Low-Profile Connector Disengagement via Segmented Cover
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing breakaway electrical connectors, designed to prevent accidental disengagement, have made it difficult to intentionally disengage connectors, especially when they are low-profile or mounted on flexible substrates like clothing, and this difficulty is exacerbated in low-light conditions.
Innovation Solution
The design includes a cover portion with cut-away areas to guide the user's thumb and index finger for a pinch grip, allowing easier disengagement of low-profile connectors mounted on flexible substrates, and incorporates a circumferential gripping rib for efficient disengagement, while maintaining the connectors' secure engagement through a resilient member.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If measures are taken to prevent accidental disengagement of breakaway electrical connectors, then connector reliability is improved, but intentional disengagement becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The cover portion is segmented with cut-away areas that create distinct access pathways. These segmented openings allow the resilient member to be accessed and compressed from specific directions, enabling intentional disengagement while maintaining overall connector stability during normal use.
Solution Approach 2:
The cut-away areas in the cover portion act as intermediaries that provide access to the resilient member. By creating these openings, the design allows users to interact with the resilient member (the mediating element) to intentionally disengage the connector, while the resilient member itself mediates between the engagement force and disengagement action.
2Shape
If the connector is designed as low-profile for sleek integration with flexible substrates, then aesthetic appearance and substrate integration are improved, but manual gripping and disengagement become more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The design transitions the interaction interface from a vertical gripping dimension to a horizontal access dimension. The cut-away areas in the cover portion allow thumbs and fingers to access the resilient member from the sides (horizontal dimension) rather than requiring gripping from the top (vertical dimension), enabling low-profile design while maintaining operability.
Solution Approach 2:
The cover portion is segmented with cut-away areas that create specific access pathways. This segmentation allows the low-profile connector body to be maintained while providing lateral access points for finger insertion and thumb application, effectively solving the gripping difficulty without increasing profile height.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the connector is mounted on flexible substrates such as clothing fabric, then adaptability to wearable applications is improved, but connector stability and resistance to accidental disengagement are reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The resilient member provides a counteracting force that opposes accidental disengagement. When external forces (such as fabric movement or cable tension) attempt to separate the connectors, the resilient member's elastic force acts in the opposite direction, maintaining engagement stability despite the flexible substrate's inherent instability.
Solution Approach 2:
The resilient member acts as a cushioning element that anticipates and absorbs disengagement forces before they can cause accidental separation. By pre-loading the spring mechanism, the design creates a buffer zone of elastic energy that must be overcome before disengagement occurs, protecting against accidental separation from fabric movement or cable stress.
4Device complexity
If the connector lacks visual indicators for orientation, then device simplicity is improved, but alignment and connection accuracy in low-light conditions deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment collar incorporates a visual feature (such as a colored band, reflective element, or contrasting material) that provides orientation indication. This visual indicator allows users to quickly identify the correct alignment position without adding complex mechanical alignment mechanisms, maintaining structural simplicity while improving alignment accuracy in low-light conditions.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment collar incorporates a visual feature (such as a colored band, reflective element, or contrasting material) that provides orientation indication. This visual indicator allows users to quickly identify the correct alignment position without adding complex mechanical alignment mechanisms, maintaining structural simplicity while improving alignment accuracy in low-light conditions.
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
This design minimizes accidental disengagement while facilitating easier deliberate disengagement by providing improved access and mechanical advantage, even in low-light conditions, ensuring secure and efficient disconnection of low-profile connectors on flexible substrates.
Implementation Method 1
At least one resilient member is arranged on the sleeve of the engagement portion, the resilient member being capable of deforming transversely to the first direction and providing a reaction force for maintaining the engagement of the connector with the mating connector.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical connector for mounting to a flexible substrate and for coupling with a mating connector having a low-profile. The connector comprises a cover portion arranged to extend in a plane parallel to the substrate so as to cover a mounting hole in the substrate. The connector further comprises a body portion comprising a connection port projecting from the cover portion, the connection port having electrical contacts within an end face of the port. The body portion further comprising an alignment collar arranged circumferentially around the connection port, the alignment collar being provided with an alignment feature at a discrete circumferential position for angularly aligning the mating connector with respect to the connection port.