Terminal Assembly With Reconfigurable Plug Pattern for Sensor Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
The challenge of providing a cost-effective solution for installing wheel speed sensors with radial cable outlets in various angular positions due to installation space restrictions, necessitating multiple molds for different angular configurations.
Innovation Solution
A terminal assembly featuring a busbar with adjustable plug patterns formed by disconnecting terminal areas, allowing for flexible connection directions using a single housing design, reducing the need for multiple molds.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a radial cable outlet is provided in different angular positions to accommodate various installation spaces, then the adaptability of the sensor is improved, but the manufacturing complexity and cost increase due to the need for different molds
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into a basic housing structure and a separately attachable cable outlet component. The cable outlet can be positioned at different angular locations and attached to the basic housing, allowing the same basic housing mold to be used while achieving different cable outlet orientations. This segmentation resolves the contradiction by maintaining manufacturing simplicity while providing installation flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The cable outlet position is made adjustable or selectable after housing manufacturing. Instead of having fixed cable outlet positions determined during molding, the system allows dynamic configuration of cable outlet orientation through separate attachment components, enabling adaptation to different installation spaces without requiring different housing molds.
2Manufacturing precision
If different molds are used for wheel speed sensors with cable outlets in different angular positions, then the precision of cable outlet positioning is improved, but the manufacturing cost and time increase
Solution Approach 1:
The basic housing is manufactured in advance with a standardized interface structure that is designed to accommodate cable outlets at multiple angular positions. This preliminary preparation of the housing with a universal mounting interface allows for precise cable outlet positioning to be achieved later through simple attachment operations, rather than requiring precise positioning during the complex molding process.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the approach from fixing cable outlet position during housing molding to allowing parameter variation (angular position) through separate attachable components. This parameter change enables the same housing mold to produce housings that can accommodate different cable outlet orientations, maintaining positioning precision while improving manufacturing efficiency.
Data Source
AI summary
A terminal assembly for a directionally dependent sensor includes: a busbar and a housing. The busbar includes two first terminal areas and three second terminal areas to respectively form a plug connector. A first one of the first terminal areas, the three second terminal areas, and a second one of the first terminals are arranged in-line, and the housing partially encloses the busbar such that the second terminal areas are exposed. The busbar provides a plug pattern having two adjacent plug connectors connectable to a female connector, which plug pattern is formed by two adjacent second terminal areas by disconnecting the busbar between the two adjacent second terminal areas. Depending on the two adjacent ones of the second terminal areas, two different plug patterns are formed.