Connector with rear-mounted TPA assembly

Abstract

The connector comprises a connector body, the TPA assembly and a terminal, the tail end of the connector body is provided with an inner cavity for implanting the TPA assembly, the inner cavity is provided with an implanting opening, the bottom of the TPA assembly is provided with an interface for connecting the terminal, and the TPA assembly is implanted into the inner cavity along the direction from the tail end to the head end of the connector body; a first limiting assembly is arranged between the TPA assembly and the connector body, and the first limiting assembly is used for limiting the TPA assembly to retreat from the inner cavity; and a second limiting assembly is also arranged between the TPA assembly and the connector body, and the second limiting assembly is used for limiting the movement of the TPA assembly in the inner cavity. According to the connector with the rear-mounted TPA assembly, the TPA assembly and the terminal are inserted into the connector body from the same end by means of the clamping structure in a rear-mounted insertion type installation mode, so that the TPA assembly can be stably clamped into the connector body and can also be disassembled and replaced at any time, and the installation and disassembly difficulty of the TPA assembly is greatly reduced.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The utility model relates to a connector, especially a connector with a rear-mounted TPA assembly. BACKGROUND

[0002] For the shell sealed connector, the front-mounted TPA structure is generally used to realize the terminal position assurance function in the market at present, the so-called front-mounted TPA structure refers to: relative to the terminal insertion to the one end of TPA structure (connector body), TPA structure is preset to install into the connector shell from the other end (the external connection end of connector) of connector body, or is inserted and installed into the connector shell from the other end of connector body, to lock the TPA installation mode of mutual cooperation with the terminal in the connector.

[0003] However, in the connector with the front-mounted TPA assembly, in order to improve the waterproof performance of the connector, the front end of the connector is usually set higher, and the height of the head of the connector (the external connection end of the connector) is larger, which makes the installation of TPA difficult, so that the position of TPA moves, and the installation needs to be realized through auxiliary tools, and the operation is more complex. SUMMARY

[0004] The utility model provides a connector with rear-mounted TPA assembly, TPA assembly is inserted into the connector body with the terminal from the same end with the aid of the clamping structure in rear-mounted insertion mode, so that TPA assembly can be stably clamped into the connector body, and can be replaced at any time, to simplify the installation operation mode of TPA assembly, to solve at least one of the above technical problems.

[0005] The technical scheme for solving the above problems is: a connector with rear-mounted TPA assembly is provided, the connector includes a connector body, a TPA assembly and a terminal, the tail end of the connector body has an inner cavity for implanting the TPA assembly, the inner cavity has an implantation opening, the bottom of the TPA assembly is provided with an interface for connecting the terminal, and the TPA assembly is implanted into the inner cavity along the direction from the tail end to the head end of the connector body;A first limiting assembly is arranged between the TPA assembly and the connector body, and the first limiting assembly is used to limit the TPA assembly from exiting the inner cavity;A second limiting assembly is further arranged between the TPA assembly and the connector body, and the second limiting assembly is used to limit the movement of the TPA assembly in the inner cavity.

[0006] Further, the inner cavity of the connector body is also provided with a limiting arm with elasticity, the limiting arm is arranged to be inclined to the center direction of the inner cavity, and the limiting arm is also arranged to extend to the direction of the implantation opening, and the first limiting assembly and the second limiting assembly are both arranged between the limiting arm and the TPA assembly.

[0007] Further, the implantation and installation direction of the TPA assembly is the first direction, the second direction is opposite to the first direction, the first limiting assembly comprises a first limiting piece and a first blocking piece, the first limiting piece is arranged outside the TPA assembly, and the first blocking piece is arranged in the inner cavity, and the first limiting piece and the first blocking piece block each other to limit the TPA assembly from exiting the inner cavity in the second direction.

[0008] Further, the second limiting assembly comprises a second limiting piece and a second limiting groove, the second limiting piece is arranged outside the TPA assembly, and the second limiting groove is arranged in the inner cavity, and the second limiting piece and the second limiting groove cooperate with each other to limit the TPA assembly from moving in other directions different from the first direction and / or the second direction, so as to limit the movement of the TPA assembly in the inner cavity.

[0009] Further, the second limiting piece and the second limiting groove cooperate with each other to limit the direction of the TPA assembly to be the third direction, the third direction is perpendicular to the first direction, the second limiting piece is also arranged to be inclined to the third direction, and the second limiting groove is arranged to be inclined to the opposite direction of the third direction.

[0010] Further, the inner cavity is provided with a locking position, and a positioning and locking assembly is arranged between the TPA assembly and the connector body, the positioning and locking assembly comprises two positioning and locking end faces arranged oppositely and respectively located on the TPA assembly and in the inner cavity, when the second limiting piece is inserted into the second limiting groove, the two positioning and locking end faces are in contact with each other to limit each other, and then cooperate with the second limiting assembly to fix the TPA assembly at the locking position, so as to connect the terminal with the TPA assembly.

[0011] Further, along the first direction or the second direction, the first limiting piece and the second limiting piece are arranged adjacent to each other, and the second limiting groove is also arranged on the first blocking piece.

[0012] Further, the inner cavity is also provided with a pre-assembly position, and an abutting positioning assembly is arranged between the TPA assembly and the connector body, the abutting positioning assembly comprises abutting positioning end faces oppositely arranged on the TPA assembly and in the inner cavity respectively, and the two abutting positioning end faces are positioned by mutual contact and sliding, so that the TPA assembly is implanted in the pre-assembly position.

[0013] Further, a third limiting assembly is arranged between the TPA assembly and the connector body, the third limiting assembly comprises a third limiting end face arranged at the bottom of the inner cavity and a third abutting protrusion arranged on the TPA assembly, and the third abutting protrusion is limited by mutual abutting with the third limiting end face, so as to control the implantation depth of the TPA assembly.

[0014] Further, at least one fourth positioning protrusion is arranged on the TPA assembly, and a structural rib for forming a connecting port for the terminal connection is arranged in the inner cavity, and the fourth positioning protrusion cooperates with the structural rib to guide the positioning of the TPA assembly.

[0015] The utility model discloses beneficial effects are:

[0016] 1, the first limiting assembly and the second limiting assembly cooperate with each other, and the TPA assembly is clamped and limited from multiple directions, so that the TPA assembly can be stably locked in the inner cavity, and the connector can work normally.

[0017] 2, the first limiting assembly and the second limiting assembly are arranged on the limiting arm, and the first limiting assembly and the second limiting assembly can be unlocked at the same time by rotating the limiting arm, so that the TPA assembly can be disassembled, and easy disassembly operation is realized.

[0018] 3, the inner cavity is provided with a pre-assembly position and a locking position, and the TPA assembly can be positioned and installed in the pre-assembly position by the abutting positioning assembly, and then the TPA assembly is pushed in the direction opposite to the third direction to push the TPA assembly to the locking position, so that the TPA assembly can be accurately locked and installed in the inner cavity of the connector body, the terminal connection is facilitated, and the quality of the connector series connection is improved.

[0019] 4, the utility model discloses abandoning the scheme that the TPA assembly is arranged in the front of the sealed shell connector male end, and overcoming the problems that the TPA assembly installation position is deep, it is not easy to force, and auxiliary tools are needed to complete assembly and disassembly due to the front TPA assembly. Correspondingly, the rear TPA assembly scheme of the utility model is a new structure design, and under the premise of ensuring the sealing of the shell, the TPA force application area is also increased, so that the TPA assembly and disassembly process are more convenient, the efficiency is improved, and the assembly and disassembly operation cost is reduced. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0020] The accompanying drawings, which are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the present invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the present invention. In these drawings, similar reference numerals are used to denote similar elements. The drawings described below are some embodiments of the present invention, but not all embodiments. Other drawings will be readily available to those skilled in the art based on these drawings without any inventive effort.

[0021] Figure 1 This is an exploded view of the overall structure of the connector in this embodiment;

[0022] Figure 2 This is one of the structural diagrams of the connector body in this embodiment;

[0023] Figure 3 This is one of the structural diagrams of the TPA component in this embodiment;

[0024] Figure 4 This is the second structural diagram of the TPA component in this embodiment;

[0025] Figure 5 This is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structural principle of the TPA component in this embodiment when it is limited by the first limiting component.

[0026] Figure 6 This is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structural principle of the TPA component being pushed from the pre-installed position to the locked position in this embodiment.

[0027] Figure 7 for Figure 2 A structural diagram of the connector body after it has been rotated 180° around the first direction;

[0028] 1-Connector body, 11-Inner cavity, 12-Implantation opening, 13-Limiting arm, 14-First blocking member, 15-Second limiting groove, 16-Third limiting end face;

[0029] 2-TPA component, 21-interface, 22-first limiting member, 23-second limiting member, 24-third abutting protrusion, 25-fourth positioning protrusion, 26-positioning bump;

[0030] 3-Terminal, 4-Positioning and locking end face, 5-Abutting and positioning end face. Detailed Implementation

[0031] The directional terms such as up, down, left, right, front, back, front, back, top, and bottom mentioned or possibly used in this specification are defined relative to the construction shown in the accompanying drawings. The terms "inner" and "outer" refer to directions toward or away from the geometric center of a specific component, respectively. These are relative concepts and may therefore vary depending on their location and usage. Therefore, these or other directional terms should not be interpreted as restrictive.

[0032] Please see Figure 1 ,by Figure 1 Taking the direction shown as an example, a connector with a rear-mounted TPA assembly according to a specific embodiment of this utility model mainly includes a connector body 1, a TPA assembly 2, and terminals 3. The left end of the connector body 1 is the external end, and the right end of the connector body 1 is provided with an inner cavity 11. The inner cavity 11 only forms an elliptical implantation opening 12 at the right end of the connector body 1. The inner cavity 11 extends towards the left end of the connector body 1. The TPA assembly 2 can be inserted and snapped into the inner cavity 11. When the TPA assembly 2 is snapped into the inner cavity 11, the interface 21 at the bottom of the TPA assembly 2 is exposed at the implantation opening 12 of the inner cavity 11 for the terminals 3 to be inserted. The three components thus form a complete connector.

[0033] Please see Figure 2 and Figure 3 ,by Figure 2 Taking the direction shown as an example, in some embodiments, the implantation and installation direction of the TPA component 2 is taken as the first direction, and with reference to the first direction, the direction opposite to the first direction is taken as the second direction, and the vertically upward direction is taken as the third direction. A limiting arm 13 is provided on the left and right sides of the inner cavity 11 of the connector body 1. Both limiting arms 13 are inclined towards the center of the inner cavity 11, and the two limiting arms 13 are also arranged opposite to each other. The two limiting arms 13 have the same structure. A first limiting component and a second limiting component are also provided between the limiting arm 13 and the TPA component 2. The first limiting component is used to restrict the TPA component 2 from exiting the inner cavity 11 in the second direction, and the second limiting component is used to restrict the movement of the TPA component 2 in the third direction. The two cooperate with each other to stably lock the TPA component 2.

[0034] It should be noted that in other embodiments, the third direction does not necessarily have to be vertically upward, as long as there is a non-zero angle between the third direction and the first direction. For example, both limiting arms 13 can be positioned relative to the first direction. Figure 2The position of the second limiting component in the first direction is set to be 30° around the first direction, so that the limiting direction of the second limiting component also becomes a direction that is 30° inclined relative to the vertically upward direction, i.e., the third direction is a direction that is 30° inclined relative to the vertically upward direction. At this time, the limiting action of the second limiting component in the third direction cooperates with the limiting action of the first limiting component in the first direction, and the TPA assembly 2 can still be stably and locked.

[0035] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 2 and Figure 3 , since the two limiting arms 13 are the same in structure, taking any one of the two limiting arms 13 as an example, the first limiting component includes a first limiting piece 22 and a first blocking piece 14. The first limiting piece 22 is a hard protrusion extending in the third direction or opposite to the third direction and arranged on the outer left side or the outer right side of the TPA assembly 2. The first blocking piece 14 is a hard protrusion extending in the third direction or opposite to the third direction and arranged on the left side or the right side of the inner cavity 11. In this case, when the TPA assembly 2 is inserted into the inner cavity 11, the first blocking piece 14 and the first limiting piece 22 block each other to prevent the TPA assembly 2 from falling out of the inner cavity 11 in the second direction.

[0036] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 2 , Figure 3 , and Figure 5 , referring to the direction shown in Figure 2 , the second limiting component includes a second limiting piece 23 and a second limiting groove 15. The second limiting piece 23 is a wedge-shaped protrusion arranged on the outer left side or the outer right side of the TPA assembly 2 and inclined toward the third direction. The second limiting groove 15 is a wedge-shaped groove arranged on the left side or the right side of the inner cavity 11 and inclined toward the opposite direction of the third direction. The second limiting groove 15 is also arranged in the middle of the first blocking piece 14, and the end of the first blocking piece 14 facing the third direction is also modified into an inclined slope. The first limiting piece 22 and the second limiting piece 23 are also arranged adjacent to each other in the first direction or the second direction. In this way, after the technician implants the TPA assembly 2 into the inner cavity 11 in the first direction and makes the first limiting component exert the limiting action, the technician can further push the TPA assembly 2 upward in the direction opposite to the third direction to further push the second limiting piece 23 into the second limiting groove 15, so that the second limiting component also exerts the limiting action, thereby making the first limiting component and the second limiting component jointly exert the limiting action to cooperatively lock and fix the TPA assembly 2.

[0037] It should be noted that, in the present embodiment, referring to Figure 4, the limiting arm 13 is made of elastic material. In this regard, the technician can push the limiting arm 13 away from the center of the inner cavity 11 by using an auxiliary tool, so that the first limiting member 22 can first pass the first blocking member 14 in the first direction, and then the first limiting member 22 is limited by the first blocking member 14 after the limiting arm 13 is released and elastically returns, so as to block the TPA assembly 2 in the second direction; and the technician can also push the TPA assembly 2 upwards to separate the two limiting arms 13 by the second limiting member 23, so that the second limiting member 23 can be smoothly inserted into the second limiting groove 15 in the third direction.

[0038] In addition, the technician can only manually push the two limiting arms 13 outward to unlock the first limiting assembly and the second limiting assembly, and then disassemble the TPA assembly 2.

[0039] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 1 and Figure 2 , referring to the orientation shown in Figure 1 , in order to further limit the TPA assembly 2 by cooperating with the first limiting assembly and control the implantation depth of the TPA assembly 2, a third limiting assembly is arranged between the TPA assembly 2 and the connector body 1, the third limiting assembly includes a third limiting end face 16 arranged at the bottom of the inner cavity 11 and a third abutting protrusion 24 arranged on the TPA assembly 2, the third abutting protrusion 24 is a plate structure arranged oppositely and located on the upper and lower sides of the TPA assembly 2, when the left end of the third abutting protrusion 24 abuts on the third limiting end face 16, the TPA assembly 2 is limited in the first direction, and when the left end of the third abutting protrusion 24 abuts on the third limiting end face 16, the first limiting member 22 is also limited by the first blocking member 14.

[0040] In some embodiments, referring to Figure 1 and Figure 3 , referring to the direction shown in Figure 3 , since the interfaces 21 at different positions of the bottom of the TPA assembly 2 have different shapes and correspondingly different terminals 3, in order to avoid the error of the implantation direction of the TPA assembly 2, which leads to the incorrect connection of the terminal 3 and the interface 21, three fourth positioning protrusions 25 are arranged on the middle part of the TPA assembly 2 in the first direction, and the three fourth positioning protrusions 25 are arranged and distributed from left to right; and referring to Figure 7 , referring to the direction shown in Figure 7 , a structure rib is arranged in the middle part of the inner cavity 11, the upper side of the structure rib is provided with a plurality of grooves for cooperating with one of the third abutting protrusions 24 of the TPA assembly 2 to further form a connection structure for the terminal, and the lower side wall of the structure rib is a guide side wall for guiding the three fourth positioning protrusions to move in the first direction.

[0041] In this case, when the technician implants the TPA assembly 2 at the pre-assembly position in the inner cavity 11, the three fourth positioning protrusions 25 are also inserted into the inner cavity 11 along the first direction under the guidance of the lower side wall of the structural rib, to prevent the problem of mis-assembly of the TPA assembly 2, to ensure that the installation of the TPA assembly 2 is in the correct orientation.

[0042] In addition, please refer to Figure 3 , the end of the first direction of the three fourth positioning protrusions 25 is also provided with a limiting end 26, wherein the leftmost fourth positioning protrusion 26 is provided with a limiting end 26 on both sides, and the other two fourth positioning protrusions 25 are only provided with a limiting end 26 on the right side; in this case, when the technician pushes the TPA assembly 2 from the pre-assembly position to the locking position, the three fourth positioning protrusions 25 are also moved along the third direction at the same time, so that the four limiting ends 26 are respectively inserted into the four connecting ports, to block and limit the terminals 3 inserted into the connecting ports, to prevent the terminals from being loosened.

[0043] In some embodiments, the inner cavity 11 is provided with a pre-assembly position and a locking position, to facilitate the implantation of the TPA assembly 2, and to accurately push the TPA assembly 2 to implant into the locking position of the inner cavity 11, please refer to Figure 6 , for example, the direction shown in Figure 6 , the pre-assembly position is located directly below the locking position, and it can also be understood that the pre-assembly position is located in the direction opposite to the third direction of the locking position.

[0044] Please refer to Figure 1 , with reference to the direction shown in Figure 1 , the abutting positioning assembly is further provided between the TPA assembly 2 and the connector body 1, and the abutting positioning assembly comprises abutting positioning end faces 5 oppositely arranged and respectively located on the TPA assembly 2 and in the inner cavity 11, i.e., the upper end face of the third abutting protrusion 24 below the TPA assembly 2, the lower end face of the left front end of the structural plate, and the lower end face of the right rear end of the structural plate are all abutting positioning end faces 5.

[0045] In this case, during the process of pushing the TPA assembly 2 to implant into the pre-assembly position in the inner cavity 11, the technician can know that the third abutting protrusion 24 abuts against the third abutting end face by making the upper end face of the third abutting protrusion 24 below the TPA assembly 2 contact with the lower end face of the left front end of the structural plate and the lower end face of the right rear end of the structural plate at the same time, and pushing the TPA assembly 2 along the first direction, so as to accurately push the TPA assembly 2 to reach the pre-assembly position.

[0046] In addition, please refer to Figures 1 to 3 , with reference to the direction shown in Figure 1In the direction shown in the figure, between the TPA assembly 2 and the connector body 1, there is also a positioning and locking assembly, which includes positioning and locking end faces 4 arranged oppositely and respectively located on the TPA assembly 2 and in the inner cavity 11, i.e. the lower end face of the third abutting protrusion 24 above the TPA assembly 2, the upper end face of the left front end of the structural plate, and the upper end face of the right rear end of the structural plate are all the positioning and locking end faces 4. In this regard, when the TPA assembly 2 is pushed downward to the locking position, the lower end face of the third abutting protrusion 24 above the TPA assembly 2 is in abutting and limiting position with the upper end face of the left front end of the structural plate and the upper end face of the right rear end of the structural plate at the same time, so as to limit the TPA assembly 2 in the upward direction opposite to the third direction, so as to accurately lock the TPA assembly 2 in cooperation with the second limiting assembly, and further prevent the TPA assembly 2 from moving upward.

[0047] It should be noted that in the present embodiment Figure 1 the orientation of the TPA assembly 2 in Figure 5 is opposite to the orientation of the TPA assembly 2 in

[0048] The above-mentioned matters not mentioned are applicable to the prior art.

[0049] Finally, it should be noted that: the above embodiments are only used to illustrate the technical solutions of the present application, and not to limit it. Although the present application has been described in detail with reference to the foregoing embodiments, those skilled in the art should understand that they can still modify the technical solutions recorded in the foregoing embodiments, or make equivalent replacement to part of the technical features; and these modifications or replacements do not make the essence of the corresponding technical solutions deviate from the spirit and scope of the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A connector having a rear-mounted TPA assembly, characterized by, The connector comprises a connector body (1), a TPA assembly (2), and a terminal (3), the tail end of the connector body (1) has an inner cavity (11) for implanting the TPA assembly (2), the inner cavity (11) has an implantation opening (12), the bottom of the TPA assembly (2) is provided with an interface (21) for connecting the terminal (3), and the TPA assembly (2) is implanted into the inner cavity (11) along the direction from the tail end to the head end of the connector body (1); a first limiting assembly is arranged between the TPA assembly (2) and the connector body (1), and the first limiting assembly is used for limiting the TPA assembly (2) from exiting the inner cavity (11); and a second limiting assembly is also arranged between the TPA assembly (2) and the connector body (1), and the second limiting assembly is used for limiting the TPA assembly (2) from moving in the inner cavity (11).

2. The connector of claim 1, wherein, The inner cavity (11) of the connector body (1) is also provided with a limiting arm (13) with elasticity, the limiting arm (13) is arranged obliquely towards the center of the inner cavity (11), and the limiting arm (13) is also arranged to extend towards the implantation opening (12); and the first limiting assembly and the second limiting assembly are both arranged between the limiting arm (13) and the TPA assembly (2).

3. The connector of claim 1, wherein The implantation and installation direction of the TPA assembly (2) is a first direction, a second direction is opposite to the first direction, the first limiting assembly comprises a first limiting piece (22) and a first blocking piece (14), the first limiting piece (22) is arranged outside the TPA assembly (2), the first blocking piece (14) is arranged in the inner cavity (11), and the first limiting piece (22) and the first blocking piece (14) block and limit each other to limit the TPA assembly (2) from exiting the inner cavity (11) along the second direction.

4. The connector of claim 3, wherein, The second limiting assembly comprises a second limiting piece (23) and a second limiting groove (15), the second limiting piece (23) is arranged outside the TPA assembly (2), the second limiting groove (15) is arranged in the inner cavity (11), and the second limiting piece (23) and the second limiting groove (15) cooperate with each other to limit the TPA assembly (2) from moving in the inner cavity (11) from a direction different from the first direction and / or the second direction.

5. The connector of claim 4, wherein, The direction in which the second limiting piece (23) and the second limiting groove (15) cooperate to limit the TPA assembly (2) is a third direction, the third direction is perpendicular to the first direction, the second limiting piece (23) is also arranged obliquely towards the third direction, and the second limiting groove (15) is arranged obliquely towards the opposite direction of the third direction.

6. The connector of claim 4, wherein, The inner cavity (11) is provided with a locking position, and a positioning and locking assembly is further arranged between the TPA assembly (2) and the connector body (1), the positioning and locking assembly comprises positioning and locking end faces (4) oppositely arranged and respectively located on the TPA assembly (2) and in the inner cavity (11), when the second limiting piece (23) is inserted into the second limiting groove (15), the two positioning and locking end faces (4) are in contact to limit each other, and then cooperate with the second limiting assembly to fix the TPA assembly (2) at the locking position, so as to connect the terminal (3) and the TPA assembly (2).

7. The connector of claim 4, wherein, Along the first direction or the second direction, the first limiting piece (22) and the second limiting piece (23) are arranged adjacent to each other, and the second limiting groove (15) is further arranged on the first blocking piece (14).

8. The connector of claim 1, wherein, The inner cavity (11) is further provided with a preloading position, and an abutting and positioning assembly is further arranged between the TPA assembly (2) and the connector body (1), the abutting and positioning assembly comprises abutting and positioning end faces (5) oppositely arranged and respectively located on the TPA assembly (2) and in the inner cavity (11), the two abutting and positioning end faces (5) are positioned by mutual contact and sliding, so as to implant the TPA assembly (2) in the preloading position.

9. The connector of claim 1, wherein, The third limiting assembly is arranged between the TPA assembly (2) and the connector body (1), the third limiting assembly comprises a third limiting end face (16) arranged at the bottom of the inner cavity (11) and a third abutting protruding portion (24) arranged on the TPA assembly (2), the third abutting protruding portion (24) is limited by mutual abutting with the third limiting end face (16), so as to control the implantation depth of the TPA assembly (2).

10. The connector of claim 1, wherein, The TPA assembly (2) is provided with at least one fourth positioning protruding portion (25), and the inner cavity (11) is further provided with a structural rib for forming a connection port for the terminal (3) to be inserted, the fourth positioning protruding portion (25) cooperates with the structural rib to guide and position the TPA assembly.

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