Connector
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connectors for soft or flexible articles, such as vehicle cushions, face challenges in providing a secure and quick connection that can withstand stress and fatigue, while also being easily engaged and disengaged, especially in applications where a clear line of sight is unavailable, and maintaining a low profile to avoid compressing the material.
Innovation Solution
A connector system comprising a male structure with a projection and a carriage structure, featuring stitching tags and a guide cavity with varying diameters to facilitate secure engagement and disengagement, allowing for flexible material attachment and resistance to separation forces, with a guide structure providing feedback and locking mechanisms to prevent withdrawal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If a connector is designed to securely connect soft flexible articles, then connection strength is improved, but the connector profile increases and may compress the material
Solution Approach 1:
The connector is divided into separate male and female structures that can be independently attached to flexible articles. The male structure includes a base with projection, while the female structure includes a base with socket, allowing distributed attachment points that maintain low individual profiles while achieving strong collective connections
Solution Approach 2:
The projection of the male structure is designed to insert into and nest within the socket of the female structure. The guide cavity receives the projection during engagement, creating a nested arrangement that secures the connection while maintaining a compact overall profile
2Ease of operation
If a connector allows quick engagement and disengagement, then ease of operation is improved, but reliability under stress and fatigue deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The connector design allows the projection to self-align and self-guide into the socket through the guide cavity during engagement. The complementary shapes and guide features enable automatic positioning, ensuring reliable connection without requiring precise manual alignment, thus maintaining both ease of operation and connection reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The guide cavity and projection features incorporate curved surfaces that guide the male structure into proper engagement with the female structure. The curved guide surfaces facilitate smooth insertion and ensure consistent positioning, improving both the ease of engagement and the reliability of the connection under stress
3Ease of operation
If a connector can be engaged without line of sight from multiple angles, then ease of operation is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The guide cavity provides mechanical feedback during engagement by guiding the projection through its cavity walls. This physical guidance system ensures proper alignment is achieved automatically during the engagement process, allowing operation without line of sight while maintaining consistent manufacturing tolerances through self-correcting geometry
Data Source
AI summary
A connector for a soft or flexible article, the connector including a male structure having a base and a projection, the projection defining a head and a stem connecting the head to the base, the male structure base defining at least one tag extending substantially perpendicular to the projection. The connector includes a carriage structure having a base which defines a socket arranged to receive the projection of the male structure, the carriage structure defining at least one tag extending substantially parallel to the socket. The connector also provides a guide structure which defines a guide cavity arranged to receive the male structure projection when the male structure projection is located within the socket of the carriage structure, the guide cavity defining an entry zone and a compression zone.