Compliant electrical contact

摘要

A compliant electrical contact (10) and an assembly (12) employing a plurality of the contacts (10). The contact (10) has several embodiments, all of which include a spring (20) with convolutions (22), a contact point (24) at each end, and a shunt (50) that is generally parallel to the spring (20) and that spans the convolutions (22) longitudinally. In one embodiment, one end of a single shunt strip (90) is fixedly attached near a contact point (24a) and the other end is slidably attached near the other contact point (24b). In another embodiment, the center of a single shunt strip (92) is fixedly attached at the center of the spring (20) and the two ends are slidably attached near the contact points (24). In another embodiment, one end of one shunt strip (94) is fixedly attached near one contact point (24a), one end of another shunt strip (96) is fixedly attached near the other contact point (24b). In one configuration, the other ends (104) of the shunt strips (94, 96) are slidably attached to the center of the spring (20). In other configurations, the other ends of the shunt strips (94, 96) are slidably electrically connected to each other. In the assembly (12), the contact (10) is placed within a through aperture (32) in a dielectric panel (30) with the contact points (24) protruding through openings (34). Optionally, the aperture (32) is filled with a compliant, electrically conductive elastomer (36) after the contact (10) is installed.

主权项

1. A compliant electrical contact adapted to be compressed through a compression range, said contact comprising:
(a) a spring comprised of an electrically conductive, inherently elastic material, and having a longitudinal axis, a plurality of convolutions in two sections with a break therebetween, a first spring end, and a second spring end; (b) a first contact point at said first spring end; (c) a second contact point at said second spring end; and (d) a shunt comprised of an electrically conductive material and having a center, a first end, and a second end, said shunt extending parallel to said spring longitudinal axis, said shunt center electrically attached to said spring at said break by a fixed attachment, said first shunt end attached to said spring by a first sliding attachment adjacent to said first contact point, said second shunt end attached to said spring by a second sliding attachment adjacent to said second contact point, each of said sliding attachments including at least a shorting finger with a bend for maintaining electrical contact between said spring and said shunt.