Connector Cover Pre-Assembly Latching for High-Voltage Safety
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connecting devices for high-voltage storage and consumers complicate assembly while maintaining safety, as they require manual handling of fastening screws, which can expose users to electrical hazards during assembly.
Innovation Solution
A connecting device with elastically or plastically deformable latching tongues that securely hold a fastening screw in a pre-assembly position, allowing for safe and simple assembly by preventing physical contact with the screw, and ensuring correct alignment and secure fastening without accidental loosening.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the fastening screw is manually handled during assembly, then the assembly process can be completed, but the installer is exposed to electrical hazards
Solution Approach 1:
The fastening screw is pre-assembled onto the connector cover before the connector is installed. The locking tabs are pre-formed on the cover, creating a pre-assembly unit where the screw is positioned but not yet engaged with the terminal. This preliminary action allows the installer to work with the screw in a safe, isolated state before electrical contact is established.
Solution Approach 2:
The dangerous function of the fastening screw (electrical contact) is separated from the safe handling phase. The screw is extracted from the electrical circuit during pre-assembly and only introduced into the electrical contact path during the final, controlled engagement step after the connector is securely installed.
2Reliability
If the fastening screw is pre-positioned before electrical contact, then assembly safety is improved, but additional assembly steps are required
Solution Approach 1:
The pre-assembly of the fastening screw onto the connector cover is merged into a single integrated unit. The locking tabs are formed as integral parts of the connector cover, eliminating the need for separate fastening mechanisms. This merging reduces the number of discrete components and simplifies the overall assembly process despite the additional safety step.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking tabs are designed to automatically engage with the screw head during the final tightening step. The elastic deformation mechanism self-activates when the screw is inserted, requiring no additional fastening actions from the installer. The system performs its own locking function, reducing assembly complexity.
3Ease of operation
If locking tabs are made elastically deformable, then the fastening screw can be easily released and repositioned, but the structural strength may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The locking tabs are designed with specific geometric parameters (thickness, length, cross-section) that enable elastic deformation within safe limits. The material selection and dimensional parameters are optimized so the tabs can flex during screw engagement and release, then return to their original strong configuration to provide secure locking without permanent deformation.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
Facilitates safer and more efficient assembly by allowing pre-positioning of fastening screws, reducing the risk of electrical contact and ensuring correct alignment, thus enhancing user safety and assembly ease.
Implementation Method 1
The locking tabs are designed to be elastically and/or plastically deformable, with at least one locking tab having a retaining lug on which the screw head rests or can be placed in the pre-assembly position, and which can be disengaged from the screw head by deformation
Implementation Method 2
The locking tabs are designed to be elastically and/or plastically deformable, allowing the retaining lugs to be disengaged from the screw head by deformation
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2A~2C
Figure 3A~3C
AI summary
The invention relates to a connecting device (1) for electrically connecting at least two electrical terminals together, comprising at least one electrically conductive connector having at least one through-hole (6) for receiving a screw shank (16) of a fastening screw (15), at least one electrically non-conductive and, in particular, multi-part connector cover (3) for touch-proof mounting of the connector (2), and at least one electrically conductive fastening screw (15) that can be screwed into a mating thread of one of the terminals. The connector cover (3) is provided to have a device (23) for releasably holding the at least one fastening screw in a pre-assembly position.