The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document.
The patent badge is an abbreviated version of the USPTO patent document. The patent badge covers the following: Patent number, Date patent was issued, Date patent was filed, Title of the patent, Applicant, Inventor, Assignee, Attorney firm, Primary examiner, Assistant examiner, CPCs, and Abstract. The patent badge does contain a link to the full patent document (in Adobe Acrobat format, aka pdf). To download or print any patent click here.
Patent No.:
Date of Patent:
Mar. 09, 1999
Filed:
Nov. 05, 1997
John Scott Badgley, Garden City, MI (US);
Dawn Roberta White, Ann Arbor, MI (US);
Richard Lawrence Allor, Livonia, MI (US);
Samir Samir, Inkster, MI (US);
Ford Global Technologies, Inc., Dearborn, MI (US);
Abstract
There is disclosed herein a terminal connector 20 attachable to a metallic mating surface 52 on a workpiece 50 by friction joining. One embodiment of the connector 20 comprises an electrically conductive body 22 having a top end 24 to which an electrical connector 70 may be attached, a bottom end 26 having a bottom surface 28 generally conforming to the mating surface 52 of the workpiece 50, and an axis R substantially orthogonal to the bottom surface 28 about which the terminal 20 may be rotated. Attached to the bottom surface 28 is a layer of solder 30 having an outer perimeter 32 and defining a central solder-free region 34 about the axis R. In a preferred embodiment, the bottom surface 28 of the terminal 20 is substantially circular in shape, and the layer of solder 30 is substantially annular in shape with the central solder-free region 34 being substantially circular and generally centered about the rotational axis R. The solder layer 30 may further define a plurality of evenly spaced radial grooves 38 therein.