L-Shaped Connector Housing for Compact Terminal Insertion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional connectors face challenges in reducing physical size in the terminal insertion and extraction direction while maintaining productivity, as the curing process for resin and potting agents slows down the production process.
Innovation Solution
The connector is designed with an L-shaped configuration, featuring a first housing member and a second housing member that integrate to form a housing tool, allowing for reduced size in the terminal insertion and extraction direction without relying on the curing of resin or potting agents, and includes a water sealing member for protection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Length of moving object
If resin agent or potting agent is used to reduce connector size in terminal insertion direction, then physical size is reduced, but productivity decreases due to curing time requirements
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the curing process step from the manufacturing workflow by replacing resin/potting agents with a mechanical press-fitting structure. The terminal metal fitting is directly pressed into the housing without requiring chemical bonding, thereby removing the time-consuming curing wait period and enabling immediate subsequent operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the chemical bonding system (resin/potting agent curing) with a mechanical fastening system (press-fitting the terminal metal fitting into the housing). This substitution uses mechanical force during assembly rather than chemical reactions, eliminating the need for curing time and improving production efficiency.
2Length of moving object
If L-shaped connector configuration is adopted to reduce height, then physical size is reduced, but manufacturing complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the housing and terminal metal fitting into a single integrated L-shaped component through press-fitting, eliminating the need for separate mounting structures or additional fastening mechanisms. This integration simplifies the overall assembly while maintaining the space-saving L-shaped footprint.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention utilizes the L-shaped geometry to redirect the terminal insertion path from a vertical orientation to a horizontal orientation, effectively reducing the height dimension while accommodating the same functional requirements through spatial reconfiguration.
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~3C
AI summary
A housing tool (CA) that houses an intersecting terminal metal fitting (10) with an electric wire (We) includes a first housing member (20) and a second housing member (30) integrated by fitting cylinder opening parts (23 and 33) to each other in an inserting manner. The first housing member (20) includes a first housing chamber (21) that houses a terminal connection part (11) of the terminal metal fitting (10), a terminal insertion port (22), and an opening (23a) of an opening part (23) of the first housing member (20) through which the terminal metal fitting (10) at an electric wire connection part (12) side is drawn out to the outside. The second housing member (30) includes a second housing chamber (31) that houses the electric wire connection part (12) drawn out from the opening (23a) with the end of the electric wire, an electric wire drawing port (32), and an opening (33a) of an opening part (33) of the second housing member (30) through which the terminal metal fitting (10) is drawn out.