Contact terminal and electrical connector

Abstract

The present invention discloses a contact terminal and an electrical connector. Among them, the contact terminal is applied to the electrical connector, and the electrical connector is used to connect an electrode plate and a battery voltage monitoring controller. The contact terminal includes a terminal body and an insertion arm. The terminal body has a first end and a second end arranged opposite to each other. The first end of the terminal body is used to be connected to the battery voltage monitoring controller through a connecting wire; one end of the insertion arm is connected to the second end of the terminal body, and the contact terminal is arranged in a "V" shape or a "U" shape. The other end of the insertion arm is used to be inserted into the electrode plate. The present invention improves the structure of the contact terminal and enhances the connection stability of the contact terminal.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of connecting terminals, and in particular to a contact terminal and an electrical connector. Background Art

[0002] The stack bipolar plate and the cell voltage monitoring (CVM) controller are mainly connected by an electrical connector. When connecting, the bipolar plate is first inserted into the electrical connector, and then the signal or electrical energy is transmitted to the CVM control device through the wires for data and energy conversion.

[0003] The existing commonly used hydrogen fuel cell stack plates are mainly made of graphite or metal pole pieces, and the graphite electrode connection is mainly to open a hole in the graphite and insert a square or flat contact terminal connected with a wire into the hole of the graphite electrode to make it conductive.

[0004] However, the contact terminal of this connection structure is directly inserted into the electrode hole. During the driving of the car, the contact terminal may automatically fall off and cause a momentary disconnection. In addition, the contact terminal is not completely fixed to the electrode plate. The contact terminal is easy to fall off from the electrode plate or the welded wire may fall off due to the force, which makes the connection stability of the contact terminal poor. Summary of the invention

[0005] The main purpose of the present invention is to provide a contact terminal and an electrical connector, aiming to improve the connection stability of the contact terminal.

[0006] To achieve the above object, the present invention proposes a contact terminal, which is applied to an electrical connector, wherein the electrical connector is used to connect an electrode plate and a battery voltage monitoring controller, and the contact terminal comprises:

[0007] A terminal body having a first end and a second end arranged opposite to each other, wherein the first end of the terminal body is used to be connected to the battery voltage monitoring controller via a connecting wire; and

[0008] An insertion arm, one end of which is connected to the second end of the terminal body, and the contact terminal is arranged in a "V" shape or a "U" shape, and the other end of the insertion arm is used to be inserted into the electrode plate.

[0009] In one embodiment, an angle is formed between the terminal body and the insertion arm, with the opening direction facing the first end of the terminal body, and the angle is an acute angle.

[0010] In one embodiment, the terminal body is provided with a notch for engaging with a limiting block of the electrical connector.

[0011] In one embodiment, a connection portion for inserting the conductor of the connection wire is provided at the first end of the terminal body, and the connection portion is provided in a tubular or arc shape.

[0012] In one embodiment, the connection between the terminal body and the insertion arm is in an arc transition.

[0013] In one embodiment, a contact portion is convexly provided on the insertion arm for abutting and conducting with the electrode plate.

[0014] In one embodiment, a through hole is provided on the insertion arm, and both sides of the insertion arm near the through hole bulge outwards to form the contact portion.

[0015] In one embodiment, the through hole is provided in a long strip shape and extends along the length direction of the insertion arm.

[0016] In one embodiment, the contact terminal is made of copper and is formed by punching.

[0017] To achieve the above object, the present invention further provides an electrical connector, which includes the contact terminal as described above. The contact terminal includes:

[0018] A terminal body having a first end and a second end disposed opposite to each other. The first end of the terminal body is used to be connected to the battery voltage monitoring controller through a connection wire; and

[0019] An insertion arm, one end of the insertion arm is connected to the second end of the terminal body, and the contact terminal is provided in a "V" shape or a "U" shape. The other end of the insertion arm is used to be inserted into the electrode plate.

[0020] In the technical solution of the present invention, since the contact terminal includes a terminal body and an insertion arm, the terminal body has a first end and a second end disposed opposite to each other. The first end of the terminal body is used to be connected to the battery voltage monitoring controller through a connection wire. One end of the insertion arm is connected to the second end of the terminal body, and the contact terminal is provided in a "V" shape or a "U" shape. The other end of the insertion arm is used to be inserted into the electrode plate, making the connection between the contact terminal and the electrode plate more reliable and improving the connection stability of the contact terminal. Description of the Drawings

[0021] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the following drawings are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, without creative efforts, other drawings can be obtained based on the structures shown in these drawings.

[0022] Figure 1 Structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of the contact terminal of the present invention;

[0023] Figure 2 Structural schematic diagram of another embodiment of the contact terminal of the present invention;

[0024] Figure 3 Structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention;

[0025] Figure 4 Structural schematic diagram of an embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention and its connection to the electrode plate of the battery stack.

[0026] Explanation of the reference numerals in the drawings:

[0027] Label Name Label Name 100 Terminal body α Included angle 200 Insertion arm 101a Notch 102 Connection part 201 Abutting part 200a Through hole 20 Electrical connector 10 Contact terminal 22 Connecting wire 30 Electrode plate 23 Cover plate 21 Connector body 40 Housing 231 Card slot

[0028] The realization, functional features and advantages of the object of the present invention will be further described with reference to the embodiments and the accompanying drawings. Detailed implementation manners

[0029] Next, the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention will be clearly and completely described with reference to the accompanying drawings in the embodiments of the present invention. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present invention, rather than all of the embodiments. Based on the embodiments of the present invention, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative efforts shall fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0030] It should be noted that all directional indications (such as up, down, left, right, front, back...) in the embodiments of the present invention are only used to explain the relative positional relationship and movement conditions between components in a specific posture (as shown in the drawings). If the specific posture changes, the directional indications will also change accordingly.

[0031] In addition, the descriptions involving "first", "second", etc. in the present invention are only for descriptive purposes, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying their relative importance or implicitly indicating the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, the features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one of such features. In addition, the meaning of "and / or" appearing throughout the text is that it includes three parallel solutions. Taking "A and / or B" as an example, it includes solution A, or solution B, or a solution that satisfies both A and B at the same time. In addition, the technical solutions between the various embodiments can be combined with each other, but it must be based on the fact that those of ordinary skill in the art can implement them. When the combination of technical solutions results in contradictions or cannot be implemented, it should be considered that such a combination of technical solutions does not exist and is not within the protection scope required by the present invention.

[0032] In some exemplary technologies, the stack bipolar plate and the cell voltage monitoring (CVM) controller are mainly connected by an electrical connector. When connecting, the bipolar plate is first inserted into the electrical connector, and then the signal or electrical energy is transmitted to the CVM control device through the wires for data and energy conversion.

[0033] The existing commonly used hydrogen fuel cell stack plates are mainly made of graphite or metal pole pieces, and the graphite electrode connection is mainly to open a hole in the graphite and insert a square or flat contact terminal connected with a wire into the hole of the graphite electrode to make it conductive.

[0034] However, the contact terminal of this connection structure is directly inserted into the electrode hole. During the driving of the car, the contact terminal may automatically fall off and cause a momentary disconnection. In addition, the contact terminal is not completely fixed to the electrode plate. The contact terminal is easy to fall off from the electrode plate or the welded wire may fall off due to the force, which makes the connection stability of the contact terminal poor.

[0035] In order to improve the connection stability of the contact terminal, the present invention proposes a contact terminal suitable for various electrical connectors, especially electrical connectors used to connect electrode plates and battery voltage monitoring controllers in the field of electric vehicle hydrogen fuel cells, but not limited here.

[0036] Reference Figures 1 to 3 In one embodiment of the present invention, the contact terminal 10 is applied to an electrical connector 20, which is used to connect the electrode plate 30 with a battery voltage monitoring controller (not shown in the figure). The contact terminal 10 includes a terminal body 100 and an insertion arm 200. The terminal body 100 has a first end and a second end that are relatively arranged. The first end of the terminal body 100 is used to connect to the battery voltage monitoring controller through a connecting wire 22; one end of the insertion arm 200 is connected to the second end of the terminal body 100, and the contact terminal 10 is arranged in a "V" shape or a "U" shape, and the other end of the insertion arm 200 is used to be inserted into the electrode plate 30.

[0037] In this embodiment, the contact terminal 10 can be made of metal materials such as copper with excellent conductive properties. The terminal body 100 and the insertion arm 200 of the contact terminal 10 can be manufactured by punching and integral molding, or can be a split structure connected by welding or the like, which is not limited here.

[0038] It should be noted that the terminal body 100 in the present invention can be fixed in the housing of the electrical connector 20. The first end of the terminal body 100 can be fixedly connected to the connecting wire 22 by means of riveting or welding. The insertion arm 200 can extend outward from the housing of the electrical connector 20 so that it can be inserted into the stack electrode plate 30. When the connecting wire 22 is riveted to the contact terminal 10, the housing of the electrical connector 20 can protect the connecting wire 22, reducing the influence on the riveting part of the wire and the terminal when the connecting wire 22 is stressed and preventing the wire from falling off.

[0039] It can be understood that in the present invention, the terminal body 100 of the connecting terminal is provided with a first end and a second end arranged oppositely. The first end of the terminal body 100 is used to be connected to the battery voltage monitoring controller through the connecting wire 22. One end of the insertion arm 200 is connected to the second end of the terminal body 100, and the contact terminal 10 is arranged in a "V" shape or a "U" shape. The other end of the insertion arm 200 is used to be inserted into the electrode plate 30, making the connection between the contact terminal 10 and the electrode plate 30 more reliable and improving the connection stability of the contact terminal 10.

[0040] Please refer to Figure 2 , in order to further improve the connection stability of the contact terminal 10, in an embodiment, when the contact terminal is arranged in a "V" shape, an included angle α with an opening direction facing the first end of the terminal body 100 is formed between the terminal body 100 and the insertion arm 200, and the included angle α can be set as an acute angle.

[0041] In this embodiment, the insertion hole of the electrode plate 30 can be correspondingly designed to be inclined to prevent the contact terminal 10 from freely moving up and down and disengaging from the electrode plate 30, avoiding the occurrence of momentary interruption phenomenon and further improving the connection stability.

[0042] In order to facilitate the positioning and fixing of the contact terminal 10 and prevent it from moving in the body of the electrical connector 20 and causing poor contact, in an embodiment, mainly referring to Figure 1 , a notch 100a for limiting and clamping with the limiting block of the electrical connector 20 is provided on the terminal body 100.

[0043] Among them, the notch 100a can extend along the length direction of the terminal body 100. The specific size of the notch 100a can be adaptively adjusted according to the actual structure, and the number of the notches 100a can also be multiple, which is not limited here.

[0044] Please combine with Figure 1 , Figure 3 and Figure 4, in order to improve the connection stability between the contact terminal 10 and the connecting wire 22, in one embodiment, a connecting portion 102 for inserting the conductor of the connecting wire 22 is provided at the first end of the terminal body 100, and the connecting portion 102 is provided in a tubular or arc shape.

[0045] In this embodiment, the connecting portion 102 and the terminal body 100 can be integrally formed or a split structure fixed by welding or other means, which is not limited here.

[0046] In one embodiment, referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , the connection between the terminal body 100 and the insertion arm 200 is in an arc transition to facilitate processing, reduce production and manufacturing costs, and also avoid cutting employees with sharp connections.

[0047] Furthermore, a contact portion 201 can be convexly provided on the insertion arm 200 for abutting and conducting with the electrode plate 30. With such a setting, the electrical connection stability between the contact terminal 10 and the electrode plate 30 can be improved, and the phenomenon of momentary interruption can be avoided.

[0048] In this solution, mainly referring to Figure 1 , a through hole 200a can be formed on the insertion arm 200, and both sides of the insertion arm 200 close to the through hole 200a protrude outward to form the above-mentioned contact portion 201. In this embodiment, the contact portion 201 of the contact terminal 10 is a contact type elastic sheet structure, which can be formed by punching, and the processing and manufacturing are relatively convenient, and the production and manufacturing costs can be reduced.

[0049] It should be noted that the through hole 200a can be provided in a long strip shape and extend along the length direction of the insertion arm 200 to increase the contact area between the contact terminal 10 and the electrode plate 30, thereby improving the electrical connection stability between the contact terminal 10 and the electrode plate 30.

[0050] Of course, in some other embodiments, the through hole 200a can also be of other shapes, and the number thereof can be multiple, which is not limited here.

[0051] The present invention also proposes an electrical connector 20, referring to Figure 3 , the electrical connector 20 includes a contact terminal 10, and the specific structure of the contact terminal 10 refers to the above embodiment. Since the electrical connector 20 proposed by the present invention includes all the solutions of all the above embodiments of the contact terminal 10, therefore, it has at least the same technical effects as the contact terminal 10, which will not be elaborated one by one here.

[0052] Referring to Figures 1 to 3, in an embodiment of the present invention, the electrical connector 20 is used to connect the electrode plate 30 with a battery voltage monitoring controller (not shown in the figure). The contact terminal 10 includes a terminal body 100 and an insertion arm 200. The terminal body 100 has a first end and a second end which are oppositely arranged. The first end of the terminal body 100 is used to be connected with the battery voltage monitoring controller through a connecting wire 22. One end of the insertion arm 200 is connected to the second end of the terminal body 100, and the contact terminal 10 is arranged in a "V" shape or a "U" shape. The other end of the insertion arm 200 is used to be inserted into the electrode plate 30.

[0053] In this embodiment, referring to Figure 3 and Figure 4 , the electrical connector 20 may include a connector body 21, contact terminals 10 and a cover plate 23. The connector body 21 is provided with a plurality of accommodating grooves arranged at intervals. The number of the contact terminals 10 is multiple, and the multiple contact terminals 10 are respectively arranged in the multiple accommodating grooves one by one. Each contact terminal 10 has a first end and a second end which are oppositely arranged. The first end of the contact terminal 10 is used to be connected with the battery voltage detection controller through a connecting wire 22. The second end of the contact terminal 10 extends outward from the accommodating groove and is used to be plugged and fixed with the electrode plate 30. The cover plate 23 is covered on one side of the connector body 21 to press the terminal body 100 of the contact terminal 10 into the accommodating groove.

[0054] In this embodiment, the connector body 21 can be integrally formed by injection molding with a non-conductive material, or can be assembled by multiple plastic parts, and no limitation is made here.

[0055] It should be noted that the contact terminal 10 can be at least partially installed in the accommodating groove of the connector body 21 by means of clamping, abutting, bonding, etc.

[0056] The cover plate 23 can be made of the same plastic material as the connector body 21, or can be made of different materials, and no limitation is made here. The cover plate 23 in the present invention can form a limiting structure with the connector body 21 to press and fix the terminal body 100 of the contact terminal 10 in the accommodating groove of the connector body 21.

[0057] It can be understood that in the present invention, the connector body 21 of the electrical connector 20 is provided with a plurality of accommodation grooves arranged at intervals. The number of the contact terminals 10 is multiple, and the multiple contact terminals 10 are arranged one-to-one in the multiple accommodation grooves. Each contact terminal 10 has a first end and a second end arranged oppositely. The first end of the contact terminal 10 is used to be connected to the battery voltage detection controller through a connecting wire 22, and the second end of the contact terminal 10 extends outwards from the accommodation groove and is used to be inserted and fixed with the electrode plate 30. The cover plate 23 is covered on one side of the connector body 21 to press the terminal body 100 of the contact terminal 10 into the accommodation groove, improving the connection stability of the electrical connector 20 and avoiding the situation that the contact terminal 10 is disengaged from the electrode plate 30, resulting in unstable connection of the electrical connector 20.

[0058] Please refer to Figure 3 and Figure 4 , in order to improve the convenience of assembling the electrical connector 20, in an embodiment, the connector body 21 can be arranged in a "Z" shape; the connector body 21 is formed with a fitting surface for abutting against the electrode plate 30 and a mounting portion for mounting the housing 40. With such a setting, while saving materials, the convenience of assembling the electrical connector 20 is improved.

[0059] In this embodiment, the housing 40 of the client can be used to fix the electrical connector 20, and an anti-disengagement structure can be set to enhance the stability of its installation.

[0060] In some embodiments, refer to Figure 3 , a buckle can be provided on the connector body 21, and a slot 231 that is engaged and adapted to the buckle is provided at the position corresponding to the buckle on the cover plate 23. The buckle is snapped into the slot 231 to snap and fix the cover plate 23 and the connector body 21. With such a setting, the connection stability between the cover plate 23 and the connector body 21 is improved.

[0061] Of course, in some other embodiments, a slot 231 can also be provided on the connector body 21, and a slot can be provided on the cover plate 23, which is not limited here.

[0062] Furthermore, a pin can be provided on the cover plate 23, and a socket that is inserted and adapted to the pin is provided at the position corresponding to the pin on the connector body 21. The pin is inserted into the socket to limit the movement of the cover plate 23 in the width direction of the connector body 21.

[0063] In this embodiment, the cover plate 23 can be arranged in an "L" shape, which is not limited here.

[0064] In order to further improve the installation stability of the contact terminal 10, in one embodiment, limiting blocks are provided on the cover plate 23 at positions corresponding to the plurality of receiving grooves. The plurality of limiting blocks are inserted into the plurality of receiving grooves one by one, and each limiting block abuts against the contact terminal 10 disposed in the receiving groove to limit the movement of the contact terminal 10 in the width direction of the connector body 21.

[0065] In addition, in some embodiments, the cover plate 23 is provided with wire passing holes through which the plurality of connecting wires 22 respectively pass. The plurality of wire passing holes are evenly spaced along the width direction of the cover plate 23. With such an arrangement, while improving the convenience of routing the connecting wires 22, the wires can be protected, so that when the connecting wires 22 are stressed, the influence on the riveting part of the wires and the contact terminal 10 is small, and the wires will not fall off.

[0066] The above are only the optional embodiments of the present invention, and do not limit the patent scope of the present invention accordingly. Any equivalent structural transformation made by using the content of the specification and drawings of the present invention under the inventive concept of the present invention, or any direct / indirect application in other related technical fields is included in the patent protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A contact terminal is applied to an electrical connector, and the electrical connector is used to connect an electrode plate and a battery voltage monitoring controller. Characterized in that, The contact terminal includes: A terminal body having a first end and a second end arranged oppositely, and the first end of the terminal body is used to be connected to the battery voltage monitoring controller through a connecting wire; and An insertion arm, one end of the insertion arm is connected to the second end of the terminal body, and the contact terminal is arranged in a "V" shape or a "U" shape, and the other end of the insertion arm is used to be inserted into the electrode plate; A notch for limiting and clamping with a limiting block of the electrical connector is provided on the terminal body; A connecting portion for inserting a conductor of the connecting wire is provided at the first end of the terminal body, and the connecting portion is arranged in a tubular shape or an arc shape; A contact portion is convexly provided on the insertion arm for abutting and conducting with the electrode plate; A through hole is formed in the insertion arm, and both sides of the insertion arm close to the through hole bulge outwards to form the contact portion.

2. The contact terminal according to claim 1, Characterized in that, An included angle with an opening direction facing the first end of the terminal body is formed between the terminal body and the insertion arm, and the included angle is an acute angle.

3. The contact terminal according to claim 2, Characterized in that, The connection part between the terminal body and the insertion arm is in an arc transition.

4. The contact terminal according to claim 2, Characterized in that, The through hole is arranged in a long strip shape and extends along the length direction of the insertion arm.

5. The contact terminal according to claim 2, Characterized in that, The material of the contact terminal is copper, and the contact terminal is formed by punching.

6. An electrical connector, Characterized in that, The electrical connector includes the contact terminal according to any one of claims 1-5.

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