Electrical Connector Heat Dissipation via Insulative Housing Passageways
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical connectors face challenges in protecting contacts from crosstalk while maintaining effective heat dissipation, as prior solutions either increase production costs or compromise heat dissipation efficiency.
Innovation Solution
An electrical connector design featuring an insulative housing with passageways and a metal shield that allows for secure contact positioning and exposure of bending portions to air for heat dissipation, integrated with a protection portion and a simple assembly structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a rear cover is used to protect contacts from hitting, then contact protection is improved, but device complexity and production cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent integrates the protection function directly into the insulative housing by adding a protection portion that extends from the housing body to cover the bending portions of contacts. This merges the protective function with the existing housing structure, eliminating the need for a separate rear cover component and simplifying the assembly process while maintaining contact protection.
Solution Approach 2:
The protection portion of the insulative housing serves multiple functions: it protects the bending portions of contacts from external forces, provides structural support, and maintains the overall integrity of the connector assembly. This multi-functional design replaces the single-purpose rear cover with a more versatile integrated structure.
2Reliability
If contacts are covered by a rear cover, then contact protection is improved, but heat dissipation deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The protection portion is designed to cover only the bending portions of contacts locally, while leaving the contact portions exposed. This localized protection approach ensures that only the vulnerable bending areas are shielded, while the heat-generating contact portions remain exposed for effective heat dissipation to the surrounding air.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing is segmented into different functional regions: the protection portion covers the bending portions of contacts, while the contact portions remain exposed. This segmentation allows different parts of the connector to have different protection levels, optimizing both mechanical protection and thermal management.
3Temperature
If bending portions are exposed to air for heat dissipation, then heat dissipation is improved, but contact crosstalk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The protection portion provides localized shielding over the bending portions of contacts, which are the primary source of crosstalk when exposed. By covering only this specific region while leaving contact portions exposed for heat dissipation, the design selectively addresses the crosstalk problem without compromising thermal management.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution effectively protects contacts from crosstalk, enhances heat dissipation, and reduces production costs by allowing easy assembly and increased contact area for current transmission, thereby prolonging the connector's lifespan.
Implementation Method 1
a metal shield for protecting the connector from disturbing
Implementation Method 2
The bending portion is usually exposed to air for dissipating heat well
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical connector includes an insulative housing (2) having a base portion (20) with a front face (200) and a rear face (204), and a protection portion (22) extending backwardly from the rear face (204). The protection portion (22) defines a receiving cavity (222) opening at a rear end thereof. The base portion (20) defines a plurality of passageways (201) extending therethrough and communicating with the receiving cavity (222). A plurality of power contacts (3) are retained on the insulative housing (2). Each power contact (3) has a securing portion (300, 310) positioned in the passageway (201), a columned contact portion (301, 311) and a bending portion (302, 312) extending from two ends of the securing portion (300, 310) respectively. The bending portion (302, 312) is received in the receiving cavity (222) for dissipating heat best. A metal shield (4) has a flat portion (40) affixed to the front face (200) and a mating portion (41) extending forwardly from the flat portion (40). The mating portion (41) defines a D-shape mating hole (42) for receiving a mating connector.