Variable-Pitch Crimp Connector for Multi-Diameter Wire Clamping
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Solution Overview
Problem
Crimp connectors for shape memory alloy wires are not universally usable across different wire diameters due to their fixed clamping surface structures, which are effective for only specific diameters, limiting their versatility.
Innovation Solution
The crimp connector features first and second clamping plates connected via a bending portion, with inner surfaces having non-uniformly distributed elongate depressions and ribs that form a meandering wave profile when pivoted, allowing for varying distances between depressions and ribs to accommodate different wire diameters, ensuring secure fastening of both thick and thin wires.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the clamping plates have a fixed structured surface with constant pitch depressions, then wires of a certain diameter are well fixed, but wires of larger or smaller diameters are less well fixed
Solution Approach 1:
The clamping plate features locally varying depression pitches: smaller pitch in the central region for thin wires and larger pitch in the peripheral regions for thick wires. This local differentiation allows the same clamping plate to adapt to different wire diameters by providing appropriate wave formation characteristics in different zones, resolving the contradiction between reliable fixing and adaptability.
2Reliability
If the crimp connector is designed for a specific wire diameter, then that wire diameter is securely fastened, but the connector cannot be universally used with different wire diameters
Solution Approach 1:
The clamping plate is designed with multiple depression zones having different pitches, enabling a single connector design to securely fasten wires of various diameters. The non-uniform depression pattern allows the plate to function universally across different wire sizes without requiring multiple specialized connectors, thus maintaining fastening security while reducing design complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A crimp connector for a wire includes first and second clamping plates connected via a bending portion so as to be pivotable with respect to one another for clamping the wire between them in a clamping state. Inner surfaces of the clamping plates are designed as clamping surfaces having a plurality of elongated depressions and elongated ribs that run perpendicularly to a pivot axis of the bending portion. The ribs of one clamping plate are each arranged and dimensioned in such a way that they are at least partially arranged in the depressions of the other clamping plate in the clamping state such that a wire clamped between the clamping plates in the clamping state is formed into a meandering shape. Distance between adjacent depressions in at least one of the first and second clamping plates varies along the clamping surface on a straight line parallel to the pillar axis.