Female Terminal with Segmented Spring Portions for Compact Connector Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional female terminals have a long elastic contact piece, increasing the dimension in the male terminal-inserting direction, which affects the stability and compactness of the connector.
Innovation Solution
A female terminal design featuring a first and second spring portion with specific contact points and auxiliary spring portions, arranged to sandwich the male terminal, allowing for reduced dimensions while maintaining stability through three-point contact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the elastic contact piece is formed to be long to achieve three-point contact stability, then contact stability is improved, but the dimension in the male terminal-inserting direction is increased
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic contact piece is segmented into multiple sections with different rigidity characteristics. The first section has higher rigidity than the second section, allowing the contact piece to achieve three-point contact stability while maintaining a compact overall length. The segmentation enables differential deformation behavior that reduces the required length in the male terminal-inserting direction.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the elastic contact piece are designed with different rigidity properties to perform different functions. The first section with higher rigidity provides stable contact support, while the second section with lower rigidity allows for necessary deformation. This local quality differentiation enables the contact piece to achieve stability without requiring excessive length.
2Length of moving object
If the elastic contact piece is made shorter to reduce the dimension in the male terminal-inserting direction, then downsizing is achieved, but contact stability may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
By dividing the elastic contact piece into segments with different rigidity, the design achieves three-point contact capability in a shorter overall length. The segmented structure allows each section to contribute differently to the contact stability, maintaining reliability while reducing the dimension in the male terminal-inserting direction.
Solution Approach 2:
The rigidity parameter is changed along the length of the elastic contact piece, with the first section having higher rigidity and the second section having lower rigidity. This parameter variation enables the contact piece to maintain stability with reduced length by optimizing the mechanical properties at different locations rather than using a uniform 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
The design achieves downsizing of the female terminal and connector in the male terminal-inserting direction while ensuring stable electrical connection and high contact stability.
Implementation Method 1
a first spring portion (12) and a second spring portion (13) that are formed on the terminal body (11), and are arranged to be opposed to each other so as to sandwich the male terminal (20)
Data Source
AI summary
A female terminal downsized in a male terminal-inserting direction. A terminal body has a reception portion, for receiving a male terminal. A first and second spring portions are arranged to be opposed to each other so as to sandwich the male terminal inserted into the reception portion from an inlet portion thereof. The first spring portion has a first and second contact points brought into contact with the sale terminal in the reception portion. The second spring portion has a third contact point brought into contact with the stale terminal in the reception portion. The third contact point is between the first and second, contact points in the male terminal-inserting direction. The first contact point is in the inlet portion of the reception portion, and the second contact point is at a more inward location in the reception portion than the first contact point.