A current connector and a vehicle

Abstract

This invention discloses a current connector, including a male plug and a female plug for insertion into the male plug. One of the male or female plugs has a protrusion perpendicular to the insertion direction, and the other has a movable and fixable push pin. The movement direction of the push pin forms an angle with the insertion direction, and the push pin can lock and unlock with the protrusion during movement. The current connector provided by this invention, by having a protrusion on one of the male and female plugs and a push pin on the other, facilitates the connection of the male and female plugs through the cooperation and fixing method of the protrusion and push pin. The structure for inserting and fixing the male and female plugs is compact, has a small overall size, and provides strong connection stability. This invention also provides a vehicle including the above-described current connector.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of current connector technology, and more specifically, to a current connector. Furthermore, this invention also relates to a vehicle comprising the aforementioned current connector. Background Technology

[0002] High-current connectors are commonly used in the circuit connections of electric and hybrid vehicles. Currently, these connectors primarily include single-core and multi-core connectors. The contact fingers are typically stamped metal springs, or the female terminal body uses a slotted and reduced-diameter design. These connectors have relatively few contact points, resulting in higher temperature rise. More importantly, connectors using these types of terminals exhibit unstable connections and short mating lifespans. To improve stability, existing connectors tend to be bulky, limiting installation space and failing to meet customer requirements.

[0003] In summary, how to provide a compact and stable current connector is a problem that urgently needs to be solved by those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0004] In view of this, the object of the present invention is to provide a current connector with a compact structure and small overall size.

[0005] Another object of the present invention is to provide a vehicle including the above-described current connector.

[0006] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention provides the following technical solution:

[0007] A current connector includes a male plug and a female plug for insertion into the male plug. One of the male plug or the female plug is provided with a protrusion that protrudes along a direction perpendicular to the insertion direction, and the other plug is provided with a movable and fixable push pin. The movement direction of the push pin is at an angle to the insertion direction, and the push pin can lock and unlock with the protrusion during movement.

[0008] Preferably, the push pin is provided with an open slot slide rail, the open slot slide rail having an angle with the insertion direction, and when the protrusion moves along the insertion direction, it can enter the open slot slide rail through the opening of the open slot slide rail.

[0009] Preferably, the protrusions are disposed on both sides of the male plug, and the push pin is a gate-shaped component that is movably disposed on the female plug base of the female plug. Both side plates of the gate-shaped component are provided with the opening groove slide rail corresponding to the protrusions.

[0010] Preferably, the female plug base is a base with a central hole, and the inner wall is provided with a plug groove to facilitate the sliding of the protrusion. The side plate of the gate-shaped member is movably disposed between the plug groove and the outer wall of the female plug base.

[0011] Preferably, at least two protrusions are provided on both sides of the male plug, and are connected to different opening groove slide rails on the female plug.

[0012] Preferably, the gate-shaped component is provided with a clip for engaging and fixing with the female plug, and the insertion and removal direction of the clip is along the moving stroke direction of the gate-shaped component.

[0013] Preferably, the male terminal of the male plug is a flat male terminal; the spring contact finger on the female plug for connecting with the male terminal of the male plug is a flat spring contact finger.

[0014] Preferably, the spring contact finger is a helically wound spring contact finger;

[0015] And / or, the female plug includes nested metal housings and metal parts, and a spirally wound obliquely wound spring coil is provided in the nesting gap between the metal housing and the metal parts to strengthen the tight connection;

[0016] And / or, the male plug includes nested metal housings, and the nesting gap of the metal housings is provided with a helically wound oblique spring coil for reinforcing a tight connection;

[0017] And / or, the cable of the female plug is provided with a cable shielding mesh;

[0018] And / or, the outer shell of the male plug or the female plug is a shielded outer shell with a shielding function.

[0019] Preferably, the male plug and / or the female plug are plugs with a 90-degree bend;

[0020] And / or, the male plug and the female plug are both two-terminal plugs or both are multi-terminal plugs.

[0021] A vehicle includes a current connector, said current connector being any of the current connectors described above.

[0022] The push pin in the current connector provided by the present invention is a movable and fixed structure set on the other of the male plug and the female plug. During the movement of the push pin, it can lock and unlock with the protrusion. After the push pin is locked and fixed with the protrusion, since the push pin can be fixed to the female plug, the protrusion and the female plug can be relatively fixed, thereby realizing the fixation of the male plug and the female plug.

[0023] The current connector provided by the present invention has a protrusion on one of the male plug and the female plug, and a corresponding protrusion on the other. The connection between the male plug and the female plug can be easily achieved by the cooperation and fixing of the protrusion and the push pin. The structure for plugging and fixing the male and female plugs is compact, has a small overall size, and has strong stability through plugging and fixing.

[0024] The present invention also provides a vehicle including the above-described current connector. Attached Figure Description

[0025] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the drawings used in the description of the embodiments or the prior art will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on the provided drawings without creative effort.

[0026] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the current connector provided by the present invention in an unmatched state;

[0027] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of a current connector in an unmatched state with the push pin in the unlocked position.

[0028] Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of a current connector in the mated and locked position.

[0029] Figure 4 This is a 3D schematic diagram of a current connector in an unmatched state with the push button in the unlocked state.

[0030] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the current connector in the mating state with the push pin locked.

[0031] Figure 6 This is an exploded view of the male plug in the current connector provided by the present invention;

[0032] Figure 7 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the male plug of the current connector provided by the present invention;

[0033] Figure 8 An exploded view of the female plug of the current connector provided by the present invention;

[0034] Figure 9 This is a cross-sectional schematic diagram of the female plug of the current connector provided by the present invention.

[0035] Figure 10 This is a partial cross-sectional schematic diagram of the female plug of the current connector provided by the present invention.

[0036] Figure 11 A cross-sectional view of the female plug in a second embodiment of the current connector provided by the present invention;

[0037] Figure 12 A schematic diagram of the female plug in a second embodiment of the current connector provided by the present invention;

[0038] Figure 13 A schematic diagram of the structure of the current connector provided by the present invention in an unmatched state in a second embodiment;

[0039] Figure 14 A front view of the female plug in a second embodiment of the current connector provided by the present invention;

[0040] Figure 15 A left view of the female plug in a second embodiment of the current connector provided by the present invention;

[0041] Figure 16 An exploded view of the female plug in a second embodiment of the current connector provided by the present invention;

[0042] Figure 17 This is a front view of the flat spring contact finger of the current connector provided by the present invention.

[0043] Figure 1-17 middle:

[0044] 1 is a male plug, 11 is a plastic part, 12 is a clip, 13 is a male terminal, 14 is a male plug base, 15 is a signal terminal, and 16 is a washer.

[0045] 2 is a female plug, 21 is a push pin, 22 is a female terminal, 23 is a female plug base, 24 is a support, 25 is a cable, and 26 is a slanted spring coil.

[0046] 221 is the spring contact finger. Detailed Implementation

[0047] The technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. Obviously, the described embodiments are only some embodiments of the present invention, and not all embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those skilled in the art without creative effort are within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0048] The core of this invention is to provide a current connector with a compact structure and small overall size. Another core aspect of this invention is to provide a vehicle including the aforementioned current connector.

[0049] Please refer to Figures 1 to 17 , Figures 1 to 10This is a schematic diagram of a specific embodiment one provided by the present invention. Figure 11 and Figure 16 This is a schematic diagram of a specific embodiment two. Figure 17 This is a front view of the flat spring contact finger of the current connector provided by the present invention. The current connector provided by the present invention mainly includes a male plug 1 and a female plug 2 for insertion into the male plug 1. Both the male plug 1 and the female plug 2 are provided with corresponding terminals. After the male plug 1 and the female plug 2 are inserted, their terminals are connected to allow current to flow. One of the male plug 1 or the female plug 2 is provided with a protrusion block protruding perpendicular to the insertion direction, and the other is provided with a movable and fixable push pin 21. The moving direction of the push pin 21 forms an angle with the insertion direction, and the push pin 21 can lock and unlock with the protrusion block during its movement.

[0050] It should be noted that the direction of movement for the male plug 1 to be inserted into and disconnected from the female plug 2 is the insertion direction. The aforementioned protrusion is a structure fixedly installed on the male plug 1 or the female plug 2, and the protrusion extends perpendicular to the aforementioned insertion direction.

[0051] The aforementioned push pin 21 is a movable and fixed structure set on the other of the male plug 1 and the female plug 2. During the movement of the push pin 21, it can lock and unlock with the protrusion. After the push pin 21 is locked and fixed with the protrusion, since the push pin 21 can be fixed to the female plug 2, the protrusion and the female plug 2 can be relatively fixed, thereby realizing the fixation of the male plug 1 and the female plug 2.

[0052] The current connector provided by the present invention has a protrusion on one of the male plug 1 and the female plug 2, and a corresponding protrusion on the other. The connection between the male plug 1 and the female plug 2 can be easily achieved by the cooperation and fixing of the protrusion and the push pin 21. The structure for plugging and fixing the male and female plugs is compact, the overall volume is small, and the connection stability is strong.

[0053] Optionally, when the push pin 21 moves to the first end of its travel, the push pin 21 is locked to the protrusion, and when the push pin 21 leaves the first end of its travel or moves to a certain position in the middle of its travel, it is unlocked from the protrusion.

[0054] Optionally, the aforementioned pin 21 can be a button structure, which locks the protrusion by pressing it down.

[0055] Based on the above embodiment, the push pin 21 is provided with an open slot slide rail. The open slot slide rail has an angle with the insertion direction. When the protrusion moves along the insertion direction, it can enter the open slot slide rail through the opening of the open slot slide rail.

[0056] It should be noted that the aforementioned slotted slide rail is a structure set on the push pin 21, used to form a connection with the protrusion. The push pin 21 moves closer to the other one as one of the male plug 1 or female plug 2 is inserted, and the slotted slide rail has a certain angle with the insertion direction. When the male plug 1 or female plug 2 moves to the locking position, the movement of the push pin 21 locks or unlocks the protrusion.

[0057] By providing an open slot slide rail on the push pin 21, the relative position control between the protrusion and the push pin 21 can be convenient. By controlling the male and female plugs to move towards each other, the protrusion can extend into the open slot slide rail. When the male and female plugs are in a stable mating position, the push pin 21 is pushed to move, so that the open slot slide rail can move, causing the protrusion to move in the open slot slide rail and form a locking with the open slot slide rail.

[0058] Based on the above embodiment, protrusions are provided on both sides of the male plug 1, and the push pin 21 is a door-shaped component that is movably disposed on the female plug base 23 of the female plug 2. Both side plates of the door-shaped component are provided with open groove slide rails corresponding to the protrusions.

[0059] It should be noted that, please refer to Figure 1 The protrusion is located on the male plug 1, and the push pin 21 is a gate-shaped structure that can move along the female plug base 23. During the movement of the push pin 21, the open slot slide rails on both sides respectively form a limit and a locking with the corresponding protrusion.

[0060] When the male plug 1 is inserted into the female plug 2, in addition to the mating connection of the two terminals, the protrusion is inserted into the open slot slide rail of the push pin 21. Since the open slot slide rail has an angle with the insertion direction, when the push pin 21 is fixed, the push pin 21 and the protrusion are relatively fixed, and thus the relative fixed positions of the male plug 1 and the female plug 2 remain unchanged.

[0061] Since the push pin 21 used in this application is a door-shaped component, the movable connection between the push pin 21 and the female plug base 23 is stable. Optionally, a slide rail can be provided on the female plug base 23 to limit the push pin 21 and facilitate the regular movement of the push pin 21. The direction of the slide rail is at an angle to the above-mentioned insertion direction.

[0062] Optionally, a latch is provided at one end of the push pin 21 to prevent the push pin 21 from disengaging from the female plug base 23.

[0063] Based on any of the above embodiments, the female plug base 23 is a base with a central hole, and the inner wall is provided with a plug groove to facilitate the sliding of the protrusion. The side plate of the door-shaped member is movably disposed between the plug groove and the outer wall of the female plug base 23.

[0064] It should be noted that the aforementioned central hole is used to connect with the male plug 1, and can be used to place the conventional components of the female plug 2, or to accommodate the insertion part of the male plug 1.

[0065] The inner wall is the inner wall of the aforementioned central hole. When the male plug 1 is inserted into the female plug 2 in the insertion direction, the protrusion can be inserted into the insertion groove provided on the inner wall to control the movement of the protrusion in the insertion direction. An insertion groove for inserting the side plate of the gate-shaped component is provided between the inner wall and the outer wall to restrict the movement of the gate-shaped component in other directions.

[0066] Please refer to Figures 2 to 5 The solution provided in this embodiment can limit the movement of the protrusion relative to the gate member while allowing the protrusion to move relative to the gate member in other directions, so as to make the relative position of the gate member and the protrusion more stable.

[0067] Based on the above embodiment, at least two protrusions are provided on both sides of the male plug 1, and are connected to the different opening slot slide rails on the female plug 2.

[0068] It should be noted that by setting two protrusions at different positions on the same side of the male plug, the positions of the protrusions and the female plug 2 can be fixed at at least two points, preventing the structure from rotating after being fixed and avoiding instability between the male and female plugs.

[0069] Optionally, the aforementioned open slot slide rail may have a certain curvature or bend angle so that the aforementioned push pin 21 can be pressed during the movement of the protrusion block, thereby reducing the stroke of the aforementioned push pin 21.

[0070] Based on any of the above embodiments, the gate-shaped member is provided with a clip for engaging and fixing with the female plug 2, and the insertion and removal direction of the clip is along the moving stroke direction of the gate-shaped member.

[0071] The door-shaped component provided in the above embodiments, which can be fixed to the main body of the female plug 2, can be fixed by clips. It should be noted that... Figure 4 and Figure 5 The elastic clip on the right side of the open slot slide rail is the aforementioned clip, which can fix the push pin 21.

[0072] Alternatively, in addition to the clips shown in the diagram, detachable fastening can also be achieved through connectors or other means.

[0073] Based on any of the above embodiments, the male terminal 13 of the male plug 1 is a flat male terminal 13; the spring contact finger 221 on the female plug 2 for connecting with the male terminal on the male plug 1 is a flat spring contact finger 221.

[0074] It should be noted that the aforementioned male terminal 13 is a signal terminal used for transmitting current, and the female terminal 22 is a terminal used for mating and plugging into the male terminal 13. The aforementioned spring contact finger 221 is a ring spring provided on the female terminal 22 to enhance the connection between the male and female terminals. The aforementioned ring spring and the male terminal 13 that it mates with are the same, both being flat, which is beneficial to increasing the tightness of the connection between the male and female terminals.

[0075] Based on any of the above embodiments, the spring contact finger 221 is a helically wound spring contact finger 221. Please refer to... Figure 17 It should be noted that the aforementioned helical oblique winding refers to the fact that each small segment of spring wire in the annular spring is not perpendicular to the center of the terminal circle or the terminal center, but rather the spring wire is obliquely positioned. The spring wire has a certain angle with the straight line passing through the center of the terminal circle or the terminal center. Optionally, the angle between the winding coil of the aforementioned spring contact finger 221 and the perpendicular line to the central axis is 5 to 20 degrees. Since the spring has elastic potential energy, the obliquely positioned spring wire can increase the connection area of ​​the male and female terminals and enhance the connection stability.

[0076] Based on any of the above embodiments, the female plug 2 includes nested metal housings and metal parts, and a spirally wound obliquely wound spring coil 26 is provided in the nesting gap between the metal housings and the metal parts to strengthen the tight connection.

[0077] And / or, the male plug 1 includes nested metal housings, and a spirally wound oblique spring coil 26 is provided in the nesting gap of the metal housings to strengthen the tight connection;

[0078] And / or, the cable 25 of the female plug 2 is provided with a cable shielding mesh;

[0079] And / or, the outer shell of either male plug 1 or female plug 2 is a shielded outer shell with a shielding function.

[0080] It should be noted that the aforementioned obliquely wound spring coil 26 significantly improves the connection stability between the metal housings; the same principle applies to the male and female plugs. Additionally, the cable shielding mesh... Figure 8 As shown on the cable, shielding shells are also provided on the male and female plugs to shield the current and prevent accidents.

[0081] It should be noted that, Figure 6 Washer 16 (not shown) Figure 7 (As shown in the image) can be a rubber gasket, O-ring, etc.

[0082] In addition, both male plug 1 and female plug 2 can be plugs with a 90-degree structure, or male plug 1 and female plug 2 can be connected perpendicularly at 90 degrees.

[0083] Please refer to Figures 11 to 16 Based on any of the above embodiments, the male plug 1 and / or the female plug 2 are plugs with a 90-degree bend; and / or, both the male plug 1 and the female plug 2 are two-terminal plugs or both are multi-terminal plugs.

[0084] It should be noted that, Figure 13 The provided device is a plug structure with two terminals, and is a bent connector. The female plug 2 is a bent plug with a 90-degree bend, and a pin 21 is disposed on the base of the female plug 2.

[0085] It should be noted that, apart from having two terminals, the current connector in this embodiment can use any of the solutions provided in the above embodiments for other structures and settings, and can be adjusted to a certain extent.

[0086] Furthermore, the side plates of the gate-shaped component 21 are disposed on both sides of the dual terminals.

[0087] Furthermore, the female and male terminals are flat terminals.

[0088] The current connector provided in this application includes a novel locking mechanism for locking the male and female terminal structures to meet or exceed the high vibration and high shock requirements of automotive products. Additionally, the current connector employs flat male and female terminals to improve connection stability. Flat, beveled spring contacts are used, and a single current connector can be equipped with one, two, or more flat, beveled spring contacts.

[0089] The current connector terminal assembly provided in this application has shielded terminals, which can be connected to shielded cables to achieve overall shielding of the connector.

[0090] It should be noted that the current connector provided in this application is suitable for both single-core and multi-core connectors. The terms "single-core" and "multi-core" refer to the number of paired signal terminals provided therein.

[0091] In addition to the main structure of the current connector provided in the above embodiments, the present invention also provides a vehicle including the current connector disclosed in the above embodiments. The electrical connection of the vehicle's circuit adopts the above current connector. For the structure of other parts of the vehicle, please refer to the prior art, which will not be repeated here.

[0092] The various embodiments in this specification are described in a progressive manner, with each embodiment focusing on the differences from other embodiments. The same or similar parts between the various embodiments can be referred to each other.

[0093] The foregoing has provided a detailed description of the current connector provided by the present invention and the vehicle having the current connector. Specific examples have been used to illustrate the principles and implementation methods of the present invention. The descriptions of the embodiments above are merely for the purpose of helping to understand the method and core ideas of the present invention. It should be noted that those skilled in the art can make various improvements and modifications to the present invention without departing from its principles, and these improvements and modifications also fall within the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. An electrical current connector comprising a male plug (1) and a female plug (2) for plugging with the male plug (1), characterized in that, One of the male plug (1) or the female plug (2) is provided with a protruding block protruding along a direction perpendicular to the plug-in direction, and the other is provided with a movable and fixable press pin (21), the moving direction of the press pin (21) has an angle with the plug-in direction, and the press pin (21) can be locked and unlocked with the protruding block during movement, and the press pin (21) is a key structure; The press pin (21) is provided with an open slot sliding rail, the open slot sliding rail has an angle with the plug-in direction, and the protruding block can enter the open slot sliding rail through the opening of the open slot sliding rail when moving along the plug-in direction; The protruding block is arranged on both sides of the male plug (1), the press pin (21) is a door-shaped piece and is movably arranged on the female plug base (23) of the female plug (2), both side plates of the door-shaped piece are provided with the open slot sliding rail corresponding to the protruding block; The female plug base (23) is a base with a central hole, and a plug-in slot for sliding the protruding block is arranged on the inner wall of the base, and the side plate of the door-shaped piece is movably arranged between the plug-in slot and the outer wall of the female plug base (23); At least two protruding blocks are arranged on both sides of the male plug (1) respectively.

2. The current connector of claim 1, wherein, A clamping pin for clamping and fixing the female plug (2) is arranged on the door-shaped piece, and the plug-in direction of the clamping pin is along the moving stroke direction of the door-shaped piece.

3. The current connector of any one of claims 1 to 2, wherein, The male terminal (13) of the male plug (1) is a flat male terminal (13), and the spring contact finger (221) on the female plug (2) for connecting the male terminal of the male plug (1) is a flat spring contact finger.

4. The current connector of claim 3, wherein, The spring contact finger (221) is a spiral obliquely wound spring contact finger; And / or, the female plug (2) comprises a nested metal shell and a metal piece, and a spiral obliquely wound obliquely wound spring ring (26) for strengthening connection is arranged in the nested gap of the metal shell and the metal piece; And / or, the male plug (1) comprises a nested metal shell, and a spiral obliquely wound obliquely wound spring ring (26) for strengthening connection is arranged in the nested gap of the metal shell; And / or, a cable shielding net is arranged on the cable (25) of the female plug (2); And / or, the shell of the male plug (1) or the female plug (2) is a shielding shell with shielding effect.

5. The current connector of claim 3, wherein, The male plug (1) and / or the female plug (2) is a plug with a 90-degree bend; And / or, the male plug (1) and the female plug (2) are both double-terminal plugs or both are multi-terminal plugs.

6. A vehicle comprising a current connector, characterized in that The current connector is the current connector of any one of claims 1 to 5.

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