Electrical Connector Contact Module With Shielding Plate
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical connectors are not easy to manufacture and lack efficient design features for secure mating and prevention of short-circuits.
Innovation Solution
An electrical connector design featuring an insulative housing with a tongue portion, contact-receiving grooves, and a shielding plate, where contacts are insert-molded with a metallic shell, and an insulative member is over-molded to seal cavities, creating an enlarged gap between contacts for increased distance and preventing foreign body entry.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If traditional electrical connector design is used, then manufacturing process is complex and difficult, but this patent simplifies manufacturing through insert-molding process
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the insulative housing, contacts, and shielding plate into a single integrated contact module through insert-molding. The insulative housing receives the contacts and shielding plate, and all components are molded together to form one unified assembly, eliminating the need for separate assembly steps and reducing manufacturing complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The contacts and shielding plate are pre-positioned within the insulative housing during the molding process. The insulative housing is molded with predetermined cavities and grooves that automatically position the contacts and shielding plate in their final locations, eliminating the need for subsequent positioning and adjustment operations.
2Volume of moving object
If contacts are placed close together, then connector size is reduced, but short-circuit risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a shielding plate positioned between adjacent contacts within the insulative housing. This shielding plate acts as an intermediary barrier that prevents foreign objects from bridging the gap between contacts and causing short-circuits, while still allowing the contacts to be positioned relatively close together for compact connector design.
Solution Approach 2:
The insulative housing provides localized insulation between adjacent contacts through its molded structure. The housing material is specifically positioned in critical areas where foreign object intrusion could cause short-circuits, providing enhanced local protection without requiring increased overall connector size.
3Ease of manufacture
If bridge portions are not removed, then manufacturing is simpler, but electrical connection reliability decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent incorporates bridge portions within the insulative housing structure that are designed to be easily removed after molding. The housing is molded with features that allow the bridge portions to be extracted or broken away, leaving clean contact surfaces for reliable electrical connections while maintaining manufacturing simplicity through the integrated molding process.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical connector includes an insulative housing, a number of contacts, a shielding plate, and a metallic shell. The insulative housing defines a number of contact-receiving grooves and a number of through holes connecting with adjacent contact-receiving grooves. The contacts include a number of first contacts having connecting sections, at least one connecting section of the first contacts has a first bending section bent along a direction away from the contiguous first contact to form an enlarged gap for increasing a distance between the adjacent first contacts. The insulative housing, the shielding plate and the contacts are molded to form a contact module. The enlarged gap and the corresponding through hole are connected together.