Electrical Connector Groove Structure for Lightweight Shielding
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical connectors face challenges in reducing weight while maintaining effective shielding and data transmission performance.
Innovation Solution
The electrical connector design incorporates a housing with weight-reducing grooves that do not extend through the conductive housing, along with a cover plate covering these grooves, to achieve a lightweight structure without compromising shielding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the housing is made solid without grooves to maintain shielding effectiveness, then the shielding performance is improved, but the weight of the connector increases
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is segmented by introducing weight-reducing grooves that divide the solid structure into sections, removing unnecessary material while maintaining the essential shielding function through the remaining structural integrity and strategic placement of conductive elements
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of uniformly thick housing walls, the design applies local quality by varying the thickness and conductivity distribution - thicker and more conductive in areas requiring shielding, thinner in areas where weight reduction is prioritized, achieving optimal balance between shielding effectiveness and weight
2Weight of stationary object
If weight-reducing grooves are introduced to reduce weight, then the weight of the connector is reduced, but the shielding effectiveness may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
A cover plate is introduced as an intermediary element that spans across the weight-reducing grooves, providing continuous shielding coverage while allowing the underlying housing to have reduced material content, thus mediating between weight reduction and shielding effectiveness requirements
Solution Approach 2:
The housing structure combines different materials or material densities - using lighter materials in grooved sections while maintaining conductive materials in critical shielding areas, creating a composite structure that optimizes both weight and electromagnetic shielding properties
3Weight of stationary object
If the grooves extend through the housing to maximize weight reduction, then the weight is reduced, but the structural integrity and shielding are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The weight-reducing grooves are implemented partially rather than completely through the housing thickness - extending only to the degree necessary for weight reduction while stopping before compromising structural integrity, applying the principle of sufficient but not excessive material removal
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical connector includes a housing, a first conductive terminal and a cover plate. The housing includes a receiving slot configured to at least partially receive a mating module along a first direction. The housing includes a first upper surface and a weight-reducing groove recessed downwardly from the first upper surface. The first conductive terminal is mounted to the housing. The first conductive terminal includes a first contact arm. The first contact arm includes a first contact portion protruding into the receiving slot. The cover plate is fixed to the first upper surface and covers the weight-reducing groove. With this arrangement, the present disclosure is beneficial to reducing the weight of the electrical connector, thereby facilitating to achieve lightweight.