Electrical Connector With Raised Contact Surface For Vibration Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical plug connections for motor vehicle heating devices face challenges in providing a simple, reliable, and cost-effective method for connecting high current components, especially in compact configurations where high vibration loads can disrupt solid contact.
Innovation Solution
The design features a contact tongue with a raised contact surface and spring tongues that are prestressed to ensure a solid electrical connection, with the contact tongue having a contour that includes a raised surface formed by deep-drawing, and multiple spring tongues arranged to interact with different planes for enhanced compression and stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a flat stamped sheet metal contact tongue is used, then the device complexity is reduced and manufacturing is simpler, but the electrical contact quality deteriorates under vibration loads
Solution Approach 1:
The contact tongue is transformed from a flat two-dimensional sheet metal piece to a three-dimensional structure with raised contact surfaces. The contact surfaces are formed by deep-drawing the sheet metal to create protruding areas that extend beyond the original plane, adding vertical dimension to the contact interface. This dimensional change increases the contact pressure and mechanical interlocking between mating components, thereby improving electrical contact reliability under vibration without fundamentally changing the manufacturing process.
Solution Approach 2:
The physical parameters of the contact tongue are modified by changing its geometric configuration. The sheet metal is deep-drawn to create raised contact surfaces with specific dimensions and profiles. This parameter change in the contact surface geometry increases the contact area and pressure distribution, enhancing the electrical connection quality while maintaining compatibility with the existing stamped sheet metal manufacturing method.
2Reliability
If multiple spring tongues are arranged alternately from opposite sides, then the electrical contact reliability is improved, but the installation space requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The spring tongues from opposite sides are nested within the same recess area of the printed circuit board. Multiple spring tongues are arranged in a compact configuration where they share the same spatial envelope, effectively nesting the contact elements within a limited space. This nested arrangement allows multiple contact points to be achieved without proportionally increasing the overall installation footprint.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of spreading spring tongues horizontally across a large area, the design utilizes the vertical dimension by having spring tongues protrude from opposite longitudinal sides into the same recess. This three-dimensional arrangement of spring tongues allows them to converge on the contact tongue from different directions, achieving reliable electrical contact while minimizing the planar installation space required.
3Ease of manufacture
If sheet metal with small thickness is used, then the manufacturing cost is reduced, but the mechanical strength and contact pressure capability deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The thin sheet metal is deep-drawn to create raised contact surfaces that protrude from the original plane. This dimensional transformation converts a two-dimensional thin sheet into a three-dimensional structure with increased contact pressure capability. The deep-drawn protrusions act as mechanical levers that concentrate force at the contact points, enabling thin sheet metal to achieve the necessary contact pressure without increasing material thickness or cost.
Solution Approach 2:
The geometric parameters of the sheet metal are changed through deep-drawing to create raised contact surfaces with optimized profiles. This parameter change in the contact surface geometry compensates for the limited mechanical strength of thin sheet metal by creating a more effective stress distribution and contact pressure concentration, thereby maintaining contact pressure capability while using cost-effective thin material.
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 improves the quality and reliability of the electrical contact, ensuring solid connections even under high vibration loads and allowing for efficient power transmission with low electrical transition resistance.
Implementation Method 1
the spring tongues are bent over to a greater extent when the contact tongue is introduced than in the previously known solution, and are thus applied under prestress against the associated contact surfaces of the metal sheet
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention relates to an electrical connector between a printed circuit board (2) provided with at least one (female) connector (4) and a contact tongue (24) made of a sheet metal (18), in particular an electric heating device for a motor vehicle, which can be inserted into the connector (4) through a recess (10) in the printed circuit board (2), wherein the connector (4) has a mounting section (6) resting on the printed circuit board (2), from which spring tongues (8) project and extend into the recess (10) from opposite sides. The objective of the present invention is to improve the electrical connector known from EP 2 236 330 B1.The present invention proposes that the contact tongue (24) has at least one contact surface (30) raised from the plane of the sheet (18) and extending in the longitudinal direction of the contact tongue (24), on the upper side (34) of which at least one of the spring tongues (8) rests in the inserted state.