Electric Connector Bracket Structure for Corner Load Protection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electric connectors lack robustness at the corner portions of the housing, which can lead to damage during fitting if the connectors are misaligned.
Innovation Solution
The electric connector incorporates a pair of reinforcement brackets with corner protection portions that extend from the outer or side plate portions to cover the upper surfaces of the corner portions, enhancing protection and robustness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If reinforcement brackets are embedded in the housing to enhance robustness, then the overall strength is improved, but the corner portions remain vulnerable to damage during misaligned fitting
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement bracket is designed with differentiated protection portions: short wall protection portions covering the short walls, long wall protection portions covering the long walls, and specifically corner protection portions covering the corner portions. Each portion provides localized reinforcement where needed, with the corner protection portions extending from both side plate portions to provide enhanced protection at the vulnerable corner areas.
2Ease of manufacture
If the housing structure is simplified without reinforcement brackets, then manufacturing is easier, but the housing lacks robustness against external loads
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcement bracket is formed as a separate component from the housing, allowing the housing to be manufactured independently and then having the reinforcement bracket attached. This segmentation enables simplified housing manufacturing while still providing enhanced robustness through the separately formed reinforcement bracket that is coupled to the housing.
3Reliability
If corner protection portions are added to the reinforcement bracket, then corner portion protection is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The corner protection portions are integrated into the reinforcement bracket as a unified structure, where the bracket combines short wall protection portions, long wall protection portions, and corner protection portions into a single component. This merging approach provides comprehensive protection while avoiding the complexity of multiple separate protection components.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is an electric connector which includes: a housing; and a pair of reinforcement brackets reinforces both end sides of the housing in a longitudinal direction, wherein the housing has a bottom wall, a pair of short walls, a pair of long walls, an island-shaped protruding wall surrounded by the short walls and the long walls, and pairs of corner portions between a corresponding pair of short and long walls, each reinforcement bracket has an outer plate portion, a short wall protection portion, a pair of side plate portions, a pair of long wall protection portions, a pair of connection portions connecting the outer plate portion to the side plate portions, and a pair of corner protection portions, and each corner protection portion extends from either one of the outer plate portion or the side plate portions, and is formed to cover an upper surface of the corner portions.