Low leakage electrical joints and wire harnesses, and method of making the same

Abstract

Low leakage electrical joints and wire harnesses for simplifying the electrical infrastructure associated with solar energy utilities are disclosed. The low leakage electrical joints include fused wires that have been sealed, encased and configured to plug into other joints to form wire harnesses. The wire harnesses are particularly well suited for coupling a plurality of solar collector junction boxes to a combiner box.

I Claim: 
     
         1 . A low leakage electrical joint, said joint comprising:
 a. a first exposed portion of a first insulated wire welded to a second exposed portion of a second insulated wire; and   b. an overmolded polypropylene encasement surrounding said weld, said encasement including a plurality of protrusions and defining at least one securing aperture positioned at the vertex of two of said protrusions.   
     
     
         2 . The joint of  claim 1  wherein said first insulated wire includes copper. 
     
     
         3 . The joint of  claim 2  wherein said first insulated wire is capable of carrying DC current up to 1000V. 
     
     
         4 . The joint of  claim 1  wherein at least one of said insulated wires is a photovoltaic wire. 
     
     
         5 . The joint of  claim 1  wherein said encasement includes a UV stabilization agent. 
     
     
         6 . The joint of  claim 1  wherein said encasement is molded in a shape selected from the group consisting of T-shaped, cross-shaped and Y-shaped. 
     
     
         7 . The joint of  claim 1  wherein said securing aperture is semi-circular. 
     
     
         8 . The joint of  claim 1  wherein said encasement defines at least one channel, said first insulated wire protruding outwardly from said encasement through said channel. 
     
     
         9 . A wire harness, said harness comprising:
 a. at least one joint comprising a first exposed portion of a first insulated wire welded to a second exposed portion of a second insulated wire; and an overmolded polypropylene encasement surrounding said weld, said encasement including a plurality of protrusions and having a profile selected from the group consisting of T-shaped, cross-shaped and Y-shaped; and   b. at least one female connector attached to said first insulated wire.   
     
     
         10 . The wire harness of  claim 9  wherein said insulated wire comprises at least one photovoltaic wire. 
     
     
         11 . The wire harness of  claim 10  wherein the gauge of said photovoltaic wire includes at least one gauge selected from the group consisting of 8, 10, and 12 AWG. 
     
     
         12 . The wire harness of  claim 9  further comprising at least one male connector in communication with said second insulated wire. 
     
     
         13 . A method of making an electrical joint comprising the acts of:
 a. stripping a portion of insulation off a first insulated wire to form a first exposed portion;   b. stripping a portion of insulation off a second insulated wire to form a second exposed portion;   c. forming a fused portion by fusing said first exposed portion to said second exposed portion;   d. covering said fused portion, said first exposed portion and said second exposed portion in sealant;   e. curing said sealant; and   f. enclosing said sealant in an encasement.   
     
     
         14 . The method of  claim 13  wherein covering said fused portion includes the act of applying a synthetic rubber sealant. 
     
     
         15 . The method of  claim 13  wherein enclosing said sealant in an encasement includes the act of molding said encasement. 
     
     
         16 . The method of  claim 13  further including the non-sequential act of attaching a female connector to said first insulated wire. 
     
     
         17 . The method of  claim 16  further including the non-sequential act of attaching a male connector to be in communication with said second insulated wire.