A socket connector, a plug connector and an electrical connector assembly

Abstract

A socket connector, a plug connector and an electrical connector assembly, wherein the socket connector comprises a seat body, a contact penetrating through the seat body, a first housing provided on one side of the seat body and surrounding the contact, and a second housing provided on the other side of the seat body, the first housing being used for mating with the plug connector, the peripheral side wall of the first housing having equal height and being lower than the height of the outer insulator of the contact, and the outer insulator of the contact being provided with a guide and mistake insertion key rib for guiding the plug-in of the plug connector. The first plug connector can be matched with the socket connector from one direction, and the second plug connector can be matched with the socket connector from another different direction, thus expanding the versatility of the socket connector and improving the convenience of installation.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention belongs to the field of electrical connector technology, specifically relating to a socket connector, a plug connector, and an electrical connector assembly. Background Technology

[0002] Electrical connector assemblies (including socket connectors and plug connectors) often encounter unique installation environments in practical applications. For example, in electric vehicles, with the rapid development of the electric vehicle industry, the layout of vehicle equipment is becoming increasingly complex and diverse. Electrical connector assemblies frequently need to avoid surrounding equipment or objects during installation. In existing electrical connector assemblies, the socket connector design can only accommodate unidirectional mating with its matching plug connector facing one direction. If the application environment cannot meet this unidirectional mating requirement, the entire electrical connector assembly needs to be replaced, i.e., a different electrical connector assembly adapted to the required direction needs to be used. This results in the need to manufacture multiple different electrical connector assemblies (one socket connector corresponding to one matching plug connector) to meet the needs of application environments with multiple directions or angles. This existing electrical connector assembly solution, requiring multiple design options, leads to a significant waste of human and material resources. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this invention is to provide a socket connector, a plug connector, and an electrical connector assembly.

[0004] To achieve the above objectives, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is as follows: a socket connector, comprising a base for connecting to an installation object, a contact element disposed through the base, a first housing disposed on one side of the base surrounding the contact element, and a second housing disposed on the other side of the base. The first housing is used for mating with an adapter plug connector. A space for mating with a portion of the adapter plug connector is formed between the outer insulator of the contact element and the first housing. The feature is that the peripheral sidewalls constituting the first housing are of equal height and lower than the height of the outer insulator of the contact element, thereby enabling the socket connector to mate with the first and second adapter plug connectors. The arrangement orientation of the second adapter plug connector is different from that of the first adapter plug connector. A guiding and anti-misinsertion key rib is provided on the outer insulator of the contact element for guiding the insertion of the adapter plug connector.

[0005] Furthermore, the contacts that penetrate the base body are two independent contacts, and the outer insulators of both contacts are provided with the aforementioned guiding and anti-misinsertion key ribs, and the guiding and anti-misinsertion key ribs are located on the side of the outer insulator of the contact that is away from the other contact.

[0006] Furthermore, each contact's outer insulator is provided with two guide and anti-misinsertion key ribs, which are arranged in parallel and spaced apart.

[0007] Furthermore, the two guide and anti-misfit key ribs on the outer insulator of each contact have different widths, which complement the key slots on the adapter plug connector and enable the identification and limitation of adapter plug connectors with different arrangement orientations.

[0008] Furthermore, anti-sway reinforcing ribs are provided on at least one pair of sidewalls of the first housing to match the corresponding grooves in the adapter plug connector.

[0009] Furthermore, in the first housing, on a pair of sidewalls corresponding to the guiding and anti-misalignment key ribs on the outer insulator of the contact element, each sidewall is provided with two anti-sway reinforcing ribs, and between the two anti-sway reinforcing ribs is a trunnion for matement with the adapter plug connector.

[0010] Furthermore, anti-sway reinforcing ribs are also provided on each of the other pair of sidewalls of the first housing.

[0011] Furthermore, two anti-sway reinforcing ribs are provided on each of the other pair of sidewalls of the first shell.

[0012] Furthermore, the two anti-sway reinforcing ribs provided on each of the other pair of sidewalls of the first shell are spaced equally apart.

[0013] A plug connector having mounting features corresponding to the aforementioned socket connector.

[0014] Furthermore, the plug connector has a connecting portion for connecting with a socket connector and a remaining portion that is connected to the connecting portion at any angle between 90 and 180 degrees.

[0015] An electrical connector assembly includes the aforementioned socket connector and the aforementioned plug connector.

[0016] Beneficial effects:

[0017] According to the present invention, since the peripheral sidewalls forming the first housing are of equal height and lower than the height of the outer insulator of the contact element, and the outer insulator of the contact element is provided with guiding and anti-misalignment key ribs for guiding the insertion of the adapter plug connector, when the adapter plug connector is fitted with the socket connector, the corresponding key slot on the connecting part of the plug connector can first cooperate with the guiding and anti-misalignment key ribs on the outer insulator of the contact element for insertion, which can avoid interference between the adapter plug connector and the first housing of the socket connector; and the technical feature of equal peripheral sidewall height of the first housing allows adapter plug connectors with different arrangement orientations to be fitted with the socket connector, thereby expanding the versatility of the socket connector, overcoming the technical problem in the prior art that a socket connector can only be fitted with a plug in one direction, and if the insertion direction needs to be changed, the entire electrical connector assembly needs to be replaced, resulting in a waste of manpower and resources, greatly facilitating on-site installation and reducing production costs. Attached Figure Description

[0018] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the socket connector in this invention.

[0019] Figure 2 This is an exploded structural diagram of a first embodiment of an electrical connector assembly (in this diagram, the angle between the connecting portion and the rest of the plug connector is 135°).

[0020] Figure 3 To and Figure 2 The corresponding electrical connector assembly includes an adapter plug connector with the same orientation and arrangement. Figure 2 A schematic diagram showing a connector with an opposite orientation to the socket connector (another connector that can be fitted to the socket connector but with a different orientation). Figure 2 The connectors are rotated 180 degrees.

[0021] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of a second embodiment of an electrical connector assembly (in this diagram, the angle between the connecting part and the rest of the adapter plug connector is 90°).

[0022] Figure 5 To and Figure 4 In the corresponding electrical connector assembly, the arrangement orientation of the adapter plug connector is the same as... Figure 4 The opposite structural diagram (another adapter connector that can be fitted to the socket connector but with a different orientation, and...) Figure 4 The connectors are rotated 180 degrees.

[0023] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the third embodiment of the electrical connector assembly (in this diagram, the angle between the connecting part and the rest of the plug connector is 180°, that is, the connecting part and the rest of the connector are in a straight line).

[0024] In the diagram, A is the socket connector, B is the plug connector, 1 is the base, 101 is the mounting hole, 2 is the first housing, 201 is the first side wall, 202 is the second side wall, 3 is the second side wall anti-sway reinforcement, 4 is the socket shield, 5 is the interlocking signal component, 6 is the contact, 7 is the guide and anti-misinsertion key rib, 8 is the ear post, 9 is the first side wall anti-sway reinforcement, 10 is the second housing, 11 is the copper busbar, 12 is the copper busbar side insulator, 13 is the connection handle, 14 is the plug housing, 15 is the locking piece, 16 is the plug insulator, 17 is the cable shield wire, 18 is the crimp sleeve, 19 is the cable, 20 is the cable fixing assembly, 21 is the sealing body assembly, 22 is the plug shield, and 23 is the contact outer insulator. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0026] like Figure 1 As shown, a socket connector includes a base 1 for mounting to a related device, a contact 6 that passes through the base 1, a first housing 2 that surrounds the contact 6 on one side of the base 1, and a second housing 10 that surrounds the other end of the contact 6 on the other side of the base 1.

[0027] The first housing 2 is used for mating with an adapter plug connector, and a space is formed between the outer insulator 23 accommodating the contact and the first housing 2 for mating with a portion of the adapter plug connector.

[0028] The peripheral sidewalls of the first housing 2 are of equal height and are lower than the height of the outer insulator 23 of the contact element, so that the socket connector can be installed with the first adapter plug connector and the second adapter plug connector. The arrangement orientation of the second adapter plug connector is different from that of the first adapter plug connector. The outer insulator 23 of the contact element is provided with a guide and anti-misinsertion key rib 7 for guiding the insertion of the adapter plug connector.

[0029] In the above technical solution, since the peripheral sidewalls of the first housing 2 are of equal height and lower than the height of the outer insulator 23 of the contact element, and the outer insulator 23 of the contact element is provided with guiding and anti-misalignment key ribs 7 for guiding the insertion of the adapter plug connector, when the adapter plug connector is mated with the socket connector, the corresponding key slot on the connecting part of the plug connector can first mate with the guiding and anti-misalignment key ribs 7 on the outer insulator 23 of the contact element for insertion, thus avoiding interference between the adapter plug connector and the first housing 2 of the socket connector. The technical feature of equal peripheral sidewall height of the first housing 2 allows two adapter plug connectors with different arrangement orientations to be mated with the socket connector (e.g., with...). Figure 2For reference, there are two arrangement orientations: left and right. Figure 2 The adapter plug connector is positioned on the right side. Figure 3 The plug connector B shown is generally oriented to the left.

[0030] In other words, the structures of the contact elements in the connecting parts of two adapter plug connectors that are fitted with the same socket connector are the same, while the orientation of the remaining parts connected to the connecting parts is opposite (that is, the arrangement orientation of the adapter plug connectors described in this article is different).

[0031] In this embodiment, the contact 6 provided through the base body 1 is two independent contacts. The outer insulator 23 of both contacts is provided with the aforementioned guiding and anti-misinsertion key rib 7. The guiding and anti-misinsertion key rib 7 is located on the side of the outer insulator 23 of the contact away from the other contact.

[0032] Two guide and anti-misinsertion key ribs 7 are provided on the outer insulator 23 of each contact, and the two guide and anti-misinsertion key ribs 7 are arranged in parallel and spaced apart.

[0033] In this embodiment, the two guide and anti-misinsertion key ribs 7 provided on each contact insulator 23 have different widths. They complement the corresponding key slots on the adapter plug connector and can identify and limit adapter plug connectors with different arrangement orientations, thereby avoiding the reverse insertion of plug connectors with different arrangement orientations and socket connectors.

[0034] In this embodiment, an interlocking signal component 5 for signal interlocking with the adapter plug connector is provided between the outer insulators 23 of the two contacts. For adapter plug connectors with different arrangement orientations, the position and structure of the interlocking signal component 5 are exactly opposite, that is, the corresponding features in the connection part that are fitted with the interlocking signal component 5 are symmetrical structures. In this embodiment, a socket shield 4 for preventing mutual electromagnetic interference between the contacts 6 and the outside is also provided in the first housing 2.

[0035] To prevent the socket connector A and the plug connector B from swaying relative to each other after mating, anti-sway reinforcing ribs are provided on at least one pair of side walls of the first housing 6 to match the corresponding grooves in the adapter plug connector.

[0036] In this embodiment, in the first housing 2, a pair of sidewalls (a pair of approximately parallel sidewalls, such as the guide and anti-misalignment key ribs 7 on the outer insulator 23 of the contact element) corresponding to the first housing 2 are provided. Figure 1 On the two parallel first sidewalls 201 shown, each sidewall is provided with two anti-sway reinforcing ribs, namely Figure 1 The first sidewall anti-sway reinforcing rib 9 shown in the figure has an ear post 8 between the two first sidewall anti-sway reinforcing ribs 9 for installation in conjunction with the adapter plug connector.

[0037] The mating structure between the ear post 8 and the adapter plug connector is existing technology and will not be described in detail here.

[0038] In this embodiment, a mounting hole 101 is provided on the base body. When installing with the installation object (or related equipment), the mounting can be fixedly installed through the mounting hole 101.

[0039] To further strengthen the robust structure of the socket connector, another pair of sidewalls on the first housing 2 (in this embodiment, another pair of parallel sidewalls, also referred to as the second pair of sidewalls, such as...) Figure 1 Each of the two second sidewalls 202 shown is also provided with anti-sway reinforcing ribs, i.e. Figure 1 The second sidewall anti-sway reinforcement rib 3 is shown in the figure.

[0040] Two anti-sway reinforcing ribs 3 are provided on each second sidewall 202.

[0041] The spacing between the two anti-sway reinforcing ribs 3 on the two second side walls is equal.

[0042] In this embodiment, on the other side of the base 1, a copper busbar 11 is connected to the contact member 6, and an insulator (copper busbar side insulator 12 as shown in the figure) is also provided on the outside of the copper busbar 11.

[0043] When the connector is plugged into the socket connector, the guide and anti-misfit key rib 7 set on the outer insulator 23 of the contact is first identified to guide the plug connector and the socket connector to plug into the socket connector; after the plug connector B and the socket connector A are plugged into the socket connector, the side wall of the first housing 2 and the anti-sway reinforcement rib thereon together prevent the plug connector B and the socket connector A from swaying; during the plugging process, the contact of the plug connector B and the socket connector A contacts first, and the interlock signal component contacts later, and finally realizes the high voltage interlock function.

[0044] The plug connector, which mates with the socket connector, has mounting features corresponding to those of the aforementioned socket connector. The plug connector includes a connecting portion that connects to the socket connector and other portions that connect to the connecting portion. The other portions that connect to the connecting portion are positioned at an angle of 90°-180° to the connecting portion (e.g., ...). Figure 2 , Figure 3 The angle between the two shown is 135°. Figure 4 , Figure 5 The angle between the two shown is 90°. Figure 6 The angle between the two shown is 180°.

[0045] In this embodiment, as Figure 2As shown, the remaining parts of the plug connector include a plug housing 14 connected to the connecting part and a plug insulator 16 disposed inside the plug housing 14. A plug shield 22 is provided connected to the plug insulator 16. The cable 19 is connected to the plug housing through a cable fixing assembly 20, a sealing body assembly 21, and a crimp sleeve 18. A movable connecting handle 13 and a locking piece 15 are also provided connected to the plug housing 14. The plug connector and the socket connector are locked together by the connecting handle 13 and the connecting handle 13 is fixed by the locking piece 15.

[0046] An electrical connector assembly includes the aforementioned socket connector and plug connector, wherein the socket connector is capable of mating with a plurality of plug connectors arranged in different orientations.

[0047] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present invention and are not intended to limit it. Those skilled in the art should understand that modifications or equivalent substitutions can be made to the specific implementation of the present invention with reference to the above embodiments. Any modifications or equivalent substitutions that do not depart from the spirit and scope of the present invention are within the protection scope of the claims of the present invention.

Claims

1. A socket connector, comprising a base for connection with a mounting object, a contact element disposed through the base, a first housing disposed on one side of the base surrounding the contact element, and a second housing disposed on the other side of the base. The first housing is for mating with an adapter plug connector, and a space is formed between the outer insulator of the contact element and the first housing for mating with a portion of the adapter plug connector, characterized in that: The peripheral sidewalls constituting the first housing are of equal height and lower than the height of the outer insulator of the contact element, thus enabling the socket connector to be installed with adapter plug connectors of different orientations. The outer insulator of the contact element is provided with guide and anti-misalignment key ribs for guiding the insertion of the adapter plug connector. Two independent contacts are disposed through the base body, each with the aforementioned guide and anti-misalignment key ribs on its outer insulator, positioned on the side of the outer insulator away from the other contact. Each outer insulator of the contact element has two guide and anti-misalignment key ribs, arranged parallel and spaced apart. The widths of the two guide and anti-misalignment key ribs on each outer insulator are different, complementing the key slots on the adapter plug connector to identify and limit adapter plug connectors with different orientations.

2. A socket connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: Anti-sway reinforcing ribs are provided on at least one pair of sidewalls of the first housing to match the corresponding grooves in the adapter plug connector.

3. A socket connector according to claim 1, characterized in that: In the first housing, on a pair of sidewalls corresponding to the guiding and anti-misalignment key ribs on the outer insulator of the contact element, each sidewall is provided with two anti-sway reinforcing ribs, and between the two anti-sway reinforcing ribs is a trunnion for mounting with the adapter plug connector.

4. A socket connector according to claim 3, characterized in that: Anti-sway reinforcing ribs are also provided on each of the other pair of sidewalls of the first housing.

5. A socket connector according to claim 4, characterized in that: Two anti-sway reinforcing ribs are provided on each of the other pair of sidewalls of the first shell.

6. A socket connector according to claim 5, characterized in that: Two anti-sway reinforcing ribs are provided at equal intervals on each of the other pair of sidewalls of the first shell.

7. A plug connector, characterized in that: The plug connector described herein has mounting features corresponding to those of the socket connector described in any one of claims 1, 4-6.

8. A plug connector according to claim 7, characterized in that: The plug connector has a connecting portion for connection with a socket connector and a remaining portion that is connected to the connecting portion at any angle between 90 and 180 degrees.

9. An electrical connector assembly, characterized in that: Includes the socket connector as described in any one of claims 1, 4-6 and the plug connector as described in any one of claims 7 and 8.

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