Connector assembly capable of displaying number of pluggings / unpluggings

Abstract

The present application discloses a connector assembly capable of displaying the number of pluggings / unpluggings, comprising a female connector, a male connector, a driving mechanism, a one-way mechanism, and a display mechanism. According to the connector assembly of the present application, when the male connector is in insertion fit with the female connector, the driving mechanism drives a gear to rotate in a preset direction, by means of the one-way mechanism, the gear is prevented from reversely rotating when the male connector is separated from the female connector, so that the gear will rotate by a certain angle each time when the plugging / unplugging of the connector assembly of the present application is completed, and the number of pluggings / unpluggings of the connector assembly is displayed by the display mechanism arranged on the gear, so that the number of pluggings / unpluggings of the connector assembly can be directly read.

Description

Connector assembly capable of displaying number of insertions and removals

[0001] Related Applications

[0002] This application claims priority to Chinese Patent Application No. 202410444114.9, filed on April 15, 2024, and incorporates by reference the entire disclosure of the aforementioned patent application as part of the present application. TECHNICAL FIELD

[0003] The present application relates to the technical field of connectors, and in particular to a connector assembly capable of displaying the number of insertions and removals. BACKGROUND

[0004] In an automobile wiring harness system, a connector is a component that connects a wiring harness by matching male and female terminals, thereby allowing current to flow and enabling a circuit to perform a predetermined function.

[0005] As people's requirements for the safety, comfort, economy, and emission of automobiles increase, the electrical functions of the entire vehicle become more and more complex, and the connectors used in automobiles are increasing. The connectors have matching male and female terminals, and the performance of the male and female terminals can decrease after repeated insertion and removal, resulting in poor contact. When a traditional connector fails, it is difficult to determine the cause of the failure, specifically, whether it is due to reaching the designed service life or due to a design defect, thereby making it difficult to troubleshoot and analyze the problem. SUMMARY

[0006] Therefore, the purpose of the present application is to provide a connector assembly capable of displaying the number of insertions and removals to solve the technical problems mentioned in the background.

[0007] To achieve the above-mentioned purpose, the technical solution adopted by the present application is as follows: a connector assembly capable of displaying the number of insertions and removals, comprising: a female connector; a male connector that is inserted and cooperated with the female connector, the male connector has a first insertion cavity inside for accommodating the female connector, and a second insertion cavity that is in communication with the first insertion cavity, a gear is rotatably arranged inside the second insertion cavity, and a first guide column is arranged on the side wall of the female connector and is inserted into the second insertion cavity; a dialing mechanism is installed on the first guide column and is used to dial the gear to rotate in a predetermined direction when the male connector and the female connector are inserted and cooperated; a one-way mechanism is arranged on one side of the gear and is used to prevent the gear from rotating in the opposite direction when the male connector and the female connector are separated; and a display mechanism is arranged on the gear, and the display mechanism displays the number of insertions and removals of the connector assembly according to the angle of rotation of the gear after each insertion and removal of the connector assembly.

[0008] In some embodiments, the first guide post has a mounting groove on the side wall of the gear, the poking mechanism is an elastic sheet with elasticity, one end of the elastic sheet is mounted in the mounting groove, and the other end extends to the outside of the mounting groove, when the male connector and the female connector are plugged together, the free end of the elastic sheet enters the gear and pokes the gear to rotate in a predetermined direction;

[0009] When the male connector and the female connector are separated, the free end of the elastic sheet is separated from the gear after being pressed by the teeth of the gear.

[0010] In some embodiments, the display mechanism is a scale arranged on one end surface of the gear along the circumferential direction of the gear, and the side wall of the male connector has an observation port for exposing the scale; the angle of rotation of the gear corresponds to one scale when the male connector and the female connector are plugged and unplugged once.

[0011] In some embodiments, the one-way mechanism is a one-way ratchet structure;

[0012] The end surface of the gear without the scale is provided with a plurality of inwardly recessed fan-shaped grooves along the circumferential direction, and the one-way ratchet structure is a clamping sheet clamped with the plurality of fan-shaped grooves, the free end of the clamping sheet passes through different fan-shaped grooves in sequence during rotation of the gear in a predetermined direction, and the clamping sheet is clamped to the side wall of the corresponding fan-shaped groove after the male connector and the female connector are plugged together.

[0013] In some embodiments, the depth of the fan-shaped groove gradually decreases in the direction of rotation of the gear.

[0014] In some embodiments, the second plugging cavity has a positioning column inside, and the positioning column and the inner wall of the second plugging cavity form a clamping area for mounting the clamping sheet.

[0015] In some embodiments, the inner wall of the second plugging cavity is at least partially recessed inwardly corresponding to the clamping area to form a collapse area for positioning the clamping sheet;

[0016] One end of the clamping sheet is in a U shape and clamped in the clamping area, and the other end is bent towards the direction of the gear and clamped into the corresponding fan-shaped groove.

[0017] In some embodiments, the side wall of the male connector has a window for facilitating the mounting of the clamping sheet, and the window is in communication with the second plugging cavity.

[0018] In some embodiments, at least one first guide groove is formed on the inner wall of the first plug-in cavity in a direction in which the female connector is inserted into the male connector, and at least one first guide rib is arranged on the outer wall of the female connector and matched with the first guide groove, and the end of the first guide rib away from the male connector is wedge-shaped.

[0019] In some embodiments, a second guide groove is formed on the side wall of the first guide column in a direction in which the second plug-in cavity is inserted into the first guide column, and a second guide rib is arranged on the inner wall of the second plug-in cavity and / or the first plug-in cavity and matched with the second guide groove.

[0020] The beneficial effects of the present application are that when the connector assembly of the present application is plugged and matched with the male connector and the female connector, the gear is rotated in a predetermined direction by the driving mechanism, and the gear is prevented from being reversely rotated when the male connector and the female connector are separated by the one-way mechanism, so that the gear will be rotated by a certain angle after each plugging and unplugging of the connector assembly, the display mechanism arranged on the gear can display the plugging and unplugging times of the connector assembly, so that the plugging and unplugging times of the connector assembly can be directly read out, which helps to quickly determine whether the failure reason is the expiration of the service life or the design risk, thereby saving troubleshooting time and facilitating the investigation of specific reasons. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0021] The accompanying drawings incorporated in and forming a part of the specification illustrate embodiments of the present application and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the application.

[0022] FIG. 1 is an exploded schematic view of a connector assembly provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0023] FIG. 2 is a top view of the connector assembly shown in FIG. 1 after assembly;

[0024] FIG. 3 is a sectional view of FIG. 2 along the direction of B-B;

[0025] FIG. 4 is a sectional view of FIG. 2 along the direction of C-C;

[0026] FIG. 5 is a front view of the connector assembly shown in FIG. 1 after assembly;

[0027] FIG. 6 is a partially enlarged schematic view of A in FIG. 2;

[0028] FIG. 7 is a structural schematic view of a gear in the connector assembly provided by an embodiment of the present application;

[0029] FIG. 8 is a sectional view of FIG. 2 along the direction of D-D. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0030] Various exemplary embodiments of the present application will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Note that the relative arrangement of the components and steps illustrated in these embodiments, numerical expressions, and numerical values are merely examples, and do not limit the scope of the present application unless specifically stated otherwise.

[0031] The following description of at least one exemplary embodiment is merely illustrative in nature and is in no way intended to limit the scope of the application or its application or uses.

[0032] Techniques, methods, and apparatus known to those of ordinary skill in the relevant art can not be discussed in detail herein, but should be considered as part of the specification, where appropriate.

[0033] In all of the examples shown and discussed herein, any specific values should be interpreted as merely illustrative, and not as a limitation. Other examples of the exemplary embodiments can have different values.

[0034] A connector assembly capable of displaying the number of times of plugging, as shown in FIGS. 1-5, comprises a male connector 20 and a female connector 10 which are plugged together, the male connector 20 has a first plugging cavity 201 inside for receiving the female connector 10, and a second plugging cavity 202 which is in communication with the first plugging cavity 201, the female connector 10 has a first guide post 101 which is at least partially inserted into the second plugging cavity 202, the first guide post 101 has a knob installed thereon, the second plugging cavity 202 has a gear 30 which is rotatably arranged inside and cooperates with the knob, when the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 are plugged together, the knob rotates the gear 30 in a predetermined direction by being rotated. In this embodiment, the direction of the rotation of the gear is shown in FIG. 3, as the first guide post 101 and the knob are inserted, the gear 30 rotates in the clockwise direction shown in FIG. 3 to facilitate the assembly of the male connector 20 and the female connector 10. Further, one side of the gear 30 has a one-way mechanism for preventing the gear 30 from rotating in the reverse direction, so that the secondary locking after the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 are plugged together can be achieved, compared with the existing CPA (Connector Position Assurance) mechanism, the assembly gap between the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 can be significantly reduced, so that the relative displacement of the terminal assemblies of the male connector and the female connector in the axial direction due to factors such as vibration and pulling during actual use can be prevented, and the product application environment and reliability can be improved.

[0035] In addition, the gear 30 is further provided with a display mechanism, which displays the number of times of plugging of the connector assembly according to the angle of rotation of the gear 30 after each plugging of the connector assembly is completed. When the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 are plugged together, the gear 30 is rotated in a predetermined direction by the poking mechanism, and the gear 30 is prevented from being rotated reversely when the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 are separated by the one-way mechanism. Therefore, the gear 30 is rotated by a certain angle after each plugging of the connector assembly is completed, and the display mechanism provided on the gear can display the number of times of plugging of the connector assembly, so that the number of times of plugging of the connector assembly can be directly read, which helps to quickly determine whether the failure reason is that the service life is expired or the design risk, thereby saving the troubleshooting time and facilitating the investigation of the specific reason.

[0036] In an embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1, 3 and 4, the first guide column 101 is provided with a mounting groove 102 on the side wall facing the gear 30, the poking mechanism is an elastic sheet 60 having elasticity, one end of the elastic sheet 60 is mounted in the mounting groove 102, in order to prevent the elastic sheet 60 from falling off, the one end of the elastic sheet 60 is bent and then pressed in the mounting groove, the other end of the elastic sheet 60 is bent and then extends to the outside of the mounting groove 102, when the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 are plugged together, the free end of the elastic sheet 60 enters the tooth of the gear 30 and pokes the gear 30 to rotate in a predetermined direction; when the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 are separated, the free end of the elastic sheet 60 is deformed after being pressed by the tooth of the gear 30, so as to be separated from the gear 30, and after the free end of the elastic sheet 60 is separated from the gear 30, the free end of the elastic sheet 60 returns to the original state.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 and FIG. 5, the display mechanism is a scale 70 arranged on one end surface of the gear 30 along the circumferential direction, and the side wall of the male connector 20 is provided with an observation port 209 for exposing the scale 70; the angle of rotation of the gear 30 corresponds to one scale when the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 are inserted and pulled out once, so that the scale seen from the observation port 209 changes once (for example, from 1 to 2). For a low-voltage connector, since the low-voltage connector is not a frequently inserted and pulled out component, the service life requirement of 10 times can meet the requirement in consideration of use and maintenance. Therefore, for a low-voltage connector, the scale is generally designed as 0-11, that is, the initial scale at the observation port 209 is 0, and the angle of rotation of the gear 30 corresponds to one scale when the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 are inserted and pulled out once, that is, the scale at the observation port 209 increases by 1, which corresponds to the number of times of insertion and pulling out of the connector assembly, so that the number of times of insertion and pulling out of the connector assembly can be displayed according to the angle of rotation of the gear 30 after each insertion and pulling out of the connector assembly is completed. In addition, it needs to be noted that when the number of times of insertion and pulling out of the connector assembly is displayed as 11, the connector assembly needs to be replaced in order to ensure the stability of the system, regardless of whether the connector assembly is damaged or not.

[0038] In an embodiment, the one-way mechanism is a one-way ratchet structure. As shown in FIG. 4, FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, the end surface of the gear 30, on which the scale 70 is not arranged, is provided with a plurality of inwardly recessed fan-shaped grooves 301 along the circumferential direction, and the one-way ratchet structure is a clamping piece 40 clamped with the plurality of fan-shaped grooves 301, and in the process of rotating the gear 30 in a predetermined direction, the free end of the clamping piece 40 passes through different fan-shaped grooves 301 in sequence, and the clamping piece 40 is clamped to the side wall of the corresponding fan-shaped groove 301 after the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 are inserted and connected, so as to realize the rear stop position of the male connector 20 during insertion.

[0039] Further, as shown in FIG. 7, in order to reduce the resistance when the free end of the clamping piece 40 passes through different fan-shaped grooves 301 in sequence, and improve the smoothness and hand feeling during the insertion and connection of the male connector 20 and the female connector 10, the groove depth of the fan-shaped groove 301 gradually decreases in the direction 50 of rotation of the gear, and the free end of the clamping piece 40 is slowly lifted by the fan-shaped groove 301 with changing groove depth and enters the next fan-shaped groove 301, until the clamping piece 40 is clamped to the side wall of the corresponding fan-shaped groove 301 after the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 are inserted and connected, so as to realize the rear stop position of the male connector 20 during insertion. For details, please refer to FIG. 4.

[0040] In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. 6, the inside of the second insertion cavity 202 has a positioning column 204, which forms a clamping area 205 for installing the clamping sheet 40 between the inner wall of the second insertion cavity 202 and the positioning column 204, and the clamping sheet 40 is installed in the clamping area 205. Specifically, one end of the clamping sheet 40 is U-shaped and clamped in the clamping area 205, and the other end is bent towards the direction of the gear 30 and clamped in the corresponding sector groove 301. In order to facilitate the bending of the clamping sheet 40, the inner wall of the second insertion cavity 202 is at least partially recessed inward at the corresponding clamping area 205 to form a collapsed area 206 for positioning the clamping sheet 40. After the other end of the clamping sheet 40 extends to the outside from the collapsed area 206, the collapsed area 206 and the transition slope at the connection between the second insertion cavity 202 and the clamping sheet 40 support the bent section of the clamping sheet 40, achieve the secure connection of the clamping sheet 40, prevent the clamping sheet 40 from loosening or falling off when under stress, and thus prevent the failure of the one-way mechanism.

[0041] Further, as shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 6, the side wall of the male connector 20 has a window 208 for facilitating the installation of the clamping sheet 40, and the window 208 is in communication with the second insertion cavity 202. The clamping sheet 40 can enter the second insertion cavity 202 from the window 208 to facilitate the assembly and replacement of the clamping sheet 40, and the working condition of the clamping sheet 40 can be observed through the window 208 to ensure the effectiveness of the clamping sheet 40 (one-way mechanism).

[0042] In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the inner wall of the first insertion cavity 201 is provided with at least one first guide groove 203 in the direction of inserting the male connector 20 into the female connector 10, and the outer wall of the female connector 10 is provided with at least one first guide rib 103 matched with the first guide groove 203, and the end of the first guide rib 103 away from the male connector 20 is wedge-shaped. The insertion and mating process of the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 is as follows: first, insert the first guide rib 103 provided on the outer wall of the female connector 10 into the first guide groove 203 to preliminarily position the male connector 20 and the female connector 10; then push the male connector 20 to smoothly assemble the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 through the cooperation of the gear 30 and the pushing mechanism; and when the wedge-shaped structure cannot continue to push the male connector 20 due to the wedge-shaped connection with the first guide groove 203, the assembly of the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 is completed. At this time, the one-way mechanism provided on one side of the gear 30 is used to prevent the gear 30 from rotating in the reverse direction, and the wedge-shaped structure and the one-way mechanism respectively realize the front and rear stops during the insertion of the male connector 20, so as to realize the secondary locking after the insertion and mating of the male connector 20 and the female connector 10.

[0043] In an embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, a second guide groove 104 is formed on the sidewall of the first guide column 101 in the direction of inserting the second plug-in cavity 202 into the first guide column 101, and a second guide rib 207 is arranged on the inner wall of the second plug-in cavity 202 or / and the first plug-in cavity 201 and cooperates with the second guide groove 104, so as to realize positioning and error prevention of the insertion of the first guide column 101.

[0044] Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a terminal mounting portion 210 is arranged in the first plug-in cavity 201 in the axial direction, and an elastic sealing member 60 is sleeved on the outside of the terminal mounting portion 210. After the female connector 10 is inserted into the male connector 20, the end of the female connector 10 facing the male connector 20 is in abutting contact with the elastic sealing member 60, so as to offset the assembly gap reserved between the male connector 20 and the female connector 10. At the same time, since the elastic sealing member 60 supports the male connector 20 and the female connector 10, it can prevent the terminal assembly of the male connector and the female connector from being displaced in the axial direction and from shaking due to factors such as vibration and pulling in actual use, and can improve the application environment and reliability of the product. Specifically, the elastic sealing member 60 is an S-shaped sealing plug with elastic recovery capability. When the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 are assembled, the elastic sealing member 60 is shrunk due to the inwardly pressing force. After the male connector 20 and the female connector 10 are assembled, the S-shaped sealing plug rebounds after the force disappears, so as to be in abutting contact with the end of the female connector 10 facing the male connector 20, so as to offset the assembly gap reserved between the male connector 20 and the female connector 10.

[0045] Although some specific embodiments of the present application have been described in detail by examples, those skilled in the art should understand that the above examples are only for illustration, but not for limiting the scope of the present application. Those skilled in the art should understand that the above embodiments can be modified without departing from the scope and spirit of the present application. The scope of the present application is defined by the appended claims.

Claims

1. A connector assembly capable of displaying the number of insertion and removal operations, characterized by comprising: The utility model relates to a connector assembly, which comprises: a female connector; a male connector which is inserted into the female connector, the male connector has a first insertion cavity for accommodating the female connector, and a second insertion cavity which is in communication with the first insertion cavity, a gear is rotatably arranged in the second insertion cavity, a first guide post is arranged on the sidewall of the female connector and is at least partially inserted into the second insertion cavity; a pushing mechanism which is arranged on the first guide post and is used to push the gear to rotate in a predetermined direction when the male connector is inserted into the female connector; a one-way mechanism which is arranged on one side of the gear and is used to prevent the gear from rotating reversely when the male connector is separated from the female connector; and a display mechanism which is arranged on the gear and is used to display the number of times the connector assembly is inserted and separated according to the angle of rotation of the gear after each insertion and separation. The sidewall of the female connector which faces the gear is provided with a mounting groove, the pushing mechanism is an elastic sheet which has elasticity, one end of the elastic sheet is arranged in the mounting groove, and the other end of the elastic sheet extends to the outside of the mounting groove, when the male connector is inserted into the female connector, the free end of the elastic sheet enters the gear and pushes the gear to rotate in a predetermined direction, and when the male connector is separated from the female connector, the free end of the elastic sheet is pressed by the gear and is separated from the gear.

2. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein: The display mechanism is a scale which is arranged on one end surface of the gear along the circumferential direction of the gear, the sidewall of the male connector is provided with an observation port which exposes the scale, and the angle of rotation of the gear corresponds to one scale after each insertion and separation of the male connector and the female connector. The one-way mechanism is a one-way ratchet structure, and the end surface of the gear which is not provided with the scale is provided with a plurality of inwardly recessed sector grooves along the circumferential direction, the one-way ratchet structure is a clamping sheet which is clamped and matched with the sector grooves, the free end of the clamping sheet passes through different sector grooves in sequence during the rotation of the gear in a predetermined direction, and the clamping sheet is clamped to the sidewall of the corresponding sector groove after the insertion of the male connector into the female connector.

3. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein: The depth of the sector grooves gradually decreases in the direction of rotation of the gear.

4. The connector assembly of claim 3, wherein: The second insertion cavity is provided with a positioning post, and the positioning post and the inner wall of the second insertion cavity form a clamping area for arranging the clamping sheet. The inner wall of the second insertion cavity is recessed inwardly at least partially to form a collapse area for positioning the clamping sheet, and 5. The connector assembly of claim 4, wherein: one end of the clamping sheet is in the shape of U and is clamped in the clamping area, and the other end of the clamping sheet is bent towards the direction of the gear and is clamped into the corresponding sector groove.

6. The connector assembly of claim 4, wherein: The sidewall of the male connector is provided with a window which facilitates the arrangement of the clamping sheet, and the window is in communication with the second insertion cavity.

7. The connector assembly of claim 6, wherein: The inner wall of the first insertion cavity is provided with at least one first guide groove in the direction of the arrangement of the female connector into the male connector, the outer wall of the female connector is provided with at least one first guide rib which is matched with the first guide groove, and the end of the first guide rib which is away from the male connector is in the shape of a wedge. ​ 8. The connector assembly of claim 4, wherein: ​ 9. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein: ​ 10. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein: A second guide groove is formed on the sidewall of the first guide post in a direction in which the first guide post is inserted into the second insertion cavity.

11. The connector assembly of claim 1, wherein: An axial terminal mounting portion is arranged in the first insertion cavity, and an elastic sealing member is arranged outside the terminal mounting portion. After the female connector is inserted into the male connector, one end of the female connector facing the male connector is in abutting contact with the elastic sealing member.

12. The connector assembly of claim 11, wherein: The elastic sealing member is an S-shaped sealing plug having an elastic recovery capability.

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