Electric connector terminal and electric connector

Abstract

The invention provides an electric connector terminal and an electric connector, and the electric connector terminal comprises a connecting part; the pairing part is connected with the first end of the connecting part, is provided with a first pairing sub-part and a second pairing sub-part which are symmetrically arranged relative to a first plane, and is used for pairing electric connection; and the clamping part is connected with the second end of the connecting part, is provided with a first clamping sub-part and a second clamping sub-part which are symmetrically arranged relative to a second plane, and is used for clamping and electrically connecting the cable, and the second plane deviates from the first plane. According to the invention, by designing the terminal with a special structure, the safety requirement of the small-size electric connector on the electric gap is realized; the centers of the matching parts of the terminals can be kept on the same plane, so that the terminals can be well matched with corresponding matching ends, and the conduction effect of current and signals is improved; the number of types of parts needed for product manufacturing is reduced, the mold complexity is reduced, the product manufacturing process is simplified, and therefore the product manufacturing and management cost is reduced.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to electrical connection technology, and more particularly to electrical connector terminals and electrical connectors. Background Art

[0002] There are many existing small-sized electrical connectors. In order to achieve sufficient electrical clearance to meet safety requirements, an interleaved terminal insertion into plastic design is adopted. In order to improve the crimping efficiency of the terminals, a piercing terminal (also known as: insulation displacement connection terminal, IDC) is often used for batch crimping.

[0003] In the application of staggered insertion of piercing terminals, adjacent terminals usually have different sizes, such as Figure 1 shown. Specifically, Figure 1 FIG. 15 shows a schematic structural diagram of an existing electrical connector 10. The electrical connector 10 includes a terminal 110, a cover 120, and a body 130. Among them, the terminal 110 further includes two different-sized terminals 112 and 114 arranged in an interleaved manner. However, it is difficult to keep the center of the mating ends of terminals of different sizes on the same plane, so it is difficult to mate well with the corresponding mating ends (especially printed circuit boards) to conduct current and signals. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of the present invention aims to solve at least one of the above problems and defects existing in the prior art.

[0005] In view of the above problems, a first aspect of the present invention provides an electrical connector terminal, which includes: a connection part; a mating part connected to the first end of the connection part, having a first mating sub-part and a second mating sub-part symmetrically arranged with respect to a first plane for mating electrical connection; a clamping part connected to the second end of the connection part, having a first clamping sub-part and a second clamping sub-part symmetrically arranged with respect to a second plane for clamping and electrically connecting a cable, and the second plane deviates from the first plane.

[0006] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the first clamping sub-part and the second clamping sub-part respectively include grooves for the cable to be pressed into and pierce the cable insulation layer to form an electrical connection between the terminal and the cable.

[0007] According to an exemplary embodiment of the first aspect of the present invention, the connection part is symmetric with respect to the first plane.

[0008] A second aspect of the present invention provides an electrical connector terminal, which includes: a connection part; a mating part connected to the first end of the connection part, having a first mating sub-part and a second mating sub-part symmetrically arranged with respect to a first plane for mating electrical connection; a clamping part connected to the second end of the connection part for clamping and electrically connecting a cable, and a central plane of the clamping part deviates from the first plane.

[0009] According to an exemplary embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, the clamping part includes a groove for the cable to be pressed in and pierce the cable insulation layer to form an electrical connection between the terminal and the cable.

[0010] According to an exemplary embodiment of the second aspect of the present invention, the connection part is symmetric with respect to the first plane.

[0011] A third aspect of the present invention provides an electrical connector, which includes: a body including a plurality of receiving cavities; a plurality of electrical connector terminals of any one of the above-mentioned types, wherein, a plurality of the terminals are arranged in a staggered, symmetric and flipped manner in the corresponding receiving cavities.

[0012] According to an exemplary embodiment of the third aspect of the present invention, the mating parts of all the terminals are arranged in the same column in an aligned manner, and the clamping parts of adjacent terminals are distributed in a staggered manner.

[0013] According to an exemplary embodiment of the third aspect of the present invention, the electrical connector further includes an end cap movably mounted on the body, and a through hole is provided thereon for the cable to pass through.

[0014] According to an exemplary embodiment of the third aspect of the present invention, the end cap can be moved relative to the body from a first position to a second position to press the cable into the groove of the terminal to form an electrical connection between the cable and the terminal.

[0015] The electrical connector terminal and the electrical connector provided by the present invention meet the safety requirements for electrical clearance of a small-sized electrical connector by designing a terminal with a special structure. Through the deviation structure design between the clamping part and the mating part of the terminal, only one type of terminal is staggered, symmetrically flipped (i.e., 180-degree flip), so that sufficient electrical clearance can be left between adjacent terminals; moreover, the centers of the mating parts of the terminals can be kept on the same plane, which can achieve good mating with the corresponding mating end and improve the conduction effect of current and signals; furthermore, only one type of terminal can reduce the number of component types required for product production and manufacturing, reduce the complexity of the mold, simplify the product production and manufacturing process, thereby reducing the production, manufacturing and management costs of the product; and avoid product quality problems and use safety risks that may be brought by the mixing of different structure terminals. Description of the Drawings

[0016] Features, advantages, and other aspects of the embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent with reference to the accompanying drawings and the following detailed description. Several embodiments of the present disclosure are shown herein by way of illustration and not limitation. In the drawings:

[0017] Figure 1 A schematic structural diagram of an electrical connector in the prior art is shown.

[0018] Figure 2a A front view of a terminal of an electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0019] Figure 2b Shown corresponding to Figure 2a A rear view of the terminal of the electrical connector is shown.

[0020] Figure 2c Shown corresponding to Figure 2a A left view of the terminal of the electrical connector is shown.

[0021] Figure 2d Shown corresponding to Figure 2a A right view of the terminal of the electrical connector is shown.

[0022] Figure 3 A schematic structural diagram of an electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0023] Figure 4a A schematic structural diagram of an electrical connector after inserting a cable according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0024] Figure 4b A sectional view of an electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0025] Figure 5 A bottom view of an electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown.

[0026] Figure 6 A partial assembly diagram of an electrical connector according to an embodiment of the present invention is shown. Detailed Description of Specific Embodiments

[0027] In the following detailed description of the preferred embodiments, reference will be made to the accompanying drawings that form a part of the present invention. The accompanying drawings illustrate specific embodiments that can implement the present invention by way of example. The exemplary embodiments are not intended to exhaust all embodiments according to the present invention. In the specification, the same or similar reference numerals indicate the same or similar components. It can be understood that other embodiments can be utilized and structural modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention. Therefore, the following detailed description is not restrictive, and the scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.

[0028] As used herein, the terms "comprising", "including" and similar terms shall be understood as open-ended terms, i.e., "including / including but not limited to", indicating that other contents may also be included. The term "one embodiment" means "at least one embodiment"; the term "another embodiment" means "at least one additional embodiment", and so on.

[0029] The present invention mainly focuses on the following technical problems: how to improve the conduction effect of terminals on current or signals while ensuring a safe electrical clearance between the terminals of a small-sized electrical connector.

[0030] To solve the above problems, the present invention discloses a novel electrical connector terminal and an electrical connector. The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0031] As Figures 2a - 2d shown, an example of the electrical connector terminal disclosed by the present invention is described. Figure 2a is the front view of the electrical connector terminal, Figure 2b is the rear view of the electrical connector terminal, Figure 2c is the left view of the electrical connection terminal, Figure 2d is the right view of the electrical connector terminal.

[0032] As Figures 2a - 2d shown, the electrical connector terminal 20 includes a clamping portion 210, a mating portion 220 and a connecting portion 230. The mating portion 220 is connected to the first end of the connecting portion 230, and the clamping portion 210 is connected to the second end of the connecting portion 230. The mating portion 220 includes a first mating sub-portion 221 and a second mating sub-portion 223, and the first mating sub-portion 221 and the second mating sub-portion 223 are symmetrically arranged with respect to the first plane A.

[0033] As Figure 2c shown, in some examples, the clamping portion 210 includes a groove 211 and a piercing structure 213. The groove 211 is for a cable to be pressed in and pierce the cable insulation layer to form an electrical connection between the terminal and the cable, and the piercing structure 213 can pierce the cable. In some examples, the clamping portion 210 applies a clamping force perpendicular to the insertion direction to the inserted cable through the inner wall of the groove. In some examples, the clamping portion 210 includes one clamping sub-portion. In other examples, the clamping portion 210 includes two clamping sub-portions, as Figure 2a and Figure 2bAs shown, the first clamping sub - part 215 and the second clamping sub - part 217 are symmetrically arranged with respect to the second plane B. In some other examples, the clamping part 210 may include three or more clamping sub - parts arranged along the insertion direction of the cable. It should be noted that the number and position of the clamping sub - parts in the present invention can be flexibly designed according to actual applications, so that after the clamping part 210 is symmetrically flipped about the first plane A, there is a safe electrical clearance between the adjacent clamping sub - parts of the terminals along the cable insertion direction.

[0034] In some examples, the piercing structure 213 is formed at the top end of the clamping sub - part. In some examples, at least one side of both sides of the top end of the clamping sub - part is a piercing structure. In some other examples, the piercing structure 213 is formed on the inner wall of the groove 211. For example, the piercing structure 213 is a blade - type inner wall. The piercing structure is used to pierce the insulation package of the cable to achieve electrical connection between the cable and the electrical connector terminal 20.

[0035] In some examples, the clamping part 210 is coupled to the mating part 220 through the connecting part 230. In some examples, the first end of the connecting part 230 is connected to the mating part 220, the second end is connected to the clamping part 210, and the connecting part 230 is symmetric about the first plane A. The symmetric design of the connecting part 230 is beneficial to simplifying the mold structure. In some examples, the connecting part 230 is provided with a snap - fit structure for snap - fitting the terminal to the body inside the corresponding electrical connector.

[0036] In some examples, the distance between the first clamping sub - part 215 and the second clamping sub - part 217 is less than the distance between the first mating sub - part 221 and the second mating sub - part 223. This distance design is especially suitable for small - size electrical connectors, which can reduce the size of the product while ensuring a safe electrical clearance.

[0037] As Figures 3 - 6 shown, an example of the electrical connector disclosed in the present invention is described. The electrical connector 30 includes a body 310 and a plurality of electrical connector terminals 320. Among them, the body 310 includes a plurality of receiving cavities 311. The electrical connector terminal 320 is similar to the implementation manner of the electrical connector terminal 20 in the foregoing example (correspondingly, the terminal 320 includes a clamping part 3210, a connecting part 3230, and a mating part 3220). A plurality of terminals 320 are arranged in a staggered and symmetrically flipped manner in the corresponding receiving cavities 311. The mating parts of all the terminals in the electrical connector 30 are arranged in the same column in an aligned manner, and the clamping parts of adjacent terminals are staggered.

[0038] In some examples, the electrical connector 30 further includes an end - cap 330, and the end - cap 330 is movably mounted on the body 310. As Figure 3As shown, in some examples, one side of the end cap 330 is rotatably connected to the body 310. The end cap 330 can be rotated relative to the body 310 from the connected side to cover the body 310, thereby encapsulating the terminal 320 inside the electrical connector 30.

[0039] In some examples, a through hole 331 (i.e., a cable jack) is provided on the end cap 330 for a cable to pass through. As Figure 4a shown, after the cable is inserted into the cable jack 331, the end cap 330 is pressed down to move it from the first position (left in the figure) to the second position (right in the figure) relative to the body 310, so as to press the cable into the groove of the terminal to form an electrical connection between the cable and the terminal. During the pressing process, the piercing structure on the clamping portion 3210 of the terminal 320 pierces the insulating package of the cable, thereby forming an electrical connection between the cable and the terminal 320. To further clearly show the working principle of this electrical connector, Figure 4b a comparative cross-sectional view of the electrical connector before and after inserting the cable and after crimping is shown.

[0040] As Figure 5 shown, a schematic bottom view of the electrical connector 30 is shown, which shows that the center planes of the mating portions 3220 of all the terminals are located in the same plane. The multiple terminals inserted in this example of the electrical connector are terminals of the same structure, which is convenient for unified production and manufacturing. The centers of the mating portions are easier to be kept in the same plane with higher precision. Therefore, it can be well mated with the corresponding mating end (especially a printed circuit board), improving the conduction effect of current and signals.

[0041] As Figure 6 shown, a schematic diagram of the terminal assembly process of the electrical connector 30 is shown, which can be specifically described as follows: First, take a terminal 320 and insert the terminal into the receiving cavity 311 of the body 310 at a corresponding angle; then take another terminal 320 and insert it into the receiving cavity adjacent to the previously inserted terminal after horizontally flipping it 180 degrees relative to the previously inserted terminal; repeat the above steps until the receiving cavity is full. Since only one type of terminal is used in the assembly process of this example, the assembly process is simpler, which is beneficial to reducing the production and manufacturing cost.

[0042] In summary, the electrical connector provided by the present invention uses only one type of terminal, which can achieve a safe electrical gap between adjacent terminals by staggered and symmetrically flipping the shell installed on the electrical connector, thereby meeting the safety requirements of the electrical connector; and the centers of the mating parts of the terminals can be kept on the same plane, so as to achieve good matching with the corresponding mating ends and improve the conduction effect of current and signals; and only one type of terminal structure is needed to meet the electrical gap requirements of small-size electrical connectors, reduce the number of component types required for product production and manufacturing, reduce mold complexity, simplify the product production and manufacturing process, thereby reducing the production and management costs of the product, and avoiding product quality problems and safety risks that may be caused by mixing terminals of different structures.

[0043] It should be noted that the above examples are only specific embodiments of the present invention, and the present invention is obviously not limited to the above examples, and there are many similar variations. All variations directly derived or associated from the contents disclosed by the technicians in this field should fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

[0044] Although the embodiments of the present disclosure have been described with reference to several specific embodiments, it should be understood that the embodiments of the present disclosure are not limited to the specific embodiments disclosed. The embodiments of the present disclosure are intended to cover various modifications and equivalent arrangements included in the spirit and scope of the attached claims. The scope of the attached claims is consistent with the broadest interpretation, thereby including all such modifications and equivalent structures and functions.

Claims

1. An electrical connector terminal, comprising: A connecting portion; A mating portion connected to the first end of the connecting portion, having a first mating sub-portion and a second mating sub-portion symmetrically arranged with respect to a first plane for mating electrical connection; A clamping portion connected to the second end of the connecting portion, having a first clamping sub-portion and a second clamping sub-portion symmetrically arranged with respect to a second plane for clamping and electrically connecting a cable, and the second plane deviates from the first plane.

2. The electrical connector terminal according to claim 1, wherein, The first clamping sub-portion and the second clamping sub-portion respectively include grooves for the cable to be pressed into and pierce the cable insulation layer to form an electrical connection between the terminal and the cable.

3. The electrical connector terminal according to claim 1, wherein, The connecting portion is symmetric with respect to the first plane.

4. An electrical connector terminal, comprising: A connecting portion; A mating portion connected to the first end of the connecting portion, having a first mating sub-portion and a second mating sub-portion symmetrically arranged with respect to a first plane for mating electrical connection; A clamping portion connected to the second end of the connecting portion for clamping and electrically connecting a cable, and a central plane of the clamping portion deviates from the first plane.

5. The electrical connector terminal according to claim 4, wherein, The clamping portion includes a groove for the cable to be pressed into and pierce the cable insulation layer to form an electrical connection between the terminal and the cable.

6. The electrical connector terminal according to claim 4, wherein, The connecting portion is symmetric with respect to the first plane.

7. An electrical connector, comprising: A body including a plurality of receiving cavities; A plurality of electrical connector terminals according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the plurality of terminals are arranged in a staggered, symmetric and flipped manner in the corresponding receiving cavities.

8. The electrical connector according to claim 7, wherein, The mating portions of all the terminals are aligned in the same column, and the clamping portions of adjacent terminals are staggered.

9. The electrical connector according to claim 7, further comprising: An end cap movably mounted on the body, having a through hole for a cable to pass through.

10. The electrical connector according to claim 9, wherein, The end cap can be moved relative to the body from a first position to a second position to press the cable into the groove of the terminal to form an electrical connection between the cable and the terminal.

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