Flexible Contact Tail With Impedance Control Tab
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electrical contacts face mechanical stress, vibration, and thermal expansion issues, leading to impedance mismatches and potential failure due to necked-down regions in their flexible contact tails.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a main body with a mating interface, a contact tail featuring a foot for circuit board termination, a narrower neck for flexibility, and an impedance control tab along the neck to manage impedance between the main body and the circuit board, enhancing electrical performance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the contact tail is made with a necked down region to provide flexibility, then the flexibility and stress absorption are improved, but the electrical impedance matching deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The contact tail is designed with non-uniform cross-sectional dimensions along its length, creating different local properties: a narrower neck region for flexibility and stress absorption, and a wider foot region for improved impedance matching and mechanical attachment. This local variation in geometry allows each region to optimize its function.
Solution Approach 2:
The cross-sectional dimensions of the contact tail are varied along its length, with the neck having smaller dimensions than the foot. This parameter change in geometry creates the desired flexibility in the neck region while the larger foot region provides better impedance matching characteristics.
Data Source
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AI summary
An electrical contact (200) includes a main body (210) extending along a longitudinal axis (206) between a mating end (202) and a terminating end (204). The main body (210) has a first side (216), a second side (218), a front (212), and a rear (214). The electrical contact (200) includes a mating contact (230) extending from the main body (210) at the mating end (202) including a mating interface configured for mating with a mating electrical contact (300). The electrical contact (200) includes a contact tail (250) extending from the main body (210) at the terminating end (204). The contact tail (250) includes a foot (254) configured to be terminated to a circuit board (102), a neck (252) extending between the foot (254) and the main body (210) that is narrower than the main body (210), and an impedance control tab (256) extending along the neck (252) for impedance control of the contact tail (250) between the main body (210) and the circuit board (102).