Board Connector Terminal Fittings with Extra Length Links
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing board connector designs require multiple types of terminal fittings with different lengths, increasing manufacturing costs due to the need for various terminal fittings with distinct heights and overall lengths.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a housing with terminal fittings featuring a board connecting portion and a terminal connecting portion, where an extra length linking portion is used to link the front end of the board connecting portion and the rear end of the terminal connecting portion, allowing for different terminal connecting portion heights while maintaining a common overall length for multiple types of terminal fittings.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple types of terminal fittings with different heights are prepared, then the terminal connecting portions can have different heights from the mounting surface, but the entire lengths of the terminal fittings become different, increasing manufacturing cost
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal fitting is divided into three distinct segments: the board connecting portion, the terminal connecting portion, and the extra length linking portion. This segmentation allows each part to be optimized independently - the first and second terminal fittings share the same overall length and board connecting portion, but differ in terminal connecting portion height, with the extra length linking portion compensating for the height difference. This enables standardized manufacturing of the common parts while providing height variation where needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces the extra length linking portion as an additional dimensional element in the terminal fitting structure. By adding this intermediate linking section, the design can accommodate different terminal connecting portion heights without requiring different overall lengths. The extra length linking portion acts as a buffer that absorbs the vertical dimension variation, allowing multiple terminal fitting types to be manufactured to the same length specification.
2Adaptability or versatility
If terminal fittings with different entire lengths are used, then different terminal connecting portion heights can be achieved, but the device complexity and inventory requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The first and second terminal fittings are designed with the same overall length and identical board connecting portions, making them universally compatible with the same mounting configurations. The only difference is the terminal connecting portion height, which is compensated by the extra length linking portion. This universality reduces the number of different component types that need to be manufactured, stored, and managed, while still providing the needed height variation for different application requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
A board connector includes a housing (10) mounted on a mounting surface (S) of a circuit board (P) and includes a terminal holding portion (11). Two types of long narrow terminal fittings (13, 20) are provided and each includes a board connecting portion (14, 21) extending in a front-rear direction and to be fixed to the mounting surface (S) behind the terminal holding portion (11). Each terminal connecting portion (15, 22) penetrates the terminal holding portion (11) in the front-rear direction. The terminal connecting portions (15, 22) have different heights from the mounting surface (S). The two types of terminal fittings (13, 20) include extra length links (16, 23) longer than heights of the terminal connecting portions (15, 22) from the mounting surface (S) and linking front ends (14F, 21F) of the board connecting portions (14, 21) and rear ends (15R, 22R) of the terminal connecting portions (15, 22).