Round connectors and connecting cable arrangement

Abstract

A circular connector comprising a socket connector (100) and a plug connector (200) which can be inserted into each other, characterized in that a threaded connection structure is provided which comprises a socket core column assembly provided on the socket connector (100) and a plug core column (230) provided on the plug connector (200), wherein the socket core column assembly comprises a socket core column (130), a sealing element (150) and a connecting nut (140) which is placed on the socket core column (130) and the sealing element (150); wherein an external thread portion (2302) is provided on a radially outer side of one end of the connector core column (230) in the axial direction, and an internal thread portion (1401) for screwing onto the external thread portion (2302) is provided at one end of the connecting nut (140) in the axial direction, wherein an initial position of the internal thread of the internal thread portion (1401) is set at the same position along a circumferential direction and an initial position of the external thread of the external thread portion (2302) is also set at the same position along a circumferential direction; wherein a first marking portion (1402) is provided on a radially outer side of the connecting nut (140) at a position corresponding to the initial position of the internal thread of the internal thread portion (1401); wherein a second flange (2303) is provided on the plug core column (230) adjacent to the external thread portion (2302), wherein a second marking portion (2304) is provided on the second flange (2303); and wherein the tightening torque of the threaded connection structure reaches a predetermined torque when the first marking portion (1402) is aligned with the second marking portion (2304).

Description

Technical FieldThe present application relates to the technical field of connectors, in particular a round connector and a connecting cable arrangement.Prior ArtSensors / actuators are connected to the control and / or power supply via connecting cables with standardized round connectors for signal and power transmission. Most round connectors are M12 or M8 round connectors, each of which is provided with a connecting structure comprising an externally threaded sleeve and an internally threaded nut. To ensure the required torque for tightening the connection structure, an installer usually first has to manually screw the threaded sleeve and the nut and then further tighten the nut by means of a torque wrench, ensuring by an indication on the torque wrench that the tightening torque meets the standard requirements. Therefore, during the operation of the equipment, an inspector cannot directly visually judge whether the tightening torque of the joint structure meets the norm. Normally, the inspector still has to manually pull or screw on the connecting structure to aid inspection. As a result, the process is cumbersome and reliability cannot be guaranteed. Moreover, automation of the visual inspection cannot be realized.Existing round connector products with mixed sockets and plugs do not meet the requirements for any paired assembly. This is because the initial position of the female thread of the nut is not fixed, resulting in that the nut and the threaded sleeve can be assembled only one-to-one, so that the assembling efficiency is greatly impaired. Moreover, the threaded sleeve with external thread is a movable part which is usually placed on the outer side of the plug core column. This easily leads to rotation of the threaded sleeve during assembly, so that the operator cannot accurately judge the degree of tightening. In addition, the operation is cumbersome and the mounting efficiency is low.In view of this, it is necessary to improve the existing round connector and its connecting cable arrangement.Content of the InventionIn the present application, a round connector and a connection cable assembly are provided that allow paired mounting to be performed after the fitting of the female connector and the male connector, thereby increasing the mounting efficiency and allowing visual inspection to be performed.In order to achieve the above object, the present application uses the following technical solutions:There is provided a round connector comprising a female connector and a male connector that can be fitted to each other, wherein a threaded connection structure is provided that comprises a female core pillar assembly provided on the female connector and a male core pillar provided on the male connector, wherein the female core pillar assembly comprises a female core pillar, a sealing member, and a connection nut fitted on the female core pillar and the sealing member;wherein an externally threaded portion is provided on a radially outer side of an end of the plug core column in the axial direction, and an internally threaded portion for screwing to the externally threaded portion is provided at an end of the connection nut in the axial direction, wherein an initial position of the internal thread of the internally threaded portion is set at the same position along a circumferential direction and an initial position of the external thread of the externally threaded portion is also set at the same position along a circumferential direction;wherein a first marking portion is provided on a radially outer side of the connection nut at a position corresponding to the initial position of the internal thread of the internal thread portion; wherein a second flange is provided on the plug core column adjacent to the external thread portion, wherein a second marking portion is provided on the second flange;and wherein the tightening torque of the threaded connection structure reaches a predetermined torque when the first marking portion is aligned with the second marking portion.It is further provided that the first marking portion is provided with a starting end and a terminating end, wherein the starting end corresponds to the starting position of the internal thread of the internal thread region, and wherein the tightening torque of the connecting structure is reached a predefined torque when the second marking portion is aligned with an arbitrary position between the starting end and the terminating end.It is also provided that the first marking section is formed as a triangular marking in the shape of a cone and the second marking section is formed as a square marking in the shape of a rectangle.It is further provided that the bushing core column comprises a bushing core column body and a first flange provided on the bushing core column body, wherein the connection nut is movably placed on the bushing core column body along a length direction of the bushing core column body and abuts against the first flange, wherein a first corrugated surface is provided on a side of the first flange against which the connection nut abuts, and wherein a second corrugated surface adapted to the first corrugated surface is provided on the connection nut.It is further provided that the sealing member is provided on a side of the first flange facing away from the first corrugated surface and is sandwiched between the female core pillar, the male core pillar, and the connection nut.Furthermore, it is provided that the sealing element radially seals a connecting region between the socket core column and the plug core column on an inner side of the connecting nut.It is further contemplated that the jack connector further comprises a jack pin inserted into the jack core column and the jack connector further comprises a jack pin inserted into the jack core column, wherein the jack core column is partially inserted into the jack core column, and wherein the jack pin is electrically connected to the jack pin.In the present application, there is further provided a connection cable assembly including the above-mentioned round connector.In the present application, a round connector is provided in which a threaded connection structure is provided between a female connector and a male connector. The threaded connection structure includes a connection nut provided with an internal threaded portion and a plug core provided with an external threaded portion, wherein an initial position of the internal thread of the internal threaded portion and an initial position of the external thread of the external threaded portion are respectively set at the same position along a circumferential direction. In addition, a first mark portion is provided on the outer surface of the connection nut at a position corresponding to the initial position of the internal thread, and a second mark portion is provided on the plug core post. Thereby, the assembling and the tightening are performed such that the first mark portion and the second mark portion reach an aligned state, whereby the tightening torque requirement of the threaded connection structure can be satisfied. The operator only needs to observe during the inspection whether the first marking section and the second marking section are aligned with one another, which facilitates the visual inspection and is suitable for application scenarios in which little space is available.In the round connector according to the present application, by setting the initial position of the internal thread of the connection nut at the same position, the initial position of the thread of each individual connection nut matches the characteristic appearance. This ensures that the tightening torque of the threaded connection structure can reach the predetermined torque even when the first marking portion is aligned with the second marking portion of the threaded connection structure after any assembly of a female connector and a male connector from different batches.In the round connector according to the present application, the outer surface of the male core male screw is integrally injection molded, thereby omitting a female screw, which reduces the number of parts and contributes to reduction of production cost.Brief Description of the FiguresFIG. 1 is a schematic structural view of a round connector according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 2 is a schematic structural exploded view of the round connector according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 3 is a schematic structural exploded view of a threaded connection structure according to an embodiment of the present application; FIG. 4 is a schematic structural sectional view of the threaded connection structure of FIG. 3 ; FIG. 5 is a schematic structural view of the threaded connection structure in a connection state according to an embodiment of the present application; and FIG. 6 is a schematic structural sectional view of the threaded connection structure of FIG. 5 in a connected state.DETAILED EMBODIMENTSThe present application will be described further in detail in conjunction with the drawings and the embodiments. It is to be understood that the specific embodiments described herein are merely illustrative of, but not intended to limit, the present application. It should be noted that, for the sake of simplified description, not all structures but only the parts related to the present application are illustrated in the figures.In the description of the present application, unless expressly stated and defined otherwise, the terms "connect", "connect", "fasten", etc. should be understood in the broader sense, which may be, for example, a fixed, detachable or one-piece connection; which may be a mechanical connection or an electrical connection; which may be a direct connection or an indirect connection via an intermediate medium, or an internal communication of two elements or an interaction relationship between the two elements. One of ordinary skill in the art can be based on the subject to determine what meaning the terms mentioned according to the present application are intended to have.In the present application, a first feature disposed "above" or "below" a second feature may be, unless expressly stated and defined otherwise, the case that the first feature directly contacts the second feature or that the first and second features contact without direct contact via another feature disposed therebetween. Moreover, the expression "that a first feature is above a second feature, on or above the second feature" means that the first feature is directly or obliquely above the second feature; alternatively, this expression only means that the first feature has a horizontal height that is higher than the horizontal height of the second feature. The expression "that a first feature is below a second feature or below the second feature" is understood to mean that the first feature is directly or obliquely below the second feature; alternatively, this expression only means that the first feature has a horizontal height that is lower than the horizontal height of the second feature.In the explanation of the embodiments, the direction or positioning indicated by the terms "upper", "lower", "left", "right", etc. is used with reference to the direction or positioning shown in each figure, respectively, merely to facilitate the description and simplify the operation. These terms neither suggest implicitly nor explicitly the positioning and the configuration and operation of the device or element in question in a predetermined positioning, so that they do not represent any restriction of the present application here. In addition, the terms "first", "second", etc. are used only for distinction in the description without giving any special meaning.Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, in this embodiment, a round connector is provided that includes a female connector 100 and a male connector 200 that can be fitted into each other. Here, the female connector 100 includes a female lead 110, a female pin 120, a female core column 130, a connection nut 140, a sealing member 150, a female overmolding layer 160, and a female lead seal 170. The plug connector 200 includes a plug lead 210, a plug pin 220, a plug core post 230, a plug overmolding layer 240, and a plug lead seal 250.Referring to FIGS. 3 to 6, in the round connector according to this embodiment, a threaded connection structure is provided that includes a female core column assembly on the female connector 100 and a male core column 230 on the male connector 200, the female core column assembly including a female core column 130, a sealing member 150, and a connection nut 140 fitted on the female core column 130 and the sealing member 150. An externally threaded portion 2302 is provided on a radially outer side of an end of the plug core 230 in the axial direction, and an internally threaded portion 1401 for screwing to the externally threaded portion 2302 is provided at an end of the connection nut 140 in the axial direction.In this embodiment, an initial position of the internal thread of the internal thread portion 1401 is defined at the same position along a circumferential direction on an inner side of the connection nut 140. That is, the initial position of the internal thread of the internal thread portion 1401 is fixed. Similarly, in this embodiment, an initial position of the external thread of the external thread portion 2302 is defined at the same position along a circumferential direction on an outer side of the plug core post 230. That is, the initial position of the external thread of the external thread portion 2302 is fixed.In this embodiment, it is provided that a first mark portion 1402 is provided on a radially outer side of the connection nut 140 at a position corresponding to the initial position of the internal thread, and a second flange 2303 is provided on the plug core 230 in a region adjacent to the external thread region 2302, and a second mark portion 2304 is provided on the second flange 2303. When the female threaded portion 1401 is screwed to the male threaded portion 2302 and the first mark portion 1402 is aligned with the second mark portion 2304, the tightening torque of the threaded connection structure reaches a predetermined torque. It is understood that when the tightening torque approaches the predetermined torque, a second tightening may be performed by a torque wrench until the first marking portion 1402 is aligned with the second marking portion 2304. In particular, the predefined torque is 0.4 Nm.Referring to FIGS. 3 to 6, the first mark portion 1402 is formed as a square mark in the shape of a rectangle and is provided with a starting end 1402a and a terminating end 1402b, the starting end 1402a corresponding to the initial position of the internal thread of the connection nut 140, and the terminating end 1402b being provided deviating from the starting end 1402a in the screw-in direction. The second mark portion 2304 is formed as a triangular mark in the shape of a cone. When the triangular mark is aligned with the beginning end 1402a of the square mark, the tightening torque of the threaded connection structure reaches the predetermined torque. To facilitate confirmation by the operator and to prevent damage to the threaded connection structure by over-twisting, the tightening torque of the threaded connection structure according to this embodiment is adjusted with a certain margin. That is, if the triangular mark is aligned with any position between the beginning end 1402 aand the ending end 1402 bof the square mark, the tightening torque of the threaded connection structure may vary within the predetermined torque range, thereby meeting the product requirements.Referring to FIGS. 3 to 6, the bush core column 130 includes a bush core column body 1301, and a first flange 1302 provided on the bush core column body 1301, wherein the connection nut 140 is movably fitted on the bush core column body 1301 along a length direction of the bush core column body 1301 and abuts against the first flange 1302, wherein a first corrugated surface 1303 is provided on a side of the first flange 1302 abutting against the connection nut 140, and wherein a second corrugated surface 1403 fitted to the first corrugated surface 1303 is provided on an inner wall of an end of the connection nut 140 opposite from the female threaded portion 1401. The sealing member 150 is provided on a side of the first flange 1302 opposite to the first corrugated surface 1303 and is clamped between the socket core pillar 130, the socket core pillar 230, and the connection nut 140 to radially seal a connection portion between the socket core pillar 130 and the plug core pillar 230 at an inner side of the connection nut 140.Therefore, in this embodiment, the configuration of the sealing surface with which the first corrugated surface 1303 and the second corrugated surface 1403 cooperate, the compression amount of the sealing member 150 in the sealing state, and the tightening torque in aligning the first mark portion 1402 with the second mark portion 2304 are collectively considered. By means of this structural design and complicated and careful calculations, the initial position of the thread of each individual connection nut 140 is completely coincident with the characteristic appearance. This ensures that the tightening torque of the threaded connection structure can reach the predetermined torque even when the first marking portion 1402 is aligned with the second marking portion 2304 of the threaded connection structure after any one of a female connector and a male connector are assembled from different batches. Moreover, the operator does not need to penetrate deeply into the cabinet, manually or tool or screw the threaded connection structure, etc., to aid inspection, so that visual inspection can be easily performed during operation of the equipment. It is also suitable for application scenarios in which little space is available, which facilitates the realization of a visual inspection.In the prior art, on the outside of the plug core column, a threaded sleeve with an external thread is provided, which is movably connected to the plug core column. The threaded sleeve is a movable part that can easily rotate during assembly. This is not convenient for the operator to accurately judge the degree of tightening of the threaded connection structure. The co-rotation of the threaded sleeve frequently leads to erroneous estimates, so that the assembly can only be completed when the threaded sleeve is tightened with the aid of tools. In this embodiment, the plug core 230 is a tubular member and an external threaded portion 2302 is integrally injection molded on its outer surface, so that only the connection nut 140 needs to be rotated during assembly to allow tightening of the threaded connection structure. As a result, the mounting efficiency is increased and misestimates of the degree of tightening are prevented. Moreover, the number of parts of the plug connector 200 is reduced, which contributes to reduction of production cost. It should be understood that, to facilitate the turning by the operator, the outer sides of the connection nut 140 and the plug core 230 are each provided with a non-slip profile.In this embodiment, a connecting cable assembly is further provided, which comprises the above-mentioned round connector.Referring to FIG. 2, in this embodiment, the female connector 100 further includes a female pin 120 inserted into the female core column 130, the other end of the female pin 120 crimps a female lead 110, and a female lead seal 170 is provided between the female lead 110 and the female core column 130 and is externally insert molded with a female insert layer 160. Similarly, the plug connector 200 further comprises a plug pin 220 inserted into the plug core column 230, the other end of the plug pin 220 crimping a plug wire 210, and a plug wire seal 250 is provided between the plug wire 210 and the plug core column 230 and is externally coated with a plug coating 240.After the female threaded portion 1401 of the connection nut 140 according to this embodiment is screwed to the male threaded portion 2302 of the male core 230 the second corrugated surface 1403 on the inner side of the end of the connection nut 140 is in contact with the first corrugated surface 1303 of the first flange 1302 on the female core body 1301, and the sealing member 150 is pressed. The difference between the peaks and valleys of the first corrugated surface 1303 and the second corrugated surface 1403, the total number of turns of the female threaded portion 1401 that cooperate with the male threaded portion 2302, and the amount of compression of the sealing member 150 are calculated and designed such that after the product is fully assembled, the second marking portion 2304 may be aligned with the first marking portion 1402 to meet the requirements of the product for tightening torque and facilitate the realization of a visual inspection. Moreover, mixed mounting of the receptacle connector 100 and the plug connector 200 can still meet any paired mounting that is quick and convenient to perform, has reliable sealing, water resistance, and durability, and offers a protection level of IP67, which is suitable for a variety of outdoor applications.Obviously, the above-described embodiments of the present application are only examples for clearly illustrating the present application and are not intended to limit the embodiments of the present application. One of ordinary skill in the art can make various obvious changes, modifications, and substitutions without departing from the scope of the present application. It would not be necessary or possible here to list all embodiments in an exhaustive manner. All modifications, equivalent substitutions and advancements that fall within the scope of the spirit and principle of the application are intended to be included within the scope of the claims of the application.

Claims

A round connector comprising a female connector (100) and a male connector (200) that can be fitted into each other, characterized in that a threaded connection structure is provided, comprising a female core pillar assembly provided on the female connector (100) and a male core pillar (230) provided on the male connector (200), wherein the female core pillar assembly comprises a female core pillar (130), a sealing member (150), and a connection nut (140) fitted on the female core pillar (130) and the sealing member (150); wherein an externally threaded portion (2302) is provided on a radially outer side of an end of the plug core column (230) in the axial direction, and an internally threaded portion (1401) for screwing to the externally threaded portion (2302) is provided at an end of the connection nut (140) in the axial direction, wherein an initial position of the internal thread of the internally threaded portion (1401) is set at the same position along a circumferential direction and an initial position of the external thread of the externally threaded portion (2302) is also set at the same position along a circumferential direction; wherein a first marking portion (1402) is provided on a radially outer side of the connection nut (140) at a position corresponding to the initial position of the internal thread of the internally threaded portion (1401); wherein a second flange (2303) is provided on the plug core column (230) adjacent to the external threaded region (2302), wherein a second marking portion (2304) is provided on the second flange (2303); and wherein the tightening torque of the threaded connection structure is reached a predetermined torque when the first marking portion (1402) is aligned with the second marking portion (2304).The round connector according to claim 1, characterized in that the first marking portion (1402) is provided with a starting end (1402a) and a terminating end (1402b), wherein the starting end (1402a) corresponds to the starting position of the internal thread of the internal thread portion (1401), and wherein the tightening torque of the connection structure is reached a predetermined torque when the second marking portion (2304) is aligned with an arbitrary position between the starting end (1402a) and the terminating end (1402b).Round connector according to claim 2, characterised in that the first marking section (1402) is formed as a triangular marking in the shape of a cone and the second marking section (2304) is formed as a square marking in the shape of a rectangle.The round connector according to claim 1, characterized in that the socket core column (130) comprises a socket core column body (1301) and a first flange (1302) provided on the socket core column body (1301), wherein the connection nut (140) is movably fitted on the socket core column body (1301) along a length direction of the socket core column body (1301) and abuts against the first flange (1302), wherein a first corrugated surface (1303) is provided on a side of the first flange (1302) against which the connection nut (140) abuts, and wherein a second corrugated surface (1403) adapted to the first corrugated surface (1303) is provided on the connection nut (140).The round connector according to claim 4, characterized in that the sealing member (150) is provided on a side of the first flange (1302) opposite to the first corrugated surface (1303), and is sandwiched between the female core column (130), the male core column (230), and the connection nut (140).The round connector according to claim 5, characterized in that the sealing member (150) radially seals a connection portion between the female core column (130) and the male core column (230) at an inner side of the connection nut (140).The round connector of claim 1, characterized in that the receptacle connector (100) further comprises a receptacle pin (120) inserted into the receptacle core column (130), and the plug connector (200) further comprises a plug pin (220) inserted into the plug core column (230), wherein the receptacle core column (130) is partially inserted into the plug core column (230), and wherein the receptacle pin (120) is electrically connected to the plug pin (220).Connecting cable arrangement, characterized in that it comprises a round connector according to one of Claims 1 to 7.

Images