Connector Fitting Shoulder Structure for Insert Molding Resin Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In the manufacturing of connectors with small-sized terminals and metal members, existing insert molding techniques struggle to sufficiently suppress the inflow of resin to unintended areas, leading to exposure of these components and potential electrical connectivity issues due to the lack of suitable support structures on flat surfaces.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of shoulder portions with an inclination on the side surfaces of the connector fittings, which serve as protrusions to support the mold and fixing jig, ensuring proper alignment and preventing resin flow to exposed areas during insert molding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If insert molding is used to manufacture connectors with small-sized terminals and metal members, then productivity is improved, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to resin inflow to unintended areas
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by providing protrusions on the fittings before the insert molding process. These protrusions are pre-positioned to suppress resin inflow to unintended areas during molding, preventing manufacturing precision deterioration while maintaining productivity improvement from insert molding
Solution Approach 2:
The patent uses protrusions as intermediary structures between the resin and the fittings. These protrusions act as mediators that control resin flow during insert molding, preventing direct resin contact with unintended areas of small-sized terminals and metal members, thus resolving the contradiction between productivity and manufacturing precision
2Manufacturing precision
If the mold or fixing jig supports the fittings during insert molding, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity increases due to additional support structures
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies self-service by designing fittings with integrated protrusions that automatically suppress resin inflow without requiring external support structures from the mold or fixing jig. The fittings support themselves during the molding process, improving manufacturing precision while avoiding increased device complexity
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the resin flow suppression function from the mold structure and transfers it to the fittings themselves through protrusions. This removes the need for complex mold support structures, maintaining manufacturing precision while reducing device complexity
3Reliability
If resin inflow to exposed areas is suppressed, then reliability is improved by preventing electrical connectivity issues, but ease of manufacture deteriorates due to additional constraints
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by incorporating protrusions on fittings before molding to pre-establish resin flow control. This ensures reliability by preventing resin contact with exposed areas of terminals and metal members, while the protrusions are designed to be integrated into the fitting structure, minimizing impact on ease of manufacture
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is a connector fitting which includes: a fixed portion provided on a side wall of a housing of a connector; and a projecting portion provided on the side wall of the housing and projecting from the side wall of the housing with respect to the fixed portion, in which the fixed portion is wider than the projecting portion, the fixed portion includes a pair of shoulder portions on both side surfaces of the fixed portion, and the shoulder portions are provided on a side surface between the fixed portion and the projecting portion.