Rotatable Plug With Retractable Prongs And Molded Terminals
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional rotatable plugs in power supply devices are not modular, prone to poor electrical contact due to frequent use, and require multiple projections for positioning, leading to potential breakage and instability in conductive terminals.
Innovation Solution
A rotatable plug design featuring a casing unit with insert molded conductive terminals, a pivot shaft with conductive prongs and protrusions, and a modular connection system using protuberances and positioning grooves, ensuring stable and reliable electrical contact with multiple points of contact between conductive protrusions and terminals.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conductive terminals protrude from the plug body, then electrical connection is enabled, but the conductive terminals are prone to bending and breakage due to external force
Solution Approach 1:
The plug adopts a rotatable design where the conductive terminals can rotate between an extended position (for electrical connection) and a retracted position (for protection). This dynamic structure allows the terminals to adapt between needing to protrude for connection and needing to be protected from damage, resolving the contradiction between electrical connection capability and mechanical durability.
2Ease of manufacture
If conventional fixing elements with slots are used to connect conductive plates, then assembly is enabled, but frequent use causes separation and poor electrical contact
Solution Approach 1:
The invention integrates the fixing element and conductive plates into a one-piece molded structure, eliminating the separate slot-based connection. This merging of previously separate components removes the weak connection point that caused separation during frequent use, thereby maintaining both ease of manufacture (through molding) and improved reliability (by eliminating the separation issue).
Solution Approach 2:
The invention replaces the mechanical slot-based fixing system with a molded integration system. Instead of using separate fixing elements with slots that rely on mechanical insertion, the conductive plates are directly molded onto the plug body, substituting the weak mechanical connection with a more robust integrated structure that maintains electrical contact stability.
3Manufacturing precision
If multiple projections are used for positioning the rotatable plug, then positioning accuracy is achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention combines the positioning function with the existing structural elements of the plug body and conductive plates. Instead of adding separate positioning projections, the positioning features are integrated into the molded structure itself, achieving positioning accuracy while avoiding the complexity increase that would result from adding multiple discrete positioning components.
Data Source
AI summary
A rotatable plug includes a casing unit having a first casing part and a second casing part with a pair of receiving spaces, a pair of conductive terminals respectively having conductive sections, and a rotatable unit including a pivot shaft, a pair of conductive prongs connected transversely to the pivot shaft, and a pair of conductive protrusions protruding out from the pivot shaft. The rotatable unit is rotatable relative to the casing unit between non-use and use positions, where the conductive prongs are accommodated in and extend out of the receiving spaces, respectively. Each conductive protrusion has at least two points of contact with the conductive section of a respective conductive terminal.