Connector With Movable Guide Housing To Prevent Contact Wear
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Solution Overview
Problem
Connectors in automotive applications face issues with misalignment and wear due to manufacturing tolerances and vibrations, leading to damage to contacts when guide housings vibrate, causing stress and wear on the contacts.
Innovation Solution
A connector design featuring first and second movable bodies with a biasing member that transitions from a close state to a separated state after an electric connection is established, with a restriction rib to limit rotational movement and prevent positional shifting, ensuring the contacts are moved away from the connection point to prevent wear and damage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the guide housing has a funnel-like shape with diameter increasing from the contact insertion hole, then the counterpart contact can be smoothly inserted despite misalignment, but the inner circumferential surface contacts the counterpart contact during vibration causing wear and damage
Solution Approach 1:
The guide housing is configured to move from a first position (where the guide hole aligns with the contact insertion hole) to a second position (where the guide hole is separated from the contact insertion hole) along the insertion direction. This dynamic adjustment allows the guide hole to initially receive and guide the counterpart contact, then separate to avoid contact with the inserted contact, thereby preventing wear while maintaining insertion guidance capability
Solution Approach 2:
The connector is divided into movable and fixed components: the guide housing (with guide hole) is made movable relative to the fixed housing (with contact insertion hole). This segmentation allows independent movement of the guide housing to achieve both guidance function and separation to prevent wear, resolving the contradiction between guiding capability and wear prevention
2Ease of operation
If the guide hole diameter at the upper end is substantially the same as the counterpart contact diameter, then guiding is effective, but the contact is close to the inner circumferential surface causing stress during vibration
Solution Approach 1:
The guide housing moves dynamically along the insertion direction to change the relative position between the guide hole and contact insertion hole. In the initial state, the guide hole provides effective guiding with appropriate diameter match. After insertion, the guide housing moves to separate the guide hole from the contact insertion hole, reducing stress on the contact during vibration while maintaining the guiding effectiveness achieved during insertion
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 design effectively prevents wear and damage to contacts by moving them away from the connection point even when the housing or substrate vibrates, ensuring reliable electrical connections.
Implementation Method 1
a biasing member configured to bias the first and second movable bodies in directions away from each other
Data Source
AI summary
After passing through respective contact insertion holes 3A to 3E of a guide connector 3 and penetrating the substrate 110, the contacts 120 are inserted into a female housing 10. After the electrical connection between the contacts 120 and female contacts 20 are respectively established, a slider 1 is pressed down, which causes pressing pins 4 and 5 to press a first movable body 50 and a second movable body 60. With this, a lower stage 50L of the first movable body 50 and a lower stage 60L of the second movable body 60 detach from restriction beams 84 and 85. This allows springs 141 and 142 to extend, to move the first movable body 50 and the second movable body 60 away from the contacts 120.