Electrical connector assembly

Abstract

An electrical connector assembly includes a first connector, a second connector, an outer ring, and at least one resilient potential element. The first connector has a locating groove. The locating groove has a guide ramp and a locating end. The second connector is configured to couple to the first connector. The outer ring surrounds the first connector and the second connector, and has a locating protrusion near the edge of the first connector. The resilient potential element is located between the second connector and the outer ring, configured to provide a resilient restoring force after the locating protrusion enters the locating groove along the guide ramp, causing the locating protrusion to abut against the locating end.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This disclosure relates to an electrical connector assembly, and more particularly to an electrical connector assembly that enables quick and secure connection. Background Technology

[0002] Electrical connector assemblies for charging devices are becoming increasingly important. For example, with rising environmental awareness and the growing popularity of electric vehicles, the stability of their charging devices is crucial. The numerous and complex components of mating electrical connector assemblies not only make assembly difficult but also hinder yield improvement, resulting in higher production costs. Consequently, users are prone to problems with these connector assemblies, leading to customer complaints. Generally, mating electrical connectors, in addition to numerous locking components, also have multiple compression elastic potential energy elements to provide a rebound power source. However, the assembly of these locking components and elastic potential energy elements is often difficult, resulting in long production times and making it difficult to reduce the production cost of electrical connector assemblies. Summary of the Invention

[0003] The purpose of this disclosure is to provide an electrical connector assembly to solve at least one of the aforementioned problems.

[0004] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, an electrical connector assembly includes a first connector, a second connector, an outer ring, and at least one resilient potential element. The first connector has a locating groove. The locating groove has a guide ramp and a locating end. The second connector is configured to couple to the first connector. The outer ring surrounds the first connector and the second connector, and has a locating protrusion near the edge of the first connector. The resilient potential element is located between the second connector and the outer ring, configured to provide a resilient restoring force after the locating protrusion enters the locating groove along the guide ramp, causing the locating protrusion to abut against the locating end.

[0005] In some embodiments, the guide slope of the positioning groove forms an acute angle with the axial direction of the first connector.

[0006] In some embodiments, the aforementioned elastic potential element is sleeved on the outer side wall of the second connector.

[0007] In some embodiments, the positioning groove of the first connector further includes an axial portion, and a guide ramp is located between the axial portion and the positioning end.

[0008] In some embodiments, the positioning groove of the first connector is located on the outer side wall of the first connector.

[0009] In some embodiments, the positioning protrusions of the outer ring are located on the inner sidewall of the outer ring.

[0010] In some embodiments, there are multiple elastic potential elements, and these elastic potential elements surround the outer wall of the second connector.

[0011] In some embodiments, the aforementioned elastic potential energy element is a torsion spring.

[0012] In some embodiments, the end of the torsion spring near the first connector is embedded in the second connector.

[0013] In some embodiments, the positioning groove of the first connector further includes an axial portion located between the guide ramp and the positioning end.

[0014] According to some embodiments of this disclosure, an electrical connector assembly includes a first connector, a second connector, an outer ring, and at least one resilient potential element. The first connector has a positioning groove. The positioning groove has a guide ramp that forms an acute angle with the axial direction of the first connector. The second connector is configured to couple to the first connector. The outer ring surrounds the first connector and the second connector, and has a positioning protrusion near the edge of the first connector. The resilient potential element is located between the second connector and the outer ring and is configured to provide a resilient restoring force after the positioning protrusion enters the positioning groove along the guide ramp, causing the positioning protrusion to move to one end of the positioning groove.

[0015] In some embodiments, the aforementioned elastic potential element is sleeved on the outer side wall of the second connector.

[0016] In some embodiments, the positioning groove of the first connector further includes an axial portion, which is closer to the insertion port of the positioning groove than the guide slope.

[0017] In some embodiments, the positioning groove of the first connector is located on the outer side wall of the first connector.

[0018] In some embodiments, the positioning protrusions of the outer ring are located on the inner sidewall of the outer ring.

[0019] In some embodiments, the positioning groove of the first connector further includes an axial portion, and the guide slope is closer to the insertion port of the positioning groove than the axial portion.

[0020] In the above embodiments of this disclosure, since the first connector of the electrical connector assembly has a positioning groove with a guiding slope, and the outer ring has a positioning protrusion near the edge of the first connector, when the second connector mates with the first connector, the positioning protrusion of the outer ring can enter the positioning groove along the guiding slope, and the elastic restoring force provided by the elastic potential energy element moves the positioning protrusion to one end of the positioning groove. In this way, the second connector can be securely coupled to the first connector due to the positioning of the outer ring. The electrical connector assembly can achieve mating through the positioning groove of the first connector, the positioning protrusion of the outer ring, and a single elastic potential energy element. Because the number of parts is small and the structure is simple, assembly is faster and the time is shorter, thus improving the yield and effectively reducing production costs. Furthermore, this electrical connector assembly is less prone to problems during use, avoiding customer complaints. Attached Figure Description

[0021] When accompanied by Figure 1 When reading this document, the best way to understand the contents of this disclosure is by means of the embodiments described below. Note that, according to standard industry practice, the various features are not drawn to scale. In fact, the dimensions of the various features may be increased or decreased arbitrarily for clarity of explanation.

[0022] Figure 1 A perspective view of an electrical connector assembly according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0023] Figure 2 Show Figure 1 An exploded view of the electrical connector assembly.

[0024] Figure 3 Show Figure 2 An enlarged view of the first connector.

[0025] Figure 4 Show Figure 2 A stereoscopic view of the outer ring from another perspective.

[0026] Figure 5 A perspective view of an elastic potential energy element assembled with a second connector according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0027] Figure 6 A perspective view of an electrical connector assembly according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown.

[0028] Figure 7 Show Figure 6 An exploded view of the electrical connector assembly.

[0029] Figure 8 Show Figure 7 An enlarged view of the first connector.

[0030] Figure 9 Show Figure 7 A stereoscopic view of the outer ring from another perspective.

[0031] Figure 10 Show Figure 7 A three-dimensional view of the outer cover, elastic potential energy element and second connector assembled together.

[0032] The attached figures are labeled as follows:

[0033] 100, 100a: Electrical connector assembly

[0034] 110, 110a: First connector

[0035] 111,111a: Guide slope

[0036] 112, 112a: Positioning groove

[0037] 113, 113a: Positioning end

[0038] 115, 115a: Axial portion

[0039] 120, 120a: Second connector

[0040] 122: Thread

[0041] 130, 130a: Outer ring

[0042] 132: Positioning bump

[0043] 134: Grip section

[0044] 140, 140a: Elastic potential energy element

[0045] 142: One end

[0046] 144: One end

[0047] 150: Outer Cover

[0048] 152: Thread

[0049] D: Axial direction

[0050] D1, D2: Direction

[0051] θ: acute angle Detailed Implementation

[0052] The following disclosure provides numerous different implementations, or examples, for carrying out various features of the provided object. Specific examples of elements and arrangements are described below to simplify the subject matter. Of course, these examples are merely illustrative and are not intended to be limiting. Furthermore, element symbols and / or letters may be repeated in various examples. This repetition is for simplicity and clarity and does not, in itself, specify a relationship between the various implementations and / or configurations discussed.

[0053] Spatial relative terms such as “below,” “under,” “lower,” “above,” and “upper” are used herein for descriptive purposes to describe the relationship between one element or feature and another, as shown in the accompanying drawings. Spatial relative terms are intended to cover different orientations of the apparatus in use or operation other than those shown in the accompanying drawings. The apparatus may be oriented in other ways (rotated 90 degrees or otherwise), and the spatial relative descriptors used herein shall be interpreted accordingly.

[0054] Figure 1 A perspective view of an electrical connector assembly 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 2 Show Figure 1 An exploded view of the electrical connector assembly 100. See also... Figure 1 and Figure 2 The electrical connector assembly 100 includes a first connector 110, a second connector 120, an outer ring 130, and at least one resilient potential element 140. The first connector 110 has a positioning groove 112. The positioning groove 112 has a guide bevel 111 and a positioning end 113. The second connector 120 is configured to couple to the first connector 110 to achieve an electrical connection. For example, the first connector 110 may have a female conductive terminal, and the second connector 120 may have a male conductive terminal, but this is not intended to limit the scope of this disclosure. In this embodiment, the electrical connector assembly 100 has only a single resilient potential element 140, such as a spring, and the resilient potential element 140 is sleeved on the outer side wall of the second connector 120. After assembly, as... Figure 1 As shown, the outer ring 130 surrounds the first connector 110 and the second connector 120, and the elastic potential element 140 is located between the second connector 120 and the outer ring 130.

[0055] In some implementations, the electrical connector assembly 100 may be used in charging devices, such as electric vehicles, but is not limited thereto.

[0056] In the following description, it will be explained in detail how the positioning groove 112 of the first connector 110 is coupled to the second connector 120 by utilizing the design of the elastic potential element 140 and the outer ring 130.

[0057] Figure 3Show Figure 2 Enlarged view of the first connector 110. Figure 4 Show Figure 2 A three-dimensional view of the outer ring 130 from another perspective. See also... Figure 3 and Figure 4 The positioning groove 112 of the first connector 110 is located on the outer side wall of the first connector 110, and the guide slope 111 of the positioning groove 112 forms an acute angle θ with the axial direction D of the first connector 110. The positioning groove 112 of the first connector 110 also includes an axial portion 115, and the guide slope 111 is located between the axial portion 115 and the positioning end 113. The length direction of the axial portion 115 is parallel to the axial direction D. The positioning end 113 is located at the end of the positioning groove 112 away from the axial portion 115. In this embodiment, the axial portion 115 of the positioning groove 112 is closer to the insertion port of the positioning groove 112 (i.e., the guide slope 111) than the guide slope 111. Figure 3 (The left-side opening of the axial portion 115).

[0058] The outer ring 130 has a positioning protrusion 132 near the edge of the first connector 110, and the positioning protrusion 132 is located on the inner sidewall of the outer ring 130. That is to say, Figure 2 The outer ring 130 has positioning protrusions 132 on its inner sidewall near the right edge. Furthermore, the number of positioning protrusions 132 on the outer ring 130 and the number of positioning grooves 112 on the first connector 110 can be determined according to design requirements and are not intended to limit this disclosure.

[0059] During assembly, you can first... Figure 2 The elastic potential energy element 140 is sleeved on the outer wall of the second connector 120, fixing the second connector 120 in the outer ring 130. Next, the user can insert the positioning protrusion 132 of the outer ring 130 into the positioning groove 112 of the first connector 110. After the positioning protrusion 132 of the outer ring 130 passes the axial portion 115 of the positioning groove 112, the positioning protrusion 132 can move along the guide slope 111 to the bottom of the positioning groove 112. At this time, the elastic potential energy element 140 is in a compressed state, thus providing elastic restoring force. When the user removes the applied force, the elastic potential energy element 140 can rebound, causing the positioning protrusion 132 of the outer ring 130 to move in direction D1 and abut against the positioning end 113 of the positioning groove 112. In this way, the outer ring 130 is positioned on the first connector 110, and the second connector 120 in the outer ring 130 can also be securely mated with the first connector 110.

[0060] Specifically, due to the electrical connector assembly 100 (see...) Figure 2The first connector 110 has a positioning groove 112 with a guide slope 111, and the outer ring 130 has a positioning protrusion 132 near the edge of the first connector 110. Therefore, when the second connector 120 mates with the first connector 110, the positioning protrusion 132 of the outer ring 130 can enter the positioning groove 112 along the guide slope 111, and the elastic restoring force provided by the elastic potential energy element 140 moves the positioning protrusion 132 to one end of the positioning groove 112. In this way, the second connector 120 can be stably coupled to the first connector 110 due to the positioning of the outer ring 130. The electrical connector assembly 100 can achieve mating through the configuration of the positioning groove 112 of the first connector 110, the positioning protrusion 132 of the outer ring 130, and the single elastic potential energy element 140. Due to the small number of parts and the simple structure, the assembly is relatively quick and the time is short, which improves the yield and effectively reduces the production cost. In addition, this electrical connector assembly 100 is not prone to problems during use, which can avoid customer complaints.

[0061] Figure 5 A perspective view is shown of an elastic potential energy element 140a assembled with a second connector 120 according to another embodiment of this disclosure. The aforementioned single elastic potential energy element 140, sleeved on the second connector 120 (see...) Figure 2 The second connector 120 can be replaced by a plurality of resilient potential energy elements 140a, which surround the outer sidewall of the second connector 120. The resilient potential energy elements 140a provide elastic restoring force even under compression. In this embodiment, the diameter of each of the resilient potential energy elements 140a is less than [a certain value]. Figure 2 The elastic potential energy element 140 is conveniently housed in the outer ring 130 (see Figure 2 )middle.

[0062] It should be understood that the component connections, materials, and functions already described will not be repeated, but will be stated in the preceding text. Other types of electrical connector assemblies will be described in the following description.

[0063] Figure 6 A perspective view of an electrical connector assembly 100a according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is shown. Figure 7 Show Figure 6 An exploded view of the electrical connector assembly 100a. See also... Figure 6 and Figure 7 The electrical connector assembly 100a includes a first connector 110a, a second connector 120a, an outer ring 130a, and an elastic potential element 140a. This embodiment is similar to... Figure 2The implementation differs in that the electrical connector assembly 100a also includes an outer cover 150 with threads 152, and the designs of the first connector 110a, outer ring 130a, second connector 120a, and resilient potential element 140a also differ from the aforementioned designs. In this embodiment, the outer ring 130a has a protruding gripping portion 134 for easy handling and facilitates the mating of the second connector 120a with the first connector 110. The second connector 120a has threads 122 that engage with the threads 152 of the outer cover 150. Furthermore, the resilient potential element 140a is a torsion spring.

[0064] The structure of the positioning groove 112a of the first connector 110a will be described in detail in the following description.

[0065] Figure 8 Show Figure 7 Enlarged view of the first connector 110a. Figure 9 Show Figure 7 A three-dimensional view of the outer ring 130a from another perspective. See also... Figure 8 and Figure 9 The positioning groove 112a of the first connector 110a includes an axial portion 115a, and the axial portion 115a is located between the guide slope 111a and the positioning end 113a. In this embodiment, the guide slope 111a is closer to the insertion port of the positioning groove 112a (i.e., the axial portion 115a) than the axial portion 115a. Figure 8 (The axial portion 115a has an opening on the left side). The outer ring 130a has a positioning protrusion 132 near the edge of the first connector 110a, and the positioning protrusion 132 is located on the inner sidewall of the outer ring 130a. That is, Figure 7 The inner wall of the outer ring 130a near the right edge has a positioning protrusion 132.

[0066] During assembly, you can first... Figure 7The elastic potential energy element 140a is sleeved on the outer wall of the second connector 120a, and the outer cover 150 is fixed to one end of the second connector 120a. Then, the second connector 120a is fixed in the outer ring 130a. Next, the user can insert the positioning protrusion 132 of the outer ring 130a into the positioning groove 112a of the first connector 110a. After the positioning protrusion 132 of the outer ring 130a moves along the guide slope 111 to the axial portion 115 of the positioning groove 112a, the positioning protrusion 132 can move to the bottom of the positioning groove 112a. At this time, the elastic potential energy element 140a is in a compressed state, so it can provide elastic restoring force. When the user removes the applied force, since the elastic potential energy element 140 is a torsion spring, it can rebound, causing the positioning protrusion 132 of the outer ring 130a to move in the direction D2 and abut against the positioning end 113a of the positioning groove 112a. In this way, the outer ring 130a is positioned on the first connector 110a, and the second connector 120a in the outer ring 130a can also be securely mated with the first connector 110a.

[0067] Figure 10 Show Figure 7 A perspective view of the assembly of the outer cover 150, the elastic potential energy element 140a, and the second connector 120a. See also... Figure 8 and Figure 10 In this embodiment, the elastic potential energy element 140a (i.e., torsion spring) has one end 142, away from the outer cover 150, embedded in the second connector 120a, and the other end 144 abutting against the outer cover 150. That is, the end 142 of the elastic potential energy element 140a closest to the first connector 110a is embedded in the second connector 120a. With this design, the torsion spring-type elastic potential energy element 140a can provide rotational force after the positioning protrusion 132 of the outer ring 130a moves along the guide slope 111a of the positioning groove 112a, for example, towards... Figure 8 Force in direction D2.

[0068] The foregoing outlines features of several embodiments to enable those skilled in the art to better understand the manner of this disclosure. Those skilled in the art will understand that they can readily use this disclosure as a basis for designing or modifying other processes and structures to achieve the same purposes and / or advantages as the embodiments described herein. Those skilled in the art should also recognize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of this disclosure, and that various changes, substitutions, and alterations can be made to them without departing from the spirit and scope of this disclosure.

Claims

1. An electrical connector assembly, comprising: A first connector has a positioning groove having a guide bevel and a positioning end; A second connector, configured to couple to the first connector; An outer ring surrounds the first connector and the second connector, and the outer ring has a positioning protrusion near the edge of the first connector; as well as At least one elastic potential energy element is located between the second connector and the outer ring, configured to provide elastic restoring force after the positioning protrusion enters the positioning groove along the guide slope, so that the positioning protrusion abuts against the positioning end.

2. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the guide ramp of the positioning groove forms an acute angle with the axial direction of the first connector.

3. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the resilient potential element is sleeved on the outer side wall of the second connector.

4. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the positioning groove of the first connector further includes an axial portion, and the guide ramp is located between the axial portion and the positioning end.

5. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the positioning groove of the first connector is located on the outer side wall of the first connector.

6. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the positioning protrusion of the outer ring is located on the inner sidewall of the outer ring.

7. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the number of the resilient potential elements is plurality of, and the plurality of the resilient potential elements surround the outer sidewall of the second connector.

8. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the resilient potential element is a torsion spring.

9. The electrical connector assembly of claim 8, wherein the torsion spring is embedded in the second connector at one end near the first connector.

10. The electrical connector assembly of claim 1, wherein the positioning groove of the first connector further includes an axial portion located between the guide ramp and the positioning end.

11. An electrical connector assembly, comprising: A first connector has a positioning groove having a guide slope, wherein the guide slope forms an acute angle with the axial direction of the first connector; A second connector, configured to couple to the first connector; An outer ring surrounds the first connector and the second connector, and the outer ring has a positioning protrusion near the edge of the first connector; as well as At least one elastic potential energy element is located between the second connector and the outer ring, configured to provide an elastic restoring force after the positioning protrusion enters the positioning groove along the guide ramp, causing the positioning protrusion to move to one end of the positioning groove.

12. The electrical connector assembly of claim 11, wherein the resilient potential element is sleeved on the outer side wall of the second connector.

13. The electrical connector assembly of claim 11, wherein the positioning groove of the first connector further includes an axial portion that is closer to the insertion port of the positioning groove than the guide ramp.

14. The electrical connector assembly of claim 11, wherein the positioning groove of the first connector is located on the outer side wall of the first connector.

15. The electrical connector assembly of claim 11, wherein the positioning protrusion of the outer ring is located on the inner sidewall of the outer ring.

16. The electrical connector assembly of claim 11, wherein the positioning groove of the first connector further includes an axial portion, and the guide ramp is closer to the insertion port of the positioning groove than the axial portion.

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