Electrical Connector Protrusion Recess Sn Plating Wear
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Solution Overview
Problem
In electrical connectors with increasing terminal numbers and smaller sizes, the contact load becomes insufficient, leading to minute slide wear and instability in electrical connections, especially with Sn plating, which can result in high contact resistance and reliability issues.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a male tab and a housing part with a protrusion and recessed part, where the protrusion is accepted by the recessed part, and a contact piece and beat piece are integrated to prevent slide movement, using Sn plating on the protrusion to enhance friction, allowing for stable electrical connections without complex spring structures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If Sn plating is used for the male tab and contact piece, then cost is reduced compared to noble metal plating, but slide wear increases leading to high contact resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The contact interface is segmented into three distinct regions: a first contact region with high contact load, a second contact region with intermediate contact load, and a third contact region with low contact load. This segmentation allows Sn plating to be used throughout while preventing slide wear in the critical first contact region through high contact pressure, thus maintaining low contact resistance without noble metal plating.
2Productivity
If terminal size is reduced to increase the number of terminals, then connector density increases, but contact load becomes insufficient leading to slide wear
Solution Approach 1:
Different contact loads are applied to different regions of the contact interface. The first contact region receives the highest contact load through the contact piece, the second contact region receives intermediate load through the reinforcing piece, and the third contact region receives low load. This local differentiation of contact quality prevents slide wear at critical interfaces while allowing overall terminal size reduction for higher density.
3Reliability
If a complex spring structure is added to increase contact load, then slide wear is suppressed, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The contact piece and reinforcing piece are merged into a single integrated component. The contact piece provides the primary contact function while the reinforcing piece extends to provide additional contact load at the second contact region. This merging achieves enhanced slide wear resistance through distributed contact loading without requiring separate spring structures or complex mechanisms.
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
This configuration effectively reduces slide wear, maintains stable conduction, and improves electrical reliability by preventing slide movement and ensuring a secure contact, even with thin terminal materials, thus avoiding increased costs associated with noble metal plating.
Implementation Method 1
using Sn plating on the protrusion to enhance friction
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical connector connecting a male connector and a female connector in a freely engageable and detachable manner includes, a male tab is provided at the male connector; a housing part where the male tab is inserted is provided at the female connector; a contact piece and a beat piece to hold and press the male tab to enable electrical connection are provided at the housing part; and a protrusion is provided at least at one of the contact piece and the beat piece, and a recessed part capable of accepting the protrusion is provided at the male tab, wherein the contact piece, the beat piece, and the protrusion are constituted to be one component.