Connector Housing with Replaceable Shielding Sub-Housing
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing connector technologies require dedicated parts for different vehicle grades, leading to increased costs and complex parts management, as they often incorporate shielding functions that may not be necessary for all grades.
Innovation Solution
A connector design that allows for two specifications: one with a shielding function and one without, using a common housing and allowing for the replacement of the outer conductor and dielectric with a sub-housing, enabling cost reduction and simplified parts management by using the same terminal fitting and housing in both configurations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If a connector is designed with shielding function (outer conductor and dielectric) for high-grade vehicles, then shielding performance is improved, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is designed to serve multiple functions: it provides structural support, accommodates terminal fittings, and integrates locking mechanisms. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate components, thereby lowering device complexity while maintaining shielding performance when required.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector is divided into modular components including the housing, terminal fittings, outer conductor, and dielectric. This segmentation allows flexible configuration where the shielding components (outer conductor and dielectric) can be included or excluded based on vehicle grade requirements, reducing complexity for lower-grade applications while preserving shielding capability for high-grade applications.
2Adaptability or versatility
If dedicated connectors are designed for different vehicle grades with different specifications, then specific performance requirements are met, but cost and parts management complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
The housing and terminal fittings are designed as universal components that can be used across different vehicle grades. The same housing structure accommodates both shielded and non-shielded configurations, allowing a single base design to serve multiple specifications and reducing manufacturing costs and parts management complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector design allows dynamic configuration where the outer conductor and dielectric can be selectively included or excluded based on the required specification. This flexibility enables the same basic structure to adapt to different vehicle grade requirements without requiring entirely different connector designs.
3Device complexity
If the outer conductor and dielectric are replaced with a sub-housing for non-shielded applications, then device complexity and cost are reduced, but the housing must accommodate both configurations
Solution Approach 1:
The replacement of the outer conductor and dielectric with a sub-housing creates a modular configuration where the sub-housing serves as the containment structure for non-shielded applications. This segmentation allows the main housing to accommodate both shielded and non-shielded configurations through its versatile internal geometry.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing is designed with universal characteristics that allow it to accommodate both the outer conductor/dielectric configuration for shielded applications and the sub-housing configuration for non-shielded applications. This multi-functionality ensures configuration compatibility across different vehicle grades while maintaining a unified design platform.
Data Source
AI summary
A connector has parts that can be used in common as much as possible in different specifications to reduce cost and to facilitate parts management. In a first specification having a high shielding function, a terminal fitting (20) connected to a shielded electric wire (15) is accommodated in a dielectric (23). The dielectric (23) is surrounded by an outer conductor (40) that is connected to a braided wire (18). The second specification requires no shielding function, and thus the outer conductor (40) is not used. Rather, a sub-housing (70) having the same shape and size as the outer conductor (40) of the first specification is used. The sub-housing (70) is configured to accommodate and retain the terminal fitting (20) and is locked in a same retained state as in the first specification when accommodated in a common housing (10) used in both specifications.