Connector with sectional Z-direction floating structure
By designing a segmented Z-axis floating structure, the problem of buffering the battery swapping connector of new energy vehicles under impact and vibration is solved. This achieves gentle buffering, adaptability to complex working conditions and irregular spaces, reduces maintenance costs, and improves system stability and reliability.
Patent Information
- Application Number
- CN202520305498.6
- Authority / Receiving Office
- CN · China
- Patent Type
- Utility models(China)
- Current Assignee / Owner
- Filing Date
- 2025-02-25
- Publication Date
- 2026-01-30
- Estimated Expiration
- 2035-02-25
AI Technical Summary
Existing Z-axis floating modules in new energy vehicle battery swapping connectors cannot effectively buffer shocks and vibrations due to structural limitations, resulting in weak connections, poor contact, and fatigue fractures after long-term use. They also have high maintenance costs and cannot be partially replaced or repaired.
It adopts a segmented Z-axis floating structure, including an upper Z-axis floating part and a lower Z-axis floating part connected vertically. Each part can be independently deformed for multi-level buffering. The different elastic coefficients of the upper and lower springs are used to achieve gentle buffering and stable insertion, which can adapt to complex working conditions and facilitate partial replacement and maintenance.
It achieves multi-level buffering and vibration reduction, adapts to complex working conditions, reduces maintenance costs, improves system stability and reliability, adapts to irregular spaces, and the springs work together to distribute force evenly, enhancing fault tolerance.
Smart Images
Figure CN223858557U_ABST
Abstract
Description
Technical Field
[0001] This utility model relates to the field of connectors, and in particular to a connector with a segmented Z-axis floating structure. Background Technology
[0002] With the rapid popularization of new energy vehicles, these vehicles require battery swapping connectors for charging and discharging. However, due to factors such as vehicle parking position errors, battery pack installation accuracy issues, and relative movement between the vehicle frame and the battery, the battery swapping connector may experience positional deviations in the Z-axis. Therefore, a Z-axis floating module is designed to ensure accurate docking under these conditions, enabling rapid battery replacement and stable power transmission. Currently, the Z-axis floating module is an integrated compression spring structure, which has several drawbacks: First, during battery swapping, if a significant impact or vibration occurs, the current Z-axis floating module, due to its structural limitations, cannot provide sufficient cushioning, leading to problems with the Z-axis connector docking, such as loose connections, poor contact, or even damage to the connector or related components. Second, long-term repeated compression and tension in the Z-axis direction can cause fatigue in the compression spring of the Z-axis floating module, resulting in decreased elasticity and even breakage, affecting normal battery swapping and posing safety hazards. Third, when the Z-axis floating module malfunctions or its performance deteriorates and requires maintenance, the entire compression spring needs to be disassembled or replaced, increasing maintenance time and costs. Utility Model Content
[0003] To address one or more of the aforementioned problems, this invention provides a connector with a segmented Z-axis floating structure.
[0004] According to one aspect of the present invention, the connector having a segmented Z-axis floating structure includes: a floating inner shell, an outer shell, and several upper Z-axis floating parts and lower Z-axis floating parts.
[0005] The upper end of the upper spring of the upper Z-direction floating part is attached to the lower surface of the floating connecting plate that connects to the floating inner shell, and its lower end is attached to the upper surface of the end cap of the floating guide sleeve.
[0006] The lower Z-axis floating part includes a fixed guide post and a lower spring sleeved outside the fixed guide post. The upper end of the fixed guide post slides through the central guide hole of the end cap and its lower end is connected to the lower wall of the inner cavity of the outer shell. The upper end of the lower spring is attached to the lower surface of the end cap and its lower end is attached to the lower wall of the inner cavity of the outer shell.
[0007] The middle section of the floating inner shell is connected to the middle through hole of the outer shell, and the middle section is connected to a floating connecting plate located in the inner cavity of the outer shell.
[0008] The upper and lower springs deform to reduce the Z-axis deviation of the multi-stage buffer connector during mating.
[0009] In some embodiments, the upper spring has a significantly smaller elastic coefficient than the lower spring, and the upper spring is easily deformed to achieve a large tilt angle deflection for plugging, and the elastic force of the lower spring is large to achieve stable plugging.
[0010] In some embodiments, the upper surface of the end cover is integrally connected with a vertical upper guide pipe in the middle, and the upper guide pipe is connected with the lower end of the upper spring through a small gap shaft sleeve.
[0011] In some embodiments, the edge of the end cover is upwardly convex to form an upper end ring with a height lower than the upper guide pipe, and a circular ring groove between the two forms a limiting groove, and the lower end of the upper spring is located in the limiting groove.
[0012] In some embodiments, the upper guide pipe, the upper end ring and the guide hole are coaxially arranged.
[0013] In some embodiments, the lower end of the floating connecting plate forms a vertically protruding lower positioning column, and the lower positioning column is connected with the upper end of the upper spring through a sleeve.
[0014] In some embodiments, the diameter of the lower positioning column is smaller than the pipe diameter of the upper guide pipe, and the lower positioning column can enter the pipe hole of the upper guide pipe downwardly.
[0015] In some embodiments, the connecting column at the lower end of the fixed guide column is inserted into the first through hole of the lower wall of the inner cavity of the shell through interference, and then the lower end ring of the connecting column is riveted and pressed to fit into the lower groove at the lower end of the first through hole;
[0016] Or the connecting column at the lower end of the fixed guide column is threadedly connected with the first through hole of the threaded hole structure of the lower wall of the inner cavity of the shell.
[0017] In some embodiments, the upper end of the connecting column is provided with a large-diameter positioning section, and the positioning section is connected with the lower spring through a gap.
[0018] Or the upper end of the positioning section is further provided with a circular cone guide section with a chamfer structure.
[0019] In some embodiments, the connector is a battery replacement connector; or the floating guide sleeve is a spring rivet.
[0020] The connector with a segmented Z-direction floating structure has an upper segmented Z-direction floating part 01 and a lower Z-direction floating part 02 connected in sequence, and the two are independently deformed to multi-stage buffer Z-direction load, which has the following beneficial effects: first, it has multi-stage buffering and soft buffering effects, and has good damping performance; second, it has high adaptability to different working requirements and load distribution, and is suitable for complex working conditions; third, it has local replaceability, convenient maintenance, and is convenient for maintenance and replacement; fourth, it is suitable for compact design and heterogeneous adaptation, and has high space utilization efficiency; fifth, the segmented springs work cooperatively, the uniformity of force is better, the fault tolerance is strong, and the system stability and reliability are improved. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS
[0021] Figure 1 is a sectional view of the connector with the segmented Z-direction floating structure according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0022] Figure 2 is a sectional view of the connector with the segmented Z-direction floating structure according to an embodiment of the present application; Figure 1 is a sectional view of the connector with the segmented Z-direction floating structure according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0023] Figure 3 is a sectional view of the connector with the segmented Z-direction floating structure according to an embodiment of the present application; Figure 1 is a sectional view of the connector with the segmented Z-direction floating structure according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0024] Figure 4 is a sectional view of the connector with the segmented Z-direction floating structure according to an embodiment of the present application; Figure 3 is a sectional view of the connector with the segmented Z-direction floating structure according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0025] is a sectional view of the connector with the segmented Z-direction floating structure according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0026] is a sectional view of the connector with the segmented Z-direction floating structure according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0027] is a sectional view of the connector with the segmented Z-direction floating structure according to an embodiment of the present application;
[0028] is a sectional view of the connector with the segmented Z-direction floating structure according to an embodiment of the present application; DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0029] The present application will be further described below in conjunction with the drawings. It should be noted that the terms "front", "back", "left", "right", "up" and "down" used in the following description refer to the directions in the drawings, and the terms "inner" and "outer" refer to the directions towards or away from the geometric center of a particular component.
[0030] Figures 1 to 4 is a sectional view of the connector with the segmented Z-direction floating structure according to an embodiment of the present application. As shown in the figure, the connector with the segmented Z-direction floating structure includes: a floating inner shell 03, an outer shell 04, and a plurality of upper Z-direction floating parts 01 and lower Z-direction floating parts 02;
[0031] The upper spring 1 of the upper Z-direction floating part 01 is attached to the lower surface of the floating connecting plate 5 of the floating inner shell 03 at the upper end, and is attached to the upper surface of the end cover 21 of the floating guide sleeve 2 at the lower end, and the center of the end cover 21 is provided with a guide hole 20;
[0032] The lower Z-direction floating part 02 comprises a fixed guide column 3 and a lower spring 4 sleeved on the fixed guide column 3, the upper end column 31 of the fixed guide column 3 slidingly penetrates the center guide hole 20 of the end cover 21 and the lower end of the fixed guide column 3 is connected to the lower wall of the inner cavity of the shell 04, the upper end of the lower spring 4 is attached to the lower surface of the end cover 21 and the lower end of the lower spring 4 is attached to the lower wall of the inner cavity of the shell 04;
[0033] The middle section of the floating inner shell 03 penetrates the middle through hole of the connecting shell 04 and the middle section of the floating inner shell 03 is connected to a floating connecting plate 5 located in the inner cavity of the connecting shell 04;
[0034] When the terminal of the plug-in connector is inserted into the middle insertion hole of the floating inner shell 03, the upper spring 1 of the upper Z-direction floating part 01 and the lower spring 4 of the lower Z-direction floating part 02 are respectively deformed to independently buffer the Z-direction position deviation of multiple levels. Preferably, the elastic coefficient of the upper spring 1 is significantly smaller than the elastic coefficient of the lower spring 4, the upper spring 1 is easily deformed to provide soft and uniform buffering and realize the deflection plug-in of a larger inclination angle, and the elastic force of the lower spring 4 is large to realize the stable plug-in connection. The two springs can preferably have different stiffness, length or diameter parameters, so that the compression springs exhibit different elastic properties under different compression strokes to meet specific working requirements.
[0035] The connector is preferably a battery replacement connector.
[0036] The connector with the segmented Z-direction floating structure has an upper Z-direction floating part 01 and a lower Z-direction floating part 02 connected in sequence, and the two independently deform to provide multi-stage buffer Z-direction eccentric load, which has the following beneficial effects: first, good buffer and shock absorption performance: when the upper spring 1 and the lower spring 4 are subjected to Z-direction impact force, each spring can deform in sequence or separately to form a multi-stage buffer effect, which can more effectively absorb and dissipate energy, and compared with an integrated spring, the force changes more smoothly during compression, which can provide softer and more uniform buffer, avoiding buffer failure or part damage caused by local stress concentration; second, adaptability to complex working conditions: the structure can flexibly adjust the stiffness and length of each segmented spring according to different working requirements and load distribution to adapt to complex Z-direction load changes, so it has high adaptability, and in some non-ideal installation conditions or with angle deviation, the segmented compression spring can better adapt to the change of the installation angle through the independent deformation of each segment to ensure normal work at different angles, so it has good angle adaptability; third, easy maintenance and replacement: when a segmented spring is damaged or its performance decreases, only the corresponding segmented spring needs to be replaced, without the need to replace the entire spring, which greatly reduces maintenance cost and time, and the segmented structure makes it easier to check and maintain the spring, which can directly check each segmented spring to quickly locate the problem and improve the maintainability of the equipment; fourth, efficient space utilization: the segmented compression spring can be flexibly arranged according to the shape and size requirements of the installation space, which better adapts to limited installation space to realize efficient use of space, and for some installation parts with special shapes or space limitations, the segmented compression spring can better adapt to the special-shaped space by adjusting the shape and arrangement of the segments to realize special-shaped adaptation; fifth, improved system stability and reliability: the segmented springs work cooperatively to provide more uniform pressure distribution in the Z-direction, making the force more uniform and reducing deformation, wear and other problems caused by uneven force, improving the stability and reliability of the entire system, and even if a segmented spring has a certain degree of performance change or failure, other segmented springs can still maintain the normal work of the system to some extent, enhancing the fault tolerance and reliability of the system.
[0037] Further, the upper end ring 23 is integrally connected to the upper guide pipe 22 in the middle of the upper surface of the end cover 21, and the upper end ring 23 is connected to the lower end of the upper spring 1 through a small gap shaft sleeve. Preferably, the edge of the end cover 21 is upwardly protruded to form an upper end ring 23 with a height lower than the upper end ring 23, and a circular groove between the two forms a limiting groove 24, and the lower end of the upper spring 1 is located in the limiting groove 24. Its beneficial effect is that this setting ensures that the lower end of the upper spring 1 will not fall off during work, improving the service life.
[0038] Preferably, the upper guide pipe 22, the upper end ring 23 and the guide hole 20 are coaxially arranged.
[0039] Further, the lower positioning column 51 vertically protruding at the lower end of the floating connecting plate 5 is sleeved and connected with the upper end of the upper spring 1. Preferably, the lower positioning column 51 at the lower end of the floating connecting plate 5 is formed by riveting. The beneficial effect is that the setting ensures that the upper end of the upper spring 1 will not fall off during work, thereby improving the service life.
[0040] Preferably, the diameter of the lower positioning column 51 is smaller than the pipe diameter of the upper guide pipe 22, and the lower positioning column 51 can enter the pipe hole of the upper guide pipe 22 downward. The beneficial effect is that the setting can make the device compact, and at the same time, the spring can be set to have a larger deformation.
[0041] Further, the connecting column 32 at the lower end of the fixed guide column 3 is inserted into the first through hole 041 of the lower wall of the inner cavity of the shell 04 in an interference fit, and then the lower end ring 35 of the connecting column 32 is riveted and connected to be fixedly attached to the lower recess 042 at the lower end of the first through hole 041. In another preferred connection structure, the connecting column 32 at the lower end of the fixed guide column 3 is threadedly connected with the first through hole 041 of the threaded hole structure of the lower wall of the inner cavity of the shell 04. The beneficial effect is that the setting can ensure that the structure is fixed firmly and is convenient to install.
[0042] Further, the connecting column 32 is provided with a large-diameter positioning section 33 at the upper end, and the positioning section 33 and the lower spring 4 are connected in a gap. Preferably, the upper end of the positioning section 33 is further provided with a circular truncated cone guide section 34 with a chamfer structure. Preferably, the floating guide sleeve 2 is a spring rivet. The beneficial effect is that the setting ensures that the lower spring 4 will not be deflected or fall off during work, thereby solving the problem that the traditional structure of the compression spring will be tilted and locally subjected to excessive force to cause spring rupture and a series of failure risks when the angle deviation is relatively large, and the service life is high.
[0043] Further, the middle section of the floating inner shell 03 is sleeved and connected with the middle hole of the floating connecting plate 5, and a plurality of inclined springs are symmetrically arranged therebetween to realize XY floating during plug-in assembly.
[0044] The above only describes some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary skilled persons in the art, without departing from the creative concept of the present application, a number of modifications and improvements can be made, which all belong to the protection scope of the present application.
Claims
1. Connector with a segmented Z-direction floating structure, characterized in that, It comprises a floating inner shell (03), an outer shell (04), and a plurality of upper Z-direction floating parts (01) and lower Z-direction floating parts (02); The upper end of the upper spring (1) of the upper Z-direction floating part (01) is attached to the lower surface of the floating connecting plate (5) of the floating inner shell (03), and the lower end is attached to the upper surface of the end cover (21) of the floating guide sleeve (2); The lower Z-direction floating part (02) comprises a fixed guide column (3) and a lower spring (4) sleeved outside the fixed guide column (3), the upper end column (31) of the fixed guide column (3) slides through the center guide hole (20) of the end cover (21), and the lower end is connected to the lower wall of the inner cavity of the outer shell (04), the upper end of the lower spring (4) is attached to the lower surface of the end cover (21), and the lower end is attached to the lower wall of the inner cavity of the outer shell (04); The middle section of the floating inner shell (03) is sleeved and connected to the middle through hole of the outer shell (04), and the middle section is connected to a floating connecting plate (5) in the inner cavity of the outer shell (04); The upper spring (1) and the lower spring (4) are respectively deformed to connect the Z-direction deviation of the connector in multiple stages.
2. The connector with a segmented Z-direction floating structure of claim 1, wherein, The elastic coefficient of the upper spring (1) is significantly smaller than that of the lower spring (4), the upper spring (1) is easy to deform to realize large inclination angle deflection for plugging, and the elastic force of the lower spring (4) is large to realize stable plugging.
3. The connector with a segmented Z-float structure of claim 1, wherein, The upper surface of the end cover (21) is integrally connected to a vertical upper guide pipe (22) in the middle, the upper guide pipe (22) is small-gap shaft sleeve connected to the lower end of the upper spring (1).
4. The connector having a segmented Z-direction floating structure according to claim 3, characterized in that, The edge of the end cover (21) is upwardly convex to form an upper end ring (23) with a height lower than the upper guide pipe (22), a circular ring groove between the two forms a limiting groove (24), and the lower end of the upper spring (1) is located in the limiting groove (24).
5. The connector having a segmented Z-direction floating structure according to claim 4, characterized in that, The upper guide pipe (22), the upper end ring (23) and the guide hole (20) are coaxially arranged.
6. The connector with a segmented Z-float structure according to claim 3 or 4, characterized in that, The lower end of the floating connecting plate (5) forms a vertically protruding lower positioning column (51), and the lower positioning column (51) is sleeved and connected to the upper end of the upper spring (1).
7. The connector having a segmented Z-float structure according to claim 6, wherein, The diameter of the lower positioning column (51) is smaller than the pipe diameter of the upper guide pipe (22), and the lower positioning column (51) can enter the pipe hole of the upper guide pipe (22) downwardly.
8. The connector having a segmented Z-direction floating structure according to claim 1, wherein, The connecting column (32) at the lower end of the fixed guide column (3) is interference-inserted and connected to the first through hole (041) of the lower wall of the inner cavity of the outer shell (04), and then the lower end ring (35) of the connecting column (32) is riveted and connected to the lower recess (042) at the lower end of the first through hole (041); Or the connecting column (32) at the lower end of the fixed guide column (3) is threadedly connected to the first through hole (041) of the threaded hole structure of the lower wall of the inner cavity of the outer shell (04).
9. The connector having a segmented Z-float structure according to claim 8, wherein, The upper end of the connecting column (32) is provided with a large-diameter positioning section (33), and the positioning section (33) and the lower spring (4) are gap-connected; Or the upper end of the positioning section (33) is further provided with a circular truncated cone guide section (34) with a chamfer structure.
10. The connector having a segmented Z-direction floating structure according to claim 1, wherein, The connector is a battery replacement connector; or the floating guide sleeve (2) is a spring rivet.