Resilient Terminal Connection for Drive Unit Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional drive units require high assembly accuracy for connecting terminals to substrates, leading to low robustness and increased complexity in the connection process between rotating electric machines and controllers.
Innovation Solution
The drive unit incorporates a second terminal on the substrate with an insertion hole and a protruding shape that allows for resilient contact with the first terminal, providing tolerance in insertion amount and position, thereby simplifying the assembly process and ensuring a secure connection without requiring high precision.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a press-fit connection method is used to connect the terminal to the substrate, then the connection can be established without soldering, but the assembly requires high positioning accuracy and has low robustness
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal is designed with a resilient (elastic) portion that can dynamically deform during insertion and then recover to maintain contact. This dynamic behavior allows the terminal to accommodate positioning variations and substrate thickness tolerances, transforming a rigid high-precision requirement into a more robust connection that tolerates assembly variations.
Solution Approach 2:
The terminal structure incorporates an elastic portion that changes its physical state from undeformed during insertion to deformed during contact establishment. This parameter change (elastic deformation) enables the terminal to adapt to dimensional variations in the substrate and insertion process, reducing the need for high positioning accuracy while maintaining connection reliability.
2Device complexity
If the piercing hole length is equal to the substrate thickness, then the connection structure is simple, but the tolerance for terminal positioning is minimal
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient portion of the terminal provides dynamic compliance that compensates for variations in substrate thickness and positioning. Instead of requiring a precisely controlled fixed-length piercing hole, the elastic deformation of the terminal absorbs dimensional variations, maintaining connection reliability across a range of substrate thicknesses and positioning accuracies.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic portion of the terminal acts as a pre-built cushion that absorbs positioning errors and dimensional variations before they can compromise the connection. This beforehand cushioning allows the use of simpler, less precise piercing holes while still achieving reliable connections, as the elastic portion compensates for tolerances in advance.
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 configuration enables a robust and reliable connection between the rotating electric machine and the controller, allowing for easier assembly with reduced accuracy requirements and improved tolerance in the insertion process.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient portion which is in a resilient state, and has a press-fit portion to be press-fitted to the substrate; the first terminal and the second terminal are in a resilient contact with each other
Data Source
AI summary
A drive unit that includes a rotating electric machine, and a controller having a substrate with electronic components mounted on the substrate, and controlling a drive of the rotating electric machine. The drive unit also includes a first terminal electrically connected to the rotating electric machine or to a power supply, and a second terminal disposed on the substrate. The second terminal has an insertion hole into which the first terminal is inserted, and has a protruding shape protruding in parallel with an insertion direction or an anti-insertion direction of the first terminal. Also, the first terminal and the second terminal are in a resilient contact with each other.