Connector Housing Chamfer Profile for Lower Mating Force
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical connectors face challenges in facilitating smooth mating with complementary connectors, often resulting in high mating forces and friction, especially when seals are involved, which can lead to increased piston effect and air entrapment.
Innovation Solution
The housing part of the electrical connector features a chamfer on its front edge that varies in distance along a wave-like manner, reducing friction during mating by allowing air escape and engaging seals only at regions with lower initial contact, thus minimizing mating forces.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a chamfer with constant distance is used on the housing wall, then the seal engagement is stable, but the mating force increases due to high friction
Solution Approach 1:
The chamfer distance is varied locally along the front edge of the housing wall, creating regions of different chamfer distances (shorter and longer alternating sections) rather than using a uniform constant distance. This local variation allows the seal to engage different chamfer regions during mating, reducing friction in initial contact zones while maintaining stable engagement in later zones.
2Device complexity
If a chamfer with constant distance is used on the housing wall, then the structure is simple, but air entrapment occurs during mating causing piston effect
Solution Approach 1:
The continuous chamfer surface is segmented into multiple sections with alternating shorter and longer distances from the front edge. This segmentation creates channels and pathways that allow air to escape during the mating process, preventing air entrapment and the associated piston effect, while still maintaining a relatively simple overall chamfer structure.
3Ease of operation
If the chamfer distance varies along the front edge, then friction is reduced during mating, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The chamfer distance parameter is deliberately changed along the circumferential direction of the housing wall, creating a controlled variation pattern with alternating shorter and longer distances. This parameter change optimizes the mating process by reducing friction through varied contact points, while the systematic nature of the variation allows for manageable manufacturing precision requirements.
Data Source
Figure 1~3
Figure 4~5
AI summary
The invention relates to a housing part (1) for an electrical connector (2). In order to reduce the mating force between a connector (2) having the housing part (1) and a complementary connector (49), the housing part (1) has an opening (3) and at least one housing wall (5) adjacent to the opening (3), the housing wall (1) having a front edge (7), the front edge (7) having a chamfer (19) extending away from the front edge (7) along a distance (23) at least on one side (21) of the housing wall (1), the distance (23) varying along the front edge (7).