Insulation Displacement Contact With Angled Elastic Forks
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing insulation displacement contacts are limited in their ability to handle multiple wiring of conductors with different diameters and are prone to plastic deformation, making them unsuitable for repeated use and requiring significant headroom and installation height.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates angled fork sections that act as elastic springs, allowing for simultaneous connection of multiple conductors with different diameters without significant plastic deformation, and features a geometry that optimizes elastic deformation over a large area, reducing overall height and increasing flexibility.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional insulation displacement contacts with blades are used, then conductors can be contacted and clamped, but the contacts undergo considerable plastic deformation and are only suitable for one-time wiring
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by replacing static, rigid blade structures with dynamic spring elements that can elastically deform and recover. The spring elements are designed to flexibly adapt to conductor insertion while maintaining consistent clamping force through elastic deformation rather than plastic deformation, enabling repeated wiring operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the mechanical parameters of the contact structure by transitioning from rigid blades to spring elements with specific elastic properties. The spring elements have optimized stiffness and deflection characteristics that allow them to undergo reversible elastic deformation within a defined range, fundamentally changing the deformation behavior from irreversible plastic to reversible elastic.
2Adaptability or versatility
If insulation displacement contacts are designed to accommodate different conductor diameters, then versatility is improved, but the headroom and installation height requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves the spatial conflict by changing the orientation of the spring elements from a vertical arrangement (requiring significant headroom) to a horizontal arrangement within the plane of the contact. This dimensional reconfiguration allows the spring elements to flex laterally to accommodate different conductor diameters while maintaining a compact installation height.
Solution Approach 2:
The dynamic spring elements provide adaptability to different conductor diameters through elastic deformation rather than requiring adjustable geometric parameters. The springs naturally adjust their deflection magnitude based on the inserted conductor size, providing versatility without increasing the fixed installation envelope.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the contact structure is made more flexible to handle different conductor sizes, then adaptability improves, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by introducing flexibility and elastic properties specifically at the spring element locations, while maintaining rigid, simple structures in other areas such as the housing and contact terminals. This localized application of complexity only where mechanically necessary optimizes the balance between adaptability and overall structural simplicity.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Enables reliable, reversible wiring of conductors with varying diameters and supports continuous cable cores without bending or cutting, while maintaining a low overall height and minimizing plastic deformation, thus enhancing the usability in various connector systems.
Implementation Method 1
both of which contribute to a clamping force with which the two contact blades (when wiring) are pressed against one another as soon as a conductor is pushed between the contact blades and this forces them apart
Data Source
Figure 1~4
Figure 5~9
Figure 10~12
AI summary
An insulation displacement contact (1) according to the invention is characterized essentially in that, as a whole, it comprises a cutting section with two opposing contact blades (3.1, 3.2) and two fork sections, both of which contribute to a clamping force with which the two contact blades are pressed against each other as soon as a conductor is inserted between the contact blades and thereby forces them apart. One fork (4) engages proximally (i.e., on the side from which the conductor is inserted) and the other fork (5) distally (i.e., on the opposite side), so that the two contact blades are pressed together from four points. The fork sections are angled towards the cutting section (3), i.e., they do not lie in a common plane with the cutting section. Each of the two fork sections constitutes an independent, elastic spring. This means that when the contact blades (3.1, 3.2) are moved apart, they act independently.2) relative to each other, they are essentially elastically and not plastically deformed by a thickness of a conductor to be contacted.