Movable Connector Terminal Structure for Vibration-Stable Contact Pressure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing movable connectors with a single metal piece terminal face challenges in maintaining appropriate contact pressure and flexibility, leading to potential peeling of plating films and loss of conductive connection due to external vibrations.
Innovation Solution
The terminal is designed with a plate-thickness-direction conversion portion, allowing for increased flexibility and contact pressure through a reversible plate thickness and width direction, coupled with an elastic arm that distributes stress and reduces sliding, using a metal plate with a smaller thickness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a metal plate with smaller thickness is used to form the movable portion to increase flexibility and vibration absorptivity, then the flexibility and vibration absorptivity are improved, but the contact pressure at the contact point becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal includes a plate-thickness-direction conversion portion that changes the plate thickness direction between the movable portion and the contact portion. This allows the movable portion to be thin for flexibility while the contact portion can be effectively thicker for maintaining contact pressure, resolving the contradiction by utilizing dimensional transformation.
Solution Approach 2:
The terminal structure applies different local properties to different sections: the movable portion uses thinner plate for flexibility and vibration absorption, while the contact portion maintains sufficient thickness and contact pressure. The plate-thickness-direction conversion portion creates this local quality differentiation within a single integral metal piece.
2Device complexity
If the terminal is formed of a single metal piece to simplify structure, then the device complexity is reduced, but it becomes difficult to obtain both pliability in movable portion and appropriate contact pressure in contact portion
Solution Approach 1:
By incorporating the plate-thickness-direction conversion portion, the single metal piece terminal can achieve different effective thicknesses in different sections through dimensional transformation. This allows the movable portion to be pliable while the contact portion maintains appropriate contact pressure, all within an integral structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The plate-thickness-direction conversion portion changes the plate thickness parameter between sections of the terminal. This parameter change enables the movable portion to have smaller thickness for pliability while the contact portion effectively has larger thickness for contact pressure, achieving compatibility within a single metal piece.
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 durability and stability of the contact point, preventing sliding and maintaining reliable conductive connection while absorbing vibrations, even with a thinner metal plate.
Implementation Method 1
the elastic arm that is elastically deformed in a direction crossing the plate thickness direction of the contact piece when the connection target is inserted into the movable connector
Implementation Method 2
the movable piece and that movably supports the movable housing between the one end and the other end... can absorb vibration acting on the connection target
Data Source
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AI summary
A movable connector is provided which includes a terminal (30B) formed of a single metal piece, the terminal enabling pliability in a movable portion (38B) and appropriate contact pressure in a contact portion (33B, 34B) to be obtained in a compatible way. The terminal of the movable connector includes a plate-thickness-direction conversion portion (35B) that interconnects a movable piece (31B) and a contact piece (32B), and that reverses a plate thickness direction and a plate width direction of the terminal between the movable piece and the contact piece, and a front elastic arm (33Bb) and a rear elastic arm (34Bb) biasing respectively a front contact point (33Ba) and a rear contact point (34Ba) into pressure contact with the connection target in a direction crossing the plate thickness direction of the contact piece.