Connector Sealant Visual Confirmation via Stepped Surfaces
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connectors with synthetic resin bodies and embedded terminal fittings face challenges in ensuring a precise visual judgment of the sealant fill amount, as the sealant's height is difficult to confirm due to poor affinity between the fittings and resin, leading to improper sealing or connection issues.
Innovation Solution
A connector design featuring a fitting recess with a diverging boundary surface and a detecting surface, allowing for visual confirmation of the sealant fill amount by forming a visual confirmation area where the sealant's proper height covers only the detecting surface but not the boundary surface, enabling precise judgment of the sealant's quantity without enlarging the connector.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the filled amount of sealant is increased to ensure proper sealing, then sealing reliability is improved, but the connector may not connect properly with the mating connector due to excessive height
Solution Approach 1:
The fitting recess is segmented into multiple functional zones: a filling recess for sealant placement, a detecting surface for visual confirmation, and a boundary surface defining the limit. This segmentation allows the sealant to be contained in a specific area, ensuring proper sealing without excessive height that would prevent proper connection.
Solution Approach 2:
The detecting surface and boundary surface are pre-formed on the fitting recess bottom before sealant application. These pre-formed surfaces provide visual cues that guide the sealant filling process, enabling operators to stop at the correct height and avoid both insufficient sealing and excessive height.
2Ease of operation
If the filled amount of sealant is reduced to avoid excessive height, then connection properness is maintained, but sealing may be impaired
Solution Approach 1:
The detecting surface and boundary surface are pre-formed on the fitting recess bottom before sealant application. These pre-formed surfaces provide visual cues that guide the sealant filling process, enabling operators to stop at the correct height and avoid both insufficient sealing and excessive height.
Solution Approach 2:
The detecting surface and boundary surface provide visual feedback during the sealant filling process. As sealant is applied, operators can observe when it reaches the detecting surface (indicating sufficient sealing) and when it approaches the boundary surface (indicating the maximum safe height), allowing real-time adjustment to maintain both sealing and connection properness.
3Loss of information
If a conventional mark or groove is provided on the surrounding wall to confirm sealant height, then visual confirmation is enabled, but it remains difficult to judge whether the filled sealant is at a suitable height because the sealant is at the bottom surface
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of placing visual marks on the vertical wall surface, the invention transitions to the horizontal bottom surface by forming detecting and boundary surfaces on the fitting recess bottom. This dimensional change allows direct visual observation of sealant height from above, dramatically improving judgment accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The detecting surface and boundary surface create a visual copy or representation of the sealant fill status. By forming these reference surfaces directly on the bottom where the sealant resides, the system provides an accurate visual copy of the fill level, enabling precise judgment without distortion from viewing angles.
Data Source
AI summary
A filling recess (25) for a sealant “s” is formed in a bottom of a fitting recess (22) and a boundary stepped surface (30) is formed around the filling recess (25) to define an annular area between the filling recess (25) and the outer peripheral edge of the boundary stepped surface (30). A detecting stepped surface (34) is formed around the upper edge of the filling recess (25) and is slightly lower than the boundary stepped surface (30). A filled amount of the sealant “s” is proper if the detecting stepped surface (34) cannot be seen, but the boundary stepped surface (30) can be seen. The filled amount is too little if both stepped surfaces (34, 30) can be seen, and it is excessive if neither of the stepped surfaces (34, 30) can be seen.