Electrical conductor and method for producing an electrical conductor

{
  "publication_number": "US11394131B2",
  "country": "US",
  "kind": "B2",
  "title": "Electrical conductor and method for producing an electrical conductor",
  "abstract": "An electrical conductor, in particular a flat conductor, comprising at least one through opening, and a contact part connected to the conductor at the through opening in a substance-to-substance bond, the contact part having an axially extending first section and a radially extending second section, characterized in that the second section is formed as a flange and a side of the flange facing the conductor has a surface having at least one recess and/or at least one protrusion and a surface welded to the conductor.",
  "claims": [
    "1. Electrical conductor comprising: a flat conductor; at least one through opening in the flat conductor; and a contact part connected to the flat conductor at the through-opening in a material bond, the contact part having in its axial direction a first section and a second section, wherein the second section is formed as a flange and a side of the flange facing the flat conductor has a surface welded to the flat conductor and which has at least one recess and/or at least one protrusion, wherein the at least one protrusion in a cross section parallel to the longitudinal axis of the contact part, the protrusion has a concave shape to form an undercut.",
    "2. Electrical conductor according to claim 1, wherein the surface facing the flat conductor is formed in a relief shape, in particular in a regular relief shape, or in a bump shape, in particular in a regular bump shape, the protrusion in particular being formed as a bump.",
    "3. Electrical conductor according to claim 1, wherein the at least one protrusion and/or at least one recess are arranged circumferentially, in particular coaxially circumferentially, about a center point of the surface facing the flat conductor.",
    "4. Electrical conductor according to claim 1, wherein the at least one protrusion has part-circular surface portions, in particular in that the at least one protrusion has concave and convex regions.",
    "5. Electrical conductor according to claim 3, wherein the at least one recess has part-circular surface sections, in particular that the at least one recess has convex regions.",
    "6. Electrical conductor according to claim 1, wherein the contact part is metallically coated.",
    "7. Electrical conductor according to claim 1, wherein the contact part is formed as a welding eye.",
    "8. Electrical conductor according to claim 1, wherein the first section is formed in the form of a rod or a blank.",
    "9. Electrical conductor according to claim 1, wherein the second section has a round or angular base surface.",
    "10. Electrical conductor according to claim 1, wherein the first section has a substantially round outer circumference, and the first section has a through opening, the through opening being formed as a polygonal socket.",
    "11. Electrical conductor according to claim 1, wherein the first and second sections are formed integrally.",
    "12. Electrical conductor according to claim 1, wherein the first section is materially bonded on the inner diameter of the through-opening, in particular friction-welded.",
    "13. Electrical conductor according to claim 1, wherein the flange is materially bonded to the flat conductor with its surface facing the flat conductor, in particular friction-welded.",
    "14. Electrical conductor according to claim 1, wherein the outer circumference of the first section tapers from the second section in the axial direction of the through opening.",
    "15. Electrical conductor according to claim 1, wherein the contact part is formed from a different metallic material than the flat conductor, in particular in that the flat conductor is formed from an aluminum material and the contact part is formed from a copper material, or in that the flat conductor is formed from a copper material and the contact part is formed from an aluminum material.",
    "16. Contact part, for contacting with a flat conductor having at least one through opening, said contact part comprising: an axially extending first section and a radially extending second section, wherein the second section is formed as a flange and a side of the flange facing the first section has a surface having at least one protrusion, wherein the at least one protrusion in a cross section parallel to the longitudinal axis of the contact part, the protrusion has a concave shape to form an undercut.",
    "17. Method of manufacturing an electrical conductor according to claim 1, wherein the contact part is welded to the flat conductor by means of resistance welding, in particular protrusion welding, friction welding, in particular rotation friction welding, or magnetic pulse welding.",
    "18. Method according to claim 17, wherein the contact part is welded with its second section on the surface of the flat conductor.",
    "19. Method according to claim 17, wherein during welding, a contact surface in the region of a protrusion is first brought into contact with the flat conductor, in that the material of the flat conductor in the region of the contact surface is plasticized by the energy introduced, and in that at least parts of the plasticized material of the flat conductor flow into a recess and harden in the recess after welding."
  ],
  "description_excerpt": "The subject matter relates to an electrical conductor and a method for manufacturing an electrical conductor, in particular a battery conductor, especially in the form of a flat conductor, in particular for automotive applications.\n\nIn the automotive industry, flat conductors (also referred to as strip conductors) have recently been increasingly used instead of round conductors. In particular for battery cables, preferably the B+ cable, on which high currents flow, the flat strip conductor has proven to be advantageous. With the help of the flat strip conductor, it is possible to realize large conductor cross sections in small installation spaces, especially narrow, inaccessible areas, due to the form factor, which improves the current carrying capacity of the battery conductors. Flat strip conductors are also increasingly used for electric vehicles, where voltages of several 100V are called up via the battery cables. Here, too, the power conductors must meet high requirements in terms of current-carrying capacity and performance.\n\nHowever, round conductors continue to be used for contacting electrical consumers. This is mainly due to the fact that the electrical consumers mostly have to be contacted via flexible cables. When installing the connecting cables between rigid battery cables and electrical consumers, it is often necessary to thread the cables into tight installation spaces, which is easier with the aid of round conductors than with rigid flat conductors. Therefore, when flat conductors are used as the main strand for the battery cable, contacting between the flat conductor and the round conductor is essential.",
  "cpc": [
    "H01R 4/029",
    "B23K 11/002",
    "B23K 20/06",
    "B23K 20/129",
    "B23K 2101/38",
    "H01R 2201/26",
    "H01R 4/34",
    "H01R 4/625",
    "H01R 43/0214"
  ],
  "ipc": [
    "B23K 11/00",
    "B23K 20/12",
    "H01R 4/02",
    "H01R 4/62",
    "H01R 43/02",
    "B23K 20/06"
  ],
  "assignees": [
    "Auto Kabel Management GmbH"
  ],
  "inventors": [
    "Oliver Scharkowski"
  ],
  "filing_date": "2020-01-22",
  "publication_date": "2022-07-19",
  "grant_date": "2022-07-19",
  "priority_date": "2019-02-20",
  "application_number": "US-202017430214-A",
  "family_id": "69187791",
  "cited_by_count": 5,
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}