Metallic Push-Pull Connector Wedge Interlock
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing push-pull connectors are not suitable for harsh industrial environments due to their inability to provide a tight seal and withstand high mechanical stresses, making them unsuitable for use in harsh conditions.
Innovation Solution
A metallic push-pull connector design featuring an axial sliding interlocking mechanism with angled locking plates and a wedge-shaped sleeve that ensures a tight seal and high mechanical strength, allowing for easy connection and disconnection under harsh conditions, utilizing a ring seal and snap-in depressions for secure engagement and separation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional push-pull connectors are used, then connection simplicity is maintained, but sealing performance and mechanical strength deteriorate under harsh conditions
Solution Approach 1:
The connector is divided into distinct functional components: a base body with locking plates, a separate sliding sleeve with wedge, and a mating connector with snap-in depressions. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function while maintaining overall simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The sliding sleeve acts as an intermediary element between the locking mechanism and the external environment. It provides the sealing function while the internal wedge-locked mechanism provides the interlocking function, separating these concerns into different components
2Ease of operation
If openings and outwardly acting interlocking means are used, then ease of operation is improved, but protection against harsh environmental conditions deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of having outwardly acting interlocking means that protrude externally, the invention uses inwardly acting locking plates with hooks that engage into snap-in depressions. The interlocking action occurs internally within the housing, protecting the mechanism from environmental factors while maintaining ease of operation through the sliding sleeve interface
Solution Approach 2:
The connector housing acts as a protective shell that encloses the interlocking mechanism. The sliding sleeve provides a flexible interface for operation while maintaining the protective enclosure, allowing easy connection and disconnection without exposing the internal mechanism to harsh environments
3Object-affected harmful factors
If a tight seal is implemented, then protection against moisture is improved, but mechanical stress resistance may deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The invention merges the sealing function and the mechanical interlocking function into a single integrated mechanism. The sliding sleeve simultaneously provides the seal against moisture and engages with the locking plates to provide mechanical strength, eliminating the trade-off between sealing and stress resistance
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
The connector achieves a tight seal and high mechanical strength, enabling reliable operation in harsh environments, with the ability to withstand high mechanical stresses and maintain a secure connection suitable for submersible applications, while allowing for easy separation with minimal axial displacement.
Implementation Method 1
an integral wedge pointing into the sleeve is arranged on the mating side of the sleeve, in that the angled bar of the locking plate lies on a slope of the wedge
Data Source
AI summary
The invention proposes a metallic push-pull connector for use in harsh and moist industrial environments that is provided with a sliding sleeve and features an interlocking device that causes the connector to be interlocked with a mating connector during the installation process, wherein the interlocking hooks of the interlocking device are levered out of snap-in depressions in the mating connector by means of a wedge-shaped slope when the sliding sleeve is pulled back.