Electric connector

Abstract

The utility model provides an electric connector, which comprises an insulation body extending along the lengthwise direction, a plurality of conductive terminals fixed in the insulation body and a holding piece assembled on the insulation body, the holding piece is provided with a base part and a plurality of column bodies extending downwards from the base part, and two adjacent column bodies are arranged at intervals to form a through groove. Each column body is provided with a containing groove communicated with the adjacent through groove, and at least part of the conductive terminals are provided with first limiting parts contained in the through grooves and second limiting parts contained in the containing grooves. And the retaining piece is buckled with the insulating body so as to limit the first limiting part and the second limiting part in the through groove and the accommodating groove respectively. The electric connector provided by the utility model can ensure the stability of the combination of the conductive terminals and the insulating body.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The utility model relates to an electric connector. Background Art

[0002] A conventional electrical connector includes an insulating body and conductive terminals fixed within the insulating body. The conductive terminals are generally fixed to the insulating body by interference portions provided thereon. However, when the electrical connector is exposed to vibration for a long time, the bonding strength between the conductive terminals and the insulating body will be damaged, resulting in poor electrical contact.

[0003] In view of this, it is necessary to improve the existing electrical connector to solve the above problems. Utility Model Content

[0004] The purpose of the utility model is to provide an electrical connector which can effectively ensure the stability of the connection between the conductive terminal and the insulating body.

[0005] In order to achieve the above-mentioned purpose of the utility model, the utility model provides an electrical connector, which includes an insulating body extending along the longitudinal direction, a plurality of conductive terminals fixed in the insulating body and a retaining member assembled on the insulating body, the retaining member having a base and a plurality of columns extending downward from the base, two adjacent columns are spaced apart to form a through slot, each of the columns has a receiving slot connected to the adjacent through slot, at least some of the conductive terminals have a first limiting portion received in the through slot and a second limiting portion received in the receiving slot, the retaining member is snapped with the insulating body to limit the first and second limiting portions to the through slot and the receiving slot respectively.

[0006] As a further improvement of the present invention, the retaining member is installed from top to bottom at the rear of the insulating body, the plurality of columns are arranged in a row in the longitudinal direction, and the receiving groove is formed by being recessed forward from the rear end surface of the column.

[0007] As a further improvement of the present invention, the second limiting portion is connected to one side of the first limiting portion in the longitudinal direction.

[0008] As a further improvement of the present invention, the first limiting portion includes a horizontal segment extending along the front-to-back direction and a first vertical segment extending along the height direction, and the second limiting portion includes a transverse segment extending along the longitudinal direction and a second vertical segment extending along the height direction, and the transverse segment connects the first and second vertical segments.

[0009] As a further improvement of the present invention, each of the conductive terminals includes a holding section held in the insulating body, a contact section located at the front side of the holding section, a welding section located at its rear end, and a connecting section connecting the welding section and the holding section. The connecting sections of at least some of the conductive terminals include the first limiting portion and the second limiting portion, and the insulating body is provided with a plurality of positioning grooves located on its lower side which accommodate and limit the lower portion of the corresponding connecting section.

[0010] As a further improvement of the present invention, the transverse section and the first and second vertical sections have the same thickness in the front-to-back direction, and are the same height as the horizontal section in the height direction.

[0011] As a further improvement of the present invention, the base is provided with a groove formed by being recessed backward from its front surface, and the groove is arranged in a one-to-one correspondence with the through groove. Each of the grooves is connected to the through groove corresponding thereto and is aligned in the up and down directions, and the connecting portion of the connecting section and the holding section is at least partially accommodated in the groove.

[0012] As a further improvement of the present invention, the insulating body is provided with a locking arm located at the top thereof, and the locking arm is elastic so that the free end located at the rear end thereof can move downward under the action of an external force, and the base has a downwardly concave yield area located in the middle of its longitudinal direction, and the locking arm is located within the extension range of the yield area in the longitudinal direction.

[0013] As a further improvement of the present invention, the retaining member has a pair of side protrusions relatively arranged on both sides of the base in the longitudinal direction and a pair of snap-fitting portions protruding from the outside of the side protrusions. The insulating body is provided with a pair of limiting grooves relatively arranged on both sides in the longitudinal direction and snap-fitting grooves connected to the limiting grooves. The side protrusions are accommodated and limited in the limiting grooves, and the snap-fitting portions are locked in the snap-fitting grooves.

[0014] As a further improvement of the present invention, the holding section includes a pair of holding walls arranged opposite to each other in the longitudinal direction, and the rear ends of the holding walls abut against the front end surface of the retaining member.

[0015] Beneficial effects of the present invention: The electrical connector of the present invention is configured as a retaining member having a base and a plurality of columns extending downward from the base, with through slots formed between two adjacent columns, each of the columns having a receiving slot connected to the adjacent through slot, the first limiting portion of at least part of the conductive terminal being received in the through slot, and the second limiting portion being received in the receiving slot, and the retaining member is snapped with the insulating body to restrict the first and second limiting portions to the through slot and the receiving slot respectively, thereby limiting the conductive terminal in the height direction and the longitudinal direction, thereby ensuring the bonding strength between the conductive terminal and the insulating body. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0016] Figure 1 It is a three-dimensional assembly diagram of the electrical connector of the utility model.

[0017] Figure 2 yes Figure 1 Another view of the electrical connector shown.

[0018] Figure 3 yes Figure 1 An exploded perspective view of the electrical connector shown.

[0019] Figure 4 yes Figure 2 An exploded perspective view of the electrical connector shown.

[0020] Figure 5 yes Figure 1 Rear view of the electrical connector shown.

[0021] Figure 6 yes Figure 1 The electrical connector is shown in a three-dimensional view with the insulating body and the fixing member removed.

[0022] Figure 7 yes Figure 3 A perspective view of some of the conductive terminals in the electrical connector.

[0023] Figure 8 yes Figure 1 A cross-sectional view of the electrical connector shown. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0024] The present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments do not limit the present invention, and any structural, methodological, or functional changes made by a person skilled in the art based on the embodiments are all within the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0025] Please refer to Figures 1 to 8The figure shows a preferred embodiment of the electrical connector 100 of the present invention. In this embodiment, the electrical connector 100 includes an insulating body 1 extending along the longitudinal direction, a plurality of conductive terminals 2 fixed in the insulating body 1 and a retaining member 3 assembled on the insulating body 1.

[0026] For ease of description, when introducing the electrical connector 100 hereinafter, the mating direction of the electrical connector 100 will be regarded as the front-to-back direction, and the direction perpendicular to the front-to-back direction and the longitudinal direction will be regarded as the height direction.

[0027] Please refer to Figures 1 to 4 and Figure 8 As shown, the insulating body 1 has a plurality of terminal slots 11 formed therethrough in the front-to-back direction. Furthermore, in the present invention, the insulating body 1 is provided with a locking arm 12 located at the top thereof. The locking arm 12 has at least one locking portion 121 located on its upper side. The locking arm 12 is elastic so that the free end at its rear end can move downward under the action of an external force, thereby achieving locking and unlocking with a mating connector (not shown).

[0028] In addition, the insulating body 1 is provided with a pair of retaining grooves 13 disposed on opposite sides of the insulating body 1 in its longitudinal direction, and a snap-fit ​​groove 14 communicating with the retaining grooves 13. The pair of retaining grooves 13 are open toward each other to lock and secure the retaining member 3 at both ends in the longitudinal direction. In this embodiment, the snap-fit ​​groove 14 extends through the insulating body 1 toward the rear and is open toward the rear.

[0029] Please refer to Figures 2 to 8 As shown, in the present invention, the conductive terminals 2 include two rows, an upper row of conductive terminals 2a and a lower row of conductive terminals 2b. Each conductive terminal 2 includes a retaining segment 21 retained within the insulating body 1, a contact segment 22 located in front of the retaining segment 21, a welding segment 23 located at its rear end, and a connecting segment 24 connecting the welding segment 23 to the retaining segment 21. The retaining segment 21 includes a pair of retaining walls 211 disposed opposite each other in the longitudinal direction, with the rear ends of the retaining walls 211 abutting against the front end surface of the retaining member 3. In this embodiment, the retaining segments 21 of the upper and lower rows of conductive terminals 2a and 2b are aligned in height, and the contact segments 22 are also aligned in height.

[0030] Please refer to Figures 2 to 6 and Figure 8As shown, the retaining member 3 has a base 31 and a plurality of columns 32 extending downward from the base 31. Two adjacent columns 32 are spaced apart to form a through slot 33. Each of the columns 32 has a receiving slot 321 connected to the adjacent through slot 33. At least part of the conductive terminals 2 have a first limiting portion 201 received in the through slot 33 and a second limiting portion 202 received in the receiving slot 321. The retaining member 3 is snapped with the insulating body 1 to limit the first and second limiting portions 201 and 202 to the through slot 33 and the receiving slot 321, respectively, thereby increasing the holding force of the conductive terminal 2 in the retaining member 3 through the through slot 33 and the receiving slot 321, thereby ensuring the reliability and stability of the electrical connection.

[0031] The retaining member 3 is mounted from top to bottom on the rear portion of the insulating body 1. The plurality of columns 32 are arranged in a row in the longitudinal direction. The receiving slots 321 are recessed forward from the rear ends of the columns 32. The retaining walls 211 of the upper and lower rows of conductive terminals 2a and 2b abut against the front surfaces of the columns 32. Furthermore, the pair of retaining walls 211 of each conductive terminal 2 abut against the front surfaces of two different columns 32, respectively. The two different columns 32 are adjacent to each other in the longitudinal direction. In addition, the receiving groove 321 extends downward to the bottom end of the column 32 to form a first stop surface 3211 and a second stop surface 3212 that are interconnected on the periphery of the receiving groove 321. The first stop surface 3211 is arranged facing the downward side, and the second stop surface 3212 is located on one side of the first stop surface 3211 in the longitudinal direction and is arranged perpendicular to the first stop surface 3211. The first and second stop surfaces 3211 and 3212 surround the receiving groove 321.

[0032] The second limiting portion 202 is connected to one side of the first limiting portion 201 in the longitudinal direction, and the connecting section 24 of at least some of the conductive terminals 2 includes the first limiting portion 201 and the second limiting portion 202. In this embodiment, at least some of the conductive terminals 2 are the upper row conductive terminals 2a, and the connecting section 24 of the lower row conductive terminals 2b includes a horizontally arranged first connecting section 241 and a second connecting section 242 formed by bending downward and extending from the rear end of the first connecting section 241, and the second connecting section 242 is extended along the height direction.

[0033] The first limiting portion 201 includes a horizontal section 2011 extending along the front-to-back direction and a first vertical section 2012 extending along the height direction. The second limiting portion 202 includes a transverse section 2021 extending along the longitudinal direction and a second vertical section 2022 extending along the height direction. The transverse section 2021 connects the first and second vertical sections 2012 and 2022. The first stop surface 3211 is located on the upper side of the transverse section 2021 to block it.

[0034] like Figure 7 As shown, the transverse section 2021 and the first and second vertical sections 2012, 2022 have the same thickness in the front-to-back direction and are the same height as the horizontal section 2011. In this embodiment, the first vertical section 2012 is formed by bending downward from the horizontal section 2011, and the transverse section 2021 and the first and second vertical sections 2012, 2022 are formed by cutting from a metal sheet.

[0035] The insulating body 1 is provided with a plurality of retaining grooves 15 on its underside that receive and retain the lower portions of the corresponding connecting segments 24. This secures the conductive terminals 2 at their lower sides, near the soldering segments 23, thereby ensuring a reliable electrical connection between the soldering segments 23 and the external circuit board. In this embodiment, because the second retaining portions 202 of the upper row of conductive terminals 2a are offset to one side of the first retaining portion 201 in the longitudinal direction, the soldering segments 23 extend rearward from the bottom ends of the connecting segments 24. This allows the soldering segments 23 of the upper and lower rows of conductive terminals 2a and 2b to be aligned in a row in the longitudinal direction, thereby saving space on the external circuit board (not shown) and facilitating soldering operations.

[0036] The base portion 31 is provided with a recessed groove 311 formed rearwardly from its front surface. The recesses 311 correspond to the through-slots 33 on a one-to-one basis. Each recess 311 is connected to its corresponding through-slot 33 and aligned vertically. The connecting portion between the connecting segment 24 and the retaining segment 21 is at least partially received within the recessed groove 311. The recessed groove 311 prevents interference between the front side of the base portion 31 and the connecting portion between the connecting segment 24 and the retaining segment 21. In this embodiment, the connecting portion between the connecting segment 24 and the retaining segment 21 is a bent structure, bent downwardly from the rear end of the retaining segment 21, thereby causing the horizontal segment 2011 to be lower in height than the top surface of the retaining segment 21.

[0037] The base 31 has a downwardly recessed clearance area 312 located in the middle of the base 31 in the longitudinal direction. The locking arm 12 is located within the extension range of the clearance area 312 in the longitudinal direction, thereby providing operating space for pressing the free end of the locking arm 12 through the clearance area 312 to avoid obstruction when pressing the locking arm 12.

[0038] The retaining member 3 has a pair of side protrusions 34 arranged on both sides of the base 31 in the longitudinal direction and a pair of snap-fitting portions 35 protruding from the outside of the side protrusions 34 . The side protrusions 34 are accommodated and limited in the limiting groove 13 , and the snap-fitting portions 35 are locked in the snap-fitting groove 14 .

[0039] The electrical connector 100 further has a pair of fixing members 4 disposed on both sides of the insulating body 1 in the longitudinal direction. The fixing members 4 are inserted into the insulating body 1 from top to bottom to mount the electrical connector 100 on an external circuit board (not shown).

[0040] The electrical connector 100 of the present invention is configured to have a retaining member 3 having a base 31 and a plurality of columns 32 extending downward from the base 31, with through slots 33 formed between two adjacent columns 32, each of the columns 32 having a receiving slot 321 communicating with the adjacent through slot 33, the first limiting portion 201 of at least part of the conductive terminal 2 being received in the through slot 33, and the second limiting portion 202 being received in the receiving slot 321, and the retaining member 3 is snapped with the insulating body 1 to restrict the first and second limiting portions 201 and 202 in the through slot 33 and the receiving slot 321, respectively, thereby limiting the conductive terminal 2 in the height direction and the longitudinal direction, thereby ensuring the bonding strength between the conductive terminal 2 and the insulating body 1.

[0041] It should be understood that although this specification is described according to embodiments, not every embodiment contains only one independent technical solution. This narrative style of the specification is only for the sake of clarity. Those skilled in the art should regard the specification as a whole. The technical solutions in each embodiment can also be appropriately combined to form other embodiments that can be understood by those skilled in the art.

[0042] The above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application and are not intended to limit the present application. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the preferred embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that the technical solutions of the present application may be modified or replaced by equivalents without departing from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the present application.

Claims

1. An electrical connector comprising an insulating body extending in a longitudinal direction, a plurality of conductive terminals fixed in the insulating body, and a retaining member assembled with the insulating body, characterized in that: The retaining member has a base and several columns extending downward from the base. Two adjacent columns are spaced apart to form a through slot. Each column has a receiving slot connected to the adjacent through slot. At least some of the conductive terminals have a first limiting portion received in the through slot and a second limiting portion received in the receiving slot. The retaining member is snapped with the insulating body to restrict the first and second limiting portions to the through slot and the receiving slot, respectively.

2. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein: The retaining member is mounted on the rear portion of the insulating body from top to bottom. The plurality of columns are arranged in a row in the longitudinal direction. The receiving groove is formed by being recessed forward from the rear end surface of the column.

3. The electrical connector according to claim 2, wherein: The second limiting portion is connected to one side of the first limiting portion in the longitudinal direction.

4. The electrical connector according to claim 3, wherein: The first limiting portion includes a horizontal segment extending in the front-to-back direction and a first vertical segment extending in the height direction. The second limiting portion includes a transverse segment extending in the longitudinal direction and a second vertical segment extending in the height direction. The transverse segment connects the first and second vertical segments.

5. The electrical connector according to claim 4, wherein: Each of the conductive terminals includes a holding section held in the insulating body, a contact section located at the front side of the holding section, a welding section located at its rear end, and a connecting section connecting the welding section and the holding section. The connecting sections of at least some of the conductive terminals include the first limiting portion and the second limiting portion. The insulating body is provided with a plurality of positioning grooves located on its lower side that accommodate and limit the lower portion of the corresponding connecting section.

6. The electrical connector according to claim 4, wherein: The transverse section and the first and second vertical sections have the same thickness in the front-to-back direction, and are the same height as the horizontal section in the height direction.

7. The electrical connector according to claim 5, wherein: The base is provided with a groove formed by being recessed backward from its front surface, and the groove is arranged in a one-to-one correspondence with the through groove. Each groove is connected to the through groove corresponding to it and is aligned in the up and down directions. The connecting portion of the connecting section and the holding section is at least partially accommodated in the groove.

8. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein: The insulating body is provided with a locking arm located at the top thereof, and the locking arm is elastic so that the free end located at the rear end thereof can move downward under the action of an external force. The base has a downwardly concave yield area located in the middle of its longitudinal direction, and the locking arm is located within the extension range of the yield area in the longitudinal direction.

9. The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein: The retaining member has a pair of side protrusions relatively arranged on both sides of the base in the longitudinal direction and a pair of snap-fitting portions protruding from the outside of the side protrusions. The insulating body is provided with a pair of limiting grooves relatively arranged on both sides in the longitudinal direction and snap-fitting grooves connected to the limiting grooves. The side protrusions are accommodated and limited in the limiting grooves, and the snap-fitting portions are locked in the snap-fitting grooves.

10. The electrical connector according to claim 5, wherein: The holding section includes a pair of holding walls that are arranged opposite to each other in the longitudinal direction, and rear ends of the holding walls abut against the front end surface of the retaining member.

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