Socket Contact With Lateral Cable Outlet for Lower Contact Heating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical contact elements for high current transmission in compact installations face issues with heat generation due to parallel openings and limited contact area, leading to inefficiencies and potential mechanical instability.
Innovation Solution
A cylindrical electrical contact element with orthogonally oriented connection and contact areas, featuring a circumferential contact band made of beryllium-containing materials like copper beryllium for reduced resistance and enhanced stability, and a recess-elevation design for form-fitting alignment, along with a silver or silver alloy layer for improved conductivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the opening in the connection area and the opening in the contact area run parallel (as in prior art), then the contact element can be manufactured with simple structure, but significant heating occurs due to flat contact between socket contact and pin contact
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the spatial arrangement from parallel openings (one-dimensional alignment) to orthogonally oriented openings (two-dimensional arrangement). The connection area opening and contact area opening are positioned at right angles to each other, allowing the contact strip to wrap around the pin contact in a circumferential manner, thereby converting flat contact into three-dimensional circumferential contact.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact strip is designed with a circumferential configuration that wraps around the pin contact, creating curved contact surfaces instead of flat contact. This circumferential arrangement increases the contact area and distributes the current flow, reducing heating while maintaining structural simplicity.
2Reliability
If a large contact area is used to reduce contact resistance, then current transmission efficiency improves, but the device size increases making it unsuitable for compact installations
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes three-dimensional space by positioning the contact strip circumferentially around the pin contact rather than extending it linearly. This allows the contact area to be distributed in a radial pattern, achieving large effective contact area within a compact cylindrical volume suitable for space-constrained applications.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact strip is nested within the cylindrical through-hole of the contact area, wrapping around the pin contact in a space-efficient manner. This nested configuration maximizes the contact area within the limited radial space, achieving high current transmission efficiency without increasing the overall connector dimensions.
3Reliability
If the contact strip extends across the entire through-hole to maximize contact area, then current transmission improves, but the contact pin becomes unstable and may tilt
Solution Approach 1:
The contact strip is positioned approximately centrally within the cylindrical through-hole rather than extending to the edges. This central positioning creates localized contact points that provide stable mechanical support for the pin contact, preventing tilting while maintaining sufficient contact area for high current transmission through the concentrated circumferential contact zone.
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
The solution effectively reduces contact resistance and prevents mechanical issues like tipping, while enhancing current carrying capacity and stability, making it suitable for high current transmission in compact and efficient installations.
Implementation Method 1
The surface of the copper base body of the contact element is coated with a silver or silver alloy layer. This further significantly increases the current-carrying capacity of the contact element.
Implementation Method 2
The contact strip is made of a material containing beryllium. This material ensures a reliable current bridge between the contact pin and the contact socket.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to an electrical contact element (1) for transmitting high currents, wherein the electrical contact element (1) has a connection region (A) and a contact region (K), the connection region (A) having a cylindrical opening (2) and the contact region (K) having a cylindrical passage opening (3), the opening (2) and the passage opening (3) being oriented orthogonally relative to each other and a peripheral contact strip (4) being arranged within the cylindrical passage opening (3).