Electrical Terminal Leaf Spring Contact Redundancy
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Solution Overview
Problem
Electrical terminals face connectivity issues due to tolerance variations and degradation from repeated use, leading to loose or insecure mating arrangements with removable connectors, which affects the reliability of electrical connections.
Innovation Solution
The use of a conductive terminal with a cylindrical body and radially oriented leaf springs, which are bonded to a receptacle housing through sonic welding, providing enhanced contact points and improved durability by angling the leaf springs to ensure consistent engagement and maintain contact reliability despite environmental harshness and multiple mating cycles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional electrical terminals are used with removable connectors, then the electrical connection can be established, but the connection becomes loose or insecure due to tolerance variations and degradation from repeated use
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal incorporates a resilient body with radially extending leaf springs that can dynamically adjust to accommodate tolerance variations and maintain secure contact. The resilient body allows the leaf springs to flex and adapt during repeated mating cycles, preventing the connection from becoming loose while maintaining electrical reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The terminal body is segmented into multiple radially extending leaf springs instead of a single rigid contact point. This segmentation allows each leaf spring to independently adjust to mating variations, providing multiple contact points that collectively maintain stable electrical connection despite tolerance variations and wear from repeated use.
2Reliability
If the terminal structure is made more complex to improve connection reliability, then contact redundancy increases, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient body with radially extending leaf springs serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural support, enables dynamic adjustment for tolerance compensation, creates multiple contact points for redundancy, and facilitates secure mating. This multi-functionality achieves high reliability without proportionally increasing structural complexity.
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 enhances the reliability and durability of electrical connections by maintaining contact redundancy and optimizing contact points between the terminal and receptacle housing, ensuring consistent conductivity even under high-voltage and harsh conditions.
Implementation Method 1
The radially oriented leaf springs may be bonded to the receptacle housing, for example, through sonic welding
Data Source
AI summary
A terminal is provided with a body sized to be received within a receptacle. A distal region extends lengthwise from the body in a receptacle direction. At least one portion of the distal region extends centrally inward into the receptacle to receive a pin to deform and maintain contact with the received pin. A lengthwise extending proximal region is connected to the body and spaced apart from the distal region. At least one portion of the proximal region extends radially outward to engage a side wall of the receptacle to enhance contact of the terminal with the receptacle. A receptacle assembly is provided for receiving one or a plurality of terminals.