Dust-Tolerant Connector Contacts With Particle-Shedding Protrusions

Solution Overview

Problem

Dust and particulate matter, such as lunar dust, adhere to electrical connectors, causing increased contact resistance, voltage drops, and accelerated connector failure, which reduces reliability in environments with high particulate content.

Innovation Solution

The design of electrical connectors with protrusions featuring a thinner trunk member and thicker head portion, allowing particulate matter to fall out, and a 'dart' or 'target' configuration for increased misalignment tolerance, enabling effective particulate matter shedding and maintaining stable contact resistance.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If conventional connector designs are used, then manufacturing and operation are simple, but dust and particulate matter adhere to the connectors causing increased contact resistance and reduced reliability

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveconnector reliabilityVSAvoidparticulate matter adhesion

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The contact surface is segmented into multiple protrusions with spacing between them, creating a textured surface that prevents particulate matter from adhering. This segmentation allows dust particles to fall through the gaps rather than accumulating on continuous surfaces, thereby maintaining low contact resistance and improving reliability in dusty environments

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The connector surface is given non-uniform local quality through the protrusion structure, where specific regions (the protrusions) have different geometric properties than the surrounding areas. This local structural variation creates zones that are less susceptible to dust adhesion, directly addressing the harmful effect of particulate accumulation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If connectors are designed with dust resistance features, then reliability improves, but device complexity increases

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveconnector reliabilityVSAvoidconnector structure

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The contact surface is segmented into multiple protrusions with spacing between them, creating a textured surface that prevents particulate matter from adhering. This segmentation allows dust particles to fall through the gaps rather than accumulating on continuous surfaces, thereby maintaining low contact resistance and improving reliability in dusty environments

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The connector surface is given non-uniform local quality through the protrusion structure, where specific regions (the protrusions) have different geometric properties than the surrounding areas. This local structural variation creates zones that are less susceptible to dust adhesion, directly addressing the harmful effect of particulate accumulation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Object-affected harmful factors

If connectors are made with protrusion structures for dust tolerance, then particulate matter shedding improves, but manufacturing precision requirements increase

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveparticulate matter sheddingVSAvoidprotrusion geometry precision

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

The contact surface is segmented into multiple protrusions with spacing between them, creating a textured surface that prevents particulate matter from adhering. This segmentation allows dust particles to fall through the gaps rather than accumulating on continuous surfaces, thereby maintaining low contact resistance and improving reliability in dusty environments

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The connector surface is given non-uniform local quality through the protrusion structure, where specific regions (the protrusions) have different geometric properties than the surrounding areas. This local structural variation creates zones that are less susceptible to dust adhesion, directly addressing the harmful effect of particulate accumulation

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS20240372282A1Dust tolerant connectors

Publication Date: 2024.11.07 AMPHENOL CORP

AI summary

The techniques described herein relate to dust tolerant connectors. An example electrical connector includes at least one contact having a plurality of protrusions, individual protrusions of the plurality of protrusions having a trunk member, and a head portion extending from the trunk member, wherein a thickness of the trunk member is less than a thickness of the head portion.