Electrical Contact with Flexible Jaws for Pin Grip
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical contacts face manufacturing complexity and poor pin grip due to numerous rods or jaws, which affect their reliability and ease of assembly.
Innovation Solution
An electrical contact design featuring two pairs of jaws with different gripping directions, each jaw being flexible and of constant width, attached to a ring, and formed from a single cut and bent metal sheet, providing a secure grip for pins along a main axis.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a clamp with numerous rods is used to improve pin grip, then the grip security is enhanced, but the manufacturing complexity increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp is divided into multiple flexible jaws (typically three jaws) that can independently deform to grip the pin. Each jaw acts as an independent segment that flexes during insertion and maintains contact pressure, providing secure grip without requiring numerous rigid rods.
Solution Approach 2:
The jaws are designed as flexible elements that can elastically deform during pin insertion. This flexibility allows the jaws to conform to the pin surface and maintain continuous contact, achieving reliable grip with fewer components compared to rigid rod structures.
2Ease of manufacture
If a clamp with two tongues is used to simplify manufacturing, then the ease of manufacture is improved, but the pin grip quality deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions of the clamp structure have different properties: the jaws are designed with localized flexibility at their free ends to provide conforming contact with the pin, while the base structure remains rigid for structural support. This local differentiation of flexibility allows simple manufacturing with good grip quality.
Solution Approach 2:
The clamp transitions from a static rigid structure to a dynamic flexible structure where the jaws can deform during operation. This dynamic behavior allows the simple two-tongue structure to adapt to the pin geometry and provide adequate grip through elastic deformation.
3Reliability
If multiple jaws with different gripping directions are used to enhance pin enclosure, then the grip security is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The clamp employs asymmetric jaw arrangements with different gripping directions (e.g., two jaws gripping laterally and one jaw gripping axially). This asymmetric configuration provides comprehensive pin enclosure and prevents rotation while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure that can be formed from a single bent metal sheet.
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
The design simplifies manufacturing, enhances pin grip security, and ensures reliable contact by using flexible jaws with distinct gripping axes, improving assembly and operational efficiency.
Implementation Method 1
each jaw has the shape of a tongue having a large side facing the axis, and is flexible so as to be elastically deformed by the pin during its insertion to deviate from the axis
Implementation Method 2
the contact surface being connected by fusion of material to the electrical track
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The electrical contact (200) comprises a contact part (212) exhibiting a surface (228, 230) intended to be in contact with the surface of a support, and a clip (202) intended to receive a pin of an electrical component, so that the pin received lies along a main axis parallel to an up/down direction. The clip (202) comprises at least two jaws (204, 206, 208, 210) around the axis A, which are intended to grip the pin laterally, each jaw (204, 206, 208, 210) exhibiting a fixed end and a free end, and the contact surface is formed by at least one flange (228, 230) intended to come to bear on said surface of the support.