TWI814300B - Electrical connector and electrical connector assembly - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an electrical connector and an electrical connector assembly, the electrical connector comprises an insulative housing, a pair of contacts and a temperature-sensing element electrically connected with the contacts. The insulative housing has a main portion and a receiving portion extending forwards from the main portion, and the receiving portion defines a cavity opening towards one side thereof. Each contact has a retaining portion fixed in the main portion, a contacting arm disposed at one end of the retaining portion and protruding into the cavity, and a docking arm disposed at the opposite end of the retaining portion. The temperature-sensitive element is at least partially received in the cavity and is connected to the contacting arm of the contacts in the cavity.

Description

Electrical connectors and electrical connector combinations

The present invention relates to an electrical connector and an electrical connector assembly, and in particular to an electrical connector and an electrical connector assembly that are easy to replace.

In the thermal management system of the BMS battery management module of traditional new energy vehicles, the temperature sensor used to detect temperature is usually fixed to the PCB or FPC/FFC by welding. When the temperature sensor appears abnormal, the entire battery pack needs to be disassembled. To replace it, this disassembly operation is relatively difficult and may cause the components to be damaged and require recalibration.

In view of this, it is indeed necessary to further improve traditional electrical connectors and electrical connector combinations to solve the above problems.

The object of the present invention is to provide an electrical connector and an electrical connector combination that are easy to disassemble.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention provides an electrical connector, which includes an insulating body, a pair of conductive terminals and a temperature sensing element electrically connected to the conductive terminals. The insulating body has a main body and extends forward from the main body. The receiving portion is formed with a receiving cavity that is open to one side. Each of the conductive terminals has a fixed portion fixed to the main body, a contact arm provided at one end of the fixed portion and protruding in the receiving cavity. and a docking arm provided at the opposite end of the fixed portion, wherein the temperature-sensing element is at least partially contained in the accommodating cavity and is connected to the front in the accommodating cavity. The contact arms of the conductive terminals are connected.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the aforesaid accommodating part has a partition part located in the accommodating cavity and a pair of limiting grooves located on both sides of the aforesaid partition part, and the aforesaid temperature sensing element has a part limited in the corresponding limiting groove to communicate with the Correspondingly, a pair of pins are welded to the aforementioned contact arms.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the main body part is opened outward toward one side in the height direction to form an open part, and the electrical connector further has a cover assembled on the open part, and the cover at least partially covers The aforementioned conductive terminals.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the cover has a base and a stopper arranged on an edge of the base. The stopper extends downward from the edge of the base so that its bottom surface is located below the bottom surface of the base.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the aforementioned cover body also has a rear stop portion protruding downward from the rear edge of the aforementioned base portion.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the stop blocks are provided on both sides of the cover body in the transverse direction, and the stop blocks on each side have side stop portions facing downward.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the cover is snap-fitted to the insulating body, and the cover and the insulating body cover and fix the conductive terminal on both sides.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the cover is assembled to the insulating body along the height direction, and is locked with the two side walls of the main body through the buckle portions provided on both sides of the cover.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the aforementioned cover body is slidably assembled to the aforementioned insulating body in the front-rear direction. One of the aforementioned cover body and the aforementioned insulating body is provided with a slide groove extending along the front-rear direction, and the other is provided with a slide groove that can be inserted into the aforementioned slide groove. And the sliding protrusion slides along the aforementioned slide groove.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the aforementioned conductive terminal also has a butt arm from its The resisting arm extends in the reverse direction, and the cover contacts the resisting arm so that the docking portion of the docking arm has a tendency to move downward.

As a further improvement of the present invention, each of the aforementioned conductive terminals further has a clamping arm extending from its fixed portion, and the clamping arm is curved and elastic.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the electrical connector further has an insulating member contained in the insulating body and wrapping the temperature sensing element. The insulating member wraps the connection portion between the temperature sensing element and the conductive terminal.

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention also provides an electrical connector assembly, which includes the aforementioned electrical connector and a connecting element electrically connected to the butt arm of the aforementioned electrical connector.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the aforementioned docking arm is curved to be elastic, the aforementioned insulating body has a terminal slot for receiving the aforementioned conductive terminal and a mounting slot connected with the corresponding terminal slot, and the aforementioned connecting element is inserted into the aforementioned mounting slot from back to front. in the groove and in pressing contact with the docking portion of the aforementioned docking arm.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the aforementioned connecting element has a pair of butt tongues arranged side by side in the transverse direction to electrically connect with the corresponding conductive terminals, and the pair of butt tongues are inserted into the installation groove and are inserted into the aforementioned main body. They are separated by a partition wall, and the butt tongue portion is pressed and limited by the insulating body and the conductive terminal.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the installation direction of the temperature sensing element is parallel to the insertion direction of the connecting element.

As a further improvement of the present invention, the installation direction of the temperature sensing element is perpendicular to the insertion direction of the connecting element.

Compared with the prior art, the electrical connector and electrical connector assembly of the present invention at least partially accommodate the temperature sensing element in the receiving cavity of the insulating body and connect it to the aforementioned conductive terminal in the receiving cavity. The contact arms are connected to facilitate removal and replacement when the temperature sensing element fails.

100, 100": Electrical connector combination

1, 1', 1": Insulating body

11: Main part

112:Open Department

113, 113': side wall

1131: Fitting slot

1132: First snap slot

114: Bottom wall

115: partition wall

1151: Upper section

1152: Next paragraph

1153: depression

1154:Up the wall

116': Lock slot

1161':stop plane

12: Containment Department

120: Containment chamber

121:Separator

123:Limit slot

124:Protrusion

13:Terminal slot

14:Installation slot

15:Second buckle slot

15':Chute

2, 2', 2": conductive terminals

21: Fixed part

212:Fixed plate

2121:Barb

23:Contact arm

24:Docking arm

241: docking department

25:Compression arm

26: Clamping arm

261: Clamping part

262:Tail

263: Limiting part

3. 3": Temperature sensing element

31, 31": pin

4. 4': cover

41, 41': base

42: Stop block

421: Side stop

423: concave part

43:Rear stop

45:Buckle part

45': Sliding protrusion

451: The first buckle part

451':Lock part

452: Second buckle part

46:Limiting wall

5, 5": connecting components

51:Butt tongue

512:First protrusion

513:Second protrusion

52:Substrate part

521: Limit hole

The first figure is a three-dimensional assembly view of the first embodiment of the electrical connector assembly of the present invention.

The second figure is another view of the electrical connector assembly shown in the first figure.

The third figure is an exploded perspective view of the electrical connector assembly shown in the first figure.

The fourth figure is another view of the electrical connector assembly shown in the third figure.

The fifth figure is a partial assembly diagram of the electrical connector assembly shown in the third figure.

The sixth figure is another view of the electrical connector assembly shown in the fifth figure.

The seventh figure is a three-dimensional view of the electrical connector assembly shown in the first figure with the insulating body and the temperature sensing element removed.

Figures 8 to 9 are cross-sectional views of the electrical connector assembly shown in Figure 1.

Figure 10 is a three-dimensional assembly view of the electrical connector according to the second embodiment of the electrical connector assembly of the present invention.

Figure 11 is a perspective view of the electrical connector shown in Figure 10 before the cover is assembled.

Figure 12 is a partially exploded view of the electrical connector shown in Figure 10 .

Figure 13 is a partially exploded view of the third embodiment of the electrical connector assembly of the present invention.

Referring to Figures 1 to 9, a first embodiment of an electrical connector assembly according to the present invention is shown. The electrical connector assembly 100 includes an electrical connector and a connecting element 5 electrically connected to the electrical connector.

In the present invention, the electrical connector includes an insulating body 1, a pair of conductive terminals 2 and a temperature sensing element 3 electrically connected to the conductive terminals 2.

The insulating body 1 has a main body 11 and a receiving portion 12 extending forward from the main body 11 . The receiving portion 12 forms a receiving cavity 120 open to one side. Specifically, the aforementioned receiving portion 12 has a partition portion 121 located in the receiving cavity 120 and a pair of limiting grooves 123 located on both sides of the aforementioned partition portion 121 . Each of the aforementioned limiting grooves 123 is formed by a space between the aforementioned partition portion 121 and a protruding portion 124 located outside the aforementioned partition portion 121 .

The main body 11 is opened outward toward one side in the height direction to form an opening 112. Specifically, the main body 11 includes a pair of opposite side walls 113 and a bottom wall 114 connecting the pair of side walls 113. The opening portion 112 is surrounded and defined by the pair of side walls 113 and the bottom wall 114 and is open to the rear. Each of the aforementioned side walls 113 has a fitting groove 1131 formed outwardly from its inner surface and a first snapping groove 1132 connected with the fitting groove 1131 on the front side.

The main body 11 also has a partition wall 115 protruding upward from the bottom wall 114. In the lateral direction, the partition wall 115 is located between the pair of side walls 113. The partition wall 115 includes an upper section 1151 located on the upper side and an upper section 1151 located on the upper side. The width of the lower section 1152 in the transverse direction is larger than the width of the upper section 1151 in the transverse direction. The lower section 1152 has a recessed portion 1153 formed forwardly from its rear end surface and is immediately adjacent to the recessed portion 1153 An upper wall 1154 is provided.

The insulating body 1 has terminal slots 13 for accommodating the conductive terminals 2 and a mounting slot 14 connected to the corresponding terminal slot 13. The insulating body 1 is also provided with a second buckling slot 15 above the mounting slot 14. Two buckling grooves 15 are recessed on the side wall 113 and extend forward from the rear end surface of the insulating body 1 .

Each conductive terminal 2 has a fixed portion 21 fixed to the main body 11 , a contact arm 23 provided at one end of the fixed portion 21 and protruding in the receiving cavity 120 , and a butt joint provided at the opposite end of the fixed portion 21 . Arm 24, the aforementioned docking arm 24 has a docking portion 241 formed by protruding downward.

In addition, each of the aforementioned conductive terminals 2 also has a resisting arm 25 extending in the opposite direction from its docking arm 24, so that the aforementioned resisting arm 25 is located above the aforementioned docking arm 24 and is connected to the aforementioned docking arm 24 to form a U-shape. When the cover 4 covers the opening 112 from the upper side, the cover 4 contacts the resisting arm 25 and causes the docking portion 241 of the docking arm 24 to move downward.

In addition, each of the aforementioned conductive terminals 2 also has a clamping arm 26 extending from its fixed portion 21. The aforementioned clamping arm 26 extends rearwardly from the aforementioned fixing portion 21 and is curved and elastic. The aforementioned docking arm 24 also Curved and elastic.

Specifically, in this embodiment, the fixing part 21 is U-shaped and includes a pair of fixing plates 212 spaced apart and oppositely arranged in the height direction, and the docking arm 24 and the clamping arm 26 are rearward from the corresponding fixing plates 212 Extended, in this way, the clamping arm 26 and the docking arm 24 jointly clamp the connecting element 5 between them, and clamp the connecting element 5 by elastic clamping force on the upper and lower sides. To ensure the reliability of the electrical connection of the aforementioned connecting element 5.

One side of the fixing part 21 in the transverse direction is a closed side, and the opposite side is an open side. Each of the fixing plates 212 is provided with an insulator on the opening side of the fixing part 21 that interferes with the insulating body 1 and is fixed. Thorn2121.

Furthermore, the clamping arm 26 has a clamping portion 261 that arches upward to provide elastic deformation capability. When the connecting element 5 is inserted into the insulating body 1 , the clamping portion 261 is on the lower side of the connecting element 5 Pressure it. The clamping arm 26 also has a tail portion 262 at its rear end and a limiting portion 263 protruding from the tail portion 262 in a transverse direction. The limiting portion 263 extends into the recessed portion 1153 formed on the partition wall 115 .

Referring to Figures 2 to 4 and 9, the temperature sensing element 3 is at least partially contained in the receiving cavity 120 and is connected to the contact arm 23 of the conductive terminal 2 in the receiving cavity 120. catch. Furthermore, the temperature sensing element 3 has a pair of pins 31 limited in the corresponding limiting groove 123 for welding with the corresponding contact arm 23 .

Referring to Figures 1, 3 to 6, 8, and 9, the electrical connector also has a cover 4 assembled on the opening 112, and the cover 4 at least partially covers the opening 112. Conductive terminal 2.

The cover 4 has a base 41 and a stopper 42 provided at the edge of the base 41 . The stopper 42 extends downward from the edge of the base 41 so that its bottom surface is located below the bottom surface of the base 41 . Furthermore, the stop blocks 42 are provided on both sides of the cover 4 in the transverse direction and are received in the corresponding matching grooves 1131. The stop blocks 42 on each side have a side facing downward. Stop 421.

The cover 4 also has a rear stopper 43 formed by protruding downward from the rear edge of the base 41 . The rear stopper 43 extends downward beyond the bottom surface of the base 41 .

In the present invention, the cover 4 is snap-fitted to the insulating body 1 , and the cover 4 and the insulating body 1 cover and fix the conductive terminal 2 on both sides. In the first embodiment of the present invention, the cover 4 is assembled to the insulating body 1 along the height direction, and is locked with the two side walls 113 of the main body 11 through the buckling portions 45 provided on both sides.

At least one of the stop blocks 42 on each side of the cover 4 in the transverse direction is provided with a first buckle portion 451. In the illustrated embodiment, the first buckle portion 451 is disposed at the front. outside the stop block 42.

The base 41 is provided with a pair of second buckling portions 452 on both sides in the transverse direction. The pair of second buckling portions 452 are disposed on the rear side of the stopper 42 and protrude outward along the transverse direction. The length is smaller than the length of the adjacent stop block 42 protruding outward in the transverse direction, so that the outer surface of the stop block 42 is disposed farther away from the side surface of the base 41 than the second buckle portion 452 . The aforementioned first, The second buckle parts 451 and 452 are collectively referred to as the buckle part 45. The first buckle part 451 is buckled and positioned in the first buckle groove 1132 to prevent relative movement of the cover 4 in the height direction on the front side. , the aforementioned second buckling portion 452 is buckled and positioned in the aforementioned second buckling groove 15 to prevent the aforementioned cover 4 from relative movement in the height direction on the rear side.

The aforementioned cover body 4 also has a pair of limiting walls 46 protruding downward from the aforementioned base portion 41. The aforementioned pair of limiting walls 46 are spaced apart in the transverse direction and are located in the middle of the aforementioned covering body 4. Each of the aforementioned limiting walls 46 Wall 46 extends in the front-to-back direction. The partition wall 115 is located in the space formed by the pair of limiting walls 46 for alignment and limiting.

The electrical connector also has an insulating member (not shown) that is accommodated in the insulating body 1 and wraps the temperature sensing element 3 . The insulating piece wraps the connection portion between the temperature sensing element 3 and the conductive terminal 2 . In the embodiment shown in the present invention, the temperature sensing element 3 is completely contained in the receiving cavity 120 , the pair of pins 31 are connected to the contact arms 23 of the conductive terminal 2 , and the insulating member is filled in the receiving cavity 120 inside, and the aforementioned temperature sensing element 3 and its connection part with the aforementioned contact arm 23 are wrapped therein.

The connecting element 5 of the electrical connector assembly of the present invention is electrically connected to the docking arm 24 of the aforementioned electrical connector. During connection, the connecting element 5 is inserted into the mounting groove 14 from back to front and comes into pressing contact with the butt portion 241 of the butt arm 24 .

In the present invention, the connecting element 5 has a pair of butt tongues 51 arranged side by side in the transverse direction to electrically connect with the corresponding conductive terminals. The pair of butt tongues 51 are inserted into the installation groove 14 and are connected to the main body 11 The inner partition wall 115 separates the butt tongue portion 51 from being pressed and limited by the insulating body 1 and the conductive terminal 2 .

Each of the aforementioned butt tongues 51 has a first protruding portion located on one side in its transverse direction. 512 and the second protrusion 513. The second protrusion 513 is located on the rear side of the first protrusion 512. The side stopper 421 of the stopper 42 on the front limits the first protrusion 512 on the upper side. The second protruding portion 513 is received in the recess 423 formed at the bottom of the rear stop block 42 and is blocked by the side stop portion 421 of the stop block 42 .

The connecting element 5 also has a base plate portion 52 located on the rear side of the pair of butt tongue portions 51. The base plate portion 52 is provided with a limiting hole 521 formed through it in the height direction, and the rear stopper portion 43 extends downward. In the aforementioned limiting hole 521 , the rear side of the aforementioned butting tongue 51 is limited and fixed.

As shown in the sixth figure, in the embodiment of the present invention, the installation direction D1 of the temperature sensing element 3 is parallel to the insertion direction D2 of the connecting element 5 . Specifically, the installation direction of the temperature sensing element 3 is parallel to the plane where the pair of pins 31 are located, and is the front-to-back direction of the electrical connector. The insertion direction is also the back-to-front direction of the electrical connector.

Please refer to Figures 10 to 12, which are electrical connectors in the second embodiment of the electrical connector assembly of the present invention. The basic structure of the aforementioned electrical connector is the same as that of the first embodiment, and also includes an insulating body. 1', a pair of conductive terminals 2', a temperature sensing element (not shown) electrically connected to the conductive terminals 2' and a cover 4' assembled on the insulating body 1', the only difference lies in the cover 4' The detailed structure and the way it cooperates with the insulating body 1' will be described below only with respect to their differences.

In the embodiment, the cover 4' is slidably assembled to the insulating body 1' in the front-to-back direction. One of the cover 4' and the insulating body 1' is provided with a slide groove 15' extending in the front-to-back direction, and the other is A sliding protrusion 45' that can be inserted into the slide groove 15' and slide along the slide groove 15' is provided.

Preferably, one of the aforementioned slide grooves 15' is provided on both sides of the aforementioned insulating body 1', and one of the aforementioned sliding protrusions 45' is provided on both sides of the aforementioned cover 4'. Each of the aforementioned sliding protrusions 45' The base portion 41' of the cover body 4' protrudes outward and a locking portion 451' is protrudingly provided on the outer side of the cover body 4'. The side wall 113' of the body 1' is provided with a locking groove 116' for accommodating the corresponding locking portion 451'. The rear end surface of the locking portion 451' is stopped by the stop surface 1161' defining the locking groove 116'.

As shown in Figure 13, in the third embodiment of the electrical connector assembly 100" of the present invention, its basic structure is also the same as that of the first embodiment, and also includes an insulating body 1", a pair of conductive terminals 2", The temperature sensing element 3" electrically connected to one end of the conductive terminal 2", the cover (not shown) assembled on the insulating body 1" and the connecting element 5" electrically connected to the other end of the conductive terminal 2" are different. The point is that the installation direction D1" of the temperature sensing element 3" is perpendicular to the insertion direction D2" of the connecting element 5". Specifically, in this embodiment, the plane where the pin 31" of the temperature sensing element 3" is located is a vertical plane, and the insertion direction D2" of the connecting element 5" is perpendicular to the vertical plane.

The electrical connector and electrical connector assembly 100 of the present invention at least partially accommodates the temperature sensing element 3 in the receiving cavity 120 of the insulating body 1 and is connected to the contact arm 23 of the conductive terminal 2 in the receiving cavity 120. This makes it easy to disassemble and replace when the temperature sensing element 3 fails.

In particular, it should be pointed out that for those of ordinary skill in the art, equivalent changes to the present invention made under the teachings of the present invention should still be included in the claimed scope of the patent application for the present invention.

100: Electrical connector combination

1: Insulating body

113:Side wall

120: Containment chamber

121:Separator

124:Protrusion

23:Contact arm

3: Temperature sensing element

31: Pin

43:Rear stop

5: Connecting components

Claims (17)

An electrical connector, which includes an insulating body, a pair of conductive terminals and a temperature sensing element electrically connected to the conductive terminals. The insulating body has a main body and a receiving portion extending forward from the main body. The receiving portion forms There is a receiving cavity open to one side, and each of the aforementioned conductive terminals has a fixed portion fixed to the aforementioned main body, a contact arm provided at one end of the fixed portion and protruding in the aforementioned receiving cavity, and another contact arm provided opposite to the fixed portion. A docking arm at one end, wherein the temperature sensing element is at least partially received in the receiving cavity and connected to the contact arm of the conductive terminal in the receiving cavity. The electrical connector described in Item 1 of the patent application, wherein the aforesaid receiving portion has a partition located in the receiving cavity and a pair of limiting grooves located on both sides of the aforesaid partition, and the aforementioned temperature sensing element has a limit located at A pair of pins are welded to the corresponding contact arms in the corresponding limiting grooves. The electrical connector according to claim 1 of the patent application, wherein the main body portion is opened outward toward one side in the height direction to form an opening portion, and the electrical connector further has a cover assembled on the opening portion, The cover at least partially covers the conductive terminal. The electrical connector as described in Item 3 of the patent application, wherein the cover has a base and a stopper arranged on the edge of the base, and the stopper extends downward from the edge of the base so that its bottom surface is located on the base Bottom side. In the electrical connector described in claim 4 of the patent application, the cover further has a rear stop portion protruding downward from the rear edge of the base portion. The electrical connector as described in Item 4 of the patent application, wherein the stop blocks are provided on both sides of the cover in the transverse direction, and the stop blocks on each side have side stop portions facing downward. . For example, in the electrical connector described in Item 3 of the patent application, the cover is snap-fitted with the insulating body, and the cover and the insulating body cover and fix the conductive terminal on both sides. For example, in the electrical connector described in Item 7 of the patent application, the cover is assembled to the insulating body along the height direction, and is locked with the two side walls of the main body through the buckle portions provided on both sides of the cover. The electrical connector as described in Item 7 of the patent application, wherein the cover body is slidably assembled to the insulating body in the front and rear direction, and one of the cover body and the insulating body is provided with a slide groove extending in the front and rear direction, and the other one is provided with a slide groove extending in the front and rear direction. A sliding protrusion that can be inserted into the slide groove and slide along the slide groove is provided. As in the electrical connector described in Item 3 of the patent application, the aforementioned conductive terminal also has a resisting arm extending in the opposite direction from its docking arm, and the aforementioned cover abuts against the aforementioned resisting arm so that the docking portion of the aforementioned docking arm Has a downward movement trend. In the electrical connector described in claim 1 of the patent application, each of the conductive terminals further has a clamping arm extending from its fixed portion, and the clamping arm is curved and elastic. The electrical connector as described in any one of items 1 to 11 of the patent application, wherein the electrical connector also has an insulating member contained in the insulating body and wrapping the temperature sensing element, and the insulating member wraps the temperature sensing element. The connection part between the temperature element and the aforementioned conductive terminal is wrapped. An electrical connector assembly, which includes the electrical connector as described in any one of claims 1 to 12 and a connecting element electrically connected to the butt arm of the electrical connector. For example, the electrical connector assembly described in item 13 of the patent application, wherein the aforementioned butt arms are curved to be elastic, the aforementioned insulating body has terminal slots for accommodating the aforementioned conductive terminals and installation slots connected to the corresponding terminal slots, and the aforementioned connection The component is inserted into the aforementioned installation groove from back to front and connected with the front The docking portion of the docking arm is in pressing contact. The electrical connector assembly as claimed in claim 14, wherein the connecting element has a pair of butt tongues arranged side by side in the transverse direction to electrically connect with the corresponding conductive terminals, and the pair of butt tongues are inserted into the In the installation groove and separated by the partition wall in the main body part, the butt tongue part is pressed and limited by the insulating body and the conductive terminal. For example, in the electrical connector assembly described in Item 13 of the patent application, the installation direction of the temperature sensing element is parallel to the insertion direction of the connecting element. For example, in the electrical connector assembly described in Item 13 of the patent application, the installation direction of the temperature sensing element is perpendicular to the insertion direction of the connecting element.