Tapered Outer Ribs for Connector Resin Flow

Solution Overview

Problem

The existing connector design with a frame-shaped outer wall and inner walls experiences resin flow issues during molding, leading to potential molding failures, especially when applied to multipolar connectors with an increased number of inner walls.

Innovation Solution

The connector design features outer ribs that are thick at connections with the outer wall and thin at connections with the inner walls, with tapered and straight sections to facilitate resin flow, along with a main rib and inner ribs to divide the inner walls and improve resin injection pathways, preventing sink formation and ensuring adequate strength.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If outer ribs are made thick to ensure structural strength, then the strength is improved, but resin flow to inner walls is blocked causing molding failure

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestrength of outer ribsVSAvoidmolding success

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The outer ribs are designed with non-uniform thickness: thick at the outer wall connection to provide strength, and thin at the inner wall connection to allow resin flow. This local variation in thickness resolves the contradiction by providing different properties at different locations of the same component.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

2Reliability

If outer ribs are made thin to improve resin flow, then molding success is improved, but the structural strength is reduced

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemolding successVSAvoidstrength of outer ribs

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSStrength

Solution Approach 1:

The outer ribs are designed with non-uniform thickness: thick at the outer wall connection to provide strength, and thin at the inner wall connection to allow resin flow. This local variation in thickness resolves the contradiction by providing different properties at different locations of the same component.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

3Adaptability or versatility

If the number of inner walls is increased for multipolar connector, then the functionality is improved, but resin flow to each inner wall is reduced causing molding failure

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvemultipolar functionalityVSAvoidmolding success

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSReliability

Solution Approach 1:

The outer ribs are designed with non-uniform thickness: thick at the outer wall connection to provide strength, and thin at the inner wall connection to allow resin flow. This local variation in thickness resolves the contradiction by providing different properties at different locations of the same component.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Data Source

PatentUS7950962B2Connector with tapered ribs for improving resin flow

Publication Date: 2011.05.31 SUMITOMO WIRING SYSTEMS LTD

AI summary

A male connector (10) is provided with a housing main body (20) formed with a plurality of cavities (21) penetrating in forward and backward directions, into which terminal fittings are insertable, a surrounding wall portion (36) arranged at a rear part of the housing main body (20) and open backward, and a plurality of seal tower portions (35) arranged inside the surrounding wall portion (36) at the rear part of the housing main body (20) and surrounding the cavities (21). Outer ribs (41) extend between the inner surfaces of the surrounding wall portion (36) and the outer surfaces of the seal tower portions (35). The outer ribs 41 are thick at connected parts with the surrounding wall portion (36) while being thin at connected parts with the seal tower portions (35).