Compact Electrical Connector With Interlocking Terminals
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Solution Overview
Problem
Designing electrical connectors that simultaneously meet multiple requirements such as safety, reliability, compactness, and low resistance is challenging due to conflicting design parameters like crosstalk, impedance, and mechanical characteristics.
Innovation Solution
The electrical connector features an insulative housing with projections and terminals having opposing beams that provide multiple points of contact, ensuring mechanical robustness and safety by blocking inadvertent human contact, while being compact and cost-effective, with tunable contact force to maintain connections despite corrosion or contaminants.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If traditional single-contact terminal designs are used, then the connector structure is simple, but the connection reliability is insufficient under vibration and shock
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal contact portion is divided into multiple independent contact elements (first contact element and second contact element) instead of using a single contact point. This segmentation allows each element to independently maintain contact pressure, significantly improving connection reliability under vibration and shock conditions while keeping each individual contact element structurally simple
Solution Approach 2:
The terminal design incorporates elastic deformation capability where the contact elements can dynamically adjust their position and contact force in response to external vibrations and shocks. This dynamic adaptation maintains stable electrical connection without requiring complex active control mechanisms
2Ease of operation
If terminal contact portions are fully exposed for easy mating, then the ease of operation is improved, but safety is compromised due to inadvertent human contact
Solution Approach 1:
The connector housing extends in the direction perpendicular to the mating face to provide lateral coverage over the terminal contact portions. This dimensional extension creates a protective overhang that blocks access to terminals from the side, preventing inadvertent contact while maintaining ease of mating through the front face
Solution Approach 2:
The housing structure acts as an intermediary protective element between the terminal contact portions and the external environment. It provides physical barrier protection while allowing the terminals to remain functional for their intended mating operation
3Reliability
If multiple contact elements are used to improve reliability, then connection stability is enhanced, but the insertion force increases
Solution Approach 1:
The contact elements are designed with optimized material properties and geometric parameters (such as contact area, elasticity modulus, and cross-sectional dimensions) to reduce the contact force required for each individual element. This allows multiple contact elements to provide stable connection without proportionally increasing the total insertion force
Solution Approach 2:
Multiple contact elements are merged into a single integrated terminal structure that is formed as one piece. This combining approach distributes the mating force across multiple contact points simultaneously, reducing the peak force required compared to sequentially engaging multiple separate contacts
Data Source
AI summary
An interconnection system that is safe, reliable and compact. Mating connectors include complementary projections. Terminals in each connector have opposed beams, with portions of the beams of each terminal embedded in adjacent projections. In mating connectors, the terminals are oriented 90 degrees with respect to each other, such that the terminals of one connector fit between beams of the other. Two beams of each terminal press on opposing sides of a mating terminal, creating four points of contact, for reliable operation. The projections extend beyond the distal tips of the terminals and preclude accidental contact between the terminals and a human finger. Contact force may be controlled by altering the shape of openings cut in the terminals near the base of the beams, enabling the terminals to be formed simply by stamping a sheet of metal and further enabling the beams to be short to provide a compact connector.