High-Voltage Connector Slider Lock to Prevent CPA Misactivation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current high-voltage electrical connectors for vehicles face challenges in assembly due to their size and weight, requiring complex mate assist devices and connector position assurance systems that can be accidentally activated, leading to costly repairs and inefficiencies during assembly.
Innovation Solution
A movable mate assist device with integrated connector position assurance, featuring a sleeve-shaped design with guiding means and flexible arms to prevent accidental activation, allowing for secure locking and easy operation without hand removal, utilizing first and second locking means and unlocking mechanisms for precise mating and locking.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a connector position assurance device is provided to ensure connectors stay connected during operation, then connection reliability is improved, but the device can be accidentally activated during assembly which causes assembly difficulties and requires time-consuming repair and reset
Solution Approach 1:
The cavity opening is positioned on the second end of the mate assist device, opposite from the first end facing the counter connector. This preliminary design choice prevents accidental activation by making the opening inaccessible during the mating operation, while still allowing intentional activation after mating is complete.
Solution Approach 2:
The mate assist device acts as an intermediary structure that houses the connector position assurance device within its cavity. This intermediary arrangement separates the activation mechanism from the mating path, allowing the position assurance device to be operated independently after mating without interfering with the connection process.
2Reliability
If the electrical connector is made huge to accommodate big electrical terminals and provide improved insulation capability, then electrical performance is improved, but the connector becomes difficult to assemble in the car body during production
Solution Approach 1:
The mate assist device is sleeve-shaped and surrounds the connector housing, with the connector position assurance device nested within the cavity of the mate assist device. This nested arrangement consolidates multiple functions into a compact configuration, making the overall assembly easier to handle despite the large size of the connector terminals.
Solution Approach 2:
The mate assist device combines multiple functions: it provides structural support for the large connector, houses the connector position assurance device, and offers a gripping surface for assembly operations. This merging of functions reduces the number of separate components and simplifies the assembly process.
3Ease of operation
If mate assist devices with integrated gears are used to support handicraft while meeting the electrical connector to a counter connector, then mating assistance is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The complex gear mechanism is extracted from the mate assist device and replaced with a simpler sliding cavity system. The connector position assurance device is taken out as a separate component that operates independently within the cavity, eliminating the need for integrated gears while maintaining mating assistance functionality.
Data Source
Figure 1
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AI summary
An electrical connector (10) comprising a connector housing (12) having a mating axis (X) and a mate assist device (20) attached to the connector housing (12), surrounding the connector housing (10), wherein the mate assist device (20) is movable, along the mating axis (X) in a mating direction (M), from a first position (Pi) to a second position (P2), a connector position assurance device (60) attached at the mate assist device (20), movable from a third position (P3) to a fourth position (P4) along the mating axis (X) in the mating direction (M), wherein the connector position assurance device (60) is locked, by first locking means in the third position (P3) when the electrical connector (10) is not mated to an electrical counter connector (100) and wherein the connector position assurance device (60) is released by first unlocking means, attached at the electrical counter connector (100), when the electrical connector (10) and the electrical counter connector (100) are mated, wherein the released connector position assurance device (60) securely locks the electrical connector (10) to the electrical counter connector (100) by second locking means, attached on the position assurance device (60), when the connector position assurance device (60) is moved to the fourth position (P4).