Battery Switch Contact Dome Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing battery switches for low-voltage DC electrical systems in vehicles, such as yachts and recreational vehicles, face challenges in efficiently disconnecting and reconnecting high-current power supplies to conserve electrical power during inactivity periods.
Innovation Solution
A battery switch design featuring a housing with terminals, a contact mechanism biased by a leaf spring or similar mechanism, and a rotating member with an actuator, allowing for easy switching between closed and open positions to control electrical flow between a power source and a load without the need for fasteners, ensuring reliable and efficient power management.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a traditional battery switch design is used, then the switch can disconnect power, but it requires fasteners and has higher contact resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces traditional mechanical fastening systems with a spring-biased contact dome mechanism. The contact dome is pressed against the terminal by a spring, creating reliable electrical connection without requiring fasteners. This substitution eliminates assembly complexity while maintaining connection reliability through elastic mechanical pressure.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the contact geometry from flat to domed shape. The domed contact surface concentrates the spring force into a smaller area, increasing contact pressure and reducing contact resistance. This parameter change improves both electrical reliability and current handling capability without adding mechanical complexity.
2Loss of energy
If a battery switch is used to disconnect power during inactivity, then power conservation is achieved, but contact resistance increases energy loss
Solution Approach 1:
The domed contact geometry concentrates spring force onto a smaller contact area, significantly increasing contact pressure. This reduced contact resistance minimizes energy loss during the connected state, making the power conservation benefit of switching more effective. The spring mechanism maintains consistent pressure to ensure stable low-resistance connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring is pre-loaded to apply continuous biasing force to the contact dome, ensuring the contact is always pressed firmly against the terminal before current flows. This preliminary action of pre-compression eliminates cold contact resistance and ensures optimal electrical connection from the moment power is connected.
3Force
If a spring-biased contact mechanism is used, then contact pressure is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The switch is divided into modular components: the contact dome, the spring, the rotating member, and the housing. Each component can be manufactured separately using standard processes, then assembled together. This segmentation allows each part to be optimized for its specific function while simplifying overall manufacturing and assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring-biased contact dome mechanism serves multiple functions: it provides continuous contact pressure, compensates for manufacturing tolerances, absorbs vibration, and ensures reliable electrical connection. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional components, simplifying manufacturing despite the added spring mechanism.
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
The solution enables efficient disconnection and reconnection of high-current power supplies, conserving electrical power by minimizing resistance and ensuring reliable operation over extended periods of inactivity, thus optimizing energy usage in vehicle systems.
Implementation Method 1
a biasing member configured to bias the contact towards the first terminal and the second terminal, the biasing member being operable to apply a first biasing force proximate the first contact end and a second biasing force proximate the second connect end
Data Source
AI summary
A switch and methods of assembling a switch. The switch may include a housing; a first terminal electrically coupled to a power source; a second terminal electrically coupled to a load; a contact having a first contact end and a second contact end, the contact being operable to be in a closed position, in which the first contact end engages the first terminal and the second contact end engages the second terminal such that the contact electrically connects the first terminal to the second terminal, and an open position, in which the contact does not electrically connect the first terminal and the second terminal; and a biasing member configured to bias the contact towards the first terminal and the second terminal, the biasing member being operable to apply a first biasing force proximate the first contact end and a second biasing force proximate the second connect end.