Hermaphroditic Power Connector With Integral Terminal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical connector systems face challenges in efficiently routing power and providing a high current capacity in a compact form while maintaining low manufacturing costs, particularly in hermaphroditic connectors where both terminals and housings require separate tooling, increasing production costs.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates hermaphroditic power connectors with integral metal members featuring multiple contact points, including blades and fingers, that are stamped and formed from the same sheet of metal, allowing for a high current capacity of 75-125 Amps in a small volume, with the blades and fingers providing multiple points of contact and spring force for low resistance connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If separate tooling is used for terminals and housings in hermaphroditic connectors, then manufacturing flexibility is maintained, but production costs increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the terminal and housing into a single integrated component. The terminal is formed as an integral part of the housing structure, eliminating the need for separate tooling and assembly operations. This integration directly reduces production costs while maintaining manufacturing flexibility, as the unified structure can be produced using a single molding or fabrication process.
Solution Approach 2:
The hermaphroditic connector design allows the same connector type to serve multiple functions and be used in various configurations. The integrated terminal-housing structure can accommodate different pin assignments and be used in either male or female configurations, providing universal applicability that reduces the need for specialized tooling while maintaining design flexibility.
2Power
If more contact points are provided in a compact connector, then current capacity increases, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal is segmented into multiple fingers that can be independently formed and positioned. Each finger provides a separate contact point, allowing the connector to achieve high current capacity through multiple parallel contact paths. This segmentation enables compact packaging of multiple contacts while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure that can be manufactured as an integral component.
Solution Approach 2:
The terminal fingers are nested within the housing structure, with the contacts arranged in a compact, space-efficient configuration. The fingers can be positioned in recesses or cavities of the housing, allowing multiple contact points to be packed into a small volume without significantly increasing the external dimensions or structural complexity of the connector.
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 enables efficient power routing with a high current capacity in a compact form, reducing manufacturing costs by using the same tooling for both terminals and housings, and providing a high density of contact points for low resistance connections.
Implementation Method 1
the blades and fingers providing multiple points of contact and spring force for low resistance connections
Data Source
AI summary
A power connector assembly with hermaphroditic power connectors. The housing and the terminals of first and second mating power connectors may have like mating interfaces. The first power connector may include a plurality of first terminals, where the mating portion of each first terminal of the plurality of first terminals includes a first flat portion, and a first bent portion coupled to the first flat portion and including a first set of fingers parallel to the first flat portion. The second power connector may include a plurality of second terminals, where each second terminal of the plurality of second terminals includes a mating portion with a second flat portion, and a second bent portion coupled to the second flat portion and including a second set of fingers parallel to the second flat portion.