Position maintaining structure and connector assembly

Abstract

The utility model discloses a position keeping structure and a connector assembly, the front end of a position keeping piece continuously extends forwards to form a bearing platform, and one end of the bearing platform far away from a locking bulge is convexly provided with a positioning bulge; a first guide face and a second guide face are formed on the two opposite side walls of the positioning protrusion and the locking protrusion respectively, the first guide face enables the cross beam to be embedded between the locking protrusion and the positioning protrusion after the positioning protrusion crosses the cross beam conveniently, and the second guide face enables the position maintaining part to return to the preassembling position from the locking position conveniently. When the position maintaining piece needs to be disassembled, the position maintaining piece can be disassembled only by pushing the positioning protrusion out of the locking clamping groove with a hand or by means of an external tool, and in the disassembling process, the structures of the position maintaining piece and the socket sheath cannot be damaged; the service life of the position keeping structure and the service life of the connector assembly adopting the position keeping structure can be remarkably prolonged.

Description

Technical Field

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

[0002] With the development of the automotive industry, the production and processing of connector products have gradually increased. In order to ensure that the connector will not loosen due to vehicle vibration or misoperation during driving, when the first connector is mated to the second connector, a connector position assurance (CPA-Connector Position Assurance) device is used to fix the first and second connectors together. The structure of the CPA connector directly affects the strength of the fixation between the connectors, especially when the connector is used in an environment that is often subject to shock or vibration.

[0003] For example, a Chinese patent with patent number CN202321305216.X discloses a connector assembly with a CPA connector. The patent provides a clamping block and a mounting groove for inserting a locking portion of a position retaining member on the clamping arm of the socket sleeve. The clamping block spans the mounting groove to divide the mounting groove into a locking area and a pre-installation area. When the first protrusion provided at the free end of the locking portion is pre-installed, it is located in the pre-installation area and protrudes from the upper surface of the mounting groove. After the plug sleeve and the socket sleeve are plugged in, the clamping crossbeam moves to the top of the pre-installation area and presses the first protrusion into the mounting groove to push the The position retaining member allows the first protrusion to pass over the clamping block and enter the locking area, so that the position retaining member can be switched from the pre-installed area of ​​the mounting groove to the locking area, thereby realizing secondary locking of the plug cover and the socket cover; when the patent is in use, the protrusion arranged on the side wall of the position retaining member cooperates with the socket cover to realize the positioning of the pre-installed position and the locking position of the position retaining member, but this arrangement method requires the position retaining member to be pulled out with force when disassembling the position retaining member, and the position retaining member is easily damaged after multiple plugging and unplugging, thereby causing the position retaining member to fail. Utility Model Content

[0004] In view of this, an object of the present invention is to provide a position retaining structure and 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 position holding structure, including a plug cover and a socket cover for plugging and matching, and a position holding member installed in the socket cover, a clamping arm is provided on the socket cover, and a pre-installed card slot and a locking card slot are provided on the clamping arm at intervals along the loading direction of the position holding member, and the pre-installed card slot and the locking card slot are separated by a crossbeam, and the position holding member includes a base and a locking arm extending from the front end of the base, the locking arm is at least partially inclined in the direction where the clamping arm is located, and a locking protrusion that interferes with the crossbeam is protruded from one end of the locking arm away from the base; the position holding member has a pre-installed position and a locked position in the socket cover, and when the position holding member is in the pre-installed position, the locking protrusion interferes with the crossbeam. When the socket cover is in the pre-installed position, the locking protrusion is embedded in the pre-installed slot, and a card block is protruding from the inner wall of the plug sleeve and cantilevered into the pre-installed slot when the plug sleeve and the socket sleeve are plugged together. When the plug sleeve and the socket sleeve are plugged together, the card block pushes the locking protrusion out of the pre-installed slot to facilitate the locking protrusion to switch from the pre-installed slot to the locking slot. The end of the locking arm away from the base continues to extend forward to form a bearing platform, and the end of the bearing platform away from the locking protrusion is protruding with a positioning protrusion. The positioning protrusion and the locking protrusion are respectively formed with a first guide surface and a second guide surface on two opposite side walls. When the position retaining member is in the pre-installed position, the crossbeam is embedded between the locking protrusion and the positioning protrusion.

[0006] In some embodiments, the first guide surface and the second guide surface are both inclined surfaces or curved surfaces having a guiding function.

[0007] In some embodiments, one end of the clamping arm is connected to the socket sleeve, and the other end is inclined in a direction away from the socket sleeve, and the height of the locking protrusion in a direction perpendicular to the load-bearing platform is greater than the height of the positioning protrusion in a direction perpendicular to the load-bearing platform.

[0008] In some embodiments, a frame-shaped guide frame is also provided at the front end of the base, the guide frame includes two parallel side ribs and a transverse rib connecting the two side ribs into a frame-shaped structure, and a sliding groove that slides with the two side ribs is provided on the inner side of the socket sleeve, and the position retaining member is inserted into the sliding groove through the guide frame.

[0009] In some embodiments, auxiliary ribs for assisting the side ribs to slide in the slide grooves are vertically arranged on the two side ribs.

[0010] In some embodiments, a pressing seat for facilitating unlocking of the plug sleeve and the socket sleeve is provided at one end of the clamping arm away from the plug sleeve, and at least one support block is protruding from the base. When the position retaining member is in the locked position, the locking protrusion and the positioning protrusion are both embedded in the locking slot, and at least one of the support blocks is supported directly below the pressing seat to prevent the press seat from being unexpectedly pressed down.

[0011] In some embodiments, a barrier is disposed around the outer side of at least one support block, and when the position retaining member is in the locked position, the pressing seat is at least partially embedded in the inner side of the barrier.

[0012] In some embodiments, the auxiliary ribs, support blocks, enclosures, guide frames, bases, and locking arms are integrally injection molded.

[0013] The utility model provides a connector assembly having the above-mentioned position retaining structure.

[0014] Compared with the prior art, the beneficial effects of the present invention are as follows: the front end of the position retaining member of the present invention continues to extend forward to form a bearing platform, and a positioning protrusion is protruded from one end of the bearing platform away from the locking protrusion, and a first guide surface and a second guide surface are respectively formed on two side walls that are opposite to each other of the positioning protrusion and the locking protrusion, wherein the first guide surface facilitates the positioning protrusion to pass over the cross beam so that the cross beam is embedded between the locking protrusion and the positioning protrusion, so as to realize the positioning of the position retaining member in the pre-installed position, and when the plug sheath and the socket sheath are plugged in and matched, the card block arranged on the plug sheath pushes the locking protrusion out of the pre-installed card slot, pushing the position retaining member to switch the locking protrusion from the pre-installed card slot. To the locking slot, thereby positioning the position retaining member in the locking position; the second guide surface facilitates returning the position retaining member from the locking position to the pre-installed position. Furthermore, the plug cover and the socket cover can be unlocked by pressing the card arm. When the position retaining member needs to be disassembled, the position retaining member can be disassembled by simply pushing the positioning protrusion out of the locking slot by hand or with the help of an external tool. During the disassembly process, since there is no hard interference between the position retaining member and the socket cover, the structures of both the position retaining member and the socket cover will not be damaged, which can significantly improve the service life of the position retaining structure and the connector assembly using the position retaining structure. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0015] 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.

[0016] Figure 1 A structural schematic diagram of a position holding structure provided by the utility model;

[0017] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the structure of the position-maintaining structure after the plug sheath is removed;

[0018] Figure 3 A schematic diagram of the cooperation between the position retaining member and the socket sheath;

[0019] Figure 4is a cross-sectional view of the position holding structure when the position holding member is in the pre-installed position;

[0020] Figure 5 is a cross-sectional view of the position holding structure when the position holding member is in a locked position;

[0021] Figure 6 for Figure 1 A schematic diagram of the structure of a position retaining member in the position retaining structure shown;

[0022] Figure 7 for Figure 6 Front view of the position retainer shown.

[0023] The following are marked in the figure:

[0024] 10. Plug sheath; 101. Card block;

[0025] 20. socket cover; 201. card arm; 202. pre-installed card slot; 203. locking card slot; 204. crossbeam; 205. slide slot; 206. pressing seat;

[0026] 30. Position retainer; 301. Base; 302. Locking arm; 303. Locking protrusion; 304. Carrying platform; 305. Positioning protrusion; 306. First guide surface; 307. Second guide surface; 308. Side rib; 309. Transverse rib; 310. Auxiliary rib; 311. Support block; 312. Enclosure;

[0027] 40. The direction of installation of the position retaining member. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] 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 arrangements of components and steps, numerical expressions and numerical values ​​set forth in these embodiments do not limit the scope of the present invention.

[0029] 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.

[0030] 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.

[0031] 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.

[0032] A connector assembly includes a plug connector and a socket connector for plugging and mating, the socket connector includes a socket sleeve, a position retaining member installed in the socket sleeve, and a socket terminal, the plug connector includes a plug sleeve and a plug terminal installed in the plug sleeve, the utility model mainly describes a position retaining structure composed of a plug sleeve 10, a socket sleeve 20, and a position retaining member 30 installed in the socket sleeve 20, as follows:

[0033] like Figure 1-Figure 7 As shown, the position holding structure includes a plug housing 10 and a socket housing 20 that are plugged together, and a position holding member 30 installed in the socket housing 20. The socket housing 20 is provided with a clamping arm 201. The clamping arm 201 is provided with a pre-installed card slot 202 and a locking card slot 203 at intervals along the loading direction 40 of the position holding member. The pre-installed card slot 202 and the locking card slot 203 are separated by a crossbeam 204. The position holding member 30 includes a base 3 01 and a locking arm 302 extending from the front end of the base 301, the locking arm 302 is at least partially inclined in the direction where the clamping arm 201 is located, and the locking arm 302 is protruded from one end away from the base 301 and is provided with a locking protrusion 303 interfering with the crossbeam 204; the position retaining member 30 has a pre-installed position and a locking position in the socket sleeve 20, and when the position retaining member 30 is in the pre-installed position, the locking protrusion 303 is embedded in the pre-installed card slot 202, a card block 101 is protruded on the inner wall of the plug sheath 10 and is cantilevered into the pre-installed card slot 202 when the plug sheath 10 and the socket sheath 20 are plugged together. When the plug sheath 10 and the socket sheath 20 are plugged together, the card block 101 pushes the locking protrusion 303 out of the pre-installed card slot 202, so that the locking protrusion 303 switches from the pre-installed card slot 202 to the locking card slot 203. The improvement of the utility model mainly lies in: the end of the locking arm 302 away from the base 301 continues to extend forward to form a bearing platform 304, and the end of the bearing platform 304 away from the locking protrusion 303 is protruding with a positioning protrusion 305, and the two side walls of the positioning protrusion 305 and the locking protrusion 303 that are separated from each other are respectively formed with a first guide surface 306 and a second guide surface 307, and the first guide surface 306 and the second guide surface 307 are both inclined surfaces or arc surfaces with guiding functions. For details, please refer to Figure 6 and Figure 7 When the position retaining member 30 is in the pre-installed position, the crossbeam 204 is embedded between the locking protrusion 303 and the positioning protrusion 305. For details, please refer to Figure 2 and Figure 4 .

[0034] The first guide surface 306 is provided to facilitate the positioning protrusion 305 to pass over the crossbeam 204 so that the crossbeam 204 is embedded between the locking protrusion 303 and the positioning protrusion 305, so as to realize the positioning of the position retaining member 30 in the pre-installed position. When the plug cover 10 and the socket cover 20 are plugged in and matched, the block 101 provided on the plug cover 10 pushes the locking protrusion 303 out of the pre-installed slot 202, pushes the position retaining member 30 to switch the locking protrusion 303 from the pre-installed slot 202 to the locking slot 203, thereby realizing the positioning of the position retaining member 30 in the locked position; the second guide surface 307 facilitates the positioning of the position retaining member 30 from The locking position returns to the pre-installed position. Further, the plug cover 10 and the socket cover 20 can be unlocked by pressing the clamping arm 201. When the position retaining member 30 needs to be further disassembled, the positioning protrusion 305 can be pushed out from the locking slot 203 by hand or with the help of external tools to realize the disassembly of the position retaining member 30. During the disassembly process, since there is no hard interference between the position retaining member 30 and the socket cover 20, the structures of both the position retaining member 30 and the socket cover 20 will not be damaged, which can significantly improve the service life of the position retaining structure and the connector assembly using the position retaining structure.

[0035] In one embodiment, if Figure 2 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, one end of the clamping arm 201 is connected to the socket sleeve 20, and the other end is inclined in the direction away from the socket sleeve 20, and the height of the locking protrusion 303 in the direction perpendicular to the bearing platform 304 is greater than the height of the positioning protrusion 305 in the direction perpendicular to the bearing platform 304. It should be noted here that, considering the convenience of ejecting the positioning protrusion 305 from the locking clamping groove 203, the positioning protrusion 305 is set relatively low. However, when the positioning protrusion 305 is set relatively low, if the main body of the clamping arm 201 is still kept horizontally, when the position retaining member 30 is in the pre-installed position, the actual contact area between the positioning protrusion 305 and the beam 204 is small, resulting in a poor positioning and holding effect of the position retaining member 30 in the pre-installed position. In order to change this situation, the clamping arm 201 is set to be inclined to increase the actual contact area between the positioning protrusion 305 and the beam 204 when the position retaining member 30 is in the pre-installed position, thereby improving the positioning and holding effect of the position retaining member 30 in the pre-installed position.

[0036] In one embodiment, if Figure 6 and Figure 7As shown, the front end of the base 301 is also provided with a frame-shaped guide frame, which includes two parallel side ribs 308 and a transverse rib 309 connecting the two side ribs 308 into a frame-shaped structure. In order to facilitate the position retaining member 30 to be smoothly installed into the socket cover 20, a corresponding chamfer structure can be provided at the connection between the transverse rib 309 and the side rib 308. The inner side of the socket cover 20 is provided with a slide groove 205 that slides with the two side ribs 308. The position retaining member 30 is inserted into the slide groove 205 through the guide frame. Furthermore, in order to assist the side ribs 308 to slide in the slide groove 205, auxiliary ribs 310 are vertically provided on the two side ribs 308. For details, please refer to Figure 3 The auxiliary ribs 310 are extended along the installation direction 40 of the position retaining member, and can play an auxiliary guiding role in the installation of the position retaining member.

[0037] In one embodiment, if Figure 2 , Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, a pressing seat 206 is provided at one end of the clamping arm 201 away from the plug shield 10 to facilitate unlocking of the plug shield 10 and the socket shield 20, and at least one supporting block 311 is protruding from the base 301. When the position retaining member 30 is in the locked position, the locking protrusion 301 and the positioning protrusion 305 are both embedded in the locking card slot 203, and at least one supporting block 311 is supported directly below the pressing seat 206 to prevent the pressing seat 206 from being pressed down unexpectedly. In order to achieve a better use effect, a surrounding block 312 is provided around the outer side of at least one supporting block 206. When the position retaining member 30 is in the locked position, the pressing seat 206 is at least partially embedded in the inner side of the surrounding block 312. Furthermore, the auxiliary ribs 310 , the support blocks 311 , the enclosures 312 , the guide frames, the base 301 and the locking arms 302 are integrally injection molded to reduce the manufacturing cost of the position retaining member 30 and the connector assembly using the position retaining member 30 .

[0038] 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 position retaining structure, comprising a plug cover and a socket cover that are plug-matched, and a position retaining member installed in the socket cover, wherein a clamping arm is provided on the socket cover, and a pre-installed card slot and a locking card slot are provided on the clamping arm along the loading direction of the position retaining member, and the pre-installed card slot and the locking card slot are separated by a crossbeam, and the position retaining member comprises a base and a locking arm extending from the front end of the base, wherein at least a part of the locking arm is inclined in the direction where the clamping arm is located, and an end of the locking arm away from the base is protruding There is a locking protrusion interfering with the crossbeam; the position retaining member has a pre-installed position and a locking position in the socket sleeve. When the position retaining member is in the pre-installed position, the locking protrusion is embedded in the pre-installed card slot. A card block is protruding from the inner wall of the plug sleeve and is cantilevered into the pre-installed card slot when the plug sleeve and the socket sleeve are plugged together. When the plug sleeve and the socket sleeve are plugged together, the card block pushes the locking protrusion out of the pre-installed card slot to facilitate the locking protrusion to switch from the pre-installed card slot to the locking card slot. It is characterized in that: One end of the locking arm away from the base continues to extend forward to form a bearing platform, and a positioning protrusion is protruded from one end of the bearing platform away from the locking protrusion. The first guide surface and the second guide surface are respectively formed on two opposite side walls of the positioning protrusion and the locking protrusion. When the position retaining member is in the pre-installed position, the cross beam is embedded between the locking protrusion and the positioning protrusion.

2. A position holding structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: The first guiding surface and the second guiding surface are both inclined surfaces or arc-shaped surfaces with guiding functions.

3. A position holding structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: One end of the clamping arm is connected to the socket sleeve, and the other end is inclined in a direction away from the socket sleeve. The height of the locking protrusion in a direction perpendicular to the bearing platform is greater than the height of the positioning protrusion in a direction perpendicular to the bearing platform.

4. A position holding structure according to claim 1, characterized in that: A frame-shaped guide frame is also provided at the front end of the base, and the guide frame includes two parallel side ribs and a transverse rib connecting the two side ribs into a frame-shaped structure. A slide groove that slides with the two side ribs is provided on the inner side of the socket sleeve, and the position retaining member is inserted into the slide groove through the guide frame.

5. A position holding structure according to claim 4, characterized in that: Auxiliary ribs for assisting the side ribs to slide in the slide grooves are vertically arranged on the two side ribs.

6. A position holding structure according to claim 5, characterized in that: A pressing seat for facilitating unlocking of the plug sleeve and the socket sleeve is provided at one end of the clamping arm away from the plug sleeve, and at least one supporting block is protruding from the base. When the position retaining member is in the locked position, the locking protrusion and the positioning protrusion are both embedded in the locking slot, and at least one supporting block is supported directly below the pressing seat to prevent unexpected downward pressure on the pressing seat.

7. A position holding structure according to claim 6, characterized in that: The outer side of at least one supporting block is surrounded by a fence, and when the position retaining member is in the locking position, the pressing seat is at least partially embedded in the inner side of the fence.

8. A position holding structure according to claim 7, characterized in that: The auxiliary ribs, support blocks, enclosures, guide frames, bases and locking arms are integrally injection-molded.

9. A connector assembly, characterized in that: The invention has a position holding structure as described in any one of claims 1 to 8.

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