Connector Contact Row Layout for Narrower Pitch and Less Waste
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connector manufacturing methods face challenges in narrowing the pitch between contacts in the row arrangement direction, leading to increased waste and difficulty in reducing connector size due to numerous coupling portions that are eventually discarded.
Innovation Solution
A method involving the formation of contacts from a single band-shaped member, where opposing contacts are arranged at overlapping locations, allowing for a manufacturing process that includes bending, cutting, and molding to create a connector with reduced pitch and size, while minimizing waste.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If all contacts of two adjacent contact rows are coupled to one carrier, then the contacts can be collectively press-fitted and processed, but the pitch between contacts in the row arrangement direction cannot be narrowed and the connector size cannot be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The invention divides the contacts into separate carriers - odd-numbered contacts are coupled to one carrier while even-numbered contacts are coupled to another carrier. This segmentation allows each carrier to have fewer coupling portions, enabling the pitch between contacts to be narrowed and the connector size to be reduced while still maintaining ease of manufacture through selective collective processing of contacts from the same carrier.
2Ease of manufacture
If coupling portions are provided at non-overlapping locations for adjacent contact rows, then manufacturing is simplified, but numerous coupling portions are discarded creating waste and increasing difficulty in reducing connector size
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting contacts into separate carriers based on their row position (odd vs even rows), the invention reduces the number of coupling portions per carrier. This allows overlapping arrangements within each carrier group, minimizing discarded material while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through standardized processing steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention merges the processing steps for contacts from the same carrier - all odd-numbered contacts are processed together and all even-numbered contacts are processed together. This merging approach maintains manufacturing efficiency while reducing the total number of coupling portions needed compared to processing all contacts from multiple carriers simultaneously.
3Productivity
If coupling portions are provided at non-overlapping locations, then adjacent contact rows can be processed collectively, but the number of coupling portions increases making resource use less efficient
Solution Approach 1:
The invention segments the contact rows into odd-numbered and even-numbered groups, each with its own carrier. This segmentation reduces the number of coupling portions per carrier while maintaining collective processing capability within each segment, thereby improving resource efficiency without sacrificing productivity.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a connector which includes: a housing; and a plurality of contact rows held by the housing, the plurality of contact rows extends along a first direction, and includes a first contact row and a second contact row arranged adjacent to each other in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction, the first contact row includes a plurality of first contacts, the second contact row includes a plurality of second contacts, a pair of opposing first and second contacts is disposed such that one of the first and second contacts includes the other one of the first and second contacts when viewed in the second direction, and the first cut surface of each of the plurality of first contacts and the second cut surface of each of the plurality of second contacts are located between the first contact row and the second contact row in the second direction.