CN108539529B - Power supply connector - Google Patents

Abstract

A connector is disclosed that includes a housing and a pair of terminals. Each terminal includes a planar body portion and a planar mounting portion formed at a first end of the body portion, the body portion and the mounting portion being coplanar, wherein a curved contact portion is located between the planar body portion and the planar mounting portion. A wire securing portion is formed at the second end of the body portion, wherein a pair of crimping portions secure the wire to the terminal. The body portion and the mounting portion are each received in a slot formed in the housing, wherein the contact portion extends through a window formed in the housing and the terminal mounting portion is translatable within the slot.

Description

Power supply connector

The present application is filed by the applicant "Moles Limited; a divisional application of an application such as parsga ∙ clathra west ∙ somna sala ∙ raman na, crichi na ∙ prasuda ∙ dabal ∙ somnas, charmara jianagal ∙ papa ∙ tangha, nieuke ∙ bera 8729, purrocoul, joseph ∙ D ∙ kegaxi, patrick ∙ J ∙ kirilon ", having application date 07 month 30 th 2014, having application number 201480053924.6, entitled" power connector ".

Technical Field

The present application relates to the field of connectors, and more particularly to the field of connectors adapted for supplying power.

Background

There is currently a need for a line-to-line connector system, particularly a power transmission system. One particular problem is that a unique plug and receptacle connector is typically required for a connector system. This requires that the respective components in these connectors be assembled properly and correctly. Generally, each connector includes an insulative housing and a conductive terminal secured to an end of a cable or wire lead. The connector system generally includes a plug and a receptacle having corresponding male and female conductive terminals.

Each connector requires a plurality of terminated terminal wires to be inserted into respective cavities of the housing. In some cases, the conductive terminals may not be inserted in a correct manner, or the wrong terminals are employed, which results in damage and electrical failure (electrical failure) of the respective terminals. Thus, it would be desirable to have a power terminal that eliminates these problems that may be associated with wire-to-wire connector systems.

Disclosure of Invention

The present application relates generally to a power connector that can be integrated into a connector system and that can function well under high current density conditions. Generally, the connectors are suitable for use as module components in a module assembly. For example, the modular assembly may take the form of a wire-to-wire or wire-to-wire connector and may provide a low height connector system when desired.

A connector assembly may be provided that includes a hermaphroditic plug connector and a receptacle connector that includes more than one hermaphroditic blade power contact disposed within a housing of each connector. The plug connector and the receptacle connector are slidably mated with each other and include corresponding shaped cavities that receive conductive terminals therein.

In one embodiment, the terminal is provided with a planar body portion and a planar securing portion, with a bent beam contact portion located between the body portion and the securing portion. The cavity includes a terminal retention slot for securing two planar portions of the terminal in the cavity of the housing. In addition, the planar portions of the terminals are arranged so that there is interference between the planar portions of the terminals and the openings of certain cavities, and terminal guiding inhibits incorrect assembly of the terminals into the cavities of the housing.

According to an embodiment of the present application, there is provided a connector including: a housing including a terminal-receiving cavity including a first end and a second end, the terminal-receiving cavity having an opening at the first end and a transverse slot formed therein, the slot extending to a stop surface formed at the second end; and a terminal positioned in the terminal receiving cavity, the terminal including a planar body portion and a planar mounting portion, the terminal including a contact portion between the body portion and the mounting portion, the mounting portion having a front edge, wherein a space is defined between the front edge of the mounting portion of the terminal and the stop surface of the slot formed at the second end of the terminal receiving cavity.

In the connector, the body portion and the mounting portion are coplanar.

In the connector, the body portion and the mounting portion have a first width, and the contact portion has a second width.

In the connector, the first width is larger than the second width.

In the connector, the mounting portion has a width smaller than a width of the body portion.

In the connector, the contact portion is formed in an arc shape.

In the connector, the mounting portion is configured to translate in a mating direction.

In the connector, the terminal receiving cavity includes a ramp portion configured to engage the contact portion of the terminal.

In the connector, the ramp portion includes a flat portion having a longitudinal recess.

According to another embodiment of the present application, there is provided a connector including: a housing including a terminal receiving cavity including a first end and a second end, the terminal receiving cavity having an opening at the first end and a transverse slot formed therein and extending to the second end, wherein the opening has a diagonal distance between two opposing corners; and a terminal disposed in the terminal receiving cavity, the terminal including a planar body portion and a planar mounting portion with a contact portion disposed therebetween, the body portion and the mounting portion having a first width and the contact portion having a second width, wherein the first width is greater than the diagonal distance.

In the connector, the body portion and the mounting portion are coplanar.

In the connector, a width of the contact portion is smaller than a width of the body portion.

In this connector, the mounting portion is mounted in the transverse slot.

In the connector, the mounting portion translates in a mating direction.

According to still another embodiment of the present application, there is provided a connector including: a housing including a terminal receiving cavity including a first end and a second end, the terminal receiving cavity having an opening at the first end and a transverse slot formed therein, the transverse slot extending to a stop surface formed at the second end, the opening further including a groove; and a terminal positioned in the terminal receiving cavity, the terminal including a planar body portion, a planar mounting portion, and a contact portion formed in a first direction between the body portion and the mounting portion, the body portion having a locking tab formed from the body portion and a rib formed from an outer edge of the body portion, wherein the rib is positioned in the recess and the rib is configured to provide a protective enclosure for the locking tab.

In the connector, the rib is formed in a second direction.

In the connector, the second direction is opposite to the first direction.

In the connector, the rib has a lead-in portion formed at a leading end of the rib.

In the connector, the body portion includes a pair of ribs on both sides of the locking tab.

Drawings

The present invention is illustrated by way of example and not limited in the accompanying figures in which like references indicate similar elements and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one embodiment of a power connector assembly;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the electrical connector assembly of FIG. 1 undocked;

FIG. 3 is an exploded view of the power connector assembly of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a cut-away view of a power connector of FIG. 1;

fig. 5 is a cut-away view of the power connector with the terminal portion inserted;

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the terminal of the power connector of the present application;

FIG. 7 is a partial cut-away view of the power connector of FIG. 1;

fig. 8 is a cut-away view of the power connector with the terminal portion inserted;

FIG. 9 is a cut-away view of the power connector with the terminals fully inserted;

fig. 10 is a cut-away view of the power connector with the terminal portion inserted;

fig. 11 is a cut-away view of the misaligned terminal prior to insertion;

fig. 12 is a cut-away view of the misaligned terminal prior to insertion;

fig. 13 is an end view of the housing of the connector without the terminals;

FIG. 14 is a cut-away view of the mated power connector assembly;

FIG. 15 is a perspective view of an alternative embodiment of a terminal portion of the power connector inserted therein;

fig. 16 is another perspective view of the power connector of fig. 15.

Detailed Description

The following detailed description describes exemplary embodiments and is not intended to be limited to the explicitly disclosed combinations. Thus, unless otherwise indicated, various features disclosed herein can be combined together to form a plurality of additional combinations (not shown for the sake of brevity).

Fig. 1-3 illustrate an embodiment of the present application, and it is to be understood that the disclosed embodiments are merely examples of the application, which can be embodied in various forms. Therefore, specific details disclosed herein are not to be interpreted as limiting, but merely as a basis for the claims and as a representative basis for teaching one skilled in the art to variously employ the present application.

As shown in fig. 1-3, a wire-to-wire connector system 10 is shown having a first connector 20 and a second connector 20' that are removably locked together. The connector system 10 is of the hermaphroditic type, i.e. each connector is bidirectional (duplex) and is able to connect with itself. As can be appreciated, the plurality of conductive terminals are also male and female and are capable of connecting to themselves.

As shown in fig. 2, the male-female integrated power connector system 10 includes a first connector 20 and a second connector 20'. Since both the first connector 20 and the second connector 20' are identical, only one of the connectors 20 will be described. Fig. 4 shows that connector 20 includes an insulative housing 22, with insulative housing 22 having a terminal-receiving portion 30 and an opening 32, whereby opening 32 is configured to receive terminal-receiving portion 30 'of mating or second connector 20'. The terminal-receiving portion 30 includes a cavity 40 for receiving a conductive terminal 60 therein, the cavity 40 having an opening or window 42 on a surface of the terminal-receiving portion 30 facing the opening 32. The cavity 40 is formed along a mating axis a of the connector 20, the cavity 40 having a front end 24 corresponding to the mating end of the connector 20 and a rear receiving end 26 for receiving the terminals 60 when assembled, the rear receiving end 26 having a cavity opening 44 at the rear 26.

As best shown in fig. 4 and 5, the cavity 40 of the connector housing 22 includes a main opening 44 that extends forwardly adjacent the rear portion 26 of the connector housing 22 to a ramp or ledge 46 formed in the cavity 40 at about the middle of the cavity 40. A slot 48 is provided on each lateral side of the cavity 40, the slot 48 extending forwardly from the ramp or press 46 to the mating end 24 of the connector housing 22. Each slot 48 has an end or stop surface 50 at the mating end 24 of the connector housing 22. A boss 52 is formed in the bottom surface of cavity 40 having a beveled portion 54 facing rear 26 of connector 20 and a shoulder 56 facing mating end 24 of connector housing 22. Opposite the ledge 52 on the bottom surface of the cavity 40 is a ramped ledge or press 46 formed on the upper surface of the cavity 40 of the connector housing 22.

As shown in fig. 3-6, a terminal 60 is provided that includes a flat, planar body portion 62, the body portion 62 having a wire retention portion 64 at a first end 66 of the body portion 62 for retaining a conductor or wire 80 to the terminal 60. The terminal 60 is designed to mate with another terminal 60 and thus may be considered to be hermaphroditic. The wire fixing portion 64 includes a first set of wings 63 formed adjacent the body portion 62 and a second set of wings 65 formed adjacent the first set of wings 63. Two sets of wings 63, 65 are formed in a first or upward direction U. A conductor or wire 80 having an insulating jacket or coating 81 (wherein a portion 83 of the wire strips or removes the coating 81) is secured to the terminal 60 by crimping a first pair of wings 63 over the exposed wire portion 83 and a second pair of wings 65 over the coating 81 of the wire 80. In addition, a cantilevered locking tab (locking tang)86 is formed from the body portion 62 and extends in a second or downward direction D.

As shown in fig. 6, a flat, planar terminal mounting portion 90 is disposed at a second end 67 of the main body portion 62, and a curved contact portion 92 is disposed between the planar mounting portion 90 and the planar main body portion 62. The main body portion 62 and the mounting portion 90 have a first width W1, and the curved beam portion or contact portion 92 has a second width W2, wherein the second width W2 is less than the first width W1. In this embodiment, the body portion 62 and the planar mounting portion 90 are coplanar. In other ways, the body portion 62 and the mounting portion 90 may be in different planes.

As shown in fig. 6, the curved contact portion 92 is shown as a convex arc extending along the first direction U, and alternative configurations of the contact portion 92 may be employed, such as an elliptical portion or even a second planar portion. The contact portion 92 is shown as a continuous portion, but alternatively, as shown in fig. 6, it may be divided into a plurality of beam portions or beam segments; and the cross-section may also be modified to vary precisely or to change the flexibility or elastic properties of the beam 92.

Fig. 7-10 illustrate the process of inserting each terminal wire assembly 79 into its corresponding terminal-receiving cavity 40 of the connector housing 22. The cavity 40 includes: an opening 44 in the rear 26 of the connector housing 22, the terminal 60 of the terminal wire assembly 79 being inserted into the opening 44; and a slot 48 formed in a transverse direction relative to the opening 44. To properly insert the terminal 60, the mounting portion 90 of the terminal 60 must first be guided into the transverse slot 48. The height of the slot 48 corresponds to the thickness of the flat planar body portion 62 and the flat planar mounting portion 90 of the terminal 60 to ensure that the two planar portions of the terminal 60 remain aligned and maintain the proper height of the contact portion 92 of the terminal 60.

Upon insertion, the planar mounting portion 90 of the terminal 60 is first aligned with the opening 44, specifically, the planar mounting portion 90 is inserted into the opening 44 and upon further insertion is aligned or guided into the slot 48 by the curved or ramped projection 46. As best shown in fig. 11 and 12, the opening 44 is also disposed such that a diagonal distance across the opening 44, or the maximum possible distance across the opening 44, is less than the overall width W1 of the planar mounting portion 90 of the terminal 60. As further shown in FIG. 13, the diagonal distance across opening 44 is shown at U1 and U2; and in both cases U1 and U2 are smaller than the width W1 of the mounting portion 90. In this case, the edge of the planar mounting portion 90 will engage or interfere with the housing 22 and cannot be inserted into the cavity 40 in a wrong or misaligned position, and thereby reducing the likelihood of damage to the terminals.

At this point, as shown in fig. 8, during insertion of the terminal 60, the ramped projections 46 in the housing 22 engage the arcuate contact portions 92 to create a pre-stress or biasing force, thereby applying a force to the terminal 60 in a downward or second direction D. The flat planar mounting portion 90 and the flat planar body portion 62 of the preload holding terminal 60 stably contact the bottom surface of the slot 48. Ramped protrusion 46 further includes a flat portion 47, flat portion 47 having a longitudinal recess 49 formed in the middle of protrusion 46, whereby recess 49 eliminates contact with the middle or central portion of arcuate contact region 92. As best shown in fig. 10, the projections 46 contact the contact portions 92 of the terminals 60 only on the outer regions or edges of the arcuate contact portions 92, thereby minimizing contact between the terminals 60 and the ramped projections 46 and thereby reducing wear and damage to the plating of the terminals in the electrical contact area.

Upon further insertion, the locking tab 86 extending from the body portion 62 engages the ledge 52 at the bottom surface of the cavity 40. The ramped end 54 of the boss 52 engages the tab 86 and forces the tab 86 to lift upward as the terminal 60 advances in the cavity 40. The tab 86 rides over the projection 52 until the tab 86 snaps back to its original position behind the shoulder 56 of the projection 52 so that the trailing or trailing edge of the tab 86 engages the shoulder 56 and locks the terminal 60 in the cavity 40. When the terminal 60 is fully inserted into the cavity 40, as shown in fig. 9, the planar mounting portion 90 of the terminal 60 is seated in the front portion 24 of the slot 48 but does not extend to the end of the slot 48. A space S exists between the front edge of the planar mounting portion 90 of the terminal 60 and the stop or end surface 50 of the slot 48 to allow the planar mounting portion 90 to translate in the slot 48 in a mating direction a.

As best shown in fig. 13, the curved arcs 92 of the conductive terminals 60 extend through the windows 42 formed in the terminal receiving portions 30 facing the openings 32 of the connector housing 22. When the first connector 20 and the second connector 20 ' are mated, the terminal receiving portions 30 of the first connector 20 are received in the openings 32 ' of the second connector 20 ', and likewise, the terminal receiving portions 30 ' of the second connector 20 ' are received in the openings 32 of the first connector 20. In this configuration, the arcuate contact portions 92 of the conductive terminals 60 projecting from the windows 42 of the respective connector housings 22 engage one another, respectively. With the respective engagements of the two mating terminals 60, the arcuate portions 92 flex and tend to flatten out under the mutual engagement. This causes the planar mounting portion 90 of each conductive terminal 60 to translate within the slot 48 to allow proper electrical engagement between the two terminals 60.

An alternate embodiment is shown in fig. 14-15, and accordingly, in addition to the structure of the conductive terminal 60 described above, the conductive terminal 60 of this alternate embodiment includes a pair of alignment ribs 70 formed from the body portion 62 of the terminal 60, as best shown in fig. 15. The rib or tab portion 70 is bent in the opposite direction to the convex arcuate contact portion 92, i.e., the contact beam 92 is U-shaped bent upwardly from the body portion 62 of the terminal 60, while the alignment rib 70 is D bent downwardly. The alignment rib 70 is formed in this direction so that the ramp convex portion 46 can contact the bending beam contact portion 92. If the cavity 40 is modified to receive an alignment rib 70 formed in an upward direction, the ramped protrusion 46 will not be molded into the cavity 40. During formation of the conductive terminal 60, for ease of manufacture, all of the bent or formed structures are generally formed in the same direction, e.g., the wire crimp or wings 63, 65 and the alignment rib 70 will have their free ends all pointing in the same direction, but in this case this cannot be the case since the ramped projection 46 is formed in the cavity 40, and the illustrated alignment rib 70 is formed in the opposite direction.

A pair of receiving grooves 72 corresponding to the two alignment ribs 70 are formed in the housing 22 for receiving the two ribs 70 when the terminal 60 is inserted into the housing 22. In addition, the two alignment ribs 70 have ramps or lead-ins 74 formed at their forward ends and are located on either side of the body portion 62 with the locking tabs 86 located between the ribs 70. Lead-in portions 74 help align terminals 60 as terminals 60 are inserted into cavities 40 of housing 22. With this structure, the rib 70 is formed to be larger than the outer contour (envelope) of the locking tab 86, that is, the locking tab 86 is shielded or protected from anything that comes into contact with the locking tab 86 and damages the locking tab 86 due to the size and shape of the rib 70.

The applications presented herein illustrate various features in their preferred and exemplary embodiments. Numerous other embodiments, modifications, and variations within the scope and spirit of the appended claims will occur to persons of ordinary skill in the art from a reading of this application.

Claims (17)

1. A connector, comprising:

a housing including a terminal receiving cavity including a first end and a second end, the terminal receiving cavity having an opening at the first end and a transverse slot formed therein, the slot extending to a stop surface formed at the second end, the receiving cavity having a sloped protrusion formed therein at a middle position thereof, the protrusion being formed at a bottom surface thereof and opposing the sloped protrusion; and

a terminal positioned in the terminal-receiving cavity, the terminal including a planar body portion and a planar mounting portion, the body portion being coplanar with the mounting portion, the terminal including a curved contact portion between the body portion and the mounting portion, the mounting portion having a front edge, wherein a space is defined between the front edge of the mounting portion of the terminal and the stop surface of the slot formed at the second end of the terminal-receiving cavity, and wherein the ramped protrusion engages the curved contact portion during insertion of the terminal to create a pre-stress or biasing force.

2. The connector of claim 1, wherein the body portion and the mounting portion have a first width and the contact portion has a second width.

3. The connector of claim 2, wherein the first width is greater than the second width.

4. The connector of claim 1, wherein the mounting portion has a width that is less than a width of the body portion.

5. The connector of claim 1, wherein the contact portion is formed in an arc shape.

6. The connector of claim 1, wherein the mounting portion is configured to translate in a mating direction.

7. The connector of claim 1, wherein the terminal receiving cavity includes a ramp portion configured to engage the contact portion of the terminal.

8. The connector of claim 7, wherein the ramp portion includes a flat portion having a longitudinal recess.

9. A connector, comprising:

a housing including a terminal receiving cavity, the terminal receiving cavity including a first end and a second end, the terminal receiving cavity having an opening at the first end and a transverse slot formed in the terminal receiving cavity and extending to the second end, a ramp protrusion formed in the receiving cavity at a middle position of the receiving cavity, a protrusion formed on a bottom surface of the receiving cavity and opposing the ramp protrusion, wherein the opening has a diagonal distance between two opposing corners; and

a terminal positioned in the terminal-receiving cavity, the terminal including a planar body portion and a planar mounting portion with a curved contact portion positioned between the body portion and the mounting portion, the body portion and the mounting portion being coplanar, the body portion and the mounting portion having a first width and the contact portion having a second width, wherein the first width is greater than the diagonal distance, and wherein the ramped projections engage the curved contact portion during insertion of the terminal to create a pre-or biasing force.

10. The connector of claim 9, wherein the contact portion has a width less than a width of the body portion.

11. The connector of claim 9, wherein the mounting portion is mounted in the transverse slot.

12. The connector of claim 11, wherein the mounting portion translates in a mating direction.

13. A connector, comprising:

a housing including a terminal receiving cavity, the terminal receiving cavity including a first end and a second end, the terminal receiving cavity having an opening at the first end and a transverse slot formed in the terminal receiving cavity, the transverse slot extending to a stop surface formed at the second end, the opening further including a recess, the receiving cavity having a sloped protrusion formed in the receiving cavity at a middle position thereof, a protrusion formed on a bottom surface of the receiving cavity and opposite to the sloped protrusion; and

a terminal positioned in the terminal-receiving cavity, the terminal including a planar body portion, a planar mounting portion, and a curved contact portion formed in a first direction between the body portion and the mounting portion, the body portion and the mounting portion being coplanar, the body portion having a locking tab formed from the body portion and a rib formed from an outer edge of the body portion, wherein the rib is positioned in the recess and the rib is configured to provide a protective enclosure for the locking tab, and wherein the ramped protrusion engages the curved contact portion during insertion of the terminal to provide a pre-pressure or biasing force.

14. The connector of claim 13, wherein the rib is formed in a second direction.

15. The connector of claim 14, wherein the second direction is opposite the first direction.

16. The connector of claim 13, wherein the rib has a lead-in formed at a front end of the rib.

17. The connector of claim 16, wherein the body portion includes a pair of ribs on either side of the locking tab.

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