printed circuit board (104), wherein a hole (103) connects the terminal assembly (100) to a phase wire (108) through lug nut and bolt arrangement.
2. The assembly (100) as claimed in the claim 1 wherein, the bottom surface of the horizontal section (101b) of the left link plate (101) and the horizontal section (102b) of the right link plate (102) contains grooves to restrict the movement of the terminal assembly (100) on attachment with the printed circuit board (104).
3. The assembly (100) as claimed in the claim 1, wherein the connection between an electronic controller assembly (107) and the external circuit is established while tightening the lug nut from the from the sides of the terminal assembly (100) where tightening force is cancelled support provided by the nut
4. The assembly (100) as claimed in the claim 1, wherein the lug nut and bolt are attached on both ends of the hole (103), does not transfer the force to the printed circuit board (104).
5. The assembly (100) as claimed in the claim 1, wherein the vertical section of the terminal assembly (100) passes through a terminal seal holder (106a) of the electronic controller assembly (107) to create a secure terminal seal (106c) using a seal fastening provision (106b).
6. The assembly (100) as claimed in the claim 1, wherein the terminal seal (106c) absorbs the external forces coming from wire stretches and dissipates the forces to the top cover of the printed circuit board (106).
7. The assembly (100) as claimed in the claim 1, wherein a top cover (110) attached to the electronic controller assembly (107) protects the terminal assembly (100) from damage caused by external environment.