Electrical Connector Guide Posts Curved Contour Planar Sides
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electrical connector assemblies occupy excessive surface area on circuit boards due to wide guide posts and lack redundant mounting mechanisms, limiting their miniaturization and flexibility in mounting options.
Innovation Solution
The electrical connector assembly features guide posts with a curved contour and planar sides extending perpendicularly from mounting structures, which reduce the overall width and includes both fastener and latch cavities for versatile mounting, allowing for alignment correction and multiple mounting options while minimizing surface area.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If conventional cylindrical guide posts are used with wide spacing, then alignment guidance is provided, but the overall width and surface area occupied by the receptacle increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guide posts transition from conventional cylindrical shapes to shapes with curved contours and planar sides. This curvature allows the guide posts to be received by correspondingly shaped guide openings in the plug assembly, enabling alignment correction while reducing the lateral spacing required between guide posts, thus minimizing the overall width and surface area occupied by the receptacle.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide posts feature an asymmetric combination of curved contours and planar sides, rather than symmetric cylindrical shapes. This asymmetric geometry allows for more efficient space utilization and reduced clearance requirements compared to conventional symmetric cylindrical guide posts, thereby reducing the surface area occupied on the circuit board.
2Ease of manufacture
If only single mounting mechanism (fastener or latch) is provided, then manufacturing is simplified, but mounting flexibility and redundancy are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The receptacle is designed with multiple mounting mechanisms (both fastener passages for threaded fasteners and latch cavities for latch members) integrated into the same structure. This multi-functional design allows the receptacle to accommodate different mounting methods and provides redundant mounting options, enhancing adaptability and versatility without requiring separate receptacle designs for different mounting types.
Solution Approach 2:
The fastener passages and latch cavities are merged into a single integrated receptacle structure, combining multiple mounting mechanisms that would traditionally require separate receptacle designs. This integration provides both mounting options simultaneously, offering flexibility and redundancy while maintaining manufacturing efficiency through a unified design.
3Manufacturing precision
If guide posts are positioned laterally apart from central portion, then alignment is achieved, but the width of receptacle increases dependent on guide post size and spacing
Solution Approach 1:
The curved contour of the guide posts allows them to be received by correspondingly shaped guide openings, enabling the guide posts to self-align and correct alignment errors. This curved geometry reduces the lateral clearance required between guide posts compared to conventional cylindrical posts, thereby reducing the overall width of the receptacle while maintaining effective alignment guidance.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide posts incorporate planar sides in addition to curved contours, introducing a new geometric dimension. This combination of curved and planar features allows for more compact positioning and reduced spacing requirements, enabling effective alignment with smaller lateral dimensions and reducing the receptacle width.
Data Source
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AI summary
A receptacle (102) for mounting to an electrical component comprises a contact retention portion (122) configured to hold electrical contacts. The contact retention portion includes a connector face (128) configured to engage a plug assembly, and a pair of opposite sides (123, 125). A pair of mounting structures (124, 126) extend outwardly from the opposite sides. Each of the mounting structures has a fastener passage (164) and a latch cavity extending parallel to the fastener passage. The fastener passage (164) is configured to receive a fastener for mounting to the electrical component, and the latch cavity is configured to receive a latch member (166) for mounting to the electrical component. A pair of guide posts (156, 157) extend from the mounting structures (124, 126). Each of the guide posts comprises a base (168, 169) and a tip (172, 173), and each of the guide posts has a curved contour and a planar side (175) extending from the base (169) to the tip (173).