Electrical Connector Insulating Body Spline Slots
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical connectors face issues with non-uniform thickness in insulating bodies leading to decreased molding accuracy and increased material usage, as well as positional inaccuracies due to clearance fits and complex machining requirements, resulting in higher manufacturing costs.
Innovation Solution
The design features a housing with an insulating body having spline-shaped slots and through-holes for conductive terminals, which are assembled in an interference-fit manner to ensure positional accuracy and reduce material usage, with separate components for the base and pin made of different materials to minimize costs.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the insulating body is pre-molded with excessive local thickness, then the insulating body can hold the conductive terminals, but the molding accuracy decreases due to non-uniform heat transfer rate
Solution Approach 1:
The insulating body is divided into multiple layers with different thicknesses. The first insulating layer has a first thickness and the second insulating layer has a second thickness different from the first, creating non-uniform thickness distribution that optimizes both molding accuracy and material usage.
Solution Approach 2:
Different portions of the insulating body have different thickness characteristics. The base portion has a first thickness while the sidewall portion has a second thickness, allowing each region to be optimized for its specific function - the base for structural support and the sidewall for terminal positioning.
2Manufacturing precision
If the insulating body has non-uniform thickness, then material usage is reduced, but the thermal expansion and contraction becomes non-uniform affecting positional accuracy of conductive terminals
Solution Approach 1:
The insulating body consists of multiple insulating layers with different thicknesses and materials. This segmentation allows each layer to compensate for thermal effects, maintaining positional accuracy while reducing overall material usage compared to a uniform thick design.
Solution Approach 2:
The insulating body uses composite structure with first and second insulating layers having different material properties. This composite approach enables differential thermal expansion management, ensuring positional accuracy is maintained while using less material than a uniform thick insulator would require.
3Manufacturing precision
If clearance fit is used between pin of conductive terminals and insulating body, then assembly is easier, but positional accuracy of pins cannot be controlled within margin of error
Solution Approach 1:
The conductive terminal is divided into separate components: a pin and a base. The base is received in a recess of the insulating body with interference fit for precise positioning, while the pin extends through a hole. This segmentation allows the base to provide precise positioning without requiring the entire terminal assembly to be complex.
Solution Approach 2:
The base acts as an intermediary between the pin and the insulating body. It provides the interference fit connection to the insulating body for precise positioning, while the pin connects to the base. This intermediary structure achieves precise positional control without requiring complex direct fitting between pin and insulating body.
4Ease of manufacture
If conductive terminal is formed as single integral component, then structure is simpler, but machining becomes relatively complex and material usage increases
Solution Approach 1:
The conductive terminal is segmented into separate components: a pin and a base that can be manufactured independently and then assembled. This segmentation simplifies the machining of each individual component compared to creating a complex integral structure, while the overall structural complexity is managed through standardized connection interfaces.
Data Source
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AI summary
The present invention discloses an electrical connector including: a housing; an insulating body received within the housing; and a plurality of first conductive terminals held in the insulating body. A plurality of first receiving slots are formed in an outer circumference surface of a base portion of the insulating body and spaced from each other around the outer circumference surface of the insulating body so that the base portion of the insulating body is in the form of a spline provided with a plurality of teeth; a plurality of first through-holes are formed in the insulating body, extend in an axial direction of the insulating body, and communicated with the plurality of first receiving slots, respectively; and each first conductive terminals comprises a seat fitted in the first receiving slot and a pin inserted into the first through-hole. The first receiving slots are formed in the base portion of the insulating body, thereby decreasing the material usage for manufacture of the insulating body and in turn reducing the manufacturing cost thereof. Besides, the thickness across the insulating body is thus relatively uniform, increasing the molding accuracy thereof.