SIM Connector Contact Protection Against Buckling
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing SIM card connectors are prone to damage due to buckling of contact terminals during card insertion and potential impacts, which can lead to reduced resilience and structural deformation.
Innovation Solution
A connector design featuring a contact with a held portion, a pressed portion, and a protected portion, where the protected portion is located below the protection portion and can be stopped by it during impacts, preventing deformation, and the pressed portion moves downward during connection without contacting the protection portion, maintaining spring resilience.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the engagement portions are brought into abutment with the shoulder portions during card insertion, then the contact terminal is prevented from buckling, but the resilience of the spring becomes lower and the edges may damage the shoulder portions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a receiving portion as an intermediary structure that guides the edge of the protected portion during insertion. This mediator prevents direct abutment between the engagement portion and shoulder portion, allowing the spring to maintain resilience while still preventing buckling through the controlled movement path provided by the receiving portion.
Solution Approach 2:
The holding member is segmented into distinct functional portions: a protection portion that prevents buckling, a receiving portion that guides insertion, and a shoulder portion that provides support. This segmentation allows each portion to perform its specific function without interfering with the spring's resilience, resolving the contradiction between buckling prevention and spring reliability.
2Strength
If the connector receives an impact, then the protected portion is stopped by the protection portion preventing plastic deformation, but the edges may be stuck in the shoulder portions causing damage
Solution Approach 1:
The receiving portion is designed beforehand to guide the edge of the protected portion away from the shoulder portion during insertion. This pre-established guidance path prevents the edge from becoming stuck in the shoulder portions when impacts occur, cushioning against the harmful effect of impact damage while maintaining the protection portion's ability to prevent plastic deformation.
3Reliability
If the edge of the protected portion is located within the receiving portion without contact during connection, then the spring maintains resilience, but the protection portion may not effectively prevent deformation during impacts
Solution Approach 1:
The holding member is designed with different local qualities: the protection portion provides rigid support for preventing deformation during impacts, while the receiving portion provides a guided path that maintains spring resilience during normal insertion. This local differentiation allows each portion to optimize its function without compromising the other, resolving the contradiction between protection effectiveness and spring reliability.
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
The connector effectively prevents plastic deformation and damage to the contact and holding member during impacts and card insertion, ensuring the spring maintains its resilience and preventing damage to the connector.
Implementation Method 1
a spring portion extending from the held portion to the protected portion. The spring portion is resiliently deformable in the upper-lower direction
Data Source
AI summary
A connector comprises a contact and a holding member. The contact has a held portion, a pressed portion and a protected portion. The holding member has a holding portion holding the held portion. Moreover, the holding member has a protection portion and a receiving portion arranged in a front-rear direction. The protection portion is located above the protected portion. When seen along an upper-lower direction, the protection portion covers the protected portion. The protected portion has an edge which is located at an edge of the protection portion in the front-rear direction or is apart from the protection portion in the front-rear direction. The pressed portion is pressed to be moved downward in accompany with a connection of the connector with a card. When the pressed portion is moved downward, the edge of the protected portion is located within the receiving portion without contact with the protection portion.