Cone-Tubular Latching Post for Electrical Connector Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical connectors with snap latches made of brittle plastic materials face issues of breakage and complex molding processes due to deformation during insertion into printed circuit boards, leading to unreliable securing mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
An electrical connector design featuring a cone-tubular latching post with a larger free end diameter than the root diameter, combined with a corresponding mating hole structure that includes a chamfer and blind hole, allows for improved alignment, deformation, and secure latching without complicating the molding process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a snap latch with bifurcated legs and hook shoulders is used to secure the connector to the board, then the connector can be firmly secured to the board, but the legs will encounter deformation and breakage during insertion, and the molding process becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the legs deformable with hook shoulders that engage the board, the invention inverts the approach by making the mating hole deformable. The conical post remains rigid while the hole deforms to accommodate it, eliminating the complex molding of hook shoulders and reducing breakage risk in the connector components.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameters of the mating hole by providing a conical section with varying diameter. The hole transitions from a smaller diameter at the first board surface to a larger diameter at the second board surface, allowing progressive deformation during insertion that accommodates the rigid conical post without requiring complex leg structures.
2Reliability
If the legs are made to bounce back outwardly with hook shoulders extending beyond the hole periphery, then secure engagement is achieved, but the brittle plastic material is prone to breakage during the deformation process
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transfers the deformation function from the connector's legs to the PCB's mating hole. The rigid conical post in the connector engages with the deformable hole in the PCB, reversing which component undergoes deformation. This eliminates breakage risk in the connector's plastic legs while achieving secure engagement through the hole's deformation.
Solution Approach 2:
The conical geometry of both the post and the mating hole acts as an intermediary mechanism that distributes the insertion force gradually. The varying diameter provides a progressive engagement path that reduces stress concentration, preventing sudden breakage while ensuring reliable engagement.
3Manufacturing precision
If a conical post with varying diameter is used instead of a uniform diameter post, then alignment and positioning are improved, but the manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of making the post complex with varying diameter features, the invention makes the mating hole complex. The conical post remains relatively simple while the hole provides the varying diameter geometry, inverting where the complexity resides. This achieves alignment precision through the hole's geometry rather than the post's.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention uses parameter changes in the mating hole's diameter along its length (smaller at the first surface, larger at the second surface) to achieve alignment and positioning functions. This allows the conical post to be simpler in construction while still providing precise alignment through the corresponding conical hole geometry.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design enhances the alignment and positioning of the connector, reduces the risk of breakage, and simplifies the molding process while providing a secure engagement mechanism with the printed circuit board.
Implementation Method 1
The at least one post is a cone tubular with a diameter of a free end thereof larger than a diameter of a root thereof... allows for improved alignment, deformation, and secure latching
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical connector includes an insulative housing defining a base and a cover confronting with the base, and a plurality of contacts sandwiched between the base and the cover. The base defining at least one latching post to engaging with corresponding mating hole on the cover. The at least one post is a cone tubular with a diameter of a free end thereof larger than a diameter of a root thereof and the mating hole has a portion aligned with the free end which has a larger diameter than another portion thereof aligned with the root.