Push-Pull Coaxial Connector Simplified Design
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing push-pull coaxial connectors are complex to manufacture and use, often featuring complicated mechanisms that do not guarantee a play-free axial coupling and are prone to unintentional loosening.
Innovation Solution
A simplified coaxial connector design utilizing a two-part coupling mechanism with a metal collet having an internal thread that directly engages the coupler's external thread, combined with a plastic sliding sleeve that locks via a radially elastic shoulder, ensuring secure and play-free axial connection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a complex multi-part mechanism is used to achieve secure coupling, then coupling reliability is improved, but device complexity and manufacturing cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The connector is divided into two functional parts: a collet for axial engagement and a sliding sleeve for radial locking. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function efficiently, achieving reliable coupling through simple, dedicated mechanisms rather than a complex integrated system.
Solution Approach 2:
The collet is nested within the sliding sleeve, with the collet handling axial positioning and the sliding sleeve providing radial locking. This nested arrangement allows both components to work together in a compact configuration, achieving secure coupling without requiring separate complex mechanisms.
2Reliability
If a complex multi-part mechanism is used to achieve secure coupling, then coupling reliability is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the connector into a collet and sliding sleeve with distinct functions, each part can be manufactured independently using simple processes. The collet is a straightforward machined piece, and the sliding sleeve is a molded plastic component, both easier and cheaper to produce than complex metal assemblies.
Solution Approach 2:
The sliding sleeve is made from plastic instead of metal, significantly reducing material cost and manufacturing complexity. This plastic component achieves the same locking function as a metal mechanism would, providing cost-effective reliable coupling.
3Reliability
If a long connector design is used to accommodate complex mechanisms, then coupling reliability is improved, but connector length increases
Solution Approach 1:
The nested arrangement of the collet within the sliding sleeve allows both components to occupy the same axial space. The collet provides axial engagement while the sliding sleeve provides radial locking, achieving reliable coupling in a compact length that would be impossible with sequential complex mechanisms.
4Reliability
If an elastic intermediate ring is used in the coupling mechanism, then coupling reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic intermediate ring has been completely removed from the coupling mechanism. Instead, the collet directly engages the coupler's external thread through its internal thread, and the sliding sleeve provides radial locking. This extraction simplifies the mechanism while maintaining coupling reliability through direct metal-to-metal engagement.
5Ease of manufacture
If conventional thread engagement is used, then ease of manufacture is improved, but axial play is introduced
Solution Approach 1:
The collet features a localized internal thread with a different pitch than the coupler's external thread. This local quality difference creates a mechanical interference that eliminates axial play while maintaining ease of manufacture. The different thread pitches ensure that the threads cannot fully engage, preventing axial movement while keeping the manufacturing process simple.
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 design results in a cost-effective, shorter connector with secure axial contact and prevention of unintentional loosening, as the collet's internal thread and the sliding sleeve's locking mechanism ensure reliable coupling without axial play.
Implementation Method 1
a coil spring (4.2) which acts on the collet (4) in the direction of the coupler (2) with a predeterminable force
Implementation Method 2
The elastic restoring forces must be coordinated in such a way that during the mating process, the helical spring is first compressed axially and only then is the collet radially compressed
Implementation Method 3
The collet is then compressed radially by the sliding sleeve
Implementation Method 4
In the collet sits a rubber-elastic ring which, when coupled, is held tight on the external thread of the coupler
Data Source
Figure 1~1b
Figure 2
AI summary
An RF plug connector having a plug head on which a sliding sleeve is seated which can be rotated, can be moved axially and clasps a radially elastic collet (4) in such a manner that the sliding sleeve compresses the collet radially in the coupled state, the design can be considerably simplified in comparison to that of known plug connectors of this generic type, to be precise by the collet (4) being arranged such that it cannot be moved axially on the plug head. For connection to a coupler with an external thread, the collet (4) has internal profiling on the plug side, in particular an internal thread with a pitch which is not the same as that of the external thread of the coupler.