Floating Contact Electrical Interface for Shock and Blind Mating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electrical interfaces with single points of contact are unreliable during severe shock and vibration, prone to damage from excessive stress, and require precise alignment, which is not suitable for applications like military use.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates multiple spring-loaded floating contacts with redundant contact points and a break-away retention feature, allowing the male plug and female receptacle to disconnect at predetermined forces, providing environmental sealing and strain relief, and allowing for blind mating and reduced alignment requirements.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If a single point of contact is provided between finger/pogo pin and mating conductor, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability deteriorates during severe shock and vibration
Solution Approach 1:
The electrical interface is segmented into multiple independent contact points (at least two spring-loaded floating contacts) instead of a single contact point. Each contact point can independently maintain electrical connection, so if one contact is lost during shock or vibration, the other contact(s) maintain the electrical connection, thereby improving reliability without significantly increasing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs spring-loaded floating contacts that are dynamically compliant rather than fixed rigid contacts. The springs allow the contacts to float and adjust their position dynamically in response to shock, vibration, and misalignment, maintaining continuous electrical connection under varying conditions. This dynamic capability resolves the contradiction by enabling reliable contact maintenance while keeping the contact structure relatively simple.
2Manufacturing precision
If fixed pins and spring fingers are used to provide electrical contact, then the manufacturing precision requirements are reduced, but the reliability deteriorates due to excessive stress on fixed points
Solution Approach 1:
The spring-loaded floating contacts provide dynamic compliance that absorbs stress and accommodates misalignment. The spring mechanism allows the contacts to move and adjust under stress, preventing excessive force from being transmitted to fixed mounting points. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining manufacturing simplicity while improving reliability through stress absorption and alignment tolerance.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the mechanical parameters of the contact system by introducing spring-loaded elements with specific force constants and travel ranges. These parameter adjustments allow the contacts to operate in a compliant manner, tolerating misalignment and absorbing stress without requiring ultra-precise manufacturing. The spring parameters are selected to provide adequate compliance while maintaining reliable electrical contact.
3Reliability
If multiple spring-loaded floating contacts with redundant contact points are used, then the reliability is improved under shock and vibration, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The electrical interface is segmented into multiple independent contact units, each with its own spring-loaded floating contact. This segmentation provides redundancy - if one contact fails, others can maintain the connection. The segmentation is implemented in a modular fashion that limits the increase in overall device complexity, as each contact unit can be designed as a standardized element.
Solution Approach 2:
The spring-loaded floating contact design serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides electrical contact, absorbs shock and vibration, tolerates misalignment, and provides strain relief. By making each contact unit multi-functional, the patent achieves improved reliability under harsh conditions without proportionally increasing device complexity, as the same structural elements perform multiple protective and functional roles.
4Manufacturing precision
If precise alignment is required for electrical interface coupling, then the manufacturing precision is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to alignment requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The spring-loaded floating contacts provide dynamic compliance that automatically compensates for misalignment during coupling operations. As the male and female connectors approach each other during blind mating, the floating contacts can move independently to accommodate angular and positional deviations, maintaining electrical connection without requiring precise pre-alignment. This dynamic compliance resolves the contradiction by enabling easy blind mating while maintaining manufacturing precision standards.
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
This solution ensures reliable electrical connections with minimal alignment errors and enhanced durability under shock and vibration, while allowing safe disconnection in emergency situations, improving the reliability and safety of electrical interfaces in harsh environments.
Implementation Method 1
spring-loaded floating contacts
Implementation Method 2
An elastic member applies a retention force on each said first conductive spring contact
Data Source
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AI summary
Systems and methods providing an electrical interface between a male plug (1002) and a female receptacle (100, 500, 1000, 1600). The methods comprise: receiving a conductive pin (402, 800, 1006, 1602) of the male plug in a socket opening (112, 900, 1012, 1612) of the female receptacle; providing (a) first spring loaded floating contact points (460) between an elongate body (422) of the conductive pin and an electrical contact (106A-106B) of the female receptacle and (b) at least one second spring loaded floating contact point (462) between a tip (420) of the conductive pin and the electrical contact (110) of the female receptacle, when the conductive pin is fully inserted into the female receptacle; and maintaining at least two of the spring loaded floating contact points when the pin moves within the socket opening as a result of an external force applied to the male plug or female receptacle.