Header Assembly Segmentation for High Voltage Harness Mounting
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current high voltage automotive systems face difficulties in efficiently mounting harness assemblies due to the small size of mounting openings, making it challenging to feed and secure components like connectors and body clips within the device housing.
Innovation Solution
A header assembly design featuring an outer housing with a cavity and a shield, where the inner housing is surrounded by the shield and can be easily removed for assembly, allowing the harness assembly to be preloaded through the device's opening and aligned with the outer housing for secure coupling, eliminating the need for complex feeding through a small mounting hole.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the mounting opening is made small to protect electrical components inside the device housing, then the protection of electrical components is improved, but the difficulty of feeding the harness assembly through the mounting opening increases
Solution Approach 1:
The header assembly is divided into two separate parts: an outer housing that is mounted to the exterior of the device through the small mounting opening, and an inner housing that contains the electrical components and is mounted inside the device. This segmentation allows the mounting opening to remain small for protection while enabling separate access paths for assembly.
Solution Approach 2:
The design transitions from a single housing structure to a two-housing nested structure, adding a spatial dimension to the assembly. The outer housing provides the mounting interface on the exterior side, while the inner housing provides the component housing on the interior side, effectively using the depth dimension to resolve the contradiction between small opening size and assembly ease.
2Volume of moving object
If the harness assembly is fed through a small mounting opening, then the device housing remains compact, but the assembly time and complexity increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the header assembly into outer and inner housings, the assembly process is divided into two simpler steps: first mounting the outer housing through the small opening, then mounting the inner housing inside the device. This eliminates the time-consuming process of trying to feed the entire harness assembly through the restricted opening.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer housing is pre-mounted to the device housing through the small mounting opening before the inner housing is installed. This preliminary action establishes the mounting structure in advance, making the subsequent installation of the inner housing and electrical components more efficient and less complex.
3Device complexity
If a single housing structure is used, then the structure is simpler, but the shielding continuity and protection of high voltage components are insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is segmented into an outer housing that provides the primary mounting structure and shielding, and an inner housing that provides additional protection and houses the electrical components. This segmentation enables better shielding continuity by allowing each housing to be optimized for its specific function while maintaining overall structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The inner housing is nested within the outer housing, creating a nested structure where the inner housing fits inside the cavity of the outer housing. This nested configuration enhances shielding continuity by providing multiple layers of protection and ensuring that high voltage components are surrounded by shielding material from both housings.
Data Source
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AI summary
A header assembly (102) is provided that includes an outer housing (150) that has a mating end and a harness end. The outer housing has a cavity (152) at the mating end and a flange (164) configured to be mounted to a panel of a device. The cavity is configured to be exposed to an exterior of the device for mating with a plug assembly. A shield (154) is received in the cavity (152) that has a front (170) and a rear (172). An inner housing (156) is received in the cavity with the shield surrounding at least a portion of the inner housing. The inner housing has a front and a rear and has latches (190) engaging the front of the shield. The latches allow the inner housing to be released from the shield to remove the inner housing from the cavity.