Insulation Displacement Contact With Attachment Slots For High Force
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing insulation displacement contacts (IDCs) face limitations in exerting sufficient normal force on electrically conductive cores, leading to poor electrical connections, especially in high-current applications and harsh environments, and are prone to quality degradation due to mechanical disturbances like vibrations.
Innovation Solution
The IDC features a separate clip that inserts into attachment slots on the blades, enhancing the normal force and flexibility of the contact slot, allowing for a stable and reliable connection by increasing the strength and resilience of the electrical contact, even in vibrating environments.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If a conventional IDC structure is used, then the device complexity is low, but the normal force on the conductive core is insufficient leading to poor electrical connections
Solution Approach 1:
The contact body is divided into multiple blades separated by contact slots, with each blade capable of independent deflection. This segmentation allows the blades to flex and apply increased normal force on the conductive core while maintaining an overall simple structure. The attachment slots in each blade provide additional flexibility without requiring complex mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The attachment slots in the blades enable parameter changes in flexibility and resilience. By incorporating these slots, the blades can dynamically adjust their mechanical properties to optimize the normal force applied to the conductive core, improving electrical connection quality without adding device complexity.
2Reliability
If the contact body is made rigid to maintain stable connection, then the reliability is improved, but the flexibility to accommodate vibrations and mechanical disturbances is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The blades are designed with attachment slots that enable dynamic flexibility. This allows the contact body to adapt to vibrations and mechanical disturbances by permitting controlled movements and deflections of the blades, while still maintaining reliable electrical connections through the resilient contact force.
Solution Approach 2:
The blades incorporate attachment slots that create flexible regions within the contact body. These flexible regions allow the blades to deflect and accommodate mechanical disturbances such as vibrations, while the overall structure maintains sufficient rigidity to ensure stable electrical connections.
3Strength
If the normal force is increased to improve electrical connection quality, then the connection strength is improved, but the risk of damaging the cable or wire insulation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The blades with attachment slots provide dynamic flexibility, allowing the contact body to apply increased normal force on the conductive core while accommodating any variations in cable or wire insulation thickness. This dynamic adaptation ensures strong electrical connections without causing insulation damage through excessive force.
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 stable and reliable electrical connection over time, capable of maintaining high-performance connections in harsh environments by increasing the normal force and flexibility of the contact slot, ensuring consistent performance even under mechanical stress.
Implementation Method 1
the resilience of the separate clip may sustain the electrical connection between the core of the cable or wire and the IDC even in a harsh, e.g. vibrating, environment
Implementation Method 2
the contact slot itself may reversibly and elastically be deflected such that its open width is temporarily increased
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3~4
AI summary
The invention relates to an insulation displacement contact (1) for piercing an insulation (107) of a cable or wire (91) in a cutting direction (11) and for electrically contacting an electrically conductive core (109) of the cable or wire (91), the insulation displacement contact (1) comprising a contact body (7) with a piercing section (9) for the piercing of the insulation (107) and a contact slot (25) for receiving the core (109) of the cable or wire (91), the contact slot (25) extending along the cutting direction (11) from the piercing section (9) into the contact body (9), the piercing section (9) comprising at least two blades (37) that are separated by the contact slot (25). Solutions of the art have the disadvantage that an insufficient normal contact force (F) may be provided, which reduces the quality of the electrical connection. The inventive insulation displacement contact (1) improves prior art solutions in that the at least two blades (37) comprise at least two attachment slots (39), the attachment slots (39) extending from the piercing section (9) into the blades (37).