Help with terminology: Name for contacts that intentionally disconnect/slide apart

Community Chit Chat
1

Hopefully I can get some tips here, working on a project where I will have a few similar items that can slide on a track. The track has its own set of contacts in the center that are energized, each item that slides will have corresponding contacts.

The idea is that only 1 of the sliding items will have contact at 1 time. To change it, that item is slid off the center position, one of the other items is slid in place so that the contacts… contact, now THAT one is energized.

Sometimes you’ll see contacts like this with a spring-loaded conductor tip, like a brush against a commutator, I think I’ve seen ones have the contact strips themselves bent into a few angles so that the springiness (?) forces the contacts together. I think old skool slot cars use this design.

I don’t have any idea of what to call these type of contacts, so that makes searching for a supplier kinda tricky. I’ve tried different online searches with different kinds of terms.

Thanks!

2

TheGuyFromOverThere:
The idea is that only 1 of the sliding items will have contact at 1 time. To change it, that item is slid off the center position, one of the other items is slid in place so that the contacts… contact, now THAT one is energized.

This needs clarification and further detail. Otherwise, it sounds like track lighting.

3

Ugh, yeah, it’s harder to explain than I first thought. Was going to do a quick visual in Fusion 360, but it was taking kind of long. After spending awhile on digikey I think I found at least the connector type, that’s been the biggest challenge so far. The “Contacts, Spring Loaded and Pressure” is what I need. I should be good now, thanks.

4

Another term for what I think you’re researching is pogo contact.