Vehicle-mounted connector assembly

Abstract

The invention discloses a vehicle-mounted connector assembly, which comprises a female seat connector and a male seat connector, and is characterized in that the female seat connector comprises a female seat body, a plurality of female seat terminals fixedly held on the female seat body and a female seat shell for accommodating the female seat body, and the female seat shell is provided with a mounting cavity which is recessed inwards from the front end surface; the male seat connector comprises a male seat body, a plurality of male seat terminals fixedly held on the male seat body and a male seat shell supporting the male seat body, the male seat shell is provided with a base and a threaded column portion extending forwards from the base, and the threaded column portion and the installation cavity are in threaded connection so that the male seat connector can be screwed to the female seat connector. The female seat terminal is provided with a holding part which is held on the peripheral wall of the female seat body and an elastic arm which is bent along the peripheral direction from the holding part and extends forwards, the male seat terminal is provided with a contact arm which is exposed on the front end surface of the male seat body, and the elastic arm of the female seat terminal is elastically propped against the contact arm of the male seat terminal. According to the vehicle-mounted connector assembly, the portable device is stably fixed in the vehicle, and the charging function of the portable device is achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of electrical connector technology, and more particularly to an on-board connector assembly for use in vehicles. Background Technology

[0002] Currently, to achieve mechanical fixation and electrical connection of external devices, multiple accessories, including mounting brackets and electrical connectors, are typically used. For example, to fix and connect a mobile phone in a car, a phone holder and charger are usually installed on the center console. However, most car phone holders use a clamping method to fix themselves to the center console and only provide the function of fixing a mobile phone or portable device. If you need to charge the device, you have to connect a cable from the charging port on the center console, and the charging cable runs around the center console area, which can affect safe driving and is very inconvenient.

[0003] Therefore, it is hoped that a new vehicle connector assembly can be proposed to overcome the above-mentioned defects. Summary of the Invention

[0004] The purpose of this invention is to provide an in-vehicle connector assembly that can hold portable devices in a car while providing charging functionality.

[0005] To achieve the above objectives, the present invention adopts the following technical solution: a vehicle connector assembly, comprising a female connector and a male connector rotatably inserted into the female connector. The female connector includes a female body, a plurality of female terminals fixed on the female body, and a female housing housing the female body. The female housing housing has a mounting cavity recessed inward from the front end, the mounting cavity passing through the female body and having internal threads. The male connector includes a male body, a plurality of male terminals fixed on the male body, and a male housing supporting the male body. The male housing housing has a base and a threaded post extending axially forward from the base. The threaded post has external threads, and the threaded post is threadedly connected to the mounting cavity, thereby screwing the male connector onto the female connector. The female connector terminal is provided with a retaining portion fixed to the peripheral wall of the female connector body and an elastic arm that bends circumferentially and extends forward from the axial front end of the retaining portion. Several elastic arms are evenly arranged circumferentially on the axial front end face of the female connector body. Each elastic arm has a contact portion that protrudes forward from the axial front end face of the female connector body. The male connector terminal is provided with an arc-shaped contact arm exposed on the axial front end face of the male connector body. Several contact arms of the male connector terminal are evenly arranged circumferentially. When the male connector is screwed to the female connector, the contact portion of the female connector terminal elastically abuts against the contact arm of the male connector terminal.

[0006] In a preferred embodiment, the female base is a metal shell and has a base body. The base body has a receiving cavity recessed inward from the front end and several through holes extending axially through the rear end face, the through holes communicating with the receiving cavity. The female base body has an annular portion and several extension portions extending rearward from the annular portion. The annular portion is accommodated in the receiving cavity, and the extension portions pass through the through holes and extend out of the rear end face of the base body.

[0007] In a preferred embodiment, the female connector body is provided with a terminal groove on the peripheral wall. The terminal groove extends forward from the side wall of the extension portion and bends circumferentially on the peripheral wall of the annular portion and extends forward at an angle until it penetrates the front end face of the annular portion. The retaining portion of the female connector terminal and part of the elastic arm are received in the terminal groove.

[0008] In a preferred embodiment, the female connector includes an insulating sleeve between the inner wall surface of the female connector body and the outer wall surface of the outer housing, the insulating sleeve covering the outer periphery of the annular portion and the outer extension of the female connector body.

[0009] In a preferred embodiment, the insulating sleeve has an annular shielding portion that shields the outer periphery of the annular portion and an outer shielding portion that extends rearward from the annular shielding portion. The outer shielding portion covers the outer periphery of the outer extension portion, and an inner stepped surface is formed between the annular shielding portion and the inner wall of the outer shielding portion. The female body has a protrusion that protrudes outward from the peripheral wall of the annular portion, and the protrusion abuts against the front of the inner stepped surface.

[0010] In a preferred embodiment, the male seat body has an annular body sleeved on the outer periphery of the threaded column and several protrusions extending rearward from the rear end face of the annular body. The base has a through groove that penetrates the base axially. The annular body abuts against the front end face of the base, and the protrusions pass through the through groove and extend out of the rear end face of the base.

[0011] In a preferred embodiment, the male connector terminal is assembled on the male connector body, and the contact arms of the plurality of male connector terminals are arc-shaped structures extending circumferentially. The male connector terminal is provided with an extension arm extending axially rearward from one circumferential side of the contact arm. The extension arm is fixed within the annular body and the protrusion and is provided with a connecting foot extending rearward out of the rear end face of the protrusion.

[0012] In a preferred embodiment, the male seat body is provided with a fastening portion extending rearward from the rear end face of the annular body, the fastening portion passing through the through groove and fastening to the rear end face of the base.

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, the outer shell base has a protrusion extending forward axially from the bottom wall of the receiving cavity, and the mounting cavity is recessed inward from the axial front end of the protrusion; the annular portion of the female base body is sleeved on the outer periphery of the protrusion.

[0014] In a preferred embodiment, a retaining groove is formed between the annular body of the male connector and the threaded post of the male connector housing, and the protruding part of the female connector housing protrudes forward from the front end face of the female connector body; when the male connector is screwed to the female connector, the front end of the protruding part is inserted into the retaining groove.

[0015] Compared with the prior art, the present invention has the following advantages: The female connector terminal is provided with a retaining part fixed to the peripheral wall of the female connector body and an elastic arm that bends circumferentially and extends forward from the axial front end of the retaining part. Several elastic arms are evenly arranged circumferentially on the axial front end face of the female connector body. Each elastic arm has a contact part that protrudes forward from the axial front end face of the female connector body. The male connector terminal is provided with an arc-shaped contact arm exposed on the axial front end face of the male connector body. Several contact arms of the male connector terminal are evenly arranged circumferentially. When the male connector is screwed to the female connector, the contact part of the female connector terminal elastically abuts against the contact arm of the male connector terminal. The vehicle connector assembly allows the portable device to be stably fixed in the car and realizes the charging function of the car for the portable device, that is, the portable device does not need to be connected to the charging interface of the central control area by an external line. At the same time, both the female connector terminal and the male connector terminal are evenly arranged circumferentially, that is, the number of corresponding terminals of the vehicle connector assembly can be increased as needed, thereby realizing the functional diversification of the vehicle connector assembly. Furthermore, since the contact arms of the male connector and the contact portions of the female connector are both located on their respective front faces, adding more terminals in this case will not increase the axial length of the male and female connectors, meaning that adding more terminals will not change the overall volume of the vehicle connector assembly. Attached Figure Description

[0016] Figure 1 This is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the vehicle connector assembly in a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

[0017] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 A three-dimensional schematic diagram of the female connector in the vehicle connector assembly shown.

[0018] Figure 3 yes Figure 2 The diagram shows a partially exploded view of the female connector.

[0019] Figure 4 yes Figure 3 An exploded view of the terminal module in the female connector shown.

[0020] Figure 5 yes Figure 1 The diagram shows a three-dimensional representation of the male connector in the vehicle connector assembly.

[0021] Figure 6 yes Figure 5 The diagram shows a partially exploded view of the male connector.

[0022] Figure 7 yes Figure 5 The diagram shown is an exploded view of the male connector.

[0023] Figure 8 yes Figure 5 An exploded view of the male connector from another angle.

[0024] Figure 9 yes Figure 1 The cross-sectional view of the vehicle connector assembly shown. Detailed Implementation

[0025] Embodiments of the present invention are described in detail below. Examples of these embodiments are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar reference numerals denote the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below with reference to the accompanying drawings are exemplary and intended to explain the embodiments of the present invention, and should not be construed as limiting the present invention.

[0026] In the description of the embodiments of the present invention, it should be understood that the terms "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right", "vertical", "horizontal", "top", "bottom", "inner", "outer", etc., indicate the orientation or positional relationship based on the orientation or positional relationship shown in the accompanying drawings. They are only for the convenience of describing the embodiments of the present invention and simplifying the description, and do not indicate or imply that the device or element referred to must have a specific orientation, or be constructed and operated in a specific orientation. Therefore, they should not be construed as limitations on the present invention.

[0027] Furthermore, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the number of technical features indicated. Thus, a feature defined as "first" or "second" may explicitly or implicitly include one or more of that feature. In the description of embodiments of the present invention, "a number" means two or more, unless otherwise explicitly specified.

[0028] In the embodiments of the present invention, unless otherwise explicitly specified and limited, the terms "installation," "connection," "linking," "fixing," etc., should be interpreted broadly. For example, they can refer to a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral part; they can refer to a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; they can refer to a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium; they can refer to the internal communication of two components or the interaction between two components. Those skilled in the art can understand the specific meaning of the above terms in the embodiments of the present invention according to the specific circumstances.

[0029] Please see Figures 1 to 9 As shown, a preferred embodiment of the present invention discloses an in-vehicle connector assembly for mechanically and electrically connecting a portable device to an automobile. The in-vehicle connector assembly includes a female connector 100 and a male connector 200 rotatably inserted into the female connector 100. The female connector 100 is embedded in the vehicle's cabin and electrically connected to the vehicle's electrical system; it can be integrally mounted inside the center console, thus not affecting the layout outside the center console. The male connector 200 is embedded in a bracket module to provide a holding function for the portable device.

[0030] Please see Figures 2 to 4 As shown, the female connector 100 includes a female connector body 10, a plurality of female connector terminals 20 fixed on the female connector body 10, and a female connector housing 30 that houses the female connector body 10. The female connector housing 30 is a metal housing. The female connector body 10 has an annular portion 11 and a plurality of extension portions 12 extending rearward from the annular portion 11. The plurality of female connector terminals 20 are evenly arranged circumferentially on the peripheral wall of the female connector body 10.

[0031] The female connector 20 is provided with a retaining portion 21 fixed to the peripheral wall of the female connector body 10, an elastic arm 22 bent circumferentially from the axial front end of the retaining portion 21 and extending forward, and a welding portion 23 bent axially from the rear end of the retaining portion 21. Several elastic arms 22 are evenly arranged circumferentially on the axial front end face of the female connector body 10, and each elastic arm 22 has a contact portion 221 protruding forward from the axial front end face of the female connector body 10 for elastically abutting against the contact arm 61 of the male connector 60. Since the elastic arms 21 are evenly arranged circumferentially on the axial front end face of the female connector body 10, adding more female connectors 20 as needed will not increase the axial length of the female connector 100.

[0032] Furthermore, the female connector body 10 is provided with a terminal groove 101 located on its peripheral wall. The terminal groove 101 extends forward from the side wall of the extension portion 12 and bends circumferentially on the peripheral wall of the annular portion 11, extending forward at an angle until it penetrates the front end face of the annular portion 11. The retaining portion 21 and part of the elastic arm 22 of the female connector terminal 20 are received within the terminal groove 101. The contact portion 221 of the elastic arm 22 can move axially into the terminal groove 101 to achieve elastic contact with the contact arm 61 of the male connector terminal 60. The welding portion 23 abuts against the rear end face of the extension portion 12.

[0033] The female connector housing 30 has a housing body 31 and a connecting protrusion 32 extending rearward from the rear end face of the housing body 31. The connecting protrusion 32 has external threads so that the female connector 100 can be stably fixed in the center console of the vehicle. The housing body 31 has a receiving cavity 311 recessed inward from the front end face, a protrusion 312 extending forward axially from the bottom wall of the receiving cavity 311, and several through holes (not shown) penetrating the rear end face of the housing body 31 axially. The through holes communicate with the receiving cavity 311 and are arranged around the outside of the protrusion 312.

[0034] The annular portion 11 of the female connector body 10 is accommodated within the receiving cavity 311 and sleeved on the outer periphery of the protrusion 312, such that the annular portion 11 is located within the outer shell 31 at its radial upper limit. Furthermore, the outer wall surface of the protrusion 312 abuts against the inner wall surface of the female connector body 10 without contacting the female connector terminal 20, thus preventing short circuits between the female connector terminal 20 and the protrusion 312. The outer extension 12 of the female connector body 10 passes through the through hole and extends beyond the rear end face of the outer shell 10. Simultaneously, since the female connector shell 30 is a metal shell, the female connector connector 100 also includes an insulating sleeve 40 located between the inner wall surfaces of the female connector body 10 and the outer shell 31. The insulating sleeve 40 shields the outer periphery of the annular portion 11 and the outer extension 12 of the female connector body 10 to prevent short circuits between the female connector terminal 20 on the female connector body 10 and the outer shell 31 of the female connector shell 30.

[0035] Specifically, the insulating sleeve 40 is provided with an annular shielding portion 41 that shields the outer periphery of the annular portion 11 and an outer shielding portion 42 that extends rearward from the annular shielding portion 41. The outer shielding portion 42 covers the outer periphery of the outer extension portion 12. An inner stepped surface 411 is formed between the inner walls of the annular shielding portion 41 and the outer shielding portion 42. The female connector body 10 is provided with a protrusion 13 that protrudes outward from the peripheral wall of the annular portion 11. The protrusion 13 abuts against the front of the inner stepped surface 411 to prevent the insulating sleeve 40 from moving forward excessively and exposing the female connector terminal 20 on the female connector body 10, thereby avoiding the risk of short circuit between the female connector terminal 20 and the outer casing 31.

[0036] In this embodiment, the female housing 30 is further provided with a mounting cavity 301 recessed inward from the front end of the housing 31. The mounting cavity 301 is formed recessed inward from the axial front end of the protrusion 312. That is, the mounting cavity 301 passes through the female body 10 and has an internal thread for the threaded post 72 of the male connector 200 to be rotated and inserted.

[0037] Please see Figures 5 to 8 As shown, the male connector 200 includes a male connector body 50, a plurality of male connector terminals 60 fixed on the male connector body 50, and a male connector housing 70 supporting the male connector body 50. The male connector housing 70 is a metal housing. The male connector housing 70 has a base 71 and a threaded post portion 72 extending axially forward from the base 71. The threaded post portion 72 has external threads, and the threaded post portion 72 is threadedly connected to the mounting cavity 301, so that the male connector 200 is screwed onto the female connector 100.

[0038] The male seat body 50 has an annular body 51 sleeved on the outer periphery of the threaded post portion 72, and several protrusions 52 and fastening portions 53 extending rearward from the rear end face of the annular body 51. In this embodiment, the fastening portions 53 are located outside the protrusions 52. The base 71 has a through groove 711 extending through the base 71 axially. The annular body 51 abuts against the front end face of the base 71, and the protrusions 52 pass through the through groove 711 and extend out of the rear end face of the base 71. The fastening portions 53 pass through the through groove 711 and fasten in the groove of the rear end face of the base 71, so that the male seat body 50 is fixed axially to the male seat housing 70.

[0039] The male connector terminal 60 is assembled onto the male connector body 50, and the male connector terminal 60 has an arc-shaped contact arm 61 exposed on the axial front end surface of the male connector body 50. In this embodiment, the contact arms 61 of several male connector terminals 60 are all arc-shaped structures extending circumferentially and are evenly arranged circumferentially on the axial front end surface of the male connector body 50. Therefore, in this case, adding more male connector terminals 60 as needed will not increase the axial length of the male connector connector 200. At the same time, since the contact arms 61 of the male connector terminal 60 are arc-shaped structures extending circumferentially, the contact portion 221 of the elastic arm 22 has a long contact area on the contact arm 61.

[0040] Specifically, the main body of the contact arm 61 is embedded in the annular body 51, and its front end face is exposed on the axial front end face of the male connector body 50. The male connector terminal 60 is also provided with an extension arm 62 extending axially rearward from one circumferential side of the contact arm 61 and an embedded portion 63 bent from the other circumferential side of the contact arm 61, the embedded portion 63 being inserted into the annular body 51. The extension arm 62 is fixed in the annular body 51 and the protrusion 52 and is provided with a connecting foot 621 extending rearward from the rear end face of the protrusion 52, the connecting foot 621 being used to connect to the male connector wire. At the same time, since the protrusion 52 of the male connector body 50 passes through the through groove 711 and extends out of the rear end face of the base 71, the male connector body 50 isolates the extension arm 62 of the male connector terminal 60 from the base 71 through the protrusion 52 to prevent short circuit between the two.

[0041] Combination Figure 9 As shown, a retaining groove 501 is formed between the annular body 51 of the male connector body 50 and the threaded post 72 of the male connector housing 70. The protruding part 312 of the female connector housing 30 protrudes forward from the front end face of the female connector body 10. When the male connector 200 is screwed to the female connector 100, the contact part 221 of the female connector terminal 20 elastically abuts against the contact arm 61 of the male connector terminal 60, and the front end of the protruding part 312 is inserted into the retaining groove 501. The vehicle connector assembly allows the portable device to be stably fixed in the car and realizes the charging function of the car for the portable device, that is, the portable device does not need to be connected to the charging interface of the central control area by an external line. At the same time, the female connector terminal 20 and the male connector terminal 60 are evenly arranged circumferentially, that is, the number of corresponding terminals of the vehicle connector assembly can be increased as needed, thereby realizing the functional diversification of the vehicle connector assembly. Furthermore, since the contact arm 61 of the male connector 60 and the contact portion 221 of the female connector 20 are both provided on the corresponding front end surface, adding the number of corresponding terminals in this case will not increase the axial length of the male connector 200 and the female connector 100, that is, adding the number of terminals will not change the overall volume of the vehicle connector assembly.

[0042] In summary, the above are merely preferred embodiments of the present invention and should not be construed as limiting the scope of the present invention. Any simple equivalent changes and modifications made in accordance with the claims and description of the present invention should still fall within the scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A vehicle-mounted connector assembly, comprising a female connector and a male connector rotatably inserted into the female connector, the female connector comprising a female body, a plurality of female terminals fixed to the female body, and a female housing housing the female body, the female housing having a mounting cavity recessed inward from a front end, the mounting cavity passing through the female body and having an internal thread; the male connector comprising a male body, a plurality of male terminals fixed to the male body, and a male housing supporting the male body, the male housing having a base and a threaded post extending axially forward from the base, the threaded post having an external thread, the threaded post being threadedly connected to the mounting cavity such that the male connector is screwed onto the female connector; characterized in that: The female connector terminal is provided with a retaining portion fixed to the peripheral wall of the female connector body and an elastic arm that bends circumferentially and extends forward from the axial front end of the retaining portion. Several elastic arms are evenly arranged circumferentially on the axial front end face of the female connector body. Each elastic arm has a contact portion that protrudes forward from the axial front end face of the female connector body. The male connector terminal is provided with an arc-shaped contact arm exposed on the axial front end face of the male connector body. Several contact arms of the male connector terminal are evenly arranged circumferentially. When the male connector is screwed to the female connector, the contact portion of the female connector terminal elastically abuts against the contact arm of the male connector terminal.

2. The vehicle connector assembly as described in claim 1, characterized in that: The female base is a metal shell and has a base body. The base body has a receiving cavity recessed inward from the front end and several through holes extending through the rear end face along the axial direction. The through holes are connected to the receiving cavity. The female base body has an annular portion and several extension portions extending rearward from the annular portion. The annular portion is accommodated in the receiving cavity, and the extension portions pass through the through holes and extend out of the rear end face of the base body.

3. The vehicle connector assembly as described in claim 2, characterized in that: The female connector body is provided with a terminal groove on the peripheral wall. The terminal groove extends forward from the side wall of the outer extension and bends circumferentially on the peripheral wall of the annular portion and extends forward at an angle until it penetrates the front end face of the annular portion. The retaining portion of the female connector terminal and part of the elastic arm are received in the terminal groove.

4. The vehicle connector assembly as described in claim 2, characterized in that: The female connector includes an insulating sleeve between the inner wall surface of the female connector body and the outer wall surface of the outer shell, the insulating sleeve covering the outer periphery of the annular portion and the outer extension of the female connector body.

5. The vehicle connector assembly as described in claim 4, characterized in that: The insulating sleeve has an annular shielding portion that covers the outer periphery of the annular portion and an outer shielding portion that extends rearward from the annular shielding portion. The outer shielding portion covers the outer periphery of the outer extension portion, and an inner stepped surface is formed between the annular shielding portion and the inner wall of the outer shielding portion. The female body has a protrusion that protrudes outward from the peripheral wall of the annular portion, and the protrusion abuts against the front of the inner stepped surface.

6. The vehicle connector assembly as described in claim 2, characterized in that: The male seat body has an annular main body sleeved on the outer periphery of the threaded column and several protrusions extending rearward from the rear end face of the annular main body. The base has a through groove that penetrates the base axially. The annular main body abuts against the front end face of the base, and the protrusions pass through the through groove and extend out of the rear end face of the base.

7. The vehicle connector assembly as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that: The male connector terminal is assembled on the male connector body, and the contact arms of several male connector terminals are arc-shaped structures extending circumferentially. The male connector terminal is provided with an extension arm extending axially backward from one side of the contact arm. The extension arm is fixed in the annular body and the protrusion and is provided with a connecting foot extending backward out of the rear end face of the protrusion.

8. The vehicle connector assembly as described in claim 6, characterized in that: The male seat body is provided with a fastening part extending rearward from the rear end face of the annular body, the fastening part passing through the through groove and fastening to the rear end face of the base.

9. The vehicle connector assembly as claimed in claim 6, characterized in that: The outer casing has a protrusion extending forward axially from the bottom wall of the receiving cavity, and the mounting cavity is recessed inward from the axial front end of the protrusion; the annular portion of the female body is sleeved on the outer periphery of the protrusion.

10. The vehicle connector assembly as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that: A retaining groove is formed between the annular body of the male connector and the threaded post of the male connector housing. The protruding part of the female connector housing protrudes forward from the front end face of the female connector body. When the male connector is screwed to the female connector, the front end of the protruding part is inserted into the retaining groove.

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