Environmentally Sealed Electrical Contact With Plugged Bore
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electrical contacts are prone to environmental contamination due to the bleeder hole, which compromises electrical conductivity and durability, and existing sealing solutions are either costly or ineffective, often resulting in increased contact resistance and loss of loose sleeves.
Innovation Solution
A contact assembly featuring a plug that seals the bleeder hole and core receiver portion, combined with crimp regions to establish an environmental seal, ensuring effective sealing without loose parts or complex geometries, using materials like copper or brass alloy with a gold plating and a resilient plug for enhanced sealing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a hole is provided in the barrel for plating purposes, then plating can be performed effectively, but environmental contaminants can enter the bore and corrode the wire core
Solution Approach 1:
The bore is divided into two distinct zones: a plugged zone near the closed end that is sealed from environmental contaminants, and an open zone near the open end that allows for wire insertion and crimping. The hole is positioned to extend only into the plugged zone, allowing plating solution to reach the barrel interior while preventing contaminant ingress to the wire core area.
Solution Approach 2:
A plug is introduced as an intermediary component to seal the hole and the plugged zone of the bore. This plug acts as a barrier that prevents environmental contaminants from reaching the wire core while allowing the plating process to effectively coat the barrel interior during manufacturing.
2Reliability
If a silver or malleable sleeve is placed between the wire core and bore to seal the hole, then environmental sealing is improved, but electrical conductivity is diminished and contact resistance increases
Solution Approach 1:
A plug made from the same conductive material as the barrel serves as an intermediary sealing element. This plug provides environmental sealing by closing the hole and sealing the plugged zone, while maintaining electrical conductivity because it is made from conductive material and does not introduce an additional material interface that would increase contact resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The plug is made from the same material as the barrel, ensuring homogeneity in material properties throughout the contact assembly. This eliminates material interfaces that would otherwise increase contact resistance and maintain uniform electrical conductivity across the sealed zone.
3Reliability
If a sleeve is placed over the barrel to seal the contact, then environmental sealing is achieved, but the sleeve can be lost or separated and requires complex geometries
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing function is merged with the existing barrel structure by positioning the hole and sealed zone within the barrel itself. The plug is inserted into the bore and works in conjunction with the barrel's existing geometry, eliminating the need for separate external sealing components and their associated retention mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The sealing function is extracted from the external sleeve concept and integrated directly into the barrel-bore system. The hole is positioned and sealed within the barrel structure itself, removing the need for external sleeves and their complex retention geometries.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical contact includes a contact body having a mating portion and a barrel portion configured for receiving an electrical conductor. The barrel portion includes a wall defining a bore having a closed end and open end, and the bore includes a core receiver portion for receiving the core of an electrical conductor and a plug receiver portion adjacent the closed end of the bore. A hole is formed in the barrel portion proximate the closed end of the bore and extending into the plug receiver portion of the bore through the wall. A plug has a body portion configured to be inserted into the bore and to engage the plug receiver portion of the bore. The plug is disposed in the end of the plug receiver portion and is further configured to seal the plug receiving portion of the bore and the hole from the rest of the bore.