A variety of electrical connectors have been proposed in the past for numerous specific purposes. For example, electrical connectors have been proposed for use in glass, e.g., vehicle windscreens, for allowing electrical connection between electrical devices embedded in the glass and sources of power and/or other electrical devices. Windscreens often are equipped with electric heaters or defrosters which are embedded between layers which make up the windscreen, and include a simple flat electrical contact for establishing an electrical connection with the defroster. Such flat connections are typically formed by screening a conductive coating, e.g., silver, onto an exterior portion of the windscreen in which a lead from the defroster protrudes. Thus, in order to make electrical contact with the defroster, an electrical connector must be mounted onto the glass so that the connector establishes electrical communication with the flat conductive coating.
One electrical connector which has been proposed for mounting on a conductive coating of a windscreen includes an upstanding cylindrical post and a flat base which carries a layer of solder thereon. Such an electrical connector was first made available by Antaya, Inc., Cranston, R.I. The layer of solder is pressed against the contact on the windscreen, and the solder is heated to flow the solder. Pressure is simultaneously applied to the connector, which presses against the windscreen's contact. While this device has in the past proven to be useful and has advantages in certain applications, because this prior connector has a flat surface which is soldered against the flat surface of a windscreen's contact, the pressure applied when soldering tends to press or squeeze much of the solder out from under the connector. Thus, the prior connector is oftentimes mismounted to the windscreen, because most of the solder has been squeezed out from between the connector and the windscreen's contact during the soldering process. This results in connectors which cannot meet vehicle manufacturing standards for the strength of the connections between windscreens and their electrical connectors. Such mismounting of the prior electrical connectors results in a considerable amount of rework, scrap, and increases in labor time and costs to correct mismounted connectors.
A further difficulty encountered with prior electrical connectors is that they are typically very small. The size of some standard electrical connectors, including many battery connectors, makes the manufacturing processes for forming large quantities of these small connectors extremely difficult to automate. Close tolerances are also difficult to maintain during the manufacturing process, and even small changes to such a connector can necessitate complete retooling after considerable expenditures in reengineering.
USPTO Backgrounds
USPTO Backgrounds