Electrical Connector Dual-Direction Mating via Resilient Inner Arm
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical connectors lack a versatile restricting and blocking structure that allows for secure mating and smooth disengagement in both vertical and horizontal directions, limiting their versatility and ease of use.
Innovation Solution
An electrical connector design featuring a U-shaped insulative housing with resilient inner arms and stationary outer arms, enabling the connector to mate and disengage in both vertical and horizontal directions through a combination of guiding protrusions and locking structures, ensuring secure engagement and easy disengagement.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a conventional vertical-type connector design is used, then the connector can be mated and disengaged in a vertical direction, but it cannot be operated in a horizontal direction
Solution Approach 1:
The connector housing is designed with both resilient inner arms and stationary outer arms that work together to enable universal mating and disengagement operations in multiple directions (vertical and horizontal), making the connector adaptable to different orientations without requiring separate restricting components for each direction
2Adaptability or versatility
If separate restricting components are mounted to enable multi-directional operation, then the connector gains versatility, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient inner arms and stationary outer arms are integrated into the housing structure itself, merging the restricting and blocking functions into the basic connector architecture rather than using separate mounted components, thereby reducing overall device complexity while maintaining multi-directional versatility
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient inner arms provide dynamic restricting capability that adapts to different mating directions through elastic deformation, allowing the connector to accommodate both vertical and horizontal operations without requiring fixed restricting structures for each direction
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 solution provides a secure and efficient mating and disengagement mechanism in both directions, enhancing the versatility and usability of the electrical connector by allowing insertion and removal in both top-to-bottom and front-to-back orientations.
Implementation Method 1
a resilient inner arm extending along a horizontal, front-to-back direction and having a front end operable in both a vertical, top-to-bottom direction and the horizontal, front-to-back direction to move toward the stationary outer arm
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical connector (100) includes: an insulative housing having a base (11) and a pair of side walls (12), each side wall having a resilient inner arm (121) and a stationary outer arm (122); and plural contacts (2) retained to the insulative housing, wherein the resilient inner arm extends along a horizontal, front-to-back direction and has a front end operable in both a vertical, top-to-bottom direction and the horizontal, front-to-back direction to move toward the stationary outer arm.