Connector Rear Holder Stress Dispersion Guide Wall
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Solution Overview
Problem
Connectors used in wire harnesses for motor vehicles face challenges in narrow spaces, where stress concentration can lead to breakage of the rear holder and elastic engagement arm, and terminals are difficult to insert due to protruding protective walls.
Innovation Solution
A connector design with a rear extending part that protrudes more rearward than the rear holder, featuring a terminal guide surface to prevent wire contact with the elastic engagement arm and a jig guide surface for easy engagement release, allowing smooth terminal insertion and reducing stress on the engaged parts.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a rear holder is connected to the connector housing at the rear end side to prevent terminal slippage, then the connector fitting operation becomes easier, but stress concentration occurs at the engaged position causing breakage
Solution Approach 1:
The connector housing is divided into multiple engagement positions along the rear end side, allowing the rear holder to engage at different locations. This segmentation distributes the stress across multiple engagement points rather than concentrating it at a single position, preventing breakage while maintaining the terminal retention function
Solution Approach 2:
Different regions of the connector housing are designed with varying engagement characteristics - some areas provide strong engagement for terminal retention while other areas provide softer engagement to reduce stress concentration. The engaged position is specifically designed with enhanced structural properties to withstand external forces applied during fitting operations
2Reliability
If an elastic engagement arm is used to engage with the mate connector, then the connector can be securely fitted, but the electric wire becomes caught in the arm causing breakage
Solution Approach 1:
A guide wall structure is introduced as an intermediary element between the electric wire and the elastic engagement arm. This guide wall acts as a mediator that directs the electric wire along a safe path, preventing it from being caught by the engagement arm while allowing the arm to perform its engagement function with the mate connector
Solution Approach 2:
The guide wall is positioned in advance to intercept and guide the electric wire before it can reach the elastic engagement arm. By performing this protective action preliminarily, the design prevents wire entanglement before it can occur, ensuring both engagement reliability and wire safety
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a protruding piece is added to prevent wire contact with the elastic engagement arm, then wire entanglement is prevented, but terminal insertion becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The guide wall structure is designed with locally optimized properties - it provides sufficient height and positioning to prevent wire entanglement in critical areas, while maintaining appropriate clearance and smooth surfaces in terminal insertion zones. This local differentiation allows the structure to serve dual purposes: protecting the wire and facilitating terminal insertion
Solution Approach 2:
The guide wall extends in multiple dimensions to create a three-dimensional protective structure that guides wires away from the engagement arm without interfering with terminal insertion paths. By utilizing vertical and lateral dimensions strategically, the design prevents wire contact while maintaining ease of terminal insertion
Data Source
AI summary
A connector is provided with a connector housing including an elastic engagement arm as a part to be engaged with a mate connector serving as a mate to which the connector is fitted and a terminal accommodation chamber which accommodates therein a terminal of an electric wire having a terminal, and a rear holder including a holder side engagement part engaged with a housing side engagement part provided in the connector housing so as to be connected to the connector housing at a position of a rear end side in a fitting direction to the mate connector.