Electrical Connector Single-Piece Housing with Breakable Bridge
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Solution Overview
Problem
The assembly of electrical connectors with resilient locking latches is labor-intensive and time-consuming, requiring separate molds for each housing piece, doubling manufacturing time and increasing costs.
Innovation Solution
A single-piece housing design with a carrier and shield, connected by a breakable bridge, allows for simplified assembly and manufacturing, where the bridge is broken during assembly to separate the pieces, enabling cost-effective and reliable locking of terminals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If two separate housing pieces are molded and assembled to provide resilient locking latches, then terminal securing reliability is improved, but manufacturing time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines two previously separate housing pieces (carrier and shield) into a single integrated housing structure. The resilient locking latches are now molded as an integral part of this single housing piece, eliminating the need for separate molding and assembly operations while maintaining the terminal securing function. This merging resolves the contradiction by achieving both reliability (through integrated locking) and reduced manufacturing time (through single-piece molding).
Solution Approach 2:
The single housing is designed with an internal cavity structure that segments the space for receiving terminals, while the resilient locking latches are provided as separate integral features within this cavity. This segmentation allows the housing to maintain complex functional features (locking mechanisms) without requiring multiple separate molded parts, thus reducing manufacturing time while preserving reliability.
2Reliability
If two separate housing pieces are molded and assembled, then terminal securing reliability is improved, but assembly labor intensity increases
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the carrier and shield into a single molded housing piece with integral locking latches, the patent eliminates the manual assembly step of joining two housing pieces. The single-piece construction maintains terminal securing reliability through the integrated locking mechanism while dramatically reducing assembly labor intensity by removing the alignment and mating operations previously required.
3Reliability
If two separate housing pieces are molded, then terminal securing reliability is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges two separately molded housing pieces into a single molded component with integral locking latches. This consolidation reduces manufacturing cost by eliminating the need for two separate molding operations, molds, and associated tooling costs, while maintaining terminal securing reliability through the integrated locking feature designed into the single housing structure.
4Loss of time
If a single-piece housing is used, then manufacturing time and cost are reduced, but assembly alignment precision may be affected
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the housing components into a single molded piece, the patent eliminates assembly alignment issues between separate parts. The single-piece construction inherently ensures precise alignment of all features (terminal channels, locking latches, lead-in channels) as they are formed in one molding operation, thus maintaining manufacturing precision while reducing manufacturing time.
Data Source
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AI summary
An electrical connector has a housing (102) that includes a carrier (104) and a shield (106) matable to define the housing. The carrier has terminal channels (142) and terminal latches (144) extending into the terminal channels. The shield has lead-in channels (180) through a face of the shield. Terminals are received in corresponding terminal channels. The terminals are held in the terminal channels by the terminal latches. The carrier and the shield are molded as a single piece with flashing (120) connecting the carrier and the shield. The flashing is broken during assembly to allow coupling of the shield to the carrier. The lead-in channels are aligned with, and positioned forward of, the terminal channels when the shield is mated with the earner. The lead-in channels guide mating contacts for mating with the terminals held in the terminal channels.