Electrical Connector Assembly Vibration Resistance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical connectors lack effective vibration resistance, leading to improper alignment and potential disconnection of terminals during high-vibration conditions, such as those encountered with wiring harnesses.
Innovation Solution
The electrical connector assembly incorporates a polymeric dielectric first-housing with opposed gear-racks and locking-fins, a mate-assist device with gear-teeth, and flex-locks that engage the locking-fins to resist rotational forces, ensuring secure alignment and connection of terminals while allowing for intentional disengagement with a controlled force.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If existing electrical connector designs are used, then the connector can be easily assembled and disassembled, but the connector lacks vibration resistance and terminals may misalign or disconnect under high-vibration conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is nested within the connector housing structure itself. The locking fins are integrated into the housing walls, and the gear-racks are formed as part of the housing structure. This nesting approach provides robust vibration resistance without adding external locking components, thereby maintaining ease of manufacture while improving reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking mechanism incorporates flexible elements that can dynamically adapt to vibration forces. The flex-locks can flex and deform elastically under vibration loads, allowing the connector to absorb vibrational energy while maintaining the locked state. This dynamic behavior enhances vibration resistance without requiring overly complex rigid locking structures.
2Reliability
If a robust locking mechanism is implemented to resist vibration, then terminal alignment is maintained under high-vibration conditions, but the force required for intentional disengagement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking force is segmented across multiple locking fins distributed around the connector circumference. Each locking fin provides a portion of the total locking force, distributing the engagement load. This segmentation maintains strong terminal alignment stability while allowing the disengagement force to be distributed across multiple release points, making intentional disengagement more manageable.
Solution Approach 2:
The locking fins are positioned asymmetrically around the connector, with different numbers and orientations of fins on opposite sides. This asymmetric arrangement creates a mechanical advantage where the locking engagement is strong in the normal operating direction, but the release mechanism can exploit the asymmetric geometry to reduce the force needed for intentional disengagement through the release lever.
3Ease of operation
If flexible locking elements are used to allow controlled disengagement, then ergonomic intentional disconnection is enabled, but the resistance to rotational forces during vibration may be reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism uses material parameter changes - specifically, the flex-locks are made from polymeric materials with specific elastic properties. These materials provide sufficient rigidity to resist vibrational forces during normal operation, but allow controlled elastic deformation when actuated by the release lever. The parameter selection of the polymeric material enables both vibration resistance and controlled disengagement without requiring separate mechanisms.
Data Source
Figure 1A
Figure 1B~2
Figure 3
AI summary
An electrical connector-assembly (10) includes a first-housing (12) and a second-housing (28). The first-housing (12) has first-walls (14) that include opposed gear-racks (20) extending beyond an outer-surface (22). The opposed gear-racks (20) are configured to engage a mate-assist device (26). The first-walls (14) include opposed locking-fins (30) extending beyond the outer-surface (22). The opposed locking-fins (30) have first-fins (34) and second-fins (36). The second-housing (28) includes the mate-assist device (26) which is moveable from an unlocked-position (44) to a locked-position (46) and is pivotable about the lateral-axis (24). The mate-assist device (26) has gear-teeth (48) configured to engage the opposed gear-racks (20) of the first-housing (12). The second-housing (28) has a skirt (52) configured to slideably engage the outer-surface (22) of the first-housing (12). The skirt (52) includes flex-locks (56) configured to engage the first-fins (34) and retain the second-housing (28) in a prestage-position (50). When the mate-assist device (26) is moved from the unlocked-position (44) to the locked-position (46), the second-housing (28) is moved from the prestage-position (50) to a seated-position (58), whereby the flex-locks (56) engage the second-fins (36), thereby inhibiting a movement between the second-housing (28) and the first-housing (12).