Moulded Electrical Connector Assembly for Lighting Units
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing electrical connector assemblies for lighting units are difficult to manufacture and assemble, prone to errors, and costly due to the need for manual insertion of connectors, and their structure is not optimized, requiring additional components and being challenging for electricians to install.
Innovation Solution
The electrical connector assembly features moulded connectors within a plastics support member, allowing for a push-fit terminal block and easy assembly, eliminating the need for manual mounting and additional components, with a design that enables non-skilled individuals to disconnect and reconnect the connectors, simplifying installation and maintenance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If manual insertion of electrical connectors into housing is used, then assembly flexibility is maintained, but assembly time and cost increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple electrical connectors and the housing into a single integrated assembly. The moulded assembly includes first and second electrical connectors permanently attached to a housing structure, eliminating the need for separate manual assembly steps. This merging of components directly addresses the productivity issue by enabling the entire connector assembly to be installed as one unit rather than assembling individual connectors manually.
2Reliability
If conventional screw operated terminal blocks are used, then electrical connection reliability is improved, but device complexity and installation difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the terminal block function from a separate component and integrates it directly into the housing structure. The housing itself is designed with internal features that provide terminal block functionality, eliminating the need for additional terminal block components. This extraction principle reduces device complexity while maintaining the reliable electrical connection capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing and terminal block functions are merged into a single integrated structure. The housing provides both mechanical support and electrical terminal functions, reducing the total component count while ensuring reliable electrical connections through the integrated design.
3Manufacturing precision
If individual electrical connectors are manually assembled, then assembly precision can be controlled, but assembly time and error rate increase
Solution Approach 1:
The electrical connectors are pre-positioned and permanently attached to the housing during the moulding process. This preliminary action ensures precise positioning of all connectors relative to each other and to the housing before the assembly reaches the installer. The precision is built-in during manufacturing rather than being achieved through careful manual assembly, thereby eliminating time loss while maintaining positioning accuracy.
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 4~5
AI summary
An electrical connector assembly (1) arranged for electrically connecting together at least one supply side electrical power cable (302) and a device electrical power cable (202). The electrical connector assembly (1) includes: a first connector (3) arranged for electrical attachment to one of the first and device power cables (302,202), said first connector (3) including a set of first electrical connectors (7); and a second connector (5) arranged for electrical attachment to the other of the first and device power cable s (302,202), said second connector (5) including a set of second electrical connectors (55); the sets of first and second electrical connectors (7,55) are arranged for mating engagement to form an electrical connection between the first and device power cables (302,202) and for disengagement to break the electrical connection; wherein the set of first electrical connectors (7) is moulded into a plastics support member (13), thereby embedding at least part of each first electrical connector (7) within the plastic support member (13). A lighting unit (200) and lighting system (100) that include electrical connector assembly, and a method for manufacturing the first connector (3), are also disclosed.