Receptacle Connector Alignment Tabs Over-Deflection Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
High-speed electrical connectors often experience over-deflection of contact beams, leading to stress and plastic deformation, which results in low contact normal force during subsequent mating cycles.
Innovation Solution
The receptacle connector incorporates over-travel blocks and alignment tabs to limit beam travel and center the plug connector within the card slot, preventing over-deflection and maintaining contact force.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the contact beams are made deflectable to enable mating, then the connector can accommodate plug insertion, but the beams may be over-deflected causing stress and plastic deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by providing alignment tabs that extend into the card slot to pre-align the plug connector before the contact beams undergo deflection. This ensures the plug is properly positioned during insertion, preventing misalignment that could cause over-deflection and plastic deformation of the contact beams, thereby maintaining reliability while enabling ease of operation
Solution Approach 2:
The alignment tabs serve as an intermediary element between the housing and the plug connector. These tabs extend into the card slot to guide and center the plug during insertion, mediating the interaction between the plug and contact beams to prevent harmful over-deflection while maintaining the necessary deflectability for mating
2Ease of operation
If the contact beams have high deflection capability, then mating is facilitated, but plastic deformation occurs reducing contact normal force
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment tabs perform preliminary alignment of the plug connector before the contact beams undergo full deflection. This pre-positioning ensures optimal engagement between the contact beams and plug contacts, maximizing contact normal force while still allowing necessary deflection for mating
3Reliability
If alignment features are added to prevent over-deflection, then contact reliability improves, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The alignment tabs are merged with the housing structure as an integrated feature rather than a separate component. The tabs extend directly from the housing into the card slot, combining the alignment function with the existing housing geometry. This approach improves contact reliability by preventing over-deflection while minimizing the increase in device complexity through structural integration
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
This design effectively reduces the risk of plastic deformation and maintains consistent contact normal force across multiple mating cycles, enhancing the reliability and longevity of the connector.
Implementation Method 1
The housing has alignment tabs extending inward into the card slot from the interior surface for aligning the plug connector within the card slot
Implementation Method 2
The housing has over-travel blocks in the contact channels blocking deflection of the mating ends beyond an over-travel limit of the contacts
Implementation Method 3
The contacts have deflectable spring beams at the mating interface that are spring loaded against the plug connector when the plug connector is loaded into the slot
Data Source
AI summary
A receptacle connector includes a housing having a mating end for mating with a plug connector and a mounting end for mounting to a circuit board. The housing has side walls and end walls with contacts in contacts arrays along both side walls. The contacts have mating ends and terminating ends. The housing has a card slot open at the mating end for receiving plug connector defined by interior surfaces of the side walls. The mating ends of the contacts are exposed in the card slot for mating electrical connection with the plug connector. The housing has alignment tabs extending inward into the card slot from the interior surface for aligning the plug connector within the card slot.