Lighting Cap Guide Mechanism for Connector Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing lighting systems face issues with electrical connections between the cap and holder failing, leading to jamming problems during assembly and potentially compromising safety, especially when the holder is fixed to a vehicle.
Innovation Solution
Incorporating cap guides and holder guides that cooperate in the mounting direction to ensure precise alignment and prevent significant motion perpendicular to the mounting direction, enhancing the electrical connection safety and preventing improper pairing of the cap and holder.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the cap and holder are connected without guiding mechanisms, then the assembly process is simpler, but the electrical connection may fail and cause jamming
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces guide members as intermediary elements between the cap and holder. These guide members act as mediators that facilitate proper alignment and insertion during assembly, preventing misalignment and electrical connection failures without requiring complex adjustment mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide members are pre-positioned on the cap and holder before assembly occurs. This preliminary positioning ensures that when the cap is inserted into the holder, the electrical connectors are already aligned correctly, preventing jamming and connection failures during the assembly process.
2Volume of moving object
If the cap width is reduced for compactness, then the lighting system size is minimized, but the alignment precision during assembly may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by providing guiding features specifically at the critical alignment zones where the cap and holder interfaces, while keeping the rest of the cap body compact. The guide members are strategically positioned to provide maximum alignment precision only where needed, without increasing the overall cap volume.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide members extend in the axial direction (length dimension) to provide alignment precision, rather than increasing the radial dimensions (width/height) of the cap. This allows the cap to maintain a compact cross-sectional area while achieving precise alignment through the extended axial guides.
Data Source
AI summary
A lighting system comprising an electrical lamp (6) having an electrical lamp connector (32), a holder (5) having a front electrical connector adapted to be back-connected to a power supply and a cap (7) to interface the electrical lamp and the holder, said cap extending along a mounting direction between a top side for receiving the lamp connector and an opposite bottom side for receiving the holder connector, and having axial holes extending between the bottom side and the top side for receiving within at least a part of an electrical cap connector able to electrically connect the lamp connector with the holder connector once the lighting assembly is assembled. The cap further comprises a cap guide and the holder further comprises a holder guide, said cap guide and holder guide being adapted to cooperate with one another by fitting in the mounting direction, such that any significant motion of the cap into directions perpendicular to the mounting direction is prevented by the holder guide, ensuring a positioning step of the cap with respect to the holder before an electrical contacting step of the cap connector with the holder connector.