Electrical Connector Contact Assembly With Spherical Mating Balls
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical connectors with cup-shaped contact tips create electrical stubs that negatively affect performance, particularly at high speeds, due to mechanical stubbing and resonance issues during signal transmission.
Innovation Solution
The use of signal and ground contacts with spherical mating balls formed from a homogeneous structure, integrated with spring beams and a contact holder, provides robust electrical connections by preventing mechanical stubbing and minimizing electrical stubs, while interspersing ground contacts for shielding between signal contacts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If cup-shaped contact tips are used to prevent mechanical stubbing, then mechanical protection is improved, but electrical performance deteriorates due to created electrical stubs and resonance
Solution Approach 1:
The contact tip is formed with a spherical mating ball instead of a cup shape. The spherical geometry provides mechanical protection through rounded contours that prevent stubbing while minimizing electrical stub effects, as the sphere creates a point contact rather than an extended curved surface that would act as an electrical stub.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the contact tip from a cup shape with extended curved surfaces to a spherical shape with minimal protrusion. This parameter change reduces the electrical stub length and eliminates the resonance issues associated with cup-shaped contacts while maintaining mechanical protection.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If ground contacts are interspersed with signal contacts, then electrical shielding is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The contact assembly is segmented into alternating signal contacts and ground contacts arranged in rows. This segmentation provides electrical shielding between signal contacts by inserting ground contacts at regular intervals, reducing electromagnetic interference while maintaining a systematic and manufacturable pattern.
Solution Approach 2:
Ground contacts serve as intermediary elements positioned between signal contacts. These ground contacts act as electrical shields that block electromagnetic fields and reduce interference between adjacent signal contacts, improving signal integrity without requiring complex external shielding structures.
3Strength
If mating balls are formed as homogeneous structures with contact bodies, then structural integrity is improved, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The mating ball and contact body are merged into a single homogeneous structure formed from the same material without separate components or joints. This integration ensures structural integrity and eliminates potential failure points at interfaces, while the stamping process efficiently forms both the contact body and spherical mating ball in one operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces traditional multi-step manufacturing processes with electrical arc formation followed by cooling. Instead of mechanically assembling separate ball and contact body components, the process uses electrical energy to melt and form the spherical mating ball directly on the contact body, then cools it to create a strong homogeneous structure.
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 enhances electrical performance by reducing resonance and mechanical interference, maintaining structural integrity and seamless signal paths, even at high speeds, and supports repeated mating cycles without compromising the integrity of the mating balls.
Implementation Method 1
generates an electrical arc and directing the electrical arc at the mating end to form a molted ball at a distal tip of the contact
Implementation Method 2
cools the molten ball using a cooling airflow directed across the molten ball to form a mating ball
Data Source
AI summary
A contact assembly for an electrical connector includes an array of contacts including signal contacts and ground contacts. The ground contacts are interspersed with the signal contacts to provide electrical shielding between corresponding signal contacts. Each signal contact includes a signal contact body having a first side, a second side opposite the first side, a first edge between the first and second sides, and a second edge between the first and second sides opposite the first edge. The signal contact body includes a signal mating end and a signal terminating end. Each signal contact includes a mating ball formed at the signal mating end of the signal contact body. The mating ball is generally spherical shaped. The mating ball and the signal contact body are a homogeneous structure.