Connector Arrangement for Flat Conductors Using Piercing Contact Screw
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing technologies face challenges in establishing reliable electrical connections with flat conductors, such as those in solar panels or printed circuit boards, particularly due to the delicacy and flexibility of these components, which are not effectively addressed by conventional contact methods like contact springs.
Innovation Solution
A connector arrangement featuring a contact screw with a pointed tip that pierces and penetrates the flat conductor and bus bar, ensuring a secure surface-to-surface engagement, with a housing design that supports and guides the contact screw for optimal contact and connection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a contact spring is used to contact the flat conductor, then the connection method is simple, but the electrical connection reliability is insufficient for delicate flat conductors
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a spring to contact the flat conductor surface, the invention inverts the approach by using a pointed contact screw that pierces through the flat conductor. This inversion from surface contact to penetration contact provides reliable electrical connection for delicate flat conductors while maintaining structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact screw features a pointed tip with specific geometric parameters that enable it to pierce through the flat conductor. The pointed geometry concentrates force to a small area, allowing the delicate flat conductor to be penetrated and secured reliably without requiring complex connection structures.
2Reliability
If a penetrating contact screw is used to pierce the flat conductor, then the electrical connection reliability is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The flat conductor is positioned on the bus bar before the contact screw is inserted. This preliminary positioning ensures proper alignment of the conductor with the screw's pointed tip, reducing the manufacturing precision requirements during the penetration process while maintaining reliable electrical connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The pointed tip of the contact screw is designed to self-align and penetrate the flat conductor through its own geometric properties. The sharp point naturally finds its path through the material, reducing the need for high-precision pre-drilling or alignment fixtures, thereby lowering manufacturing precision requirements.
3Reliability
If the contact screw presses the flat conductor and bus bar together, then the electrical contact quality is improved, but the force applied may damage delicate conductors
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of pressing the flat conductor against the bus bar surface, the contact screw inverts the approach by piercing through the conductor. This penetration method creates mechanical interlocking and direct electrical contact through the conductor material, achieving high contact quality without requiring excessive clamping force that could damage delicate conductors.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact screw applies force locally at the penetration point rather than distributing pressure across the entire conductor surface. This localized force application through the pointed tip creates secure electrical contact while minimizing the risk of damage to the overall structural integrity of the delicate flat conductor.
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 solution provides a robust and reliable electrical connection, ensuring a good contact between the flat conductor and bus bar, even with delicate and flexible materials, by using a contact screw that presses and penetrates both components, enhancing the connection's stability and conductivity.
Implementation Method 1
a contact screw connecting the conductor and bus bar flat engagement portions in contiguous surface-to-surface electrical engagement. The contact screw has a pointed tip and is axially displaceable from a retracted position normal to and spaced from the flat conductor and bus bar engagement portions toward a connected position in which a pointed end of the screw penetrates or extends through openings in the bus bar and flat conductor engagement portions
Implementation Method 2
a conductive contact screw connecting the conductor and bus bar flat engagement portions in contiguous surface-to-surface electrical engagement
Data Source
AI summary
A connector arrangement includes a flat conductor component having a flat engagement portion, a conductive bus bar component having a flat engagement portion, and a conductive contact screw connecting the conductor and bus bar flat engagement portions in contiguous surface-to-surface electrical engagement. The contact screw has a pointed tip and is axially displaceable from a retracted position normal to and spaced from the flat conductor and bus bar engagement portions toward a connected position in which a pointed end of the screw penetrates or extends through openings in the bus bar and flat conductor engagement portions, and into a bore contained in a housing support surface. The housing support surface supports the flat engagement portions in either a horizontal orientation or a slightly inclined orientation relative to the horizontal upper surface of electrical panel component to which the flat conductor is connected and upon which the housing is mounted.