Female Terminal Spring Layout for Visible Position Confirmation
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Solution Overview
Problem
It is difficult to confirm whether a spring member is properly positioned in the male contact receiving portion of a female terminal.
Innovation Solution
A female terminal design with a terminal body including a bottom wall, a connecting tube portion, a resilient contact piece, and a through hole, where the spring member is made of metal with a higher elastic modulus than the resilient contact piece, and one end biases the resilient contact piece while the other end is located within the through hole, allowing easy confirmation of its position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the spring member is disposed in the box-shaped male contact receiving portion, then the spring member provides proper biasing force to the resilient contact piece, but it becomes difficult to confirm whether the spring member is disposed at a proper position
Solution Approach 1:
The spring member is extracted from the enclosed box-shaped male contact receiving portion and repositioned to extend through the through hole in the bottom wall. This extraction allows the spring member to be visually detected from the exterior of the terminal body, solving the detection difficulty while maintaining its biasing function through the resilient contact piece
2Force
If the spring member is made of metal with higher elastic modulus than the resilient contact piece, then the spring member can effectively bias the resilient contact piece, but the spring member requires precise positioning to function properly
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient contact piece serves as an intermediary between the spring member and the male terminal tab. The spring member biases the resilient contact piece, which in turn contacts the tab. This intermediary arrangement allows the spring member to be positioned more flexibly while still delivering precise biasing force through the compliant resilient contact piece
Solution Approach 2:
The design utilizes the difference in elastic modulus between the spring member (higher elastic modulus metal) and the resilient contact piece (lower elastic modulus material) to create a system where the spring member provides strong biasing force while the resilient contact piece absorbs positioning variations through its compliance
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
Enables easy confirmation of the spring member's proper positioning, ensuring accurate assembly and functionality of the female terminal.
Implementation Method 1
one end part of the spring member biases the resilient contact piece in a direction toward the tab by coming into contact with the resilient contact piece
Data Source
AI summary
A female terminal includes a terminal body having a bottom wall and a spring member mounted in the terminal body. The terminal body includes a connecting tube portion continuous with the bottom wall, a tab of a male terminal being inserted into the connecting tube portion, a resilient contact piece configured to resiliently contact the tab inserted into the connecting tube portion, and a through hole penetrating through the bottom wall. The spring member is made of metal having a higher elastic modulus than the resilient contact piece. One end part of the spring member biases the resilient contact piece in a direction toward the tab by coming into contact with the resilient contact piece. The other end part of the spring member is located in a region inside a hole edge part of the through hole with the spring member mounted in the terminal body.