One-Piece Plug Housing Design for Cost Reduction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Generic plug parts used for electrical and optical connections are expensive to produce due to their multi-part design, requiring complex manufacturing processes with crosswise holes and recesses.
Innovation Solution
Designing plug parts with a one-piece housing and plug region having an outer contour without crosswise recesses, using casting processes like die casting to simplify production, and incorporating a locking mechanism for secure connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If plug part housing is designed in several parts to include locking device and crosswise recesses, then locking function and structural complexity are improved, but production cost and manufacturing difficulty increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines multiple functions (housing, locking mechanism, and connection features) into a single integrated plug part housing. The one-piece design eliminates the need for separate locking devices and multi-part assemblies, thereby reducing production cost while maintaining the locking function through integrally formed structural features.
2Adaptability or versatility
If plug region has crosswise recesses and holes for locking nose, then locking mechanism functionality is improved, but manufacturing complexity and special tool requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism features are integrated directly into the plug region of the one-piece housing. Crosswise recesses and holes are formed as part of the single molding process, eliminating the need for separate locking components and reducing manufacturing complexity while preserving full locking functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The plug part housing serves multiple functions simultaneously: it provides structural enclosure, incorporates locking mechanisms, and includes connection features for electrical/optical contacts. This multi-functional design eliminates the need for separate specialized components, reducing both device complexity and manufacturing requirements.
3Ease of manufacture
If plug part housing is made from one piece without crosswise recesses, then production cost and manufacturing ease are improved, but locking mechanism integration becomes more difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The one-piece housing design integrates the locking mechanism directly into the molded structure. Locking features such as recesses and protrusions are formed as integral parts of the single component, eliminating assembly steps while maintaining functional complexity through clever geometric design enabled by modern molding techniques.
Data Source
AI summary
A plug part which has at least one plug part housing having at least one elongate plug region for establishing a plug connection with another plug part in a plug-in direction, wherein the plug region has at least one electrical and/or optical plug contact for establishing at least an electrical and/or optical connection with the other plug part, and at least one step is arranged between the plug region and the rest of the plug part housing, wherein the plug part housing is of integral design and the plug region has an outer contour, wherein the outer contour, apart from the ends thereof which are at the end faces as seen in the plug-in direction, is designed to be free of recesses over the entire longitudinal extent thereof in the plug-in direction, or, with at least one recess.