Cost-Effective USB Connector Design with Elastic Metallic Shell
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Summary
Problems
Conventional USB electrical connector assemblies have high manufacturing costs due to the need for precise plastic molding of contacts, which increases production expenses.
Innovation solutions
An electrical connector assembly with an insulative housing featuring protrusions and a metallic shell with elastic portions, which encloses the housing and provides stability through bent elastic portions adjacent to the protrusions, reducing the reliance on precise molding and lowering manufacturing costs.
TRIZ Analysis
Specific contradictions:
General conflict description:
Principle concept:
If contacts are molded in the insulative housing using precise plastic molding, then the precision and stability of the connector assembly is improved, but the manufacturing cost increases
Why choose this principle:
The connector assembly is divided into separate components: the insulative housing and the metallic shell with contacts are manufactured independently and then assembled together. This segmentation allows each component to be produced using less precise, lower-cost processes while maintaining overall assembly precision through the metallic shell's elastic portions that ensure proper contact positioning.
Principle concept:
If contacts are molded in the insulative housing using precise plastic molding, then the precision and stability of the connector assembly is improved, but the manufacturing cost increases
Why choose this principle:
The metallic shell acts as an intermediary component that bridges the insulative housing and the contacts. It provides a stable mounting structure for the contacts and ensures precise positioning through its elastic portions, eliminating the need for the insulative housing to provide precise molding for contact placement.
Application Domain
Data Source
AI summary:
An electrical connector assembly with an insulative housing featuring protrusions and a metallic shell with elastic portions, which encloses the housing and provides stability through bent elastic portions adjacent to the protrusions, reducing the reliance on precise molding and lowering manufacturing costs.
Abstract
An electrical connector assembly ( 100 ) comprises an insulative housing ( 1 ) having a pair of protrusions ( 102 ) on both sides thereof, a plurality of contacts ( 2 ) received in the insulative housing and a metallic shell ( 4 ) enclosing the insulative housing. The metallic shell has a pair of elastic portions ( 401 ) on lateral sides thereof, and the elastic portions are bent inwards and adjacent to corresponding back surfaces of the protrusions.