Electric connector

Abstract

The invention provides an electric connector, which comprises an insulation body, a plurality of conductive terminals and a locking piece, the insulation body is provided with a base body part and a plurality of butt joint columns formed by forward extension from the base body part, the plurality of butt joint columns are arranged in the transverse direction, the conductive terminals are fixed in the corresponding butt joint columns, and the locking piece is arranged on the base body part. The locking piece is fixed on the insulating body so as to stop the conductive terminals; the locking piece is provided with a substrate part and a plurality of stopping convex parts formed by extending from the substrate part, the substrate part is in a flat plate shape and covers the base body part within the coverage range of the outer contour of the substrate part, and the stopping convex parts are inserted into corresponding slots arranged on the insulating body to stop the conductive terminals. The electric connector is high in structural strength and can be suitable for large-current transmission.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The invention relates to an electric connector. Background Art

[0002] A conventional electrical connector comprises an insulating body and a conductive terminal fixed in the insulating body. When the conductive terminal needs to be locked, a locking member is usually provided to lock its installation position to prevent it from withdrawing out of the terminal slot. However, the conventional locking member has a weak structural strength due to the provision of many matching structures that are compatible with the insulating body, the conductive terminal and even the docking connector, and thus cannot ensure the locking effect on the conductive terminal.

[0003] In view of this, it is necessary to improve the existing electrical connector to solve the above problems. Summary of the invention

[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector with higher structural strength.

[0005] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose of the invention, the present invention provides an electrical connector, which includes an insulating body, a plurality of conductive terminals and a locking piece, wherein the insulating body has a base portion, a plurality of docking posts extending forward from the base portion, the plurality of docking posts are arranged in a transverse direction, the conductive terminals are fixed in corresponding docking posts, and the locking piece is fixed to the insulating body to stop the conductive terminals; the locking piece has a substrate portion and a plurality of stop protrusions extending from the substrate portion, the substrate portion is flat and covers the base portion within the coverage range of its outer contour, and the stop protrusions are inserted into corresponding slots provided on the insulating body to stop the conductive terminals.

[0006] As a further improvement of the present invention, the slot is provided on the base portion and is communicated with a docking channel provided on a corresponding docking column.

[0007] As a further improvement of the present invention, the locking piece also has a plurality of spacer portions extending from the base plate portion, the spacer portions and the stop protrusions have the same protruding direction and are alternately arranged in the transverse direction, the base portion has a receiving groove located between two adjacent docking poles in the transverse direction, and the spacer portion is inserted into the corresponding receiving groove to extend between two adjacent conductive terminals.

[0008] As a further improvement of the present invention, each of the receiving grooves extends in the height direction, and the conductive terminals are located within the extension range of adjacent receiving grooves in the height direction.

[0009] As a further improvement of the present invention, the stopping protrusion is located within the extension range of the spacing portion in the front-to-back direction.

[0010] As a further improvement of the present invention, the locking member further comprises a protruding plate located at the front side of the base plate portion, and the docking column comprises a mounting groove for accommodating the protruding plate.

[0011] As a further improvement of the present invention, when the locking element is not completely installed in the insulating body, the protruding plate at least partially protrudes out of the installation groove in the height direction to stop the docking connector.

[0012] As a further improvement of the present invention, when the locking element is completely installed in the insulating body, the lower surface of the protruding plate is not lower than the lower surface of the docking post.

[0013] As a further improvement of the present invention, there is a step difference between the protruding plate and the base plate in a height direction.

[0014] As a further improvement of the present invention, the locking member further has at least one pair of snap-in arms disposed on two sides thereof to be snap-locked with the insulating body, and the snap-in arms are covered by the base plate portion in the height direction.

[0015] Beneficial effects of the present invention: The electrical connector of the present invention not only ensures the structural strength of the locking piece and avoids the problem of weakening the structural strength of the locking piece due to grooving on the substrate portion by configuring the substrate portion to be in a flat plate shape and covering the base portion within the coverage range of its outer contour, but also can cover the base portion to ensure the safety of the electrical connection portion; at the same time, it also utilizes a stop protrusion extending from the substrate portion to achieve secondary locking of the conductive terminal to prevent it from withdrawing backward from the insulating body, thereby ensuring the stability of the electrical connection. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional assembly diagram of the first embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Another view of the electrical connector shown.

[0018] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 A perspective exploded view of the electrical connector shown.

[0019] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 Another view of the electrical connector shown.

[0020] Figure 5 yes Figure 3 A front view of the locking element of the electrical connector is shown.

[0021] Figure 6 yes Figure 1 A front view of the electrical connector shown.

[0022] Figure 7 yes Figure 6 An enlarged view of point A in the electrical connector shown.

[0023] Figures 8 to 9 yes Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the electrical connector shown.

[0024] Fig.10 yes Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the electrical connector and the docking connector after complete insertion.

[0025] Fig.11 yes Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the electrical connector and the mating connector when they are not fully plugged in.

[0026] Fig.12 It is a three-dimensional assembly diagram of the second embodiment of the electrical connector of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The present invention will be described in detail below in conjunction with the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments do not limit the present invention, and any structural, methodological, or functional changes made by a person skilled in the art based on the embodiments are all within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0028] Please refer to Figures 1 to 7 FIG. 1 is a preferred embodiment of an electrical connector 100 of the present invention. In this embodiment, the electrical connector 100 includes an insulating body 1 , a plurality of conductive terminals 2 and a locking member 3 . The conductive terminals 2 are fixed in the insulating body 1 .

[0029] For ease of explanation, when introducing the electrical connector 100 below, the mating direction of the electrical connector 100 will be regarded as the front-to-back direction, a direction perpendicular to the front-to-back direction will be regarded as the lateral direction, and another direction perpendicular to the front-to-back direction will be regarded as the height direction.

[0030] Please refer to Figures 1 to 4 As shown, the insulating body 1 has a base portion 11 and a plurality of docking posts 12 extending forward from the base portion 11, the plurality of docking posts 12 are arranged in a transverse direction, the conductive terminal 2 is fixed in the corresponding docking post 12, and the locking piece 3 is fixed to the insulating body 1 to stop the conductive terminal 2.

[0031] In the embodiment of the present invention, the docking poles 12 are arranged in a row along the transverse direction, and the lower surface of the docking poles 12 is higher than the lower surface of the base portion 11, so as to form a height difference between the docking poles 12 and the base portion 11; in other embodiments, the docking poles 12 can also be arranged in two or more rows spaced apart in the height direction, and the docking poles 12 in each row are arranged along the transverse direction, and the lower surface of the docking poles 12 in the row at the lower side is higher than the lower surface of the base portion 11.

[0032] The locking member 3 has a base plate portion 31 and a plurality of stop convex portions 32 extending from the base plate portion 31. The base plate portion 31 is in the shape of a plate and covers the base portion 11 within the coverage range of its outer contour. The stop convex portions 32 are inserted into corresponding slots 110 provided on the insulating body 1 to stop the conductive terminal 2. In this way, the electrical connector 100 of the present invention can not only ensure the structural strength of the locking member 3 and avoid the problem of weakening the structural strength of the locking member 3 due to slots on the base plate portion 31, but also cover the base portion 11 to ensure the safety of the electrical connection part; at the same time, the stop convex portions 32 extending from the base plate portion are used to realize secondary locking of the conductive terminal 2 to prevent it from withdrawing backward from the insulating body 1, thereby ensuring the stability of the electrical connection.

[0033] Specifically, in the embodiment of the present invention, the slot 110 is provided on the base 11 and communicates with the docking channel 120 provided on the corresponding docking column 12. The base 11 is also provided with a recessed portion 111 formed by recessing upward from its bottom surface, the recessed portion 111 is communicated with the slot 110, and the base plate portion 31 is accommodated in the recessed portion 111. In the present invention, since the overall structure of the base 11 is stronger than that of the docking column 12, by providing the slot 110 on the base 11, it is avoided to groove the docking column 12, thereby ensuring that the structural strength of the docking column 12 will not be damaged.

[0034] Each docking column 12 is provided with the docking channel 120 extending in the front-to-back direction, the docking channel 120 penetrates the docking column 12 in the front-to-back direction, and includes a first channel 121 and a second channel 123 which are adjacently and interconnectedly arranged in the height direction, and the first channel 121 is located on the upper side of the second channel 123. The docking column 12 has a partition portion 124 located at the front portion thereof to separate the first channel 121 and the second channel 123 at the front portion, and the partition portion 124 is located between the first channel 121 and the second channel 123 in the height direction.

[0035] In this embodiment, each of the docking posts 12 has a first surface 125 and a second surface 126 that are oppositely arranged in the lateral direction. At least one of the first surface 125 and the second surface 126 is in a curved shape with the middle portion convex toward the outside of the docking channel 120. The docking posts 12 increase the creepage distance of the arc by setting the convex side surface, reduce the probability of the plastic docking posts 12 being broken down by large currents, thereby protecting the docking posts 12 structure and increasing the structural strength of the insulating body 1.

[0036] In the embodiment of the present invention, only one of the first and second surfaces 125 and 126 of the two outermost docking poles 12 in the transverse direction is curved, and the first and second surfaces 125 and 126 of the inner docking pole 12 are both curved.

[0037] Furthermore, in the present invention, the base portion 11 is provided with a pair of snap grooves 113 located on both sides of the docking column 12 in the lateral direction, the pair of snap grooves 113 are formed by being recessed upward from the bottom surface of the base portion 11, and the base portion 11 is provided with a groove 114 recessed backward from its front end surface to communicate with the snap groove 113, and a snap protrusion 1131 is convexly formed in the snap groove 113.

[0038] In addition, in this embodiment, the insulating body 1 further comprises a transverse wall 13 located on the upper side of the docking post 12 and a plurality of connecting walls 14 connecting the transverse wall 13 with the docking post 12, and each of the connecting walls 14 is connected to the top of one of the docking posts 12. The receiving groove 112 provided on the base portion 11 is recessed upward and its top end is located below the lower end surface of the transverse wall 113.

[0039] Furthermore, the connecting wall 14 includes a first connecting wall 141 and a second connecting wall 142, the first connecting wall 141 and the second connecting wall 142 have different extension lengths in the front-to-back direction, the extension length of the second connecting wall 142 in the front-to-back direction is greater than the extension length of the first connecting wall 141, and a first connecting wall 141 is provided between two adjacent second connecting walls 142.

[0040] In this way, the first and second connecting walls 141 and 142 with different extension lengths are respectively matched with different notches on the docking connector 200, so as to achieve precise alignment and reliable plug-in between the docking column 12 and the docking part of the docking connector, thereby improving the plug-in stability between the electrical connector 100 and the docking connector 200 and ensuring the stability of signal transmission.

[0041] The insulating body 1 also has a guide portion 15 and a locking portion 16 located on the upper side of the transverse wall 13. The guide portion 15 protrudes upward from the upper surface of the transverse wall 13. The guide portion 15 is used to guide the insertion with the docking connector 200. The locking portion 16 cooperates with the locking structure of the docking connector 200 to achieve locking and unlocking.

[0042] In some embodiments, the conductive terminals 2 are arranged in one-to-one correspondence with the docking posts 12, and each conductive terminal 2 includes a contact portion 21 located at the front side thereof, a connecting portion 23 located at the rear side thereof, and a retaining portion 24 connecting the contact portion 21 and the connecting portion 23. In this embodiment, the connecting portion 23 is used to connect to a cable (not shown), and in other embodiments, the connecting portion 23 may also be connected to an external circuit board (not shown).

[0043] The retaining portion 24 has a resisting arm 241 protruding downward, and the resisting arm 241 resists against a stop surface 1231 provided in the second channel 123. The stop surface 1231 is provided facing forward, and the resisting arm 241 is located in front of the stop surface 1231. When the locking member 3 is completely inserted into the insulating body 1, the rear end surface of the retaining portion 24 is located in front of the stop protrusion 32 and is stopped by it, and the purpose of preventing the conductive terminal 2 from exiting the docking channel 120 backwards is achieved through the dual effects of the stop protrusion 32 and the stop surface 1231.

[0044] Please refer to Figures 3 to 5 As shown, in the present invention, the locking member 3 also has a plurality of spacers 34 extending from the base plate portion 31, the spacers 34 and the stop protrusions 32 have the same protruding direction and are alternately arranged in the lateral direction, the base portion 11 has a receiving groove 112 located between two adjacent docking posts 12 in the lateral direction, the spacers 34 are inserted into the corresponding receiving grooves 112 to extend between two adjacent conductive terminals 2, thereby increasing the arc creepage distance between the contact portions of the adjacent conductive terminals 2, reducing the probability of the docking post made of plastic being broken down by a large current, achieving the effect of protecting the docking post structure, and thereby increasing the structural strength of the insulating body 1.

[0045] Each receiving groove 112 extends in the height direction, and the conductive terminal 2 is located within the extension range of the adjacent receiving groove 112 in the height direction. Furthermore, the receiving groove 112 is formed by being recessed upward from the lower surface of the base portion 11, and the top of the receiving groove 112 is slightly lower than the upper end surface of the docking column 12, so as to avoid the problem of weakening the structural strength of the base portion 11 due to the excessive depth of the receiving groove 112 in the height direction.

[0046] The stop convex portion 32 is located within the extension range of the spacer 34 in the front-to-back direction, so as to ensure that the spacer 34 can increase the arc's creeping distance in the front-to-back direction. At the same time, the extension dimension of the spacer 34 in the height direction is greater than the extension dimension of the stop convex portion 32 in the height direction, so as to ensure that the spacer 34 can increase the arc's creeping distance in the height direction.

[0047] like Figures 3 to 5 and Figure 8 , Fig. 9 As shown, in the first embodiment of the electrical connector 100 of the present invention, the locking member 3 further comprises a protruding plate 35 located at the front side of the base plate portion 31 , and the docking post 12 comprises a mounting groove 127 for accommodating the protruding plate 35 .

[0048] Specifically, the mounting groove 127 is formed by being recessed upward from the lower surface of the docking pole 12, but does not penetrate the wall of the docking pole 12 to form a shallow groove, thereby avoiding the problem of weakening the structural strength of the docking pole 12 due to the opening of a deep groove; in addition, the mounting groove 127 is adjacent to the base portion 11 to be connected to the slot 110.

[0049] like Fig.11 As shown, during assembly, when the locking element 3 is not completely installed in the insulating body 1, the protruding plate 35 at least partially protrudes out of the mounting groove 127 in the height direction to stop the docking connector 200, so that the docking connector 200 cannot continue to be plugged with the electrical connector 100. In other words, when the locking element 3 is not completely installed in the insulating body 1, the docking connector 200 cannot be plugged with the electrical connector 100, avoiding the situation that the conductive terminal 2 is plugged with the docking terminal of the docking connector 200 without being locked by the locking element 3 for the second time, resulting in the unstable position of the conductive terminal 2 in the insulating body 1.

[0050] like Fig.10 As shown, when the locking element 3 is completely inserted into the insulating body 1, the lower surface of the protruding plate 35 is not lower than the lower surface of the docking post 12. At this time, the docking connector 200 can be further plugged with the electrical connector 100 from front to back, so that the docking post 12 of the electrical connector 100 is completely inserted into the docking cavity of the docking connector 200.

[0051] In some embodiments of the present invention, there is a step difference between the protruding plate 35 and the base plate 31 in the height direction. Figure 5 and Figure 8As shown, the protruding plate 35 is located on the upper side of the substrate portion 31. Of course, the protruding plate 35 may only have a certain height difference with the substrate portion 31 in the height direction, and does not need to be completely located on the upper side of the substrate portion 31, so as to increase the creepage distance of the arc and avoid sparks when transmitting large currents.

[0052] Furthermore, the base plate portion 31 is thicker in the height direction, while the protruding plate 35 is thinner in the height direction, thereby ensuring the step difference while avoiding the problem of weakening the structural strength due to the installation groove 127 being too high on the docking column 12.

[0053] The locking member 3 also has at least one pair of buckle arms 36 disposed on both sides thereof to be buckled with the insulating body 1, and the buckle arms 36 are covered by the base plate portion 31 in the height direction. The buckle arms 36 are inserted upward into the buckle groove 113 and buckled with the buckle protrusion 1131 disposed in the buckle groove 113, and the buckling parts of the buckle protrusion 1131 and the buckle arms 36 are exposed forward from the slot 114.

[0054] like Fig.12 As shown, in the second embodiment of the electrical connector 100 of the present invention, the electrical connector 100 includes an insulating body 1, a conductive terminal 2 fixed in the insulating body 1, and a locking member 3, and the basic structure and assembly relationship of the insulating body 1, the conductive terminal 2 and the locking member 3 are the same as those in the first embodiment, the only difference is that: in the second embodiment, the locking member 3 of the electrical connector 100 does not have a protruding plate located on the front side of its substrate portion 31.

[0055] In addition, if Figure 1 , Figure 3 to Figure 4 and Figures 8 to 9 As shown, in the present invention, the electrical connector 100 further has a latch 4 assembled on the insulating body 1, and the latch 4 and the locking member 3 are disposed on both sides of the insulating body 1 in the height direction. In this embodiment, the latch 4 is mounted on the upper side of the insulating body 1, and the locking member 3 is mounted on the lower side of the insulating body 1. In the present invention, the latch 4 is used to cooperate with the locking portion 16 of the electrical connector 100 to achieve locking and unlocking.

[0056] The electrical connector 100 of the present invention not only ensures the structural strength of the locking piece 3 and avoids the problem of weakening the structural strength of the locking piece 3 due to grooving on the substrate portion 31 by configuring the substrate portion 31 to be in a flat plate shape and covering the base portion 11 within the coverage range of its outer contour, but also can cover the base portion 11 to ensure the safety of the electrical connection portion; at the same time, the stop protrusion 32 extending from the substrate portion is used to achieve secondary locking of the conductive terminal 2 to prevent it from withdrawing backward from the insulating body 1, thereby ensuring the stability of the electrical connection.

[0057] It should be understood that although the present specification is described according to embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. This narrative method of the specification is only for the sake of clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole. The technical solutions in each embodiment may also be appropriately combined to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

[0058] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solution of the present application and are not intended to limit it. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, a person skilled in the art should understand that the technical solution of the present application may be modified or replaced by equivalents without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solution of the present application.

Claims

1. An electrical connector, comprising an insulating body, a plurality of conductive terminals and a locking member, wherein the insulating body comprises a base portion, a plurality of docking posts extending forward from the base portion, the plurality of docking posts being arranged in a transverse direction, the conductive terminals being fixed in corresponding docking posts, and the locking member being fixed to the insulating body to stop the conductive terminals; characterized in that: The locking element comprises a base plate and a plurality of stop protrusions extending from the base plate. The base plate is in the shape of a plate and covers the base within the coverage range of its outer contour. The stop protrusions are inserted into corresponding slots provided on the insulating body to stop the conductive terminals.

2. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein: The slot is formed on the base part and communicates with a docking channel provided on a corresponding docking column.

3. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein: The locking piece also has a plurality of spacer portions extending from the base plate portion, the spacer portions and the stop protrusions have the same protruding direction and are alternately arranged in the transverse direction, the base portion has a receiving groove located between two adjacent docking poles in the transverse direction, and the spacer portions are inserted into the corresponding receiving grooves to extend between two adjacent conductive terminals.

4. The electrical connector according to claim 3, wherein: Each of the receiving grooves extends in the height direction, and the conductive terminal is located within the extension range of the adjacent receiving grooves in the height direction.

5. The electrical connector according to claim 3, wherein: The stopper protrusion is located within the extension range of the spacing portion in the front-rear direction.

6. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein: The locking element further comprises a protruding plate located at the front side of the base plate portion, and the docking column comprises a mounting groove for accommodating the protruding plate.

7. The electrical connector according to claim 6, wherein: When the locking element is not completely installed in the insulating body, the protruding plate at least partially protrudes out of the installation groove in the height direction to stop the docking connector.

8. The electrical connector according to claim 6, wherein: When the locking element is completely installed in the insulating body, the lower surface of the protruding plate is not lower than the lower surface of the docking post.

9. The electrical connector according to claim 6, wherein: The protruding plate and the base plate have a step difference in height direction.

10. The electrical connector according to any one of claims 1 to 9, characterized in that: The locking element also has at least one pair of buckle arms disposed on two sides thereof to be buckled with the insulating body, and the buckle arms are covered by the base plate in the height direction.

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