Spring Clamp Contact With Segmented Side Web Wings
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing spring clamp contacts for electrical conductors, particularly those with stranded conductors, face challenges in achieving reliable and efficient electrical contact with busbars, especially for higher current transmission and larger cross-sectional conductors.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates wings on the side webs of the frame parts of the spring clamp contact, creating a defined lateral contact surface that enhances electrical contact by compressing the strands of the conductor, allowing for improved conductivity and easier insertion, and can be produced efficiently through a single stamping and bending process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional spring clamp contacts without wings are used, then the structure is simple and manufacturing is easy, but the electrical contact with stranded conductors is insufficient for high current transmission
Solution Approach 1:
The side webs are segmented by adding wings that create multiple contact zones along the conductor length. The wings divide the contact surface into several segments that collectively improve electrical contact with stranded conductors, allowing better current distribution across multiple points.
Solution Approach 2:
The wings extend the contact surface from a single-plane interface to a multi-dimensional structure. By adding lateral protrusions on the side webs, the contact occurs across multiple planes and depths, creating a more comprehensive contact area that improves electrical connection reliability.
2Reliability
If wings are added to side webs to improve electrical contact, then contact quality improves, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The wings are integrally formed with the side webs as a single piece, merging the wing structure with the existing side web geometry. This integration allows both components to be manufactured together in one process, avoiding separate manufacturing steps and assembly operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The stamping and bending process parameters are optimized to directly form the wing structures during initial manufacturing. By adjusting forming parameters and tooling, the wings are created as inherent features of the side webs rather than added components, maintaining manufacturing efficiency.
3Reliability
If wings are added to create lateral contact surface, then electrical contact improves, but the device size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The wings are positioned locally on the side webs where they are most effective for improving contact, rather than uniformly distributing material throughout the structure. This localized addition of contact surface area minimizes overall volume increase while maximizing electrical contact improvement at critical locations.
Solution Approach 2:
The wings are designed with curved or angled surfaces that efficiently utilize space. The curved geometry allows the contact surface to be maximized within a compact footprint, reducing the overall terminal volume compared to flat or boxy extensions.
Data Source
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AI summary
The invention relates to a spring clamp contact for contacting electrical conductors with at least one busbar and at least one clamping spring, which has a contact leg, a spring arc adjoining the contact leg and a clamping leg adjoining the spring arc with a clamping section at its free end, and with frame parts extending away from the busbar, each having two spaced-apart side webs and cross webs connecting the side webs to one another and a conductor passage opening formed by the side webs and the cross webs, wherein the at least one clamping spring is attached to the at least one busbar by the contact leg of the clamping spring being attached to a cross web and/or a retaining element of the busbar in such a way that the clamping section acts under the spring force of the clamping spring in the direction of the busbar,wherein adjacent frame parts have a gap between two spaced-apart side webs of frame parts arranged side by side and at least one integrally molded wing is present on at least one of the side webs. The invention further relates to a conductor terminal formed with such a spring clamp contact and to a method for manufacturing such a spring clamp contact.