Displaceable Fuse End Cap Pin for Secure Adapter Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical fuse assemblies face challenges with inadvertent rotational and angular displacement of adapters, leading to misalignment and difficulty in securing the fuse properly to the assembly, which can prevent secure engagement with mating features.
Innovation Solution
A displaceable pin assembly within the end cap of the fuse assembly, featuring a plunger that is selectively movable between an extended and recessed position, is used to ensure proper alignment by being received in a notch of the lower adapter, thereby maintaining rotational and linear alignment of the fuse assembly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If adapters are secured to fuse ends without alignment features, then device complexity is reduced, but manufacturing precision deteriorates due to rotational and angular displacement
Solution Approach 1:
The displaceable pin assembly acts as an intermediary alignment feature between the adapter and fuse assembly. The pin protrudes from the end cap to engage with a corresponding recess in the adapter, providing precise rotational and angular alignment without requiring complex adapter structures. This mediator element resolves the contradiction by adding minimal complexity to the adapter while significantly improving alignment precision.
2Manufacturing precision
If alignment features are added to prevent displacement, then manufacturing precision is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment pin is designed as a displaceable feature rather than a fixed structure. The pin can be displaced radially inward to allow adapter installation, then returns to its extended position to provide alignment. This dynamic characteristic reduces the overall device complexity by eliminating the need for complex alignment mechanisms while maintaining manufacturing precision through the pin's controlled movement.
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment function is segmented into a separate displaceable pin assembly rather than being integrated into the adapter structure. This segmentation allows the end cap to provide alignment features independently, simplifying the adapter design and reducing overall device complexity while maintaining precise alignment capability.
3Manufacturing precision
If the plunger is always extended for alignment, then manufacturing precision is maintained, but ease of operation deteriorates during installation
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment pin is pre-configured in an extended position to provide alignment guidance before adapter installation begins. During installation, the pin can be temporarily displaced inward to facilitate adapter engagement, then automatically returns to its extended alignment position. This preliminary configuration ensures alignment accuracy is maintained while improving ease of operation during the installation process.
Solution Approach 2:
The displaceable pin assembly is designed to automatically return to its extended alignment position after being displaced during adapter installation. This self-service mechanism eliminates the need for manual intervention to maintain alignment, combining manufacturing precision with ease of operation by allowing temporary displacement during installation while automatically restoring alignment accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
A fuse assembly having a displaceable pin assembly secured within a cap bore of an end cap of the fuse assembly. The displaceable pin assembly can include a plunger that is selectively displaceable along an axis that is non-parallel to a central longitudinal axis of the first end cap. The plunger can be selectively displaceable between an extended position at which at least a first end of the plunger is outwardly positioned away from an outer surface of the first end cap, and a recessed position at which the first end of the plunger is recessed within, or generally aligned with the outer surface of, the first end cap. The displaceable pin assembly can also include a biasing element that can bias the plunger to the extended position, and a support body that can house at least a portion of the plunger and be securely coupled to the cap bore.