Connector Wire Cover One-Handed Assembly Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional connectors with wire covers require two hands for assembly due to the risk of the main body cover rotating when attaching the lid cover, making the process cumbersome and reducing workability.
Innovation Solution
A connector design featuring a wire cover with a main body cover and lid cover that includes a provisional engagement portion and rotation restricting features, allowing the main body cover to be securely attached and preventing rotation, enabling one-handed assembly by extending the attachment portion beyond the cover mounting portion and using a hinge for easy locking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the wire cover is assembled using conventional methods with divided covers and fitting tubes, then the connection reliability is improved, but the assembly complexity increases and requires two hands for operation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the main body cover and lid cover into a single integrated wire cover component, eliminating the need for separate assembly of multiple parts. This merging reduces assembly steps from requiring two hands to one hand operation, while maintaining the protective function through the integrated structure that covers the rear end portion of the connector housing in one piece.
Solution Approach 2:
The wire cover is designed to simultaneously provide multiple functions: protecting the rear end portion of the connector housing, guiding wire bending, and enabling one-handed assembly. The extended attachment portion beyond the maximum diameter portion allows the cover to perform both structural protection and simplified assembly operations through its integrated design.
2Ease of operation
If the attachment portion is extended beyond the maximum diameter portion, then the ease of operation is improved for one-handed assembly, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The attachment portion is pre-extending beyond the maximum diameter portion of the connector housing, allowing the wire cover to be attached in a preliminary manner without requiring complex locking mechanisms or multiple assembly steps. This preliminary extension enables one-handed operation by providing a built-in attachment feature that engages automatically during the simplifying assembly process.
3Loss of time
If the wire cover is designed as a single integrated piece, then the assembly time is reduced, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
While the wire cover is integrated, the attachment portion is segmented into a distinct extended region that separates the functional areas: the protective cover portion and the attachment portion. This segmentation within integration allows for focused manufacturing precision in the attachment area while maintaining overall one-piece construction, reducing assembly time without excessively increasing overall manufacturing complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
In a connector with a wire cover, one of attachment portions provided in a main body cover is extended beyond a maximum diameter portion of a cover mounting portion in a direction perpendicular to an attachment direction in which the attachment portion is mounted on the cover mounting portion. The one of the attachment portions includes a provisional engagement portion provisionally engaged on the cover mounting portion, and configured to prevent the attachment portion from being detached from the cover mounting portion. The main body cover includes a rotation restricting portion configured to come in contact with a connector housing to prevent a rotation of the main body cover when a rotational force is applied to the main body cover in a circumferential direction of the cover mounting portion in a state where the provisional engagement portion is provisionally engaged with the cover mounting portion.