Connector assembly

Abstract

The utility model discloses a connector assembly, which comprises a male end connector and a female end connector which are in plug-in fit, a first plug-in cavity used for accommodating the female end connector is arranged in the male end connector, and a gear and a rack which are matched with each other are respectively arranged on the male end connector and the female end connector of the connector assembly. The gear and the rack are matched to realize smooth assembly of the male end connector and the female end connector; and then one side of the gear is provided with the one-way mechanism for preventing the gear from reversely rotating, so that secondary locking after the male-end connector and the female-end connector are spliced and matched can be realized, and compared with an existing CPA mechanism, the assembly clearance between the male-end connector and the female-end connector can be obviously reduced, and the assembly efficiency is improved. Therefore, severe abrasion caused by relative displacement of the terminal assemblies of the male end connector and the female end connector in the axial direction due to factors such as vibration, dragging and the like during actual use of the connector assembly can be prevented, and the application environment and reliability of the product can be improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to the technical field of connectors, in particular to a connector assembly. Background Art

[0002] With the gradual reduction of oil resources, the market share of new energy electric vehicles is increasing. The wiring harness is one of the important components of electric vehicles. It is similar to the nervous tissue of the human body and is used for the timely transmission of power, signals, sensors and other information. Among them, the connector is an important part of the wiring harness and is mainly used to connect the wiring harnesses to each other. In order to achieve a better locking and fixing effect, the existing connectors usually use a CPA (Connector Position Assurance) mechanism to fix the connector, so that the locking and fixing effect of the connector is better. The CPA mechanism can also be called a secondary lock;

[0003] In order to facilitate the assembly of the CPA mechanism, existing connector assemblies usually set an assembly gap between the male connector and the female connector. As a result, during actual use of the connector assembly, factors such as vibration and pulling may cause relative displacement of the terminal assemblies of the male connector and the female connector along the axial direction and cause wear, which in turn leads to poor contact between the terminal assemblies of the male connector and the female connector. Utility Model Content

[0004] In view of this, an object of the present invention is to provide a connector assembly to solve the technical problems mentioned in the background technology.

[0005] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the technical solution adopted by the utility model is: a connector assembly, including a male connector and a female connector for plugging and mating, the interior of the male connector has a first plug-in cavity for accommodating the female connector, the interior of the male connector also has a second plug-in cavity connected to the first plug-in cavity, a first guide column at least partially overhanging to the interior of the second plug-in cavity is provided on the side wall of the female connector, a rack is provided on the outer wall of the first guide column, a gear meshing with the rack is rotatably provided inside the second plug-in cavity, the gear rotates in a predetermined direction when the male connector and the female connector are plugged and mated, and a one-way mechanism is provided on one side of the gear for preventing the gear from rotating in the opposite direction.

[0006] In some embodiments, at least one first guide groove is provided on the inner wall of the first plug-in cavity along the direction in which the female connector is inserted into the male connector, and at least one first guide rib matching the first guide groove is provided on the outer wall of the female connector, and the first guide rib is wedge-shaped at the end away from the male connector.

[0007] In some embodiments, the one-way mechanism is a one-way ratchet structure.

[0008] In some embodiments, a plurality of inwardly recessed fan-shaped grooves are circumferentially arranged on one of the end faces of the gear, and the one-way ratchet structure is a snap-fitting piece that is snap-fitted with the plurality of fan-shaped grooves. During the process of the gear rotating in a predetermined direction, the free end of the snap-fitting piece passes through different fan-shaped grooves in turn, and the snap-fitting piece is snap-fitted to the side wall of the corresponding fan-shaped groove after the male connector and the female connector are plugged in.

[0009] In some embodiments, the depth of the sector groove gradually becomes shallower in the direction of gear rotation.

[0010] In some embodiments, a positioning column is provided inside the second plug-in cavity, and a clamping area for installing a clamping piece is formed between the positioning column and the inner wall of the second plug-in cavity.

[0011] In some embodiments, the inner wall of the second plug-in cavity corresponding to the snap-fit ​​area is at least partially recessed inward to form a collapsed area for positioning the snap-fit ​​sheet.

[0012] In some embodiments, one end of the clamping piece is U-shaped and clamped in the clamping area, and the other end is bent toward the direction where the gear is located and clamped into the corresponding fan-shaped groove.

[0013] In some embodiments, a second guide groove is provided on the side wall of the first guide column along the direction in which the first guide column is inserted into the second plug-in cavity, and a second guide rib matching the second guide groove is provided on the inner wall of the second plug-in cavity and / or the first plug-in cavity.

[0014] In some embodiments, a window is provided on the side wall of the male connector to facilitate the insertion of the card connector, and the window is communicated with the second plug-in cavity.

[0015] In some embodiments, a terminal mounting portion is axially arranged in the first plug-in cavity, and an elastic sealing member is sleeved on the outer side of the terminal mounting portion. After the female connector is installed into the male connector, one end of the female connector facing the male connector abuts against the elastic sealing member.

[0016] In some embodiments, the elastic seal is an S-shaped sealing plug with elastic recovery capability.

[0017] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the utility model are as follows: the connector assembly of the utility model is respectively provided with mutually matching gears and racks on the male connector and the female connector, and the gears and the racks cooperate to achieve smooth assembly of the male connector and the female connector; then a one-way mechanism is provided on one side of the gear to prevent the gear from rotating in the opposite direction, thereby achieving secondary locking after the male connector and the female connector are plugged in and mated. Compared with the existing CPA mechanism, the assembly gap between the male connector and the female connector can be significantly reduced, thereby preventing the terminal assemblies of the male connector and the female connector from being relatively displaced in the axial direction and causing serious wear due to factors such as vibration and pulling during actual use of the connector assembly, thereby improving the product application environment and reliability. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0018] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of the specification, illustrate embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present invention.

[0019] Figure 1 An exploded schematic diagram of the connector assembly provided by the utility model;

[0020] Figure 2 for Figure 1 The schematic diagram of the structure of the connector assembly after assembly is shown;

[0021] Figure 3 for Figure 2 A local enlarged schematic diagram of the middle A;

[0022] Figure 4 This is a schematic diagram of the matching of the gear, rack and one-way mechanism when the female connector is just installed into the male connector;

[0023] Figure 5 This is a schematic diagram of the coordination of the gear, rack and one-way mechanism after the female connector and the male connector are plugged in;

[0024] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the gears in the connector assembly provided by the utility model;

[0025] Figure 7 for Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the connector assembly shown after assembly;

[0026] Figure 8 for Figure 7 Schematic diagram of the structure of the elastic seal in the connector assembly shown.

[0027] The following are marked in the figure:

[0028] 10. female connector; 101. first guide column; 102. rack; 103. first guide rib; 104. second guide groove;

[0029] 20. male connector; 201. first plug-in cavity; 202. second plug-in cavity; 203. first guide groove; 204. positioning column; 205. clamping area; 206. collapse area; 207. second guide rib; 208. window; 209. terminal mounting portion;

[0030] 30, gear; 301, sector groove;

[0031] 40. Card connector;

[0032] 50. Direction of gear rotation;

[0033] 60. Elastic seals. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0034] Various exemplary embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It should be noted that unless otherwise specifically stated, the relative arrangement of components and steps, numerical expressions and numerical values ​​set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present invention.

[0035] The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the invention, its application, or uses.

[0036] Technologies, methods, and equipment known to ordinary technicians in the relevant art may not be discussed in detail, but where appropriate, the technologies, methods, and equipment should be considered as part of the specification.

[0037] In all examples shown and discussed herein, any specific values ​​should be interpreted as merely exemplary and not limiting. Therefore, other examples of the exemplary embodiments may have different values.

[0038] A connector assembly, such as Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, it includes a male connector 20 and a female connector 10 for plugging and mating. The interior of the male connector 20 has a first plug-in cavity 201 for accommodating the female connector 10. The interior of the male connector 20 also has a second plug-in cavity 202 connected to the first plug-in cavity 201. The side wall of the female connector 10 is provided with a first guide column 101 that at least partially overhangs to the interior of the second plug-in cavity 202. The outer wall of the first guide column 101 is provided with a rack 102. The interior of the second plug-in cavity 202 is rotatably provided with a gear 30 that meshes with the rack 102. When the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 are plugged and mated, the gear 30 rotates in a predetermined direction. For the direction of rotation of the gear in this embodiment, please refer to Figure 5 and Figure 6 As shown in the reference numeral 50, with the insertion of the first guide column 101 and the rack 102, the gear 30 rotates in the counterclockwise direction to achieve smooth assembly of the male connector 20 and the female connector 10; further, a one-way mechanism is provided on one side of the gear 30 for preventing the gear 30 from rotating in the opposite direction, thereby achieving secondary locking after the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 are plugged in and matched. Compared with the existing CPA mechanism, the assembly gap between the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 can be significantly reduced, thereby preventing the terminal assemblies of the male connector and the female connector from being relatively displaced in the axial direction and causing serious wear due to factors such as vibration and pulling during actual use of the connector assembly, thereby improving the product application environment and reliability.

[0039] Furthermore, if Figure 7 As shown, a terminal mounting portion 209 is axially arranged in the first plug-in cavity 201, and an elastic sealing member 60 is sleeved on the outer side of the terminal mounting portion 209. After the female connector 10 is inserted into the male connector 20, the end of the female connector 10 facing the male connector 20 abuts against the elastic sealing member 60, thereby offsetting the assembly gap reserved between the male connector 20 and the female connector 10. At the same time, since the elastic sealing member 60 plays a certain supporting role on both the female connector 10 and the male connector 20, it can prevent the terminal assemblies of the male connector and the female connector from being relatively displaced and shaken along the axial direction due to vibration, pulling and other factors during actual use of the connector assembly, thereby improving the product application environment and reliability. Specifically, the elastic sealing member 60 is an S-shaped sealing plug with elastic recovery ability, such as Figure 8 As shown, when the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 are assembled, the elastic seal 60 is squeezed inward and shrinks. After the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 are assembled, the S-shaped sealing plug rebounds after the force disappears, thereby abutting against the end of the female connector 10 facing the male connector 20 to offset the assembly gap reserved between the male connector 20 and the female connector 10.

[0040] In one embodiment, if Figure 1As shown, at least one first guide groove 203 is provided on the inner wall of the first plug-in cavity 201 along the direction in which the female connector 10 is inserted into the male connector 20, and at least one first guide rib 103 matching with the first guide groove 203 is provided on the outer wall of the female connector 10, and the first guide rib 103 away from the end of the male connector 20 is wedge-shaped. The plug-in matching process of the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 is as follows: First, the first guide rib 103 provided on the outer wall of the female connector 10 is inserted into the first guide groove 203 to achieve the initial connection between the male connector 20 and the female connector 10. The male connector 20 is then pushed, and the gear 30 and the rack 102 cooperate to realize the smooth assembly of the male connector 20 and the female connector 10; until the wedge-shaped structure is wedged and connected with the first guide groove 203 and the male connector 20 cannot be pushed further, the assembly of the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 is completed. At this time, the one-way mechanism provided on one side of the gear 30 is used to prevent the gear 30 from rotating in the opposite direction. The wedge-shaped structure and the one-way mechanism respectively realize the front and rear stop positions of the male connector 20 when being plugged in, thereby realizing the secondary locking after the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 are plugged in.

[0041] In this embodiment, the one-way mechanism is a one-way ratchet structure. Figure 3-Figure 6 As shown, a plurality of inwardly recessed fan-shaped grooves 301 are circumferentially arranged on one of the end faces of the gear 30, and the one-way ratchet structure is a snap-fitting piece 40 that is snap-fitted with the plurality of fan-shaped grooves 301. During the rotation of the gear 30 in a predetermined direction, the free end of the snap-fitting piece 40 successively passes through different fan-shaped grooves 301, and the snap-fitting piece 40 is snap-fitted to the side wall of the corresponding fan-shaped groove 301 after the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 are plugged in, thereby realizing the rear stop position when the male connector 20 is plugged in.

[0042] Furthermore, if Figure 6 As shown, in order to reduce the resistance when the free end of the card piece 40 passes through different fan-shaped grooves 301 successively, and improve the smoothness and feel when the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 are plugged in and matched, the groove depth of the fan-shaped groove 301 gradually becomes shallower in the direction 50 of gear rotation. When the free end of the card piece 40 passes through each fan-shaped groove 301, it is slowly lifted up by the fan-shaped groove 301 with a continuously changing groove depth and enters into the next fan-shaped groove 301, until it is plugged into the side wall of the corresponding fan-shaped groove 301 after the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 are plugged in, so as to realize the rear stop position when the male connector 20 is plugged in. For details, please refer to Figure 4 and Figure 5 .

[0043] In one embodiment, if Figure 1-Figure 3As shown, the interior of the second plug-in cavity 202 has a positioning column 204, and a clamping area 205 for installing the clamping piece 40 is formed between the positioning column 204 and the inner wall of the second plug-in cavity 202. The clamping piece 40 is correspondingly installed in the clamping area 205. Specifically, one end of the clamping piece 40 is U-shaped and clamped in the clamping area 205, and the other end is bent toward the direction where the gear 30 is located and clamped into the corresponding fan-shaped groove 301. In order to facilitate the bending setting of the clamping piece 40, On the inner wall of the cavity 202, the corresponding snap-in area 205 is at least partially recessed inward to form a collapsed area 206 for positioning the snap-in piece 40. After the other end of the snap-in piece 40 extends from the collapsed area 206 to the outside, the bent section of the snap-in piece 40 is supported by the transition slope at the connection between the collapsed area 206 and the second plug-in cavity 202, thereby achieving a tight connection of the snap-in piece 40 and preventing the snap-in piece 40 from loosening or falling off when subjected to force, thereby causing failure of the one-way mechanism.

[0044] In one embodiment, if Figure 1 As shown, a second guide groove 104 is provided on the side wall of the first guide column 101 along the direction in which the first guide column 101 is inserted into the second plug-in cavity 202, and a second guide rib 207 matching with the second guide groove 104 is provided on the inner wall of the second plug-in cavity 202 and / or the first plug-in cavity 201. Through the cooperation between the second guide groove 104 and the second guide rib 207, the insertion of the first guide column 101 can be positioned and error-proofed.

[0045] In one embodiment, if Figure 1-Figure 3 As shown, the side wall of the male connector 20 has a window 208 for facilitating the insertion of the card connector 40, and the window 208 is communicated with the second plug-in cavity 202. The card connector 40 can enter the second plug-in cavity 202 through the window 208, thereby realizing convenient assembly and replacement of the card connector 40, and the working condition of the card connector 40 can be observed through the window 208 to ensure the effectiveness of the card connector 40 (one-way mechanism).

[0046] Although some specific embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail by way of examples, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that the above examples are for illustration only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. It should be understood by those skilled in the art that the above embodiments may be modified without departing from the scope and spirit of the present invention. The scope of the present invention is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A connector assembly, comprising a male connector and a female connector for plugging and mating, wherein the male connector has a first plug-in cavity for accommodating the female connector, characterized in that: The interior of the male connector also has a second plug-in cavity connected to the first plug-in cavity, and the side wall of the female connector is provided with a first guide column that at least partially extends into the second plug-in cavity, and the outer wall of the first guide column is provided with a rack, and the interior of the second plug-in cavity is rotatably provided with a gear that meshes with the rack, and the gear rotates in a predetermined direction when the male connector and the female connector are plugged in, and a one-way mechanism is provided on one side of the gear to prevent the gear from rotating in the opposite direction.

2. A connector assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: At least one first guide groove is provided on the inner wall of the first plug-in cavity along the direction in which the female connector is inserted into the male connector, and at least one first guide rib matching the first guide groove is provided on the outer wall of the female connector, and the first guide rib is wedge-shaped at one end away from the male connector.

3. A connector assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: The one-way mechanism is a one-way ratchet structure.

4. A connector assembly according to claim 3, characterized in that: A plurality of inwardly recessed fan-shaped grooves are circumferentially arranged on one of the end faces of the gear, and the one-way ratchet structure is a snap-fitting piece that is snap-fitted with the plurality of fan-shaped grooves. During the rotation of the gear in a predetermined direction, the free end of the snap-fitting piece passes through different fan-shaped grooves in turn, and the snap-fitting piece is snap-fitted to the side wall of the corresponding fan-shaped groove after the male connector and the female connector are plugged in.

5. A connector assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that: The depth of the sector groove gradually becomes shallower in the direction of gear rotation.

6. A connector assembly according to claim 4, characterized in that: A positioning column is provided inside the second plug-in cavity, and a clamping area for installing a clamping sheet is formed between the positioning column and the inner wall of the second plug-in cavity.

7. A connector assembly according to claim 6, characterized in that: The inner wall of the second plug-in cavity is at least partially recessed inwardly at a location corresponding to the clamping area to form a collapsed area for positioning the clamping piece.

8. A connector assembly according to claim 6, characterized in that: One end of the clamping piece is U-shaped and clamped in the clamping area, and the other end is bent toward the direction where the gear is located and clamped in the corresponding fan-shaped groove.

9. The connector assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: A second guide groove is provided on the side wall of the first guide column along the direction in which the first guide column is inserted into the second plug-in cavity, and a second guide rib matching the second guide groove is provided on the inner wall of the second plug-in cavity or / and the first plug-in cavity.

10. The connector assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: A window is provided on the side wall of the male connector for facilitating the insertion of the card connector, and the window is communicated with the second plug-in cavity.

11. A connector assembly according to claim 1, characterized in that: A terminal mounting portion is axially arranged in the first plug-in cavity, and an elastic sealing member is sleeved on the outer side of the terminal mounting portion. After the female connector is installed into the male connector, one end of the female connector facing the male connector abuts against the elastic sealing member.

12. A connector assembly according to claim 11, characterized in that: The elastic sealing member is an S-shaped sealing plug with elastic recovery capability.

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