Electrical Connector Holding Member for Optical Module Retention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current electrical connector assemblies face challenges in maintaining the precise width of the opening between locking portions of supporting arms, leading to inconsistent retention of optical modules due to the use of thin sheet metal and floating connections, which affects the locking and retaining effect.
Innovation Solution
The electrical connector assembly incorporates a frame with fixed dimension openings between supporting arms, secured by a holding member that connects to the free ends of the arms, ensuring consistent width and enhanced retention, and includes a pivot haulm and lever mechanism for efficient loading and unloading of optical modules.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If thin sheet metal is used to form the bracket by bending, then the bracket can be manufactured with ease and lower cost, but the free ends exhibit high deviation and fail to control the correct width of the opening between locking portions
Solution Approach 1:
A holding member is introduced as an intermediary component between the two supporting arms. This holding member includes a bottom wall connected to one supporting arm and a top wall connected to the other supporting arm, with a predetermined distance between them. The holding member acts as a mediator that fixes the distance between the free ends of the supporting arms, thereby controlling the width of the opening between locking portions without requiring high precision in the bending process of the thin sheet metal bracket.
2Stability of the object's composition
If a floating connection is provided between the supporting arms and the first body, then coplanarity between the bracket and first body is assured, but the size of the opening between locking portions becomes uncertain
Solution Approach 1:
The holding member serves as a stabilizing intermediary that maintains a fixed distance between the supporting arms. By connecting the bottom wall to one supporting arm and the top wall to the other supporting arm, the holding member ensures that the opening width remains consistent even when the bracket floats relative to the first body, thus resolving the uncertainty in opening size while preserving the floating connection's ability to assure coplanarity.
3Device complexity
If the bracket is made by bending thin sheet metal rather than rigid die-casting, then manufacturing cost and complexity are reduced, but the free ends far from the base exhibit relatively high deviation
Solution Approach 1:
The holding member acts as a compensating intermediary that makes up for the dimensional inaccuracies inherent in bending thin sheet metal. By providing a fixed reference distance between the supporting arms, the holding member ensures that the opening width between locking portions remains correct despite the high deviation that occurs at the free ends during the bending process.
Solution Approach 2:
The holding member is pre-formed with the correct distance between its bottom wall and top wall before being attached to the supporting arms. This preliminary preparation of the correct dimension allows the holding member to compensate for subsequent deviations in the supporting arms, ensuring the final opening width is accurate without requiring high precision in the bending process.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical connector assembly, adapted for electrically connecting an IC package to a printed circuit board, includes a first housing used for soldering on the printed circuit board and a frame surrounding the first housing. The first housing includes a longitudinal body and a protrusion projecting forwardly from the body. The frame defines a base and two supporting arms extending from two ends of the base, each supporting arm defines a latching bent from a top edge of a free end thereof for locking the protrusion of the first housing. The electrical connector assembly includes a longitudinal holding member, the holding member has two ends respectively connecting to the free ends of said two supporting arms so that the dimension of the opening formed between the free ends of said two supporting arms is fixed.