Electrical Contact Interface with Deformable Protrusions for Stable Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical contacting interfaces face high and unstable contact resistances, leading to overheating and reduced switching frequency in devices like soft starters, due to inconsistent behavior of connection points under thermal stress.
Innovation Solution
The interface features structured contacting surfaces where one partner has protrusions that deform to create precise contact areas, ensuring current flows through these defined interfaces, reducing contact resistance and maintaining stability across temperature changes, using aluminum for cost-effectiveness and elasticity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional flat contacting surfaces are used, then manufacturing is simple, but contact resistance becomes high and unstable under thermal stress
Solution Approach 1:
The contacting surface is provided with local protrusions that concentrate current flow into specific contact areas, creating locally enhanced electrical contact properties. This local quality change ensures stable contact resistance by defining precise contact interfaces between conducting partners, while the overall structure remains relatively simple.
2Loss of energy
If contact resistance is reduced through better contact, then energy loss decreases, but the structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
By creating localized protrusions on the contacting surface, the invention concentrates current flow into well-defined contact areas, significantly reducing contact resistance and ohmic losses. The energy efficiency improvement is achieved through this local structural modification rather than complex overall redesign.
3Reliability
If protrusions are added to create precise contact areas, then contact resistance stability improves, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the contacting surface by adding protrusions with specific dimensions and distributions. This parameter modification achieves stable contact resistance while maintaining compatibility with conventional manufacturing processes, balancing reliability improvement with ease of manufacture.
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 approach significantly reduces ohmic losses, allowing for higher rated currents and more compact designs, with contact resistances remaining low and stable even under alternating loads, enabling efficient energy distribution and reduced device dimensions.
Implementation Method 1
one of the two contacting partners has a structuring in the area of a contacting surface, which rises out of the plane of the contacting surface and deforms under the influence of a mechanical force
Implementation Method 2
the electric current is forced to flow exclusively via to flow through the contact interface created during the deformation process
Data Source
Figure 1~2
Figure 3~9
AI summary
The invention relates to an electrical contacting interface having a low and stable electrical transition resistance having at least two contacting partners (22, 26), which interact for electrical contacting. According to the invention, in one of the two contacting partners (22, 26), in the region of a contacting surface (23), a structure is formed which protrudes from the plane of the contacting surface (23) of the one contacting partner (22), wherein the structure deforms under the influence of a mechanical force and causes a corresponding deformation in the shape of a recess (28, 31) in the opposite contacting partner (26), wherein the structure protruding from the plane is formed such that even after the deformation caused in the opposite contacting partner, the flat regions of the two contacting surfaces (23) do not touch, and therefore the electrical current is forced to flow solely through the contact interface created during the deformation process, such that the electricity transfer surfaces are precisely localized.