Connector Secondary Lock With Visual Assembly Verification
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current multipolar connectors lack a reliable mechanism to detect proper secondary locking of retainers, leading to quality issues due to manufacturing tolerances and improper assembly, resulting in separated or incorrectly coupled terminals.
Innovation Solution
A connector design featuring a cantilever-shaped housing lock and a position assuring member with specific protrusions and angles that allow for primary and secondary locking states, enabling visual verification of proper assembly and preventing damage through a cantilever-shaped structure that protrudes when not properly fastened.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a retainer is used with secondary locking mechanism, then the terminals are secured more reliably, but there is no detection function to verify proper assembly, leading to quality issues
Solution Approach 1:
The housing lock acts as a feedback mechanism that provides visual indication of assembly status. When the position assuring member is properly inserted, the housing lock engages and remains hidden within the housing body. When insertion is improper, the housing lock protrudes outward, providing immediate visual feedback about assembly quality without requiring additional detection devices.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing lock structure performs dual functions: it both secures the position assuring member (through engagement with the action portion) and simultaneously provides verification of proper assembly (through protrusion indication). This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for separate detection systems while maintaining reliability.
2Productivity
If manufacturing tolerances are present, then production is easier and faster, but the retainer may not be fastened properly, causing terminals to separate or couple incorrectly
Solution Approach 1:
The housing lock is designed with a cantilever structure that can elastically deform to accommodate manufacturing tolerances during assembly. The locking protrusion and detaching protrusion geometry provides a tolerance buffer zone, allowing components with normal manufacturing variations to still engage properly without requiring ultra-precise manufacturing.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing lock structure changes its physical state (position, deformation) based on assembly correctness. When assembled properly, the lock engages and becomes hidden; when improperly assembled, it protrudes. This parameter change provides a clear binary indication that works regardless of minor manufacturing variations in the input parameters.
3Difficulty of detecting and measuring
If a complex detection mechanism is added to verify retainer locking, then assembly quality can be detected, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The detection function is extracted from the main connector body and embodied in the housing lock structure. Rather than adding a complex detection system, the verification capability is taken out and simplified into a visual indicator mechanism that is an integral part of the locking structure itself, reducing overall complexity while maintaining detection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing lock merges the locking function and the verification function into a single integrated component. The same structure that secures the position assuring member also provides the visual indication of proper assembly, eliminating the need for separate detection mechanisms and reducing device complexity.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A
AI summary
A connector (10) has a cap (110) including a first cable inserting hole (124) into which a cable terminal is to be inserted. A coupling space (125) is recessed into the cap (110) and is in communication with the first cable inserting hole (124). The cap (110) has a housing body (120) including a cantilever-shaped housing lock (126) on one side of the coupling space (125), the housing lock (126) having a free end portion (126b). A position assuring member (130) is inserted into the coupling space (125) and is fastened to the housing lock (126).