In the field of motor vehicle lighting, when using light-emitting diodes (LEDs, which are semiconductor components) as a light source, it is known to connect these LEDs using an electrical interconnection element, for example of the printed circuit board (PCB) type, electrically connecting the LEDs and other components which may be mounted thereon, and then to arrange the LEDs and the PCB on a heat sink (typically a radiator), this heat sink then being mounted on a carrier, for example a headlamp reflector, in the headlamp or the light.
The electrical connection of the printed circuit board bearing the LEDs to the rest of the vehicle requires a connector to be mounted on the board, the connector ensuring the contact between the board and an electrical wire harness establishing the connection to the vehicle. To do this, it is conventional to use a two-part connector. More precisely, a first part of the connector (the female part) is first of all soldered to the printed circuit board; the board is then placed on the heat sink, which is then arranged on the carrier of the headlamp. Once the heat sink has been placed on its carrier, the electrical connection between the printed circuit board and the rest of the vehicle is established by joining the second part of the connector (the male part) to the first part, the second part of the connector being secured to the bundle of electrically connecting wires.
However, the above method of operation has the drawback of being expensive in that, on the one hand, the connection operations relating to the printed circuit board involve high temperatures that must be able to be withstood by the material forming the first part of the connector, i.e. the part fastened to the board, thus increasing the cost thereof. On the other hand, the mounting process is time-consuming and thus expensive in terms of labor, since once the heat sink has been placed on its lighting carrier, it is then necessary to connect the second part of the connector, i.e. the part connected to the electrical wire harness, to the first part of the connector, i.e. the part fastened to the printed circuit board, this taking place in a confined and thus difficult-to-access space between the carrier and the heat sink, which may prove difficult. Finally, this procedure requires tests to be carried out to check that the connection between the two parts of the connector has been established correctly, this being done using dedicated hardware, which is an additional cost-increasing factor.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds