CN117810743A - Electrical connector assembly and associated electrical device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an electrical plug-in assembly and an associated electrical device. The electrical connector assembly includes: a male plug-in (1) comprising a male mounting member (11) and a male conductive member (12) mounted on a surface of the male mounting member (11), the surface of the male mounting member (11) being provided with a hole (13); and a female plug-in (2) comprising a female mounting member (21) and a female conductive member (22) mounted on the female mounting member (21), the female mounting member (21) being provided with a roller (23); wherein both the male insert (1) and the female insert (2) are arranged to: one of the male and female inserts (1, 2) is allowed to move relative to the other via the roller (23), and both the male and female conductors (12, 22) are electrically connected only when the roller (23) falls at least partially within the hole (13).

Description

Electrical connector assembly and associated electrical device

Technical Field

The present disclosure relates to the field of electrical connectors, and more particularly to an electrical connector assembly and an associated electrical device.

Background

The low-voltage electrical cabinet is widely applied to industries such as power plants, petroleum, chemical industry, metallurgy, textiles, buildings and the like and is used for power transmission, power distribution and electric energy conversion.

Typical low voltage electrical cabinets include drawer type electrical cabinets. The drawer type electric cabinet may include both a fixed cabinet body and a movable drawer unit equipped with main electric components such as a switch. Generally, only when the movable drawer unit moves to a designated position, the movable contact on the movable drawer unit makes electrical contact with the stationary contact on the cabinet. The conventional movable and static contacts as secondary plug-ins generally adopt shaft hole matching type plug-in designs of male plug-ins and female plug-ins.

Disclosure of Invention

It is an object of the present disclosure to provide an improved electrical connector assembly which enables an electrical connection between a male connector and a female connector at least in a manner wherein friction forces are reduced.

According to a first aspect of the present disclosure, an electrical connector assembly is provided. The electrical connector assembly includes: a male insert comprising a male mounting member and a male conductive member mounted on a surface of the male mounting member, the surface of the male mounting member being provided with a hole; the female plug-in component comprises a female mounting piece and a female conductive piece mounted on the female mounting piece, and a roller is arranged on the female mounting piece; wherein both the male and female inserts are arranged to: one of the male and female inserts is permitted to move relative to the other via the roller and the male and female conductors are electrically connected only when the roller is at least partially dropped into the aperture.

It will be appreciated that with the electrical connector assembly of the present disclosure, since one of the male and female connectors may be relatively movable with respect to the other via rollers, the friction of the two may be substantially reduced. In addition, the design that the male conductive piece and the female conductive piece are electrically connected or contacted only when the roller at least partially falls into the hole can avoid the situation that the moving and static contacts collide in the process of relative movement so as to be damaged.

In some embodiments, the surface of the male mount comprises an upper surface and a lower surface opposite each other, the male conductive member comprising an upper male conductive member mounted on the upper surface and a lower male conductive member mounted on the lower surface; the holes include an upper hole mounted on the upper surface and a lower hole mounted on the lower surface. In this way, it is possible to allow more male conductors to be arranged on the male mounting member, thereby helping to achieve communication of more electrical circuits.

In some embodiments, the female mount comprises an upper female mount and a lower female mount forming an open arrangement with each other, and an upper female conductive member mounted on the upper female mount and a lower female conductive member mounted on the lower female mount; the rollers comprise an upper roller arranged on the upper female mounting piece and a lower roller arranged on the lower female mounting piece; wherein both the male and female inserts are further arranged to: the male insert is allowed to be inserted into the female insert from an open end of the open arrangement and both the upper male and female conductors are electrically connected only when the upper roller is at least partially dropped into the upper aperture and both the lower male and female conductors are electrically connected only when the lower roller is at least partially dropped into the lower aperture. In these embodiments, the female mounting member may be designed to allow the female conductive member on the female mounting member to more conveniently mate with the male conductive member on the upper and lower surfaces of the male conductive member.

In some embodiments, the upper roller and the lower roller are disposed at an open end of the open arrangement. In this way, the male and female inserts may be allowed to contact via the roller from the beginning.

In some embodiments, the upper roller and the lower roller are aligned with each other in a direction perpendicular to a main extension plane of the female mount; the upper and lower apertures are aligned above and below each other in a direction perpendicular to a main extension plane of the male mount. In this way, the male conductive members of the upper and lower surfaces of the male conductive member can be allowed to be in synchronous electrical contact with the female conductive members on the female plug-in.

In some embodiments, the upper holes comprise front upper holes and rear upper holes arranged front and rear along an insertion direction of the male insert, the lower holes comprise front lower holes and rear lower holes arranged front and rear along the insertion direction, the front upper holes and the front lower holes are aligned with each other, and the rear upper holes and the rear lower holes are aligned with each other. In this way, the possibility of an electrical connection of the male and female plug-ins at different insertion positions is provided.

In some embodiments, during insertion of the male insert into the open arrangement, the upper and lower rollers pass first through the corresponding front upper and lower apertures and then through the corresponding rear upper and lower apertures, wherein the male insert is in a first position partially inserted into the open arrangement when the upper and lower rollers at least partially fall into the corresponding front upper and lower apertures; wherein the male insert is in a second position fully inserted into the open arrangement when the upper roller and the lower roller at least partially fall into the corresponding rear upper aperture and rear lower aperture. It will be appreciated that the first position may be used as a testing position to facilitate electrical performance testing of some switching devices (e.g., contactors, circuit breakers) on the movable drawer unit, etc.; and the second position may serve as an electrical connection location for formally starting the primary circuit.

In some embodiments, the male mount comprises a male bracket and a male insulating block, the male bracket being arranged to grip the male insulating block, the upper and lower male conductors being arranged on upper and lower surfaces of the male insulating block, respectively, the upper and lower holes being arranged on upper and lower surfaces of the male bracket, respectively. In these embodiments, a compact arrangement of male mounts and upper and lower holes is provided.

In some embodiments, the upper female mount comprises an upper female bracket and an upper female insulating block, the upper female bracket being arranged to grip the upper female insulating block, the upper female bracket having an upper first end at the open end, the upper roller being arranged at the upper first end; the lower female mount comprises a lower female bracket and a lower female insulating block, the lower female bracket being arranged to grip the lower female insulating block, the lower female bracket having a lower first end at the open end, the lower roller being arranged at the lower first end. In these embodiments, a compact arrangement of the male mount and the upper and lower rollers is provided.

In some embodiments, the female insert further comprises a female mounting bracket to which the upper female bracket is secured via an upper pivot shaft disposed adjacent an upper second end of the upper female bracket opposite the upper first end; the lower female bracket is secured to the female mounting bracket via a lower pivot shaft disposed adjacent a lower second end of the lower female bracket opposite the lower first end. In this way, the upper and lower female brackets may be allowed to slightly rotate via the upper and lower pivot shafts, thereby facilitating insertion of the male connector.

In some embodiments, the upper second end of the upper female bracket is connected to the lower second end of the lower female bracket via a spring arranged to: during insertion of the male insert into the open arrangement, the upper and lower female brackets are allowed to slightly pivot about the upper and lower pivot axes, respectively, and a predetermined clamping pressure is applied to the male insert via the open arrangement. In this way, it is possible to ensure a tight electrical contact between the male and female inserts when the rollers fall into the holes.

In some embodiments, the spring is a leaf spring and has a fallen V-shape, one end of the V-shape opening is inserted into the upper insertion hole of the upper second end, and the other end of the V-shape opening is inserted into the lower insertion hole of the lower second end. It will be appreciated that the V-shaped spring described above provides a compact spring design.

In some embodiments, the female insert remains stationary while the male insert is configured to be movable.

According to a second aspect of the present disclosure, an electrical device is provided. The electrical device includes: the electrical connector assembly of the first aspect.

In some embodiments, the electrical device is a drawer-type electrical cabinet comprising a fixed floor and a movable drawer unit, wherein the female insert is fixedly mounted on the fixed floor and the male insert is fixedly mounted on the movable drawer unit; wherein the male insert is adapted to move with movement of the movable drawer unit relative to the fixed floor and one of: electrical connection to the female insert or disconnection from electrical connection to the female insert.

It should also be appreciated that the descriptions in this summary are not intended to limit key or critical features of embodiments of the disclosure, nor are they intended to limit the scope of the disclosure. Other features of embodiments of the present disclosure will become apparent from the following description.

Drawings

The above and other features, advantages and aspects of embodiments of the present disclosure will become more apparent by reference to the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings. In the drawings, wherein like or similar reference numerals denote like or similar elements, in which:

fig. 1 illustrates a schematic structural view of an electrical connector assembly installed within an electrical device according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

fig. 2 shows a perspective schematic view of the overall structure of an electrical connector assembly according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3a shows an exploded schematic view of a male plug in an electrical plug assembly according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 3b shows a schematic view of components of a male plug in an electrical plug assembly according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4a shows an exploded schematic view of a female plug-in an electrical plug-in assembly according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 4b illustrates a schematic view of components of a female plug-in an electrical plug-in assembly, respectively, according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 5a shows a schematic view of a male insert not yet inserted into an open arrangement of female inserts;

FIG. 5b shows a schematic view of a male insert having been inserted into a first position in an open arrangement of female inserts; and

fig. 5c shows a schematic view of the male insert having been inserted into the second position of the female insert in the open arrangement.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in more detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. While certain embodiments of the present disclosure have been shown in the accompanying drawings, it is to be understood that the present disclosure may be embodied in various forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein, but are provided to provide a more thorough and complete understanding of the present disclosure. It should be understood that the drawings and embodiments of the present disclosure are for illustration purposes only and are not intended to limit the scope of the present disclosure.

In the description of the present disclosure, the expression "comprising" and the like should be understood as open-ended, i.e. "including but not limited to. The expression "based on" should be understood as "based at least in part on". The expression "an embodiment" or "this embodiment" should be understood as "at least one embodiment". The expressions "first", "second", etc. may refer to different or the same objects. The expressions "upper", "lower", "front", "rear", "left", "right" are intended only to describe relative positional relationships between the components, are not intended to define absolute spatial positions of the components, and may vary with the reference. In addition, other explicit and implicit definitions are also possible below.

As mentioned above, the moving and static contacts of the conventional drawer type electrical cabinet as the secondary electrical plug-in unit generally adopts the shaft hole matching type plug-in design of the male plug-in unit and the female plug-in unit. However, the inventors found that: the shaft hole mating insert design described above may be disadvantageous. For example, during insertion operations, the insert (e.g., pin) may be easily bumped due to inaccurate guiding and inconvenient replacement. Furthermore, this reduces the comfort of the drawer operation due to the sliding friction that persists during insertion.

To this end, the present disclosure proposes an improved electrical connector assembly. The electrical connector assembly may include: a male insert comprising a male mounting member and a male conductive member mounted on a surface of the male mounting member, the surface of the male mounting member being provided with a hole; the female plug-in component comprises a female mounting piece and a female conductive piece mounted on the female mounting piece, and a roller is arranged on the female mounting piece; wherein both the male and female inserts are arranged to: one of the male and female inserts is permitted to move relative to the other via the roller and only when the roller falls at least partially within the aperture is the male and female conductors electrically connected. It will be appreciated that the above-described disadvantageous deficiencies of shaft hole mating may be avoided with the electrical connector assemblies of the present disclosure.

Fig. 1 shows a schematic view of a structure in which an electrical connector assembly according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure is installed within an electrical device.

By way of example only, as shown in fig. 1, the electrical apparatus may be a drawer-type electrical cabinet 10, which may include, for example, both a stationary cabinet and at least one movable drawer unit 15 housing major electrical components such as switches. In some embodiments, the stationary cabinet may have a stationary floor 16, and the at least one movable drawer unit 15 may be mounted on the stationary floor 16 and movable relative to the stationary floor 16.

According to embodiments of the present disclosure, the electrical connector assembly 3 may be mounted within a drawer-type electrical cabinet 10 and may include a male connector 1 and a female connector 2. In particular, as shown in fig. 1, the above-mentioned male insert 1 may be mounted on the movable drawer unit 15 and moved with the movement of the movable drawer unit 15, and the female insert 2 may be mounted on the above-mentioned fixed base plate 16.

It will be appreciated that in this way, the male insert 1 can make electrical contact with the female insert 2 when the movable drawer unit 15 is moved to a given position with respect to the fixed base plate 16, and that the male insert 1 can be disengaged from electrical contact with the female insert 2 when it is disengaged from the given position. It should also be appreciated that although an example is shown above in which the male insert 1 is mounted on the movable drawer unit 15 and the female insert 2 is mounted on the above-described fixed base plate 16, in other embodiments, it is also possible that the male insert 1 is mounted on the fixed base plate 16 and the female insert 2 is mounted on the movable drawer unit 15.

In addition, the electrical arrangement around the drawer-type electrical cabinet 10 is well known, and will not be described in detail. The following focuses on the description of the structure and implementation of the electrical card assembly 3 itself.

Fig. 2 shows a perspective schematic view of the overall structure of an electrical connector assembly according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure; fig. 3a and 3b show an exploded schematic view and a parts schematic view, respectively, of a male plug in an electrical plug assembly according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure; and fig. 4a and 4b show an exploded schematic view and a parts schematic view, respectively, of a female plug-in an electrical plug-in assembly according to an example embodiment of the present disclosure.

As can be seen in connection with fig. 2 and 3a, 3b, the male insert 1 in the electrical insert assembly 3 may comprise a male mounting member 11 and a male conductive member 12 mounted on a surface of the male mounting member 11, and said surface of the male mounting member 11 may be provided with holes 13. Typically, the male mounting member 11 is an electrically insulating member, and the male conductive member is a conductive metal sheet. For example only, the male conductive member 12 may be, for example, a conductive copper sheet.

In particular, in some embodiments, the surface of the male mount 11 may include an upper surface and a lower surface opposite each other, and the male conductive member 12 described above may include an upper male conductive member 121 (see fig. 3 a) mounted on the upper surface and a lower male conductive member 122 (see fig. 3 b) mounted on the lower surface. The present disclosure is not limited to the specific form of assembly of both the male mount 11 and the male conductive member 12 described above. By way of example only, at least one male conductive element 12 may be arranged in an embedded manner within a recess on the surface of the above-mentioned male mounting element 11. In some embodiments, at least one male conductive element 12 may include up to several tens of male conductive elements 12 for establishing up to several electrical circuits.

The male mounting member 11 may be integrally formed or may be formed by combining them. As just a typical arrangement of the male mount 11, in some embodiments the male mount 11 may comprise a male mount 111 and a male insulator block 110, the male mount 111 may be arranged to clamp the male insulator block 110. As an example of a clamping arrangement, the above-mentioned male brackets 111 may comprise male brackets 111 located at both sides of the male insulation block 110, and the male brackets 111 at both sides may be fastened together with the middle male insulation block 110 by means of pins. In further embodiments, the male insulation block 110 may further include a plurality of male insulation blocks 110 that may be secured to one another by pins.

Further, depending on the application, the male conductive member 12 may include at least one upper male conductive member 121 (see fig. 3 a) disposed on an upper surface of the male insulating block 110, and at least one lower male conductive member 122 (see fig. 3 b) disposed on a lower surface of the male insulating block 110. It will be appreciated that by having a plurality of male conductors 12 disposed on the upper and lower surfaces of the male insulation block 110, communication of more electrical circuits may be facilitated.

In addition to the arrangement of the male conductive element 12 on the male mount 11 described above, the concept of the present disclosure is also: holes 13 are provided in the surface of the male mount 11. In the embodiment where the male mount 11 includes the male bracket 111, the hole 13 may be provided only on the male bracket 111. As will be further described later, it will be appreciated that the purpose of the above-mentioned holes 13 is to cooperate with rollers 23 on the female insert 2 in order to: during the movement of one of the male and female inserts 1, 2 relative to the other via the roller 23, the male and female conductors 12, 22 are electrically connected only when the roller 23 falls at least partially within the hole 13.

In particular, in embodiments in which the male conductive element 12 is provided on both the upper and lower surfaces of the male mounting element 11, the aperture 13 may correspondingly comprise an upper aperture 131 provided on the upper surface of the male mounting element 11 and a lower aperture 132 provided on the lower surface of the male mounting element 11. By way of example only, the upper and lower apertures 131, 132 may be arranged to be aligned above one another in a direction perpendicular to the main extension plane of the public mount 11. More specifically, in the embodiment in which the male mount 11 includes the male bracket 111, the upper hole 131 and the lower hole 132 may be provided only on the upper and lower surfaces of the male bracket 111, respectively.

Still further, as will be described later, the electrical connector assembly 3 of the present disclosure may also enable electrical connection of the male connector 1 and the female connector 2 at different insertion positions, which may be achieved by providing a plurality of upper holes 131 and/or a plurality of lower holes 132 at different positions along the insertion direction X of the male connector relative to the female connector on the surface of the male mount 11 (or the male bracket 111). It should be noted that, herein, "insertion direction X" refers to a relative insertion direction of the male connector with respect to the female connector.

For example, in some embodiments, the upper hole 131 may include a front upper hole 131_1 and a rear upper hole 131_2 arranged one after the other in the insertion direction X of the male mount 11 (or the male bracket 111); and the lower hole 132 may include a front lower hole 132_1 and a rear lower hole 132_2 arranged in front and rear in the insertion direction X on the public mount 11 (or the public mount 111) in order.

In particular, the front upper hole 131_1 and the front lower hole 132_1 may be positioned proximate to a front end (or insertion end) of the male mount 11 (or male bracket 111); and the rear upper hole 131_2 and the rear lower hole 132_2 may be positioned immediately adjacent to the rear end (or tip) of the male mount 11 (or male bracket 111). Here, the "front end" and "rear end" herein are defined based on the above-described insertion direction X.

Still more particularly, the front upper aperture 131_1 and the front lower aperture 132_1 may be aligned with each other; and the rear upper hole 131_2 and the rear lower hole 132_2 may be aligned with each other. In this way, simultaneous electrical contact of both the male conductors on the upper and lower surfaces of the male connector with the corresponding female conductors on the female connector can be facilitated. It will be readily appreciated that in other embodiments, it is possible that the front upper aperture 131_1 and the front lower aperture 132_1 are not aligned with each other and/or that the rear upper aperture 131_2 and the rear lower aperture 132_2 are not aligned with each other.

The specific structure of the male connector 1 is mainly described in detail above, and the specific structure of the female connector 1 will be described in detail below in connection with fig. 2 and fig. 4a, 4 b.

As shown in fig. 2 and fig. 4a, 4b, the female connector 2 mainly includes a female mounting member 21 and a female conductive member 22 mounted on the female mounting member 21. Typically, the female mounting member 21 is an insulating member and the female conductive member 12 is a conductive metal sheet. By way of example only, the female conductive member 22 is also, for example, a conductive copper sheet.

The present disclosure is not limited to the specific assembly forms of the female mount 21 and the female conductive member 22 described above. By way of example only, at least one female conductive element 22 may be arranged in an embedded manner within a recess on the surface of the female mounting element 21 described above.

In some embodiments, the female mount 21 may include an upper female mount 211 and a lower female mount 212 that form an open arrangement with each other. Accordingly, the female conductive member 22 may include an upper female conductive member 221 mounted on the lower surface of the upper female mounting member 211, and a lower female conductive member 222 mounted on the upper surface of the lower female mounting member (212).

It is readily understood that in this way, the male connector 1 can achieve, after insertion into the above-described open arrangement, an electrical connection of the upper male conductive member 121 of the upper surface of the male connector 1 with the upper female conductive member 221 of the upper female mounting member 211, and an electrical connection of the lower male conductive member 122 of the lower surface of the male connector 1 with the lower female conductive member 222 of the lower female mounting member 212.

It will also be readily appreciated that in other embodiments, the female mount 21 does not have the above-described open arrangement, but rather only a single female mount is possible. However, the open arrangement described above is clearly advantageous because the female mounting members of the open arrangement allow the female conductive members on the upper and lower sides to be electrically connected to the male conductive members on the upper and lower surfaces of the male conductive members.

According to the design of the present disclosure, the female mounting member 21 may also be provided with rollers 23. As mentioned before, the purpose of this roller 23 is to cooperate with the hole 13 of the male insert 1 in order to: during the movement of one of the male and female inserts 1, 2 relative to the other via the roller 23, the male and female conductors 12, 22 are electrically connected only when the roller 23 falls at least partially into the hole 13.

In particular, in embodiments in which the female mount 21 includes an upper female mount 211 and a lower female mount 212 that form an open arrangement with each other, the roller 23 may include an upper roller 231 disposed on the upper female mount 211 and a lower roller 232 disposed on the lower female mount 212. The purpose of the upper roller 231 and the lower roller 232 is to: during insertion of the male insert 1 from the open end 25 of the open arrangement into the female insert 2, both the upper male conductor 121 and the upper female conductor 221 are electrically connected only when the upper roller 231 at least partially falls into the upper hole 131, and both the lower male conductor 122 and the lower female conductor 222 are electrically connected only when the lower roller 232 at least partially falls into the lower hole 132.

In some embodiments, the upper roller 231 and the lower roller 232 may be disposed at the open end 25 of the above-described open arrangement. In particular, the upper roller 231 and the lower roller 232 may be aligned with each other in a direction perpendicular to the main extension plane of the female mount 21.

It is easy to understand that in the above manner, it is possible to make: once the male insert 1 is inserted into the open arrangement of the female insert 2, both the male insert 1 and the female insert 2 are in rolling contact from the beginning. This is particularly advantageous for reducing the insertion friction of both the male insert 1 and the female insert 2.

In a further embodiment, similar to the structure of the male mount 11, the upper female mount 211 may comprise an upper female bracket 211_1 and an upper female insulating block 211_2, the upper female bracket 211_1 may be arranged to clamp the upper female insulating block 211_2. Meanwhile, the lower female mount 212 may include a lower female bracket 212_1 and a lower female insulation block 212_2, and the lower female bracket 212_1 may be arranged to clamp the lower female insulation block 212_2. Still further, the upper mother support 211_1 has an upper first end 214_1 (see fig. 4 b) at the open end 25 of the open arrangement, and the upper roller 231 may be arranged at the upper first end 214_1; while the lower parent bracket 212_1 has a lower first end 214_2 (see fig. 4 b) at the open end 25, a lower roller 232 may be disposed at the lower first end 214_2.

Still further, in some embodiments, the female insert 2 may further include a female mounting bracket 50, the female mounting bracket 50 serving to support the female mount 21. In particular, the female connector 2 can also be fixedly mounted to the stationary base plate 16 of the above-mentioned electrical cabinet via the female mounting bracket 50.

Further, the upper female bracket 211_1 may be fixed to the female mounting bracket 50 via an upper pivot shaft 51, and the upper pivot shaft 51 may be disposed adjacent to the upper female bracket 211_1 at an upper second end 213_1 opposite to the upper first end 214_1. Meanwhile, a lower female bracket 212_1 may be fixed to the female mounting bracket 50 via a lower pivot shaft 52, and the lower pivot shaft 52 may be disposed adjacent to a lower second end 213_2 of the lower female bracket 212_1 opposite to the lower first end 214_2. With the above arrangement, this means that the upper and lower female mounts 211, 212 can pivot about the upper and lower pivot axes 51, 52, respectively, which is particularly advantageous for easy insertion of the male insert 1 into the female insert 2.

Further, it is easy to understand that in the above-described pivoted state, the above-described open arrangement of the female connector 2 is always maintained, and that only slight up-down pivoting of the above-described upper and lower female mounts 211, 212 is allowed, which is advantageous, because it can ensure that the male connector 1 slides on the opposite surfaces of both the upper and lower female mounts 211, 212 during insertion, while also avoiding that the pivoting amplitude is too large to affect surrounding devices. Furthermore, it is also desirable to have the above-described open arrangement apply a predetermined clamping pressure to the male insert 1 during insertion of the male insert 1, which may facilitate better electrical contact of both the male insert 1 and the female insert 2 in a given position.

To this end, in some embodiments, the female insert 2 may also include a spring 40. In particular, the upper second end 213_1 of the upper parent bracket 211_1 may be connected to the lower second end 213_2 of the lower parent bracket 212_1 via the spring 40. In this case, the spring 40 may apply a spring force to both the upper and lower second ends 213_1 and 213_2. In particular, the above-mentioned spring force is preset such that: in the state of the open arrangement of the male connector 1 without the female connector 2, the distance of the open arrangement on the side of the spring 40 is slightly larger than the distance of the open arrangement on the side of the open end 25, and at the same time the distance of the open end 25 of the open arrangement is made slightly smaller than the thickness of the male mounting 11 (or the male insulating block 110) of the male connector 1.

It will be readily appreciated that with the arrangement described above, it is possible to make: during insertion of the male connector 1 into the open arrangement, the upper and lower female brackets 211_1 and 212_1 are allowed to slightly pivot about the upper and lower pivot shafts 51 and 52, respectively, and a predetermined clamping pressure is applied to the inserted male connector 1 via the open arrangement by means of the above-described springs.

By way of example only, the spring 40 is a leaf spring and may be in the shape of a fallen V. One end of the V-shaped opening may be inserted into the upper insertion hole 61 provided at the upper second end 213_1 of the upper mother support 211_1, and the other end of the V-shaped opening may be inserted into the lower insertion hole 62 provided at the lower second end 213_2 of the lower mother support 212_1. Since the V-shaped spring piece itself has elasticity, it can be elastically supported between the upper second end 213_1 of the upper parent bracket 211_1 and the lower second end 213_2 of the lower parent bracket 212_1. In particular, the elastic tension of the spring plate may be preset such that: in the state of the open arrangement of the male connector 1 without the female connector 2, the spacing of the open arrangement on the side of the spring 40 is slightly larger than the spacing of the open arrangement on the side of the open end 25, and at the same time the spacing of the open ends 25 of the open arrangement is made slightly smaller than the thickness of the male mounting 11 (or the male insulating block 110) of the male connector 1.

In still other embodiments, the female insert 2 may further include a shield 70, which may be positioned on the other side of the female insert 2 opposite the open end 25 of the open arrangement, which may aid in shielding the conductive elements in the male insert 1 and the female insert 2.

The overall process of inserting the male insert 1 into the open arrangement of the female insert 2 will be briefly described below taking fig. 5a and 5c as examples, wherein fig. 5a shows a schematic view of the male insert 1 not yet inserted into the open arrangement of the female insert 2; fig. 5b shows a schematic view of the male insert 1 having been inserted into a first position in an open arrangement of the female insert 2; fig. 5c shows a schematic view of the male insert 1 having been inserted into the second position of the female insert 2 in an open arrangement.

As shown in fig. 5a, in order to achieve an electrical connection between the male insert 1 and the female insert 2, the male insert 1 may be pushed in the insertion direction X towards the female insert 2. This operation can be achieved, for example, by operating the movable drawer unit 15 described in fig. 1, wherein the male insert 1 can thereby be moved with a movement of the drawer unit 15 relative to the stationary base plate 16. At the same time, since the male insert 1 is not yet inserted into the open arrangement of the female insert 2, the upper and lower female mountings of the female insert 2 may remain substantially parallel, and in particular the open arrangement has a slightly larger spacing on the side of the spring 40 than the open arrangement on the side of the open end 25.

As the male insert 1 continues to be pushed in the insertion direction X, it will be appreciated that the front end of the male insert 1 (in particular, the male bracket 111) will come into contact with the roller 23, and under compression of this front end, the upper and lower female mounts 211, 212 of the female insert 2 will slightly expand against the clamping pressure exerted by the springs 40 via the open arrangement. At the same time, the female conductive member 22 provided on the inner side surface of the female connector 2 is also spread together with the upper and lower female mounting members 211 and 212.

Further, the front end of the male insert 1 (in particular, the male holder 111) will enter into the open arrangement of the female insert 2. At the same time, the roller 23 rolls on the upper and lower surfaces of the male mount 11 or the male bracket 111 of the male insert 1 and keeps the surfaces of both the upper and lower female mounts 211 and 212 substantially parallel. It will be readily appreciated that in this case, the male conductive member 12 of the male connector 1 and the female conductive member 22 of the female connector 2 are not in contact with each other, and that there is only rolling friction between the male connector 1 and the female connector 2.

Further, when the male insert 1 is pushed to the first position shown in fig. 5b, at least a portion of the roller 23 will fall into the hole 23 (e.g., the front upper hole 131_1 or the front lower hole 132_1) on the male mount 11 (or the male bracket 111). At the same time, the upper and lower female mounting members 211, 212 will rotate towards each other under the force exerted by the spring 40 (at which point the open ends of the open arrangement will be slightly narrowed) and the female conductive member 22 on the female connector 2 will rotate therewith until it is clamped and in contact with the male conductive member 12 on the male connector 1, thereby effecting secondary circuit conduction. The purpose of the second circuit conduction in the first position shown in fig. 5b is to take the first position as a test position, so as to facilitate electrical performance test of some switching devices (such as contactors and circuit breakers) on the movable drawer unit 15, and to prepare for the following formal first circuit conduction. Thus, the first position described above may also be referred to as a test position. It is to be understood that, in other embodiments, the first position is not provided, so that the secondary circuit for testing is conducted, and the front upper hole 131_1 or the front lower hole 132_1 may not be provided.

Then, when the male connector 1 is pushed further, the roller 23 may climb out of the hole 23 (for example, the front upper hole 131_1 or the front lower hole 132_1). At the same time, the upper and lower female mounting members 211, 212 will rotate away from each other against the force of the spring 40 (at which time the open ends of the open arrangement will be slightly splayed) while the male and female conductive members 12, 22 of the male and female connectors 1, 2 will again come out of contact and there will be only rolling friction between the male and female connectors 1, 2.

Finally, when the male connector 1 is pushed further to the second position shown in fig. 5c, at least a portion of the roller 23 will fall again into the hole 23 on the male mount 11 (or the male bracket 111), and a secondary circuit conduction is again achieved at this second position. According to the design of the present disclosure, the above-mentioned second position may be designed such that the male insert 1 is in a position when fully inserted into the open arrangement. Thus, it should be understood that the hole 23 corresponding to the second position is different from the hole 23 corresponding to the first position, for example, the hole 23 falling in the first position may be the front upper hole 131_1 or the front lower hole 132_1; the hole 23 at the second position may be the rear upper hole 131_2 or the rear lower hole 132_2. It will also be appreciated that in this second position, the primary circuit is formally enabled to conduct as the secondary circuit is again enabled and has been tested for electrical performance in the first position.

Specific structures and implementations of electrical card assemblies according to the present disclosure have been described in detail above. It will be appreciated that while the electrical connector assembly of the present disclosure is described above primarily in the context of a drawer-type electrical cabinet, the electrical connector assembly of the present disclosure may be adapted for use with other electrical devices including, but not limited to, the drawer-type electrical cabinet described above.

Furthermore, it will be appreciated that the friction in the solution of the present disclosure is primarily rolling friction, which can greatly reduce friction during insertion, while improving the comfort of drawer operation, as compared to conventional shaft hole insertion solutions. The rolling friction of the present disclosure can even be calculated to be 5% of the friction of a conventional shaft bore insertion scheme, which greatly improves the operational experience.

In addition, since the male and female conductive members, such as copper sheets, are not in contact with each other except in the first and second positions described above during insertion of the male connector, wear and friction between the male and female conductive members is also reduced. In addition, since the male mounting part of the male plug-in contacts with the female plug-in preferentially through the roller, the plug-in collision caused by sheet metal mounting errors can be avoided. In addition, the conductive piece can realize electric contact at the preset position due to the compression of the spring, so that the conductive piece can be free from being coated with conductive paste, the cost is saved, and the maintenance is easy.

While the invention has been illustrated and described in detail in the drawings and foregoing description, such illustration and description are to be considered illustrative or exemplary and not restrictive; the invention is not limited to the disclosed embodiments. Other variations to the disclosed embodiments can be understood and effected by those skilled in the art in practicing the claimed invention, from a study of the drawings, the disclosure, and the appended claims.

In the claims, the word "comprising" does not exclude other elements, and the indefinite article "a" or "an" does not exclude a plurality. A single element or other unit may fulfill the functions of several items recited in the claims. The mere fact that certain features are recited in mutually different embodiments or in dependent claims does not indicate that a combination of these features cannot be used to advantage. The scope of the present application encompasses any possible combination of the features recited in the various embodiments or the dependent claims without departing from the spirit and scope of the present application.

Furthermore, any reference signs in the claims shall not be construed as limiting the scope of the invention.

Claims (15)

1. An electrical connector assembly (3) comprising:

a male plug-in (1) comprising a male mounting member (11) and a male conductive member (12) mounted on a surface of the male mounting member (11), the surface of the male mounting member (11) being provided with a hole (13); and

a female plug-in (2) comprising a female mounting member (21) and a female conductive member (22) mounted on the female mounting member (21), wherein a roller (23) is arranged on the female mounting member (21);

wherein both the male insert (1) and the female insert (2) are arranged to: one of the male and female inserts (1, 2) is allowed to move relative to the other via the roller (23), and both the male and female conductors (12, 22) are electrically connected only when the roller (23) falls at least partially within the hole (13).

2. An electrical card assembly (3) according to claim 1, wherein,

the surface of the male mounting member (11) comprises an upper surface and a lower surface opposite to each other, and the male conductive member (12) comprises an upper male conductive member (121) mounted on the upper surface and a lower male conductive member (122) mounted on the lower surface;

the holes (13) comprise an upper hole (131) mounted on the upper surface and a lower hole (132) mounted on the lower surface.

3. An electrical card assembly (3) according to claim 2, wherein,

the female mounting member (21) includes an upper female mounting member (211) and a lower female mounting member (212) arranged to form an opening with each other, and an upper female conductive member (221) mounted on the upper female mounting member (211) and a lower female conductive member (222) mounted on the lower female mounting member (212);

the roller (23) comprises an upper roller (231) arranged on the upper female mounting piece (211) and a lower roller (232) arranged on the lower female mounting piece (212);

wherein both the male insert (1) and the female insert (2) are further arranged to: the male insert (1) is allowed to be inserted into the female insert (2) from the open end (25) of the open arrangement and the upper male conductor (121) and the upper female conductor (221) are electrically connected only when the upper roller (231) falls at least partially into the upper hole (131) and the lower male conductor (122) and the lower female conductor (222) are electrically connected only when the lower roller (232) falls at least partially into the lower hole (132).

4. An electrical card assembly (3) according to claim 3, wherein the upper roller (231) and the lower roller (232) are arranged at an open end (25) of the open arrangement.

5. An electrical card assembly (3) according to claim 3, wherein,

-the upper roller (231) and the lower roller (232) are aligned with each other in a direction perpendicular to the main extension plane of the female mount (21);

the upper hole (131) and the lower hole (132) are aligned above and below each other in a direction perpendicular to the main extension plane of the male mount (11).

6. The electrical card assembly (3) according to claim 5, wherein the upper hole (131) comprises a front upper hole (131_1) and a rear upper hole (131_2) arranged front and back along an insertion direction (X) of the male card (1), the lower hole (132) comprises a front lower hole (132_1) and a rear lower hole (132_2) arranged front and back along the insertion direction (X), the front upper hole (131_1) and the front lower hole (132_1) being aligned with each other, the rear upper hole (131_2) and the rear lower hole (132_2) being aligned with each other.

7. The electrical connector assembly (3) according to claim 6, wherein during insertion of the male connector (1) into the open arrangement, the upper roller (231) and the lower roller (232) pass first through the corresponding front upper hole (131_1) and front lower hole (132_1) and then through the corresponding rear upper hole (131_2) and rear lower hole (132_2),

wherein the male insert (1) is in a first position partially inserted into the open arrangement when the upper roller (231) and the lower roller (232) at least partially fall into the corresponding front upper hole (131_1) and front lower hole (132_1);

wherein the male insert (1) is in a second position fully inserted into the open arrangement when the upper roller (231) and the lower roller (232) at least partially fall into the corresponding rear upper hole (131_2) and rear lower hole (132_2).

8. An electrical connector assembly (3) according to claim 3, wherein the male mounting member (11) comprises a male bracket (111) and a male insulating block (110), the male bracket (111) being arranged to clamp the male insulating block (110),

the upper and lower male conductive members (121, 122) are disposed on upper and lower surfaces of the male insulating block (110), respectively, and the upper and lower holes (131, 132) are disposed on upper and lower surfaces of the male bracket (111), respectively.

9. An electrical card assembly (3) according to claim 3, wherein,

the upper female mount (211) comprising an upper female bracket (211_1) and an upper female insulating block (211_2), the upper female bracket (211_1) being arranged to clamp the upper female insulating block (211_2), the upper female bracket (211_1) having an upper first end (214_1) at the open end (25), the upper roller (231) being arranged at the upper first end (214_1);

the lower female mount (212) comprises a lower female bracket (212_1) and a lower female insulating block (212_2), the lower female bracket (212_1) being arranged to clamp the lower female insulating block (212_2), the lower female bracket (212_1) having a lower first end (214_2) at the open end (25), the lower roller (232) being arranged at the lower first end (214_2).

10. The electrical connector assembly (3) of claim 9, wherein the female connector (2) further comprises a female mounting bracket (50),

the upper female bracket (211_1) is fixed to a female mounting bracket (50) via an upper pivot shaft (51), the upper pivot shaft (51) being arranged adjacent to an upper second end (213_1) of the upper female bracket (211_1) opposite to the upper first end (214_1);

the lower female bracket (212_1) is fixed to the female mounting bracket (50) via a lower pivot shaft (52), the lower pivot shaft (52) being arranged adjacent to a lower second end (213_2) of the lower female bracket (212_1) opposite to the lower first end (214_2).

11. The electrical card assembly (3) according to claim 10, wherein the upper second end (213_1) of the upper female bracket (211_1) is connected to the lower second end (213_2) of the lower female bracket (212_1) via a spring (40), the spring (40) being arranged to: during insertion of the male insert (1) into the open arrangement, the upper female bracket (211_1) and the lower female bracket (212_1) are allowed to slightly pivot about the upper pivot axis (51) and the lower pivot axis (52), respectively, and a predetermined clamping pressure is applied to the male insert (1) via the open arrangement.

12. The electrical connector assembly (3) of claim 11, wherein the spring (40) is a leaf spring and is in the shape of a fallen V, one end of the V-shaped opening being inserted into the upper receptacle (61) of the upper second end (213_1) and the other end of the V-shaped opening being inserted into the lower receptacle (62) of the lower second end (213_2).

13. The electrical connector assembly (3) according to any one of claims 1-12, the female connector (2) being held stationary and the male connector (1) being configured to be movable.

14. An electrical device, comprising:

electrical card assembly (3) according to any one of claims 1-13.

15. The electrical device according to claim 14, which is a drawer-type electrical cabinet (10), the electrical cabinet (10) comprising a fixed floor (16) and a movable drawer unit (15),

wherein the female insert (2) is fixedly mounted on the fixed base plate (16), the male insert (1) is fixedly mounted on the movable drawer unit (15);

wherein the male insert (1) is adapted to move with a movement of the movable drawer unit (15) relative to the fixed base plate (16) and one of the following is achieved: electrical connection to the female insert (2) or disconnection from electrical connection to the female insert (2).