Star-Shaped Protrusion Electrical Connector Wear Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
In electrical connectors with increasing numbers of terminals, the small-sized terminals face issues with reduced spring force and contact load, leading to increased electrical resistance due to minute slide wear and difficulty in preventing wear debris from entering between the male tab and contact piece, especially when the contact load is small.
Innovation Solution
The electrical connector features a star-shaped protrusion on the contact piece and beat piece that sandwiches the male tab, with specific top parts and peripheral edge shapes designed to prevent wear debris entry and reduce sliding distance, formed through press work or plating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If small-sized terminals are used to increase the number of terminals, then the number of terminals increases, but the spring force and contact load become small leading to increased slide wear
Solution Approach 1:
The contact piece is designed with a protrusion that concentrates the contact area to a specific local region. This protrusion structure creates a localized high-contact-load zone that prevents minute slide wear even when the overall contact load is small, thereby resolving the contradiction between small terminal size and slide wear resistance
Solution Approach 2:
The invention introduces a protrusion dimension on the contact piece that extends toward the male tab. This additional dimensional feature creates a stepped contact structure where the protrusion tip makes contact first, establishing a reliable contact point before full engagement, thus maintaining slide wear resistance in small-sized terminals
2Reliability
If Sn plating is used to guarantee electrical reliability, then electrical reliability is improved, but wear debris generation increases contact resistance
Solution Approach 1:
The protrusion structure is designed to extract or remove wear debris from the contact interface. The geometric shape of the protrusion creates a self-cleaning effect where wear debris is pushed out from between the male tab and contact piece, preventing debris accumulation that would increase contact resistance while maintaining Sn plating for electrical reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The invention converts the harmful effect of wear debris into a beneficial self-cleaning mechanism. The protrusion geometry is designed so that during engagement and disengagement, wear debris is naturally ejected from the contact interface, transforming what would be a harmful accumulation into a beneficial removal process that maintains low contact resistance
3Reliability
If contact load is increased to reduce slide wear, then slide wear resistance improves, but the terminal structure becomes more complex and cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the contact piece by adding a protrusion with specific dimensions. This parameter change creates a localized contact mechanism that achieves high slide wear resistance without requiring increased overall contact load, thereby maintaining simple terminal structure while improving reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The contact piece is segmented into different functional zones: the protrusion tip for initial contact and wear prevention, and the main body for electrical connection. This segmentation allows each zone to perform its specific function optimally, achieving slide wear resistance through the protrusion while maintaining overall structural simplicity
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 effectively reduces slide wear and prevents wear debris from entering between the contact parts, maintaining low contact resistance even with small contact loads, and allows for reliable electrical connections without the need for expensive noble metal plating.
Implementation Method 1
a spring state contact piece and a beat piece to sandwich the male tab provided at the housing part
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical connector connecting a male connector and a female connector in a freely engageable and detachable manner, in which: a male tab is provided at the male connector; a housing part where the male tab is inserted is provided at the female connector; a spring state contact piece and a beat piece to sandwich the male tab are provided at the housing part; and a protrusion protruding toward the male tab inserted into the housing part is provided at least one of the contact piece and the beat piece, wherein the protrusion includes a contact part which is in contact with the male tab inserted into the housing part and a sidewall part which is provided at a periphery of the contact part, and the contact part has so-called a star-shape in a plan view.