Cloverleaf Contactor Assembly for Miniature Terminal Engagement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing contactor assemblies fail to reliably connect multiple closely spaced miniature terminals at low cost while ensuring firm engagement for low resistance connections.
Innovation Solution
A miniature contactor assembly is designed with a wire bent into a row of contactors, each having multiple loops that lie in the same plane, held together by an insulative polymer block, allowing for resilient compression and effective engagement of closely spaced terminals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional contactor assemblies are used to connect closely spaced miniature terminals, then connection reliability may be achieved, but the cost increases and manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The contactor assembly is segmented into multiple individual contactors, each independently resilient and capable of engaging a pair of terminals. This segmentation allows each contactor to be optimized for reliable engagement while simplifying the overall assembly process and reducing manufacturing costs compared to complex multi-component assemblies.
Solution Approach 2:
The contactors are designed with specific geometric parameters including the loop configuration (at least three loops per contactor), the spacing between loops (less than half the contactor height), and the resilient properties of the wire material. These parameter changes enable reliable electrical connection while maintaining manufacturability and low cost.
2Reliability
If contactors are made resiliently compressible to ensure firm engagement of all terminals, then connection quality improves, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The contactors are designed to be dynamically resilient, allowing compression and expansion during engagement. Each contactor can compress to engage terminals firmly and expand to maintain low resistance connection, providing adaptive engagement without complex mechanical structures.
Solution Approach 2:
The contactors utilize curved loop geometries (at least three loops per contactor) that provide inherent resilience through their curved shape. The loops are configured with specific dimensions (frontmost to rearmost loop distance less than half the contactor height) to achieve firm engagement while maintaining simple structures.
3Volume of moving object
If multiple contactors are closely spaced to connect closely spaced terminals, then the device size decreases, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple contactors are merged into a single wire structure where the wire is bent to form a row of contactors with continuous spacing. This merging approach allows closely spaced terminals to be connected while maintaining uniform spacing through the continuous wire geometry, reducing manufacturing precision requirements compared to assembling separate contactors.
Solution Approach 2:
The contactors are formed from a single wire with uniform properties throughout, creating homogeneous structures with consistent spacing and dimensions. This homogeneity ensures that all contactors have identical resilient properties and spacing, simplifying manufacturing while enabling close spacing to connect miniaturized terminals.
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 assembly provides reliable and low-cost connections for closely spaced terminals, ensuring good contact and efficient electrical engagement, suitable for small electronic devices like cell phones.
Implementation Method 1
Each of the contactors has at least three loops... The contactors are each resiliently compressible to assure that all terminals are firmly engaged
Implementation Method 2
The contactors are electrically separated by cutting the wire between adjacent contactors... held together by a holder formed by a block of insulative polymer
Data Source
AI summary
A wire (12) is bent into a row of contactors (14) that are each of miniature cloverleaf shape with each cloverleaf having a plurality of loops (21-24), the cloverleafs are then cut apart at cuts (40) to electrically isolate them from each other, and the middles of the cloverleafs are embedded into a block (43) of polymer. The combination of a row of cloverleafs and the block, are placed between upper and lower groups of terminals (30, 32) and compressed between them, to connect each upper terminal to a lower one.