JPS61171072A - Electric connector with radial force imparting mechanism forpreventing decoupling - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This invention relates to electrical connectors, and more particularly to electrical connectors with spring mechanisms that apply radial forces against coupling and decoupling.

[Description of prior art]

Electrical connectors are often used in situations where extreme decoupling forces are present. For example, some are used under vibration conditions. Under this type of condition, the components are designed to resist dislodging forces. This application relates to a device for preventing spontaneous disconnection of electrical connectors under extreme conditions while still allowing for easy insertion, extraction, and inspection. Excellent reliability is also being sought.

Most prior art electrical connector products designed for environments where accidental disconnection may occur utilize spring and ratchet mechanisms. Several known designs have been used with minute hands. One such design uses a spring member that engages one of the three recesses to prevent dislodgement.

A second known design uses a number of leaf spring-like members with small protrusions that contact a series of small gear-like teeth. The third known example is very similar in design to the second, with the only difference being that the leaf spring member is a plastic-metal laminate. The plastic layer is used to reduce the wear caused by the mechanism during use.

These known designs suffer from a number of drawbacks, including low reliability and difficulty in installation. In the second and third prior art examples, the plate spring member may buckle.

This is true because the high loads generated during disengagement act compressively on the spring.

These two designs are intended to operate under significant preloads which create longitudinal strain forces during rather spring buckling. This may result in premature fatigue or bending of the spring.

In the second prior art design, repeated insertion and removal results in deterioration of the contact surface. This reduces torque values and introduces wear metal particles into the mechanism interfaces and threads.

The use of lubricants to prevent wear requires constant maintenance, which is not desirable.

A third design may have been developed to reduce wear on the mechanism. This design can be problematic for some temperature ranges. Can generate plastic/metallic actuation strain forces. These strain forces can promote bond separation or material fatigue during use.

The prior art is disclosed in several US patent specifications, including: That is, USP 4.1G9.990 Wald a :/ (Wa
ldron) and others υSP 4.268.103 Silt cloud (Sehi 1dkraut) USP 4.457
．． 5727 Frazier et al. USP 4.
Waldron et al. discloses a coupling nut 300 on which a leaf spring 321 is pivotally mounted. The leaf spring 321 has a detent-like part 323 on it. Leaf spring 321
runs from its pivot point in the opposite direction to the coupling section. Part 323 rests on a ratchet-like surface of shell 100.

The Waldron et al. disclosure discussed herein is reproduced in the Siltcloud et al. disclosure, with the only difference in the latter being that the spring is made of a plastic material.

A radial detent 318 is disclosed that is spring loaded with a coil spring 322.

Wirth et al.
A pivot pawl member 60 having a detent 68 that is spring-loaded at 6 is disclosed.

[Summary of the invention]

In accordance with the connector of the present invention, these and other deficiencies of the prior art are overcome by providing an anti-dislodgement radial force application mechanism. The mechanism has a central barrel projecting from a plurality of radially acting teeth. These teeth interact with the plurality of beam leaf springs via molded recesses provided in the center of each spring. When the connector is engaged or unengaged, a spring mounted on the coupling nut moves relative to the barrel teeth. The spring recess is forced out of its path by the barrel teeth. The beam spring is therefore bent in the radial direction of the connector. The leaf spring is attached to the coupling nut by a pin. The pins are pushed into the coupling nut such that the small forward diameter of each pin is inserted into the rounded end of each leaf spring.

The barrel teeth are made to have an asymmetrical profile.

This tooth shape consists of two sloping sides.

The coupling side slopes very gently, while the decoupling side slopes steeply. The exact angle is chosen such that the torque ratio for insertion to removal is, for example, less than 60%.

The leaf spring extends from the end when the pin is attached in the same direction as the coupling nut is rotated to effect the coupling.

The leaf spring is manufactured by stamping metal using a mold with a recess formed integrally therein.

[Preferred embodiment]

In the figure, FIG. 1 shows a plug 11, a receptacle 12,
and electrical connector 0 with coupling nut 13. The plug 11 has a central barrel 14 on which radially projecting and radially acting teeth 15 are fixed (FIG. 2).

t1115 act on each other via the four leaf springs 16 to 19 and molded recesses 20 to 23 formed in the center thereof. Each of the spring recesses 20-23 is pushed out of its path by the barrel teeth 15, causing the beam springs 16-19 to bend in the connector radial direction. Each leaf spring 16-19 is attached to the coupling nut 13 via a retainer pin. See, for example, pin 24 of leaf spring 16. The pin 24 is inserted into a hole (not shown) in the coupling nut so that the small diameter portion of the front end of the pin is inserted into the leaf spring 1.
It is inserted into the molded round end 25 of No. 6 and pushed in to fix it.

Barrel teeth 15 are covered with a conventional permanent wear-resistant lubricating coating. This coating reduces maintenance and eliminates the need for two-part springs.

Each anti-disengagement leaf spring 16-19 is of simple beam construction, made of a single material rather than a laminate, ie isotropic. If desired, the springs 16 to 19 may be formed by metal press molding together with the recesses formed integrally therewith. The strain force generated during bending is predominantly axial, so it is best to specify an axially oriented silane as the crystal grain structure of the spring material. Due to their shape and simplicity, leaf springs 16-19 have relatively few major geometric discontinuities. Furthermore, the spring material is
In order to increase the fatigue life of the spring members 16-19, there should be no cracks or major material discontinuities.

Each mechanical component is oriented such that the coupling and decoupling strain forces on the leaf spring act in the direction most favorable to the function of the spring. The location of the leaf spring within the mechanism is selected such that the force of the strong disengagement torque acts as a tension on the spring. The low torque of the fit will therefore act as a compressive force on the spring, greatly reducing the possibility of buckling due to this compression. Each spring in the mechanism does not need to be preloaded because the spring operating strain forces are relatively small. This low strain force level is achieved by eliminating the large preloads used in the second and third prior art designs. In designs according to the present disclosure, no preload is required to satisfy torque and space constraints that may be placed on the mechanism.

This mechanism is placed near the rear of the connector. This fact facilitates inspection during use. All other attributes of this mechanism give it greater durability and component reliability compared to the prior art.

Note in FIG. 1 that receptacle 12 has a shell 28 that is threaded at 29 into coupling nut 13.

The axial movement of the coupling nut 13 is caused by the plug barrel 1
4 and a snap ring (C-ring) in the plug barrel groove 32.

Receptacle 12 has socket contacts 33 adapted to receive plug pin connectors 34.

The engagement of the coupling nut and receptacle screws at 29 engages or disengages the connector depending on the direction of rotation of the coupling nut.

A pin 24', similar to pin 24, is shown in an enlarged view in FIG. 3, together with an end 25' of leaf spring 19, which is similar to end 25 of leaf spring 16.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Since the mechanism of the invention has radially acting teeth 15 projecting directly from the central barrel 14, independent of any shoulders, it can be used even within very large dimensional envelopes.

The mechanism of the present invention can easily incorporate tooth 15 shapes designed to provide a ratio of less than 60% between coupling and decoupling torques. This feature is
Prior art designs outperform the prior art because they produce torque ratios very close to or in excess of 100% when there is even a slight lack of adjustment or care.

The mechanism of the present invention includes teeth 15□1□ with a permanent warp-resistant coating;
,,C□□,. □Ka. This allows for a mechanism that functions with almost no contamination, dirt, operational inconvenience, or adverse effects due to layer peeling. In the prior art, constant care is required to guard against the possibility of lubricant removal due to fluidization or viscosity changes at high temperatures, or to the possibility of delamination under adverse conditions.

Other factors include the influence of grease lubricants or plastic laminations to control and ensure connector torque.

The mechanism of the present invention allows the user to feel that there is a clear physical torque difference between the joining direction and the removing direction during blind alignment. This is not possible in the prior art where there is little difference between torque directions.

The mechanism of the present invention is designed for low operating strain forces without the need for high preloads for proper functioning.

The prior art operates under relatively large preloads to generate adequate torque within the required space.

The mechanism of the present invention is less likely to fail during assembly because it does not require overcoming a significant spring preload upon insertion of the barrel 14.

It has anti-vibration springs 16-19 having recesses 20-23.

The mechanism of the invention has clearly distinguishable sloped sides 26-27.

The mechanism of the present invention does not require preloading since anti-vibration springs 16-19 are located within the mechanism. The closest prior art quantities operate under significant preload.

The mechanism of the present invention avoids excessively high strain force levels within the anti-vibration springs 16-19. It is clear that prior art quantities are at high strain force levels due to high preloads. This high strain force level results in premature failure and reduced reliability.

The mechanism of the present invention has anti-vibration springs 16-19 located within the mechanism so as to be subjected to tension strain forces upon removal. This results in a rubbing action of the teeth on the spring, reducing the amount of bending required at the pinned end.

The mechanism of the present invention has a compression-like mounting with vibration-resistant IJ' J+ located within the mechanism such that it produces low strain force levels from torque.
1 Q 1 ＾ ＃－＃＃
＊I --n Gokai 144, ml
Tube Ewo nr 44. Δ＼Reducing possibility.

The mechanism of the invention is easy to inspect and maintain.

The mechanism of the invention can be made of a variety of materials, such as plastic or ceramic, and is not limited to metal parts, in view of the wide variety of environments and applications.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partial elevation longitudinal cross-sectional view of an electrical connector made in accordance with the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the connector taken along line 2--2 in FIG. 1, and FIG. It is a partially enlarged view of the main part. 10: Electrical connector, 11 Nib Lug, 12: Receptacle, 13 Two coupling nuts, 14: Barrel, 15
: Ratchet (J, 16-19: Iil'ne, 24:
Pin, 28: Receptacle shell.

Claims (7)

[Claims] (1) a plug including a barrel having a longitudinal axis; a threaded coupling nut pivotable on the plug barrel about the barrel axis but axially immobile; for connecting and disconnecting the connector; a receptacle having a shell threadably engageable with the coupling nut; and a receptacle located between the coupling nut and the plug barrel to flexibly resist rotation of the coupling nut in each direction for mating and disengaging the connector. a ring member having ratchet-like teeth secured to the plug barrel; and a ring member attached to the coupling nut and arranged around the plug barrel for engagement with the teeth. a plurality of spaced apart leaf springs, each of said leaf springs being rotatable on said coupling nut about a longitudinal axis passing through one end thereof, and each of said leaf springs being rotatable on said coupling nut; a detented body that engages teeth to flexibly resist rotation of the coupling nut on and off the plug barrel, each leaf spring extending in a generally arcuate direction from the axis thereof; An electrical connector characterized in that said generally arcuate direction is the same as the direction in which said coupling nut is rotated to achieve coupling. (2) The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein the plug barrel is generally cylindrical. (3) The electrical connector according to claim 1, wherein the leaf spring is made of an isotropic material. (4) The electrical connector according to claim 3, wherein the leaf spring is made of a metal stamping material. (5) The electrical connector according to claim 4, wherein the detent type body is an integral bulge portion of the leaf spring. 6. The electrical connector of claim 1, wherein said coupling nut has a hole and said leaf spring is substantially flat and located at each chord of the arc of said hole in said coupling nut. (7) The coupling nut has a pin extending in the axial direction at the position of the axis of each corresponding leaf spring, and the leaf spring is elastically attached to a corresponding one of the pins. An electrical connector according to claim 1.