Molding Plug Housing and Lever in Single Cavity
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing method of molding plug assembly components, such as housing and lever, separately in two molds leads to increased handling and material costs due to waste production and complex assembly processes.
Innovation Solution
Molding the housing and lever in the same mold with interconnecting webs to maintain their relative positions during extraction and assembly, allowing for precise and cost-effective assembly of the plug assembly components.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the housing and lever are molded separately in two molds, then each component can be manufactured with dedicated tooling, but handling costs increase and material waste is produced
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the housing and lever molding operations into a single mold, eliminating the need for separate molding processes. The mold includes a housing cavity for forming the housing and a lever cavity for forming the lever simultaneously, thereby reducing material waste from multiple molding operations and eliminating handling costs associated with separate component manufacturing.
2Ease of manufacture
If the housing and lever are molded separately in two molds, then each component can be manufactured independently, but assembly complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges the housing and lever into a single integrated assembly by molding both components in the same mold. The mold design includes cavities positioned such that the housing and lever are formed in predetermined spatial relationships, allowing them to be extracted together as an assembled unit, thereby eliminating complex post-molding assembly operations.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent performs the assembly action during the molding process itself rather than as a separate post-processing step. The housing and lever are positioned and assembled within the mold cavity before extraction, so that the assembly is already completed when the components are removed from the mold, eliminating the need for separate assembly operations.
3Productivity
If the housing and lever are molded in the same mold, then assembly is simplified and costs are reduced, but the mold design becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the mold into distinct housing and lever cavities, each designed to form its respective component. This segmentation allows for independent design and optimization of each cavity while maintaining their spatial relationship within the unified mold structure, managing the complexity through modular cavity design.
Data Source
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AI summary
A lever (10) for use with a plug housing (6) and a method of manufacturing the lever including molding the housing and lever in one mold, with the housing and lever being separate parts. Extracting the housing and lever from the mold and moving a mating end of the lever into position relative to a mounting portion of the housing. The lever may include a first member (77) having a first handle (82) and a second member (79) having a second handle (83) which are mated together to form the lever. Additionally, the lever may have portions which are movably, hingedly or pivotably connected to a handle at a connection region which are formed to provide a weakened area about which lever arms can move, rotate or pivot relative to the handle.