Connector Device Leverless Rotation Mating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connector devices for electric cars and hybrid cars face issues with proper mating due to positional inaccuracy of the lever relative to the housing, leading to incomplete connections.
Innovation Solution
A connector device design that eliminates the lever by using a housing with an axis portion and a mating housing with a mating axis portion, allowing the connector to be turnable between open, predetermined, and closed positions, ensuring accurate mating without the need for a lever, thus reducing component count and improving positional accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a lever is used to enable the connector to be turnable relative to the housing, then the connector can be operated to mate with the mating connector, but the lever cannot be properly positioned relative to the housing, causing the cam projection to be improperly positioned relative to the cam groove
Solution Approach 1:
The lever is completely removed from the connector structure. Instead of attaching a lever to the housing, the patent integrates the turning function directly into the housing through the axis portion and bearing arrangement, eliminating the source of positioning errors
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of making the lever movable relative to the housing (traditional approach), the patent inverts the approach by making the connector body itself movable relative to the mating connector through the axis portion, while the housing remains stationary
2Reliability
If the lever is attached to the housing with high positional accuracy, then the cam projection can be properly positioned relative to the cam groove, but the device complexity increases due to the need for precise assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The lever and cam groove mechanism are removed from the housing. The turning function is achieved through the axis portion in the housing and the corresponding bearing in the mating connector, simplifying the overall structure and reducing assembly complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The axis portion and bearing automatically guide the relative turning motion between the connector and mating connector without requiring precise manual positioning or complex adjustment mechanisms
Data Source
AI summary
A connector device comprises a connector and a mating connector. The connector comprises a housing formed with an axis portion and holding a power terminal and a detection terminal. The mating connector comprises a mating housing formed with a mating axis portion and holding a mating power terminal and a mating detection terminal. When the axis portion and the mating axis portion are combined, the connector is turnable from an opened position to a closed position via a predetermined position. When the connector is located at the opened position, the power terminal and the detection terminal are unconnected to the mating power terminal and the mating detection terminal, respectively. When the connector is turned to the predetermined position, the power terminal is connected to the mating power terminal. When the connector is turned to the closed position, the detection terminal is connected to the mating detection terminal.