Card Edge Connector Latch Non-Removable Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional card edge connectors often experience latch detachment from the housing, leading to unsecured interconnections, especially under environmental vibrations or shocks, due to easily separable latch designs.
Innovation Solution
A card edge connector with a latch design where the latch is non-removably retained to the housing using a retention feature and groove mechanism, ensuring secure engagement and preventing accidental disengagement, combined with a flexible latch material for repeated movements and a rigid housing for stability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the latch is designed to be easily separable from the housing, then the ease of operation is improved, but the reliability deteriorates due to latch detachment under vibrations or shocks
Solution Approach 1:
The latch structure is divided into a body portion and a beam portion that can move independently. The beam pivots about a rotation axis within the body, allowing the locking/unlocking action to be separated from the body's attachment to the housing. This segmentation enables the body to remain securely retained while the beam performs the operational function.
Solution Approach 2:
The retention feature is integrated into the latch body, separating the retention function from the operational beam. The retention feature extends from the body and engages with a corresponding feature in the housing, effectively extracting the security function from the moving parts and anchoring it to the stationary body.
Solution Approach 3:
Instead of designing the latch to be easily removable from the housing, the invention inverts the approach by making the latch body non-removably retained to the housing through the retention feature. The ease of operation is then achieved through the beam's pivotal movement rather than through removal of the entire latch assembly.
2Reliability
If the latch is made robust and non-removable, then the reliability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The retention feature is merged with the latch body as an integrated structure rather than a separate component. The beam is also merged with the body through the rotation axis, creating a unified latch assembly that reduces the number of separate parts while maintaining the non-removable characteristic.
Solution Approach 2:
The latch body serves multiple functions: it provides the structural anchor for the retention feature, houses the rotation axis for the beam, and acts as the mounting platform for the entire latch mechanism. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components.
3Reliability
If the latch is retained non-removably to the housing, then the reliability is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The retention feature and its corresponding engagement structure are designed with specific local geometric characteristics (such as complementary shapes, interference fits, or snap-fit features) that concentrate the precision requirements to specific localized areas rather than distributing them throughout the entire latch assembly. This allows for robust retention while managing manufacturing tolerances.
Data Source
AI summary
A card edge connector with a latch non-removably retained to a housing so as to improve the connector's reliability. The housing has a slot elongated in a longitudinal direction and is configured to hold conductive elements. Each conductive element has a contact portion exposed in the slot configured for mating with an electronic component, and a tail portion extending out of the housing configured for surface mounting to another electronic component. The housing has an end portion at an end of the slot in the longitudinal direction. The latch is installed to and extends around three sides of the end portion of the housing. The latch has a first retention feature, and the end portion has a second retention feature. When the first retention feature fully engages the second retention feature, the latch cannot be removed from the housing in a non-destructive manner. The latch and the housing may be made of different materials for respective functions.