Electrical Connector Shell With Elastic Spring Member
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical connectors with metal shells and insulated housings suffer from insecure assembly, leading to instability under mating forces due to the use of thin and flexible arms, which fail to provide reliable strain relief and alignment.
Innovation Solution
An electrical connector design featuring an insulated housing with terminals and a metal shell forming a U-shaped frame, where the housing is securely assembled within the frame, with a spring member providing additional stability and alignment, allowing the connector to withstand greater forces during mating.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If thin and flexible arms are used to assemble the metal shell to the insulated housing, then the assembly process is simple, but the connection is insecure and cannot withstand big force
Solution Approach 1:
The patent employs elastic arms that can flexibly deform during assembly and operation. These arms are designed with specific elasticity to allow easy assembly while maintaining secure connection under force. The dynamic flexibility of the arms enables them to absorb mating forces while keeping the metal shell firmly attached to the insulated housing.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent modifies the physical parameters of the connecting arms by optimizing their thickness, material properties, and geometric dimensions. The arms are designed with controlled thickness and elastic modulus to achieve the right balance between ease of assembly and connection strength, allowing them to withstand big forces during mating operations.
2Device complexity
If the metal shell and insulated housing are assembled with simple arms, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability of the connection deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic arms provide dynamic connection capability, allowing the structure to adapt to assembly variations and operational forces. This dynamic design maintains connection reliability without requiring complex assembly mechanisms or additional components, thus preserving structural simplicity while enhancing reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic arms are designed to self-adjust and self-lock during assembly and operation. They automatically adapt to the mating forces and maintain secure connection without requiring external control mechanisms, thereby ensuring reliable connection while keeping the overall device complexity low.
3Quantity of substance
If thin arms are used to connect the metal shell, then the manufacturing cost is reduced, but the ability to withstand mating forces is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent optimizes the physical parameters of the arms including their thickness, length, and material composition. By carefully controlling these parameters, the arms use minimal material while still achieving the required force resistance capability to withstand mating operations without failure.
Solution Approach 2:
The elastic arms are designed to dynamically respond to mating forces, flexing and deforming within elastic limits to absorb and distribute applied forces. This dynamic behavior allows thin arms to withstand big forces during mating by distributing the stress across their elastic deformation cycle.
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 improved assembly ensures a tighter and more reliable connection between the insulated housing and metal shell, enhancing the connector's ability to withstand mating forces and maintain alignment, thus providing enhanced stability and performance.
Implementation Method 1
A spring member slantways extending downward and rearward from rear edge of the upper wall and located above the insulated housing
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical connector (100) includes an insulated housing (1), a number of terminals (2) received in the insulated housing (1), a metal shell (3) assembled to the insulated housing (1). The metal shell (3) includes an inverted U-shaped body portion (30), with a substantially U-shaped frame portion connecting to rear edges of transversal walls (32) and a spring member (37) slantways extending downward and rearward from rear edge of an upper wall (31) thereof. The insulated housing (1) is reliably held by the U-shaped frame portion of the metal shell (3), with the body portion (30) located forwardly of the insulated housing (1) and the spring member (37) located above of the insulated housing (1).