Floating connector damper

Abstract

A connector assembly (100) comprises an accessory side connector (102), a vehicle side connector (104), and a gasket member (106). The accessory side connector (102) is attached to a vehicle accessory unit (202). The vehicle side connector (104) is attached to a vehicle to receive the vehicle accessory unit (202), which comprises a fixed portion (116) and a floating portion (118). The gasket member (106) connects the fixed portion (116) to the floating portion (118) to allow movement with respect to each other and the gasket member (106) comprises an annular ring body. An inverted s-shaped cross section (108) is defined on the annular ring body of the gasket member (106), which deforms shape to receive and accommodate the vehicle accessory unit (202) axially and laterally. The accessory side connector (102) is positioned via the floating portion (116) of the vehicle side connector (104) for alignment between each other.

Description

[0001] FLOATING CONNECTOR DAMPER

[0002] FIELD OF INVENTION

[0003] Embodiments of the present application illustrates docking of electronic devices, more specifically, docking of a battery unit inside a connector assembly.

[0004] BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0005] Background description includes information that may be useful in understanding the present invention. It is not an admission that any of the information provided herein is prior art or relevant to the presently disclosed invention, or that any publication specifically or implicitly referenced is prior art.

[0006] A generic electronic unit comprises multiple electronic connectors that are electrically and physically joined to a different or similar electronic unit. In connector assemblies, it is important to check for alignment issues during the design stage. Accordingly, properly designed alignment in such connectors play a positive role during repair and maintenance. Therefore, simplified connections in the connectors are preferred over complicated designs to prevent misalignment. In addition, when there is a need to replace and reconnect complicatedly designed connectors, the process might challenge the users with issues associated with excessive time consumption, expensive replacement cost, etc. Furthermore, it’s important to take in to consideration issues with the tolerance between the sub-assemblies or electrical units that could result in connectors, for example, blind mate connectors that fail to engage. This may result in misalignment between engaging electronic units, which may generate various difficulties during the assembling process. Therefore, the blind mate connectors need to be improved to have capabilities to take up misalignment due to assembly tolerance of subassemblies or electrical units.

[0007] Therefore, there is a need for an improved connector that embodies a blind mate feature coupled with multi-directional engagement, which provides for easy engagement and disengagement of coupling units. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0008] The following presents a simplified summary of the subject matter in order to provide a basic understanding of some of the aspects of subject matter embodiments. This summary is not an extensive overview of the subject matter. It is not intended to identify key / critical elements of the embodiments or to delineate the scope of the subject matter. Its sole purpose to present some concepts of the subject matter in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detailed description that is presented later.

[0009] A connector assembly disclosed here comprises an accessory side connector, a vehicle side connector, a gasket member, and an inverted s-shaped cross section. The accessory side connector is attached to a vehicle accessory unit. The vehicle side connector is attached to a vehicle to receive the vehicle accessory unit, and the vehicle side connector comprises a fixed portion and a floating portion. The gasket member connects the fixed portion to the floating portion to allow movement with respect to each other, and the gasket member comprises an annular ring body. The inverted s-shaped cross section is defined on the annular ring body of the gasket member. The inverted s-shaped cross section deforms shape to receive and accommodate the vehicle accessory unit axially and laterally. The accessory side connector of the vehicle accessory unit is positioned via the floating portion of the vehicle side connector for alignment between each other.

[0010] In an embodiment, the vehicle accessory unit is a removable battery of a vehicle, or the vehicle accessory unit is a charger gun of a vehicle. In an embodiment, the vehicle side connector, the accessory side connector, and the gasket member are aligned along a fixed vertical axis, which facilitates the vehicle accessory unit to be axially positioned into the vehicle side connector using the accessory side connector. In an embodiment, the inverted s-shaped cross section of the gasket member retains original shape after the vehicle accessory unit is removed from the vehicle side connector.

[0011] In an embodiment, the vehicle side connector comprises a stopper to limit the movement of the vehicle side connector to be not more than a predefined length. In an embodiment, the vehicle side connector comprises multiple pilot pins to guide the vehicle accessory unit to be axially positioned into the vehicle side connector using the accessory side connector. In an embodiment, the fixed portion is for mounting the vehicle side connector, and the floating portion along with the gasket member form parts of the vehicle side connector, which are aligned along the fixed vertical axis. The gasket member and the floating portion are moulded into one piece, and the floating portion engages with the accessory side connector along the fixed vertical axis.

[0012] In an embodiment, the gasket member has a uniform thickness in all the regions and material of the gasket member is made of silicon rubber with a thickness of 1 mm. In an embodiment, the gasket member comprises an inner section, a mid-section, and outer support section. The mid-section comprises the inverted s-shaped cross section where the deformation happens, so that the gasket member is deformed in lateral and axial conditions. The inner support section of the gasket member is connected with floating portion, and the outer section of the of the gasket member is connected to the fixed portion of the vehicle side connector.

[0013] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE ACCOMPANYING DRAWINGS

[0014] The following drawings are illustrative of particular examples for enabling systems and methods of the present disclosure, are descriptive of some of the methods and mechanism, and are not intended to limit the scope of the invention. The drawings are not to scale (unless so stated) and are intended for use in conjunction with the explanations in the following detailed description.

[0015] FIGURE 1A exemplarily illustrates a side perspective view of the accessory side connector of the connector assembly, as an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0016] FIGURE IB exemplarily illustrates a side perspective view of the vehicle side connector of the connector assembly, as an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0017] FIGURE 1C exemplarily illustrates a side perspective view of the gasket member of the connector assembly, as an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0018] FIGURES 1C (a) and 1C (b) exemplarily illustrate a top view and a sectional view respectively of the gasket member along line G-G, showing the sections of the gasket member, as an example embodiment of the present disclosure. FIGURE ID exemplarily illustrates an assembled side view of the connector assembly, as an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0019] FIGURE IE exemplarily illustrates a sectional side view of the assembled connector assembly, as an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0020] FIGURE 2A exemplarily illustrates a vehicle accessory unit being axially positioned into the vehicle side connector using the accessory side connector, as a working example embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0021] FIGURE 2B exemplarily illustrates a vehicle accessory unit after being axially positioned into the vehicle side connector using the accessory side connector, as a working example embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0022] Persons skilled in the art will appreciate that elements in the figures are illustrated for simplicity and clarity and may represent both hardware and software components of the system. Further, the dimensions of some of the elements in the figure may be exaggerated relative to other elements to help to improve understanding of various exemplary embodiments of the present disclosure. Throughout the drawings, it should be noted that like reference numbers are used to depict the same or similar elements, features, and structures.

[0023] DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0024] Exemplary embodiments now will be described. The disclosure may, however, be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey its scope to those skilled in the art. The terminology used in the detailed description of the particular exemplary embodiments illustrated in the accompanying drawings is not intended to be limiting. In the drawings, like numbers refer to like elements. It is to be noted, however, that the reference numerals used herein illustrate only typical embodiments of the present subject matter, and are therefore, not to be considered for limiting of its scope, for the subject matter may admit to other equally effective embodiments.

[0025] The specification may refer to “an”, “one” or “some” embodiment(s) in several locations. This does not necessarily imply that each such reference is to the same embodiment(s), or that the feature only applies to a single embodiment. Single features of different embodiments may also be combined to provide other embodiments.

[0026] As used herein, the singular forms “a”, “an” and “the” are intended to include the plural forms as well, unless expressly stated otherwise. It will be further understood that the terms “includes”, “comprises”, “including” and / or “comprising” when used in this specification, specify the presence of stated features, integers, steps, operations, elements, and / or components, but do not preclude the presence or addition of one or more other features, integers, steps, operations, elements, components, and / or groups thereof. It will be understood that when an element is referred to as being “connected” or “coupled” to another element, it can be directly connected or coupled to the other element or intervening elements may be present. Furthermore, “connected” or “coupled” as used herein may include operatively connected or coupled. As used herein, the term “and / or” includes any and all combinations and arrangements of one or more of the associated listed items.

[0027] Unless otherwise defined, all terms (including technical and scientific terms) used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by one of ordinary skill in the art to which this disclosure pertains. It will be further understood that terms, such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries, should be interpreted as having a meaning that is consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant art and will not be interpreted in an idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.

[0028] Referring to FIGURES 1A-1E, FIGURE 1A exemplarily illustrates a side perspective view of the accessory side connector (102) of the connector assembly (100), FIGURE IB exemplarily illustrates a side perspective view of the vehicle side connector (104) of the connector assembly (100), FIGURE 1C exemplarily illustrates a side perspective view of the gasket member (106) of the connector assembly (100), FIGURE ID exemplarily illustrates an assembled side view of the connector assembly (100), and FIGURE IE exemplarily illustrates a sectional side view of the assembled connector assembly (100), as an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0029] As used herein, the accessory side connector (102) refers to a connector portion that contains a battery unit that is designed to be connected to a docking portion in a vehicle. As used herein, the vehicle side connector (104) refers to a docking portion that allows docking of accessory units of the vehicle.

[0030] The connector assembly (100) comprises the accessory side connector (102), the vehicle side connector (104), a gasket member (106), and an inverted s-shaped cross section (108). The accessory side connector (102) is attached to a vehicle accessory unit (202). The vehicle side connector (104) is attached to a vehicle to receive the vehicle accessory unit (202), and the vehicle side connector (104) comprises a fixed portion (116) and a floating portion (118) [or a floating member]. The gasket member (106) connects the fixed portion (116) to the floating portion (118) to allow movement with respect to each other, and the gasket member (106) comprises an annular ring body. The vehicle accessory unit (202) is, but not limited to, a removable battery of a vehicle, or a charger gun of a vehicle. As an example-embodiment, the gasket member (106) has a uniform thickness in all the regions and material of the gasket member (106) is made of silicon rubber with a thickness of 1 mm. The accessory side connector (102) is designed for multi directional mating. In other words, the vehicle side connector (104) has floating design due to which multidirectional engagement is possible.

[0031] The inverted s-shaped cross section (108) is defined on the annular ring body of the gasket member (106). The inverted s-shaped cross section (108) deforms shape to receive and accommodate the vehicle accessory unit (202) axially and laterally. In other words, the gasket member (106) or the S-shaped elastomeric diaphragm allows the vehicle side connector (104) to float between the fixed portion (116) of the vehicle side connector (104) by 2 mm. The inverted s-shaped cross section (108) of the gasket member (106) retains original shape after the vehicle accessory unit (202) is removed from the vehicle side connector (104), owing to the material properties of the gasket member (106). The accessory side connector (102) of the vehicle accessory unit (202) is positioned via the floating portion (116) of the vehicle side connector (104) for alignment between each other. FIGURE 1C exemplarily illustrates a side perspective view of the gasket member (106) of the connector assembly (100), as an example embodiment of the present disclosure. FIGURES 1C (a) and 1C (b) exemplarily illustrate a top view and a sectional view respectively of the gasket member (106) along line G-G, showing the sections of the gasket member (106), as an example embodiment of the present disclosure. The structure of the gasket member (106) comprises three sections. The three sections are an inner section (120), a mid-section (122), and outer support section (124). The mid-section (122) comprises the inverted s-shaped cross section (108) where the deformation happens, so that the gasket member (106) is deformed in lateral and axial conditions. The inner support section (120) of the gasket member (106) is connected with floating portion (118), the outer section (124) of the gasket member (106) is connected to the fixed portion (116) of the vehicle side connector (104).

[0032] The vehicle side connector (104), the accessory side connector (102), and the gasket member (106) are aligned along a fixed vertical axis (110), which facilitates the vehicle accessory unit (202) to be axially positioned into the vehicle side connector (104) using the accessory side connector (102). The vehicle side connector (104) comprises a stopper (112) to limit the movement of the vehicle side connector (104) to be not more than a predefined length. The stopper (112) limits the movement within a predefined length of not more than 2mm. The vehicle side connector (104) comprises multiple pilot pins (114) to guide the vehicle accessory unit (202) to be axially positioned into the vehicle side connector (104) using the accessory side connector (102). The pilot pins (114) help a user to guide the vehicle accessory unit (202) during installation. In the construction of the connector assembly (100), the fixed portion (116) is for mounting the vehicle side connector (104), and the floating portion (118) and the gasket member (106) form parts of the vehicle side connector (104), which are aligned along the fixed vertical axis (110). The gasket member (106) and the floating portion (104) are moulded into one piece. The floating portion (118) engages with the accessory side connector (102) along the fixed vertical axis (110).

[0033] Referring to FIGURES 2A-2B, FIGURE 2A exemplarily illustrates a vehicle accessory unit (202) being axially positioned into the vehicle side connector (104) using the accessory side connector (102), and FIGURE 2B exemplarily illustrates a vehicle accessory unit (202) after being axially positioned into the vehicle side connector (104) using the accessory side connector (102), as a working example embodiment of the present disclosure. As shown in FIGURE 2A, the vehicle accessory unit (202) is positioned within the accessory side connector (102) and brought into alignment with the vehicle side connector (104) along the fixed vertical axis (110) using pilot pins (114) during engagement. The vehicle accessory unit (202) is then engaged on to the vehicle side connector (104) using the accessory side connector (102). As shown in FIGURE 2B, the inverted s-shaped cross section (108) of the gasket member (106) deforms it’s shape, where one side of gasket member (106) is compressed and other side of it expands to move the floating part of the floating portion (118) to get aligned with accessory side connector (102). This way the so formed curvature in the gasket member (106) centrally aligns the vehicle accessory unit (202) to be received and axially / laterally accommodated at the center of the vehicle side connector (104) using the accessory side connector (102). The stopper (112) limits the movement of the vehicle side connector (104) to not more than 2mm.

[0034] Current invention has been discussed specifically with full disclosure. However, numerous changes can be made in the detail of structures, combinations, and part arrangement along with technical advancements that will be implemented in near future without changing the spirit and scope of the invention.

[0035] Although the invention has been described with reference to specific embodiments, this description is not meant to be construed in a limiting sense. Various modifications of the disclosed embodiments, as well as alternate embodiments of the invention, will become apparent to persons skilled in the art upon reference to the description of the invention. It is therefore, contemplated that such modifications can be made without departing from the scope of the present invention as defined.

Claims

We claim:

1. A connector assembly (100) comprising: an accessory side connector (102) that is attached to a vehicle accessory unit (202); a vehicle side connector (104) that is attached to a vehicle to receive the vehicle accessory unit (202), wherein the vehicle side connector (104) comprises a fixed portion (116) and a floating portion (118); a gasket member (106) connecting the fixed portion (116) to the floating portion (118) to allow movement with respect to each other, wherein the gasket member (106) comprises an annular ring body; and an inverted s-shaped cross section (108) defined on the annular ring body, wherein the inverted s-shaped cross section (108) of the gasket member (106) deforms shape to receive and accommodate the vehicle accessory unit (202) axially and laterally, wherein the accessory side connector (102) of the vehicle accessory unit (202) is positioned via the floating portion (116) of the vehicle side connector (104) for alignment between each other.

2. The connector assembly (100) as claimed in claiml, wherein the vehicle accessory unit (202) is a removable battery of a vehicle.

3. The connector assembly (100) as claimed in claiml, wherein the vehicle accessory unit (202) is a charger gun of a vehicle.

4. The connector assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vehicle side connector (104), the accessory side connector (102), and the gasket member (106) are aligned along a fixed vertical axis (110), which facilitates the vehicle accessory unit (202) to be axially positioned into the vehicle side connector (104) using the accessory side connector (102).

5. The connector assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the inverted s-shaped cross section (108) of the gasket member (106) retains original shape after the vehicle accessory unit (202) is removed from the vehicle side connector (104).

6. The connector assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vehicle side connector (104) comprises a stopper (112) to limit the movement of the vehicle side connector (104) to be not more than a predefined length.

7. The connector assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the vehicle side connector (104) comprises a plurality of pilot pins (114) to guide the vehicle accessory unit (202) to be axially positioned into the vehicle side connector (104) using the accessory side connector (102).

8. The connector assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein: the fixed portion (116) is for mounting the vehicle side connector (104); and the floating portion (118) along with the gasket member (106) form parts of the vehicle side connector (104), which are aligned along the fixed vertical axis (110), wherein the gasket member (106) and the floating portion (104) are moulded into one piece, and wherein the floating portion (118) engages with the accessory side connector (102) along the fixed vertical axis (110).

9. The connector assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gasket member (106) has a uniform thickness in all the regions and material of the gasket member (106) is made of silicon rubber with a thickness of 1 mm.

10. The connector assembly (100) as claimed in claim 1, wherein the gasket member (106) comprises an inner section (120), a mid-section (122), and outer support section (124), wherein the mid-section (122) comprises the inverted s-shaped cross section (108) where the deformation happens, so that the gasket member (106) is deformed in lateral and axial conditions, the inner support section (120) of the gasket member (106) is connected with floating portion (118), and the outer section (124) of the of the gasket member (106) is connected to the fixed portion (116) of the vehicle side connector (104)

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