Shield Connector Sealing Design for Repeated Cable Mating
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing shielded connectors suffer from decreased sealing performance when external cables are repeatedly attached and detached, and require significant design changes if the dimensions of the shield case change, due to the damage of the ring-shaped packing and the need to modify multiple components.
Innovation Solution
A shielded connector design where the device-side connector is fixed to the shield case, with a cable-side connector attached to the external cable, using a first packing sealed between the device-side connector and the shield case, and a thick part on the device-side shield shell that serves as a hood for the cable-side connector, allowing for loose fitting of the device-side resin housing and reducing the need for design changes in response to dimension changes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the ring-shaped packing is closely contacted with the inner peripheral surface of the connector insertion hole to seal the space, then the sealing performance is improved, but the packing is easy to be damaged due to sliding movement when cables are repeatedly attached and detached
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a resin housing as an intermediary component between the connector insertion hole and the packing. The packing is installed in a groove on the resin housing, which is inserted into the connector insertion hole. This mediator allows the packing to seal effectively while the resin housing absorbs the sliding movement and mechanical stress, preventing direct contact between the packing and the insertion hole surface during cable attachment/detachment operations.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the dimension of the shield case attached part is changed, then the adaptability to different shield cases is improved, but the designs of multiple components including resin housing and packing need to be changed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent segments the connector into distinct functional components: the shield shell with case-fixing flange part for mounting to the shield case, and the resin housing with packing for sealing the cable connection. This segmentation allows the shield shell to be redesigned for different shield case dimensions while the resin housing and packing can remain standardized, reducing the number of components that need redesign when adapting to different shield cases.
3Reliability
If the resin housing is closely fitted with the connector insertion hole, then the sealing effectiveness is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirement increases when dimensions need to be changed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the sealing mechanism from direct close-fitting between the resin housing and connector insertion hole to a groove-based packing seal. The packing is installed in a groove on the resin housing and contacts the inner peripheral surface of the connector insertion hole. This parameter change from surface-to-surface contact to groove-based sealing reduces the manufacturing precision requirements while maintaining effective sealing, as the groove provides a tolerance buffer.
Data Source
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AI summary
A device-side connector (30) which is fixed to a shield case (10) and a cable-side connector (40) which is attached to an end of an external cable (20) and is fitted to the device-side connector (30) are included. The device-side connector (30) includes a device-side connection terminal (31), a device-side resin housing (32), and a device-side shield shell (33). The device-side shield shell (33) includes a mating shell fixing part (334) which electrically connects the device-side shield shell (33) and a cable-side shield shell (43).