Slit Female Connection Terminal With Integrated Contact Spring
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connection terminals have a high component count and complex assembly processes, leading to increased costs and reduced precision in component positioning.
Innovation Solution
A connection terminal design featuring a male terminal with a cylindrical contact portion and a female terminal with a cylindrical contact portion, a linear slit, and a base portion that applies a radial contact load when the male terminal is inserted, eliminating the need for a separate spring contact member and reducing the number of components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a separate spring contact member is used in the female terminal, then stable contact area between contacts is achieved, but the number of components increases and assembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the spring contact member directly into the female terminal body, merging two previously separate components (the terminal body and the spring contact member) into a single integrated structure. This reduces the total component count while maintaining the elastic contact function, thereby resolving the contradiction between reliability and device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The female terminal body is designed to perform multiple functions: it provides structural support, maintains positioning, and incorporates the spring contact member for electrical connection. By making the terminal body multi-functional, the patent eliminates the need for separate dedicated spring contact members, reducing component count while preserving contact stability.
2Force
If a separate spring contact member is used in the female terminal, then elastic contact force is achieved, but manufacturing cost and assembly workload increase
Solution Approach 1:
The spring contact member is merged with the female terminal body into a single integrated component. This eliminates the need for separate assembly steps to install the spring contact member, thereby reducing assembly workload while maintaining the elastic contact force required for reliable electrical connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The integrated spring contact member is designed to automatically provide the necessary elastic contact force when the male terminal is inserted. The structure itself generates and maintains the contact load without requiring external actuation or additional components, simplifying both manufacturing and assembly processes.
3Adaptability or versatility
If multiple separate components are used in the female terminal, then functional requirements are met, but positioning precision between components decreases
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the spring contact member with the female terminal body into a single integrated component, the patent eliminates positioning errors that would arise from assembling multiple separate parts. The integrated structure ensures precise and consistent positioning without requiring additional tolerance control or assembly precision, while still meeting all functional requirements.
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 reduces component costs, simplifies assembly, and achieves stable electrical connections with low resistance and high current conduction capabilities.
Implementation Method 1
the female-side contact portion is bent outward in a radial direction intersecting the axial direction with the base portion as a bending starting point and applies a contact load to the male-side contact portion
Data Source
AI summary
A connection terminal includes: a male terminal including a male-side contact portion formed in a cylindrical shape; and a female terminal including a female-side contact portion formed in a cylindrical shape and having a linear slit formed in an axial direction. The female terminal has an insertion space formed inside the female-side contact portion and into which the male-side contact portion is inserted, and a base portion at a position facing the slit across the insertion space. In the connection terminal, the female-side contact portion is bent outward in a radial direction intersecting the axial direction with the base portion as a bending starting point and applies a contact load to the male-side contact portion in an insertion state in which the male-side contact portion is inserted into the insertion space.