WO2017046406A1

WO2017046406A1 - Electrical or electromechanical component with a covering member

Info

Publication number: WO2017046406A1
Application number: PCT/EP2016/072082
Authority: WO
Inventors: Michael Schambach
Original assignee: Te Connectivity Germany Gmbh
Priority date: 2015-09-17
Filing date: 2016-09-16
Publication date: 2017-03-23

Abstract

The invention relates to an electrical or electromechanical component (1) with a welding contact (7) and a method for covering and rolling up electrical or electromechanical components (1) with welding contacts (7). Electrical or electromechanical components (1) with welding contacts (7) have the disadvantage that the welding contacts (7) are exposed to possible contamination, which may negatively affect a subsequent welding process (e.g. by ultrasonic welding)or completely prevent welding. For this reason, electrical or electromechanical components (1) with welding contacts (7) of the prior art must be subjected to cleaning, representing an additional work step. The present invention overcomes this disadvantage by providing an electrical or electromechanical component (1) whereof the welding contact (7) or contacts (7) is/are at least partially covered by a covering member (13) such that it is/they are protected from dirt, where in the covering member (13) is removable in a substantially residue-free manner. Further, a method is provided in which said welding contacts (7) of the electrical or electromechanical components (1) are covered with a covering member (13) and the electrical or electromechanical components (1)are subsequently rolled up onto a suitable rolling-up member (30).

Description

Electrical or Electromechanical Component with a Covering Member

The invention relates to an electrical or electromechanical component with at least one welding contact.

Furthermore, the invention relates to a method for covering and rolling up electrical or electromechanical components with welding contacts.

Electrical or electromechanical components with a welding contact or a plurality of welding contacts have long been known in the prior art. Here, the welding contact is provided in order to electrically connect the electrical or electromechanical component to an electrical conductor and/or a further electrical or electromechanical component by means of a weld connection. In this case, the welding contact may be a contact surface of any desired shape, or a plurality of welding contacts may be provided at different positions on the electrical or electromechanical component.

In most cases, electrical or electromechanical components with a welding contact are not supplied ready for their purpose of use, that is to say electrically connected to the electrical conductor and/or a further electrical or electromechanical component, at the location at which the electrical or electromechanical components with a welding contact are manufactured.

Packaging the electrical or electromechanical components, transporting them and removing them from the packaging entails the risk that the welding contacts will be contaminated by environmental conditions such as dust or by the user, for example in the form of finger marks.

Contamination of this kind has a negative effect on the subsequent welding process, with the result that contamination of the welding contact or contacts of an electrical or electromechanical component can result in the weld connection not meeting the requirements, or not being able to be manufactured properly because of the contamination.

The quality of the weld connection may be expressed for example as the force required to forcibly break a weld connection again.

One solution in the prior art is to clean the welding contacts of the electrical or electromechanical components before welding, using a cable and/or a further electrical or electromechanical component. For this purpose, methods that are adapted to the contamination are used, such as compressed air for readily detachable dust, or chemical methods for removing contamination that contains lipids. The latter type of cleaning may for example be in the form of wiping the welding contact with an acetone-soaked cloth.

Further cleaning methods in the form of baths or showers are likewise conceivable for cleaning the welding contacts.

It is thus the object of the invention to provide electrical or electromechanical components with at least one welding contact which make it possible to weld the welding contact to a cable and/or a further electrical or electromechanical component immediately, without the need for an additional step of cleaning the welding contact.

According to the invention, this object is achieved by the electrical or electromechanical component of the type mentioned in the introduction in that the electrical or electromechanical component is at least partially covered by a covering member such that it is protected from dirt, wherein the covering member is removable from the welding contact in a substantially residue- free manner.

For the method of the type mentioned in the introduction, this object is achieved in that the method comprises unrolling a strip-like covering member, covering the welding contacts with the unrolled strip-like covering member, arranging a protective strip on the unrolled covering member and rolling up the at least partially covered electrical or electromechanical components and the protective strip onto a rolling-up member, preferably a reel. In this arrangement, in each case the strip-like covering member and the protective strip are located between two adjacent layers of the rolled-up electrical or electromechanical components.

Both the electrical or electromechanical component according to the invention and the method according to the invention may be used regardless of the welding method, and may be used for example with ultrasonic welding, which is characterised by short welding times and a high level of economy.

Further advantageous embodiments of the invention will be described below. Here, the features mentioned in this context may be combined in any desired way or indeed omitted if it makes no essential difference to the effect or action associated with the feature.

In a first advantageous embodiment of the electrical or electromechanical component, the covering member is a coating.

The coating may be applied to the welding contact or contacts by means of various methods. For example, spraying a coating on or indeed technologically more complex methods such as physical or chemical vapour deposition (PVD, CVD) are possible.

The coated material may be for example a polymer. It is likewise conceivable for the coating material to be a material that decomposes in a substantially residue-free manner under the action of heat.

During packaging, transport and unpackaging of the electrical or electromechanical components with one or more welding contacts, this can protect said welding contacts from contamination, and will not have a negative effect on the welding process since a coating of this kind decomposes in a substantially residue-free manner at the beginning of the welding process.

The term "in a substantially residue-free manner" in this context should be understood to mean that the covering member may be removed either in an entirely residue-free manner or indeed, if it cannot be removed from the welding contact in a completely residue-free manner, that the residues do not bring about any impairment in the welding process or the quality of the weld connection obtained.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the electrical or electromechanical component, the covering member is a foil.

The foil may be made from plastics and may cover the welding contact over a large surface area. It is thus possible as a result of the foil to ensure that no contamination of any kind, and also under certain circumstances no liquids, can reach the welding contact.

Further, a foil is a low-cost way of covering welding contacts in order to protect them from contamination.

Foils are available in the greatest variety of constructions, for example in the nature of the material, the thickness of the foil or indeed the transparency and colour. In particular these last properties of the foil may be used on the one hand to cover the welding contacts such that they are protected from dirt and on the other to ensure visual labelling or identification of the electrical or electromechanical component.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the electrical or electromechanical component, the foil covers the contact surface in an air-tight manner.

Such an air-tight covering of the welding contact has the advantage that contamination that is dissolved in the air, such as oil vapours, cannot reach the welding contact either. Further, an air-tight covering of the welding contact prevents water vapour from being able to reach the welding contact and leading to corrosion thereof.

Such an air-tight covering can thus also ensure long-term protection for the welding contact or contacts, such that even after the electrical or electromechanical components have been stored for a long period under unfavourable conditions (humidity of the air), the welding contact can be supplied to the welding process without further treatment, such as the removal of layers of corrosion in the case of unprotected welding contacts.

In a further advantageous embodiment, the foil is applied to the welding contact by means of at least one adhesive member. As a result of the adhesive member, it may be ensured that the foil covering the welding contact is secured to the electrical or electromechanical component such that it cannot become detached.

Preferably, the adhesive member may be located outside the welding contact, and further preferably the adhesive member is located peripherally around the welding contact. An adhesive member that is peripheral in this way has the advantage that sealing of the welding contact is closed off from environmental influences.

In general, the adhesive member may take any desired form, that is to say a liquid adhesive, a gel-type adhesive or indeed a solid adhesive member such as double-sided adhesive tape.

It is advantageous if the adhesive effect is stronger between the adhesive member and the foil than between the adhesive member and the welding contact or the region around the welding contact. This ensures that the foil may be removed together with the adhesive member in a substantially residue-free manner.

In a further advantageous embodiment, the foil sticks to the welding contact by adhesion. An embodiment of this kind has the advantage that there is no need for an additional adhesive member and the foil itself sticks to the welding contact. This embodiment is to be preferred if the welding contact is constructed to be planar with a large surface area.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the invention, a plurality of electrical or electromechanical components, that is to say at least two, in any of the embodiments described above are connected to a common carrier strip by means of an attachment web.

The set of electrical or electromechanical components that results from the plurality of electrical or electromechanical components may comprise any desired number of said electrical or electromechanical components.

The attachment web may be connected to the carrier strip in particular monolithically, it being further preferred for the electrical or electromechanical components of the set of electrical or electromechanical components also to be connected monolithically to the carrier strip and the attachment web. The set of electrical or electromechanical components may thus be a set of punch-bent parts.

The various electrical or electromechanical components may each have like welding contacts or indeed have different welding contacts. Said like or different welding contacts may each be covered by the same covering member or indeed each, individually or in groups, be covered by different covering members.

Such a set of electrical or electromechanical components has the advantage that further work on the electrical or electromechanical components, in particular work on a plurality of electrical or electromechanical components, is simplified, since the supply of individual electrical or electromechanical components to the work process can be automated.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the set of electrical or electromechanical components, the covering member is a continuous foil, preferably taking the form of a strip, which covers a plurality of welding contacts.

Because the foil is in a continuous form, the supply of the foil to the set of electrical or electromechanical components can take place continuously without any need for covering the individual welding contacts separately.

Supply of the foil can be facilitated in that the foil is unrolled from a reel or roll and is supplied to the process of covering the welding contacts.

If the foil takes the form of a strip, the welding contact or contacts of the electrical or electromechanical components that are in the set can be covered. It is thus possible to avoid unnecessary covering of regions of the electrical or electromechanical components that have no need of such a covering.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the set of electrical or electromechanical components, the set of electrical or electromechanical components is rolled up, wherein the covering member and a protective strip are arranged between two adjacent layers of the rolled-up electrical or electromechanical components. The set of electrical or electromechanical components may be rolled up on a reel.

As a result of rolling up the electrical or electromechanical components that are connected by a common carrier strip, it is possible to provide a plurality of such electrical or electromechanical components in a compact arrangement. Likewise, the transport and also further processing of the individual electrical or electromechanical components is facilitated by such rolling up.

The covering member and the protective strip prevent the electrical or electromechanical components in adjacent layers from damaging one another. The protective strip, for example a paper strip, cardboard strip, textile or plastics strip, which is located between the individual layers of the rolled-up electrical or electromechanical components may serve to protect the surfaces of the individual electrical or electromechanical components from rubbing against adjacent layers. In this way, adjacent layers of electrical or electromechanical components that have been wound onto the reel may be mechanically protected. It is likewise possible for the protective strip to protect the foil applied to the covering from scratching and/or even removing the foil as a result of mechanical contact with an adjacent layer of the rolled-up electrical or electromechanical components and exposing the welding contact.

The reel may take a form such that, during further processing of the electrical or electromechanical components, it is mounted in a reel mount provided for the purpose and, by unrolling the electrical or electromechanical components that are attached to the carrier strip, said electrical or electromechanical components can be removed from the reel.

In a further advantageous embodiment of the set of electrical or electromechanical components, the foil is connected to the protective strip.

This embodiment has the advantage that the foil, which preferably takes the form of a strip, and the protective strip need not be stored separately nor supplied in a separate form to the process of covering the welding contacts.

In this way, in a single work step, both the covering of the welding contacts for protection against dirt and at the same time the protective strip, acting as a protection against mechanical stress on the electrical or electromechanical components, can be applied to said electrical or electromechanical components.

The protective strip may be connected to the foil by means of suitable adhesive members or indeed likewise by adhesion. Here, the force required for detaching the foil from the protective strip may be smaller than the force that is required to remove the foil from the welding contacts of the electrical or electromechanical components.

The connection between the foil and the protective strip may be made such that the protective strip only adheres to the foil (for example by the above-mentioned adhesion) in an easily detachable manner, such that when the foil is removed from the welding contacts of the electrical or electromechanical components the protective strip is likewise removed.

However, it is also conceivable for the foil to be connected to the protective strip such that a greater force is required for separating the protective strip from the foil than for separating the foil from the welding contacts of the electrical or electromechanical components.

The method for covering and rolling up electrical or electromechanical components with welding contacts may benefit from the connection between the foil and the protective strip, since unrolling the strip-like covering member and the protective strip, which are connected to one another, may be performed in one step.

Neither the covering member nor the protective strip need be provided on a separate receiving device such as a reel; both may be located on a single reel.

The above-mentioned carrier strip to which the electrical or electromechanical components are attached by means of an attachment web preferably takes a form such that it may be bent and enables winding up or rolling up onto a suitable receiving member such as a reel.

Thus, it is possible for the set of electrical or electromechanical components and the protective strip, which may be connected to the foil, to be rolled up continuously.

In this arrangement, the electrical or electromechanical components that are attached to the carrier strip are supplied to the method, wherein the foil and the protective strip are brought up to the electrical or electromechanical components such that, by pressing the foil against the welding contacts of the individual electrical or electromechanical components, said foil adheres to the welding contacts and can be carried along passively when the carrier strip and the electrical or electromechanical components secured thereto move.

This means that unrolling of the protective strip and the foil can take place completely passively because the foil and the protective strip are drawn along, and for example unrolled from a reel, by the actively moved carrier strip that has the electrical or electromechanical components secured thereto.

The driving member for rolling up the electrical or electromechanical components that are secured to the carrier strip may be the reel on which said electrical or electromechanical components are rolled.

Covering of the welding contacts with the foil may be facilitated if the electrical or electromechanical components that are secured to the carrier strip, the foil and the protective strip are guided through two mutually opposing rolls or cylinders such that the contact pressure of the rolls or cylinders presses the foil against the welding contacts of the individual electrical or electromechanical components and hence causes them to adhere to the welding contacts.

The invention will be explained in more detail below with reference to drawings. Here, individual features of different embodiments may be combined in any desired way or omitted if it makes no difference to the technical advantage in a combination. Like elements or elements having a like function are designated by the same reference numeral.

In the drawings:

Fig. 1 shows an electrical or electromechanical component with a covering member;

Fig. 2 shows a set of electrical or electromechanical components and a first embodiment of the covering member;

Fig. 3 shows a set of electrical or electromechanical components and a second embodiment of the covering member;

Fig. 4 shows a set of electrical or electromechanical components and a third embodiment of the covering member; and

Fig. 5 shows the set of electrical or electromechanical components, the protective strip and the foil being rolled onto a reel.

Fig. 1 shows an electrical or electromechanical component 1 in a perspective view. The electrical or electromechanical component 1 comprises a member end 3 and a contact end 5.

The contact end 5 comprises the at least one welding contact 7. In the illustrated embodiment of the electrical or electromechanical component 1 , the welding contact 7 is formed on the upper side. However, it is conceivable for a plurality of welding contacts 7 to be formed at different positions on the electrical or electromechanical component 1 ; for example, it is possible for a further welding contact 7 to be formed, opposite the welding contact 7 illustrated in Fig. 1 , on the underside of the electrical or electromechanical component 1 .

The welding contact 7 may, as shown in Fig. 1 , reach as far as the edges 9 of the electrical or electromechanical component 1 , but may also be at a spacing from the edges 9 and be entirely or partially surrounded by electrical members 1 1 .

In Fig. 1 , the electrical members 1 1 are located only at the member end 3 and are for example indicated as two electrical members 1 1 which are not explained in more detail.

Fig. 1 moreover shows a covering member 13 which covers the welding contact 7 such that it is protected from dirt. This is moreover indicated in more detail on a larger scale in the enlarged detail 15.

The welding contact 7 forms a surface, and for this reason it is labelled twice in the enlarged detail 15. In the illustrated embodiment, the covering member 13 has a smaller thickness d_A than the solid body 17 of the welding contact 7, which has a thickness d_s.

In the illustrated embodiment of the covering member 13, the covering member 13 reaches as far as the edge 9 of the welding contact 7. However, it is also conceivable for it to be possible for the covering member 13 to be guided around said edge 9 and to adhere to a possible welding contact 7 on the underside 19 of the contact end.

It is likewise possible for the covering member 13 not to be guided around the edges 9 but to project beyond the welding contacts 7 at said edges 9 and to jut above the edges 9.

Purely by way of example, in Fig. 1 the illustrated thickness of the covering member d_A is shown as being in the order of magnitude of the thickness of the welding contact d_s. The thickness of the covering member d_A may be substantially smaller than the thickness of the welding contact d_s.

Fig. 2 shows a set 19 of electrical or electromechanical components 1 in a perspective illustration. The electrical or electromechanical components 1 , of which five are illustrated by way of example, are connected to attachment webs 23 on a carrier strip 21 .

Also indicated in Fig. 2 is a nozzle 25 by means of which the covering member 13 is applied to the welding contacts 7. The illustrated covering member 13 is a coating 8.

The illustration of the nozzle 25 and the method of spraying on the covering member 13 should be understood as purely by way of example; any other types of application of an initially liquid covering member 13 to the welding contact or contacts 7 are conceivable.

Fig. 2 indicates that the initially liquid covering member 13a is applied to the welding contact 7a.

Since the set 19 of electrical or electromechanical components 1 is moved along in a feed direction V, the further welding contacts 7b are covered by a solid covering member 13b.

In Fig. 2, the welding contact 7a is in the process of being covered with the liquid covering member 13a, that is to say the liquid coating 8, which dries once it has been applied to the welding contact 7a.

The illustrated feed direction V is shown purely by way of example; likewise, the set 19 of electrical or electromechanical components 1 may be moved in opposition to the illustrated feed direction V, or the nozzle 25 may be moved between the individual welding contacts 7.

For the sake of clarity, in Fig. 2 the solid covering members 13b are shown with a very large thickness d_A in comparison to the welding contact.

Fig. 3 shows a set 19 of electrical or electromechanical components 1 whereof the welding contacts 7 are in each case covered by a second embodiment of the covering member 13.

In the second embodiment of the covering members 13, which are shown in Fig. 3, the covering members 13 take the form of foils 27.

Between the foils 27 and the welding contacts 7 there is in each case an adhesive member 28, which in Fig. 3 takes the form of a thin adhesive film but is not visible.

The illustrated foils 27 project in each case beyond the welding contacts 7, pointing in the feed direction V.

Advantageously, a free end 29 of the foils 27 that is thereby produced may be used to remove the foil 27 from the welding contacts 7.

Fig. 4 shows a set 19 of electrical or electromechanical components 1 whereof the welding contacts 7 are covered by a third embodiment of the covering member 13. The illustrated covering member 13 takes the form of a continuous foil 27, which is indicated by the fact that the foil 27 is shown as broken off on the left-hand and right-hand side of Fig. 4.

The covered edges 9 of the foil 27 are illustrated by a dashed line. Further, the thickness of the covering member d_A (see also Fig. 1 ) is illustrated on a significantly larger scale than is conventionally the case in actual use, for the sake of clarity.

Fig. 5 illustrates schematically how a set 19 of electrical or electromechanical components 1 is rolled up onto a rolling-up member 30, in this case a reel 31 .

The set 19 of electrical or electromechanical components 1 is shown in a side view in the direction A shown in Fig. 4. The electrical or electromechanical components 1 are secured to the carrier strip 21 and are illustrated only schematically.

A second reel 31 is provided in order to supply the preferably strip-like foil 27 and a protective strip 33 that is secured thereto, for example a paper, card, textile or plastics strip.

Said strip-like foil 27 and the protective strip 33 are rolled up on a reel core 35 and mounted between two reel walls 37. In Fig. 5, both reels 31 are in section, with the result that only one reel wall 37 is visible in each case.

The strip-like foil 27 that is removed from the reel 31 , and the protective strip 33 that is secured to the foil, are pressed against the welding contacts 7 and/or made to adhere thereto by means of a deflection or contact pressure roll 39 and a counter-roll 41.

The rectangular enlarged detail 15 makes it clear how the strip-like foil 27 that is connected to the protective strip 33 is pressed onto the welding contact 7 or made to adhere thereto by means of the deflection or contact pressure roll 39 and the counter-roll 41 .

The set 19 of electrical or electromechanical components is drawn, with the protective strip 33 and the strip-like foil 27, between the deflection or contact pressure roll 39 and the counter-roll 41 , during which both rolls 39, 41 rotate passively in direction R-i of revolution. Here, the counter-roll 41 rolls over the electrical or electromechanical components 1 and the deflection or contact pressure roll over the protective strip 33. The contact pressure force F is exerted in each case in the direction of the carrier strip 21.

The carrier strip 21 , the electrical or electromechanical components 1 that are connected thereto, and the welding contacts 7 of the electrical or electromechanical components 1 that are covered by the strip-like foil 27 and the protective strip 33 are rolled up onto the reel 31 by a rotation R thereof.

This situation is illustrated in a second, circular enlarged detail 15, from which it may be seen that there is always a layer of the strip-like foil 27 and the protective strip 33 between two adjacent layers of the rolled-up set 19 of electrical or electromechanical components 1 . In this way, the electrical or electromechanical components 1 are mechanically protected and at the same time the welding contacts 7 are covered by the strip-like foil 27 to prevent contamination.

Further, rolling up the set 19 of electrical or electromechanical components 1 enables simple storage and/or transport of the complete set 19 of electrical or electromechanical components 1 .

List of reference numerals

I Electrical or electromechanical component

3 Member end

5 Contact end

7,7a Welding contact

7b Further welding contact

8 Coating

9 Edge

I I Electrical members

13 Covering member

13a Liquid covering member

13b Solid covering member

15 Enlarged detail

17 Solid body

19 Set of electrical or electromechanical components

21 Carrier strip

23 Attachment web

25 Nozzle

27 Foil

28 Adhesive member

29 Free end

30 Rolling-up member

31 Reel

33 Protective strip

35 Reel core

37 Reel wall

39 Deflection or contact pressure roll

41 Counter-roll

A Side view

d_A Thickness of the covering member

d_s Thickness of the welding contact

F Contact pressure force

R Rotation

Ri Direction of revolution

V Feed direction

Claims

1 . An electrical or electromechanical component (1 ) with at least one welding contact (7), characterized in that the welding contact (7) is at least partially covered by a covering member (13) such that it is protected from dirt, wherein the covering member (13) is removable from the welding contact (7) in a substantially residue-free manner.

2. The electrical or electromechanical component (1 ) according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the covering member (13) is a coating (8).

3. The electrical or electromechanical component (1 ) according to Claim 1 , characterized in that the covering member (13) is a foil (27).

4. The electrical or electromechanical component (1 ) according to Claim 3, characterized in that the foil (27) covers the welding contact (7) in an air-tight manner.

5. The electrical or electromechanical component (1 ) according to Claim 3 or 4, characterized in that the foil (27) is applied to the welding contact (7) by means of at least one adhesive member (28).

6. The electrical or electromechanical component (1 ) according to one of Claims 3 to 5, characterized in that the foil (27) sticks to the welding contact (7) by adhesion.

7. A set (19) of electrical or electromechanical components (1 ) according to one of Claims 1 to 6, in which the electrical or electromechanical components (1 ) are connected to a common carrier strip (21 ) by means of an attachment web (23).

8. The set (19) of electrical or electromechanical components (1 ) according to Claim 7, characterized in that the covering member (13) is a continuous foil (27), preferably taking the form of a strip, which covers a plurality of welding contacts (7).

9. The set (19) of electrical or electromechanical components (1 ) according to Claim 8 or 9, characterized in that the set (19) of electrical or electromechanical components (1 ) is rolled up, wherein the covering member (13) and a protective strip (33) are arranged between two adjacent layers of the rolled-up electrical or electromechanical components

(1 )-

10. The set (19) of electrical or electromechanical components (1 ) according to Claim 9, characterized in that the foil (27) is connected to the protective strip (33). A method for covering and rolling up electrical or electromechanical components (1 ) with welding contacts (7), comprising unrolling a strip-like covering member (13), covering the welding contacts (7) with the unrolled strip-like covering member (13), arranging a protective strip (33) on the unrolled covering member (13) and rolling up the at least partially covered electrical or electromechanical components (1 ) and the protective strip (33) onto a rolling-up member (30), preferably a reel (31 ), wherein in each case the striplike covering member (13) and the protective strip (33) are located between two adjacent layers of the rolled-up electrical or electromechanical components (1 ).