CN115528465A

CN115528465A - Self-short-circuit connector

Info

Publication number: CN115528465A
Application number: CN202211310443.1A
Authority: CN
Inventors: 张淼
Original assignee: Phoenix Contact Asia Pacific Nanjing Co Ltd
Current assignee: Phoenix Contact Asia Pacific Nanjing Co Ltd
Priority date: 2020-09-16
Filing date: 2020-09-16
Publication date: 2022-12-27
Anticipated expiration: 2040-09-16
Also published as: WO2022057571A1; CN114267974A; EP4216373A1; CN115528465B

Abstract

The application discloses from short-circuit connector includes: an insulating core; the plug terminal comprises a wiring base part and a plug part, and further comprises an edge leg structure, wherein the edge leg structure extends out of the wiring base part, the extending direction of the edge leg structure is approximately parallel to the extending direction of the plug part, each plug terminal is a metal piece formed by bending a single metal sheet, and therefore the plug part and the wiring base part of each plug terminal are connected, the plug part extends outwards from the wiring base part, the plug part of each plug terminal is located in the terminal hole of the insulating core body, and the edge leg structure is located outside the terminal hole of the insulating core body.

Description

Self-short-circuit connector

The application is a divisional application of an invention patent application with the application number of 202010976004.9, the application date of 2020, 9 and 16, and the title of "a self-short-circuit connector".

Technical Field

The present invention relates to an electrical connection apparatus, and more particularly, to a self-shorting connector having a novel configuration.

Background

In some electrical connection applications, a connector is required to have a self-shorting function to enhance the safety of the system. Connectors with an automatic short circuit function are generally referred to as "self-shorting connectors". The self-short circuit connector can respectively and automatically realize the functions of short circuit and short circuit relief according to the use requirement, in other words, after the paired connectors are separated from each other, the short circuit mechanism works to enable the contact piece and the shell in the connectors to be in short circuit, namely, in a self-short circuit state; after the connectors are plugged, the short-circuit state caused by the short-circuit mechanism is automatically released, and the normal connection state is recovered.

The classification and characteristics of self-shorting connectors can be classified into simplex self-shorting connectors and duplex self-shorting connectors according to the number of electrical contacts of the connectors. The self-short circuit structure of the multi-core self-short circuit connector not only realizes the automatic short circuit between the contact and the shell, but also realizes the automatic short circuit between the contact and the contact.

In the prior art, a single shorting structure (e.g., an elastic shorting tab) is often used to connect two pins, so as to implement two-bit self-shorting. The lengthened short circuit structure can realize multi-bit self-short circuit.

Disclosure of Invention

The present invention provides a self-shorting connector having a novel configuration that effectively reduces contact resistance during self-shorting and reduces the number of parts and complexity of the core construction in two-digit self-shorting applications.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a self-shorting connector is provided, including: an insulating core; the plug terminal comprises a wiring base part and a plug part, and further comprises an edge leg structure, wherein the edge leg structure extends out of the wiring base part, the extending direction of the edge leg structure is approximately parallel to the extending direction of the plug part, each plug terminal is a metal piece formed by bending a single metal sheet, and therefore the plug part and the wiring base part of each plug terminal are connected, the plug part extends outwards from the wiring base part, the plug part of each plug terminal is located in the terminal hole of the insulating core body, and the edge leg structure is located outside the terminal hole of the insulating core body.

In the foregoing solution, the plurality of jack terminals further include one or more jack terminal pairs, each jack terminal pair includes two jack terminals disposed symmetrically, and the leg structures of the two jack terminals are opposite to each other and can contact to form an electrical connection.

In the foregoing aspect of the self-shorting connector, further, the self-shorting connector further includes a jumper tab capable of electrically connecting the side leg structures of the jack terminals disposed adjacent to each other.

In the foregoing solution, the end of the leg structure includes a short-circuit arc portion, and the short-circuit arc portion is configured to gradually move away from the plug portion along an arc and then return to form a tail hook.

In the foregoing aspect of the self-shorting connector, further, the wiring base is configured as a frame body formed by a substrate and walls at both ends of the substrate, and the leg structure is connected to and extends from the first wall at one end of the substrate.

In the foregoing solution of the self-shorting connector, further, the leg structure is configured as a resilient arm structure.

In the foregoing aspect of the self-shorting connector, further, a maximum distance between the distal end of the leg structure and the axis of the mating part is greater than a distance between the first wall and the axis of the mating part.

In the foregoing solution of the self-short circuit connector, the plug terminal is a pin terminal or a jack terminal.

According to an aspect of the present invention, there is provided a connector assembly, comprising: the self-shorting connector and the mating connector of the self-shorting connector as described above, wherein the insulating spacer is disposed in the insulating core of the mating connector for interposing between the leg structures of the two mating terminals of each mating terminal pair when the self-shorting connector and the mating connector are mated in place.

In the foregoing solution of the connector assembly, further, a groove is provided at an upper end of the insulating partition plate of the mating connector.

According to an aspect of the present invention, a plug terminal is provided, which includes a terminal base and a plug portion, the plug terminal is a metal piece formed by bending a single metal sheet, so that the plug portion of the plug terminal and the terminal base are connected, and the plug portion extends outward from the terminal base, the plug terminal further includes a leg structure, the leg structure extends from the terminal base, and an extending direction of the leg structure and an extending direction of the plug portion are substantially parallel.

In the above-described aspect of the plug terminal, further, the terminal base is configured as a frame body formed by a substrate and walls located at both ends of the substrate, and the leg structure is connected to and extends from the first wall at one end of the substrate.

In the above-mentioned solution of the plug terminal, further, the frame body of the wiring base is a wiring frame.

In the above-mentioned solution of the plug terminal, further, the end portion of the leg structure is configured to gradually move away from the plug portion along an arc and then return to form a tail hook.

In the above solution of the plug terminal, further, the plug portion of the plug terminal is a pin or a jack.

Drawings

Fig. 1 is a schematic diagram of a self-shorting connector according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 2 is a schematic view of a jack terminal in the self-shorting connector shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a positional structure relationship of a plurality of jack terminals and a jumper shorting tab.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the structure shown in fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a top view of the structure shown in fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is a schematic diagram of a mating pin terminal in the self-shorting connector shown in fig. 1.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the self-shorting connector and the mating connector shown in fig. 1 in a plugged state.

Fig. 8 shows the wiring pattern of the jack terminal shown in fig. 2.

Some of the reference numbers:

10. cover for portable electronic device

20 20A,20B,20C and 20D plug-in terminal

30. Insulating core

40. Paired insulation core

50. Paired insulating core

80. Bridging shorting strip

100. Self-shorting connector

200. Butt connector

210. Wiring base

211. Substrate

212. A first wall

213. The second wall

220. Plug-in part

230 230A,230B side leg structure

235. Short-circuit arc part

240. Wire pressing spring

250. Push block

510. Insulating partition

Detailed Description

In the following description, the invention is described with reference to various embodiments. One skilled in the relevant art will recognize, however, that the embodiments may be practiced without one or more of the specific details, or with other alternative and/or additional methods, materials, or components. In other instances, well-known structures, materials, or operations are not shown or described in detail to avoid obscuring aspects of various embodiments of the invention. Similarly, for purposes of explanation, specific numbers, materials and configurations are set forth in order to provide a thorough understanding of the embodiments of the invention. However, the invention may be practiced without specific details. Furthermore, it should be understood that the embodiments shown in the figures are illustrative representations and are not necessarily drawn to scale.

The invention is further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a self-shorting connector according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, fig. 1 shows a connector assembly comprising a self-shorting connector 100 and a mating connector 200 that may be plugged into each other. The self-shorting connector 100 may include a cover 10, a plurality of jack terminals 20, an insulating core 30, and a jumper shorting tab 80. The mating connector 200 includes a mating insulative core 40 and a plurality of mating plug terminals 50. Although not shown, it is understood that the plug terminal 20 may be placed into a corresponding terminal hole location in the insulative core 30 and the mating plug terminal 50 may be placed into a corresponding terminal hole location in the mating insulative core 40.

In the embodiment of fig. 1, the receptacle terminals 20 are shown as receptacle terminals and the mating receptacle terminals 50 are shown as pin terminals. When the dielectric core 30 and the mating dielectric core 40 are mated with each other, the receptacle terminals and the pin terminals are mated together to form electrical connections.

In the embodiment of fig. 1, the self-shorting function of the self-shorting connector 100 is at least partially accomplished by the particular configuration of the patch terminals 20. Fig. 2 is a schematic view of the jack terminal 20 in the self-shorting connector 100 shown in fig. 1, illustrating details of this particular configuration by way of example. Specifically, the plug terminal 20 shown in fig. 2 may be a structure in which a single metal sheet is bent several times, and includes a base portion 210 and a plug portion 220, and the base portion 210 and the plug portion 220 are connected to each other. In fig. 2, the plugging portion 220 is configured to extend along a plugging direction (a wire-in direction) of the plugging terminal.

The wiring base 210 is configured as a frame body formed of a base sheet 211 and first and

second walls

212 and 213 at both ends thereof. A leg structure 230 is connected to the first wall 212 at one end of the substrate 211 and extends from the first wall 212. The extension direction of the leg structure 230 and the extension direction of the mating part 220 are substantially parallel, i.e. extend along the mating direction of the mating terminal.

As shown in fig. 2, leg structure 230 is preferably configured as a resilient arm structure. The elasticity of such resilient arms facilitates the formation of a reliable electrical contact.

Leg structure 230 may be a generally elongated piece of metal with a surface that is substantially perpendicular to the surface of substrate 211. A short arcuate segment 235 is formed at the end of leg structure 230. Short arcuate segment 235 is structurally configured to move progressively along an arcuate path away from mating portion 220 and back to form a tail 236. That is, the short circuit arcs 235 gradually increase and then gradually decrease along the extending direction of the leg structure 230 (the plugging direction of the plug terminal) and the axis of the plug part 220.

In order to make the side leg structure 230 fully perform the self-short function, the maximum distance between the end of the side leg structure 230 and the axis of the insertion part 220 is larger than the distance between the first wall 212 and the axis of the insertion part 220. This allows the distal end of the leg structure 230 to be spaced further from the axis of the mating part 220 than the frame of the terminal base 210, which facilitates electrical contact between the distal end of the leg structure 230 of one mating terminal 20 and the leg structure of another mating terminal 20 that is spaced symmetrically.

Although not shown, it is understood that the plug portion 220 of the plug terminal 20 is adapted to be inserted into the terminal hole of the dielectric core 30, and the leg structure 230 is located outside the terminal hole of the dielectric core 30.

The cover 10 of fig. 1 can be used to secure the wiring base 210 of the jack terminal 20 and to block electrical connection of adjacent bits.

Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing a positional structure relationship of a plurality of jack terminals and a jumper shorting tab. When 4 jack terminals 20 are mounted in place, two

jack terminals

20A and 20B, which are symmetrically spaced apart, form one jack terminal pair, and two

jack terminals

20C and 20D, which are symmetrically spaced apart, form another jack terminal pair, as shown in fig. 3. In the present application, the spatial positional relationship between the

receptacle terminals

20A and 20B shown in fig. 3 is referred to as "positional opposition", and the spatial positional relationship between the

receptacle terminals

20A and 20C shown in fig. 3 is referred to as "positional adjacency", unless otherwise described.

For two mating terminals forming a mating terminal pair, such as

mating terminals

20A and 20B inserted into the terminal holes of the insulating core 30, when the self-shorting connector 100 is not mated with the mating connector 200, the leg structure 230A of the mating terminal 20A contacts the leg structure 230B of the mating terminal 20B, thereby achieving a two-position self-shorting. It will be appreciated that only one contact point, i.e., the contact point of

leg structures

230A and 230B, between oppositely located

mating terminals

20A and 20B is required to achieve the electrical contact required for a self-shorting. This results in a significant reduction in contact resistance for a two-bit self-short.

In some cases, it is desirable to implement multi-bit self-shorting, and therefore, it is desirable to use a cross-over shorting structure across multiple bits. The invention adopts the side leg structure for the plug terminal, so the multi-position span short circuit is greatly simplified. For example, FIG. 3 shows a multi-bit self-shorting based on a jumper shorting tab 80. The jumper tabs 80 are configured as tabs with hooks to facilitate the loading of the insulating core 30. The four-position jumper shorting tab 80 shown in fig. 3 is encased in the dielectric core 30 and makes electrical connection to all of the

jack terminals

20A,20B,20C,20D of both jack terminal pairs. The strap shorting bar 80 may be configured to strap six bits, eight bits, etc., depending on the particular needs of the multi-bit self-shorting.

Fig. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the structure shown in fig. 3, fig. 5 is a bottom view of the structure shown in fig. 3, and fig. 4 and 5 illustrate contact between the jumper tab 80 and the

leg structures

230A and 230B.

With reference to fig. 2-5, it can be understood that by using the inventive pinout terminal, the functions of incoming line, pinout and two-bit self-short circuit are performed by one metal piece, which simplifies the composition and structure of the metal piece. Meanwhile, due to the reduction of metal parts, the structure of the insulating core body is correspondingly simplified.

Fig. 6 is a view of the mating pin terminal 50 of fig. 1. It is to be understood that, in a modification, an integrated side leg structure as shown in fig. 2 may be formed on the pin terminal as shown in fig. 6, and such a pin terminal with the side leg structure is used for a self-shorting connector.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view of the self-shorting connector and the mating connector shown in fig. 1 in a plugged state. In the mating insulating core 40 of the mating connector 200, an insulating spacer 510 is provided. When the self-shorting connector 100 and the mating connector 200 are plugged into place, the insulating spacer 510 is interposed between the side leg structures of the two opposing mating terminals, thereby electrically disconnecting the side leg structures. The insulating spacer 510 is further provided at the top with a groove into which the jumper tab 80 is partially inserted when the self-shorting connector 100 and the counterpart connector 200 are plugged in place, thereby electrically isolating the jumper tab 80 from the leg structure of the plug terminal.

Fig. 8 shows the wiring pattern of the jack terminal shown in fig. 2. The wire compression spring 240 is mounted on the wire frame of the wiring base 210 to form an in-line wiring structure. The pusher block 250 may be used to push the wire clamping arm of the wire pressing spring 240 downward to effect wire withdrawal (and in some applications also wire feeding).

Although the invention has been described with reference to the connector shown in fig. 1 as an example, it will be appreciated that the construction of the jack terminals proposed by the invention can be applied to a variety of connectors including two-bit self-shorting and multi-bit self-shorting applications.

Having thus described the basic concept, it will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the foregoing disclosure is by way of example only, and is not intended to limit the present application. Various modifications, improvements and adaptations to the present application may occur to those skilled in the art, although not explicitly described herein. Such modifications, improvements and adaptations are proposed in the present application and thus fall within the spirit and scope of the embodiments of the present application.

Claims

1. A self-shorting connector, comprising:

an insulating core; and

a plurality of plug terminals disposed in the insulating core and disposed in corresponding terminal hole sites of the insulating core, each plug terminal including a wiring base portion and a plug portion, the plug terminal further including a side leg structure extending from the wiring base portion and having an extending direction substantially parallel to an extending direction of the plug portion,

each of the plug terminals is a metal piece formed by bending a single metal sheet so that the plug part and the terminal base part of each plug terminal are connected and the plug part extends outward from the terminal base part,

the plug part of the plug terminal is positioned in the terminal hole position of the insulating core body, and the side leg structure is positioned outside the terminal hole position of the insulating core body.

2. The self-shorting connector of claim 1, wherein the plurality of jack terminals includes one or more jack terminal pairs, each jack terminal pair including two jack terminals disposed in spaced-apart symmetry, the leg structures of the two jack terminals being opposite one another and capable of contacting to form an electrical connection.

3. The self-shorting connector as recited in claim 1, further comprising a jumper tab capable of electrically connecting side leg structures of jack terminals positioned adjacent to one another.

4. The self-shorting connector of claim 1, wherein the distal end of the leg structure includes a shorting arc configured to move progressively along an arc away from the mating portion and back to form a tail.

5. The self-shorting connector of claim 1, wherein the wiring base is configured as a frame formed by a substrate and walls at opposite ends of the substrate, the leg structure being connected to and extending from the first wall at one end of the substrate.

6. The self-shorting connector of claim 5, wherein the leg structure is configured as a resilient arm structure.

7. The self-shorting connector of claim 5, wherein the maximum distance between the distal end of the leg structure and the axis of the mating part is greater than the distance between the first wall and the axis of the mating part.

8. The self-shorting connector as recited in any one of claims 1-7, wherein the jack terminals are pin terminals or jack terminals.

9. A connector assembly, comprising:

the self-shorting connector as recited in any one of claims 1-8,

and a connector mated with the self-shorting connector,

the insulating partition board is arranged in the insulating core body of the mating connector and used for being inserted between the side leg structures of the two plug terminals of each plug terminal pair when the self-short-circuit connector and the mating connector are plugged in place.

10. The connector assembly of claim 9, wherein said insulating spacer of said mating connector is recessed at an upper end thereof.

11. A plug terminal comprises a wiring base part and a plug part, wherein the plug terminal is a metal piece formed by bending a single metal sheet, so that the plug part and the wiring base part of the plug terminal are connected, the plug part extends outwards from the wiring base part, the plug terminal also comprises an edge leg structure, the edge leg structure extends out from the wiring base part, and the extending direction of the edge leg structure is approximately parallel to the extending direction of the plug part.

12. The jack terminal of claim 11, wherein the wiring base is configured as a frame formed by a substrate and walls at opposite ends of the substrate, the leg structure being connected to and extending from the first wall at one end of the substrate.

13. The jack terminal of claim 12, wherein the frame of the wiring base is a wiring frame.

14. The jack terminal of claim 12, wherein the distal end portion of the leg structure is configured to move in an arc away from the mating portion and back to form a tail.

15. The jack terminal of claim 11, wherein the mating portion of the jack terminal is a pin or a socket.