Quick Connector Sliding Guide Locking Mechanism
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing quick connectors for fuel filters in vehicles are difficult to engage and disengage, leading to inconvenience in repair and maintenance, and they do not effectively reduce manufacturing costs.
Innovation Solution
A quick connector design featuring a locking ring and a sliding mounting guide that allows for easy locking and unlocking of locking members, enabling secure engagement and simple disengagement by sliding the mounting guide, which is coupled to the connector body.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a connector is coupled to one end of the fuel filter, then secure connection is achieved, but it becomes difficult to remove the connector from the fuel filter
Solution Approach 1:
The locking members are designed to be movable relative to the connector body, transitioning between locked and unlocked positions. The mounting guide enables this dynamic movement, allowing the locking members to be pushed toward the fuel filter to engage the locking ring, and retracted to disengage. This dynamic mechanism resolves the contradiction by making the connection secure when engaged but easily removable when disengaged.
Solution Approach 2:
The connector is divided into functional components: the connector body, mounting guide, and locking members. The locking members are separate elements that can independently move to engage or disengage from the locking ring. This segmentation allows the disengagement function to be separated from the connection function, enabling easy removal while maintaining secure connection during operation.
2Reliability
If additional locking mechanisms are added to ensure secure connection, then connection reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple locking members are combined into a single integrated locking mechanism controlled by one mounting guide. When the mounting guide is pushed, all locking members move simultaneously to engage or disengage. This merging reduces the complexity that would arise from having separate controls for each locking member, while still providing secure connection through multiple contact points with the locking ring.
Solution Approach 2:
The mounting guide serves multiple functions: it guides the locking members during engagement, acts as a control mechanism for locking and unlocking, and provides a user interface for operation. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate buttons or controls, reducing overall device complexity while ensuring reliable connection.
Data Source
AI summary
A quick connector is provided. The quick connector is configured to be coupled to a locking ring provided around an outer peripheral surface of a tube, through which fluid flows in or out. The quick connector includes a main body, which accommodates the tube therein and includes locking members, formed to be locked by the locking ring and being bent toward the locking ring, and a mounting guide coupled to the outer peripheral surface of the main body and accommodating the locking members therein. The mounting guide is configured to slide along the longitudinal axis of the main body so as to enable the locking members to be locked around the locking ring or to be released from the locked state.