Zero Force Connector with Two-Armed Lever for Assembly Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional zero-force plug connectors often lead to assembly errors due to the lack of clear mechanical locking feedback, which can result in malfunctions and safety hazards, especially in critical applications, as only a single snapping noise is typically produced during assembly, misleading users about the correct connection.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a two-armed lever mechanism where the displacement of the housing part builds spring tension in the second lever arm, which engages with a clicking noise only when the assembly is complete, providing audible and tactile feedback for proper assembly, ensuring a secure electrical contact.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional single-stage locking mechanism is used, then the device complexity is reduced, but the reliability of assembly feedback is insufficient leading to assembly errors
Solution Approach 1:
The locking mechanism is divided into two independent stages: a first locking mechanism that provides initial mechanical locking, and a second locking mechanism that provides final secure locking with acoustic feedback. This segmentation allows each stage to perform its specific function independently, improving overall assembly reliability without requiring the entire mechanism to be overly complex.
Solution Approach 2:
The second locking mechanism incorporates an acoustic feedback signal (clicking noise) that provides clear sensory confirmation to the assembler that proper locking has occurred. This feedback mechanism eliminates ambiguity in assembly status, ensuring reliability by making the locked state unmistakably detectable through sound.
2Ease of operation
If only a single snapping noise is produced during assembly, then the device complexity is minimized, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to misleading assembly feedback
Solution Approach 1:
The acoustic feedback from the second locking mechanism provides unambiguous sensory confirmation that assembly is complete and correct. This eliminates the misleading feedback problem where a single snapping noise could not reliably indicate proper assembly, making operation easier by giving clear verification signals.
Solution Approach 2:
The acoustic signal acts as an intermediary between the mechanical locking action and the assembler's perception. Instead of relying directly on subtle mechanical sensations, the clicking noise serves as a clear mediator that communicates the locked state to the operator, improving ease of verification.
3Productivity
If the housing part is displaced in one single motion, then the productivity of assembly is increased, but the reliability of contact force application deteriorates because contact elements may be damaged
Solution Approach 1:
The displacement process is segmented into two distinct phases corresponding to the two locking mechanisms. The first phase engages the initial locking mechanism with gentle contact force, and the second phase engages the final locking mechanism with full contact force. This segmentation allows controlled application of force at different stages, preventing damage while maintaining assembly speed.
Solution Approach 2:
The first locking mechanism performs a preliminary locking action that secures the basic connection before the second locking mechanism applies the full contact force. This preliminary action prepares the system to receive the subsequent force without damage, ensuring reliability while maintaining productivity through the staged approach.
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
This solution ensures that the contact normal force is applied and the connector parts are fixed only after the assembly is complete, providing a reliable acoustically and haptically perceptible feedback, thus preventing assembly errors and ensuring correct electrical connections.
Implementation Method 1
the second lever arm engages with a clicking noise on or behind the housing part when the housing part reaches an end position
Implementation Method 2
the displacement of the housing part builds spring tension in the second lever arm which rests on the housing part
Data Source
Figure 1
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Figure 4~5
AI summary
An electrical zero-force plug-type connector with a contact carrier, which has receptacles for a plurality of sleeve contacts, wherein the sleeve contacts each have a basic body forming contact laminations and a tensioning sleeve which is capable of being shifted with respect to the basic body, and with an equipment connection, which has contact pins making contact with the sleeve contacts, and with a housing part, which can be positioned in at least two positions on the contact carrier, wherein the equipment connection, when joined with the contact carrier, releases an anti-shift means between the housing part and the contact carrier, and wherein as a result of a shift of the housing part with respect to the contact carrier, at the same time the tensioning sleeves are shifted along the basic body of the sleeve contacts, and the tensioning sleeves press the contact laminations against the contact pins of the equipment connection, wherein the contact carrier holds a two-armed lever, and wherein the shifting of the housing part connects a first lever arm of the lever to the equipment connection in a form-fitting manner, wherein the shifting of the housing part first shifts the section of the first lever arm and, as a result, a spring stress is built up in the second lever arm, which bears against the housing part, and wherein the second lever arm latches in on or behind the housing part with a latching noise when the housing part reaches an end position.