Floating socket and floating connector

Abstract

The utility model belongs to the technical field of new energy, and particularly relates to a floating socket and a floating connector. The floating type socket comprises a socket shell and a first conductive contact piece which are connected with each other, and a first floating gap is formed between the periphery of the socket shell and the socket supporting seat for installing the floating type socket; the floating type socket can float in the first floating gap in the radial direction of the first conductive contact piece. A second floating gap is formed between the socket shell and the socket supporting seat; the floating type socket can float in the second floating gap in the axial direction of the first conductive contact piece. The connector is applied to a small-sized electric vehicle, and has the advantages of simple structure, low cost and capability of realizing quick butt joint of the plug on the first equipment and the floating socket in the second equipment.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model belongs to the technical field of new energy, and specifically relates to a floating socket and a floating connector. Background Art

[0002] Electric vehicle battery swap high-voltage connectors are widely used in electric vehicles. Since the specifications of the plug on one device and the socket on another device are quite different, in order to achieve fast battery swap, the battery swap high-voltage connector needs to have a reliable floating mechanism. The floating mechanism of the existing battery swap high-voltage connector is usually a spring mechanism arranged in the X, Y, and Z directions.

[0003] At present, battery swap connectors are rarely used in small electric vehicles (lawn mowers, electric vehicles, etc.). The battery swap connectors used in small electric vehicles are smaller in size and have a lower adaptation voltage than the high-voltage connectors of electric vehicles. Directly setting a floating mechanism similar to the high-voltage connector of an electric vehicle on the battery swap connector of a small electric vehicle has the problems of high cost and size limitations.

[0004] There is an urgent need for a small floating power-changing connector with a simple structure and low cost. Utility Model Content

[0005] In order to solve the deficiencies of the prior art, the technical solution provided by the utility model is:

[0006] A floating socket comprises a socket shell and a first conductive contact piece connected to each other, wherein a first floating gap is arranged between the outer periphery of the socket shell and a socket support seat on which the floating socket is mounted; the floating socket can float radially along the first conductive contact piece within the first floating gap; a second floating gap is arranged between the socket shell and the socket support seat; the floating socket can float axially along the first conductive contact piece within the second floating gap.

[0007] Preferably, the socket support is a second device.

[0008] Preferably, a third floating gap and a fourth floating gap are provided radially between the socket housing and the socket support seat.

[0009] Preferably, it also includes an elastic member and a dust cover; the elastic member is sleeved on the first conductive contact member and is located in the cavity between the socket housing and the first conductive contact member; the shape of the dust cover matches the shape of the cavity between the socket housing and the first conductive contact member, the dust cover is sleeved on the first conductive contact member and is located outside the elastic member, and the dust cover can slide along the axial direction of the first conductive contact member.

[0010] Preferably, the elastic member is a spring; the inner end of the spring is located at the bottom of the cavity between the socket housing and the first conductive contact member.

[0011] Preferably, the socket housing is further provided with a limiting step for limiting the position of the dust cover.

[0012] Preferably, the inner end of the elastic member is connected to the bottom of the cavity between the socket housing and the first conductive contact member, and the outer end is connected to the dust cover.

[0013] A floating connector comprises a plug and the aforementioned floating socket; the plug is plugged into the floating socket.

[0014] Preferably, the plug sleeve is arranged in the first device; the plug comprises a plug housing and a female end pin connected to each other, the plug housing is plugged into the socket housing; the female end pin is plugged into the first conductive contact piece; the outer end of the plug housing is provided with a second guide angle toward the socket housing;

[0015] The socket housing is provided with a first guide angle matching the second guide angle;

[0016] The sum of the opening size of the first guide angle in the radial direction and the opening size of the second guide angle in the radial direction is greater than the total floating stroke of the floating socket floating in the first floating gap along the radial direction of the first conductive contact piece;

[0017] The total radial gap between the first device and the socket support seat is smaller than the total floating stroke of the floating socket floating radially along the first conductive contact piece in the first floating gap.

[0018] Beneficial effects of the utility model:

[0019] The floating socket provided by the utility model can float in the X, Y, and Z directions and can be applied to the battery replacement connector of a small electric vehicle. It has the advantages of simple structure, low cost, and can realize rapid docking of the plug on the first device with the floating socket in the second device.

[0020] The utility model is provided with a dust cover and an elastic piece, which can prevent sundries from entering into the interior of the floating socket.

[0021] The elastic member provided in the utility model also has the advantages of Z-direction floating function, does not occupy extra space, makes the plug and the floating socket cooperate stably, and the plug and the floating socket are not easy to be worn due to bumps.

[0022] The floating connector provided by the utility model can be used in small electric vehicles such as lawn mowers, battery vehicles, motorcycles, etc. when used as a power replacement connector, which is convenient for customers to take out batteries for charging or power replacement. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 A schematic diagram of a floating socket provided in Embodiment 1;

[0024] Figure 2 A schematic diagram of the connection between the floating socket and the socket support provided in the first embodiment;

[0025] Figure 3 An enlarged view of the connection between the floating socket and the socket support provided in the first embodiment;

[0026] Figure 4 A schematic diagram of an elastic member and a dust cover provided in Embodiment 2;

[0027] Figure 5 for Figure 4 A magnified view of part I;

[0028] Figure 6 A schematic diagram of the elastic member and the dust cover when the floating socket provided in the second embodiment is plugged into the plug;

[0029] Figure 7 A schematic diagram of an elastic member and a dust cover provided in Embodiment 3;

[0030] Figure 8 A schematic diagram of a floating connector provided in Embodiment 4;

[0031] Fig. 9 A cross-sectional view of a floating connector provided in Embodiment 4;

[0032] Fig.10 A schematic diagram of the installation of a floating connector provided in the fourth embodiment;

[0033] Among them, 1 is a floating socket; 11 is a socket housing; 111 is a first guide angle; 12 is a male pin; B and C are the first floating gaps; D is the second floating gap; E is the third floating gap; G is the fourth floating gap; 16 is an elastic member; 17 is a dust cover; 18 is a limit step; 19 is a cable;

[0034] 2 is a socket support seat;

[0035] 3 is a plug; 31 is a plug housing; 311 is a second guide angle; 32 is a female end pin;

[0036] 4 is the first device; F1 and F2 are the radial gaps between the first device and the second device (socket support seat). DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0037] The present invention is further described below in conjunction with the implementation modes. The following implementation modes are only used to more clearly illustrate the technical solution of the present invention, and cannot be used to limit the protection scope of the present invention.

[0038] In the description of the present invention, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, the terms "connected", "connected", and "fixed" should be understood in a broad sense, for example, it can be a fixed connection, a detachable connection, or an integral connection; it can be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; it can be a direct connection or an indirect connection through an intermediate medium, it can be the internal connection of two elements or the interaction relationship between two elements. For ordinary technicians in this field, the specific meanings of the above terms in the present invention can be understood according to specific circumstances.

[0039] In the present utility model, unless otherwise clearly specified and limited, a first feature being "above" or "below" a second feature may include that the first and second features are in direct contact, or may include that the first and second features are not in direct contact but are in contact through another feature between them. Moreover, a first feature being "above", "above" and "above" a second feature includes that the first feature is directly above and obliquely above the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is higher in level than the second feature. A first feature being "below", "below" and "below" a second feature includes that the first feature is directly below and obliquely below the second feature, or simply indicates that the first feature is lower in level than the second feature.

[0040] In the description of this embodiment, the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right" and other directions or positional relationships are based on the directions or positional relationships shown in the drawings, and are only for the convenience of description and simplified operation, rather than indicating or implying that the device or element referred to must have a specific direction, be constructed and operated in a specific direction, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation of the present invention. In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are only used to distinguish in the description and have no special meaning. Embodiment 1

[0041] A floating socket, see Figure 1 , Figure 2 and Figure 3 , comprising a socket housing 11 and a first conductive contact member connected to each other, a first floating gap B, C is provided between the outer periphery of the socket housing 11 and the socket support seat 2 on which the floating socket is installed; the floating socket can float in the first floating gap B, C along the radial direction (X and Y directions) of the first conductive contact member. A second floating gap D is provided between the socket housing 1 and the socket support seat 2; the floating socket can float in the second floating gap D along the axial direction (Z direction) of the first conductive contact member.

[0042] The floating socket can be used for power-changing connectors. The first conductive contact is one of the components of the electrical contact pair. When the floating socket is used for the power-changing connector, the socket support 2 is the second device. The floating socket is sleeved inside the second device, and a first floating gap B and C are provided between the outer periphery of the socket housing 11 and the second device. At this time, the first conductive contact is the male pin 12. When changing power, the socket is usually located at the bottom, and the male pin 12 is vertically set up. Therefore, the first floating gaps B and C can meet the floating of the floating socket in the X and Y directions. When the plug on the first device is plugged into the floating socket, the floating of the floating socket in the X and Y directions can solve the problem of mismatch between the plug and the floating socket, which is convenient for quick plug-in. The second floating gap D can meet the floating requirement of the floating socket in the Z direction. The first floating gap and the second floating gap are simple to set up, low cost, and can meet the floating requirements of small-sized power-changing connectors.

[0043] Optional, see Figure 3 A third floating gap E and a fourth floating gap G are provided in the radial direction between the socket housing 11 and the socket support seat 2; the third floating gap E and the fourth floating gap G facilitate the floating socket as a whole and the cable 19 connected to the male end pin 12 to float radially along the first conductive contact piece.

[0044] In addition to the battery replacement connector, the floating socket can also be used in other occasions where frequent plugging and unplugging is required but the tolerance between the plug and the socket is large. In addition to the male end pin, the first conductive contact can also be used as a female end pin. Embodiment 2

[0045] Compared with the first embodiment, this embodiment Figure 4 , Figure 5 and Figure 6 The floating socket further includes an elastic member 16 and a dust cover 17; the elastic member 16 is sleeved on the male pin 12 and is located in the cavity between the socket housing 11 and the male pin 12; the shape of the dust cover 17 matches the shape of the cavity between the socket housing 11 and the male pin 12, and the dust cover 17 is sleeved on the male pin 12 and is located outside the elastic member 16, and the dust cover 17 can slide along the axial direction of the male pin 12. Preferably, the elastic member 16 is a spring; the inner end of the spring is located at the bottom of the cavity between the socket housing 11 and the male pin 12. The socket housing 11 is also provided with a limiting step 18 for limiting the dust cover 17, and the limiting step 18 is arranged as close to the outer end of the male pin 12 as possible.

[0046] In this embodiment, after the socket housing 11 and the male pin 12 are assembled, the spring is installed into the cavity between the socket housing 11 and the male pin 12, and then the dust cover 17 is placed on the surface of the spring, and the dust cover 17 is pressed down to make it fit into the limiting step 18. At this time, the spring is in a compressed state, and the dust cover 17 is located between the spring and the limiting step 18, and the installation is completed.

[0047] like Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, when the plug is not inserted, due to the resilience of the spring, the dust cover 17 is located at the top and contacts the limit step 18. At this time, most of the gap between the male pin 12 and the socket housing 11 is blocked by the dust cover 17, and leaves, large stones, etc. cannot enter the floating socket. At most, they are accumulated on the top of the male pin 12, which is also easy to find and clean. This setting can avoid the risk of damage and burning of the connector after the plug is inserted due to debris entering the bottom of the floating socket.

[0048] See also Figure 6 When the plug is inserted into the floating socket, the dust cover 17 is pushed to the bottom by the plug, the spring is compressed, and the connector works normally.

[0049] In the present application, the floating socket adopts multiple floating gaps, eliminating the floating mechanism. In the XY direction, due to the limitation of the socket housing 11, the plug and the floating socket will not rub against each other during operation. However, in the Z direction, since the first device 4 is installed in the Z direction, an installation gap needs to be reserved in the Z direction. During operation, the floating socket will often fluctuate up and down in the Z direction due to factors such as bumps, resulting in increased wear of the contact pair. The spring does not take up extra space and can also play a Z-direction floating function: after the first device 4 is installed, the spring is in a compressed state, and the spring applies two opposite elastic forces to the plug and the floating socket respectively. During bumps, the plug and the floating socket will apply opposite impact forces. The elastic force of the spring can greatly reduce the ups and downs of the floating socket and the socket caused by the impact force during bumps, so that the plug and the floating socket have good matching stability and the plug and the floating socket are not easily worn due to bumps and vibrations. Embodiment 3

[0050] Compared with the first embodiment, this embodiment Figure 7 The floating socket further includes an elastic member 16 and a dust cover 17; the elastic member 16 is sleeved on the male pin 12 and is located in the cavity between the socket housing 11 and the male pin 12; the shape of the dust cover 17 matches the shape of the cavity between the socket housing 11 and the male pin 12, and the dust cover 17 is sleeved on the male pin 12 and is located outside the elastic member 16, and the dust cover 17 can slide along the axial direction of the male pin 12. Preferably, the elastic member 16 is a spring; the inner end of the spring is located at the bottom of the cavity between the socket housing 11 and the male pin 12. The inner end of the elastic member 16 is connected to the bottom of the cavity, and the outer end is connected to the dust cover 17.

[0051] In this embodiment, the male pin 12, the spring and the dust cover 17 are connected as one body. When assembling, the three parts are directly and synchronously installed into the socket housing 11. When the spring is naturally extended, the dust cover 17 is located at the vertex. The use principle of the spring and the dust cover 17 is similar to that of the second embodiment. Embodiment 4

[0052] This embodiment provides a floating connector. Refer to Fig. 9 and Fig.10 , which includes a plug 3 and the floating socket 1 described in the foregoing embodiment; the plug 3 is inserted into the floating socket 1.

[0053] The floating connector can be used as a battery swapping connector. When in use, refer to Figure 8 , the first device 4 is located above the second device (socket support base 2), that is, the plug 3 is above the floating socket 1. The floating connector can be used for small electric vehicles such as lawn mowers, battery cars, and motorcycles, which is convenient for customers to take the battery for charging or swapping. Only under the action of gravity, the first device 4 slides into the second device, and the floating connector and the plug can achieve quick insertion.

[0054] The floating connector provided in this embodiment can also be used in other occasions where plugs and sockets need to be inserted frequently, but it is not easy to dock due to specification reasons (large tolerances of plugs and sockets) or sight line reasons (blind spots).

[0055] Specifically, refer to Fig. 9 and Fig.10 , the plug 3 is sleeved in the first device 4; the plug 3 includes a plug housing 31 and a female terminal pin 32 connected to each other. The plug housing 31 is inserted into the socket housing 11; the female terminal pin 32 is inserted into the male terminal pin 12; a second guiding angle 311 facing the socket housing is provided at the outer end of the plug housing 31; the socket housing 11 is provided with a first guiding angle 111 that cooperates with the second guiding angle 311.

[0056] The sum of the opening dimensions of the first guiding angle 111 in the radial direction and the opening dimensions of the second guiding angle 311 in the radial direction is greater than the total floating stroke of the floating socket 1 floating along the radial direction of the male terminal pin 12 within the first floating gap B and C, that is, A > B + C. The total gap between the first device 4 and the second device in the radial direction is less than the total floating stroke of the floating socket 1 floating along the radial direction of the male terminal pin 12 within the first floating gap B and C, that is, F1 + F2 < B + C. The above settings are used to ensure that when inserting, the second guiding angle 311 of the plug housing 31 can smoothly find the first guiding angle 111 of the socket housing 11. Under the floating of the gap, the plug 3 and the floating socket 1 can be fully inserted.

[0057] The above is only the preferred embodiment of the present invention. It should be noted that for those of ordinary skill in the art, without departing from the technical principle of the present invention, several improvements and deformations can be made, and these improvements and deformations should also be regarded as the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A floating socket, comprising a socket housing and a first conductive contact connected to each other, characterized in that: A first floating gap is provided between the outer periphery of the socket shell and the socket support seat on which the floating socket is installed; the floating socket can float radially along the first conductive contact piece in the first floating gap; a second floating gap is provided between the socket shell and the socket support seat; the floating socket can float axially along the first conductive contact piece in the second floating gap.

2. The floating socket according to claim 1, characterized in that: A third floating gap and a fourth floating gap are also provided between the socket housing and the socket support seat along the radial direction.

3. The floating socket according to claim 1, characterized in that: It also includes an elastic part and a dust cover; the elastic part is sleeved on the first conductive contact piece and is located in the cavity between the socket housing and the first conductive contact piece; the shape of the dust cover matches the shape of the cavity between the socket housing and the first conductive contact piece, the dust cover is sleeved on the first conductive contact piece and is located outside the elastic part, and the dust cover can slide along the axial direction of the first conductive contact piece.

4. The floating socket according to claim 3, characterized in that: The elastic member is a spring; the inner end of the spring is located at the bottom of the cavity between the socket housing and the first conductive contact member.

5. The floating socket according to claim 3, characterized in that: The socket housing is also provided with a limiting step for limiting the position of the dust cover.

6. The floating socket according to claim 3, characterized in that: The inner end of the elastic member is connected to the bottom of the cavity between the socket housing and the first conductive contact member, and the outer end of the elastic member is connected to the dust cover.

7. A floating connector, characterized in that: It comprises a plug and the floating socket according to any one of claims 1 to 6; the plug is plugged into the floating socket.

8. The floating connector according to claim 7, characterized in that: The plug sleeve is arranged in the first device; the plug comprises a plug housing and a female end pin connected to each other, the plug housing is plugged into the socket housing; the female end pin is plugged into the first conductive contact piece; the outer end of the plug housing is provided with a second guide angle toward the socket housing; The socket housing is provided with a first guide angle matching the second guide angle; The sum of the opening size of the first guide angle in the radial direction and the opening size of the second guide angle in the radial direction is greater than the total floating stroke of the floating socket floating in the first floating gap along the radial direction of the first conductive contact piece; The total radial gap between the first device and the floating socket is smaller than the total floating stroke of the floating socket floating in the radial direction of the first conductive contact piece within the first floating gap.

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