Connector With Reinforcing Bracket for Compact Substrate Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional connectors mounted on substrates become complex and require significant space due to their sandwiched structure, limiting their use in environments with limited space below the substrate.
Innovation Solution
A connector design featuring a terminal with a contact portion and a substrate connecting portion, along with a reinforcing bracket, which includes a main body and a leg portion, is used to secure the terminal to the substrate, allowing for a simpler and more compact configuration while maintaining reliable connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the substrate is sandwiched from above and below by the upper case and lower case to prevent load application to solder, then the connector reliability is improved, but the device complexity and space requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and removes the lower case from the conventional sandwich structure, retaining only the upper case as the housing. This eliminates the complex dual-case structure while maintaining reliability through alternative load distribution mechanisms involving the reinforcing bracket and terminal design.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector is segmented into distinct functional components: the upper case housing, the reinforcing bracket, and the terminal with separated contact and substrate connecting portions. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently without requiring a complete sandwich structure.
2Reliability
If the substrate is sandwiched from above and below by the upper case and lower case to prevent load application to solder, then the solder protection is improved, but the space requirement below the substrate increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lower case is completely removed from the structure, eliminating the need for space below the substrate. The upper case is repositioned and redesigned to provide all necessary protective functions without requiring a counterpart case underneath the substrate.
Solution Approach 2:
The load protection function is shifted from a vertical sandwich structure (requiring space below substrate) to a configuration where the upper case and reinforcing bracket distribute loads laterally and through the terminal design, reducing the vertical space requirement below the substrate.
3Reliability
If a reinforcing bracket is added to the housing to retain the terminal and prevent solder load, then the solder protection is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The reinforcing bracket is merged with the housing structure, forming an integrated component that provides both structural support and terminal retention functions. This integration reduces the number of separate parts and simplifies the overall assembly process.
Solution Approach 2:
The reinforcing bracket serves multiple functions: it reinforces the housing structure, retains the terminal in place, and distributes mechanical loads away from the solder joints. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional specialized components.
Data Source
AI summary
A connector is provided that has a terminal, a housing for retaining the terminal, and a reinforcing bracket retained in the housing. The housing includes a fitting concave portion that fits with a counterpart connector and a bottom plate portion that faces a surface of a substrate. The terminal includes a contact portion that makes contact with a counterpart terminal of the counterpart connector inside the fitting concave portion and a substrate connecting portion exposed from a lower surface of the bottom plate portion and connected to a connecting pad on the surface of the substrate. The reinforcing bracket includes a main body portion retained in the housing inside the fitting concave portion and a leg portion exposed from the lower surface of the bottom plate portion and connected to the connecting pad on the surface of the substrate.