Modular Round Plug With Counter-Rotatable Sleeve
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing modular connector systems for cable connections in production plants lack flexibility and cost-effectiveness while maintaining shielding integrity, especially at transition points like plugs and sockets, which limits their adaptability and increases costs.
Innovation Solution
A modular three-part round plug connection featuring a two-part locking sleeve made of counter-rotatable metal half-rings, which can decouple and be easily assembled, ensuring continuous shielding even when the sleeve is made of plastic, allowing for various housing variants and connection chains without compromising quality.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a one-piece sleeve coupling is used to connect plugs and sockets, then the connection is simple and robust, but the system lacks flexibility and cannot be easily decoupled for reconfiguration
Solution Approach 1:
The locking sleeve is divided into two separable half-rings that can be independently manipulated. This segmentation allows the sleeve to be opened for easy assembly and disassembly while maintaining a robust connected state when closed, thus providing connection flexibility without requiring a complex multi-component structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The half-rings are designed to be rotatable relative to each other, transforming the static one-piece sleeve into a dynamic structure. By rotating the half-rings into different positions (locked or unlocked), the connection state can be dynamically changed, enabling easy reconfiguration while maintaining structural simplicity.
2Reliability
If a metal locking sleeve is used to ensure shielding integrity, then shielding is guaranteed, but cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking sleeve is segmented into two half-rings that can be separately manufactured and assembled. This allows the use of plastic material for the sleeve body (reducing cost) while incorporating only the essential metal components (contact elements and locking features) where shielding and conductivity are required, achieving cost-effective shielding integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector combines plastic material for the sleeve body with metal components for electrical contact and shielding. This composite approach provides the necessary shielding integrity through the metal contact elements while using the lower-cost plastic material for the non-conductive sleeve structure, reducing overall manufacturing cost.
3Ease of manufacture
If the locking sleeve is made of plastic to reduce cost, then manufacturing cost decreases, but shielding integrity may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The plastic locking sleeve is combined with metal contact elements and grounding contacts that provide the necessary shielding effect. The plastic body provides structural support and insulation, while the metal components ensure electrical continuity and shielding integrity, achieving both cost reduction and reliable shielding.
Solution Approach 2:
The metal contact elements and grounding contacts act as intermediaries between the plastic sleeve and the shielding requirement. These metal components bridge the gap between the non-conductive plastic material and the need for electrical shielding, providing the necessary grounding path without requiring the entire sleeve to be metallic.
4Ease of operation
If a two-part locking sleeve with counter-rotatable half-rings is used, then ease of assembly and disassembly improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The locking sleeve is divided into two half-rings that can be independently opened and closed. This segmentation enables simple manual operation for assembly and disassembly by simply separating the half-rings, while the overall structure remains relatively simple with only two main components rather than multiple complex mechanisms.
Solution Approach 2:
The half-rings are designed to rotate relative to each other to transition between locked and unlocked states. This dynamic mechanism provides intuitive and easy operation - simply rotating the half-rings opens or closes the connection - while maintaining a simple structural design without requiring additional actuators or complex locking mechanisms.
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 solution provides a cost-effective, adaptable, and reliable modular connector system that maintains shielding integrity across different connections, ensuring uninterrupted service and compatibility with various configurations, including high-voltage and signal transmissions, while being easy to assemble and disassemble.
Implementation Method 1
The coupling parts such as plugs or sockets are shielding metallic hollow bodies which, according to the invention, advantageously taper down to their contact faces within the sleeve and come into galvanic contact at their contact faces within the sleeve, in order to ensure shielding in any case
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 4~5
AI summary
The modular circular plug connection has different transmission requirements like high current supply and signal transmissions. An open sleeve is provided at its both front sides and rotated around an angle limited between two clutch parts (connector 10, bushing 12) by the contacts connected in two directions. The sleeve has axially double sided projection at its inner edges.