Connector Shells Secured by Sliding Coupling Component
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional connectors with housings constructed from single components face manufacturing difficulties and limited access to internal features once assembled, necessitating a solution for removably coupled shells that allow disassembly for access and secure connection.
Innovation Solution
A connector design featuring a pair of shells with side projections and a coupling component that engages these projections via a slot edge, securing the shells together without additional fasteners, allowing for removability and access to internal features.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the housing is constructed from two half shells permanently fastened together, then the mechanical strength and structural integrity are improved, but the accessibility to internal features is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into two separate half-shells that can be assembled and disassembled independently. This segmentation allows the internal features to be accessible when the shells are separated, while maintaining structural integrity when assembled together through the coupling component.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling component enables the housing to transition between a fixed state (shells permanently fastened) and a movable state (shells separable). This dynamic capability allows the housing to provide both structural integrity during operation and accessibility during maintenance or assembly.
2Ease of manufacture
If the connector is constructed as a single component, then the manufacturing simplicity is improved, but the accessibility to internal features is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The single-component housing is segmented into multiple half-shells that can be manufactured separately and then assembled. This segmentation maintains manufacturing simplicity for each individual component while enabling accessibility to internal features when the shells are separated.
Solution Approach 2:
The coupling component is designed to nest within the housing structure, with the slot and ledges integrated into the half-shells. This nesting approach allows the coupling mechanism to be part of the housing assembly without requiring separate external fasteners, maintaining manufacturing simplicity.
3Strength
If additional fasteners are used to secure the shells together, then the structural integrity is improved, but the device complexity is worsened
Solution Approach 1:
The coupling component merges the functions of securing the half-shells together and providing structural integrity into a single integrated component. The slot and ledge mechanism combines the fastening function with the housing structure, eliminating the need for separate additional fasteners.
Solution Approach 2:
The ledge structure on each half-shell is designed to self-align and engage with the coupling component's slot. This self-service mechanism allows the shells to be secured together through the coupling component without requiring additional alignment features or multiple fasteners, reducing device complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A connector including a pair of shells mated together along an interface that extends in a longitudinal direction. The pair of shells form a passage therebetween for conveying an electrical current and/or optical communication therethrough. Each shell includes an outer surface and a side projection that extends along the outer surface in substantially the longitudinal direction. The side projection has a ledge that projects from the outer surface and faces away from the interface. The connector also includes a coupling component that is configured to move along the shells in the longitudinal direction and engage the side projections. The coupling component has a slot configured to receive both side projections therein and is at least partially defined by a slot edge. The slot edge engages each ledge when the coupling component is moved over the side projections. The slot edge presses the side projections toward each other to secure the shells together.