Lever-Type Connector Balanced Housing Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing connectors tend to delay the connecting operation of housings due to biased connecting forces, leading to insufficient contact margins between terminal fittings, as the supporting portions and cam grooves are displaced from the longitudinal center, causing one housing to become oblique.
Innovation Solution
A lever-type connector with two symmetrical supporting portions on the first housing, where the lever is rotatably supported, featuring a first part as a cam groove and a second part as a bottomed groove, to exert balanced pushing forces on the housings, ensuring proper alignment and contact through the engagement of follower pins and escaping grooves.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If the supporting portion and cam groove are displaced toward one side from the longitudinal center, then the connecting force acts on one longitudinal side to proceed with connecting operation, but the connecting operation tends to be delayed at the other longitudinal side causing the first housing to become oblique and contact margins to be insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The lever is divided into two distinct parts: a first part (cam groove) that engages with the second housing to provide connecting force, and a second part (groove) that engages with the opposite supporting portion to provide counterbalancing force. This segmentation allows the force application points to be separated, enabling balanced force distribution across the connection region while maintaining effective connecting operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The lever design employs asymmetric engagement: the first part engages with the second housing on one side, while the second part engages with the supporting portion on the opposite side. This asymmetric configuration creates a balanced force system where forces applied at different locations counteract each other, preventing oblique deformation of the first housing while maintaining effective connecting force.
2Ease of operation
If the lever is rotatably supported on one supporting portion only, then the lever can be operated to exert pushing force, but the force distribution becomes biased causing housing obliquity
Solution Approach 1:
The lever transitions from a static single-point support to a dynamic dual-point engagement system. During operation, the lever rotates on the first supporting portion while the second part dynamically engages with the opposite supporting portion, creating a balanced force distribution that maintains housing alignment stability throughout the connecting operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The second part of the lever acts as a counterbalancing mechanism by engaging with the opposite supporting portion. As the lever operates and exerts pushing force through the first part, the second part provides counterbalancing engagement that prevents the first housing from becoming oblique, effectively counteracting the destabilizing effect of unilateral force application.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This design prevents the first housing from becoming oblique, ensures sufficient contact margins between terminal fittings, and allows for versatile remounting options, simplifying the construction by eliminating the need for special engageable portions, while maintaining operational force efficiency and strength.
Implementation Method 1
a lever (60) to be mounted on the first housing (20), wherein: one side surface of the first housing (20) is formed with two supporting portions (24)... the lever (60) is rotatably supported on one of the two supporting portions (24)
Implementation Method 2
The lever (60) is formed with a first part and a second part for giving pushing forces to the first housing (20)... the first part gives the pushing force to the first housing (20) by being engaged with the second housing (40)
Data Source
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AI summary
An object of the present invention is to ensure sufficient contact margins between terminal fittings by preventing a housing from becoming oblique. Two supporting portions 24 are formed on one side surface of a first housing 20 at positions symmetrical with respect to a center of a connection area with a second housing 40 in a lengthwise direction L. The lever 60 is selectively mounted in a first mode in which the lever 60 is supported on one of the two supporting portions 24 and rotated toward one side about this supporting portion 24 and in a second mode in which the lever 60 is supported on the other supporting portion 24 and rotated toward the other side about this supporting portion 24. The lever 60 is formed with a first part and a second part for exerting pushing forces to the first housing 20 in such a direction as to proceed with a connecting operation of the two housings 20, 40 as the lever 60 is rotated. The first part is formed as a cam groove 68 engageable with a follower pin 43 of the second housing 40 and the second part is formed as a recessed groove 73 engageable with the supporting portion 24 not supporting the lever 60.