Grounding Terminal Structure for Better Connector Contact Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical connectors face challenges with small contacting faces on grounding terminals due to limited terminal thickness, leading to poor contact quality and incorrect installation, as the contact elements are prone to misalignment.
Innovation Solution
The electrical connector features an insulating housing with plural rows of signal terminals and grounding terminals, where each grounding terminal comprises a main part and elastic arms that extend obliquely from the main part, allowing for improved contact and alignment through a shielding effect, with the upper and lower elastic arms folding towards each other for enhanced contact when pressed.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the terminal thickness is limited to reduce device complexity, then the contacting face area becomes very small, but this leads to poor contact quality and unreliable connections
Solution Approach 1:
The grounding terminal transitions from a simple planar structure to a three-dimensional structure with elastic arms that extend upward and fold downward. This dimensional change allows the terminal to achieve a larger effective contacting face area while maintaining a thin overall profile, resolving the contradiction between limited thickness and sufficient contact area.
Solution Approach 2:
The grounding terminal is segmented into multiple functional parts: a main part retained in the insulating housing, upper and lower elastic arms extending obliquely, and folded ends. This segmentation allows each part to serve a specific function - the elastic arms provide contact pressure, the folded ends increase contacting area, and the main part provides structural support, thereby achieving reliable contact without increasing overall terminal thickness.
2Ease of manufacture
If the contact element is formed by bending slender strip to reduce manufacturing complexity, then the structure becomes simple, but this makes it hard to fix the contact element correctly into the cavity
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic arms are designed to automatically align and engage with the cavity structure during installation. When the grounding terminal is inserted, the elastic arms naturally flex and position themselves to contact the cavity walls at the correct locations, eliminating the need for complex alignment procedures and ensuring correct installation without compromising manufacturing simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic arms provide dynamic adjustment capability during installation. As the terminal is inserted into the cavity, the elastic arms can flex and adapt to minor position variations, automatically finding the correct engagement position. This dynamic behavior ensures reliable installation even with simple bending formation, resolving the contradiction between manufacturing ease and installation precision.
3Volume of moving object
If the contacting face of the bight is made small due to terminal thickness limits, then the terminal structure remains compact, but this results in poor contact with the contacting face
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic arms function as flexible thin-walled structures that can deform elastically to ensure reliable contact. These flexible arms maintain a compact overall terminal volume while providing sufficient contacting face area through their extended and folded configuration, resolving the contradiction between compactness and contact reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The grounding terminal combines the rigidity of the main part (for structural stability and compactness) with the flexibility of the elastic arms (for reliable contact). This composite structural approach allows the terminal to maintain a compact form factor while ensuring dependable electrical contact through the flexible, extendable arms.
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 design enhances the grounding terminals' contact quality and alignment, ensuring reliable connections by providing a larger contacting area and improved mechanical strength through the use of elastic arms, thus addressing the issues of small contacting faces and misalignment.
Implementation Method 1
each of the grounding terminals comprising a main part retained in the insulating housing and an upper elastic arm and a lower elastic arm
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical connector includes: an insulating housing and a metal plate retained in a slot defined on the insulating housing. The metal plate includes plural terminals connecting with each other in a transverse direction, each of the terminals having a shielding part defining an upper face and a lower face and an upper elastic arm and lower elastic arm slantwise extending from a first end to a second end of the shielding part, wherein each of the upper elastic arm and the lower elastic arm defines a free end bending toward each other and slides along an end face of the second end of the shielding part when the upper elastic arm and lower elastic arm are pressed towards each other.