Sensor Housing Spring Clamp Terminal Block Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing sensor housing designs, particularly for inductive or capacitive proximity sensors, face challenges with contact pins restricting the assembly direction and requiring precise alignment, making it difficult to connect and disconnect the cover and base parts reliably and efficiently.
Innovation Solution
A sensor housing with a clamping space and terminal connection block featuring through-openings for electrical connections, utilizing spring clamps and actuating means for easy assembly and disassembly without tools, allowing for flexible alignment and adjustment, and comprising an electrically insulating base body with conductive contact surfaces for reliable electrical connections.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If contact pins are made longer and more precise to improve electrical connection reliability, then the difficulty of separating or connecting the cover and base increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connection part is divided into two separate parts (cover and base) that can be easily assembled and disassembled. The contact pins are integrated into the terminal connection block rather than being separate components, allowing the cover and base to be joined without requiring precise manual alignment of multiple pin elements.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact pins are designed to automatically align and engage when the cover and base are brought together. The terminal connection block's geometry provides self-alignment features that guide the pins into their correct positions during assembly, eliminating the need for precise manual positioning while maintaining reliable electrical contact.
2Reliability
If multiple contact pins are used to ensure reliable electrical connections, then the restriction on assembly direction increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple contact pins are integrated into a single terminal connection block assembly. This merging of multiple pins into one unified component allows the cover and base to be assembled in a single direction without requiring separate alignment operations for each pin, thereby maintaining electrical reliability while improving assembly flexibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The terminal connection block serves multiple functions simultaneously: it houses multiple contact pins for electrical connections, provides structural support for the connection part, and incorporates self-alignment features that guide assembly. This multi-functionality reduces the number of separate components needed and simplifies the assembly process.
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
Enables simple, tool-free operation for connecting and disconnecting the cover and base parts, maintaining reliable electrical contact while allowing for greater flexibility in assembly direction and tolerance, improving usability and maintenance, especially in two-part designs.
Implementation Method 1
a spring clamp, a pickup and an actuating means for the spring clamp
Data Source
AI summary
Sensor housing (10), comprising a head section (12) with a sensor chamber (14) for receiving a sensor, a connection section (16) adjoining the head section (12) with a terminal chamber (18) and a terminal block (20) arranged in the terminal chamber (18), the terminal block (20) having a base body (32), the base body (32) having a first side surface (32.1) with at least two terminals spaced apart from each other, each terminal having an opening (36) extending into the base body (32), a spring clamp (38), a sensor (42) and an actuating means (40), with each sensor (42) a connection contact (34) being in electrical operative connection, the connection contacts (34) extending along a second side surface (32.2) of the base body (32) are spaced apart from each other and are arranged to project beyond the second side surface of the base body (32) by a first distance (A1) and the first distance (A1) can be reduced by elastic deformation of the contact spring (34).