Compact Connector Terminal Arrangement for Buckling Prevention
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing connector design has a large distance between contact portions, resulting in a short effective fitting length and increased risk of buckling due to the object being caught by the joining portion of the second terminal piece during insertion.
Innovation Solution
The connector features a first terminal piece with a first bent-back portion and a second terminal piece with an intermediate and third bent-back portion, allowing the contact portions to be arranged closer together, increasing the effective fitting length and reducing the risk of buckling by dispersing stress and using a displacement restriction wall to maintain contact pressure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the first terminal piece and second terminal piece extend in opposite directions to reduce connector size, then the connector size is reduced, but the distance between contact portions becomes large and effective fitting length becomes short
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from a linear arrangement where terminal pieces extend in opposite directions to a spatial arrangement utilizing multiple dimensions. The first and second terminal pieces are positioned to extend in different directions (first direction and second direction respectively) rather than opposite directions along a single line, effectively using dimensional space to reduce connector size while maintaining adequate contact portion spacing and effective fitting length.
2Volume of moving object
If the second terminal piece is positioned further inside in the insertion direction, then connector size is reduced, but the object to be connected may be caught by the joining portion causing buckling
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts or removes the problematic joining portion from the insertion path by positioning the second terminal piece to extend in a second direction rather than further inside in the insertion direction. This eliminates the risk of the object to be connected being caught by the joining portion while still achieving compact connector size through optimized spatial arrangement of the terminal pieces.
3Reliability
If multiple contact portions are provided in a single terminal to remove foreign substances, then connection reliability is increased, but the distance between contact portions becomes large
Solution Approach 1:
The patent arranges multiple contact portions (first contact portion and second contact portion) in different spatial directions rather than along a single linear path. The first contact portion extends in a first direction while the second contact portion extends in a second direction, allowing multiple contact points for foreign substance removal while maintaining shorter distances between contact portions through three-dimensional spatial optimization.
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 configuration enhances the connection reliability by increasing the effective fitting length between contact portions, reducing the connector size, and preventing buckling, while maintaining reliable conductive contact and spring durability.
Implementation Method 1
a first spring piece portion that extends in a height direction, a first bent-back portion that is bent in a second direction opposite to the height direction from an end portion of the first spring piece portion
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2~3
Figure 4
AI summary
In a small connector including a plurality of contact portions in an insertion direction of an object to be connected, increasing the effective fitting length with the object and eliminating the risk of bucking of a terminal caused by the object being caught by the terminal. A first contact portion and a second contact portion can be extended in directions opposing each other with a first bent-back portion of a first terminal piece and a third bent-back portion of a second terminal piece, and can be close to each other compared with a known connector in which a first contact portion and a second contact portion extend in opposite directions. An effective fitting length of the first contact portion or the second contact portion with respect to the plug terminal can be increased.