CN104201520A - Connector with a locking member - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention discloses a connector, which includes a shell, a first conductive part, a second conductive part and a circuit protection element. The first conductive component is located on the housing. The second conductive component is provided on the housing and has a first contact surface. The circuit protection element has connected coupling elastic pieces and contact elastic pieces. The binding elastic piece is electrically connected to the first conductive member. The contact elastic piece has a second contact surface. The second contact surface has connected conductive areas and insulating areas. The first contact surface of the second conductive component is in contact with the second contact surface of the circuit protection component. Wherein, when the circuit protection element is in a temperature range, the first contact surface of the second conductive member contacts the conductive area of the second contact surface. When the temperature of the circuit protection element increases and the circuit protection element expands and deforms, the position of the conductive area will shift so that the first contact surface of the second conductive element contacts the insulating area of the second contact surface. The connector provided by the invention improves the photoelectric conversion efficiency and service life of the solar module.

Description

Connector

technical field

The invention relates to a connector, in particular to a connector with circuit protection function.

Background technique

In recent years, the creation of a green living environment is a goal advocated by various countries. In a highly civilized world, due to the impact of human activities, carbon dioxide will be emitted from various means of transportation such as burning oil to generate power, making the air The content of carbon dioxide continues to increase, and the greenhouse effect is becoming more and more serious, as well as the phenomenon of global warming. Therefore, countries are actively developing alternative energy sources that can replace oil. The general alternative energy sources can be mainly divided into biomass energy, wind power or Solar power generation, among which solar power generation has attracted the most attention, because solar energy itself does not cause pollution, energy exhaustion and is easy to obtain, so solar energy related industries are gradually developing vigorously.

Various manufacturers are committed to improving the photoelectric conversion efficiency and service life of solar modules to further enhance their competitiveness. However, when the external circuit connected to the solar module is abnormal (for example, the transmitted current is abnormally increased), the overloaded current will destroy the internal circuit of the solar module, thereby reducing the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the solar module, or even causing damage to the solar module . Therefore, how to prevent the abnormality of the external circuit from causing damage to the solar module, thereby improving the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the solar module and prolonging its service life will be a problem that researchers should start.

Contents of the invention

The present invention provides a connector to prevent damage to the solar module caused by an abnormal external circuit, thereby improving the photoelectric conversion efficiency and service life of the solar module.

The connector disclosed by the invention includes a shell, a first conductive part, a second conductive part and a circuit protection element. The first conductive element is disposed on the casing. The second conductive element is disposed on the shell and has a first contact surface. The circuit protection element has a combination elastic piece and a contact elastic piece connected together. The combined elastic piece is electrically connected to the first conductive member. The contact spring has a second contact surface. The second contact surface has a conductive region and an insulating region connected to each other. The first contact surface of the second conductive member is in contact with the second contact surface of the circuit protection element. Wherein, when the circuit protection element is in a first temperature range, the first contact surface of the second conductive member is in contact with the conductive area of the second contact surface. When the circuit protection element expands and deforms from the first temperature range to a second temperature range, the position of the conductive region will shift so that the first contact surface of the second conductive member contacts the insulating region of the second contact surface.

According to the above-mentioned connector disclosed in the present invention, a circuit protection element with on-off control is added between the first conductive element and the second conductive element. When there is no abnormality in the circuit, the second conductive member maintains contact with the conductive area of the circuit protection element and has the function of power transmission. However, when there is an abnormality in the circuit and an overload current is generated, the circuit protection element will heat up due to the influence of the overload current and cause thermal expansion. In this way, the conductive area of the circuit protection element will deviate from the second conductive part, so that the second conductive part will turn into contact with the insulating area next to the conductive area, so that the connector will change from the open state to the open state, so as to prevent the overload current from destroying the connection The solar module connected to the device can improve the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the solar module and prolong its service life.

The above descriptions about the contents of the present invention and the following descriptions of the embodiments are used to demonstrate and explain the principles of the present invention, and provide further explanations of the claims of the present invention.

Description of drawings

FIG. 1 is an exploded schematic diagram of two connectors according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional exploded cross-sectional view of one of the connectors in FIG. 1 .

FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the circuit protection element of FIG. 2 .

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the connector at a first temperature range.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged schematic view of FIG. 4 .

FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the connector of the connector at the second temperature range.

FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged schematic view of FIG. 6 .

8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the connector in the first temperature range according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the connector of FIG. 8 in a second temperature range.

FIG. 10 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional schematic view of the connector according to the third embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional schematic view of the connector according to the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

Wherein, the reference signs are explained as follows:

10 connectors

20 another connector

100 shells

110 first housing

111 Ontology

112 first extension arm

112a Pressed surface

113 Second extension arm

113a Piercing opening

120 Second housing

130 limit slot

131 Stop bottom surface

132 First Side

133 second side

200 First Conductor

210 Grooving

300 second conductor

310 first contact surface

400 circuit protection components

410 combined shrapnel

411 curved segment

412 extension

420 contact shrapnel

420a first end

420b second end

421 conductive layer

421a base

421b Protrusion

422 insulating layer

423 piercing

424 second contact surface

425 insulation area

426 conductive area

500 cable

Detailed ways

Please refer to Figure 1 to Figure 3. FIG. 1 is an exploded schematic diagram of two connectors according to a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a three-dimensional exploded cross-sectional view of one of the connectors in FIG. 1 . FIG. 3 is a three-dimensional schematic diagram of the circuit protection element of FIG. 2 .

As shown in FIG. 1 , the connector 10 of this embodiment is used to connect with another connector 20 so as to connect the solar modules in series. Generally, the connector 10 applied to the solar module is divided into a positive terminal and a negative terminal. The connector 10 in this embodiment takes the positive terminal as an example.

The connector 10 of this embodiment includes a housing 100 , a first conductive element 200 , a second conductive element 300 and a circuit protection element 400 .

The shell 100 is made of insulating material and includes a first shell 110 and a second shell 120 . The second housing 120 is detachably mounted on the first housing 110 , and the second housing 120 has a limiting slot 130 . The limiting groove 130 has a bottom surface 131 , a first side surface 132 and a second side surface 133 . The first side 132 and the second side 133 are respectively connected to opposite sides of the stop bottom surface 131 .

The first conductive member 200 is made of metal material, for example. The first conductive member 200 is fixed on the first housing 110 and has a through slot 210 .

The second conductive member 300 is, for example, a columnar structure made of stainless steel. The second conductive element 300 is fixed on the second housing 120 , and the second conductive element 300 has a first contact surface 310 . The above-mentioned invariant steel is also called Invar alloy, constant range steel or Invar steel, and its characteristic is that the coefficient of thermal expansion is extremely small. The change in thermal expansion is negligibly small at common operating temperatures, that is, constant steel maintains a fixed length at common operating temperatures.

The circuit protection element 400 has a connecting elastic piece 410 and a contact elastic piece 420 connected thereto. The combined elastic piece 410 has a curved segment 411 and an extended segment 412 . The curved section 411 is embedded in the slot 210 and is electrically connected to the first conductive member 200 . The shape of the curved section 411 is, for example, an English letter “S” shape, so as to be embedded in the through groove 210 . The extension section 412 is connected to the curved section 411 .

The contact elastic piece 420 is connected to the extension section 412 , and its shape is, for example, an English letter "L" shape. In detail, the contact spring 420 has a first end 420a and a second end 420b opposite to each other. The first end 420 a of the contact spring 420 is connected to the extension section 412 and keeps a distance from the housing 100 . The second end 420b of the contact elastic piece 420 abuts against the stop bottom surface 131 and is sandwiched between the first side 132 and the second side 133 , so that the second end 420b of the contact elastic piece 420 is confined in the limiting groove 130 . That is to say, the first end 420a of the contact elastic piece 420 is a free end, and the second end 420b is a fixed end. When the contact elastic piece 420 expands and deforms, the first end 420a of the contact elastic piece 420 will move away from the stop bottom surface 131. extend.

The contact spring 420 has a second contact surface 424 . The second contact surface 424 has a conductive region 426 and an insulating region 425 connected thereto. The first contact surface 310 of the second conductive member 300 is in contact with the second contact surface 424 of the circuit protection element 400 , and the first contact surface 310 is flat to have a maximum contact area with the second contact surface 424 . In detail, the contact spring 420 includes a conductive layer 421 and an insulating layer 422 . The conductive layer 421 contacting the elastic piece 420 is bent outward from the end of the extension section 412 of the combination elastic piece 410 away from the curved section 411 . The insulating layer 422 is stacked on the conductive layer 421 by, for example, sputtering, and the insulating layer 422 has a through hole 423 to form an insulating region 425 covered by the insulating layer 422 and a conductive region 426 exposed by the through hole 423 . That is to say, the second contact surface 424 is formed by the outer surface of the conductive layer 421 close to the second conductive element 300 and the outer surface of the insulating layer 422 close to the second conductive element 300 , and the insulating region 425 surrounds the conductive region 426 .

The material of the above-mentioned binding spring 410 and conductive layer 421 is aluminum, copper, aluminum alloy, copper alloy and other materials with high thermal sensitivity and high thermal expansion, so as to increase the range of thermal expansion of the binding spring 410 and conductive layer 421 . The insulating layer 422 is made of boron carbide or zirconia.

The connector 10 also includes a cable 500 . The cable 500 is fixed on the second housing 120 and electrically connected to the second conductive member 300 . The other end of the cable 500 can be connected to another connector 10 .

Next, continue to describe the dimension definition of the circuit protection element 400 and the definition of the angle between the circuit protection element 400 and the second conductive member 300 . Please refer to Figure 4 and Figure 5. FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the connector at a first temperature range. FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged schematic view of FIG. 4 .

For example, in this embodiment, the preset size of the circuit protection element 400 is that the extension section 412 has a first length D1, the contact elastic piece 420 has a second length D2, and the second length D2 of the contact elastic piece 420 is greater than the extended length D2. The segment 412 has a first length D1. The purpose is that the thermal expansion deformation of the contact elastic piece 420 will also increase due to the longer length, but it is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the second length D2 of the contact elastic piece 420 can also be equal to or less than that of the extension section 412 The first length D1.

Furthermore, an included angle θ is maintained between the axis A of the second conductive member 300 and the second contact surface 424 , and the range of the included angle θ is suitably between 5 degrees and 90 degrees. Wherein, the size of the included angle θ will affect the vertical offset of the conductive region 426 . For example, when the included angle θ is exactly equal to 90 degrees, the contact elastic piece 420 is exactly parallel to the vertical line, so the thermal expansion deformation from the center point of the conductive area 426 to the second end 420b of the contact elastic piece 420 is equal to the vertical offset of the conductive area 426 quantity. However, if the included angle θ is not equal to 90 degrees, the thermal expansion deformation from the conductive region 426 to the second end 420b of the contact spring 420 needs to be multiplied by the value of sinθ to be equal to the vertical offset of the conductive region 426 . Therefore, when the included angle θ is equal to 90 degrees, the demand for thermal expansion and deformation of the contact spring 420 is minimal.

Next, the operation principle of the circuit protection device 400 will be described, please refer to FIG. 4 to FIG. 7 in succession. FIG. 6 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the connector of the connector at the second temperature range. FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged schematic view of FIG. 6 .

As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5 , when the circuit is not abnormal and the temperature of the circuit protection element 400 falls within a first temperature range, there is a first gap between the center point of the conductive region 426 and the second end 420b of the contact spring 420 The third length is D3, and the first contact surface 310 of the second conductive member 300 is in contact with the conductive region 426 on the second contact surface 424, so that the connector 10 is in a through state and has the function of power transmission.

As shown in Figures 6 to 7, when an abnormality occurs in the circuit and an overload current is generated, the temperature of the circuit protection element 400 rises from the original first temperature range to a second temperature range due to the influence of the overload current, thereby causing the circuit protection The element 400 expands and deforms (the distance from the center point of the conductive region 426 to the second end 420b of the contact elastic piece 420 increases from the third length D3 to the fourth length D4). Since the second end 420b of the contact elastic piece 420 abuts against the stop bottom surface 131 of the limiting groove 130, the conductive area 426 will deviate in a direction away from the stop bottom surface 131 (as indicated by the arrow a) so that the second The first contact surface 310 of the conductive element 300 is changed to be in contact with the insulating region 425 of the second contact surface 424 . In this way, the connector 10 will be in an open circuit state to prevent overload current from passing through the solar module connected to the connector 10, thereby preventing the solar module from being burned, so as to achieve the purpose of improving the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the solar module and prolonging its service life .

It should be noted that when the insulating layer 422 is sputtered, the thickness of the insulating layer 422 should be controlled, so as to prevent the gap between the insulating layer 422 and the conductive layer 421 from being too large to reduce the slippage of the second conductive member 300 from the conductive region 426 to the insulating layer. Smoothness of area 425.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the first end 420a of the circuit protection element 400 is a free end, and the second end 420b is a fixed end, but it is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the positions of the free end and the fixed end can also be reversed. . Please refer to FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 . FIG. 8 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the connector in the first temperature range according to the second embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the connector of FIG. 8 in a second temperature range.

The difference between this embodiment and the embodiment of FIG. 1 is that the first housing 110 of this embodiment has a body 111 , a first extension arm 112 and a second extension arm 113 . The first extension arm 112 and the second extension arm 113 protrude from one side of the main body 111 in the same direction. The first extension arm 112 has a pressing surface 112a. The second extension arm 113 has a through opening 113a. The second housing 120 is detachably installed on the main body 111 and covers the first extension arm 112 and the second extension arm 113 . Moreover, the pressing surface 112 a abuts against the first end 420 a of the contact elastic piece 420 . The contact elastic piece 420 passes through the opening 113 a, and the second end 420 b of the contact elastic piece 420 maintains a distance from the stop bottom surface 131 of the limiting groove 130 . In this way, the extension direction (as indicated by the arrow b) of the contact spring 420 in this embodiment is opposite to that of the embodiment in FIG. 1 . It should be noted that, in the embodiment, the first housing 110 is composed of the main body 111, the first extension arm 112 and the second extension arm 113, but it is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the first housing 110 may also be composed of a main body 111 and a surrounding wall (not shown).

In detail, as shown in FIG. 8 , when the circuit is not abnormal and the temperature of the circuit protection element 400 falls within a first temperature range, there is a gap between the center point of the conductive region 426 and the first end 420a of the contact spring 420 . The fifth length is D5, and the first contact surface 310 of the second conductive member 300 is in contact with the conductive region 426 on the second contact surface 424 , so that the connector 10 is in a through state and has the function of power transmission.

As shown in FIG. 9 , when an abnormality occurs in the circuit and an overload current is generated, the temperature of the circuit protection element 400 rises from the original first temperature range to a second temperature range due to the influence of the overload current, thereby causing the circuit protection element 400 to expand. Deformation (the distance from the center point of the conductive region 426 to the first end 420a of the contact spring 420 changes from the fifth length D5 to the sixth length D6). Since the first end 420a of the contact spring 420 is against the pressing surface 111, the conductive region 426 will deviate away from the pressing surface 111 (as indicated by the arrow b) so that the first contact of the second conductive member 300 Surface 310 is instead in contact with insulating region 425 of second contact surface 424 . In this way, the purpose of preventing the solar module connected with the connector 10 from being burned can also be achieved.

Please refer to FIG. 10 , which is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of a connector according to a third embodiment of the present invention.

The difference between this embodiment and the above-mentioned embodiment in FIG. 1 is that the first contact surface 310 of this embodiment is a curved surface. Furthermore, the second conductive member 300 has an arc surface at the edge of the first contact surface 310 . In this way, it will help to improve the sliding smoothness between the second conductive member 300 and the contact elastic piece 420 .

Please refer to FIG. 11 , which is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view of a connector according to a fourth embodiment of the present invention.

The difference between this embodiment and the above-mentioned embodiment of FIG. 1 is that the conductive layer 421 of this embodiment has a base portion 421a and a protruding portion 421b. The insulating layer 422 is stacked on the base portion 421a and adjacent to the protruding portion 421b. In addition, the outer surface of the insulating layer 422 and the outer surface of the protruding portion 421 b together form a coplanar second contact surface 424 . Therefore, the second conductive member 300 can slide smoothly on the second contact surface 424 .

It should be noted that the connector 10 in the above embodiment is taken as an example of the positive terminal, but it is not limited thereto. In other embodiments, the circuit protection element 400 can also be applied to the negative terminal.

According to the connector disclosed in the present invention, a circuit protection element made of heat-sensitive material is added between the first conductive element and the second conductive element. When there is no abnormality in the circuit, the second conductive member maintains contact with the conductive area of the circuit protection element and has the function of power transmission. However, when there is an abnormality in the circuit and an overload current is generated, the circuit protection element will heat up due to the influence of the overload current and cause thermal expansion. In this way, the conductive area of the circuit protection element will deviate from the second conductive part, so that the second conductive part is turned into contact with the insulating area, so that the connector is turned from the open state to the open state, so as to prevent the overload current from destroying the connected part of the connector. solar module, thereby improving the photoelectric conversion efficiency of the solar module and prolonging its service life.

Although the embodiments of the present invention are disclosed as above, they are not intended to limit the present invention. Any person skilled in the art, without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention, can refer to the shapes, structures, and features described in the application scope of the present invention. and the quantity can be slightly changed, so the scope of patent protection of the present invention must be defined by the appended claims of this specification.

Claims (14)

1. A connector comprising: a shell; A first conductive element is arranged on the shell; A second conductive element is arranged on the housing and has a first contact surface; and A circuit protection element, having a connecting elastic piece and a contact elastic piece connected, the combining elastic piece is electrically connected to the first conductive member, the contact elastic piece has a second contact surface, and the second contact surface has a connected conductive area and an insulating region, the first contact surface of the second conductive member is in contact with the second contact surface of the circuit protection element; Wherein, when the circuit protection element is in a first temperature range, the first contact surface of the second conductive member is in contact with the conductive region of the second contact surface, when the circuit protection element rises from the first temperature range to When expanding and deforming in a second temperature range, the position of the conductive region will shift so that the first contact surface of the second conductive member contacts the insulating region of the second contact surface. 2. The connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first conductive member has a through groove, the combined elastic piece has a curved section and an extension section, the curved section is embedded in the through groove, the combined The opposite sides of the extension section of the elastic piece are respectively connected to the curved section of the combined elastic piece and the contact elastic piece. 3. The connector according to claim 2, wherein the shell has a limiting groove, the contact elastic piece has a first end and a second end opposite to each other, the first end of the contact elastic piece is connected to the extension section , the second end of the contact elastic piece is located in the limiting groove, the limiting groove has a first side and a second side opposite to each other, the second end of the contact elastic piece is located in the first side and the second side between the sides. 4. The connector as claimed in claim 3, wherein the length of the contact spring is greater than the length of the extension. 5. The connector as claimed in claim 3, wherein the limiting groove has a stop bottom surface, and the second end abuts against the stop bottom surface. 6. The connector as claimed in claim 3, wherein the shell has a pressing surface, and the first end of the contact spring abuts against the pressing surface. 7. The connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the insulating region surrounds the conductive region. 8. The connector as claimed in claim 7, wherein the contact spring comprises a conductive layer and an insulating layer, the outer surface of the conductive layer and the outer surface of the insulating layer together form the second contact surface, the insulating layer has A through hole, the insulating layer is stacked on the conductive layer to form the insulating region covered by the insulating layer and the conductive region exposed by the through hole. 9. The connector as claimed in claim 8, wherein the conductive layer is made of aluminum, copper, aluminum alloy, copper alloy and other materials with high thermal sensitivity and high thermal expansion, and the insulating layer is made of boron carbide or zirconia. 10. The connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the shape of the second conductive element is a column, and the material of the second conductive element is stainless steel. 11. The connector as claimed in claim 10, wherein an included angle is maintained between the axis of the second conductive member and the second contact surface, and the included angle is between 5 degrees and 90 degrees. 12. The connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the first contact surface is a plane or a curved surface. 13. The connector as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing comprises a first housing and a second housing, the second housing is detachably mounted on the first housing, and the first conductive member The second conductive member is fixed to the first casing, the second conductive member is fixed to the second casing, and the first casing or the second casing has a limiting slot. 14. The connector as claimed in claim 13, further comprising a cable fixed to the second housing, the cable electrically connected to the second conductive member.