Electrical Connector Terminal Tails Preventing Collapse
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical connectors face issues with the deformability of conductive terminals, particularly during assembly, where soldering pins are prone to friction and collapse.
Innovation Solution
The electrical connector design features an insulative housing with upper and lower terminals, where horizontal rear tails of the upper terminals and horizontal front tails of the lower terminals are arranged to prevent collapse, with the tails seated on ribs and grooves within the insulator, ensuring precise integration and better soldering to the printed circuit board.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If soldering pins are used to extend from the rear surface of the insulative housing, then the terminals can be soldered to the printed circuit board, but the soldering pins are easily frictioned and collapsed during assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal is divided into three distinct portions: contacting portion, fixed portion, and tail. The tail is further segmented into horizontal section and oblique section, allowing each segment to perform its specific function - the horizontal section provides friction resistance while the oblique section enables soldering, resolving the contradiction between deformability and strength.
Solution Approach 2:
Different sections of the terminal tail have different geometric properties optimized for their specific functions. The horizontal rear tail section provides friction resistance through its orientation parallel to the mounting surface, while the oblique section provides soldering access. This local differentiation resolves the contradiction by giving each part the quality it needs for its specific role.
2Reliability
If the tails are arranged to prevent collapse, then assembly reliability improves, but the device structure becomes more complex with horizontal and oblique sections
Solution Approach 1:
The terminal tail combines multiple functions into a single continuous structure - the horizontal section provides friction resistance during assembly while the oblique section provides soldering access. This merging of functions into one integrated tail structure resolves the contradiction by achieving reliability without requiring separate components, thus avoiding excessive complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The terminal tail design allows for controlled deformation during assembly - the horizontal section resists friction while the oblique section can be bent into position for soldering. This dynamic flexibility resolves the contradiction between reliability and complexity by allowing the structure to adapt during assembly rather than requiring a complex pre-configured rigid structure.
Data Source
AI summary
An electrical connector is mounted to a printed circuit board and includes an insulative housing and a number of upper and lower terminals affixed to the insulative housing. The insulative housing includes a base portion having a mounting portion extending rearward from the base portion, and a mating tongue extending forwardly from the base portion. The mounting portion includes a mounting surface mounted to the printed circuit board and an rear surface. Each terminal has a contacting portion exposed to two exposed surfaces of the mating tongue, a fixed portion and a tail extending rearward from the fixed portion. The tails of the upper terminals parallel to the mounting surface are a number of horizontal rear tails located in a rear end of the tails of the lower terminals. The horizontal rear tails extend rearward and are located in front of the rear surface.